by C. C. Ekeke
Liliana glanced at the rope around her waist, corded plant vines. She tossed it off and aimed at her surroundings in abrupt sweeps. No sign of any Farooqua in the mist. Lily heard echoes of the battle beyond the rim wall and her own heavy breaths. The doctor wanted to inform CT-1 that she was okay, but not until her attacker was dealt with.
A lightning bolt of jet-black forked down from the ashen sky, followed by a horrific, mechanical shriek. That grabbed Liliana’s attention. “Khrome?”
Something moved from behind. Lily whirled, fingers pointed to fire. The Ghebrekh moved faster.
A whip-like kick collided with her skull, setting off an excruciating explosion that dropped Lily to her knees. A kaleidoscope of harsh colors washed over her sight and she barely resisted an overwhelming urge to vomit.
Liliana almost slumped forward on her face, until the Ghebrekh snaked one forearm around her neck from behind. Its other hand pushed her head against the wrist, and began squeezing.
Liliana immediately panicked, trying to draw breath, but the Ghebrekh’s chokehold had effectively blocked her air. Terror spiked inside Liliana, yet she was too dazed to even attempt prying off her attacker’s vise-like grip. Her arms were limp, useless things hanging at her sides. Liliana’s attacker shook her back and forth, cinching the chokehold in tighter.
Her gasp for help sounded flimsy, lungs screaming for oxygen. Soon, every sensation fogged over in ways having little to do with the ubiquitous geyser mist. The Farooqua hooked a leg around her slim waist and leaned his full weight on her back, again tightening his chokehold. Liliana’s consciousness seeped away as she sagged under the Farooqua’s weight, her hands dragging against wet earth.
I’m dying, was Liliana Cortes’s last thought before she succumbed to the irresistible dark.
Chapter 59
Silence filled the foggy battlefield, interrupted only by the BRRKSSSHH of erupting geysers nearby. Every Star Brigadier gaped in disbelief at Khrome’s final position. Habraum felt a leaden lump settling in his stomach. He spied V’Korram’s muzzle twisting with horror, mirroring his own inner turmoil.
The Cerc didn’t dare look at Tyris. He knew the anguish he’d find from the Tanoeen who just watched his best friend die. Despite CT-1’s many near-brushes and last-macrom saves these last several months, Habraum never forgot that death was just around the corner. The Thulican’s demise took Habraum back to that ugly place over five months ago when Honaa Ishliba died saving his life. The agony of that day and today bore down on Habraum like physical weight. Somehow, he barely remained upright.
“Vertex,” Marguliese ordered in Habraum’s stead. “Find Crescendo.”
Her words cut through the hideous grief, reminding Habraum of the CT he still had—and the mission they had to complete.
Khal had the audacity to retort, “But my orders from Reign—”
“GO,” Habraum roared.
A brief pause passed before Khal replied timidly, “Yes, sir.”
“I did you a favor,” Ghuj’aega intruded. White tattoos glowed against his dark-blue skin as he climbed to his feet. “Will you really miss those awful jokes?”
The callous remark was all Habraum could take. His hate soared as he whirled with both fists, unleashing crimson biokinetic blasts. Tyris’s repeater rifle barked out a dazzling barrage, and Marguliese fired off searing twin eye bursts.
The combined onslaught cut through steamy emptiness. Ghuj’aega vanished again.
Habraum inhaled deeply to quell his rage. Anger could not cloud his mind. Ghuj’aega will take advantage.
“Reign,” Fiyan spoke over comms. “All Ghebrekh and their allies are dead, except Ghuj’aega.”
“Find him!” Habraum snapped. For Khrome, Uyull, and anyone killed by this bony piece of shit, he would personally end him. As Habraum and his CT scoured further, he finally dared a glimpse at Tyris through the sweltering fog. With repeater rifle hoisted, the Tanoeen swiveled around searching for Ghuj’aega, ever the soldier that Habraum expected. His mask-like face featured only narrow, cobalt-blue eyes. But the pain they revealed, so palpably direct, forced Habraum to look away or else lose it. Ghuj’aega was the sole focus.
“Reign,” Marguliese began, “I’m getting another—” She stopped abruptly.
The Cerc frowned. “Energy spike?” he finished for her, scanning across cracked earth littered with corpses.
The Cybernarr didn’t respond, making Habraum turn. Marguliese stood with mouth open, a golden sculpture. The fog encircling her hung unmoving. The Cerc immediately knew why. “Not again.”
