Scarlet Eyes

A Rifts Story

by Alexis Williams

(Based on the Rifts Roleplaying Game, published by Palladium Books)

CHAPTER FOUR

The dying sun was blood red as it sought refuge behind the dark horizon.

Jon thought it was tragic. And beautiful.

He drove the horse onward, back to town, to help his people however he could. He had gotten used to the idea that he was going to die tonight. Strange how that knowledge changes your perspective. He realized how unimportant his death really was—compared to the real tragedy: the fact that evil was going to win again.

Just like before.

Four years earlier, before Jon knew anything of politics and empires and the incredibly vast world, he had found a man in the forest. Not a man according to any Coalition definition, of course.

He was an alien, whose parents had come through a rift by intent or chance. He was born here, knew only of Earth. But his leathery skin, slightly protruding snout, and furry body were something Jon had never seen. He'd never met any nonhuman before. Only heard of them from the Coalition's indoctrinators. He was made to memorize their evil ways.

But seeing him lying wounded in the forest, he found it hard to believe.

Jon followed his heart, rescuing him and nursing him back to health. They became friends. Rook told him of strange places beyond the Coalition. Of scholars and mages. Of knights and engineers. Of places where no knowledge was forbidden. Of truth. And honor.

Jon hung on every word for weeks. Until the day one of the farms was attacked by a creature. Rook ran to the rescue, killing the creature, but reopening his wounds.

The army, responding to the town's distress call, found the wounded Rook and began to take him away, they said, to heal him. When Rook resisted, they shot him dead.

That night, under a scarlet, setting sun, Jon started the resistance. It existed only in his heart, with himself as the only member. But it made all the difference.

And tonight, it was coming to an end. He wondered what Rook would've thought about that.

Jon didn't think much of it. When he'd escaped from the firing squad and raced to confront Nikolai, his only thought was that there would be justice. The traitor wouldn't live to enjoy his betrayal. But the truth about Sonia had thrown him. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her, especially when her motives were more misguided than evil. Perhaps leaving her there to face her brother's pain was the most fitting punishment for her anyway.

As far as Jon was concerned, his issue with them was settled. Now his only purpose in life was to help his people. In a way, he felt he was as responsible for their fates as Sonia was. It was he, after all, who convinced them to band together in the Front. It was he who had ended their innocence prematurely.

He slapped the rear of the horse to make it go faster, then saw motion from the corner of his eye. Someone was running. He recognized the person as Thomas, a member of the Front. Jon changed course immediately and soon saw the reason for his comrade's flight. A soldier in SAMAS power armor pursued him, loping easily on powerful legs.

Jon urged the horse even harder, closing the distance to Thomas in a few seconds. Without slowing, he grit his teeth, reached down, and yanked his friend up by the armpit. Thomas had the reflexes to maneuver himself into a sitting position behind Jon.

The resistance leader headed for a nearby wooded area. The SAMAS started firing on them with a laser, which exploded patches of grass all around them. He was either a bad shot or trying to do something other than hit them with the powerful weapon.

As the riders approached a small, wooden bridge for crossing the creek, a laser shot whizzed past them and hit the bridge. The structure evaporated in a cloud of burnt sawdust and splinters. With no time to change course, Jon leaped the horse right over the creek, sailing through the cloud of debris and landing on the opposite bank. He spurred the horse.

A few seconds later, what happened was so fast and strange that his mind took a while to comprehend it. One moment he was urging the horse onward, then next moment he was flying through the air, surrounded by a hurricane of matter that was wet, warm, soft. He was aware of a loud crack of thunder from somewhere behind him.

The ground hit him, and after hurriedly orienting himself, he saw that he was in a field of reddish gore with a scarlet mist in the air. He still clutched the reins. Thomas lay fifteen feet away. The horse was no more.

The SAMAS landed nearby, sending a ripple through the ground. It reached down, picking up Thomas by the neck. The boy struggled until his neck was snapped. He went limp, like an old scarecrow.

Then the SAMAS turned toward Jon.

"Target acquired," the computer announced. Royd jammed the firing button as fast as possible, furious that he was already too late to save one of them. Both rail guns shot dense titanium projectiles at supersonic speeds, hitting the SAMAS square in the back.

That got its attention, knocking it down and tearing off its starboard wing. Royd was happy that at least he wouldn't be flying anymore.

Royd watched Jon react quickly. He sprung to his feet and made a dash toward the forest.

