The alien continued to stare at them for a moment, its long leathery ears twitching—much the way a killer rabbit’s might. Then it threw back its head and let out a high-pitched screech, sharp and loud. If it was meant to be a word, Leo’s translator did not pick it up.

“Was that a ‘yes’?” Boo wondered.

“I don’t think so,” Kat said, nodding toward one of the still standing buildings and the platoon of similar white-haired creatures now creeping out of it.

In fact, they were suddenly coming from everywhere. Ten at first, then double that, then double that again. They appeared from every corner, from every crack in the stone walls, some of them scrabbling forward in a crouch, walking on all fours, others walking upright but approaching cautiously, sniffing the air. They were all dressed in rough, loose-fitting garments of gray and brown with little in the way of embroidery or adornment. None of them appeared to be armed, though each of their fingers tapered to a sharp claw that could probably tear through Leo’s shirt and skin with enough effort. He shivered and took a step closer to Kat.

“Do they bite?” Boo asked as some of the creatures revealed mouths full of pointed teeth.

Kat clearly wasn’t interested in finding out. Her instincts kicked in as her hand dropped to the pistol at her side.

“Flamethrower,” Skits concluded, opening a panel in her torso. “Better for crowd control.”

“I told you guys to stay cool,” Baz ordered.

“But they’re getting closer.” Kat’s voice was cool, but Leo could see that finger of hers twitching. “And in case you haven’t noticed, they have us completely surrounded.”

“They’re only, like, four feet tall,” Skits observed. “We can take ’em.”

“The Keradian snarlex is smaller than my fingertip. But the poison in its bite can liquefy one’s organs in seconds,” Boo pointed out less than helpfully. “You can actually watch your own intestines leaking out of your bottom hole. Provided your eyeballs haven’t melted in their sockets already.”

“No one’s having their eyeballs melted,” Baz assured them, though Leo could see the captain’s hands slowly inching down to the weapons at his hips as well. “Though maybe it’s best if we go back to the ship and start looking for this Crayt somewhere else.”

Except Leo turned with the others to find their path back to the Icarus blocked. Kat was right; they were cut off. Outnumbered ten to one.

“I think we need a plan B,” Kat said.

Leo tried to imagine what kind of bloody havoc forty jugular-ripping rabbits could wreak, then multiplied that times ten.

“I’ll show you my plan B,” Skits hissed. She was no doubt about to light things up when all of a sudden the planet’s denizens stopped closing in, freezing as if on command. Leo’s eyes fell on another figure, much taller than four feet, almost as tall as Boo, in fact, emerging from one of the larger buildings ahead. As the stranger approached, the herd of smaller aliens parted so it could pass through.