Scar awakens to find himself on the floor. Beside his head lies the shriveled body of a host implanter. Putting a large clawed hand to his chest, Scar struggles to contain the vengeful roar welling up inside him. How can this be? How could he have let this happen? Celtic had tried to warn him about distractions. He had not listened. And now, he will pay the ultimate price.


    Climbing unsteadily to his feet, Scar replaces his mask. A warning buzz sounds through his interface, warning him of infestation. Scar pays it no heed. He will continue the hunt. He will kill the serpent queen. Only then, will everything have been made right.


    The pyramid shifts again. The wall directly across from him begins to rise toward the ceiling. Scar waits until the opening is wide enough to slip through. Glancing once over his shoulder, he melts into the darkness ahead.


    -


    -


    Scar follows the trail of the solitary ooman female. At some point, she and her male companion must have gotten split up. The other ooman is nowhere in sight. The female stumbles through the darkened corridors, turning to peer behind herself every so often. Scar keeps his cloak activated. It is the weapon he wants, nothing more. If she were to tire and put the weapon down, he could leave without her having knowledge of his continued presence.


    Nevertheless, the female continues forward. The ooman''s march of uncertainty only ends when she enters a chamber with no exit—save the way she originally came. Looking at a round object on her arm, she taps the surface. Displeased with what she sees, she sighs heavily and lowers her head in defeat.


    Scar takes a moment to smell the air. Unlike the males of her group, this female does not smell exclusively of fear. True, she is frightened. But there are other chemicals present in her blood. As a youth, he was taught that during times of extreme stress, ooman females can sometimes exhibit enormous strength--due to a sudden release of chemicals in their brain. What will this female do if she is confronted?


    The sturdy warrior studies the ooman female a brief moment longer. He releases a sigh of his own. Despite the code, he will have to confront her--if he hopes to retrieve his weapon.


    Dropping his cloak, Scar stands silently behind the frightened female. Maybe it was a rustle of his armor, or the metallic jingle of items on his belt. Whatever the cause, the female senses his presence. She turns to look at him. Shuddering uncontrollably, she remains where she is.


    Scar holds out his combistick, extending it to its full length. Fear completely takes hold of the ooman female and she trembles even more violently. Growling threateningly, Scar takes on a fighting stance. The female extends her hands forward and utters an ooman plea of surrender.


    At first, Scar mimics her motions, believing this is how she wishes to fight. However, she repeats the same phrase again, and the meaning finally sinks in. She does not wish to fight. That is good, because he does not desire to kill her.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “Wait…Please. Please, wait,” the female cries.


    The ooman’s heat signature fluctuates as she struggles against her growing fear. Scar listens intently as the ooman continues to speak. Some of her words make no sense. Others bring him great confusion. She kneels on the ground and reaches behind her. Removing her bag, she slides it—and the weapon—to him.


    Scar only stares at the ooman female in disbelief. Is she one of the faithful? Why else would she have carried his weapon for so long?


    The ooman gasps and there is movement to Scar''s left. A serpent leaps from the darkness, taking him by surprise. The weight of the pouncing beast drives Scar into a nearby wall, and his combistick flies from his hand. Scar forcefully hurls the vile beast away. It lands almost directly in front of the ooman female.


    Orienting itself, the beast focuses its attention on the ooman. It leaps for her. The ooman female’s reflexes are surprisingly fast. She grips Scar’s combistick and places it in front of her. The black serpent impales itself on Scar’s combistick. This alone, is not enough to stop its murderous crusade. The creature struggles to get closer to the ooman, inflicting more damage on itself. Using its wicked tail, it attempts to stab the cowering female. She holds the combistick steady, not letting the creature gain even an inch.


    Scar watches as the beast feigns death in order to trick the female into a false sense of security. Just as she tries to lower the combistick—and the creature—to the ground; it snaps its inner jaw. The extendable jaw nearly connects with the ooman female’s face. Had it done so, she would surely be dead. The serpent’s secondary mouth is able to punch through even the toughest yautjian metal.


    Eventually, the serpent is still. Truly dead this time. The ooman lowers it to the ground and inhales deeply. Her body resumes its trembling when she observes the three dots which appear on her hand. She warily raises her head and follows them to their source. Peering up at him, she mouths a silent plea. Then, her attention is pulled elsewhere.


    Scar follows her gaze. This location is no longer safe. Several serpents are clambering on the walls and ceiling. Scar readies his plasmacaster and fires on the black beasts. He takes down all but three, which manage to slither back into the darkness from whence they came.


    His plasmacaster red-hot from rapid firing, Scar turns to retrieve his combistick. Now that he has his weapon, he will head for the serpent queen’s lair. If the female is smart, she will head for the surface. There will be nothing but death here.


    To his surprise, the ooman female leaps forward as if to follow him. She reaches out as if to grab him and he whirls on her. Backing the female into the corner where she had originally cowered, Scar studies her carefully. It doesn’t take him long to make up his mind.


    Dropping to one knee, Scar grips the elongated head of the slain black serpent. Her slain black serpent. If the female wishes to die with honor, or avenge her companions’ deaths; he will not stand in her way. He will provide her with weapons. But should she prove burdensome, he will leave her behind. Or will he?


    Scar admits to himself that the female has fought bravely. She has survived while the rest of her ooman party are dead. She killed a keinde amedha. Even though she is ooman, she has already earned her blooded status.


    Scar finishes cutting off the head and barbed tail of the deceased serpent. He yanks free the spear from a nearby statue and affixes the barbed tail to one end. Handing the new weapon to the ooman female, he is pleased when she gazes at it admiringly.


    Motioning with his beaded head, Scar races down the corridor. The female manages to keep stride with him almost step for step.