there.
She panted as she looked around, noting the mounds of dead bodies. Nothing moved except her and Jin. The previously beautiful flowers were now speckled with red.
"I think that's it," Jin said, listing to the side. He sounded weary as he came to rest on a tree branch.
Kira's hand with the blade remained in a defensive position as she weaved on her feet. "Did any escape?"
She held her breath, praying he said no.
If a single shrieker escaped, they'd have to go after them. Otherwise, this would happen again. Shriekers reproduced through parthenogenesis, which was a fancy way of saying they didn't need a partner to multiply.
There was also the small matter that where there were shriekers, there was a handler waiting in the wings. How else would the Tsavitee know when a target was adequately softened.
"No," Jin said when Kira had resigned herself to having to embark on a foot chase. "We're clear."
Kira's shoulders slumped. Thank the universe above for small mercies.
Several seconds passed before Jin summoned enough energy to rise from the branch. "There's at least sixty bodies here."
It wasn't as big as the swarms they'd seen during the war—some of which had reached thousands—but it was much bigger than a swarm on a Haldeel planet had a right to be.
"You think the Haldeel know they're compromised?"
Kira shook her head. If they didn't before, they would now. No way was this going to be covered up. Eventually a civilian would stumble on the scene and report it. There'd be no hiding from the truth then.
"How did they get here?" Kira asked.
The Haldeel were extremely advanced. They had warning systems in place that should have made it impossible to smuggle a shrieker embryo onto the planet.
The fact the swarm was here and had grown to this size was concerning.
Kira started retracing her steps toward the cafe. "Come on. Finn likely is on his way. We should depart before we're seen."
"Too late. Several energy signatures belonging to Haldeel weapons are approaching quickly. The fight must have alerted their peacekeepers."
Of all the luck.
"What do you want to do?" Jin asked.
Fleeing was pointless. The entire area was studded with surveillance equipment. Getting off-planet without the Haldeel catching them was pretty much impossible since they'd still have to use a Haldeel dropship. Leaving now would only make them appear guilty.
"We'll wait and answer their questions," Kira said unhappily.
Finn wasn't going to be pleased that the moment she was out of his sight she'd ended up in a fight for her life.
Kira took out a cloth and began to clean her weapon. Only when it was as clean as she could get it in current conditions did she tuck it into its hiding place.
The rest of her she gave up as a lost cause.
At least none of the blood was hers this time.
She finished just as three Haldeel sped into view, the long, wide skirts of their robes frothing at the quick movement of their appendages.
They stopped abruptly, staring at the scene of the massacre in wide-eyed disbelief.
Kira lifted a hand, smiling at them awkwardly. "Hey there."
The three reacted, leveling weapons that held an uncanny resemblance to a trident in her direction. Kira's welcoming smile stiffened.
It was never a good thing to be on the wrong end of a trident. Depending on its user, the trident had a variety of abilities. She'd seen them fire powerful laser bolts that could rip a hole in a Tsavitee drone. She'd also seen the Haldeel use them as staffs or bury the tips in an opponent and use that opponent as a battering ram.
The Haldeel might prefer peace, but they could be as violent and merciless as any of the other races. They simply hid it better behind a facade of serenity.
Kira held her hands up, trying to seem harmless.
It was probably a wasted effort with the evidence of what she'd done strewn all around the clearing, some of it soaking into her white shirt and smeared across her jacket.
"Are you responsible for this?" The tallest of the Haldeel jerked his trident to indicate the bodies. The base color of his skin was brown and he had forest green markings that encroached on the sides of his jaw and neck.
Kira grimaced. "I guess you could say that, but in my defense, they attacked first."
They took in the many bodies again.
"Just you?" the Haldeel asked.
Kira indicated Jin. "He helped."
Their gazes went from Jin to the bodies whose only evidence of injury were the singe marks marring their flesh.
"Incoming from