I glanced around me, ensuring there weren’t any other enemies who needed killing before I approached the Enforcer’s body. The air was still warm from the plasma shield, though the slight breeze blowing through the trees was cooling it rapidly. I poked the alien in the face a couple of times, waiting for a reaction, but it really was dead.
I heard shuffling behind me and spun around, my sword ready to cleave another enemy in two.
Instead of an enemy, I saw the scaled woman. She was watching from behind a nearby tree, poking her head out to stare at me.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I sheathed my sword.
“That sword,” she whispered, eyes wide, tongue flicking out of her mouth like a snake.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice, right?” I asked, patting the weapon’s grip with one hand.
“I know where you got it,” she hissed. “I know what you are.”
I wondered how she’d known I’d taken it from the cyborg-dragon. Had she had some part in its creation? Maybe her people lived near the Ish-Nul and their sea-side village, so she knew of the dragon and the sword that had lived within its stomach until only a little while ago.
Most lizard-like creatures I’d seen didn’t care for cold weather, so I doubted her people lived near the Ish-Nul’s village. Reptilian creatures were cold-blooded and tended to hibernate when the temperature got frigid. I wasn’t sure if the alien I was speaking with had the same kind of biology.
I came a little closer to her. “How do you know about the—”
“Stay away from me!” she cried.
A pair of flaps I hadn’t noticed before extended from her neck. They stuck out like the ruffled things clowns wore. It would have been funny, but I could tell she was trying to threaten me and keep me away. She was genuinely scared. I thought it must have been the trauma from being chased by the Enforcers, or maybe the fight afterward.
“Don’t come any closer. You are a bad man! Bad man!” Then she hissed, spat on the ground, and sprinted away.
I shook my head. I decided I’d never completely understand women. Especially scaly, yet somehow beautiful, women. But she wasn’t my priority. There was unknown alien tech lying on the ground behind me.
I took a deep breath, turned to my dead opponent, and carefully inspected his uniform.
It appeared to be made of separate panels, but I wasn’t sure how each was attached to the other. The parts that were integrated into the creature’s body were surrounded by scar tissue, and it was clear the tech wasn’t installed by a skilled surgeon. Instead, it looked like the thing had been held down while someone had hammered each of the pieces into place.
A thin, golden bar resembling a wire ran from the Enforcer’s chin to a set of hinges at his jaw. From there, the bar split in two. One extended and disappeared into his flesh near his ear-pad, like birds and frogs had. The other went up his cheek and continued under the visor. Without breaking the helmet that seemed to be part of his skull, I wouldn't know for sure. I was certain it was a communications device that fed both auditory and visual signals as well as received the Enforcer’s spoken words. It made me wonder who might be listening.
Further down, I could make out wires under the skin on the Enforcer’s neck. They were thin and flexible, but they definitely weren’t part of his original anatomy. Both sides had the same configuration. Not a bad place to run the wires, I guessed. If he lost power to his helmet, it would be because someone—like me—cut his head off. In that case, he wouldn't care if he couldn’t communicate anymore.
I inspected the Enforcer’s arms and found evidence that there were implants under the skin at both his elbows and shoulders. Strength-enhancing motors, probably. The amount of scar tissue suggested the procedure either had to be done more than once, or he had not been unconscious when he’d received the enhancements. Savages.
All the wires lead back to the crystal at the Enforcer’s throat, but for all I knew, the power source could be inside his body. The Sitar, the overlord species Enra had said ruled the planet, didn’t seem to have any problem doing other terrible things to their citizens. Shoving a power supply, even a micro-plant, into the abdominal cavity of the alien wasn’t out of the question. The wires all found their way to the crystal, though, not the abdomen.
I inspected the device, being careful not to touch it. The last thing I needed to do was reactivate it and fry myself to ash when the plasma field came back online.
“Ooo,” Skrew whispered, “pretty.” He scooted closer to the dead Enforcer’s head and stared at the crystal with a lusty expression.
“If you even look like you’re about to touch it,” I warned, “I’ll pull one of your arms off and beat you to death with it. Understand?”
“Oh, Skrew wasn’t going to—”
“Back away or pick which of your arms is your least favorite.” I punctuated my words with a look meant to convince him that I wasn’t kidding. I wouldn't tear his arm off, but I’d definitely punch him if he got too close. I needed him far enough away that I could remove the crystal without getting bumped by a curious vrak.
He backed away another 10 feet. Good enough.
I leaned close to the crystal, and my stomach dropped when I noticed a mark on it. My sword was sharp. So sharp, I’d accidentally pierced the crystal with the tip of the blade. At first, I wondered if I’d ruined the power source. Then I remembered that crystals didn’t get pierced. They cracked, crumbled, broke, chipped. They didn’t get pierced.
I held my breath and used my nails to feel around the edge of the bezel
