I wasn’t sure if it was thanks to my newly enhanced durability or Eve’s protection, but I’d survived the crash completely unscathed.

  Eve still had her tentacles wrapped around me, holding onto me protectively so I could barely move. I couldn’t see much of anything now, but I could hear the moans and groans of several dazed or wounded soldiers around us.

  I tapped against Eve’s side, “I’m alright now Evie, you can let me go now.”

  Eve was looking around like she was on high-alert still, listening for any more signs of danger.

  “Evie?”

  Eve suddenly seemed to realize I’d spoken, and slowly her tentacles retracted back into herself.

  “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  I shook my head, “No, totally fine, thanks to you.”

  Eve gave me a small smile, “Think nothing of it, but I accept payment in hugs and kisses.” She said cutely.

  I smiled too, but now wasn’t the time to be cute. I looked around to see Eve’s tentacle netting was retracting from all over the dropship, revealing the damage; I could see around half our soldiers were unharmed and picking themselves up, surrounded by several injured troops and even a few dead bodies. The dropship itself was pretty mangled, with sparks showering down around us, and the massive hole in the front had opened to show the cockpit was barely hanging onto the rest of the ship, crushed so clearly no one inside could’ve survived.

  I looked around behind Eve to check on the researchers and saw all four survived; they’d been close enough to Eve so her tentacle netting protected them all completely.

  Kianna looked quite shaky, but clearly uninjured—though I’m pretty sure she just puked.

  I leaned down to help her stand, “You okay?”

  She waved me off, still holding her mouth, looking like she might puke again, “I’m alright, thanks.” She turned to Eve, “And thanks to you of course; you saved us.”

  Eve shrugged and said nothing more, still looking like she was trying to sense the danger—probably trying to sense Beta-09.

  Doctor Gorgam stood up behind Kianna, seeming a little dazed himself—looking quite funny in the black soldier armor with his strangely squat frog body, “That really was some quick thinking on your part, not that it should be surprising at all, but it’s clear the enemy would’ve destroyed the vessel on entry if you hadn’t held it all together.” He confirmed.

  Together with Kianna, they collected the other two researchers, Hennor and Ryo, who were looking around with wide eyes, obviously now rethinking their decision to agree to join on with the planet-side mission team.

  A few of the soldiers had gotten up and were working on helping their injured squadmates, and I decided to join in the process. Working side-by-side with the marines, we extricated all the injured in a delicate process through the open hole in the hull since the bay door wasn’t working right.

  Looking outside, Vyrane was kind of a strange-looking planet; we’d crashed out in the wilderness, and the surrounding trees were all dull grey that looked like a mix between palm trees and evergreens, with deep red leaves. There were other smaller trees with white bark and brighter red leaves, and some thick bushes and brush that were a much darker red so they were nearly black, while the grass on the ground was short and thick, all various shades of crimson. The forest around us looked like a sea of blood, while the sky was the same color as our vibrant sunsets back on Earth even though it was the middle of the day, with reds, pinks, blues and purples all painted across the horizon.

  Together with the marines, we laid out the injured soldiers in a row against some trees as the researchers acting as field medics started looking them over with their tactical med-kits. I hovered briefly to watch them work, seeing the futuristic technology that would’ve been great to have as a medic back home; they had some multitool that could soothe burns and cauterize injuries instantly with some laser. One of the soldiers clearly had a broken arm, and while that couldn’t be fixed right away, there was a metallic silver sling they put the injured extremity in that instantly manipulated and secured the arm in a proper healing position, all after he’d been given a heavy dose of pain meds thanks to the medical multitool.

  Captain Seash and Lieutenant Bryx took up their command positions easily, directing the efforts of securing the surviving soldiers, our supplies, and trying to reorganize ourselves to get back on track with the mission, looking over planetary holo-maps to see where we’d landed.

  I gave them all a wide berth as I went back into the damaged ship once more to see if anyone needed any help, but saw Eve alone still standing towards the back, looking up at nothing—seeing nothing, lost in her thoughts and senses.

  “Are you getting anything on Beta-09?” I asked Eve.

  Eve didn’t respond for a few moments, then just slowly shook her head, “Nothing. With my senses dulled, I can’t even feel her at all down here—not even that distant reunion sensation. I’m almost surprised she could sense me, but I guess the barrier doesn’t work both ways like that.”

