Star Brigade: The Supremacy (SB3) (54 page)

Byzlar slapped a hand on his forehead. “Why would she do that?!”

Shaken, Liliana could only stare at the unmoving body lying below. “I-I don’t know.”

Byzlar didn’t like that answer. “That seems to be your go-to response tonight, doesn’t it?”

The Quud at their side snatched something from his belt, pressed it to his mouth and blew out a sharp shrill.

Immediately, portholes on several darkened pyramids across Qiidr Ol-Chaeda lit up in quick succession. And the Quud warrior at their side was joined by many others.

Liliana glanced at Byzlar. They had little time, so she bolted down the stairs toward the body.

“What are you doing?” Byzlar asked, barely keeping pace.

“Marguliese does nothing without cause,” Liliana offered, “She had to have a reason.”

A thousand scenarios ran through her head as she raced down the staircase, none making sense. Lily and Byzlar moved closer to the dead Farooqua. Once they reached the corpse, the doctor knelt down to examine more thoroughly. What she saw explained everything.

The Aesonite hung back in shock. “That...”

“That’s a problem.” Lily looked up at the TerraTrooper grimly. After what she had experienced tonight, Lily was too numb to be surprised.
A Ghebrekh, in the Quud Nation’s capital city.

Right then, a rattling shriek from somewhere in the city rang out into the already tumultuous night.

“Now that’s more like it,” Habraum beamed, slipping on his two golden gauntlets. He looked himself over, happy to be back in his white, green, and gold combat suit. The Quud had taken the time to clean off all the blood and jusha-beast fragments from the Star Brigadiers’ uniforms.

V’Korram silently donned his field uniform, sheathing his large scaphe blades in their usual ankle holders. Khal stretched his neck to the right, cracking it. Fiyan hoisted up another of her repeater pulse rifles, checking its functions with a fluency bordering on amorous.

Tyris knelt nearby, loading fresh cartridges into the pulse pistols spread around him. Marguliese stood eyeing something outside the complex’s entrance with meticulous attention. Khrome fussed over the navigation, communication, and technological guts removed from their military transport.

No one spoke. The mood throughout the room felt almost somber to Habraum, shared fatigue from the past day’s events a palpable presence. The pessimist in him wondered if that dour mood came from what they would face tomorrow. The Cerc tried to keep positive while he made a few more finicky adjustments to his uniform’s collar.
Still no sign of Cortes or Byzlar.

He’d give the pair a few more macroms before going to fetch them himself.

Mhir’ujiid and Kyas’argiid hung near the entrance flanked by a few Quud warriors, keeping their distance as Star Brigade reclaimed their weaponry and combat gear.

Habraum turned to Khrome to ask about fixing the exotic-energy tracker they had used a day ago. Just a failsafe if the Quud’s intel didn’t pan out. What Habraum saw instead stopped him cold.

Everyone around the Cerc stuttered and stalled—like a corrupted holovideo feed. Suddenly the air around Habraum grew stiflingly warm, just as the pyramid’s interior faded into…somewhere else.

Instead of red pyramid walls, Habraum saw a sea of short cone geysers—all partly veiled in the thick steam they oozed out, with Qos’s pale sphere hanging overhead. Just as quickly, the vision was gone.

Everyone in the room resumed moving about as if nothing happened.
Just like in Thasque
, Habraum thought.
Cortes must have seen that too. He’d ask when she and Specialist Byzlar returned, as neither had wristcoms.

Seeing Habraum’s confusion, Khrome set aside his heap of tech debris and approached. “You okay, Captain?” The Cerc glanced down, seeing a noseless face furrowed with concern like crumpled blue metal.

Habraum scratched the back of his bald head, surprised to find a little dampness. “Yeah, I’m sorted...” He glanced about, noticing they were missing another Brigadier. “Where’s Marguliese?”

“Usually, I’d say, ‘Don’t know, don’t care,’” Khrome replied. “She was just behind Tyris…”

A shrill whistle from outside cut him off.  Suddenly, Kyas’argiid, his daughter, and every Quud in the room shifted into aggressive stances before swiftly exiting. Habraum trailed them with CT-1 and Fiyan following suit. “What was that?” the Cerc asked.

“An attacker is loose in Qiidr Ol-Chaeda,” Kyas’argiid responded while walking.

V’Korram’s ears pricked up. “That came from a couple floors up,” he growled quietly.

“Cortes and Byzlar.” Habraum quickened his pace, until a horrific cry of pain rang out in the night.

V’Korram whipped his head in that direction. “Almost half a mile, northwest.”

Kyas’argiid frowned. “Sound familiar?” He looked at his daughter, who answered with a shrug.

