"Back to the ship, now." My exclamation wasn't needed. Hijac had already gathered up the cooling blanket and skittered ahead. I followed as fast as possible, missing Ben's heavy footfalls only when I was halfway towards the entrance. A glance over my shoulder told me there was no reason to worry. The human was a few steps back, catching up fast, Ajs perched on his shoulder. The fact he allowed the tyrinan to soil his suit caught me by surprise and made me trip over my own feet.

Ben reached out to support me. "Take care, Cap."

"Thanks, Ben." I found my balance and hastened on, the human's hand at my elbow. "Ajs, what about the hatchlings?"

Glued to Ben's shoulder, she swivelled her eyes in my direction. "They are fine. The world sustains them."

I wanted to ask why she could be so sure, but I had to save my breath while we hurried across the plaza. When we reached the Topsy's open hatch, hot relief surged through my veins. But I knew the danger wasn't over yet. "Hrrovr, everyone is aboard. Status?"

"Ss'stable, Captain. The ss'severills'ss maintain their position at the edge of the ss'sys'sstem, right by that plutoid." These were good news, and I forgave Hrrovr the use of that silly human name. It served its purpose and told me the location of our enemy.

The hatch seal took an eternity to lock, as always when the universe was about to disintegrate. When the pressure equalised, Hijac rushed to the decontamination chamber while I tore off my helmet. Ben did the same, letting Ajs slide to the floor. He pulled a sullen face at the blueish slime on his sleeve. "This suit will need more than a thorough washing. To think we landed in this situation because I tried to avoid tyrinan goo."

Ajs' eyestalks drooped at his remark, and the human scratched his stubbly lower face. "Sorry, Ajs, it's not your fault. It's just..." he trailed off, and I wondered how he would try to repair his faux pas. But he didn't find adequate words.

I felt pity for both of them. "Ajs, this is nothing personal." The time it took to struggle out of my heavy suit gave me the chance to put together a motivational speech. "You're welcome here, even if your slime sometimes triggers an old phobia of us vertebrates."

The eyes perked up, and Ben's lips twitched into a reluctant grin. "Cap is right, Ajs. We're working on it, promise. You should have been here when Aalyxh and Hijac first met. It was remarkable."

A mouldy fart of amusement from the decontamination unit acknowledged the human's statement. The karjkan emerged right after. "Our friendly, civilised Lyxh behaved like a bloodthirsty killer that day."

Ajs' eyes swivelled from the karjkan to me, Ben, and back. I grinned. "Jac is right, she almost lost it. Insects and insectoids give her nightmares. But I'm sure Ben and Hijac will relate the story while I decontaminate and head to the bridge."

Hijac took my suit. "Go ahead. I'll wrap this up and teach Ajs how to use the chamber."

"Thanks, Jac. See you on the bridge. Ben, prepare for takeoff."

The atmosphere in the command centre was loaded with tension to the point I believed I heard it sizzling. Aalyxh bent low over her screen, no doubt occupied with calculating evasive options, her limbs in a complicated knot. Hrrovr pressed an earpiece against his hearing membrane, eyes half-closed, a picture of concentration. My approach made him turn around.

"Captain, the ss'severills'ss are ss'still on hold. But I'm ss'sure they observe us'ss."

I agreed, aware they owned top-notch location technology, better than ours. "No hostile action?"

"No, they keep back. Mys'ssterious'ss."

"Kali?" Aalyxh's voice was quiet, almost dreamlike. "The anomaly Ben's mishap caused—you should look at this."

Intrigued, I stepped up to her station. The screen showed a swirling mass of gleaming particles. "What's that?"

"Might be a micro wormhole. I enhanced the radiation filters. Otherwise, it would be invisible on a normal visual channel." Aalyxh fiddled with the controls, and the sparkles changed colour from a fiery orange to an icy blue. "Any ideas?"

"Looks like the drunken love child of a blizzard and a tornado." Ben approached silently. "Engines are warming up now, Cap."

"Thanks, Ben. Do I want to know what a tornado and a blizzy are?"

"Blizzard. It's a snowstorm. And tornadoes are nasty, strong enough to carry a lightweight like you from Kansas straight to Oz—oh." He rubbed his chin. "Could this be a portal, Lyxh?"

The pilot and I exchanged glances. "If it's a portal, then it might explain how the indigenous people disappeared." I scratched an itch between my neck spikes. "Can you work on that hypothesis, Hrrovr? Find out if it's a passage and how to use it?"

"On it, Captain." An excited tingle of the rrss'h'ss' scales accompanied his words. "Ben, would you collect the data on the development of the energy levels'ss? And we'll need Hijac's'ss help for the analys'ssis'ss."

"He'll be here at any moment. Lyxh, please check on the tyrinans. Ajs insists they are going to be fine, but I'd love to be sure."

