Star Brigade: The Supremacy (SB3) (39 page)

Habraum looked over his shoulder at the three UComm officers. “Did your lot know about this?” he asked, both out of anger and to change the subject away from Marguliese’s deduction skills.

Fiyan appeared almost insulted, both craniowhisks jostling. “Not at all. UComm never enters Inorskii Fields. It’s neutral territory to both Farooqua and Ttaunz.”

“This is a direct violation of that treaty,” Byzlar added with folded arms. “Besides, this place disrupts tech so thoroughly that no one could build anything or get devices working.”

“Yet the Ttaunz found a way, most likely with outside help.” Habraum scratched the back of his head. Curiosity about this complex aside, his thoughts revolved around how Ttaunz entitlement had again interfered with his mission. “Once we’re far away, you let only UComm know. They can deal with this.”

“Getting another energy spike, Captain,” Khrome called out. “And this time we got visuals.”

A dark, distant funnel cloud had coalesced out of the clouds swirling in the moonlit nightfall. The narrow vortex swayed back and forth, crackling with a wraithlike energy. Deafening gale-force winds pounded against the transport’s shields, despite the vortex’s distance. How far it spiraled up into the heavens, Habraum could only guess. But its hypnotic, terrible presence could not portent anything good.

“So our comms are screwy, as are most of the other readings, and we can’t transmat away.” Khal gave Khrome a stony look. “Thanks for that.”

“Enough, Lieutenant.” Habraum glowered at Khal before he could toss out another insult. By the misery etched across Khrome’s face, he was already beating himself up enough.

“Nwosu.” Mhir’ujiid grabbed his arm, her face telling a story of terror. “We must leave NOW!” Everyone stared at the Farooqua.

With a calm honed from years of crisis experience, Habraum gently eased his arm from the Farooqua’s vise-like grip. “We already are, lass. Why the immediate scuttle?”

“The fields used to be littered with Taumattang,” Mhir’ujiid shot back, “but ever since Ghuj’aega appeared, whatever replaced them is far worse. The energy from the Zenith Point riles them up—”

And Uyull had enough. “Again with the Zenith Point?!” He threw his cloven hands up in disgust.

Mhir’ujiid’s bulging eyes widened at the Nirandian’s insolence. “Do not mock the Zenith Point—”

“SHADDUP!” Uyull snapped, silencing her.

“Uyull.” Byzlar approached, looking embarrassed. “Relax already.”

“Stay out of this, Vaas!”

Khal did his best not to laugh, and failed.

“Guy’s freaking out,” Khrome muttered.

Marguliese arched an eyebrow. “Indeed.”

Mhir’ujiid deftly moved behind Habraum. The Cerc stayed silent, folding both arms across his chest and looking pointedly at Fiyan to handle this.

She grabbed on Uyull’s shoulder. “Easy, Corporal.” Her tone wasn’t a suggestion.

Uyull angrily shrugged her off. “I will NOT calm down, Sergeant! She keeps spewing off about the Zenith Point and how it gives the Ghebrekh its power. The Zenith Point wasn’t strapped with the impact bombs that killed our Armada comrades. The Zenith Point didn’t scalp or eviscerate so many innocent Ttaunz who were just living their lives on this rocky dunghole of a planet! The Farooqua—her race—did all of that! And she has the nerve to place blame on her world’s moon?!”

Seeing that Fiyan’s chiding was ineffective, Habraum stepped in. “Uyull, I understand.” He glanced at the scared girl hiding behind him. “But Mhir’ujiid is explaining—”

The Nirandian strode furiously up to Habraum, causing both V’Korram and Tyris to stand. Despite the Cerc’s tall frame, Fiyan had nearly half a foot on him. “You keep eating up whatever that backwater liar serves? Get a CLUE, human!” he roared.

The silence that followed drowned out everything else. Habraum turned his gaze on Uyull like a knife. “Mind your words, soldier,” he replied with chilling calm.

Uyull squared his shoulders and glowered down at him. By his tense posture, he appeared ready to take a swing at the superior officer. But Habraum felt no anger. If he had to defend himself, the Cerc had no qualms dishing out a brief but thorough beating to this absurd Nirandian.

Neither flinched. And no one else in the transport dared interrupt, not even Sergeant Fiyan.

After what seemed like an eternity, Uyull backed down. He slumped his massive shoulders, bleated something in his native Nirandian, and stomped off to the rear of the transport.

Tyris and V’Korram exchanged looks before sitting back down. Habraum didn’t notice until after the tension dissipated, but Marguliese had slipped behind Uyull’s previous position in case the Nirandian had made the wrong choice...

