Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(32)
“Oh no, I just eat like a Grog—” Wait. What’s that sound?
Humming. I quickly exchanged looks with the two women. “That sounds like an insect swarm.”
Our trio broke up immediately. Elorie started shouting orders to her men, while I turned and bustled Grace back toward the sedan. But before we could get more than ten paces, Grace looked up and gasped. “War drones!”
I followed her gaze and saw a dozen silvery shapes descending toward us on fragile-looking wings that spun instead of flapped. “Get the crossbows!” I shouted to the others as we ran to retrieve our own from the sedan.
“Those things have blasters.” Grace raised her voice, surprising me. “They have projectile weapons! Take cover!”
Chaos erupted throughout the caravan as people did their best to grab for their crossbows, just as shining bolts of pure energy started slamming into the ground all around us. I shielded Grace with my body as we ran the last few desperate paces, the ground erupting in puffs of dust and burning leaves behind us. I heard a scream of agony, and at least one body hit the ground. Cursing, I pushed her inside and then dove in myself, going for the weapons rack bolted to one of the ribs of the hide frame. I grabbed one crossbow and tossed her the other, shouldered a quiver of bolts, and turned to run back outside.
“How are these things controlled, Grace? We need your intelligence now.”
“They’re controlled remotely. Usually, it’s one person piloting up to four of them.”
I turned and gripped her shoulder. “Right. Then what I need from you is to leave the crossbow, stay here, and do everything you can to contact Tabirus. If he can shut them down at the source, we’ll win the day. Otherwise, we’ll have to get lucky shots in on their wings.”
Grace nodded and sat down in the middle of the sedan floor, closing her eyes. I saw her lips moving as she tried to project her thoughts all the way up to the moon base and the only friend who could help us now. She glanced up at me worriedly as I stepped back toward the entry flap, but she knew I had to go. I looked back once and then ran outside.
We had two men down, and everyone else was fighting for their lives, firing bolts and dodging blasts from their darting, hovering foes. Each drone was barely as long as my arm, but what fired from their proboscis-like projectors cut a man in half in front of me seconds after I emerged. I fired and managed to foul one’s wings but then ducked quickly away as another turned to fire on me.
In the back of my mind, I could feel Grace’s strain as she struggled to reach Tabirus. All I could do was protect the caravan until she could get through, but we were taking losses. Our weapons, which had fended off insect swarms and marauding predators of every size, were no match for these lifeless, murderous . . . things.
More of them poured down at us from the sky; the reinforcements put them at perhaps two dozen to our handful of remaining unwounded. I fought to keep my heart from sinking, knowing Grace would feel it and lose morale. Elorie and I ended up back to back as we guarded one of the wounded Grogs, who groaned and rolled as it gripped its singed arm.
“If this is it, Dekkir, you always were a good f*ck,” Elorie quipped a moment before one of her shots crippled another drone.
“Uh, thanks, and we’re not dying. Also, don’t let my mate hear you talk that way.” I fired again, and this time, the drone danced aside impossibly and then oriented on us to fire.
I felt a surge of relief that wasn’t mine, and then was, as the drones suddenly stopped firing. They all hovered in place for a moment and then rose up again, disappearing rapidly into the sky.
Ragged cheers rose up as I turned and ran back to the sedan. I jumped up onto the bench and went inside, only to see Grace smiling up at me tiredly. “It’s done,” she said, and I sagged and pulled her into my arms.
“What happened?”
“Six drone pilots from one of Norcross’s divisions got the order to come after us. Tabirus found them with his mind and managed to convince them their target had been destroyed. He doesn’t know if the order came from Norcross, the commander, or someone else. He’s trying to find out.”
“So they think they killed us?”
Her smile became tight and troubled. “No, me. I was their target.”
I stared. “But why?”
“He’s trying to find that out, too.” She wiped sweat from her brow and went back to hanging on to me tightly. “Best guess either of us have is they wanted to kill me and then pin the deaths on you guys to strengthen their position that Earth must attack Lyra.”
I cupped the back of her head and held her against my shoulder. “So now they think you are dead.”
“For the moment. Tabirus is trying to determine who among the superiors should be told I am actually alive, if any. Right now, neither of us knows who up there can be trusted.” She shuddered violently.
I closed my eyes, just holding her. “We will find a way to deal with all of this,” I promised her as her shivering eased off. “And I will protect you in the meantime.”
“I know,” she murmured. “I’m just glad they had already lost my loyalty. Otherwise, I would never have had the strength to reach out to Tabirus.”
I kissed her forehead. “From now on, you will be keeping company with those who value your loyalty as it deserves. And as for the Earth Command leaders . . . if they think they can rain death down on Lyra with impunity, they are about to get a very large surprise.”