Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 12:15:59 EST Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Brian Macleod Subject: The Battle of Evermore, prologue (thanks to the special magic of Jolt cola, we bring you.....) ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ******************* H I G H L A N D E R ************************ ************************************************************************* ************ T H E B A T T L E O F E V E R M O R E ************* ************************************************************************* BY BRIAN PROCOPIO, BASED UPON THE FILM OF THE SAME NAME. COPYRIGHTED 1994, CHAOS PICTURES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. _______________________________________________________________________ Prologue: Sympathy For the Devil _______________________________________________________________________________ "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste I've been around for a long, long year So many a man's soul, put to waste..." _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ The soft light of the terminal cast a soothing bluish light over the surrounding area. The roughened ande leathery hands of the room's sole occupent tapped away at the keyboard quickly and smoothly. He sat back as his computer connected itself into the Watchers' mainframe half a world away. His eyes surveyed the spartan decor of his workplace: the gaping, unfinished stone walls, the sword rack in the corner, the simple yet elegant mural painted upon the far wall off in the distance, of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse thundering down upon a frightened city. His long black ponytail swished as he returned his attention to the screen, the connection made. The harsh green light glared off of the top of his clean shaven head, the carefully kept mop in the back the only hair he allowed himself. He clacked away at the keys, seeking out the files he needed. As he surveyed his finds, his earlier suspicions had been confirmed. A gif. image of Gabriel Cole flashed onscreen, as well as the date of his death, thanks to Brian MacKenzie. A small flag also signified the involvement of one David Macleod. His deep brows furrowed slightly. MacKenzie he knew of, but another Macleod? He tagged the file for downloading, and accessed the information on David. Ah, trained by MacKenzie, that explains alot. Only one Quickening to date, Marak, yes, he thought of "offering" Marak the chance to be one of his servents once... He sensed the approach of another immortal outside his mountain keep. He continued his efforts on the computer as he finished downloading several more files. The familiar blue glow reflected off of his chiseled face once more as the telnet connection closed, his piracy finished. After a few more clicks, he reached behind his terminal and powered down the unit. The sound of footsteps rang clearly through the stone stairwell as the immortal approached. He stood quietly awaiting as the newcomer entered the spacious hall. "It is done, master" intoned the arriving immortal as he sunk to one knee, "the one called Stratford is dead." "Good," murmured the elder immortal as he strode around the desk to his waiting servent. "Rise. You've served me well in your appointed duty, Brodey," he lectured as he walked along with the immortal, his hand solidly on his shoulder. "Come, let me see your sword." "Why?" questioned his student. "I just want to see how it has weathered the battle, to test its quality, that's all," he explained. The younger swordsman reluctantly handed over his blade, unwilling to part with it, even to his teacher, to whom he owed so much. "Hmmm, not bad at all," commented the examiner. He steped back a foot as he practiced several strokes with the cutlass. No matter how many times he had seen it, Brodey could not help but be impressed by his master's level of skill as he completed the short kata. "No," he continued," not bad at all, actually. It seems that it could hold a beheading quite well?" "Of course, master." Brodey allowed himself a small smile, "Quite well, actually." "Yes, of course," stated the elder with that strange accent of his. Gutteral, but with a strange flowing sound, almost like French, Brodey de- cided. The attack was completely unexpected, he almost didn't have time to recognize it for the killing strike that it was. He saw his master bring the sword around single-handedly, so slow... The blade bit cleanly through his student's neck, and the headless body slumped to the floor before him. The crackling energy of the Quickening infused him. Funny, he thought, it never got dull, even after all these centuries.... _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ "Please to meet you, Hope you guess my name, But what's puzzlin you Is the nature... of my game." _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ As always, e-mail with comments. Macleod@vm.temple.edu (Note: this is a sequel to Behind Blue Eyes!!!) thanks, brian =========================================================================