Page 92 of Stars in Halo

There was a brief pause as Zoran consulted with his crew. ‘We’re good to go. You down the sentinels on watch; we’re prepared to come in for the hostages and take them to the extraction point as soon as you ping us.’

Xion was crouched in a corridor close to the holding cell.

His meta vision allowed him to see through the defensive wall barrier, where the captives lay on the floor, asleep on a row of thin mattresses. His heart ached for them, for all the pain they had been put through.

He extracted a small device from his hip and pushed it along the floor.

Its metanoids deactivated the shield and rolled to the centre of the lockup.

It released its vapour with a hiss, and he observed as, one by one, the group inside slumped into even deeper sleep.

Now for the ALMQ gendarmes.

Oblivious to the action behind them, the pair tasked to watch over the holding cell were glued to a holo screen, watching a sports game.

With a smirk, Xion pulled out his stun laser, ready to take the duo down.

That was when a mighty kick hit him in the back.

An imperial ALMQ guard had sneaked up on him.

Xion stumbled, stopped himself and pivoted on his feet.

His eyes landed on a colossal giant of an Iccythrian sentinel, face in a snarl, eyes wild, almost feral in his energy.

‘Who the fokk are you?’ he sneered and rushed for Xion.

By then, both guards on duty had whirled around in their chairs and were leaping up to join the fray.

Switching to high-velocity mode, Xion turned and painted them with laser fire.

They fell as he charged, turning his weapon on his now lone assaulter as the man swung a forceful right hook.

Xion met him with his dominant fist, but his punch was faster and landed hard on the man’s face.

However, the ALMQ gendarme took the blow while wrenching Xion’s laser from him, flinging it out of reach.

He spat out blood before grabbing Xion and throwing him to the ground with such force that a cloud of dust rose around them.

Xion rolled away, gasping for breath as he narrowly avoided getting crushed by the ALMQ guard’s heavy boots.

In the nick of time, he spotted the DKRT infil crew running past the incapacitated guards and into the cell where the hostages were being held.

Using his accelerated speed, Xion leapt to his feet and lunged towards the ALMQ guard so quick he was a blur.

He swung a left punch at his opponent’s stomach, followed by a solid right jab that ripped open the guard’s ear, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

Confused by how fast this fight was taking place, the sentinel charged again, landing two blows to Xion’s head. But the Rider dodged with speedy artfulness.

The royal guard tried to push forward and overpower Xion with sheer strength, but The Rider rapidly shifted tactics.

He missed a right punch but used its momentum to grab onto the guard’s jugular and throat with one arm while securing his wrist with the other hand. He threw himself backwards to break the man’s neck, but the gendarme countered by flinging down and to the side, breaking free from Xion’s hold.

As they rolled on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand, Xion’s assailant lunged forward with a strong kick aimed at Xion’s head.

Xion managed to roll out of the way and then launched at the guard’s remaining standing leg, taking him down.

Amid their struggle, Xion slugged a fast left and right hook that ruptured his opponent’s cheek and mashed his lips.

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