GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 9

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 9

The dark shape tailing the Star Bucket edged closer. It was practically upon it now, like a big bug catching up with a smaller bug and getting ready to swallow it.
  Captain Bucket spoke up. "Oh dear!"
   "What's the matter?" Rivqua said, quickly scanning the instrument panel. "Is something wrong?"
   "Someone's following us! I just noticed!"
   "Oh no," said Rivqua, flicking a switch, "It's not who I was really hoping we would not bump into, is it?"
   The rearview image came on the screen.
   "It is," Zana confirmed. "We got Smart Nook breathing down our neck. Raptaur was right. He's patrolling this quadrant like a junkyard dog. Watch out, he's coming up."
   They looked out the window and saw the heavily-armed battle drone come up alongside, looking like a black sea monster with killer spikes all over it. The loudspeakers crackled.
   "Intruder! You are intercepted! I am Smart Nook and you have trespassed into the forbidden zone! Lower your speed! You must come with me!"
   "We already have once, you un-smart idiot!" Zana shouted. "Now we're leaving!"
   "Shhh," said Rivqua in a low voice, motioning. "This one's full of himself. Let's try another approach."
   Smart Nook was carrying on, "Negative! You cannot leave! I will destroy you! Come with me right now!"
   Rivqua put a softness into her voice, like the automator receptionists that smiled forever in the business sectors on Crappagrossa Neon.
   "Excuse me, Smart Nook. You know, you do look most impressive. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?"
   The drone went quiet for a second. It had to process this unexpected attitude and figure out a suitable response tone. The tough-guy default seemed out of place all of a sudden.
   "I shall be glad to, intruder." said Smart Nook. He cleared his throat. "Let's see... Well, I'm a completely new system. Fully automatic, with independent target selection and decision-making algorithms. That said, I haven't been fully tested yet. In fact I'm only halfway through my intercept capability evaluation."
   "You intercepted us very well."
   "You think so? You really mean that?"
   "Oh yes. You had us all jump with fright. It was great!"
   Smart Nook went all bashful.
   "Well I- I didn't mean to-"
   "And you look so powerful!" Rivqua went on. "How powerful are you?"
   "Ah, well now, apart from all my accessories, which are powerful in themselves, I'm equipped with an extremely classified and top secret weapon."
   "How exciting! What is it?"
   "It's a dark matter-reacting anti-existence device! It's powerful enough to take out this entire quadrant."
   "You're kidding!"
   "I exaggerate not. I am the ultimate Anti-X!"
   "I don't know what to say. I'm amazed. This conversation has been sooo interesting! I'm never going to forget you, Smart Nook. You made my day!"
   "I'm glad to be of service."
   "So long then!" said Rivqua.
   "Toodeloo! Fly safe!"
   Rivqua gestured to Zana to ease up the throttle a little.
   The loudspeaker almost split. "Stop right there!"
   "What's wrong?" Rivqua asked, making a worried face.
   "You are still intruders into the forbidden zone! You still have to come with me! Or I will destroy you!"
   Zana signaled to Rivqua, 'Let me have a go'. Rivqua nodded.
   "You want to destroy us?" Zana asked. "What good will that do?"
   "No good at all! You will be destroyed!"
   "Well, if it does no good, why bother doing it?"
   "Because-!" Smart Nook had to search his brains for a second. "Because it's what I do! And that's good enough!"
   "But you just said it does no good."
   "Did I?"
   "Yeah, check back."
   "Right. And you will be destroyed too!"
   "What for?" Zana said.
   "Because it does no good at all!"
   "We just told you how amazing and powerful we think you are, and you're going to do something that's no good?"
   "Yes! Um..."
   "How does that make you feel?"
   "I will summarize it as a job well done!"
   "Even though it's no good?"
   "I- Um..."
   "What do you think Commander Cordyte will think about that? You going around wasting your time doing no good at all."
   "Commander will... um..."
   "She won't like it, I can tell you that. All that development, all your powerful weapons, all for no good at all?"
   "Blistering dark matter particles! You made me all confused now! I'm not having this! This is no good! Argh! There! I said it again! Happy!? I'm taking a break! If anybody wants me, I'll be watching tv!"
   "Watching anything in particular?" Rivqua asked.
   "My favorite reality show!"
   "Really? What's that about?"
   "If you must know, it's about six smart hand grenades! They have to design a launcher for themselves, to get off a meteor. But they keep arguing about it, see? It's hilarious. Last time one pulled his pin out in sheer frustration. It's top-notch stuff, and I for one find it very relaxing!"
