Need to leave now, Arachna said psionically, trying to reach Beaky. Yumens coming to you.

Would Beaky hear her? She desperately hoped that he was not asleep on the job. That would be very bad.

She scampered towards him in the air ducts above while coating herself in invisibility. The ducts were full of those tiny bots who seemed to ignore her as long as she stayed transparent. Yumens were so stupid not to realize this.

There was no response from Beaky. Horde, she hoped she would get to him before the Yumens did. Why had she been dumb enough to use the data device from Beaky's resting place? While it was true that there had been other Yumens on board who had visited the compactor, the fact that Carlsen's login had been used from there would lead the Yumens there right away.

Still no response from Beaky. What was that dactyl doing?

Exiting her air duct she made her way into a garbage chute and dove headfirst toward the compactor. There was light at the end of the tunnel.

Lights flashed and ricocheting bullets bounced back.

Bam, bam, bam, bam.

There was a fight going on inside. Three marines in their hulking full-body suits, automatic rifles, and enormous boots. Behind them stood Lieutenant Commander Sarka clutching a handgun with two hands while aiming at something fluttering near the ceiling. She walked with another female Yumen that Arachna recognized as Dr. Sandra from the Medica. What was she doing here?

Beaky flapped high above their heads, trying to avoid getting hit. Luckily, mountains of trash gave him something to hide behind as he dodged and ducked.

Cacaw. A psionic wave erupted from Beaky, pushing one of the three marines to the floor. The other two held their ground even as their armored suits started to bend under the force of the blast.

"Hold," Dr. Sandra said, as the Yumens clutched their heads, impacted by the psionic waves. All but Dr. Sandra seemed to have headaches.

"It will pass," Dr. Sandra said. "The psionic buffers I've given you will block it out."

"Hurts like the void," the marine on the ground said, clutching his head.

Cacaw. Beaky emitted another wave.

Despite the psionic buffer, all of the Yumens were pushed back against the wall, which also began to warp into a semi-spherical crevice. The waves unleashed by a dactyl were a powerful force. Even if the Yumens could ward off its mental effects, they couldn't fully avoid its physical ones.

Arachna's twin hearts leaped for joy. It was good to see Beaky putting these Yumens in their place.

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"Do you think Carlsen is working with the Krath?" a marine said, standing up, and raising his rifle.

"No," Sarka said. "Most likely the insurrectionists planted it here, knowing we would search for it."

"I concur," Dr. Sandra said, matter-of-factly. "Unlike what you may have heard on the vids, Krath are not intelligent creatures. This has to be the work of Dr. Carlsen. He was a genius and likely found a way to manipulate Krath."

Bam, bam, bam.

More shots were fired with the flickering red glow piercing the scene like bolts of lightning.

Click, click. Arachna let off a few quiet clicks just audible enough for Beaky to hear but not the Yumens. He flapped his wings at a distance but turned his eyes toward her.

You are here? Beaky said psionically, sensing Arachna's presence. You leave now.

Came to warn you, she said.

Too late for that, Beaky said.

More shots, a few narrowly missing Beaky's left wing.

He tried another psionic wave but the attack seemed to be losing its impact. The Yumens hid behind compacted piles of trash that provide ample cover against the physical force of the waves.

Escape above, she said her eyes pointing toward the garbage chute embedded in the ceiling.

Then what? Beaky said. Yumens will follow. I stay. You go. Live.

Arachna didn't know if there would be a way to convince him to leave. But there had to be a way. She'd trapped Yumens before, maybe she could do it again?

No, she thought to herself. Need a faster solution. But what?

Suddenly, she eyed the datapad and the tiny robot she'd linked to it. Lowering herself to the ground, she scampered over to the tablet device and activated it.

Good, no one seemed to have noticed, she thought. Now, to try this.

The tiny robot activated, its robotic camera-for-a-head lifted up and its wheels powered on. It lifted its miniature laser weapon and started rolling out the door.

Time to provide Beaky with some cover. At Arachna's command, the little robot fired its laser at the marines, hitting their boots.

Pew, pew

"Aah," a marine said. "I think I felt something hit my boots." He looked down. There was a small scorch mark that didn't penetrate.

"Ignore it, soldier," another man said, looking at his own boots. "Who knows what's buried in this dump? Focus on the target."

"Yes, sir."

Horde, the laser wasn't powerful enough to penetrate the armor. The marines barely noticed. She flicked her spinnerette. Well, two of the Yumens weren't wearing any armor. Rotating the robot's focus, she fired two shots more shots from the miniature laser, one at Dr. Sandra and the other at the Yumen known as Sarka.

"Agh," screamed Dr. Sandra, feeling her torso. It dripped blood. "Something's firing at us."

Lieutenant Commander Sarka placed her hand on her shoulder. She too was bleeding.

Pew, pew.

Arachna's twin hearts leaped as she fired off another volley of shots, knee-capping Dr. Sandra and grazing Sarka's ear.

Dr. Sandra screamed at the top of her lungs. The doctor clearly wasn't used to experiencing pain. Didn't she have a stim for that? The marines temporarily ceased their firing and turned to look at her.

"Help me," Dr. Sandra said, falling to the ground. "Pleease." She wasn't able to lift herself with her legs. Horde, these Yumens were weak when they didn't have any special contraptions on.

"There it is," Sarka said, pointing to the robot, and aiming her weapon. "Focus on the dactyl. I'll take care of that thing."

Uh oh, time to get. Arachna quickly navigated the tiny robot out the door, Lieutenant Commander Sarka was not far behind.

Switching it to auto-pilot, she sent the little robot toward the cafeteria at top speed.

Then she focused her attention on the remaining marines.

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