Rebecca's body went rigid, her muscles tightened into knots, as Prin emptied the contents of the container onto her exposed flesh. The gel-like substance sent stabs of pain shooting through her entire body, threatening to rob her of consciousness. Then after several excruciating seconds, sudden relief began to wash over her, relaxing her muscles. Prin finished spreading the gel on the remainder of the wound and then began binding her arm with a bandage from the medical kit.
Seeking desperately to divert her attention from Prin's not-too-gentle ministrations, Rebecca reflected on the recent attack. In her mind, she saw once again the dinosaur creature battling with the Mrdangam. "I can't believe Druen came back to help us, only to sacrifice himself. I thought you said beings on this planet don't risk their lives for others," she said questioningly.
Without even pausing or looking at her, Prin replied casually. "Druen knew if our transport was destroyed or if we left him here, chances were he would die before making it back to the base. So he helped us because it was his best chance to live."
Rebecca, who was just beginning to hope that she had found some shred of morality in these creatures, found her opinion reverting to its previous low level.
"Slag it!" came the loud curse from Rysth-nuul. "Sikaris, we have finished our first check. We really have problems."
"I'm on my way," came a reply through Rebecca's translator.
By the time Prin had finished bandaging her arm, Sikaris had arrived and entered through the left door. "What is wrong?" it said to the two mechanics.
Rysth-nuul turned its four mismatched eyes to look at its leader. "See for yourself. It seems that the last acid attack melted much of the wiring on this side of the engine. It also melted the Krin power regulator and the main Rif drive, as well as a couple of other small parts."
"Do we have spares to replace them?" Sikaris asked.
"Not all of them. I can fix the wiring, but we do not have the other parts onboard."
Sikaris reached into the pouch in which it had placed the translator unit. "Kyen'tir and Lohgar, return to the transport." Sikaris flipped the frequency switch on the unit again, turning the commlink off. "Rysth-nuul, I want you to begin replacing the wires and tubing. Shut all hatches and window shields. Tarrsk, do you know what parts are needed?"
Tarrsk hissed out an affirmative.
"Good," Sikaris continued. "The rest of us are going to go with you to the other vehicle and get what we need."
"What about him?" Prin asked, gesturing toward Rebecca with one of its four arms.
Sikaris gave her a glare that made her feel decidedly uncomfortable. "Bring him along."
Prin stared at it in surprise. "But what if—" It stopped in midsentence as Sikaris gave it a look that stifled any further protest.
"I have my reasons," said Sikaris firmly.
A moment later, Lohgar and Kyen'tir returned, entering through the right door. Sikaris turned toward them. "Rysth-nuul needs some parts from the other transport. Kyen'tir, I want you to fly ahead and scout out the area but not too high. Try to stay as close to the tops of the buildings as possible. We still do not know what is out there."
The reptilian bird bobbed its head in response.
Turning its gaze toward the others, it continued with its instructions. "Lohgar, you take point. Tarrsk is second. Prin will be in the middle with Rebecca, and I will come last. Any questions?" It paused. "Then let us leave."
The group began filing quickly out of the transport. On their way out, Rebecca reached down, picked up her bag with her uninjured arm, and slung it over her shoulder. Once on the ground, Sikaris shut the door securely behind them. Seconds later, a loud clang was heard as Rysth-nuul set the lock in place from the inside. Immediately, large metallic shields lowered over the window in the front and what was left of the rear window, effectively sealing the lower level from intruders.
"Here," Sikaris said in English as it tossed something to Rebecca. She caught the item in her free right hand and was surprised to see that it was a handheld pistol. "And remember, your only chance of survival is by staying with us. If you try to escape or use this against us, you will die," it said matter-of-factly. With that, Sikaris turned and motioned for Lohgar to head out.
Prin leaned closer to her and said quietly, "Welcome to Clan Grinath, Rebecca." It stood up on two legs, its crooked features showing just the slightest hint of a smile. "Let us go." Not sure how to respond, she simply followed Prin as it took its place in the group.