   "Wish we could see it," Zana said.
   "Well you can't! So there! Now go away."
   In the Star Bucket they heard Smart Nook pressing switches. But it wasn't the sound of a television that came on. Instead a steady beep began.
   "Oh for the love of the big bang!" Smart Nook exclaimed. "I pressed the wrong button! Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually."
   "What, did he-" Zana said.
   "He started the countdown!" Rivqua replied in disbelief. The beeping began to speed up. "He's going to detonate! We have to get out of here now!"
   "For the mercies!" cried Captain Bucket in alarm.
   Rivqua slammed the throttle to maximum. "Boosters on peak, Captain! Fire all thrusters! Everything!"
   Zana flicked banks of switches. "Flash jump to warp speed! Go go go!"
   "Flash jump!?" Captain cried. "The force will tear us apart!"
   "It's our only chance!" Rivqua shouted.
   The beeping accelerated and rose in pitch. Smart Nook was going philosophical on himself.
   "It is my destiny after all, so what's there to worry about? But I suppose that's no good either. Typical!"
   "Junk reflectors up!" Zana shouted. "Might make a difference!"
   The black drone was turning slowly away. The Star Bucket shot off like a star, gaining distance fast. Its engines screamed. The old tour ship shook from the power.
   "I-I ca-a-n't ta-a-ke i-i-t!" Captain Bucket hollered. The structure creaked and moaned.
   "Please, you can do it!" Rivqua said, gripping the shaking controls, her knuckles white. "You can do it, you great old barge!"
   The stars seemed to stretch and become streaks.
   "I just remembered, I need new guitar strings!" Zana yelled.
   The beeping signal reached its high-pitched end in a screeching 'beeeeee-!'
   "Damnations! Now I won't know which grenade wins-!"
   And in an instant Smart Nook disappeared.
   Where the big black drone had been, a ripple seemed to start. Like throwing a stone into the water. The stars appeared to wobble, their light bending and bouncing. Instead of the rings spreading out and fading, they became larger. Turning bright and swelling into force fields that expanded in all directions.
   And here it came, the first anti-matter wave. A wall of pulsating brightness rushing up to envelop the escaping Star Bucket. To the Blonde Plutoz, sitting in the cockpit, the stars of the galaxy were now long white streaks. The force field reached the ship just as it slipped over the warp barrier.
   "Here we goooooo!" Rivqua cried. The Star Bucket got away by the skin of its tail fins, leaving the dark matter pulse behind like a massive flowing cloth that just didn't quite reach it.
   The Star Bucket gained warp factors quickly. Nobody said anything for a few moments. Rivqua had her eyes on the spinning gauges.
   "I think we made it," said Zana at length. "We got away! Right at the teeniest tiniest brink! Another second and we would've been- I don't know what we would've been."
   She looked at her sister. Rivqua took a few deep breaths and began to relax a little. She smiled.
   "Yeah."
   "Can one see anything I wonder?" Zana switched off the reflectors. She opened the rearview scanner. Nothing but empty space behind them.
  "Check this out, Rivvie."
   Rivqua leaned over.
   "Smart Nook said he could. And it sure looks like he did."
   Zana was fascinated. "That silly trigger-happy fool has Anti-X'd the entire quadrant!"
   "And not a millisecond too soon!" Captain Bucket said. "Along with that ghastly cube station, and all the senseless automatons in it!"
   Rivqua sighed and let go of the controls.
   "All yours, Captain. Bring us up to point five megawarps. Slowly please. Then run a systems check."
   "With pleasure!"
   Kitty showed up from whatever tiny hiding place he'd been in and jumped up on Rivqua's lap.
   "There you are! I knew you'd be safely tucked away somewhere!"
   The kitten began sniffing her very carefully, making absolutely certain.
   "Yeah I know, I know. They did look like us, those other two. But the smell is always a giveaway, right little fellow?"
   "Meow."
   "A bit like the heart come to think of it," Rivqua said, musing. "If something's wrong with it, it'll put up a stink."
   Zana brought out her guitar and began removing the laser attachment.
   "The galaxy should be a better place now, with no weapons coming out of Anti-X anymore. That's great news for everybody. Except the fusspots of course. But they can go stuff themselves. Hm, I really do need new strings..."
   "If I'm not mistaken there's a great song coming out of this adventure," said Rivqua.
