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       .*              *                                              \   /\
     .* O . .   ..   ..O  ..    343            24 Apr 2001             ) ( ')
   .*   O O* o o  o o  o o  o                                         (  / )
  *  ***O O  O O  O O  O O  O                                          \( _)|
 *      O o  o.*..o.*..o.*..o. .net            "Paranoid"                   *
 *      O                                                                   *
  *.    o   |\      _,,,---,,_                                              *
       *    /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                                          *
      *    |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-'              by Res                     *
      *   '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                                      *mE0w*  o
       *.                           .......................................*
         'Anada is cat-friendly..o*`       

        Vernon edged down the corridor.  There was something here he was sure
 of it.  His Bio-scanner hadn't detected anything.  But he was sure it was
 here.  He held his gun in a tight grasp, counting on it to save his life.
 The corridor lights flickered, as the main generator struggled to come back
 online.  Whatever had hit them, had hit them hard.  Vernon hearing something
 scuttling around, pointed his gun in the direction of the sound.  As the
 attached Bio-scanner fed back its results, he crouched down in nervous
 anticipation.  Suddenly the scanner clicked, indicating it had finished its
 readings.  The man tightened his grasp as he saw the results.  Then letting
 out a sigh, he relaxed a little, he'd heard a rat.  Thanking God for the
 small mercy that the rest of the crew wasn't present he carried on towards
 the engineering deck.

	As Vernon crawled through the access tube, he could feel himself
 sweating, raising his arm he wiped his face clean.  Checking the scanner
 indicated he was directly above the engine.  He only had to travel just over
 40 metres before he was above the engineering deck.  Hearing a hiss, he came
 to a stop.  De-holstering his pistol, he started its activation cycle.  For
 the next minute he sat patiently, listening to his breath.  When the weapon
 confirmed it had fully charged he continued on.  Now he could hear every
 breath, every heart beat.  He couldn't help it.  As he neared the corner
 that was emitting the hissing, the sounds of his body disappeared.  He
 slowly stuck his head around the corner.  He watched as gas leaked from the
 supply pipe.  Slowly he de-activated the pistol and holstered it.  Pulling
 his rifle forward, he checked the scanner.  Right now he was directly over
 Central Engineering.  Switching on his wrist torch he pulled the grating out
 of the floor.

        He dropped down onto the floor with a thud.  He could taste the
 moisture in the air.  Gas from the upstairs pipes must be leaking down here,
 he thought.  He could hear a distant thumping, which he could swear was
 getting closer.  As he moved his torch around the room, he could see the
 main Generator was banging away, trying to restart.  Now Vernon could see
 the problem, a peace of rubble had fallen down blocking the path of the
 internal coils.  Suddenly Vernon became aware of footsteps, maneuvering in
 the dark.  Not wanting to face whatever it was in the dark, Vernon pulled
 his rifle off of his shoulder, and used it to move the rubble out of the
 way.  As the generator began whirring up to full speed, he snatched his hand
 back.  Suddenly the lights came back online.  Vernon's radio burst into
 life.  Ignoring the communications, he turned round to confront the enemy.
 
        The enemy wasn't there.  Stood before him was Engineer Masely.  His
 uniform was covered with dirt and grease, and blood trickled from his head.
 Vernon gave a nod, before leaving the room, shocked at his own paranoia.

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  /\_/\                                                                    * 
 ( o.o )  (c) Anada e'zine                                anada343  by Res  o
  > ^ <                                                                     o
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