Star Brigade on the plateau, the TerraTroopers atop the rim wall, frozen in place. All except for Habraum.
“Ghuj’aega!” his roar echoed. “Grow a set and face me.”
“If you insist,” he hissed. Suddenly Ghuj’aega appeared before him. The Ghebrekh snaked a hand at Habraum, shoving bony fingers against his chest. Before the Cerc could react, both he and Ghuj’aega started shimmering...
A cold wave surged from Ghuj’aega’s hand through Habraum’s armor, seeping into the Cerc’s bones like water through a sponge. Almost as if his very vitality inside was being sucked away. He grabbed the Ghebrekh’s arm to pull it off, but the hand was practically glued to his chest plate.
“You really believed your group could stop me?” Ghuj’aega’s eyes glittered, his face calm yet cruel. “I will endure until the Zenith Point says otherwise.” Each of Habraum’s blood vessels seemed to squeeze, the startling agony buckling his knees. The Cerc’s bones creaked, once supple muscles turning sluggish. The only way he could define the sensation was that his body was aging at abnormal rates. Impossible.
“You, however. Can I call you Habraum? Seeing your past at a glance makes me feel so familiar with you.” Ghuj’aega spoke as if addressing a friend. “You die first...then I kill everyone on your Star Brigade. I have foreseen your useless interference for days.” The Ghebrekh chuckled quietly. “Nothing will stop Faroor’s cleansing.”
Looking up at his attacker, Habraum sensed no lunacy behind Ghuj’aega’s words or those gleaming violet eyes—only calculating certainty. All the while, Habraum grew weaker—older—by the moment.
The Cerc’s sight blurred while looking desperately at his Star Brigade team...unable to save himself.
Chapter 60
For a long moment, Mhir’ujiid’s world was darkness and fury. The next moment, she stood on Akkabe Plateau’s wet, cracked terrain. White mist hung heavy in all directions, making it difficult to see anything except the dark silhouettes of cone geysers. But since childhood, Mhir’ujiid knew her way around Akkabe blindfolded. Carrying only her spiked paddle, Mhir’ujiid had already decided to follow Star Brigade once Nwosu and his team departed.
Through geyser eruptions, she heard the unrelenting BRAKKA-BRAKKA of gunfire, the crashing of this monument being decimated, and of course, the screams that ensued. Mhir’ujiid felt nauseous as she recognized death cries of Farooqua from Quud, Gajj, Inuu, and countless others tribes. Star Brigade and the UComm were killing them.
The Quud knew they had chosen the wrong side, making the sounds of butchery slightly less disturbing. Through it all Mhir’ujiid caught a strangled rasping noise, almost missed over the battle din. Curious, Mhir’ujiid crisscrossed between a few larger cone geysers before finding a hairless Ghebrekh clambered on a kneeling human’s back. Its arms squeezed tightly around the woman’s neck, one leg hooked about her stomach. The lifeless victim drooped forward, looking so familiar—
“Dr. Liliana!” Mhir’ujiid gasped. This Ghebrekh’s killing her! Mhir’ujiid launched herself at the Ghebrekh. Before he could look in her direction, she slammed a knee to his jaw with a loud smack. The Ghebrekh released Liliana and went tumbling across the soaked ground.
Liliana sank without a sound, obviously unconscious. Keeping a wary eye on the Ghebrekh, Mhir’ujiid dashed to her side. The doctor lay on her back as if sleeping, wet from the constant geyser spray. The mild bruising on her neck confirmed how ro
ughly the Ghebrekh had choked her. But the human was alive...barely. Mhir’ujiid let out a relieved sigh, until she heard the Ghebrekh groan.
She whipped around and hefted her spiked paddle threateningly, stepping between the Ghebrekh and Liliana. As he rose, their eyes met. Mhir’ujiid gasped.
The Ghebrekh backpedaled with identical surprise. “[Mhir’ujiid!?]” he signed in Quud kineticabulary.
“Ekus’oguul?” she lowered her weapon. A whirlwind of emotions overwhelmed the girl: shock at seeing her cousin alive, repulsion for his newly tattooed appearance.
Ekus’oguul read that disgust clearly, along with her defensive posture in front of Liliana.
“[Move away, Mhir’ujiid,]” he signed tersely, his body language no longer loose and welcoming.
