Jaze, loaded down with a borrowed assault rifle and a small pack of ammo, entered the hanger bay just as the techs finished attaching the bomb under the wing of his fighter with Trixie close on his heels. It looked so innocent hanging there, not like the world ending weapon it was. Looking at the nuke filled him with a sense of dread, one only marginally eased by having the azure unicorn at his side. She kept throwing nervous glances at the weapon when she thought he wasn’t looking, and he could see his unease reflected on her face.

As they crossed the threshold of the hanger bay, he found himself weightless once more. He tried to force the thoughts about what he was doing, and how suicidal it really was, away into a dark corner of his mind. But to no avail; the feeling of dread refused to subside. Even as he belted himself into the seat of his spacecraft, his mind brought forth new things that could go wrong. Maybe he would be wrong about Carn’s intentions, and he was about to get mercilessly torn apart by the Cye space-station’s defenses. Or the insane man planned to lure him into a trap.

He snickered as soon as the thought crossed his mind; of course it was a trap. A trap he planned to walk right into. There was no choice; someone had to plant the bomb, and he couldn’t let someone else try it. If he was right, then he would be the only one able to get close at all. But if he were wrong…

A hoof touched his cheek, and he twisted around to see Trixie smiling at him from the passenger seat. The violet gems of her eyes radiated strength and a measure of hope. He reached up and gave her hoof a squeeze, letting himself relax. As he did, he realized his heart was nearly bruising his ribs. Shakes set in on his hands, though he couldn’t tell if it were nerves or excitement anymore.

For the first time, he actually took a look around his cockpit. Someone had stashed his helm under the control panel, which he swiftly placed over his head and sealed. After storing his rifle with his sword, he began running a quick preflight check. Even in the face of certain death, the habits that had been drilled into him by months of training made him go through the motions. Lights slowly clicked on one by one, and low vibrations shook the craft as it hummed to life.

Finishing the preflight served to calm him further. The shakes were mostly gone, and his heart had slowed to its usual steady thump. Twisting in his seat, he gave Trixie one last smile before he triggered his comm, “This is Colonel Armand, is everyone ready? I’d like to get this show on the road.”

After a brief moment of silence, Major Reynolds’ voice replied, “We’re ready on this end, just waitin’ on ya to get your butt in the black. Soon as you’re in, we’ll fallah ya and meet up. Then we can deliver a present all trussed up and pretty to these Cye bastards.” The cocky pilot paused for a minute, before finally adding, “There’s a human leadin’ the robots, that right?”

Jaze felt tinges of anger cloud his mind as the thought of that man once more entered his head. Try as he might, he couldn’t quell the sickening hate that spread through his body, but he somehow managed to keep the fury from his voice long enough to answer, “Yeah, there is.”

Reynolds’ voice was suffused with barely contained laughter, though with hints of far darker feelings carrying under everything, “Okay, here’s what I want ya to do. When ya see that bastard, if ya do I mean, gut him for me. Like, dig his spleen out with a butter knife. Hell, I’ll even supply the knife.”

Hearing the odd request nearly brought a grin to Jaze’s lips, and he had trouble keeping the chortles from his own voice, “Tell you what, you get me close enough and I will.”

“Deal, so let’s get moving.”

An alarm sounded in the hanger, and anyone still in the main area rushed back to the control room. The large metal airlock ground open as atmosphere blew out into the darkness surrounding the large ship. Jaze teased his craft off the deck, using the fighter’s belly jets to ease it gently past the large dropship still near the bay doors. Once he had cleared the hanger, he let the dual engines power him further away from the Vigilance until he was a few hundred meters off the side of the mammoth ship.

He gently banked the craft back around just in time to watch a group of six more of the speedy craft exit another bay, as well as two more from the bay he had just left. Frowning, he triggered his comm again and found the proper channel to ask, “Vincent, Shelby, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Whaddaya think we’re doing?” Vincent replied, his grin evident in his voice, “Can’t let ya have all the fun for yourself, that’s just downright greedy.”

“Besides,” added Shelby, “who else’s gonna pull your butt from the fire?”

Gratitude swelled in his chest at the pair as they fell into formation behind him. He had trouble keeping small tears from forming at the corners of his eyes, though he somehow managed to keep his voice steady, if a little thick, “Thanks you two, even though you’re technically being insubordinate.”

“Well looky at you, using them fancy, big words.” teased Shelby.

Before he could fire back a retort, Major Reynolds broke over the comm, “Uh, whaddaya say we quit the love patter and get Operation Sea Bass under way jarheads? I’d really like to get back in the Vigilance soon; I’ve just gotten to the good part of my book.”

Jaze watched the red-haired man’s fighter fall into formation with him, trying to contain the question. Silence reigned, but all too soon curiosity got the better of him, “Sea Bass? Since when did this have a name?”

“Jus’ what I’ve been calling it, since it’s gonna flounder.”

Once more, silence ruled the airwaves. Jaze tried several times to speak, but each time fits of giggles threatened to break out and he was forced to close his mouth. Finally, Reynolds asked with a somewhat nervous laugh, “Didn’t like that one?”

No one had time to respond, as a group of enemy fighters suddenly poured fire at them from close range. Bullets whizzed past the nose of Jaze’s craft, forcing a brief, surprised curse from his throat as he yanked the stick away from the danger. He shot up relative of the formation, Shelby and Vincent staying close on his tail. Scanning the area showed several of the Cye had drifted close enough without power to engage them; the craft suddenly powered to life and made a beeline towards him.

“Oh shit, combat!” Reynolds yelled into the comm. His fighter jumped forward and moved to engage the closest foe as he ordered, “Everyone pick a bogey and put it down fast, don’t chase ‘em down though. Stick close to Colonel Jarhead here and show him how real pilots fly, and make sure he doesn’t get shot down so the lessons stick.”

After a chorus of agreement, the remaining human fighters save Shelby and Vincent broke formation to find individual targets. In the first seconds of the fight each of them scored a kill, and Jaze couldn’t stop a low whistle of appreciation. Part of him wanted nothing more than to join in the scuffle and score a few kills himself, but he forced that part down and aimed the nose of his craft at the looming space station. Jaze reached out for the accelerator, but another large group of enemy craft moved in and surrounded him.

Shelby wasted no time in engaging several of the androids. She flew circles around them, never staying in the same place long enough to be targeted. It wasn’t long before she had turned two into short-lived puffs of smoke and fire. Vincent jumped into the fray behind her, just in time to pulverize a fighter that managed to get behind his fiancée.

Knuckles whitened as Jaze’s fist clenched over the flight stick. He shot a glare at one of the enemy craft that blew past him; he couldn’t afford to get stuck here, but he couldn’t just leave his friends to fight it out. Trixie’s eyes bored into the back of his neck, giving him another reason to pause. His fighter slowly started pulling away from the furious battle; none of the Cye pilots seemed eager to chase him down. They instead seemed content just to engage his escorts.

A clear path opened up before the nose of his craft straight to the enormous space station, practically begging him to take it. One of the Cye fighters began nosing after him, almost but not quite following him. Almost like the android intended to scare him away. Alarm bells began ringing, and him intuition beat a tattoo against the base of his skull, screaming about a trap.

Looking over his shoulder at Trixie, he asked, “Do you get the feeling they really don’t want us here?”

“I seem to be getting that inkling, yes.” agreed the unicorn. She gave him a tight lipped, mocking smile, “Shall we do what they would like us to?”

A smirk of his own overtook his features, “Sorry, but that just doesn’t sit too well with me.”

He yanked the fighter back around before he had time to second guess his decision. The Cye pilot who had been inching towards him suddenly filled his view, and a quick burst of machinegun fire served to turn it into a splintering wreck. Suddenly he was a threat, and several of the androids broke off their pursuits to attack him.

Adrenaline surged through him, making time at once seem to race and crawl. Two of the closest enemy craft quickly buzzed in to avenge their fallen comrade. Jaze relaxed now that he was committed; it felt as if a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders. He pulled his craft into a quick turn, just in time to avoid a pair of missiles streaking towards him. Trixie called out every time the console before her beeped, giving him just enough time to twist away from another piece of ordinance intent on doing him harm.

Instinct guided him, drawing on years of experience and training to help him outmaneuver his foes. Stars filled his view as he wheeled through space while narrowly dodging incoming fire. Quick changes in direction kept the Cye pilots from getting a solid lock on him. But try as he might, they stuck behind him without giving him the chance to turn the tables on them. They took the chance to pour fire at him, forcing him to fly in an increasingly complicated pattern just to barely avoid the missiles and bullets hurled at him.

Minutes crawled by like hours as he rolled away from yet another explosive-tipped exhaust trail. If he kept going like this, sooner or later he would make a mistake. They only had to score a single solid hit for him to end up a flaming wreck. Already sweat soaked his body underneath his gilded armor. Stars and battling ships both large and small whirling past his vision began making him dizzy, something he couldn’t afford. He was barely evading his pursuers as it was, the last thing he needed was to become foggy.

