Retail, Schmetail!

<Away Team 1>
Zack was helped to his feet, annoyed that Cubie's boot-print had
been borrowed in a somewhat rude fashion. All they had to do was
ask. Sheesh!
<OOC - that was really funny, by the way>
<IC>
Then the world went crazy as creatures started pouring out of
the trees at them. Zack whipped his rifle into his shoulder and
almost blew his shoulder right off. "Smegg! Other way!!" Reversing
it, he started firing wildly into the nearest animal. The creature
roared in pain, but kept coming. Zack's eyes got big as it closed
the last twenty meters between them in a couple seconds before
falling dead at his feet.
All around him, creatures were swarming over the away team. Jay
was dragged into the nearby lake, and White Wolf raced past, trying
to dislodge one from his shoulder. The others were firing like
crazy, and Zack decided that he didn't want to be left out.
*Click.*
Zack shook his rifle. What the?
"You moron! Reload!!" DJ swung her barrel over his head and
sent thirty rounds into a beast that was closing in on him from his
left.
"Oh! Sorry!" Zack snatched the empty magazine out and fumbled
in his vest for a fresh one, when another gorilla managed to grab his
collar and start dragging him off. He swung his rifle and connected
solidly, but the creature's grip remained solid.
~Even Cubie is a better bet than these things!~
He jammed his fist into his pocket and seized Cubie's control
panel, popped the cover open, and thumbed her activation switch.
Cubie appeared, with pink oven mits, an apron that said "Kiss
the Chef", and murder in her eyes. "Zack, I've got a cake in the
oven, and if it burns, I'll . . ." Her tirade died in her throat as
she realized what was occurring around her. Twin sabers appeared in
her hands and she started slaughtering the nearest gorilla. The
creature was surprisingly resilient, taking several fatal blows
before finally weakening. She finished it off, then spotted Zack's
flailing boots as he was dragged into the brush.
"Oh, no you don't!" Cubie disappeared, rematerializing in front
of the surprised ape, then separated its head from its shoulders. It
dropped Zack and swung blindly, trying to disembowel the furious
hologram, but to no avail. After nearly a full minute, it collapsed
to the ground.
Zack scrambled to his feet, his thumb on Cubie's shutdown
button. "Thanks, Cubie."
Cubie shot him a vicious glare. "Yeah, right. You're lucky I
don't kill you right now."
Zack blinked in surprise. This was new. When Cubie was in one
of her moods, she usually went all out. Threats weren't her
style. "Well, thanks for that, then." He picked up his rifle and
tried to load the fresh magazine into it.
Cubie watched for a moment, then snatched the rifle from him in
disgust and loaded it. "Jeez, Zack! It goes HERE! That's where the
grenades would go if you had any. Don't you know anything?"
Zack shrugged, defensive as Cubie shoved the rifle into his
chest. "Sorry! The MegaHertz Hovercraft Rental agency was a little
short on assault rifle training. Somehow it just didn't fit into
their training curriculum."
The shouts and weapons fire suddenly caught their attention.
With a nod to each other, they sprinted back to the clearing where
the main battle was still being fought. Cubie waded into the largest
concentration of apes, cutting a path of destruction. Their blows
were ineffective as their claws passed through her body, leaving
wounds that healed almost instantly. Her swords wove a far more
permanent path of carnage. The creatures focused on her, making them
easy targets for the security officers.
Zack settled for opening fire on any creature that got close to
him or anyone else. In the back of his mind was the fact that he
only had four more magazines on him.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the battle was over. Zack
looked around, relieved to see that everyone appeared to be alive.
White wolf's shoulder and Alota's leg were bleeding badly, though.
Zack sat down hard, the adrenaline rush giving out. "Oh,
smegg! I should have stayed in Men's Wear."
~Zack and Cubie, the cyber-samurai~