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From SSDC, Inc.
Corwin dropped the 10 carat diamond back into the tray of the safety deposit box and slowly raised his hands up over his head.
"Higher," the voice demanded from somewhere behind him. "And don't try anything funny. I would hate to overreact and pump your behind full of plasma."
"So would I. I have a nice behind and it needs loving, not holes in it," the Orion replied, stalling for time.
"That you do. Now turn around slowly. Not too fast. Like I said, I don't want to have to kill you unless I absolutely have to. Plus, it would make a mess in my vault and I really don't want to clean up right now."
Corwin turned with great deliberation, sure not to make any threatening gestures. Presently, he faced his assailant who held an all too big Bull Master static pistol in both hands. The gun was aimed to fire just below the belt line.
"You wouldn't want me to shoot them off either would, you?"
"No. Please don't. I have enjoyed them for too long."
"Didn't expect me to look like this, did you Orion?" she toyed with him.
"No. Can't say I did." Breathless.
The bank guard stood before him in the doorway to the vault, stunning in a black, thigh length, leather skirt and fishnet stockings which ran down over her terrific legs into equally black, spiked heels. The top button of her blouse was unfastened, hinting at the fullest pleasures hidden beneath and her hair was jet black, spilling down over supple shoulders. She had crystal blue, almond shaped eyes that twinkled with sensuality and danger and Corwin knew he had never seen a creature more beautiful. Simply and utterly evil!
"Caught you red handed, stealing jewels from my bank. I could get away with killing you", she said dangerously, moving forward with the gun still pointed in the wrong spot. "I could just say that I you tried to escape and I was forced to shot off your...! Wouldn't that be something. Famous Orion thief, shot and killed by beautiful bank president while trying to escape."
"Its got a certain ring to it." Corwin shot a quick glance at his own weapon, a RKM-5000 laser carbine which leaned against the wall just out of reach.
"Thinking about it, huh? Then go for it. We'll see who ends up on top." That evil smile made Corwin shiver.
"I'm good. But I'm not that good."
"I bet you are. But silly, I wasn't talking about your gun. I was talking about going for me". The woman glided forward, dropping her weapon on the ground, and stepping into Corwin's waiting arms. " I surrender. I am your prisoner" She whispered, nibbling on his ear!
"Wake up Orion before I carve out your heart!"
Corwin jerked upright, reflexively going for his weapon which lay on the ground beside him. He half swung the laser in the direction of the threat when he realized that he had been fast asleep. The Phentari now standing over him knocked the gun out of the way with two tentacles and eyed him with pure malice. It was only then that heh realized that the whole thing with the bank guard had been nothing but dream.
"The Swordsaint has returned. Seems as if he and the Ram have found and entrance into the Rebel base." The squid hissed, letting the information sink in. "And by the way, if you ever point a gun at me again, I swear I'll chew the meat off your bones while you watch!"
"Sorry" Corwin replied sleepily, wiping the grit from his eyes. Slowly, he got to his feet, gathering up his boots as he went. Groggily, he looked around. He could only see darkness and the silhouetted outline of trees surrounding the clearing. Piles of equipment still lie stacked by the large boulders on the far side of the camp. However, none of the party's armor was visible, except his. The campfire had died down to a dull red embers and the night air felt suddenly cold. Presently, the squid moved away from Corwin toward the woods. The creature stopped, switched on its camouflage unit and disappeared, blending into the night.
Corwin wrapped himself deeper into the blanket which he still wore around his shoulders and moved over closer to the fire while he waited to completely awaken. Damn it was cold. What a terrible way to be awakened from the best dream he had had in months! Figures, it would be happened, just as things were about to get good. He yawned and stretched.
The Phentari appeared again out of oblivion directly to his front. The squid bent over picked up his wruck sack, and pulled out a couple of BRIs. He affixed them to his web gear.
"Where are the others?" Corwin asked.
"The Ram and the Eridani are waiting for us about 2 clicks up the road from here, near that stone bridge we passed last night. Just finish talking with them a couple of minutes ago. Seems as if the entrance to the compound is only guarded by a couple of sandwiches."
The Phentari paused to put on his web belt, then continued. "The Mutzachan is being pathetic again. Ran off to drain his blood. Too many parasites building up inside him. He said he'd be finished in about five minutes or so. The Human, well that morsel is relaying our current disposition back to Mother. Hurry up and get dressed Orion. We moving out in five minutes." He disappeared again.
"Yes sir, major general, colonel sir!." Corwin replied drily. He stretched one last time, then walked over to his own gear and plopped down in the grass and began to get into his armor.