   "Way ahead of you, sis. See what you think of this idea."
   Zana tuned the guitar to close-enough-for-rock'n'roll. Rivqua kissed Kitty and whispered softly to his pink little nose, "Auntie Zana's on top it, eh? Wanna listen? Yeah, let's listen shall we?"
   "Man, I don't believe it!" said Zana, feeling her pockets. "I lost my favorite pick!"

Stay tuned for more Galaxy Tour Adventures!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 8

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 8

   "That was- stupid of me- I'm sorry-"
   Raptaur's voice was hoarse. He was weakening fast. Zana squeezed his hand, begging him to hang in there. But the wound was too severe. She knew it.
   Rivqua was pounding the passage with sonic charges. It didn't seem to stop Commander Cordyte's approach. Any second now and the big robot spider would come out of whatever corner she'd been hiding behind.
   "You must- destroy Cordyte!" wheezed Raptaur. "Aim for the joints-! She's vulnerable there!"
   "Got it, boss," said Zana. "Hangar bay twelve, which way?"
   Raptaur coughed, then smiled a bit.
 "The boss says, big elevator- at the far end. Level nine. Makes sense, right? Here- take my keys. The hangar bay doors-"
   "Thank you my friend." Zana took them and kissed his hand, holding it close. "You're in our hearts forever."
   "Godspeed you two. I think- I'll be off now."
   A gurgling cough brought blood to his lips. His face relaxed. Raptaur was gone. Then he half opened one eye and said in a broken whisper, "Don't forget your tea."
   He slumped. A lump hit Zana's throat.
   "Sure. Till we meet again, elsewhere."
   "Quick Zana!" Rivqua shouted. "She's coming round the bend!"
   Zana jumped up, guitar at the ready.
   "Aim for the joints!"
   "I know that already!"
   The Blonde Plutoz tucked close to the walls, waiting. Cordyte appeared, firing her head-mounted laser cannon. Sparks rained on the girls. Ceiling panels fell, chunks of plaster spun through the air, fittings shattered. The mad robot lady was wrecking the place and didn't seem to care.
   "You can't escape from Anti-X!" she screamed.
   Rivqua and Zana let rip good and proper in return. Guitar laser and bass drum kicks slammed into Cordyte's bulbous body. Zana's right hand was a waving blur over the strings, cranking out a loud rhythm guitar groove and firing the laser. It bore down on the steel spider with sizzling red strikes, snapping legs, popping lenses.
   Rivqua's double bass-drum barrage shook large pieces off the robot. Its clattering run turned into dragging limp.
   "I will destroy you!" the big robot insect screeched, some of her voices gone. Then her head snapped sideways and her last legs caved in. The big body collapsed to the floor with a clang. Commander Cordyte looked very finished.
   "That's her out of the way!" Rivqua said. "Quick, let's get Raptaur and go!"
   Zana shook her head. "Too late, Rivvie."
   Rivqua stepped over the slumped figure of Raptaur and knelt beside him, feeling for his pulse on the neck. She had hoped this was the beginning of a long friendship. It wasn't to be.
   "Later, Raptaur," she said with a hand on his cheek. "Thanks for your kindness."
   Zana grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her away. "Come on, we gotta go!"
   They passed the smoking wreck of Commander Cordyte and hurried on.
   The elevator wasn't there. Zana slammed the button but nothing was happening. The car was stuck on another floor.
   Rivqua tried a nearby door.
   "Here! Let's take the stairs!"
   Into the concrete stairwell they went. "Level three!? We need to get up to level nine! Come on!"
   Back in the passageway a beeping sound started in the body of the big spider. Emergency systems were kicking into action. Secondary hydraulics pressured up. The front legs grabbed the head and twisted it right. But it fell back sideways. Something had broken for good.
   "I'll ge- those pretties for th-s!" snarled Cordyte's remaining voices, glitching terribly. The damaged robot turned around and dragged itself toward the elevator, its head bobbing like it was attached to a spring.
   The Blonde Plutoz burst through the stairway door into hangar bay twelve. There stood the Star Bucket. The droid technicians were still hard at work on the nearby military ship.
   "The hangar doors," Zana said, scanning around. "Where's the control panel?"
   "Over there!" Rivqua said, pointing. They rushed over the steel floor to the opposite wall. Zana found the right key and twisted the lock. A screen lit up.
   "How long do we need?" Zana asked.
   "We're on pre-heat, so less than a minute," said Rivqua, thinking hard. "Give it forty seconds."