The SAMAS got back up and faced Royd's spider-skull walker. Royd knew his chances against a SAMAS weren't that great. He wished he could drop off his two passengers before starting this fight, but that was obviously not possible.

The SAMAS ran forward a few steps and leaped into the air, its ankle jets firing. While it wasn't technically flying, it was still capable of impressive leaps. It started firing at the top of its arc, its shots rocking the cabin of the walker. It landed and ran under it.

Royd knew he had to keep him in sight. He skittered the vehicle to the side quickly and loosed some distracting laser fire. He moved quickly toward the nearby forested area. The region was densely packed with sharp hills, boulders, and valleys.

The walker ran forward while the head-shaped cabin pivoted 180 degrees to face his attacker. Royd summoned all of his concentration to do the work of three men. He piloted the vehicle while loosing laser bursts to keep his opponent off-balance, while also coaxing the rail guns to lock on to the fast-moving soldier.

For the first time in a long time, Royd felt totally alive.

Sergeant Spike had faced many tough opponents before. He had to respect this one for his skill. His opponent's defeat would make another excellent story to tell his comrades.

He dodged as many of the lasers as he could, continuing to fire himself, as he chased the vehicle toward the forest. Then he suddenly varied the pattern by leaping into the air. Temporarily out of the field of fire, it gave him the chance to launch a couple of missiles at his target. They hit the undercarriage, tearing one of the middle legs off. Now the six-legged vehicle was down to four.

It was only a matter of time.

Royd slapped off the damage alarms and struggled to keep the machine balanced on its remaining legs. He cursed, put the rail guns on manual, and fired a desperate burst.

He scored a hit in the leg, knocking the soldier down.

Royd seized the opportunity and sped up a steep hill topped by boulders. An alarm went off warning of excessive reactor temperature. He saw the SAMAS get back up just as he reached the top. Then Royd did something with the walker that it was not designed to do. He leaped off the hill.

With the damage to the SAMAS's leg, Sergeant Spike was now forced to limp. But he could still make good time. If that mercenary thought he was going to hide in the forest, he was sorely mistaken. It was a poor strategy, and Spike sneered at the rogue's stupidity.

He took the hill in one leap and looked down to see the walker sitting on the ground several yards away, smoke escaping from the engine area.

Spike smiled and leaped down, ready for the kill.

The moment the SAMAS leaped off the hill, Royd fired a burst with the rail guns straight into the side of the hill. The very moment the solder landed, the top half of the hill collapsed onto him, burying him in tons of rock.

Royd sighed with relief. He doubted that the soldier or his machine were disabled, but without leverage, getting out would take time.

He shut off the heat vents that were leaking smoke, making the walker look more damaged than it was and venting the reactor at the same time. He whispered sweet nothings to the machine as he coaxed it to life once more.

He noticed out of the viewport a figure approaching. He was halfway to the firing control before seeing that it was Jon. He popped the hatch.

The man entered. "Thank you."

Royd looked embarrassed. "Sorry about your friend."

For all his youth, the man clearly had the bearing of a leader. "You did everything you could," he said. "There's a place near here where we meet sometimes. It's probably where the others are headed. I can show you the way."

Tobias and Mina had finally convinced the three Liberation Front members they were protecting to leave their loved ones in the shed, so that they could make their way to the secondary hideout in a forested area that the locals called Giant City.

Tobias had been fascinated with the story of its formation. Though none of the people of Cobdendale knew the origin, Tobias had learned that a thousand years ago, during an ice age, huge glaciers had pushed these immense boulders south—scraping the land north of it perfectly flat—before receding in the eventual-warm-up.

They were nearing the borders of the area, slogging through a muddy field, when they heard a turbo engine. They looked up to see a SAMAS descending toward them from the sky.

Her eyes fixed on the intruder, Mina said to Tobias, "Get these three to the forest. I'll take care of this guy."

"No way," he said firmly. "You can't handle that."

She looked him in the eyes. "I've got a better chance than you. Your pistols are useless here. Now get them to the cave. I'll be fine."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Please be careful." He hustled the kids away quickly.

The SAMAS seemed to have no problem with that. He came directly toward her.

Craig couldn't believe his luck. There she was. The mage.

There were others, scattering off like rodents, but he could get them later. She was the prize he dreamed of. His first major opponent. He would finally have an epic battle story of his own to tell. Even Sergeant Spike would be impressed.

