by Steve Perry
He set her down first and then pulled himself up after her. Noguchi reloaded her gun and then covered him, but the last few hissing shapes that were below
The ooman paused midway down the hallway and then pointed at a doorway with odd figures scrawled on it. Ooman language.
She spoke something. Dachande hit the animal loop on his suit to record, in case it might later be helpful. Da'dtou-di motioned at him and then again at the door.
She wanted him to stay here?
Dachande growled, but Da'dtou-di was adamant. It was important to her.
It had been a long time since he had trusted another in battle. And now he was being asked to trust an ooman, not even an un-Blooded yautja!
She held up her clawless hand again and then backed away a few steps.
Dachande tilted his head at her.
Da'dtou-di spoke again and bared her teeth at him. And then she turned and ran ahead. He could take her head off with a swipe of his wrist blade and yet she showed him her teeth. Brave Little Knife. If she risked his wrath it must be important to her indeed. Well.
This was her kind's ship. She surely knew things about it he did not. She must have a plan.
Dachande stayed.
He tilted his head, which she thought meant affirmative.
Noguchi felt a rush of relief. She didn't want to part with him in this hot, deadly maze, but she'd need a clear path to get back. She only had maybe a dozen rounds left. It did not matter how good the ammo was if you were out of it; she hoped Broken Tusk had more for his weapon.
"Hold the fort," she said, and grinned tightly. She was scared and she hurt, but it felt powerful to be doing something. Something that might kill the infestation in her town . . .
You hope.
"I'll be back when I'm done."
With that, she turned and ran. And prayed that he would be there when she got back.
If she got back.
The second ladder looked empty, but she couldn't see the top. The strange alien formations were thicker here, looped around the rungs and covered the wall.
She checked behind her again and started to climb, revolver in hand.
A drop of odd, warm goo smacked onto her arm. Then another.
She looked up.
Da'dtou-di hadn't indicated if she wanted the door he guarded open, but Dachande opened it anyway. The ooman wanted him to watch it for some reason.
It was locked, so he pounded at the frame with the end of his staff until it cracked.
It was a tyioe-ti, an escape pod, small but large enough for the two of them. He stepped in and surveyed it quickly. Not a nesting area. Three oomansized chairs and a panel of controls. He'd never be able to squeeze into one of those tiny seats to fly this craft.
He turned and stood at the entry to wait for Da'dtou-di. And he heard a resounding crash from the direction they had come from, followed by a low, scratchy hiss.
Dachande tensed. It was a sound he had heard before.
A queen. Heading in this direction.
Was it the one they had brought on their ship, egglayer of their prey? Or had one of the drones shifted hormones and metamorphosed into a female?
Not that it really mattered, just at the moment.
He waited.
Noguchi looked up and stopped breathing.
One of the bugs had leaned down from the third level, its long, misshapen skull right above her. Another drop of slime fell from its jaws
She brought her pistol up and rammed the barrel into its mouth. She jerked the trigger again and again.
The creature didn't even cry out. It fell past her with a clattering thud. It was a small miracle that none of its acidic blood splashed onto her.
Her hands shook as she topped the ladder. Surely there would be another at the top, waiting to tear at her, to rip out her throat
Noguchi pulled herself up and on to her knees. The platform was coated heavily with the dark alien material, but otherwise empty.
She jumped to her feet and ran down the hall. At the end was another tee. Without hesitation, she took a right and continued on. The hot, sticky air made it a struggle to breathe. It smelled like rotten mushrooms in here.
It wasn't until two more turns in the twisted corridor that she realized she had gone the wrong way.
Dachande took a deep breath and waited. There was no doubt that it was the queen, or that she was headed toward him.
Drones were target practice, but a queen egglayer
No lone yautja had ever survived combat with one, unless he had a burner. Once, a dozen Blooded warriors had taken one down with only blades and spears, but the queen had killed nine of them before she died.
Metal creaked and groaned from below. At least he still had a fire in his burner. Two of them.
A crest of shiny black appeared at the top of the ladder . . .
Dachande pointed and fired.
Missed.
The Hard Meat ducked and screamed, but was uninjured He took aim and waited for her to come up.
Nothing happened for several beats. Dachande remained ready.
Suddenly she howled and a dark shape sprang into view at the top of the ladder.
Dachande fired, his last shot.
The head of the creature exploded.
He roared in triumph and threw the empty burner at the bubbling mess. The useless weapon skipped over the platform and disappeared. He had killed her, had Hunted a queen and killed her! The stories of their intelligence and skill had been wrong, she had been an easy target
The queen hissed again and the crest of her unmistakable skull rose into view.
Dachande's eyes widened. But he had blown her to pieces-!
Decoy. She had sent a drone to take the shots; he had been tricked.
But how could she know that--?
It didn't matter. The deadly queen was alive, and she was coming.
S'yuit-de!
He watched as two huge talons screeched across the metal platform and pulled the grinning monster into view.
Noguchi didn't bother with the map. She knew where she'd fucked up.
There was a second of initial panic. She'd actually left him there to wait for her, stupid, stupid-!
