Dropship: Prelude to Death

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Ambush Bug
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by Ambush Bug »

You guys rock. I'm <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> so</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> glad you're all enjoying this story. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Thanks for all the kind words! <p><BR><img src=http://scribers.midwestmail.com/ambushbug/BugSig.jpg align=LEFT><BR>Member: DTM, XMEN<BR>Professional Tank Driver<BR>Card-carrying Base-Cracker<BR>Ugly Son-Of-A-Gun<BR><BR>Bug's Tank Bumper Sticker:<br>"If you can read this, you're already street pizza."</p><i></i>
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XMEN|Ambush_Bug[DTM]==Tribal Warrior-Scholar, retired.
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CoH>Protector>Raydia//Decaying Rose
XMEN Ashaman DTM
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by XMEN Ashaman DTM »

I haven't said anything. But I <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> love</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> what you have written so far, Bug.<br><br>Keep it coming.<br> <p><br><img src=http://www.xmenclan.org/avatars/ashaman2.jpg width=150 align=left><br><left><a href=http://www.dragontalonmercs.com>Dragon Talon Mercenary</a><br><a href=http://www.xmenclan.org>Member of the XMEN</a><br>Have a Nice Day!<br><br>"Politics, war, martial arts;<br>these are tools to bend the <br>universe to your will."</left></p><i></i>
AngelFlayer
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by AngelFlayer »

One complaint: Update more often! <p><img src="http://www.rit.edu/~mbt1074/Angel%20Sig ... "0"><br>We are right, praying metal tonight. The message from hell, and it's spell.<br>Even Satan wears leather, our souls to it forever. So let us pray our rules this night.</p><i></i>
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Ambush Bug
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by Ambush Bug »

