The Independence Mutiny

Chapter 22: Into This World We're Thrown...

 The battle was aided by Irina's fighting skill. She was naturally the strongest one there, further compounded by the fact she had been keeping the gravity in the room on high, in case she ever had to fight that crazy Jovian again. Irina was killing her countrymen, but she no longer cared. If they were shooting at her, they were the enemy. If they were issuing orders that would destroy her country, they were the enemy. When she blew up the gate, a strong symbol of her people, it did not phase her. The first two people she shot, bugged her a little, after four or six people she killed barehanded, she threw up, but she got over it and now felt nothing. She was now covered head to toe in crimson, smiling like some unholy demon. She came around the corner and saw a man with a jammed rifle desperately trying to clear it. Irina ran towards him and the soldier threw down the rifle and ran. She caught him by the neck and twisted his head clean off. Three soldiers in an alcove saw this and could do nothing, frozen in terror as the Red Destroyer came towards them.

Hera was running to her house, Ed as close as he could behind. Cold held Miko and Amy back. Hera burst in the door, which had a red X painted on it, indicating it had been checked by Civil Defense, and disappeared into the doorway. Ed caught up and went in. He saw a rotting arm, with a man's wrist watch peeking out from under a dusty blanket. He saw another arm, smaller, with a wedding ring on it from under another blanket. Ed went upstairs and found Hera in her own room, crying and holding her side arm.

"Five point seven millimeter armor piercing, full metal jacket. It can cut through anything. I'm not so sure. Cold's been through nuclear Armageddon before. This will be my first one. I will never see my parents again," She paused and listened to the battle raging outside, "The war started, soon will come the bombs and blow everything away. This house, you, the INDEPENDENCE. Everything but Hera Davidson and Ingrid Cold. I believe in Heaven, Ed. I found a piece of it here with you, but that is as close as I'll get. You will die, I'm doomed." Hera put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

"Hera NO!" Ed screamed. The gun exploded as the gas hit the temple and simply had nowhere to go.

"See! I am an immortal. Never to rest! Doomed to watch you die, watch everyone I love crumble to dust!" She threw the broken gun out the window where it harmlessly exploded a SAM locked onto the ARQUEBUS, and hugged a crying Ed. "I should have stayed home."

"You would have died."

Hera just nodded yes.

Mr. Cold just stood in the living room and prayed. He wiped a tear off his aged eye and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Davidson. I brought your daughter home."

Shell came out of his capsule and found three Rocs and a platoon of Ringer soldiers surrounding him.

"God! What is that thing!" shouted a private.

"Stand down or be des-" the officer was cut off by blade that severed his head. Soon the three Rocs and most of the platoon was dead. One was left to scream on the radio.

"MAYDAY! It's killing us all! Gack!" Shell ran the blade through the man's eyeball, then picked up the microphone.

"Yes, I will kill you all. The Federation will give no quarter." He lurched down the street to a Commonwealth position.

"Where the hell are the fighters?" screamed Johnny. Dennis didn't have an answer. "Radio the ARQUEBUS, see if they can take on the ground forces while we nail the SAMs.'

"That's a negative, INDY. We are supporting a special operation on the surface and cannot break away," was the reply they got from Commodore Quail.

"Don't you know there are troops dying down there, Grandpa?"

"Yes, I do. Now clear this line and let me do my job! If we live through this then I can explain myself!"