@Ordure @Tuxedo FoxCarson had followed Captain Cade and his reinforcements to the back of the building, watching in admiration as the scarlet-uniformed soldiers cut down the rabble who had been charging the fortress. Admiration turned to alarm as a riot-geared woman, clearly a professional warrior, had sliced her way through the Order troops like a hot knife through butter. "Son of a Bitch." He said in awe as she neatly lopped off a trooper's arm. Raising his AK he fired off a quick burst at the enemy.
Only one bullet hit her, and didn't penetrate her armour, but she staggered for a moment. Only a moment, though. The revolutionary charged forward, sweepings her snarling Ripper down towards Cade. The captain dodged, barely, his artificial leg slowing him down. Carson took aim again but was thwarted by the woman's proximity to the Order officer. Two ragged men, wielding small thin rapiers, moved to attack Cade.
"For God's sake." The major muttered, dropping his rifle and drawing his wide-bladed machete. He hated blades even if necessity had given him a certain proficiency in their use.
Leaping forward, his stimpak'ed wound giving a slight twinge of pain, he slashed at the woman as Cade engaged the two men.
She was fast, demonically so, twisting round and deflecting his attack with a ringing clash of metal. Again the Enclave officer lunged, driving the foe a few steps back over the rubble. Her riposte came close to beheading him. Only his years of training allowed him to sidestep the next two strokes and stab his blade forward. The machete, whose design made stabbing inefficient, was battered aside by the Ripper.
The revolutionary clouted Carson a ringing punch to the side of the head, shoving him back to fall amongst the rubble beneath a burning staircase. Desperately the major parried the next blow.
"Tu vas crever." (You will die.) Hissed the revolutionary.
"Toi d'abord. Pute." (You first. Whore.) Carson spat back.
The pro grinned, showing her teeth, and drew back to spear Carson like a landed fish.
"Vive le Roi!" (Long live the King!) The Mister Handy, who not half an hour before had served Carson and Cade wine, bore in, buzzsaw whining. The revolutionary shouted in pain as it bit into her shoulder. Bringing the Ripper back round the woman slashed deep into the robot, sending it clattering away.
Carson whipped out his Walther and fired off a slew of bullets, not at the enemy but at the weakened wood of the burning staircase. The snub-nosed pistol's explosive rounds ripped the staircase down as Carson threw himself out from under it.
The revolutionary was instantly buried under a mass of burning wood. She died before she could even scream. Her hand, still spasming on her Ripper, protruded from the inferno as dust, embers, and smoke gusted through the fortress.
Carson scrambled across the rubble, retrieving his rifle and searching the gloom for Captain Cade. The Mister Handy's engine flared to life, floating back upright.
"Bien vu, sir." The robot said. "You showed that chienne (dog) what for."
"Yeah." Carson answered, squinting through the smoke. "Find me your boss, will you? Use one of your scanners." He could hear gunfire from all around. Who was shooting and at whom he could only guess. But that had to mean that there were some Order forces were still fighting.
"I shall sir." The bot responded. "Also, I shall broadcast a distress call to all nearby robots. Eyebots, Mister Handy's, and Sentry Bots will receive this call."
"You do that." Carson said, chambering a round in his gun.