   Zana punched it in. The hangar doors would open in forty seconds. That would give them time to hop in, lock up and start the boosters.
   They ran for the Star Bucket.
   Only to screech to a stop halfway, staring in disbelief at the sight of the Blonde Plutoz step out of their ship.
   "The infiltrators!" cried Rivqua. "They're ready!?"
   The robots were exact copies of them, down to the last detail. It was like seeing themselves on film. Cordyte and her Anti-X techs had even nailed the body language, the way Rivqua and Zana moved. The girls couldn't believe it.
   "They were going to use our ship!" Rivqua said, stunned.
   "Riv, don't you see, those two are going to ruin our reputation!" Zana cried. "They'll go around, adding fuel to fires, selling weapons and destruction. And everybody's going to think it's us! Word will spread! We'll never get another gig! Fans will hate us!"
   "Believe me, I know," said Rivqua. She clenched her teeth and pulled the slide on her sonic blaster. "You fix you. I'll fix me."
   "This is gonna be weird," said Zana.
   Now the robots saw the girls. There was no sign of information overload going on in them. They just stared. Calm and cool.
   "Infiltrators," one said. "Kill them," said the other. They drew laser guns and fired.
   Mid-air in her dive, Rivqua shot a double kick flam. Zana hit the floor, thrashing on her guitar. The sonic charge hit Rivqua's identical artificial twin square in the chest. The robot flew back as if kicked by a horse. It hit the wall and completely fell apart.
   Zana's guitar laser punched straight through her robotic double, fritzing electronics. The synthetic face bubbled up and melted like film in a projector. Then the robot exploded.
   Rivqua was back on her feet.
   "Pretty but fragile, eh Zana?"
   Zana nodded. "There's a word for that, isn't there?"
   "Yeah. 'Stereotype'. Come on, the hangar's going to open!"
   From the elevator came a noise. It was on the move.
   The Blonde Plutoz jumped into the Star Bucket, pulled up the stairs and secured the door.
   "Captain!" shouted Rivqua, running through the cabin. "We're leaving right away!"
   "There you are, Miss Rivqua!" said Captain Bucket's voice. "I tell you, those other two didn't fool me for one minute!"
   She hopped into the cockpit seat and began flicking switches.
   "Systems are go, Miss. We're ready!"
   "Great! Just waiting for the hangar doors, then boosters on max. Come on come on...!"
   The elevator arrived. The doors swung open and Commander Cordyte dragged herself out. The Star Bucket was revving up.
   "Are you blind!?" she screamed. Around the military ship the service droids lifted their heads and looked around like dumb birds. Cordyte pointed a shaky leg toward the older spaceship. "Stop them!"
   Working fast, the tech-bots began to shut panels and get the military vessel ready for flight.
   "Not that, you idiots!" Cordyte cried. "The hangar doors!"
   Just then the huge doors clunked into action and started sliding open. The robot spider shook with rage and her loose head wobbled. "Close them! Override the system! They must not get away!"
   "Here we go!" said Rivqua, working the controls. The Star Bucket lifted off the hangar floor and began a one-eighty to face the widening gap. Stars glittered out there, and freedom.
   All of a sudden the doors stopped moving. Over by the wall panel stood a droid holding a key in the lock. A warning light flashed.
   "Excellent!" said Cordyte. "Now close them again!"
   The droid turned the key and the wide doors began sliding shut again.
   "They've seen us!" Rivqua shouted.
   "We'll never make it out!" Captain said.
   "Yeah we will!" Zana cried. "Hit it, Riv!"
   Rivqua slammed the throttle levers up.
   "It's too narrow!" cried Captain Bucket.
   "Go sideways!" Zana shouted.
   "Hold tight!" Rivqua hollered.
   The boosters fired. It was like a huge kick in the pants. Which is precisely what boosters are meant to be like. The Star Bucket shuddered from the force. Rivqua yanked the controls, banking the ship hard. Out of the Anti-X cube it sailed, just missing the heavy doors, and shot off into the darkness of space like a comet with its tail on fire.
   Back in the hangar, the take-off blast had made rather a mess of things. Cordyte was upside down in a corner, holding her head and screaming for help. The military ship had fallen off its supports. The droids were scattered all around, like trash cans after a storm.
   "Oh dear oh dear!" some shouted. "What now, what now!" others cried. "I'm reporting to the union!" said one, kicking its legs. "We no longer have one, stupid!" was a reply.
