Ye Olde Den
The ID-SOL, even with his profusely bleeding stump of a hand, was evidently too charged up on adrenaline and raw, unbridled fury to be slowed down, whether by his amputation or from the gunshot wound, made evident by the growing red stain on his right thigh. As soon as Six Four finished his reassuring sales pitch, the giant's good hand shot forward, locking its meaty digits tightly around the Freespacer's throat.
Shakily the monstrously massive Nepleslian clambered to his feet, lifting Six Four off the ground by its neck as easily as a child lifted a doll, his hypermasculine facial features twisted into a furious snarl with a hint of sadistic pleasure. "Ffffuck you," he spat through gnashed teeth, the veins in his forehead and neck bulging almost as those popping out of his muscled forearm, "ya fffuckin' Spacccer..."
The injection that Vel had received had no immediate effect, but the Iromakuanhe knew that it would only be a matter of time before the drug would kick in. Whatever he was going to do, he needed to do it fast.
More gunshots rang out through the bar, and the whirlwind of violence continued to spread. Just as many people were running into the establishment, eager to join in the fun, as were frantically trying to leave.
A pair of men locked in a scuffle stumbled towards Sienna, an average-looking Nepleslian and a lean, muscular Minkan, grappling with one another as they struggled to gain the upper hand on one another. The Minkan slipped one arm free and managed to connect a solid punch with the Nepleslian's jaw, whipping his head back and sending him reeling, but he never released his grip, causing the pair to stumble even faster, hanging on the edge of their balance as they gained momentum towards Sienna and Oreza. Just before they fell into Sienna, the young woman drew her pistol and leaped to the side, avoiding being knocked down as they tumbled to the ground. The Nepleslian happened to fall on top, managing to get his arms free and position himself in a mount on top of his opponent, and landed just enough lucky blows to knock the Minkan flat out.
Then, the Nepleslian climbed up, and the first person he saw was Sienna. Whether it was panic, bloodlust, or simply thinking that the young woman was between him and his exit, he roared and charged at Sienna, the look on his face making it clear that he intended to go straight through her. He didn't, however, notice the gun in her hand until it was too late. Two back-to-back gunshots later, the man lay dead on his back, two bullet holes in his chest.
Retaliatory gunfire followed less than a second later, sending debris and dust from the wall behind Sienna into the room. She ducked on reflex, her hands involuntarily coming up to cover her head as she kicked over a nearby table, diving behind it for concealment, and returned three more shots of her own blindly over the top of her hiding spot.
At that point, Oreza happened to catch a glimpse of the four-armed Freespacer bartender rising up over the bar, the massive barrel of a minigun slung over its shoulders. A metallic whine, low in pitch at first and then increasing as it gained speed, the barrel began to spin.
Concordia Veil - ???
Amelia strained as she pushed against the metallic surface in front of her, her strength slightly augmented by the suit, and it wasn't long before the metal began to bend slightly. Thankfully her small stature afforded her more mobility in the cramped space than a larger person would have, but it wasn't much. While she didn't have quite enough room to get a good blow in, she managed to curl up enough to deliver several semi-solid kicks to the door in front of her. At first she didn't feel any progress being made, but by the sixth or seventh one, the latch started to give. Two more kicks later, the door flew open with a loud bang, and a piece of the flimsy latch broke off, skittering across the metal floor and clanging into the opposite wall.
She could guess that she was in the central airlock, but aside from the dim red glow of a single small light on the intercom panel in a nearby wall, it was pitch black. Worse, her Datajockey and her sidearm were missing.
Concordia Veil - Cockpit
Paul raced into the cockpit, his nerves rattled nearly to the point of panic, and he closed the door behind him. Crouching on the platform above and behind the seat in which Datsan was working, he looked around the darkened cockpit wide-eyed. "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded from his partner. "What kind of goddamn security system is this!?"
"Damned if I know," Datsan replied, furiously working over the controls. He hadn't had much trouble deducing where the main flight controls and nav system were; even though he wouldn't be particularly proficient with it for now, it would be enough to get the ship moving. But something else concerned him. "But whatever it is, it's good."
"You mean it's what turned off the lights?" Paul asked.
Datsan shook his head, never taking his eyes from the computer panel at his right as he furiously worked his fingers over the volumetric interface. "That don't impress me," he answered. "But it's got the ship locked down tight."
Paul peered over his partner's shoulder, watching the readouts, and frowned at what he saw. "The main drive is disabled?"
"No, it's like it isn't even there," Datsan answered. "Damn thing disconnected everything. I can't do shit from up here." He waved his hand dismissively over his shoulder, shooing Paul off. "Get your ass into the computer room and see if you can override it."
Paul slowly started to shake his head. "Come on," he said hesitantly. "I got a bad feeling about this. Let's just call this one a draw and try another one."
Datsan's head whipped around and glared at his partner. "Stop being a puss and get back there already. We're already inside. Let's just fuckin' do this."
The blond man was clearly not convinced, but he shakily stood up and complied, heading for the computer room.
