Alien General's Baby (Brion Brides 7)(58)

"The Chali are mostly cyborgs, but a large part of their bodies remains," Kerven said, his deep voice rumbling in its disgust. "When the Fearless chose this world, it did so because it fit for its location. While that went well, the rest of it didn't. There is nothing here on Darius. No shelter, no food. If the Chali hadn't shown up, its growing would have been greatly halted, all its energy spent on surviving."

"How could it have lived without food?" Naima asked, confused.

"The Fearless can, if need be," Kerven explained. "One of its previous forms was cornered and it crashed on a dark, airless world where nothing living grew. There was barely enough to breathe and whatever air it had, was poisonous. It survived by feeding off its own flesh and building resistance, but the prize was not being able to develop."

Naima mulled this over. She had read up on the Fearless as much as she could, but it seemed that Brions kept some records that were unavailable even to her.

"So what happened?"

"What always happens. Someone foolish enough went to check to see if it was truly dead and the Fearless quickly stole the ship. By that time, it had grown so big it took almost ten years for it to be killed, with all the forces combined. This time, it would have faced the same problem if the Chali hadn't shown up."

"So you mean –" Naima realized, her mouth dropping open in horror.

"Yes," Kerven said simply, a dark fire burning in his eyes, accompanying the red glow of his valor squares. "We are walking through the Fearless' feast. It has everything here. Food, shelter from the planet and all the supplies it might ever need to build weapons and armor. The pieces on the ground are simply the bits it did not stomach, connected to the mechanical constructs the Chali prefer."

Naima experienced the too-horrible-to-look-away thing firsthand, unable to take her eyes off the hands torn from the sockets and half-digested flesh on the floor. It was like straight out of a ghost story, with a cannibal monster sitting in its lair when the heroes arrived, picking its teeth with their former companions.

In secret, she'd read Braen's report about what happened the last time he met the enemy. The image before her eyes wasn't far from the truth and she could picture it far too clearly now.

Seeing the look on her face, Alona spoke up, its voice distant and morose.

"Pity them, but don't feel too sorry. I have seen the things Sinetha did to some of its more valued possessions, many of whom were alive. She sometimes cloned species that could regenerate very fast by cutting chunks of their flesh away and letting them heal again. Steel your heart. Justice comes for all."

That was fair, in a way.

Fair.

The word had been on Naima’s mind a lot lately. Everyone got what was coming to them, one way or another.

It meant that she would have to work extra hard to deserve all the good fortune that had so far befallen on her. Well, except for the whole having a link with an epic monster thing, anyway. All in all, things had been pretty good for Naima Jones, though. She’d have to remember not to take it for granted.#p#分页标题#e#

The words alone were enough to make Naima's insides turn, reminding her sharply that in her condition, it was best not to dwell in those halls or on those images. She had to fight down the urge to vomit, hard. Supporting herself with one arm on the walls of the corridor, they pressed on again.

In the whole big mess, there was one shining bit of hope for them. The harness Sinetha had built was on the other side of the ship than the engines that powered it all. So far, they hadn't seen any enemies in the empty hallways, only heard hints of them in the distance.

It fit the profile of "too quiet" perfectly. Naima couldn't get the Fearless' taunt out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried. Even if the enemy didn't have Braen, it knew she was there. It had to mean something, she just didn't know what.

"How far is it?" she asked Alona.

"Not much now," the android replied with a hint of suspicion.

"Does the fact we've encountered no one bother you?" Naima asked.

She didn’t add the ‘too’ that made an appearance in her mind.

Both Kerven and Alona nodded solemnly, ever watchful.

Another five minutes passed before they entered into a large hall, the first one in the ship that looked remotely functional. Everything else was dead, people and machine alike.

The engine, however, an enormous beast of a glowing plasma tower, shone like a beacon in the middle of the room. True to the spirit of the Chali, every available space was packed with consoles and keys and buttons, screens portraying figures and maps Naima didn't even pretend to understand.

