It took both of us, and I had to use my left arm—the oddly strong one—but that did the trick. We rolled a chunk of masonry off her, and dragged her to her feet, but she couldn’t walk on her own.

  The girl looked from one of us to the other briefly, then she threw her arm over my shoulders and leaned on me. “You’ll carry me,” she said in a husky tone. “You’re bigger.”

  “Figures…” Ledbetter said in disgust, “Starn is always scamming on the ladies.”

  We quickly moved to take cover, not knowing what to expect. Our weapons were trained in every direction as we awaited the arrival of these mysterious aliens. The injured girl was leaning on me, her breath hot on my cheek when she turned my way. She seemed oblivious to me, however. She didn’t seem to fear me as a marine—which was odd. Normally, people like this woman and I were mortal enemies. Could the aliens she’d mentioned be that bad?

  The girl’s attitude worried me more than anything else. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of monstrous creatures we were about to face.

  “Whatever we’re going up against,” Lt. Quinn said, “we’ve seen worse.”

  The girl at my side snorted, but she didn’t say anything.

  As we braced ourselves for the unknown, the air around us grew heavy with anticipation. Then, we heard something. All our guns turned toward the west. The skies up over the trees were now turning orange, the color of dying coals in a campfire.

  It was the sound of approaching footsteps. They grew and grew in volume and intensity. We got the unmistakable feeling that something big was coming. The footsteps were too far apart, too deep and echoing. It was as if an elephant herd was thundering in our direction.

  The injured pirate girl tightened her grip around my neck. She looked up at me with terror in her eyes.

  “We need to run,” she said.

  “We’re doing whatever the lieutenant orders us to do.”

  “You don’t understand,” she insisted. “You need to run while you still can. These aliens—they’re not like anything you’ve ever seen.”

  “We can handle ourselves,” Lt. Quinn said to her sternly. His voice was steady, but it also betrayed a hint of uncertainty.

  The girl shook her head. “They’re afraid of the AI structure, but they’ll kill everyone anywhere else they find you. They’re relentless, merciless... I’ve seen what they can do.” Her voice wavered as she spoke, as if remembering the horrors she’d witnessed.

  I exchanged glances with the other members of Red Company. We were no strangers to danger, but the fear in this girl’s eyes was unsettling. Lt. Quinn considered her words.

  “Starn,” he said finally, turning to me. “I’m thinking of making a break for the ship. What do you think? Can you carry that little witch all the way back to Borag?”

  I hesitated for a moment, considering the risks. The pirate girl’s eyes went wide. She squeezed my neck, and I knew I was going to have to pry her off to ditch her. That would be hard to do, as I’d be consigning her to death.

  “I can do it, sir,” I said. “You just give the order.”

  Quinn nodded. He didn’t even look at the girl. “I’d ditch her,” he said. “But it’s up to you. It’s your funeral if you trip.”

  But then, even as we made ready to bolt—it was too late. The footsteps that had been vibrating the ground under our boots grew in volume and intensity. Whatever they were, they were on us.

  Chapter 16: Guardians of the Ruins

  Distant trees began to shake like a hurricane was coming.

  “These things are big… I need my specialists,” Lt. Quinn shouted. “If you’ve got a mine on your belt, set it on the perimeter! Now!”

  Several men dashed to toss disks into the path of whatever was about to emerge from the jungle.

  “And who’s my firebug today?” Sergeant Cox called out.

  Welks reluctantly raised one glove.

  Sergeant Cox grinned. “Good… you’re on point, Welks. Get your kit ready.”

  I frowned at this, as I’d never seen a firebug deploy one of his special weapons until this very day. Firebugs had a tank of jellied thermite with a spray nozzle. Thermite was a mixture of oxidized metal powders. It was pretty much fire on demand—a nasty slurry of chemicals that carried its own oxygen with it—since it could even burn in space. When that stuff went up, it was pretty impossible to control or evade.