The way Phentari referred to Humans made him laugh aloud. The squid called them sandwiches because from his perspective, Humans were nothing more than walking, talking, bacon double, cheeseburger equivalents. Phentari were bounty hunter squids and to them, Human flesh was a true delicacy.
"Corwin. I don't feel so good. How is my complexion?" A high shrill voice that could only by the Mutzachan's spoke from behind him.
The Orion swiveled around on his butt, pulling on the lower half of his Streetwise battle armor which looked exactly like ordinary pants. A small, diminutive alien with its huge head set on a spindly body wavered before him, arms folded inside a blue cape to fend off the chill. He face was ashen and his body shook visibly.
"Dude. You look like Jask."
"Feel like it too. I waited to long to drain my blood,"The energy controller explained. "Makes me dizzy, and light headed. Also hurts like the Pojenkins."
"You all right? Are your powers going to be affected because of this?" Corwin asked seriously.
"Could be. Can't focus on the equations required to generate the matrix. You see, as an energy controller, it is necessary for me to concentrate and formulate the specific mathematical equations in my mind, in order for the energy to be released properly. If I don't see things just right, and calculate the release sequence wrong, then the whole thing can blow up in my face, or worse yet. It takes a special..."
Alright. Alright. Alright. I get the picture. Stop whining Bluerazor. We got to get moving. We're going after the stuff now. Pharrinasarrious says that Taskor-idan has found the entrance to the base and we're going in!"
Give me a minute. I'm gonna sit down a bit.
"You've got until I'm done here."
Corwin had finished getting into his armor and now moved to put out the fire. He camouflaged the party's extra equipment with branches and leafs. Years and years of working in the field had taught him to be careful. Never take chances. Many of his friends had not, And most of his friends were dead now. Finally, the Orion spy redressed the clearing, straightening the trampled grass, and removed the groups footprints as best he could. The party had never been there at all. When he was finished, he and the sick Mutzachan set off to meet the others.
"It will be their last ride." The Swordsaint replied icily, moving off to the right hand side of the elevator with a readied blade. Corwin poised his rifle at shoulder level. A moment later, the door opened and out stepped two rebel soldiers. The blade severed one man's head from his shoulders while Corwin pumped a single laser shot into the other's forehead. No noise, the bodies crumpled to the floor.
"Its funny how some people lose their heads over their jobs!" Corwin laughed, jumping into the elevator and pushing the down button.
"Interesting humor Orion. It escapes me."
A tremendous explosion rocked the elevator as it descended, staggering both of them. The lights dimmed for a moment just the elevator doors opened.
"What the hell was that?" Corwin asked into his microphone."
"It was the others ringing the bell to let our guests know that we are here! The time for battle has now arrived."
The sound of gunfire now erupted somewhere on the floor above them. Corwin could make out the definitive sound of a pulse cannon firings on automatic. The battle sounded pitched and fierce.
"One less newbie." came Pharrinsarrious's raspy voice over the headset. "Never knew what hit him. Reflex missile. Pieces of sandwich everywhere." Pause. "We've got visitors. Stand by for and update!"
"I kill now!" The Ram spoke in a child-like voice.
Corwin imagined the 3 meter tall lizard now charging into combat with a heinous smile plastered all over its face.
"Ultimate battle!" The lizard continued.
"On your left. Two of em. Grenade!"
Another explosion ripped the floor above them and Taskor-idan stopped in his tracks.
"Wait here till I call you up. I'm going forward to check out the situation."
Fine! No problem. I have no interest in dying. Go ahead be a hero!"
The Swordsaint's eyes blazed with intensity but he said nothing. Instead, he ignored Corwin and moved silently forward to the next intersection, about 15m away. He hesitated, checking around the corner for the enemy, then waved the Orion forward. More firing above. Corwin turned around and back himself toward the Eridani, covering their rear. It took a minute to cross the distance. When he finally reached the hallway, the Swordsaint was no longer there. Corwin could plainly hear the scuffle of men embraced in hand to hand combat no more than a couple of feet away. A river of blood flowed past the spot where the he half-crouched, half-squatted behind the corner of the wall. The adrenalin was pumping now and his mouth suddenly felt dry and parched. What was going on! What was happening to Taskor-idan? He licked his lips and hesitated some more. He had never been the hero type. That's why he was still alive. But the Swordsaint was about to be killed! Finally, the Orion took one last deep breath, flipped the selector switch on his RKM 5000 impact laser to automatic, said a quick prayer to the money god, then charged around the corner into combat.
Error! Instead of engaging the enemy and saving the Eridani, he tripped over Swordsaint's rear leg, dropped his weapon, and sprawled himself out on the floor.
