Monologue

: a long speech monopolizing conversation

// I stifled a yawn as she continued her monologue about her vacation experiences.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monologue

The horizon swirled round in a clockwise direction as I came up on the back of the Viper, greeted by its thrusters. The pulse lasers pounded off the shield bubble protecting my quarry.

“Target Shields, Offline.” The eccentric voice of Suo Gân’s COVAS smoothly explained.

Switching fire groups, I squeezed on the pinkie trigger and the auto cannons began stuttering their rapid rattle.  Converted into small explosions on the Viper’s hull, the incendiary rounds started to inflict major damage.  In some evading countering manoeuvre, the Viper rolled then pivoted making a run back towards me, lasers flaring all around.

I peeled off starboard and continued till I had full view of the Viper’s belly where I opened up the auto cannon again, strafing rounds into the exposed hull. She turned away from the attack, in doing so the stream of lead tore off the rear port engine.

The Viper entered an uncontrolled descent, weaving and barreling as it plummeted to the planet’s surface below.

“Frameshift charge detected” the COVAS indicated; I would have to let Kuzyk get away, for now. I needed to confirm Ruiz was dead or finish her off.

Smoke billowed from a small settlement not far from our aerial engagement, that must have been where she came down. I took the Suo Gân down to the surface for a closer look. One of the smaller buildings on the outskirts of the settlement was on fire, part of the Viper lodged in its walls. There appeared to be a small number of inhabitants running about in panic as small arms fire rattled through the air.

I set down on a slope overlooking the outpost and took the SRV and circled the collection of structures before parking at the opposite side to my ship. If she seen me landing hopefully by then traveling to the other side of the camp I might take her by surprise.

I drew my sidearm and followed the raised concrete platform that led from the unmarked buildings at the rear of the settlement to main command building, flanked to the left by the power structure and stores to the right.  The doors to the command building we open, the lights inside, off. Through distant doorways I could see fire, emergency lighting and the defining noise of the emergency alarms spilled from the empty corridors.

A flash of pink light and the streak from a plasma round rang past my head, I had forgotten the old Earth proverb “Doors and corners”. Looking down the sights of the Manticore pistol I gave chase hugging the wall and carful to watch the end of the corridor where it turned sharply to the left.  

Edging round the corner was Ruiz trying to overload the door’s locking mechanism at the end of the corridor. She raised her arm and fired off another shot in haste, but this time I had Ruiz in my sights so I lett off two rounds. The first slammed into the opening door before the second lodged into her left shoulder as she turned to escape.

The doorway led to a small clearing surrounded by smaller storage buildings and concrete barriers shielding a walkway.

Carefully I edged my way out of the doorway, she saw me first. The shot went through my left shoulder, breaking my aim and sending my shot low and through her abdomen. Ruiz collapsed against the concreate barricade, doubling over as she let out a searing groan. With my pistol trained on her, I slowly approached and pushed her with my foot into a sitting position.

Looking at her blinking communicator she broke a smile and through gritted bloody teeth forced a cackle and threatened, “You will never get off this rock alive”.

I raised the pistol to Ruiz’ remolock visor.

She inhaled as if to take a breath before some monologue, probably about how I had messed with the wrong people, how they would hunt me to the edge of the galaxy, how I’d forever be watching my back.

The thwack from my plasma round reverberated. ..

There was no monologue.