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THE INSIDE OF THE UDUKIIN government building—or whatever they actually called it—was intensely creepy. Jaeger spent the entire trip from the massive front doors and through the high-arched corridor pressed against Sigurdsson's leg, a line of fur down his back standing on end. She wasn't sure if it was the same thing bothering him that was bothering her, or whether he was picking up on something else entirely, but she almost wanted to stop looking at the walls.
Almost.
But she couldn't. The entire corridor, up one wall, through the arch and down the other, was covered with finely detailed, unsettlingly realistic carvings. Of ril-galas. Foot soldiers, bats, tanks, stalkers, and several other types she had never seen in the flesh but bore enough similarities to identify as ril-galas.
It was like being surrounded by the horde she'd faced on Von Daniken's Landing.
"This is unsettling," said Elgrapharr.
"No, it's fucking creepy," said Sigurdsson.
"I am in agreement with Sigurdsson," said Frankenstein.
Udrach, who had been leading them in silence until that point, finally spoke.
"The Corridor of Mirnas, the last great War Matriarch."
At the name, Sigurdsson felt a surge of something akin to pride mixed with hope come from the Matriarch and felt a faint wave of some something else from the udukiin—something that felt like longing.
When she looked over to Aylarr, the icaran was nodding.
"I have heard the name. This would be her Corridor of Final Passage."
Udrach nodded once, but said no more.
Lowering her voice, Aylarr explained.
"When a War Matriarch dies, her body is brought to a special resting place, where she will spend eternity with her fellow Matriarchs. Her Corridor of Final Passage takes her to that resting place and is carved with the images of those over whom she achieved victory in life, so they may never forget her name in death."
Sigurdsson stopped and ran her fingers—her icaran fingers—over the stone. It was amazing how easy it was to forget the surgery, despite the fact that she now only had two fingers and a thumb. Running her fingers along the carved outline of a ril-galas bat, she frowned, remembering watching one of the creatures dive out of the sky and tear Danner—one of her soldiers at Fort Hathaway—to ribbons. She and her soldiers had scratched out their victory, but the cost had been enormous.
Her head snapped up.
"Those she'd beaten in life—that's what you said, right?"
"Yes, those over whom-"
"They're fucking ril-galas," said Sigurdsson, suddenly no longer creeped out. "All of them. All over the goddamned walls—ril-galas."
They were all looking at her—Elgraphaar, Aylarr, Frankenstein, Udrach and the rest of the udukiin. Even Jaeger, though he at least sat down and wagged his tail. He always could understand her better than most humans could.
Spreading her arms wide, Sigurdsson spoke slowly, enunciating every word as if speaking to a small child or an idiot or both.
"Her Corridor of Last Whatever. Immortalizing the enemies she kicked the shit out of," she said. "They're fucking ril-galas."
Elgrapharr suddenly looked up to the ceiling, then to one wall and the other, all four of his eyes widening, his mouth dropping open slightly.
"Songs of Life," he said.
She'd never heard him swear, but figured that given icaran culture and the importance of song—and their role in remembering the lives of the dead—Sigurdsson assumed he'd just uttered the icaran equivalent of 'goddammit' or 'Christ on a bicycle.'
"Wasn't one theory about the disappearance of some kind of ril-galas empire that they ran into someone they couldn't push around?"
She turned to Udrach.
"Is that what happened?"
"The War Matriarch Mirnas and the udukiin army under her drove out the ril-galas. This is true," said Udrach, speaking slowly as was the udukiin way. "More than that, you must speak with the Priex Matriarch."
"Their leader in all things non-military," said Aylarr, sparing Sigurdsson the need to ask.
Udrach began walking again and Sigurdsson fell into step between Elgraphaar and Aylarr, Jaeger trotting along behind, keeping pace with Frankenstein.
"Assuming all this is truth and not just some legendary Hercules-type bullshit, we need this to go well. We need to get this new War Matriarch on our side," said Sigurdsson. Her mind was reeling with the possibilities of what the udukiin could bring to that table—if they could convince the... what was the term the udukiin kept using? Kaigor Kai Rii. If they could convince her to join the war against the ril-galas it could completely turn the tide. "What do you think our chances are?"
