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Ethan blindly scrambled out of the cockpit; pulling with his arms and kicking with both feet against the bottom of the driver's seat. He fell the short distance to the ground, managing to twist his arm and nearly dislodge his air filter along the way.

He heard another shot from the plasma rifle and felt a wave of heat envelop him. It burned. It burned a LOT.

He wasn't far enough! He had to keep moving!

Even modified, Gilliam's normal sidearm was just an antipersonnel weapon. It was intended to kill people at close range wearing any variety of light armor. The weapon he wielded now was different. A plasma rifle was anti-infrastructure ordinance. It wasn't meant for people... it was meant to melt holes through reinforced bunker walls, stop armored vehicles in their tracks, and burn aircraft out of the sky... all with only a few well-aimed shots.

The fact that he was still alive told Ethan that the first shot was at the weapon's lowest power setting. But the latest one hadn't been. Gilliam had given him time to get clear, but he wasn't clear ENOUGH.

Ethan heard boots running toward him-

"Help!"

-the boots ran past, trailing Gilliam's maniacal laughter behind them. A second later, someone grabbed Ethan's arm.

"Get clear!" Shaw hissed as she pulled him to his feet, then kept pulling...

"I can't SEE!"

He heard two shots in rapid succession. They weren't from the same gun.

"Stryger?"

"They had plasma stashed in the ship," said Shaw. "Now they're having their fun."

"That thing works better if ya AIM it!" Gilliam shouted from the rear of the cargo loader.

"Don't suppose they gave YOU one, did they?"

"What do you think?

Color began to bleed back into the world. Ethan blinked until he made out Shaw's face, but he could only do so because it was a few inches in front of him. Everything else remained a hazy blur.

"What the hell happened?"

"They used you as bait, like they did me. You were the only thing moving, so it came after you."

"But I looked behind me. I was clear!"

"I didn't see how it got there, it was just... there. Then Gilliam started shooting."

"Well, did they get it?"

"I sure as hell hope so."

Ethan turned back to the vehicle. After a few seconds of blinking and squinting his vision returned to normal... normal enough to spot Stryger climbing into the cockpit. He stood rather than sit in the smoking driver's chair, and busied himself with the vehicle's computer.

"Did you get it?" Ethan asked.

"It's down for the moment," Stryger answered. "Dissolving as we speak. That's all we need. By the time it comes after us again, you and I will be inside the ship and the good captain will be on her way."

"Captain? Shaw?"

"He wants me to get the fuel cells. Me and the idiot with the gun."

"That's not what he told- THIS IS CRAZY! You can't ride around out there with that thing hunting you!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry." Gilliam reappeared from around the rear of the vehicle. "Every time it pops up, I'll just shoot it back down again."

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," said Ethan.

"You got a better idea? I stopped this thing three times already, no reason I can't keep doin' it. I damn near melted this one ta slag. Maybe if we just shoot it enough times- Especially with this baby." He hefted the plasma rifle.

"I'm sure that's what your people thought... and THEY'RE all dead! I found one of 'em in the hanger with his face torn off. Guess what kind of weapon HE had!"