The pipes and conduits, metal arteries for the outpost, came together in the central chamber at the heart of the facility where several steam engines powered the various devices responsible for turning the natural electrical energy of the sky into a weapon. The room was illuminated by the fires of the boilers and the occasional burst of blue-white sparks from the machinery linked to the engines by countless cables.

"A bit of an organized mess," Eddie remarked. "I've seen root systems on tress less complicated."

"Perhaps you'd like to tell that to the owner," Melanie suggested, halting near the door.

When Eddie nearly bumped into her, he took his eyes off the various components he'd been examining and saw the figure standing off to the left. The figure appeared human, but it could've been a construct as nothing organic was showing.  Covered in flexible layers of leather armor trimmed in flashing copper, the face was hidden behind a mask, and the eyepieces mechanically adjusted with diminutive pins and pistons to focus the visual capabilities. Copper caps similar to a thimble covered each fingertip, and domed electrodes protruded from the spine and down the sides of each arm.

"Why are you here?" demanded the figure. Its voice, projected by the oval shaped auditory processor in the mask, came out in a robotic droning.

"The lighting this outpost produces is creating a problem for a nearby city," Melanie explained. Her hands hadn't ventured from her weapons.

"I know," the figure admitted. "That's the reason I activated the systems."

"Why are you hostile toward them?" Eddie questioned.

"That is not your concern," the figure denied. "Leave, or be counted among my enemies."

Taking a step forward, the figure raised their hands and caused electricity to crackle from each of the metal capped fingers.

"We don't want to fight on the wrong side," Eddie offered diplomatically, raising his hands in a non-threatening manner.

"Then leave!" shouted the figure, the robotic voice still managing to convey the rage within the words.

"I was hoping to hear your side, perhaps we might be able to help," he suggested.

The electrified gloves lowered slightly. "They took my life, everything I was. Destroying them is all I have left. I am Vengeance."

"Was everyone in town responsible, or only a few?" Eddie asked.

"It doesn't matter," Vengeance answered. The voice became a growl. "They stand together, so they shall fall together."

"We can't let you harm innocent people," Eddie objected.

"Innocent!" Vengeance roared.

Melanie moved, lunging out with the staff in her hands to catch the miniature lightning bolt fired in his direction. Her staff and suit contained the energy temporarily as the stone floor wasn't conductive. A flip of her staff, and a press of the button near its middle, redirected the lightning back at her attacker.

Vengeance dodged, and the artificial lightning shattered in an explosion of writhing energy and echoing thunder against the far wall.

"Don't lower your guard," Melanie reprimanded Eddie. She didn't wait for his response, moving away from him and toward Vengeance.

Electricity crackled from the electrodes protruding from the arms and spine of Vengeance as the next charge built up. Melanie readied her staff to defend, but the lightning wasn't aimed at her. When the bolt was hurled through the air, it lanced upward, tearing through some of the stone ceiling and causing it to come crashing down.

Agility had been one of the first lessons Melanie's mother had taught her, so she effortlessly slid to one side while spinning to completely evade the falling debris and continue closing toward her target. She raised her staff to attack, but Vengeance suddenly lowered the electric gloves pointed in her direction. Melanie planned to use the moment of apparent indecision to attack, but a single spoken word caused her to skid to a stop in front of her opponent.

"Melanie?" Vengeance whispered.

Vengeance carefully raised one hand to unbuckle the mask's straps. Melanie was impressed with the skill required as opening a buckle with metal capped fingers one handed was not an easy thing to do. When the mask fell to the floor with a clunk of metal and hardened leather, Melanie stared into a familiar face, and although she hadn't seen it in years, she couldn't help but remember it. The woman's left eye was a pale blue, and the right eye was a glowing red mechanical lens. Copper framed the edge of the prosthetic eyepiece, wiring housed in tiny pipes along the side of the face until they reached the temple where they were installed into the skull itself. The blonde hair was pinned tightly in back, but it had lost some of the luster Melanie remembered, becoming less vibrant gold and more pale to the point of being nearly white.

"What are you doing here?" Melanie questioned.

"Do you know this woman?" Eddie interrupted.

"Yes," Melanie confirmed. She waved a hand between them to introduce him. "Eddie Herren, meet Cassandra Parkhurst, my mother."

"Pleased to meet you," Eddie said with an obvious uncertainty in his voice. "If it's not out of place for me to ask, why were you trying to kill us?"

"You came from Geargarde, didn't you?" Cassandra asked in return. "I'm going to destroy them, and anyone who wants to stop me."

"Any particular reason as to why?" Eddie pressed cautiously.

"My reasons are my own," Cassandra growled.

"Would they have anything to do with the electrodes sticking out of you?" Melanie prompted with a gesture of her staff toward the metal protruding from her mother's arms and spine.

"No," Cassandra denied. "They were a recent upgrade after I activated this place."

"This station is making it unsafe for anyone reach Geargarde," Melanie pointed out.

"We were nearly killed getting in," Eddie added.

"Unfortunate, but unavoidable," Cassandra dismissed.

"Come back with us, Mother," Melanie encouraged. "If you have a grievance with someone at Geargarde, let's face it directly and see what can be done about it."

"Perhaps that would be best," Cassandra agreed. She moved to a wall of controls, rotating wheel valves, flipping switches and levers, and adjusting dials to power down the station and put an end to the artificial lightning.

After the near constant thunder, the stillness was more than a little eerie. Melanie didn't have enough experience with people to understand it, but there was something in her mother's organic eye, as well as the tone in her voice, she'd never heard before.

"Let's go meet with the leadership of Geardarde," Cassandra said. "You're right, daughter, I need to do this directly."