Two Steps Forward - One Step Back

[Maharg67]

0127: Of Buffy-Muffy-Tuffy Tomkins and Others

 

A big multiple turreted battletank exploded, all of its ammo going up along with its fuel-cells. Thankfully all of the crew had already gotten out through the improved escape mechanisms. The warmachine was the fifth of such big old UT35s bot be destroyed in the last twenty minutes. The enemy had faster moving, smaller battletanks that each had a single cannon or howitzer firing from a single big turret. Thus each of them carried a bigger gun than did the multiple turreted battletanks.

 

That was only part of the bad news. Across the flooded Australian Outback moved ugly, powerful hulk-mechas, strange metallic humanoids of warmachines. The same kind of technologies were attacking armies, of Field Marshal Rear Admiral, on another AlternateEarth.

 

Muffy darted across a roadway, that was basically one big muddy puddle, past an overturned armored troop carrier with dead soldiers scattered around it. The triplets hated war, hated such needless deaths, but they had chosen to assist humanity to survive and fighting was what they knew best; yet they also had other valuable skills. She jumped straight over the overturned vehicle and landed to the side of some wounded soldiers in enhanced body-armor. Then she was assisting them with what aid she could give. Her healing powers were growing in strength and sophistication.

 

Buffy observed the approaching hulk-mechas with a soft frown but she had already noted that the formidable looking enemy machines had some important weaknesses. She spoke out orders to a line of well concealed gun crews with their upgraded antitank guns and missile-launchers.

 

Field Marshal Nelson was a great field commander with the strengthening support of Unity but he was facing enemy forces of greater size and more advanced technologies in many ways. The enemy soldiers were strangely nonhuman for humans as if they had gone through some form of unnatural transformation. The same was true for them as was so for the soldiers attacking Field Marshal Rear Admiral's forces on another AlternateEarth.

 

The antitank guns fired and he launchers fired their missiles. Armored as they were, hulk-mecha knee caps exploded, disintegrating, and monstrous machines collapsed backwards or forwards, sometimes crushing many of their own soldiers and smaller machines.

 

Tuffy Tomkins moved along a dirt highway as refugees fled along it away from the enemy. Many who had not earlier gone with Unity had now changed their minds for very good reasons. These new enemies never took prisoners, always attacked and they enslaved people to send them away to some strange, terrible form of doom.

 

She was tracking down an odd source of energy. It was a beacon of some sort as if somebody, something, was trying to draw her to a particular place. Yet she could 'sense' no threat, could 'sense' nothing disturbing.

 

TallManSlim stepped out from behind some blackboys, curious Outback plants, standing there with a purple tophat, a yellow overcoat, pink bunny slippers and some kind of candy striped bathrobe undeath the big coat that was open at the front. He grin-smiled at Tuffy.

 

“Good to see ya, babe kins Tuffy Tomkins. Ya make me spindle spin, ya does.” He held an open umbrella above himself though it was not raining. The umbrella was sharp banana yellow in color. “Got a deal for ya that only a fool would refuse. Lots of free credit from you know, the Combined AlternateEarths Corporation, the CAC. They don't want to fight directly but they fear, as you do, having their primary worlds, their Home AlternateEarths, suffering from varied terrible forms of doom.”

 

She sighed softly. “TallManSlim, a sight to make eyes sore. How much credit and wants on the list of products and services offered?”

 

He grinned softly. “More like products, really, but one could push for more. Here, take this nice glossy offering.” He passed to her a large glossy plastic sheet with information on both sides.

 

Tuffy read it, first one side and then the other. She seemed surprised as she looked up at him. “The Combined AlternateEarths people are not normally this generous. They must be very worried but they have good reason to be.”

 

“They are and so are you and so am I!” TallManSlim lost his grin-smile. “Never been so damned concerned before in my life. So I negotiated for you and offered up my services for free. I am using my own TransCube, and other resources, for no fees. I am offering my own resources to you for nothing in return. Yes, there is something truly wrong when a greedy sod like myself does such things. I have got something to show you that is not so pleasant. I had to wear my best bunny slippers just to cheer myself up.”

 

Tuffy smiled. “The bunny slippers are very good.”

 

TallManSlim grin-smiled. “Thanks! A man can not be a real man with out a good pair of bunny flippers on his feet.”

 

It was not far away and there was an enemy soldier held tight by a transparent flicking field of energies. The soldier was clearly once human but was clearly no longer human. The skin, the eyes, other features were effected in a strange gray fashion but what really spoke of the antinaturalness was very disturbing 'feel' surrounding the thing.

 

This thing was worse than any typical undead thing be in a zombie, a vampire, a ghoul or what ever. Nor was it a reanimant, a typical kind of artificially created undead. Nor was it like the frankies, the things detected in HarmonyCity by SamWaSam and his people. For those things were either soulless or they trapped the soul. This thing transformed the very souls though the transformation was always unstable and often temporary.

 

TallManSlim scowled and the creature burned away but did so silently. Then its soul was transformed back naturally and was free to return to the natural cycles of life and death.

 

Tuffy frowned. “I will call my sisters to meet us. They are not too far away.”

Edited August 14, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

A short break to further work on future ideas for the story.

[Maharg67]

A short break to further work on future ideas for the story.

[Maharg67]

A short break to further work on future ideas for the story.

[Maharg67]

A short break to further work on future ideas for the story.