Harbin gritted his teeth, a rage pouring through him. He had to bury those men before while Bianca had slept. He'd seen enough of his fellow Rhimodians dead today. He did not want to see someone gloat about the senseless killings.
"Yeah, they weren't even armed!" one of the companions yelled as he landed near the leader.
The other one landed as well. All three were armed with blast rifles, the kind that worked best for long-distance kills.
"So, what are you waiting for?" Harbin asked. "Take your shot."
The Terran leader shrugged. "Fine by me."
At the moment he brought his blaster back up, Harbin raised his weapon.
And fired.
It hit the Terran square in the face.
The other two Terrans opened fire.
With one arm he blocked, and the other arm, he fired at the one on his right. Took out the target. Shifted to take out the mark on his left when he saw a blade fly through the air and embed into the male's forehead.
He turned to Bianca, whose hand was still in the throwing position.
He touched her hand, which was trembling, and pulled her close to him.
She pressed against him, and her teeth chattered.
"You did not tell me you could throw knives," he said.
"You didn't ask." She was chattering in his arms.
"Cold or adrenalin."
"Yes," she said.
"Come, let's get you out of here." He led her toward the nearest hoverbike. Plenty big enough for them and the bags to ride back up to the caves.
"Get on," he said.
She nodded.
"Let's get you warm."
"Yes. Warm."
* * *
The hoverbike was much faster.Harbin was pleased it only took them minutes to get back to the cave where they had some protection from the elements. Bianca shivered as she hung onto him, her dress flowing around them like an odd cape.
"Soon," he said. "It won't be long."
"I know," she said and buried her face into his back.
They were up the mountain quickly, and a secondary benefit--he could see where the others in the party were. According to the hover bike's systems, no one was in the vicinity. Instead, they all had positions on the far side of the moon.
He drove the hoverbike directly into the cave and parked it near the fire. The bike's engine had not even powered down when Bianca leaped off and ran to the fireplace. The fire had died down since they had left, but it still radiated some heat.
Harbin shut down the bike and crossed to stoke the fire. Immediately, the cave got warmer. He added a bit more fuel to help it burn. The fuel shined bright, giving the cave a sharp white glow briefly, and he glanced at Bianca.
Her eyes went wide, and a smile of joy spread over her face. "Pretty," she said, holding her hand out to the fire.
