Erik was limbering up when he heard one of the guys around the corner start to complain. "Man, Why are we guarding an empty hall in the middle of nowhere? The way I hear it, there's a lot more action to be had on the upper decks!"

Another guy in a more gruff-sounding voice answered. "Well, the janitors will be happy to hear you're volunteering to help them out after we get done here!"

The first guy didn't seem too happy with that answer. "Awww, comon! We got these nice new suits, and I just wanna see what they can do! That's all!"

Having properly loosened up, Erik stepped around the corner, knowing Vanessa would be positioning herself to take advantage of the Chaos that was about to ensue. "Hey, I've got good news for ya! Cleaning the toilets is about to be the least of your problems!"

Erik charged in, throwing an axe into the face of the one pirate who was a little quicker on the draw than the rest as they raised their guns in his direction, but they were too slow due to being unprepared and distracted. If they'd had any sort of proper training or discipline, that probably would have been the end of the fight, but these were just your standard pirates in slightly better gear, and Erik knew how to fight those just fine.

One down, six to go. Now, in the midst of the enemy, Erik used his axes defensively as well as offensively, hooking the edge around the pirate's gun barrels and controlling the angle at which they could be fired. The biggest strength of these guns was also their biggest weakness. They were designed for ranged combat but so unwieldy that they were utterly ineffective in close confines. Sure enough, one idiot was so overeager that he pulled the trigger anyway, sending his ally crashing to the ground.

Erik then used the leverage his axes provided to rip the gun out of the pirate's hands, bashing it against the chin of the suit in the process. Having his assumption that in that suit he was unstoppable challenged, the pirate hesitated for the split second he had to act. By the time he jerked into motion, reaching for his smaller sidearm, Erik's Axe was already cleaving through the suit's neck, ending his involvement in the fight.

The rest of the squad weren't quite so stupid, with two backing up to give themselves a bit of distance to shoot and the other two reaching for their own melee weapons, basically chainsaw daggers designed to cut through powered armor.

Erik rushed toward the closest one, parrying the high swipe toward his head with one axe and dropping the other to free his hand to address the real threat. He then pinned the pirate's other hand, now holding the pistol he'd intended to shoot Erik with while he was distracted with the chainsaw dagger. With all four of their limbs occupied, Erick used the last weapon he had available, slamming his forehead into the plated glass of the battlesuit's helmet while laughing like a maniac. Even though the faceplate cracked, he knew from experience it would take more time than he had to get through and cause any damage to the man inside. However, the man inside panicked and dropped his dagger to try and push Erik back, freeing his axe, which he then used to finish the job.

It was about then that his long experience and senses, honed from decades of battle in that damned arena, started to scream about a threat just behind him in his blind spot.

Whirling around swinging his axe wildly, Erik watched as the pirate easily evaded his swing, but before the man could collect himself from countering, Erick's other hand pulled one of his spare axes from his back and swung it upward, forcing the man to fall back again.

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Erick moved quickly, launching himself forward and swinging one axe after another to force the man to keep falling back. He knew full well that the man's two friends were tracking Erik's movements with their rifles to finish him off.

When the man backed himself into a wall, Erick took advantage of his momentary disorientation by swinging both axes together toward the man's midsection. At that moment, two loud gunshots of anti-armor rifles rang out less than a second apart, but Erik just ignored the sound of the gunfire, burying both axes into his opponent instead.

Erik then stepped back, taking a moment to appreciate his handiwork before ripping the axes free. As he walked over to retrieve his third axe, Vanessa approached, the anti-armor rifle she'd used to take out the other two pirates held in one remaining hand while resting the barrel on the other arm which she'd used to brace the gun while firing. A feat of strength even Erik would have been hard-pressed to replicate, but he knew from long experience that his partner was far stronger than her lighter-looking frame implied.

Having finished his work, Erik raised the transceiver. "So, how bout it? Was that quicker than the detour or not?"

The voice of the guy leading him through the station came back a little shaky. "Uh, yeah...that was pretty quick... Like, almost impossibly... Never mind that! Elias is almost through the door! Go now, or he'll get away!"

Erik and Vanessa looked at each other before turning and charging forward down the hall, running far faster than any human could hope to match.

-

Elias reached into the open panel, now full of wires he'd twisted together, and ran one exposed wire over another, finally getting the damned door open. Rather than cheer, he frowned. The sounds of combat had ended far quicker than expected. Hopefully, it had ended in his favor, but given how his luck was going, he decided it was best to assume otherwise and broke into a run.

When he was almost at his ship, he could hear the sounds of running footsteps in the hall behind him. Thankfully, long experience had taught him to leave his ship open and ready for a quick getaway, and he bounded up the ramp, slamming his hand onto the close hatch button. He was almost to the cabin when he heard a sound behind him that made him pause.

With a sinking feeling, Elias looked back, only to see a gargantuan humanoid cat/lizard...thing slip through the closing hatch at the last moment. His bony hide was covered in what looked like blood and other fluids, and he had a grin that, despite the species barrier, basically screamed, "I'm looking forward to this!"

Thinking fast, Elias realized that despite being alien, if they knew where he was, they probably knew who he was, meaning the fools would probably prefer to take him alive. That gave him options. Quickly latching onto the one plan that might get him out of this alive, he launched into action!

-

Erik made it just in time. Slipping through the hatch, he could see the man he'd been chasing realize he was there and turn around. Knowing this was the guy behind everything that had gone wrong out here, Erik couldn't help but feel a little excited, wondering what final tricks this guy would have up his sleeves. However, despite all his excitement and training, the man still managed to catch him totally by surprise as the pirate raised his hands above his head and simply said, "I surrender."

Erik frowned. "What, no last-minute ambushes or tricks? No bargaining? You're not even going to try gunning me down?"

The pirate pointedly gave Erik a once-over, keeping his hands where Erik could see them, then answered. "Well, you seem to be wearing what I can only assume are the remains of an entire squad of armored men that you took down in less time than it would take me to explain that I'm not suicidal. So no, I don't think I'll be picking a fight with you any time soon."

Erik sighed and shook his head. "Fair enough, I suppose, but you really know how to ruin a good time, you know that?"

The pirate shrugged without lowering his hands. "Well, you could always get off this ship and give me a head start. I hear the chase is half the fun."

Erik bobbed his head as if considering the proposal. "Tempting, but no. The boss wants a word with you. If you come without a fight, I guess we can skip past the part where I tear off your arm and beat you senseless with it, but don't try anything funny, or I'll reconsider that."

The pirate, probably unsure if Erik was joking or not, nodded hesitantly. "Yes... I'll be sure to be on my best behavior..."