Hivelt. “Pattee bested you three out of five times?”
“I let her win,” Hivelt growled. “The woman’s pride is as delicate as an awaafa’s wing.”
“And that is why she gave you a five jotik head start,” Raxkarax suggested.
“She did no such thing!”
“I often wonder whose pride needs the most consideration,” Naraxthel said.
I would join my brethren’s silly natterings, but as I watched the humans, specifically CeCe, as they enjoyed private conversation amongst themselves, I saw tension build in her shoulders. When she fisted her hands, I abandoned all pretense of listening to my fellows.
Something disturbed her.
Stalking toward the group, I saw Joan catch my eye with a small nod.
I placed my hand on CeCe’s shoulder, and she spun into my arms without warning. When I allowed my arms to wrap around her, I felt her trembling.
“Is it the shel?” I asked, my voice quiet.
A shuddering breath. A fierce embrace. She let go and stepped back.
“The FQBs,” she said in a plaintive voice directed at her fellows.
“What about them?” Pattee asked, her tone serious.
“Oh my God,” Esra said. Her eyes grew round, and her face blanched.
CeCe turned to Esra, expression stark but expectant.
“The blast nodules are composed of fractionated quark bombs,” Esra said.
“But they didn’t detonate,” Amity said, her eyebrows raised. “What am I missing?”
“What do you remember about Thune-568?” CeCe asked.
Her voice sounded tight, like a thread stretched to its breaking point, and I felt a growing dread without understanding why. The other hunters had gathered by now, removed their helmets and listened.
“Top-shelf Galvanite,” Amity said. “Best in the quadrant.”
“Why?” CeCe pushed.
Though I had no context for their conversation, anxiety escalated in my gut, and I reached for CeCe’s hand. She took it without hesitation.
“Because of the geomagnetic excursion,” Esra said, her own hands balled into fists. “Those goddamn bastards.”
“The unmanned expedition to Thune-568 wasn’t just a probe,” CeCe whispered. “It was a vehicle carrying an FQB. The quark bombs don’t have to be detonated to trigger the geomagnetic excursion. Due to the magnetic isotope signature, the radiation is enough.”
Amity’s face fell. “But that means we triggered the excursion when we landed!”
“Yes,” CeCe said.
“Redundancy,” Pattee murmured. “The EEPs didn’t need the beacons, did they?” Pattee said, her voice hard and her eyes glinting like light off blades.
“No.” CeCe’s hoarse voice gave me chills. “The FQBs leave a unique radiation trail.”
“What does this mean?” Naraxthel said.
Studying CeCe’s strained face and tugging her close to me, I cleared my throat.
“It means this IGMC faction is headed straight for the sister planets to collect its undiscovered ore,” I spat with contempt.
It seemed time stopped for a rotik.
“It will not end there,” Natheka said, looking down at his Amity. “It will demand its people.”
“And its technology,” Raxkarax said, his powerful hands fisting the hilt of his sun blade.
“And its revenge,” Hivelt uttered with certainty, sliding his gaze to CeCe before putting his arm around Pattee.
“It will take these things under pain of death,” I said, a cold chill edging my voice. “The humans made their choice and allied with us. They are the children of Ikthe now. We sequestered them from the Queen; we will do the same with IGMC.”
“Does anyone object to Raxthezana’s words?” Naraxthel said, searching everyone’s faces.
No one spoke.
“We had best make haste to deliver Ikthe’s bounty,” Naraxthel said. “And decide what to tell the Ikma Scabmal Kama. My allegiance to her died, but I would preserve my people.”
“As would I,” I said. “Mayhap we can strategize until we reach the surface.”
Solemn gazes met my eyes, and everyone replaced their helmets.
Our perilous quest had become but a nonsense fly in the face of a much larger predator: a predator who would make CeCe its prey.
But I was Raxthezana, a Bearer of the Blade, and IGMC and its cohorts would feel the sting of death before CeCe became their quarry. Indeed, their only hope lay in my moldering body and broken bones, but like my father before me, my hide was as tough as the scabika’s and my bones as strong as rocks. They had better pray to their gods to save them, because I had no gods, and I knew no mercy.