I'd almost prefer Loyalists...

What the gorram hell is it with the Reavers? Every time we do something to smack them down, more of the Govniuks show up out of the Black. Near as anyone can tell, there were never more than about thirty thousand of them even at their peak. Considering how often we've seen them out here on the Rim, it feels like we've killed that many.

But here they were again, a small raiding party raising hell in town between the newly opened Firefly's and the town proper near Fook Yoo's. By the time I'd returned from my errand out to one of the remote Navtrak relays, there were only a few Reavers left. Unfortunately, or maybe not, most of the townsfolk had decided to hunker down and shelter in place rather than waste ammunition killing them.

Inbound, I'd gotten word from Bel that one of her contacts was in Fook's with his boat up on the main pad. He was here to make a delivery, but not real interested in confronting a slavering Reaver or three when he could stay safe in our bar.

For me, it wasn't so much an option of killing them or not. I was tired of them. Sure, they were victims of a botched Alliance program to make tame colonists. But the fact was you could only put up with Palavos cannibals for so long before you stopped caring about them being innocent victims, and got tired of them trying to eat you. Not in the pleasant way.

There were only a few left in town by the time I'd checked in with Belize and decided to go back out and end it.

There were already a fair number of Reaver bodies scattered around town with various caliber bullet holes in them. Noticed one with a nice tight cluster in its chest, which probably meant Bel or Sobi with a scattergun at close range. Probably Bel, since Speaker wasn't apt to leave the bar during a fight. But I didn't really care about the dead ones just yet. That'd come later, when we lit the pyre. No. I was after the living.

I found three of them, clustered together trying to tear down the blast doors that locked up the gun shop. It took them a moment to realize I was there, before I glared at them and said, clearly: "Get the hell off my moon. Stop trying to eat my citizens. And tell Aurora to come home."

Should have known they wouldn't listen.

Sad thing is a dead Reaver can't relay a message to his kin or their Queen. Sadder thing is I was going to have to burn my top, since there'd be no way to get the Reaver blood out of it. But that could wait until I was done helping Bel off load her contact's cargo and had taken myself a long, hot, bath.