The first phalanx of Khieevi reached the holo-compounds and opened fire on the holos, which responded by breaking up and reforming, continuing the postures, journeys, movements, and apparent tasks in -which they had been engaged before the attack.
Khieevi klacking escalated to an even higher volume. Shuttles no longer streamed from the skies. The ground troops, heedless of the klacks of the vanguard, charged forward, trampling some of those in front of them.
Mac looked up at the rest of the crew. “The Khieevi are very frustrated and dissatisfied,” he said. The android could have saved the speech. The tone of the klacks accompanied by the activity of the klackers was more than eloquent.
Then suddenly, and seemingly simultaneously, the Khieevi exploded into action, all of them at once diving into the vines with open mandibles. The attack had been so typically single minded that it had drawn their attention-and the attention of Acorna and her friends-completely away from the plants, -which had been docilely shrinking away .from the Khieevi, allowing roots and stalks to be trampled. Even before the Khieevi attack changed course, however, the plants slowly began thrusting upward again, unbending from being trod underfoot, as if reaching for sunlight, all very innocent and plant-like.
But as the first mandibles closed on the first stalk, the vines whipped into action, shooting sap from each fresh wound and from sap sacs hidden in the stalks and under the leaves as well. The Khieevi were surrounded, as they had previously surrounded the holo-compounds.
The cameras became ineffective as sap squirted everywhere. Becker switched to the moon-linked camera. A close-up of the planet’s surface showed it glistening with turbulent swells and peaks of slimy sap. The Khieevi shuttle’s corn unit squealed -with high-pitched eeee sounds. Acorna reached over and flipped the toggle, and the sound mercifully ceased.
The remote camera showed a handful of shuttles with rapidly dying Khieevi piloting them erratically towards the mother ships. Once the stragglers had been reabsorbed by the swarm, the ships veered off.
“Are they going back to the Niriians?” Becker asked Mac.
Mac flipped the toggle back on again and monitored the noises emitted by the ships. “No, Captain. They are in disarray. This has never happened to them before, I think.”
“Predators who prey on pacifists probably don’t run the risk of getting beaten all that often,” Becker allowed. “So what are they up to?”
“I do not think they know at this time, Captain. There is talk of returning to the homeworld. They are-unlikely as it may sound-I believe they are very frightened, Captain.”
“Of the vine world?” Becker grinned. “They should be. Serves them right.”
“Yes, but they are already discussing -what might be used to neutralize it. Actually, from what I can detect, I believe they are afraid of returning to their homeworld. That seems odd, don’t you think?”
“Maybe the King bug is going to chop off their heads,” Becker said with a shrug. “I hope he does and that teaches them not to mess -with us again. So, gang, I guess that’s it. It’s over. We win. Or the plant critters do. End of story.”
Acorna could not think of a logical objection to this conclusion, though she felt it was somehow all-anticlimactic. So much horror so easily conquered. Who would have believed it. But she could tell from Becker’s tone and his expression that he felt the same. Aari too appeared perplexed and unsatisfied. “What’s the matter?” she asked him.
He shook his head, “Perhaps, after living with fear of the Khieevi for so long, it is hard to believe we have put an effective end to them. Perhaps I am merely having trouble adjusting to the idea that they are gone, that our people, and I in particular, no longer have the terror of them looming over us.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Acorna agreed. But she remained uneasy.
No brass band greeted the ConSor, but everybody looked happy to see it return safely. Rafik Nadezda, Declan Giloglie, and Nadhari Kando were waiting at the landing bay, as were Aan’s parents.
Before the robolift had touched the ground, Aari’s parents were saying, “We made a significant breakthrough with the sap! Wait till you see. It’s quite simple but very effective.”