Gree’ato watches as the Void Queens fawn over the infants that were captured from the fleet. While the infants aren’t all ecstatic to be in a pen together away from their parents, many have at least calmed down.

  The young grodrrn asks, “[Did you spare the humans for a reason, Sister?]”

  The Azure Queen studies the helpless children as Void Queens focus their attention on the young Queen born of Syretia’s egg. Her focus, however, is on the other odd child. “[The humans made that possible, Gree’ato. An Empire crippled with a single assassination, and yet, the damage of which is undone by that.]” She gestures at the grodrrn infant idly looking around as she chews on a leathery ring.

  “[Do… you intend… to kill her?]” asks Gree’ato hesitantly.

  “[Of course not.]” The Azure Queen begins walking away. “[I intend to make the humans implement it on you, Sister. And, if they prove worthy, to earn their freedom with our other Sisters.]”

  “[I thought… the fighting was for that…]”

  “[It seems I had gotten my hopes up too high. They had no one in their fleet who could best me.]”

  Gree’ato follows the chimera queen a few paces behind, saying gently, “[I’m thankful for that, Dear Sister.]”

  “[Tell me what you know of the Zyuudronny, Sister.]”

  Gree’ato thinks for a moment, realizing she knows that word more intimately than most. “[You mean… the tree-eaters on Grodurra?]”

  The Azure Queen nods, and Gree’ato is surprised at how much the Zarakyssn Queen knows about Grodurra itself, deep within the core of the Fievegal.

  “[They didn’t talk about them much in my life. Or, rather, they kept the status quo about them as they focused on the Saurmynnyka’s passing.]”

  The Queen nods. “[They used to argue about whether or not to exterminate them from Grodurra. They are gluttons, so thoroughly consuming their food source, that if the tree isn’t large enough for them, they die. Thus, they favor the largest and oldest of Grodrrn trees.]”

  Gree’ato nods. “[I recall hearing about that in one of the stories in school.]”

  “[What do you think ate them before the rise of Grodrrn society?]”

  “[You mean the Fievegal?]”

  “[No. Much longer ago.]”

  “[I… I wouldn’t know… I thought…]”

  “[The Fievegal is not what has always been, contrary to what they might tell you. Before the Fievegal was Grodurra, and before that, there were primitives. Grodrrns have always maintained a balance with the zyuudronny. I’m curious if you have any idea why. And, do not waste time. Simply answer with your best guess.]”

  Gree’ato thinks for a moment. “[I guess… they’re a part of the ecosystem, even if we don’t like that they kill ancient trees.]”

  “[Ecosystem. Good guess. An ecosystem relies on chaos that finds equilibrium. Without chaos, everything dies. In order to preserve trees, the Grodrrns could kill all of the zyuudronny. But, when the spores of the trees suffocate all of the other plants of Grodurra, and the livestock can no longer eat, the grodrrns will turn on the weakest of their own, and starve.]”

  “[I feel like a fool when I make assumptions, Dear Sister, so I’m not sure what you’re getting at.]”

  “[Assumptions are a must in a void of information. But, what I mean is, I spared the humans, because without their injection of chaos into an ecosystem broken by order, the galaxy may never find balance. And in that balance, I am the apex predator.]”

  The Azure Queen slows to a stop, looking at Gree’ato. The Grodrrn asks softly, “[You care about the grodrrns? Y-Your… enemies?]”

  The Queen cocks her head. “[I do not hate my prey.]” She looks at one of the statues that she stopped in front of, depicting a grodrrn and a Zarakyssn fighting some kind of creature Gree’ato doesn’t recognize… together.

  The Queen says unusually quietly, “[We look at the galaxy through a lens painted within our own lives, as if what exists now has always been how it has been. I will never likely know who carved this statue or why. I will never know the names of either of the individuals depicted nor likely the name of this creature. But, I do know one thing that transcends time; chaos is the great corrector. When order challenges nature, chaos creates the perfect disorder. This time around, I am certain… that disorder is me.]”

  The Queen looks at Gree’ato, who studies the statue in surprise. “[Th-... This is… real?]”

  “[I am confident it was. Some long ago battle on a world far away, buried by time and desperately forgotten. When I found this statue, I knew then that I was always meant to exist. Even if neither of my progenitors desired it.]”

  Gree’ato gently touches the stone form of the Zarakyssn, and she murmurs, “[That’s so beautiful…]”

  “[I brought chaos to the humans, and they reverberated that chaos in order to survive. I can grant them some small semblance of a chance to fight. After all, I do love a challenge.]” She smirks and says more in her normal tone, “[Be careful if any of the captives attempt to plead for mercy, Gree’ato. They’d just as soon use such tricks to kill you. I would hate to drench the hallways in blood after having spoken so highly of them.]”

