The sun had barely cleared the horizon, casting an amber glow across the Potomac and making the ruins of DC in the distance look as if they were glowing, if Sarah squinted she could also see the outline of enclave troops gathering around vertibirds that had begun to land on the bridge built across the river...so many...
"So...hero, what are you going to do when this shit is over?" Dusk asked, drawing Sarah's gaze away from the opposition and to her own gathering forces.
Towering above them Liberty Prime stood inert, the massive machine resembled a man in many ways, like a knight of old...a slight pale light emanating from the slit in his visor. Was Rotchild really right? It didn't look activated, rather it looked like it was sleeping or something. Even so it was impressive, frightening in the sheer brutality of the design, one could easily imagine it just crushing you underfoot...
The pride was all gathered around the robot, all doing last check-ups on their weaponry and armour. Despite being the elite of the brotherhood Sarah could see...despite their helmets being on...that they were nervous. A quick glance over at the opposition showed that they had all right to be. Heck, the other knights further back looked just about ready to bolt, vows and bravery strained to the limit as they watched the growing number of enemy troops.
For weeks had they fought the enclave, at first a few tentative skirmishes, attempts to understand who they were dealing with...then it had rapidly grown into an all out war as the enclave pushed at them...hard. The enclave had already taken all but the brotherhood strong points over in the DC...they hadn't heard from the Washington monument in days. As well as the rest of the wasteland...the brotherhood only held Rivet city and Megaton now.
But what could they do? The enclave had larger numbers, better armour, better weapons...and an entire fleet of vertibirds! Still, they had fought, and fought well...using their experience and knowledge of the area to hit the enclave where it hurt...but only recently had it gotten easier.
It was difficult to believe that John had actually taken out president Eden himself along with the headquarters of the enclave. But their reduced aggressiveness and lack of enclave radio station spoke a clear message...they were on the defensive! The superior army was on the defensive! It had instantly made things easier for them...all the more so with the morale boost of John aiding them.
He hadn't asked for a bunk in the citadel, nor a new suit of armour, weapons and ammunition...they had simply given it to him. On the other hand they had never asked him to stay, to fight with them during the entire week since his arrival...but he had. There hadn't even been any hesitation about it.
During the week he had fought with them, and though he'd gotten an odd habit of tossing his helmet aside none could argue he wasn't a warrior equal to any knight. Still...the calm with which he had charged the enclave lines so many times by now was almost scary, all the more so because he never seemed upset during the fight, barely excited even...serene.
It was confusing, especially since Sarah had seen him before, the rage barely boiling under the surface...was now gone. She had considered asking him, but hadn't been able...he kept to himself, and though his friendly look invited conversation...he never initiated it. It reminded her of Gallows, only that this one wasn't holding back, he simply didn't care for talking unless one moved to speak with him. As such he remained an enigma...
Perhaps that was the reason for them nicknaming him 'hero'? Or the crazy way he always charged the opposition? Or because of all the tales of his deeds before joining them? Or because he didn't wear his helmet like the mere mortals around him? Or maybe because it was shorter than 'suicidal nutjob'?
Watching she saw John check the plasma rifle he'd during one of the skirmishers practically ripped the hands off an enclave soldier to get, his habit faithful he wore no helmet...and looked so eerily calm that one could almost believe they were heading into nothing but a nice walk. With a hum the weapon in his arms became active. "Heroes don't survive wars." Did he have to say it so calmly?
The Pride all looked away, suddenly very interested in their gear, especially their armour.
Well ain't that great! Good work encouraging them...jackass. Sarah held back a groan, why won't you just tell them that they're going to die? That's encouragement for them. Of course she said nothing of that out loud....there could be no doubt about their unity now, especially not among the officers. Well...John wasn't an officer nor a member of the Pride or brotherhood, but it sure felt like that. "Okay listen up Pride!" All but John looked up at her as she activated her laser rifle. "You know the plan! We follow Liberty Prime up close! Keep in formation and watch each others backs and we'll send these fascists back to the hole they came from!"
"Oh-rah!" The others growled, raising weapons to acknowledge. John simply nodded, a slight smile on his lips as a hand went down to check his grenades were in position.
"Right then! Lets see what this thing can do then!" Sarah waved her rifle back and forth, the signal for Rotchild up on the parapet of the Citadel to send the activation code to the machine.
First nothing happened.
Then the machine took a tentative step forward, the ground shaking under its thread as a booming voice called out: ""Initiating directive #7395: destroy all communists!" Another step forward, the machine turning its head towards the distant bridge. "Communists detected on American soil! Lethal force engaged!"
Sarah shuddered, to see the monster of a machine activated was scary enough, to hear it speak pre-war propaganda as if no time had passed was worse. Had it really been smart reactivating the thing? With such old programming it might just go berserk and kill them all...the rest of the Pride seemed to echo her thoughts as they kept back when the robot took another sweeping step forward.
