Jasmine's enemy took advantage of her newfound weakness. Grabbing onto her thin leg with his
right hand, he pulled her off balance and knocked her onto her back. By pulling even harder, he
dragged her frail body across the desk. Jasmine tried to hold onto something, but nothing could
help her at the moment. The computer screens and dataport drives were too small to provide
her with any kind of anchor. She fell off the desk and onto the floor. The bald man towered
over her, looking down to her and grinning.
Then Jasmine heard a terrible noise, no doubt a high-speed, high-powered machine gun. It
seemed that her backup had finally arrived. Unfortunately, she could not see anything from her
current position. She did not dare take her eyes off her attacker, for she was determined to stay
alive and dodge his next attack. She was now in close quarters with him and even on the floor,
but she did know a few martial arts attacks that she could execute from a lying position.
The bald man's smile disappeared as he realized he would face additional soldiers. He quickly
grabbed onto the briefcase Jasmine was still holding. He tried to yank it from her small arms, but
Jasmine held on. He pulled her up to her feet, then drove her back into the side of the computer
desk behind her. Jasmine cried out in pain, feeling as though a hundred knives had entered the
wounded left side of her chest. She continued to hold onto the briefcase, but began to quickly
lose confidence in her own martial arts skills. In her current state, she was in no condition to
take on even the easiest of foes. She let go of the briefcase as she realized her opponent's next
move.
The bald man brought his left knee up to Jasmine's stomach, but Jasmine dodged using a lei dom
evasion technique. The rare martial art that was her favorite, lei dom revolved around dodging
enemy attacks to turn the tide of battle in a single counterattack. Jasmine had found her
opportunity, and she would make the most of it. Jumping off the ground with her remaining leg
strength, she avoided the knee attack by staying out of its striking distance. As her opponent's
leg and her own body fell back towards their original positions, Jasmine wrapped her left arm
around the man's ankle and pulled it up between his legs. Putting all of her weight onto his thigh,
she knocked him off balance while keeping the leg pinned inward. The bald man fell back onto
his butt, his left leg bent into a crossed position. Jasmine brought her right elbow into his
unprotected crotch with a piercing blow that instantly produced audible pain from the man.
Jasmine grabbed the briefcase again with her left hand, jumping to her feet to escape her injured
opponent. Unfortunately he tripped her up with his good arm again. Jasmine decided it would
be best to protect the briefcase by keeping it from her enemy's reach. As he pulled her back
into his grasp, Jasmine threw the briefcase into the corner of the room near the door. She then
turned back to face the bald man.
Twisting her foot quickly, the man found a pressure point on Jasmine's right ankle. Letting out a
whelp, Jasmine tried to twist out of his grasp unsuccessfully. Forgetting her ankle, she twisted
her body so that she could kick him in his injured shoulder. Regrettably, the bald man
anticipated the move and blocked it with his head. Jasmine pulled back her leg again, but rather
than kick at his shoulder again she kicked him in the crotch.
Under the nerve-shattering attack, the bald man again cried out in agony. With his pressure
point torture seemingly ineffective, he desperately switched tactics. He quickly twisted Jasmine's
ankle farther, breaking bone and cartilage to permanently damage her. He then reaped the
benefits of having a handicapped foe, jumping to his own feet and hobbling towards the briefcase.
Luckily for Jasmine, the backup plan worked. No sooner than the bald man had returned to his
feet, Jasmine heard the familiar jump jets of the Longinus battle armor. The bald man struggled
to hurry, but was slowed by his injuries. Before he could retrieve the briefcase, the battle armor
entered the room from the floor and began shooting the man in the back. Withering under the
high powered attack, the man dropped to his knees as his chest was steadily torn apart.
Ending their rain of fire, the Longinus battle armors landed safely on the computer room floor.
Scanning the premises for heat signatures, they discovered five bodies. Fearing the worst, Ryan
and John cautiously approached each body. They walked slowly through the room, scanning it
over many times and pushing through the wooden tables that populated the area. After
discovering the two bodies near the back of the room, the two armored troopers approached a
third body near the front of the room. Getting some signs of movement, they realized this small
figure was Jasmine and that she was still alive.
"Are you two going to just stand there or will one of you help me to a hospital?" she said as she
mustered a weak grin. "The data disk is in the briefcase near the door. I think we might want to
take it with us if we are leaving."
"Glad to see you're still alive, Miss Geutie. We came as quickly as we could but the marble in
these floors is rather difficult to break through." Ryan Harrison said.
As Ryan spoke, John Rohrman was shutting down and removing his battle armor suit. Sliding
out from the metallic shell, John greeted Jasmine with a medkit and some antibiotics. "Don't
worry Jasmine, everything is going to be fine" John said calmly.
"I'm not overly worried, but I do want to make sure you guys keep an eye on that briefcase."
She paused. "I've been shot in the lung, I think it could be bad." Jasmine frowned. The sudden
thought of dying in this specific place disturbed her.
"I've got a lot of experience treating lung injuries. No need to worry," John smiled.