Were the Ghebrekh in the heart of the Quud Nation? Or was it the Ttaunz Defense Force?

Only one way to find out.
 Habraum strode for an outside exit, turning to Khrome behind him. “You cover more ground the quickest; round up Crescendo and Byzlar...and find Marguliese.”

Mhir’ujiid placed a calloused hand on Habraum’s forearm. “No need. This is quicker.” She directed him and the rest of CT-1 to a stone pillar, one of the many all over the city. This particular pillar looked more like attached cylinders than a single, carved rock.

As Star Brigade and Sergeant Fiyan gathered around, Mhir’ujiid ran her hands along the curvature of the stone pole. The scrawny Quud’s body moved in ways that seemed beyond her awareness. Kyas’argiid and his warriors encircled a similar pole nearby, one of their own performing motions akin to Mhir’ujiid’s.

Habraum, his focus on the Quud girl, started at the sound of a pop.

The next thing he knew, the Cerc and his team stood somewhere else in Qiidr Ol-Chaeda. The buildings were square pyramidal, low to the ground and further apart. Kyas’argiid, along with his warrior entourage, reappeared simultaneously by a neighboring pole.

“No wonder they don’t talk about that.” Fiyan turned, and yipped in shock.

Khal stared at whatever spooked Fiyan. “Tattshi!” he swore.

Almost every Quud around them let out horrified huffs or shouts, as well. Habraum whirled about to assess, running headlong into a wall of horror.

Marguliese stood silhouetted against the darkness, a study of merciless calm with her double-bladed energy sword drawn and blazing. Normally Habraum was used to this sight, if not for the two Quud lying at the Cybernar’s feet in varying degrees of anguish.

The air among the other Quud gathering around the scene radiated horror and anger, conversations between them ignited by swiveling head and shoulder shrugs—and waggling fingers. One felled Quud was curled up into a fetal ball of tawny pelt. He trembled, reaching for a missing left hand nowhere in sight. The other Quud lay prone, Marguliese’s blade barely an inch from his face.

Mhir’ujiid gaped at the Quud missing his hand. “Tosh’logiid!”

Khal turned to her. “You know him?”

“My younger brother, firstborn son of my father.” Mhir’ujiid stepped toward the injured Quud.

Marguliese blocked her with a terse swipe of her blade—shimmery fire slicing through the air.

Mhir’ujiid yelped and stumbled back. Just when the situation couldn’t worsen, the high chief’s personal guard encircled the Cybernarr, their nasty toothed paddles, long spears, and daggers drawn.

“And I was starting to like it here,” Khrome confessed sadly.

Fiyan hefted two pulse rifles with her right arms and two pulse pistols in her left arms, aiming at the advancing Quud. V’Korram crouched, ready to pounce with both daggers drawn. Hearing the familiar
KCHAKK
noise, Habraum knew Tyris had extended his quarterstaff.

Skyfather’s cock!
He sucked on his teeth, glancing right and left. There must be a way to defuse this time bomb.

Kyas’argiid’s only reaction to his son missing a hand was his already pronounced red eyes bulging. “By your reactions, I figure your robot female act alone. Stay back while my warriors deal with—”

“Kyas’argiid, give me a moment.” Habraum stared in disbelief at Marguliese, glancing at the Quud High Chief fleetingly. He needed answers. “Marguliese, explain.” From the corner of his eye, a growing crowd of Quud civilians crept toward the scene. “And make it quick.”

Facing such menace, the Cybernarr was a statue. Her energy blade retracted into nothingness, allowing her to sign in Quud kineticabulary with both hands when uttering, “Tosh’logiid is Ghebrekh.”

Habraum almost wished she hadn’t spoken. He heard angry hoots and hissing rise from the walls of Farooqua surrounding them. Marguliese, slender and poised, stood unaffected by the rage washing over her.

“That went well,” V’Korram growled. Tyris, Khrome, and Khal glanced about uneasily, maintaining combative stances.

“Captain,” Fiyan muttered, aiming her pulse rifles, “this could get real ugly.”

Habraum arched an eyebrow. “Clearly.” Nevertheless, he believed Marguliese and wanted to hear more. “How are you certain Tosh’logiid is Ghebrekh?”

Marguliese cocked her head to one side, jostling her ponytail. The Quud guard at her feet was trying to crawl away. The Cybernarr calmly stomped the back of his right knee without looking. He yelped and stopped crawling.

“I witnessed Kyas’argiid’s son and his bodyguard speaking with a Ghebrekh, exposing Star Brigade’s presence in Qiidr Ol-Chaeda,” she spoke while signing.

