CHAPTER 16
Ishtar lived! Aquarius wanted to yodel with joy but held back lest the Kukakk kill her out of spite. The broken tank meant she no longer had a spare clone.
“Reece, you weren’t supposed to come,” she chided, proving her memories recent since she remembered him. But how up to date were her recollections? Did they go back as far as their last night together?
Probably not the time to be thinking about that.
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t let you have all the fun,” he quipped, keeping his tone light and non-threatening as he holstered his weapon. He didn’t want to spook the Kukakk, who kept his weapon pointed at her head.
“Who are you?” the alien snarled.
“Your worst nightmare?” Yeah, he didn’t mean for it to come out questioning.
“You are a star warrior, yes?” it hissed.
“Aquarius here to end your reign of terror.” Okay, that sounded a bit more heroic.
It left the Kukakk unimpressed. “Doubtful, for I am eternal.”
“Really, because my understanding is the last time your kind invaded our solar system, they got their asses whooped.”
“Which destroyed the Martian civilization in the process.” The Kukakk smirked.
“And the humans have yet to achieve their level of technical proficiency. Not that it would matter. Now that I’ve acquired a goodly number of power stones, there is nothing that can stop me.
” A comment that drew Reece’s attention to the bulging sack slung over its shoulder.
Ishtar’s lips pursed. “It ripped them out of some of the still-functioning systems.” Her gaze went to the machine that used to keep her tank running, the panel on its side torn open.
“Power stones won’t do you much good without a ship. I hear yours went kaboom.” Aquarius had no plan other than to keep the alien off balance until an idea hit. One that wouldn’t see Ishtar killed.
The Kukakk scowled. “The tricky female might have destroyed that vessel, but I’m sure there are more around here somewhere.”
“I already told you. There are no more ships left,” Ishtar snapped in a tone the alien didn’t like. The fucker cuffed her.
“Lies,” it hissed. “Where are they hidden?”
“Nowhere, because, one by one, they got used and broke down past the point of repair,” Ishtar spat. “Say hello to your forever home, asshole.”
“Argh.” As the Kukakk pulled back his arm to strike, Aquarius acted, moving lightning fast, yanking the knife from his sheath and flinging it. It spun end over end, before piercing the Kukakk’s wrist.
It uttered a screech as it dropped its gun, and Ishtar took that moment to dart away, toward Aquarius.
“Insolent vermin!” The Kukakk’s eyes blazed, and it flung its hands outward. The air in the room suddenly crackled ominously, and the hair on Aquarius’s head, hell all over his body, lifted.
Ishtar barely had a chance to yell, “Take cover,” before the shards of glass from the shattered tank rose from the puddles of fluid and arrowed at him and Ishtar.
Oh fuck.
Rather than hit the floor and tuck like a turtle, he hurtled himself at Ishtar, planning to protect her with his body. He wasn’t quite fast enough. Her eyes suddenly widened, and her body jerked. Hit!
He managed to cover her a millisecond later, his rugged clothing providing enough shielding he didn’t feel so much as a prick.
The glass attack ended, and a glance at the doorway showed the Kukakk had used that distraction to flee. Aquarius unwound himself from Ishtar to see her struggling to breathe, the pink froth at the corner of her mouth a very bad sign.
“Ishtar,” his voice cracked. Please, don’t let her die again.
She reached for him as she wheezed, “You idiot. I can’t believe you came. I was trying to keep you safe.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t about to let you steal my thunder and my prophecy.” A poor attempt at a joke. “What were you thinking meeting with it? You had to know it would kill you.”
“I counted on it. Had my latest memories uploaded so my clone knew what to do. But I failed. I meant to launch the bomb the moment the Kukakk landed, but a sudden storm caused me to have to take cover with the device.” Her voice emerged thready and weak.
“Is the bomb still usable?”
She nodded, and the effort had her coughing. “The moment the storm passed, I positioned it back on the roof, but by then, the Kukakk was already inside.” Blood stained her lips ruby red when she finished.
“We have to get you to a doctor.”
“There is no time. You have to kill the Kukakk. Lure it to the roof. Trigger is in my pocket. Don’t die, Reece, or…” Ishtar died before finishing, and it felt even worse than the last time because, despite being present, he’d still been unable to save her.
But he could do something about the fucker who’d murdered her twice.
A rummage in her jumpsuit located a very simple device.
One big button under a clear cover to prevent accidentally depressing it.
He tucked it into his pant pocket and then placed a soft kiss on Ishtar’s forehead before unceremoniously grabbing her limp body.