Out of nowhere a human pilot came from underneath and destroyed one of the enemy craft. Major Reynolds hollered a brief war cry into his comm before lining up on the second fighter. The Major quickly finished his foe with liberal amounts of gunfire just as Jaze managed to get turned around. Breathing a quick sigh of relief, he nudged his fighter back towards the huge space station.

Reynolds flew next to the Colonel’s craft, and he could practically see the huge grin on the young pilot’s face as he said, “Hey look, I pulled your ass outta the fire; what would you do without me?”

“Probably be a flaming streak, thanks for that.” Jaze looked around just in time to see the last of the Cye fighters take missiles from several directions and simply cease to exist. The career pilots had only lost one of their own in the battle, and the remaining spacecraft lined up alongside him to continue their journey. Just ahead he saw dozens more of the enemy craft congregating for another run.

“Oh my god, why are there so many?” Reynolds questioned, and Jaze couldn’t tell if it were fear or gleeful anticipation coloring his voice. Without waiting for an answer, the Major continued, “Okay Colonel Armand, can’t let ya get bogged down again. You and the jarheads get goin’, let us real flyers take care of the hard work. But uh… if ya feel like it, could ya get done quick and get back here?”

“We’ll try Chair-force, but no promises.” Vincent promised mockingly.

Jaze looked past the group of enemy craft; just beyond them was clear space. After getting past the smattering of Cye pilots who will do anything to stop him; all he had to do was avoid any starships that wandered by with their point defense turrets aimed at him, dodge any anti-air the station itself had, and somehow find a way inside to carry a nuke deep into a hornets’ nest full of angry enemy troops before more than likely having to fight an insane, power-thirsty man hell-bent on humanity’s destruction. Couldn’t be simpler.

Once more he thought about just how crazy this plan was. He couldn’t stop chuckling under his breath at how insane he must be. Anyone else wouldn’t have pushed to be given this mission. Or even have volunteered in the first place. But now here he was about to throw himself and his friends into another situation designed to kill them all.

Shelby and Vincent quickly fell in on either side of him, and Trixie stretched out as far as she could against her restraints to give his shoulder a reassuring pat. There was no more time left to second guess. His hand reached out, feeling as if it crossed miles to grab hold of the accelerator. His heart thudded in his ears, while every muscle tensed in expectation.

Ramming it forward sent power surging through the fighter, and he was pressed back into his seat as his spacecraft shot off on a cone of bluish-white exhaust with his escorts close behind. The gap between him and the enemy formation closed quickly, leaving him no time to dodge. If he tried, he would just end up as space paste. His finger tightened on the nose-gun’s trigger and sent sheets of powerful, armor-piercing slugs into the group before him. Streaks of light briefly marked the bullets’ paths through space, soon joined by two more streams of specks as Vincent and Shelby each added their weapons to the fray.

The three human craft blew past as the Cye pilots scattered from the hail of metal thrown at them. Several of the lead craft had nowhere to run and were cut down as Jaze blew past them with his guns still blazing. Enemy fighters surrounded him, unable to do more than give the robotic equivalent of a glare before he and his friends were beyond them into clearer space. He didn’t slow, or turn to see if any of the androids had already managed to organize and follow. Eyes locked on his target, he refused to let up on the throttle until the enemy craft were only tiny dots of light against the black of space.

Halfway across the vast expanse of void before his target, and he was still breathing. Anticipation made his heart race; he could make it. Nothing but nothing stood between him and his goal now, all he had to do was reach it. He scanned the space fortress for any faults, anywhere he could manage to slip inside to plant his surprise.

Every inch of the immense station looked impregnable, a solid wall of black daring him to come closer. There seemed to be nowhere that would allow him entry. Frantically, he searched several times over for some chink in its armor, some weakness to exploit. Nothing. All he found was nothing that could help him. Even though a hanger bay opened every few seconds somewhere along the tower-like lower section, they closed as soon as the last of the small craft disembarking were clear. No way would he be able to get past the fighters and dropships before the doors slammed shut and cut him in two.

But there, at the end of the tower, was a bright point of light. A hanger that stood permanently open. No craft seemed to be coming or going from it, nor did it seem particularly well guarded. Dread settled over him at the obvious trap, but there seemed to be no better way inside. He nudged his plane towards the opening, silently begging it to move faster. The bay grew lager as he powered closer, darkened metal rushing to meet him in his headlong charge.

Getting to the unsecured hanger bay was oddly uneventful, considering the starships tearing one another apart a few kilometers away. Bits of debris occasionally floated past, but no other threats presented themselves. The few warships that did start to enter his lane quickly changed course and found a way around him, almost as if a field was repelling any danger. Some of the Cye starships even seemed to lead human ships away. It was just like he had hoped; Carn was trying to get him aboard the station. He may have expected it, but watching huge ships give way before the nose of his craft was more than a little disconcerting.

After what felt like the longest flight of his life, he and his escorts finally reached the bay. A wide, low room greeted them. The inside of the ship was a depressing gray, as if the color had been leeched out. Several Cye fighters sat spaced in neat rows, leaving only enough room for one or two more craft at best in the exact center of the bay. Dim lights along the ceiling wreaked havoc on his vision, adding to his fear of an ambush. Near the back was a wide airlock, only discernable by its slightly darker metal. There were no decorations or any obvious computer stations and the like, nothing to break the monotony of the room. And other than the small star-craft, the room was deserted.

Wary of a trap, Jaze eased his plane into bay and down into the empty space between a pair of Cye craft. Gravity forced him to settle back into his seat, a change he welcomed for once. He flicked a switch, and landing gear extended from the bottom of his plane to gently kiss the deck. But just as the wheels made contact, huge doors began quickly sliding shut over the exit. All he could do was watch as his escape route closed off.

The chamber resonated with a resounding boom as the doors slammed shut. Almost immediately, Jaze’s comm crackled to life and Shelby’s worried voice spoke in his ear, “Jaze, they’ve closed up and we can’t get in. Should we blast our way through or what?”

Trixie, having fixed a spare comm unit to her ear, replied from the back, “No, I would not attempt it. If human warships could not penetrate the armor, then the weapons carried by your tiny craft would do nothing more than bring unwanted attention to yourselves.”

“But we…”

Jaze cut off his friend before she could raise her object, “Don’t argue, Trixie’s right. Just try and stay on station to help us with the exfil, we’ll find a way to open the doors.” He stopped just before adding “somehow”, though he couldn’t help but feel he’d be lucky to find a decent place to plant the bomb, let alone any sort of hanger controls.

Thumbing another switch raised the canopy. Jaze removed his helmet and almost instantly regretted it; stale, metallic tasting air flooded the cockpit with its appalling reek. Welder fumes clogged the air. Under the first smells were hints of various other unpleasant odors, all of which blended together in an invisible cloud that threatened to choke the air from his lungs. His lungs heaved in protest of the horrid stink, and it physically hurt his chest every time he breathed in.

Trixie fell into a coughing fit, trying unsuccessfully to stifle it beneath a hoof. Turning in his seat, he found her eyes tearing up as she struggled to breath. He reached out, worry filling him at her plight, only to have his hand waved off. She slowly adjusted to the rancid air, though she still looked unwell. Despite the fit, she still forced a smile and whispered, “I will be alright; I have just never smelt anything so foul in my life.”

He nodded, grabbing his rifle and sword. After one last, quick scan from the relative safety of the cockpit, he hopped out onto the floor below. Shockwaves rippled up his legs from the impact, but he managed to stay upright with a bend of his knees. His heart fluttered in his chest, a combination of the foul air and the lingering expectation of combat. But even when he hit the ground, still nothing happened. No enemy troops, no sudden traps being activated, and no one shouted or tried to attack him. Eerie silence was his only greeting; a deafening quiet that chilled him for reasons he couldn’t explain.

Sharp clangs sounded beside him, coaxing a startled jump from him. He spun to see Trixie grinning sheepishly at him, having just followed him down to the floor. The last echoes died out as Jaze rolled his eyes before moving to untether the bomb from underneath his spacecraft.

He stared at the weapon for a moment, taking in once more just how much power he was looking at. Transferring his gaze over to the unicorn at his side, he asked, “Are you sure you’ll be able to move this thing? It’s pretty heavy.”

“How could you doubt me?” admonished the pony, her lip pouting in a ridiculous look of sadness that only served to put laughter in his throat. She took his laughter as a cue to pout more, and stated, “If I say I can do something, then as Celestia as my witness I can do it!” Magic shone from her horn, surrounding the bomb in a blue aura that gently pulled it free of its bindings. It floated before the smug-looking unicorn, and she indicated with her head for him to lead the way.

Chuckles continued to escape his throat as he turned towards the back of the hanger. The airlock wasn’t visible from down on the deck through the forest of fighters, but he knew roughly where it was. His heart pounded in his chest, and it felt like Trixie should have been able to hear it. Every sense screamed at him just to turn and run, but he forced his feet one in front of the other.

The azure pony fell into step behind him as they set off with the bomb floating behind them. She must have sensed his hesitation, for she offered a reassuring smile anytime he turned to look. But the smile did little to lift his spirits. From the silence to the lack of anyone manning the bay, everything felt off. Sounds were mostly absorbed by the large room and its multitudes small-craft contained within. Any number of Cye troops could be hidden amongst their planes, waiting to spring a trap.

