In The Shadow of Steel (Paladin Danse)

Part Twenty Six

The maiden lay weak and exposed atop the harp, her dress torn to rags and her hair a disheveled mess. Pools of blood gathered on the floor, tears of red running to meet the mess. She'd been weeping, but her cries of exhaustion had carried her into a deep sleep.   "Will he save her in time?"
My little boy asked with his wide, guileless eyes.
   "Of course he will, he's Grognak."
   "But he can't always save everyone. There must be times he's too late, or overpowered. It would just be unrealistic otherwise."

There would've been a time I'd have said most thing in these comics were unrealistic. But now, in a world of monsters and mutants, I'm not so sure.

   "Yeah, I guess you're right, kiddo. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
I smiled down at him and mussed his hair as the clouds in the sky began to part, revealing a bright finger of sunlight that warmed the skin at the back of my neck. In times like these, the world flashed a glimpse of a peaceful life. It's a shame they never lasted.
   "Knight Winters?"
My head turned to meet the familiar face belonging to Initiate Hopkins. A subtle nod of the head indicated him to proceed.
   "Proctor Ingram would like to see you on the tarmac of Liberty Prime's installation right away."
   "Sure, I'll head straight over." Closing the comic book, I handed it back to Shaun and kissed his head. "Tell me what happens later, OK? Let me know if he saves her."
   "I will, bye mom."
   "Bye. Thanks, Hopkins." I smiled at the two of them and headed towards Prime and the Proctor.

Paladin Danse was already stood to attention, a gentle smile appearing on his face upon my arrival.
   "Proctor Ingram? You called?"
Once she'd heard my voice, she turned to face me. Black marks painted her cheeks and forehead, traces of her latest shift.
   "Good, you're here. It looks like the Mark 28's are going to do the trick. That was a good find."
Before I got the chance, Professor Scara spoke next.
   "I'll work with your team to ensure that Prime's bombs remain stable after they're loaded into his pack. It won't be too much of a problem."
   "Well, Professor Scara, I have to admit, we couldn't have done this without you."
My eyebrows rose and I looked over at Danse who appeared to be sucking in a breath, only to hold it uncomfortably.

Are they...friends, now...?

   "Hm, it's a little early to be celebrating, Proctor Ingram."
The breath blew. 

There it is.

   "We haven't fully thrown the switch on Liberty Prime and I'm just hoping all the work I've done to keep his systems stable are going to hold."
   "There's only one way to find out." I interjected.
   "Absolutely. Proctor? All the readouts look green. I think it's time for you to perform the power shunt."
Ingram turned to face me, a smirk plastered on her lips.
   "Actually, I think I'm going to let Evelyn do it. After all, without her help, we'd still be staring at a pile of disassembled parts." Scara almost choked.
   "It would be better if a qualified technician performed the task."
   "I agree with the Proctor, and I think Knight Winters is more than qualified to press the button. So go on, push it." Elder Maxson's unannounced arrival caught us each off-guard, but sent the Professor cowering away with a bright red tinge to her cheeks. I bit back the grin.The large red button clicked with ease, and a low rumbling sound crossed the area as the robot's system awakened.

LIBERTY PRIME.
BACK ONLINE.

He spoke with a booming voice that startled the black crows perching on the top of the gantry and rose the hairs all over my body. Ingram stepped up to the controls and began pushing different keys.
   "All right, let's run a basic diagnostic on him."

DIAGNOSTIC COMMAND: ACCEPTED.

   "Give him a moment, he needs to adjust to his new configuration."A hum of silence filled the air with suspense of what would happen next.

VOICE MODULE: ONLINE.
AUDIO FUNCTIONALITY TEST: INITIALISED.
DESIGNATION: LIBERTY PRIME MARK II.
MISSION: THE LIBERATION OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA.
PRIMARY TARGETS: ANY AND ALL RED CHINESE INVADERS.

   "Great. Now let me run a system analysis and battle readiness check.."

LIBERTY PRIME FULL SYSTEM ANALYSISALL SYSTEMS: NOMINAL.
WEAPONS: HOT.
WARNING: NUCLEAR WEAPON PAYLOAD DEPLETED....RELEOD REQUIRED.
WARNING: POWER CORE OFFLINE. RUNNING ON EXTERNAL POWER ONLY. CORE RESTART RECOMMENDED.
ABILITY TO REPEL RED CHINESE INVADERS: COMPROMISED.