  “Shit, so we’re blind while she can still freely sense you? That’s going to keep us totally exposed.”

  Eve nodded once, “Exactly. I think I’m going to have to use camouflage myself this mission.” She turned to me and smirked, hooking a thumb over her back, “Going to need a whole new wardrobe while we’re at it.”

  I looked around to see the armor on Eve’s back was totally destroyed, showing off a fair amount of pale skin all the way down to the top of her ass crack. It was a sexy little exposure that stirred some passion in me, but considering what we were dealing with now, I had to push those feelings aside until we could be properly settled.

  “Here, why don’t you come back out with me, and we’ll see if there’s some spare armor in with the supplies.” I offered, holding my hand out for Eve to take.

  Eve smiled and took my hand as I led her through the damaged craft and back out with the rest of the survivors.

  “Do they know how many we lost?” Eve inquired.

  I shook my head, “Not sure yet. We have a few injured, several are dead, but even more are just missing at this point; I don’t know if they’re going to count them as casualties or what.”

  Eve nodded along, “If they were pulled out of the hull while we were still in the upper-atmosphere, I’d be very surprised any survived.”

  I was leading Eve back over towards the researchers when Vinnago and Lobae rounded on us, moving with clear purpose.

  “There you are.” Lobae announced, looking both relieved and concerned.

  “Allow us to thank you for saving all our lives, but we’ve run into a spot of trouble.” Vinnago continued quickly.

  “More trouble?” I said.

  Lobae’s expression turned grim, “Yes, it seems we’ve had an exposure.”

  I quirked up an eyebrow, “What, because Beta-09 could sense Eve while we made our descent?”

  Lobae shook her head, “Nothing to do with Beta-09, this is all about Eve.”

  I was about to inquire further, but raised voices pulled my attention away.

  I looked over to see Agent Kotlokk and two other agents standing in front of the regular Imperial soldiers, only four left, standing in a tight circle, looking around rather frantically.

  “I know what I saw! Those tentacles that exploded out of her were exactly like what we’ve seen inside the bodies of reanimated separatists!” Commander Reyn insisted.

  Kotlokk held his hands up peacefully, “Calm down man, how could tentacles come out of a person’s body like that? Are you sure you’re not confused with the atmospheric entrance emergency kit? I believe that’s what saved us.” He said calmly.

  “Don’t treat us like idiots; that wasn’t any technology we’ve installed in our vessels. It was biological, and it came out from one of your squad members!” Reyn insisted.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  It was then I saw Commander Reyn and the other Imperial soldiers were all unarmed, while the clandestine agents had a hand stealthily placed near their sidearms. I wasn’t sure how exactly that happened, but if I was a betting man I’d put my credits on the agents always sliding things in their favor at the first sign of a confrontation—and I doubted the regular soldiers noticed until it was too late.

  Together with Eve, Lobae and Vinnago led us over to join with the argument.

  “There, there she is, that’s the one!” One of the Imperial soldiers pointed to Eve.

  Kotlokk gestured to Eve’s exposed back, “And look, no tentacles at all, no black flesh of any kind. She took damage like the rest of us.” He turned to me, “Has she been checked out by the medics?”

  I could tell right away Kotlokk was roping me in with his lie, and to try and keep the peace I knew I needed to play along, “Yeah she’s been cleared. The emergency kit damaged her armor when it deployed, but she didn’t sustain any injuries during the crash.” I offered dismissively.

  Eve seemed wary, probably unsettled around all these people with their heightened emotions while her senses were diminished, not used to being so cut-off from how people were thinking or feeling. She leaned a little closer against me, still holding onto my arm.

  Reyn slashed an angry hand through the air, “We’re not stupid! There’s no such kit in the entire Empire that could keep the vessel together like that, and now you expect me to believe her armor suffered such damage while leaving her skin completely unmarred? What the hell is going on here—who is she?”

  The other Imperial soldiers joined in, demanding to know what was really going on, how Eve could do those things—how we survived at all.

  “What is she, some living biological weapon?” A soldier pressed.

  “Is that what we’ve been fighting down here all along, some rogue living weapons? And you’re the team to come in and clean up the Empire’s own mess?” Reyn demanded.

  I did everything I could to keep it from showing on my face, but Commander Reyn and his soldiers guessed exactly right.

