"{If you birdbrains had any hand in causing this disaster, I will gut you. I will leave ALL of you screaming in a pool of your own entrails.}"

Ngralh put a hand on Rgrarshok's hunched shoulder. "{Let's hear them out, Captain.}"

Their unexpected pilot had kept their shuttle on the ground during their escape, and at the moment the team was parked in an unobtrusive side street quite a ways from the palace. Thus far they didn't see any signs of pursuit.

To her credit, The Silken Feather stood in the middle of the shuttle's crowded interior and faced the furious Captain without flinching. "[I merely wished to get better reconnaissance on the Claw's location and get some idea of the security around it. I would not have made any move to steal it if it would have triggered an alert.]"

"[We're very sorry!]" said Ck'Trrk'Ka. Her coppery crest and body feathers were flat against herself in distress. "[We didn't mean any harm, it was just...we had to make sure to get the Claw back...]"

Rgrarshok took one substantial step towards the Matriarch and loomed. "{FUCK the Claw! Two of MY CREW are in jeopardy!}"

Ma'elge'yk raised a hesitant claw. "[Technically, [Maria] isn't a member of your crew...]"

Before she could finish, the yellow Matriarch was suddenly subject to some looming of her own. "{She put herself in harm's way for this mission. That makes her my crew, and if you value the current state of your SPINE you will not utter another word.}"

Ma'elge'yk went flat against the deck and nodded with great haste.

Rgrarshok took in a deep breath that seemed to suck up all the air inside the shuttle, and then released that breath with careful slowness. Then she relaxed her clenched fists and nodded. "[Right. Next steps. Grawfren, what's the status of our ship? Were you able to make contact?}"

"{I was. It's on its way to the surface,}" replied the pilot from the pilot's station. "{Looks like the computer activated Emergency Option SNOWBALL. As a matter of fact...}"

Grawfren touched a control, and overhead the shuttle's hull became transparent. A fireball shot with a yellow streak through the deep blue sky overhead, but its straight-line trajectory was interrupted on occasion by a bright flash that knocked it off course before the fireball resumed its former trajectory.

"{Still getting pounded by the planetary defense network,}" continued Grawfren, "{But the ice-armor is holding. It'll make it down in one piece. The landing site is the one we picked, out near that mountain range in the desert.}"

"{That's one thing going right at least,}" said Rgrarshok. "{Egwreh, we're going to need heavier weaponry for any rescue attempt. What have you got on board the Claw that you can re-purpose in a hurry?}"

The engineer shrugged. "{I actually fabbed up a few more masers, just in case [Resh'skk] broke one.}"

Resh'skk snorted. His helmet's visor was raised, but otherwise he was still clad in his power armor. "[As if! By the way, nice job on this one. It shoots like a dream.]" He patted his weapon with one gauntlet.

Egwreh bowed her head in his direction. "{I can also outfit the Dorarizin among us with extra armor. It won't be power armor, but it'll stand up to energy weapons better than this stuff.}" She tapped her own uniform.

Myyreh also had her visor raised, and her face was drawn with worry. "{But where do we start looking? That bastard could be hiding the tiny-chompers anywhere on this planet!}" She stared at the deck. "{[Oscar]...}"

Rgrarshok laid a paw on her pauldron. "{We'll figure something out. We are a pretty good team of investigators, after all.}"

The Silken Feather dramatically cleared her throat. "[May I speak?]"

Rgrarshok turned and gave her a dead-eyed stare. "{Be quick.}"

"[I think it's safe to say that wherever [Sssnnathor] is, he'll have the [tiny-chompers] with him. Agreed?]"

"{A safe assumption,}" said Bgrarh, who also regarded the thief with pitiless eyes. "{But so what?}"

The Silken Feather took in a deep breath. "[In that case, I know where they are. I know where [Sssnnathor's] underground cloning facility is located, and that must be where he's taken them.]"

Bgrarh sneered. "{And you'll tell us if we release you, is that it?}"

The thief shook her crest. "[No. I don't want to see the [tiny-chompers] hurt any more than you do. It's [Sssnnathor's new pleasure palace. That's where he's hidden his laboratory. I'll give you the coordinates.]"

The metal box containing the two humans pitched side-to-side one last time then thumped down onto something hard.

"Looks like we're here," said Oscar.

Maria bit back a smart-ass retort and just nodded. Thus far she'd been able to stop from screaming, but it was a struggle. She knew that if Sssnnathor began any sort of proper interrogation she'd fold like wet cardboard.

