"It's coming along nicely." Tamaa smiled as she looked over the island.
In had been six months since everyone had arrived on the island. In a lot of ways, it had been a very rough six months. They had set up temporary housing initially, but it had been very rough, nothing like the comforts they had enjoyed at the commune. The food was still good, though, since they had brought their whole harvest along. That was one of the few plus sides of the endeavor.
The construction crews they had hired were hard at work putting up the structures an expert architect and several of Tamaa's crew had designed. The architect had known about buildings, while Tamaa's people had included the engineering staff who knew what the production facilities would require… and the military experts who were looking into defense.
Tamaa looked to the towers. Each had been erected at one of the four corners of the island, protected from nature by the natural cliffs they stood on. They were equipped with extremely heavy laser systems, the sort meant to defend fortresses. They were the first line of defense, if the island was attacked. Their construction was crude… they had taken care of it themselves… but efficient.
A large number of her followers were acting as basic labor for the construction crew, to save costs. The rest were experimenting with trying to grow rice. It was a staple of this region, and some parts of the island seemed suited to it. No matter how much they grew, though, they would be importing most of their food. High tech manufacturing would be their main source of income.
"It's not going badly," Spider allowed, glancing towards the harbor. Putting it in hadn't been easy… this island was flat, but ringed with high cliffs in most places. They'd been forced to sculpt out the harbor with shaped charges, then make a road. But the harbor would be how they would send and receive their shipments, so it was necessary. "We don't have much money left, though." They were getting precariously low. Tamaa nodded ruefully.
"We have enough to finish the production facilities. We'll have to depend on sales, after that."
"And when will we approach the Federation?" There was a long silence as they both considered that question. Tamaa finally sighed.
"Whenever we have most of our defenses in place. We don't want to wait for them to find out about us, but…" She didn't finish her thought, and Spider gently put an arm around her.
They feared the Federation would launch a punitive assault, no matter what they said and did. They were a threat, and the Federation reacted in only one way to threats…
"Well, here they are." Tamaa said tonelessly, looking into the monitors. Enemy icons were beginning to appear on the horizon, and she grimaced as the data came in. "The Maverick Hunters. Oh, joy." She wondered how they had been convinced to attack. Someone must have lied through their teeth. They had sent a mixed delegation to the Federation, to make certain they would get the message.
It didn't seem to matter. She wondered exactly what lie they had spun for X. If all went well, they would be able to show him the truth. If not… they would die. Tamaa took a deep breath, then activated an open communication circuit.
"Start plan Alpha."
"Come to me, my darlings. Oh yes, come." Arcana breathed, staring at her monitor.
She was in charge of manning one of the laser defense systems on the perimeter of the island. The Maverick Hunters were heading straight for each tower. Her screen was full of enemy icons.
Her orders had come, and she knew her task. Buy time. Sometimes, in chess, you sacrificed a piece. Buy time. They were the first ones in the breech, and they would die today. But they would buy time, or be damned. Arcana turned her head to look at one of her crew. The youngest and newest among them, she was human, just turned sixteen and very afraid, her face tight but brave. So young. So young to die. We're all so young to die. Arcana chuckled throatily, and reached for a cigarette. She'd been trying to quit, but who cared now? She was twenty years old and wasn't going to get a day older. But isn't that what the young are for? Only the young can be so mad.
"Lovey," she said to the young girl. What was her name again? Oh yes. Kimberly. "How long before they reach us, Kim?" The girl swallowed hard, and checked her instruments.
"Five minutes before they get within striking distance, ma'am." She reported, and Arcana chuckled again.
"Long enough, then." She tapped a few keys, and a slow, pulsing song filled the air. There were no words… she would supply those. Her voice had always been very good, deep with a fascinating rasp.
We are the Widow Makers,
We make the women wail,
And if you dare to meet us,
You'll never tell the tale.
Come and join our party,
If you're daft and young and brave,
You'll never come out again,
We kill more than we save.
The others joined into the chorus. There was still fear in the air, the fear of death, but also a fey excitement was building. They were the Widow Makers. The Hunters would know it, and be damned!
Widow Makers, Widow Makers,
We'll make the women cry,
For all the husbands, sons and brothers
They'll lose to us this day!
We are the Widow Makers,
Know us and be damned!
Arcana laughed. The song was so very sexist, really.
