The scruffy man casually turned to fire 2 more rounds at the heavy man, one just under his ear
and one just along the back of his spine in his neck. The heavy man slumped down, still. The
taller pirate now pointed to the scruffy pirate while narrowing his eyes and bellowing out some
sort of dare or curse. The small pirate responded by raising his right arm once again, firing again
and again as he walked nearer the tall pirate. Without mercy, he shot the man 2 more times on
either side of his neck, then kicked the bloodied, shaking silhouette over to topple backwards.
Then he casually rounded the corridor's corner once again and disappeared from sight.
Xandar asked, "What the hell...he's killing all the pirates? Who is that man?"
Michael replied, "A stowaway possibly? I don't know. I don't understand what he is doing." He
continued, "But I do know that those weapons outside the hatchway are suffice to defend us."
Joanna spoke, raising her tone as she looked out the ferroglass, "We open that door and Xandar
recovers them." She looked over to Xandar. "I'll cover you." She raised her pistol. "This thing
has pretty good range for a needler. Besides, I only have to watch that corner out there."
Xandar looked to her. "WHAT?! Are you crazy? Is it not obvious enough that it's a trap?!" He
shook his head sadly. "I don't know how you've lived this long Joanna."
"Oh I know its a trap Harlow, but its worth the risk. Especially when you are the only one we
risk." she explained, cutting her voice to almost a rasp. Conveniently behind him, she prodded his
spine with her gun, "YOU are the one at risk now. GET those weapons and get BACK in here.”
Xandar twisted slowly around to face her. “You crazy bitch, I can’t believe you think I would do
that. I’d sooner face your barrel than whatever that pirate guy’s packing.” He continued
carefully, disguising a bluff as best he could, “Ever think he might try making a shot at you instead
of me?”
Joanna’s eyes narrowed, “You worthless scum. Your opinion matters little to me. If you expect
me to believe he’d shoot me before you then it’s surprising YOU have survived this long.”
Aiming her gun to the left side of his shoulder, she spattered off a portion of his flesh with her
needler. The splintered, air-propelled plastic shards pierced deep, some cutting straight through
his jacket, into his tissue, and back out the other side of his jacket. She quickly drew the gun's
aim back to the center of Xandar's back. Though very fit for a woman of her medium build, she
was much smaller than Xandar. She would have to prove her weapon made her the superior in
this debate.
“AGH! Damnit! Open the door and I’ll do it!” Xandar cried out as he cradled his bloodied
shoulder with his right hand.
“GO NOW!” Joanna exclaimed, kicking the door’s controls with her right foot. The door
reacted gradually and almost embarrassingly, humming a bit before finally sliding open. Xandar
jumped out, landing on his stomach for cover but hitting his elbows on the corridor’s metal floor.
Cursing, he reached out and grabbed the TK assault rifle. Sliding it across the floor with a
grinding hiss, he reached for another weapon with his other arm. He decided this one, a small
slugthrower, would stay with him. Checking down the corridor, he could see no sight of the
pirate. “Gotta hurry,” Xandar thought. He reached out one more time, grasping at the shoulder
strap of a small gauss rifle. This gun had the best range, but its weight was incredible. The barrel’
s magnetic housing was known to punish whoever dared try lift it, weighing nearly 18 kilograms.
Wincing at his left shoulder’s exposed tissues, Xandar pulled it across the floor. He dragged it in
slowly while Joanna pushed the switch again to seal the hatch off from the pirate. Almost as
quickly as she had activated the closing mechanism, the gauss gun’s muzzle began to spout green
vapors.
“NO! He rigged it with something! Open the hatch!” Michael exclaimed. Searching through the
rising smoke, he pressed the control button before Joanna could stop him.
Just as Michael squeezed sideways through the opening hatch, he became aware of someone
standing beside him just outside the hatchway. Though the cloud of gas had spread nearly
enough to blind him, he could still make out a shadow once he turned to face the length of the
corridor. Instantly a slugthrower poked out of the fumes, its silhouette screaming out to Michael
as it aimed at his head. He shuddered inside, but his training had taught him techniques for coping
with such situations. Michael was not a large man, but he was relatively capable of handling
himself in fist fights. Dropping to his right knee, he kicked out into the darkness with his left heel.
But the kick had been late. The attacker had anticipated such a move. Before Michael could
realize what had happened, a left foot came out of the darkness at him. He tried to block it with
his right arm, but to no effect. The arch of the boot hit him squarely in the jaw, twisting his neck
back and sending stars to his eyes. Michael fell to his side, holding back tears while trying to
concentrate on his opponent’s next move. But the move came fast, too fast. Before he could
even see the enemy again, the slugthrower’s muzzle came down hard against his skull. The
momentum drove Michael’s face into the metal floor, which his head ricocheted off of and
collided once again with the gun. With a final bounce against the cold floor, Michael was
unconscious.
Joanna could no longer see Michael. Though the man had been trained very well, he always
seemed to lash out at the wrong times. This time it had cost him. The image of his body dropping
out of sight and never returning ran through Joanna’s mind with each passing second. She was
scared for Michael, her captain, but she also knew she must concentrate on what lay before her.
The green smoke was thicker than ever, apparently continuing to pour from the gauss gun even
now. After Xandar had tried to kick the gun away, the two mutually gave up on the idea because
the weapon’s weight made it so difficult to even budge. The pirate had planned this whole
scheme perfectly. Unable to easily move the gun, Xandar or Joanna would be left vulnerable if
they bothered trying to remove the weapon from the room. With her needler to the wall, Joanna
now planned to make this predator her own prey.
Xandar curiously inhaled a deep breath of the green fumes. Though he had already noticed it’s
absence of ill effects, he continued to wonder why the pirate hadn’t just poisoned them. Before
he could conclude what the gas might consist of, a knee came out of the darkness, nailing
Xandar in the groin. He stooped over, crying out in pain. Xandar was used to fighting hand to
hand and being able to see his opponents. Those fights left him well advantaged because of his
size. This pirate must have realized that and used the gas to even the odds somewhat. Yelling out
at the phantom attacker, all Xandar managed was “You bastard!” before the pirate flashed a fist
across his face, knocking him to the floor completely. As he began to get up, a boot crushed into
his nose. Feeling none the better, Xandar slumped to the floor to play dead. The technique he
had used so many times in his childhood and teenage years could possibly serve him once again.
