Steal the Demon: A Science-Fiction Novella by Robert Roth

Steal the Demon: A Science-Fiction Novella by Robert Roth

Author:Robert Roth [Roth, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jetspace Studio
Published: 2021-03-21T22:00:00+00:00


4

You Are Advised To Hurry

The wayfinding icon in her virtual display swiveled to the right, so Kimiko headed that way. According to her mini-map, she needed to go another ten meters further down the corridor, make a left turn, then continue another thirty meters to a lift shaft. The Shaitan was about twenty levels up from there. Kimiko was quietly determined as she moved, her excitement building as she got closer to her goal. But when she approached the upcoming junction, a visual alert flashed inside her helmet.

“Two engineering techs have exited the lift and are heading in your direction,” Paradox suddenly announced. “There’s nowhere to redirect them away from your path, but I’ve disabled their comms, so they’ll be unable to call for help.”

Kimiko stopped and put her back to the wall near the junction. The techs’ muddled conversation in her helmet speakers grew louder as they approached. She reached down to grab her stun baton, pressing herself firmly against the wall until the engineers emerged into the junction. Once they stepped past her, she lunged and touched the tip of the baton to the closest engineering tech, triggering the discharge with a soft bang. The force of the shock knocked the tech forward, and they collapsed to the deck, twitching lightly. But the other tech reacted fast, ducking back as Kimiko swung the stun baton around, then kicking it out of her hand with a grunt. When they dropped back into a combat stance, Kimiko frowned. None of the other joes she’d encountered so far had fought back, except for the security guard. It was probably too much to expect that none of the Al-Zamani engineering staff knew how to defend themselves.

The tech was femme-presenting, but they were a good fifteen cms taller and ten kgs heavier than Kimiko. That weight all looked like muscle under their coveralls, too. If they were fast and strong, Kimiko would just have to be smart. She feinted a punch with her left arm, which the tech moved to block. Using the feint as cover, Kimiko kicked low with her left leg, aiming for the tech’s knee, but the engineer shifted their thigh, and Kimiko’s foot hit muscle instead of the joint. The tech trapped Kimiko’s leg with one arm, and tried to slam their elbow down on Kimiko’s knee with the other. With a grunt, Kimiko pushed up off the deck with her other leg, twisting her body around and kicking her free leg high toward the tech’s head. Struggling to keep their balance, the tech let go of Kimiko’s leg and tried to block Kimiko’s kick, but they weren’t quick enough, and took a foot right on the chin. Kimiko continued her twist until she was facing the other way, landing on the corridor deck in a crouch while the tech sailed back and fell hard on their ass. Balancing on her hands, Kimiko launched a backward kick and planted her heel right on the tech’s forehead. Their eyes rolled up as they fell back onto the corridor deck and stopped moving.



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