Craig was sure of it.

She threw up her shield spell just in time. As he descended, the SAMAS pulled a large rifle on her and opened up.

It was difficult to dodge with her feet alternately sticking and sliding in the mud. Then she heard the distinctive thunderclap of the supersonic rail gun as the projectile hit her in the shoulder.

Her magical armor took all the damage, though she could feel it weakening. There was enough unabsorbed concussive force to flip her around and send her tumbling to the ground.

The SAMAS landed about a hundred yards away and stood watching her. Mina, annoyed that her beige tunic and pants were now filthy, got back on her feet and fired a magic energy bolt at the soldier.

He flinched, but was hit by it. It did no damage. He lowered his weapon and strode confidently toward her.

She fired another. He shrugged it off and kept walking.

She fired another spell. He took it in stride. Unfortunately for him, this was a different spell. The energy bolt suddenly opened up into a net of magical fibers. He realized his folly too late to dodge. Caught in the net, he was hardly able to move at all. He started cursing.

Mina smiled and shook her head.

But knowing that the spell wouldn't last more than a few minutes, she had to plan her next move. The truth was that there was little she could do to him, except delay him. She certainly didn't want to lead him toward the cave. But she would definitely benefit from the cover of the forest. Going in the opposite direction of the cave, she entered Giant City.

"We're almost there," Jon said.

"Good," Royd answered. "I'll drop you guys off and take this thing—" Just then, an alarm went off, accompanied by a grinding sound from below the deck. "That's not good." He flicked some switches to reroute power, but to no avail.

The walker was on its way up a slope, but suffering from several systems failures. "That's it, kids," Royd announced. "This baby ain't goin' any farther." He popped that hatch. "Last stop, no passengers."

They all deboarded and climbed the rest of the way to the secret cave. It was halfway up a hill, its entrance obscured by the newly leafing branches of a willow. They found one more Front member there. The friends hugged each other.

Jon saw Royd's sour expression and asked about it.

"I wasn't planning to park this close to the hideout," Royd said. "We might as well put a neon sign above the cave saying, 'Fugitive rebels here, half price'."

He thought for a moment, then cracked a mischievous smile. "On the other hand, maybe I could get some use outta this."

Mina used a tiny ball of magical energy and her cupped right hand to aim the light downward to serve as her flashlight as she made her way through the dark forest. So far there was no sign of her pursuer, and she was glad of that. She wished she was back with the others, though. Being out alone in the forest with a SAMAS stalking her was not her idea of fun.

Then she heard the faint whine of an engine. She quickly climbed into a nearby cave and extinguished her light. She hoped the power-suited armor wouldn't be able to detect her heat signature as she crouched against the cool stone wall.

She listened with growing concern as the engine whine came to a halt nearby. Shortly, she heard footsteps crunching around in the forest. She engaged her invisible, magical armor. Then the footsteps came directly to the cave entrance.

She could barely see the silhouette of a man. He said, "Mina?"

The voice was strangely familiar.

She created a ball of light in the air, and suddenly found herself facing the last person she ever expected to see.

"Owen," she said hollowly, standing up. As he smiled and approached, she held up a hand. "Don't come any closer," she said.

He deflated somewhat, taking on a serious expression. "Of course."

"How did you find me," she demanded.

"When your clash with Private Gable—the SAMAS—was reported, I rushed to the area and started searching the forest."

Mina remained silent, knowing there had to be more. That wasn't enough to explain how he came right to her.

"Well, I—" He watched her face closely as he said, "I still remember the first spell we learned together."

She thought for a moment and sighed. "Detect Magic." She cleared her head of the painful memory evoked by his statement. "What do you want?" she said impatiently.

He cleared his throat. "I, uh, I know you probably hate me. I can understand that. I've come to realize that what I did was wrong. That everything I believed in was wrong. When we first became officers, you—"

Her eyes flared in anger. "Save it, Owen," she said harshly. "For somebody who wants to hear it."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then he said, "I deserve that. And more." He nodded. "It's time for me to make up for all the awful things I've done. I don't expect you to ever love me again. But, if you could find it in your heart to help me start a new life. I want to do what you do—traveling around, helping people. But I don't know how to survive in the wilderness. I don't know the places such people go to learn—"

"Owen, please stop." She put her fingers to her temples and took a deep breath. "I'm happy for you if you've finally seen the true nature of your masters. I'm happy that you want to atone for your sins. But you'll have to find someone else to help you. Because I will never forgive you." She took a step forward. "The Owen I loved is dead. He died when he chose his military career over me. He died when he failed to lift a finger the day they came to haul me away in chains." Her voice wavered. "When you let them kill my teacher." Mina took a calming breath. "She sacrificed her life to make sure I escaped. While you, the man I loved, did nothing. Because it was you, the man I loved, who brought them to do it!"

