A Blow to Tyranny

This was created for the January challenge at RuntimeDNA. The theme was "story"....you had to write a short story and then illustrate it. I'm not really comfortable with writing, but I've included my story here in the spirit of completeness.

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Sirens blared through the space station as warning beacons flashed a lurid red in the dimness of the emergency lighting. Alana knew she had only a few short minutes to reach the evacuation pod before the station's self-destruct sequence reached zero.

Her footsteps echoed along the empty corridor. Glancing back quickly over her shoulder, she saw no signs of pursuit but Alana didn't let down her guard for an instant. She had used the last of her EMP grenades back in the control room and while she knew she had accounted for all the battle mechs, she didn't know what other surprises might lie in wait. There were no lifeforms left aboard but there were still hostile robots. She gripped her pair of laser pistols tightly as she rounded a corner and ran out on to the C-Level Observation Deck.

As she swiftly scanned the area, the HUD on her glasses flashed a warning and her attention snapped to the left just in time to see robotic tentacles whipping towards her, the emergency lighting glinting ominously off the serrated claws that graced the end of each tentacle.

"A gripper", her mind screamed as her body reacted instinctively to the threat. She shoved backward violently with her left leg, twisted her torso around and brought up her pistols, ignoring the arms and aiming for the the single baleful eye tracking her every move. She got off four blasts before she hit the floor and rolled back up to her feet. Her body relaxed slightly as she saw her shots had hit their mark. The robot was now blind and while its tentacles still waved around searching for her, she could avoid them with care.

Alana slipped past the gripper and breathed a sigh of relief as she picked up speed again. Only one short corridor and two flights of stairs now stood between her and the pod. As she ran down the last set of stairs to land at the E-Deck, the A.I. gave its final warning.

“One minute to self-destruct.”

Grimacing, Alana quickly holstered one of her pistols as she reached the pod bay doors and typed in the key code. Before the doors slid open all the way, she slipped through, dove into the waiting pod, and began the start-up sequence. As she buckled on the harness, she felt the pod shudder as it detached itself from its moorings and then she was pressed back deeply into the seat as the pod shot out into space. Once she reached minimum safe distance, Alana slowed the pod and turned it around just in time to see the station implode. She smiled in satisfaction; another strategic target had been eliminated in the war against tyranny and she had avenged her sister's husband. It was time to head back to base for a hot meal and a well deserved rest.

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Rendered in Poser Pro 2012 with postwork in Photoshop CS5.

Big thanks to `Hameed for the galaxy in the background. [link]

Product Credits:
Character: Danielle by addy at Rendo [link]
Setting: The Lookout by coflek-gnorg at Rendo [link]
Outfit: Lemonade [link] with C-Suit AMP textures by AlfaseeD at RDNA [link]
Techno Tentacles by Traveler at RDNA [link]
Amphitrite Hair by 3Dream and Mairy at DAZ [link]
Guns: Sig-Sauer P320 by Wartech at FoRender [link]
Ron's fog brushes at DAZ [link]