“OK,”he said, stepping up next to her. “I’m going to…” He gulped.“I’m going to have to carry you out to a safer spot. If one ofthose spores jabs you, you’ll end up food for the larvae like ourfriend over there.”
“Betyou say that to allthe girls,” she said wryly.
“Imight,”he quipped, surprising himself with his flippancy, “but therearen’t that many girls around here.”
Heplaced his feet in a wide stance and leaned over, putting an armaround her back and the other behind her knees. He lifted her withease, thanks to his armor.
Hestill resented the armor a bit, though, because he couldn’t feelthe arm she’d put around the back of his neck. Hesniffed and immediately regretted it.
“Yeah,”she reddened. “Spent the last few days hiding in crawl-spaces, soI’m not a treat for the nose…”
Athump beside them brought the conversation to a halt. They turned tofind yet another Quailu rising up from a decent landing. “Ooh!”she cooed at the Humans. “Love on the field of battle!
“Don’tlet me interrupt,” she said over her shoulder as she stepped towardthe Quailu who still had a fully attached head.
“Mmm!”Shesmiled down. “Don’t know what’s happening to you, Memnon, butyour terror is exquisite!”
“Whatishappening to him?” Gabriella asked Vikram, her voice oddly flat.
“Thoseblue spores on his back are injecting him with somekind of toxin,” he told her. “Then they inject their larvae.They’ll eat away at his body as they grow.”
“That’sinteresting!” the Quailu exclaimed, glancing at the Humans. Shelooked back down at Memnon. “Don’t you think that’sinteresting, dearest?
“Whenour child asks about you, I’d like to have a good story.” Sherested a hand on her still-flat armored belly. “That’s right,Memnon, son of Sandrak. I have your heir inside of me, so I reallymust be going now.” She looked up at the wrecked cruiser loomingabove them.
“Somuch to do. Genetic testing, registering a claim of inheritance,finding a nanny…” She looked down.
“Saveyou?” She smiled again. “Is that what you’re yearning for sodesperately? Honestly, it’s all such a jumble in there.” Shetapped a finger against his forehead.
Shesighed. “You know the old saying, my dear. When you’ve plantedthe garden, you toss the seed-packet.”
Sheactivated a holo and entered a command. “You two might want to stepback a little,” she warned in a careless tone, pressing her arms toher sides.
Vikramfollowed the reverseof thepath he’d taken to get into the middle of the spore-field. Heturned as a distant mechanical sound boomed their way.
Anescape pod emerged from the upper hull a half kilometer away andblurred toward them. Itarced up above the jungle canopy and came slamming down over theQuailu female.
Itlifted off again, presumably with her inside, and flew back along thehull, pulling off a stream of nanites as it headed aft. It stoppedamidships and hovered, growing into what looked like a shuttle.
Alarge lump was handed out from the cruiser by the nanites. It slidinside the growing hull and dissappeared.
“I’llbe damned,” Gabriella said, still in Vikram’s arms. “She’sbuilding a shuttle out of that pod. Just put a pitch drive inside.”
Shelooked at Vikram, then suddenly seemed to realizewhere she was. “Is it safe here?”
“Huh?”
“Forme to get down,” she explained.
“Oh.”He drew in a sharp breath. “Oh! Yeah, um… sure, there aren’tany spores where we’re standing but just don’t wander around,OK?”
Heset her down. “Who was that?” He nodded toward the growing ship.
“Crewrumor pegs her as a cousin to Empress Tashmitum,” she said quietly.“Apparently, she’s just become quite powerful.”
“Shouldwe try to stop her or something?” Whatare you thinking? Will we throw rocks at her ship?
“She’sdone nothing to me or my family,” Gabriella answered dully. “Atworst, she’s guilty of bad taste in mating partners.”
Shecrossed her arms. “He’s alive?” sheasked, looking over at Memnon, awkwardly posed in a half recline.
“Heis, but he’ll be dead in a few days, once the larvae eat their waythrough something vital. Should we help him?”
Sheshook her head. “He sent people to kidnap me and kill my mother.Let him die here, food for worms, forgotten by his enemies.” Hervoice was trembling.
Kill her mother? Vikramwasn’t sure if she meant the attempt had been successful or not buthe knew better than to ask. He stepped closer.
She was facingaway from him, shoulders shaking. OhGod,she’s crying. Heautomatically put a hand out to touch her shoulder. Sheseemed fine a moment ago...
She spun aroundand buried her face against his neck, sobbing. Horrified, he put hisarms around her. Do I say something? What could I possiblysay that would help?
Theyspent ages like that. It was hard to know she was in pain and stillnot be able to help. All he could think of to do was keep his armsaround her, hopingthat it wouldoffer some slim comfort.
“Sorry.”She leaned back and cuffed the tears from her eyes. “That’s beenbuilding up behind a dam for a while now. It’s just… I expectedto feel something when I took revenge.
“Thatpiece of garbage is dying over there and I don’t feel anysatisfaction at all. Mom is still gone…” She shook her head atthe tremble in her voice.
Neither of them noticedthe rumbling sounds coming from the ship, at first. They both jumpedat the explosion that blew out a section of hull above a buried, afthangar bay.
A dark bluremerged, the camouflagestreaked where debrishad scoured away the non-reflective coating. Itsettled lower and opened a boarding ramp.
Small figures rantoward it from the wreck. “There was a corvette in there?” Vikramasked, astounded. “How did they get… Hey!”
She’d taken his handand placed it over the control module for his suit. Pressing hisfingers against the release sequencer, she stepped back, grim furydisplacing the sadness.
“Sorry,” she said.“They’re traitors to the species. I’m not letting them get awaybut I need your suit.” She nodded toward the plume of smoke in thedistance.
“Ifthere are any of our ships left, even any parts of our ships, I needto find them. There might be something I can use.”
“Um, yeah,” hesaid, looking over his shoulder at the crash site. “I don’t knowwhich ship for sure but I think it was the Kuphar… Hey!”he said again as she snatched the module from his chest, leaving himin his underarmor suit.
She put the unitbetween her… He looked away with
