FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"I've only been doing this for about two years," Trent said. "My parents moved to Illium for a job opportunity when I was little, and they've been working at the Nos Astra spaceport ever since. When I hit my teens, I got into that phase where you want your own space and want to go out and see all the places your parents tell you never to go."

Lia laughed. "I thought my Pilgrimage was going to be that exact kind of adventure. Then reality completely kicked my ass."

He nodded. "Oh, yeah, I consider myself extremely lucky. As much as Illium tries to present itself as upscale, it's the kind of place where, if you wander down the wrong alley, you feel a jab in the back of your neck and when you wake up, you're in chains on a ship somewhere in the Terminus Systems, being used as slave labor or a sexual plaything, and never see your friends or family ever again." He stuck his hands into his pockets and shivered.

"That's seriously unnerving." Lia shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah. That's why I feel like I'm so lucky." He stopped at a hedge, leaned over toward its flowers, and drew in a slow, deep breath. "Anyway, I fell into this kind of work one night when I sneaked out of our apartment. My parents didn't want me wandering around alone, but I just had to get out and meet up with some friends and see what kind of mischief we could get into. On my way to hook up with 'em, I walked past a bunch of other teenagers and early twenty-somethings hanging out on a particular street corner. I didn't pay much attention until a guy walked over to this asari girl. Since they live around twelve hundred years, on average, she was probably in her thirties or forties, but that's their equivalent of early teens. The guy talked to her for a moment, then they hurried over behind a synthetic hedge, where they couldn't be seen from the street, and humped it out right there."

Lia stared at him for several seconds before she found her voice. "Wh...what?"

"I kind of felt sorry for the guy, because it was over in about fifteen seconds. But he paid her and continued on his way, and a minute later she came back to the corner with this shit-eating grin, and said that was the fastest thousand credits she'd ever made."

"Thousand...?" Lia struggled to form a coherent thought. Finally, she simply shook her head.

"Yep. When I picked my jaw up off the ground, the only thought going through my head was, 'Oh shit! Oh shit! I gotta get out of here before the police arrest all of us!'" He laughed. "I figured the cops would assume I was one of the hookers. Well, it turns out someone else made that assumption, and that's how I found my career."

_This is really fucked-up. But I have to know what happened next._Lia nodded and waited for him to continue.

"An asari arrived in a rapid-transit car, looked around, and picked me out of the crowd. I probably should've kept walking." Trent shrugged and grinned. "But I admit, in the back of my mind I was kind of hoping I was about to get laid and maybe even make a few credits. I didn't really think it would actually happen. Next thing I knew, we were having dinner in a fairly nice restaurant, and then she took me to her hotel room. I was never sure why she picked me. I didn't have the slightest idea what I was doing, but I she seemed to have a good time." He grinned. "So did I."

"Ah. Well. Lucky you, then."

"My thoughts exactly. Anyway, afterward she gave me a chit with three thousand credits on it. Then she had to go back to her normal life, and I ran back home, slipped into my room through the window, and pretended nothing had happened. The next day, as soon as I could get away from my parents for a couple hours, I set up a new bank account and deposited the money." He shrugged and smiled. "I was back on the same corner that night."

"Huh." Lia noticed a bench a few meters away and walked over to it. "No offense, but don't you think that's a little weird?"

"Sure, I do. Absolutely. It was also a stupid risk, given all the things that could've happened if that lady had turned out to be a psycho." He shrugged again. "On the other hand, I had a _spectacular_night--and the whole experience was a bit of an adventure. Sneaking out and seeing a part of the city I'd never seen before, and all that."

"Well, then, I'm happy it worked out." She sat on the bench.

"So am I, believe me. I've seen some kids get into that sort of life and get completely screwed up, if they manage to survive it at all. That's the underside of Illium, though. Every moment of every day, I'm aware I've dodged the bullet." He sat beside her.

"You're not worried about being unable to dodge more bullets? Having someone go too far and hurt you, or worse?"

