Alec stood on a rise with the wind whipping at his cloak. The lunar eclipse had passed three days ago. The first couple days were filled with planning, the last preparing the logistics. To Alec's side were fifteen of the Teretha warriors, Maywil and T'sala. Far down below them, where only he could see, Doc, Grounder, Preacher and a collection of the townsfolk huddled on the edge of the bridge below. They had chosen the one closest to the cave but farthest from the Rift-station itself. The tree cover here provided a more hidden path for Alec and the warriors. It also allowed the largest amount of runway space for Quip before a hundred-foot plummet into the water.
Behind Alec on the horizon, the battery paddocks were layered in a misty morning. The workers were already toiling for the baron, and with his eyes, Alec could see the weariness in their movements. More oppressed peoples, but that would have to wait for another time. First, the baron must fall, then the rest can be accounted for.
Maywil and T'sala walked towards him. The Aamaranth woman spoke first. "What do those keen eyes see, Alec of the other worlds?" She had a smirk on her face. She had added a warrior's skirt and sported a jacket-like blouse given to her by the townsfolk. A hat perched on her head with a short brim that flopped to the side. Slung on her shoulder was Alec's Bloodier rifle. It had taken her and Alec the better part of a day to go over how it worked. They had driven personal vehicles far from the cave to even attempt it, but the slow-moving needles did their part, the same as they had with Alec. The devastation her Aamaranth form gave the rifle was awe-inspiring, and the bulk of their training had been spent learning how to avoid friends rather than find targets.
"I see our ride fast approaching," Alec responded and pointed down the way where a yellow blur was departing an armoured warehouse.
"Then we shall ride with the wind and bring swift justice!" Maywil looked eager for battle. She gave a small whoop, and her warrior group responded in kind. One face stood out from the others, but whooped just the same. It was Leana; she had spent all of her time since the planning session alongside Maywil, and the two were like old souls together. She looked out of place, gripping the winch hooks, keeping the warriors on Quip's back.
Alec took a moment to weigh the warriors, then Maywil and T'sala in kind. The last of his vision lingered on in admiration. She was so fresh to this world and yet embraced it with a vigour that would put a daredevil to shame. She was driven by a passion that was infectious, and Alec found his heart joining Maywil's whoop, if not his voice. He helped both onto Quip, then climbed up himself. He patted the side of the vehicle, "Let it rip, buddy." The engine revved, and Quip took off down the side of the mountainous foothill they were on.
Branches and trees whipped past their faces as each held on to winchcoils hooked to Quip's armour. Alec had been reserving his Aamaranth throughout the training time with T'sala. He felt bad over that; she had so many questions for him, and with the lethargy that came with reserve mode, he had barely been able to answer. But when he felt he came off as a hibernating wild animal, grunting yes or no, she still seemed enthralled. He had tried the previous night to answer her questions about Earth Prime, and when she marvelled at the idea of a planetwide city. He hoped he had done it as much of a disservice as the baronhood stronghold deserved, but T'sala still seemed enticed to see it.
He looked over to her, and she was laughing with the speed, standing tall while the rest of them crouched. Her red hair was whipping around her face, and her eyes glowed with glee. They levelled off as Quip hit the bottom of the ravine where the track lay. It was a V-shaped magnetic line that kept the train running smoothly. Quip engaged the afterburners of its engines to increase speed, and the yellow blur came into view.
Maywil signalled with her hands to five of the warriors, and they nodded. Each extended a winch coil hook and drew it back with a cable bow. They fired in unison, and the hooks landed true. Quip threw itself in a neutral gear and let its tires spin, the hooks found purchase, and the entire crew lurched forward. Leana nearly fell, but Maywil, as present in her life as she was to her, reached out a hand and steadied her. She pulled some goggles over her eyes and focused. Now came the hard part.
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They were here to stop the train's defences quickly and silently. They had chosen this stretch as they were sure, according to Leana's information, that the radio lines were in a dead zone here. She was also along as she knew the train protocols for entering the rift station. First things first, they had to get to the train.
