Re: A Fatal Blow

<snip>Sandra took careful aim, stepped sideways for a clearer shot,
and slipped on a patch of spilt oil. Her finger jerked involuntarily
as she fought to regain her balance and maintain her aim. A single
shot rang out.
The shot hit the rail, which collapsed under Jessie's weight, and
she had just enough time to scream before she fell. Chrizla lunged
for
her hand - but not fast enough, and Jessie vanished into the depths
of the ship.
Sandra swore, and Chrizla spun round, catching a brief glimpse of a
figure backing hastily into the shadows, too far away for him to
reach quickly enough to catch. But he knew that he would recognise
the nameless murderer if ever they met again.>
Chrizla ran full pelt after the retreating figure; "COME BACK HERE
YOU SCABBY LITTLE BASTARD!!!" he roared after her. Sandra was fast,
too fast for Chrizla to catch, but he made the effort anyway. He
clutched at a stich in his side, 'I really must go down the gym more
often...' he thought. He saw a Skutter emerging from a srrvice duct
up ahead, "SHOOT HER!" he ordered it; the Skutter just started at
him blankly, as if wondering why this deranged human was giving it
an order. "SHOOT HER!" Chrizla repeated, but the Skutter just sat
there; then, all of a sudden, it shot forward, blocking Chrizla's
path. There was no time to stop, Chrizla tripped over the Skutter
and banged his head on a railing; he could just make out footsteps
fading in the distance. The Skutter looked at him and started
bleeping and whirring, it was obviously trying to tell him something
that Chrizla couldn't understand.
What the Skutter was actually saying was:
'Look, you psychopathic gimboid; that there is the corridor that
leads to the reactor core, did you honestly think I was gonna let
you go down there? No! Your skin'd go all manky and you'd start
coughing up your intestines. Honestly...'
Sandra had just gone down a dead-end corridor that led to her doom.
<tag Jessie>