"That's actually covered. There's a small team of Eclipse mercs who were assigned to watch over us--the group of us on that street corner. I didn't know it my first night 'on the job,' but the escorts in that part of Nos Astra had already worked out a deal with these Eclipse girls. They take five percent of each fee and free 'sessions' whenever they want it, and in return they keep us safe. Whenever I'm with a client, one of these girls is nearby. If I feel like I'm in danger, all I have to do is say a code-word and she'll show up so fast it'll affect the planet's rotation."

"Oh. Wow. I'll be on my best behavior, then."

He laughed and waved his hands. "No, relax, you're fine. You're a good person. I can tell just from talking with you."

"That's a relief." Lia chuckled. "Have you ever needed their protection, though?"

"Only once. A guy tried to pick me up. Like I said earlier, I don't swing that way, so I referred him to a couple other guys who do. I think he was drunk or high, from the way he acted. Or maybe he was just nuts. Wouldn't take no for an answer. Then he grabbed me and tried to pull me into his car. I blurted out the code-word, and the Eclipse merc came out of nowhere. I didn't even see her appear--just, suddenly, there she was." Trent whistled softly. "First she dislocated the guy's kneecaps so he couldn't get away. Then she broke his fingers. All of them. At every knuckle."

All Lia could do was stare at him in shock.

"Word must've gotten around, because no one ever tried anything like that again, with any of us."

After staring for a few more seconds, Lia shook her head and mimicked his whistle. "I...I would certainly hope not."

"So, all things considered, I can think of worse ways to earn a living." He grinned.

"Yeah. No shit." Lia turned slightly, rested her right arm on the back of the bench, and gazed at him for a moment before speaking again. "I feel like I shouldn't find this as fascinating as I do, but I can't help it. But I suppose you want to 'get down to business,' so..."

"Actually, I'm okay just talking if that's what you want to do. However you want to spend our time together, it's okay with me." He mimicked her pose and smiled.

"Ah. Well, I do have a few more questions, then."

He nodded. "Fire away."

#

_Aw, shit._Dakka stood a few meters from the entrance to the C-Sec office and stared at the three dozen asari in Eclipse armor, all of them aiming their rifles point-blank at the officers.

Fantastic. Every one of them probably has centuries of training and combat experience, and I'm a snot-nosed ninety-nine-year-old who's learning this stuff as she goes. Dakka crept around behind them until she got a clear look into the office. Nine C-Sec agents faced off with the mercs, aiming their own pistols and rifles straight back at them. I could probably take half of them before they blow me away, but they'd massacre everyone in the office at the same time.

One of the C-Sec guys, the turian General Kurakova had called Tarsus, spotted Dakka. His eyes opened wider.

She shook her head quickly and raised a talon to her mouth. Tarsus wiped the surprise off his face and shifted his eyes back to the Eclipse leader.

Boots thumping on the floor to Dakka's right drew her attention. She turned and found four more C-Sec officers rushing up the stairs. She repeated the "shhh" gesture and pointed at the Eclipse troops, then she glanced around at the civilians who'd stopped to gawk. Dakka hurried over to the four guys.

"What the hell?" one of them muttered. "Uh, you're naked."

She stared at him. "No shit, Sherlock. Maybe now you can use your brilliant powers of observation to detect the hundred or so civilians clumped around this powder keg. Might be a good idea to clear 'em out so no one catches a stray shot."

One of them opened his mouth, but another silenced him with a glance.

"She's right. We clear the area first."

Dakka nodded. "Then close the bulkhead doors and seal it off. You can pin these girls between you and the officers inside. I'll make sure none of 'em look in your direction." She turned and strode toward the C-Sec office.

Since I can't fight them all off without a bunch of people getting their brains blown out...guess I'll have to try to talk the Eclipse out of it first. Never done that before. Hope I don't fuck it up.

"Excuse me." She squeezed past one of the Eclipse on the left. "Pardon me. Excuse me." She continued pushing through them. Helmets whipped around to lock on to her as she passed by, and she smirked at the thought of them gaping at her behind those blank faceplates.