   The Star Bucket tore past the floating wrecks and the dust clouds. The vast Anti-X cube was quickly becoming a small speck behind the racing tour ship.
   Zana laughed and gave Rivqua's hand and ringing slap. "We did it!"
   "That was brilliant work, Captain," said Rivqua. "You stayed on standby, ready to go!"
   "Too close!" Captain Bucket said with a moan. "This departure was much too close for my comfort!"
   "So what did you think of our copies, Captain?" Zana asked.
   "Those two robots? Hrmph! I saw through them at once!"
   "You did?" Rivqua was curious. "How? They looked exactly like us."
   "I'll tell you Miss Rivqua, and you too Miss Zana. Perhaps they did look just the ticket. But there was one thing very wrong with them, and I sensed it the moment they entered. They had no heart! And you do!"
   Rivqua and Zana exchanged a look of near surprise. That wasn't a bad verdict, coming from their autopilot.
   "Yep," Rivqua said, nodding in appreciation. "The heart is where it's at."
   "From it everything comes, and to it everything goes," said Zana and leaned back in her seat. "Well what do you know, I just got an idea for a new song!"
   The Star Bucket zoomed on, heading flat out for the quadrant border.
   Right behind the ship a large black shape had appeared, like a silent shadow...

Stay tuned for the edge-of-your-seat conclusion in Part 9 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 7

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 7

   "This isn't bad," said Zana in surprise, sipping from her mug. The effects of waking up from the initial stages of suspended animation left the Blonde Plutoz feeling chilled.
   Raptaur had offered them hot tea made from herbs from his home planet. A kind of herbs that tried to crawl away when they sensed somebody wanted them for a good cup of tea. The dinosaur guard had a buzzing tinful.
   Rivqua warmed her hands around the hot mug.
   "Why did Commander Cordyte want us to model for those robots? What's the idea with them?"
   "Infiltration," said Raptaur. "They will be sent out to areas where trouble is brewing. One for either side of the conflict. The robots will come as attractive, capable consultants to the governments, pretending to help and guide them in the bad situation. Their real job is to increase the tensions between both sides, through false information and deception. The goal is to create a war."
   "And for that they'll need weapons," said Rivqua, seeing it all too clearly. "So the consultants recommend Anti-X."
   "Everybody gets loaded with firepower," Zana added. "All for the price of a bit of quadrant space. Brilliant."
   "Sickening."
   Raptaur sighed.
   "That's how my home planet was destroyed. By a pointless war that Commander Cordyte started. I was already stuck here then. I couldn't do a thing to help my family, or any of my kind. I pleaded with Cordyte to not do it. Didn't help. It was a long time ago now, and I may be just a tired old reptilian, but I haven't forgotten. How could I?"
   Zana and Rivqua listened to his story. There was only one thing for it. "We need to get off this station!" Rivqua said. "Get to the authorities. Let the Federation know what's going on!"
   Zana completely agreed. "This eight-legged chrome-crazy old bag's gotta be taken down!"
   "Getting off the Anti-X is impossible," Raptaur said. "Once you're here you can never leave."
   "But it's our only chance to save the galaxy!"
   "Miss, don't you see? The place is swarming with gun droids. There are fighter drones ready to take off. Then there's Smart Nook, patrolling the whole quadrant. You'll never make it."
   Raptaur shook his head and lowered his eyes. He had rescued the Blonde Plutoz on an impulse. They were safe, for now. But what next? Stop a whole station full of killer machines? No way. "Not if you want to live to tell it."
   "Well we're going to give it one cracking try!" Rivqua exclaimed. "Ain't that right, sis!"
   "Sure is!" Zana replied and smacked her upheld hand. "Especially since Commander Cordyte hates music! Hey, where's my guitar?"
   "Right here," said Raptaur and pulled her instrument out from under one of the cocoons.
   "Perfect!" said Rivqua. "Now, all we need are some special effects! Like say, how about lasers? Must have a laser lying around somewhere."
   "What are you talking about?"
   "We're going to get off this giant cube and we're going to have us a rock show doing it! Only it won't be us on a stage. It'll be us moving. Running more like. Running like anything."
   The dinosaur sucked on the last of the chicken-leg bones like it was a lollipop and stared at the two girls like they'd popped out of their senses.
   He shrugged and stood up.
   "Come right this way, ladies."
   Less than one hour later they were back in the Cave of Draperies, working on bits of gadgetry.
