I press my ear against the wooden door, but all I can hear is muffled voices – raised and heated.
I slowly unlock the door – as if anybody could even hear the sound of the well-oiled hinges swinging open – and peer out into the corridor. I must know why the Aurelians are here.
Now, I can hear the voices more clearly.
“We know about your new mine, Mr. Carani.” It’s the leader of the Aurelians speaking – his tone respectful, but firm. I can’t actually see them, but I know instinctively that it’s the leader of the triad talking because his voice is so deep and powerful that it resonates inside me.
“Then you came here on false pretense!” My father retorts, with angry bluster. “You told me you wanted to make an offer on my old portfolio of properties.” There’s a pause. “How the hell did you even find out about my mine in the first place?”
My father is flustered. He doesn’t like people to know more than he does.
I bite my lip. If the Aurelians knew about the Orb-Material deposits, it’s likely the businessmen and trading families of Marn may also have learned our secret. That means we’re vulnerable. Our mining operations aren’t even in full effect yet – and even if they were, we don’t have the resources to hire the massive security fleet required to protect it; especially from groups like the Aurelians.
We’re on the brink of incredible fortune – but this is the time when we’re most vulnerable to losing it all.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Carani,” I’m not sure Aurelians have the capacity to be reassuring, but the leader gets as close as their species can get to it. “Only we know – so far.”
“But how?” Father demands.
“Scorp are attracted to Orb,” the leader explains. “We’ve tracked three Scorp Organic ships directly en route to the location of your mining holdings. We blew them out of orbit.”
I hear my father suck in air, about to express his gratitude…
“No, no,” the leader of the Aurelians cuts him off. “Don’t thank us. The first speculators and miners you had preparing your claim would have been ripped to shreds if we hadn’t done so – and you’d be dealing with a nasty and very public Scorp infestation right now.”
I shudder.
Scorp are attracted to Orb-Material?
I never learned that in all my readings about the vicious, parasitic species.
I have seen illustrations of the Organic ships the Scorp travel in, though – the ones like the Aurelians destroyed before they reached my father’s mining operation.
Those freakish ships are shaped like massive, fleshy white eggs. They allow the Scorp species to travel through space – with both living ship and teeming Scorp occupants all seemingly mindless as they drift through the emptiness.
But they’re not mindless. Somehow, those ships always know where to go – just like how the Aurelians had stumbled over three destined for my father’s mines.
I shudder at the thought. Filled to the brim with the huge, deadly creatures, when a Scorp Organic ship lands on an inhabited planet, they rip through everything – including us.
And the worst part? We’d never even known about the danger we’d faced – not until the Aurelians revealed how they’d saved us from it. The first men, trusted men, would have died on that rock out in space.
I rack my brains for what I can remember about the Scorp. One of the first facts I’d memorized was about how those clawed, chitinous creatures never stop growing.
If there is a limit to how big those creatures can grow, most of them die before they reach it. I’ve read the stats, and few Scorp that have been logged exceed ten feet in height; but that’s only thanks to the efforts of the Aurelian warriors serving their 100 years to the Empire. Those warriors spend a century in endless war against the Scorp – wiping the majority of them out whenever they encounter them.
But not always – and a few rare specimens of Scorp have been found upwards of fifteen feet tall – every inch a nightmare of pinching claws, glowing eyes and venomous barbs. The bloodthirsty organisms seem to exist only to fight, maim, and kill – and those unfortunate enough to survive them face a fate worse than death. Scorp drag the maimed, crippled, but still-living bodies of their victims to their terrifying Queen.
That would be the worst fate in the world. I’ve read the books. Survivors are dragged into the dark, dank tunnels of the Scorp nest. They’re pinned to the ground by their broken, bleeding limbs – seeing nothing in the darkness, but hearing the Scorp Queen scuttling towards them.
They must die knowing there is nothing they could do to prevent what happens next...
I shudder.
Like predatory wasps from Old-Earth, the Scorp Queen injects her eggs into those still-living prisoners. When the Scorp larvae hatch, they’re surrounded by hot, still-living flesh to devour; eating their way out of their host with screams of agony to accompany their first meal.
The universe is a dark place – and as much as I long for freedom, it’s at moments like this I remember how lucky I am to be protected on my father’s estate. He may be controlling, but he’s kept me alive.
He’s kept me alive – for now. But he’s also brought three Aurelians into our home, and I’m not sure whether our saviors can be trusted any more than the Scorp can.
The words I’d read in On Aurelians are etched into my mind.
The Aurelians themselves are etched on my retinas. I can remember every detail of them – even from the short moment I stared at them from the window of my chambers.
I’m terrified – but also fascinated. I want to see them up close. I’ve never tried sneaking off my estate before, so this might be my only
