"
Damn it!"
Minutes of frantic typing had been for naught: the dimly-lit cargo still remained sealed before her. Snarling at the glowing console before her, the survivor raised her arm, as it shifted into the humming weapon once more. "If I can't unlock it the
easy way," she said aloud, taking careful aim at the large, coffin-like pod before her, "then I'll just have to --"
An explosive rumbling echoed through the cargo hold, as the survivor darted behind a stack of metal containers.
He just won't give up, will he? she thought, as the floor shook with another rumble. Giving one last glimpse to the sealed pod before her, she steadied her weapon with a slightly quivering right hand, bracing for what was to come. "Hell if I let you take him," came the synthetic growl.
Before she had time to understand what was happening, she saw the hold's heavy door fly across the room, before being embedded into the very hull. With a gasp, she rose from the floor, just as a flash of greenish plasma materialized beside her head. Scrambling to hide behind the sought-after crate, a hissing voice bellowed, ringing throughout her sensors.
"Fool," it began, as the survivor steadied herself once more, "none of the mercenaries protecting this vessel could stop me..." A crate, only a few meters away, burst into a flash of light, leaving no trace of its existence. "Nothing remains of your employers, save their memory. What could you have to gain by continuing this pitiful game?"
The survivor frantically looked around until, just across from the precious pod, she caught a glimpse of a security camera -- still functioning, tracing the intruder's movements. Silently, she tapped the side of her round, smooth head, until a small antenna array unfolded from within, as her dark eyes suddenly shifted to a dim white glow.
I'm in, she thought, her vision melding with the camera's own sight. Seeing the distinctive glow from his eyes, the survivor studied his movements carefully, as he blindly approached where she
had been hiding.
Doesn't even know I moved. Probably doesn't know I can watch him. Which means... "What do I have to gain?" came the booming voice over the cargo hold's speaker system, as the intruder stopped in shock. "Did it ever occur to you that, perhaps, I wasn't another mercenary after all?"
Raising his weapon, her assailant scanned the hold, his pale, chitinous head pulsating in distress. As he turned away from the pod, the survivor, in one swift motion, burst forth from her hiding place, firing burst after burst of plasma after him. Glowing fissures in the plates of his ebon armor illuminated the entire hold, as he spun to face his opponent. His green eyes widened in horror, as the survivor continued pounding the intruder, knocking him off-balance with each percussive blast.
She would've pressed on, had alarms not began to sound in her head about her rapidly overheating arm. As servos shifted her left hand back into place, the intruder fell to the floor in a heap, as his raspy breathing echoed throughout the hold. Approaching him, the survivor -- antenna withdrawn, eyes once again dark -- clenched her fists in anticipation.
His head was more bulbous now, pulsating more rapidly, as a glowing, pus-like substance oozed from between the chitinous plates of his scalp. Eyes narrowing in contempt, he coughed from an unseen orifice, as the green fluid dripped from the cracks in his armor. "I did not expect . . .
this," the intruder hissed, struggling to rise from the floor. "Perhaps, next time . . . I will need to be better
prepared."
Before she could speak, her assailant's entire body erupted in the same pale green light that escaped from his armor, only to vanish within an instant. Stunned, she barely had a moment to adjust before another voice, much smoother and calmer than the last, echoed through the hold.
"I know not of who that was," came the voice, as the survivor turned to see another android, walking from the direction of the pod. "Nor do I know you, who came to save me . . . or even where I am, for that matter."
The pod must've opened during the fight, she thought, giving a fleeting thought to blasting the uncooperative console for good measure. As the living cargo approached, the survivor extended an open hand, still trying to calm herself.
"There will be time for explanations later," she began, in a tone that wasn't quite friendly, but wasn't quite stern. "We need to get you off this damned wreck, and quick. Besides," she paused, not realizing she had started walking off at that point, and turned to face the cargo once more, "the one who sent me is a great deal better at explanations than I am. Let's go!"
Running after her, the confused android called out, "will you at least tell me your
name?"
"Vossar," she replied, stepping into the ruined corridor with the android not far behind. "My name is Edyne Vossar..."