  Usually, Red Company didn’t use weapons like this. When we were operating on a spacecraft, there were a lot of oxygen tanks around that could explode and destroy whatever vessel we were aboard. Almost as bad, fires tended to spread and eat oxygen, and we usually needed all of that we could get.

  But today was different. Today, we could deploy fire as a weapon, because we were going into a serious fight on a planet that had air and wet plants in abundance.

  I didn’t like the idea of burning people—but I had to remind myself, whatever these monsters were, they weren’t people.

  Right about then, we caught our first glimpse of this new enemy. The trees burst open and something tall pushed through them and thumped down what must have once been a street in our direction. Tall blocks of laser-cut overgrown stones stood to either side, but this thing’s head reached higher still.

  How could I describe this monstrosity? Or the similar lumpy shadows that were converging from several different directions beyond it…? They were both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Before us stood a giant ape-like cyborg creature, a monstrous fusion of organic and synthetic components. It towered over us at a staggering eighteen feet tall, its enormous frame casting an imposing shadow across the forest floor.

  The creature’s hands were adorned with extra fingers, each tipped with a razor-sharp claw, perfect for grasping and tearing apart its prey. Its mouth was filled with rows of predatory teeth, which gleamed menacingly as it snarled in our direction. The eyes were perhaps the most striking feature of all – they were multifaceted, jewel-like cameras that seemed to capture and analyze every detail of its surroundings with chilling precision.

  The fur that covered the creature’s body was unlike anything I had ever encountered. It was artificial, yet it seemed to undulate and move with an eerie, organic quality. This fur was obviously designed for combat and artificial—just like the rest of this abomination.

  “Don’t touch the fur!” the girl I’d brought with us warned. “It’s poisonous.”

  “That’s great…” I said, and I put her down on the ground. She clung to me with grasping fingers, but I pushed her away. I needed both hands free to fight these creatures.

  We stood our ground, and Lt. Quinn held one fist in the air. He hadn’t yet given the order to fire. Maybe he was hoping we could face-down this new threat. I wasn’t feeling hopeful.

  More of the creatures approached. Soon, we faced a crescent formation of six.

  As soon as they’d all come out into the open, the air around us filled with a foghorn-like howl. All six of the monstrous, ape-like cyborg creatures charged toward us, their multifaceted eyes fixed on our position.

  “Red Company! Open fire!” Lt. Quinn roared, and we began to unload.

  Standing up from cover—as this foe clearly had no ranged weapons, and there was no point hiding behind a bush—our guns hammered and flashed. We unleashed a hailstorm of laser bolts into the charging behemoths.

  One of the marines beside me, Corporal Daniels lost his nerve. He was already backing up, still firing, but more out of panic than resolve. “These things are huge! How the hell are we supposed to take them down?”

  “Keep shooting, Daniels! Aim for the joints and the eyes!” I advised, directing my fire at one of the creatures’ knees. My shower of hot bolts found their mark, and it stumbled, momentarily slowed by the damage.

  The pirate girl behind me tried to stand on her ruined foot. We’d wrapped it, but she was pretty much reduced to hopping around. She retreated behind one of the biggest alien blocks of masonry, and I couldn’t blame her. Perhaps that was how she’d survived the last such charge.

  As the creatures lumbered toward us, we noted that most of them had already sustained injuries. Legs were being dragged. Ruined arms, as thick as tree trunks, dangled and flapped uselessly. The pirates they’d taken down less than an hour ago had at least done some damage.

  Lt. Quinn called targets, and we used focused fire to put two down before they met our lines. A third and a fourth were knocked off their feet when they stepped on mines. There were deafening reports, and the cyborgs were reduced to dragging themselves around with their multi-fingered hands.

  Two were left, but they were among us. Daniels was grabbed and, although we tried to save him with a volley of fire from all directions, he was crushed by a massive hairy fist. I watched as he was stung countless times by the creature’s writhing hairs. Each individual hair squirmed, seeking his flesh. They wriggled into his open helmet and burrowed through the tough cloth of his spacesuit. He died screaming in agony. The release of death came with a final squeeze of the great fist.

