He found a hiding place behind a bit of rubble and adjusted the stud on his heat gun.
They weren't going to stay in their ship long, he thought. He would make them come out.
He turned the stud to high and aimed the gun at a port near the control room. The crystal in the port colored, glowed, and suddenly fused. Stan could dimly make out the control console and flashed his heater at that. The violet beam touched the controls and they turned red and fused. Then the beam caught a thin fuel line in the console and there was a sudden spurt of white heat.
Seconds later, the fuel tanks erupted with a roar that showered bits of red hot metal over the whole area.
A moment more, he thought....
The air about him was suddenly thick with lancing, violet beams and he felt one touch him lightly on the shoulder, crisping the flesh and setting his shirt on fire. He winced and beat out the flames, keeping an eye on the hatch.
Then the hatch flew open and figures boiled out.
The slaughter was brief, and very thorough. But of all the creatures that boiled out of the hatch, Stan didn't see the two he was looking for.
When it was all over, he walked out to the field and glanced at the bodies. There were none that looked like Tanner or—thank God—Avis.
He was touching one body gingerly with his foot when the young pilot ran up to him.