Sgt. Golem: Royal Mech Hussar - Stubs Soon!

I let the footman escort me out. After we stepped through the first door into the stairwell, the taller man was interrupted by a waiter asking him a question about menu protocol. He hurried off, calling back to tell the other footman to show me the door.

I went quietly, but not quickly. The man showed me out a servant's exit on the side of the sprawling manor house. There was a patio here, screened by high hedges. In the distance, around the corner, was the car parking area behind a row of trees. The footman instructed me to go there and stay there before hurrying back inside.

There's always fun in weaponizing people's bigotry. The man had perfect confidence that the big, dumb servitor would follow orders.

The air was cool and moist, thanks to the Black Sea only a couple hundred yards away. I stood for a moment, thinking about the plan and my next task. When a low voice spoke from the hedge next to me, I about jumped out of my skin. "Smoothly done. Do you think the other two will do their part as well?"

The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. More the inflection than the voice itself… where had I heard him before? I held very still. With the corners of my eyes, I looked for the telltale swirl of a wraith cloak, but didn't see any, though in the deep shadows, I might have missed it.

Whoever this was, he clearly knew something about me and my mission, so it didn't make sense to play dumb. Still, I didn't need to give away any more than I had to. "You have me at a disadvantage, sir."

The voice chuckled. "Sorry, I forget this new body probably sounds different. Thank you for pointing out Frankenstein's machine, by the way. I'm still not certain I made the right choice, but it certainly is nice to be back to my old height and then some. The man was a monster, but the bodies he created are quite impressive."

I knew who it was now, and didn’t bother to conceal my surprise. When I had left him left him to die on Frankenstein's fortress in the body of a miniature golem, the man had the mangled personality remnant of some sort of Japanese ninja. Whether he had ever really been one, or if it was merely a construct that Frankenstein had created, there was no way to know. Whatever was in his head was certainly different than other golems. "Ah, nice of you to join us. Yes, I think my friends will do fine." My curiosity flared, and I had to ask, "How did you get here so quickly?"

"The same way you did. Your flying machine is fast and comfortable. I didn't get all of the briefing, but I take it we're here to stop a war."

I resisted the urge to look wildly about, but I did shift my head slightly to scan the nearby hedge. The man really was quite invisible, though the shrubbery would be more than adequate concealment. But if he had managed to hide out on our gunship, the man's skills were certainly impressive. Or perhaps did he have magic? I remembered some anime I had watched in the Army. There were legends of ninjas, and sometimes they’d had magic. Would it be real in this world, or was he just very good at his job?

"The short version is that the Russian tsar is a captive of one of their crazy warlords, and we're here to free him and secure a peace treaty."

"Hmm," the invisible ninja said. "That seems like as good a mission as any. I hope you don't mind if I tag along. I do prefer to remain out of sight, though. Force of habit, you see."

"We'd be happy to have you on the team."

"I'm not saying I'm joining your team. I just have some information you'll find interesting."

"Oh?"

"A little something I saw earlier. I don't know all the people at this party, but I'm pretty sure the man I saw the Tsarina embracing was not her husband."

I shrugged. "It's a party. Lots of people hug each other."

"Not a hug. More… horizontal, and in a private room."

"When was this?" I asked. "How long have you been here? How did you get here?”

He chuckled at my puzzlement. "I hitched a ride with the rest of you, but made my way in for a look while you were still getting your robots set up on the perimeter."

What did all this mean, I wasn't sure. Did it matter to our mission if the Tsarina was two-timing behind her husband's back? I didn't think so. But still…

The windows of the estate below blazed with light below Anastasia as she maneuvered her mech. The nearly silent idling engines she now switched off completely as she lined up her final glide. With short, stubby wings to steer the dense mech supported by a desh-powered luff engine, glide slopes were tricky. It all came down to focusing on your aim point and angling your descent to keep it in the center of your view. Anastasia executed perfectly, aiming for the back center of the gardens, which was weakly lit by gas lamps. She flared in the last few meters and came down with a light step and a deft adjustment of the luff engine, which settled her mech to the ground with a soft thump.