But just as the flight to get here, the long trip to the large airlock was harrowing only by being uneventful. Nervous energy coursed through his veins; his eyes tried to cut through the odd gloom with little success, searching for some sign of a trap. This was far too easy, and he could see it was starting to get to Trixie too. Now when he looked, she was nervously glancing around as well. As they neared the wide doors, the airlock cycled open.

Several gleaming rifle barrels were pointed at them, held in the hands of faceless androids. Row after row of the robots filled the short hall, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with only small gaps between each one. He froze in place, unwilling to risk setting the Cye troopers off, and time seemed to slow down to a crawl. It felt as if he had been dropped into a painting; neither party moved, each waiting on the other to strike. He quickly looked around for something to hide behind. Nothing; nothing he could do to stop the inevitable hail of bullets from storming down the hall.

From behind him came a yell, “DUCK!”

Without thinking, he followed Trixie’s shouted instruction and dove to the ground. He didn’t need to wonder what she had in mind for long; the bomb hurled itself over his head and into the ranks of troopers. Several were crushed under the immense weight, while many more were flung back as it skidded down the hall amid the wail of tortured metal. The few not taken out scattered away from the sliding weapon in every direction.

The loud screech sent pain spiking between Jaze’s ears; he held his breath, waiting for the bomb to explode from being so violently jostled. He could feel every pulse of his heart distinctly, and suddenly wished there would be more. At least that would be a relatively painless way to go; he’d be atomized before he could feel anything. A second ticked by, then another, and the bomb slowed and eventually stopped grinding along the floor without unleashing the destructive energy stored within. Relief washed over him, heightened by seeing his foes had been reduced to a slightly more manageable size.

He took the slight reprieve to fumble across the floor until his back was pressed safely against the newly found cover. Trixie, a smug look on her face, soon joined him. As his fear began to subside a little, it flowed over to the unicorn beside him in an angered shout, “What the hell were you thinking? That could’ve…”

She rolled her eyes briefly and returned the glare that must have been on his face, “If that bomb had exploded from that, how could it have survived all those years of being in the elements? This bomb would have to have some kind of armor to survive that amount of punishment.”

Bullets impacted on the other side of the warhead, causing both of them to jump. Jaze eased over to the edge of their makeshift-cover and risked a peek. He only just caught sight of a number of the androids training their weapons on him before a shot passed centimeters from his face. Flinching away, he put his rifle to his shoulder as Trixie added, “Besides, it would seem we have more pressing matters to attend to.”

He gave her a nod before spinning up above the bomb and firing a random burst at the androids down the hall. A few of the rounds impacted across their line with little effect, and he was forced to drop down again when they all turned to fire at him at once. Underneath the sounds of gunfire and bullet impacts, he could hear the solid, steady tramp of metallic feet as they slowly moved closer.

At the first lull in the incoming fire, he leaned around the bomb to pour the rest of his weapon’s magazine into the advancing androids. A few staggered while one fell dead to the deck, but he had to yank his body back as more rounds slammed into the warhead and deck near him. Taking a moment to reload, he glanced around for something to turn the fight to his advantage. And just as his first, hasty glance had shown, there was nothing.

A sudden glow from beside him drew his attention back to Trixie. The azure magician’s horn was shining with a powerful light. A few drops of sweat rolled down her face, her face a grimace of intense concentration. He glanced around to see what she had found, but nothing seemed to be changing. Until a drop of water landed on his cheek and he looked up to see a large, dark storm cloud forming over head, complete with lightning roiling in its depths. The shifting vapors slowly grew larger as he watched, making the hair on his arms rise from the pent up electricity charging the air.

The pony spared a moment to give him another smug grin before unleashing the mini-storm’s fury. Bolts of lightning lashed out over the bomb, and Jaze risked another peek just in time to watch several of the metal troopers fall, spasming violently as the electricity shorted out their systems. Peals of thunder rang out in the cramped hall, and his ears rang painfully from the deafening uproar. Nothing standing past the bomb was spared by the roving strikes. Several of the automatons went flying away from the powerful bolts. Intense, blistering heat churned the hall into gusts of wind blowing away from the lightning strikes.

As Jaze watched in silent awe, the last of the androids took a large snake of electricity to the chest and dropped with its fellows to the deck. Silence once more filled the hall, a welcomed relief from the clamor caused by the localized storm. Trixie turned to him with a smile and remarked offhandedly with a tone of haughty satisfaction, “I believe that should clear the way. What would you do without me?”

“Probably not have to worry about a heart attack for a few more years.” He replied dryly as he stepped around the edge of the bomb. Nothing besides him and the magician seemed to be alive. For the first time, he was able to give the corridor several seconds to inspect it. But he hadn’t seemed to miss anything save the hall’s only exit, another airlock-style door.

Trixie hefted the warhead with her magic, and once more they set off. The airlock slid open noiselessly as they neared, allowing them into what could only be a staging area. Several racks of weapons were spaced out before them in neat rows, with crates of ammo on either side of each little island of firepower. A few closed doors were spaced around the fringes of the room, but the one directly across from them was standing wide open into another, larger room.

Again Jaze was struck by how smoothly this operation was going. They may have had to fight, but surely there were more troops to throw at a pair of invaders. The androids seemed like a token force, more of a welcome than any attempt to actually stop them. As he walked down the center aisle of the armory towards the open door, he peeked down the rows to each side. There seemed to be no one attempting to halt their progress. Everything was eerily quiet, as if the station was entirely abandoned.

They made it across the room without so much as hearing a stern warning. With his rifle held tight against his shoulder, he stepped through the open door into a wide room with a monorail track going through the center. The track passed through the walls, sealed by a door almost large enough for a fighter to pass through. But again, the place was empty; not even the train was in the station. There seemed to be no way of calling it, forcing a curse from his lips.

The silence seemed to swallow every sound they made, even their breathing. A quick scan revealed no other way in or out of the room besides the monorail. Jaze slung his rifle on one shoulder and stepped up to the track in hopes of finding something to help them continue. They had been led directly to this station for a reason, he could feel it. He searched all around for a hidden panel, or perhaps a pressure plate to summon the train. But still he found nothing.

Confusion knitted his brow, and he carefully searched along every wall and corner for something he must have missed. There had to be something, otherwise this would end up a very short trip. Yet still he found naught that could open a door to a secret passage, or even a hidden broom closet. Jumping across the tracks turned up a lot of nothing as well. If they had been led here, it must have been to starve them out.

From nowhere, a shrill siren blared out a warning, startling the pair in the room. Jaze spun around, and saw one of the doors on the monorail track had slid open to reveal a darkened, short hall. Deep in the tunnel, something began to move. A low hum filled the air as a train roared into the station, moving as blur of speed and metal. It was several cars long, each car lacking a top, or even seats. And like the rest of the space station, it was a dull gray.

Fear gripped him, freezing him in place, as the last car rolled into the station. Curled up atop it, only just clearing the top of the tunnel, was one of the spider-like heavy Cye units. It was slightly different than others he had seen; its head was slightly conical with a single, large, red eye nestled in the gray metal. The large cannon usually carried by its kind had been replaced by another heavy machinegun. It was smaller than the ground-based models he had seen, though he still would have trouble touching its head if he was standing on his own shoulders.

Its four legs spread out evenly on the train car, and it twisted around as it stood in what could only be the robotic equivalent of a glower. Almost instant dryness struck his mouth, while his palms seemed to have taken all that moisture for themselves. His rifle fell into his hands, although it felt as though the hand that caught it belonged to someone else entirely. It was impossible for him to raise the gun, even as he watched the heavy do the same. The android took careful aim; the barrel of its large weapon appeared to be a hole into the oblivion that awaited those caught under its gaze.

“Jaze, RUN!” Trixie screamed, breaking him from his fugue.

Somehow he managed to dive aside just in time to narrowly avoid a short burst from the huge machine gun that chewed up the floor where he had stood. The gunshots echoed painfully in the open chamber. Jaze couldn’t help but wince as he rolled to his feet and swung his rifle up in one swift motion. The unicorn used her magic to throw the bomb as the hulking robot, but it spun with lightning quickness and easily slapped the warhead aside. Now the beast was focused on her; its arm rose and he could hear the low whine of the gun spinning up for a fatal discharge.

Boiling rage supplanted any fear as the android rotated to face the pony. Jaze dropped to one knee and swung his rifle up, his finger tightening on the trigger. Bullets bounced off the monster’s thick armor as he screamed at the beast. Though the rounds did nothing to hurt it, the behemoth did turn its attention away from Trixie. On the downside, it was now glaring back into his eyes.

Jaze cinched his eyes shut, concentrating. His mind slowly settled down, leaving him feeling calm. Time may as well have ground to a stop around him, halted by the flow of power in his mind. Magic coursed through his veins with every beat of his heart and set them ablaze with new strength. The rifle clattered against the deck as his arms rose; power flowed to the tips of his fingers and spread out in a thick shield of bluish-white magic.

