Continuum (Valyien Far Future Space Opera Book 9) by James David Victor

Author:James David Victor [Victor, James David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2019-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

As soon as the captain’s hand brushed across the countertop, a beam of red-pink light shot up from the table and something started happening to the opposing wall. Sections that Eliard had thought were black stone turned out to be black metal and slid back to reveal more steel devices, some of them long and thin and held by hooks, others octagonal and squat and sporting wires. Some kind of workshop or tool-store, perhaps.

“Skragh!?” The headdress Valyien flinched, turning to snarl at the sudden distraction to its gruesome business and letting go of the dying Valyien to raise its arms towards the captain instead. Its victim gurgled and shook, with the blood-sucking contraption still pumping away in the center of its chest…

“Drekk!” Eliard had a moment to say, just as something crashed over the back of the Valyien’s head.

Cassandra had hefted one of the heavy stone bowls and thrown it at the creature about to disembowel Eliard, but aside from the grunt of pain, it appeared to do little as the Valyien whipped its torso around and one of its heavier midriff arms snapped out.

The Valyien was large, and any normal human wouldn’t be able to reach Cassandra, but the thing’s reach and power were immense as the House Archival agent was buffeted back by the blow, her feet actually lifting off the floor as she slammed across the countertop of rotten meat.

“Cass!” Eliard shouted in dismay, reacting instinctively to charge at the far bigger enemy.

He threw the Device-arm out in a windmill punch, one that struck the thing across the shoulder and he heard the pleasing crunch of something and the guttural gasp of pain as the creature staggered back. Eliard had decapitated the ECN with this Device, and the Enhanced Cognitive Network had been a purpose-built metal mecha.

But it had been a lot smaller than the Valyien, his brain reminded him as the creature rounded on him, throwing whirling strikes with its heavy midriff arms as its higher humanoid arms descended.

“Drekk!” Eliard raised the Device just in time to batter away the falling fists, but the shock still felt like being hit by a falling meteorite as he was pushed back, skidding across the floor. His back thumped against the wall.

“Skrak!” The thing wet-whistled and pounced forward, humanoid arms raised high in the air in another overhead smash that—for just a fraction of a second—made it look a little like its dying victim, only much, much more alive.

Fa-THOOM! Eliard hadn’t even realized that the Device had changed until it activated right in front of him, scales swirling and clacking around each other as the tines opened to reveal the ‘maw’ of small scale-teeth where his fist should be. There was an explosion of white and purple light as the Device turned itself into an energy weapon, and the shot became a beam of light that punched a hole straight up, and through, the chest of the headdress Valyien.

“Ayurkh!” The thing’s upper chest exploded with gray viscera and black

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