'Shit!'
She tried to fire it but nothing happened.
'It's a dedicated weapon,' Liala explained. 'You need his implant to use it. Get those cases open. There are new guns in there. They are not yet assigned. Anyone can use them. That's what we've come for.'
The girl shot the bolts off one of the cases and ray guns spilled onto the floor. The rest of the group dashed forward and grabbed them. To Liala's alarm they handled the dangerous weapons as if they were toys.
'Has anyone used one before?'
'No one spoke.'
'They won't fire without a charge. They're like the batteries you put in toy guns but packed with energy. They're in those cases over there.'
One of the girls raised her gun.
Liala's heart missed a beat.
'Don't shoot them open!'
She knocked the gun from the girl's hand.
'If you hit a charge the whole lot could explode.'
One of the Crispins produced a knife and prised a case open.
Liala grabbed a charge and held it up.
'Watch me!'
She unloaded her gun and reloaded it with the new charge.
'Everyone. Get a gun. Load it and spread out.'
She ran to a corner. So far they had lost only one of their number. That was nothing short of a miracle. There was lots of enthusiasm and little fighting skill. The big danger was that they would shoot one another.
Flashes burned holes in the roof above her head. Bits of metal crashed down. Liala guessed they were testing their weapons. At least, they had the sense to point them upwards, even if they were behaving like kids with new toys.
Then a girder crashed down ... followed by a troll. The creature landed on a stack of cases and someone finished it off with a shot from an old-fashioned gun. Liala looked to where the shot had come from and saw men in prison uniforms.
They were streaming in through the hole where the door had been. Some were walking with the aid of sticks. Some had guns. None looked fit but they all looked like soldiers.
'Well done, Princess.'
They saluted as they made their way past.