Free Star Traders (Corporate Marines Book 3) by Tom Germann Page B

slowly suffocating when the limited air on an escape pod ran out. Run for the space station? That would maybe gain you another day or two of life support if you were lucky. If you even made it there.
    No, it was better by far to try to fix the ship and recover from the emergency.
    Eight hefts his laser pistol and double-checks the extended power cell to ensure it is properly seated and the biometric safety is off. The saboteurs would be standing or sitting staring at the boards, relaxed, with not a care in the world. He takes a knee. He will fire three strafing shots, moving up and from right to left. He takes a deep breath and pauses. The door slides open and he starts firing.
    Two is looking through the glasses and can make out movement coming slowly toward the intersection in the distance. All she can really make out are forms of people. Then she sees the long braid flip loose and she realizes that it is Terry with a helper. No calling out, as that could warn the saboteurs; one of them is still out in the ship somewhere.
    The door opens and she hears Eight firing his laser pistol, which gives off that ‘shhhsnap!’ sound. At his second shot, the boys throw their dazzlers in and Two looks away as the doorway lights up like a sun has just been born. During the second shot, there are two screams that cut off during the third and fourth shots.
    The action has taken less than two seconds.
    The dazzlers keep burning. They were a shipboard innovation. In the event something like this was necessary, the crew had, over the years, worked up numerous little innovations like this. The dazzlers are incredibly bright to the point of causing severe damage to vision if not protected against, yet the heat is minimal and they cause no blast or explosive damage. The security section has access to several small sets of ‘specialty’ charges that are not in use by other police or military forces.
    No collateral damage whatsoever when used in an enclosed space.
    As the bright glare rapidly starts to die down, the security officer covering the one passage backs up past Two with his weapon up. Two stops focussing on the past action and checks the sensors again. Terry is just at the intersection and the person with her is clear.
    The last saboteur has a laser pistol to Terry’s head and an arm around her throat. She is barely visible and looks insane with rage.
    She speaks. “Everyone, fall back from the door now or the bitch gets it!”
    Patroe is on his knees stuffing wire back into the access panel. The two security personnel are covering the saboteur and Terry with loosely held weapons, ready to react, but unable to do anything now for fear of hitting the engineering officer. The two boys are unarmed except for dazzlers and they aren’t willing to use them, given how tightly held Terry is, with the muzzle jammed into her brow.
    Eight had just started taking steps into the engineering control room to check the two dead saboteurs and cannot twist around fast enough to effectively get a shot.
    The saboteur continues pushing Terry ahead of her. “No talking, and don’t try it. These damn pistols fire on a blink! Sorry, but I took out my first hostage when I touched the trigger. Luckily they weren’t as important as the ship’s second hand.”
    The couple inches forward as Terry’s arm is levered up behind her back and she grimaces at the stabbing pain as she is jolted, and then grunts when the saboteur yanks on her.
    The weapon comes away from Terry’s head and is used to gesture at the unmoving group. “I said move it, or I will blow this bitch away! I am going in there and—”
    The ‘shhhsnap’ comes as a surprise and the sudden gaping hole in the saboteur’s head shows where the shot had gone. Her body slumps down to the side, pulling Terry on top of her, and the pistol clangs on the mesh flooring.
    Terry is grunting in pain while lying on the saboteur’s body, which still has a firm grip on her wrist. The features are