   "I've got green lights across the board here. He's looking good from where I'm sitting. Professor, if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on the big guy here, I'd appreciate it." With a nod of the Professor's approval, Ingram focused her sole attention back towards me.
   "Well, I have to admit, I wasn't sure we'd be able to pull it off, but Liberty Prime's looking pretty good."
It would've been hard to disagree.
   "With him on our side, I don't see how the Institute even stand a chance."

[Danse loved that]

Danse smiled, Maxson was gloating.
   "I couldn't agree with you more. Thank you, Knight. Without you, none of this would've been possible." Now it was my time for a gloating smile.
   "Anyway, over to you, Elder Maxson."
   "Thank you, Proctor. May I as well offer a good job well done to all of you."
   "Thank you, sir." We each said in unison.
   "Now, moving on to the next topic of importance-"A shrill of distant gunfire and bright blue beams cut him off and had us all reaching for our guns.
   "AMBUSH!" A panic-stricken Knight of the Brotherhood ran through the armed perimeter of the airport in an attempt to warn the rest of us of the attack. He was merely inches inside when the laser caught him through the back.
   "FALL OUT!" Elder Maxson shouted at the top of his lungs and everyone jumped into action. My eyes landed on Danse in a flicker of fear as he came towards me.
   "Shaun!"
   "Go find him."
   "What about you?"
   "I'll be fine. We'll hold them off this end. Go. Make sure he's safe!"
   "OK." I spun to turn away but grabbed ahold of him a second later. "Wait," I kissed him, hard, short, sweet and passionately.
   "Come back alive, soldier."The sounds of heavy machine guns and laser rifles contaminated the air around, adding to the panic and confusion that made looking for my son more difficult.
   "Mom!" His frightened voice came from behind a pillar near to where we'd been sat reading the comic book not merely an hour ago. Shaun leapt from the floor to reach me, but Initiate Hopkins pulled him back with a tight hand around his wrist.
   "It's alright, it's just me!" I called out, but he still wouldn't give. The gun in his free hand rose to the level of my head and he pulled the trigger before I had the time to move, but the bullet missed and shattered the metal casing of the synth who'd been stealthily following me. Tears escaped me along with the sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God." I bent down to give Shaun a hug before placing a firm hand on the Initiate's shoulder. "Thank you. Can you keep him safe for me? I've gotta get back up front."
   "I've got him."
   "Thank you, thank you. I love you, Shaun. I'll be back real soon, OK?"
   "Be safe, mom. I love you too."
   "Bye."

My weapon was ready and the trigger smooth for ease of access. The bullets fired shot after shot, landed blow after blow. I crouched behind a wall, surveyed the area. For every two dead Brotherhood soldier, lay three dead synths. We were winning.
I spotted Danse engaged in combat, his eyes cool and focused. A little to his left was Elder Maxson, and on the other side of the courtyard was Proctor Ingram. Despite the additional casing she had surrounding her legs, she seemed to be getting around pretty well.I had to time this right, one wrong move and I could end up with a bullet through my skull. 

Breathe.

With a leap timed perfectly with his footsteps I swung my body around the torso of the synth, toppling him over. Together we landed with a thud on the ground, the blow crushing my arm. With a hiss and a wince I pulled the trigger, sending the shell exploding up through his chin and back out of the top of his skull, his body immediately shutting down.   "STOP!"
A voice rang so loud it caught everybody's attention and soon ceased all gunfire. When I saw who it belonged to my heart fell deep into the pit of my stomach.

There's no way.

   "Nate?!" There he was. My husband, in the flesh, holding a gun to Paladin Danse's head. I was speechless. "..T-that's impossible."
   "Is it?" My gun was itching beneath my fingertips, my eyes steady on the gun aimed at Danse, trained on the finger that danced over the trigger. "You survived, what makes you think I didn't?"

His voice, goddamnit. That's his voice.

