Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 11

Sir Ramsey called Sibley. "What's the status of the spaceport?"

Sibley answered flatly. "The lad's been clearing out the trash on the guns. The lighter units broke and ran. The heavier ones are covering their retreat. We should have this sorted shortly."

"Mark my location and converge on it when you're done there."

"Acknowledged." Sibley said, "Leave some for us."

"You won't be disappointed, Sibley." Ramsey said with a laugh, and he broke the comlink to Sibley. He looked behind him to see the armed workers and stolen Oni still on his tail, and he smiled as they opened fire upon him to no avail. He again linked to their coms.

"Are you unable to aim properly?" Ramsay said, "One man on a hovercycle going in a straight line, and you can't hit him?"

A shot from a blaster rifle hit just off to his left. "You almost did it! You must be their leader!"

The man in the royal blue unit growled. "Push him into the mine!"

The workers broke off and formed up in a column going down a side road. Their torsos twisted like tank turrets, traversing towards Sir Ramsey, while they launched their remaining rockets in a massive salvo at him. The rockets roared through the air, impacting all about him, but none hitting close enough to force him to ground. Then the guns opened fire once more, bolts of plasma searing the air as they passed through.

"My squire's son is a better shot than you sad lot!" Ramsay said, "Not yet a page, and already scored more kills than you have hits, combined!"

Several blaster shots went just over his head. "Better!" Ramsey said, "But still not good enough!"

As the enemy fire continued to hit all around him, Ramsey turned suddenly and rushed right for the workers once more. They kept up their fire at him, still not hitting, when he ignited his saber and weaved through the column kneecapping the workers and turning them into very awkward turrets- those that were still upright after crashing and rolling.

As Ramsey turned about to finish the rebel workers off, the rebels in the Oni fired upon him again. Having taken their measure, Ramsey easily baited them into hitting the wrecked workers instead turning mobility kills into full kills and eliminating the pilots as well as the units.

"Well done!" Ramsey said, "I'm certain that your master will reward you well for killing your own men."

"Bring me that man's head!" the man in the royal blue unit said, "Even if you have to pull it out of a pile half-burned."

Ramsey laughed. He laughed at them. He laughed at them long and hard as he emerged from behind the wrecks and now charged at them.

"And how will you do that, villain, when you can't even hit a single unarmed hovercycle?"

The three Oni-class mecha now coordinated their fire, pushing Ramsey off his attack vector, but Ramsey didn't seem at all bothered.

"Sibley," Ramsey said, "I've seen enough. Time to finish this. Ready?"

"Aye!"

"You know what to do then." Ramsey said, and he lead the enemy mecha to the edge of the open mine pit- where he went over the edge. The three pursuing mecha ran to the edge and looked down, seeing only the impact of the hovercycle as it hit the better part of a mile below. They laughed, and in their laughter they stopped looking down, for Ramsey had let go of the hovercycle.

Ramsey drew forth the baton that Creton gave to him previously. Putting his beam sword away, he gripped the baton with both hands.

"I call forth Roland- draw your sword!"

The center of the baton flashed, and he pulled it apart. Light coruscated from the ends as he turned in mid-air, motioning with the split baton ends as if they were the controls of a mecha, and soon rays of light drew forth a cockpit. They radiated outward, drawing in first the skeleton and then the frame, and finally filling in the armor and externally-mounted weapons. The light faded, and now a fully-functional mecha stood in its place. Thrusters on its back and feet roared to life as its powerplant went online, stablizing it in the air and arresting its fall.

Durandal, the Sword of Roland, had arrived at Garmil's Gate.