She had landed on a wide courtyard in the center of the garden.

Tsarina Olga was the only one in sight, standing by one of the light posts at the edge of courtyard. Anastasia beckoned to her.

“Sister! We must go quickly. Where is Alexander?”

Anastasia's older sister took a half step forward and stopped. “I’m afraid he can’t come.”

"What?" Anastasia looked around. With the poor lighting, the hedges and flower beds and decorative trees of the garden were draped in deep shadow. "He has to come. We have no time."

"I'm sorry, but you've been duped, little sister. It's time you stopped playing at being a soldier and a hero, and started properly serving your motherland." Olga Romanova raised her hand. With a rustle of movement in the bushes and a sudden thud of boots, dozens of soldiers appeared from all directions, their guns leveled.

"Olga? What are you doing?" Anastasia was aghast. "Alexander made an agreement! We’ll have peace!"

Her sister shook her head. "What he wants is not what's best for the country."

Another figure stepped from the shadow into the pool of light around the gas lamp to stand next to her sister in the pool of light around the gas lamp.

Anastasia gasped. "Admiral Karpov! What have you done Olga?"

Her older sister lifted her chin. "I've done what's best for Russia, as I always have."

The Admiral stood next to her, too intimately. Realization flooded Anastasia.

"You've betrayed your husband! And you, you've betrayed the Tsar!”

Olga’s voice dripped scorn. “I made him Tsar, and he's always been an impotent ruler. The real power in Russia lies elsewhere. As does my duty."

Admiral Karpov, spoke up for the first time. "Come now, Anastasia. There's no reason to make a scene here. Join us, and we will discuss this like civilized people. There are many opportunities for you to do your duty to Russia." Something in his voice was suggestive. Her sister darted him a sharp look. He set a mollifying hand on her shoulder.

The soldiers had her surrounded. Even had she been a top-tier shielder, Anastasia would not have been able to deflect bullets from every direction. Keenly aware of the forest of rifle muzzles, she climbed down from her mount and stood in front of it

A new voice rang out across the courtyard, "I must say I'm disappointed in you, my dear..." Tsar Alexander stepped out of a gap in the hedges and walked slowly into the light. He still wore the formal wear from the party. Tsarina Olga looked stricken.

"This isn't what it seems. I was just correcting some of Anastasia's misconceptions."

The Tsar raised a hand. "The time for explanations is past, my dear. I can’t say I’m surprised but I am disappointed."

The admiral had his hands on his hips and was shaking his head sadly. "This is truly unfortunate. Sometimes, realities are better left unstated. I pray this won’t cause confusions with our relationship."

The Tsar fixed him with a stern look. "Do you mean the little arrangement in which I am your hostage and puppet?"

"I much prefer to call it that I am your trusted advisor and my liege's safety is my highest priority."

The Tsar gave a spread-hand shrug, indicating the distinction was immaterial.

Anastasia stood still watching in horrified fascination as the confrontation played out. Something faint rustled behind her and she felt a small prick on the back of her neck. She tried to turn her head but couldn’t. In a panic, she tried again, but her body wouldn’t respond. Then, to her horror, a pair of hands on her shoulder dragged her back.

I stood in the shadows at the edge of the courtyard, watching the confrontation. The nearest soldiers were only a handful of meters away. Standing completely still in deep shadow kept me unnoticed. All eyes and ears were on the confrontation between titans.

There was a faint rustle of cloth to my left. I turned my head slowly, not wanting the movement to give me away. It's motion that catches the eye, along with familiar shapes. If those are avoided, almost anything can be rendered invisible. Lessons I had learned long ago in deer hunting but had been reminded of recently by my ninja friend.

