Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
1 September 3055. 1005 Hours
Lisa marched her Mad Cat down the still untouched residential streets of one of Georgia’s more upscale neighborhoods. Although the battle had been a good ten kilometers to the south, she could still see the smoke on the southern sky from those fires that only now were being attended to.
“Edinburgh must have been like this.” She thought. “Dirty, brutal, one block at a time, battles. The collateral damage down there must be staggering.” She glanced over at her navigational monitor.
“Now leaving Georgian Hills. Entering O’Malley baronial lands.” said the computer.
“I’ll hold the perimeter, Lisa.” Said Gwen from behind her. “Shout if you need my help.”
Lisa nodded and advanced. This neighborhood, all too familiar from the last time she was here, consisted of small houses owned by the employees and servants of Baron Ian. Some of them, she suspected, were also owned by mechwarriors who fought in the Baron’s battalion. She marched with haste towards the large manor house at the end of the street. There was no sign of any enemy mechs about.
“Good, because that means I won’t have to fight my way in. Bad, because it may mean this area’s been evacuated and Daniel with it.”
Automated defenses at the outer gate of the manor house opened fire on her as she approached. Lisa triggered the Mad Cat’s heavy lasers, standard on its primary configuration, destroying the first missile turret before its missiles made it half-way to her. She triggered her own missile launchers against the second as the first’s shots landed home. The light LRMs peppered her mech’s armor, but did no significant damage.
She quickened her pace past the burning turrets and soon moved beyond the residences onto the grounds of the main manor itself. Unlike the last time she was here, it was devoid of mechs. Carefully scanning around her to confirm that, she brought her Mad Cat to a stop and opened its hatch. Cautiously, she climbed out and looked about.
She knew immediately that it was abandoned. In fury, she slammed her fist against the leg of her mech, knowing Daniel was long since gone. “If I hadn’t tried once before, he might still be here.” She swore at herself.
“It looks like they’ve jumped ship. There’s no sign of anyone.” Said Lisa into her headset mike.
“I’m sorry, Lisa.” Replied Gwen. “I have a contact. Looks like Joshua’s making his way here. O’Malley’s bound to be around. You should wait for us to arrive to investigate further.”
Despite the wisdom of the advice, Lisa moved to the giant hole where the front door had been. Placing her hand on the hilt of her claymore, she stepped inside.
The main hall was silent except for the ticking of a nearby grandfather clock, which had somehow managed to not be crushed by Gwen’s rescue. She headed upstairs for the nursery, where she’d last seen Daniel.
“I knew you’d come back.” Said a voice from behind her.
Lisa spun about and drew her sword, but there was no one there.
“I’m not so foolish to get within sword-reach of you, my dear.” It was Richard, that much she was certain. “The room in which you stand bears many scars, you know. My mother died in there, and with her, my brother’s sanity.”
“Am I supposed to feel sympathy for you? For your family? Is that it?” retorted Lisa. “You knew what he was and you stood by and did nothing anyway.”
“He was my brother. Just as your son is my nephew. He belongs with the O’Malleys.”
“Where is he, you son-of-a-bitch?”
“Long gone. My father has fled Northwind with my sister and nephew. You and I together have forced their hand. Between Daniel and what I uncovered about the true Conspiracy, they will not find rest for a long time. But at least, Daniel is with his true family.”
“Show yourself, coward, or I do I have to hunt you down.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shimmer and she remembered. “The stealth suit!”
She swung her sword at the shimmer, only to hear and feel the clanging as her blade struck his. The shimmer faded as O’Malley turned off the suit. “You’re sharper than I thought, Lady MacLeod or should I call you Justice.”
“Justice might be more appropriate, for that is what is going to be delivered.” She said, slashing right then left. O’Malley parried both blows and backed away.
“You’re forgetting that I taught your husband how to beat my brother. Don’t think I didn’t keep a few secrets in reserve.”
“If that’s so, why blame us for what happened? You gave us the tools to defeat him.”
“He wasn’t supposed to die!” said Richard in fury, launching into an offense of his own. A quick snap of his blade caught Lisa under her left arm. Blood splattered from the gash onto the floor.
Lisa backed up, but O’Malley didn’t relent. She parried blow after blow, but decided to take back the initiative herself. She dove to the floor and rolled as O’Malley cut a viscous slash where her neck would have been. Now behind him, she spun and slashed down across his back. Only his quick reflexes kept the fight from ending right there. The cut was shallow.