She pushed past him, then turned. "I wish you luck on your quest for redemption, Captain Selby. But that quest won't be with me."

She left the cave and disappeared into the dense foliage. The light in the cave dimmed and went out.

Leaving Owen in darkness.

Jon looked up and found a crescent moon beginning its ascent. He had to admit that things were turning out better than he'd expected. At least he and three members of the Front were still alive. He watched them huddling in the back of the cave, mourning over the loss of Thomas.

While the night was certainly tragic, if any of them could survive it, Jon would be grateful for the miracle. He would have to thank Royd when he got back from tinkering with the spider walker. As he looked out toward the vehicle, he noticed a figure stepping into view, coming straight for the cave. He calmed himself as he realized that it was too small to be a soldier. It must be another member of the Front.

And it was, but not one he expected.

Jon held out his hand and helped Nikolai climb up to the cave entrance. They looked at each other for a moment.

Nikolai said, "I know there's nothing I can say or do to make up for my mistake. But if you have any mercy at all, please let me stay to share the fate of my friends."

Jon regarded him for a long moment. His compatriot was young and foolish, but his heart was in the right place. If the boy was brave enough to put himself in such a dangerous position, then Jon would just have to be brave enough to forgive him.

He put his hand on Nikolai's shoulder. "I'm sure we could use all the help we can get."

Nikolai nodded, his emotions too strong to let him speak, and headed toward the back of the cave.

Jon looked back out into the night, just in time to see the rustling of foliage nearby. Again becoming guarded, he was practically overjoyed to see that it was the traveler Tobias and three members of the Front. He helped them up.

This was unbelievably wonderful. Now all eight surviving members were present. Perhaps there was hope after all.

"We have a plan," Tobias said.

"What do you want me to do?" Jon asked.

"Just stay—" Tobias gazed down at a rustling bush. When no one emerged, he signaled to Jon to stay put, then leaped down and disappeared into the darkness. After a few seconds, he heard a squeal, and the scholar emerged holding a nine-year-old girl with red hair by the arm. He carried her up to the cave.

Jon said to her, "Maya, what are you doing here?"

Tobias said, "We told you to wait in that tool shed."

She put on an exceptionally innocent face. "I didn't want to be left out."

Tina and the others came up from the back of the cave. The little girl ran up to her cousin and hugged her around the waist. Tina said, "Young lady, you are in so much trouble." Her eyes misted up.

Jon announced, "The travelers have a plan." He turned to Tobias. "You were telling me what you wanted me to do."

Tobias nodded his head. "Yes. I want you to stay here and take care of your people. When Royd is finished with whatever scheme he's working on, we'll go and find Mina, capture the colonel, and make him think everyone is dead."

Jon considered that, frowning. "What do you think our chances are of pulling that off?"

The adventurer glanced around, seeing everyone watching him attentively. After a moment's hesitation, he smiled. "It won't be the first time we've done the improbable. I'll tell you what, while we're waiting for Royd to finish, let me tell you the story of how we helped Sir Turin the cyber-knight to save the city of Manistee." He ushered for everyone to sit.

Jon loved Tobias's stories. They were inspirational and educational, as well as entertaining.

He sat down against the cave wall and listened. And for a moment, the world was perfect.

She refused to cry.

Mina trudged through the dark forest, not even bothering to use her light. The moon now cast enough of a sickly glow for her to make her way.

She wandered aimlessly. She tried very hard not to think about Owen. But it was the only thing she could think about.

How could he dare to seek her forgiveness after all this time. After his utter betrayal.

Mina and Owen had grown up in the heart of the Coalition States. They had gone through officer training together. They had lived and loved together. She had cared for him more deeply than anyone else in the world. Until their graduation assignment.

They'd been sent undercover to eliminate a school of magic in an outlying city. They had found the teacher and joined her classes. To Mina's utter surprise, she found that magic was something that felt completely right for her. It was like finally finding herself.