The Cerc pointed after Uyull, but his words were for Fiyan. “Get your soldiers under control.”

Fiyan said not a word. She nodded stiffly, visibly keeping her anger and embarrassment in check, before pivoting about and heading toward Uyull.

Something outside the transport started braying loudly now, and Mhir’ujiid frantically jerked her head in every direction. Habraum summoned over his Star Brigadiers with a quick hand gesture.

“Since this didn’t work, we’ll go back to our original plan. We head toward the N’noa tribe and then the Narii,” he decreed as they rounded him in stance. “Our search will utilize UComm satellites to—”

“WHOA,” Khal blurted out from his comm station.

Habraum turned. “‘Whoa’ good or ‘whoa’ bad?” he asked, almost wishing he hadn’t.

The Brigade intel officer spun in his seat, visibly unsettled. “I’m picking up multiple life forms heading straight for us from that tornado formation.”

“As in how many?” Habraum frowned.

Khal’s face soured even more. “As in…
several
hundred.”

“Farooqua?”

Khal shook his head slowly, jostling his dark head of wavy hair. “Not remotely.” The braying din outside drew closer, sounding more like a roar—from numerous contributors. V’Korram’s lips curled back, showing teeth. His low, challenging snarl drew Fiyan and Uyull’s attention.

Byzlar walked forward, his granite-like face full of concern.

Habraum turned to his medic officer. “Cortes?”

Cortes clacked a few buttons on her console, pulling up a motion image for one of these creatures. The wolf-like beast charged forward on all fours, muscled like a bull but moving with feral grace and speed. Its sharp teeth and claws glinted in the moonlight, as did its three freakishly green eyes. Its body, armored from head to toe in a thick carapace, included a spiked spine.

Habraum multiplied that vicious image in his mind by several hundred, and shivered.

“I want to say it’s a Taumattang,” Liliana began again, albeit without certainty. “But it’s a drastic variant not in any database.”

“That’s no Taumattang.” Mhir’ujiid hugged herself as if freezing. “Those jusha beasts were brought here by the Zenith Point.” The braying of jusha beasts outside grew louder

Habraum raised his brow in concern. “From where?”

Mhir’ujiid looked back at him. “Not Faroor.” Her young face carried so much fear that Habraum felt a tightness in his chest.

“I’m supposing from some place ghastly,” the Cerc commented, hopping into the transport helm and shifting it into motion. His thoughts and movements were all business. “Khrome, shields. Tyris, weapons. Everyone else, buckle up,” he called out. “We’re gone.”

With a blast of speed, the transport tore off across the plains.

And on their heels, a pack of countless jusha beasts pursued with escalating swiftness.

Taorr’s stomach was in knots over what lay beyond that viewport. Yes, he despised Ghuj’aega more than ever, but journeying into Faroor’s past held a strange excitement.

The Ghebrekh leader seemed oddly anxious, clenching and unclenching his hands, muttering to himself as they phased through the viewport of this mammoth building.

The inside was spacious, vaulted and pillared. Every wall was lacquered with flamboyant tapestries and original paintings—not the holographic or virtual works of art that Taorr was accustomed to. A roaring fire at the room’s north end cast a warm glow throughout its length.

Once again, the Ttaunz saw Farooqua in sophisticated robes, standing upright and speaking vocally instead of with kineticabulary. Taorr shook his head, completely unmoored.

Today, the Farooqua were hosting odd-looking guests. Taorr frowned and peered closer. The trio clearly wasn’t from Faroor or any Union member race he recognized. Each stood around two heads above the tallest Farooqua present, robed in shapeless hooded cloaks darker than night. From Taorr’s viewpoint, their faces were hidden. And their conversation didn’t carry to where Ghuj’aega and he floated.

His curiosity over this gathering temporarily overcame his current dilemma. Here must lie the reason Ghuj’aega brought them to this moment in time. Taorr knew he would get no answer from Ghuj’aega, who currently glared holes at the Farooqua’s guests with surprising hatred.

A while later, the crowd dispersed, prattling among themselves in what sounded like Standard.

“Finally, I get my chance,” Ghuj’aega said with an eager hiss. He moved to the edge of his energy sphere, and Taorr watched with wide eyes as the Ghebrekh stuck an arm through the crimson field.

As if sensing the imminent attack, the hooded figures whipped about and glowered.

Taorr finally saw the faces beneath those hoods…and laughed.

They looked like some kind of Terra Sollan rodents—eyes black and beady like opals, velvety and snow-white fur covering their faces. The Ttaunz’s sore ribs screamed, yet he kept laughing.

