Page 6 of Fool's Gold

Deeper we went, my boots ringing on the metal grates. Gemma stuck close, almost treading on my heels. I could hear her rapid breaths, smell the salt of nervous sweat on her skin.

I pulled up the schematic on my commpad, tracing the route she'd indicated to the maintenance tunnels. A narrow path through the station's service arteries, bypassing security checkpoints and crew quarters. Smart thinking for a human, if she wasn't lying again.

We rounded a corner into a larger thoroughfare and I stopped short. Something had torn through this area in a storm of violence. Walls buckled inward, viewports shattered, the deck plates torn into twisted furrows as if raked by massive claws.

Acrid smoke hung in the air. My lips pulled back from my elongated canines as the scent of charred flesh reached me. I extended my senses, straining to detect any survivors. Nothing. Only silence and death's echoes.

"What...what happened here?" Gemma's voice was barely above a whisper. She gripped the sleeve of my armored jacket, as if I could somehow shield her.

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know."

A low thrum resonated through the deck plating, too faint for human hearing. But it set my teeth on edge, the horns on my head tingling in an instinctive warning. We weren't alone on this dead hulk.

Snarling softly, I shoved Gemma behind me. If there were threats here, I would neutralize them swiftly. No one would lay a hand on my...on the human while she was mine to control.

"Stay close," I ordered. "And be silent."

Gemma nodded jerkily, huddling against my back. Her warmth and scent enveloped me as we advanced into the darkness, following the path of destruction toward the source of that insistent throbbing.

We turned the corner and suddenly found ourselves face-to-face with a wall of drones. Their metallic bodies gleamed dully in the flickering emergency lights, sensors glowing an ominous red.

I shoved one of the machines aside with my shoulder, the impact jarring but not enough to penetrate its armored shell. Instantly, the entire swarm turned on me with a harsh electronic whine.

"Get back!" I snarled at Gemma, pushing her behind me as the first drones surged forward. I drew my vibroblade in one fluid motion, the molecular-edged weapon humming with lethal potential.

Whip-like metal tentacles lashed out, aiming for my head. I ducked under the strike and slashed upwards, cleaving through its armored carapace. Sparks erupted from the rent metal as the machine crumpled to the deck.

More converged on me, sensors flashing like demented fireflies. I spun and weaved, blade whirling in glittering arcs to deflect their attacks. Severed limbs and shards of drone plating clattered to the floor around me.

I couldn't use my blaster - the risk of a hull breach was too great in these cramped confines. But even with only a blade, I would not retreat.

One drone grasped my arm, hydraulic pincers clamping down with crushing force. I hissed through clenched teeth as the mechanisms strained against my Vinduthi musculature. With a violent twist, I broke the drone's grip and flung it aside to smash into the bulkhead.

Where was Gemma? I risked a glance over my shoulder, but she had vanished from sight. Panic flared through me - had she slipped away in an attempt to escape? Been struck by one of the drones? Damn it, this was why I preferred to work alone.

A tentacle smashed into my back, the heavy impact staggering me forward. I whirled to defend myself, but instead of the attacking drone, I was shocked to see a twisted hunk of metal clattering across the deck, a drone sparking and twitching where it lay, its sensor smashed.

Gemma stood frozen, another piece of debris clutched in her hands. Her eyes were narrowed, chest heaving with exertion and fear even as she readied herself to throw again.

Relief washed over me, quickly chased by a surge of primal aggression. The little human had defended me? She should have stayed out of harm's way, not inserted herself into the fray.

She had only made herself another target for our foes.

The remaining drones seemed to reach the same conclusion. As one, they turned their sensors toward Gemma, pincers snapping in eerie unison.

A savage cry ripped from my throat. No...they would not lay a metal tendril on her. No one touched something that was mine.

I moved with blurring swiftness, a whirlwind of flashing steel and tearing metal. Limbs were shorn away, armored casings rent asunder by the fury of my onslaught. I battered the drones aside, smashing them into bulkheads until only scattered components remained.

The last one tried to scuttle away, skittering on its remaining appendages. I planted my boot on its back, pinning it to the deck, and drove my blade through its central processor. It went mercifully still with a few dying electronic shrieks.

Silence descended, broken only by the rasp of my harsh breathing. I straightened, surveying the wreckage, blade still gripped tightly in my fist. Gemma stared at me, eyes wide, the makeshift weapon dangling from her fingers.

Slowly, I sheathed my blade and turned to face her fully. She flinched, seeming to shrink in on herself. The scent of her fear hung thick in the air, stoking the predatory embers burning in my core.

"You shouldn't have intervened," I growled, taking a step toward her. She shrank back, clutching the debris protectively. "You could have been harmed."

"I...I was just trying to help," she stammered, shaking her head frantically. "You were being overwhelmed..."