[dcs_p]Xandar looked over to Strider, shaking his head. Turning around, he walked back
to Joanna and sit beside her upon Michael’s chair. “This guy is nuts. I hope he is
wrong about Kinta or whatever.” Xandar looked to Joanna. “You want a gun or
something? You gonna control your temper?” He watched her carefully with his
left eye.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Joanna flashed him an angry expression, her lips curling back along the sides of
her mouth. “What do you think? No, I’d rather wait for the pirates to arrive before
I pick up a gun. OF COURSE I WANT A GUN!” she shrieked. Her shrill tone
surprised Xandar. Strider turned his wary eyes from the corridor to look at her.
“You keep your voice down. They’ll be here any…” his words trailed off. Turning
his head to look back down the corridor, he nodded to someone. “Yeah, it’s me.
I’ve got the 2 Captains here. There’s no sign of Harlow anywhere.” Strider looked
down to his TK, which he had aimed towards the control room floor. He hoped he
would prove fast enough to take down Banter. Looking down his barrel, he
glanced up to Xandar and Joanna. They both stared cautiously towards the far
wall of the corridor opposite the command room hatchway, both waiting nervously
for a glimpse at the enemy.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Rocking his right arm sideways, Strider released the TK assault rifle from his
right hand’s grip. Counterbalancing the loss of weight by raising his outstretched
left arm, Strider bent his right arm at the elbow. Moving his shoulder in, his right
hand rushed towards the crevace stretching from top to bottom of his overcoat.
Fingers outstretched, he grasped the FASA-950 to pull it out from underneath his
overcoat.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]While the TK rifle clattered to the ground, Strider’s slugthrower pushed back the
overcoat as he began to draw the weapon up to target Banter. Banter’s semi-
large build was a much wider target than Strider’s own body, though Strider
carried a slight height advantage(or disadvantage as a target). Banter’s own gun
was an autoflechette needler “heavy shredder”, one of the largest available. Its
hefty weight looked almost too comfortable in Banter’s large hands as the pirate
brought it up from his waist, out of an underslung position. Strider’s right arm
proudly displayed the dull hue of the FASA’s barrel as he fine tuned his aim to
Banter’s silhouette.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]A grimace on Banter’s face showed disgust, but his expression betrayed no
emotional bond between the two men. Banter fired before he could aim his
weapon at Strider, shards of high velocity plastic crushing into the hard metal
walls as they cycled out via pressurized air. The 9 cm diameter stream poured
across the room, angling towards Strider too fast. Closing his right eye, Strider
fired twice.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]The first shot pushed into Banter’s chest, ravaging his clothing but stopping short
at his flak vest. The second shot punched a dent in the corridor wall far behind
him, bouncing off the wall and producing a high pitched ricochet. Banter’s eyes
widened with the first shot’s sting. His aim wandered up as he lost control,
crushing the lighting fixtures under a hail of polymer. The first bullet’s momentum
carried Banter back a step. However his battle experience held strong, and
Banter once again trained the needler in Strider’s direction.[/dcs_p]