As they walked, a thought began working its way into Rebecca's consciousness. The handheld motion detector would help tremendously right now. But can I trust it? It didn't pick up the V'skir, but maybe that was due to some special ability they have. Deciding to, at least, test it, Rebecca holstered the pistol in one of her pockets and then removed the bag from her shoulder. "Prin, could you help me, please," she said, holding out the bag to the alien. After a few moments, she had the motion detector in her hand and began scanning the area.
"What are you doing?" Prin asked curiously. "What does that machine do?"
Temporarily ignoring the question, Rebecca focused her attention on studying the display screen. It seems to be working fine despite the atmospheric disturbance.
Taking a deep breath, Rebecca ventured a comment. "Sikaris," she began to say, a strange sensation running through her. I cant believe I'm on a first-name basis with these things! "I have a device that allows me to detect movement up to a radius of two miles. Would you...I could use it, if you want."
Sikaris eyed her for a moment, its face unreadable, and then said, "Yes. That may help."
"Interesting, yes, yes," Prin said beside her as it lowered its head toward the motion detector to study it closer.
"Is your device picking up any movement?" Sikaris asked.
"No," she replied. "Nothing yet." She felt her confidence growing now that she was at last able to contribute to the success of their mission.
"Kyen'tir?" Sikaris asked through the comm.
"All looks clear from above. I see no movement anywhere," came Kyen'tir's report.
Lohgar, its armor scraping loudly, headed slowly down the street from which they had come, each of its three hands holding a pistol similar to the one given to Rebecca. Tarrsk followed close behind but carried no weapon that she could detect. Instead, it walked on all fours, its two tentacle-like appendages unfurled and held aloft like two giant serpents prepared to strike. At various times, the reptilian creature stopped, picked up a fist-sized rock, and shoved it underneath its stomach where it instantly disappeared. Although she found this quite odd, Rebecca withheld her curiosity and focused on staying alert.
The team backtracked to the other transport without incident. The body of the dragon that had blocked the street had disappeared, leaving only slightly blackened rubble to indicate that it had ever been there at all. The rear portion of the transport was covered by rubble from a building that it had obviously backed into. On the right side, the treads lay mangled and melted in several places, and globs of acid formed small pools on the dusty road. The top level of the vehicle lay open, as if giant claws had peeled it back like the skin of a ripe fruit, searching for the sweet nectar inside. The mental image caused Rebecca to shudder involuntarily. The lower level, however, seemed fully intact. In fact, the same kind of protective shields that she had seen Rysth-nuul lower into place on their transport were also covering the windows of this one.
The group moved cautiously up to the right door of the vehicle, careful to avoid the pooling acid, their attention ever focused on their surroundings. Kyen'tir circled above once and then alighted on a rooftop to their left, its bottom pair of eyes scanning the ground even as its upper pair scanned the skies.
Lohgar, Tarrsk, and Prin formed a defensive perimeter around Rebecca and Sikaris, the latter of which strode up to the right door of the transport and knocked twice.
"This is Sikaris. Is anyone in there?"
In reply, the door instantly slid back on its
track, and a small figure rocketed out of the hatch, causing Sikaris to duck rapidly to avoid being hit. The others immediately spun around and tracked the thing with their weapons. The being slammed hard into the ground about twenty feet from the vehicle and lay motionless for several seconds. Then leaping to its feet in a sudden burst of energy, it gave out a screech of triumph and began hopping about madly. To everyone's surprise, the armadillo creature then threw itself back on the ground and began shoveling large clawfuls of dirt and mud into its mouth, laughing hysterically all the while.
A low throaty voice turned their attention from the bizarre scene back to the interior of the vehicle. "Next time... pair me up with...thing, Sikaris...swear...going...kill it," came the translation, oddly disjointed.
Emerging from the transport was a giant alien that towered over the group. The seven-foot spiked monstrosity reminded Rebecca of the creature that had stood guard outside of the High Crala's throne room. Like the guard, it was covered from head to foot with spikes of various shapes and sizes sticking up at abnormal angles from its thick armored hide. It had the same lopsided mouth as well as a second half-formed nose near its chin, and if her memory served her right, the guard was also missing a left ear, as this one was. If this wasn't the same creature, it must definitely be a close relative.
