Chapter 7 – CyprusPsyatic output = Unavaible

  Synaptik = Unavaible

  Cyprus watched the Hokkonian Novawolf reverse dire and fly away. She could still hear the deadly edge in the male’s voice. She shuddered at the reality of his ominous threat, and wao run to her quarters and bury her fa a pillow.

  Pull it together.

  She wasn’t a child anymore. She was the ag captain of Terminus 14, and she would lead with pride and ce.

  Once she was sure the Hokkonian wouldn’t return, she typed his o the sole. Her s was immediately flooded with news sources, union dots, and publicly shared Snty records. Most of the articles sang the alien’s praises, but if the source came directly from the Snty, the tone of the reports was much different.

  “They do not like you very much,” she muttered, sing through an article from several years prior.

  Regardless of the Snty’s opinion, it was clear that the HWND pilot was formidable.

  She slumped ba her chair; she still wasn’t sure what he was talking about. She wasn’t aware of any strange ship, and she would have seen one on her way in. She had only just arrived a few minutes before the Hokkonian hailed the station. She would have at least picked up the unknown vessel’s signature on the sers when she docked.

  She chewed her bottom lip; if there was something out there that had killed two HWNDs, she would have to be careful.

  “Thanks a lot, Granddad. Sure is super safe out here.”

  If she did get in trouble, there wasn’t anything the old man could do. There really wasn’t anything the Union could do either. She was too far from any Union-trolled po rely on their assistaerminus 14 was a glorified scout vessel, anchored on the border of eerritory.

  You haven’t been on this station for five minutes, and you’ve already made an enemy.

  She got out of the bck, cushioned chair and grabbed her bags. Her crew would be arriving within the week, so for now it was just her and the two engineers.

  She decided to unpad discovered her to be surprisingly vish. The floors were dirty, but at least the sheets on her queen-sized bed had been ged. Beside her bed was a rge wooden desk, and just beyond that was the bathroom.

  There was a night table oher side of her bed, with an indest mp that filled the room with a f glow. It was cozy to say the least, and she sighed in relief. She had been expeg a lot worse. At least she could retreat to a pce of fort at the end of the day.

  Once she was doing up, she decided it was time to look for the engineers. It would be rude to ighem for much longer, and besides, it robably a good idea to know who she was living with. The Union hired a lot of people—they couldn’t all be model citizens.

  Terminus 14 was rge, with six different levels. Her was on the highest floor, along with a rge restroom and the trol room, whiearly spahe entire length of the statioher levels were a bination of basic living requirements such as exercise facilities, eai units, and agriculture.

  The Hangar was on the sed lowest level, filled with a cache of dated ammunition and rusty ons.

  It was the lowest level she was going to—the meical floor. It was also where the engineers spent most of their time.

  The elevator door slid open, and she was met by a maze of narrow corridors that made up the meical floor. The level was brightly lit, but the plexity of its halls sent a chill down her spihere were too many ers; too many hiding pces.

  Pull it together, you’re a grown woman. These people work for you. They’re n to scare you.

  A loud noise echoed down the hall, followed by a softer thud.

  That’s just the engineers. See? They’re down here probably just doing their job.

  She forced her feet to move and chastised her child-like fear. She strode down the corridor with fake fidence, seeking out the source of the noise while peeking into every cramped room she passed. Everywhere she looked was a co of meical devices, wires and plumbing. She wasn’t an engineer, but she uood some of the basics. It was all there to keep the station funing.

  After a few minutes of expl, it became apparent that the workers weren’t there, or at least they weren’t on that level.

  Then what was the source of that noise? Surely something had to be down here. The longer she kept looking, the more her skin started to crawl, and the shadows started to take shape. Maybe there really had been a strange ship that docked on board. Maybe it let loose a monster host.

  A ghost, really?

  She couldn’t bear the sileny longer, “Hello? It’s Senator Atik. I’m the netain.”

  She strained her ears for a reply, but the meical ambience was deafening. The hiss of steam seemed to drown out her thoughts, and she could feel the hum of electricity ieeth.

  She fumbled for the small sidearm that she had strapped to her hip. She had never even held one before leaving Gasaan, but Granddad had insisted. Anything could happen ier yers he had said.

  She felt the cold steel of the on's grip and pulled it out of its holster. It felt too light to be capable of taking a life. It did little to help with her nervousness.

  “Hello?” She turned a er and froze; the lights had been turned off here. “I just want you to know th–that I–I’m armed.”

  She crept down the hallway but stopped when it got too dark. She wasn’t going to walk in there blind.

  Ghosts weren’t real, but men were, and she khey could be just as monstrous.

  A sudden scraping noise from the darkness caused her to squawk in fear and she stumbled backward.

  Something uself out of the darkness and hit her across the chest. The weight of it knocked her to the ground ahe sidearm spinning from her grip. She felt drops of liquid sptter on her fad the metallic stench of coaguting blood stung her nose.

  She wriggled out from underh the thing that had struck her, and in the dim light she reized the logo on the dirty jumpsuit.