He stood and slung her over his shoulder, wincing even as he knew she couldn’t feel anything.
It might seem sacrilegious to use her corpse for his idea, but he’d wager Ishtar would have approved.
Of course, it would only work if the Kukakk didn’t realize she’d died.
Aquarius headed into the hallway and took a deep breath before he began laying the bait for his trap.
“Hold on, Queenie. Once we make it to the ship, we can get you all fixed up.”
Was the Kukakk listening? He doubted it had gone far.
“Once I pop you into the med-machine, you’ll be good as new in no time.
” He had no clue if such a thing existed, but he drew from his sci-fi lore.
“Can’t wait to head back to Earth. Fuck the alien body-snatcher.
Since it wanted those power stones so bad, it can have them.
Lot of good they’ll do it when its belly gets hungry. ”
His nape prickled as if he were watched.
“Almost to the elevator. Not far now.” Aquarius stepped onto the disc, and the lift zoomed upward this time with but a simple thought.
Since the citadel only projected a few levels above ground, it took only seconds to reach the top floor.
The lift stopped before the rooftop deck.
Good thing, because he should probably put on a helmet before going outside.
He unclipped it from his belt and shoved it on his head, feeling it contract as it sealed around his neck.
Nimrod apparently didn’t think he’d need a suit for his body.
Nimrod better be right, as he’d like to not become a Popsicle statue on the rooftop.
Although could you imagine the furor that would erupt if an image of his frozen butt made it back to Earth?
Okay, now to find a way to get outside.
He strode down the hall in search of inspiration, unable to read any of the sigils and not wanting to open every single door, when he noticed a pile of dust on the floor. He paused and glanced at the wall carved with ornate flowers. Another hidden entrance?
He stepped close, but nothing triggered.
“Okay, Ishtar, how do I open your fancy door?” A second later he spotted the same sigil as the one in her penthouse bedroom that led to the portal room.
A press of it and the wall slid aside, giving him entrance to a chamber that reminded him of the one on the main level that she’d called a ready room.
Of the hooks hammered into the stone, only one held a suit.
He ran his hand over it knowing she’d likely been the last one to wear it.
A pang of sadness hit. “Don’t worry, Queenie. I’ll finish what you started,” he murmured, and then when the Kukakk was dead, he’d keep his promise.
A small round circle at the far end of the room ended up being a mini elevator that slowly lifted upwards, and as it ascended, it encased him in a cylinder, likely to protect him from the harsh conditions outside.
The dusty pockmarked glass let him look upon the rooftop, no longer the lush garden he’d seen in the dream.
It resembled many a mountaintop he’d explored with rocks scattered about and sloping drifts of dirt.
He saw no sign of the bomb, but Ishtar had insisted it was here.
He just had to find it before the fucker arrived. Then soon as he did, BAM.
For a second he wondered why she’d not triggered it inside the citadel. Likely it worked better in open spaces.
While it felt disrespectful, he forced himself to lay Ishtar’s body down.
His beautiful brave queen. “I love you,” he whispered.
Words he’d been too afraid to say before because who the hell declared their love after only a few days?
But he couldn’t ignore or deny the connection between them. The way being with her just felt right.
And now that she was gone, he had only two things to keep him going. Vengeance and his promise.
He strode away from her body, wondering where she’d stashed the bomb. Obviously not in the open, lest the Kukakk spot it.
Before he could examine a mound of rocks that had enough height to hide it, the alien arrived. “Where’s the spaceship?”
Aquarius quickly palmed the button before he whirled to see the fucker wearing the spacesuit that had been dangling on the hook.
“There is no spaceship, asshole.”
It glanced at Ishtar’s body. “You lured me here, and for what?”
“To kill you.”
“And how will you do that, star warrior? If I lose this body, I shall find another.”
“Good luck with that. Maybe you hadn’t noticed, but Mars ain’t exactly teeming with options.”
“Yet. But there are those on Earth working to send ships, and those will have suitable vessels.”
“That won’t be for years.”
“Bah. Time is not pressing when you live eternally. I can wait.” The Kukakk stepped forward, away from the elevator, and cocked its head. “You, on the other hand, will find your death slow and most likely torturous. How much food do you have? A few days? Maybe weeks?”
“I’ll beam out of here before I starve.”
“Ah yes, the power imbued to you by the stars. Do it. Flee to your planet with the knowledge I will one day return. But when? A question that will likely drive you mad.”
“Actually, it won’t because this is where we say goodbye.”
With that, he flipped the lid on the remote and smashed the button.