Alpha Squad - Vecto: Voyage

Part 2.4

(Previously: Erich saves some civilians from being sucked into space by shooting wires from his wrists.)

"Just get us down from here!" an overweight person yelled.

"All right, all right," Erich replied. He unlocked the wires from his wrist and extended the wires to lower them. Feit helped them straighten up, and when they were safe, Erich detached the wires. He flipped backward and landed hard in a crouched position.

His wrists were throbbing.

"You did well," Feit said. "Quite impressive, I'd say."

"Yes! Land!" one of the civilians yelled and kissed the floor.

Erich slowly rose, shaking his head. "Yeah, but I couldn't save them all," he muttered quietly.

"Sometimes you can't," Feit said, nodding to several people as they thanked them and rushed off. "No one is all-powerful, and life is never predictable."

"Yeah, I guess," Erich said, flexing his fingers and moving his wrists to loosen the tightening pain. "And thanks for, um, helping out. I'm sure they appreciated it."

"You're the hero. I did nothing," Feit replied, straightening his tunic.

"Yeah, well, so anyways, what's up with that ship?" Erich asked and pointed at the wreckage nearby. It towered almost as high as the roof from the fourth floor.

Smoke fumed from the red and black exterior, but it was still intact. It meant they should have survived if the ship had internal impact absorption, yet not a single soul emerged from the enemy shuttle. Not yet, of course.

Erich pushed pressure spots on his Echelon suit to activate its battle functions. The suit's panels slightly buffed out as energy streamed between the cracks. A bright red spinning disk on his back powered it. Erich detached the pulse-wire trajectory panel going up his right forearm, revealing multitudes of exposed wires and mechanics. He took a cylindrical disk out and replaced it with another one from his belt. It snapped into place, and Erich reattached the panel to his arm.

Feit looked on with his arms behind his back, his ponytail slightly swinging behind. "Different wires?"

Erich lowered his arms. "You'll see." One wire crept from his right wrist, dangling to the surface. It glowed yellow. "You got any weapons?" Erich asked. "Or armor? I have a feeling the pirates aren't dead."

Feit shook his head. "I only need skill and a good environment."

"OK ..." Erich said. A mask formed over his head. "Got a game plan, then?"

"I make it as I go," Feit responded, slowly walking to the red and black drill-looking ship. He stood in front of it and yelled at it in a composed manner. "Would you please come out, sirs? I don't have all day!"

A few more tense seconds passed, culminating with an explosion from the door. In in-sync fashion, suited pirates stormed from the downed ship, fanning out and discharging their automatic weapons.

(Can Erich and Feit defeat the pirates? Find out more in the next installment of Vecto: Voyage!)