LEGACY CHILD

CHAPTER ONE

Abriel Brighton stood with hands on hips, studying the shuntbeetle's decayed remains. That's what her eyes wanted her to call it, even if her mind refused to agree. Beside her, Keko sniffed the corpse, recoiled, and dipped his furry head. It was as close to a shrug as her shepherd could manage.

"Yeah," Abriel said. "It's too big to carry. I'll have to strip it here."

"You certainly know how to do it up right on your day off."

"It's better than facing the Breeding Selection Committee to explain why I haven't paired with anyone yet. At least here I can shoot something."

She squatted to get a closer look at her find. Big was an understatement. If it stood on its back legs, the beetle's head would reach her waist. Disgusting, and she would have said impossible. Shuntbeetles didn't grow that large. Hell, they weren't even supposed to exist anymore. What she had was a creature of legend. And this legend looked to have gotten wedged into a rock outcropping in the narrow tunnel walls and been unable free itself.

"How old do you think it is?" Keko sent.

"No idea, but it's been here a long time and I have every intention of seeing what's inside. Just consider this a lucky find on a day full of fun."

"And to think you'd considered going shopping for new scout boots today."

Abriel turned to her shepherd, eyes narrowing. Keko's tongue lolled as he sat on his haunches. Her optic spheres were lit, allowing her to see in the darkened tunnel. They gave his black and gold fur a greenish cast, but otherwise, he was the picture of sincerity. He was so full of it.

"Yuk it up, puppy. See if you get any treats later," she said aloud. Keko snapped to alert and she caught visions of meaty bones dancing in his head. She smothered a laugh while turning back to the shuntbeetle. "Forget boots. Can you imagine the body-armor that shell would make?"
"If anyone can shape it."

"Nobody likes a downer." She eyed the shuntbeetle again. "It's been years since anyone's even seen a thumb-sized beetle. But to find one this big..." She whistled.

"Can you run a quick perimeter search? We may be off-duty, but it's stupid not to take precautions and end up overrun by idiot moleboys."

"Understood." Keko leapt off with a bark, tail wagging.

Though Keko was out of sight, his mental presence remained warm and fuzzy. She was the scout lieutenant, but he was more adept in the tunnels than she. After all, this was his natural habitat, not hers. Her kind were the intruders—albeit with hundreds of years of residency under their belts. Humans were damned lucky shepherds even wanted to initiate contact. Otherwise... Abriel didn't want to think about what lay on the other side of otherwise.

She advanced toward the beetle. Her optic spheres may let her see in the dark, but it wasn't the right vision to perform a strip. She removed two flares from her belt and sparked them, placing one on either side of the shuntbeetle. They would provide an hour's light—more than she hoped she'd need. Her spheres dimmed and she slid the goggles down around her neck.

After cleaning away the dust, she eyed the bug's hard shell. Now she could see it wasn't just black, but had gorgeous streaks of purple and red throughout. Its head... Well, disgusting given the mandible size. Maybe they could be shaped into throwing knives. And who knew what finds were under the shell?

How could it have become so huge? What had it eaten? Sure lichen and mosses grew all over the tunnels, but most had hallucinogenic properties and were better for a zone-out than actual eating. Or, had it always been this big and just died of starvation?