  Overcome by our concentrated fire, the monster that had killed Daniels went down in a groaning heap. Loose hairs that had been shed by the creature still wormed all over the overgrown stones, however, seeking revenge.

  That’s when we turned our attention to the last of the monsters. It had come to the party late—probably because it was dragging a mangled leg behind it.

  Welks rushed forward, baring his teeth. He goosed his flamethrower, and a gush of jellied liquid hosed the monster down.

  Taking note of him, the cyborg paused and reached down with one, long, long arm—but then, the thermite ignited.

  Transformed instantly into a burning torch, we were all seared by the unbelievable rush of heat and light. We shielded our eyes and backed away, almost in as much horror as the beast itself.

  After that, the thing staggered around, blindly seeking us as we gunned it with laser bolts. We played blindman’s bluff with the monster for about twenty seconds until it flopped down like a burning tree in a forest fire, overcome.

  Except for Daniels, there were few injuries. It seemed that with this enemy, you either lived or you didn’t.

  We poked at the remains, learning what we could about this new and dangerous enemy. The fur was incredibly poisonous—even the slightest touch resulted in a painful, burning sting akin to being brushed by a nettle. Underneath this defensive layer of fur, the creature’s thorax was composed of a metallic exoskeleton, providing it with both protection and support.

  Upon closer inspection, we found that the beast’s innards were a disturbing amalgamation of hot, pulsating flesh, metal bones, and intricate circuitry. This nightmarish fusion of biological and mechanical elements endowed the creature with exceptional strength, agility, and resilience. It was further, worrisome evidence to the advanced capabilities of the alien civilization that had created it. Even though these cyborgs were artificial, they operated as deadly and efficient predators, perfectly adapted to their environment.

  “I hear more of them, sir,” Private Ledbetter said. “Out in the forest. They’re between us and Borag.”

  We looked out into the strange, droopy trees. The jungle was darkening now as the red sunlight gave out.

  Lt. Quinn glanced this way and that, uncertain. At last, he jabbed a thick thumb over his shoulder. “We’re going back to the alien pyramid-thing,” he said. “Didn’t that girl say it was safe there?” He looked at me as he asked this question, and his eyes quickly narrowed. “Where is she, Starn? Did you lose her already?”

  I glanced behind me and noted her absence. Four quick steps took me to her hiding place behind a massive fallen stone. I dragged her out, but I might have done so with too much force. She growled at me in pain and her foot was dragging behind her. I tried to support her with a steady hand, but she slapped me away.

  As I looked at her, I couldn’t help but be struck by her unique appearance. She was a young space pirate girl who possessed an undeniable allure despite her apparent rough and barbaric upbringing. Her eyes were dark and intense, and they seemed to hold a depth of experience beyond her years.

  “I’ve got her, sir.”

  “Good. Bring her along.”

  “Come on,” I told the girl. “Put your arm around my neck.”

  “No,” she said. “You marines are fools. You’ll get me killed. I can’t believe you fought those things!”

  I smiled at her grimly. “We took them all down. Do you really want to stay here? Alone?”

  She blinked, looking around at the darkening jungle landscape. I knew it couldn’t possibly be appealing to her eyes—or to anyone else’s. She was terrified and seeking any way she could to survive.

  Finally, with a grunt of frustration, she reached for my neck. I pulled her onto my back, where she rode like a second backpack.

  The other guys laughed when they saw us, making jokes about my new girlfriend and my satyr’s habits. I didn’t deserve their scorn, but I tolerated it, as I had no choice.

  When we reached the strange spinning sphere of liquid metal and walked under it into the pyramid-like structure underneath, we felt a tiny fraction of relief. Perhaps there was some kind of safety, here. The monsters that hooted and called to one another in the gathering darkness around us showed no desire to come closer.

  When I was about to unload the girl on my back, she flashed a knife in my face. I saw the silvery line of it, just under my chin strap.

  “I could have cut you,” she whispered into my ear. “At any moment while you carried me.”