Marguliese’s eyes, cold and ocean-blue starbursts, raked over her teammates decisively. The Farooqua swarm multiplied around them like rippling tides, their reactions revealing doubt toward this outsider’s allegations.

Habraum looked to Kyas’argiid. Any chance of Star Brigade leaving Quud lands without bloodshed rested on him.

The high chief watched his son without a word. Tosh’logiid, however, could only watch his forearm. Habraum sucked in slow breaths, anticipation tightening in his chest.

“My brother is no Ghebrekh!” Mhir’ujiid cried. Denial and fury rendered her ropy body rigid. “He would never betray the Quud!”

Marguliese arched an eyebrow. “He already has, despite your disinclination to listen.”

“Marguliese.” Khrome made a chopping motion across his throat. “No fancy words with this crowd.”

She ignored him, continuing to sign and speak, “One of your father’s guards excused himself without leave.” She gestured at the crouching Tosh’logiid. “I followed him and found your brother with a Ghebrekh—”

That was too much for Mhir’ujiid. “Enough!” She made an aggressive back and forth chop with her hands—directed at Marguliese.

Nearly a dozen Quud warriors sprang through the swelling crowd, armed with toothed clubs, whips, and metal forearm plates. Habraum saw this ending badly—for the Quud. “Vertex!”

“On it.” Khal raised his hands and pushed. The advancing warriors stumbled backward, some falling on their behinds from the force of Khal’s telekinetic shove.

Habraum spotted an odd-looking Quud, bone thin and ghostly white with a collar around its neck, standing next to the fallen Quud. This odd Farooqua’s lime-green eyes bulged while opening its mouth to scream. It dawned on Habraum then—this beast had taken them out in Inorskii Fields.

Before he could raise a fist to take aim, a silvery blur bolted forward. Khrome grabbed the freakish Quud by the throat and dangled it in midair. The Quud gagged and sputtered out a pathetic squeak.

“Please,” Khrome smirked with fiendish delight. “Make a noise, loudmouth.”

Panic swept across the rest of the crowd. Habraum noticed how these Quud weren’t warriors. He guessed they were a mix of builders, farmers, and traders, their jerky actions ripe with fear and fury at these outsiders.

The Quud warriors could not reach Marguliese, as Khal continued telekinetically shoving them back whenever they tried advancing.

“Close rank,” Habraum ordered tersely, charging his fists with biokinetic energy. He saw no other way out.

A loud clap silenced the chaos. Kyas’argiid lowered his hands. All eyes on him, the crowd was anxious for his reply to Marguliese’s claim. Habraum clenched and unclenched his fists, anticipation gnawing at his insides.

Khrome released the freakish Quud from his grip, leaving it wheezing and clutching its collared neck. The Thulican floated back to the rest of Star Brigade.

“Daughter,” the high chief addressed Mhir’ujiid in Standard, still visibly calm. “Let her finish. And where is this Ghebrekh?” He finally looked to Marguliese, ignoring his daughter’s fury.

“Near the complex, dead,” Marguliese explained vocally and with kineticabulary. “Liliana Cortes, Specialist Byzlar, and one of your guards can corroborate.”

Too perfectly timed for words, Cortes and Byzlar appeared out of thin air around the nearest transporter pillar as Marguliese finished. Habraum sighed in relief, as did Fiyan when seeing her remaining subordinate.

“Wow!” Liliana spun about in amazement. “No wonder the Farooqua don’t tell anyone about...oh hi!” The doctor’s enthusiasm drained away as she took in the scene.

Tyris looked Cortes up and down. “Did you jump into a river?”

Habraum did a double take, as did all of Liliana’s teammates. The doctor was soaked from head to toe, her cropped and spiky hair plastered to her face and head. She turned brick red and muttered, “
No.
”

All Byzlar could offer was a befuddled shrug as inquiring stares turned his way.

How and why she got drenched was a worry for later. “Cortes,” the Cerc drew Liliana’s attention to the current matter. “Marguliese told us a Ghebrekh infiltrated Qiidr Ol-Chaeda?”

The doctor exchanged a look with Byzlar. Behind the pair stood the Quud warrior Kyas’argiid had sent to monitor them. At his feet lay the tattooed, obsidian-skinned body of a Ghebrekh.

Habraum’s eyes widened. Not that he ever doubted Marguliese, but seeing the body had a weight even her words hadn’t carried. But if Habraum had thought Marguliese’s statement really upset the crowd, the horrified cries from every Quud viewing the Ghebrekh corpse dwarfed that. Kyas’argiid reacted with a small, barely noticeable shiver, which must have been all the high chief could muster up in light of his son’s betrayal.