Page 69 of May the Stars Have Mercy
Xexis stared at her, his visor keeping her from seeing his face. She could imagine what they would look like. Grinning from ear toear, she pulled out the organism jar they’d brought to capture one. She handed it to him, “We still need one to study, but then after that, there’s no reason we can’t just blast the tunnels.”
He took the jar before turning to the hall. Kiefgr caught up with them as they crept slowly, looking for any specimen. Aphrodite helped the young hunter carry the cannon down the hall while Xexis hunted.
It didn’t take long to find one. Much like how Kiefgr had yelped earlier, the Brexzkit were sticky. A glob of something dropped from the ceiling onto Xexis’ armor. Buddy zapped the walls randomly with his light compaction as Xexis fought to peel the substance off his visor. Aphrodite lurched to help only to be caught by the ankle. Like stepping in wet cement, it took physical effort to peel her foot out of a sticky substance. Setting her claws to light impact, she jabbed them into the sticky organism and blasted it from the inside. A jelly-like substance broke apart, hissing and shrieking like a stabbed rabbit.
Kiefgr set the cannon’s aim down the hall as Xexis stuffed most of the organism into the jar and bound out of the way. Buddy zipped to her mate’s side and cleansed him of any lingering Brexzkit.
Something bit onto the metal of her armored ankles. Aphrodite heard the crunch of metal and felt it press against her body. She wrenched her foot away, stabbing into the being biting down onto her. It exploded into foam as lights went off around her. Bouncing on one foot, she juggled everything she had till she was out of the blast zone. Kiefgr pulled the trigger.
Aphrodite and Xexis were knocked back into the floor. She wheezed for air as it was pushed out of her lungs. Her breathers struggled to keep up with the damage. Xexis grabbed her by the back of the helmet and dragged her off the ground, into his chest. All she heard was the whirling of their suits and breathers whileKiefgr cackled madly behind them. Dust and debris knocked around the tunnel, covering them in a light layer of dust.
“Ow,” Aphrodite whined, finally able to inhale again.
“Kiefgr,” Xexis warned.
“Tunnel cleared, Kannatch!” Kiefgr beamed as he twisted to face the pair on the ground. “Mphronatch, shall we amplify the cannon?”
She climbed to her feet weakly. Xexis sat up, grunting and speaking under his breath. Aphrodite twisted, offering him a hand. He took it without question before pointing a finger at Kiefgr. “We are discussing your rash decisions later.”
Kiefgr laughed nervously while Aphrodite and Buddy worked to upgrade the cannon’s capabilities. Her body ached, but as she hunched over the cannon, there was something oddly freeing about the bickering on comms and Buddy’s chirping in her ear that felt…like home.
Chapter Thirty-Nine:
Aphroditestareddownalong and endless tunnel system, watching as the light cannon warmed up. The walls were throbbing. Like the inside of a body, shivering walls of the tunnel pulsed.
“Zhat muq brotesqu.”Aphrodite hissed under her breath as she saw the miles long intestine track of tunnels before her made up of Brexzkit bodies. They lurched away from the building light. A shriek, demented and straight from the depths of her nightmares, bounced off the walls. The bodies began to foam, dripping in a quivering rain as their screams turned to a deafening blade piercing her ear drums. Her suit shut off her noise sensors moments before the cannon went off. Her screen flipped to a dark shield, blocking out the sharp light.
The tunnels shook as the cannon filled every crevasse with vicious force. After an eternity in the dark, her visor softened its darkness, and she could see what they’d left behind.
Nothing.Not even a corpse. Nothing but thread-thin plumes of smoke lifting off of earth that was seared lightly.
The soil of this planet will heal and the Orv will supply moisture and nutrients to replenish it. The tunnels are cleansed. Pests aregone.
Buddy’s text filled her data pad as she stepped away from the staff pole they’d stabbed into the ground to hold onto. Kiefgr peeled away from the cannon, bouncing excitedly. Grooug and Reevar rounded the corner, giving the hand signal the way was still clear. Aphrodite stumbled her weak legs to Xexis, collapsing against him.
“Bpetz ntez Meptl.” The words fell out of her lips without a second thought.
Xexis, who had been up until that point, leaning on his staff pole for support and staring into the abyss, snapped his visor to her. Aphrodite froze in place, eyeing him suspiciously.
“What… did you say?” His whisper ran down her spine as a hard shiver.
“Bpetz ntez Meptl?I’m pretty sure about the translation, I had Rexna help me a little with the pronunciation and Buddy gave assistance with memorizing. The pest are dead?” Her heart skipped a beat as he faced her, boot to boot, towering over her. He reached a hand behind her head and ripped the mask off. Aphrodite gasped, stumbling back a step. Another hand cupped around her back and scooped her off her boots. Pressing the chest of her armor to his, he pulled his helmet off last.
“That was perfect, Mphronatch,” he breathed, pressing his forehead to hers.
“Really?” She tossed her arms around him. “I know there’s more of them out there, not all of them would have been on the ship, and more must have bred, but I—”
Xexis put a finger against her mouth. “My mate shouldsave her breath.”
“For what?” she snorted, kissing the tips of his fingers.
“The hunt.”
Aphrodite squeaked, “You mean it?”
“You’ve earned it.”
Her eyes lit up in delight.Finally!He set her back down, returning her helmet to her head roughly. In a smooth flick, his helmet was clicked back into place on his head. “Run, Mphronatch, as far as you can. For when I catch my prey, I’m breeding her like she deserves.”