"I'm here," said Oscar. "Just breathe. Focus on your breathing and follow my lead, okay?"

She gave another nod in response.

A few clicks sounded from one side of their little cell, and that side hinged up and out. The Dorarizin who'd commanded them to strip poked his head in and made a few clacking, buzzsaw-like sounds. Then he smacked himself in the forehead in a very human gesture, then held up a claw in a 'wait one minute' manner before withdrawing.

"At least they didn't start right in on the torturing," said Maria.

"I told you, we're too valuable."

Maria peered towards the open end of the crate. They were in one corner of some kind of sterile-looking space that reminded her of a medical lab. She could just make out the corner of a big glass tank at one edge of the door. A few armored Dorarizin legs paced nearby, and every so often one of the guards would lower their helmet to peer curiously into the crate.

After about ten minutes, one of the guards edged closer and shoved his helmet right into their space. He reached out with one gauntlet towards Oscar's head, his finger extended as if he was going to poke the human in the forehead.

"Careful," said Oscar. "Your boss is not gonna forgive you if you hurt us."

The guard's gauntlet paused right as a commanding growl-click sounded out. That command made the guard whip himself back out of the crate only to meet the steady glare of the lead Dorarizin. The latter pointed at a far corner, and the guard went to the designated spot with a sheepish set to his shoulders.

The lead Dorarizin leaned down and rolled a pair of commbeads into the crate. As the humans inserted them, he disappeared again and returned with a pair of fluffy robes. He set the robes at the edge of the crate before speaking.

"[I'm Nerlharg-of-Aergh, his Excellency bids you welcome. Are either of you injured?]"

"No," squeaked Maria.

Oscar just shook his head.

"[Excellent.]" Nerlharg gestured to the robes. "[Please, don these. I apologize, but this is the best we could do on such short notice.]"

Maria crept forward and grabbed the smaller robe. At least their captors seemed to be acting civilized for the moment.

After they'd robed-up and crawled out of the crate, Mara arched her back and felt a welcome crackle of vertebrae as she looked around.

It was an extensive space with a surprisingly low ceiling...low for a xeno, that is. The floor was flat gray stone, while the walls were roughly hewn with no attempt to make them pretty. Harsh pale-white light shone from the walls on the equipment spread about the big room. Most of it was pipes and cables strewn in a crazy-quilt arrangement along the ceiling, but the most attention-grabbing items were the tanks.

Each transparent tank was a cylinder easily fifteen feet across; they were arranged in a grid pattern throughout the lab. All were empty except for the one closest to them, which was filled with hazy liquid and a coiled figure.

Maria approached the nearest tank, keeping a side-eye on Nerlharg to see if he'd protest. Instead he just waved them forward. She walked right up to the tank and pressed her face to the glass, while next to her Oscar did the same.

The fluid inside was filled with swirling bits. Some of the flecks glittered with a metallic sheen, while the others looked more pale and organic. But in spite of the fluid's murkiness she could see the figure it surrounded.

It was Sssnnathor. The tyrant was curled into a loose ball, his arms hugged around his own torso while his eyes stared unseeing. He gave a mild twitch now and again, and at every twitch his eyes seemed to focus for a moment before returning to hazy.

She had a moment of puzzlement. Sssnathor had been at the party right when they'd been kidnapped. Had he raced all the way here (wherever 'here' was) and plonked himself into the tank? Maybe this was some kind of rejuvenation bath or something...

"[Magnificent, isn't it?]" said Sssnnathor from behind her.

Maria spun and let out an eep at the sight of the tyrant towering over them.

Sssnnathor lowered himself to her height and smiled. "[So. What do you think?]"

Oscar shifted his jaw around a little before replying. "Looks like you're cloning yourself, sir."

Sssnnathor tilted his hood. "[That is...technically correct, although what I have achieved here is far more advanced than any mere clone. But before we get to that, please follow me. You never did get a chance to eat before your performance was ended so, er, abruptly.]"

He slithered away while Maria glanced at Oscar. He gave a slight nod, so she walked after Sssnnathor with as much dignity as she could muster. Nerlharg brought up the rear, and as the Dorarizin walked he touched his ear and murmured commands.

Next to a ring-shaped Jornissian workstation was a table with quite a few plates of multicolored alien dishes. Those dishes were segregated into two halves, with a clear demarcation line between them.