"We're here," she said quietly. "I can't believe it."

"It's too easy," Kerven added at once. "I'm not buying this. It has to be a trap."

"Can we take that risk?" Naima asked, sighing. "We have to try and dismantle the androids and the harness. No, scratch that. Not dismantle. Destroy."

The warrior still looked hesitant, but Alona was already approaching a socket, pushing its hand into the machine. As soon as she made contact, it came to life, whirring. Kerven assumed a guarding position, ready to defend them while they worked from anything that chose that unfortunate moment to enter the engine hall.

"Once I do this, it will know where you are," Alona warned Naima, clearly waiting for her signal.

"It knows already," Naima said firmly. "Do it."

The android nodded, twisting its arm in the socket. For a moment, it looked transparent, a light beaming through its pearly white surface. Alona's eyes went wide in surprise, then turned to crimson.

One last cry escaped its mouth, much too late as Naima understood why the Fearless had let them come so far. It was hooked to the harness and the ship controlled every android Sinetha had built. Somehow, the enemy was back in. Back in Alona.

All that shot through Naima's head with the speed of lightning. It wasn't fast enough. Alona's backhand hit sent her flying across the room, sliding to a painful stop against the large base of the engine.

The android pulled its hand from the socket, moving it around in preparation. Kerven rushed to Naima’s side to help her stand. Now they both watched as the Fearless approached in its newest puppet, a wicked grin on its lips.

"Welcome, Miss Jones," it said. "Interesting thing, trust. You were right not to trust me before, yet you have shared everything with this android. So your champion wields a lifestone-powered spear… That is good to know. Come to me now and we can wait for the general together.

“I told you I'd ease your grief. I'm giving you the chance to say goodbye before I make my past lie a truth."

Just like those times when the Fearless had invaded her mind, her insides turned to ice. This time though, it had nothing to do with it being in her head and everything with what her imagination could conjure up for her.

There has to be a way out, a voice inside of her reminded.

Keeping her emotions in check was all she had left. All she and her baby had left.





35





Braen





Leaving Naima had been like stabbing himself in the heart.

Braen had never before wished for a situation that would allow him to stay out of battle. Yet if he could have made that sacrifice to stay by her side and protect her, he would have done so in a heartbeat.

As the fighter descended with rapid speed, all of that was left behind. The moment Braen felt the ship touch the ground, his mind was on the android army alone – and on the enemy waiting for him behind the lines.#p#分页标题#e#

The flight was short, uneventful. There was no cover fire and his fighter could land safely.

Stepping out of the fighter, he could see the numbers Naima had talked about. If he didn't look closely, the androids might have resembled a large field of snow. The only thing giving them away were the thousands of pairs of red, bloodshot eyes, looking straight at him.

He didn't waste a second, drawing the spear on the run. The lifestone embedded into the shaft was carefully hidden.

To make sure the enemy didn't know what hit it, they'd covered the lifestone with a case so the Fearless couldn't see it through the eyes of its puppet army.

Braen charged at the army first as a true Brion general would. He didn't look behind him to see if his warriors were joining him, knowing they were. Fighters were coming down all around him, more Brions joining the battle every second. The red glow of his valor squares, matching the color of the androids' eyes, painted the army marching at him in the hues of blood.

As soon as he hit the first, the general realized the Fearless had been practicing for him. Like Audrey Price had warned, the monster clearly wasn't going to let him keep his usual fighting style.

Brions were known far and wide, their spears were legendary and so were their victories. The Fearless didn't have to try very hard to figure out which way was the most comfortable to handle a capricious weapon like a spear, having the experience of countless lifetimes on his side.

The four hands Audrey had claimed the Fearless to now possess were also visible. The android army could be roughly split in three, and Braen was certain the Fearless had taken personal control of two-thirds of it.

Two pairs of hands were controlling two sets of androids, switching so fast even Braen couldn't keep track of them. The third batch was fighting on its own, making it impossible to predict their moves and to distinguish between the three.