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already had my own opinion on the matter but wanted to hear what Tong thought to see if we were in agreement. My mind went back to the point inside our walls when Sulk had me dead to rights. He’d pointed that blaster in my face and could have killed me right there. He didn’t, though.

Even after Mutt and I grabbed him, he’d only tried to get away, not kill us.

“I can’t answer that question without my own bias tainting the outcome,” Tong admitted. “The many years my people have been at war with the Rung have soiled my decision-making ability on the subject.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “Tell him we’ll consider it.”

Tong seemed to take pleasure in relating the answer to Sulk. The Rung answered back vehemently, and Tong just laughed. I surmised that Sulk was not happy with Tong’s response and that Tong was happy that Sulk was unhappy.

The rest of the night, we traveled with the idea that we would move better under the cover of darkness. As far as any of us knew, Legion didn’t possess a way to see in the dark.

The mountains were only a hard night’s ride in front of us. Going all out in the predators, we’d reach the base of the mountains by daybreak.

“How’re you all doing back there?” Stacy asked through the comm unit in my ear. “See anything?”

“Nothing besides the back of your predator and the stars overhead,” I answered. “I don’t think we’re going to see Legion tonight. If he did watch us as we left the Orion, he knows he can’t catch us in the predators. We’re thinking he’ll set up and ambush further ahead. Sulk says we have to travel through a canyon once we reach the mountain range. He’ll probably hit us there.”

“Agreed,” Stacy said, muffling a yawn. “Keep your eyes open. Let Tong rest and switch off if you start falling asleep.”

“I’m good,” I said. “Should be good at least until dawn.” I really was awake, probably too keyed up to sleep.

We drove through the night over the alien terrain. The looming dark masses in front of us that were the mountain range grew closer every hour. The forest to our right remained still and not so much as a streak of motion or a rogue cry from an animal could be heard.

As the dual suns began to fight back the dark sky, Stacy called a stop. Just as planned, we were at the foot of the mountains. We would rest and regroup here just inside the tree line of the forest before continuing our journey.

We parked the predators under a pair of large trees with neon-like branches and dark brown trunks. Tong took too much pleasure leading Sulk from his spot in the vehicle and securing him to a tree. I wasn’t sure if I should let him continue in this vein with our enemy/hostage/soon-to-possibly-be-ally or say something.

My concern was less for Sulk and more for us. I didn’t want to aggravate him to the point where he and his fellow Rung decided to take revenge on the Remboshi for this treatment. I wondered if they had some sort of prisoner-of-war pact to abide by.

“I’ll take first watch while you get some sleep, then wake Lou, John, Tong, and you in that order,” Stacy instructed. “We should all get a solid eight hours before we hit the canyon, then we’ll travel with the cover of night again. Using Jezra’s satellite, we’ll be able to tell if Legion is waiting to spring a trap on us.”

“I’m not going to argue with you,” Lou said, handing out our rations, which weren’t anything more than a few pieces of fruit and packed sandwiches. “I could use some rest.”

John massaged his elbow. There was a thoughtful look in his tired eyes as he did so. He looked over at me, raising an eyebrow.

“You good?” I asked, wondering if he was going to start verbally sparring with me about who should have won our match.

“Yeah, I’ll live,” John said with a smirk. “I have to. We need to have a rematch until there’s a clear winner.”

“Careful what you wish for, brother,” I told him, biting into a piece of fruit. “You just might get it.”

The more and more I got to know John, the more I felt comfortable joking with him. I knew now he was one of the good ones. Not just good as in he was on our side, but good as in he could be counted on.

I could see it in his eyes now. The gladiator spirit that drove him forward was the same one that raged inside of me. We were definitely brothers under the skin.

After our meager meal, we chose our sleeping areas and passed out hard. I was under a tree using the branches above me for shade when fatigue finally set in.

It was one of those sleeps that came so quickly, you weren’t sure how long you’d been out at all when you woke up. All I knew was that I was torn from the deep embrace of slumber by a piercing, bone-chilling scream.

I sat bolt upright, trying to figure out far too much at once. I blinked as I reached for my weapon. Others in the camp were also roused awake from the noise.

The suns were still overhead but on their downward descent now. I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep. Six hours, maybe more.

The scream came again. It was a sound I was familiar with. Legion. I had heard the people he infected enough times to recognize the distinct scream of pure mania.

In a moment, everyone was up and shifting from sleep to fighting mode. Weapons were raised as we took up a defense position around the predators.

I took Sulk from the tree he was attached to, back to the passenger side of the predator, and secured him once more.

He groaned as I locked him in place. I couldn’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to be tied down