Update more often, eh? <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START ;) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/wink.gif ALT=";)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br>Here ya go! This also marks the last section of <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Dropship</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. I will be continuing with the next chapter, <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Desecration</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, in a new post.<br><br>Enjoy! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>----------<br> <br>        Bug’s thoughts were a whirl as he bolted down the street with RJ on his back. This whole situation was just too bizarre for him to take in completely.<br>        He’d been prepared to come across an entire troop of BioDerms. Though he hated the smelly scrofs, he could at least understand why they might have attacked Cibile. It was out of their way, not a primary target of war, but if they were shooting for some kind of demoralization effect, it at least made some sense to strike here. It was something he could <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> deal</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> with.<br>        But mantis warriors? That they were on the loose was bad enough--it could only mean that Tath had finally lost her patience and wanted him dead. That they were <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> here</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> was even worse--it suggested to him that Tath was capable of tracking him from a much greater distance than he'd previously thought possible.. That meant that she certainly knew where Fenecia was--the mercenary homeworld was at least four times closer to Tath’s planet than this place was. Was she insane enough to launch a full-scale assault on Fenecia?<br>        That was the tricky question. Fenecia was very well defended. Between the veteran mercs, the spacer pilots in their fighters and skimmers, and the large number of ground pilots in tanks and other such vehicles, taking the planet by force would be a bloody task. She <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> might</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> be able to win through outright brute force, but he was quite certain Spec and the other strategic planners of Fenecia would be able to cut her horde to ribbons.<br>        His fears quieted for the moment with that realization. Fenecia might <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> eventually</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> fall if Tath threw enough warriors at it, but it was in no immediate danger. But he had to get away, or at least one of them had to get away, in order to give warning.<br>        But what about the BioDerm that RJ saw? What was it doing here, and with a group of mantis warriors for company? They weren’t enemies--that was obvious given that the 'Derm had brought them here on the dropship. Allies? The thought made him shudder. If Tath had allied herself with the ‘Derms... Gods! What destruction she could wreak!<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> And all of this because she blamed me for the death of my Queen...</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> he thought bitterly. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Is there no peace for me?</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>        The only thing that confused him was that, as far as he knew, he had not broken the terms of his exile in such a way that Tath would know about it. As much as he hated Tath for what she’d done to him, he respected the power she commanded. The single time he’d given out information about himself and his hive, he’d taken every precaution to keep Tath from listening in. The jammer device in his head, which he’d stolen and installed some time ago, somehow blocked out all external access to his mind. It gave him a splitting headache to use it, for it did horrible things to his hormones, but it worked. He’d tested it years ago, long before using it to let Spec, Warren, and Sirus know his background, and Tath had not known. Had it failed the last time? Possibly... possibly.<br>        So many variables!<br>        He pushed himself harder as he and Sirus neared the gate. RJ didn’t weigh that much, but it was more than he was used to carrying, and it was slowing him down. Sirus, in his well-worn assault-class hardshell, had the edge in raw speed, and he was pulling ahead. Though Bug wanted to call forward and have him slow down, for he felt that sticking close together was always a good thing, the need to have someone, anyone at all, get off the planet and warn Fenecia was more important.<br>        Sirus burst through the gate, lit by the spotlights for only a second or two, and then he was lost in the darkness outside the city walls. Presumably, he was making straight for the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. Ambush cruised through the gate himself a few seconds later, thankful that they hadn’t had any serious pursuit yet.<br>        “Ahhhh, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><b> damn</b><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->...” He heard RJ’s curse as a soft mutter behind his head. He didn’t need to turn around to know what RJ was cursing about.<br>        “How far behind us?” he asked, grabbing his Wrath from his harness and taking it off safety.<br>        “Hundred meters and closing <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> really</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> fast...” RJ replied. His voice was shaking very slightly. He knew just as well as Bug did that the pursuing warriors were faster than Bug for pure running speed. They would catch up--it was inevitable.<br>        “Hang on and pray.” Bug’s sentence was short, clipped, and punctuated at the end by the deep <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> whoomp</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> of the Wrath cannon firing. The shell left a green trail of coppery propellant gases as it hurtled towards the gate, bounced off the side, and landed squarely in the middle of the arch. Bug didn’t wait around to see it go off. <br>        Two seconds later, the shell went off in a gigantic green explosion that sent shockwaves rolling over the fleeing mercs. The gate-arch stood, seemingly intact for a second or two, and then collapsed into a pile of broken stahlplast, taking most of the surrounding wall with it. The resulting pile of rubble blocked the exit out of the city.<br>        A horribly loud clamor of noise roared out from behind that pile, a mixture of hissing, high-pitched wailing, and clacking carapaces. As he and Bug pulled away from the arch, RJ could clearly make out olive-green hands scrabbling through a small gap at the top. Within seconds, the insects were rapidly pulling chunks of rubble out of the way.<br>        “Harabec’s bones! They’re already clearing it out of the way!”<br>        “I did not expect that to stop them for long, RudeJelly--my brethren are very experienced at dealing with cave-ins and other such rubble.” Ambush was running full-out now, his legs a blur, his feet clacking loudly against the hard stahlplast ground. He put his Wrath back on his harness... it would be of no use now. It would only work against such warriors in a closed tunnel, where they had no room to dodge. He looked forward and saw the hulking shadow of the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> some four hundred meters away. Could he make it in time?