"Of convincing Kaigor Kai Rii to fight the ril-galas?" said Aylar. "I believe first, we must get her to understand who she is."
Sigurdsson frowned, trying to understand, but before she could ask any questions, Udrach rapped his staff sharply on the stone floor three times.
The group stood in front of a pair of doors, easily twice even Elgraphaar's impressive height, carved from shimmering green rock. Ornate handles and hinges of orange metal glinted in the low light.
"Beyond these doors lies the audience chamber of the Udukiin Priex," said Udrach, his voice barely a whisper. "It is said that no off-worlder has set foot in the chamber since Ur negotiated peace with the krellin a thousand years past."
Feeling she was the one to make the argument, given that she was the one physically carrying the supposed new War Matriarch, Sigurdsson stepped forward and similarly lowered her voice.
"Thank you for bringing us here, Udrach. We didn't make this trip lightly—we know the udukiin value their privacy."
He made a weird motion with his head that Sigurdsson had trouble interpreting until the Matriarch gave her the answer: it was an udukiin nod of assent.
"I cannot take all of you in. Kaigor Kai Rii and one other."
"Two others," said Sigurdsson, quickly. "Aylarr understands your history and customs far better than I do. I don't want to... I don't want to fuck this up because I accidentally offend someone."
Udrach did the head movement again.
"And the other?"
"Jaeger," she said, nodding toward the dog who had sidled up beside her and stood staring up at Udrach, tongue lolling, tail wagging.
"A beast? You wish to take a beast into our most-"
"He is my kalthar."
She had no idea where the word had come from... or in fact, she knew exactly where the word had come from and why, and though never having heard it before, she knew exactly what it meant. And she agreed completely. Jaeger was indeed her kalthar, her talisman of strength.
Somehow, she also knew that Mirnas had gone to war with a kalthar at her side, though she had no idea what form it took.
Udrach stared at Jaeger for a moment.
"Welcome, kalthar of the Kaigor Kai Rii."
Jaeger cocked his head to the left and sat.
An odd sound came from Udrach, like a pair of rocks being ground together and Sigurdsson realised he was laughing. That was... probably a good sign...?
"Follow," he said finally, waving for two of the udukiin guards to open the green doors. "Do not move beyond the outer ring until I call for you."
Sigurdsson nodded as they stepped into the chamber and then almost immediately froze.
The room was enormous, its vaulted ceiling so high she could see small whisps of cloud forming. Entirely circular, there were tiers of seating around the circumference, all packed with udukiin. At the opposite side of the chamber, directly across from their entrance doors, was a raised platform, a head higher than the uppermost tiers of seats. Upon the platform sat three udukiin, the centre of whom was unmistakably the Priex Matriarch.
She wore very little in terms of finery—few in the chamber did—but Sigurdsson could see under the Matriarch's bright orange cloak the familiar glint of the armoured layer she herself now wore. The physical form of the Matriarch bonding.
She, Jaeger and Aylarr stayed where they were as Udrach marched to the centre of the chamber. All within had fallen silent.
"Udrach Kai Togru," said the Priex Matriarch, her voice carrying clearly despite its softness. She sounded and looked positively ancient. "The Priex Matriach welcomes and recognizes you. We sense your troubled mind. Speak of what troubles you."
Udrach remained silent for a moment, then rapped his staff on the floor twice.
"From out of the black, a great Matriarch shall arise," he said slowly. "Following in the footsteps of Ur she shall come, the blood of her enemies falling from her like rain."
"Kaigor Kai Rii," said every single udukiin in the chamber.
It took all of her willpower for Sigurdsson to stay where she was and not take a step backward.
The Priex Matriarch nodded in the odd, udukiin way.
"The prophesy is well-known to the Chamber," she said. "Why, Udrach Kai Togru, do you..."
As the Priex Matriarch trailed off, Sigurdsson felt tingling sensation in the back of her mind, almost like the white noise of a comm channel that wasn't precisely tuned.
"She has come," said the Priex Matriarch.