Even as his shield spread out, several rounds impacted the solid wall of light. Each large bullet that struck the shield sent a tiny wave of exhaustion rolling through his body. The strain soon had beads of sweat rolling down his brow. His knees shook with the effort and his arms swiftly grew tired, but he was just able to keep the shield firmly in place. Gritting his teeth, he silently begged for the barrage to end. Pain was starting to creep up his back, and a quick peek showed the magical aura before him beginning to thin in places.

Once more his eyes shut as he poured more of the dwindling magic into the barrier. Trying to reopen them proved impossible, so he stayed blind and attempted to force more of his exhausted magic into the shield. He could feel the power being bled dry from the base of his skull, leaving behind a void that quickly filled in with the soreness creeping up his spine. In an instant the assault stopped, catching him off-guard with its sudden disappearance. The jarring clang of metal on metal spiked through his head, forcing him to open his eyes.

His jaw fell open as the reality of what he was seeing forced itself into his taxed mind. The nuclear warhead was floating around the android, striking at random from every direction. It had turned away to meet the new assault, leaving the Colonel staring up at its back. Each blow was met by one of the monster’s arms batting away the heavy bomb, though it had no time to recover from each hammering blow before the next was launched. Jaze peered about the room for several moments before finding Trixie standing well away from her foe, horn glowing brightly with the lavender aura of magic.

Several times the beast tried to step forward to finish of its prey, but each time it was met a flurry of heavy blows aimed at its head and was forced back. He could see the sweat raining down her features; strong as she was, it wouldn’t be long before she was too tired to continue. Then it would be a simple matter for the metal monstrosity to crush her under heavy foot before turning its attention back on him for another easy kill.

When the heavy unit raised its arm to swat away yet another attack, an idea struck. The memory of the last time he had seen one of these units flooded his mind. Again, he watched as it the thing brought up its cannon to obliterate the shred of trench he had cowered in while waiting for whatever Twilight’s sniper group was planning. And once more, he watched as the thing fell from a single well placed shot. Jaze snatched his gun from where it had fallen, his heart skipping a beat at the insanity he was going to try.

The blows raining down on the heavy trooper began to slow. He could see exhaustion taking its toll on the unicorn mage. She was forced to back away as her target began to advance, until she bumped into a wall. Panic set in on her face; her efforts to halt the thing’s advance redoubled, fueled by terror. But her strikes were erratic and did little to slow it down; it merely continued forward with a determined gait.

Without pausing to spare another thought, he took a running start and leapt over the tracks. Adrenalin surged through him, burning away any trace of exhaustion. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he set off in a dead sprint towards the beast. It was still solely focused Trixie and hadn’t noticed him yet. His heart hammered painfully in his chest, and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

Getting to the beast was surprisingly easy. But as he neared, it spun around to face him. Even if a robot couldn’t show emotion, it still didn’t seem pleased to see him. Its arm rose to deliver a crushing blow, making his heart leap into his throat. Jaze slid to a stop and bent his knees in preparation to dive to either side as the heavy chunk of metal came down. He needn’t have bothered; as soon as the metallic monster had its back turned, Trixie collected her wits and slammed the nuke into the dead center of its back.

A mighty crack sounded as its armor split open a tiny crack. The thing stumbled forward a few steps, nearly crushing Jaze under its heavy foot. He sidestepped around the lumbering mass and quickly climbed atop its leg. It tried to sweep him off with a broad swing of its arm, forcing him to duck under the powerful blow. But as the swing went wide, he caught sight of his target. Or at least, where his target should have been; the thing’s side was devoid of any sort of weakness.

Despair settled on his heart, and he felt the bottom fall out of his stomach. He froze, unsure of what to do now. The weak-point under the arm had been his last hope. They had no real way of bringing it down now; none of the weapons he had could do more than scratch it. Unfortunately, his foe was still very mobile. An arm swept him from his precarious perch and sent him hurtling towards the wall next to Trixie.

The wall rushed to meet him with its hard embrace. All the air exploded from his lungs as he slammed into the unforgiving metal, sending him in a crumpled heap to the floor. His head rang against the metal with an unhealthy crack, making his vision swim sickeningly. Dull aches spread along his back and skull as he tried to draw breath into his rebelling lungs. Blurry shapes danced in his vision in a confused tangle, along with a horrid clanging that sent a hot shard of pain between his eyes. His rifle no longer seemed to be in his hand, though it was hard to be sure.

As he lay stunned, a powerful pair of legs wrapped around his midsection. Dragging his mind out of the mire that encased it allowed him a brief glimpse of silver-streaked mane before an intense pressure surrounded his body. Every inch of him felt like it was being encased in solid lead; any attempt to move was met by a stubborn refusal. A bright flash of lavender light, and then everything went dark. The only thing he could still feel was the pony wrapped tightly around his waist; everything else had ceased to be.

But before he could begin to wonder at what happened, another flash of lavender light brought reality rushing back. And with its return, his mind finally sharpened back into focus enough to see that Trixie had teleported them well away from the android. It stared down at where they had been, almost seeming confused by their sudden disappearance.

Jaze looked away from the robot and to the unicorn still latched around his middle. She looked up to him with a brief, smug smile before asking, “So, do you have any more bright ideas? Preferably something that may not get you killed?”

“Working on it.” he grunted as he tried to climb to his feet.

The words carried to their foe, and it spun around to face them. It cocked its head at them, and Jaze could only guess it was waiting on them to disappear again. He looked down to Trixie and whispered, “Think you could conjure up another storm like you did before? Because now would be a fine time to go all great and powerful on that bastard.”

“No, I am all used up from pulling your rump out of the fire.” Her voice was a low, angry hiss of displeasure and sarcasm as she added, “Unless you have a mana potion stashed somewhere, the only thing great and powerful I can conjure up would be a few choice insults.”

“Dammit.” he growled turning his eyes back to his foe. It had begun to step forward, though it was moving far slower than it had before. Every few feet, it would pause to watch them before continuing on, waiting on them to move. Jaze moved the pony behind him as his eyes scanned for his weapon. He finally found it directly behind the advancing robot, lying where he had fallen.

An idea struck, and he knelt down next to Trixie to whisper, “I need you to keep the thing distracted. Just for a few seconds or so, and I think I can take it down.”

“Because your brilliant plan worked last time.” remarked the unicorn. Despite her scathing tone, she dashed away, yelling, “Hey, you ugly brute! Look over here! Your mother must have been a toaster, and your father an abacus for all the brains you have.”

The heavy unit turned towards the fleeing unicorn, its gaze locked to the movement. It brought up its machinegun arms, but before it could take aim the pony had vanished into a cloud of lavender light. She reappeared several feet away from her starting point, though she was still right in front of the beast. Waving at the android to keep its attention, she continued to jump around the room. She was always just one step ahead of the heavy, and was never in one place long enough to get a shot.

Jaze shook his head in amazement before running as silently as he could towards his rifle. He kept expecting the android to catch on, to turn and catch him in the open and with no teleporting tricks to save him. But it seemed to have formed something of a grudge against Trixie and stayed entirely focused on her while he ran across the room and retrieved his fallen assault rifle.

He turned to face his foe, and was given a perfect view of the small crack that had formed in its armor. A few lazy sparks dripped from the wounded metal, a sure sign of distress. Deep inside the crack were a few important looking mechanisms and other bits, and Jaze hoped that he was right about their vulnerability. Phantom pain spread along his side and back as his mind processed what he had planned. Trixie’s sides heaved with the taxing struggle of using her magic so often; there was no more time to lose. Letting his rifle hang from its sling, Jaze drew his sword and leapt with all the strength in his legs.

As he soared towards the robot, he reared back with the tip of his sword aimed squarely at the weak point. He put every bit of strength he could manage into his swing; Sairugi’s blade plunged into the split in the android’s armor, buried to the hilt. The heavy unit reared up, almost as if in pain, and began violently tossing its torso from side to side in an attempt to dislodge its unwanted passenger. With both hands on the hilt of his sword, the only thing Jaze could do was hang on for dear life. Just holding on was a struggle; trying to scrabble up its back was impossible.

Large arms swung back in a vain attempt to crush him, and each impact made his arms tremble with the effort of staying in place. Viscous, slick, dark green fluid oozed out of the crack around his sword, and the android’s thrashing began to ease. He looked down, searching for something he could use to boost himself just a little higher. The joint between its torso and legs caught his eye, and his boots slipped perfectly into the crack. With his new leverage, he kept his robotic hand on the hilt of his sword and let his rifle fall down into the other.

As he had hoped, the crack was just wide enough for the barrel of his gun. He jammed the rifle into the split and squeezed the trigger, pouring the entire magazine into the hole. Bullets tore into the delicate inner workings of the robot, the sound of the rifle’s report absorbed by the thing’s hull. The android began shaking like a dog and throwing itself around in renewed efforts to get rid of him, but the strength of the false hand helped him stay in place as he emptied the mag.

