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"The humans take forever to do anything," Crust-Crawler said from a short distance away. "For once let<br />
Bright delay them some more."<br />
"Come and get me, slaves," said the Taker, her whip-sword flickering on the crust. The muscles in her<br />
weapons pouch fired a quirrl, but the bolt fell short and vibrated in the crust. She flashed her whip-sword<br />
about her body menacingly.<br />
"With pleasure," Dented-Shield said, raising her shield and pike. The Taker's whip-sword whirled faster<br />
as she advanced on Dented-Shield.<br />
"Wait, Dented-Shield," called Crust-Crawler.<br />
Standing off at a safe distance, far from the reach of the whip-sword, he shot the Taker with a positron<br />
beam. It made a large hole.<br />
Juices oozing from tread and hide, the Taker snaked out her whip-sword to take an eye from her<br />
tormentor. A dented shield blocked the slash. Another bolt from the antimatter weapon burned deep into<br />
her brain-knot.<br />
The Taker flowed.<br />
The crust around Attila grew silent, but the ultra-red glared on. Attila stopped waving the limber-swords<br />
a moment to allow his tread to hear what was going on. The manipulators holding the limber-swords felt<br />
a vibration coming down the haft. When Attila waved the swords again, there was nothing to wave. The<br />
sword blades had disintegrated.<br />
Attila pushed a pink eye out into the ultra-red glare and saw a speckled hide!<br />
"Give me your sword," Attila demanded.<br />
"Yes, O Terrible One," came the voice, and Letter-Reader's sword sliced through the protruding eye.<br />
"Avenging-Eye is avenged!" Letter-Reader boasted.<br />
Attila screamed in agony.<br />
Crust-Crawler raised his positron beamer. "Let's get this over with."<br />
"No!" Dented-Shield said. "He is mine!" She ran up on top of Attila. His body twisted and almost<br />
flipped tread upward in an attempt to shake off his assailant. She held him down and drove her<br />
short-sword into his brain-knot. Attila's eyeflaps relaxed, and the pink eyes flowed out on the crust as the<br />
ultra-red glare from the Eyes of Bright finally faded.<br />
Dented-Shield picked up a lifeless eye-ball and lopped it from its stub. She went on to the next one.<br />
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five," she said. "That takes care of what you owe me. Now for the elders that<br />
stood with me." She continued around the flowing body until she came to the last eye. Crust-Crawler<br />
was holding it in a manipulator and had a small slicer ready.<br />
"I am tired," Dented-Shield said. "You can have that one."
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