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SUMMARY: A raid goes wrong, and Stryler is on the run again. http://stellardust.blogspot.com/ for the rest of the story.

The Anomaly sped back into the Korbel region and was able to pick up a liner on its way home as it prepared to go plus-c. Stryler joined the boarding team reluctantly, suited up in his armor yet again. As they arrived at the dockway he was surprised by the presence of Captain Loramy in full armor. So far Loramy had taken a back seat in all their raids but this time it appeared he intended to in. The rest of the crew seemed a little edgy about this, but not too surprised, so Stryler assumed it was fairly common.

"Ok guys, let's go," Loramy ordered and the men responded by beginning to board the elevators that led down to the liner, weapons at the ready.

Aboard the liner things didn't go as well as they'd hoped. News of their raids had spread and the authorities had by now recommended that passenger traffic in the Korbel region be kept to an absolute minimum until the situation improved. Aboard the unfortunate liner they found a full crew but barely fifty passengers.

Loramy barked orders with increasing frustration and anger as the pirates scrambled to separate the liner's crew from the passengers, moving the later into a dining room. Stryler ended up on passenger duty again. Loramy was off dealing with the crew as two of the pirates set up with their handlinks and started taking payments one by one from the few passengers. Most of them were younger middle class families, far from the sort of people you would go after for the big bucks.

Indeed the family members coming forwards were offering payments of no more than a few thousand creds each. There was no way they were going to make what Loramy was after on this raid unless the crew or the liner company kicked in again. As Stryler watched a couple argue over whether or not they should go forwards and pay the pirates and if so how much, Loramy entered the room flanked by two of the Anomaly's crew.

"So how are we doing in here?" He growled behind his visor as he walked over to the two men strongarming the passengers.

"Seventy-five thousand so far, sir," one of them ansered.

Loramy turned to face the cowering passengers. "Not good enough. Who's next?"

There was some stirring amongst the passengers, but no one moved.

Stryler watched as Loramy brought his rifle up, expecting the captain to make a more aggressive threat.

Loramy fired instead. His rifle was on full, and the blast caught a woman, throwing her back into the crowd in a spray of blood as her belly was torn open. There were screams. Loramy fired again, and again. People began to run madly for the doors, which they found to be locked. The rest of the pirates watched as Loramy fired into the small crowd indiscriminately. A small boy was flung against the wall, his head crushed by a force beam.

Stryler wanted to react, but it felt like he was made of lead. "Stop it!" he heard himself howl.

Loramy ignored him, still firing, force beams drilling into the mass of passengers as the first of them made it out of the room through the doors they'd managed to open manually.