The keth'ra pauses on the sill, those obsidian eyes fixed on us with what I swear is pure indignation. Then it's gone, vanishing into the bright sunlight beyond.
"Well," Ally says, holstering her weapon and brushing sand off her uniform. "That was certainly an experience."
A'Vanti frowns, looking at me with furrowed brows. "That one was small. A juvenile, I think. They don't usually stray far from?—"
The sound that cuts her off is unlike anything I've ever heard.
It starts as a low rattling, like a thousand dry leaves shaking in a storm. Then it rises into an unholy cross between a shriek and a roar, reverberating through the hangar with enough force that I feel it in my lungs.
I spin toward the open bay doors.
The mother keth'ra is nothing like the creature we just chased out. Where her offspring was the size of a cat, she'scloser to a pony. She must be at least one hundred pounds of scaled muscle and pure maternal fury. Her spines are longer, wickedly sharp, and they're fully extended now, rattling together to produce that bone-shaking sound. She's silhouetted against the bright desert beyond, and then she's charging. Her six legs eat up the distance between us with terrifying speed.
"Scatter!" someone yells.
The group breaks apart, people diving behind columns and equipment as the mother keth'ra barrels into the hangar. She skids to a stop in the center of the space, head swinging back and forth, searching for her offspring – or for something to tear apart.
Her eyes lock onto Chelsea.
Of course they do. Chelsea is the smallest of us and caught out in the open, frozen mid-stride between cover points. Easy prey, if you're a predator doing the math.
I move without thinking, leaping between Chelsea and the creature. "Get behind the columns!" I yell. "Give it space!"
The keth'ra skids to a halt a few feet from me, her spines rattling so hard I can feel the vibration in my teeth. Up close, I can see details I missed before: scars along her flanks, the way her scales are thicker and rougher with age, the intelligence burning in those black glittering eyes. This isn't a mindless animal. This is a mother protecting her young.
"Easy," I murmur, keeping my voice low and steady. "Easy. We're not going to hurt your baby."
The keth'ra's head tilts, those multifaceted eyes studying me. Her spines lower slightly; not all the way, but enough that the rattling drops to a lower register.
"Should we dial up the volt guns?" Chelsea calls out from behind me.
The mother keth'ra's head snaps toward the movement and she lunges – not at Chelsea, but at me, the obstacle in her path.
I fire. The volt gun's low setting glances off her shoulder and she staggers, those six legs momentarily tangling. But it only slows her for a second. She shakes it off with an angry rattle of her spines and keeps coming.
I throw myself sideways, and her claws rake the air where my chest was a heartbeat before. I hit the ground and roll, coming up with my weapon raised. My thumb finds the dial and cranks it to maximum as she wheels around for another pass.
"Cody!" A'Vanti's voice cuts through the chaos.
I look up to see her moving along the far wall, circling around behind the keth'ra with something in her hands. She is holding one of the emergency flare rods. Where did she find that?
The keth'ra whirls toward the new movement, spines flaring again.
"Hey!" I shout, waving my arms. "Over here!"
Those shiny black eyes snap back to me. Good. Keep her guessing.
A'Vanti moves closer, her steps careful and deliberate. "Cody, when I light the flare, move right. Let's drive her toward the window, that's where her offspring went."
I like this plan. We're not trying to hurt the creature. We need to give her an escape route toward her baby.
The keth'ra's head swings back and forth between us, that rattling sound growing more agitated. She takes a step toward me, then hesitates, swinging back toward A'Vanti.
"Now!" A'Vanti cracks the flare to life.
Red light bursts through the hangar, harsh and chemical-bright. The keth'ra screams and recoils, her spines flattening along her back as she scrambles away from the sudden illumination.
At D'Rett's command, the rest of the group spreads into a line across the open bay doors, volt guns raised and dialed up.They fire together, bright blue bolts sizzling on the stone floor, cutting off any retreat back into the desert the way she came.
