And heeeeere’s Johnny!
Darkness fell
over the city, real darkness to add to the pall of smoke. The panicked crowds
were gone now, leaving only a lone Mech standing amid the ruins.
The Firestarter moved
slowly, looking around as if assessing its deadly handiwork. Charred beams and
rubble crunched under its feet as it advanced down the street. Its Beagle Probe
picked up a target, and the skeletal machine swung around, bringing up its
lasers and flamers...and just as quickly, it snapped its arm muzzles to the sky
as a woman and her children ran for cover.
War is Hell, the pilot
thought as he watched the civilians flee into the smoggy twilight, but even
Hell has its limits. He took another puff of his cigar, and continued his
sweep.
Once the pilot was
satisfied that no enemies remained, he stopped his Firestarter beside a
burned-out building. A bar, by the sign on what was left of the outer wall. Just
what he was looking for right now. He shut down his Mech, removed his helmet,
and popped the hatch.
The tavern was still
burning as the Mechwarrior walked in, a slight smile on his unshaven face. His
steps kicked up small clouds of ash, ash that swirled about in the breeze
generated by his long black coat. He kept one hand on the laser pistol at his
hip, until he was satisfied that he was alone. Then he pulled out another cigar
with his right hand, as his left scooped up a bottle from the bar.
Tikonov vodka, he noted.
Stoly. Not bad, not bad at all.
Then, as the Mechwarrior
felt for his lighter, he noticed a sign on the crumbling wall. It was charring
around the edges, starting to catch fire.
The Mechwarrior walked
over, and lit his cigar from the rising flames. He grinned through the dense
smoke of his first draw, and watched the sign burn, a metaphor for the city
around him.
THANK YOU FOR NOT
SMOKING, it said.
He chuckled as he
toasted the burning sign with a drink. And he kept chuckling as he watched,
until it was finally reduced to cinders. Then he returned to his Mech, carrying
a case of bottles with him.
So many worlds, he
thought...and so little time.
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