LF Friends, Will Travel

Collateral damage - Part 10

Baithe scrambled as she searched through the bundles of supplies for the needed items, pushing the pounding headache she had to one side. Murderous Raha were patrolling and swarming the research station; she would have time to be properly hungover later. Right now she needed something to fight back with, something to even the odds. A gun would be useful, but in the Terran's great wisdom they had decided to limit such supplies, lest accidents happen on the highly controlled scientific station.

"Worried statement: What are you doing? What are we doing?"

Steve was next to her, having half filled the metal containers they Scythen had been given with water, awkwardly holding them aloft on their hovering transport disk. Baithe didn't answer, simply causing another cascade of items to scatter onto the floor as she pulled out the item she needed. Pure Potassium.

While she might not have weapons, she did have a scientific mind and a room full of fun and interesting chemicals. She dropped a large handful of random bolts into one of the water filled metal containers and carried it into the hallway, setting it down and tying a piece of string to the container and stretching it across the passage. Then, carefully and slowly Baithe attached a sizable chunk of Potassium to the underside of the container's lid and started ever so gently screwing it into place.

"Worried statement: Is that what I think it is?"

A childhood of Terran media consumption, as well as browsing the Terran Galnet nodes, had given the Hatil a knowledge of things normal civilised members of the galactic society didn't know. Like how to make bombs. All they had to do was wait for any unlucky Raha to make their way through that corridor.

"Yea it is. Explosions!"

They didn't have to wait long, taking refuge in the furthest corner away from the bomb as they heard the skitter scatter of insect feet approaching. The first in line hit the trip wire, toppling the container of water over and mixing it with the Potassium.

BOOM.

The sounds of destruction and pain echoed around the corridor, Baithe waiting a few moments for the noise to die down before poking her little furred head out of the doorway. The white translucent blood of the Raha coated the walls, along with scatterings of carapace and other associated gore. Large gouges in the wall showed where pieces of metal had gone flying at a very high velocity, turning the group of three Raha into swiss cheese.

The Hatil ignored the one remaining Raha who lay clicking erratically on the ground as she took the time to retrieve the guns each of the ex-assailants had been using, taking a moment to hand one over to Steve, expectantly waiting for the Scythen to take it from her, who instead just flashed a series of annoyed colours.

"Annoyed statement: Really?"

The Hatil gave a shrug, tossing the declined weapon to the side.

"Was worth a shot. Maybe your pacifistic religion thing had an emergency clause for being invaded."

"Sarcastic clarification: It does not".

Baithe started instead piling the supplies she had gathered into the disk Steve was floating on, forcing the bundle of tentacles to compress themselves as tightly as possible

"Well if you're not shooting you can carry around the supplies!"

"Unconvinced statement: The bomb making supplies?"

The Hatil took a moment to hold a paw up to correct her friend and coworker.

"No, right now they're normal supplies, until I put them together into explosives, upon which they become bomb making supplies. Perfect loophole!"