14 Chapter 14 Battle with The Xalkak

With a roar, Dustin charged as the group of five began to turn to leave their circle. He was close enough, that it only took three steps to reach the first one.

Slashing with his claws, he raked the face of the first man. Then, as the man fell forward covering his face with his hands, Dustin jumped over him, jabbing his claws into the neck of the next guy, who was turning towards him.

Dodging the blow of a strange weapon the third guy pulled out, by ducking to the side, Dustin grabbed his arm, twisting it around to block the blow of the fourth guy, who was wielding a similar weapon. The weapons were slim, with spikes along the sides and a blade at the end. It was similar to a mace, combined with a sword. Definitely not a weapon used to take someone prisoner with.

He kicked the fourth guy in the chest, knocking him back long enough to jerk the weapon from the third guys hands and stab him with it. Turning to dodge under the swing of the fifth guy, Dustin stepped closer to him, grabbing his head and snapping his neck. The fourth guy had recovered by this point, and launched himself at Dustin, who dodged out of the way, and when the guy tripped over the body of the third guy, Dustin kneed him in the face as he went down.

Stepping around him, he watched them all struggling as the toxins in his claws started to affect them. Only the last guy, who he had kneed in the face, was still alive enough to talk to. Grabbing his hair, Dustin jerked him up enough to talk to him.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" he hissed at him. These people could have passed as human, if they didn't have the neural implants.

"Uz'En are to be killed," gurgled the man, as the blood from his broken nose drained down into his throat and he choked. "They're abom…minations…-gag-…will… overrun… galaxy…-cough-"

Dustin threw his head down in disgust.

'PED, send out the nanobots to make me a ship. Acquire what information you can about these shits, without giving us away to this AI.'

(UNDERSTOOD. TIME TO COMPLETION THIRTY MINUTES.)

Dustin grabbed up the dropped weapon of one of them, and turned to stab the guy in the back, when Cybele stepped forward.

"Must you kill them all?" she asked.

"Yes, they want to kill me and all of my people."

She nodded in understanding, as he stabbed the guy, then turned to watch the nanobots as they streamed from him, and started to tear down every scrap of metal on the plateau.

He looked at her, as she watched the nanobots, "Still want to come with me?"

"It is natural to want to be safe. You kill them so they can't harm you later. It is a necessity, not a pleasure, that you do these things. Why should that change my mind?"

"Most girls don't like the thought of killing," he said, feeling awkward.

"Then I am grateful that I am not like the girls you have been around, otherwise you would not still be available for me to get with. I look forward to living my life beside you."

"But why?" he asked, turning towards her fully. "You don't know me, or what I'm capable of. Who says I even want you to be with me?"

She looked at him and smiled. It was the first time he had seen her smile. "You're lonely. I saw it in your head. This Olivia hurt you, and you are unable to accept that she left you. I am fully willing to pursue you. And if I have to fight her for the honor of claiming you, I am ready."

Dustin blinked and stepped back, laughing out loud. This was rich!

"Alright, that's a fight I'm looking forward to."

(DUSTIN, I'VE FOUND SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION IN THE COMPUTERS OF THESE SMALL SHIPS. THIS RACE, THE XALKAK, SEEMS TO SEE THE UZ'EN AS A SCOURGE THAT MUST BE ERADICATED. I BELIEVE THE AI I SENSED EARLIER MAY BE LEADING THEM. THE COMPONENTS I REMOVED FROM THE CORPSES SHOWED THAT THE IMPLANTS WERE INSERTED DURING THE VERY EARLIEST MOMENTS OF LIFE, WHILE STILL IN THE WOMB.)

Seeing that he was distracted from their conversation, Cybele turned to continue watching the nanobots as they used the metal salvaged from the five ships to construct a new ship, large enough for the two of them to survive the trip back to his home planet.

'What do you mean by, still in the womb? The AI implanted these things in these people's heads, before they were even born? What do they even do, besides allow the AI to be able to contact them?'

(THE IMPLANTS ALLOW THE AI CONTROL OVER THEM. I BELIEVE THE ENTIRE RACE MAY BE ENSLAVED BY THIS AI.)

'While I'm not really wanting to kill an entire race, I can't just sit back and let this AI hunt and kill my people. Do you think you could work on hiding yourself from it? I don't really want it hacking into you and gaining control of your functions.'

(I WILL WORK ON THAT, BUT IT MAY REQUIRE ACCESS TO THE HIVE MIND BACK HOME TO ASCERTAIN COMPLETE SUCCESS. I WILL BRING BACK ENOUGH OF THE XALKAK TECHNOLOGY TO ALLOW BETTER RESULTS.)

"Dustin! There are other ships coming!" cried Cybele pointing at the sky.

Dustin turned to see a group of a dozen, or so, flyers approaching them. Glancing back at the ship, he saw that it was almost done.

'PED, any chance we can get going? Maybe let the nanobots finish while we flee?'

(AFFIRMATIVE, YOU MAY ENTER THE VESSEL.)

The door popped open for them to climb inside.

"Come on," he said, darting towards the door. The nanobots had moved some of the seats over from the salvaged ships, so he sat in one and started looking over the controls. Cybele climbed in behind him, mimicking how he put on his seat belt.

The door closed behind him, and he grabbed the controls. With a jolt, they were in the air, with nanobots rushing not to be left behind. It was time to lose these guys and get out of there. They wouldn't try to capture him alive after what he had done to their friends.