“Boss said these are females in stasis. Awaiting that diin to grow up, to make more Dark Ones. Mothers." Linuka nodded. "Dzõd. You’re right, they would have produced millions, if not billions."

Most realities showed Linuka halved along her spine when she rolled right. She rolled left. The iiṇawr’s cleaver split soil and steel as unseen force pinned her down, her suit cracking, her breath burning her chest. The canyon stank of death and fire as she dragged herself upright, knowing the pull she felt had only one direction.

The shuttle drops into Tẽlchi’s canyon, marines firing into rising mist as unseen shapes close in. Linuka forces herself to face the last diin, only to realize too late that something far more dangerous is waiting in the dark below.