"What the hell?" One of them blocked her path. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Get the fuck outta my way." Dakka pushed her aside and continued past the rest. Oh yeah, krogan diplomat. That's me. She stepped up to Tarsus and said, "I'd like my armor back, please."

"Uh, what?"

"What the hell," one of the mercs mumbled. "You're naked."

_Seriously?_Dakka turned and growled, "I fucking noticed that. It's because these guys have my armor and all my other clothes are on my ship, which is halfway across the galaxy." She glanced at the faces of each asari who wasn't wearing a helmet, and found Nelvos's scarred-up mug. She turned to face the merc leader. "So, what's going on, here? I'm sensing just a _little_hostility."

"None of your business. Get out of our way or get blasted full of holes."

"You're here for Elias Kelham, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"I'm on the team that captured him."

"Then you know why I want him dead."

"Yeah. But the thing is, C-Sec needs him alive to answer more questions. He has critical information about--"

"Not my problem," Nelvos snarled.

Dakka sighed. "Look, I can understand what you're going through, but--"

"How the fuck could_you_ understand what I'm going through? Where do you get off saying that?"

Dakka snarled and almost took a step toward her, but she reigned herself in. She took a few deep breaths, and then an idea came to her.

"Okay, I want to show you a photo." Moving her arms slowly, she activated her Omni-Tool and projected the image of her and Quint in bed that Chula had taken the morning they'd entered orbit over Bekenstein. Dakka had asked her for a copy of it on the shuttle down to the surface. "See this guy? I haven't even told him yet, but he means the universe to me."

Nelvos stared at the picture and struggled to keep her fierce expression on, but it slipped ever so slightly. "Okay, that's...th...that's sweet." Her lips quivered.

"How do I know what you're going through? Well, I know how I'd feel if anything happened to my guy. I know how much it would hurt. I know how much I'd want to kill the motherfucker who took him from me."

"Then why are you trying to stop me?"

"Kelham has information C-Sec needs, for one thing."

"I heard that the first time you said it. I still don't care."

"For another, he's already been arrested. Storming into the center of security on the goddamned Citadel and blowing his head off--seriously, does that really seem like a good idea? Sure, piss off the Council with a terrorist act right on their doorstep. How many Spectres do you think they'd send after your ass until one of 'em finally capped you?"

Nelvos lunged forward, stared directly into Dakka's eye, and hissed, "I. Don't. Care." She took a few breaths and regained control of herself. "My life wasn't worth shit before I met Jorax, and now that he's gone, what do you think it's worth? What makes you think I give a wet shit whether I live or die once I break every bone in Kelham's body and then slit his fucking throat?"

"Is this what Jorax would want?"

Nelvos stared at her. The former commando's expression was unreadable, but her eyes flicked away for a second before coming back to Dakka.

Ah, that's it. That's the crack in her armor. "Do you think Jorax would want you to throw your life away?"

"It doesn't matter. He doesn't think anything, anymore. He's fucking dead. Because Kelham plowed his car into him and walked away like he didn't even notice anything had happened."

"Jorax made your life worth living, right? I mean, that's the impression I got from your dossier."

Nelvos continued staring at her. Her lips pressed together, twisted into a grimace, and tears trickled from her eyes.

"If you go through with this," Dakka continued, "then it was all for nothing. Might even be like spitting on his memory."

Nelvos's expression crumpled for a second before she pulled herself back together.

Dakka sighed and pointed at a bench sitting against the wall to the left. "Let's talk about this."

"There's nothing to--"

"Come on, just for a minute or two. If you're not convinced, then everybody can still shoot each other if that's what you want. But give me a couple minutes, at least. Okay?" Dakka walked over to the bench and sat. She looked up at the C-Sec officers and mercs and said, "The rest of you just, uh, keep pointing your guns at each other if it makes you feel better."

