Forlorn Hope
The thirty men were not expecting resistance here, but awaiting reassignment to new quarters. None the less they were 'Monger soldiers and so prepared. They leapt at the challenger before them.
Several 'Mongers died quickly beneath Riddick's blade testing the man they had heard about, but not seen in action. Then years of 'Monger tactics took over and Riddick faced a kind of combat he was undoubtedly unused to; a dozen well armored men formed a line, doubled at the ends and pressed forward in unison trying to encircle him. Riddick faced not one but three blades at any given moment, all working in concert.
Three down.
The Furian commanders formed up behind him in an inverted V that brought the ratio back to one on one. The ends of the inverted wedge had more room to maneuver than the doubled ends of the line, defeating its function. The line couldn't bring all its weapons to bear against the staggered formation of superior Furian soldiers. None could stand against them in single combat.
…Eight, nine, ten, eleven.
As Riddick chose his targets the wedge moved with him without getting in his way. They were keeping the fuckers off his back. Vaako, at one end of the wedge, had the longest weapon of the phalanx and used it with precision to keep the line from folding in behind them.
Seventeen….
Men behind the failing line reformed into a square. When the commanders saw this they pivoted and charged the square before it could coordinate, leaving Riddick alone. Zemma didn't understand this move but could only watch. The wedge hit the front line of the block and each man hit the enemy not in front of him but to one side.
Twenty-one.
Zemma saw how it worked now. Parry forward and attack the man looking at the man next to you; he never saw the sword coming. The block split open like a melon. Faster, lighter-armored men at the rear of the block tried to come around to the back of the wedge, but Riddick had seen his commanders move and fell into place protecting the rear.
He ducked the first man and grappled him by the neck as a second tried to dash in behind Lord Vaako. Riddick stepped back with the first soldier still in tow and backhanded the second across the throat with his knife as the man raced by.
Twenty-two.
Another tried to come into Riddick's exposed side. Riddick pivoted with his hostage as a shield. The last thing the man saw was his companion's blade as it struck his forehead.
Twenty-three.
Vaako spun and impaled the surprised and weaponless soldier before he could rearm himself.
Twenty-four.
Three more fell to the point of the phalanx.
Three left. But Zemma only saw two men facing, and falling to, the commanders. She checked her other cameras, looking for heat in the darkness. But there was too much to hide behind in the large room. Just as she called "Twenty-nine" into the PA she saw Riddick's head snap around and he dove for cover. Vaako followed suit but one of the Furian commanders took pulse rifle fire from behind.
Someone was desperate enough to risk holing the shell of the flagship. The bay was too large for explosive decompression; the sensors would compensate with excess atmosphere, unless the hole was big enough or the section of hull in question not quite stable enough; the doors for instance. The shuttle crew, till now only witnesses to ire of their new Lord Marshal, locked down the shuttle. If the doors were weakened by fire they could punch through and…
Zemma couldn't control the shuttle directly but when powered up again it would initially lock into the main computer for auto docking and disembarking. She might be able to slow it down there. She glanced at the cameras again, none of the commanders, or Riddick, was immediately visible. They were stalking the darkness for the sniper.
Zemma found the program but much of the code had to do with things beyond her understanding. She simply added a loop command early in the sequence and hoped it was enough to prevent the skiff from undocking. Then she added a password protect to slow down any canny member of the bridge crew who might thoughtfully fix the glitch. All of the 'port crews had been locked in their cubicles with dead controls from the start.
She went back to the cameras. The Furian on the floor was still radiating a constant temperature so Zemma assumed he was still alive, thanks to his armor. She panned around looking for the rest. Not that she could do anything more useful. Again, the room was too large to slam the pressure like a drum and, would likely only annoy Riddick more, anyway.
You think he's mad at you for not reveling in blood and guts?
And making a point about the armor.
You worry too much lately.
Zemma had a great deal time now to do nothing but watch and worry.