  Gree’ato hums warmly, replying, “[I understand, Sister. I’ll keep my distance.]”

  The Azure Queen nods and continues on her way.

  ***

  Two weeks. The humans, grodrrns, Cave Queen and Princesses, and Syretia have been prisoner for two weeks under the strange Zarakyssn queen. Though some have wondered if she was some sort of genetic engineering experiment, or another monstrosity from deep within the Zarak Horde. Many movies and shows that existed on Earth revolved around genetic experiments creating a hybrid of terrible origin, angered by its own existence into taking vengeance on the world around them. Even as far back as Frankenstein’s monster represented the hypothetical dangers of science meddling in roles some believe only God should fill.

  But, on the flip side of that very same coin, the Zjikha is an obvious monster pulled from the zoological reserves of the Horde; a sting of some species of predator capable of mutating its prey into a deadly monster with strength matching the most powerful of warriors with ease. One more zoological anomaly would not be particularly shocking in the wide, wide expanse of space.

  Jessica Long is unsure what she feels about the strange blue Queen, as she has spared the nomadic fleet; even leaving behind the other ships entirely. She has also had her medics patch any life-threatening wounds on anyone injured during the brief skirmish, and she has essentially boxxed the fleet-members into a confined area where they are allowed to speak, prepare meals, and otherwise help each other survive. The air of the confinement zone is breathable for all of them, but only barely so, keeping them in a lethargic haze. The grodrrns, particularly, are most affected, keeping them from summoning their full strength to fight.

  It became clear why Mina, specifically, was the only one put in a ‘cage’ of her own; the Cave Princesses hatching still have inherent instincts to flee on hatching, and the thirty-ish mobile princesses are particularly difficult to keep track of all of them. Like Vivi and Melody, though, they seem to understand a little, and are able to be calmed into settling down. The male ‘Cave Princes’ are different, as the Cave Queen species -known to the Zarakyssns as the Nizzkurezz- lived on a resource-strained world. As such, they evolved along similar lines to angler fish of the deep sea; the males are much, much smaller and attach in a symbiotic parasite relationship to the females. So, the males will unfortunately never possess the intelligence of their sisters, and have to be contained separately to prevent them harming themselves or each other until the human fleet determines what to do with them.

  In any case, Jessica finds herself staring at a bowl of soup as she listens idly to the depressing sounds around her. The captivity has started to sink in, and in spite of their best efforts, it appears humanity, specifically, has lost its battle for survival. Their fates are no longer within their own hands.

  Vivi looks up at Jessica with a worried expression, and the young woman forces a smile. “I’m okay, Vivi. Just thinking.”

  Vivi continues to watch her, having finished her own meal quickly.

  The main doors open; a path that has not opened yet. A pair of aliens that are of a race not yet encountered by the humans enters, and from above on the high wall overlooking the containment, one of the Void Queens appears. She speaks in grodrrn, as all Void Queens seem capable of doing, and Nyonnyss sighs. The helmdraavv stands up, saying, “We are being told to pass through the gate and find seating.”

  The group spreads the word to each other, and they start shuffling towards the door as everyone gets the message. They learned quickly that the blue Queen and her Void Queens have simple rules… and VERY simple consequences. Jessica sighs, returning her bowl to the soup station. She wasn’t particularly hungry anyways.

  Vivi hangs from her shoulder hugging close to her neck as she murmurs, “Meemee?”

  “It’ll be okay, Vivi.”

  The two follow Grey as he walks with Little Bird, Kane, and Tanya, and the crew of the Polonia shuffles through the doorway, spreading out as instructed to file into lines along the wall.

  To Jessica’s surprise as she passes into the adjacent area, she finds what appears to be almost literally an arena; so much so, that they are filing into stadium seats as the sunken ground below them has the blood of an alien being. On the far side from them is a much smaller group of the aliens who let them in than there are humans, filing back through a similar door on the opposite side.

  Jessica starts to suspect that the nomad fleet members are not the only ones prisoner under the Azure Queen.

  And, walking across the arena, already lightly splattered with green liquid, is the blue Queen herself. A body of one of the aliens is laying on the sand, lifeless as several more check its vitals and then carry it towards the exit.

  The Queen walks to a throne, ascending it as it rises from the floor to meet her. Dzilika, Sarah, Syretia’s daughter, and Nyonnyss’s egg are seated on the arms of the throne, with the young grodrrn servant of the Queen standing nearby. Void Queens line the walls, sitting in stadium boxes near ground level as they hum and speak seemingly jovially.