<br>        He wasn’t sure.<br>        “They’re breaking through!” RJ said. “At least twenty of ‘em coming our way!”<br>        Bug changed his evaluation. Now he was certain he wasn’t going to make it. He was sorely tempted to stand and fight--with his staff, he could probably kill at least eight of the warriors before they dragged him down. If he used the weapons on his harness, he might be able to get fourteen or fifteen. Tath would know that, exile or not, he was still one of the best warriors his race had ever known.<br>        But he could not make a final stand, for on his back he carried one of his fellow mercenaries, and he would not allow RJ to suffer the quick but extremely painful death that awaited him at the hands of the pursuing warriors. If it came right down to it, he might be able to throw RJ to the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> by first jetting as high as he could. He wasn’t eager to try it though, for he still regarded his jets at untrustworthy things.<br>        He was about to suggest that very possibility when he felt RJ loosen his grip and lean back a bit. “What are you doing, RJ?!” Bug was frantic... was his companion going to hurl himself off in some suicidal maneuver?<br>        “Giving those guys one hell of a surprise,” he replied. RJ was, in fact, trying to pull as many flashbangs from his belt as possible. With a practiced motion, he bundled three of them in the crook of his arm, pulled the arming strips all at once, and then proceeded to toss them back behind himself. The throw was not a good one as he was facing forwards and throwing backwards, but the augmentation of his armor let him hurl the grenades some distance behind them. He grabbed Bug around the thorax again, closing his eyes. “Don’t look back!” he cried, just before the trio of whiteouts went off.<br>        The noise was very minor, especially compared to the racket the insects were making as they rushed along the pavement, but the light.... in the inky black of night, the grenades were as a miniature sun flaring into existence for just one microsecond. Everything within several hundred meters was clearly illuminated. Bug could see Sirus, who was almost at the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. He could hear the warriors behind him scream in outrage and pain as they were blinded--from the sound, he guessed that RJ’s throw put the grenades almost right in front of them. Not being able to close their eyes, the warriors were completely unable to avoid the effects.<br>        He also heard the clacking of carapaces as the warriors reared and plunged in confusion. He heard RJ gasp softly. “They’re attacking each other!”<br>        Bug came very close to halting in his tracks right then and there. “<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START--><u>What??</u><!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END-->” he got out as he started running again. “My kind fight in complete darkness all the time! They should be able to tell each other apart by smell!”<br>        “Sure isn’t working now--Harabec, that looked painful!” RJ remarked as one of the warriors gouged a deep trench into another’s carapace with its sword. Bug continued running. He was not about to let a windfall like this go to waste.<br>        He poured on the speed, overtaxing himself now. He knew he would sustain some stress damage to his muscles for certain, but getting out of here alive was more important. The <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> loomed closer and closer in the darkness, and it was not far now.<br>        He recoiled in pain as the landing lights blazed forth, stabbing crystal knives of light into his eyes. He skidded to a halt out of reflex, throwing up his hands to block the painful glare. Moments later, the pain was gone and his eyes adjusted to the light. Why had Sirus turned on the lights like that? He knew better than to blind his fellow mercs at night!<br>        “Bug! Move! They’re catching up!” RJ cried frantically.<br>        A horrible voice emanated from the shadows around the beams of the landing lights. “It’s too late, human. They already have.” As it spoke, the sound of warriors running swiftly reached them... surrounded them. Bug and RJ looked around, trying to peer through the wall of light thrown down by the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->’s landing lights. They could barely make out the forms of the pursuing insects as they stood in a ring, weapons out, bodies swaying gently.<br>        Though he was uanble to see the owner of the voice, Bug was able to smell him. The pungent odor of BioDerm wafted towards him, causing his heart-rate to jump several notches. Quietly, he spoke to RJ. “We’re not going anywhere. Dismount and be prepared.” He didn’t have to explain any more than that. RJ did as asked, readying his spinfusor.<br>        “Human, your weapons will not be of any use to you,” the Derm continued. RJ glared in the direction of the voice. “Put them down before your friend gets dismembered by these warriors.” RJ was about to spit out a caustic remark when Sirus was thrust into the pool of light, the Slonn's huge muscled arm pinning his wrists together behind his back. Red was alive, but his armor was scratched up badly, and he had none of his weapons on him. He shrugged (difficult with his arms pinned), trying not to let his situation get the better of him.<br>        “I got bushwhacked,” he supplied. “Smelly over there--“<br>        “My name, human, is <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Mortok</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->.” The ‘Derm snarled.<br>        “--and he’s got an ego, too.” Sirus finished, not missing a beat. <br>        Ambush nodded to his friend, then turned to face Mortok. He was easily able to pinpoint him via smell. “So, are you going to kill us now?” he asked simply.<br>        Mortok laughed as he pushed Sirus back out of the circle of light. where he was instantly grabbed by warriors. “It talks!” He stepped into the light, flanked by warriors, arms crossed over his massive chest. “And where do you fit into this puzzle?” <br>        “I don’t.”<br>        “I find that hard to believe. Warriors! Capture the other human.” Mortok gestured slightly with a hand, and an even dozen mantis warriors darted forward and neatly disarmed RJ as well as pinning him immobile. Ambush tried to strike out at one of the warriors carting off RJ, but it was just out of his arm’s reach. By the time he was able to draw a weapon, it and the others had already dragged RJ off. The warriors closed the ring again, leaving Ambush alone in the circle of light.<br>        He drew his <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> chatka</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, mind whirling. Tath had allied herself with the BioDerms! Gods! The war was going to come to a bloody end for certain with this development. “She sent you to destroy me, didn’t she?” he asked Mortok.<br>        For a moment, a look of confusion crossed Mortok’s face. “Destroy you?" he scoffed. "Only if you resist capture! You are too much of a prize to kill!”<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> She wants me for herself...</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Bug thought. