The Trilisk Supersedure - By Michael McCloskey Page 0,3

single ten-liter water container sat in one corner. It was a rugged type of container used by the space force, colonists, and core world survivalists. DeVries saw more of the grilles on each wall and the ceiling. He saw one had been removed to allow him to enter. It leaned against the wall next to the entrance.

This place is locked down tight. Impossible to get anywhere without breaking through those things. And I don’t think the grilles were made by humans. The space force wouldn’t lock down each room from the other with a thick ceramic barrier. Konuan doors? Maybe that buckle bulb knows at least part of what he’s talking about.

The middle of the room held a huge vat. It was a circular depression about two feet deep at the center. The vat was empty except for a few pieces of straight gray debris. DeVries’s first thought was of bones. If it was a skeleton of some kind, he decided it probably wasn’t human.

Since there was no unblocked exit, DeVries decided to try to remove a grille himself. He approached the one opposite his entrance tunnel. It looked heavy, but apparently the disciples had been opening them up so they could move about in the ruins. DeVries prided himself on his animal strength. It had helped him dispatch many of his victims. He grasped the obstacle and gave an experimental pull. It did not budge.

“Not even close,” he said to himself. The grille felt like it was fused in place.

DeVries heard a soft scraping from his right. He turned toward another grille. Suddenly his heart started slamming against his rib cage. He drew the stunner from his belt by reflex. He had long ago disabled its requirements for target logging; the weapon would shoot at anything and everything DeVries ordered it to.

Is that the Konuan?

A yellow line appeared between to bars of the grille. It looked like foam at first; then DeVries saw the edge of it: a black border to the yellow. Dozens of tiny yellow claws grasped the outside edge of one bar, all on one side.

Yes. All its legs are on one side. It’s climbing sideways to get through the grille. Must be.

DeVries aimed his stunner. The Konuan shot out of the grille like a whip. It opened to envelop DeVries at the last second. He pulled the stunner’s trigger in shock, but the thing was already on him.

Thousands of tiny claws scraped at his head and face. A powerful, acrid smell hit him. Ammonia. He fell back from the impact, losing his balance.

DeVries opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Instead he coughed spasmodically. The ammonia smell was overwhelming. He struck the floor, but he had lost all sense of direction or caring about anything but the need to escape. His hands tore at the outside of the creature covering his torso, but he couldn’t get a grip on any part of it. He thrashed violently in the hands of animal panic. His eyes burned. His legs kicked.

Merciful oblivion came seconds later as he lapsed into unconsciousness.

Chapter 1

Magnus sat comfortably in a swivel throne with his feet propped up on an opulent marble desk. Judging from the size and decor of the office that surrounded him, few would have guessed he sat in a spacecraft. The smart chairs arrayed before him adjusted to their occupants and could even serve drinks or drugs. The ceiling rose to twice his height. A shoji screen framed his chair, with scenes from worlds he had visited flitting across its panels.

Vovokans know how to travel in style. Magnus smiled. Given the size of Shiny’s house, the huge ship must have seemed tiny to the alien. But to Magnus, it was a flying mansion. And they had all had time to pray up a few amenities for the new transport before they left. A marble statue of Magnus occupied one corner; a similarly beautiful sculpture of Telisa stood in the other. The sculpture caught his imagination and memory for the hundredth time. Since they had been able to pray up almost anything since finding the Trilisk AI, Telisa and Magnus had enjoyed many romantic encounters, both real and virtual.

I wonder how Shiny ever survived being cooped up in the Iridar. It must have felt like a concentration camp to him. Yet he said nothing.

He shifted in his seat as a preamble to action. Then he opened an obfuscated channel to Jason Yang. The reply offered Magnus a video