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15
I adjustedmy visor for the tenth time in about three minutes. It didn't need adjusting, and fixing it made no difference whatsoever. It was just my nerves which made me restless, and my desire to get this over with before we were blasted to smithereens by friendly fire.
"Keep still," J'avet hissed, before he adjusted his visor. He'd done it at least as many times as I had.
I smirked, even though I knew he wouldn't see it. I would razz him about it later.
Now, I peered into the darkness and let the visor lock on the building down the slope from us. After a moment, the structure came into focus, showing me almost as much as I would see in daylight.
The best thing about the Iri was they needed sleep as much as the rest of us. That meant the building was quiet except a handful of guards who walked this way and that.
J'avet gestured to Rayax and Tarvun and waved for them to head down to the left. He pointed to me and himself and waved to the right. He really wasn't going to let me out of his sight. He pulled out his anti-Iri device and nodded for us to do the same.
When he started down the slope at a slow, silent pace, I followed close behind. Not so close I would run into the back of him, but close enough.
He snuck behind a small stand of trees and we again took stock of the path ahead. Two guards stood near the corner of the building. Two stood at the opposite corner. Rayax and Tarvun would have to take care of the latter two. We would focus on the ones in front of us.
J'avet beckoned me forward and moved out again.
Barely a handful of steps from the guards, he started to trot, device in his raised hand. He pointed it right at the guard furthest from him and pressed the button on the side.
I did the same with the closer guard.
Almost in unison, they were struck down, frozen in place. Their nanobots poured out in a flood and lay deactivated at their feet.
We caught both guards and lowered them silently to the ground. I made sure mine was more or less okay, then glanced over to see that Rayax and Tarvun had done the same with theirs.
I let out a long, slow breath. This was far from over, but we'd taken that first step. We got this.
I hoped.
J'avet nodded toward the door which led into the building. At least, I think that's what happened. His visor jerked in that direction.
I fell in behind him and managed to contain a squeal of surprise when Rayax and Tarvun appeared behind me.
Heart in my throat, I followed J'avet toward the door. I was surprised to find it open. Then again, this was a planet of Iri who more or less shared the same mind. They had no reason to keep each other out.
We stepped into an empty room. A door at the back led into another.
"I'm starting to think this building is a decoy," Rayax whispered.
I pressed my lips together. I hoped it wasn't, because it might end up being a trap.
Mice caught in it—us.
"There's something here." J'avet covered the glow of his watch with his hand, then turned it off. "Through there." He pointed his device toward the rear door.
If you get us killed, I thought in his general direction, I'm going to be pissed.
We stepped through the doorway, into a room larger than the one we'd left.
J'avet was right, there was something here. Or rather, someone. Several of them. They lay on the same kind of beds the ships all had in their infirmaries.
Human, Centauri, Dendran and Agusian, they were all attached to tubes like an IV, which ended at a needle in their bare arms.
"Just a guess, they're trying to figure out how to make them hosts," Rayax said. He moved between the beds.
I murmured my agreement and did the same. I couldn't hold back a short, low cry at the sight of a familiar face lying on his back, eyes closed.