With cat like reflexes, the Corwin was on his feet, weapon recovered. He winced at what he saw next.
A Human male hung impaled on the end of Taskor-idan the Eridani's two handed sword. One hand feebly clutched at the blade which stuck out from the center of his chest while the other hand struggled to reach the holstered gun at his side. A gurgling noise emanated from the mortally wounded man's mouth where blood flowed freely down over his chin, dripping in a large pool on the floor. The man's eyes bulged as he writhed in agony on the end of the blade. He looked pleadingly into the cold, grey eyes of his Eridani assailant for a sign remorse or explanation. The man tried to speak, but only managed a cough. He gagged, then spit a mouth full of blood onto the Swordsaint who never flinched. The Eridani merely regarded his victim with a steely detachment, as if measuring the effect of the wound. One last gurgle and the body went limp, folding forward to lean against Taskor-dan's shoulder. The Eridani offered a brief, twisted smile of triumph and then in a single fluid motion, he lifted his right leg and kicked the Human from the end of his blade while pivoting on the heal of his left foot. With a reverse stroke of his two handed sword, the Buddon sword master chopped off the man's head. The skull made a sick crunching noise as it struck the floor at Corwin's feet.
"Hey Taskor-idan. Don't you ever feel any remorse when you chop the head of some guy whose only crime was that he was breathing when he happened to run into you." The Orion asked half-seriously.
"No I do not... Nor do I appreciate people who insist on talking to me when I have already killed them. It is a sign of great weakness." The Swordsaint replied in an icy tone and turned on his heel and advanced up the corridor.
"Remind me not to ever piss you off."
"You have so been reminded."
"Yeah, I bet..."
Footsteps approached from the rear and Corwin whirled around ready to blow apart what ever was coming their way."
Instead.
"What the hell happened up there Pharrinsarrious? What's going on?" Presently, the bi-pedal squid with tentacles, clad in Kodiak battle armor, approached with a Mutzachan energy controller in train. Chunks of metal had been torn from the Mutzachan's armor, and his left arm plate was missing altogether.
"Ran into some friends, some heavily equipped friends. They must of picked us up when we killed their watchdogs. That's all I can figure. We dropped the ceiling in on them which should keep them busy for awhile. The total mass of the fall......"
"I see the sword maggot has been busy again, preparing my meals for me. I appreciate his thoughtfulness." The squid relished, dipping two tentacles into the fresh blood surrounding the corpse and having a taste." Not bad. Not bad at all!"
"You aren't going to eat the Human now are you?" Corwin choked. "I'm really not into the cannibalism stuff."Corwin begged. "Don't do this to me! For Gilmock's sake, there is a battle going on here. Uugh. Where did Uugh get off to?"
"Rogue, I will answer one question at a time," The Phentari hissed threateningly, pausing to ensure the Orion that he could not possibly be bullied into answering out of his own time. Finally, he spoke, slow and deliberate.
"We lost the Ram a few minutes ago, right after we blew the ceiling. He had that stupid grin on his face. Said he was going off to eat a LAW rocket and kill a couple of sentries on the east side of the compound! I don't know. Didn't make any sense to me but he's the best diversion we could possibly ask for. It allowed us to retreat. I wasn't about to argue with him. He had that look in his eyes.
Bluerazor nodded in confirmation. "I saw him get hit as we were pulling out. A missile ripped off his helmet along with half his face. The stupid Ram was laughing all the way. He was suicidal, totally mad!"
The second answer." The Phentari continued mockingly." My friend, I would not be so rude as to snack on an arm or two while in your presence. I shall wait till I have some privacy to feast on the soul of my next sandwich!"
The energy controller began to babble in the custom of Mutzachans. "You know Therick's Equation On Universal Balance theorizes that nothing has been lost here. At the exact instant, at the very moment that the Human died, another one of its kind was born into the world born into realization. It occurred at the moment when the other's vision of the universe was lost. See, universal balance equates to the locust of probability that..."
"One more word," The Phentari cut in, "and your the next one to end up a corpse, melonhead." Pharrinsarrious kicked the dead body to over dramatize his point. Actor. Corwin thought.
