Renegade Star (Vol 1)

Chapter 13: Prison Breaks and Blaster Fights

Content warning: Sci-fi violence, injury

Three blaster shots echoed down the hallway. Brooke flattened herself to the wall as three plasma blasts hurtled past her, dissipating several yards past her. She ducked around a corner and pressed herself against the wall behind Jax.

"Shoot back!" Jax hissed.

"You're the one with the gun, asshole!" Brooke shot back.

"I-" Jax said, stopping as she pulled the blaster from her belt.

"See? I told you," Brooke said. "You can't blame me this time."

Jax elbowed her. "Shut up! They'll hear you."

Brooke rolled her eyes. At least she knew in her heart she was right, even if Jax wouldn't listen.

Jax leaned around the corner and discharged two blasts of plasma. A yell and a loud thump came from down the passageway.

Jax shoved the blaster into Brooke's hands. "Cover me."

"What? Where are you going?" Brooke asked, dumbfounded.

"I need to get to the other side of that passageway. There's a console over there and a barrier that comes down in that passageway. If I can activate it, it'll cut them off and we can get to the shuttlebay," Jax explained.

Brooke nodded. "Okay, I'll cover you."

Jax took a step back, pressing her back to the wall, and indicated for Brooke to trade places with her. Brooke turned to face the wall and took a step forward, planting her left foot in between Jax's feet. Jax shifted backwards at the same time Brooke moved her other leg. The toe of her right boot caught on Jax's retreating foot and she tipped forward. Brooke slapped her right hand against the wall and her left on Jax's shoulder, stopping her momentum, and trapping Jax in between her and the wall. Great.

"Sorry," Brooke whispered. The fumble had ended up with them being nearly cheek to cheek and Brooke could smell Jax's perfume; freshly scented, with notes of sandalwood (Brooke was well versed on her perfumes), but didn't dare breathe, all too aware of the proximity of her chest to Jax's. She carefully removed her hand from Jax's (bare!) shoulder and pushed herself away from her crewmate, breathing out a small sigh of relief.

"It's fine," Jax said shortly, shifting to Brooke's right and removing herself from in between Brooke and the wall.

Brooke pulled her legs under her and turned to put her back against the wall. She ducked around the corner and fired straight down the hallway. She counted at least four officers; two behind each side of an intersecting hallway. Before she ducked back around the corner, she glanced at the ceiling and spotted the barrier Jax mentioned. It was positioned just in front of the intersection where the officers were stationed. If Jax brought it down, it would cut the officers off from the rest of the hallway so they couldn't follow, greatly improving the chances of making it to the shuttlebay alive.

Brooke turned to look at Jax. "Ready?"

Jax nodded.

Brooke stepped out from behind the corner and fired. Her first two shots hit the wall behind the officers on the left side of the intersection. She heard Jax hit the floor and roll behind her. Brooke turned and fired off two more blasts. Both hit an officer on the right side of the intersection and he fell into the middle of the passageway, splayed out like a kid making a snow angel. Brooke twisted as a shot barrelled towards her. She felt the heat of the plasma against her shoulder as the blast scorched past her with just inches to spare.

The console beeped as Jax activated the barrier, and the creak of the metal as it started to descend. Brooke fired three shots into the hallway, hoping to hold the officers back. One decided to make a run for it, pointing her blaster straight between Brooke's eyes. Brooke dove forward and fired, hitting the officer in the boots. Her legs gave out and she hit the floor. Apparently, she wasn't going to let the loss of feeling in her legs stop her. She fired, and Brooke rolled clear of the blast, firing back. Her shot hit the officer in the shoulder and she spasmed, crying out in pain before falling unconscious. Her gun fell from her hands. Behind her the barrier closed with a shudder and Brooke scrambled to her feet.