Sssnnathor waved languidly towards the table. "[I was planning to have a little repast of my own, in celebration of his decanting. But there was also a chance you'd be here, so I made sure to include some [human]-safe dishes. Everything to the right is safe to eat and drink.]"

Oscar didn't respond, instead he reached out and picked up what looked like a bite-size piece of dark yellow cheese. But since these were xenos, that 'bite-size' piece was about the size of a paperback novel. He nodded at their 'host' and took a bite.

Maria reached for some 'cheese' of her own, then hesitated.

"[Oh, please,]" said Sssnnathor with a hissing laugh. "[If I wanted to drug you, I'd have done so well before now. Please eat, you need to keep up your strength.]"

She felt a little like a child being told to eat her greens, but Maria swallowed her pride and picked up a 'cheese' block of her own. It tasted...familiar but strange, like some combination of pineapple and soy sauce overlaid with an aftertaste like celery. Its texture was smooth and the most 'cheese-like' thing about it. She kept a close eye on Oscar while she ate her own piece, but he didn't show any signs of distress so she shrugged and kept on eating.

Sssnnathor's hood scrunched in a little as he selected a few morsels from 'his' side of the table and munched on them with clear satisfaction. "[Lovely. Now, as to the true nature of your comrades...]"

Maria opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by a raised hand from Sssnnathor. "[No, please. Let me finish, so that you won't have to go through the embarrassment of lying. Your clothing was much more advanced than any standard armor. I'm pretty sure that cloaking tech is not available to any mere troupe of entertainers. Nerlharg?]"

The Dorarizin nodded. "[We have not yet, ah, 'secured' the other members of their troupe. Two of them are wearing very advanced power armor. From the reports, the armor sounds like seventh-generation in make.]"

Sssnnathor smirked down at the two humans. "[And what is your interpretation of these facts, my friend?]"

"[They're an undercover Senate team. Probably here to retrieve the Claw.]"

The Jornissian turned to regard the nearby tank holding his clone. "[Yes, that's my interpretation as well.]"

Maria looked at Oscar, who in return shrugged and said, "Maybe we are. Maybe not."

In response, the two xenos gave their respective versions of a chuckle.

She was tired of Oscar's man-of-few-words nonsense. Maybe she could bluff their way out of this. Maria set her jaw and faced Sssnnathor again. "Okay, fine, no bullshit. We're with a Senate team, and you're in big fucking trouble for grabbing us. If you want to get out of this in one piece you'll hand over both us and the Claw. I'm sure you can cut a deal."

"[A deal, eh?]" Sssnnathor sounded nothing but amused at her blustering. "[Oh, little one. I've been making contingency plans for longer than you've been alive.]" He sighed. "[I suppose there's nothing for it. [Nerlargh], I'm authorizing Code HARSAK PRIME.]"

Nerlharg gave a deep bow, then turned and stalked out of the room. One of the other armored guards moved up to take his place. Maria was surprised that she missed the furry bastard; at least he'd seemed like a reasonable sort.

She cleared her throat. "Um, sir, what's Code HARSAK PRIME?"

Sssnnathor continued his staring at the tank, and at her question he shook himself as if recovering from a trance. "[Er? Oh, yes. We're going to activate the entire planetary defense system. It will fire on anyone approaching this planet. Just in case you lot have an invasion fleet on the way.]"

"Okay." That didn't sound too terrible...

"[And, of course, it will also destroy anyone trying to leave the planet.]"

Maria's face went slack with shock, and Sssnnathor actually looked troubled upon seeing her distress. "[Oh, please don't worry! You'll both be safe aboard my ship, which has the necessary transponder codes to pass through safely. Anyone else leaving...such as your Senate comrades, for example...well, I'm sorry to say they won't make it.]"

Her mind whirled. She knew that this was a sparsely populated planet, but there were still a few million souls living here. They'd all try to evacuate as well...and would get shot down like so many target drones. How many people had this bastard just sentenced to death? She glanced at Oscar to see if he'd also reacted, but his face was set like granite as he stared at the tyrant.

Sssnnathor straightened up. "[Anyhow. First things first, as you [humans] say. Come, let me introduce you.]" He flowed towards the tank, and after one final caress of its transparent wall he nodded.

That nod must have been the outward indicator of a command from his implant, because within moments the liquid level in the tank began to decrease.

"[You see, it's all a matter of what one means by immortality,]" mused Sssnnathor. He kept his palm pressed up against the transparent wall of the tank.

