Alec went over the final pieces of the plan in his head as he closed the distance between himself and the town. In the darkness of the eclipse, the lights ahead made it appear as if it were floating in space. The benefit of this personal ride was how quiet it was. It would still be noticed eventually, but it would buy him some extra time, which meant fewer soldiers to deal with ahead.
Preacher had gone ahead earlier to fulfill their part with the sewing circle and mansion workers. Within the mansion, they had been "overheard" by guard and noble alike that Tusong would be raiding the outer gate tonight. Alec's plan was that the barn would throw an extra defence there. When the Teretha leader emerged in town with warriors and help from within, Maywil would strike from the south side. That left the extra fortified gate to Alec. As the lights of the gate outside the Teretha prison camp came into view, Alec knew his plan had worked.
Nearly two dozen mecca-soldiers and a handful of armed men flanked the gate. They did a decent job hiding behind some delivery crates, but they were no match for Alec's specialized vision sensors. He jammed the throttle on the vehicle and slid off into the shadows. That was when he knew Preacher had indeed gotten the sewing circle's help.
Every building meant every building. The lights in the gatehouse and the powered defences went dark. One simple person, not a soldier, by all sounds of it, possibly elderly, but that's all the advantage Alec needed.
He pitched and rolled into the brambles and came up brandishing the rifle. In the sudden darkness, the non-mecha troops were scrambling to gain vision. The others looked around suspiciously as the sound of the abandoned vehicle drew closer. It pulled their attention, and one opened up with an energon blast. In a flash, the vehicle exploded, leaving the silhouettes of the human soldiers working to restore the gate's power. Alec pulled up the rifle to his shoulder and pumped the modified pump. He felt a stink as the tiny needles drew Aamaranth from under his skin. He was always amazed at how surgically the firearm could pull Aamaranth without disturbing its volatile nature, but then release it in a glorious bolt of explosive energy.
Throom. Pump. Pain. Throom. Pump. And three more times. Small purple lines arced through the air in the explosion. For the soldiers, five fell in a second. Alec had pushed more of his vials of pure elixir to his focus, and time was drawn out. He had aimed carefully and calculated for movement on each in that second. What did surprise him, however, was the explosive ability of pure Aamaranth through his rifle. The top third of the security gate exploded in a violent burst of purple energy and gasoline fire. The shrapnel took a couple of the mecha-soldiers off at the waist. Unlike Alec, they were not immortal. Or rather, they had no impact suit.
Alec stood up, keeping the rifle's rhythm. Throom. Throom. Throom. He felt the shockwave of the resulting explosions more than any kick in his shoulder. The rifle was perfectly balanced and like an extension of him. He rarely used it as the devastating results weren't often beneficial to a contract. Holding it now, he realized he missed it. Not as much as Quip, though. They would be starting their part soon. Alec focused.
One of the Mecha-Soldiers signalled to another five and pointed at Alec's moving form. They opened fire; the aim wasn't true, but the volume of bullets was enough that Alec found it difficult to move forward at a consistent rate. The impact suit took any slug that would harm him, but the volume of actual steel felt like walking against an ocean wave. He saw the look of horror in the mechsa-men's eyes as he paused to tip his hat. He drew his pistols and whistled, this time in dual tones in harmony with each other as his eyes tagged his targets. His spurs rang out as he stepped forward, slowly, deliberately. His trigger fingers fired with the deftness of a trained veteran. His reflexors in the hands made them ache with the impossible speed.