It took all the remaining strength in his limbs to keep the rifle still, but soon the effect became evident. The android’s thrashing began to die out, though it still tried to get to him. Weak, wild swings of its arms slammed into its back and sides, but it was unable to get come close. All of his strength was gone and he was ready to fall off despite the certain death that awaited him when the robot finally went still and keeled over on its side.

Jaze was thrown clear of the falling android, rolling to a stop several feet away. He stared up at the ceiling with tired eyes. The sounds of ragged breathing reached his ears, and it took awhile for him to realize they were his own. Exhaustion and the leftover adrenaline made his limbs quiver. But even though he felt like sleeping for a month, his lips curled up in a slight smirk. They had beaten the android, by themselves.

Remembering Trixie sent a wave of worry through his tired body, and he sat bolt upright to peer around the room. Everywhere he looked was devoid of the azure pony. He couldn’t see her anywhere. His mind conjured up images of her being under their foe when it fell; he hadn’t been paying enough attention to tell where she was. Worry turned to panic as his heart skipped a beat, and he looked towards the defeated heavy trooper. But there was still no sign of the missing unicorn.

“Looking for somepony?” asked a voice from right by his ear.

“Gah!” he yelped, spinning around so fast his neck popped. Trixie stood behind him with a loving smile and her trademark smug smirk battling for control of her features. She was obviously more than a little amused with her stunt.

“What is the matter?” she questioned sweetly as she walked in front of him, putting on a falsely innocent façade, “Have you seen a ghost?”

Rolling his eyes, he replied sourly, “Thanks Trixie, I thought you’d been crushed under that lummox. Now I think I lost another ten years off my life. What the hell were you thinking?”

“What was…” she sputtered, incredulity mixing with bits of anger, “What were you thinking?! Jumping onto that thing like that, you might have been killed!”

“Well I wasn’t, and you weren’t either.” He held out his hand with a smirk of his own, “Guess that’s a win for us, right?” She rolled her eyes, but hooked her hoof around his hand and helped him to his feet. He gave her a quick nod of gratitude before moving over to their felled foe to gather his weapons.

Sairugi was stuck fast, and it took several hard tugs to dislodge the sword from its metal prison. His rifle, however, was a dead loss. Somehow it had ended up underneath the heavy when it had fallen, and had been crushed into uselessness. Even if it wasn’t destroyed, there was no way he could move the metal husk to retrieve the gun. Small twinges of regret echoed through him; there was no telling what else awaited them.

Resigned to having to stick with only his sword, he glanced up to see Trixie loading the warhead onto the monorail. He sheathed his blade as he strode over to the unicorn. Every inch of his body screamed in exhaustion, begging him for a rest. A quick inspection of the tram confirmed what he had seen before; there were no seats on any of the cars. Even after everything else that had already happened, this was the final indignity. Bad enough to be here, worse to have to sit on the floor.

Trixie waved him over, and stated while pointing to the front car, “I think there is a mechanism to control this train up there. At least, there are several buttons on the floor that look as if they would control this thing.”

“Ugh, on the floor. Figures.” Jaze replied sourly, a bitter taste in his mouth. He gave another look around the room, desperately hoping that he had missed something in his initial search. Or maybe some secret passage opened up. But of course, the tram was still the only way forward.

An exasperated sigh escaped his chest, and he practically growled, “Alright, let’s do this then. I’d like to have done with this.”

He clambered up onto the first car, and immediately saw the buttons that Trixie was talking about. A pair of simple, blue squares set into the floor, one in front of the other, at the very front of the tram. Other than that, there didn’t seem to be anything other controls. The sharp sound of hooves on metal rang out next to him, and he felt the unicorn’s presence at his side. He settled to the floor with his legs crossed comfortably before tentatively touching the foremost button.

As he had hoped, the monorail began inching forward. The door in front of their car opened to allow them to roll into another station. This one occupied by a mass of Cye troopers. Jaze’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. The robots turned to look at the monorail inching forward through the track; they were on either side of the tracks. Several nearby androids brought their rifles to metallic shoulders, each one training their weapons on the pair passing between them.

Both he and Trixie threw themselves to the deck, flattening out in hopes of making smaller targets. Jaze glared at the enemy troops, wishing he had thought to go back the armory he had passed through and grab another rifle. Instead, he reached forward and jammed his thumb into the forward toggle. Holding down the button did exactly what he hoped; their monorail exploded into a breakneck pace just as the enemy opened fire.

Rounds screamed over their heads, and then they were through the crossfire and into another armory. Everything was a blur to either side; if there was anything looking to harm them, there was no way they’d have time to aim before the cars blew past. Wind lapped at his hair, blowing it this way and that, as they continued on their mad journey. Standing was impossible as long as they were moving this fast, but neither passenger really cared. Jaze’s breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding rushed out in a grateful release; they were safe for now.

Brief glimpses of the scenery to either side revealed just how much power this station could project. Nearly every room they passed was something to add to the enemy’s war effort. He lost count of the number of weapon warehouses they had passed through, and although not every one was occupied there seemed to be more than enough troops massed to take any human world the enemy desired. It struck him out of the blue just how small he was in comparison to the massive force arrayed against him and his. A shiver passed through his body as a hopeless air settled on him.

Trixie must have felt his tremble; she scooted across the floor of the tram to throw a reassuring leg across his back. Regardless of the minimal contact, gratitude filled Jaze as he offered her a brief smile. Their noses were nearly touching; she was so close he could feel her warm breath against his cheek. She returned the smile, a slight tinge of red in her cheeks. The words he had wanted to say before burned on his tongue, begging to be given voice. Deep emotions swirled in his breast, rekindling his fragile hope. He could see the same feelings reflected in the wide, lavender pools staring back at him.

Those eyes drew him in; even here, amidst thousands of different ways to be killed, his breath caught in his chest as he stared into the depths of her gaze. His hand reached out and gently brushed a stray strand of her mane that had been blown out of place. He couldn’t resist teasing the side of her face with the tips of his fingers. The soft fur of her cheek sent a brief thrill through him that ran from his fingers to his toes. Her smile morphed into something he couldn’t quite place; almost like a mixture of nervousness, contentment, and other, more powerful emotions.

His lips began to form the words of their own accord, but no breath came to give them life. But again, she must’ve seen inside his mind. Her hoof went to his lips in a shushing motion, a lovely gleam in her expressive eyes. Through the touch, he could feel the feelings she had for him coming to the fore. He took the hoof in his hand and planted a light, tender kiss on the tip. Her crimson cheeks let him know she got the message.

The monorail began to slow of its own accord, catching both of them by surprise. They shuffled apart, and Jaze could feel his face heating in blush. He just managed to stand up into a crouch and his right hand went to his sword, while his left stayed on the floor of the car for balance. Another door loomed before them; as they neared it, the tram grew slower. This had to be the end of the tracks, and somehow Jaze knew that this was where they were being led as well. His hand trembled at Sairugi’s hilt, though he couldn’t be sure if it were fear or anticipation.

The door slid open just as they reached it, revealing a mid-sized, square room. It was a hub for several more of the monorails; Jaze counted five of the tracks on either side of the one they had rode in on. Each set of tracks had a control console of sorts at its terminus, and near the back of the room was another, larger machine that he couldn’t determine the reason for. Continuing the theme of the rest of the ship they had seen, the room was a dull gray and lacked any decoration. On the far side of the room were a few doors, all of them shut.

And standing in the center of the room, his face set in a deep scowl, was Carn. The older man was wearing a stylized uniform similar to a Marine’s official dress uniform; simple, brilliant white, loose-fitting pants and a rich purple over coat. The coat reached down to just past his waist, and ornate silver buttons marched up each side of his chest. Tasseled pads of a metallic gold adorned his shoulders, giving him an even more pompous air than usual. High-style boots came up to his calves, incasing his feet in gleaming black. Finishing out the man’s attire was a long, slim, straight sword with a gleaming, golden basket around the hilt in a glossy, black leather scabbard.

Their eyes met, and revulsion overwhelmed Jaze at the sight of those dead, black orbs set into the other’s face. He hopped off the monorail while leveling the best glare he could muster at the older man. In return, Carn’s scowl deepened and annoyance tightened his eyes. Those dark, blank eyes seemed to stare right into his soul; the depthless pools of hatred filled Jaze’s mind with their glare.

Sairugi shook loudly in its sheath, begging to be set free on the maniac. Jaze glanced down at his hand on the hilt of his weapon; he hadn’t realized before that his fist was so tight that his knuckles were white. It took several seconds of deep, calming breaths to let him release his death grip on his sword. As he did, he realized that his fatigue was gone; replaced entirely with resolution.

Before either man could say a word, Trixie mocked, “Are you trying to play at being a prince today, or did your favorite clothing store run out of everything that didn’t scream pretentious villain?” Jaze couldn’t help but let a smile creep across his lips at the unicorn’s fiery tone. He could feel the rage pouring from the insane cyborg all the way across the room.

“I believed it rather fitting.” the older man replied acidly. He took several deep breaths, letting out each one slowly before continuing with a sudden smile, “After I am finished with you two, I plan on wearing this to address your leaders; perhaps then they will be more amicable to surrender.”