Standing next to me was Anastasia; her eyes were wide. She stood perfectly, unnaturally still. Hiroshi's voice whispered in my ears, barely above the breath of the wind, "I will release you in a moment, and you will be able to move again. Please stand perfectly still and make no sound. You recognize your ally, the golem, yes? Blink once if you understand." I realized he was talking to her. He had done something to paralyze her.

Anastasia's eyes were wide and staring, but she blinked one time.

"Very well. I will release you now. Make no sound, not even to speak."

I saw a flicker of movement near her neck but couldn't make out the details in the deep shadows. Her whole body trembled. She sagged a little from her erect stance but didn't collapse. Instead, she held herself still, other than a slight turn of the head and her darting eyes. Whatever Hiroshi had done had apparently paralyzed her for a moment.

I kept my voice low and pitched deep since sharp whispers carry farther. "All hell's gonna break loose. Ma'am, I need you to be ready."

"Yes," she breathed.

"Good, but don't speak. They're too close."

Hiroshi's words drifted to us in the barest of chuckles. "Don't worry about the closest guards."

"What now?" I murmured to Hiroshi.

"Now we fade back very slowly.

“What about the Tsar?"

“Your Colonel is with him in the shadows. I suggest we leave that to him.”

There was a shout. One of the soldiers had finally spotted that Anastasia was gone. The Tsar had been an excellent distraction. While they had still kept their rifles pointed at the spot where Anastasia had been standing, their eyes had drifted toward their arguing bosses. Now the soldiers dashed forward to the place where she had been standing.

"Oh no!" Anastasia whispered. I heard the rustle of cloth as she turned to run.

"No!" Hiroshi hissed, but it was too late. With her sudden movement, someone spotted us, and the chase was on. There was a crack of a rifle and a bullet wound nearby. The Admiral was shouting for everyone to hold their fire. “I want her alive!”

I heard squeaks and the small mechanical noises as Anastasia's mech sprung to life, then screams and cries and another volley of gunfire. I didn't have time to turn and see what she was doing; I ran after Anastasia, two quick steps behind. She dodged past some shrubs and ducked behind a decorative tree.

Suddenly Hiroshi was there, a shadow rising in front of her. "Stop! Down!"

I obeyed without hesitation and threw myself flat in a bed of hip high shrubs and flowers. Anastasia hit the ground beside me.

"Don't move a muscle and don't say a word," Hiroshi murmured. I hoped Anastasia would obey this time. Pounding boots and shouts came from all around us. Someone was calling for torches and I realized they must mean flashlights.

When the footsteps sounded slightly farther away, I risked a low murmur to Anastasia. "Send your mech towards the perimeter. It will draw some of them off."

A few moments later, I heard a dull distant boom of cannon fire. It hadn't come from anywhere in the garden, but from miles away. I knew this was our diversionary attack on the shipyard. It was also the signal for us to get out of here.

The small dirt country lane lay along the hedge just outside the garden. I stepped through the door in the head I’d just broken open. Anastasia appeared behind me.

"Which way?"

Even as she was asking, a set of headlights came on down the road. One quick flash, then darkness.

"Let's go!"

A big Phaeton car was there with several figures inside. "It's about time you got here," Veronica said.

"Peter?" Anastasia called.

And the man's voice came back immediately. "I'm here."

"I suggest we get moving. There's no time to waste."

This was an unfamiliar voice that I'm pretty sure belonged to the Tsar.

Anastasia crammed into the back seat with Veronica and Peter. The Tsar sat up front in the passenger seat. I stood on the running board, which canted the whole car over that way on its suspension. The driver, Colonel Mazur, put the car in gear. He swung it around to head north.

"But my mech's that way," Anastasia called, pointing behind us.

"And that's where all the Admiral's men will be looking."

As we picked up speed along the dirt road, gunfire, rifle, and machine gun fire broke out far behind us.

"That was too easy," Veronica said.

"Don't say that out loud," Peter snapped at her.