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Some of the landing-party rushed to it. Four went in. There were the reports of blast-rifles. Smoke and the smell of burnt insulation drifted out. Others of the magically arrived men went methodically down the street, examining each ground-car in turn. One of them cupped his hands and bellowed for the information of alarmed citizens: "Attention, please! We're from the pirate ship Isis.
He could have killed him ten times over, but it was more desirable to open communication. So he missed, intentionally. Maril had cried out that she came from Dara and had word for them, but they did not answer. There were three men with heavy-duty blast-rifles. One was the one Calhoun had burned out of his hiding-place. That man's rifle exploded when the flames hit it. Two remained.
Then he opened the exit-port, and faced armed men in the darkness, with blast-rifles trained on him. There was a portable cannon trained on the Med Ship itself. "Come out!" rasped a voice. "If you try anything you get blasted! Your ship and its contents are seized by the planetary government!" It seemed that the smell of hunger was in the air. The armed men were cadaverous.
There were three men with heavy-duty blast-rifles. One was the one Calhoun had burned out of his hiding place. That man's rifle exploded when the flames hit it. Two remained. One, so Calhoun presently discovered was working his way behind underbrush to a shelf from which he could shoot down at Calhoun. Calhoun had dropped into a hollow and pulled Maril to cover at the first shot.
A Med Ship man was not ever expected to fight, but there were blast-rifles available for extreme emergency. When he'd slung a power-pack over his shoulder and reached the airlock, there was still no sign of his late stowaway. He stood in the airlock door for long minutes, staring angrily about. Almost certainly she wouldn't be looking in the mountains for men of Dara come here for cattle.
Then he opened the exit port and faced armed men in the darkness, with blast-rifles trained on him. There was a portable cannon trained on the Med Ship itself. "Come out!" rasped a voice. "If you try anything you get blasted! Your ship and its contents are seized by the planetary government!" It seemed that the smell of hunger was in the air. The armed men were emaciated.
Evidently, these men had had no training in battle tactics with blast-rifles. The third man also had to get away. He did. But something from him arched through the smoke. It fell to the ground directly upwind from Calhoun. White smoke puffed up violently. It was instinct that made Calhoun react as he did. He jerked the girl Maril to her feet and rushed her toward the Med Ship.
Murgatroyd and I are having coffee. Will you come back, please?" He repeated the call, and repeated it again. Multiplied as his voice was by the speakers, she should hear him within a mile. She did not appear. He went to a small and inconspicuous closet and armed himself. A Med Ship man was not ever expected to fight, but there were blast-rifles available for extreme emergency.
So while a ship the size of the Isis could and did carry enough confined hellfire in its missile warheads to destroy an area hundreds of miles across, the occupation troops of Mekin could not use such weapons. They needed blast-rifles for minor threats and artillery for selective destruction.
That man moved through thick undergrowth, and Calhoun set it on fire in a neat pattern of spreading flames. Evidently, these men had had no training in battle-tactics with blast-rifles. The third man also had to get away. He did. But something from him arched through the smoke. It fell to the ground directly upwind from Calhoun. White smoke puffed up violently.
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