  It was hard to see on his alien insectoid face, but with his large hexagonal eyes narrowed, it looked like Kotlokk was getting angry, “Stand down soldier; you have your orders and we have ours. None of us know exactly what’s been happening down on Vyrane, and to make any wild accusations—”

  “No, fuck that.” Reyn interrupted quickly, “Our orders were nullified when we found out you had a major connection with the enemy.”

  “How do we know you aren’t with the enemy? For all we know you’re a bunch of spies and double-agents.” Another soldier added.

  Lobae stepped forward, “Our team has the proper authorization and qualifications for the mission; we were properly vetted by your commanders, so who are you to question them and their orders?” She asked.

  Reyn looked back to his soldiers, and they all seemed to come to an agreement, “Well maybe we should see if Command wants to change our orders once we tell them about these new developments.”

  That was the worst thing Reyn could’ve said, as suddenly all five of our agents pulled their guns out and pointed them at the four unarmed Imperial soldiers.

  “Whoa, what the fuck guys?” I shouted, trying to push Lobae’s gun down, but she refused to budge.

  “On your knees.” Kotlokk said coldly.

  Reyn stared at Kotlokk with pure loathing as he and his soldiers got on their knees and placed their hands on their heads.

  “This is what it’s come to? Kill the grunts so the cleanup crew can sweep away the Empire’s nastiest secrets? I hope you all burn for this.” Reyn said, proud and defiant.

  “You’ll get yours, bastards.” Another soldier added.

  Having no luck with Lobae, I moved away from Eve to stand before Kotlokk, “Kotlokk, seriously, what the fuck are you doing?”

  Kotlokk didn’t move, still pointing his gun at Reyn, but I was in between them now, “Step aside Adam.”

  “I fought for the Empire, believed in their causes, seen good men sacrifice their lives for its people, and this is how it ends, gunned down like pushkins on our knees?” Reyn said, his voice an icy whisper.

  No idea what a pushkin was, I assumed it was some idiom relevant to normal Imperial citizens. But I wasn’t a regular citizen of the Empire, and I couldn’t just stand around here and let four innocent men be murdered because they discovered part of Eve’s identity.

  “Kotlokk, seriously, I’m the handler, let me handle this.” I insisted.

  Kotlokk shook his head, “No Adam, this has gone beyond your role as handler; the responsibility of keeping the Predazons secret is mine.”

  Before I could respond or plead with him more, a black tentacle with a razor-sharp edge pointed in Kotlokk’s face, causing him to flinch back and nearly lose his footing.

  “If you don’t stop pointing that gun at my Adam, you won’t need to worry about your responsibilities any longer.” Eve said darkly, a low growl in her throat. She walked over to stand beside me with the one tentacle manifesting from her back to circle around me in a wide arc before ending in front of Kotlokk’s face.

  He quickly lowered the gun and held his hands up peacefully, “Eve, I’m just following my orders here.”

  Eve nodded once, “That’s fine, but you won’t threaten my Adam while you do it.”

  “What the fuck is she?” Reyn demanded, looking at the tentacle coming out of Eve’s back with abject horror. He stared down a gun like it was nothing but looked at Eve like she was an unbelievable monster, fear obvious in his eyes—in all the soldiers’ eyes.

  “Adam, please, walk away and let us handle this.” Lobae said delicately, lowering her gun.

  I turned towards her, “So you can all, what, kill these men for questioning their orders—getting roped into some crazy plot they had no reason to get involved with in the first place?”

  I realized why I was suddenly so defensive over the Imperial soldiers; aside from being against the idea of random murder, I also saw quite a bit of myself in them. I was just some dumb human who got wrapped up in a crazy intergalactic mission that was way beyond me, now bound by an evil Empire with no hope of escape. There was no way I could stand by and allow these soldiers to be victims same as me—to allow more suffering at the hands of the Tritentarian Empire.

  “We must keep the Predazoans secret, Adam.” Kotlokk said slowly, almost sounding sad, but it was clear he was resolved and would see his duty through.

  I shook my head, “No way, fuck that, I’m sure we can work something out. Maybe detain them for now, explain the mission and what all is happening?”

  “We simply don’t have time for that now, Agent Adam.” A steady voice called out, and I turned to see Captain Seash making his way towards us with a few of our marines.

  Seash stopped just outside the circle of Imperial soldiers and pulled out his own sidearm, pointing it at Reyn, “The is the messy, unfortunate side of the mission you’ve never had to see, but it’s a necessary one.”

