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Stryger watched the shapes on the screen. The swarm walked toward Gilliam like a man, veering around the parked cargo vehicles instead of floating over them or dissolving them. It moved like a solid, singular entity... further verification of Stryger's theory. It thought it was human. Or it was willing to BEHAVE as a human under some circumstances.

But which circumstances were those, exactly? How far was the swarm willing to go? When its physical form was destroyed it had no qualms about devolving into a more typical behavior... but where EXACTLY was the line between 'man' and 'swarm'?

That's what Stryger needed to know. A slight delay in retrieving the fuel cells was worth getting that answer. There was also the possibility the fuel cells were hidden IN the hangar.

Stryger's attention shifted to other parts of the screen. The magnetic sensors fought to pick out small metal objects amid the mostly-metal dust that filled the air, and anything they found was added to the heads-up display. Nothing of interest, but there did appear to be a few discarded weapons...

Motion drew Stryger's eyes back toward the airlock.

Gilliam saw the 'man' as soon as it was clear of the vehicles. His reaction was quick; Gilliam raised his plasma rifle and fired.

Nothing happened. There was no flash of light; no shockwave of heat and energy from the weapon.

Stryger hadn't damaged Gilliam's weapon.

But Gilliam wasn't holding his own weapon, he was holding Stryger's. Stryger had temporarily disabled his own gun, then switched them while crawling through the dust. Now Gilliam was holding a plasma rifle with a firing mechanism that was jarred loose and twisted just far enough out of alignment to keep it from functioning.

"-the hell?!" Gilliam growled.

On his screen, Stryger watched the man-shaped area of heat look down a the metal object it held. He couldn't make out the details, but he imagined that Gilliam was now noticing the firing mechanism-

"AH GODDAMMIT!"

There were a few sharp vibrations: Gilliam smacking the weapon this his hand. Gilliam pounding on the cargo container... first in an attempt to move it, then in frustration.... then in panic as the slow-moving humanoid figure bore down on him.

It would have been clearly visible now. A perfect shot. Gilliam still had his personal weapon... them modified sidearm that had brought the soldier down twice before. Stryger had seen it on Gilliam's hip, wedged under the container. It may have been damaged as well; Stryger didn't have time to check.

Gilliam tried to yank it free. Would he manage it? This was an area of uncertainty...

"ARG! Boss! BOSS HELP!"

No. The weapon was hopelessly jammed in position. Otherwise there would have been no call for help.

"STRYGER, DAMN YOU! WHERE-"

There was a pause. The solder hadn't reached Gilliam yet, but the shouting and physical exertions had probably weakened him. The sensors were sensitive enough that the could have picked up Gilliam's heartbeat, but Stryger wasn't interested in that. The heat signature hadn't changed and was still moving slightly, so Gilliam was still alive and conscious.

"...Stryger..." Gilliam's voice was weakening.

Stryger watched Gilliam raise the plasma rifle again. Studying it to see how quickly he could fix it. It could BE fixed, of course... but without tools it would take minutes of fumbling with the mechanism.

Gilliam would know this.

"All right... come get me then!"

The soldier closed on the injured man. Three yards. Two. One.

Arm's reach...