[ WP ] Tell me the middle of a sci-fi epic . No beginning or introduction to the setting or characters , nor any context to what 's going on , and no resolution of any kind .

“ Well if it isn ’ t my old friend! ” Darius said, standing up from his seat. 
 
 “ I ’ m so very pleased you managed to find me! I trust you have been well? ” 
 
 “ Cut the bullshit Darius. I know you hate small talk. ” 
 
 “ Very well, ” Darius replied, with a dark smile on his face. “ But do watch your manners; we are not alone. ” 
 
 Eli saw them now, on all sides of the room. Men, heavily armed too. Most had rifles, but Eli could see a shotgun here and there. He did a quick count in his head. Eight. Three on the left, three on the right, two almost out of sight in the corners behind him. 
 
 Damn it, I hate how the odds are always against me. 
 
 “ Is that a threat? ” Eli asked, in a voice that he hoped sounded reasonably threatening. 
 
 “ Of course not, of course not. We are not enemies, after all. ” Darius paused for breath, and sat back down in his chair. “ But alas! Down to business. Since you are alive I trust you were successful? ” 
 
 Lily pulled the prism out of her pocket, and handed it to Eli. 
 
 “ This is it, right? ” Eli asked, holding it up. 
 
 “ I certainly hope so. May I see for myself? ” 
 
 Eli walked forwards, and placed the object in Darius ’ hand. For a moment Darius did nothing but stare at it, before placing it on a scanner. 
 
 “ Yes… the keys appear to match… ” Darius murmured, looking over the results. “ Alright! It is confirmed. This is the real deal, and so I feel a congratulations is in order! ” 
 
 As if on queue, the guards around the outside of the room began to clap their hands. 
 
 “ And my money? ” Eli asked. 
 
 “ Ah yes, the money. I am a man of my word, Eli Jackson. Two million credits, wasn ’ t it? ” Darius asked, picking up a pad. 
 
 “ Yeah, that ’ s right. ” Eli watched carefully, as Darius tapped away on the screen. True to his word, he transferred the credits into Eli ’ s account. 
 
 “ And with that, ” Darius declared, putting the pad back on his desk. “ Our contract is void. Thank you ever so much for working with me, Eli Jackson. I ’ m very impressed with your resourcefulness. ” 
 
 Something cold and hard suddenly pressed against the back of Eli ’ s head. 
 
 “ However, ” said Darius, smile fading from his face. “ You have been privy to a little too much, even if you aren ’ t aware of it. This is just business, you understand? ” 
 
 Before his assailant could pull the trigger, Eli had jerked out of the way and grabbed the gun with one hand. With his other hand he simultaneously pulled out his pistol, and unloaded it on the four guards to his right before they could react. 
 
 A split second afterwards Eli felt the gun in his other hand recoil violently. The discharge intended for the back of his head instead found a shocked Darius ’ face, and blew it clean from his shoulders. 
 
 Behind him Lily seemed to have done a similar manoeuvre, and taken out all the guards on the other side of the room. That left only her, Eli, and a bewildered assassin standing. 
 
 Before the man regained the ability to think, Eli thrust his knee into his guts, and finished him off with a shot to the head. Fuck, but that had gone bad. 
 
 Or really well, depending on your point of view. Eli reflected. Either way, everybody could agree it went worse for Darius. 
 
 Eli paused to think about the situation. There were more henchmen downstairs, but they will be oblivious to the fire fight because of the soundproofing in the room. A room as fancy as this one was almost certain to have perfect soundproofing. Darius' minions won ’ t come running in a hurry, which meant they would have a bit of time. 
 
 I wonder how much money is in this room… 
 
 Moving to Darius ’ desk, Eli picked the black prism back up, and put it in his pocket. 
 
 “ We should go before things get any worse, ” Lily said. 
 
 “ Yeah. You ’ re right. ” Responded Eli, suddenly remembering the guard outside the door. 
 
 I wonder if he knows what happened. Eli thought, picturing the brute of a man that brought them up the stairs. We ’ ll just have to be inconspicuous, and hope for the best. 
 
 Holstering his gun, Eli walked back to the door. He was pleased to see Lily was unscathed. “ Act casual. If he asks, everything went well. ” 
 
 With a nod, Eli pulled open the door and strode back into the corridor. 
 
 “ It all went well then? ” The huge man with the mechanical arm began to lead Eli and Lily back down the corridor, as if nothing had happened. 
 
 It seems luck isn ’ t entirely against us this time… 
 
 “ Yeah, good enou- ” Eli was cut off, as the brute ’ s fist slammed into his ear. The mechanical arm also went back for a swing, but before it could land the blow a pair of slender legs had wrapped around the man ’ s torso. 
 
 Eli staggered off the wall reaching for his gun, but it was little use. The world was spinning, and the floor seemed to twist up and hit him. He desperately tried to climb to his feet, but all that he managed to do was stumble into the wall, before collapsing back on the floor. 
 
 A choked gargle came from his side, and he saw the huge man squirming around, Lily still clinging desperately to his back. Then he saw something gleam in the air as the light reflected from it. Following it down, he saw the wire wrapped around the brute ’ s neck, blood seeping out as it cut through his skin. 
 
 Without warning, the man ’ s mechanical arm twisted to an inhuman angle, grabbed onto Lily, and yanked her off. Unfortunately for the giant, Lily ’ s grasp on the wire was so strong that as she was thrown away from him, the wire passed straight through the giant ’ s neck, cleanly severing his head from his body.
