“Hardly. Why would we want to? This planet isn’t exactly the garden spot of the galaxy.”
“They want what all our enemies want,” Johpunnt said. “Our destruction!”
My music changed to “Blue Wonderful” by Elton John. Hoped I was interpreting the clue right. “The planet you’re trying to blow up is more than willing to welcome you, but you’ve never asked them for help, you’ve just attacked them without provocation.”
“They are our enemies! They live in beauty while we were condemned to horror.” Realized Johpunnt really believed this. It was unlikely I was going to get through to him. But I still had to try.
“They aren’t anyone’s enemies. They’re peaceful and, as an aside, they don’t eat each other, even after a big battle or whatever your nauseating custom is. You could be like them. But your leader wants destruction. We’d prefer peace. But understand—I’m called the Warrior Queen for a reason. Think on that, before you choose your next actions.”
Too many here have believed too long, Lilith said in my head. If the leader does not choose peace, then neither will they.
Turned back to Johpunnt. “Look, you can die for some ancient cause. Or you can live and save your people.” Took my gun off his chest and slung it onto my back. “You see what I’m choosing—peace between us.”
He produced a large knife from somewhere. “I will not be the one dying, and we will never choose your way!” Then he lunged at me.
Didn’t bother to move. I was in a bodysuit that only Ginger’s claws had been able to penetrate. Did the simplest of blocks and knocked the knife out of his hand. It skittered away. “That’s your plan? Your whole plan? You’re sure?”
My music changed to “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones, so I had a guess that this wasn’t over.
“No,” Johpunnt cackled. I’d still heard better. “They are my plan!” He pointed. Sure enough, some of the rabbits in the cages had gotten out. They sprang toward my people, and the fight I’d hoped to avoid started.
The Peregrines and princesses engaged first. The Peregrines had claws easily as sharp as the rabbits did, and they could fly away—and this world had no birds, so the rabbits had never dealt with something with wings that could go much higher than they could jump.
The Peregrines could also grab a rabbit, fly up high, and drop it. Which they did. Right over the princesses’ heads. It was like a violent form of baseball, where the pitcher ensured the batters never missed and the balls were ripped, sliced, and diced.
The bulls creating the “back wall” broke ranks and ran to lift the cages off of the other rabbit troops while those who’d been in the doorway scattered. Possibly because a battalion of sheep were trotting in.
Which was too bad for the sheep, because the Most Weasels called dibs on them. Winced and turned away as sheep started screaming—in terror. It was going to be a bloodbath. Because even though Helix Rime was barbaric, it was still far more civilized than the Animal Kingdom. And sheep weren’t really meant to be violent, even those who’d evolved impressive tusks and horns. Plus, they weren’t fast, and the Most Weasels were moving like they had hyperspeed. Perhaps they did.
Of course, some of the attacking rabbits made it through the Peregrines and princesses. Telzor wrenched his sword out of Buchanan’s hands but didn’t attack our team with it. Instead, he was swinging it against the rabbits, effectively. Roanach and Clorence were also using their weapons against the rabbits, though not that well. Len and Kyle took pity on them and put themselves between Roanach and Clorence and the attacking rabbits.
My rabbits were going two on one with the attacking rabbits and winning. Their claws were sharp, so were their teeth, and they were repulsed by what these rabbits were like. They felt like a human fighting a zombie would—the enemy was so warped from the norm that the horror had to be destroyed. My rabbits were definitely fighting with the extra oomph this kind of revulsion gave you.
The bulls charged, but on their back legs only, not on all fours and leading with their best weapons. Instead, they left themselves wide open for those with lasers to shoot them. It was easier than shooting fish in a barrel. Sure, it took a lot of shots, but no bulls got close to anyone on my team.
It was sad. It was obvious that this world hadn’t had a real enemy for at least a generation. They were just a bunch of people all dressed up, or undressed up, rather, with no one to fight. They hadn’t fought each other, hadn’t practiced, they’d just been guarding nothing and being mean to whoever Johpunnt didn’t like today. They weren’t organized—none of the rabbits were fighting as a team, the bulls weren’t going back-to-back like the princesses and most of my team were, no one was moving in any way that could be called evasive, the sheep that weren’t dead were running away screaming.
And that’s when the Auxiliary Backup Team’s secret weapon appeared.
Ginger leaped out of the shuttle, caterwaul set to eleven, all claws out on all paws. For the first time, these people were seeing a real predator, one that considered them all food, and food it enjoyed hunting, toying with, killing, and devouring. Ginger’s snarl hit most of the fighters right in the same place a tiger’s growl hit a human—in the soft bits.
She landed on the dais in front of me and roared. Had no idea ocellars could do that, but Ginger had the chops. And what she was saying in cat was that she was also the Warrior Queen.
Every Helix Rime denizen froze, in terror. And my team didn’t hit anyone who wasn’t moving.
All this had happened quickly—The Ramones were still singing. Turned to Johpunnt who, like me, had been watching, not fighting. “Surrender. Stop this needless bloodshed. Too many of your people have died already. Show that you’re actually a good leader, and surrender, so they get to live.”
“Never,” he snarled. He raised the knife again. Okay, so maybe I’d been watching and he’d been scrambling for his knife. Minor detail.
He lunged, and this time, I merely stepped aside. He tripped over Ginger, and went tumbling down. He landed with a mighty splat and big gasps from the crowd. Sure enough, he’d landed on his knife.
“And nasty little men like you always get their comeuppance,” I said to his dead body. Picked Ginger up and gave her a snuggle. Received a smug and happy purr in return. Looked up at the crowd. “People of Helix Rime, you have a choice. You stop fighting and you get to live. You keep on fighting and we’ll make the rest of you as dead as we’ve already made your friends and relations and as dead as your so-called leader has made himself.”
“Are you saying that the Mad Lord killed himself?” Telzor shouted quickly. He sounded hopeful.
Made eye contact. He was an animal. More humanoid than animal, as we’d all just proved, but still, animal. Concentrated. Got a feeling of why he’d asked.