A stray bolt of energy melted a good chunk of the iron grating behind Lana, she ducked and stuck close to the pillar behind her and peeked out.
"What the hell..."
50 metres beyond her position, a spectacular light show of doom and destruction was carried out - with most of the participants shifting in and out of shadows and Ray in the crossfire. Lana spotted him behind another pillar, which is being brutally chipped away. Ray's moth moved but his voice inaudible and drowned out by the gunfire. He held a girl in his arms and hopelessly returned fire occasionally. They don't have long until their cover finally gives out - Lana confirmed her own observation.
Fortunately, neither sides had seem to discover Lana yet as she went into hiding earlier. She lifted her cloak and an orange glow radiated and lit up her face. Even one canister of Cardamine of this purity could easily worth millions on the black market - she thought to herself. Lana looked through the gap between the gates she came through and saw a glimpse of Ray's fighter, still hovering above the landing pad with undisturbed serenity. She looked back at Ray, who still cowered behind the quickly decaying pillar with his head down. Lana hesitated.
Then she holstered her pistol and made a run for the exit.
Another stray bullet whizzed by her hair just as Lana reached the landing pad. She ran to the fighter and hopped into its open cockpit. "Please identify, pilot", the security system flashed as Lana frantically tried to initiate the ignition sequence. She searched her holo-com for the correct algorithm and punched it into the system. "Welcome back, Ray," the fighter replied.
"Finally!" Lana exclaimed.
The fighter lifted itself off and prepared to ignite its engines.
The gunfire dissipated a little as the combatants stopped firing at each other to wonder where the loud rumbling noise is coming from. Only Ray recognised the distinct roar of his beloved fighter's engines and immediate understood what was happening. His was filled with disappointment and disbelief. He put the girl down and loaded his gun, he was prepared to go down fighting.
Just as Ray was about to leave his cover and make his final charge towards his enemies. An explosion blew open and gates and the aftershock rocked the entire building. Part of the gate was flung towards the centre of the warehouse and impacted a wall on the other side. Ray looked at the gaping hole where the gates used to be and was astonished to the still smoking barrel of his hovering fighter's plasma launcher and Lana in its cockpit.
"You crazy mother-" Ray shouted but was cut off by the hailstorm of slugs and energy now redirected at the fighter.
"Get down!" Lana yelled at Ray and gestured.
Ray dived to the side and picked up the girl along with him.
The chainguns on the fighter spun up and spat out a stream of death at the aggressors. Empty casings piled on the ground as screams came from the shadows. With a weapon that was designed to rip holes in shielded and armoured spacecraft, flesh did not stand a chance. By the time they Lana finished firing, shots were returned but they were few and far between. She throttled forward and sent the fighter through the orifice she made earlier. The hole was not big enough and parts of the supporting wall collapsed as the fighter forced its way through.
"Incoming missile," the combat warning system announced.
Before Lana could react, a missile blow off a sizable chunk of a nearby pillar. She aimed at the origin of the missile and returned the favour with one of her own missiles. The explosion threw two bodies out to the ground floor. She opened up the cockpit and gestured at Ray.
"Come on!" She yelled.
Ray picked up the girl and ran as fast as he could towards the fighter. Some persistent enemies still had the nerve to fire at him, those were met with deadly fire from Lana's chainguns. Ray reached the fighter and climbed in. He made sure the girl was not hurt and rested her on his lap.
"It's time for you to see how women fly," Lana said and laughed maniacally.
Lana pulled the fighter back to the entrance. Another missile came at them, she took a hard flank and crashed into two pillars in the process. The missile was sent flying off behind them. The structure integrity of the whole building was failing, parts of the roof began to come down and more supporting pillars began to collapse. Lana turned and made her exit through the entrance, brushing another part of the wall off.
At last, they were cleared of the failing building. Lana punched some commands into the console.
"Plasma launcher charging."
"What are you doing?" Ray questioned.
"Just making sure," Lana replied with a smirk.
Lana squeezed the trigger and let off two plasma shots at the building. The building went up in a magnificent explosion, taking its occupants and ships with it.
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