Survivor's Quest

The room appeared to be a small duty galley for the engine crews, with dust and broken serving crockery everywhere. Settling himself into a position half straddling the doorway where he could see without exposing more of himself than necessary, he braced his blaster hand against the door controls and waited. The turbolift's hum changed subtly as the car settled into position...

And with a brilliant flash of white, the door exploded outward.

Reflexively, Fel ducked back as shrapnel and pieces of burning plastic clattered down the corridor. Apparently, Watchman and Grappler had been right. The sound of the explosion faded away, and he swung his eye and blaster back around the jamb.

Two armored figures charged out through the ragged opening, firing red blaster bolts in a scatter pattern as they came.

Fel inhaled sharply. After Jinzler's warning he had naturally expected the intruders to be some of Bearsh's disguised Vagaari cronies. But he'd expected the short robe-and-dead-animal-clothed beings they'd gotten used to seeing aboard the Chaf Envoy, not a fully equipped war party. Another pair of Vagaari charged out on the heels of the first two, four snarling and definitely not dead wolvkils emerging with them.

So far, the Imperials hadn't returned fire. It was, Fel decided, about time to change that. Wincing back slightly as one of the random shots sizzled off the bulkhead near him, he filled his lungs. "Halt!" he bellowed.

He hadn't expected any response except possibly better-directed enemy fire, and he wasn't disappointed. All four enemy helmets swung toward the sound of his voice, all four weapons still spitting fire as they tracked him. Coolly, centering his muzzle on the nearest Vagaari's chest, Fel squeezed the firing stud.

The alien staggered back as the blaster bolt blew a cloud of dust and partially vaporized armor from his chestplate. A fraction of a second later Fel had to dodge back around the door controls again as a hail of fire scorched the air where he'd been standing. He ducked down lower and swung his arm around the corner to fire a couple of blind shots in their direction. Out in the corridor, the sounds of the Vagaari weapons had been joined by the BlasTechs' distinctive nasal stutter, and a different sound he assumed was Drask's charric. Still firing, he eased an eye cautiously around the doorway to refine his aim—

Just in time to see one of the wolvkils leaping directly for him.

He dodged backward into the galley. The wolvkil's charge overshot the doorway, and Fel got a clean shot into the animal's flank as it passed.

But the wolvkil merely hit the deck and skidded to a stop, its claws scrabbling for purchase. Without any sign that it had just taken what should have been a killing shot, it turned back toward him. With a roar, it opened its jaws and leapt.

Fel backed up, firing another pair of ineffective shots into the wolvkil's head and shoulders, then dodged to his right, trying to avoid the animal's charge. But the wolvkil wasn't going to be taken in by the same maneuver twice. It hit the ground and instantly made a right-angle turn. Before Fel could do more than fire one last time, it was on him.

More by luck than by skill he managed to deflect the clawed forelegs from his face as he dropped his blaster and thrust his arms forward in a desperate attempt to grab the wolvkil's neck before its teeth could reach him. The animal twisted its head to the side in midair, its jaws clamping hard around Fel's right forearm.

Fel gasped as a stab of pain shocked through him. The animal's momentum shoved him backward, knocking him off his balance and toppling them both toward the deck. His flailing left hand caught a handful of neck fur; tugging hard as he twisted the rest of his body, he managed to turn the animal far enough that they hit the deck side by side instead of with the wolvkil landing on top of him.

Another thud of pain shot through Fel's side from the impact, a jolt punctuated by several sharper, more localized jabs from the bits of broken servingware beneath them. Again, the wolvkil didn't even seem to notice.

Fel tightened his grip on the animal's fur, trying desperately to come up with a plan. His knees and feet were too hemmed in by the wolvkil's body for him to try kicking it, even if he'd had some idea where its vulnerable areas were. His right arm was trapped and useless, and his left hand was effectively immobilized by the need to keep holding on to the wolvkil's neck.

But the animal's eyes were within reach. Maybe.

Fel stared at the dark eyes, trying to push back the agony long enough to think. Letting go of the wolvkil's neck would be dangerous, possibly even fatal. But it seemed to be the only chance he had. If he didn't do something fast, he could lose his right arm entirely, and with only one functioning arm the end would come very quickly. Bracing himself, mentally crossing his fingers, he let go with his left hand and grabbed for the wolvkil's eyes.

That had apparently been precisely the move the animal had been waiting for. With a triumphant growl, it instantly let loose of Fel's right arm; with its head and neck free, it arched its back, its bloody jaws aiming straight at Fel's throat. Fel had just enough time to jerk back, knowing that he'd gambled and lost—

As a white armored hand abruptly appeared in front of the darting jaws.

The wolvkil snarled as it clamped down on rigid plastoid-alloy composite instead of a soft human neck. The snarl quickly turned into a startled yip as it was hauled straight off the deck by its jaws and the scruff of its neck. "Ready?" the stormtrooper called, holding the wiggling animal at arm's length.

"Ready," another voice called back. With a grunt, the first stormtrooper heaved the animal over his head toward the far corner of the room. There was a sputter of multiple blasterfire, and then silence.

"Nice job," Fel said, breathing hard as he started to get shakily to his feet. The stormtrooper still standing over him—Shadow, he was able to identify him now—grabbed his uninjured arm and helped him the rest of the way up. "Perfect timing and everything. Thanks."

"Don't mention it, sir," Shadow said. "How bad is it?"

"I'll live," Fel assured him, studying his arm. It looked terrible, he had to admit, but it didn't feel too bad. Though that could be the effect of the adrenaline still filling his bloodstream. It would probably hurt a lot more in a minute or two. "What happened out there?"

"We got them all," Cloud said, stepping to his side with a bandage and synthflesh tube from his medpac. "Seems their armor wasn't designed with BlasTechs in mind."

"What about General Drask?" Fel asked, trying to look past the two stormtroopers to the door.

"I am unhurt," Drask said, moving into view around Cloud. "I am sorry your rescue was delayed."

"As long as it got here eventually," Fel said, wincing as Shadow tore back his sleeve. "I shot it a couple of times, but it didn't seem to do any good. Look, Cloud, just stop the bleeding and kill the pain, all right? As long as I can use it, everything else can wait until later. So where are the vital spots on these things, anyway?"

"I'm not sure there are any vital spots," Watchman said as Cloud put away the synthflesh tube and concentrated on the bandage. "They look like normal animals, but their internal structure seems to be highly decentralized, with their nervous systems and vital organs distributed throughout their bodies. You have to basically turn the whole animal into chopped meat to stop it."

"I'll remember that," Fel said, eyeing the handful of fresh scorch marks on Watchman's armor. "Anyone hurt?"

"A few nicks," Watchman said, displaying a section of his left forearm where a tiny hole had been punched completely through. "They can wait until we get back to the ship."