Page 13 of Klaz
She nodded, gripping her shock baton tighter.
I surveyed our surroundings, formulating a plan. The cargo bay’s layout offered some cover, but we were ultimately trapped. The only way out was through the pirates.
“Stay behind me,” I ordered, my protective instincts surging. “I’ll draw their fire. You take out as many as you can with that baton.”
Cinta’s eyes flashed with defiance. “I can handle myself, big guy.”
This was ridiculous. Even now, her spirit captivated me.
“I don’t doubt it,” I replied. “But I’m not losing you today.”
Something softened in her expression, and the chaos around us faded away. Then reality crashed back as a pirate’s heavy footsteps approached our hiding spot.
I sprang into action, years of combat training taking over, the satisfying crunch of metal against bone reverberating through my knuckles. He staggered back, giving me the opening I needed.
I charged forward, placing myself between the pirates and the other passengers. Cinta flanked me, her shock baton crackling with energy.
“Well, well,” the lead pirate drawled, his cybernetic eye gleaming. “Looks like we found ourselves a hero.”
The bark of my sudden laugh startled even me. “You’d be luckier if you had.”
The pirates attacked en masse, a blur of metal limbs and glowing weapons. I ducked under a swinging cybernetic arm, driving my elbow into the pirate’s gut. Another came at me from the side, but I was faster.
Cinta moved with surprising grace, her shock baton finding weak points in the pirates’ armor. The air filled with the smell of ozone and the sound of short-circuiting implants.
A laser blast grazed my arm, searing through fabric and skin. I hissed in pain but pushed through it, years of battlefield experience taking over.
“Klaz!” Cinta called out, worry lacing her voice.
“I’m fine,” I growled, taking down another pirate with a well-placed strike to the neck. “Focus on staying alive.”
The fight raged on, a brutal dance of flesh against metal. My muscles burned with exertion, but I refused to yield. Too many lives depended on us.
A particularly large pirate charged at me, his cybernetic arms whirring with lethal intent. I braced for impact, ready to use his momentum against him.
Suddenly, Cinta was there, her shock baton finding a gap in his armor. The pirate convulsed as electricity coursed through his systems, then collapsed in a smoking heap.
Our eyes met over his fallen form, and for a second I saw past her carefully constructed facade to the fierce, determined woman beneath.
“Nice move,” I said, surprised.
A cocky grin spread across her face. “Told you I could handle myself.”
The remaining pirates regrouped, their weapons trained on us. We stood back-to-back, a united front against the onslaught.
“Any brilliant plans?” Cinta asked, her breath coming in short gasps.
I scanned the room, looking for any advantage. “Working on it.”
The lead pirate stepped forward, his cybernetic eye whirring as it focused on us. “Surrender now, and we might let some of you live.”
I felt Cinta tense behind me. “Like hell,” she spat.
Pride swelled in my chest at her defiance. I shifted my stance, ready for another round. “You heard the lady,” I growled. “Come and get us.”
CINTA
The shock baton crackled in my hand as I swung it at another pirate, electricity arcing across his implants. He convulsed and dropped, smoke curling from his circuits. I spun, searching for my next target in the chaotic fray.