Nelvos stared at her for nearly a full minute. Then, slowly, she walked over to the bench. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, as if she couldn't believe she was even considering this.

She sat and stared straight ahead. Finally, her eyes shifted around, as if trying to find something to grab on to. Her gaze landed on the photo of Dakka and Quint. She wiped more tears from her eyes and cheeks.

"He likes them young, I see."

Dakka chuckled. "So do you, from what I've heard."

"I didn't plan things that way. It just...sort of...happened." Her eyes welled up again, and she clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth, forcing the tears back. A smile appeared and vanished almost instantly. "Our paths crossed one day, and it was like someone flipped a switch. All he said to me was, 'Hello.' Just...wham. That was all it took."

"That's kind of how it was with me and Quint. We were on Virmire, extracting some colonists and fighting off a bunch of pirates. Then we ran into some rogue geth. They had one of their Colossus units, and it was charging up its main cannon. I thought we were screwed. Then Quint hacked the Colossus, locked up its cannon somehow, and when it discharged there was nowhere for the pulse to go except back down its neck. Boom--the whole platform exploded. And there Quint was, standing right out in the open, grinning and giving it the finger right before it blew up. It was the most awesome thing I'd ever seen. So, from that moment on, all I could think about was how much I wanted to fuck him."

Nelvos laughed, but it faded quickly.

Dakka smiled. "It's even more than that, now. If I lost him, I'm pretty sure I'd snap. If someone took him away like Kelham took Jorax, I don't think I'd care what happened to me after I got my hands on the son of a bitch. And you know what? I think Quint would be disappointed with me. I think I could handle him being angry. But disappointed? If I went down that road, I'd never have deserved him in the first place."

Nelvos stared at her, unmoving, her face unreadable again. The silence stretched on for what felt like an hour before she finally spoke.

"There were so many things that drew me to Jorax. One of them was how he didn't appear to even notice these." She waved a hand at all the scars crisscrossing her face. "You're right, he turned my life around. I started thinking about retiring so we could spend more time together. Humans, turians, salarians--their lives are so brief as it is, and I didn't want to waste a single moment of it. If I left the Eclipse and took a quiet, mundane job, we could've been together for the better part of a century before I had to finally kiss him goodbye one last time." She sobbed and more tears spilled down her cheeks. "All those years we should have had. Kelham not only murdered my husband, he also took away all those years we should've had. But do you know how many years we did have?Three. That's it. So why shouldn't I want that piece of shit Kelham dead?"

"If he were still running loose, then sure, he'd be fair game. But he's been arrested. He's locked up, and you'd have to kill all these people to get to him. People who have families, like Jorax had you. It wouldn't be right."

"What the hell do you expect me to do? Just let it go?"

"Give yourself some time to heal. Let the courts handle Kelham. He's facing more charges than just Jorax's death. He tried to have a politician assassinated a few months ago, and put a hit on one of my friends' grandmother-in-law because she witnessed what he did to Jorax. Plus all the shit he did when he was running his operation here. He'll rot in prison for the rest of his life. And if he doesn't, once he's free, then you can take him out. Does that sound fair enough?"

"I don't know." Nelvos leaned forward and propped her forehead on her palm. "Goddess damn it, I don't know." She stared at the floor for another long moment. "What does he know that's so important to C-Sec?"

"Ever heard of Cerberus?"

Nelvos looked up abruptly. "I've encountered them before." She pointed at one of her scars. "That's how I got this. What do they have to do with Kelham?"

"They were taking over his operation. We think they were planning to work their way out from there and gradually infiltrate the whole Citadel. Can you imagine what would've happened if they managed to pull it off?"

"Hmm." Nelvos stared at her for a few more seconds. "That would've made things interesting."

"I know I'm just a punk kid, and I don't know shit about politics, but even I can see the kinds of trouble a xenophobic bunch like Cerberus could stir up if they sank their tendrils into the Council."

Nelvos nodded. "They could dig up dirt on the Council and blackmail them, or hold their family members hostage to get what they want."

