Interlude - This Spear of Mine
Fighting Anger was never something any of the androids wanted, she was cruel and merciless in her style, modified to be the deadliest of the sisters. But fighting both Anger and Justice, Temma felt her artificial heart sink.
She wanted to help them, but upon coming face to face with her sisters. Holding her ground, defending the ringworld’s defense systems holding the Directive fleet at bay, Temma found herself out matched twice over.
Neither wanted saving or help, neither were corrupted by Core’s mechanisms. Standing before them, there was no words to be said. No plea to be heard, they were there to kill, and Temma to protect.
Behind Temperance, a spire that stood far into the ring world’s sky, the tip echoing out energy protecting the entire ring, a shield and with it all the defensive guns battering the enemy fleets. Directly over her shoulder, the doors inside, and around them assimilated people and androids who tried to stop the two.
Between the three of them, their choice of weapons, a spear in Temma’s grip, an odd hatchet with a hook at its end in Anger’s, and a rapier in Justice’s. How fitting for them, neither android too considered with opening laser fire on the other. It never worked, they all knew the same battle patterns, leading shots, avoiding, the slower projectiles a waste.
Temma’s plan was simple, to meet her foe, but slowly draw them towards the pillars and archways leading up to the spire’s entrance. There with some luck, she’d be able to use the knowledge of her surroundings to her own advantage, but she’d have to score some hits with her spear before getting there. She had to be faster, more focused, and skilled for this.
Readying herself, her sisters did the same.
Justice rushed forward first, rapier striking out, Temma forced to redirect with the shaft of her spear, deflecting right, pushing with the middle of her shaft to steer them first. A follow up was prime, but Temma couldn’t act as if she was alone, Anger’s hatchet swinging up at her, having approached in the small window.
Temma leaned back, pushing off to flip once, land on her feet, jabbing forward at Anger, shaft of the spear sliding along Anger’s weapon, forcing her to rotate off. Thinking quick, Temma whipped her spear left towards Justice who came swinging in, the flexible pole hitting Justice in the upper arm, though she’d gotten too close for the blade to cut.
The whack jolted Justice towards Temma’s back, shuffling further herself to keep both androids in view. Everyone coming to stance, Anger bouncing her hatchet left and right, switching hands with it, Justice trying to circle around to Temma’s back, forcing her more and more to back up. Getting closer to the archways and the pillars that she had planned to reach. But too soon, she hadn’t done enough damage, just a test of mental and metal.
Taking the first step to keep them from encircling her, Temma jabbed twice out, forward whipping it down to the right and back up, catching Anger’s low block early, breaking her wide open and placing a clean cut on the other’s waist. Clean but still shallow, Temma forced to carry through with some pull back, rotating to the left to slap down the spear against an approaching Justice. Surprising them before they pushed up against it.
Temma pulled her spear inward, shifting her grip to hold it closer to her the blade, swinging from the left, using the shaft to hit Justice’s right side, pushing through to swing her to the front and into Anger.
Both androids hitting each other before Temma shifted grips against, pulling the end of her spear to be held, so she could swing from the same direction with the blade out. The attack was smooth, and Temma was on point, yet as Anger and Justice collided, they would so easily roll off each other, Anger meeting Temma’s spear with her hatched’s shaft, sliding it to the end where the hook was, latching is to the head of the spear to pull Temma forward mid swing.
Holding on she got tugged right into Justice’s fist, rolling around Anger with her left fist striking against Temma’s cheek. The force knocking her back, her spear still held as she yanked it from Anger’s hook.
Off balance she took a few steps back, jumping even as both androids gave chase. Right into the pillar section, the archways hanging overhead. She had dealt damage but still not enough, and now the field was still too level.
Anger juggled her hatched once more, prancing forward before rushing Temma, a different degree of speed being shown as it seemed like she was going to swing from the left with her hatched, Temma’s shaft poised to block, only the android reached out with the other hand to grasp Temma’s weapon, tugging her forward, right into Anger’s knee.
And from the left, the hatched dropped, lopping off Temma’s arm. Kicking Temma back as she still held her spear with one hand, the other laying on the ground as Justice stepped forward to crush it.
“You’re...as ruthless as ever sister.”
“Its time to lay down the blade and leave Temperance.” Anger suggested. “Any more, and it’ll be a cruel end.”
“You can’t win now.” Justice added. “we won’t show this shred of kindness again. This respect.” Yet both sisters looked at each other then to Temma, both knew. Temperance, Temma, wasn’t going to lay down that spear.
Sure enough Temma’s remaining right hand clutched that spear of hers, that spear that she learned so much with from her teacher. To protect, that was what she wanted, and this was what she had to protect. All these lives on this ring, the people beyond this system.
“I can’t.” That’s all she needed to say, twirling that spear in her hand, she rested in a position with the spear across her back, her arm holding it snug for strong jabs, but that was about it. Something creative had to done, the pillars here would provide it. Even if she wasn’t in the condition she wanted, it had to be tried.
With a bolt of speed, she charged at Anger, only to dip harshly to the side, jumping towards the pillar, landing on it sideways and bursting off, jabbing through a surprised Anger’s defense, cutting her right arm, before pushing forward to another landing.
