“I think I do.”

  “No, you don’t. We lost most of Earth within six months, Joe. It was over inside of two years. There are millions of trife on Earth, and that was after we killed billions of them. They were engineered to overwhelm planets. To destroy the native intelligent life.”

  “We aren’t native,” Joe said.

  “You’re an Engineer. Use your damned head.”

  Joe stood over the energy unit, beneath the trife queen. This couldn’t be Sergeant Card. He didn’t need to know him that well to know he didn’t act like this.

  “Who are you really?” he said. “Am I hallucinating?”

  Sergeant Card looked surprised. Then he vanished, fading away and leaving something completely different behind.

  The queen shrieked loudly at the sight of the black humanoid figure, while Joe backed up toward her a step, seeking her protection. The thing had no ears, no eyes, no mouth, and only a small protrusion to serve as a nose. It was clearly female or designed to be shaped like a female. So close to human, but not quite.

  It reached up, grabbing at the top of its head and pulling the black material away. A real human head appeared from beneath it, the second reveal in almost as many seconds.

  “I guess I shouldn’t have told you to use your head,” Riley said. “Smart, Joe. Real smart.”

  “Doctor Valentine? I thought you were—”

  “Dead? You haven’t been keeping up with current events. Give me the energy unit.” She raised her sidearm, pointing it at him.

  “Mamma will kill you if you kill me,” Joe said. “What do you want with it, anyway?”

  “I want it away from the trife, for one.”

  “I thought you wanted an army, Doctor. Isn’t that what all this was about? Fighting the enemy out there with a force powerful enough to destroy it? Using the trife against their makers? Mamma made a dozen little demons in a few minutes with the energy unit.”

  “Originally, yes. It’s too late for that.”

  “Why?”

  “Look at my face, Joe.”

  He did. Patches of thick skin covered her cheeks and forehead. She looked terrible.

  “I’m changing. Becoming a monster. I went to Research. I took the serum. It isn’t working. I don’t have the skills. I don’t have the technology. I brought samples, but I need help. I don’t want to die. The enemy I was hunting isn’t the enemy I thought it was. We can’t stop the Hunger, Joe. And if you can’t beat them, the only way to survive is by joining them.”

  “What? The Hunger? I don’t understand.”

  “Give me the energy unit. Join the Relyeh. Save your life. That’s the only option that makes sense.”

  “Sergeant Card—”

  “Sergeant Card is dead,” Riley said. “And if he isn’t, he’ll wish he was soon enough.”

  “What happens to Metro in this scenario, Doctor?”

  “Metro will be taken in by the Relyeh. It’s a hard life, but it’s life.”

  “As slaves?”

  “That’s a matter of perspective. It’s still better than burning out and fading away. It’s still better than being forgotten.”

  “Is it?”

  Riley’s head twitched. The trife reacted too. They heard something in the corridor.

  “We’re out of time. Give me the energy unit. We don’t have to be enemies. I don’t have to kill you.”

  Joe glanced at Mamma, and then back at Riley. Sergeant Card had called her right from the beginning. She couldn’t be trusted, under any circumstances. She had no real side but her own. Maybe there had been loyalty at first. Maybe there was a time when her goals were as selfless as she claimed.

  That time was over.

  “No,” Joe said.

  He had barely started speaking when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, the smell of his burned flesh entering his nose. He gasped and fell back, suddenly unable to breathe.

  Mamma screamed over him, her shout ringing in his ears. The large trife reached out for Riley, slashing at her with long claws.

  Riley evaded the assault, pulling a dark blade from her belt. She slashed it through the trife’s narrow wrist, severing the claw and causing the queen to bellow in pain. The other trife reacted, ready to pounce on her.

  Riley rushed forward so fast Joe could hardly follow her movement. She came to a stop over him, ignoring the trife that slashed at her arm, the material she was wearing deflecting the blows. She reached out almost casually, shooting the trife in the face before crouching in front of Joe. The queen hissed again, head dipping and snapping.

  Riley swung her gun hand out, intentionally sticking it in the queen’s mouth. The queen froze.