While my crew was occupied, I studied the sensor readings of the severill ship. For the first time, I was tempted to believe in that gipsy curse when I realised we dealt with the flagship Vanquisher, my archenemy. Instead of saving us, this trip had gone down the wormhole faster than a suicidal comet. We needed a plan—and fast.

Hijac and Ajs returned to a room buzzing with activity. The karjkan clambered onto a seat next to Hrrovr while Aalyxh called Ajs over. "According to my scans, the hatchlings now move out of the room you left them in."

Ajs' eyestalks perked up. "They explore their world. It's a wonderful place, and they are grateful for the opportunity to build a new colony."

I doubted the space patrol would share her delight. There must be a reason for the quarantine on Tyrin, but this wasn't our main problem right now. A minty cloud of karjkan enthusiasm engulfed me. "Any news about that anomaly?"

"You are right, this is a potential portal." The neutral voice of the speech-box contrasted with the karjkan's odorous excitement. "This must be the way they left, the device that carried them across the galaxy."

A warm glow of hope lit up in my chest. If Hijac's speculation was correct, we might slip away from the severills and return to known space at the same time. "Can we use it?"

"No, it dissolves fast now." Disappointment made Aalyxh's voice hoarse and quenched my newfound spark. "Ben, can you create another one?"

The engineer huffed. "First you scold me for blowing up things, and then you ask me to repeat it." He paced up and down in the narrow aisle between the stations. "Impossible without returning to the building, and even then it's unlikely we can recreate it."

"Can we stabilise the portal?" I wasn't ready to give up yet.

Hijac turned towards me. "It would deplete our energy stores. Besides, from what I've seen in the library, we will need a vast amount of power to activate the thing and set a course to our destination."

"In short, it's useless." I fought the desperation that sent its creeping tentacles into my thoughts. "Any other ideas?"

The heavy silence and the tarry smell of karjkan worry filling the bridge fueled my sense of disappointment. After an eternity, Ben cleared his throat. "We should go back and operate the blue lever again. Yet I doubt it will do the same and our charge will suffice to carry us through any portal it creates."

"We might try anyway, we don't have many options." Aalyxh's fingers danced over her screen. "But what about the severills? Will they let us sneak away?" She was right, and no amount of wishing would make the ugly warship on Hrrovr's screen disappear.

"Either they let us slip to safety, or they shoot us first." No use to delay the inevitable. I stood up. "Right. Ben and I are going back to the building. Prepare the Topsy for an emergency takeoff."

"Cap Kali?" Ajs' tiny voice called for my attention. "No need to go back. I can ask the younglings for help."

"From here? How will they work the lever? They are tiny." Hive minds and their means of communication remained a source of wonder to me.

"They are getting stronger, and they will work together, build a chain. I can plug into the community, but it would be easier for me if you fly the ship closer to the spire."

Ben was already at his station, and Aalyxh brought the Topsy into a slow ascent.

"Captain? The ss'severill ship moves'ss in now. It will arrive in two-point-three clicks'ss." The clatter of the rrss'h'ss' tail scales on the floor expressed frustration better than any words could.

"So much for ignoring us. Aalyxh, ready for evasive action. Hrrovr, man the torpedoes. Ben, belt in." Hijac and Ajs would not be affected by a wild flight, but I checked my own safety net.

"Kali, we receive a message from the severills." Aalyxh's eyes were wide, and I couldn't blame her. Messages weren't their normal choice of ammunition in our encounters.

"I'm listening."

"Greetings, Kalina ap'Theron. This is Verano se Kajll speaking." The voice was deep and rumbling to the degree where it reverberated in my stomach. I'd almost forgotten how a severill sounded. Besides, I'd never heard one that didn't give the impression he'd love to put me on the menu for the next banquet.

"Greetings, Verano se Kajll. How can I help?" Not that I thought a severill warlord would require my help, but it made me feel better if I could pretend to.

"Pleased to speak to you in person." What was that, a chuckle? "Can we talk, Kalina ap Theron?"

Talk? This must be a new method to lure me into a trap. Severills never talked when my name was brought into the equation. They shot, and with heavy weaponry if available. Besides, we were already chatting. "I don't exactly know what we should converse about, but sure, suit yourself."

"They request visuals." Aalyxh's voice was a mere whisper. "Shall I comply?"

I nodded, afraid this was a trick to gain an advantage over us. But curiosity is one of my pet deficiencies. The main screen blacked out and filled with a pixelated picture of a dark, green-skinned severill. The transmission took its time to stabilise from top to bottom.
The first thing I made out was a pair of stubby horns. Each was adorned with a golden ring, a sign of his rank as commander-in-chief. The horns peaked out of the light green pelt on a round head. Next, the gleaming yellow eyes became visible. Two eyes, this was not the ancient chieftain I had wounded so many years ago. A nose followed, broad and with a characteristic ridge. I gasped.

Aalyxh nudged my arm. "Kali? What's wrong? Who's that guy?"

"He is—well, he was the youth I tried to impress back when I was caught on the severill flagship. Seems he has advanced in his career."

(1894 words)