It happened so quickly. The instant the bridge was lost in a dizzying darkness, the sound of the struggle triggered the sensory rush that is the fight or flight response. In a moment of off-the-cuff clarity provided by the acute shot of adrenalin to his nervous system, Erik did the one thing he could think of. He swung a fist. It was a long, arcing swing. He felt wind in the crevices between his fingers as his fist cut the air. His fist struck something that let out an inhuman roar and three blinding flashes of light that burned into the opposite wall. The shock of the blasts across the bridge burned a quick image of the Rostran in front of him as if a strobe light were in the room, lifting the darkness less than a second at a time. The surprise of pain in his fist shocked him, but not as badly as the crushing blow to the ribs from the Rostran that slammed his teeth together so hard they almost cracked. Breathing became temporarily impossible. Then, in what seemed to be happening in slow motion, Erik began to feel himself fall. Alsin yelled. A second voice shouted. Ulrich?
Erik saw lights again as his head hit the floor. Something warm trickled down into his eye. Is that my blood or his? Kicking and swinging as hard as he could, he pushed up against the weight that held him down, eventually knocking his assailant off of him. Erik's eyes couldn’t adjust to the blackness, so he removed the small communicator from his breast pocket. The screen’s backlight automatically engaged, casting a faint light that was just barely enough to see shadows. He saw the Rostran Leader lying next to him with his hands covering his eyes as if the darkness were noxious to him. He also saw his weapon, which had been dropped on the floor when the struggle became a fistfight. Grabbing it, Erik stood and shoved the barrel of the weapon into Leader Rostran’s chest. "Move and I will redefine your body cavity," he said.
Leader Rostran lay sprawled onto the floor with Erik standing over him. He was in pain, the type of pain a human would be that stared directly into a star. Erik held the weapon in place, daring not to give his hostage an inch. He looked around the room, making out four more silhouettes, but he couldn’t precisely tell who was who in the darkness. One silhouette was tied to a control panel via an incredibly creative and resourceful use of ancient wiring and another was on its knees at gunpoint much like the one Erik held at bay. His heartbeat felt audible to the room. He swore as he caught his breath and let his eyes adjust more. Martin Ulrich moved next to Erik like a shadow. Alsin remained in a position to compromise the third Rostran. They exchanged nervous glances through the dark. It was a given that a Rostran will overpower a human in most fights. In darkness, however, a human's eyes will adjust to the low light. A Rostran is rendered blind in such a way that the nerves from the eyes signal intense pain in the total absence of light. Erik couldn't imagine a better advantage to have in this situation. The three humans had disarmed and compromised the Rostran boarding party.
Eventually, a low rumble broke the eerie and intense silence. It was similar to the barely discernible screams and shouts Erik heard during the fight, but this seemed different. After a moment, he realized the Rostran were speaking to each other.
"What is he saying?" Erik commanded the Leader Rostran as he pressed the barrel into his chest.
No reply.
"Can I make him talk?" Ulrich asked.
"Be my guest," Erik replied as Ulrich dispatched a swift kick to the side of Leader Rostran's body. Erik winced from watching the attack. The Rostran had no way of anticipating it. To Erik, it felt cheap. But it worked.
“You can’t hold us aboard your ship like this,” his flat, electronic, English-speaking voice responded.
“What I can do might surprise you, so yes, I can. I am sure your superiors understand," Erik said.
“Then tell them. Tell them you hold us on board," he said. More rumbles back and forth. It sounded to Erik as if the three were arguing. It was unfortunate that only one seemed to have the ability to communicate with him.