Suddenly John fell over on top of Jasmine, his back punctured by a shuriken. Though Ryan
Harrison was already turning to face the enemy he had detected just moments ago on his
scanners, he was too slow to bring his weapons to bear on the target before it slipped into the
hole in the computer room's floor. It seemed that the blond man hadn't been dead after all. His
stillness had been a ploy to remove himself from what would have turned into a three-way battle.
His plan had been to kill the victor in a man to man duel and then take the briefcase for himself.
"Damn!" Jasmine cried out. Pulling herself out from under John, she tried to treat his wounds.
Observing the minor wound, she realized he had to have been poisoned by some substance
covering the shuriken that was stuck in his back. She slid herself over to the briefcase and then
used the wall to get herself off the floor.
"Any way I can drive that battle armor?" she asked Ryan.
"I don't see why not. Its a lot safer in there than outside if ninja folks are about." he muttered.
No doubt disappointed by the loss of his friend and teammate, Ryan said sadly, "This looks like
the work of DEST or the Capellan Death Commandos."
"I'm not sure what to think of it. But as clumsy and slow as these battle armors can be, I
recommend we cover each other's back until our own backup arrives. If that man has any
explosives, we could both die if we're not careful." Jasmine reasoned.
"I dunno, but get yourself into that Longinus armor now. There's no use waiting around for him
to return before you take some kind of cover." Ryan concluded.
Grabbing the briefcase, Jasmine slid into the metallic suit of armor. Lowering it over her body,
she strapped herself in and manually sealed its armor barrier. Though the Longinus was a smaller
armor than some, it was more than big enough for Jasmine's small frame. She could keep the
briefcase against her lower chest and stomach without any discomfort.
"Line up behind me, and we'll use some tactics similar to what you suggested earlier." Ryan said.
"You're not bad if this is your first time using the armor. Thats a tactic we use occasionally, but
only in extremely cautious situations when we have lots of time."
"Well it just seemed logical. So are we expecting backup of any kind?" Jasmine probed.
"There are two more of my men on their way up here now." Ryan said. "They are wearing
cloaked Purifier battle armor suits. They should be very helpful to us if that commando returns to
try and steal those plans."
"I have no doubt he'll return. I just hope we can survive long enough to deliver these secrets.
They are extremely important to both of our units. It would be a shame to do all this work and
then lose them." Jasmine explained. She was beginning to feel woozy, and wasn't sure how
much longer she could stay conscious. "One things for sure, I hope those Purifier boys arrive
soon. I don't know how much longer I'll be among the living."
right hand, he pulled her off balance and knocked her onto her back. By pulling even harder, he
dragged her frail body across the desk. Jasmine tried to hold onto something, but nothing could
help her at the moment. The computer screens and dataport drives were too small to provide
her with any kind of anchor. She fell off the desk and onto the floor. The bald man towered
over her, looking down to her and grinning.
Then Jasmine heard a terrible noise, no doubt a high-speed, high-powered machine gun. It
seemed that her backup had finally arrived. Unfortunately, she could not see anything from her
current position. She did not dare take her eyes off her attacker, for she was determined to stay
alive and dodge his next attack. She was now in close quarters with him and even on the floor,
but she did know a few martial arts attacks that she could execute from a lying position.
The bald man's smile disappeared as he realized he would face additional soldiers. He quickly
grabbed onto the briefcase Jasmine was still holding. He tried to yank it from her small arms, but
Jasmine held on. He pulled her up to her feet, then drove her back into the side of the computer
desk behind her. Jasmine cried out in pain, feeling as though a hundred knives had entered the
wounded left side of her chest. She continued to hold onto the briefcase, but began to quickly
lose confidence in her own martial arts skills. In her current state, she was in no condition to
take on even the easiest of foes. She let go of the briefcase as she realized her opponent's next
move.
The bald man brought his left knee up to Jasmine's stomach, but Jasmine dodged using a lei dom
evasion technique. The rare martial art that was her favorite, lei dom revolved around dodging
enemy attacks to turn the tide of battle in a single counterattack. Jasmine had found her
opportunity, and she would make the most of it. Jumping off the ground with her remaining leg
strength, she avoided the knee attack by staying out of its striking distance. As her opponent's
leg and her own body fell back towards their original positions, Jasmine wrapped her left arm
around the man's ankle and pulled it up between his legs. Putting all of her weight onto his thigh,
she knocked him off balance while keeping the leg pinned inward. The bald man fell back onto
his butt, his left leg bent into a crossed position. Jasmine brought her right elbow into his
unprotected crotch with a piercing blow that instantly produced audible pain from the man.
Jasmine grabbed the briefcase again with her left hand, jumping to her feet to escape her injured
opponent. Unfortunately he tripped her up with his good arm again. Jasmine decided it would
be best to protect the briefcase by keeping it from her enemy's reach. As he pulled her back
into his grasp, Jasmine threw the briefcase into the corner of the room near the door. She then
turned back to face the bald man.