"Immortality means not dying," said Maria.

"[How charmingly direct! Yes, that is the simplest and best description. Alas, galactic culture doesn't see it that way. They prefer the idea that immortality consists of having progeny who will carry your family name forward into the depths of time.]"

Maria glanced over at Oscar, who still didn't look like he was about to say anything. She cleared her throat. "Well, what with all of your fancy nanotech I imagine you could make yourself ageless, right?"

"[I could, and I have. Right now I possess cybernetic and nanotech enhancements far beyond that allowed in Senate space.]" Sssnnathor removed his hand from the tank wall and fiddled at his palm with his other hand. He turned and displayed that palm towards Maria, showing a metallic glitter among his blue-and-black scales. "[Even now, I can live for a very long time. Perhaps eons. Yet I am still but one physical body, and a single physical body can still be destroyed. Even as I am, I am not truly immortal.]"

Sssnnathor nodded towards the tank. "[And so I embarked on my greatest work. I had to become more than just one.]"

By now the fluid level in the tank was nearly at the bottom while Sssnnathor damn near bounced on his coils in anticipation. As the last of the soupy liquid gurgled away down the drain, one side of the tank noiselessly retracted into the floor.

The clone of Sssnnathor sprawled on the floor of the tank as he feebly tried to rise. His silvery eyes were unfocused.

The tyrant slithered into the tank. "[Shh, shh, it's okay. I know you're confused. Let me give you some enlightenment.]"

He reached down and gripped the clone's hand, and with a little bit of fiddling he exposed the same metallic glitter as was in his own palm. Then he pressed his palm against his clone's, interlacing their fingers as the clone stared around in bleary confusion.

Then the clone jerked and thrashed as if he'd touched a live electrical wire. Sssnnathor jerked in a counterpoint rhythm.

Maria had no inkling of what was going on, although she did wonder if they'd have a chance to flee now that Sssnnathor was occupied. She glanced behind him and saw the armored wall of a Dorarizin guard staring with no expression down at them both.

So much for that. By the time she turned her attention back to the pair of Jornissians, all thrashing had ceased. The clone shook his hood, and as Sssnnathor backed out of the tank the copy's once-vacant expression turned to one of utter delight.

"[It worked!]" cried the clone. He regarded his hands, then looked up at the equally happy tyrant. "[Oh, wow. That looks so strange.]"

"[Like looking into a mirror but not, eh?]" replied Sssnnathor. "[Come on out and we'll get you cleaned up and dressed.]"

Another guard walked over bearing a clothes bag and a Jornissian-sized towel. He handed the latter to the clone as it slithered out of the tank. "[Thank you, Nrgran,]" said the clone. The penny dropped for Maria as the clone toweled himself dry. She turned to Sssnnathor.

"He knew the guard's name. You downloaded information into his head?"

Sssnnathor stretched his neck in pride. "[I downloaded myself. He is me, in every way that matters.]"

Sssnnathor-2 finished wriggling into a panama-style suit which matched Sssnnathor-1's outfit. "[No, it's more proper to say that you are me.]" The tyrants stared at each other for a moment with narrowed eyes, then both burst into hissing laughter before embracing.

"[It wasn't an easy task,]" said Sssnnathor-2 after they broke the hug. "[The hardest part was figuring out how to transcribe organic memories and brain patterns using a secondary cybernetic nervous system. Then I had to make a clone with the proper cybernetics already installed via nanotech.]" He gestured down at his own long body. "[It's taken a couple of centuries to figure out the details, but as you can see it's a success.]"

Oscar twisted his jaw and spoke. "Looks like you plan to do this a lot more times." He motioned at the other tanks throughout the room.

"[Of course,]" said Sssnnathor-1. "[This is just the beginning! Now that I've performed the proof of concept, we can do it again.]"

The two tyrants started speaking in unison. "[And again, and again, and again, and again...]"

"But you're going to evacuate!" said Maria. She pulled her robe tighter around herself. "You won't have time to grow any more, um, yous."

"[Not here, no,]" said Sssnnathor-2. "[But I have recorded the data from this success. Once I've found another appropriately out-of-the-way place to rebuild, it will be [child's play] to reconstruct what I've got here. Within a [decade] or so, there will be enough of me to take the fight to the Senate and crush them. After that, I estimate the population of me will surpass many trillions in number. And that 'species of me' will go on, passing our memories back and forth the whole time, forming a massive, galaxy-spanning [gestalt] entity that will truly live forever.]"

