Page 18 of Protected By the Alien Warmachine

She shrugged. “If they are too stupid to sign, I cannot trust them not to go to the media. I hope none of them make such a foolish mistake, and take no responsibility for their fate if they do.”

I nodded. That was as fair as I could expect.

“Now, we are leaving. I don’t want to stand in this sandpit a second longer than I have to. Bad enough that I’m on-planet at all.” She shot a hateful look at Rush as she spoke, and I almost smiled.

“I will help move the demolitions equipment back aboard,” I said. Taverner shook her head.

“No, you come with me. The Colonel will handle the explosives, and I want to learn more about your capabilities. We depart immediately, and you can tell me all about the civilization that ruled here so long ago.”

With that, everything changed. I stopped dead, and she turned to face me, raising an eyebrow.

“You are lying,” I said with flat certainty.

“Nonsense. Your mate is safe. You have my word.” Her lips pressed together in a thin line, she bit off the words. “Now come with me. I have need of your services immediately.”

“Then get the humans to safety immediately,” I countered. “I will stay until you do.”

She maintained her perfect poise, giving away nothing of her thoughts and plans. Her impatience to leave was a clue, especially when all the humans would remain with Rush. It was Rush’s nasty smile that gave the game away.

The truth struck me like lightning. They didn’t want help removing the explosives because they weren’t taking them anywhere. Once I was off the planet, they planned to destroy the tomb anyway, banishing whatever ghosts remained of the honored dead. Once that was done, they’d use Tal’ia as leverage to control me. She would never be safe, and it would be my fault.

Their plan would fail, of course. Most obviously because I’d die on the way to orbit, though they didn’t know that. I didn’t intend to let it get to that point, though, not if I could help it.

I lunged forward without warning, taking my warform as I did so. Diamond claws glinted in the starlight as I slashed at Taverner’s throat. If I killed her, it might end the fight in a single blow. Ialmostmade it. She froze, but her guards did not. One man tackled her, taking her to the ground under my attack. The other snapped a shot, his laser tearing into my stomach. My defenses absorbed some of it, but there was too much energy in the beam, and it burned my armored skin. I staggered and, with a gesture, sent a blast of black sand at him. With no time to shape it, and his hardsuit sealed, all it did was knock him on his back.

My momentary distraction gave Taverner time to scramble away, and her remaining guard showed commendable loyalty, throwing himself between us and buying her time to stand and run while I tore out his throat.

Her head start wouldn’t be enough. I rushed after her, my longer legs eating up the distance. And then the ship’s turret swung toward me.

Corpse-eaters.I had just enough time to swear before they fired.

A red flash and a deafening thunderclap announced the laser, but I felt nothing and was sure it had missed. Then I tried to step forward, and my legs failed me. I glanced down and saw the hole bored through my chest, big enough for me to put my fistthrough. The smell of ozone and burned meat filled my nose as my vision grayed. I managed one last step toward my prey, then toppled. The Final Gate swung wide, and I fell into the Eternal Dark.

13

TALIA

“What did you do?” I screamed the question and leaped at Taverner, murderous rage burning out all caution. Ignoring the guns aimed at me, the danger I was in, I charged.

A stunner snapped, clipping me and sending me tumbling to the sands beside Kal’va. My limbs refused to work right, dropping me back to the ground when I tried to lift myself.

“Don’t be stupid,” Taverner said, sounding like a disappointed parent. “You are safe. My promise holds, just with a few modifications.”

I glared at her, and she sighed. “It’s seldom an opportunity comes along to have my cake and eat it, you know. I’m afraid it was too much to resist. Kal’va will give my scientists the chance to research the Ancient technology built into him, and I can clear this ruin out so there’s no issue pushing ahead with the terraforming.”

“You won’t—” I shut my mouth before I could finish saying ‘get away with it.’ That would be too cliché to bear.

“Iwill,I assure you. Once this site is gone, there’ll be no evidence to back you up, and your story is a lot less believable than mine. It will sound like a frankly pathetic attempt to holdup the project when you couldn’t find any actual evidence of the Ancients. However, I will hold up my end of the bargain if you play along. You don’t even need to lie, just don’t comment, and you get a fancy research institute willing to back you up on any other expeditions you care to make. Especially if they are on my rivals’ worlds, but that’s optional.”

I tuned out her smug, self-satisfied voice. If I listened, I’d scream and hit her. And then I’d die, along with the rest of the expedition. My death hardly mattered to me now, but I didn’t have the right to risk the others. And if I was going to condemn myself by attacking her, I wanted to do it somewhere I’d have the chance to do some actual damage. She killed my mate. I didn’t want to let her off with a black eye in return.

Kal’va lay still, blood soaking into the black sands, a hole blasted clean through his chest. His crystals had absorbed a lot of the laser’s energy and blazed with an inner light, but it hadn’t been enough to save him. The fire in his eyes had gone out, and I tried to scramble toward him, my numb limbs barely cooperating. What I’d do if I reached him, I had no idea. I just knew I had to hold him, to wrap his corpse in my embrace.

“Sentiment,” Taverner said, which did nothing to quiet the fury in my blood.Her guards are right there,I told myself.I’m unarmed. What are the odds I’d even give her that black eye before they stun me, or worse?

The urge was near-overwhelming. I only swallowed it because this was the last time I’d see Kal’va, and I didn’t want to waste whatever seconds I might have left to me. Collapsing against his motionless corpse, I looked back at the corporate princess and snarled. “I love him, and you killed him. What makes you think I’d work for you?”

“Spiting me won’t bring him back,” she told me with a shrug. “Still, you’re free to go, and I’ll make sure you’re well paid foryour time here. Whatever I can do to help. I have no desire to spill human blood over this incident.”

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