Owen, however, was as repulsed by magic as they had always been taught to be. She delayed him for weeks from ending the mission by summoning the arresting force. Then, one day, he apparently stopped listening to her and brought them in. Mina was actually teaching part of the class that day. When her superiors saw that, Mina was added to the arrest list.

The ensuing escape was the most tragic moment of Mina's life.

And now, after years of engaging in criminal tyranny, that soulless bastard actually had the nerve to expect her to save him. The bile rose in her throat to even think about it. If it didn't go against everything she stood for, she would've been happy to wring the last bit of life out of his evil, pathetic heart.

The bitter tears started to come. She stopped and rested her head against a tree trunk. She had to get a hold of herself. She quieted her mind and opened her senses to the forest. She felt the life and the peacefulness of mother earth, the source of all magic energies.

As she struggled with her anger, she heard a noise from some distance. It soon became clear that the sound was the footsteps of heavy power armor. And it was coming this way.

Why couldn't they leave her alone? The Coalition. She hated it. She hated the small-minded bigotry that took the life of her teacher. She hated the corruption and ambition that took the soul of the man she loved. She hated the repression that she constantly fought against.

Why couldn't they just leave everyone alone?

And then he was there. The SAMAS entered the small clearing, its unchanging mask somehow gazing at her like a hungry predator. Mina turned toward him, her fury flaring. She shouted, "Why can't you just leave me alone!"

With a snide tone, the soldier replied, "The use of magic in Coalition territory is a crime against humanity. By the Emperor's order, I sentence you to death."

Finally, the arrogance was too much for Mina. She screamed a curse, then growled a spell.

Bands of light danced around her hands. She thrust them toward the soldier, sending a massive ball of energy at his head. The force knocked him back several feet. He had to grab hold of a tree to maintain his balance.

Mina stretched her hand toward the sky, and a lightning bolt appeared out of the clear skies and struck the private. He gave out a yell of pain.

Mina glanced at a rock the size of her head to her right. She extended a hand, and it rose into the air and flung itself at the soldier. It bounced off his armor, but was soon joined by a larger rock, then another. One smacked him in the face of his skull-shaped helmet, shattering his visor. The rocks alternated with powerful energy blasts, as Mina gave full reign to her fury and pain. Her eyes glowed scarlet from the magical energies coursing through her body.

Finally, a boulder larger than Mina smashed him into the smoking ground. He lay still.

Mina stood panting, then collapsed onto her knees from exhaustion. Her body had reached its limit of endurance in harnessing the Earth's raw power. She now fought against a wave of dizziness.

After struggling for a few moments, she looked up and noticed Owen standing at the edge of the clearing, his eyes filled with terror.

Mina was happy to see that.

Then the SAMAS soldier stirred. The power armor's arms still had enough strength to roll the boulder off of him. He struggled to his feet. His armor was dented and scorched in several places. Some of the plates were missing, exposing the underlying circuitry and control servos. Craig slowly removed his mangled helmet and tossed it aside.

He was a young man, little more than a boy. A streak of blood ran from his nose.

Mina couldn't help thinking that she had been about the same age when she became an officer.

Then the soldier seemed to notice Owen and stood a little stiffer. "Lieutenant. I'm glad you're here, sir. I'm engaged in battle with a mage. But I think she's out of magic. With your permission, I'll execute her now, sir."

Mina looked up at Owen. His jaw was tight, his face grim. In one hand he held a metallic drinking flask. He gazed back at her darkly, then gave a snide grin. "She is of no use to us. Get rid of her."

Private Gable said enthusiastically, "Yes, sir!" He reached down and picked up his dropped plasma rifle, reattaching its power cable to his armor. He checked its readings and took aim at the kneeling woman.

A part of Mina was almost happy to see it end.

"One moment, Private," Owen said. He stepped toward the SAMAS. You've got a fitting loose in the back. It could cause the gun to overload. Let me tighten it." He finished in a few moments and returned to his original position. "Proceed."

Private Gable took aim once again, his eyes intense with joy. He pulled the trigger.

A blinding flash was the last thing Mina saw.

Owen shielded his face from the intense heat of the blast.

When he opened his eyes, he saw what was left of the SAMAS—an empty husk lying in a smoking heap. Relief swept over him.

He quickly tossed aside his flask and rushed over to Mina, who had passed out. He prayed that he wasn't too late.