But god, it sounded good!
The last of the outer defenses is gone, Dr. Light reported, and Tamaa closed her eyes, her jaw tightening. That was twenty of her people, gone. If any of them came back alive, she'd be amazed.
But the sacrifice hadn't been in vain. The noncombatants were evacuated. The way for X and Zero had been prepared. Jolene's combat crew was ready to pound the hell out of the incoming transports.
And that was sounding like an excellent idea.
"Signal Jolene to start the bombardment." In an abstract way, she regretted the deaths of the Hunters that were about to come. Sigma was a menace and the Hunters were needed to deal with him.
But they had allowed themselves to be used by the Federation, and now there was no choice. No choice at all.
"Get the speed up! UP, I said, you motherhumpers!" That was followed by a string of obscene words. The gunners just grinned. They knew she wasn't serious. They were going at excellent speed.
The cannons they were servicing were crude, crude by any standard. Solid fuel artillery had gone out of vogue when lasers and rail guns had been created. It was still sometimes used, mostly by the Mavericks and by nations too poor to afford good laser placements. But even the Mavericks used auto-feeders to feed in new shells. They were doing it by hand.
It had been a simple equation. With the resources at their disposal, they could create ten cannons with no auto-feeders to every single cannon with an auto-feeder. And with a great deal of drill, they could feed the cannons nearly as quickly as the auto-feeder. The only drawback was the need for a five-person crew per cannon. Which really wasn't much of a drawback. They had plenty of humans and Reploids who would have been no use in a close combat fight against the Hunters, but who could certainly pick up a shell.
Jolene almost danced in place, her long blond hair waving. "Keep up the speed! Keep it up! Screw the cannons! Let 'em blow!" The gunners' grins faded. They knew she was serious now.
The cannons were crude and could overheat. The risk became greater the longer they were used. There was every chance one or more was going to explode and kill the crew manning it, sometime today. Perhaps also the crew beside. So be it. But if their defense broke, there was no way the inner defenders could stop all the Hunters. So be it. Let the cannons explode. Jolene herself would pick up the next shell.
The shattering booms of shells exploding continued as the gunners sweated through their rhythm, hoping that Tamaa could somehow end this. Somehow, bring them a miracle.
Somehow.
Arcana giggled, wiggling free from under the remains of her command chair. The back of it was reinforced titanium, and it had been all that had saved her when the Hunters returning missiles had hit them like the wrath of an angry god.
Arcana stumbled to her feet, weaving slightly. She was in no pain, but her internal diagnostics were down and she was feeling very… disconnected. That probably wasn't good. Her attention was caught by the puddle of fluids under her feet. Quite a large puddle, really, and getting larger. Her gaze traced the thickest line of dribble, and she realized that her left arm was severed at the elbow. Red and black vital fluids were oozing down her red and aqua armor. It was really rather pretty.
"Quite the flesh wound there," she said, and giggled again. She never giggled. Why was she giggling? "Oh, yes… shock. It's so… shocking!" She started to look for survivors. The first person she found was Kim. Or rather, what was left of her. She had been torn almost in half. Arcana stumbled, then kneeled down beside the body.
"Poor girl. Poor, poor girl. If only you had been a Reploid, maybe you would have survived…" Then she followed the line of shrapnel, seeing how far it had dug into the opposite wall. "Or maybe not. Ah!" She could pick out what was left of the others. All of them had been torn to pieces by the same explosion. "Definitely not. What has the world come to?" Shaking her head, Arcana sat down heavily. She was feeling too woozy to stand. "I'm dying too, darling. Wait for me on the shadow side, I'll be there soon… and the Widow Makers will be together again." She slowly gathered the corpse with her good arm, and sang softly as she rocked the mangled body.
Widow Makers, Widow Makers,
We'll make the women cry,
For all the husbands, sons and brothers
They'll lose to us this day!
We are the Widow Makers,
Know us and be damned!
She stopped singing for a moment as she saw a red light flashing on what remained of the console. Someone had activated the auto-destruct sequence for the tower.
"Oh, how wonderfully cheeky," she said with a giggle, wondering who had done it. Tamaa? Spider? Whoever it was, she saluted them.
The door to the command room was forced open, and Arcana beamed as three Hunters stepped into the room. They all trained their weapons on her, but she only laughed.