Trixie jumped down next to him, using her magic to float the bomb off the tracks and leave it hovering nearby. Jaze flexed his empty hand, feeling renewed strength flooding his limbs. Hate burned sickeningly in his chest, demanding to be released against the thing standing before him. His stomach roiled in anticipation as his hand strayed back to his sword despite his efforts to make it stay still.

He looked to the pony at his side and nodded at the floor next to them, “Go ahead and put it down, we may be here awhile.” She glanced up at him before allowing the bomb to settle to the deck. It seemed to him like it had been waiting all this time for a chance to prove itself. Now, it would get the chance to make it being kept around worth it. Looking at the bomb sparked an idea in his mind; he knew what had to be done.

Carn’s voice brought his attention back up as the graying man glowered at them, “I must say though, I have underestimated you two. I had planned to take you on a tour of the station, but you have convinced me to just deal with you here and now. Too bad, I think you would have enjoyed it.”

Jaze knelt next to the bomb and forced the other’s words out if his mind. The keypad on the nuke beckoned to him. The small, numbered keys glowed a slight green, while the readout above them read “UNARMED” in the same green. He began to key in the code Gaston had him memorize to set the bomb up. Nervous shakes filled his fingers as he touched each key carefully, double checking before he pushed the button. A single wrong move at this stage could lock the bomb to where it was utterly useless, or worse; he didn’t want to end up dying for a stupid, single push of a wrong button.

After several, nerve-wracking seconds that felt like hours, the keys changed to a yellow, and the words “ENTER TIME TO DETONATION” rolled across the screen followed by a flashing, blank timer. A few more key strokes set it to fifteen minutes, and the warhead asked for confirmation. His finger hovered over the final key; for some strange reason he just couldn’t bring himself to push the button.

A pair of cold fingers marched down his spine, raising goose-bumps on the back of his neck. The amount of power at his finger tips suddenly overwhelmed him. He looked down at the nuke with a mixture of fear and fascination growing in his gut. Weapons like these had once nearly driven his species to extinction once, and here he was setting off another. It still felt nothing but wrong, like a slap in the face of history.

“What are you doing?” Carn suddenly called out loudly, breaking into Jaze’s thoughts. He looked up to see the older man staring curiously at him with a slight smirk on his face.

The other’s leer steeled Jaze’s mind, and he let a quick smirk of his own show, “Just taking precautions Carn. I want to fight you, I want to take you apart piece by piece, but I can’t risk losing and let this station stand. This bomb’ll finish off anything I can’t.” He looked back down to the nuke, but his hand still refused the order to move. Even if he was convinced this was the right thing to do, his body still seemed to be hesitant.

The older man erupted into a deep, shaking laugh. His fit continued for several seconds, and his smile was evident in his voice as he replied, “That is rich. Even if that bomb kills me, all humans will be elevated. This station is far too powerful for such a small bomb to do much more than damage a few systems. That damage would be repaired easily, and the drones would continue with their mission. As long as this station stands, humanity’s fate is sealed.”

Jaze couldn’t stop a slight snicker at the other’s arrogance. Carn’s head tilted in confusion, so the assassin patted the bomb and stated, “You’re thinking this is small? Don’t you know that a small nuke doesn’t mean a small payload?”

“Nuke? You mean…” The mad cyborg’s face lit with horror. His eyes widened to the size of eggs, and he seemed stunned. He shook his head slowly, and almost whispered, “That is not a nuclear bomb; you’re lying. You’re trying to trick me, to scare me.”

A smirk crossed Jaze’s lips, “Believe what you want, doesn’t change this from the biggest bomb humanity has to offer. And it’s sitting in your base, because you wanted to throw insults at a single man. I won’t make that mistake.”

The fear on Carn’s face suddenly cranked up, though he kept his voice angry, “You wouldn’t d…”

Jaze offered a quick grin before forcing his thumb down onto the button. The cyborg leader’s threat was interrupted by the sound of a loud beep from the warhead, and the timer swiftly began counting towards zero. He knew it was only moving normally, but still he felt that time was running out far faster than it should. Painful heartbeats slammed against his ribs in rapid-fire rhythm; he had to admit even he hadn’t expected himself to hit the button.

Shock rooted the purple-suited man to the spot. His mouth flapped, but no words came out. Black eyes regarded the bomb, and the gold-armored Marine couldn’t tell if it was anger or fear that lurked behind them. Those depthless orbs switched from the bomb to stare right into his eyes, causing a powerful shiver to race through his form. Suddenly his armor felt like it was holding him in place.

Trixie broke the spell by calling out mockingly, “Looks like he does dare Carn.” He turned to look at the unicorn just in time to meet her gaze. She smiled up at him and mouthed “I’m proud” before saying aloud, “Shall we leave then? Our work here is done.”

He nodded, no small sense of relief flooding his mind, before cocking his head to the flabbergasted man and ordering, “Get mad. I want you to hate me. You feel that? That is the same feeling you’ve inspired in so many other people. You’ve taken the things that everyone else held dear, and now it’s happening to you. I want you to live with that feeling. I don’t even want to kill you anymore; what I just did is far worse. You’ve got less than fifteen minutes to get out of here, I suggest you get going.”

He turned and waved towards the platform while stating tiredly, “Let’s get out of here Trix, I’m sick of this fight. Didn’t you mention people waiting on us at some point?”

Her head bobbed excitedly, and she turned with him to move back to the monorail. Peace filled his mind; an odd sort of peace he couldn’t have expected. Here he was walking away from the very man he had wanted nothing more than to kill for the past two years, and it felt so right. Easy, in a way, like this was how he had wanted it to end. He caught the eyes of the pony trotting next to him; her expressive eyes failed to conceal the relief she too was feeling.

From behind them came a shrill, tortured shriek. The clack of boots on metal rang out, echoing around the chamber in a confusing cacophony. They turned, Jaze’s hand flying to his sword, to see Carn closing in on them with his sword aimed squarely at the center of the golden breastplate. A burst of adrenaline surged through the gold-armored soldier, and his vision narrowed down to focus only on the blade coming towards his chest.

There was barely enough room for him to twist out of the way of the jab. He could feel the razor-sharp edge cutting the very air just inches from his arm. The older man was quicker than anticipated; the weapon suddenly changed direction and whipped up towards his face in a lightning-fast strike. Jaze was forced to pull his head back away from the blade, only to receive a hammering blow to his chest from its pommel. The blow dented his armor and pushed all the air from his lungs, sending him sprawling to floor. As he fell, he watched the other’s sword following him down. His foot lashed out, catching the older man in his stomach, and opened up a bit of breathing room.

The hard metal floor broke his fall none too gently, aggravating the aches from the previous fights. Every bruise screamed in agony in his mind as he rolled over onto his stomach. The spot on the back of his head twanged particularly painfully, filling his mind with a dissonant ringing. His hand clutched the newest sore spot developing on his chest; he couldn’t force himself to climb to his feet. He saw Carn standing over him again, with the blade poised to plunge into his chest. But before he could do more than realize his predicament, the clash of hooves and metal reached his ears.

Trixie charged, a soundless scream of rage rushing out of her snarling lips. The Colonel could hear a dull thud, and he caught sight of the older man landing several feet away. Hooves under his arms lifted him back to his feet as the other groaned and held his stomach. Jaze’s eyes watered from the lack of life giving air, and his mind was clouded. A pair of wide, lavender pools stared up at him, and the unicorn they belonged to began shoving him towards the tram.

Something he didn’t quite understand brought him up short. Danger seemed to be closing in on them. His mind suddenly cleared, and he pushed Trixie away as he dove in the opposite direction. A blur passed through the space they had just occupied, burrowing into the control console at the head of the tracks. Sparks flew from the machine, never a good sign. He rushed forward and gave the tram a quick inspection; sure enough, there was no longer any power.

He turned around to see Carn climbing to his feet. The older man glared at them, his face a cauldron of seething hate. His voice shook with barely contained rage, “You two are not going anywhere.”

Jaze slowly moved to the blade embedded into the control panel. Anger began to build in his mind despite his efforts to stop it. All he had wanted was to leave; now that was going to be unreasonably difficult. His breath came in short, ragged gasps as he wrapped his hand around the hilt and yanked the weapon from its prison of metal and wires. It really was a finely crafted weapon, if a little too fancy for his taste; the balance was perfect, lightweight but obviously strong, and its single edge looked incredibly sharp.

He turned back to the man behind him and tossed the sword, offering a deep scowl, “You want a fight so bad? Fine.” Sairugi slid from its sheath with a metallic as he stepped forward; the gleaming blade felt eager in his palm. He glanced down at the blade, admiring its simple, deadly beauty before saying, “There’s really no time for this, so I’ll give you one more chance to leave. We can have this fight later, if you’re so hot on it.”

Carn had snatched his blade out of the air with a matching glare. The dead-eyed cyborg slowly rose to his feet, his sword pointed towards the ground. Anger radiated off the insane leader, and his voice held the calm quality of a man beyond rage, “Do you really think that I can let you just leave? No, I am going to tear you apart. Afterwards, I’ll disarm your little bomb and then I’ll kill every last living thing on that backwater hole below.”