"So what's with the show-and-tell?" asked Oscar. "Why didn't you just shove us on board your escape ship and be done with it?"

The identical Jornissians both chuckled. As they replied they both spoke, completing each other's sentences.

"[Well, for one thing this is the result of a lot of work-]"

[-yes, a lot of hard work. I can't help but want to show it off-]"

[-surely you understand that, I hope? And besides, I think it's appropriate that [humans] of all species should bear witness to my triumph-]"

[-because I have an offer for both of you.]"

The hair on the back of Maria's neck prickled. She knew what was coming before it was said. One of the Sssnnathors slithered around behind her and placed his clawed hands on her shoulders in a gentle caress. As her heart did its best jackhammer impression he brought his snout down and whispered into her ear.

"[Ssshhh, little one. There's no need to fear. I can make it so that you won't have to fear anything ever again. How would you like to live forever?]"

Maria glanced over at Oscar, who stood in his robe with folded arms and a stony expression while the other Sssnnathor whispered in his ear. She swallowed and felt like she was about to vomit back up the 'cheese' she'd just eaten. "I don't know if I like the whole cloning idea, sir," she said.

Sssnnathor's tail-tip brushed against her bare leg and his hands squeezed ever-so-softly at her deltoids. "[Oh, there will be plenty of time to decide that. For starters, I could give you the same enhancements I now possess. You will be stronger, faster, more durable. You will never age, and any injuries will heal faster than you can imagine. It will take some time to reconfigure my enhancements for [human] biochemistry, but I am a rather brilliant nanoengineer. I should be able to achieve it.]"

The tyrant's tail wound delicately around her calf and slid upwards. "[Hmmm, you are so warm. I can see why they call you [humans].]"

Maria bit her lip. "Er, I don't understand, sir."

Mercifully Sssnnathor's tail stopped its upward trajectory. But his hands now moved forward over her chest and clasped together over her belly as he hugged her from behind. "[Mmm, so warm.]"

She shot a pleading look at Oscar, although there wasn't really much he could do. The other Sssnnathor finished whispering in Oscar's ear, only for the human to shake his head.

"No," was all he said.

The Sssnnathor on Maria released her, and both Jornissians now flowed around to face the man. Maria let out a shaky breath at her stay of molestation.

"[What do you mean, no?]" snapped one of the tyrants. "[Don't tell me you buy into that nonsense the Senate spews out.]"

The other Sssnnathor smiled, clearly trying to act as the 'good cop'. "[I'm not just offering this to only you two. Once I've figured it out, I can give my enhancements to every [human] in the galaxy. And those who wish to can follow my lead and duplicate themselves.]"

"[Isn't that a noble thing?]" asked the first Sssnnathor. "[Imagine how much pain and suffering, how much needless death you could eradicate among your kind.]"

"At what cost?" asked Oscar.

"[No cost, other than for [humanity] to ally with my cause.]"

Maria's eyes widened. "You mean, fight the Senate alongside you?"

The closer Sssnnathor smirked at her. "[Why not? What have they ever done for you, other than deny you the technology that should be rightfully yours?]"

Maria glanced at Oscar, who was back into 'saying nothing' mode. "It's not that simple," she said. "I wasn't born then, but I've read about the social dislocations when the Karnakians started giving us advanced power and medical tech willy-nilly. Things are still kinda unsettled back home, to be honest."

The other Sssnnathor waved a dismissive hand. "[A mere case of idiots not knowing what they're doing. Your species was primitive when the Karnakians discovered you, but that was no fault of your own. Just a matter of bad timing in your planet's pattern of extinction-level events. You deserve so much more than the paltry crumbs they throw you.]"

The first Sssnnathor sighed. "[I suppose it's a lot for them to take in. Well, you'll have plenty of time on board my ship to reconsider.]"

Nerlharg loped in through the entrance. He blinked in surprise at being confronted with two of his boss. "[Oh. I take it the decanting was a success, Excellency?]"

"[Quite so,]" said one of the Sssnnathors. "[I apologize for not waiting for your return, but we are pressed for time and I couldn't resist showing off to our guests.]"

The Dorarizin gave an imperturbable shrug. "[As Your Excellency wishes. The system is set, and HARSAK PRIME will activate in [ten minutes]. I've notified the crew of the [Shrenthhah] to begin warming up their engines.]"

