Star Brigade: The Supremacy (SB3) (48 page)

“Habraum.” Marguliese’s voice drew his attention to where she still calmly choked her victim against the wall. He approached the Cybernarr and the pinned Farooqua, doing a double take.

“Mhir’ujiid.” Displeasure rose sharply in Habraum upon seeing the neon-green mohawk and bulged red eyes.
Uyull and the others were right about her.

“She undoubtedly orchestrated our abduction,” Marguliese stated flatly. “I can throttle her slowly—”

The Cerc cut her off with a sharp hand gesture. He wanted answers. “Let her loose.”

“As you command.” Marguliese released Mhir’ujiid like a toddler suddenly bored with her toy. Mhir’ujiid dropped to all fours, coughing violently for air. The Farooqua was now cleaned up, her neon-green mohawk tied in a series of elegant knots.

Habraum circled her menacingly. “Where’s my team?”

The Farooqua rubbed her throat as she struggled to breathe, shooting a baleful look up at Marguliese. “
Caff I
...didn’t plan anything. I’m why you’re not dead!”

“Look at
me
.” The Cerc’s patience was at an end. “My team. Where. Are. They?”

“Alive...
cough
...unharmed.” Mhir’ujiid raised a reassuring hand.

Seeing Habraum’s lingering doubt, she added, “And your powers will return soon. We’ve encountered beings like you before, so we created a suppressant. You, Cortes, and Khal were injected.”

Palpable relief rushed through the Cerc, but there were still more blanks to be filled. The young Farooqua rose to one knee and turned to Marguliese.

“And I apologize for the igavii we stuck on you.” She gestured her head toward the spastic black puddle of goo in the corner. “Our past encounters with Ttaunz have forced us to develop ways to disable technology, which we had to use given your...
uniqueness.
” Mhir’ujiid drew in more air, becoming more self-possessed again.

Marguliese arched an eyebrow. “Sergeant Fiyan and Specialist Byzlar?”

“Unharmed.” The Farooqua threw an uneasy glance between the Cerc and the Cybernarr before continuing, “We also retrieved Uyull’s body.”

Her last comment took Habraum by surprise. He realized he was gaping.

“What?” Mhir’ujiid asked curtly, as if the Cerc should have expected this. Using the wall as support, she slowly pulled herself up. “We couldn’t leave it out there for scavengers…”

“Thank you for that. Sergeant Fiyan will be grateful,” Habraum replied, glad he had been right about her. His eyes now drifted to the open door, spying a short spread of land around the cell. Beyond that only a thick haze of mist was visible. They were clearly nowhere near Inorskii Fields.

“Where are we exactly?” inquired the Cerc, tossing aside the toothed bludgeon he held.

Mhir’ujiid straightened up with pride. “Qiidr Ol-Chaeda.”

Habraum heard the words, but could only reply with, “
Saywhatthen
?”

Qiidr Ol-Chaeda, capital city of the Quud Tribal Nation, lay deep within the Qiidr Mountains, far from Inorskii Fields. There was no way they had traveled so far in a few days without a ship or transmatter.

Marguliese, unflappable by default, now expressed the closest equivalent to shock. “
Impossible,
” she avowed, as if denial alone would invalidate Mhir’ujiid’s claim. “You are implying that we are halfway across Faroor by way of the Quud’s antiquated transport.”

“If we had used Quud ‘antiquated means,’ you’d be right.” Mhir’ujiid looked gallingly pleased with herself. “But make no mistake. We are in Quud lands.”

Habraum only felt fury as he took in the full weight of the Farooqua’s words. He strode forward with a threatening scowl that wiped the smirk off her face. “So the Quud captured us at Inorskii?”

“Yes.
I
stopped them from doing any of your group harm, made sure you didn’t stay covered in jusha blood,” Mhir’ujiid shot back with authoritative and measured gestures. “But let’s take this one step at a time, Nwosu.” Back in her homeland, Mhir’ujiid spoke with clear supremacy and arrogance, which Habraum cared little for.

She continued, “We reunite you with your team and the TerraTroopers. Then we meet with my father. He’s anxious to discuss our mutual... ‘Ghuj’aega’ dilemma.”

Habraum snorted at such a sugarcoated portrayal. “Fine.” He strode toward the open exit with Marguliese close behind, stepping over the unconscious Farooqua warrior. Mhir’ujiid scurried ahead and blocked them.

“At least twenty Quud warriors are hiding in the surrounding cliffs,” the Farooqua cautioned, “ordered to shoot anyone other than myself or my escort full of poisoned harpoons if they exit this prison cell. I should probably leave first.”

“Good call.” Habraum grimaced, following Mhir’ujiid and Marguliese into the daylight.