  “Be a good girl and don’t move,” Riley said. “I’ll grow a new arm. Will you grow a new head?”

  She used her free hand to grab the containment box, picking it up and tucking it under her arm. Then she started backing away, pulling her hand from the queen’s mouth but keeping the weapon trained on the trife. She made it to the door, her head whipping to the right. To whoever was coming down the hallway.

  “I’ve got it,” she announced. She looked back at Joe. “I’m sorry for killing you. You didn’t give me any choice.” She put her wrist to the control panel of the hatch. It slid closed, the LED on the inside turning red.

  Joe slumped. His heart rate was slowing. He was getting cold. He looked up at the queen. “I’m sorry.”

  She looked down at him. He saw concern in her eyes. And anger. She rose up and charged the door, using her remaining hand to tap the control panel. It didn’t open. Her scream echoed in the room. She backed up and threw herself against the hatch. It didn’t budge.

  She was still throwing herself into the door when he died.

  Chapter 43

  Caleb stood in front of Sergeant Harai while five of the other Relyeh Inahri passed through the open door behind him, following Tsi and Riley in search of Joe. Caleb hadn’t slowed them as much as he was hoping and he wanted to follow, but there was no way Harai was going to let him.

  He hoped he was wrong about Riley. That she was going to do the right thing in the end. That even if she had her own desire for the energy unit, she would still get it out of here. Off the Deliverance and away from Metro. She could help the colony and still help herself.

  Either that or he hoped Tsi kicked her ass.

  He didn’t think that would happen. Tsi was good, but Riley wasn’t human. Not really. She had changed herself, and then Hal had changed her. She was a genetic mess. A gross distortion of DNA. She had gambled and lost everything she was and they were all paying the price.

  His eyes traveled past Harai, to the colonists behind the Inahri soldier. Two other Relyeh were still with them, keeping an eye on them. Even if he managed to take out Harai, which he wasn’t entirely confident he could do, he would still have them to deal with.

  Unless…

  He spotted Deputy Bashir in the group, standing beside Governor Stone. Caspar was there too, off to the side. Not all of Law were completely loyal to the Governor. Maybe less of Law would be loyal to him now.

  “Tsi, good luck,” Caleb said. “I’m going offline.”

  He didn’t wait for her to respond. He reached for the mantle of his suit.

  “Well,” Harai said. “Are we going to stand here all day? Show some honor in your death.”

  Caleb pulled the black material away from his face, the HUD going with it. The situation looked different through his naked eyes. In a way, more hopeful. In another, more desperate. He didn’t pay any attention to Harai. The soldier wanted an honorable fight. One on one. He was eager for it. He could wait.

  He noticed Bashir and Caspar. Their faces changed when they saw it was him. They were surprised, but also pleased to see him, despite the dire circumstances. Even Governor Stone reacted with a sense of relief, a spark of hope as if Caleb could save them.

  “Don’t just stand there,” Caleb said.

  It was all he said. Sergeant Harai thought he was talking to him. Bashir, Caspar, and the others in Law took it that he was talking to them.

  They were both right.

  Harai charged forward, moving quickly in the heavy battle armor. Caleb was ready. He came forward too, meeting the soldier.

  Behind them, all hell broke loose.

  Caspar pulled his sidearm, pressing it against the side of the nearest Inahri’s helmet and pulling the trigger before the enemy could react. The bullet cracked the faceplate, piercing it without enough force to kill. It hit the soldier in the side of the face, drawing blood and his attention.

  Bashir raised his sidearm too, pointing it at the other Inahri and firing. The round was ineffective, but it sent a message to the others. Don’t just stand there. They all began to react, drawing their guns as their fear turned into a weapon against the invaders.

  The Inahri soldiers turned on the Law Officers.

  Caleb didn’t see the rest. Harai stole his attention, his huge metal fist nearly clocking him in the jaw before Caleb could spin away. He shifted his feet and threw his replacement arm up to smash into Harai’s forearm. The force knocked him back and he slid across the floor. Using the momentum, he somersaulted back to his feet. Harai rushed him, barreling forward like a freight train. At the last moment, Caleb slipped aside.Stepping in behind the soldier, he raised his gun to shoot, only to have a dozen spikes launch from the back of the soldier’s armor and into his chest, piercing his Intellect Skin and leaving him with a number of small stab wounds.