"Exactly. Hey, I've got no problem with humanity advancing, but at the expense of everyone else? I've got a major problem with that." Dakka turned to look Nelvos in the eye. "Also, if they took control of the Council and started pushing everyone else around, they could turn the whole galaxy against the humans. Since I'm in love with one of them, you can imagine I wouldn't be too thrilled about that."

Nelvos wiped more tears off her cheeks and nodded again. "I'm sure he has family and friends on Earth and its colonies. You don't want them getting hurt."

"Exactly. And if it came down to that, I'd stand with them against the whole galaxy. So give us a chance to stop this before it takes root, so it _doesn't_come to that. Whaddaya say?"

Nelvos crossed her arms over her chest and stared at a point on the wall across the room. Her jaw muscles twitched.

Dakka flicked a glance at the two opposing forces. They still had their guns aimed at each other, but most of them had turned to watch her and Nelvos. One of Nelvos's lieutenants swept her gaze slowly over Dakka's body and smiled. Dakka looked into her eyes, arched a brow ridge, and moved her legs a little farther apart to give her an unobstructed view.

Enjoy it, because this is as close as you're ever getting to it.

The woman's face turned a darker shade of blue and she looked away. Dakka suppressed another laugh and turned back to Nelvos.

Nelvos finally looked up at her squad and twitched her head to the left. They lowered their guns, turned, and filed out the door, leaving the C-Sec officers staring at their receding backs and then exchanging a series of confused glances.

"Okay. Keep the piece of shit. Get your answers out of him. Put him on trial. But if he's released, he's mine." Nelvos heaved herself up and stood with her shoulders slouched.

"Fair enough." Dakka rose to her feet and held her hand out. "Thank you."

Nelvos hesitated, then shook Dakka's hand. She turned slowly and trudged away, joining her squad outside. She shuffled past them without speaking, and they fell into step behind her.

Dakka sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well, fuck me sideways, that actually worked!

"I'll be damned," one of the officers muttered. "Never thought I'd see a krogan reason with an enemy instead of just killing 'em."

"Me, too." Dakka shrugged. "Fighting would've been more fun under normal circumstances, but this was a bad tactical situation. Close quarters, confined space, outnumbered three-to-one. Watching them kill all of you wouldn't have been fun at all."

"Can't argue with that." Tarsus walked up to her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, and laid his hand on her shoulder. "That was pretty impressive."

"For me, it was more surprising than anything else. I expected her to kill us all, anyway." She grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Now, about my armor? Or should I just keep walking around naked?"

"I wouldn't mind, actually," one of the humans behind Tarsus muttered to another.

Dakka and Tarsus stared at her. The woman blushed and pointed a thumb over her shoulder.

"I'll just, uh, go get your armor." She turned and scurried through the door behind her.

Tarsus shook his head, walked over to the nearest desk, leaned on its edge, and let a long sigh rush out. He looked up at Dakka and muttered, "Well, I hope your friends are having as much fun as we just had."

#

"We're almost there," Chula said as she guided the shuttle across Chasca's landscape. "Three more minutes."

Everyone in the passenger compartment readied their Omni-Tools and checked their weapons one last time. With a tap on each of their Tools, glowing tech armor appeared over their physical armor, adding another layer of protection between that and their kinetic barriers.

Valeria sat beside Chula and looked over the control panels in front of her. "Hmm. I'm picking up a lot of movement at the Cerberus base, but only a few life signs."

"Could be mechs," Bailey muttered.

"Yeah. That, or a pocket of rogue geth units like the ones Quint and Dakka encountered on Virmire."

"We'll know in a couple minutes." Chula dropped a little more altitude and weaved the shuttle through a mountain range until she spotted the alloy modules of the Cerberus research facility. She found a flat area big enough for the shuttle and landed. "Okay, just a couple hundred meters and we're there."

Bailey nodded and opened the hatch. He was the first on the ground, followed quickly by everyone else.