Once outside, Habraum squinted under the glare of Herope’s burnt-pink afternoon light, barely dulled by thick, dirty smears of clouds hanging overhead. Surrounding them on all sides were the towering chalk-grey cliffs of a sinkhole like those of Gajj territory. The exterior of their holding cell was painted red, donut-shaped and domed, appearing smaller as Habraum eyed it from outside. The cell sat on a small landmass jutting out from one of the sinkhole’s walls. The Cerc spied several similar prisons attached to their own rocky ledges around them.

He peeked over the edge he stood on, seeing nothing but a pallid mist. “Rogguts,” he murmured.

“This way,” Mhir’ujiid called out.
Thiswaythiswaythisway…
Her voice echoed off the cliff walls.

Habraum and Marguliese followed her to where the cell’s ledge merged into the cliff face on a crescent-like ledge some distance away. Habraum glanced about the cliffs for the guards Mhir’ujiid had mentioned.

“Twenty-three on this level, Captain, concealed within the cliffs,” Marguliese stated over her shoulder. “More are undoubtedly situated on the lower levels.”

Mhir’ujiid wheeled about to gawk at the Cybernarr.

Habraum shrugged knowningly. “You get used to her eagle eye.”  
Eagleeyeeagleeyeeagleeye…

The Farooqua shook her head with an admiring smile and rapped a fist five times on the bowing stonewall before her. Soon after, the wall lowered into the ground, and the trio walked outside.

A semi-paved pathway with short violet ubrui grass on either side greeted Habraum. It led them into a highland valley, featuring a babbling river crisscrossed through the sprawl of hills and stone structures like a crooked amber smile.

Habraum would have soaked in the wondrous surroundings, if not for zeroing in on CT-1 a few feet down the path.

The Cerc and Marguliese quickened their pace to meet Liliana, Khal, Tyris, and V’Korram—as well as Specialist Byzlar and Sergeant Fiyan. Flanked by a dozen tattooed Quud warriors hefting spear-like weapons, Habraum’s Brigadiers and the TerraTroopers appeared unharmed. Like Habraum and Marguliese, they were also dressed in casual attire salvaged from the ruined transport.

For some reason, V’Korram was shirtless. “My other clothes were destroyed,” he growled, riled by Habraum’s inquiring look.

Everyone who survived Inorskii Fields was present, save one. Habraum turned to Mhir’ujiid in askance. “Where’s Khrome?”

“Up here, oh fearless leader!” Habraum looked skyward as the Thulican floated down grinning, metallic arms folded across his broad chest. As soon as Khrome landed at Habraum’s side, he said, “The Quud insisted I transmit my message far from Qiidr Ol-Chaeda for security reasons.”

“Same on this side,” the Cerc smiled, spying the Quud warriors nearby gaping at the Thulican as if he were some shiny jewel. Even Mhir’ujiid stared in astonishment.

“It’s the metal skin,” Khrome explained with a chuckle. He took the opening to smugly flex his burly arms. “Apparently I look like a living embodiment of Tala from their ‘Six Elements of Totality.’”

Habraum shrugged indifferently. “Sure. What did you transmit with?”

Khrome nodded. “I rebuilt a workable comm array to contact UComm, informing them we weren’t dead, and that we’re going dark for a few days.” He rolled his eyes and added, “I didn’t mention Ghuj’aega since, well, we don’t know where he is.”

Good call
. “On whose orders?” Habraum eyed a silent Sergeant Fiyan.

“Mine.” The Cerc turned toward his second-in-command, Tyris. “You almost called UComm support before, but I figured us being with the Quud didn’t change that,” the Tanoeen added.

“You figured right,” the Cerc nodded favorably. He hadn’t expected Tyris to anticipate his needs so precisely. The Cerc turned to Khal and Cortes. “Did Mhir’ujiid explain about our powers?”

“Yes,” Liliana answered. “An injected suppressant that’ll wear off soon.”

Habraum swept his gaze over the whole group. “Any injuries I should know about?” he asked. His Brigadiers shook their heads. “No, sir.” Fiyan and Byzlar shook their heads, much more subdued—dazed, almost—in responding. Habraum couldn’t blame them.

“Good. Because our mission isn’t over.” Habraum wanted to say more, but he glanced at the Quud warriors surrounding them.
Best to wait until we have some privacy.

Khrome cracked his knuckles enthusiastically, sounding off metallic
krkk-krakk
noises. “I owe Ghuj’aega a few ass kickings.”

Habraum smirked. “You’re not the only one. Once we’ve spoken to Mhir’ujiid’s father, we get our equipment and weapons, then plan how to find Ghuj’aega and the Ghebrekh.”