“No,” she said in Standard, mirroring his carriage.
“[You are either with or against Ghuj’aega!]” Ekus’oguul signed, cutting the space between them. “[Choose now.]”
Mhir’ujiid gaped at this heartless, obsidian beast before her, unable to find her beloved cousin. “And if I refuse, you’ll kill me and Liliana?!”
Ekus’oguul edged closer. “You chose poorly,” he concluded in accented Standard, ripping a jagged knife from his belt—and promptly vanishing.
Mhir’ujiid’s eyes widened. What had Ghuj’aega turned Ekus’oguul into? She moved closer to Liliana, who still hadn’t moved.
A pop from her left caught Mhir’ujiid off guard. Ekus’oguul moved so quickly, she couldn’t tell if it was his foot or his fist that struck her face. The blow sent the Farooqua sprawling. Though dazed, she quickly pulled up into a crouch and witnessed a horrific sight.
Ekus’oguul straddled Liliana’s back, pulling her head up roughly by the hair, exposing the slim neck. The Quud realized that her toothed paddle lay by Ekus’oguul, too far away to stop in time.
“Ekus’oguul!” Mhir’ujiid begged, rushing at him as fast as the slick terrain allowed. “STOP!”
Ekus’oguul ignored his cousin’s screams and swung his knife down swiftly...only for the weapon to whistle out of his hand—ripped out in fact—never touching Liliana. The blade struck deep into the rim wall as if the rock was butter. Mhir’ujiid skidded to a stop. For a moment, both she and Ekus’oguul gaped. How— Suddenly, Ekus’oguul was jerked off his feet and dangled in midair.
Mhir’ujiid backed away. The culprit was obvious. “I warned you,” the Quud sounded as if she, too, were choking. “I told you to stop.”
Ekus’oguul gagged and flailed his limbs wildly as the telekinetic noose kept choking him. Abruptly, his body slammed into the rim wall once...twice...three times...four times...five times...six times, each collision had the gummy crunch of more crushed innards, more breaking bones. Mhir’ujiid squeezed her eyes shut. Even though Ekus’oguul deserved this, he was still family.
As she opened her eyes, Ekus’oguul’s crushed body was flung high into the air as if hitched to a rocket. She gawked as the corpse shrank into a dot, quickly disappearing into the ubiquitous mist.
Instants later, Khal marched out of the fog from between an opening in the rim wall, his right hand raised and clenched like a loaded weapon. He surveyed the scene wearing a mask of ruthless calm. Khal took Mhir’ujiid in with a glance and lowered his hand. “Thought we told you to stay home.”
The Star Brigadier’s statement awoke a swell of defiance inside Mhir’ujiid. “I couldn’t do that. Liliana would be dead if not for me.”
She got no challenge. Khal winked at her. “Then thanks for disobeying.” He jogged toward his teammate. “See any others?”
Mhir’ujiid shook her head, noticing that Khal wasn’t alone. Behind him was a Kudoban missing a forearm. Ghuj’aega’s work, Mhir’ujiid seethed, had he no boundaries?
The Kudoban nodded kindly as he approached, and then Mhir’ujiid saw him. A sharp breath fled her lips. His eyes lit up at the sight of her.
Surprise, joy, and relief flooded Mhir’ujiid in one amazing jolt. Despite that feeling, she shuddered at how punched out his face appeared, the tattered robes and physique so rail thin a stiff wind could have broken him in half. Still, it was him.
She was vaguely aware of Khal and the Kudoban behind her, checking on Liliana amid a muttered discourse. The Brigadier activated his wristcom. “Reign, Crescendo’s fine.” He hoisted the doctor into a seated position. “Just a little banged up.”
No response came from whoever “Reign” was, but Mhir’ujiid barely noticed. Her world suddenly revolved around Taorr. “You’re alive!”
The Ttaunz walked up, took the Farooqua’s face in his hands, and kissed her. Mhir’ujiid suddenly felt light as air and responded in kind, famished for his nearness. All the pain, suffering, and dread this past week fled from her thoughts. Only Taorr mattered.
The pair pulled apart reluctantly. “I missed you so much!” the Ttaunz gushed hoarsely. Mhir’ujiid felt tears streaming down her pelted face, obscured by the spray of another geyser. She nodded feverishly, drawing him close again. He melted against her. The way he quivered with fatigue, the various scabs she felt on his back, told a tale of his captivity Mhir’ujiid knew must have been horrific. It made her hungry for every detail so she could pay Ghuj’aega back a hundredfold.
