Pirates of the Outrigger Rift by Gary Jonas, Bill D. Allen Page B

But they were watching the fire, blocking her
path. Frustrated, panicked, she tried to push between two large men.
    “Watch it, lady,” the biggest one said, irritated.
    “Then move!”
    He turned sideways and let her pass. “You have a problem,”
the man said.
    Sai slipped into the shadows and ran past trash incinerators
and winos, hearing the thunder of booted feet running behind her.
    “She went this way!”
    Energy bolts slammed into the walls around her, spraying her
with debris. She rushed down an alleyway, diving for the first doorway she saw.
It was locked.
    “She’s in that alcove!” They were closing in.
    Sai pulled the whisperblade from her jacket pocket and
activated it, plunging the plasma-edged weapon through the lock, easily melting
and cutting the deadbolt. She kicked the door open and hurried inside. She
shoved the door closed, but it couldn’t be secured. Damn.
    The dark room was dusty and filled with old furniture. In
the dim light she spotted a workbench off to one side. She dragged the bench
over to hold the door closed. With the door blocked, the room was pitch black,
her eyes not yet adjusted. She moved through the room, sweeping her hands
before her to try and find another exit. She hit a wall at the same moment the
guards began pounding on the door.
    She moved faster along the wall and found a staircase just
as energy bolts pierced the door, sending slivers of wood flying. Sai rushed up
the stairs to the roof. These buildings weren’t spaced too far apart; perhaps
she’d be able to jump to safety.
    The squad pushed through her barrier and began searching the
lower level.
    “Here’s a stairway,” someone said.
    Sai cursed. A stack of chairs stood on one of the landings. She
kicked them over to slow their progress and continued climbing.
    When she finally made it to the roof, she found it old and
in disrepair. It sank slightly under her weight. Carefully, she tiptoed to the
edge and peered over. It was a long drop.
    She hurried around the perimeter of the roof, searching for
some way down. No luck. Across the way, the roof of the Bryant Hotel was her
only chance of escape, but she wasn’t sure she could make that jump.
    She heard the men coming up the stairs. She was out of time.
She activated the whisperblade and prepared to throw. Her cyber-psi senses
reached out to touch the weapon’s control circuits and she activated the flight
controls.
    She threw the blade, sending it sailing to cut deeply into
the roof behind her, further weakening the structure. She controlled its path,
manipulating its tiny repulsor beams, making several passes. She heard the
squad tossing the chairs out of the way as they climbed.
    At her mental beckoning, the whisperblade returned to her
hand. She hoped it would be enough. “It’s now or never,” she whispered. She
moved back, took a deep breath, and glanced toward the doorway from which the
first of the men burst onto the roof. She ran toward the edge of the building
and jumped.
    Time suspended as she flew through the darkness. She landed
hard, her momentum carrying her into a shoulder roll.
    She glanced back and saw the rest of the squad pour through
the doorway, heedless of the weak roof. She turned and rushed toward a door on
the far side of the hotel. Suddenly, she heard a crash as several of the men
fell completely through. The others froze where they were, then took aim at Sai
on the other roof.
    Sai dove for the cover of the entrance. Energy bolts chipped
the bricks. She threw open the door and rushed inside.
    She sprinted along the carpeted hallway to a lift and
pressed the down button. She paced the floor, waiting for the doors to open. She
decided that once she got to the ground floor, unless there were more men
waiting, she would head for the Warehouse District of the Starman’s Quarter. She
needed to reach the port tonight and get off this rock before they could
tighten the noose.
    Finally the doors hissed open, and she stepped into the
lift.