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Tath, you ruthless killer, I will make you pay for this if I can.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> He put himself into a ready stance, from which he would be able to defend himself from multiple attackers. No doubt Mortok intended to swarm him with the warriors. Mortok made another gesture, a different one, and Ambush braced himself for the onslaught.<br>        Nothing happened. At least... not immediately.<br>        From behind Mortok, Bug could hear the tak-tap of mantis feet as some warrior strode in his direction. Only one?<br>        Mortok turned and spoke. “Subdue him.” There was a muted chittering of mandibles in reply, and then the footsteps started again. <br>        The warrior stepped into the light, and when Ambush saw it, he almost dropped his <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> chatka</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> in shock. It was the same size as he. It even had four arms, as he had once, before he’d removed the extra pair. But its <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> carapace</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->.... it was metal! Shining metal, unbroken save for a network of scars and craters. <br>        It paced to about ten meters in front of him, stopped, and unslung a <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> chatka</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> from its back The weapon was old-looking, the blades notched in several places like his own. Amazingly, it saluted him with it, then dropped into a ready stance.<br>        “Your last chance to come peacefully,” Mortok intoned. He was well back from the pair, and grinning widely, as if in anticipation of a show. When he got no reply, he made a great show of sighing. “Very well.”<br>        There was no warning. The warrior charged straight for Bug, staff swinging.<br>        <br>        Sirus watched the whole exchange between Ambush and Mortok, his own thoughts a whirl. How had the situation gotten this bad, this fast? When he’d pulled away from Bug and RJ, it was with the intent to get the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> first and get it prepped for takeoff. He counted on the fact that Bug would find some way of deterring any pursuit--Ambush was a resourceful one.<br>        But when he got the ship, he found company waiting for him. Mortok was waiting by the main door, hidden behind a landing strut. The single concussion grenade Mortok tossed at him threw him bodily against the opposite strut, stunning him. In no time at all, Mortok stripped him of his weapons, pack, and belt-items, then had him pinned by the arms.<br>        As Mortok hauled him under the front end of the ship, Sirus took note of those around him. Specifically, there was a trio of men and a smaller BioDerm standing away behind the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Maelstrom</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. Even through his night optiks, though, he could tell something was not right with the three men. For one, the small 'Derm wasn't training any weapons on them, as he would if they were his captives. Second, those guys were downright <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> ugly</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. They were large and squat for men, and....Sirus squinted at them harder. Their clothes were definitely out-of-place for a place like Cible, and he began to wonder if they were somehow part of Mortok's group. But what humans would willingly ally themselves with the Slonn?<br>        "If you are trying to determine whether those 'men' are traitors, human, don't bother trying," Mortok said gruffly. "They are <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> vatsats</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->."<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> So much for his sense of operational security,</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Sirus mused to himself. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Probably means he's going to kill me, too.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> "That a new brand of hand-lotion?" he quipped, hoping to rattle Mortok a little.<br>        "Hah! You are amusing, human!" Mortok laughed. "Perhaps you will entertain Render-of-Hearts when I take you back home!"<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> OK, maybe he <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START--><u>isn't</u><!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END--> going to kill me... but who's Render-of-Hearts?</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>        "After, of course, she interrogates you, human. She <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> and</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> I will be most interested in learning why a mercenary like yourself is here on this backwater planet."<br>        Red flapped his lips. "Lemme save you the trouble, Slonn--"<br>        "My name is Mortok, human. Remember it."<br>        Sirus continued as if nothing had happened. "It's going to sound hard to believe, but I'm here on vacation."<br>        Mortok chuckled darkly. "Be certain to answer truthfully when the time comes." He paused, jerking Sirus to a stop. "Rrrrh, hold here. Your companions are on their way."<br>        Now, as he watched the finish of Bug and Mortok's exchange, Sirus flipped on his battle-recorder. Why he hadn't done this earlier, he had no idea. Probably because he was too shocked by the appearance of the insects. <br>        Almost on cue to his thoughts, the metal warrior stepped out into the light. Sirus immediately lost all interest in his battle-recorder. He followed the large warrior with his eyes as it stepped towards Bug, halted, and then drew forth a <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> chatka</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. <br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> "The </i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->chatka<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> is a weapon reserved for those of my kind that attain the skill-rank of Tenth or higher. Most warriors don't live that long."</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Bug's words echoed in his mind, and Red looked in vain for markings on the metal warrior's shoulder. The glare from the landing lights was too bright for him to make out any detail. Even so, if what Bug had told him was true, that meant the metal warrior was conceivably a match for him.<br>        When the first attack from the metal one came, Red blinked and missed it. By the time he realized it, both insects were already several moves deep into their brawl.<br><br>        Somehow, he dodged the first strike from the warrior, darting to the side as the weapon’s blade scraped across the collar of metal around his neck. Sixty-five years of fighting instinct kicked in and he whipped his own staff around in a vicious vertical arc, knocking the weapon up and away from him.<br>        Whatever it was, it was fast. Fast enough to give him serious worries. Armor he had in plenty, but there were gaps in it to faciliate his movement... gaps which could be his death if he wasn’t careful.<br>        It brought the other end of its staff around, using the momentum from his deflection to speed the blow. Bug dodged backwards to avoid the whistling tip of the blade as it came within mere inches of slashing across his eyes. He returned with a side-stroke, which it blocked.