“The Quud will help,” Mhir’ujiid insisted. “You have my word. Now, this way.” With a quick hand gesture to the Quud bodyguards, she began walking toward the heart of Qiidr Ol-Chaeda.

Fiyan remained rooted firmly to the ground. “Byzlar and I want to see Uyull’s body first.”

Byzlar looked taken aback, but masked his pained expression and nodded in agreement.

Habraum nodded back, knowing that he would do the same, and eyed Mhir’ujiid pointedly.

She communicated something in sign to a young Quud sporting a chest-to-shoulder-length tattoo. “Korchii’mua will take you,” she assured Fiyan. “He speaks Standard semi-fluently.”

The warrior called Korchii’mua veered off the main road leading to a circle of bizarre stone formations. He grunted at the TerraTroopers to follow. Once they’d departed, Mhir’ujiid joined Habraum and CT-1—flanked by many Quud warriors.

Walking to the heart of the city took roughly fifteen to twenty macroms, up and down over hills. Herope illuminated their trek with otherworldly burnt-crimson streaks, the sunset lingering far longer than Habraum and his team were used to.

Along the way, the road cut through what the Cerc guessed was Qiidr Ol-Chaeda’s outskirts. Here, Quud housing came with smaller triple-deck terraces of land on each home’s roofing. Carved out from nearby rock, Habraum noticed how each home’s terrace levels jutted further back than the one below. The bizarre fruits and vegetables planted on each roof varied by the home and its terrace levels. Habraum spied many squashed faces peering out their windows and doors curiously to watch the newcomers.

Finally, Star Brigade reached the city center, as evidenced by the rows of lofty pillars adorning each side of the dirt road. Lofty gates of dark-red stone welcomed them at the pillared road’s end. These gates were etched in intricate Quud iconography telling of a tale no Quud in their group offered to explain.

Qiidr Ol-Chaeda was surrounded by the Qiidr Mountains on all sides, like a vast ring of jagged, charcoal-grey walls with dense pockets of green forest in between. As soon as Star Brigade passed through the city gates, they strode through an expansive and hectic marketplace bustling with breakneck activity. Makeshift trading stores were set up to barter food, jewelry, and other goods. Their Quud bodyguards cut a swath through the curious crowds so Habraum and his team could pass. One aggressive seller thrust a skinned rodent creature in V’Korram’s face to gain his business. The Kintarian smacked it out of the seller’s hand and kept walking.

Other Quud shoppers carted about their belongings in wheeled barrels hitched to enormous three-eyed, scaly, white-skinned pack beasts Mhir’ujiid identified as “hyuccabi”—marked by the thickset, singular frontward-curving horn on its forehead. The hyuccabi’s cries sounded like a rattling yodel to Habraum as their master directed the horde with their reins. For individual transport, other Quud either walked or rode horse-like iokki. A group of Quud younglings dashed down the streets, shrieking joyfully while tossing around a green ball. Parents strapped their babies in protective pouches slung over the back so their arms were free to carry goods.

The energy here differed from other Farooqua territories, mirroring that of a bustling metropolis. Females donned elaborate braided hairstyles, along with exquisite jewelry crafted from golden and silver-like metals. Sparkling gems refined their clothing materials further. Males sported extravagant headdresses of feathers, fur, and animal bone, along with clothes to display their body paintings or tattoos.

Even among these sophisticated Quud, the elite were apparent. Habraum noticed finer clothing, tattoos, and gem-covered jewelry worn by the uppercrust, or stuck onto their physiques in some manner.

The Quud wearing simpler-styled headdresses were holy votaries, Mhir’ujiid explained.

The city’s center offered several low step-pyramid complexes varying between chalky brown and greyish-yellow in color, some still under construction. Wiry Quud workers raced back and forth on the unfinished constructs, working together to stack angled stone onto thin layers of adhesive. To haul stones up the inclining platforms, the workers tethered the blocks onto the backs of trained hyuccabi.

The completed pyramids had a consistent flow of Quud dashing in and out, like ants in a colony. Several Quud warriors guarded one complex, while at the rear other Quud pushed wheelbarrows full of what looked like shiny metals and gems.

Scattered between the complexes were stone pillars and sculptures, the pillars etched with amazing Quud carvings or painted tapestries. The sculptures were of superbly detailed Quud males with jewelry and silvery headdresses, always reverently gazing skyward. Flanking the east and west of the Grand Plaza’s borders, two of four rounded pyramids towered over many other Qiidr Ol-Chaeda structures. One pyramid was situated further from the plaza with a wall of towering trees, its decorated roof comb structure peeking above the forest canopy.