Liam stood there, heart beating wildly in his chest. He held his arm steady by sheer force of will, the Jaridian weapon suddenly feeling a hundred times heavier than it actually was.
His gaze never left Sandoval or the skrill aimed at him. Both of them seemed frozen by the moment. Neither of them seemed willing to move. Liam stood there, praying, hoping, pleading to the unseen forces at play, Oh please stop this. I can't do this, I can't. I don't care what he's done, he's the only parent I have left!
Sandoval seemed to be wrestling with some unnamed emotions himself but neither of them lowered their arms. Whose eyes betrayed first what they were going to do? Liam wasn't sure but what he was sure of was that neither of them wanted to do this.
Heart crying out, he fired anyway.
He saw Sandoval fly back propelled by the force of his blast while at the same time he felt himself falling backwards as the force of the skrill blast impacted his body.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sandoval scrambling away to safety. He turned his attention to Renee as she helped him to his feet and asked him if he was all right.
Answering in the affirmative, Liam took consolation in one quick thought that would have to be dismissed - for now - as he dealt with the situation involving Lili and the Jaridians.
He didn't use full force. He didn't want to hurt me. At that range, if he'd used the full force of the skrill, I'd be dead.