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I raised it and aimed it at the vague brown square of blurriness before me.
I pulled the trigger.
The Changeling fell off me, blasted back as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning.
He slammed into the wall and slid down it, slumping with his chin on his chest.
I kicked away from him to the opposite wall and massaged my throat. I struggled to suck enough oxygen through it.
I raised my arm, aiming that blaster firmly at the enemy.
If he moved a single muscle, I’d trim his head off.
I focused on breathing through my nose. That was better. My heart thumped at a million miles an hour.
Once I’d regained myself a little, I got to my feet.
“You… You asshole!” I screamed.
I drew my foot back and kicked him in the ribs—right where the singe mark on his uniform was.
He squealed in pain. A Changeling was not a beautiful creature. It was even less beautiful when it screamed.
I was surprised he was still alive. His arms flailed pathetically.
“Still alive, huh?” I said.
I flopped into an empty chair, the pistol trained on the Changeling. Green blood pooled around him.
“Now,” I said, “how about you tell me what’s going on here? Why did you try to kill me?”
My voice was raspy and worn as it sawed in and out of my throat.
The creature shook his head and looked away. He tried to move but couldn’t.
“You don’t have to die,” I said. “We have good hospitals and doctors on my planet.”
“I’ll… never… live that… long,” the Changeling said.
“Then we can head to another planet,” I said.
Lethargic, the creature shook his head.
“I won’t last that long either,” he said.
I reached for the First Aid Kit and slid it along the floor to him. He slapped his foot on it but it was no use. He didn’t have the dexterity to open it.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said.
“So why were you trying to kill me?” I said, the blaster pistol still aimed at his head.
The Changeling angled his whole body up so he could peer at me.
“Give me… a cigarette,” he said. “And I’ll… I’ll tell you everything you… want to know.”
These things smoked? Surely technology would have beaten that nasty habit out of them by now?
“Where are they?” I said.
