Chapter 7

The Los Anglenz guards who had been sitting like statues drew their weapons and attacked the mercs while my Knights protected me and Cassandra.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the merc who had shot me and threw a Laserknife piercing his throat. Then, she knelt by me and tearing a strip of cloth from her dress bound my wound tightly, glancing at me part angrily and part thankfully.

She gave me a quick kiss to the cheek whispering, "For luck" and joined the fray; cutting her way gracefully with her Laserblades. Perceiving her intended target, I sucked in a breath.

She leapt up onto one of the mech's leg when it was rising to its feet. Activating my commlink I growled at Cassandra "Get away Cass! Laser weapons can't pierce the forcefield created by it. Only material weapons can get past that force field! But its insanely strong cockpit can withstand any blade. Get clear before it blows you away. I can't..." Here my voice broke but I completed my sentence "I can't lose you!"

For a brief second, Cassandra turned back and even in the heat of battle, I could feel the affection in her smile. She spoke into her commlink, "Trust me a little bit, Michael."

She jumped away from its body and landing thrust a rapier partway into the ground. Just as the mech prepared to fire its cannon at her, a Laserknife rammed into the muzzle causing the cannon to explode. Using that moment of distraction, Cassandra quickly backtracked. She ran and leapt upon her rapier and as she pushed off from it, hurled a Laserknife at the other cannon. Her momentum carried her high into the air.

Silence descended on the battlefield as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at this incredible display of acrobatics.

When the cannon exploded, she pressed a button and twisted the Laserblade's hilt. Steel plates emerged one after one another from slits in the steel plate behind them finally ending with a pointed steel end. The new rapier burned brightly with highly concentrated laser inside.

"This is the latest Technoweapon: The Lazersteel Rapier!" Cassandra murmured into her commlink and thrust the rapier with all her strength cracking the cockpit and instantly killing the pilot.

In the shocked silence that followed, I pushed my way forward pointed my Lasergun at Jonas. "Surrender brother mine, I don't want to kill you."

Jonas smirked and realizing that I was standing in front of him I rolled aside. Jonas yelled and I saw the laser fired by von Steinus burned through his thigh. Without a moment's hesitation, I changed the gun's setting to kill mode and shot the mercenary captain in the forehead.

As his body fell, I saw the shell-shocked expression that his dead eyes wore and calmness filled me. The burning anger that had been burning me up from the inside since the moment I saw my companions becoming charred corpses slowly extinguished.

Slowly turning to my brother I raised an eyebrow. Finally, Jonas, face contorting in agony whispered "I surrender" before fainting.