But the Quud would not broach the subject until he was ready. Taorr lifted his head off her shoulder to reveal how battered and sunken in his face looked.
“I’m sorry about Ekus’oguul,” the Ttaunz finally said.
Such contrition blindsided Mhir’ujiid. Nor did she expect her own response. “I’m not.”
Taorr nodded thoughtfully. His face warmed again while stroking her wet cheek.
That was when Mhir’ujiid felt the eyes on them. The couple clumsily disentangled to face their audience; the Kudoban’s bulging eyes radiating pleased surprise while Khal looked on slack-jawed.
Mhir’ujiid didn’t care. After months of hiding their affection, she felt relieved to come out. And by Taorr’s glowing look, so did he.
“Well,” Khal finally spoke with his usual swagger, “definitely wasn’t expecting that!”
Mhir’ujiid almost laughed until she saw the Kudoban on his knees, milky eyes trained on her but not looking at her. She could tell by his body language that whatever he saw had him petrified.
“Zojje, what’s wrong? Taorr asked right away, the concern for his friend visible.
“More Ghebrekh coming?” Khal perked up, welcoming that outcome.
“Not the Ghebrekh,” Zojje replied in a taut voice.
Abruptly, Mhir’ujiid’s vision was replaced with a myriad images clear as day, nowhere near Akkabe, and not her own. Not understanding what she saw, the girl panicked and resisted.
Relax, child, Zojje’s calming voice flowed through her mind. Watch. Mhir’ujiid had never experienced a Kudoban mind link. But she inhaled and did as instructed, the images telling a story…
“NO!!” Taorr’s dismay broke Mhir’ujiid from the link. Once more, Mhir’ujiid saw the foggy expanse of Akkabe Plateau. She stared at Taorr in confusion, only to realize then he had been part of Zojje’s psychic link. Khal, by his sudden fury, had clearly seen the images also.
“They were told to stay away!” the Star Brigadier yelled, just as Mhir’ujiid heard a distant roar growing louder and closer, tremoring through her bones. The rumbling heralded their approach, agents of death at breakneck speed. Just like in Zojje’s images…
Fear settled on Mhir’ujiid’s shoulders like physical weight. Liliana stirred and moaned softly in Khal’s embrace. He tapped his wristcom again less patiently. “Reign. Company’s coming in hot!”
FOUR ORVS AGO
Herope began its morning ascension from behind the west hills of Coiroque city-state, cherry-red rays of sunlight washing away the night in delicate waves. Before long, the domed tops of Coiroque’s multi-pinnacled towers and rounded brick-red buildings revealed constantly shifting colors, each gleaming with unique radiance.
The taller skyscrapers were covered by
impossibly large, glitzy 3D holo-billboards. But the number of billboards per block remained sparse, allowing Coiroque to keep an oldworld aesthetic.
In less than half an orv, as the sun rose at just the right angle, the downtown’s rooftops would sparkle like a jewel box full of ruby, topaz, and amethyst. The spectacle occurred twice a day—dawn and dusk.
In the heart of Coiroque’s Xoecha district, clutters of young Ttaunz stumbled out of local taverns, students of Coiroque’s prestigious Neubron University. These youths, with their colorful pelts and high-class clothing, staggered through the streets toward transmat hubs that would return them to campus housing. The male Ttaunz wore their glossy locks long or up in elaborate braids. The females sported either the traditional Ttaunz cropped coifs or no hair at all. Many of these students were born of rarefied highborn privilege, destined to become Faroor’s future merchant lords and politicians. Today, all were excessively tanked from a long night of drinking, their howls and laughters echoing down mostly barren streets. They expected to watch Herope’s sunrise on the way home.
An entirely different visual appeared this morning, starting as a tiny pitch-black dot at the sky’s apex, barely worth anyone’s interest. That was until the dot stretched outward into a dark throbbing hole, demanding all attention. Spectators pointed curiously, showing only hints of fear. Was this another of those bizarre incidents happening all across Faroor lately?
The hole abruptly shrank into nothing, right after burping out a shiny metal object, which now raced toward midtown Coiroque faster than a meteor.
Only then did fear devour curiosity, and the screams started.
Chapter 61
>>Warning: Flight protocol disengaged. Impact imminent.