Page 30 of Keran's Dawn

“That’s a serious problem,” Dawn said, looking upset. “The people on Haven are counting on being safe here.”

“It is indeed a problem,” I said in a reassuring tone. “All of our findings will be brought before the Twelve and the Galactic Council. It is unacceptable.”

“And that brings us back to the autopsy reports,” Dawn said. “Did that reveal anything?”

Baldur looked at her and hesitated, his eyes flicking to her half empty plate. Dawn followed his gaze, and her face lightened with understanding, quickly followed by an ‘Are you kidding me?’ expression.

“Captain, if you’re holding back for me, don’t,” Dawn said with a slightly aggravated tone. “I found the fourth body and personally took the tissue and fluid samples that were sent to you. During my first ten years managing this shelter, I looked after countless severely battered and maimed refugees. I’m not going to faint or go queasy over whatever report you have to share.”

I stuffed a large piece of meat in my mouth to hide the smile that wanted to blossom on my lips. Despite all the progress we’d made, especially over the past ten years since my father married Mercy, and she helped our people realize how valuable our females were, Braxian males continued to struggle with the idea that women weren’t physically and emotionally fragile creatures.

“Apologies,” Baldur said, chastised.

“It’s okay,” Dawn said in a softer tone. “I appreciate that you tried to protect me from potential trauma.”

I raised an eyebrow, impressed, while Baldur puffed out his chest. She’d effortlessly defused the situation while stroking his ego. Her years of experience dealing with the just as temperamental hybrid males shone through.

“Of course,” Baldur said proudly. “It is my duty as a male.”

Dawn smiled, but I could sense she was holding back the urge to laugh.

“The bad news is that the corpses we recovered from the morgue were in a far too terrible state to reveal much. Orin couldn’t say if they’d been badly preserved from the start, or if they’d sustained too much accelerated decay from the slime before they were found.”

“Decay from the slime?” I asked.

Baldur nodded and gestured at someone offscreen to approach. He moved aside so that Orin could stand next to him. A smile softened Orin’s wizened face in greeting, wrinkles creasing the edges of his eyes.

“Hello, Dawn. I’m Orin, Keran’s medical officer.”

“Hello,” Dawn replied with a warm smile.

It struck me then how naturally charismatic she was—a great quality to have for a female who could be my companion.

“To answer your question, Jakar, while the samples from the morgue were mostly iffy, the ones Dawn provided were quite clean. I was able to confirm that she was correct in suspecting Kranax Beetles had laid eggs inside them. Once they hatch, the larvae secrete a mucus that we commonly refer to as slime. It actually acts as both a lubricant and an acid.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “That seems contradictory.”

He nodded. “The acid component softens the tissues and muscles, making it easier for the larvae to feed off them, but also facilitates digging a path out of the body. Once the slime is exposed to oxygen outside of the body, it loses its acidic properties to simply act as a lubricant to help the larvae move onto any surface to reach the location where it will finish its maturation.”

“And you think that slime corrupted the remains?” Dawn asked.

“Undoubtedly. I’ve never seen anything like it. Usually, a person accidentally exposed to a Kranax Beetle will be implanted with five or six eggs. They won’t die from the horrible experience, but will remain maimed and disfigured, the extent of their injury varying depending on where the eggs were laid. In the case of torture or punishment, usually two or three Beetles are used, which means between ten and eighteen eggs hatching. Once again, the victim usually survives, but their quality of life is so wrecked that death would be preferable.”

“And in this case?” I asked.

“In this case, all the victims had been implanted with well over a hundred eggs each,” Orin said grimly.

Curses and shocked gasps resonated all around the table.

“Why the hell would they go with such overkill? The whole point of using Kranax Beetles as a torture device is so the victim will suffer a long time while the larvae dig their way out of the body through the longest route. This many Beetles would mean death in minutes, if not seconds!”

“That would be correct if all the eggs hatched simultaneously. Those hatchings were staggered. Unfortunately, the bodies were in too bad a state for me to affirm this with certainty, but I believe they received some healing in between hatchings before more eggs were laid inside them. Sadly, with this much slime, their insides were all but liquified.”

“Healed? Who the fuck would be so cruel as to prolong someone’s agony to this extent, just for fun?” Dawn said angrily, tears welling in her eyes. “They’d done nothing wrong but exist! None of us asked to be born hybrids. Why the fuck would they do that?!”

I extended a hand to gently rub her back in a soothing fashion while clamping down on the fury also surging within me. Even by Braxian standards, this was beyond excessive. Dawn angrily wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Sorrow had not birthed them, but helpless rage and the need to make them pay.

“In this instance, I do not think sadism prompted their actions,” Orin said carefully.

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