Turning back toward Sigurdsson, Udrach rapped his staff once more, then extended one hand, palm up, toward her.
"Freyja Sigurdsson of the Black, and her kalthar, Jaeger."
Taking that as her cue, Sigurdsson stepped forward, walking with a confidence she didn't quite feel, until she stood beside Udrach. Jaeger followed, as did Aylarr, one step behind.
A murmur rippled through the gathering of udukiin and Sigurdsson both heard it and felt it in her mind. It felt like a mixture of surprise and amazement but, thankfully, she didn't feel any anger. She took a quick glance at Jaeger and while he was standing alert, looking around the chamber, his tail was slowly wagging. He didn't sense any danger either, which was good—at that point, Sigurdsson trusted his sense more than her own.
The Priex Matriarch held up two hands and the murmuring immediately ceased.
Udrach bowed and stepped to the side.
Jaeger sat.
Sigurdsson wondered what the living fuck she was doing there.
As the silence stretched on, Sigurdsson leaned back toward Aylarr.
"Do I talk now?" she whispered.
"Perhaps?"
"You're supposed to be the expert."
When Aylarr didn't respond, Sigurdsson looked up at the old Matriarch high above and tried to find some guidance from her passenger.
"Okay," she said quietly. "I need some help here. Show me what I need to do."
Almost immediately it was like a firecracker went off in her head. A flood of images and feelings and before she realised she was doing it, Sigurdsson was speaking loudly, confidently.
"I am Freyja Sigurdsson, of the Black. I thank you for allowing my friends and I to visit your beautiful world, in friendship, to return that which was stolen from you."
The udukiin listened, waited. She'd apparently said the right thing to get them to listen, but now she was being fed nothing more—she was on her own again.
"We discovered this Matriarch," she said, running a hand down her armoured bicep. "A prisoner, having been tortured-"
There was an angry rumble from the assembled udukiin, but a calming sensation from her passenger told her to keep going.
"We freed her. Protected her. Brought her home to her people."
"Who would treat a Matriarch with such callousness?"
Sigurdsson didn't see which udukiin had asked. It didn't matter. The answer was the same.
"A group of humans who-"
"Like you!"
"Nothing like me!" she snarled. She didn't notice, but as she spoke, small spikes began to form on her armour. "I am many things, not all of them good, but I do what I do to protect people—not for my own benefit."
"You will also note that she is not entirely human," said Aylar, with what seemed to Sigurdsson to be very careful wording. "She is human and she is icaran and she is bonded with an udukiin Matriarch."
The chamber fell silent for another moment.
"Of the three," said the assembled udukiin as one, and a chill went down Sigurdsson's spine.
And stayed there as she turned and spoke quietly to Aylarr.
"You said... Kaigor Kai Rii. It means the Matriach of the Three. That's what you said, right?"
"It is."
Staring down at her hands, Sigurdsson flexed her fingers, her icaran fingers, and looked at the semi-gloss of the armour the Matriarch had formed around her arms when it had bonded. Bonded, not clung to, or hitched a ride on. Bonded.
A Matriarch would bond with someone suited to their task. A War Matriarch would bond with a warrior.
When the drop-ship had crashed on the Shattered World, they'd essentially fallen from space. She'd come out of the black.
"When we first found Freyja Sigurdsson," Udrach was saying. "She had crossed the Great Divide, through the Gateway of Ur."
"Following in the footsteps of Ur she shall come," said the rest of the udukiin, almost chanting.
Oh shit.
"Ril-galas blood, still wet, dripping from her hands," said Udrach.
"The blood of her enemies falling from her like rain," came the chanting response.
Oh shit.
The chamber fell silent as the Priex Matriarch stood and spoke.
"And as one shall the udukiin follow her."
"And so take their rightful place in the universe," chanted the udukiin, including Udrach.
"Oh, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me...," muttered Sigurdsson.