Noguchi brought it under control and turned back.
She was almost back to where she had taken the wrong turn when one of the nightmare creatures leapt out of nowhere to land in front of her.
She pointed and fired several times. The snarling animal shrieked and fell.
Behind it was another. She pulled the trigger again, and it toppled on top of the other. There were no others.
Idiot! Your ammo!
A cold hand clutched at her heart. The gun was empty.
She ejected the spent shells and loaded the final rounds, hands shaking harder now.
Six rounds.
Noguchi came to the tee and ran straight. For one terrifying moment she felt totally lost, but then she saw the door. Yellow and black lines, just as Conover had said.
She aimed as carefully as she could and blew the lock off of the door. Bits of plastic and metal spewed and stung her face and hands. The door opened to reveal a room full of panels and screens. This was the central computer room, according to what Conover told her. The ship's brains.
Noguchi slammed the door behind her and ran to the second chair.
Second chair, straight on, disk slot next to red and black strip
She hit the transmitter's power switch and waited for the panel to light up. She took Scott's disk from her pocket and held it tightly. The seconds stretched like minutes. Hours. Eons . . .
There was an empty coffee cup on the console in front of her with "Conover" stenciled on the side. She felt a stab of pity for the pilot; he had died bravely.
The screen glowed to life with a stream of numbers and letters at the top. She carefully inserted the disk into the slot and pushed the lock button.
The computer hummed and blinked. Noguchi felt her breath catch.
If t
his doesn't work, you're dead -
A light flashed: Dir .received / pil. S.Conover, 93630/navigational complete.
She slapped the board. "Yes, yes, yes!"
It had worked.
She turned just as the door burst inward.
Dachande straightened his back and took a deep breath. If this was to be his Final Hunt, he would die fighting. Combat against a queen with only a staff-it was an honor. He would fight and he would lose but that was the only choice.
From the way Da'dtou-di had gone he heard her weapon crash several times. He tuned it out. She would have to complete her mission alone.
The queen was huge, twice as large as a drone. Her arms were longer-she had a second, smaller set protruding from her chest-her crown sleek and branched almost like antlers. Her double jaws held more than two rows of shiny teeth. And being female, she would know how to fight.
She moved toward him slowly. Her long, pointed tail dragged across the metal floor.
Dachande raised his staff and held it out slightly, legs spread wide. If she came at him like he thought she would, he would get in at least one clean cut.
The queen towered in the corridor, bent almost in half to move.
Dachande held steady. He said, "Come, Hard Meat. I killed your children. Come and join them." An unlikely boast and neither could she understand it, but smiling into the face of Death was said to sometimes unnerve even the Black Warrior.
A sudden noise behind him called for his attention, but he didn't take his eyes from her.
She swung her head to look past him and hissed.
Dachande's eyes flickered. Was there someone-?
The queen leapt-
Noguchi blew the bug's brains across the hall with two shots.
The dark jellied mass splatted against the corridor wall and ran down in clumps.
She jumped over the corpse and into the passageway. She sprinted for the tee.
It was over, or it would be soon. The barge was going to fall like a meteor, like an atomic-powered meteor and when it hit, it would take out what was left of Prosperity Wells. And the rest of the alien brood. There wouldn't be anything remaining here but a smoldering crater.
The escape pod should get them far enough out of town-
At the turn to get back to the ladder, the corridor beyond exploded into motion.
Noguchi let out a cry and then aimed at one of the bugs that sprang for her. The bullet knocked it down, still shrieking.
Two shots now, only two left-
Noguchi reached the top of the rung ladder down to the second level. The ladder was twisted, torn loose from the wall. Shit-!
"Broken T-!"
She stopped. Below her, the warrior stood. And faced one of the nightmare creatures, a giant, huge, it filled the entire corridor!
At the sound of her voice, the monster looked up and hissed, a horrible, raspy sound that chilled her to the pit of her soul.
-Queen-
It spun and lashed out at Broken Tusk as Noguchi aimed her handgun at it.
The impossibly long and heavy tail crashed against the warrior's chest. His spear flew and he was knocked flying.
She heard the sound of the impact from where she was. Broken Tusk smacked against the door he guarded and bounced off it. His blood seemed to glow against his dark armor. He didn't move.
Noguchi fired, her chest tight. The queen screamed and turned toward her.
The bullet missed.
Without thinking, Noguchi jumped to the second level, revolver in front of her. One shot left. One chance.
Her knees buckled as she hit the platform, but she didn't fall.
The queen shrieked and started for her.
Noguchi prayed that one bullet would stop her-
-fired-
-and the monster fell backward, screamed, and thrashed on the floor. Chest shot.
Not dead, but down.
Noguchi ran to Broken Tusk. She dropped the empty weapon. The nightmare queen's tail lashed out and would have knocked her down if she hadn't jumped.
Broken Tusk took the lash again in the chest. Blood spattered.
Noguchi kicked at the door to the escape pod and stumbled. The inner hatch was open.
The queen screamed, a piercing howl. Her death chant, Noguchi hoped.