  Harai spun back around, smiling at his deception. “Didn’t see that coming, did you Earther?”

  Caleb sent a wave of shield energy along the Skin, which pushed the tiny spears from his flesh and out onto the floor.

  “Cheap trick,” he said. “Where’s the honor in that?”

  The statement angered Harai. He growled as he went on the offensive again, throwing punches and pushing Caleb back. Ducking and dodging, Caleb was able to keep up with the attack, his more agile Skin allowing him to avoid the assault...at least for now.

  He spared a glance over his shoulder, noticing that one of the Inahri soldiers was down, and the other was about to be mobbed by the eight remaining lawmen.

  He needed to buy them a little more time.

  He sidestepped a hard right cross, moving under Harai’s guard and punching him with his replacement arm. Harai hopped aside, regaining his balance quickly despite the bulk of his armor. He caught Caleb’s follow-up punch, metal hand wrapping around metal hand.

  “Too slow,” Harai said, squeezing Caleb’s hand like a vice.

  Caleb could feel the metal compressing, his fist being smashed down, his mechanical fingers crushing and breaking. He didn’t feel pain from it, but he knew he was taking critical damage.

  It didn’t matter. It was only metal. It was only a hand.

  Harai hung onto Caleb’s mutilated hand, using his other hand to throw another heavy punch at Caleb’s head. Caleb used Harai’s grip to swing away from the punch. He reached down, grabbing the blade from his belt and jabbing it down as hard as he could into Harai’s chest.

  The blade was made to cut through battle armor, and it did its job, sinking through the protection and into Harai’s chest near his heart. The sergeant gasped, letting Caleb’s hand go and stepping back. Caleb released his hold on the blade. Blood and fluid for the exoskeleton began leaking out of the wound.

  “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” Caleb asked.

  Harai grabbed the blade and pulled it out, dropping it on the floor. He fell to his knees, looking up at Caleb. “You’re still going to die,” he said.

  Caleb turned around. Both of the Inahri soldiers were down, the officers standing over them. Bashir had claimed one of their rifles. Governor Stone held the other.

  Caleb heard motion to his left. He looked toward the open hatch again as Riley returned to the room, the containment box for the energy unit tucked under her arm.

  “Card,” she said, seeing him. “You’re still alive?”

  “Disappointed?” he asked.

  “It’s temporary.”

  She entered the room.

  The five Relyeh Inahri soldiers entered behind her. They weren’t holding her at gunpoint. They were following her. One of them had a wounded, unconscious Tsi draped over his shoulder.

  “Why?” Caleb said.

  Two of the Inahri broke away, hurrying to Harai. They began removing his battle armor.

  “You,” Riley said, looking at the officers. “Drop your weapons.”

  “You’re a traitor,” Governor Stone said.

  “Who is?” Riley asked. “You betrayed the people whose job it was to protect you, Governor. Maybe if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here. Now, drop your weapons. You might have taken two soldiers in an ambush but believe me, you won’t stop five.”

  Governor Stone glared at her, furious. “She’s right. Drop your guns. All of you.”

  “I’d rather die,” Bashir said.

  A bolt of energy lashed across the room, hitting Bashir in the chest and killing him. The officers dropped their guns as Caleb’s head whipped to the source of the shot.

  Sergeant Harai.

  The Inahri was out of his armor and back on his feet. His soldiers had spread some sort of clear paste over his wound, stopping the bleeding.

  “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” Harai said to him with a feral smile.

  “I saw the betrayal coming. I was hoping I could stop it.”

  “Call it what you want, Card,” Riley said. “I’m saving the lives of everyone on this ship. Except maybe yours.”

  “Where’s Joe?” Caleb asked.

  “And his,” she added. “Sorry. He didn’t want to give up the modulator. He was a brave idiot.” She walked past Caleb to Harai. “I believe this is what you came for?”