  Jessica can hear Chief Grey growl, “So… it’s to be a sacrifice? Great.”

  Tanya tries to hush him gently, clearly worried the wrong individuals will hear. However, he grumbles to himself nonetheless.

  The Queen growls in grodrrn, and Nyonnyss slumps, cautiously walking down the stairs and disappearing below the stands. She exits into the stadium, escorted by a pair of Void Queens.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Her voice projects over an audio system, “Human fleet, today is the promised day. You may send a volunteer from your ranks; a champion; who will represent your fleet and your worthiness to exist. I am merciful to those I deem worthy of mercy, as you have undoubtedly seen. But, I do not give charity. You will send your champion, and their life will sate my hunger. My life will earn your fleet’s freedom. Whoever is brave enough, enter the arena with what you have on you, and we shall begin.”

  There’s a collective silence over the human fleet. Their weapons and armor have been taken. Jessica looks when there’s movement, finding Dzor trying to rise in spite of Angelica’s protests, though he collapses back down. The Queen watches silently, saying nothing. Her piercing gaze scans the crowd, looking for her challenger. The Cave Queen looks ready to volunteer, though she is hesitant, as she cannot take the brutal hits Dzor managed to barely survive. No one can.

  The Queen growls softly, and Nyonnyss translates. “For the humans or Syretia, I will provide the weapon and armor you bore when I captured your ship. You may face me as humans do battle, and I will allow it.”

  This causes many to look to where Kane is, but he has been catatonic since the Queen took his arm. He has to be fed liquids, he hasn’t spoken, and his gaze is distant and glazed over.

  Tanya growls quietly. “Don’t do it.”

  “You want to find out what happens if I don’t?”

  “Alex…”

  “Chief?” squeaks Little Bird quietly.

  Grey pets her head, saying, “Little Bird, you’re a Marine. You damn well should know the Corps is no place for heroes. Got it? Heroes get themselves killed, and they probably didn’t have to die.”

  He stands up, and Tanya grips his arm. “Fortunately, I ain’t no hero. I’m just a tired old Marine.” He shouts, “Hey!”

  The Queen and Nyonnyss both look at him, and Jessica can almost feel the focused gaze of the crowd center on Chief Petty Officer Alexander Grey. “You want a champion? I want my cold hard twelve back.” He says more quietly to those closest to them, “If I can buy even a couple weeks…”

  “Alex!” hisses Tanya.

  Long squeaks, “Ch-Chief?”

  He glances at her, smirking. “Long. If you ever see Rookie again, tell him I’mm’a have to owe him my twenty. He can have first dibs on my boots.”

  The Queen suddenly looks somewhere else at the ground level. The Void Queens are also staring in the same direction, and all of them seem to be surprised.

  A human voice says loudly, though the size of the stadium makes him difficult to hear perfectly clearly.

  “If you’re still accepting entries, I’d like to throw my lot in.”

  A strange energy falls over the stadium, both from the Void Queens and the blue Queen, as well as the fleet members.

  Chief Grey audibly sighs, “About damn time, Rookie…”

  Long finds herself compelled to her feet for a better view, as are dozens of others.

  Walking into the stadium at a calm pace with a gun to the back of Zeeannssii -distinguishable by the golden robe she was wearing when she was last seen- is Junior Lieutenant Rex Hancock, acting commanding officer of the Tactical Exploration and Assault Unit, unofficial prototype tester for Dr. Lopez, and an overzealous young officer seemingly having doomed humanity when he took Zeeannssii to try to find the Queen himself.

  Instead, humanity was able to return Zeeannssii peacefully -instead of her being taken-.

  The Void Queens have their spears extended, ready to fight him and rescue their sister, but Hancock is not aggressive, nor does Zeeannssii seem to struggle. They buzz angrily at him, but he doesn’t acknowledge them. His gaze is locked on the being whom he is instantly aware that he must face.

  And, he never falters a single step.

  ***

  Hancock glances calmly at his surroundings. The stadium is rather large, enclosed, possesses a human compatible atmosphere -which is especially healthy for grodrrns-, and is surrounded by what amounts to stadium seating for quite obviously a large variety of races, easily suitable for humans and grodrrns. His helmet is scrolling text in his field of view as the Zarakyssns curse at him. He knows they're cursing, because ‘{Error: Translation Unknown}’ is appearing in long strings. He almost feels like he’s watching a video game stream, with the chat exploding during a cutscene.

  Unfortunately, he’s not the streamer, and he’s not a competitor playing a game. He’s the main character, about to do battle with a fearsome-looking opponent.