"It's so gloriously insane. I do hope you like it hot." She grinned madly at them, but none of them had a chance to ask what she meant before the bombs beneath the tower exploded and took them all into oblivion.
Nos Gwenwyth slowly ran her rosary through her fingers, quietly praying for the safety of her friends. She was devoted to the Catholic Church, and her private faith was strong. Many times, that faith had been all that had kept her alive.
She blinked and stiffened as she heard something in the brush, and quietly hung her rosary back onto her belt. The jade beads and silver cross clinked against her armor, a splash of brightness against the black. There was something in the bushes, and it sounded too big for a bird.
She drew her gun, and stepped back into a protective position. No one was supposed to have come here, no Hunters should have found this place. Something had gone wrong. She quickly sent a distress signal to let the main fortress know what was happening, but Gwenwyth doubted any help could reach them in time.
She could only hope the Hunters would investigate, and not bomb the bunker outright, if she died protecting it.
She stiffened as she saw the redheaded Hunter step out from the bushes. She recognized him. She doubted she could win, but Gwenwyth had to buy time. She stepped out to meet him…
The fight was quick and savage. Gwenwyth couldn't afford to let any shots go near the door of the bunker, so she absorbed them the only way she could… with her body. But she was hurting him… until a horrible pain hit her from behind. She screamed as her armor shattered under a pulse weapon, dropping to her knees.
No, no… She moaned to herself as she collapsed, her vision frizzing around the edges. She couldn't have failed. The others had to get here soon.
Axl panted softly, his body battered from the battle he had just fought. The black and white Maverick was on the ground, moaning softly in pain. Her black hair was matted with blood from a wound to her back.
"Thanks, Mia!" Axl waved at the small mouselike Hunter who had ambushed the Maverick from behind. She beamed at him, and waved back.
"Let's go see what's inside," she suggested, stepping daintily over the body. Axl raised his gun to finish the Maverick off, but then hesitated. If he left her intact, she might shut down quietly, and they would be able to retrieve some information from the husk. She was certainly no threat.
Axl stepped cautiously up to the entrance to the bunker, peering into the darkness. There were stairs leading down. He aimed his gun as he heard-
And stopped just before he fired as he identified the sound. That's not right! What would a baby be doing here, in a concealed bunker? Astonishment was followed by horror. Oh my lord I almost fired I almost fired…
"Axl, what is it?" Mia was very nervous, her ears twitching. Axl gave her a shocked, horrified look, appalled at what he had almost done.
"There's a baby in there…!" Mia blinked, then laid her ears back.
"Hostages?" She hissed, gripping her weapon tightly.
"Damn." Axl breathed out the word. Mia had to be right… the Mavericks were holding humans hostage. But he had a nagging doubt. If they had hostages, what were they doing way out here in a concealed bunker? Well, maybe there were explosives and a camera or something… "We have to go in, but let's be careful. There'll be guards." The mouse Hunter nodded, following Axl cautiously.
And they both dodged frantically as a wild blast scorched through the hallway. Axl came out with his gun ready-
And just barely managed to hold his fire a second time. It was a human shooting at him! An older woman, middle-aged, and shaking like a leaf with terror. She saw him and tried to fire again-
And missed by a mile. The blast went well over their heads. Axl decided the first one had been a freak occurrence, and this woman was more of a danger to herself than them. He wouldn't have been surprised if she's managed to shoot her foot off.
"Lady, please! We're here to rescue you!" He retreated towards Mia's hiding spot, just in case the woman decided to fire again. Worst shot in the world or not, she might get lucky, and her gun was a surprisingly strong pistol.
"Rescue? Tamaa sent you? Where's Gwen?" She tried to peer past him, then blinked, looking at his face. "No… who are you? Get out!"
"Tool of fascist imperialists!" A young voice behind her exclaimed, and Axl's eyes widened as a teenage boy came up behind her. He didn't have a weapon, but he tried to grab away the woman's.
"David, get back!" She ordered him, raising her hands. The boy looked incredibly frustrated.
"Mama, you can't shoot!" Then he shot Axl another venomous glare. "Federation lackey!" Axl lowered his weapon, completely confused.
"What are you talking about?" He said, baffled… then a voice from behind spoke. A very familiar voice.
"Put down your weapons." Axl turned around at that cold, firm order, his eyes wide.
"Spider?"
