speed?”
“It would only
make a small reaction, not enough to hurt anything.”
“Damn.... Is
there a way to transform the pellet into plasma on impact?”
Arya stared down
at the dismantled weapon as she answered. “With the added energy of impact, it
may be possible to use….” What Nick was postulating finally coalesced in Arya’s
mind. “Ah, I see. That may work.” She quickly turned back toward the center of
the Bridge where Karg and the Captain were discussing their plans. “Captain, we
may have something.”
Argos turned
toward her. “Go on.”
“Sir, I could
modify our pulse weapons to fire Quantonium pellets coated with Corminium 80.
The range would be limited though.”
Argos lowered
his gaze to the floor as he considered the proposal. “That may actually work.
The Corminium would add the extra kick needed for a plasma reaction. It would
get through the shield and then react on impact with the armor. Good work,
Arya.”
“Actually, it
was his idea, Sir.” She turned toward Nick.
Captain Argos
looked past Arya at Nick. “If we get through this, I guess we’ll owe you. But
don’t forget it was your ship they traced here.” His gaze shifted to Arya. “Get
to work. They’ll be here soon.” Argos then glanced at the four-armed hulk of an
alien. “Karg, give them a hand. But if they fail, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Sir,” Karg
replied. As he turned to leave, he motioned to Arya. “Come on. We have to get
to storage section twelve.”
“But section
twelve is near Bay Two.” Arya sounded concerned.
Nick called out
from the rear of the group as they headed for the tube doors. “Uh…aren’t the
Mok’tu in Bay Two?”
Without breaking
his stride, Karg called back, “The supplies we need are in a room across from
Bay Two.”
Going down and
kicking some Mok’tu butt was alright with Nick, but the team had no effective
weapons yet. What were they going to do if they ran into the Mok’tu before they
were ready? “Hey, why is it we don’t have shields?” Nick asked.
Arya looked back
over her shoulder. Nick could tell by her expression that he’d asked a stupid
question.
Having arrived
at the tubes, Karg opened the tube doors and pushed his bulk inside. Nick
and Arya followed, cramming themselves in alongside the beast.
“Only Tac Squads
have shields,” Arya explained. “And nobody has ever killed or captured a Tac
Squad member. Anyone that ever got that close to them didn’t survive. We have
tried to replicate the tech, but so far we have failed. The power requirements
are enormous. Not to mention its adverse effects on living tissue.”
“Wait! Did you
just say that no one has ever killed one of these things? Never? Not even
once?” Nick was astonished.
Arya stared back
at Nick. Without her saying a word he knew she was dead serious. The situation
was bad and getting worse by the minute. Nick stood in silence, not sure if he
wanted to know anything more. Perhaps confronting the Tac Squad was a bad idea,
after all.
“Me and my big
mouth,” he muttered.
Nick’s knees
buckled as the tube stopped on deck six. The doors zipped open and Nick was
pushed out as Karg squeezed out of the tube. Nick reluctantly followed the
others as they trudged down the corridor toward their fate. He wasn’t so sure
he could make the impossible possible this time around, but if he could…if he
lived…. Damn, there were a lot of if s rolling around his
head.
Nick lagged
behind the two. Keeping up with the alien’s superior speed was proving
difficult. Karg suddenly slowed down and crept up to a corner in the hallway.
The beast didn’t make a single sound. Even the floor remained still as Karg’s
feet softly met the ground with each step. How the massive beast could suddenly
be so stealthy was beyond Nick’s comprehension.
Karg turned and
pointed to a door directly across the intersecting corridor. Hunched down to
avoid notice, he slowly stepped out into the
“It would only
make a small reaction, not enough to hurt anything.”
“Damn.... Is
there a way to transform the pellet into plasma on impact?”
Arya stared down
at the dismantled weapon as she answered. “With the added energy of impact, it
may be possible to use….” What Nick was postulating finally coalesced in Arya’s
mind. “Ah, I see. That may work.” She quickly turned back toward the center of
the Bridge where Karg and the Captain were discussing their plans. “Captain, we
may have something.”
Argos turned
toward her. “Go on.”
“Sir, I could
modify our pulse weapons to fire Quantonium pellets coated with Corminium 80.
The range would be limited though.”
Argos lowered
his gaze to the floor as he considered the proposal. “That may actually work.
The Corminium would add the extra kick needed for a plasma reaction. It would
get through the shield and then react on impact with the armor. Good work,
Arya.”
“Actually, it
was his idea, Sir.” She turned toward Nick.
Captain Argos
looked past Arya at Nick. “If we get through this, I guess we’ll owe you. But
don’t forget it was your ship they traced here.” His gaze shifted to Arya. “Get
to work. They’ll be here soon.” Argos then glanced at the four-armed hulk of an
alien. “Karg, give them a hand. But if they fail, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Sir,” Karg
replied. As he turned to leave, he motioned to Arya. “Come on. We have to get
to storage section twelve.”
“But section
twelve is near Bay Two.” Arya sounded concerned.
Nick called out
from the rear of the group as they headed for the tube doors. “Uh…aren’t the
Mok’tu in Bay Two?”
Without breaking
his stride, Karg called back, “The supplies we need are in a room across from
Bay Two.”
Going down and
kicking some Mok’tu butt was alright with Nick, but the team had no effective
weapons yet. What were they going to do if they ran into the Mok’tu before they
were ready? “Hey, why is it we don’t have shields?” Nick asked.
Arya looked back
over her shoulder. Nick could tell by her expression that he’d asked a stupid
question.
Having arrived
at the tubes, Karg opened the tube doors and pushed his bulk inside. Nick
and Arya followed, cramming themselves in alongside the beast.
“Only Tac Squads
have shields,” Arya explained. “And nobody has ever killed or captured a Tac
Squad member. Anyone that ever got that close to them didn’t survive. We have
tried to replicate the tech, but so far we have failed. The power requirements
are enormous. Not to mention its adverse effects on living tissue.”
“Wait! Did you
just say that no one has ever killed one of these things? Never? Not even
once?” Nick was astonished.
Arya stared back
at Nick. Without her saying a word he knew she was dead serious. The situation
was bad and getting worse by the minute. Nick stood in silence, not sure if he
wanted to know anything more. Perhaps confronting the Tac Squad was a bad idea,
after all.
“Me and my big
mouth,” he muttered.
Nick’s knees
buckled as the tube stopped on deck six. The doors zipped open and Nick was
pushed out as Karg squeezed out of the tube. Nick reluctantly followed the
others as they trudged down the corridor toward their fate. He wasn’t so sure
he could make the impossible possible this time around, but if he could…if he
lived…. Damn, there were a lot of if s rolling around his
head.
Nick lagged
behind the two. Keeping up with the alien’s superior speed was proving
difficult. Karg suddenly slowed down and crept up to a corner in the hallway.
The beast didn’t make a single sound. Even the floor remained still as Karg’s
feet softly met the ground with each step. How the massive beast could suddenly
be so stealthy was beyond Nick’s comprehension.
Karg turned and
pointed to a door directly across the intersecting corridor. Hunched down to
avoid notice, he slowly stepped out into the
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