Chance shook her head.
"Nah," she muttered to herself. "No way."
There it was, again, out of the corner of her eye, nothing but the flicker of a scanner. But it was enough to be concerned about. Punching a few buttons to tone down the music pumping through the deck speakers, she swiveled her chair around and to the console.
The flicker caught her eye again. It reminded her of the way a corsair ship flickering cloaking to cause echo signatures. Again she checked her position. No pirates in Vega Quadrant, she was in merc territory.
With the flick of her wrist, she opened a small fliptop compartment and unwound the long interface wire. Her fingers ran over the plug and easily snapping it into the chipjack behind her left ear.
Her eyesight flashed red a moment as the neural interface kicked in, the fine wires and conductors of the new neuron net stretched over her cerebrum waking to life.
Her sight was overlaid with a series of holographic displays, as the net relayed information from the ship's scanners to her cyber eyes, which transmitted to her brain.
She caught the flicker this time, it was somewhere to her aft, following her. Keeping her eyes focused on the dials and screens over her vision, she reached out with expert hands to flick switches and adjust the Flight's course.
Chance muttered to herself. "Damn corsairs, don't know when they're not wanted.."
The flicker remained this time, giving the Flight's computer time to gather schematics. Chance gave the mental command for a full display.
"Oh.. shit..."
She'd know that ship from anywhere. The huge jet black hull, lusterless and barely visible against the black of space; the dual rotational plasma cannons under her nose; the long torpedo like form and that grinning silver skull painted under her wings.
Breakdown.
Thornn's ship.
Tuned to Thornn's brain-waves.
and piloted by Thornn himself!
Chance came to this terrifying conclusion just as her ship rocked from a soundless impact. She glanced at the console once more before violently ripping the interface from her jack, twisting from her chair at the same time.
The abrupt disconnection gave her dumpshock, and she nearly crumpled under dizziness as the ship lurched from another impact. Whatever he was firing at her weren't registering any energy readouts.
"Flak.." Chance murmured. "Computer!"
The tri-tone melody signified it was ready.
"Initialize protocol 3, localized aft."
She pushed herself through the bulkhead as she felt the ship lurch from another strike. The weapons locker that was just down the hall had fallen open, spilling her sawed off plasma gun and her H&K's to the floor. She felt a muffled shudder as Protocol 3 initialized.
*Ion torus created. Hull secure.* the computer radioed directly to her low-frequency hearing. Chance allowed herself a small smile. The ion torus would effectively prevent the flak bullets from penetrating the hull.. but it wouldn't last forever.. not at the speed the ship was moving.
Chance made her way towards the plasma gun, wondering if Thornn's matter transmitter was still working.. The Flight rocked under plasma shock impact, throwing Chance to her knees. Before she could lift her head and look around, she felt a clawed hand close around her hair, pressing her down.
"I've always wanted to see you on your knees.." Thornn snarled, his voice sounding raspier and more evil than ever.
Chance didn't respond having gotten the answer she was looking for. She closed her eyes and forced herself to be calm, having learned that getting angry with Thornn never got her anywhere.
"You tried to kill me." he stated, tugging up on her hair painfully.
Chance surpressed a yelp of pain and a curse at him, pushing herself up a little higher on her knees to ease the pressure.
"What?" Thornn sounded artifically hurt. "No greeting.. no snappy come-backs..." He hauled her to her feet by the use of her hair, then grabbed the front of her shirt with the other, lifting her off her feet. "What's that sickening little angel-boy done to you!?"
Chance kept her peace, glaring directly into his inhuman reptile eyes. Thornn grinned, his lips pulling away from his canines into a lupine looking snarl. The Loxian gave a supercilious sniff to the air.
"Mmm.. smells like... " he paused for emphasis. "DEATH!" With a whip-like motion of his arm, he flung Chance into the bulkhead behind her. She felt something break, she didn't know what.. but something broke... the snap was sickening.. either her... or the metal of the ship.
She shifted carefully, and found only a sharp pain from her left shoulder. Adjusting her neuron net carefully, she managed to block out most of the pain. she began to rise, pushing herself up with her legs and keeping her spine against the bulk head. The irises of her cybereyes whirred and clicked into focus.
