Public Domain - authored by Dee Dreslough.
Tara kicked free of the pouch as Luuko fell back against the stocks. Krallik spun,
his eyes wide with the shock of her sudden appearance, and let loose a startled bark. He galloped forward, charging
back toward her. She rolled off Luuko, clicked the actuator on one of her grenades and flung it into Krallik's
gaping maw. His jaws snapped just inches from her head as she rolled under Luuko's limp foreleg for protection.
Krallik barreled on, skidding to a stop to turn just as the grenade activated. The blast ripped through the chamber,
shattering some of the windows and damaging the stocks. The acolyte to the left, dazed, struggled against his remaining
restraints.
"So much for a stealthy entrance" Tara yelled as she fired at the doors
to the chamber. She knew she had to seal them shut or they'd all be lost. The membranes shut protectively against
the plasma blasts.
Tara spun to see the Great Mother's tail lashing from side to side. The blast had
partially destroyed the dais, and severed some of the tentacles. The Mulkol worked on, slowly working the blade
and barbs into the Great Mother's neck as she ripped away tendrils with each slash of her bladed tail. She fired
a few shots into the mass of writhing whiteness in the center of the room, but each shot that struck the Mulkol
elicited a piercing shriek in the Great Mother. They must somehow be joined!
Tara charged forward, grabbing handfuls of the tendrils near the Great Mother's
tail. Hold on...Can I remove the head tendrils safely without killing you, Great Mother? Tara gave up her non-psi
charade and reached out mentally, blinking against the despair in the Great Mother's mind. It overshadowed even
the pain in Tara's hands - grabbing the tendrils stung like grabbing a Portuguese man-of-war but she continued
to grab more and more.
You...No, Leader Tara. I am lost, but I will not be forgotten. Her shock at feeling
Tara's mind echoed in Tara's head, but quickly gave way to the firm resolve. She whipped up her tail blade, jabbing
it viciously into the Mulkol's throat. Each thrust of her tail jabbed the blade deeper and deeper into the Mulkol's
neck, and at the same time elicited a high pitched shriek from the Great Mother. As she killed him, she was killing
herself. Two Barryds die tonight! Damn you, Mulkol! Damn you!
No Great Mother! Telka must not die! The acolytes still pinned in their restraints
flailed madly against them. Tara ran to them, firing at the heavy wood, blasting away at it bit by bit.
No, Tara...there is not time. The acolyte was right...noise in the hallway and outside
the chamber was getting louder as the remote audiences of Mulkol struggled to get into the room. Get Luuko, Ditwer
over there.. anyone...get them into the tendrils! Save the Barryd! Do not let it fall into Mulkai hands...
A snot-barb landed squarely in the acolyte's back and melted through his spine.
He went limp just as Tara finished freeing him from his stocks. The Mulkol were forcing their way through the doors,
firing snot-guns into the chamber.
Tara...come here, Tara... The Great Mother's voice was barely audible in Tara's
mind. She raced to her side, ripping tendrils free from her tail. Blood gushed from the Mulkol's mouth as he struggled
to finish his work with the blade.
To think I wanted this to be painless for you, Telka... The Mulkol's mind-voice
was white with fury.
Fool! You have given me the advantage I need to defeat you. Weak slaves, Mulkol?
No better than animals? Her voice jabbed viciously at the Mulkol's mind, and she punctuated each thought with a
jab from her tail. Tara, you must never let them know where they came from. We are our own people. We must always
believe that. You must never let them be enslaved again... Her fierce words were the last thing Tara remembered.
As the Mulkol's last bit of life blood spilled out onto the dais, the Great Mother
loosed her tail from his throat. She swung around and dropped it on Tara, pinning her to the couch as the tangle
of tendrils engulfed the three forms.