"[Wonderful. Would you please escort our guests to the transport? We'll be there shortly.]"

One of the Sssnnathors slid over to the workstation and popped out a couple of data chips. He handed one to his counterpart, and in perfect synchronization they placed each chip into the breast pocket of their respective suits.

"[So we have a decision to make,]" said one of the tyrants. "[Which do you prefer? I was leaning towards [N''illl'kan], she's an amusing little thing-]"

"[-Hmm, yes, I do like her. We'll need to select two, of course-]"

"[-of course!-]"

"[-perhaps [Glgrarh] for the second. He whines so cute when I discipline him-]"

"[-a fine choice. Let's go fetch them.]"

As the pair of Jornissians headed for the exit, Maria cleared her throat. "Er, you are going to tell everyone on the planet about HARSAK PRIME, right?"

One of the Sssnnathors looked at her in mild surprise. "[Of course not. I'm going to broadcast the news that a Senate invasion fleet is on the way. I want lots of attempts to flee, with lots of destruction and chaos. How else can we sneak away with no one tracking us?]"

They slithered out the door as Maria's gut churned.

Oscar stared at the metal floor of the corridor as he and Maria marched along. Behind him he could hear the heavier footfalls of Nerlharg, but for the moment that Dorarizin seemed to be the only one escorting them. Given how fragile and slow humans were in comparison, Oscar supposed that was reasonable. Nerlharg struck him as a very deadly combination of smart and vicious.

"I guess your boss must trust you," said Maria back over her shoulder. Oscar raised an eyebrow at her. Was that a possible tactic?

"[He does,]" replied Nerlharg.

"I mean, you know about the whole cloning and personality-download thing," she continued. "If the Senate found out about that, they'd hunt him down like a do...like a wanted criminal."

"[I suppose they might. If they knew.]" His voice was still calm and even, as if they were discussing the weather.

Maria shrugged. "But you must know how hard it is to keep a secret when a lot of people know about it. Aren't you worried that he's going to see you as a liability, what with all the secrets in your head..."

The two humans flinched as a huge paw swung in a horizontal arc over their heads. The claws of that paw embedded themselves in the corridor wall with a dull squawk. Both Maria and Oscar spun to face Nerlharg as he leaned down over them with bared teeth and gleaming eyes.

"[Don't think that you being so valuable means that I can't discipline you. I am not just a mere [flunky], I am His Excellency's most trusted companion. He's promised me the same gifts that he has. Immortality is within my reach, so consider this a warning. I am not a fool, and don't go trying foolish things like undermining my loyalty to him. Understand? Or do I need to spank you?]"

With a screech of rending metal Nerlharg tore his clamped paw from the wall. Oscar didn't say a word as he moved to put himself between the Dorarizin and Maria. He got into a ready stance and brought up his fists.

Nerlharg gave a laugh like a saw cutting deep into bone. "[Ah, so gallant! You think you could take me, little one?]"

Oscar didn't reply. With his tongue he probed up into the space between his upper jaw and his left cheek. His questing tongue found a hardness there, and he shifted his jaw to bring that hard, flat object into his mouth.

"Oscar...don't...." whispered Maria behind him. He placed one fist behind him, with three fingers sticking out. He could only hope that she intuited what was about to go down.

"[With one hand, even! Truly you must be a fearsome warrior among your kind!]" Nerlharg leaned forward. "[Go ahead, I'll let you have the first blow.]" He tapped his chin with one claw. "[Right there.]"

Oscar withdrew a finger from the fist at his back, leaving two protruding...

Then one...

With great ceremony Oscar Williams closed his eyes, leaned forward, and spit at the floor between Nerlharg's legs.

The flashbang-grenade button, the one he'd bitten off of his sleeve just as he was getting captured, hit the hard metal surface and promptly detonated.

Oscar spun upon hearing the crack of the explosion, and opened his eyes. Maria crouched on the floor with her hands over her ears and her mouth open. He couldn't hear a damn thing for the moment, but he could feel some dull thumps behind him as he grabbed Maria's shoulder and ran. The small woman stumbled along after him, but quickly picked up the pace and started to outrun him.

Oscar risked a quick glance behind him and saw Nerlharg frantically batting at a spreading fire on his robe and leg-fur. The flash from the pyrotechnics in the grenade must have been close enough to catch him on fire.

There was a T-junction just up ahead, and the two humans turned as one and continued running.