Jaeger stood and looked up at her, feeling her fear. The War Matriarch tried to send through calming impulses, but Sigurdsson shrugged them off—she'd earned this feeling, deserved this feeling, and she wasn't about to let anyone take it from her. How long had her passenger known? How long had... it hadn't known until they crossed the Great Divide. The answer came as clearly as if it had been her own thought, but it clearly came from her passenger. The thought... tasted different. The wave of dizziness when they'd first encountered Udrach and his group. The jolt, like something had finally snapped into place. That was when her passenger had known, but she—her passenger—had no frame of reference to be able to explain to a human what had happened.
A War Matriarch had been born.
A Matriarch of the Three.
Kaigor Kai Rii.
"Freyja Sigurdsson, of the Black," chanted the udukiin, causing Sigurdsson to actually jump slightly. "Kaigor Kai Rii."
Suddenly the Priex Matriarch was directly in front of her. Sigurdsson hadn't seen her come down from her platform or even seen a stairway or elevator that would have allowed her to get there so quickly.
"Why have you come?" said the old female, so quietly that Sigurdsson had barely heard.
"I thought I was returning a Matriarch. I had no idea... I didn't know the bonding would happen. I can... Can we reverse it? Let her bond with an udukiin?"
"Once fully bonded, a Matriarch cannot survive without its host."
"I didn't bring her here just so she could die," said Sigurdsson, running a hand through her hair. "What will happen to me?"
"If you remain a War Matriarch?"
"If I stay bonded. What will happen to me, to Freyja. I can feel the Matriarch in my mind, not all the time, but a lot."
"You will become one, over time."
"And what the fuck does that mean?" she said, not realising until after the words were out that she probably shouldn't be swearing at the leader of a species. She wasn't as good at the political stuff as Radko.
Radko. What the hell was he going to think about all this? What would he do in her situation?
He'd push forward with the plan. Try to get the udukiin on board with the war effort.
"You will not be... replaced, if that is your concern. I am as I ever was—though significantly older," said the Priex Matriarch, her lips curling in a smile. "But I am much enhanced. I have lived beyond standard udukiin lifespan. I am stronger, my body repairs itself faster. I think more quickly, analyze more efficiently."
Before Sigurdsson could respond, an image popped into her head of food. A crust of bread and half-eaten bowl of oatmeal, sitting on the low table of her quarters back on Thor's Hammer.
"Your kalthar is hungry," said the Matriarch.
Sigurdsson looked down at Jaeger and he looked up at her, wagging his tail.
"So am I," she said with a chuckle, but it disappeared quickly as she returned her attention to the Priex Matriarch. "Look, Matriarch-"
"Yrtaan. Matriarchs do not address each other so formally. You may call me by my name title, Yrtaan Kai Foa."
"Okay. Yrtaan. I need some time. This is... I don't know what it is. I came here thinking I was—I certainly had no idea I was about to fulfill a prophecy. And I don't know if I can, or should be this Kaigor Kai Rii. I don't like asking for favours of people I've just met..."
"We are Matriarchs, Freyja. We are family, not strangers."
Sigurdsson nodded, feigning agreement despite her discomfort.
"Sure. Do you have somewhere we could stay? My comrades and I? At least for the night, so I can try to clear my head and think this through."
"Of course. I will have lodging arranged."
"Thank you, Yrtaan."
As it turned out, the 'lodgings' were a suite of rooms that had been occupied by the last udukiin War Matriarch, long dead. The rooms had been kept in perfect condition while the udukiin waited patiently for her successor to emerge. By the time Sigurdsson, Jaeger, Elgraphaar, Aylarr and Frankenstein arrived, there was an impressive selection of hot and cold dishes and what looked to be fresh fruits and vegetables arrayed on the long table in the central room. A wide oval window looked out onto the flag-lined promenade.
Trying to distract herself, Sigurdsson picked over the fruit. She cracked open a reddish, spherical thing to find a soft, spongey white flesh. Pulling out a piece and popping it into her mouth, she was surprised to find it had the flavour of fresh, heavily buttered bread. She tossed it on the floor for Jaeger—who happily set to work—and picked out a small, green fruit.
"This is a lime."
Frankenstein stepped up beside her to examine the fruit. After a moment, he bobbed his mechanical head.
"It is indeed a lime," he said, surprise evident in his voice.
"I am unsure as to what this may be," said Elgraphaar, lifting the lid from a pot and sniffing the steam pouring out. "But based on the aroma, I will be eating some regardless."
