| abstract
| - He stared hard into the smoke at the end of the corridor,desperately trying to make out the silhouettes that moved within. At this point the corridor was perhaps five metres wide and the enemy, if that is what they were, would be able to take full advantage of their superior numbers. Only the two Backer brothers- Steffan and the giant Matteus-remained of Engleman's small command. The Assault Troop had originally numberedten, but the fighting in the last few hours had been hard and brutal. All was silent. The shadows in the smoke continued to move forward. Engelman waited to be sure...a second later he had his answer. The lean outlines of the Pteravores were unmistakeable. His heart sank and he swore under his breath. "Damn it!" Turning he gestured with a simple hand command to the two brothers. Each moved to one side and began to count in their head, one..... two.......three.... Engelman crouched low and moved the selector switch on his shock gun to fully automatic. He too counted silently, four....five.....six..... The three warriors opened fire. Matteus fired the Storm Cannon from the standing position, the rhythmic duuvv-duuvv-duuvv sent shell sfter shell down the corridor. The giant warrior seemed unconcerned by the savage recoil that kicked into his shoulder with each shot. It was widely known by Nexus Assault Troops that the fierce kick of the Storm Cannon caused the fall of shots to arc up towards the right. Consequently when fired, most troopers pulled down to the left to compensate and keep all of their shots on target. Matteus made no such adjustment. In his firm, bear-like grip, the shots punched home one after the other-exactly where he wanted them. the small thumb sized shells slammed into the Pteravores. Exploding on impact, they obliterated the creatures at the front of the group. Steffan had also opened fire. The Pulse laser stabbed short bursts of intense energy that could cut through the mass of creatures before him. Between each shot, Steffan waited for the recharge tone to whine ever higher before firing again. It was possible to fire more rapidly, but the less time allowed for recharge, the less powerful would be the energy discharge of the next shot. The early skirmishes with the Pteravore, had shown only the most powerful of laser blasts had any effect. Engelman pumped round after round into the Pteravores that had escaped the fire of the two brothers, as each shock gun cartridge detonated, a murderous hail of explosive pellets spewed out before him. Engelman fired until all of his cartridges had been spent. "CEASE FIRE!" The two brothers checked their fire and scanned the area before them. All movement down the corridor had ceased. As the smoke cleared, the bodies of at least a dozen Pteravores could be seen. Despite terrible wounds, these creatures had made no sound, no cries of agony..no screams of fear. Engelman removed his helmet and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Check the net - any word?" Steffan shook his head. It had been over twenty minutes since they had last had contact with the rest of the squad. "We'll continue to retrace our steps to the previous rendezvous point." ordered Engelman. The two brothers fell in behind Engelman. They passed the bodies of the Pteravore dead and came into the blackness of the corridor beyond...........FILE ENDS.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)