Terran Knights: Chapter 32

The air crackled with electricity, sending energy in every direction shattering windows and burning away the grass. The wind picked up and one by one craters former in the ground of the empty lot. Two Taq-Law appeared in the grass walking forward on their four legs. Their torsos shifted back and forth with turrets for arms aiming at the buildings but no targets.

The third shape stood slowly and stalked forward. It’s body was covered in new pieces of metal covering points where it had been hacked away . It’s glowing bladed hands were still as its head looked at the homes and neighborhood. It started walking forward and hesitated. Tilting its head to the side a red light appeared on its formerly cracked face and it scanned the top of a building.

Birds gathered on the edges hopping around and trilling back and forth to each other. The machine stared at them the red light flitting from one to another slowly analyzing them. It raised a hand and fired a bolt of light into the air into the deep overcast sky. It fired three total blasts of light and then lowered its arm.

“So that’s the one,” Marco said softly crouched on a rooftop, staring at the trio of Taq-Law almost half a mile away. Sarah stood next to him her hand on his shoulder.

“That’s the one who killed Jack,” she whispered and squeezed his shoulder hard. It was hard for her to be seeing it again. Especially after losing track of that night. All she could remember was seeing him impaled and she shut her eyes shirking away.

Marco found her hand, squeezing it. “It’s back and that means it wants to finish what it started that night.”

“What wreak havoc and kill a bunch of innocent people?” Seth asked tapping his fingers against his arm.

The sky rumbled in response to his question and Seth raised an eyebrow looking up at it. As to continue its statement a drop of water fell hitting him in the face. Wrinkling his nose and scowling he kept his arms folded as it began to rain. Cal laughed without a lot of humor, “Guess that’s a sign huh? At least this place is pretty abandoned. No idea why they dropped here.”

“The last time this thing came at us we got beat,” Kathryn bit her lip and folding her arms. Rubbing her arms slowly Seth squeezed her shoulder and she smiled at him. Cal looked at the two of them catching Kathryn’s eyes and gave a small smirk. She looked away hiding her face.

“We got this Kat,” Cal told her and then looked at Marco meeting his eyes.

Marco felt the weight of that look on his shoulders and closed his eyes. Lightning flashed and he did his best to not flinch at the thunder when it rolled over. Sarah rubbed his back slowly and shook her head. “We do have this.”

Marco stood up slowly and clasped his hands together. He could see how they were moving, the two crab walkers moving around the perimeter while the two legged one directed them. It was surveying the area, scanning anything that it saw and moving forward.

“It’s trying to find a place to set up a foothold. A place to invade from,” he said to them. “I’ve got a plan and we can do it. I’m asking a lot from you guys but even more to trust me.” One by one they nodded, looking at him and he let out a breath. “Alright. Let’s go to work.”

Sarah and Cal both jumped down to the ground level sprinting toward the Taq-Law. They hopped over a few fences and ducked around a few houses to keep watch of them. The Taq-Law sensed them coming before they got close and the two crab walkers turned in their direction raising their guns.

 Before a shot could be fired Marco leveled his gun the revolver already spinning. It locked in the blue chamber and he fired three shots creating a trio of sloping blue walls and absorbing the bullets. Cal and Sarah climbed, leaping at the Taq-Law. Sarah conjured her axes and threw one to Cal. Catching it they both slammed them into the machines. The electricity raced through them and the machines wobbled before collapsing.

Stepping off the machines Cal tossed the axe back to Sarah and called his sword. The last Taq-Law watched the pair of them and its arms were already beginning to spin. They attacked at it swinging their weapons and it blocked their attack, knocking them away. They recovered and lunged again but it kept up with their flurry of strikes.

Breaking away and circling around they attacked from its left and right at the same time. It caught them, sparks flying between them. Its head rotated up and stared as Seth descended from the sky both fists glowing. It flipped rotating on its arm sockets and its head glowed to life. Its laser went off the explosion propelling it into the sky, blowing Cal and Sarah away.

It spun around Seth avoiding his fists and sprang forward gunning for Marco. Flipping forward it landed on his roof top, both drills outstretched. Before it could get close enough Kathryn jumped forward whipping her staff around and blocking the drill. It slammed into the weapon pushing her backwards as it landed, pushing forward.

Red light flashed beside her and Marco appeared the barrel spinning again, landing on the purple chamber. Its head jerked to the side looking right at him and eye glowing red.

“Brace yourself!” he shouted lowering his arm. He shot at its chin jerking the head down and sending the laser exploding into the roof beneath their feet.

The building collapsed to the ground in a heap of heat, light and smoke. The Taq-Law stepped forward caked in dirt but in one piece despite falling from the height that it did. It shook out the kinks and stalked forward as Kathryn dug herself from the bricks and debris. She could barely register the robot as it approached.

It stepped forward the light in its head coming to life. She reached out to conjure her staff but it didn’t form and all she could see was the rapidly growing red glow of its head. It leaned forward firing a concentrated beam of energy and she raised her hands the blue shield barely covering her.

The laser collided with her shield and shredded it to pieces. She fought the urge to scream, silently praying and apologizing to her parents. She shut her eyes almost entirely and then widened them as a shadow darted in front of her. She watched the purple light clash against the red laser and it became all too clear what was happening.

Her hands moved faster than she could even begin to think, adding her blue to the mix and intensifying the purple but she felt her shields stripped away of power as soon as she made them. And then suddenly the red subsided. Seth stood in front of her huffing in the stillness of the air. He glanced back at her, helmet cracked as he sank to the ground down on his knees.