Thornn cackled like a maniac. "I don't even need weapons to take you down!" he growled. The Loxian became a 18-stone projectile, his trench coat flapping in the breeze and his eyes gleaming complete hatred. Chance saw his extended claws and froze, to scared for a moment to react. An image flashed through her head, an image of what Cyrus would look like at that moment. She didn't like the fear and sadness she saw, and spun into motion.
Thornn's claws caught empty air as she spun from his path. He pulled up just in time to avoid slamming into the bulkhead himself, while she spun into place behind him. Reaching for her H&K's she remembered that they were down the hall..
"Damn.." Chance muttered. She had to keep Thornn busy while she got the weapons. She gave a fast roundhouse kick towards his head, but he easily ducked her blink-of-an-eye movement, his cybernetics faster than hers by mere nano-seconds. He hooked a boot around her left knee and tugged, sending her sprawling to the floor.
Pain, scarlet and hot, lanced through the protective nueron net, as her shoulder struck the solid deck plating. Her suppressed scream rent the air. Thornn grinned.
"I always liked to hear you scream..." he growled, dropping down on top of her, pinning her legs with his and her arms with his hands. "Do it again.."
Chance writhed for a moment or two, before realizing her attempts were futile against the much larger mass. Her years with him flitted before her eyes, bringing a rush of hot anger and bile up her throat. Thornn looked down at her and laughed.
"How easy it would be for me to take you right now..." he rasped. "Just like the old days, huh, girlie?"
Chance growled incoherently under her breath, and rammed her forehead into his nose. Thornn howled and jerked away, his hands going to his shattered nose and coming away covered in blood. Chance took her opportunity, planting her boots into Thornn's gut she kicked savagely. He toppled backwards off of her, freeing her to scramble for her guns.
The Neyvan's hand had barely curled around the barrel of her plasma gun when Thornn's boot came crashing into the small of her back. He ground into her spine the heel of his boot. Chance bit back her scream, arching her back away from him and into the metal. He lifted his boot for another strike, but Chance rolled to her back and caught the sole of his boot between her hands, barely stopping him from mashing her into a pile of guts and cyberware.
She felt Thornn lean all his weight into her hands, and steeled herself for a battle of power. Pushing back up with all her might, she felt whatever injury had been caused to her shoulder rip and tear more. The deck beneath her shoulder became red and slick with her own blood. If her eyes had been real, tears would have immediately welled in them.. her vision was going fuzzy from the pain and the electric crackle of the neuron net attempting to compensate for the overload. Suddenly she felt a surge of adrenile rush into her system. She'd nearly forgotten about those new hyper-pumps she had installed.
With renewed strength she pushed up on Thornn's leg, sending him sprawling and slamming into the adamnite wall. Thornn snarled incoherently as his skull rebounded off the wall. Chance rolled and scrambled forward reaching for the plasma rifle with her good hand. She twisted, bringing the rifle around to bear.
And the black-hole muzzle of Thornn's old-fashioned Terran shotgun met her gaze. Her eyes whirred as her focus shifted up the barrel of the weapon. Thornn's inhuman golden eyes greeted her staring down at her down the length of the barrel.
"This is it.." Thornn rumbled. "The moment..."
Chance snarled at him. "I won't go without a fight."
"You've been fun. We've had our times, eh, girlie?"
"You're sick." Chance spat. She could actually feel herself sweating. In years of fighting, she had never been so scared before. She noticed his taloned finger curling around the trigger of his weapon. "You pull that, I'll take you with me.."
"I can live with that..." Thornn breathed. "Can you?"
Chance saw his finger twitch and reacted without thinking. The plasma rifle went off in her hands, bucking a good six inches and creating another wave of disorienting pain through her. Thornn didn't even flinch as the plasma burst tore six inch hole in his ribs, exposing the smooth bone to the air. His cold eyes grew colder, and he began to snarl.
"Big... mistake..."
The ancient shotgun blasted scarlet death, point blank range. Thornn's visage twisting into a pain-ridden grimace, as his victim's body jerked once and lay still as can be.
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