Corwin regarded the Phentari who still glared menacingly at the Mutzachan. The being stood almost 2.5 meters tall, and wore Kodiak battle armor that was still completely unscratched in combat, a testimony to the cunning of the race. Four sinuous tentacles snaked outward from the shoulders of the squid. Two of the tentacles held Savage-B laser pistols, weaving a slow hypnotic dance in the air while the other two tentacle/arms cradled a Fundamentalist laser shotgun. Sixty seven hash marks had been painted in purple on the breastplate of the Phentari's armor, one for each victim slain. A gold crescent moon crowned nine of the marks, representing an Eridani killed. (Phentari and Eridani were blood enemies, over 2000 years after they had fought a war against each other which resulted in the near complete destruction of the Eridani planet). The eyes, black, cold, and pure with malice made Corwin shutter, even though he and the squid were close friends. The squid continued.
"I hope the Eridani gets himself killed." he hissed." Orion, Are you going to be able to bypass the security and get the stuff We don't have much time?"
"No sweat. Piece of Dujack. Just waiting for our hero to return. He's checking out the hallway to the front. All of this for some friggin plant seeds. They are going to be used to create some new biochemical weapon!
"Yeah right. And by the way." the squid continued, "Each Slag here has enough firepower to vaporize each and every one of us! That's why we had to cave the roof in. We were outgunned bad."
"I have calculated that our chances for success at three-hundred ninety to one in favor of the enemy. The margin of error is ..."
"Mutzachan. I'm not going to tell you again. Shut up before I ventilate that big head of yours!" Pharrinsarrious swung all three lasers to face the energy controller.
The once meek Bluerazor now responded angrily. "I suggest quite frankly that you re-think the situation Pharrinssarrious. I am getting tired of your insults. You know as well as I do that even though I am sick, I am more than your equal. My powers could easily defeat you."
Something came over his headset
"Taskor-idan is that you?" Corwin asked.
No response.
"Let's move forward and find out what's happening" The squid suggested." The sword maggot is obviously unable to handle the situation without our superior skills."
The three of them advanced up the corridor to the next intersection, the Mutzachan guarding the backdoor. Another body. This time a female lab technician.
"We must be getting close. The Eridani keeps leaving donuts behind as markers. I'll be back for this one. Looks tasty."
It was a guessing game, where the Eridani had gotten off to. And each time they though they were lost, the came across another fresh corpse. Slowly, the group worked deeper into the Rebel complex. A full five minutes had elapsed since they had last seen the Eridani and the rebels would be returning their wake up call anytime now. Corwin was beginning to have doubts about their chances of survival. The Mutzachan said nothing. He just guarded their rear, grim and determined. The mercenaries continued to move toward the laboratories. Down another set of stairs. Right turn. Left at the power generators. Then there, directly to their front, about 10 meters up the hall, the Eridani stood, poised to attack something that Corwin could not see. The Swordsaint glanced over his shoulder back at them.
"The enemy is before us. I charge to greet their challenge!"
"What?" Is all Corwin had time to say when suddenly, an explosion rocked the corridor. The impact staggered the Swordsaint and Corwin saw in an instant as the Eridani was ripped in half by the second super-plas grenade which exploded directly at the his feet. Instinctively, Corwin flattened himself against the wall next just as an Omega pulse tore the Phentari's head from its shoulders. The squid fell in a crumpled mass of steel and tentacle. Corwin fired wildly at the 5 figures in heavy assault armor who appeared out of nowhere and now closed on their position at 20m. Another plasma bolt ripped out a chunk of the wall just below his knees.
"It looks like it all over Bluerazor!" He laughed drily, unloading on full auto with his weapon." Looks like we're gonna meet the great scotch maker."
"Not yet."
In a moment, green light seemed to spew forward from the Mutzachan energy controller's body, filling up and blocking the corridor between the two survivors and the advancing enemy. The sparkling energy formed a translucent but solid wall before them and the shots that now struck it exploded in sparks but did not penetrate the barrier.
"That should hold them for a micro or to, but it won't last for long. But I think you're right. We're screwed!"
Bluerazor turn to flee, but stopped dead in his tracks.
Corwin cringed then looked slowly over his shoulder, knowing that he would certainly find doom there. A massive creature stood menacingly behind him, body armor torn to shreds from numerous plasma hits. The beast bled profusely from the midsection where part of the chest plate had embedded itself in his rib cage. One eye was now missing from a bloody socket that trickled blood and dangled torn flesh. Still, the creature smiled, grinning from ear to ear like some possessed demon.
Uugh the Ram Python stood there in the corridor, smiling with that bezerker glazed over look in his eyes, cradling an Devestator Omega cannon in the three remaining fingers of his right hand. As the energy barrier failed under the next hit, Uugh glanced down at Corwin whose face was simultaneously masked in utter disbelief and great joy. The Ram then spoke those immortal words in a deep throated voice.
"If it moves, I'm gonna kill it. If it doesn't move, I'm gonna pick it up and kill it!"
