Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Timeless Dream
Part VIII - Hard as Nails
On Searcher's fifth level...
Lieutenant Bonengel, Lancer Prime-Class of the Draconian Dynasty's Marauder Corps, crouched on the smoke-filled deck over Colonel Wilma Deering, as she lay prone amongst the steaming remains of the Communications Bay door frame.
Bonengel's face was cruelly eager as he swung back his knife then drove it down for her jugular vein, and that would have been the end of the valiant Earth Defence Directorate Officer, if it wasn't for the jagged bolt of blue energy that lashed out and struck the Draconian's arm and sent his aim jerking wild.
The knife slammed into the bulkhead an inch from Wilma's ear and the blade broke off.
"What...?!" Bonengel whirled about on his bent knees and beheld the person who had DARED to interfere with his righteous kill.
But it wasn't a person.
"Bidi-bidi-bidi!" growled the miniscule Ambuquad, "Leave Wilma alone, bub!"
Bonengel's shocked expression turned to a mocking grin, "A drone?! A drone! HAH! You think you can stand against a Draconian warrior of the first order?"
And Twiki swung his grasper hand for the pilot's groin, "Bidi-bidi-bidi! I can hold my own, ugly!" and upping the ampage he let loose with the biggest charge possible.
Bonengel's howl of agony could be heard for five decks.
Wilma's eyes fluttered open and she looked around dumbly for a second, beholding Twiki on her right, blue sparks dancing along the length of his extended armature, while on her left lay the Draconian pilot in a fetal position, groaning in agony.
"Wha--What happened to h-him?" she rasped as she clawed her way up and the wall and onto her feet.
"Bidi-bidi-bidi!" replied Twiki with relish, "He brought a knife to a gun-fight!"
Deering went for her holster but it was empty, so she looked about for either her pulsar pistol or the Draconian's blaster. Neither were to be found, and then the enemy pilot climbed to his feet, face still pulsating with wicked pain. Twiki snapped up his grasper and a fresh charge spangled to aqua life between the two flat digits that doubled as fingers for the Ambuquad.
"Another time, drone!" Bonengel glared down at his nemesis, then he turned on his heel and took off at a run.
"Any time, anywhere, mack!" spat back Twiki, "Bidi-bidi-bidi!"
Wilma moved to chase after the fleeing Draconian, but winced at the shrapnel still protruding from her hip and halted before she could take two steps.
"Uhhh! I have to get this seen to. Twiki, can you help me to Medical?"
The drone agreed and they set off, while Wilma tapped at her collar comlink, searching desperately for somebody to assist in stopping their intruder, but it looked like the only other crewmembers other then her who had managed to stay awake during Searcher's crushing spiral out of control had been the two that Bonengel had gunned down back in Communications.
But, that wasn't exactly true, as four decks below on the opposite side of the ship, a lone Thunder-Class starfighter lay perched vertical on the hull, it's own ventral fuselage pressed flat against the larger vessel, magnetically-anchored by the extended landing legs.
It's pilot was crouched low between the two folded-up chairs and with one last blast from his plasma torch his work was complete. He raised a boot and slammed it downwards, knocking a meter-wide chunk of the hull free. It clanged down onto Searcher's ninth level and Captain William Rogers sprang through, spinning in the air for a long second as the difference in artificial gravity between the fighter and Searcher sorted things out, then he landed on the deck, boots splayed, pulsar pistol at the ready.
It was no miniscule Type-2 pistol that was gripped in Buck's furious fist, nope, because once they had turned back for Earth he had happily returned those weaker weapons to the Armory and reclaimed the much more imposing Type-6 sidearm that he had strapped for his two year assignment as a pilot for the Earth Defence Directorate. This pulsar pistol was much more imposing, and three times as lethal, a show of force that hadn't been necessary during Searcher's peaceful exploration mission.
But now they were back in their home territory and it seemed things had returned to their usual chaotic ways, what with the return of the supposedly banished Draconians, and gone was the more lenient Buck Rogers, and in his place was what the way too forgiving Earth Federation peaceniks desperately needed to defend themselves from the cruel predatory enemies the galaxy seemed to be producing in droves these days: a rough-and-tumble buckaroo patriot who was quick with his fists and merciless to his enemies.
The 25th Century needed the real Buck Rogers again, and he was eager to oblige!
