Waters of the Moon

      Trapped against the south wall, Grey was taking no more chances with malfunctioning machines.  He drew his sidearm and blasted the nearest securatron, putting a full power pulse through the forward sensory screen.  Blinded, the security unit crossed in front of the other unit and they became entangled. 

      Grey changed position and fired at the second unit, scoring a minor hit on the shell casing.  The security unit backed away for clearance and returned fire, but Grey shifted into the unit's weak flank and ripped a disabling shot into the electrical system.  As the security unit shorted to a halt, the other withdrew and issued a priority assistance signal.

      "Treachery!" the Security Computer roared when the report was confirmed, immediately adding Grey to the list of approved targets.

      As lingering on the storage level would only invite more trouble, Grey ran for the cargo tunnel, hopes of armor, weapons and oxygen improving as he got closer to the ramp, but before he'd gotten halfway across the floor area, a seeker came into view powering forward on three-quarter thrusters.  Reluctantly, Grey was forced to stand and fight.

      The seeker closed rapidly, apparently unafraid of a human without a shield, but Grey made the unit regret the rash attack, leading well and scoring a hit on the left stabilizer.  As the seeker veered off, he recognized Beta's markings and his confidence soared. 

      Beta came to a hover in the far corner and calculated compensating factors before beginning another run.  Grey backed away from the diving seeker until the range was right, set his blaster on wide beam, and laid down a burst across Beta's path, then another into the most likely course change.  He guessed correctly, disrupting the attack run and scoring a direct hit as Beta passed. 

      Trailing sparks, the seeker was forced to drop low and negotiate the turn along the wall slowly.  Grey saw the seeker's vulnerability and wondered if he should attempt pursuit, but before he had the opportunity, a second seeker appeared.

      "Hell's planet!" Grey cursed under his breath, any chance of reaching the tunnel or retreating to the elevator shaft quickly disappearing as the new threat came directly at him.  About to be caught in a cross fire, Grey ran in the opposite direction and dove behind a row of cylindrical storage containers stacked against the south wall. 

      The seekers quickly closed in, first searching for him on visual, then switching to heat sensors.  Soon they began blasting the containers apart, tearing through the first row to get at their target.  Grey moved back against the wall and tried to hold them off, but they circled around and began digging through the containers from both sides.

      Running out of space, Grey crawled into a niche and checked his resources.  Laser strength was low.  Battery power weak, retarding his oxygen reformer.  Loss of atmosphere hinted at a slow leak.  Then a seeker blast sprayed shards of broken containers into Grey's position.

      Grey sat up and returned fire, scoring a lucky hit on the newer seeker as it was hovering, but rather than retreat as Beta might have done, the seeker quickly stabilized and looped around to pick up speed, charging into the row of containers with fresh energy. 

      First one, then several shelves collapsed, pinning Grey in the niche.  He felt pain shoot through his legs and pushed himself free, then crawled forward under a bent storage frame.  When Beta dropped low to get a clear shot at him, Grey fired his last full charge, stinging the seeker's forward sensor.  Then, from a direction he couldn't see, a blast ripped through the containers on the bent frame.  Another tore up the wall behind him, raining down chunks of ceramic wall support. 

      Grey knew the fight was over.  The air in his suit was growing stale.  His feet felt distinctly cool.  He tried to huddle deeper under the frame but failed, his body half buried in debris.  The seekers paused, but only for a moment, waiting for the dust to settle before finishing the assault. 

      Suddenly commotion