***
An explosive bang cracked as the barricade blew apart and a gust of smoke filled the air. “Look away!” Pellew shouted.
Shen raised his arm to shield his eyes but too slowly. A bright white flash burned his retinas, and a shrill whine filled his ears, blocking out all sound. He stumbled backward and crashed to the ground. He rubbed at his eyes and slowly his vision returned. He saw blurry images of soldiers exchanging beanbag rounds or the occasional stun-gun charge, and smoke filtering through the room. People were coughing and hiding behind cover; many plugged their ears. Shen still couldn’t hear anything.
He felt a hand grip his shoulder and looked up to see Pellew shouting at him. Shen couldn’t make out a word and pointed to his ear, which was still ringing. Pellew seemed to understand, and he waved to a terminal nearby. He wanted Shen to move to better cover. Before he could, several bursts of energy flashed their way. Pellew knelt down and returned more nonlethal fire while Shen, unable to find his stunner, rolled to a prone position and made himself as small as possible.
Everything was clearer now; most of the smoke had been blown away by the vents. Several people were on the ground, but it wasn’t clear to Shen how many or who. With a pop his hearing returned.
The major’s soldiers advanced farther into engineering.
That was when Pellew sprang his trap.