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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1832913" data-attributes="member: 6294">"Space Tomb" - Part 14At the last moment, Fury's eyes snap open.S'Ondra rears back with a growl of surprise.The Captain smiles,"Sorry, old girl.  Dashed unsporting of me to play dead, but this is not really the time for Marquis of Queensbury rules."For the second time in a day, the Princess gets stabbed in the back with a syringe.Fury grunts as he depresses the plunger, pumping the chemical into S'Ondra's bloodstream.  It's a standard Space Force emergency ampoule, designed to anaesthetise the recipient completely, and render then unconscious for medical evacuation.  It's highly effective.Of course, no-one's ever used it on a Venusian, before.  Least of all one with a strange alien concoction already pulsing through her veins.S'Ondra screams, back arching, hands clutching her hair.  And then we see the world through her eyes.The room swims in and out of focus, a red haze overlaying it all.  White flashes sometimes blot everything out, then fade as suddenly as they came.  The shouts of those around her seem slowed, like a tape played at half speed (exactly like a tape played at half speed, in fact)."You will pay for that, old man." Xinthon's words come with the finality of thunder.  Lightning arcs from his raised hands to strike Gustav's chest.  The helpless Doctor writhes as the electricity plays over him, then slumps down in the chair, unconscious or dead."No." the word is dragged, guttural and filled with hate, from S'Ondra's throat.  Her gaze rests on the face of the laughing Xinthon, and the screen turns red as whatever other words she might say are lost in her feral scream of rage.Xinthon snaps around just in time to avoid the lunging thrust of S'Ondra's heat lance, and the gleaming Venusian weapon smashes into the computer console, causing a shower of sparks.  He can't twist aside of S'Ondra's whole body, however, and the Princess slams into him.The pair tumble to the ground as Archie moves forward, gigantic metal fists raised to strike.  Xinthon may be able to shrug off plasma and atomic energy beams, but heavy lumps of metal seem to hurt him just fine.  Archie has those in spades.With S'Ondra and Archie at his throat, and Fury staggering to his feet in the background, Xinthon finds the odds much less to his liking,"You'll pay for this, primitives!" he warns, then turns and races out of the room."Princess, wait!" Fury cautions, but S'Ondra is in no mood to listen.  With a howl of rage at her enemy's flight, she hurls herself after him.  The Captain makes to follow, but Archie calls him back."The Doctor is gravely injured." The robot's lights blink in concern, "I fear his injuries are beyond my ability to repair.""Damn that alien monster!" Fury pounds his hand on the wrecked computer console, "I'm not sure what I can do to help though, old man ... I'm no Doctor, and that's what the Doc needs."In response, Archie extends his arm, and the builder-bot scuttles out from his back, down the limb and onto his hand,"They can rebuild anything, Captain." The robot reminds Fury, "Provided they have the necessary plans.  Thus, to repair a damaged human -""- they need an undamaged one." Fury nods, and strips off the last few shreds of his shirt, "And I'm the closest we've got to one of those.  Tell the bug to get to work."</blockquote>

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