By the end of his rant, Carn was practically spitting with rage. Jaze couldn’t help but allow a grin onto his face, the smirk only growing when the other’s face darkened further with hate. Bringing his sword up in a strong, two handed grip, he replied, “Then let’s get this over with, I’d prefer not to be anywhere nearby when that bomb goes off.” Looking towards the unicorn at his side, he whispered, “Please, stay out of this one. I’d like to finish this myself.”

He watched his foe drop into a slight crouch. The other’s weapon was held high, tip angled down, with his wrist against the back of the blade. Jaze frowned; he had never seen a stance like that before. He watched, waiting for the other to move, but Carn remained perfectly, unnaturally still.

The assassin could feel his heartbeat throbbing against the hilt of his sword; it was almost like his opponent didn’t breathe. Sweat trickled down his face, and every tiny sound became louder than thunder in the deathly quiet room. He could even hear the long rush of air from Trixie exhaling beside him. His breath came in short gulps; an odd tightness formed in chest that restricted his breathing.

Seconds ticked past with agonizing slowness, and still his foe hadn’t moved. Jaze’s legs began to tire of standing in the same position, waiting for something to happen. But he didn’t know enough about the weapon being used against him to take the first strike. He knew the other’s blade was light, which meant it would be fast. Add in the other’s undoubtedly cybernetically enhanced abilities, and he wasn’t entirely sure what the weapon could do. As much as he tried, his body refused to loosen up from anticipation. A combination of fear and fascination held him in place, waiting.

A single, almost-invisible twitch; that was his warning before Carn suddenly lunged forward. The single edged blade whipped around the shark-eyed cyborg’s head like a lasso, coming down towards his neck. Sairugi moved instinctively upwards and formed a ceiling over him, halting the blow bare inches from his flesh. Powerful waves rolled down and numbed his arms from the impact as the clash of steel rang out, but he managed to turn the ornate blade aside with a downward flick of his wrist.

Before he could take advantage of the opening, a hand slapped into the hilt of his weapon and pushed his sword to the side with unnatural quickness. He looked into Carn’s eyes and saw a grin of victory. The older man’s empty hand snagged Jaze’s right wrist and yanked him closer, while the straight blade reared back to deliver a powerful thrust. Jaze watched the blade near, and his free hand lashed out to butt the deadly point away with backhanded swing.

He dipped his shoulder down, focused all his weight into the point, and shoved into the other’s chest. Carn stumbled, pulling Jaze along with him. The grip on his wrist lessened just enough that he could yank his hand back. His foot lashed out towards an exposed knee, only to bounce off like he had kicked one of the steel walls. Shock lanced along his leg, and he had to backpedal several steps before regaining his balance.

Carn’s fist slammed into his jaw out of nowhere, followed by a pair of slashes across the golden breastplate. Two deep rents appeared in the gilded armor though it just managed to turn the deadly edge away as Jaze offered a silent thanks to whatever deity was watching over him. His skin felt tight across his chest, a tingle spreading where the metal could have sliced open his skin. The blow to his face had his mind reeling; his vision swam drunkenly and he could already feel a throbbing bruise forming.

Jaze took several steps away, hoping for some breathing room to recover his wits. His chest heaved laboriously, and each wound he had accumulated over the last few days screamed in anguish. He found it nearly impossible to stand straight. The exhaustion he had felt before came rushing back in a tiring wave. His hands shook, but he knew that time was a luxury that he didn’t have.

The older man glared at him before pressing his empty hand to the small of his back and extending his sword straight out, the blade turned on its side and the point aimed at Jaze’s throat. Carn’s usual slight smirk had been replaced with sheer, seething rage. His voice was boiling as he snarled, “What’s wrong boy? Already tired? I can end it quickly, if you will just disarm the bomb.”

“Hah, like I would.” Jaze snickered, drawing another flare of rage from the pallid cyborg. He brought up his sword, attempting to disguise his fatigue under a façade of bravado. “And even if I wanted to, I can’t. If I fiddle with the keypad the whole thing will go up and we’d all be reduced to ash.”

“Then die you sorry excuse for sentience.” yelled the older man. He lunged forward, plunging the needle-sharp point in a powerful, downward thrust. Jaze watched the blade close in on the center of his chest for a moment before slapping it aside with the flat of his weapon. But before he could counter the thrust, his opponent had recovered enough to deliver another. All Jaze could do was knock aside the deadly tip of the weapon aimed at him while he waited for an opening.

His arms were already tired, and it was starting to show. Each new thrust got closer to his body before he could turn it aside. Time certainly wasn’t his friend, not the least of it being the bomb still ticking away in silence towards Armageddon. Every passing second, every blow he parried, added another bit of fatigue onto the growing pile. He needed to end this, quickly, or he’d find himself on the wrong side of a blade soon. A stupid, risky idea pushed into his mind; he had little other choice but to give it a shot.

As the next thrust came in, he turned it aside once more. But as his foe recoiled for another strike, Jaze lashed out with a powerful left hook to the side of the other’s face. The gauntleted, metal limb slammed into Carn’s cheek, causing the madman to cry out in shock and pain, and Jaze could feel the satisfying crunch of crushed bone reverberated up the false limb. He followed with a vicious kick to the stomach, sending the older man stumbling several paces.

As Carn stumbled away, Jaze felt a powerful thrum of energy from behind him. A wide, lavender beam shot past his hip to deliver a stunning blow to the other’s abdomen. The assassin turned to see Trixie in a wide stance, her horn already beginning to glow for a follow-up shot. Her face was a mask of anger, but he could see the hard edge of fear gleaming in her eyes with every quick glance she made toward the bomb. The older man took a few more steps back before catching a second blow to the gut and doubling over in pain. That was the opening the Colonel had been waiting for.

He rushed forward with his sword held at his shoulder for a swift cut. Seething excitement filled his stomach with a terrible heat. The other man fell to his knees, gripping his stomach where he had been struck. He was wide open, defenseless. Jaze gritted his teeth as his grip tightened on the hilt, and he brought the blade down in a powerful swing for the top of his foe’s head.

Just before the blow landed, searing pain exploded along his left side. His sword arm retracted instinctively, and he looked down to see the long, wide blade of his opponent’s sword pushed all the way through the weaker side of his armor, luckily only grazing his ribs. A scream sounded from somewhere behind, but Jaze couldn’t make out what words, if any, were being yelled. Carn glared up at him for a moment before launching a powerful punch into the assassin’s other side.

The golden armor caved under the cyborg’s unnatural strength. Jaze felt a sickening pop in his ribs, and sudden pain rolled over him in burning waves. His breath left his body, and it took all his meaning strength to stay on his feet. His sword arm dropped as the agony overwhelmed his strength. A gleaming black boot slammed into the broken bones; pushing him off the sword and forcing a shrill, pained scream from his throat that left it feeling ragged and raw.

His back slammed into the deck; he couldn’t even remember falling. All he could feel was the burning pain spreading through his body, its searing epicenter focused on his ribs. He managed to look up and saw a blood-stained sword aimed squarely at his nose. The man holding it glared down his nose before stomping on Jaze’s wrist and kicking Sairugi from limp fingers. Carn’s face showed a little color for the first time in a while, the bright red of fury.

“I have to hand it to you Jaze.” the older man mocked as he stepped down on the fallen soldier’s wrist, “You’ve been more of a pain in the ass than I ever would have expected.”

Black eyes seemed to flick upward for a moment, and Carn’s voice dripped condescension as he addressed Trixie, “Go ahead, fire your pretty little magic at me. Before you do, he’ll” The cyborg pushed down on Jaze’s wrist a little harder, “be dead. I doubt you’d have the fortitude to kill me anyway.”

Jaze looked up as his tormentor looked back down. Madness seemed to have taken a full hold on the other’s mind; a wide grin had spread across the cyborg’s features as he continued, “And that right there is why you are all too weak to live. She could easily kill me with only losing one, worthless life; I’ve seen what her magic can do. But as long as I’ve got you as my little bargaining chip she’s content to stand there and try to glare me to death while hoping I will spare you.”

A foot reared back, and Jaze barely had time to mentally prepare for the blow that landed on his ribs. More pain than he knew could inhabit a body flooded his mind, but he absolutely refused to voice it. He refused to give the monster standing over him the satisfaction of hearing him cry out again. Metallic-tasting blood filled his mouth, along with the slight pinprick of almost pleasant pain of having bitten his tongue. He squinted up at the other with as best he could make for a confident grin and taunted, “Are you done yet? If I’m going to die, I’d like to get it over with already. I do have a schedule to keep you know.”

Another kick to the ribs silenced him as he tried to keep the agony off his face. Carn gave a tight smirk, and whispered, “Now you’re trying to resort to seeming confidence to unnerve me; I know the game. You are going to die, followed to the afterlife very shortly by your little pony bitch, and then those two fighting outside my station. I’ll disarm your bomb, and present it and your corpses to those fools you call leaders before I execute them all. And then, finally, there can be peace as humanity ascends to the greatness it was destined for.”