Seeing that the Draconian wasn't present at his entry point, Buck took off down the corridor at a dead-run, black-shelled weapon held at the ready, and he jammed a thumb against his throat comlink as he thundered through the ship.
"Buck to Wilma! Where are you!"
"Buck?" crackled Deering's voice a moment later as he rounded a corner without slowing and rocketed down the next corridor, "Buck! Where are you? Still floating in space?"
"Nope! I docked with Searcher and cut my way inside."
"You did?! That was a chancy thing to do! What if you'd hit an energy conduit? You could have caused an explosion!"
"The ship is almost out of power, Wilma. Not much chance of that. So where's the intruder?
"I faced off against him in Communications, but he had the place booby-trapped and I nearly was killed in the resultant explosion."
"Are you okay?" Buck's lips twisted in fury as he reached the lift and stowing his weapon for a second he jammed his fingers between the doors and began prying them apart.
"Nothing the ship's Doctor can't fix quickly. By the way, Dr. Goodfellow is also here in Medical and he's doing fine, in case you were wondering."
"You found him? He's awake?" Buck got through the lift doors and lept across the shaft, catching onto the utility ladder's rungs.
"He was in his lab, strapped into an acceleration chair. A stimulant brought him around. He's seeing to my leg now."
"Hello, Captain!" came the cheerful voice of the ship's lead Scientist.
"Any line on where the Draconian went?" Buck hesitated on the ladder, unsure whether to go down or up.
"Last I saw of him it looked like he was making for Engineering." replied Deering, and Buck could tell she was scowling, "Best place to destroy the ship."
"Gotcha!" and loosening his grip on the ladder Rogers slid downwards into the depths, accelerating fast.
"Buck! Twiki has gone after him too!"
"He has?" Rogers blinked in surprise.
"Yes! I tried to stop him, but he was too fast for me. Try and make sure he's okay, if you can. He saved my life."
"If I don't stop that pilot, it's gonna be the end for a lot more then just Twiki. But sure. Rogers out!" and the comlink cut off as he slid to a quick halt across from the lift exit onto the Engineering deck.
Buck sprang back across the gap, catching onto the railing there, then levered the doors open and--and a blaster beam scalded past him, only his lightning-fast reflexes managed to keep it from ripping a hole in his gut!
He swung back bodily, his back banging up against the lift shaft, feet dangling free over the yawning abyss that terminated five more levels below in a jagged mess of machinery and circuitry.
Guess I found the Draconian!
He swung up his free arm and caught onto the railing, levered himself up and got his feet onto the narrow ledge just beneath the half-open lift doors. Another crimson energy blast flashed over his head and scragged against the back of the shaft, the heat made him wince.
It's a hot time in the old town tonight!
He let go with his right arm and grabbed the pulsar from his holster, raised it an inch above the deck and fired back blindly once, twice, three blasts of his own in a fanning pattern, then with all his strength he wrenched himself up-and-over and onto the floor of the Engineering level, rolled fast and came up in a crouch, gun at the ready!
Another blast flashed for his face, he ducked to the side and it sizzled past his head, then he was springing up onto his feet and charging forwards like a linebacker, finger churning on the trigger of his pulsar pistol, sending azure blasts back down the corridor at the Draconian, who was forced to dodge back around the corner.
Buck's shots smacked against the bulkhead, missing his target by inches, he charged up a second later and whipped around the turn, weapon at the ready and--and Bonengel had hung back, crouched low, and his own pistol flashed, blasting Buck's gun from his hand! Bonengel swung his aim for Rogers chest, but the temporally-displaced space-cowboy nailed his wrist with a Karate chop, sending the weapon flying down the passage, then he sprang at Bonengel, tackling him hard, and they went down onto the deck in a fury of punching and kicking, rolling over-and-over as they fought like rabid dogs!
They crashed up against the far bulkhead and the Draconian Officer managed to get on top of the Earth man, raised his free right hand and flicked his back-up knife from it's forearm holster with a twist of the wrist, grasped it, then rammed it downwards for Buck!
"DIE, EARTHLING!"
Buck managed to twist his body to the side, but not fast enough, and the knife BURIED itself up to the hilt in his left shoulder.
He howled as blood sprayed and the Draconian cackled in triumph!
"Today you DIE, Captain Rogers!"
To be continued...