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Chapter 7 |  |
Chapter 9 |  |
Fun For All The Family
"I hate bats," Bjors snarled, and shot at the retreating shape. He
leaned out of the window and cursed loudly.
"Shax! They're climbing the tower."
"Blast 'em!" Thjorska yelled, and threw out a handful of flux
grenades. There was the familiar squelch of collapsing dimensions, and
the tower shook. Pitrak pulled a slasher bomb from his belt and hurled
it with all his might at the creatures below. Moments later, there was
a noise from below that sounded like a dozen chainsaws going mad, and
thousands of hideous screams.
"There's no way we'll get through this!" Khain screamed over the
noise. Another, smaller, bat-creature swooped into the window, but
Odan jumped on it, beating it to death with his bare hands. Other
creatures began to swarm through the window, just as the energy
supplies on the weapons began to drain. Pitrak activated his
forceshields, and splattered the creatures against the wall by sheer
pressure. Thorska was using his Thermal Overloader as a club, smashing
in their skulls.
In the midst of all this, Ship stood there, frightened and scared.
Her first mission, and already it was a bloodbath. Suddenly, something
inside her snapped. She opened a cavity in her chest, and pulled out a
small silver globe, with one large red button on it. Taking a run up,
she dived out of the window and soared away.
On the ground, the creatures watched her as she shot over them,
heading towards the park entrance. They rushed after her, trying to
keep up with her speed and aerial grace. She clicked her heels, and
her afterburners kicked in, propelling her even faster.
In the Mega-Shujo tower, the others watched her go in stunned
silence. Lokan stamped his foot and cursed.
"Shaxarn!" Thjorska yelled. "She's trying to get to the Beserkers!
She'll never fix them in time!"
"Maybe she could reach the Imperial Honour..." Pitrak said
blandly.
"She can't manage space flight. She's not built for it," Bjors
sighed, squinting to make her out. He angrily kicked an empty gun on the
floor, sending it spinning.
"Since what happened with those anti-cyber extremists, and that
virus, she's been more... alive than any other ship's computer I've
known, and I've served aboard twenty different ships. I'll miss her."
"We might still be able to escape, if she can hold them off for
long enough," Lokan said grimly.
"Nobody's battery lasts forever," rumbled Odan philosophically.
Thjorska paused for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"Pitrak, I want you to call for pickup. Make it fas-"
He stopped as scalding light washed in through the window,
followed by an echoing boom and a searing hot wind. Thjorska pulled
himself up to the window and looked out, shielding his eyes from the
glare. Over the horizon he could see, towering miles into the sky, the
haunting shape of a mushroom cloud.