The bulky alien leapt down from the vehicle to land beside Sikaris, its slightly twisted legs and tail quickly adjusting to its new stance. Up close, its size and wide girth reminded Rebecca of a professional football player.
Sikaris, standing almost eye to eye with the large alien, looked around at the damaged transport and then back at the creature. "It is good you are alive, Jorylk," Sikaris said matter-of-factly.
"Yes, alive!" came a screeching voice. "Alive, thanks be to Nix!"
Sikaris turned to face the creature, who was still gleefully shoving dirt clods into its mouth. "Silence, Ch'ran! We still do not know if there is anything else out there."
"And stop being such a Bik dugger," added Lohgar with disgust.
Ch'ran, unaffected by the jibe, jumped to its feet and strode over to Sikaris, a broad smile on its mud-caked little face. "But I promised Nix that if he got me out of that attack alive, I would do anything, even eat dirt." It chuckled softly, clearly fighting to control an approaching fit of laughter. "And here I am! Nix saved me!" Ch'ran threw its arms wide in elation.
The corner of Sikaris's face revealed a slight grin as it stared down at the diminutive alien. "It is good you are alive too."
"Speak for yourself," Lohgar said under its breath, but loud enough that, at least, Rebecca's translator could pick it up.
I agree, she thought inwardly.
Whether Sikaris failed to hear Lohgar or simply ignored the comment, it said nothing but turned to face the spiked alien once more. "What happened?" it asked.
Jorylk began to speak, but as before, Rebecca's translator cut in and out, catching only a few words here and there. Before long, she completely lost track of the story. Reaching down to the translator unit, she began fidgeting with the device in an attempt to fix it.
Prin, seeing her vain efforts, leaned over and whispered to her, its translation breaking through the other's narrative clearly. "There is nothing wrong with your translator. Jorylk cannot speak good because of his mutated tongue and face muscles." She looked at the misaligned face in sudden understanding. Letting go of the translator, she waited with the rest of the group for Jorylk to finish its explanation.
Sikaris reached into its hidden pouch and activated its commlink. "Kyen'tir, circle the area and look for any signs of the others from this transport." Without a word, the winged reptile took flight again and was soon lost from sight.
"Are you going to tell us what he said?"Tarrsk asked.
"He said that once we were cut off from them, he tried backing up but made a mistake and crashed into the building. The Mrdangam then spat on the treads and melted them. Seeing that they were trapped, Ch'ran and Jorylk closed the hatches and lowered the window shields. The Mrdangam tore open the top level, and the others ran from the transport to try to find cover in the buildings. Jorylk believes that the Mrdangam took all of them, but we should still search the area.
"Prin, Rebecca, and Tarrsk will stay here with me. The rest will search the area and secure the perimeter," Sikaris concluded.
"We can look," Ch'ran commented. "But it will not do any good. Nix tells me the Mrdangam took them all."
"Look, anyway," Sikaris shot back somewhat impatiently.
Shrugging its shoulders, Ch'ran hopped off down the street, the rest of the group following on its heels and leaving the four of them standing next to the open door of the transport. "Prin, stand guard with Rebecca. Tarrsk and I are going to work on the engine parts." Without waiting for a reply, Sikaris and Tarrsk entered the damaged transport.
Prin looked at Rebecca and smiled from its crooked mouth. "It is good that Jorylk and Ch'ran survived. Yes, yes. The more fighters we have, the better chance we have of living."
She returned the ferret alien's gaze. "That may be true, but can we trust them? Maybe I didn't understand correctly, but didn't they shut out the others from the lower level, leaving them to die?"
"Trust? On Ka'esch, you can only 'trust' someone if you are useful to them. Once your usefulness is gone, they will likely betray you. Is it not that way where you come from? Jorylk and Ch'ran were only trying to survive. If they had let the others below, the Mrdangam would have torn the lower level apart also and killed everyone. This way, the Mrdangam forgot about Jorylk and Ch'ran because they were chasing the others, yes, yes."
