I cursed. “Sorry to break up the family reunion, but I think our time was just cut short.”

Shka looked from the ships to his grandfather and back again, stricken. I felt for the kid. I really did. There wasn’t time to work through our options. Every second we wasted was another second closer to our probable detainment and the potential death of billions. I pushed the forming knot out of my stomach.

“Shka we have to get moving. Now.” I turned to the elder. “Anything you can do to cover our retreat?”

“No.” Shka interjected. “Don’t get my grandfather involved in this.”

“He’s already involved. There are military craft headed our way.” Shka looked as if he were about to protest again so I cut him off. “No. Just save it. I’ve seen more die this week than I have over the course of my life. I’m going to do what I can to minimize it with or without you.”

The elder didn’t look pleased, but he nodded in agreement. “I can whip up a trick or two. Don’t worry about me Shkaabewis. I haven’t lived as long as I have for lack of caution.” Grinning he handed us a primitive metal key, the kind synonymous with tumbler based locks, and walked away from us. “Take the old motorboat and head east. Keep to the left shoreline and you’ll find your way.”

I didn’t know what any of that meant, but Shka did. Without a word he turned and left. He hadn't come here for this. He had wanted to warn them of coming trouble, not expedite it. They deserved what little warning we could give them, but it seemed they were the ones in a better position to provide aid. Sometimes that’s just what life gives us, and we have to make do.

I placed a hand on Shka’s arm and said, “You going to be alright?”

He grimaced a smiled at me and coughed, “One way or another.”

“Let’s hurry then. You don’t look so good.”

“Speak for yourself.”

He marched us to the tiny boat and we left as the ships landed. I hoped the military weren’t on Yadek’s side.

The mostly civilian ships who had flown over the forested waterways ahead of us circled like vultures as we made our way to the site. I wasn’t certain how long we could stay hidden. Worse assuming we made it there and back I wasn’t certain how we’d convince the military to let us go with the potential cure.

Yet as we made our way through the forest, no one came for us. Despite several close calls between me and animals that Shka insisted were harmless we made it to the site in one piece.

The grove itself was a semicircle of trees pressed up against a lush cliff face. Iconography littered the area. There were carvings of bird species along the cliff, different plants along the ground, and many more things I had no hope of recognizing. In the center of it all was a beehive shaped rock and above it hanging from a branch rested the agarikon.

The grove was well tended. There were signs of recent upkeep, branches trimmed back to prevent sculptures from being obscured, bushes trimmed, and more that marked it as a well traveled site. Probably something akin to a historic site or nature preserve. Which made me realize why Shka had asked for directions. He was dying and wanted someone to know where to find him if he didn’t make it. My chest tightened. I couldn't let him die out here.

He fell to a knee coughing almost the instant we set foot on shore. I attempted to help him to his feet, but he pushed me away and turned his head away as he began to retch blood. He looked paler now, and weak to the point of barely being able to function. The change had been almost instant. I’d never seen an illness do this before.

I tried to place his arm around my shoulders to support him, but stopped dead in my tracks as a bolt of laser fire went off behind me. The blast never came near me, and instead severed a tree limb thicker than both my arms in the distance. A decisive warning shot that clearly said cooperate or die.

A familiar female voice came from behind me. “Yadek, they have led us to the prize. Location beacon is active.”

I looked to Shka. He was on his knees coughing. I didn’t think he would get back up. I raised my hands with exaggerated caution using the time to scan the trees on the off chance any of them were brave enough to face the ferocious monsters of earth, and saw nothing. That gave me an idea. It wasn’t much of an idea. Nor was it a good one, but it was better than nothing.

I turned to face my attacker and recognized her from the flight control. The surprise must have shown on my face because she smiled.

“Yadek doesn’t want to kill you,” she licked her lips, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t if you give me an excuse.”

My blood ran cold. She meant it. It made sense though. Yadek must have had accomplices in trusted positions. After a terrorist attack they wouldn’t put just anyone in a position vital to the security of the station.

“You set the bombs didn’t you?”

Her smile became more pleasant. “You’re smarter than Yadek gives you credit for. I’m impressed he’s usually dead on with his estimates.” The way she emphasized the word dead gave me a cold sinking feeling in my gut that made me want to vomit.

“Lucky guess,” I said trying to make my voice sound shaken and scared. It was difficult because I was not longer afraid for perhaps the first time in my life. Instead I was angry. I was angry for her victims. For their families. For the lives of the civilians who had never done anything but help the alliance of our people. Each of them deserved to vengeance, and that knowledge hardened my resolve. “What are you going to do with us? The human is almost dead.” The latter part may or may not have been true, but it looked true enough from my perspective.

Her nose wrinkled, and she pointed her blaster at my head. “If this is some kind of funny business, I’ll make you wish I shot you.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” I said. Which was true. There wasn’t anything useful I could get out faking him being ill. Unless she had some kind of treatment on hand. That thought struck a chord of hope. What if she did? What if her orders were to keep Shka alive? That line of thought made sense to me. They were already following us, presumably as much to stop us as to discover what we knew. They wouldn’t be able to discern everything from watching though. But they could find out enough to give themselves some bargaining chips to use against Shka. “You can't afford to let him die can you?”

A blaster shot nicked my ear and I fell to the ground screaming before I knew what was going on. I’m not good when it comes to pain, or the outdoors thing, or really anything that isn't a climate controlled zone of comfort.

Our sadistic friend cackled at me. “You are pathetic,” she said. “I’ve got something for him. I’m not sure if they have tested it. Personally, I hope it causes him a worse death.”

She pulled out a cylindrical device I recognized as an automatic injector and walked over to Shka, never once pointing the blaster at anything other than my face. For just a moment she looked away from me to slam the device into Shka’s neck. I took the chance to charge at her intent on prying the blaster away. At the same time Shka rolled and grabbed the arm with the injector. She shrieked as they tumbled end over end away from me. By the time she could register what had happened I was already diving through the air and grabbing the blaster. I landed hard on my shoulder and skidded to a hard stop. I was tired, angry, more injured than I had ever been in my life but for the first time since I had delivered the package to Yadek I was in control. I had her blaster.

The revelry lasted mere moments. In the distance I could hear a ship landing. I didn’t have much time. Shka had passed out on top of the sadist who was struggling to get out from beneath him.

“I’d like to say I’m sorry, but you’ve put me in a bit of a rush,” I said and pointed her own blaster at her head. “This is for the children you murdered.”

There was a sizzle followed by the smell of burning flesh before I had even realized I’d pulled the trigger. I wanted to let the shock of it settle in. To absorb how horrible it felt to have just ended a life. To take in the look of shock and horror on her face. There just wasn’t time. A ship I could only assume was Yadek’s had just landed not far off. I needed to leave before he arrived, and I needed to take Shka with me. There was no way I could manage that. I was barely strong enough to lift the average human to their knees. Hauling one with me would be impossible, especially in this terrain. But if Yadek wanted him alive then he'd have him take to his ship.

I couldn’t take Shka with me, but I could take a piece of the agarikon. I took aim with the blaster and after several attempts managed to take out the branch supporting the mushroom. I pocketed some of it and with one last look at Shka disappeared into the trees.