Valeria scanned the area ahead with her Omni-Tool. "Still a lot of things moving around, but fewer life signs than before. Only five, now." She glanced at her Tool again and winced. "Four."

Some of the color drained from Bailey's face. "Shit! We could already be too late."

Valeria burst into a sprint and the rest kept up with her. They ran through the ravine between one last pair of mountains and emerged into the clearing where the base sat. Chula stopped and took a slow look around, and everyone else did the same.

"Keelah."

Several dozen tripod-like devices surrounded them, some of which had metal spikes extending several meters into the air. The sides of the spikes had brown streaks, as if a fluid had trickled down them and dried.

"I think I've seen these before," Chula said softly. "Can't quite pin it down, though."

"Do not approach them," Weyland almost snapped. His tone sounded unusually urgent. "These devices have been encountered on Eden Prime and many other planets. Alliance marines call them 'Dragon's teeth.' They impale organic beings and inject nano-machines which convert muscle and organs into cybernetic parts, then the bodies are reanimated with an electric charge."

"Now I remember these things," Valeria said, turning toward the base and motioning for them to follow her. "I saw them in news reports over the last few years. Every now and then, there'd be an outpost that fell out of contact, and when a crew was sent in to investigate, they found these spike things and a bunch of...I guess you'd call them cybernetic zombie creatures. The people in the outposts had been converted into whatever those things were."

"I remember Malcolm mentioning something like that when he briefed us on Bekenstein." Chula shivered at the memory. "He said something about people being turned into 'husks.'"

"I guess that's as good a word as any. The reports from witnesses who survived said the resulting creatures were mindless and attacked anyone nearby."

The team emerged from the spike devices and ran for another dozen meters before stopping. Chula turned to stare at the Dragon's teeth.

"I just now realized--those brown streaks on the spikes are probably dried blood." She shook her head slowly. "What the hell were these people thinking?"

"It's possible they weren't experimenting with these things. Some of the base's personnel might've found them, got too close, and ended up impaled. Husks could be programmed to grab nearby organics and convert them into more husks, if there are only a few of them at the beginning."

"Oh, hell," Bailey groaned. "My son..."

"Let's not make any assumptions." Valeria performed another scan. "Two life signs and a whole lot of movement. Let's go!"

Chula and the rest followed her at a dead run until they came within a few meters of the research facility's nearest module.

"Christ," Quint whispered.

Strewn all over the ground between them and the base was an assortment of mangled bodies and body parts, dropped guns, and several different colors of blood splattered everywhere. Chula counted seventeen fresh corpses, a mixture of krogan, turian, asari, and one human. Their armor didn't have any of the markings of the most well-known merc companies.

"No Cerberus uniforms," Magnum muttered, sinking to one knee and leaning over for a closer look at one of the bodies. She glanced at Bailey and added, "There's a chance your son is still safe. These are independent mercs, not Blue Suns. Kinda like us."

One of the krogan bodies moaned. Everyone rushed over to him and gathered around. Valeria scanned him and he opened his eyes.

"Got to...get away..." He coughed up blood and spat it out. He sobbed and tears trickled from his eyes. "Oh...children...couldn't save..."

"What?" Bailey's face paled even more.

"What happened?" Chula took a medi-gel pack from her pocket and reached out to apply it. She took a good look at his wounds and wondered where the hell to start.

"Distress signal...came to...inves--" He cried out weakly and grimaced. His breathing grew quicker and more shallow. "Humans...turned into..."

"Just like we thought." Magnum sighed.

"Children," the krogan moaned. "Couldn't..."

"There were kids here?" Quint turned suddenly to look at the base and covered his mouth with his hand.

"If the Cerberus personnel expected to be here for a long time," Magnum said, "they probably brought their families."

"So...you mean _kids_were turned into--" Quint's face turned white and he turned around to stare at the Dragon's teeth.

"Arrived...too late." The merc sobbed again, curled up, squeezed his eyes shut, and let out another weak, strangled cry. "I'm so sorry!" He exhaled one last time and stopped moving.