Before Taorr could stop, something abruptly jerked him backwards. Winds rushed sharply, stinging his skin, flailing his limbs every which way. Next thing he knew, the young Ttaunz smacked face first on stiff ubrui grass.

Taorr finally pushed himself up to all fours, and spit out broken urbrui stalks. The sudden movement made Taorr’s stomach rebel, but nothing came up this time.

The darkness signaled nighttime; they were back in the present. Taorr slumped lethargically to one side and to his shock saw Ghuj’aega rolling around not too far away, screeching.

“WHY?!” Ghuj’aega roared at the heavens. Taorr’s mind connected the pieces...

Clearly, Ghuj’aega had tried to kill those rodent creatures, who somehow forced them both back to the present. Who they were was something Taorr didn’t try guessing. All this time-travel dreg made his brain hurt.

Clouds parted to reveal Qos above, casting a deathly pale light over the murky hills. Taorr now felt like he was reliving the night of his kidnapping in Yanjon Vale.

“That. Should. Have. Been. ENOUGH!!” Ghuj’aega writhed as if having a convulsion.

Taorr didn’t know how to handle Ghuj’aega’s childish tantrum. He just sat and watched blankly, until bright light caught him in the face. A MetroPol hovercar on patrol lowered nearby, headlights illuminating the darkness.

“Can I help you?” a Ttaunz MetroPol officer called out via sonoramp. A floating halolight detached from the car and floated forward. For a nanoclic, Taorr thought he was imagining this. Until the vehicle driver door opened, and out stepped a real Ttaunz in light body armor with the trademark sunburst helmet.

Taorr noted the MetroPol officer’s less singsongy accent, as in not highborn. He dared another glance at Ghuj’aega writhing on the ground, and felt a wild splash of hope.

Taorr scrambled away and a wave of fatigue dropped him to all fours. “We need to leave,” he hissed.

The MetroPol officer moved back, one hand on his pulse pistol. “Stay put and calm down.”

Taorr was beyond caring. “
That is Ghuj’aega!
” He gestured wildly at the sprawled figure behind him.

The officer took one look at the dark-blue complexion and the white angular tattoos and whipped out his pulse weapon without another word. Under the floating halolight’s illumination, Taorr instinctively squinted and shielded his eyes with his arm. The MetroPol officer gaped at the filthy, disheveled heir for a moment and shocked recognition set in. “Taorr son of Maorridius Magnus?? You live!”

“Yes, now let us go before—” Taorr glanced anxiously back at Ghuj’aega’s location.

Nothing but urbrui grass wavering back and forth in the wind.

Panic strangled Taorr’s throat. “Oh no.”

The MetroPol officer waved his firearm as he scanned the region. “Where is Ghuj’aega, sir?” The floating halolight caught only urbrui stalks shivering around them.

Taorr’s weary eyes raked the endless stretch of dark. “Probably transmatted. Ghuj’aega can do that.”

The officer didn’t even flinch at the statement. Instead, he tapped a dark circular device covering his right ear. It quickly morphed into a thin, infrared visor over his eyes. “Stay close,” he ordered, his eyes and gun sweeping back and forth. “No sign of Ghuj’aega’s heat patterns. We’ll depart and contact backup.” He looked fleetingly at Taorr and grinned. “Happy you’re alive, sir.”

Taorr flashed a smile. But he wouldn’t feel at ease until he saw Ghuj’aega dead.

Something grabbed his shoulder, yanking him up and off his feet. Taorr yelped as he went flying, landing hard on his back a good distance away. The earth felt like rock against his sore ribs.

The MetroPol officer whipped about, pointing his firearm near Taorr’s landing. “You okay?” he whispered, scanning the scene for any trace of Ghuj’aega.

Taorr nodded, wincing at the throbbing in his sides as he struggled to sit up.

Calmly, the officer muttered, “Infrared off,” and his visor retracted into the device on his right ear.

He reached for his left ear comms. “I’m contacting my HQ—” his voice cut off in a choked grunt as his face twisted in pain. He jerked forward repeatedly, as if something kept jabbing him viciously in the back. Right on sync, a wet
SHUK
noise matched every jolt.

Taorr was confused…until the officer’s weapon slid from limp fingers as he slumped to his knees.

Ghuj’aega stood behind him, holding a serrated knife dripping in dark blood.

“NOOOOO!” Taorr sprang to his feet.

“Shhh!” Ghuj’aega shushed him with a sharp wave of his spindly fingers.