Slavery and torture would be outlawed on the entire planet. Those whose bodies had become hosts to Xeno creatures would be cured. If a cure wasn’t possible, they would have to be killed and their bodies burned on proper funeral pyres.
First, the Queen had to die. It all hinged on this, on me in this strange, gross-smelling chamber.
But the Queen was nowhere to be seen. I just knew I was close, though, all signed pointed to this. She had to be in the next room through one of the curtained arches.
The only other things that appeared to be out of place here were two almond-shaped shields above the archways. They were six feet tall and three feet wide. I thought of them as shields, because, although they fit snugly to the wall, I could tell they weren’t actually part of it, unlike the hooks and horns. They’d been hung there, and I wondered if it was the Xeno version of a heraldic shield.
The golden shapes were smooth but not polished, and the tiny imperfections I detected on their surface didn’t seem to display any kind of pattern I could recognize. But I remembered there was a Martian theory that Xeno could see a wider spectrum of light than humans could. Perhaps the shields’ decorations were simply invisible to me.Of course, even if they were heraldic shields, they could still be traps.
I couldn’t suppress a gasp when I suddenly realized why the passage leading up to here was so narrow. The Queen wasn’t allowed to leave. She was in control of her brood, but they also exerted control upon her. She was as much a prisoner as a ruler.
The other Xeno would bring her food, clean up her waste, and process her eggs. From them, they would grow the workers, soldiers, and parasites that would then be used as slaves for the next generation of bugs. The Queen had nowhere to go, but as long as she lived, she could continue to command her troops and cause Druma to suffer.
Free or unfree, she was the ruler, and she could choose to kill herself every day. Rather, she chose to continue the cycle of oppression and suffering, every day. This had to end. She had to die.
A single step into the room set things in motion. The instant I placed my foot on the floor, both shields fell and crashed to the deck. They tipped over and landed round side up, the crash sounding like a pair of perfectly timed gunshots. They remained perfectly still without bouncing even once, as if they were immediately magnetically glued to the floor. Above the doors, they left sockets that appeared to have been specifically designed for them.
Slowly, they began to lift from the ground as arms and legs unfolded from underneath. I drew my pistol and shot the bug on the right, but the only result was a scorch mark, so I shot it again. Three rapid shots later, all to the same spot, revealed exactly how impenetrable the bugs were to my Void-tech weapon. They’d go down, but I’d have to do it the hard way.
The Queen screamed again from the next room, and the two heavily armored Xeno turned to me. Their exoskeleton made it look like they were wearing helmets. Two horizontal slits hinted at where their eyes might be located. Their arms and legs were covered in interlocking plates, and as they rose to their full height, I checked for weak spots or seams in their bio-armor, but I found none.
I could have fled back into the tunnel and forced them to fight me one at a time, but I needed room to maneuver. I also didn’t want to be caught in a tight corridor if they were able to deploy acid.
I’d have to fight them on their terms. I hoped the Queen could see us. I was about to demonstrate what was soon going to happen to her.
They were twins in everything except for their arms. The bug on the left had arms that ended in spheres that were covered in dozens of small spikes, like maces. The arms of the one on the right ended in curved blades that resembles swords. It was smart, and whether it was evolution or purposeful design, having two different weapon types on the Queen’s personal guard helped to ensure that no enemy would have an ideal defense.
The fight was on.
The sword-bug came in high and slashed both its blades at my neck. The mace-bug came in low as it swung one weapon, then the other with a great deal of space between them. If I jumped, I’d be cut in half by one. If I didn’t, I’d have both legs crushed by the other.
So, I chose option three.
I took a knee and jabbed Ebon into the deck with the sharp edge of the blade facing the oncoming maces. The first one hit hard enough to drag the back of the blade through the deck a few inches. The bug was fast, though. It adjusted the direction of its second mace and aimed for my fingers as I gripped Ebon’s handle. I had to release my grip and lay my palm flat against the opposite side to keep the blade from smashing into my face.
I knew I’d been sitting for too long, so I abandoned my sword and rolled to my right, just as both of the sword-bug’s blades crashed to the deck and bit deep chunks out of it. The Queen screamed again and the little helmet-like heads of the bugs turned toward the sound. They’d been scolded for damaging the
