Nara stood behind the security console in the secondary shuttle bay, an old-fashioned Earth shotgun braced against her left shoulder and trained on her target. "Whoa there, Colonist. Where do you think you're headed?"
"Nara? I thought you went over with the first boarding party?" Darrew leaned against the side of the shuttle craft, hiding his weapon behind the curve of the deflector shielding.
If Nara hadn't caught a glimpse of the cannon when he'd first come into the room, he might still have retained the element of surprise. She shifted her finger from the guard to the trigger. A click rattled around the shuttle bay, announcing that her weapon was pumped and ready to fire.
"Yes, that was the plan, but then Ellie sent me to make sure you were safe in your cryo unit before we left. She worries, you know." And she'll use just about any excuse she can find to keep me off an away mission. Still, it was just as well that Nara had gone looking for him. She wouldn't have overheard his transmission to the raider if she hadn't.
Darrew laughed, the teasing hint of rebelliousness Ellie had found so charming lighting up his expression. "I guess you found me out. I was going to try to sneak over to that other ship with the second boarding party once you guys cleared it." He shifted his weight -- probably looking for a better grip on the rocket launcher he was still trying to hide. "Is it really a Garidan raider?"
Nara stepped around the console, making sure her feet were firmly planted with each step. The gravity in this section of the ship was still holding steady, but if they took another knock . . . She didn't want to risk missing when it came time to shoot.
"Yes, it is." Nara measured the distance between them in her head. Too close and the buckshot wouldn't spread enough to do enough damage. Too far, and he'd be able to move before it hit him. This would be easier if Garid drones didn't move so damn fast. "I imagine they're busy converting the boarding party as we speak."
Another two steps ought to do it.
"Converting?" Darrew looked around, his eyes lingering on the shuttle bay doors and the airlock. "Come on now, Nara, you don't really believe those silly old wives' tales, do you? I mean, they can't really still be out there, converting people into drones." Incredulity tinged his tone. He focused on a point on the wall just over her left shoulder, his gaze turning a little glassy. "Earth has recorded no evidence of Garidan activity in this sector in 106.73 years."
He shifted his weight again, and this time she felt the weapon in his hand hum to life, a subtle change in the vibration of the air. If she hadn't had her sensory nodes turned all the way up in preparation for boarding the raider, she would have missed it.
A spray of antique buckshot mixed with a few super burn pellets and two drops of laser acid exploded from the barrel of Nara's gun. Darrew dropped like a stone, wiring and metal plating exposed and melting now that the pretty face the drone had hidden under had been ripped to shreds.
Nara rushed over to the security console, engaging a max level containment field around what was left of the body. "That's because we keep destroying the evidence whenever we find you."
3 comments:
Mmmm! Reading these segments is like eating M&Ms. The dark chocolate kind. :D
bah! you killed Darrew. I liked Darrew!
Maybe the Darrew who died was just a clone of the real one who, unbeknownst to anyone else, is being held captive on the raider's ship?
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