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Noah knelt as close to the bulkhead as he could manage. He looked through the rifle’s scope and dialed the magnification back to nothing. This wouldn’t be a ranged fight.
The deck plates shuttered as Squee approached him. Glancing over at the Rokma, Noah momentarily wondered if he had brought the wrong rifle. If the boarders were Rokma, he might be in trouble.
“I stand ready to fight,” Squee said with a rumble.
Noah frowned up at the big guy. He couldn’t be certain their new Rokma crewmember hadn't orchestrated this whole ambush. It would be a good strategy, get a person on the inside, port some others in and take down any defense.
“I am here as well. Three individuals are approaching. Slowly. I estimate they are only one section away.” Javi said as he slithered up behind them, “Where might I find a weapon?”
Noah pointed to where he had set another rifle behind the hatch, “That’s an ED-13, or as I like to call him, Eddie. He’s a bit of a wuss so he won’t penetrate the hull when you miss.”
“I appreciate your forethought.” Javi said conversationally, “That one you have reserved for your self, is that the mythical G1-NA you have bragged about before? I recall how eager you have been to use it.”
“Hardly. I don’t have a death wish. Gina would tear this ship apart.” Noah said, and then his voice got a little wistful as he continued, “This here is Sasha, an SA-S4. She was my first. We’ve been through a lot together. She’s never let me down. And she won’t blow a hole in the hull either. She’s a lady.”
“And a very elegant rifle she is. I am sure we will be well defended.” Javi said.
Noah frowned, unsure if the Slu was mocking him. He just couldn’t read their chubby, squishy faces. Most other species, even the stony faced Rokma, he could understand.
“Big guy, you stand in the center and draw their attention,” Noah said.
“Will that not cause them to shoot me?” Squee asked, concern evident in his voice.
“Yes.” Noah said with a shrug, “They’ll probably carry something like this. Will it hurt you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, will it kill you?”
“Not right away.”
“Then you’ll be fine.”
“They’re here.” Javi squeaked.
Noah quickly reacquired his target down the corridor. As he sighted in on the hatch, it flew open with a whoosh of air. Scanning fast, he couldn’t immediately identify any hostiles, but he only had a limited view through the hatch.
Several tense seconds went by while nothing happened. Hushed voices drifted down the corridor. The only word he could make out was ‘Rokma.’ That made Noah chuckle until he realized his clever trap had failed. The pirates weren’t shooting at Squee, which meant they would soon be firing at him.
“Charge!” Noah shouted.
Squee turned his head in puzzlement. Noah gestured down the corridor with one hand. Squee shook his head slowly prompting Noah’s gestures to become more aggressive.
A sharp crack ended the two’s standoff. Squee grunted as a rifle bolt hit his shoulder. The slug made a clinking sound as it bounced off the Rokma’s skin and dropped to the deck below. The eyes of everyone in the corridor shifted between the malformed rifle slug and the Rokma.
“AAAGGHHH!!” Squee bellowed as he charged down the corridor.
A flurry of curses echoed back down the chamber. One of the pirates pulled back from the hatch frame. As soon as Noah caught sight of him, he fired. The pirate dropped to the deck with a cry of pain.
Squee moved through the hatch and cut off Noah’s line of sight. More screams and rifle shots echoed down the chamber, but he could not tell what was going on. Keeping his rifle aimed down the corridor, Noah stood and raced down after the Rokma. When he got to the hatch, he dropped to a knee again and surveyed the room beyond.
Two pirates lay on the ground unconscious or dead. Squee held another one in his arms and was banging the human against the bulkhead. He slammed her back three more times before she went completely limp and dropped her weapon.
Noah stood up and started to speak, but before he did, he felt a breeze of air past his ear. A bang echoed down the corridor and then specks of something liquid landed on his cheek. He rubbed the liquid and it came away with blood. Despite feeling no pain, Noah immediately assumed he had been shot. It wouldn’t have been the first time and he knew you didn’t always feel the pain right away.
Checking himself revealed no bullet hole. Assured he wasn’t about to die, Noah looked to his right and saw a new body. A Slu squirmed on the deck, a freshly dropped pistol lying at its feet.
“Did I get him?” Javi called down the corridor.
Noah glanced back toward the other Slu and raised an eyebrow, “You said there were three of them.”
“Sorry, my people can sometimes hide from each other.”
“He almost shot me.”
“I said sorry.”