02-04-2012, 03:10 AM
Planet Denver, a long time ago...
"SLEDGE!!! Come and eat!
Mrs. Ammer preferred to cook dinner the old fashioned way. The nano-assembler could make a steak as well as it could make a foil gear, but even though it's molecular makeup was the identical to the real thing, it just never tasted right.
Dinner at the Ammer house was always a family event. It was the one time of the day that the whole family got together. It was a good time for Sledge. He loved his mother and baby sister, but his dad was his hero.
Mr. Ammer worked for [LAW] as a special operative. There were times that he was away for weeks at a time on some special undercover assignment. When he came back Sledge would go sit with him as he unwound. Sledge would never say anything about his dads job, he'd just listen. Sometimes his dad would sit for hours without saying anything. Sometimes he'd cry silently to himself. Always afterword though, he'd have a few words of wisdom, "Crooks are like snot, Sledgie. They are nasty and slippery. If you ever have to deal with them, make sure you kill them twice because once ain't enough."
Today was a good day. Everyone was in a happy mood, and there were some good steaks steaming on the table. Mrs. Ammer had just passed them out and was dishing out some good ole mashed potatoes (a gift from Mr. Barnes next door). Outside came the sound of gravbrakes and a liftcar stopping. Nobody thought much about it, but Sledge noticed his dad's head tilt slightly to one side as though listening closely. His hand slowly and quietly dropped below the edge of the table. Only Sledge knew what was inside the box bolted to the underside of the table there.
The quiet was interrupted by the sounds of boots thudding up the steps. More than one pair, Sledge thought to himself. Suddenly his dad shouted, "EVERYONE GET DOWN!!"
As Sledge dropped from his chair, the door to the home was kicked in. A large man in black coveralls jumped into the room, followed by another dressed the same. Both men carried guass blasters and immediately opened fire.
"FILTHY CORSAIRS!!", Mr. Ammer screamed as he brought up his auto-roto. He squeezed the trigger and sprayed the far side of the room as gauss slugs pounded into his chest. The sound was sickening. Mixed with the sound of the blasters and the auto-roto it created a harmony of death.
Slugs and roto blades crashed throughout the room for several seconds before finally there was silence. Sledge lifted his head and looked around. The men in black coveralls were both dead. The auto-roto's will is final. He looked to where his dad lay and gasped in horror. His father had been torn apart by the gauss slugs. He was dead.
There was a gurgling gasp from the other side of the table. Sledge scrambled through the broken glass and body parts to where his mother lay broken. He lifted her head as she gurgled blood and choked for air. "Momma!" he cried as he cradled her head.
"Sledge," Mrs. Ammer focused on her son, "take...care of...your sister Sledge...don't let anything... happen to her."
Sledge nodded as tears streamed down his face. He tried to wipe the blood from her mouth, but it kept coming, "I will momma, I promise."
The sound of distant sirens mixed with his baby sister's screams as he looked over at the emblems on the shoulders of the two dead men. "I will momma, I promise." he said again with a steely resolve in his voice, "I promise."
"SLEDGE!!! Come and eat!
Mrs. Ammer preferred to cook dinner the old fashioned way. The nano-assembler could make a steak as well as it could make a foil gear, but even though it's molecular makeup was the identical to the real thing, it just never tasted right.
Dinner at the Ammer house was always a family event. It was the one time of the day that the whole family got together. It was a good time for Sledge. He loved his mother and baby sister, but his dad was his hero.
Mr. Ammer worked for [LAW] as a special operative. There were times that he was away for weeks at a time on some special undercover assignment. When he came back Sledge would go sit with him as he unwound. Sledge would never say anything about his dads job, he'd just listen. Sometimes his dad would sit for hours without saying anything. Sometimes he'd cry silently to himself. Always afterword though, he'd have a few words of wisdom, "Crooks are like snot, Sledgie. They are nasty and slippery. If you ever have to deal with them, make sure you kill them twice because once ain't enough."
Today was a good day. Everyone was in a happy mood, and there were some good steaks steaming on the table. Mrs. Ammer had just passed them out and was dishing out some good ole mashed potatoes (a gift from Mr. Barnes next door). Outside came the sound of gravbrakes and a liftcar stopping. Nobody thought much about it, but Sledge noticed his dad's head tilt slightly to one side as though listening closely. His hand slowly and quietly dropped below the edge of the table. Only Sledge knew what was inside the box bolted to the underside of the table there.
The quiet was interrupted by the sounds of boots thudding up the steps. More than one pair, Sledge thought to himself. Suddenly his dad shouted, "EVERYONE GET DOWN!!"
As Sledge dropped from his chair, the door to the home was kicked in. A large man in black coveralls jumped into the room, followed by another dressed the same. Both men carried guass blasters and immediately opened fire.
"FILTHY CORSAIRS!!", Mr. Ammer screamed as he brought up his auto-roto. He squeezed the trigger and sprayed the far side of the room as gauss slugs pounded into his chest. The sound was sickening. Mixed with the sound of the blasters and the auto-roto it created a harmony of death.
Slugs and roto blades crashed throughout the room for several seconds before finally there was silence. Sledge lifted his head and looked around. The men in black coveralls were both dead. The auto-roto's will is final. He looked to where his dad lay and gasped in horror. His father had been torn apart by the gauss slugs. He was dead.
There was a gurgling gasp from the other side of the table. Sledge scrambled through the broken glass and body parts to where his mother lay broken. He lifted her head as she gurgled blood and choked for air. "Momma!" he cried as he cradled her head.
"Sledge," Mrs. Ammer focused on her son, "take...care of...your sister Sledge...don't let anything... happen to her."
Sledge nodded as tears streamed down his face. He tried to wipe the blood from her mouth, but it kept coming, "I will momma, I promise."
The sound of distant sirens mixed with his baby sister's screams as he looked over at the emblems on the shoulders of the two dead men. "I will momma, I promise." he said again with a steely resolve in his voice, "I promise."