The Red Stars (2)

"Impeccable timing, Nova."

"Entrance is just as important as the outcome." A blue square showing the grinning face of my brother appeared inside the visor. "How many times does this make? Fifty?"

"Let's not forget the sixty times I've saved you in return." I commented as Cerviel's hands slammed against the ground. As powerful as the mechs were, getting up from a prone position could be tricky.

"Eh, who's counting?"

"Warning," Command spoke, "we have fourteen signals falling toward the main complex."

"You heard the lady." Nova said as Valoel widened its stance. I could see the plates on its neck move apart as he readied his missiles. "Get your sword. I have this covered."

"No." My left arm itched as I extended the second of my two gauntlet blades. "These will do."

"What, the blades? Vega, you suck at hand-to-hand."

"Then make sure to shoot as many as you can." I boosted past him before he could reply. Nova was right. Three of Cerviel's more extensive repairs were due to my ineptitude in hand-to-hand combat, but I didn't have the time to reclaim Cerviel's sword. The red stars would breach a dome before then. My conscience couldn't justify risking its citizens while I rearmed. It was my fault for losing it.

"There are always bound to be casualties when fighting demons," commented Cerviel.

"Too many are on me already."

"Throwing yourself at the enemy will not make up for it."

"At least I'm not alone this time." Streaks of light colored the sky as Nova's missiles raced toward the enemy. Several ended in explosions, but more than one star managed to crater between the domes.

"Structural damage: housing sector," Command answered my unasked question.

"Loss of life?"

"None detected so far."

"Let's keep it that way." I struck the first demon while still airborne. Its head ceased to be as Cerviel's blade cleaved through while her momentum slammed the demon into the remains of the crushed building. The counter confirmed its death. I used the brief confusion to engage my second target. A thrust pierced the second demon's chest but it merely roared in annoyance before striking back. Both the haptic suit and the holographic projection reported three scratches over my right arm.

"Damage detected." Cerviel was less happy as she formed a hologram with a red arm next to the counter.

I freed the sword from the demon's chest before striking with my other hand. The blow landed against the demon's jaw and made it fly backward. Cerviel wasn't burdened by such inconveniences. A touch of the boosters sent us flying forward, and a swing carved the demon in half.

The counter decreased.

"Cerviel, where are they?"

"Scanning." Her head turned to the left, where four circles rushed toward me. Or it was four at the start. The number dropped to three when the head of the front-most demon suddenly jerked sideways.

"Go for the right one," Nova commented, and I leaped. My target blocked my blow before returning a strike. I heard a screech as two others charged toward me, but a bullet slamming into one's head cut its screech short.

"Breaking off..." Cerviel commented as she dodged backward. A second figure missed me and slammed into my first target. Both collapsed in a mass of wild fails and unhappy screeches, but I was not about to let such an opportunity go to waste. A tap of my boosters sent me rushing forward, and several pained wails cried from the pile as my blades sunk home.

"Vega, break off!"

"I have this!" Blood painted the white blades as I rained them into my enemies. "They're... almost..."

"Vega... I have a shot! Break off!"

"I can do it!"

"Human!"

I let out a yelp as my legs were knocked out underneath me. Cerviel's body met the ground hard enough for my head to start spinning. The stinging pains through my side didn't help at all. Next to me, the demon rose with a growl. One arm wrapped around his dead comrade like a shield. The dead demon twitched as a bullet slammed into its body, but the live one only grimaced in annoyance. "Die!" The force of his kick sent me rolling. Several more lights lit up inside the cockpit as Cerviel's frame protested.

"Damnit! Vega, can you move to the side?" Another bullet slammed into the dead demon. "I need him to turn around."

"Give... give me a second." Trying to move Cerviel's arm ended in failure. Something must have snagged it.

"I will serve your head to the lord of hell!" The demon growled as he stepped closer.

"Cerviel, what's blocking my arm?"

"Damaged elbow motor. Compensating."

"Vega, he's going to kick you again!" Nova warned.

"Working on it!"

"Arm motor restored."

The approaching hoof gave me the perfect opportunity, and I seized it by extending my arm. The blade sank into the demon's flesh almost laughably easy, and the howl it gave certainly proved it was effective.

The precious thing about a kick is that no matter how carefully you do it, there is always that small window where the body tries to compensate for the shift in balance. Any deviation from what the brain expects would bring calamitous results, which is what I wanted. With my blade still stuck in the demon's leg, I grabbed hold of its hoof and applied a push.

"Nova!"

"Firing!" I don't know how big Nova's window of opportunity was, but he used it. The demon had barely shifted backward before a single bullet slammed into its head, cutting short its displaced scream.

The counter dropped to zero.

"Cutting it close there, Vega," Nova said as Cerviel pushed us upward. "I thought you'd be tired of rolling around like that by now."

"Easy to say when you can shoot from the other side of the planet."

"Don't blame the weapon but the decision." Nova chuckled. "You could have opted for the sniper as well."

"Yeah, well." I sighed. "Command, are we in the clear?"

"Hang on..."

Huh?

"Uhh, Command?" Nova said. "Keeping us in suspense here?"

"Please wait..."

"Well, that doesn't sound good." I clenched and un-clenched my hands. Command's information was usually spot on. Only one thing would make them this uncertain.

"Vega?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you don't think..."

"All Angels," Command's voice burst to life, "we have confirmation of a class five signal. A marquis of hell is falling toward Asbestos."