Tika came to the final barricade that separated the chamber Delphi resided in from the rest of Hrrm's Hive. 

     A door that looked as solid as an iron wall.

     Tika hit it with a sonic grenade.

     BROAK! 

     It seemed to do no damage to the door whatsoever.

     The last of Delphi's guards surrounded Tika.

     All armed.

     All wearing those semi-useless anti-telepath helmets.

     They got between Tika and the door.

     The largest among them, a guard four times Tika's size, fired at her with a laser pistol. Tika avoided the blast and, at the same time, slid between the attacker's legs so that she wound up behind him.  

     She pierced his heart with a single shot from her own laser pistol. 

     She aimed a particle blaster at the door that kept her from Delphi.

     Particle blasters were known to dissolve starships into dust within seconds.

     BWASH!

     The door trembled. It looked for a moment like it might even crack open. A second blast could...

     One of Delphi's guards kicked the particle blaster out of Tika's hand.

     She dropped and rolled as another guard sent a blast her way.

     As she rose to her feet, Tika whipped out a laser pistol to send a blast through the first guard's chest.

     More guards came at her from all sides.

     She chose to spend no more time on them.

     She let go a telepathic blast strong enough to scramble their brains.

     They dropped dead even as Tika pulled something no bigger than a pen out of her pocket.

     She didn't even have to aim it.

     She merely held it in the palm of her hand.

     She triggered it telepathically.

     It emitted a beam, although not a beam visible to the naked eye.

     The door shattered like glass.

     The sonic grenade weakened the door.

     The particle blaster made it brittle.

     The third device delivered the knockout blow.

     She's here, Delphi thought.

CONTINUE