The Expanse - J.M. Dillard [66]
The weasel’s guards fired back, but the MACOs’ insistent barrage forced their retreat; meantime, the foreman himself dashed into the shadows.
The Captain wasted no time; neither did Trip Tucker. They instinctively worked together, taking advantage of the surprise attack to tackle the guard nearest them to the metal floor. Archer took his rifle, and barely had time to heft it before a different alien guard came charging at him, ready to shoot.
But Archer fired first, intentionally hitting the alien in the shoulder—enough to take him out of the fray, not enough to kill. Trip rushed to the fallen guard at once and snagged his weapon; together, the two of them moved through the murk toward the battle.
Archer’s breath and pulse quickened; he experienced, as he often did during combat, a sense of time slowing. Although several events happened simultaneously in an instant, Archer saw each one in full detail.
In the midst of the fight, Kessick dropped to his belly and began crawling for cover.
At the same time, one of the MACOs moved confidently through the haze, golden-bright fire streaming from the barrel of his weapon. Abruptly, a stray energy pulse struck his thigh; the silvery fabric of his jumpsuit dissolved, blackened; the young man grunted, teeth clenched, as the pulse seared a hole into his flesh. The force of the blow propelled him backwards, spine curving in a “C,” but his training made him keep his grip on his weapon.
Meantime, two alien guards had chosen to abandon their less-than-trustworthy leader, and were running away down the dark, mist-filled tunnel ... only to encounter two MACOs, one of whom Archer recognized instantly as Major Hayes. The aliens raised their weapons to fire—a split second too late. The MACOs blasted them out of the way.
Yet another MACO made his way cautiously through the gloom. Out of the haze, an alien guard appeared behind him, and brought down the butt of his rifle with skull-crushing force.
Astoundingly, the MACO stayed on his feet—but dropped his weapon. Once again, the guard hefted his rifle above his head, intending to bring it down again, this time with a killing blow ... But the MACO whirled away from him, seized a baton from his belt, and aimed it; it emitted a crackling beam that deflected the blow. In less than a second, the MACO moved in again, again unleashing a series of beams from the baton that brought the guard to the ground.
During all this, Trip had managed to shield himself behind a corroded, trellium-encrusted piece of mining equipment, and now took careful shots at the guards. As he crouched, there came a blinding explosion, a spray of shrapnel; by the time Trip opened his eyes, he found himself exposed and vulnerable, the equipment in shambles around him.
And the head guard stood a short distance away, taking aim directly at Trip’s head.
But before the alien could fire, a MACO stepped up behind him, and in a skilled, graceful move, applied the butt of his rifle to the back of the alien’s skull, bringing the head guard down.
Trip nodded his thanks; the MACO replied curtly with the same gesture.
All these events occurred in the time it took Archer to rush to the first downed MACO, swing the wounded man’s arm over his, Archer’s, shoulder, and help him to his feet.
A sudden flash lit up the dark chamber as if they all stood in full daylight; a rattling boom pained the Captains ears, caused the metal flooring beneath his feet to shudder. Debris fell from the stairwell, followed by the sound of rapid footfall.
Along with Trip and the unengaged MACOs, Archer turned with his burden to face the stairs, and lifted the weapon in his free hand, ready to fire.
But the fresh contingent of alien guards he expected never materialized; instead, Reed and two more MACOs came dashing down the stairs.
His voice bright with triumph, Reed called down to the Captain. “It took a little doing, sir, but we’ve ‘unlocked’ the outer hatch!”
Archer lowered the rifle and deflated with a sigh, then nodded to other MACOs and Trip. Gratefully, the Captain made his