Twisting her foot quickly, the man found a pressure point on Jasmine's right ankle. Letting out a
whelp, Jasmine tried to twist out of his grasp unsuccessfully. Forgetting her ankle, she twisted
her body so that she could kick him in his injured shoulder. Regrettably, the bald man
anticipated the move and blocked it with his head. Jasmine pulled back her leg again, but rather
than kick at his shoulder again she kicked him in the crotch.
Under the nerve-shattering attack, the bald man again cried out in agony. With his pressure
point torture seemingly ineffective, he desperately switched tactics. He quickly twisted Jasmine's
ankle farther, breaking bone and cartilage to permanently damage her. He then reaped the
benefits of having a handicapped foe, jumping to his own feet and hobbling towards the briefcase.
Luckily for Jasmine, the backup plan worked. No sooner than the bald man had returned to his
feet, Jasmine heard the familiar jump jets of the Longinus battle armor. The bald man struggled
to hurry, but was slowed by his injuries. Before he could retrieve the briefcase, the battle armor
entered the room from the floor and began shooting the man in the back. Withering under the
high powered attack, the man dropped to his knees as his chest was steadily torn apart.
Ending their rain of fire, the Longinus battle armors landed safely on the computer room floor.
Scanning the premises for heat signatures, they discovered five bodies. Fearing the worst, Ryan
and John cautiously approached each body. They walked slowly through the room, scanning it
over many times and pushing through the wooden tables that populated the area. After
discovering the two bodies near the back of the room, the two armored troopers approached a
third body near the front of the room. Getting some signs of movement, they realized this small
figure was Jasmine and that she was still alive.
"Are you two going to just stand there or will one of you help me to a hospital?" she said as she
mustered a weak grin. "The data disk is in the briefcase near the door. I think we might want to
take it with us if we are leaving."
"Glad to see you're still alive, Miss Geutie. We came as quickly as we could but the marble in
these floors is rather difficult to break through." Ryan Harrison said.
As Ryan spoke, John Rohrman was shutting down and removing his battle armor suit. Sliding
out from the metallic shell, John greeted Jasmine with a medkit and some antibiotics. "Don't
worry Jasmine, everything is going to be fine" John said calmly.
"I'm not overly worried, but I do want to make sure you guys keep an eye on that briefcase."
She paused. "I've been shot in the lung, I think it could be bad." Jasmine frowned. The sudden
thought of dying in this specific place disturbed her.
"I've got a lot of experience treating lung injuries. No need to worry," John smiled.
Suddenly John fell over on top of Jasmine, his back punctured by a shuriken. Though Ryan
Harrison was already turning to face the enemy he had detected just moments ago on his
scanners, he was too slow to bring his weapons to bear on the target before it slipped into the
hole in the computer room's floor. It seemed that the blond man hadn't been dead after all. His
stillness had been a ploy to remove himself from what would have turned into a three-way battle.
His plan had been to kill the victor in a man to man duel and then take the briefcase for himself.
"Damn!" Jasmine cried out. Pulling herself out from under John, she tried to treat his wounds.
Observing the minor wound, she realized he had to have been poisoned by some substance
covering the shuriken that was stuck in his back. She slid herself over to the briefcase and then
used the wall to get herself off the floor.
"Any way I can drive that battle armor?" she asked Ryan.
"I don't see why not. Its a lot safer in there than outside if ninja folks are about." he muttered.
No doubt disappointed by the loss of his friend and teammate, Ryan said sadly, "This looks like
the work of DEST or the Capellan Death Commandos."
"I'm not sure what to think of it. But as clumsy and slow as these battle armors can be, I
recommend we cover each other's back until our own backup arrives. If that man has any
explosives, we could both die if we're not careful." Jasmine reasoned.
"I dunno, but get yourself into that Longinus armor now. There's no use waiting around for him
to return before you take some kind of cover." Ryan concluded.
Grabbing the briefcase, Jasmine slid into the metallic suit of armor. Lowering it over her body,
she strapped herself in and manually sealed its armor barrier. Though the Longinus was a smaller
armor than some, it was more than big enough for Jasmine's small frame. She could keep the
briefcase against her lower chest and stomach without any discomfort.
"Line up behind me, and we'll use some tactics similar to what you suggested earlier." Ryan said.
"You're not bad if this is your first time using the armor. Thats a tactic we use occasionally, but
only in extremely cautious situations when we have lots of time."
"Well it just seemed logical. So are we expecting backup of any kind?" Jasmine probed.
"There are two more of my men on their way up here now." Ryan said. "They are wearing
cloaked Purifier battle armor suits. They should be very helpful to us if that commando returns to
try and steal those plans."
"I have no doubt he'll return. I just hope we can survive long enough to deliver these secrets.
They are extremely important to both of our units. It would be a shame to do all this work and
then lose them." Jasmine explained. She was beginning to feel woozy, and wasn't sure how
much longer she could stay conscious. "One things for sure, I hope those Purifier boys arrive
soon. I don't know how much longer I'll be among the living."
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| Page 3 |
| Data Retrieval (1)... |