Maniacs The Krittika Conflict - By Nick S. Thomas Page 0,2

the walls.

At just fifty metres from the tall gates the two guns were turned on the entrance and riddled it with fire, but they did not slow down. The large steel bumpers, reinforced by bars running the length of the chassis, smashed into the weakened structure. The impact barely slowed the two trucks as they burst through the entrance. Just a few lasers zipped past as they steamed in, but the relentless gunfire from the fire breathing trucks did not slow either.

Mason's vehicle was in the lead, and he quickly caught sight of the second defensive line that he recognised instantly. It was an anti aircraft quad laser. It looked almost a hundred years old but no less effective than it ever was. As he swivelled the gun around to bring his target to bear, a cry of panic came from Liu.

"Take it out!"

The quad gun spun quickly to lock onto their truck and got off the first few shots before Mason could fire. The first hit the thickened ram front of the vehicle and was absorbed but shunted them violently off course. The second shot skimmed the upper framework half a metre from Mason's head, and he felt the burn singe the stubble on his chin. He barely managed to keep a grip on the weapon, squeezing the trigger before they were vaporised by the onslaught.

The lasers hit the thin metal shield that was protection against debris and fragmentation only. Mason's fire punctured through with no resistance, cutting the quad gun in half. The top section flew off and hit a parked vehicle, crushing one of the kidnappers; what remained was a twisted wreck.

"Fuck, yeah!" yelled Mason.

Liu breathed a sigh of relief, realising they had come within a split second of instant death. Lasers rushed past their flank as Carter's vehicle kept up the assault. They had lost only a little of their momentum, and the two guns continued raining down fire on the base. Incongruous characters were crawling out from every hole, to be cut down by the relentless heavy guns.

Mason spun the gun around to spray the flanks racing for the entrance of the old freighter.

"Hold on!" Liu shouted.

He turned as they hit the ramp. It had just enough headroom for the vehicle to fit through, but not with him standing up. He ducked under in time and took a deep breath. He'd almost forgotten and came close to losing his head. The vehicle was at the top of the ramp in seconds and smashed into tables and chairs, in what was a makeshift dining and gambling area.

The two trucks slid to a halt; the wheels locking under the pressure of the braking. As they stopped, one of the kidnappers jumped on one and put a pistol through the side of the driver's hatch, but Liu opened the door and kicked it hard. The heavy metal plate smashed into the guy’s stomach, forcing him to keel over. His gun fired up into the ceiling.

Liu leapt from the truck and onto the lowly goon before he could recover. He launched forward with a knee into the head. The man flew back against a nearby table, cracking his back over it. Liu continued forward with no mercy. He took hold of the pistol hand and struck the inner elbow with a knife hand. The gun arced around into the goon's face.

"No, no!" he screamed in fear.

Liu forced the man's own finger back on the trigger, and a laser struck him dead in the face, killing him instantly. Mason jumped from the truck in time to see the brutality from his colleague. It was nothing new in his line of work, but it was coming from the former detective. He could see in his face that the situation really got to his friend.

"Go!" Carter ordered.

The other team was already past them and heading for the starboard corridor. Liu reached over to his rifle, which was slung on the side of the dusty truck, and quickly followed Mason to the port side. Cries of panic echoed down the corridor. Three gang members rushing towards the sounds of chaos quickly met them, but they were ill prepared for what was hitting them.

Mason and Liu were at a jogging pace, descending on them with their rifles firmly set in the shoulder, and firing before their opponents could even lift the pistols from their sides. The shots took the thugs off their feet and planted them firmly on the deck of the old ship,