Of course John was right after the machine, apparently unperturbed by the giant so close to him. Well screw that...she wasn't going to be called a coward after this because of him... "Pride! Move out!" She leapt forward, shocked by how much ground the machine had already covered, it looked so sluggish...but then again the legs were so damn long...at least the Pride and other knights were following now...
"The last domino falls here!" The robot stopped even as a vertibird came flying above the bridge, flying right at the robot as it fired a stream of ruby laser shots at it. In response pale blue light shot out from the visor of the robot, the beams cleaving the machine right in half and hurling the shorn halves to the side before they exploded mid-air.
"Holy..." Someone in the Pride muttered even as the robot begun marching once more, ignoring the explosions suddenly creating craters in the ground as enclave artillery opened up. It was obviously too randomly fired to be any real threat though and Sarah waved her troops on as they caught up with the jogging John, the man having the audacity to look calm while her heart felt like it was about to beat itself right out of her chest.
"Democracy is non-negotiable!" Reaching back the robot grabbed a hold of one of the yellow containers strapped to its back...pulled its arm back...and tossed it right at the group of enclave troops that had landed at the beginning of the bridge.
The explosion that followed was blinding....but Sarah had seen enough nuclear explosions in her day and knew none could have survived such a massive explosion. Holy...she knew the thing could throw nukes...but seeing it was another thing! "Embrace democracy! Or you will be eradicated!" The robot advanced again even as Sarah saw John...chuckling!?
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" She couldn't stop herself, jogging up next to the man she held back slapping some sense into him. "This is no time for laughing! What the hell are you laughing at anyway!?"
The man shrugged, eyes focused on the approaching bridge even as the followed Liberty Prime. "Just finding the robot amusing, his definition of democracy is quite...odd...wouldn't you say? Makes one wonder how people viewed it back in the day."
"This is no-"
"Bird at nine!" Colvin called out, a hint of panic in his voice. An instant later Sarah found herself gasping as she saw the vertibird hurtling towards them, spitting laser towards them. Then John pushed her over and sent a flurry of plasma shots towards it, the green bolts of plasma hitting it straight in the left engine...on the fourth shot the engine exploded and sent the vertibird spinning towards them.
The explosion of it hitting the side of the bridge almost made John lose his footing, he was still smiling though when he reached down to help her back up on her feet. "There is always time to enjoy the small things Sarah." He chuckled at her blank look before moving to catch up with Liberty prime. He had just destroyed a vertibird like nothing...and now smiled at her while sprouting nonsense?
He had lost his mind!
"Anchorage will be liberated!" Liberty Prime boomed with conviction. Now atop the bridge while his visor shot pale blue beams of death at the enemies arrayed before him, their screams of pain almost disappearing under the sound of Liberty Prime's voice and the sound of artillery. "America will never fall to communist invasion!" Another tossed nuke and Sarah felt the whole bridge quake in its seams as another group of foes met their end.
Getting to the top of the bridge John waved his arm, beckoning the others to follow even as plasma and laser fire zipped past him. Crazy fool...Sarah pushed herself onwards, leading the Pride right over the top, their fire raking the foes in the distance even as John moved on, casually leaping over the burning remains of a flattened vertibird while Liberty Prime downed another of the gunships, sending it crashing into a distant building.
Oh God...Sarah felt her chest tighten, none in the Pride, nor the brotherhood...had ever been in such a battle...it was massive! To her right below the bridge she saw recon armoured knights and initiates taking up position, sniper rifles at the ready as they engaged the distant enclave troopers in sniper duels while artillery from both sides raked both positions. Whole formations of vertibirds moved towards the citadel, laser fire raking its parapet while other gunships tried to drop their men into the brotherhood base. Several of them exploded mid-air under heavy crossfire, others were forced to land as steel cables were shot into their rotor blades. The assault was on the verge of success though...as was their own, everything was at stake!
The enclave must have expected their attack...they had put everything they had against them...the odds didn't look good. All could be gone within an hour...her father...her Pride...gone.
Forcing herself to look forward Sarah saw John stumble as a laser bolt caught him in the shoulder, dropping unto one knee he returned fire, dropping the hidden sniper by the sound of it before continuing after the steadily marching Liberty Prime. "Death is a preferable alternative to communism!" The robot stomped down, crushing an old car underfoot and shoving the exploding vehicle into two ducking enclave soldiers, sending them over the edge of the bridge and into the water below. "Red Chinese victory: impossible!"
Turning John grinned at the Pride jogging after him: "Well...he's right about that!"
Despite herself Sarah found herself and the Pride chuckling, releasing some of their pent-up stress and worry. Colvin seemed to realise it too as he called out: "Well you never know, they might arrive at any moment now!" The soldier ducked, head craning to look about himself. "From space!"
Then John whirled about...fired...and blew a grenade up mid-air. A gust of plasma-induced heat washed over them as he spoke...relaxed as always: "Right, then lets finish this before they arrive." Sarah blinked, his stance was so serious...in sharp contrast to his speech. Nutjob...
"Alaska's liberation is imminent!"