little dirt-filled town, but you are not ready for what my friends will unleash on you if you piss us off further. You’ve already likely cost us a lot of money by scaring our contact off, so what are you willing to do to make that up to us?”
“You … will… not …”
“What was that? Oh, right … I’m crushing your throat,” Jason said. He relaxed his grip slightly before continuing, “Now what was that?”
“You will not make it off this planet alive,” the alien rasped.
“Now see, that just wasn’t nice,” Jason said with a sad shake of his head. He stood up and reestablished his grip, lifting the astonished alien up off the ground so he was eye level. “I’m afraid I can’t let a threat like that go unanswered.” He reared back and heaved the alien across the room where he landed in a heap next to his friend that Crusher had sent sailing. The distraction was enough that Jason was able to reach under his coat and bring out his own weapons and for Crusher to reach in and grab his second pistol.
“So what will it be?” Jason said loudly in Jenovian Standard. “Will we all be walking out of here unharmed, or will only my friends and I be walking out of here at all?”
“Drop the weapons! Now!” a new voice said, this one from higher up. Jason craned his head up to the loft over the bar and saw the alien who had been pouring drinks, ostensibly the owner, aiming a heavy plasma cannon at them. The cannon was so large it was mounted to the railing and was probably at one time a crew-served weapon from some long forgotten war. Either way, it was more than enough firepower to blast them, and most of the wall behind them, into dust.
“Lucky,” Jason mumbled as he raised his weapons over his head and nodded for Crusher to do the same. “We don’t want any more trouble,” he said.
“You should have thought about that before attacking my friends,” the owner said, now visibly relaxing as Jason and Crusher slowly lowered their plasma pistols to the table. Doc had already relieved himself of his weapon and looked to be searching for an escape route. “I don’t know who you are, but I can’t let you walk out of here.”
“I’m sorry to hear you say that,” Jason said pleasantly. “Now, Lucky.” The battlesynth had also raised his arms in an apparent move to mimic the others, but in reality it had put his arm-mounted cannons in a better position to bear quickly on the target. He snapped both arms to the loft and opened fire with a blistering salvo.
The high-pitched scream was cut short as the cannon exploded and took out the majority of the roof as well as collapsing the loft onto the bar in a flaming heap. Jason and Crusher grabbed their weapons and again trained them on the crowd. The bar was now beginning to burn quite cheerfully and it would only be a few minutes before emergency services responded.
“Doc,” Jason said, “go secure that rear entrance our friends used. We’ll cover you and then move out once you signal that it’s clear.”
“Right,” Doc said and hustled along the rear wall to the door. The remaining crowd that had stayed to stick up for their leader seemed to now be reconsidering their decisions and were moving to get out the front door before the fire consumed the rest of the building. “We’re clear!” Doc shouted from the door.
“Let’s move, boys!” Jason shouted, squeezing off a dozen shots over the heads of the retreating crowd to keep them honest as they moved quickly to the exit.
Once outside they found themselves in a narrow alley between the Mine Bottom and the building on the next street over.
“This isn’t a good place to be,” Crusher said. “Let’s get one street over and begin trying to get back to the Phoenix .”
“Agreed,” Jason said. “Lucky, take point, I’ll cover the rear.”
“I’ll cover the rear,” Crusher said and physically moved Jason in between him and Lucky. “I can hear someone coming up behind me far
“You … will… not …”
“What was that? Oh, right … I’m crushing your throat,” Jason said. He relaxed his grip slightly before continuing, “Now what was that?”
“You will not make it off this planet alive,” the alien rasped.
“Now see, that just wasn’t nice,” Jason said with a sad shake of his head. He stood up and reestablished his grip, lifting the astonished alien up off the ground so he was eye level. “I’m afraid I can’t let a threat like that go unanswered.” He reared back and heaved the alien across the room where he landed in a heap next to his friend that Crusher had sent sailing. The distraction was enough that Jason was able to reach under his coat and bring out his own weapons and for Crusher to reach in and grab his second pistol.
“So what will it be?” Jason said loudly in Jenovian Standard. “Will we all be walking out of here unharmed, or will only my friends and I be walking out of here at all?”
“Drop the weapons! Now!” a new voice said, this one from higher up. Jason craned his head up to the loft over the bar and saw the alien who had been pouring drinks, ostensibly the owner, aiming a heavy plasma cannon at them. The cannon was so large it was mounted to the railing and was probably at one time a crew-served weapon from some long forgotten war. Either way, it was more than enough firepower to blast them, and most of the wall behind them, into dust.
“Lucky,” Jason mumbled as he raised his weapons over his head and nodded for Crusher to do the same. “We don’t want any more trouble,” he said.
“You should have thought about that before attacking my friends,” the owner said, now visibly relaxing as Jason and Crusher slowly lowered their plasma pistols to the table. Doc had already relieved himself of his weapon and looked to be searching for an escape route. “I don’t know who you are, but I can’t let you walk out of here.”
“I’m sorry to hear you say that,” Jason said pleasantly. “Now, Lucky.” The battlesynth had also raised his arms in an apparent move to mimic the others, but in reality it had put his arm-mounted cannons in a better position to bear quickly on the target. He snapped both arms to the loft and opened fire with a blistering salvo.
The high-pitched scream was cut short as the cannon exploded and took out the majority of the roof as well as collapsing the loft onto the bar in a flaming heap. Jason and Crusher grabbed their weapons and again trained them on the crowd. The bar was now beginning to burn quite cheerfully and it would only be a few minutes before emergency services responded.
“Doc,” Jason said, “go secure that rear entrance our friends used. We’ll cover you and then move out once you signal that it’s clear.”
“Right,” Doc said and hustled along the rear wall to the door. The remaining crowd that had stayed to stick up for their leader seemed to now be reconsidering their decisions and were moving to get out the front door before the fire consumed the rest of the building. “We’re clear!” Doc shouted from the door.
“Let’s move, boys!” Jason shouted, squeezing off a dozen shots over the heads of the retreating crowd to keep them honest as they moved quickly to the exit.
Once outside they found themselves in a narrow alley between the Mine Bottom and the building on the next street over.
“This isn’t a good place to be,” Crusher said. “Let’s get one street over and begin trying to get back to the Phoenix .”
“Agreed,” Jason said. “Lucky, take point, I’ll cover the rear.”
“I’ll cover the rear,” Crusher said and physically moved Jason in between him and Lucky. “I can hear someone coming up behind me far
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