[dcs_p]“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.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“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.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]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.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]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.[/dcs_p]