  She screamed and pushed the engineer’s headless corpse away. She scrambled to her feet, terror restrig any intelligible thoughts from her mind.

  She tried to run but slipped in the puddle of blood and fell hard on her face. Her vision exploded with stars, and the ringing in her ears drowned out the hammeribeats.

  Dazed, she rolled over, and for a moment she couldn’t prehend what was looming over top of her.

  It was a monster.

  Animalistic horror returned, but she couldn’t move. She aralyzed like a ered rabbit before a wolf’s snapping jaws.

  The monster was reptilian and covered in hard scales the color of copper. Its body was lined with hard ridges and spiwo massive, curved horns protruded from underh its jaw and traced its elongated snout. Its bright, e eyes stared at her with cruel ing, and in the very core of her being, she khat this creature would be the death of her.

  “Senator,” he spoke in Universal, but he spoke with a strange at and a drawn-out hiss.

  Cyprus wao scream, but she couldn’t even blink.

  Yoing to die.

  The alien hacked a cough inte cw. Mucus spttered through his talons and added to the soup of blood on the floor. He dropped to his haunches and brought his face close to Cyprus. His breath smelled foul, and a milky substance leaked from the ers of his murderous eyes.

  “Did I hear you correctly? You’re a senator?” She had to strain to uand him.

  Yoing to die. Yoing to die.

  He narrowed his eyes, “I was expeg impressive warriors in this star system, but all I smell from you is fear.”

  “I’m not– not,” terror stricted her throat.

  The lizard monster leaned even closer, and Cyprus’ heart skipped a beat at the size of his fangs.

  “Not what?”

  “A–a w–warrior,” she sputtered.

  The monster leaned back, and the disappoi was evident on his alieures. “I expected more from T-91.”

  T-91?

  “You’re useless to me. Goodbye, rodent,” the lizard hissed.

  He lifted a taloned hand, and the sudden realization of her impendih sed the paralyzing terror from her system.

  “Wait! Wait, I’m a cillor, not a warrior, but I help you!”

  Guttural ughter reverberated in the monster’s throat, followed by a body-wrag cough. “I doubt that.”

  “No, I . Please. I have a lot of power. What do you need? Are you hiding from the Hokkonian? He came here, but I turned him away.”

  A strange gleam passed over the monster’s eyes, “Hide? No, I don’t hide from anything. Everything hides from me.”

  Yoing to die.

  “Then I’ll tell you where to find him. You destroyed two of his rades, right? I tell you where to find more.”

  The moudied her, “If you’re lying, I will take pleasure in removing your head.”

  “I’m not lying! I’m not, I swear! I’m a senator for the Dromedar Union. I have power, political power.”

  For a long moment, the moared at her, and she had the creeping suspi that he was debating her death.

  Finally, his jaws parted in what she suspected was a smile, “I think we help each other.”

  Cyprus took a few deep breaths, “How?”

  The alien tilted his head, “I wish to destroy the protectors of this pce, but I need certain preparations.”

  “I–I help.”

  Another rumbling chuckle, “You would sacrifice those who protect you?”

  This is it, the moment that I’ve been waiting so long for.

  “Yes, without hesitation.”

  The rumbling chuckle turo raucous ughter, “Excellent! Perhaps you will be useful after all. Iurn, you live and govern at my side.”

  Cyprus carefully brought herself to her feet. She blinked in the dim light and readjusted her eyes on the monster. He truly was massive. His hulking frame barely fit in the corridor.

  “I’m Cyprus Atik,” she stammered.

  The lizard snaked out a forked tongue, “You call me Recli.”

  “How you uand me?”

  Recli lifted his head and revealed an impnt under his throat, “Tech that my empire… acquired.”

  Acquired?

  Cyprus chewed on the inside of her cheek, “And you killed two HWNDs—that means you kill more.”

  The alien’s nostrils fred, “I ambushed them, but yes. I kill more.”

  “Good. Yoing to have to.”

  Her heart thumped so hard in her chest, she thought it might burst through her rib cage. This wasn’t real; it couldn’t be. It was a dream—a nightmare. She gnced down at the headless corpse and immediately regretted it. A wave of hreateo drop her back down on the floor. Was she really about to partner with a monster?

  “What do you need?” she asked.

  Recli’s face grew serious, his smile vanished, and his bright yellow eyes narrowed. “A way my people e here ued, and a pce for us to gather.”

  She chewed on her lip, “I might be able to find a pce, but a way in…” She gave him a helpless look, “I have no influence over the border.”

  The reptile’s eyes grew dark, “That’s not good enough.”

  Think Cyprus, what you actually do?

  “I ime. There are allies nearby that hate the Hokkonians. If I rally them to war, we take trol of the perimeter.”

  Recli shook his head, “I don’t have that kind of time.”

  If you don’t figure this out, he’s going to kill you.

  “I don’t need much; this star system is banced oipping point.”

  The alien’s reptilian eyes narrowed, “You better be right.”