Omega Force 5: Return of the Archon Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn't want to stress her by bringing her to the main galleria," the girl said, already standing and folding her sign up.
    "Let's go talk to them and maybe we can work something out," Jason said, gesturing for her to lead the way.
    "Captain," Twingo called, "I'm going to head down two levels to where all the scrap hawks hang out, see what I can find."
    "Okay," Jason nodded. "Lucky, go with him." The battlesynth broke off and followed Twingo thorough the crowd on their way to see what hardware may be available for trade or outright purchase. Jason knew Twingo just liked poking around the shops and talking to the other engineers. Most of the parts were recovered salvage and not anything Twingo would ever consent to installing on "his" ship. As the pair left, Jason noticed the little girl's mouth compress into a tight grin as she turned and headed off in the other direction. "Stay loose," he muttered to Crusher over his shoulder as they followed her away from the main bulk of the crowd.
    "Always."
    They wove their way off the promenade and down a side corridor that looked like service access to the shops. They moved past all of this and Jason watched his guide walk quickly and confidently through the litter-strewn passage. After a few hundred meters, she veered off to take another, smaller passage that curved downward into the lower levels. He was keenly aware of the walls closing in as well as the dim, sputtering light barely cutting through the gloom.
    The smells of industrial lubricant and hot electronics wafted over him as they pressed further into the tight service tunnels. They hadn't seen another being for at least five minutes and were now well away from any of the main gathering places on the station. He switched his ocular implant over to a mix of mid-wave infrared and low-light amplification as the weak lighting seemed to become more sparse the further they went. Behind him Crusher was chuffing as he drew in the scents around him to analyze his surroundings. The little girl, now silent, looked over her shoulder more and more often to make sure they were still following before slowing her pace.
    "So ... where is your family staying?" Jason asked conversationally.
    "I'm not sure where they went," she said softly.
    "Are you about finished with this game?" Jason asked. "For future reference, children don't usually know about auxiliary docking complexes, but not the world they're travelling to." The childlike mannerisms dropped immediately, and the alien reached up under her tunic. Jason drew his own sidearm in the blink of an eye and leveled it at her.
    "Don't. So, how many victims have you lured down here with this little con you're running?"
    "Wouldn't you like to know," it laughed, the voice now deeper and gravelly. Jason tilted his head in surprise at the sudden change. "Now!" the alien shouted.
    Before he could react, a section of pipe swung down on his wrist, sending pain lancing up his arm and his blaster clattering to the floor. From behind the nearest support columns, a burly sqroro, a heavy-grav species, and a heavily muscled saurian came at him from both sides, the sqroro still holding the pipe.
    He was dimly aware of Crusher snarling and the sounds of a struggle behind him as he ducked the pipe being swung at his head. Something was wrong though. They seemed to be moving too slowly and his ears were filled with the sound of rushing air. As the pipe whizzed overhead, he sent a tight punch out to the sqroro's thick torso and was surprised when he heard a gasp of pain and saw the alien dropping to a knee. Jason planted on the ball of his right foot and pushed off, driving forward while bringing his right fist around, aiming for the sqroro's head before he could get back up.
    There was the crack of his fist connecting with the other's head and then the heavy alien was flung down the corridor to where he lay, bleeding profusely, likely fatally, from the horrific head wound. There's no way I hit him that hard. Before