Six zegs left until the aliens arrive.

Ktheg!lik flicked her ears nervously. "Did you get all that?" she asked the others.

Odaual spoke up. "I think so. Petra built this place with a lot of rooms that are actually basic traps, possibly simple enough to fool invaders with advanced technology looking for something fancy. I would only expect one or two of those traps to work before the rest wise up and start looking for the right things. I wonder where she got the idea, honestly."

Geh!aoa chimed in, "Maker 4 is making guns, Maker 5 is making things that flash and bang, I guess? Maker 6 is making exploding balls. You throw those both the same way."

"And Maker 7 is making phony copies of Petra. If the invaders see you and you want to lead them off, show your fake Petra and run like it's sunrise." Gen!kin already had two fakes that he handed out.

"Maker 3 is making the really dangerous things, the ones that can hurt Petra's automata. She's sending them into rooms where they will hurt the enemy more than her. Apparently they will also hurt the new guns, but they won't hurt us."

"Don't forget these are likely trained soldiers coming. If you fight them hand to hand you'll probably eat dirt," Ktheg!lik warned.

"We'll see," Fana!o replied calmly. He was actually a soldier, unlike the rest of them. I guess we'll find out how our military and theirs compare on the basics, Ktheg!lik mused. She glanced at her tablet and flicked to see a couple of different lists. That's an impressive amount of iron we're using in a very short time.

"How many guns will we have by the time they land?"

"Not enough."

Odaual shook his head. "'Land.' Terrible sun, it sounds like they're birds or something."

"They might as well be. Nik!eh said his people could fly, too. Petra, time until they arrive?"

"Four and a half zegs."

"Why is Petra making a bunch of air filters and bags?" Ala!fak wondered aloud, picking up a small pile of them from the exit to Maker 2.

"All get air filters. Strangers maybe make air bad," Petra replied.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Kazz, I'm glad the golem thought of it, because I sure didn't," Geh!aoa muttered, grabbing an air filter and trying a couple of ways before getting it over her head correctly. She figured out how to pull it tight around her throat, and looked around and everyone through the veil. "Feels weird. Room for the ears, at least." She waved them to demonstrate. Others copied her once they saw how. "I'll go share them out. Should I bring one to Gua!laga?"

"No time. He's waiting on Level 1 already. Get them to the fighters." Geh!aoa nodded and left with a double handful of filters.

Gua!laga had announced that he would attempt to negotiate with the aliens when they arrived. He knew that the aliens might simply kill him instantly, but he felt obligated to try. And who knew? Maybe Gua!laga had the right idea and would save their lives.

"All right, people who aren't fighting should all be in their rooms by now, or hiding elsewhere." Ktheg!lik looked at the map of the base. "Everyone, the tablets will go dark in two zegs so the enemy can't use them. So memorize the places to avoid that are close to you. Do it now."

Fana!o looked at his map, shaking his head in confusion. "How in Ooafa are those traps supposed to work? There's no rhyme or reason to these areas."

"If they were logical, the enemy could avoid them," Odaual pointed out. "I'm just glad Petra made so many in advance."

"What are we going to do if we lose, and they want to know where the real Petra is?" Zel!nioo asked.

"Tell them the truth, that we have no idea where Petra is. If they don't believe us, I'll tell them that she's buried outside and lead them on a wild hunt to buy time."

"Time for what?"

Ktheg!lik shrugged. "A miracle."

* *

They rushed to their positions and waited.

"Flash...boom...flash...boom..." Geh!aoa repeated, shaking one in each hand, trying not to forget which was which.

Fana!o fiddled with his adjustable spear, changing its length and taking practice swings to decide how he liked it.

Gua!laga kept taking nervous sips of water, hoping that he wouldn't need the toilet before the attackers arrived.

Odaual was playing with his new gun, that somehow made a tiny, bright red dot wherever he aimed.

Olk!ana was released from his cell. Ktheg!lik had spoken with him briefly. The man wasn't pointlessly evil. He wanted to save people. But he had proven that he was willing to kill, and die, for what he believed was necessary.

He was down on Level 12, at the controls for the heavy metal engine. If all seemed lost, he would lure as many of them to their doom as he could before releasing the mysterious sickness Petra warned of. If Petra was able, she would do it herself, but if she were destroyed, damaged, or captured, Olk!ana would carry out the mission.

"Invisible death light." How charming. I'm sure that will populate my nightmares if we live through this, Ktheg!lik thought. Some things are better off left un-invented, I think.

She sat in the workroom, a dozen tablets showing the views from a swarm of cameras scattered throughout the base. She could speak through the darkened tablets elsewhere to let people know what was happening, and she was right next to several makers in case Petra created some last zeg wonder to save them and needed fuak!a hands to wield it.

She took a steadying breath from an oxygen tank, and watched the cameras. We may win, we may lose, but I swear, monsters from space, we will find out what color you bleed.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.