The Goblin Adventures

Space Marines 6

The canister clattered and bumped, diddled and thumped down the vent. The sound got quieter. Then, after a few seconds, the sound got louder until a crab bot leapt out of the vent carrying the heavily smoking canister.

  “I thought that would be too young to smoke,” coughed Bop.

  “Cough, cough,” coughed Bip, “we need to get out of here, pick your pulse weapon up.”

  As Bop picked up his weapon he got another big jolt which threw him to the floor again. The crab bot sat on his chest and as he tried to get up it gave him a minor electric shock. “Shoot the thing Bip,” he cried as it shocked him again.

  “I can’t, it’s too close to you, if I hit it it might explode on you and you’ll have no chest.”

  “D…d…do sss…sssomething,” said the yet again shocked Bop.

  Bip picked up a rock and hurled it at the crab bot, who moved just before it hit. Instead the rock hit Bop on the head, “Owww, you’re supposed to kill IT not ME!”

A waft of smoke blew over Bop. Bip tried to fan it away then bashed the crab bot off Bop’s chest.

  “Arrgh!” Bop cried, “it was still attached.”

  “Big baby,” said Bip, “you’re supposed to be a goblin space marine, ‘Brave and tough we’re good and rough’ is the motto of the 440th.”

  “I feel good and roughed up at the moment.”

  “Pull yourself together man.”

  “I’m not a pair of curtains.”

  “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”

  “That’s a paradox.”

  “Get a grip.”

  “What of?”

  “Your pulse weapon to begin with, it’s not near the electric field anymore.”

  “Are we going to chuck another one down the vent?”

  “Naw, they’ve probably got an army of those crab things and we’ve only got two more smoke grenades.”

  As he said that they both heard a lot more banging and rattling from the vent than they had heard before.”

  “Run,” cried Bip. So they both ran towards the listening outposts main door as an army of crab bots started to spill from the vent.

  Sergeant Grimly spoke through the comm system, “What’s going on with you two? All I can make out is that you two are being attacked by what appears to be an army of crab bots.”

  “Yes sir,” replied Bip, “and they’re coming your way.”

  “Why are they coming my way?”

  “They are following us.”

  “Well that’s not good enough, lead them away.”

  “But Sir, they are fast and if they overtake us there are too many for us to fight. They will overwhelm us and kill us.”

  “You’re only clones aren’t you? If need be die with honour.”

  “But Sir…”

  “That’s an order. Over and out. By the way switch your comms off, I don’t want to hear your death screams. That’s also an order.”

  “Yes sir,” cried Bip in a mock American soldier’s  accent. He looked back at Bop as he turned off his comm. Signalling to follow him he pointed the way back to the ship. All the while they were being chased by the crab bot army.