Suddenly, Ogreon yelled, "Van! Don't go that way!"
The Clangst's loud voice certainly made him jump, but Van quickly recovered and waved his arm in dismissal. He was fairly used to dangerous situations, and thus felt perfectly prepared to approach this bizarre, wooden, music-playing box bigger than he was.
The Pirate stopped his approach momentarily, and reached down to his thick, metal belt. He unfolded a metal strap from the front, which he threw over his left shoulder. Then he reached back, and clicked the other end of it into place on the back of his belt. Then, he flipped open another plate on his belt and pulled out a glowing blue card.
It was a solid storage unit, based on Thyllian matter conversion technology. It could hold only one thing in it, but that was precisely why he had multiple cards with him. This one, however, held Van's rifle. It was a fairly elegant weapon, known properly as a Salmarian Field Rifle, Model Dalask-4.
This model, however, was somewhat uncommon, and suffered a short production run as its popularity dropped. This was because its long barrel was made to give more reach to use the attached heat-bayonet at the end of the rifle. By the time the gun was in production, heat bayonets fell into disuse as cheaply made import weapons and common stun grenades grew more popular with Salmarian hunters.
The rifle, however, became a popular weapon among space pirates, and what few rifles were made ended up being snatched up by the black market. Though it was a little primitive and outdated for an energy weapon, ammunition was cheap and easy to manufacture. The gun had excellent range, and the heat bayonet was especially useful for tearing foes to shreds. The weapon was also near-indestructible, at least from Van's personal experience using it, and he wouldn't have traded it for anything else.
Van tapped the storage card, and then pulled it apart. He pulled out his rifle, as if it was coming in through a small tear in space. The Pirate admired his weapon for a few moments, adjusted and activated the bayonet, and then flipped out another card and pressed it into the side of the gun, loading it with energy rounds. He took aim at the Piano momentarily, then lowered the gun, and approached it cautiously.
Van's more aural senses perked up as he came closer, and he grinned. Ogreon was definitely right about staying away from this thing, and excitement coursed through his body. The Piano was definitely dangerous, and as he came closer, its music began to increase in tempo. Van's adrenaline pumped faster. Crazy things like this were the spice of his life.
"Aww yeah, bay-bee. Keep dancing for me, I got the ready," he crooned.
