Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

it as a checkin point, for rebels who got scattered when the invasion hit. We're waiting for orders, but I don't even know if there are any traces of the underground's organization left in this town. We've been hit hard. Communications have gone to hell, and there are hardly any espers here. You're lucky my sister and I were out looking for strays; we'd already decided it was the last run we were going to make. This town has fallen; it just doesn't know it yet."
    "Have you got time for an interview?" said Toby. "Seeing as we've got nothing to do for the moment. There's always the chance someone's watching."
    He gestured to Flynn, who nodded that his camera was still running. He settled it comfortably on his shoulder, and the camera turned its glowing, unblinking eye on Stevie Three.
    "Not much to tell," the esper clone said quietly. "The invasion took us all by surprise. The chain of command among the rebels was shattered almost immediately. We have no idea how things are going in any of the main cities.
    Some of the rebels tried to surrender when they saw how bad things were going, but the Empire forces aren't interested in taking prisoners. My sister and I did what we could to help, taking out some of the smaller war machines with our
    fire, preying on troops that got separated from the main forces, but there were just so many of them… We're all tired. So many of us are dead. Our ammunition's getting low. Maybe all that's left to us is to die well. And take as many of the bastards with us as we can."
    "They're here!" yelled Stevie One, glaring out one of the slits in the windows.
    Everyone pushed their guns through the cracks between the boards and opened fire on the advancing troops. The noise of so many projectile weapons firing in a confined space was deafening. Toby and Flynn clapped their hands to their ears.
    Smoke and the stench of cordite filled the air. And then an energy beam punched right through the solid wooden door, passing on through the body of the rebel standing guard behind it, before exiting through the far wall.
    "War wagon!" yelled Stevie One. "It's got disrupter cannon!"
    And then energy beams were hitting the room from all directions. They came slamming through the walls, catching most of the rebels before they could drop to the floor for cover. The beams filled the room with blinding light, crisscrossing like some glaring luminous spider's web. Most of the rebels were holed and blown apart in the first few seconds, their charred and scattered parts falling to lie twitching on the floor. One man's head was blown clean away, and his body managed half a dozen faltering steps before another beam took its legs out, and it fell.
    Toby tried to burrow into the stone floor, his hands over his head. He'd grabbed Flynn and hit the deck the moment Stevie One yelled her first warning. He wasn't a fighter. The beams kept coming, riddling the walls with endless holes, filling the room with the stench of ionized air. A few people were crying out, in fear or shock or suffering, but that didn't last long. Finally the beams stopped, and all was quiet, save for quiet creaking noises from the weakened walls.

    Early-morning light streamed through the hundreds of holes in the walls, diffused by the drifting smoke. Toby slowly lifted his head and looked around him. The dead were everywhere. Torn apart and broken, like so many dolls deserted by angry children who didn't want to play anymore. Flynn was lying beside Toby, cradling his precious camera in his arms. He nodded to Toby to show he was okay, but made no move to get up. Stevie One and Stevie Three lay together, and only one of them was moving.
    Stevie Three sat up slowly. Half her hair and half her face had been burned away from her head where an energy beam had touched her in passing, but otherwise she seemed unhurt. Stevie One had fared less well. She'd been hit several times, and her left arm had been shot away, the steaming wound roughly cauterized just above the elbow. Stevie Three cradled her in her arms. Stevie One groaned, and her eyes flickered open.
    "Damn," she said thickly. "I think the odds just got worse."
    "Shut up," said Stevie Three. "Rest. Save your strength."
    "What for? It's over, love. The Empire's won."
    "It's not over till we say it's over," said Stevie Three fiercely. "Don't you dare die and leave me alone. We lived together and we'll die together, and we'll do it on our feet. Get up, damn you. Come on, love. One last spit in the