Bowls had been set out on the table and Elraphaar ladled some of the thick soup into one, tasted it and ladled some more, the flavour clearly meeting his expectations. Setting out two more bowls, he filled them, then paused for a moment and filled a fourth bowl. He set one in front of Sigurdsson, one in front of Aylarr and one on the floor for Jaeger—who wasted no time.
"Okay," said Sigurdsson, cracking open another of the bread-like fruit and dipping a piece in her soup. "Aylarr, can you give Elgraphaar and Frankenstein the short version of what the living fuck we just walked into?"
After a few silent moments where Sigurdsson, the two icarans, and Jaeger ate their soup, Aylarr finally spoke.
"It would appear that in bonding with the Matriarch, Sigurdsson has fulfilled an udukiin prophecy."
"Kaigor Kai Rii, as the udukiin said?" asked Frankenstein.
"Yes. The Matriarch of the Three."
"Ah," said the brill. "Of course, the three: human, icaran and udukiin. Incredible."
"Yeah, fuckin great," said Sigurdsson. "They think I'm some kind of messiah, Frank."
"A leader, not a messiah," said Aylarr. "Despite the... religious overtones their prophecies sometimes contain, the udukiin are an entirely secular species. They believe—fervently—in their leaders and honour them in death, but there is none of the absurdity of blind faith in fictional deities that is the hallmark of religion."
"They said I was... they said that Kaigor Kai Rii was supposed to lead them to their rightful place in the universe. What does that even mean?"
"Perhaps," said Frankenstein. "That is for Kaigor Kai Rii to determine."
"What?"
"Based on the carvings we passed, perhaps the rightful place of the udukiin is that of defenders of the galaxy—against the ril-galas."
"Let's just... fuck, can we back up for a second? You're all in agreement that this isn't some kind of mistake, that I am actually now War Matriarch of the udukiin?"
"It does seem that way," said Elgraphaar, the others nodding in agreement.
"The Priex Matriach thinks so," said Aylarr. "And I would be inclined to accept her appraisal of the situation over ours."
Sigurdsson pushed away her bowl. Suddenly she was no longer hungry.
Jaeger looked up at her and licked his chops, so she set her bowl down on the floor for him and he happily took over.
"So what do I do?"
"When you first decided to come the Shattered World," said Elgraphaar. "Your goal was to—hopefully—convince the udukiin to help us in the war."
"And now you are in an even greater position to make that happen," added Aylarr.
"You think I should..."
She trailed off, shot a look at the doorway to the suites. The Priex Matriarch was coming, she could sense it.
A handful of seconds later, the doors opened and Yrtaan entered.
"You no doubt have questions," she said, which Sigurdsson felt was an understatement.
"If...," she said, throwing a quick glance at Elgraphaar. "If I do this. If I accept that I'm Kaigor Kai Rii... what does it mean? What do I do?"
"You lead the udukiin to war."
"Against who, though? Whoever I want?"
Yrtaan smiled.
"We are guided by prophecy, but not blindly. We do not go to war frivolously, and Kaigor Kai Rii would not have come had war not been inevitable—and indeed required. I believe you know already against which enemy war is now necessary for the udukiin."
"And everyone else."
"As you say."
Closing her eyes for a moment, Sigurdsson sighed.
"I don't know if I'm the right person for this, Yrtaan," she said, though it was a mild lie—she was almost one hundred percent certain she was not the right person. "I'm not—this won't mean anything to you, but I'm not Radko. I don't know if I can be what he is, I don't know if I can do what he does."
Elgraphaar cleared his throat.
"Radko has always believed in your abilities," he said. "And that the two of you are more alike than not."
Despite the situation, the words made Sigurdsson feel better—significantly better. She felt a surge of feelings come over her and she knew they were her own, being amplified by her connection with her passenger.
"The Matriarch to whom you are bonded," said Yrtaan. "Would not have allowed the bonding to complete had you not been deemed worthy. In bonding, the Matriarch is in control as to whether to join or to reject."
