Nyna was standing next to Skrew, hands clasped together in front of her face. “She’s so sad. She knows her end is coming. She’s so proud, enraged. She wants revenge. We should surrender, she’s unstoppable—she’ll take the galaxy down with her before surrendering.”
“Skrew,” I ordered, “keep an eye on Nyna. It looks like the Queen’s influence is affecting her more than the rest of us. Don’t let her do anything stupid, but don’t hurt her.”
The vrak pressed his lips together and nodded sharply. Then, he turned to the woman as she continued to stare down the hallway. He gently disarmed her, and Nyna didn’t seem to notice.
“Hers brains is broken, yes?” Skrew asked.
“No,” I said as I turned back toward the hallway. “When she interfaced with that organic computer, I think the Queen was able to tune her mindfuck-ability to her. She’ll need some help until the Queen is dead. Will you help her?”
The vrak nodded. “Skrew will always help Jacob. Always.”
I was touched, but there were still enemies to kill. And lots of them.
Skrew could barely hold both guns. Where I was just beginning to feel the fatigue of the long battle, he was downright exhausted. He and Nyna weren’t Void-touched, of course. They didn’t have the endurance of the rest of us. For their sake, I needed to end the battle sooner rather than later, even if it meant taking greater risks. The risk of losing them as part of the team was something I couldn’t bear thinking of.
Another sound grabbed my attention. I turned my pistol toward the ceiling and took a step back. A crack had formed. Nobody had touched the spot on our side, and I hadn’t heard the clattering of Xeno legs on the structure. It had to be a natural crack caused by material fatigue.
“Nyna,” I said as I returned my focus to the hallway.
I blasted another Xeno head when it got curious and peeked around the corner. More blood filled the hallway.
“Nyna!” I repeated.
“Oh—yes, I’m here,” she whispered. “Sorry, I must’ve… hey, give that back!”
Skrew yelped. She must have taken her gun back. The effects from the Queen’s telepathy had worn off.
“Sorry,” she said again. “I must’ve drifted off for a moment. Got tangled in my thoughts or something.”
I pointed to the ceiling and waited for her to look through Spirit-Watcher. “Is there a passage on the other side of that crack?”
She thought about it for a few seconds before answering.
“Not exactly there. Over here,” she said, pointing to a spot about three feet closer to the center of the room. “That spot doesn’t go anywhere.”
That meant opened onto space. I glanced around and spotted a single little repair bug attempting to stitch the hole I’d made with Ebon through one of the cell membranes.
“Reaver, cover this passage,” I said. “Beatrix, stay there.”
“That’s a lot of oothecae,” Reaver whispered.
She kneeled and pointed her long Void-tech sniper rifle at the end of the hallway. When the next Xeno rolled one down the hallway, she blew the thing’s hand off.
I carefully reached out and picked up the little repair bug, unsure if it had any self-defense mechanisms. It squirmed a bit in my grip but didn't attempt to bite me or stick me with a hidden stinger. I had to stretch to reach the crack in the ceiling, but when I got the bug close, it stopped squirming and reached greedily for the damage. I set it in place, and the bug got to work patching the damage.
“We need to give the bug enough time to reinforce the crack before we knock a hole in the ceiling,” I said.
“That’s not going to be easy,” Reaver said. There’s at least 40 oothecae in the hallway, and they're getting better at knocking them into each other.” As she spoke, a single acid-filled pod rolled into the center of the room.
Nyna reached for it.
“No!” I said. “I’m not sure your Void-tech rod can heal you fast enough.”
“‘I’m the only one with gloves,” she said with a grin as she wiggled her fingers in the air. “This stuff can’t get through, and we can’t just let these things pile up, right? We’ll be stuck in here then, and then when they attack, we’ll either have to stay put or run around and step on them. I wouldn’t put it past the dirty bastards.”
She was right. I was glad she’d figured it out, but at the same time, I was concerned she and Skrew might panic.
“No to step on the bug-booger,” the vrak whispered to himself. “Is bad and eww and ouch. No to step on.”
“I’ll be careful,” Nyna promised. “I’ll drop them into one of the incubation cells you stabbed. Rather than us and the Xeno just rolling them back and forth.”
It was a good plan, and she was right: she was the only person who could do it.
“Go ahead,” I said. “And thank you.”
“No problem,” Nyna said with a wink. “You can pay me back later.”
She picked up the ootheca, inspected it for a second, and walked it to a nearby cell, swinging her hips far more than necessary. I didn’t mind at all.
Using two fingers on her other hand, she separated the membrane I’d cut and slid the ootheca in. It dropped to the bottom of the cell. When it landed, it popped, spattering its contents safely behind the membrane.
“Wow,” Nyna whispered, “It only dropped a foot, maybe less. You weren’t kidding. They’re delicate, and, damn, that’s a lot of nastiness that came out.”
“You still want to do this?” I asked with a nod toward another ootheca that had rolled into the room.
“Yes. I can do it.”
I glanced at the ceiling. The bug was taking its time and, at the moment, appeared to be taking a nap. I poked it with a finger, and it got back to work.
“How much longer?” Reaver
