Solitude's End by Mike Waller

Author:Mike Waller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael D Waller
Published: 2017-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 09

From behind the landing skid, Ben looked across to the administration block. Something moved, but he could not be sure. So far, no sound had come from the workshop, the worker in the back presumably still unaware of his intrusion.

A deep, guttural voice shattered the silence. Ben spun to see a Tolleani run from the corner of the hangar. The alien, barely visible in the night, lumbered towards the space plane.

Ben moved to put the skid between him and the new arrival. With an object that looked like a plasma-pulse rifle in hand the guard posed an immediate threat. A blinding blue-green beam lashed out, confirming that assumption as it slammed into the strut above Ben's head.

Time paused. A creaking sound came from overhead, followed by a long, drawn out rending as the gear, glowing hot from the blast, began to fail. Without hesitation, Ben launched himself beneath the hull and out under the opposite side.

As an engineer, he understood exactly what effect the plasma burst had on the ship, and what would follow. The strut, normally protected within the shell of the vessel whilst in space, was not armoured of itself. Within seconds, the metal reached the limits of its heat-weakened state and buckled. The hull lurched to one side, the port structure splitting as it thudded down with a sickening crunch.

Picking himself up from the ground, Ben stared at the wreck of his beloved spacecraft. The far side of the fuselage was not visible from where he stood, but it did not need to be. The scream of tortured titanium said everything. Its skin breached, the spacecraft would not fly again without major repairs. The only ticket off this accursed planet was gone.

Another growl reached him from the rear of the stricken vessel. The alien, having rushed forward during the collapse, now stood near the stern, weapon raised and aimed.

A faint bell sounded: the crash had triggered an alarm. Across the tarmac, three Tolleani ran around the end of the administration building as a door opened at the front and two more figures emerged. Not good, Ben thought. Capture had always been a possibility, but not so easily, or quickly. He had been stupid; the girl had figured it right.

Unsure where to go, he turned his attention back to his attacker. The alien stood with feet apart, arms outstretched. He now held not the plasma rifle but a smaller laser pistol, the rifle on the ground beside him. Just as well, Ben thought. There was no way a human body could survive a plasma bolt hit. Nevertheless, it seemed impossible to Ben that he could evade the laser shot!

He lurched to one side as the guard fired, a sharp pain ripping through his leg as the beam grazed his flesh. From a distance at which he personally would never have missed a target, the alien had done exactly that.

The tollean stood motionless, then stiffened. The weapon slipped from his hand as his arms dropped to his side. Body buckling, he slumped to his knees and fell forward, face down.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.