"Perhaps why she was being tortured by ATC Castle," said Frankenstein. "They were, in all likelihood, trying to force or at least control a bonding in order to weaponize the Matriarch."
It was true. Sigurdsson knew it without having to consult her passenger and it occurred to her that was likely because of the now-complete bonding—she knew what her passenger knew.
"You are Kaigor Kai Rii because of who you are," said Yrtaan. "Not by an accident or by a mistake. You are Freyja Sigurdsson, of the Black, and you were chosen."
There was dead silence for a full ten minutes, all eyes on Sigurdsson until she finally spoke.
"If I do this, how many soldiers could the udukiin bring to the war effort?"
"Four million."
Sigurdsson blinked. Yrtaan had clearly misunderstood the question—four million was the majority of the population of the Shattered World.
"No, I mean how many actual trained soldiers," she said. "Warriors, ready to fight."
"Four million," repeated Yrtaan. "Udukiin are all trained as soldiers. Our entire population, save those too young or too old to be effective, would be at your disposal."
Not long after, Yrtaan had left, allowing them to discuss the situation amongst themselves.
"Four million soldiers would almost surely turn the tide of this war," said Aylarr. "But there are other things to consider."
"I can't take an entire species to war. I can't tell every fucking udukiin to pack up and fight on a world they've never seen let alone visited. I can't... if I do this and it goes bad, I can't risk putting the udukiin on the brink of extinction."
Sensing her unease, Jaeger sidled over and rested his head in her lap. As she scratched behind his ears, Sigurdsson felt herself calming. Somewhat.
"And," she said. "There's the fact that I'm not a particularly good person. I don't know if anyone should have the power to mobilize an entire species, but I'm fairly certain it's not the kind of power that should be in the hands of someone like me."
"I believe you are underestimating yourself," said Elgraphaar.
Standing, Sigurdsson shook her head. As much as she tried to put it behind her, the past had weighed heavily on her mind since she'd woken up on Thor's Hammer. Not just the hard line she'd had to take on Von Daniken's Landing, and the execution of Chanz, but everything, from the very beginning. She was being looked to as a leader, first of a colony and now potentially of a species, but she still felt like that teenage thug beating people up over drug money. Not all the time to be sure, but that thug, the pre-military Freyja, was always there in the back of her mind. The ghost of what she had been and the fear of what she might still be underneath the uniform. And now there wasn't even a uniform. No military rules and protocol to keep the thug in line.
"I don't think I can do this."
Though she didn't want to, she was about to say more when a commotion arose on the street below. Stepping up to the window, Sigurdsson and the icarans watched a pair of udukiin scouts, each astride some kind of two-legged reptilian mount, barrelling down the laneway. They were yelling something Sigurdsson couldn't make out, waving their naginata-type pikes. All through the streets, udukiin were disappearing into buildings.
When Udrach suddenly burst into the suites, everyone jumped. He held a crooked-ended staff in each of two of his hands.
"The ril-galas have crossed the Great Divide."
The three soldiers immediately scooped up their weapons and even Frankenstein slung his medical bag over his shoulder.
"Are they headed toward the city?" asked Sigurdsson.
"Yes. Priex Matriarch is leading a group of soldiers to prevent them from entering Her Vibrant Colours."
"What? Matriarch Yrtaan is leading the army?"
"In the absence of a War Matriarch, the Priex Matriarch acts as head of the udukiin military," said Udrach.
"Take me to her," said Sigurdsson.
"Take us to her," corrected Elgraphaar.
Bobbing his head in the strange udukiin equivalent of a nod, Udrach handed on of the staves to Sigurdsson. As she took it, she realised it wasn't at all what she had thought. Though it looked like ornately-carved black wood, it was actually some kind of metal, and warm to the touch. And, she assumed thanks to her passenger, she also now understood that it wasn't a simple staff to be used in melee combat—though it certainly filled that role quite well. It was also an energy weapon, the crooked end serving as grip and stock.