Feet helping her stick to the side of the pillar to burst off against at Justice, setting both androids on the back foot. Putting all her energy into her legs, into speed, the excess from no arm used to empower her bursts. For a moment, she could dip and dive around her sisters, striking through their guards to lather them in small cuts.
Each powerful jump, the thrust of a spear to follow, catching each of the two off guard. Darting around this pillar filled entrance, dipping in and out of cover, striking where she could. Diving back in at Justice once more, striking through the android’s torso, having to spin and kick off of them to escape a striking Anger.
Bouncing between two more she dashed forward to Anger, rushing them from the side, Anger spinning to intercept, learning Temma’s pattern, parrying the blow away, not just deflecting Temma away, but right to Justice. Temma having to rotate off the parry, taking a bone crushing kick to the body, sending her flying backwards.
Still she was not done, catching herself Temma bounced off the ground to the nearest pillar to propel again, only Justice and Anger had followed.
A display of speed, like birds dancing in the sky, Temma against her sisters, the three using bursts of speed to weave around the pillars, striking to catch each other with quick blows, chasing Temma all the way as they started to ascend higher and higher, using high ground to dive down faster before needing to run upwards and burst off again.
Weaving back and forth, Justice and Anger exchanging blows with Temma, her lacking arm showing as slowly she started to lose speed, she started to lose the exchanges, the battle was wearing on her, yet she persisted.
Echoing clashes rung through the archways, the two sisters chasing Temma to the top as she pushed off the top of one of the arches to strike down at a rising Anger, deflected off towards Justice again, dodging the kick this time but both androids were on her tail. Rushing, running, jumping as fast as she could, the world was spiral and her attacks too predictable. Only one arm to strike, only one direction.
Faster, quicker, rushing from pillar to pillar, eyes catching the next attack, trying to find an opening, eyes trying to keep both in sight while finding the next prime pillar to leap from.
Like an aerial battle, two attackers locked onto one target, yet unable to get the strike in, Temma thinking on the fly. The fastest she could go, and now it was time to strike.
Throwing her spear to a pillar, she leaped to another, bursting off of it at the shaft of her spear as Justice followed, feet catching the shaft, spring-boarding back towards Justice off of it, bringing a crushing knee to the android’s head, sending her spiraling away as Anger was unable to follow up, Having bounced towards where she thought Temma would of landed.
Temma gliding towards the next post, pushing off it again towards her spear, grabbing its handle and tugging it out of the pillar before bursting to the next, Anger hot on her tail, hand hooking into the granite rock to swing herself around, trying to change directions again.
Reaching the next, and the next, a step ahead but the predator on her tail, sliding down the rock to move to the next, Anger tossing her hatchet after Temma twice, landing each time to grab it and follow, Temma catching onto this, and planning.
She sprung to another pillar, and to the next, she would land and deflect the thrown weapon, picking her next leap she neared the gateway, the choices limited as only two stood before the doors, but still she’d go. About to leap she’d notice Justice running up the side of one of her choices, forcing her to pick the other, jumping with all her might to reach it fast enough to turn and parry.
Yet as her feet landed, the pillar gave out, cut at the bottom by laser, Temma’s eyes wide, no hatchet thrown. She had been chased to the end, tricked into using one of them to turn and strike, and with Justice running up one, she’d obviously pick the other. The other sabotaged by Justice who had fallen out of view after Temma’s strike.
As the granite pillar collapsed, Temma tried to gather her footing, Anger coming right in on her, hatched high above her head as Temma couldn’t bring her sole arm to guard with her spear.
“Its over Temperance..Temma.” Striking down, Anger’s weapon cleaved through Temma’s shoulder and into her chest, the force sending her spiraling down as Anger kicked her downwards.
Falling from the sky she crashed into the ground, coughing up red as systems blinked critical failure all over her vision. Life supports were crushed, biological systems were failing, even without the technology she was still alive, but that life was too mortal to handle these wounds.
Anger and Justice descended down, Justice holding her well delivered wound as Anger rested a hand on her waist. The two looked down at their dying sister, still clutching that spear of hers, as if she still had fight in her.
Temma choked and gasped, looking up at Anger, “I... I’m dead..aren’t I.” Eyes filled with fire and fight, a body too broken to continue. “I..I had to protect... I.” Temma’s lungs were filling with red, things were shutting down leaving her to her mortal wounds with a mortal body. “I didn’t. prot....was I ..did I..do good?”
“Temperance. You always told us, that your mark had taught you so much, so much so you couldn’t do your job... We cannot see your gaze as you see this world but..” Justice leaned down to put that spear across Temma’s heart, holding onto it with her only arm.
“But whoever taught you, this knight. They did a fine job.” Anger held her weapon, raising it up, “You didn’t just do good sister.”
“One of us will tell your sensei, your master one day. If we ever meet.” Anger added as she settled by Temperance’s side.
“You were the best Temperance.”
Words spoken out, Temma’s eyes looking up at the sky, the painful end numbing her mind. Yet hearing that, peace given.
Peace before Anger’s hatchet dropped once more to end it quickly.
The People of the Ishnor Ring wouldn’t even know, just who placed it all on the line to save them. The shields dropping, the guns cooling off, the rings were open to the Directive.
Temperance at least, would not have to live to see the hell placed upon these ring worlds.
