Orbital by bill zhao copyright 2017 Bill Zhao Table of Contents act one (earth)

commander angrily. “That’s… a good boy” said the commander as he
backed away. The guards moved towards the glass chamber’s entrance
and unlocked the steel door with their weapons drawn on Derek the
whole time. As soon as the first guard got close enough, Derek dropped
to the ground, picked up his rifle and fired at them in a blur of bullets.
The guards fell dead and Derek was unharmed thanks to his power
shield. Quickly getting back up, Derek shoved the gun as far as he
could through the glass and fired upon every man he saw. The
commander had retreated to cover and yelled out “Use the V-cells, but
I must have him alive!” Not knowing what he meant, Derek continued
to fire at the guards as he made his way to the open door. He kicked it
out and rushed to the nearest piece of cover he could find. The steel
pillar he stood behind helped little. Guards rushed at him from both
sides, now firing light blue projectiles out of their rifles. One of them
yelled “you think you’re indestructible, don’t you” as the blue shots
went right through Derek’s power shield and lodged themselves in his
flesh. To make matters worse, the shots opened gaps in the shield,
allowing the more traditional ballistic projectiles hit him. Hit after hit,
Derek continued to fire. His torso was in agony and his legs followed,
soon giving, but still not stopping him from shooting. The empty click
filled him with dread as he threw the rifle at an incoming guard.
Pulling out his sidearm, Derek staggered across the room, shooting and

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missing the guards. He fell as he succumbed to the shield-penetrating
ammunition. The debilitating effect of the shots were overwhelming