  He can connect dots easily. It’s been his entire means of survival and relative productivity to the fleet. He knows he’s looking at the mystery Queen, ruler of the Void Queens. And, he got just enough information to know she was about to demand a gladiator-style sacrifice. The irony being, rather than watching the bloodsport from safety, this empress intends to be soaked in yet another shade of blood in addition to the one she’s already dripping in. Hancock can see the blood stain on the stone floor where her last ‘champion’ fell.

  Given what she looks like, Hancock assumes the most likely; she has many of the reptilian features of a grodrrn, including the naturally polarized pupils; one horizontal and the other vertical. She has a bulky and heftily-defined musculature similar to a grodrrn, but the basic body shape of a Zarakyssn Queen, including the enlarged thorax. Hancock’s first instinct is genetic experiment, but he doesn’t dwell on the possibilities right now. She radiates raw power, and judging by the state of everyone in the crowd, she was able to defeat Dzor and/or Lieutenant Commander Kane.

  The room silences, and the Queen buzzes in the Zarakyssn language. Hancock’s helmet translates for him, “Z:{Sister, you showed the human our home?}”

  Zeeannssii glances at Hancock briefly. She replies proudly -a little surprisingly to Hancock, though he knows she may still be his enemy-, “Z:{He promised to bring me home, Sister. He wished to negotiate.}”

  Hancock notices some of the youngest Void Queens being escorted out of the stadium by their seniors suddenly. Zeeannssii is still wearing the golden headdress. There’s some doubt about how effective gold is at close range, but he put a small amount of faith in Zeeannssii. Come what may, she brought him to where he is now, so he can’t complain too much.

  However, a slight chill crawls up his spine. It reminds him of the very first time he laid eyes on a grodrrn; that moment one was towering over him as he was simply trying to sprint across a street. The sensation was more intense then, but it was his natural instincts.

  He was sensing danger.

  Hancock brought Zeeannssii in good faith. She trusted him -or at least that she could outsmart him-, and he trusted her in exchange. Her life is his responsibility on some small level, at least while he still has his gun pointed at her back and her trust that he will not fire.

  The Azure Queen, as the Void Queens apparently call her, begins to take a drink from a large, strangely-shaped goblet in a seated position on her throne.

  Her foot repositions subtly, and the chill shifts. All of this occurred within a moment, and Hancock has very little time to react, and he reacts on instinct alone. He snaps his leg up and kicks Zeeannssii, shoving her powerfully sideways with his boot. In the slice of a second following, he springs with his planted leg in the opposite direction, and a blue-streaked blur slams into view between them. Sharp talons narrowly miss Hancock and Zeeannssii both, and he twists his body to turn so that his line of fire is no longer directly in line with the Void Queen whom he vowed to return. The Queen’s grodrrn-like boots slide on the stone floor only a little, gripping powerfully under her weight as she acrobatically turns.

  Hancock’s rifle muzzle lines up with her for a brief moment, and he squeezes the trigger. Maybe a single round finds flesh, but both of them have too much momentum, and he is much too close to her for comfort.

  Hancock’s boots find solid ground for only a moment, and he backflips acrobatically using the power armor’s systems. He can hear the Queen nearly hit him again as her boots squeak, and he lines up his rifle again once he’s in the air and facing her. He only gets a small burst off before he instinctively kicks his jets on in a powerful boost. Hancock lands a few yards away near one of the pillars surrounding the stadium, which seem to at least partially hold up the ceiling, though there are a lot of them, and it’s about the diameter of a large tree or children’s pool. He fires several bursts at the Queen, and she ducks behind one of the pillars nearest her as she growls.

  Unfortunately, her growl doesn’t seem angry or betrayed by a cheating opponent.

  Hancock is entertaining her.

  He almost doesn’t hear yet another sound denoting an immensely imminent danger to him; something crumbling. He lurches his body back in a tight spin, pivoting his face away as the Queen swats her arm out, launching a stone chunk pulled from one of the pillars with brutal force. Even throwing it without looking as she did, the stone smashes against Hancock’s pillar, pelting his armor and helmet with exploding rubble like a shotgun blast of gravel.

  Hancock’s mind is racing. It has to be. He’s had more harrowing experiences than most since the fall of Earth, and in every one of those that he’s been able to think, he has to plot a thousand courses and choose one in an instant. Over and over and over again.

  Not every path he chooses will be right, and when he snaps his rifle back around to aim at where the Queen took cover, his mind processes the blur of motion to his left and instantly knows it’s too late. The best he can do is pivot and brace.

  What feels like a freight train, even in his super-hero-like armor, slams into him, and Hancock tumbles across the open part of the arena. The Queen launched herself at his pillar and swung around it from the opposite side, kicking him with all of the force of a grodrrn professional wrestler drop-kicking him.