O’Malley turned, surprised he’d been so easily outmaneuvered. “I’ll not make that mistake again.” He said coldly.
“You won’t have the chance.” Said Lisa. She leaped forward, thrusting at his chest. O’Malley sidestepped and slashed downward against her sword. The blow jarred Lisa and O’Malley pinned her sword down. With a quick backhanded punch, he knocked her away.
He kicked her sword across the floor before turning on the dazed Lisa. “I don’t think so, my dear. First you, then your husband.”
Rather that simply lie there and get stabbed to death, Lisa bolted for her sword. Surprised at her swiftness, O’Malley nearly spun and slashed across her back in much the same way as she tried to do to him. Unlike her blow however, he struck home. Lisa cried out and slid across the floor, unconscious before she ever reached her sword.
O’Malley walked over to her, nearly slipping in her blood that she’d smeared across the floor by the slide. “I suppose I could take you head and stick it on a pole outside.” Said Richard with a sick chuckle. He suddenly paused. He could feel mild vibrations through the floor.
“Damn, not enough time.” He spun on his heel. “I’ll finish you later.” He closed the door behind him and locked it.
He dashed up the stairs and onto the front balcony of the mansion. Resting against the railing of the balcony was a Minolta 9000 sniper rifle. He snatched up the weapon and pulled back on the bolt. It snapped into place smoothly, a testimony to the construction of the weapon.
“Less satisfactory than the blade, but unlike your wife, I know you’ve been preparing for me. Best not to take my chances.” He said to himself. He scanned ahead and saw the Cauldron Born approaching the compound. Behind it marched an Assassin.
“Switched machines on us, eh?” said O’Malley to himself, commenting on the Cauldron Born. He drew the reticule across the mech’s cockpit. “No matter.”
The Cauldron Born came to a stop beside the Mad Cat. O’Malley waited patiently for Joshua to open the hatch.
The canopy began to open.
Below him, he suddenly heard a scream. “Joshua, NO! Above me!”
The canopy suddenly snapped shut again. In fury, Richard squeezed the trigger, but the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the armored glass. The Cauldron Born turned and brought its autocannon to bear on the mansion.
“Shit!” swore O’Malley, turning to run inside the house. Joshua opened fire, raking the balcony with 75mm cannon shells. The stone balcony was pounded into powder by the impacts. Dust clouds erupted from the shattered stone, obscuring the view of the wreckage.
“Did I get him?” asked Joshua, marching Steppenwolfe closer to the building.
“I don’t know.” Said Gwen. She popped the canopy of her mech and lowered herself down.
Joshua did likewise. He drew his sword and walked towards Lisa.
“Gwen, she’s hurt.” He said, picking up his pace and heedless of danger.
“Coming.” Replied Gwen, drawing her pistol and surveying the grounds before moving up behind him.
Joshua turned to his wife. “Are you alright?”
“I will be.” Lisa winced. “Cut me a few times with his sword.”
“That gash looks nasty.”
“It feels it, trust me.” She said, “but I’ll live. I’m in far better shape than you were the last time we had to kill an O’Malley.”
Gwen moved over to the pulverized front of the house. Joshua’s cannon had ravaged it into rubble. “No one could survive that.” Said Lisa.
“And yet he has.” Said Gwen, leaning down to shove a piece of stonework aside.
Underneath the stone was the broken and battered body of Richard O’Malley; He was still alive, but barely. His right leg was gone below the hip, and only the wreckage lying on top of him had kept him from bleeding to death. Richard raised his head as Joshua walked over.
“I’ve still won, Messer.” He choked. “Daniel’s gone. You’ll never see him again.”
“Don’t count on it, bastard.” Said Joshua, thrusting his sword through Richard’s throat. Richard gurgled for a second and then died.
“Mercy was too good for him.” Said Gwen cruelly. “You should have just let him bleed to death.”
Joshua pulled his sword away, wiped it on the grass, and said nothing.
“He was right, wasn’t he? He did win.” Said Gwen grimly.
“No.” Said Joshua defiantly. “He hasn’t won. Our son is alive and out there somewhere. We will find him, one way or the other.”
The End
Star Sword : Shattered
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