The Merry Hunters of the Galaxy

S for Scutigera

Rani Patel

The fight burned in me. Why did I have to get all riled up and argue with Commander Terran? He might remove me from the Fido team for this. No, going against him and failing to do what I went against him for? This was the end of our mission.

But Clay smiled at me. "Rani, Commander Terran might disapprove, but...I have to say, I'm impressed."

"For what? Trying to get us killed?"

"For standing by our mission. You showed him you want this success."

"It's more than success, Clay. I wanted to save all those people on that ship." By the time we reached the crash, it was all black rubble.

His eyes lowered. "I know. But we'll get another chance to do it right."

"Unless Terran pulls us off the mission and gives it to a better crew, that is." This had to be the last straw.

He patted my shoulder. "Rani, he'll keep us on. I know it."

I managed to smile back. He was probably wrong, but I hoped so.

Gal spoke. "Lieutenant Patel and Officer Edwards, you have a call from Commander Terran."

Here it came. The moment I was dreading. "Take the call," I inhaled.

Commander Terran's face appeared on the main screen. "Officer Edwards. Lieutenant Patel," he looked at me sternly.

This was it. "Hello, Commander."

He drew in a breath. "Lieutenant, this afternoon, you disobeyed my orders and tried to battle the Merry Hunters in a ship unsuited for combat."

"Yes, sir," I bowed my head.

"You were reckless and foolish. Do not overestimate your rank and abilities again."

Wait...if he said again...was he letting me stay on? "I won't, sir."

Then, he smiled. "But in doing so, you showed you care deeply about your mission to stop the Merry Hunters. And, just as importantly, you tried to help those they attacked."

He was praising me! "Thank you, sir."

He nodded, face firming once more. "Don't forget my warning, Lieutenant. Disobey me again, and you'll be removed from the mission."

"Understood, sir."

He ended the call.

I exhaled. "He...he let me stay."

"Ooga booga!" Boer cheered.

Clay slapped my back. "All right! Glad you're sticking around, Rani."

"Thanks." I tried my best to keep him and Boer in line.

"Lieutenant Patel! Officer Edwards! This is Mr. Finch, the Passerine ambassador. Mr. Finch, these are the officers who saved my life from that dreadful assassin, Humayra Nagai. And they call themselves Merry Hunters."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both."

The music sounded familiar.

"Rani, do you know this tune?"

I blinked. "Yes; it's 'Les Marseilles,' the French national anthem."

Pole sniffed. "I heard you once called French people 'frogs.' Is this an ethnic joke?"

I tensed. Maybe? What else could it be? "Well, there are some songs that quote 'Les Marseilles.' One of them is 'All You Need Is Love' by the Beatles."

"The classical rock band that broke up when they grew too much hair?"

I paused. That was one way to tell it. "Yes. Another is the '1812 Overture' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It..." Oh no. It hit me. The Merry Hunters were here. The 1812 Overture was famous for featuring cannons. Iggy was here, and he was going to blow up the Beelzebufo statue like he blew up the Strygiformian Parliament building!

I inhaled. "It features cannons."

"Cannons? That sounds like something a certain centipede—"

"Good afternoon, Batrachia!" Iggy's voice echoed through the speakers.

Speak of the devil.

Pole froze. "Who is this?"

"This is Iggy Scutigera! General Pole, I heard about your grand statue unveiling, and I thought it needed fireworks!"

"Who—who is he?"

"He's the arsonist who blew up the Strygiformian Parliament building."

"He what?"

"And speaking of blowing up parliament," Iggy spoke, "Do you like music, Mr. Finch?"

So, Iggy liked the Wachowskis. Considering how radical the Merry Hunters were, it wasn't that surprising.

Finch blinked, wide-eyed. "I—yes?"

"Enjoy!"

BOOM! Beelzebufo's head flew off in a shot of fiery smoke.

"NO!"

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Finally, Emperor Beelzebufo the Great's pedestal fell into Efton Harbor with a splash.

Pole keeled over.

"General!" Anura fanned him.

"Ugh..." he groaned. "Why do they have such a vendetta against me?"

"I'll say."

"Ooga booga! What a show! I gotta get camera footage and upload it onto—"

"Don't even think about it." We couldn't have another BoerTheBall incident.

"Okay, fine."

"You let the Merry Hunters blow up General Pole's statue to Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture.'"

"At least Boer didn't post any camera footage on UniSpace."

Terran inhaled. "That is fortunate. But we cannot afford another failure! These criminals are making us, especially you, look incompetent!"

"We're well aware of that, Commander."

"The Merry Hunters set off explosives to the '1812 Overture.' What'll they do next? Bend spoons?"

I elbowed him. "Clay!"

"Okay, no more Wachowski film jokes."