Brass Skies vol 2 (Draft)

Hired Gun part 37

The British were everywhere. In every direction all Asuka could see was a sea of redcoats surrounding little islands of militia, mercenaries, pirates, and desperate townspeople who made up the fledgling colonial forces. Even as she watched another of those islands folded in and collapsed under the onslaught. A few dozen lives snuffed out in the space of a few seconds.

Her own unit had met a similar fate much earlier.

Asuka's face remained impassive, her cold brown eyes taking in the sights unflinchingly from behind sweat-drenched black bangs, but she shifted her grip on her katana, tightening it, and her swings became the slightest bit faster and harder.

The overwhelming roaring crescendo of screams, battle cries, gunshots, clashing steel, and parting flesh became a background hum pierced only the sounds of immediate importance; the soft scrape of fabric, the his of steel in the air, the click of a gun hammer being cocked.

Asuka danced among the redcoats, a graceful maiden of death who left a trail of dead and dying bodies in her wake. Within a few minutes, Asuka had killed one redcoat for every five she had seen killed by the British. It wasn't enough. It wasn't near enough.

From above came the sound of distant propellers. The fighting along the battlefield eased slightly as both sides anxiously looked up at the sky watching to see whose ships would be cresting over the hills. They didn't have long to wait.

Within a couple of minutes the first battered ship peaked into view from behind a hilltop. As it slipped fully into view, so did its black flag. Against the background a cat crossed sabers with bunny. A resounding cheer rang out from the colonial side of the battlefield.

Two more ships were just peeking around the same hilltop when cannon hidden two of the adjacent and one opposing hillsides opened up on the lead ship. Taken by surprise from three sides, the hapless ship didn't stand a chance. Within seconds the bow was in flames, and both the port and starboard sides were full of holes.

The ship was able to return fire into the positions tormenting her flanks only once before the second volley nearly tore her apart. Losing altitude fast, in a final act of defiance, the doomed ship adjusted course one final time. The cannon in the third position never got off the third shot as the Dancing Yasmine plowed into the hillside, grinding dirt, rocks, cannon, people, and even trees under its flaming hull. The ship finally came to a complete stop and several people jumped off—some of them on fire—before the entire ship erupted in an explosion that killed everyone within a few hundred meters of the ship.

The explosion cut a large swath across part of the battle field, wiping out a large number of predominately British combatants, but even the loss of nearly a thousand British troops failed to turn the tide of the battle. Cheered on by the destruction of the pirate ship and enflamed by the loss of so many of their brethren, the British pressed on the outnumbered colonial forces with renewed zeal.

In the air, the other two ships fired upon the remaining two cannon positions. When the last of the British cannon fell silent, the two ships cautiously flew over the battle field towards some of the groups of surrounded colonial forces. Several crew members fired over the sides into the British lines trying to provide cover as others lowered rope ladders or launched the life boats.

Asuka struggled towards the nearest ship. After fighting her way through dozens of soldiers, the effects of exhaustion finally started to catch up to her. She felt a burning pain in her side as a strike slipped through guard and laid her side open.

The ladder was now well within sight. Several men were trying to climb the swaying ladder. One stiffened as a shot went through him. He lost his grip and fell to the ground with a scream that cut off suddenly in a sickening crunch.

She made a final push for the ladder, but quickly found herself surrounded. Using nearly all of her skills, she managed to hold out for several minutes despite the injury in her side. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the ladder coming towards her.

When it passed directly overhead, she released her grip on her katana with one hand and jumped up, grabbing on in a one-handed hold. Hanging by one hand she attempted to sheath her katana with the other.

Then a bullet passed through her arm causing her to lose her grip on both her katana and the ladder. The last thing she saw was the ladder passing out of reach before she hit the ground and darkness claimed her.