She bent over the injured warrior and got one arm under him. With strength she didn't know she had, she lifted with a grunt-
-and he slid with her into the pod.
Sweat ran down her face. She pulled again, and his feet cleared the door.
No time, no time
She half fell into a chair in front of the panel and searched frantically for the control.
Behind her, the alien screamed again in pain and fury.
Broken Tusk groaned and rolled toward Noguchi.
Noguchi found the button, right in front of her. In her panic she had missed it.
Movement behind her. A scream that sent hot, charnel, rotting air across her back.
She half turned, hand on the button
-and the queen was there, her head in the pod, her huge claw came down
-and embedded in the warrior's shoulder.
Broken Tusk screamed.
Noguchi slammed the door's override button.
The thick metal door closed. The grinning head seemed to rush at her--
-and then toppled to the floor as the pressure door, designed to seal the ship against hard vacuum, crunched the exoskeleton of the monster's relatively thin neck and beheaded the queen.
Her disembodied hand was still buried in the motionless warrior's back.
Noguchi hit the next button.
And they were free of the larger ship, flying.
The pain was bad, but Dachande let it happen.
He didn't understand it for a moment. It. Something. Da'dtoudi, was she here? Had they killed her?
He felt oddly weightless for a short time
---flying--
And then the floor rose up and slammed against him.
There was a burst of new pain. Gravity returned, with more aches than he'd ever had. He was hurt, badly hurt.
Then a rush of hot, clean air. Light assaulted his eyes. His breathing mask was gone. Too much of the planet's combustive oxygen flooded into his lungs. He couldn't last more than a few hours breathing such potent air.
He coughed. Warm liquid ran down his throat, but it still felt raw, wounded.
A shadow moved over him. He was lifted slightly and pulled.
He growled in pain but couldn't seem to form a protest. The air blinded him. He was outside.
He opened his eyes slowly and focused on the face that hovered over his.
Da'dtou-di!
He felt a burst of pride. She had survived, had helped him.
Dachande started to speak and coughed again. More pain.
He reached for the loop on the arm of his suit, but his fingers had grown clumsy.
Da'dtou-di placed her fragile hand under his and moved it for him.
Noguchi's throat felt tight. There was a stone in her chest, heavy and painful. Pale blood covered the warrior, his breathing slow and labored. He was dying.
They had made it. The pod had landed with a jarring impact somewhere in the east desert, far from Prosperity Wells; the chute had opened at least. But ...
Broken Tusk raised a shaky hand toward his other wrist, but couldn't seem to maneuver it well. Noguchi guided it for him.
It was the recording device. She felt her eyes brim as her own voice spilled out.
"Hold the fort. I'll be back when I'm done."
Broken Tusk grabbed at the alien claw, still embedded in his shoulder. "Hang on," she said. "Help will be here soon, the colonists will come-" She faltered and choked. Then gave him what she felt he needed. "We did it. We killed the bugs. The queen. You and I" She waved her hand, feeling helpless.
He pulled the queen's claw loose and looked at it.
She pointed at it, nodded, made a throat-cutting gesture
.
He understood. She was sure of it, because he nodded in return. Then he grasped one of the long, spidery digits and snapped it off, groaned with the exertion. Hissing blood dripped from the finger.
Broken Tusk then motioned at the mark on his face, a jagged bolt between his eyes. He motioned at her and then at the scar again.
Noguchi nodded and leaned closer.
Da'dtou-di had to be Blooded. It was his responsibility, as Leader.
Dachande tore off one of the queen's fingers. It hurt to move, to breathe, to live, but this was important; it was all he had left.
Da'dtou-di came closer, closed her eyes. Something wet splashed on Dachande' face; he ignored it. It was time.
The warrior dipped one claw into the alien blood and then spat on the claw. His own blood mixed with the alien's acidic ichor. That was part of it. His blood would partly neutralize the potent chemicals from the Hard Meat. Moving with great care, he reached out and etched his mark into her pale skin, on the forehead, between her eyes. He managed to keep his hand from shaking long enough to draw his symbol.
She hissed in pain, but didn't move. She was brave, Little Knife. She had helped him and they had killed the queen. That was something to take and lay at the feet of the Black Warrior.
Dachande dropped his hand, exhausted. The animal loop played again, some ooman speak from long before. It didn't matter; he had been ready for a long time and now was the moment. He had no complaints.
He wished he could talk in her language, teach her what he could-be brave, Hunt well, respect your Leader. But she already knew most of that. The rest, she would surely learn. She was Blooded now, and somehow she would learn. Even though they had only been together a short time, he knew all about her.
The best student he ever had.
Tears fell before Broken Tusk even touched her. She started to wipe at her eyes, but then closed them instead. The dying warrior was going to give her his mark, she understood what he wished. She leaned down.
The pain was short and burning. A trickle of green blood ran down her nose.
Broken Tusk dropped his hand, and her voice spoke again from the loop, softly this time.
"I'll remember you."
Noguchi lowered her head and started to sob, the first real tears she had cried in a long time.
Behind them, a light appeared in the sky. A ball of flame plummeted through the Ryushi sunlight, headed for Prosperity Wells.