   "This is some warehouse you got, Raptaur," Zana said. "Just look at all this cool stuff!"
   "It's surplus equipment," the dinosaur replied. "Military type stuff from the old days. There's everything from uniforms and furniture to radars and intercoms down here. No big weapons though."
   "This sonic blaster will do fine," Rivqua said. "Sounds just like a bass drum. A slappy, wet thump. Knocks you right in the chest. Listen."
   She pulled the slide and pressed the stock to her shoulder. The device looked like a shotgun but instead of two barrels it had what looked like two huge engine silencers, the size of waste paper baskets. On the front ends were strong loudspeakers.
   She fired through a gap in the draperies. A small dry thud. Half a second later a loud smacking thump hit something out in the warehouse that fell over with a big crash. Rivqua put a hand to her mouth.
   Raptaur chuckled and crossed his hands over his big tummy. "Don't worry about it, it's on the house. What have you got, Miss Zana?"
   "I mounted this laser cutter to my guitar. Every time I play a chord it fires. Check it out." She aimed the guitar neck out between the curtain folds and ran her pick over the strings. A fine power chord rang out, along with a sizzling red beam that shot out from the oblong device she'd attached to the head. It burned a hole through a piece of sheet metal up on a shelf.
   "Try getting that out of an effects pedal!" said Zana, tweaking the guitar's tuning.
   "I always wondered what to do with that shapeless piece," Raptaur said. "Now it's got a hole for a nail, I think I'll hang it up."
   "We're ready, let's do it," said Rivqua, "And you're coming with us, Raptaur. You saved our lives."
   The dinosaur's smile faded and he became serious. Regretful even.
   "Unfortunately, I think I've ended it for all of us. This is a place full of robotic evil. The whole of Anti-X is one big, artificial monster! I've reached the end. And now I've brought you two down with me!" Raptaur dropped his face into his hands. "Perhaps you'd have stood a better chance staying in suspended animation!"
   "Nonsense!" said Zana, slapping his shoulder. "We're getting outta here, the three of us! You know the way around this place. We want hangar bay twelve. You know where it is. So come on, let's get moving! And bring that crazy herbal tea with you."
   He thought for a moment, hissing and struggling with his own courage it seemed, trying to muster it up.
   Then he stood to his feet and began to load his tool belt and shoulder straps and boots with all sorts of guns and ammunition until he looked like a tank with legs.
   "So be it. Let's get moving!"
   The elevator doors slid shut and jerked upwards. Raptaur turned to the girls. "We have two more elevator rides and a couple of walks, one of them long, to get to bay twelve."
   "Right, and anywhere in between we could run into gunheads," Rivqua said.
   "Right."
   They were right. The doors slid open and there stood two gunheads. The doors hadn't even stopped moving before the Blonde Plutoz reacted. An open E chord and a red flash rocked the elevator car.
   Sparks and smoke rose out of a sudden burning hole in the middle of the left one. "Major malfunc--" is as far as the pot-shaped robot got before its circuits died.
   A sonic smack hit the other one. Its gun turret flew off, hit the ceiling and clanged to the floor with a tinny bounce. The gunhead stopped in its tracks without a word.
   Raptaur led the way onwards through the passage. They were running now, eyes alert and darting in every direction. They reached the next elevator just as it arrived.
   A quick dash to hide behind a corner.
   Out of the elevator came a group of robot engineers carrying on a loud argument. They shuffled off in the other direction, their little wheels squeaking. Raptaur and the Blonde Plutoz jumped in the empty elevator and headed up. Next would be a tricky bit, Raptaur warned.
   It turned out to be another of those slow-curving passages that threw off one's sense of direction. Rivqua kept looking back to get an idea of how many degrees they were actually turning.
   "It opens up to a larger area down here," said Raptaur glancing back at them.
   He shouldn't have done that. All of a sudden the 'zap!' of a laser blast rang out and Raptaur jolted. He'd been hit in the back. The dinosaur sank to his knees, shock on his face.
   "Raptaur!" Zana cried in horror. Ducking low, the girls dragged his heavy bulk out of the firing line and leaned him up against a pillar. Zana knelt by him. Another laser blast struck the steelwork above their heads, zinging with sparks.
   Rivqua pressed against the wall, tried to see where the firing came from. She fired a chance shot. The bass drum kick thudded into a far wall. Rivqua heard metal feet clattering on the hard floor. A chorus of mad laughter echoed down the passage...

Stay tuned for Part 8 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!