Hatred flared inside Jaze’s wrecked body, drowning out the pain. His eyes cast about for Sairugi, spotting it just a few feet away. A few feet, and well out of reach. Carn stood above him, continuing to taunt, but the broken man forced the words out of his mind. He dug deep, hunting for the final dribble of magic lurking in his body. It took far more out of him than he hoped, but soon his mind was sheathed in the protective embrace of the strange power, bringing cooling relief from the burning agony.

Focusing on the warmth and comfort, he pointed the magic towards his sword lying against the deck. It twitched slightly, a slight glow forming around it that seemed to wax and wane weakly in intensity. He forced more of the magic towards the weapon, beckoning to it through his magic. It suddenly jumped into the air, hovering for a second, before zooming straight at Carn’s chest.

The blade ripped a bloody line across the front of the purple jacket before dropping into his outstretched hand. Jaze felt a few splatters of hot blood splash across his face as his opponent screamed in a mix of agony and surprise. The older man stared down at the wound, shock slackening his features, before his gaze transferred further down. Jaze brought both knees to his chest and delivered a fierce double-kick. Golden boots connected and sent the older man flying, allowing the Colonel to climb to his feet and gather his sword.

In an instant, Trixie was by his side, tugging his arm and begging, “Enough is enough. There’s not much time left, we should go now while we can! I’ll get us through the doors.”

He glanced to the bomb, and saw the digital readout click down past seven minutes left. More than half their time, gone. His heart leapt to his throat, but he still turned to look at his opponent. Carn was laying on the deck, holding his chest with a grimace on his face. Jaze turned and looked back to Trixie, nodding as he agreed, “Yeah, time to go.”

They took a few steps towards the closed monorail tracks, Trixie pressed to Jaze’s less-injured side for support. His legs had difficulty holding him up, almost like the floor was moving under them. Pain throbbed along each side of his ribs, aggravated by his attempts to walk. His sword felt heavy in his hand; he shoved the weapon back into its sheath with a grimace at the twinge rolling through his wounds. Without the pony next to him practically carrying him, he may not have been able to limp away.

Before they could take more than a few steps, Jaze felt pain saw across his back from his left shoulder to the opposite hip. The crippling agony took his legs out from under him entirely, and he fell with a gasp of pain and surprise. Trixie, caught under his sudden tumble, collapsed to the ground with him in a tangle of legs and hooves. Her face met the ground with a worrying crunch, but his mind was too fogged to do more than let worry blossom. He could see a crimson pool spreading around him, further cause for worry.

Carn’s boot landed against the ripping wound, and the older man leaned down to whisper, “You really didn’t think it’d be that easy right? I know you’re not that stupid.”

Blackness ate at the edges of Jaze’s vision. Somehow he managed to keep his mind intact, but every passing second irritated the wounds on both his ribs and his back. The boot at his back kept him pinned, and he couldn’t twist his head far enough to see his adversary without pain nearly making him pass out. Still, he couldn’t let the other’s insults go unanswered.

He gritted his teeth and hissed, “You’re right, I’m not. I’d just hoped you’d had enough and we could all get the hell out of here.”

“Ha!” chortled the cyborg, “You really think that bomb is going to go off don’t you? Not in your, or anyone’s lifetime boy.”

A hand closed around the armor at the base of Jaze’s neck, lifting him off the ground to where his feet only just grazed the metal floor. For some reason, the pain seemed to be leaving his body. It might have been related to the wide, ghastly pool stretched underneath him. The other seemed to be inspecting him, like meat at a butcher’s, and Jaze grimaced as he was violently shaken

“You know,” remarked Carn with a sarcastically happy tone, “I think I might actually miss you after all this. You are a very neat toy to play with after all. But, even the best toys break in the end.”

Jaze felt like he was in another world as the madman threw him aside. Landing on his side in a heap, the Colonel relished the sudden lack of agony assailing him. Mist had settled into his brain, tenaciously refusing to allow him a coherent thought. Notions of sleep filled him, his mind allowing him fantasies of just floating away without a care. He knew that falling asleep was dangerous for some reason, but at the moment he didn’t care. Everything felt so cold, and he was so tired. His one wish, then and there, was just to be allowed to rest.

Following the other man with his gaze was about all he was capable of. He watched helplessly as the dead-eyed cyborg reached down to grasp something. With a yank, an azure figure was pulled screaming from her stunned fugue onto her hooves. Anger began to flare dully in Jaze’s chest, though he couldn’t exactly remember why. A blood-stained blade came up, the point pressed tightly to the smaller figure’s throat.

“And you,” the taller figure growled, “you’ve shown yourself to be quite the royal pain in the ass. It seems that I had assumed wrong about you ponies, you all are much more powerful than I anticipated. Now, would you kindly die?”

The cyborg’s blade reared back to plunge down in a swift, fluid strike. Jaze felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched the weapon slide through the air. Anger pounded through his wrecked form, bringing with it an odd strength. Everything seemed to have slowed to a crawl. The blade he had been watching was moving through molasses on its way down.

He suddenly found his left hand curled around his foe’s blade, but was unable to remember getting off the floor. Images of Evelyn, of several destroyed human worlds, of people weeping at the sight of the bodies of friends and loved ones flooded his mind as he stared at the metal incased in his fist. The anger he had felt before intensified; his grip tightened around the blade. He could feel the weapon digging into the soft cloth on his palm, cutting right through to the metal digits beneath.

Carn’s face slackened in a mixture of surprise and anger. The older man yanked at the hilt of his weapon, it but it was stuck fast in the cybernetic grip. Jaze glared at the other, his voice tight with hate, “You’re not taking her too, bastard.”

His wrist twisted as his fingers tightened further. With a hard crack, the last few inches snapped off the blade and left him with a six-inch piece of razor-sharp metal. He looked down at the chunk of sword before staring into the blank, dead eyes before him. Shock registered on that face, and it wasn’t until he looked back down that Jaze realized he had stabbed the broken weapon into the other’s chest, right below his heart.

Carn’s mouth flopped open in surprise and pain, but Jaze didn’t pause long enough to let him get in a word. His arm reared back, landing a quick, left-handed punch to the jagged end of metal sticking out, driving the last few inches into the other’s chest. As the other reeled from the assault, Jaze dipped his right hand down to grip Sairugi’s hilt, yanking it out in a sweeping arc aimed at the insane cyborg’s chest.

Another bloody line appeared in the purple fabric across Carn’s torso. An odd mixture of blood and some viscous, translucent white material leaked from around the piece of metal embedded in his chest. He looked down at the new wounds, his face an unreadable mask. His arm whipped up and jammed the bottom half of the broken sword to the hilt into the gold-plated soldier’s left shoulder.

Jaze grimaced as pain tore through his chest yet again. It felt like his chest would burst from the searing torment rolling through it. His knees buckled underneath him, refusing to hold up his weight. He looked up to the seething rage on Carn’s face. A boot landed on his gold-clad chest, pushing him off the blade-stub and back onto the ground. The room spun dizzyingly, forcing him to shut his eyes or risk being violently ill. But even that failed to quell the queasy feeling growing in his gut. The foot on his chest aggravated his many wounds and kept him from drawing a clear breath.

He could feel the other staring down at him, disturbing glee rolling off the cyborg in waves, as he pushed down with his boot and growled, “I’ve told you, I am immortal now. Even this damage can be repaired. But your weak, fragile, organic form couldn’t…”

Jaze felt a line of heat pass over him, and the other’s words morphed into a shrill scream of pain and rage. The pressure on his chest lifted, and he opened his eyes in time to watch the madman fall to the floor clutching a smoking hole where before had been a blank, black globe. A light tingling spread across the Colonel’s skin, and he glanced down to see a field of magic blanketing his body.

Trixie, a grimace on her face from the strain, lifted him onto her back before turning and sprinting towards the tracks they had rode in on. The constant up-and-down of her gallop worsened the sick feeling in his stomach. He suddenly felt the telltale pressure of teleportation, and the pair found themselves running through a, thankfully deserted, tram station. Magical energy kept him pressed to the pony’s back, a small blessing he was thankful for; he barely had the strength to lift his head.

From behind, he heard a faint yell, “That’s right, run! Take your fool of a lover and leave you stupid equine! It’ll make it sweeter when I…”

The words faded into obscurity as Trixie phased through another wall on her mad dash for their original hanger bay. Jaze, his vision swimming, managed to croak out, “Trixie, hang on. We can’t leave him there, he’ll disarm the bomb.”

Though he couldn’t see the unicorn’s face, he could hear her devious smile, “Don’t worry about that, I left that jerk a little ‘gift’, from us to him.”

Despite wanting to argue the point, the only thing he found himself able to do was nod in agreement. His head fell against her back again, and exhaustion began to take its toll. Pain throbbed through his entire being; every step the mare took sent another jolt of agony through him. All too soon he felt blackness edging into his vision once again as the dual entities shut down his mind. The darkness claimed him, his last thought a hope to not wake up to see this horrid station again.