  But, of course, neither of them are acting.

  Hancock is virtually helpless while he’s tumbling haplessly, and he’s completely vulnerable if he comes to a stop for too long. ‘Too long’ being about two to five seconds at most. He cannot come to a stop now, as the Queen is undoubtedly closing the distance for an attempt at finishing him.

  Hancock has been thrown around, blown up, shot, squeezed, rag-dolled, and dropped like a plaything of giants far too many times to lose today.

  Hancock wrenches his body, even as he seems to be about to roll over once more, and he is able to find solid ground under his foot for even a moment. While at first he’s simply trying to get his footing, he instead opts to simply slow his spin long enough to engage his jets and rocket away from the Queen. He pivots almost painfully, rolling even as he is just beginning to gain new airborne momentum, and as his head pivots around, he can see the Queen’s claws narrowly miss him. Her jaws snap at his face, and he manages to shove himself off of her muzzle, clearing her reach momentarily as he ascends in a violent airborne tumble of acrobatics.

  He rockets away as his body stabilizes, focused on distance more than direction. He finally drives more intentionally, and he races towards the high point of one of the pillars, using his hand to swing his body in a kick similar to hers, though he’s mostly just changing his direction quickly to swoop around the pillar and bring up his rifle from his hanging position on the column. He sweeps the weapon quickly with one hand, scanning for the Queen. She’s sprinting towards him, and he fires from above. Naturally, he’s less accurate from the distance and using one hand, but she stumbles at least once.

  On the bright side, of course, his weapon seems to hurt her. On the dim side, though, she could probably explode his insides with a single solid punch if she catches him with a square hit.

  And, as he would expect from a grodrrn on a world similar in gravity to what the grodrrns indicate is that of Grodurra, the grodrrn-esque Queen launches herself into the air towards him.

  Hancock fires a burst, kicking off of the wall into fast flight backwards towards the next pillar. Her nails screech on the stone. She catches herself, positioning to spring at him from the column as Hancock fires another burst towards her. His maneuver relies on his own judgment of distance and timing. Hers relies simply on accuracy.

  The Queen briefly shields her face, but springs towards Hancock once more, and he pivots in a backflip, planting his feet on the pillar as his momentum carries him. He kicks himself downwards, and he can hear the pillar explode as the Queen kicks violently towards where he was. He flies with one hand close to the pillar, firing up at the Queen. She growls eagerly, flipping over with her claws keeping her on the pillar, and she almost seemingly sprints down the pillar towards him, gaining on him rapidly. Hancock catches one of the stones as he kicks his jets back on. His armor’s robotics groan and pop as he pushes the safety blocks to their very limits, nearly twisting his arm out of its socket were they not present. He is able to violently redirect his momentum around the bottom of the pillar, and he kicks towards the next one, skirting across the arena floor. He fires again past his feet, keeping his hand low so he can flip as he nears the next pillar and acrobatically regain his footing. When he does so, he is able to avoid another chunk of stone aimed at him.

  This time, though, Hancock has many more tricks that Lopez prepared for him -almost all of which are meant specifically for grodrrns-. He pulls one of the rip cords near his waist, and he can hear the spring-loaded canisters launch from pods on his belt. Smoke immediately floods the area as he dives forward, and no sooner does the Queen’s massive form slam into the ground near where he was with a shriek of nails and a squeak of boots do shrill wails fill the air from tiny, whistling devices similar to those popular in Japan for personal safety of children. These devices are loud and piercing, and they are quite effective at masking the telltale signs of life that grodrrn ears can detect. The smoke, sour and lightly scented with ammonia, can also cause trouble for powerful noses.

  Hancock reloads carefully as he watches the Queen delay. Her form isn’t highly visible in the smoke. Like the grodrrns, she appears to be cold-blooded, meaning she takes the temperature of the room around her. Thankfully, the smoke being slightly warmer makes her colder form visible enough. If he’s too noisy reloading, though, the personal safety alarms are moot. Pwalkynn, who volunteered his ears for the safety devices, was able to find a dropped magazine even over the chaotic and piercing noise with high accuracy, and he was able to hear the magazine being slammed into the rifle if Hancock wasn’t gentle doing so.

  The Queen lowers herself, unsure of how best to hunt Hancock for the moment. But, she stalks towards one of the devices, and the noise dulls a little. Her boot easily crunched the device.

  Pwalkynn was able to also determine the shift in sound as Hancock attempted to move too close to him, meaning he was easily alerted to Hancock trying to sneak up behind him.

  For Hancock to succeed, he has to move even lower and as quickly and quietly as possible.

  ***