  “It is,” Harai said.

  “I want to make a deal.”

  “You aren’t in a position to deal.”

  “If you have any honor in you, I am. I captured it and brought it to you willingly. I expect to be rewarded.”

  “How?”

  “I want to meet with Arluthu.”

  “That isn’t possible.”

  “Make it possible.”

  Harai smiled. “I like you. I’ll see what I can do.” Riley held out the energy unit. Harai took it. Then he looked at Caleb. “I like you too. You owe me another fight. Dax ti.”

  Two of the soldiers approached on either side of Caleb, grabbing his arms. He spent a moment trying to resist, but his replacement hand wasn’t up to dealing with battle armor.

  “Sha qide,” Harai said, motioning to Tsi. He glanced at Caleb, smiling. “Kill the rest.”

  “No!” Caleb said, straining against the soldiers again, turning his head to the law officers in time to watch the other three Inahri soldiers begin to gun them down. They collapsed one after another like dominoes, including Governor Stone. “Damn you, Valentine!” he shouted. “Damn you!”

  “It’s already too late for that,” she replied. “There’s another way out of here,” she said to Harai. “Follow me.”

  Harai nodded. “Zo bae.” The remaining Inahri soldiers came to attention on either side of the open hatch. The sergeant glanced at Riley. “Lead the way.”

  One of the soldiers grabbed Caleb’s arm and yanked him toward the hatch. Caleb looked back over his shoulder, taking in the sight of the dead officers bleeding out across the floor. His gaze stopped on Governor Stone. The Governor’s eyes were open. He was still alive.

  It didn’t matter. There was nothing he could do. Not against so many.

  Then they were through the hatch, the massacre vanishing from sight. Whatever happened next was out of his control.

  For now.

  Chapter 44

  “Clear!” Dante said.

  “Clear!” Paige said.

  John and Hori joined them at the junction. Both directions were clear. Not that they needed to announce it—the battle armor’s HUD would have lit up if there were any threats detected—but it was good practice for the two colonists-turned-Marines.

  They had entered the city-ship ten minutes earlier, through a non-obvious passage in the ship’s shapeshifting alloy large enough for the Abomination to have passed through. That entrance took them into a chamber similar to the first one the Guardians had entered the first time they were on the ship. Tendrils hung from a high ceiling, nonfunctional without an Intellect to control them. The massive room was empty when they entered, though the evidence of the Relyeh’s war preparations were evident in scraps of waste and empty crates piled in the corner.

  Unlike the first room, this one lacked a teleporter. It had another passage out of the north side instead, leading deeper into the ship toward the modulator housing. Based on the position, it was either a few decks above or below the main reactor, where the Guardian Intellect had shown them the collection of trife the Axon had secretly brought to the planet with them. It was hard to tell which without a better understanding of the city-ship’s layout. The schematic was helpful, but the Seeker was bigger than massive. It made the Deliverance look tiny by comparison.

  Earther squad was still following the path Colonel Jax had outlined, making their way through the ship as fast as they could without being reckless. They were the only unit that had made it into the ship, which was sure to make them a target. The assault force outside was doing its best to keep the Relyeh occupied, but John knew it was only a matter of time before the enemy caught up to them.

  They turned left at the junction, following the line on their HUDs and the shape of the corridor on a downward slope. They were closing on the target, with only a teleporter hop between them and the area adjacent to the housing. From there, it was a quick jaunt along a short passage to the modulator housing itself.

  “Stay alert,” John reminded the others, keeping his rifle steady on his shoulder. It was easy for inexperienced fighters to get too comfortable when the enemy was absent for a while.

  Comfortable meant sloppy, and sloppy meant dead.

  They continued along the passage. John kept one eye on the corridor ahead and the other on the overlay, watching for the armor’s system to identify and mark incoming targets. At first, he had figured the enemy didn’t expect them to overcome an Abomination. He didn’t blame them, either. He was alive because of luck, not skill. But there was plenty of time to pull in reinforcements by now, and he couldn’t accept that the Relyeh didn’t know they had entered.