The Desert is Cold in the Dark [Dark Data]

[Jim Raynor]

Jim barrelled towards the smoking chassis, leaving the thin man to handle two of the ugly monsters on his own. The monkey kid fell in behind, placing himself between Raynor's marine armour and the three bandits. Bullets sang past them, some clanging against his metal shell, others spurting sand as they slammed at their feet.
 
"What are those things?" the monkey boy said. "The angry hornet things?"
 
"Bullets?" Jim said.
 
"Do they sting?"
 
"More than a hornet, that's for sure."
 
"Ooh. I'll make sure I'll dodge them then."
 
Jim chuckled and thrust his left forearm forward. "You do that and I'll be mighty impressed."
 
A slit opened and metallic segments rolled out of Jim's forearm. They clinked as they rolled down and climbed up until they covered most of Raynor's front, then shuttered into place. Bullets pelted into his arm mounted shield, tinging like a heavy rain drops on a tin roof. Lifting the Impaler rifle with one arm was tricky, but he balanced it close to the edge of his shield and peered through the thin porthole. Firing it would be another matter; the recoil on the weapon could dislocate a man's shoulder when not wearing the marine suit and using it without two hands would at least make his shots less accurate.
 
Jim kneeled and took aim. The three masked marauders ducked behind the flaming chassis of their destroyed vehicle, leaning over and around it to launch volleys of lead. Taking sight as best he could as his shield shuddered from constant impacts, Jim squeezed the trigger and fired a burst of bullets. Two of the three spikes jutted into the blackened hood and the other sped off into the sky. Raynor drew his weapon level with his targets again and shot with similar results. He grunted.
 
"Dammit. Firin' this with one hand ain't gonna work." The bullets kept on coming, and the terran commander knew his shield wouldn't hold out forever.
 
"Let me have a try," Sun Ogong said, clambering onto Jim's rounded shoulder. He glanced over the top lip of the shield, sized up his targets, and quickly ducked down again.
 
"You gonna light your hand on fire again? Might be a good idea."
 
"Oh yeah!" The monkey kid brought flames to his skin and hurled them over the shield. The fireball detonated just short of one of their attackers, missing him but the resulting shockwave knocked him over. A thin shroud of sandy dust settled over the area, making it difficult for the marauders to see. Though if they couldn't see the big rectangular sheet of metal through the haze, they were pretty useless.
 
"Ah!" Ogong chirped. "It's really hard to aim when all those ... bullets? come whizzing at me."
 
"I've seen my fair share of bullets and it don't get any easier," Jim said.
 
A bullet tore a shred of neosteel from the side edge of the shield. Jim winced. He didn't expect it start breaking down so soon.
 
"For cryin' out loud, how many clips do they have with them? This Omniverse better not have endless bullet dispensin' guns or some shit."
 
Sun Ogong tossed another flaming orb at their aggressors, though his timid aim sent the attack far to the right of its intended target. "What are we going to do?"
 
"I can only think of one thing," Raynor said, his arm tiring from the endless hammering of bullets on his shield. "But I can't do it with one arm. I need your help."
 
Sun Ogong seemed to perk up at the request. "What do you need me to do?"
 
Jim moved his rifle behind the shield. "See that little bit'a metal stickin' out the side of the gun there?"
 
"No."
 
"Just there."
 
"I don't see it."
 
"How do you not see it? It's just that metal bit right there!"
 
"Which bit? It's all metal!"
 
"C'mon kid!" Jim tapped the protruding tab against his visor with enough force to almost crack it. "There! See it?"
 
"Oh, that! Yes, I see it!"
 
"Pull it towards me, then hit the little red button that it reveals."
 
"OK ..." Ogong descended down Raynor's armoured chest and stood by the rifle. Jim watched as the monkey boy pinched the metal tab and slid it backwards. A small compartment opened up, housing the little red button.
 
"Quick, push it!"
 
Ogong clicked it in and a stout cylindrical chamber lowered from the base of the weapon.
 
"What's that?" the monkey boy asked.
 
"My own version of a fireball."
 
Jim tilted the Impaler rifle skyward at an angle and pulled the trigger. A grenade popped out of the new chamber and sailed over the shield. Their vagabond foes seemed to recognise the incoming projectile, as they scrambled further back from their smouldering cover. Fire and smoke raged as the grenade tore itself apart, the force rattling the worn shield and travelling into Jim's bones.
 
The shield fell to pieces as Raynor stood up, gripping his rifle in both hands. He edged around the blackened car frame, searching for his dead foes, but found nothing.
 
"No blood, no bodies ... where'd they-"
 
The three bandits burst from behind a dune, screaming and ranting as they charged Jim and Ogong.
 
"Ah. There they are."