It took a significant amount of Aamaranth, and Alec could see it in his peripheral vision as he fired. Each of the eight metal soldiers he targeted lay slumped in their exoskeletons. He dropped the backup revolver into his holster and reloaded his primary. He did the opposite to load the offhand rifle, all the while spinning to gain momentum against the onslaught of bullets. His coat flared out, and the plates of fibrasteel clanged with the gunfire.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Alec kept spinning, making it look like a dance, sliding down his knee in a spin to return to the devastating rifle he carried. He was on the far side of the gate now; he just had to deal with the reminders here, and he might be able to be early enough to assist Quip and Tusong. Throom Throom Throom. The rifle caused more explosions, which included the bodies of the remaining soldiers. The few left looked up at Alec in awe. Normally, this would be the part where Alec let them run. It was impossible here. He drew a revolver for more accuracy and less explosive results and put them down. He felt no pride in that, but as he sighed in resignation to the facts, he heard a large boom from up in the town. Quip and Tuson had begun their part when they saw the explosions from Alec's battle.
The baron had fortified this gate with a large portion of the mecha-soldiers Alec had seen in town. He was sure there would be a few in reserve, but the baron had truly believed the lies and allowed Alec to wipe out the bulk of his crew. Perhaps this would be easier than he had thought. Alecs' spurs rang out in the crackling fire as he began to run towards the town gate. The light and the fire had caused Alec to switch back to a more regular vision mode, but with the alarms going off in town and the blaring lights, he felt he didn't need it. Soon, if the sewing circle did their job, the town itself would lose power and the defences connected to it.
Alec turned a street, and all the Teretha had abandoned their tents. Alec hoped the majority of them were through into the tunnel. He turned one more and saw the town gate looming ahead of him. He pushed Aamaranth into his legs and sped forward. The ground gave out under Alec's feet in an energon explosion. In his focus, his fall slowed, allowing him to check his surroundings. The impact suit allowed him to feel no pain from the shock. Surrounding him were the refined Bio-mechanical soldiers that Alec had seen at the rift station.
These were a half step between the soldiers Alec had just done away with and the Apocalypse Crew that the baron was no doubt keeping as a personal guard. Or maybe he had done away with them in a tantrum? No, the baron was too smart and the crew too valuable to kill. These would take time, but Alec had no fear of failure. It was the crew and the mansion that worried him most. Until one of the soldiers fired, and Alec saw a purple glow to the muzzle flash as the energon exited. It struck the impact suit, which did its job. Alec felt his hand sting, however, and it started to go numb. He could see a fine powder dusting his jacket and impact suit where the bullet had been absorbed.
Zelsim had mentioned biological weapons; perhaps she'd made something special for a perceived immortal. Like the whips of the apocalypse crew, this shot was making Alec lose control of his arm. He willed Aamaranth to the spot and felt a burning fire; the sensation returned to his arm, as if a thousand bees had stung him. He could move it, though, for that he was thankful. He looked at his arm and saw a mere drop of Aamaranth remaining.
In one quick move, he pushed the last into his focus. With the slowed time, he focused and whistled with his primary revolver while his offhand grabbed another vial and tossed it in the air. In the same motion, he held his elbow out, ejecting the old vial and catching the new one. The initial rush lit his soul on fire, and this barrage of bullets seemed impossible to the soldiers, who were expecting this to be an easy ambush. Alec felt in the same position; however, every shot the soldiers fired landed on him, forcing him to expend Aamaranth at an alarming rate.
Between the whistling, the loading, the firing and the consistent need for Aamaranth, the time felt brutal to Alec. All the while, he could hear sounds of battle from within the town, and he hadn't even made it to the gate yet. These soldiers were tactical and well-trained, and Alec felt the wear of his dance-like battle style. He looked to his arm, no Aamaranth left, but on the field, only one soldier remained. Alec didn't wait to reload a vial of life elixir. This one he did all on his own; he strained each muscle in his arm and fired, taking the soldier between the eyes before he fell to a knee. The vial was depleted. Alec added a replacement; only two of the pure and four of his regular supply remained. He hoped the soldiers in town were not as well equipped as these, but he doubted it. The baron had once more proved to be more disciplined and strategic than Alec gave him credit for. Did fighting with heart give fervour but grant blinders? It was the first time Alec had ever fought with his heart, and it was taking a lot to get used to.