  “Please, we’re Imperial citizens same as you all. We have families and friends, people who love and care for—” One of the soldiers started, the youngest of the group.

  “Quiet Jokalve, they’ve made up their minds; we’re all already dead men. Don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing you beg.” Reyn said coldly.

  I tried to take a step forward, but Eve held me back from stepping in front of another gun, “Why? Why can’t we all just calm down and talk things out? They’re soldiers, they understand duty and orders and everything, right?”

  I felt like I was going crazy now, the only person who seemed to have any problem with the idea of just murdering these poor men—even Lobae and Vinnago, our supposed friends seemed resolved to see their orders through; to obey their Empire and do anything it might demand of them.

  I would bet if it demanded they kill us, they would see those orders through too.

  The tentacle retracted back inside Eve, and she pulled on my arm to get me out of the way of the confrontation, “Come on Adam, let them get on with it.” She said gently.

  I looked down at her, horrified she was so unconcerned.

  But what should I have expected? Eve fully admitted she would be fine with everyone else on the mission dying except me, and now that someone’s life was on the line right in front of me—now that I could see how dismissive Eve was over life and death, I realized how much it actually bothered me.

  Despite how much I loved Eve, it was hard to accept this inhuman side to her sometimes. I understood she was fundamentally different from regular people; what god would be concerned over the lives of insects? But since I was still human, her attitude was rather unsettling.

  However, I could deal with my feelings later, for now I wanted to do all I could to protect the soldiers.

  “Please, Captain, just let me talk to them—explain the mission and what we’re doing here.” I insisted.

  Seash shook his head slowly, “It doesn’t matter what you say, even if they’re completely convinced our mission comes from the highest authority in the Empire, it’s still too dangerous to allow them to move freely amongst regular citizens on Vyrane, risking our exposure. The most we could ever do would be to detain them aboard The Radiance and perform a comprehensive memory wipe.” He explained.

  I waved a hand towards the soldiers, “Then let’s just do that!”

  “We’re on a hostile planet with very limited resources; we need to pick up and move as soon as possible, reorganize and reorient ourselves, and get back within mission parameters even after almost half our team is injured, missing, or dead. There’s no way we could detain anyone now and aren’t in the position to request aid from The Radiance while evading enemy forces. Logistically, it’s simply not feasible.” Bryx added methodically.

  I tried to step forward again, but Eve held me back once more, “Adam, please, leave it, come away with me now so we can get ourselves sorted; we have a lot of work to do and things to discuss before we head out.” She insisted.

  I couldn’t believe it, everyone was complicit—okay with just executing these men like it was nothing. I looked around to see any soldiers not tending to the wounded had formed a perimeter around us, watching and waiting for their orders, ready to obey any monstrous duty that could be requested of them. I looked off to see the researchers try to busy themselves with their tasks, sneaking glances our way all the while, but they refused to get involved—refused to stand up for what was right.

  Seash nodded once, “Walk away, Agent Adam. That’s an order.”

  Eve manifested a couple tentacles again to wrap around me as she finally led me away, holding onto me protectively while she made sure I wouldn’t be a part of their nefarious plot. I felt numb and sluggish as I walked away, sick to my stomach even. There was nothing I could do, no way I could reason with them to spare innocent lives. It was then I realized it wasn’t just Eve and I who were bound within the Empire, they were all slaves—tools to be used and disposed of whenever it was deemed necessary.

  I tried to turn back again, but Eve tightened her grip around me and continued to lead me into the forest, away from the soon-to-be dead men.

  I felt an emptiness in my heart I couldn’t really describe, but it reminded me of a time long ago when I walked into a scene back on Earth when a man murdered his family, spraying blood and brains all over the walls. I felt like a piece of my soul died back then, and now again I felt a deep loss within my spirit.

  Eve didn’t say anything as she led me away, holding onto me protectively, but also forcing me to move forward. Her only concern was for me and my safety then, and honestly, it really upset me—made the differences between us and our humanity more obvious.

  It was then I heard the shots ring out, quick and precise laser blasts, and then all was silent.

  Eve stopped with me then and embraced me, held onto me with her arms and tentacles, silent as I stood there with my arms down to my side, numb and dumb with no idea how to move on from there.

  Men I’d just met—innocent men were gunned down, all for learning the truth of the Predazoans.

  And I just stood there and let it happen.