<br>        The initial contact over, the two began in earnest, swinging in wide arcs and fast thrusts meant to find a joint in the carapace and force it apart. Ambush tried without success to catch the warrior off-guard, but it was ready for him at almost every turn. Only once did he manage to strike it, and that was only a grazing blow across its thorax.<br>        It was not having much success either, for Bug blocked the strikes directed at himself with aplomb. The warrior was fast, and it darted blows at him quickly, but Bug had learned much from his human friends, and he applied it now, melding his hive teachings with the smooth flowing movements of the Diamond Sword.<br>        For some seconds they exchanged blows, the metallic hafts of their <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> chatka</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->s quivering with the strain of each block and thrust. Then, suddenly, Bug saw an opportunity and took it, twisting his staff up and sideways, locking the two weapons together via their blades, rendering the area silent save for the sound of their breathing. The warrior was startled for an instant, but immediately began to struggle to unlock the weapons.<br>        Ambush gave it no time to do so, twisting his own weapon hand-over-hand, using his strength to overpower the warrior’s efforts. The <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> chatka</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->s, still locked together, flew to the side, clattering to the ground. Pressing the attack now, Bug darted forward, talons out, and tried to rake a hand across its unprotected eyes. It grabbed his wrist and deflected his arm upwards, using its other three arms to strike him directly in the center of his thorax. The armor plate dented and gonged loudly.<br>        With a savage twist, Ambush freed his wrist and went for another hit with his other hand. His fist connected squarely in the center of its thorax, sending chips of metallic chitin flying. The warrior screeched in pain and staggered backwards.<br>        Bug hopped backwards himself, thinking. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> That should have shattered it</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, he thought. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> That carapace is <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START--><u>strong</u><!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END--></i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. Now that he had a moment to think, he wondered what would happen if he won this. Would Mortok let him go? Not likely. What then? How could he overpower all of the other warriors and Mortok without getting his friends killed?<br>        Now the warrior had recovered from the blow, and it darted forwards at him again, hands outstretched, meaning to close and grapple. Bug intercepted the upper two of its hands, locking his own around them as if he were playing what humans called ‘mercy’. The warrior’s lower arms flailed at his thorax armor, trying to batter through the thick plate. It dented, but did not give way. Ambush started squeezing now, hoping to shatter its hands, perhaps even break its arms if he could get the leverage.<br>        With a screech, the warrior darted its head forward, trying to bite him. He jerked his own back in time, but the maneuver cost him leverage. Now it was in a position to bend his wrists backwards, and it was applying more force, forcing him to squat down to keep his wrists from breaking. In a few moments, it would be able to pin him.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> NO! I will not be defeated this easily!</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>        Mustering all his strength, he lunged upwards with both arms and legs, using the warrior's own grip on his hands to lever its front pair of legs almost a meter off the ground. The sudden movement made the warrior let go of his hands as it flailed its arms for balance. He didn't give it a chance to get its feet back on ground. Bug snapped his hands out and grabbed its front ankles, lifting as he did so, pushing it up further.<br>        As he expected, the warrior's mortal fear of falling made it panic, unable to mount an effective counter to his maneuver. With a low hiss of exertion, Bug brought his hands together, forcing the warrior's front legs to swivel inwards almost the point of dislocation. The scream of pain his maneuver elicited was mandible-rattling. He whipped his arms apart and downward, yanking the warrior back down. As he did so, he lunged forward and headbutted it on the chin, breaking one of its mandibles in the process. He let go of its ankles and wrapped his hands around the back of its neck, then pulled it towards himself and headbutted it <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> again</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, right between the eyes.<br>        In the process of this second vicious blow, their antennae touched. When they did, all time seemed to stop. Bug smelled a warrior from his own hive, and for an instant, his mind was flooded with images of his homeworld--rolling dunes, shifting tunnels, and endless spines of rock trailing across the vast deserts. But something was missing from this one... the scent of its queen! Every warrior had a identifying scent that included parts of its queen's command pheromones. He himself still had bits and pieces of Dath, his birth-queen, on him, even after this many years. How could this warrior function without a queen to direct it?<br>        These thoughts were driven from his mind as the metallic warrior screamed. It let go of him and clapped all four hands to its head as it stumbled backwards, twisting and writhing as if it had been doused in acid. The warrior's scream echoed in his own head, only louder, and Bug was almost driven to his knees by it.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> The pain!</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>        His vision started going black, a veil of ink across his eyes. With it went his strength, and he felt his body begin to relax, slumping down towards the pavement. Only his hearing remained, and he could hear complete chaos breaking out around him.... the thunder of running insect feet, a trio of guttural human screams cut abrubtly short, and a short barked command from Sirus. He could not make it out. An instant later, he heard the sounds of hardshell jets firing, followed by several grunts, thuds, and the sounds of metal armor striking flesh.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Gods... my friends!</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>        It was the last coherent thought he had before he slipped wholly into the blackness. <p><BR><img src=http://scribers.midwestmail.com/ambushbug/BugSig.jpg align=LEFT><BR>Member: DTM, XMEN<BR>Professional Tank Driver<BR>Card-carrying Base-Cracker<BR>Ugly Son-Of-A-Gun<BR><BR>Bug's Tank Bumper Sticker:<br>"If you can read this, you're already street pizza."</p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub3.ezboard.com/uambushbug.show ... =EN>Ambush Bug</A>&nbsp; <IMG SRC="http://www.xmenclan.org/images/x.gif" BORDER=0> at: 4/21/02 1:32:37 am<br></i>
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by Ambush Bug »