  She was still riding me like a tired kid on her daddy’s back after a long day at the fair—only, this kid was a crazy barbarian.

  “Why didn’t you?” I asked her.

  “I needed the ride.”

  “Do it now, then,” I dared her. “The guys won’t mind. Half of them hate me.”

  She paused for a second, but then she slid the knife away from my neck. I tried not to let my relief show on my face, which she was studying carefully from about six inches away.

  She climbed down off my back and stumbled a bit, then regained her balance when I reached out a hand to steady her.

  She snarled at my touch. “You don’t touch me. I don’t allow that.”

  “Okay,” I said, and I let go of her.

  She hopped and stumbled and fell on her butt with a fresh round of curses and snarls. I didn’t feel bad, after all, she was a pretty ungrateful witch of a woman.

  She looked up at me in suspicion, fear and rage. “You let them laugh at me,” she said. “What man captures a woman then allows her to be scorned?”

  “Um…” I said, squatting down and looking at her.

  Her clothes were dirty, and she wore an expression full of hard emotions, but she wasn’t bad looking. I could tell she was younger than she seemed, with probably no more than twenty hard years of life behind her. I couldn’t imagine what it had to be like to be raised by a pack of pirates in deep space.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Ana,” she said. “That’s what my mother called me—but knowing my name won’t give you any power over me, spacer, if you’re thinking that way.”

  I laughed. “No, I didn’t think it would. Ana… for Anastasia?”

  She nodded, her dark eyes big. She was tense and suspicious. She watched my hands as they moved.

  Her face had delicate features, but there were also many signs of a hard life. Her high cheekbones and full lips were striking, yet there were nicks and bruises, subtle reminders of the battles she’d fought and survived. Her tanned skin had spent countless hours under the harsh light of different suns, which had added to her exotic appearance.

  Ana’s hair was a wild cascade of brown with golden strands sprouting at random. It was as if her hair itself was a reflection of her spirited nature, refusing to be tamed or confined. She wore it pulled back into a messy ponytail.

  “Look, Ana, it would up everyone’s odds of survival if you told us what to expect in this strange place.”

  Ana’s eyes drifted upward. It was as if she could see the spinning ball of metal that hovered above the structure we were inside of.

  “No one comes here,” she said. “Strange things happen if you stay here too long. That’s why the monsters avoid the place.”

  Frowning, I let my eyes wander to the alien roof over all our heads. I could see carved symbols up there. The entire interior of the structure was laced with hundreds of black, burned-in symbols.

  What could they mean? What was the purpose of this alien temple—if that’s what it was? I had no idea, and I didn’t think Ana did, either.

  “Are you going to abuse me, now?” she asked.

  “What?” I asked, bringing my startled gaze down to her face.

  “Your commander gave me to you. You accepted and carried me like a prize after battle.”

  “Oh…” I said, thinking recent events over, trying to see them from her point of view. The pirates of the out system… they didn’t live by the civilized norms of the Inner Planets. They were more like barbarian tribesmen of our distant past.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “I have no intention of abusing you. In fact, my commander wouldn’t even allow it.”

  She snorted. “Why bother with lies? I won’t fall for them. I won’t be tricked, or lulled. I saw your commander direct you to take me. The meaning was clear.”

  I sighed, deciding she wasn’t going to turn into a trusting girl anytime soon. “Think what you like, but we’re stuck here together, and I need to sleep.”

  I lay back and set up my pack as a pillow. I didn’t get out a blanket, as it was roaring hot, even in the darkness.

  A few minutes later, I snorted awake. Ana was in my face. She was peering down at me. She seemed angry all over again.

  There was a wildness to her that was both intimidating and enticing. She’d grown up in a harsh, unforgiving environment, and it had shaped her into a fierce and formidable woman. Yet, beneath that hardened exterior, I could sense a vulnerability that she fought to keep hidden. It was this complexity, this delicate balance between strength and fragility, that made Ana so undeniably captivating.