Magnum sniffed and rubbed the backs of her hands over her eyes.

Valeria sighed and raised her left hand. Her Omni-Tool appeared around her arm and she turned slowly, performing an intensive scan. She stopped a few seconds later and pointed into the mountains.

"I'm picking up fourteen life signs in that direction, plus a half-dozen electronic signatures--probably the mech support units we were expecting."

"Sounds like the Blue Suns team, alright." Chula glanced at Bailey. "That's probably where your son is."

Valeria continued her scan, turning in a full circle before she finished. "No other life signs."

"Let's hurry, then." Chula took one step, then a horrifying sound reached her suit's auditory sensors and she froze, her heart suddenly pounding. A wave of soft, hollow, hissing-snarling-gasping-moaning came from somewhere behind her.

Valeria glanced over her shoulder, spun around, and pulled the heavy rifle from her back, all in a single, smooth motion. "Contact rear!"

Everyone faced the same direction and raised their weapons as a swarm of humanoid monstrosities charged out from behind one of the modules. They looked like desiccated corpses with a metallic skin covered with glowing blue components. The same blue glow came from their empty eye sockets and their mouths hung open as if frozen in a permanent scream.

Most were the size of adult humans, but others were...smaller.

Quint released a sort of whispered scream and opened fire with his submachine gun.

Magnum remained on one knee and fired a single shot from her Mattock into the lead husk's forehead, ripping the top and back of its skull off. It collapsed and the rest trampled it, not even realizing it was under their feet. She shifted her aim to another and blew its head off, then aimed at another, her face taking on a look that was somehow calm yet enraged as she nailed one headshot after another.

Valeria fired a series of quick bursts, punching holes through the husks' chests.

Yet the damned things continued their blind charge.

In a few more seconds, they'll be too close to shoot. Chula returned her pistols to her hips and pulled out her swords. "Guys, keep out of my reach!"

"Fuck," Magnum grumbled as the remaining husks came within arm's reach. She stood as the nearest one pulled its clawed hand back to slash at her face. She flipped her rifle over and drove its stock into the side of the husk's head. It staggered off to the left. She flipped her rifle again and drilled a shot into its left eye socket.

Chula lashed out with her blades, spinning and slashing, and lopped the heads off any husks who got too close.

Valeria dropped her rifle and pulled a knife from her belt. She stepped in front of a husk, sliced it open from crotch to neck, and moved on to the next as it fell. Another husk swiped at her, and she dodged, spun, and hilted her blade in the side of its head. She braced her foot against its shoulder and pushed it off her blade before looking around for another target.

Quint fired a neural-shock charge from his Omni-Tool into a nearby husk and it collapsed. Behind him, Weyland used his Tool to overload the synthetic components of three more husks, leaving them in a smoldering heap on the ground.

Chula raised her swords and turned around, looking for more husks.

The air was suddenly silent.

She looked around slowly and put her swords away. None of the husks were still vertical.

Magnum kneeled beside one of the smaller husks, scanned it, and cursed under her breath. "Organs are all gone. Not even any brain left. It's all some kind of circuitry." She sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

To her right, one of the husks stirred, recovering from Quint's neural shock. It sat up and hissed.

Magnum raised her huge rifle with her right hand and shot the husk between its eye sockets without looking at it. She kept her eyes on the small one directly in front of her.

Chula scanned the rest of the husks to be sure they were...dead, inoperative, neutralized--whatever the hell the proper term was. Once she found no signs of "life" among them, and walked over to Magnum and touched her shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Not really. Not after seeing this." Magnum patted Chula's hand, stood, and turned in the direction Valeria had pointed out a moment ago.

Valeria took a deep breath and glanced at the others, and picked up her rifle. "Once Bailey's son is safe, we can try to find out exactly what happened here. Or at least find out who these people were. Most of them probably have family who will want to know what happened to them." She put her hand on Bailey's shoulder and nodded at the mountains. "But first we've got a job to do."