Jeez-Lou<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> EEZ</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, EZboard likes to munch my formatting! Had to edit this thing like nine times just to make it behave! Oy!<br><br>Anyway, it's good to go now. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><BR><img src=http://scribers.midwestmail.com/ambushbug/BugSig.jpg align=LEFT><BR>Member: DTM, XMEN<BR>Professional Tank Driver<BR>Card-carrying Base-Cracker<BR>Ugly Son-Of-A-Gun<BR><BR>Bug's Tank Bumper Sticker:<br>"If you can read this, you're already street pizza."</p><i></i>
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by Spinning Hat »

HOT DAMN Bug! I think, that when the ToB is complete, (all the way through) you should print this badboy and bring it to Kinkos or something... I know I'd like a copy of it when it was all complete. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><map name="SHMAP"><area href="http://xmenclan.org" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="169, 72, 193, 143"><area href="http://dragontalonmercs.com" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="0, 78, 25, 141"><area href="http://pub1.ezboard.com/uspinninghat.sh ... anguage=EN" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="22, 3, 172, 30"></map><img border="0" src="http://www.xmenclan.org/sh3d2.gif" usemap="#SHMAP" width="194" height="144"> <br>Why Do I always Die?!?!</p><i></i>
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by Ambush Bug »

Well, I <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> was</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> planning on touching up the entire series at some point... the early pieces need some filling-in, and I want to make 'em all consistent as far as plot devices go. As <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Desecration</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> is the last chapter, I just might do that after I've finished it up. <p><BR><img src=http://scribers.midwestmail.com/ambushbug/BugSig.jpg align=LEFT><BR>Member: DTM, XMEN<BR>Professional Tank Driver<BR>Card-carrying Base-Cracker<BR>Ugly Son-Of-A-Gun<BR><BR>Bug's Tank Bumper Sticker:<br>"If you can read this, you're already street pizza."</p><i></i>
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by Spinning Hat »

Sounds good to me <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><map name="SHMAP"><area href="http://xmenclan.org" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="169, 72, 193, 143"><area href="http://dragontalonmercs.com" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="0, 78, 25, 141"><area href="http://pub1.ezboard.com/uspinninghat.sh ... anguage=EN" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="22, 3, 172, 30"></map><img border="0" src="http://www.xmenclan.org/sh3d2.gif" usemap="#SHMAP" width="194" height="144"> <br>Why Do I always Die?!?!</p><i></i>
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"Never, Never, Never quit." - Winston Churchill
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Re: Dropship: Prelude to Death

Post by FireFro »

Yeah, I would definitly enjoy a copy of it for myself. can't wait for more Bug... I am honestly anxious to find out what happens. <p>XMEN|FireFro[DTM] --- "I hate shocklances"<BR><BR>"Join me or die, can you do any less?"</p><i></i>
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