The Guillotine

A puff of wind caressed the sand dunes, creating hypnotic ripples on the surface. A few fine grains rose up, making the warm air even harder to breathe. Acrididae tightened his lips around the cigar in his mouth and took a long drag, as if the heat from the planet's three suns did not bother him in the least. Two rivulets of grey smoke rose from his nostrils as the ash from the stub fell, joining the dust and flewing away. With his black eyes he stared intensely at the vast space in front of them, waiting.

"Captain, still nothing on the horizon!"

Acrididae barely leaned toward his second, weighing those words with disinterest. He didn't need to see to know that the damn mutant monster was there, right underneath their vessel, hiding in the purple sand waiting for the best time to sink the ship and devour them. It was too quiet, even for a place that had been named the Quiet of the Baked.

Suddenly, the wind grew crisper, swelling the grey sun sails, the pride of the Guillotine.

The black flag with its symbol - the exoskeleton of an insect head without an antenna - fluttered restlessly at the top of the mast. It seemed to give voice to the mood of the entire crew of the outwardly impassive Locust Pirates.

The insectoid extinguished his cigar and removed his turban, letting it slide down his tunic. He stretched out his antennae, and the stumpy one twitched involuntarily. He could feel it in his ribs: the creature that had torn it from him was so close.

The captain raised an arm to call everyone to attention, just as the wind died away. The silence became heavier and more oppressive, more like a cemetery than a desert.

An explosion-like roar rose from the dunes, very close to the ship's hull. Purple sand fell heavily onto the deck and a long albino creature with a multitude of armoured legs bit the air with a snap of its powerful jaws.

"There you are! Evil white beast!"

The giant Scolopendra bent its long body, still partly submerged in the sand, and their hateful eyes met.

"To the trap!" shouted the captain, giving the signal to the helmsman, who immediately turned the course. The men took their places and began to aim their cannons at the creature. The first volley of gunfire reached it, eventually submerging it. The hull was being battered by its subterranean fury, but they had to keep going. The radiation from the desert had made its carapace impenetrable, so they had to lure it into their trap.

"Come on, you scoundrels! Tomorrow with the bounty in your pocket, you'll be rich!"

***

Blood, fluids, and shreds of what was left of his crew were scattered everywhere. The carcass of the Scolopendra lay next to the destroyed vessel and Acrididae stared at the sky, totally devoid of his left side. As he closed his eyes, dying but with a smile on his face, a shadow glided over him.

He would never have known it, but a Guardian (a protector of peace) had watched the massacre with a delighted expression.

END