   "You were shot." My eyes were swimming as the lump in my throat floated like a bouy.
   "And re-frozen."
   "No, there's no way. The system collapsed, the pods failed. You were dead."
   "Evie-" Danse started as I crept closer.
   "Shut up." Nate pressed the gun hard into his temple. My breath hitched.
   "Let him go. Please, don't hurt him."   "What in the hell is going on here?!" Elder Maxson's eyes burned with a red rage, fury hotter than ever before. "My men are dead, and now there's some sort of reuinion going on?! Knight?! Who the hell is this man?!"
I blinked at the tears. "H-he's...not real."
   "I'm very real."
   "No, you're not. You died. I saw it. I saw the bullet go through your head. I watched you die, saw the blood as there was nothing I could do to stop it. And I've had to live with that memory ever since. You can't be here, it's not possible! Y-you're one of them! You've gotta be, you're a goddamn synth!"   "Yes, he is. He's finally ready for you, ms. Winters." Justin Ayo's vilified smile came into view with his hands in the air.
   "You." I spat.
   "I lost my patience a long time ago. Who the hell are you supposed to be?!" Maxson was roaring, ready to fire.
   "That's Justin Ayo, leader of the Institute, the man who tried to have me assassinated." I spoke through gritted teeth, noticed how Danse was struggling not to break free from gunpoint. "I could kill you right now."
   "Oh, ms. Winters, there's no need to keep up the act. We're ready for you. All has been set in motion."
   "What is he talking about, Knight?"

What is he doing?

   "I don't know."
Nate pushed forward, closer to me, bringing the Paladin with him. "Darling, we can be a family again, just like we were always supposed to be. You, me and Shaun. It's what you always wanted."
   "That dream died a long time ago. I've got my family now."
   "These people aren't your family, I am. The Institute are, Father left it to you, this was part of the plan, remember?"

This won't work.

   "What the hell are you doing? I wanted no part of the Institute and when I made that clear Justin tried to kill me, but I guess you were still in SRB back then." My words were bitter, laced with a venom deadlier than a Stingwing's.
   "You don't have to lie anymore, there's no need to continue the role of the double-agent."
   "Stop lying!"
   "Knight?!"
   "We speak the truth. This was your idea, the attack on the airport, scheduled for this day. We're here because of you."
No, no, no.

   "Stop it. What're you doing?"
   "You betrayed us? You were using us all along?!"
   "No! I swear!" My eyes lifted to meet Danse's, the pain evident amidst the pools of amber.
   "You did. You told us where to teleport to, that it had to be on the outskirts of the airport because the electromagnetic fields keeping the Prydwen afloat messes up with our relay. The plan worked, you can come home now!" Justin smiled.
   "Knight, you betrayed us. Your brothers and sisters who took you in like family, to work with the enemy who would choose to eradicate mankind?!" Maxson rose his gun at me and Danse acted, only to freeze a second later. "An act such as that is punishable by death!"
   "Elder Maxson, please! You've got to believe me, I'm on your side. I'm being set up! Danse?!" I looked at him with pleading eyes, but his eyes couldn't look back. ""Remember your training, don't let the enemy get inside your head," whatever happened to that rule? Huh? Come on, they're lying!"
Maxson stood clenching then un-clenching his jaw over and over.
   "I could shoot you, right now."
   "But you haven't, because a part of you knows I'm innocent. Elder, please?" My voice cracked and my eyes overflowed. "Danse? Why don't you believe me?" By now I was weeping, desperate.    "After everything we've been through."
   "It's the end of the road for us, soldier. Deal with it." His gaze was cold and unlike any other I've seen before. It shattered my heart into a million pieces. The strength in my legs depleted and I collapsed to my knees. Perhaps death would be my mercy.   "Take her away."
   "But sir! We could end this now!"
   "Shooting her in front of everyone will lose me two good soldiers in one day, and God-knows how many more I've already lost." He gestured at Danse who was still being held at gunpoint.       "Lower your weapon, let him go, and I give you my word we won't shoot you when you leave. We'll save it for the battlefield. Just get that traitor out of my sight."Nate released Danse and walked over to lift me from my knees. I fought in his grasp, desperate to get away.
   "Please, Danse, before it's too late. They're here to kill me."
His ignorance came with a blow to the heart, followed by a sharp sting of a needle in my neck. His face blurred as my deceased husband carried me away into the flickering darkness.