The blinding white flash from the plasma round left a searing, agonizing heat trail across the damp concrete surface of Platform Three. Dense clouds of white plaster dust and pulverized stone erupted into the stifling air, instantly obscuring the flickering crimson glow of the station emergency network. Delon collapsed back into a recessed concrete wall corner at the far end of the station platform, his fingers clawing at the rough, cold masonry. The intense shockwave from the weapon discharge rattled his teeth, sending a sharp ringing sound straight through his ears. Faint trails of smoke from the gunfire drifted through the increasingly stifling air, carrying a heavy odor of ionized gas, old ozone, and burning synthetic cloth.
A sudden, white-hot line of pain flared across his upper t