Power to the strong, death to the weak. The words flashed unbidden through her mind, leaving behind a hollow pit in her stomach.
The sudden monotone voice of the translator interrupted her musings. "Sikaris, this is Kyen'tir. I have found something two blocks west of the transport. It looks like what is left of one of the flyers. Wait...I have found Lohgur, and he is still alive. But...you need to come, Sikaris."
Sikaris's seven-foot frame appeared a moment later in the doorway of the transport. "We are on our way." It shut the door behind itself and leapt to the ground. "Come with me," it said as it turned to look down at Rebecca. "Both of you."
When they arrived at the scene, the others were already gathered and waiting with the exception of Tarrsk, who was still collecting parts from the transport. The street they were standing in was littered with the smoking and charred remains of the flyer. On the right side lying at the base of a crumbled wall was a still form.
At the sight of it, Rebecca quickly averted her gaze and took a deep breath to collect herself. She had seen worse during her tour in the marines, but it had been many years ago. Steeling herself, she forced her gaze back upon the gruesome scene before her.
Lying beside the twisted metal of the flyer was the body of the other ape-like being that had traveled with them. Its dirty orange fur was blackened and singed in several areas. The heavy metallic armor it had been wearing lay beside it in a heap, the creature apparently having removed it after crashing. The alien's left arm hung limp across its body at a sharp angle as if broken. But most noticeable of all, where its legs should have been, only two short bloody stumps remained.
As Sikaris stepped toward the unfortunate being, Lohgur's prominent brows raised as its eyes fluttered open.
"Sit him up," Sikaris said to Lohgar and Prin.
The two reached down and grabbed the downed pilot under the arms, lifted it not too gently and propped its back against the nearby wall. As they moved it, the creature bellowed in pain. Once it was in position, they released it and took a step back. Sikaris dropped down on all fours to be at eye level with the injured alien and walked up to stand within arms' reach of it.
The wounded ape alien looked at Sikaris in fear, its face radiating sheer panic. "Sik... Sikaris," it managed to say. "Please. I...I saved your lives. Do not...I can still be of use. There has to be something I can do without legs. Please."
>
The reptilian feline simply looked at the creature for a moment, then stood to its feet and turned its back on the pilot. "Everyone back to Transport Two. Lohgar," it said, its voice a low growl. "Bring the body."
"No!" came a mad scream from the injured creature. "Lohgar. My offspring! No—" Before it could finish its sentence, a single shot from Lohgar's gun abruptly ended its life.
Rebecca stood rooted to the spot in astonishment at what she had just witnessed until four strong claws grabbed her from behind and started her moving. "Come, Rebecca," Prin said as it released her from its grip. "There is still much to do, yes, yes."
As she numbly followed Prin, she watched as Lohgar stooped down and picked up the now lifeless body of its own parent.
9
Decisions
THEY WALKED for several minutes before Rebecca finally recovered her voice. "Why did Sikaris do that? That being saved our lives, and yet he...he murdered him in cold blood!" she exclaimed, anger beginning to build within her.
Prin, seemingly unaffected by her rising emotions, responded as they turned a corner; the second transport was coming into view. "If a being is wounded while on a hunt, the commander looks at him and decides if the wound is permanently crippling. If it is, the being is murdered."
Rebecca was appalled. "But..." she stammered, her thoughts jumbled by emotion and her innate morality. "But his wounds weren't fatal. He may have lost his legs, but he was still going to live."
The ferret creature hunched its shoulders slightly as if shrugging. "That is a non-lie. But he would be helpless, always needing others to do things for him. Also, he would slow us down. He would not be useful to the clan. 'Power to the strong, death—'"
She cut it off in midsentence, frustration boiling over. "I know, I know. 'Death to the weak.'" The final cry of the wounded being continued to ring in her ears. "He was Lohgar's father, wasn't he?"
Logic's End Page 11