Without another word, Udrach led them down and into the now-deserted streets, through Her Vibrant Colours and across the bridge. As they stepped off the bridge and onto solid ground, the icarans unslung their aoran rifles and Sigurdsson hefted her gunstaff. The weight was good, the balance was excellent. Though longer, it reminded her somewhat of her old sniper rifle Vidar. And since the udukiin also had two fingers and a thumb on each hand, the ergonomics were almost as perfectly suited to her new hands as the icaran-designed weapons.
When she looked to the line of defenders, she frowned. There was a cluster of udukiin near the centre and a thin line of soldiers beyond that—too thin for the number of ril-galas Sigurdsson could see beyond. And the soldiers were just standing there. None were taking shots, trying to weaken the ranks of their attackers.
Something had gone wrong, and she said as much aloud.
They sprinted the rest of the way and looking at the approaching ril-galas, Sigurdsson couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu as she watched the heads of the oncoming foot-soldiers waving back and forth. But the front rank was new. The stalkers they'd encountered on the other side of the Shattered World. Dozens of them.
"She is injured," said one of the udukiin as Sigurdsson and her group approached the nearer cluster.
"Who is...," said Sigurdsson, trailing off as she looked down into the centre of the cluster.
Yrtaan looked up at her. Her torso was bloodied and one of her left arms hung limply at her side like it was made of jelly. She coughed up whitish blood.
"She invoked the name of Matriarch Mirnas," said one of the udukiin, quietly. "One of the ril-galas shot her before she had finished speaking."
"Which one?"
The udukiin looked up at her confused.
"Can you point out which one fired the shot?" snapped Sigurdsson.
"It was missing an eye."
Nodding, Sigurdsson waved over Frankenstein.
"See what you can do."
"Of course," said the brill.
Tapping her temple to activate her targeting optics, Sigurdsson stepped through the udukiin defense line and began scanning the attackers, looking for the one with the missing eye. Jaeger trotted up beside her, snarling at the ril-galas.
"Form up," she barked at the udukiin. "Shoulder to shoulder; weapons ready."
Several left the cluster around Yrtaan to join the line.
There.
The ril-galas foot soldier with the missing eye.
She raised her gunstaff, but she didn't get a chance to fire—the stalkers charged.
And they were fast. Sigurdsson barely had time to swing her gunstaff outward in a defensive position before they were on her. She heard the snapping sound of their jaws as the stalkers attacked the line and heard the high-pitched thrum of gunstaves being fired and the whak of gunstaves being used as melee weapons. And she heard the cries of udukiin falling under tooth and claw.
Throwing off a stalker and hammering the butt of her gunstaff repeatedly into its chest cavity until it caved in, Sigurdsson glanced back to see another two-dozen udukiin soldiers had arrived to help. Then she turned back to the advancing ril-galas.
"The Priex Matriarch is dead," she heard someone say, and then others took up the chorus.
A brief thought flitted through Sigurdsson's mind that the udukiin, as a species, were now leaderless, but the thought never got beyond that. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and turned just in time to see a stalker lunging toward her, claws raised, teeth bared.
And then a snarl from her left and Jaeger was there, leaping, locking his jaws around the stalker's throat in mid-air. The pair crashed to the ground together in a heap, but the stalker recovered more quickly. Sigurdsson watched in horror as with a single swipe of its clawed hand it sent a yelping Jaeger skidding ten feet across the ground.
She felt a drop of blood spatter on her cheek. Jaeger's blood.
As Sigurdsson watched Udrach and another udukiin take up positions protecting Jaeger, unmoving Jaeger, she felt an overwhelming despair come over her and she began to hear a cry of such pain and anguish that it took her a moment to realise where it was coming from.
It was coming from her.
But as she stared at Jaeger, saw him trying to lift his head as Frankenstein arrived at his side, and as she turned back to the ril-galas, the cry of anguish became a snarl and then a roar. A roar of burning anger and of absolute, unwavering defiance.
As she felt another click in her head, Sigurdsson knew that now her connection wasn't just to her passenger, but to all udukiin.
And they felt what she felt.
The udukiin began to take up the roar.
All of them.
The Shattered World roared its anger and its defiance.
Following in the footsteps of Ur she had come, the blood of her enemies falling from her like rain.
The udukiin were marching to war.
The ril-galas line took a step backward.