Quip was pulled close to the train by the wire, and it turned all six wheels away from the train to avoid crashing. They began to glow as the material heated up, spinning at impossible speeds. Alec was first; he timed it well, but offset with an Aamaranth push. He leaped across and activated the magnetic clinchers in his feet. Through the boots, he felt his feet stick and attach him to the train. T'sala was next and left with a grace and distance that made Alec look common. The Aamaranth in her blood and the fearlessness in her spirit empowered her like an ethereal spirit. Her magnetic clinchers activated, and she, too, was stuck fast in the wind.
Maywil waved the warriors along next. Ten jumped across, using Alec's arm or T'sala's to steady themselves. Each had a similar pair of clinchers on their feet and cloth wraps around their faces to protect them from the wind. A large boulder loomed ahead, something that had fallen on the path in the time since it was scouted. Quip's engines revved, and it pulled to the side, barely missing the stone. The cables connecting it to the train, however, ground over the top, making a clattering noise as two gave way.
One cable cracked like a whip and took a Teretha warrior through the middle. Leana screamed, and in the sound of that, the cable and death, the soldiers on the train took notice. Plates of the train's armour began to move as two large turrets grew out from the train car they were on, plus one ahead.
They opened fire immediately, and Quip was rocked to the side as another cable snapped. Leana and Maywil and the four remaining warriors rocked, but their magnetically clinched boots kept them atop. This whole thing fell through if Leana was not aboard. Alec yelled out some directions, but they were lost to the wind. The Teretha on the train opened fire as soldiers emerged with their exoskeletons clinging to the train body. T'sala had picked up what Alec had said with her elixir-enhanced ears. She drew the rifle from her shoulder, and Alec saw her wince as the needles did their slow extraction work.
Throom! The turret on the car in front of them sustained an impact on one of its two barrels. Immediately, a second shot followed and took the turret at the base. It sparked and flamed, and smoke wafted towards them, blinding soldier and Teretha alike. Alec focused his attention on Maywil and Leana. He extended a hand and motioned to them to jump. The turret beside Alec emphasized it with a blast to Quip's armoured side. Two of the Teretha were knocked free to become permanent parts of the forest in brilliant red mist as each made contact with a tree.
The other two Teretha warriors jumped; one landed firmly and took out their weapon to join the fight. The other miscalculated and ended up scrambling to the edge of the train. The momentum was too much without the aid of the magnetic clinchers, and the man was swept into smoke and passing scenery.
Maywil looked around and took in the panic in Leana's eyes and the quickly approaching end of the runway. Alec could see it, too: twenty feet away, the path ended at the drop-off where the bridge started. Maywil grabbed Leana by the waist and took the repeating rifle Alec had given her. She kissed Leana, shocking the woman in the midst of the chaos and then gripped a winch coil, pointed her firearm at Quip and fired. The bullets went true and struck where the cable connected the train to Quip. The cable set free and tightened around Maywils' forearm. They both lurched sideways, human kites along the side of the train.
Alec fired his revolver at the last cable, setting Quip free. The vehicle swerved to the side, hit the brakes, and made a right turn as hard as it could. It would head back to the cave for its next task. Maywil and Leana were attempting to climb up the back of the train, Maywil's arm bleeding from where the rope had dug in. They hung over empty space with a hundred-foot drop below them. They had reached the bridge. This renegade troupe had till the end of the bridge to put down this train's defences, or the plan would be for nought. They would reach the end of the signal dead zone by then.
Alec grabbed the cable that held Maywil and Leana, and he began to pull them towards him against the wind, using the smoke from the turret as cover. Above him, climbed atop the turret in their train car, was the purple glow of the Aamaranth woman in the smoke. She was firing straight down, disabling this turret and taking a section of the bridge under them. The weight of the train and the devastating impact of the bloodfire rifle in T'sala's hands were not something they had accounted for. Behind them, the bridge began to crumble as they sped down the rail. Alec hoped they made it to the other side of the bridge before it fully collapsed. Alec took a breath, steadied himself, and pulled up Maywil and Leana. They all focused as T'sala dropped onto the train's roof and reactivated her magnetic clinchers. They had their work cut out for them, but Alec wouldn't have stood shoulder to shoulder with anyone else.
