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Part 3 - Transition
Several years passed, and the bond between the seven was stronger than ever. Some (like Sasha and Kwon, whose original contracts had long since expired) had negotiated new contracts with Boralis, timed to coincide with the termination of Flynn's five-year contract, since he was the last of the group to sign on. It wasn't that they particularly liked being in Boralis' service, but the group had every intention of staying together.
They had seen increasing amounts of action over the years, and had developed clever stratagems that allowed each of the six combatants to best utilize their skills; and afterwards, Leandra was there to tend to their various cuts and bruises.
The seven were enjoying an increasingly rare day of relaxation. Kwon was sitting on the lawn, meditating; Wolmark was making occasional alterations on some kind of sketch or plan; Leandra was reading a book on herbal remedies, and the other four were lazing about, enjoying the sun.
Flynn was sitting against a wall, eyes closed and enjoying the warmth of summer. Suddenly, he realised he hadn't heard the sound of the pencil for a few minutes; he opened his eyes, and looked over at Wolmark.
Wolmark was sitting still, staring into space; he started a little at Flynn's movement, and glanced back at his friend.
"Have you noticed," he began thoughtfully, "that the frequency of attacks on Boralis' shipments has increased, of late?"
"Now that you mention it, you're right," Flynn agreed. "Perhaps he should lobby the local magistrate for more troops and patrols, to put down the increased number of bandits in the area."
The others (except perhaps Kwon; it was a little hard to tell) perked up their ears and began to pay attention.
"I've been asking around a bit," Wolmark continued; "no one else is being hit any more than normal."
"Is that so," Sasha said with a frown.
Trinias was also frowning. "I wonder what we've been guarding, that's attracting so much attention?"
"This could be due to one or several of three things," said Flynn, after a moments concentration. "One: Boralis has been trading in items of immense value; two: someone's got an awfully big grudge against him; or three: someone on the administrative side of the business has been leaking information."
"Four," put in Sasha, "he's transporting contraband."
Flynn looked a little shocked at this suggestion, but had to admit it was a possibility.
"You can forget number three," said Wolmark, "the shipments come from several different sources. Nobody on this end knows anything about the contents except Boralis himself; and he's hardly likely to leak, unless he was trying to get us killed. And no," he continued, as Sasha cocked an eyebrow, "I don't believe he'd do that; it'd be easier just to fire us."
"As for one and two," put in Trinias, "What more can we do, except be on our guard? Those possibilities are precisely why we were hired in the first place."
"Hmm, you could say the same about number four," continued Sasha; "it doesn't say anywhere in our contracts that we have a choice about which kinds of cargoes to protect."
"Still, I'd have liked to know what we're guarding," Flynn commented to no one in particular. Trinias eyed him speculatively.
About a week later the seven found themselves camping on the trail, guarding another shipment on its way to Boralis' headquarters. After enjoying a good meal (fresh venison - Trinias had brought down the deer with a single arrow, before the others even noticed it was there), the wagon driver and his companion, and most of the seven turned in for the night.
They had a long established routine for night watches: Sasha and Kwon would take the first watch, until midnight; Trinias and Wolmark would take over until about 3:00 am, and then pass the duty on to Flynn and Ulf. Leandra, as a non-combatant, was exempt from this duty by common consent; but she generally rose early and shared the later part of the dawn watch, chatting with Flynn.
The first watch passed uneventfully, and Sasha woke the next two while Kwon poured them coffee. Since their sleep was interrupted in the middle, Wolmark and Trinias had the shortest watch.
After a while, Kwon and Sasha's rhythmic breathing told the watchers that they were asleep.
Some distance from the wagon, on the opposite side to the sleepers, Trinias approached Wolmark. "Do you remember what Flynn said the other day?" he whispered.
"About knowing what the cargo is?" Wolmark whispered back.
"That's it. I'm going to sneak a look."
"Flynn won't like it," Wolmark frowned, shaking his head.
"I know; he's too honourable to do it himself."
"What does that make us, then?"
"Curious!" Trinias whispered with a grin.
They crept over to the wagon, careful not to disturb any loose stones or equipment. Trinias managed to pull aside part of the packing material on one bundle, and Wolmark leaned close to look. He nodded, satisfied; Trinias replaced the packing as best he could, and the two resumed their watch.
The shipment was delivered late the next day, without incident, and the seven trooped into the mess to get a late meal. Once they'd been served and the cook had returned to the kitchen, Wolmark opened the conversation.
"We took a peek at the cargo, last night," he said, looking straight at Flynn. He grinned at Flynn's shocked expression, then continued: "It seems Boralis is smuggling stolen artworks - and who knows what else."
There were nods of comprehension all around the table - except for Ulf, who contented himself with eating his dinner; he knew his friends, and left the thinking to them.
"Could have been worse," Flynn said with a frown. He was trying to weigh up which was the greater dishonor; guarding stolen goods, or breaking a contract.
About a month after that journey, the seven were again riding the trail back to the compound. There was nothing unusual about this; they'd done it several times in the intervening period, and been attacked more than once; but this time, for his own reasons, Boralis had elected to go along for the ride. The trip so far had been smooth and without incident, but Boralis still seemed on edge.
Flynn had thought much over the intervening time, but was no closer to resolving his dilemma; unless Boralis breached his contract in some way, he was stuck. His contemplation was interrupted when Trinias, who'd been scouting ahead, rode back at a canter.
"We're being watched," Trinias said as he pulled closer.
"I, too, sense danger around us," Kwon said.
"Heads up, people," Sasha muttered under her breath, scanning the crests of the hills to the right, while Trinias did the same for the woods on their left.
Just then a small band of horsemen appeared from out of the trees further up the trail; the wagon driver brought the wagon to a halt, and he and his companion (more than content to leave the warriors to their trade) jumped down and ran off to the side. Flynn, riding in the lead, reigned his horse to a halt.
One of the horsemen raised a hand. "We have no quarrel with you, we just want Boralis!" he called.
Sasha, riding next to the wagon, glanced over at Boralis, who was shifting nervously in his seat. "Oh my, what have you been up to?" she thought to herself. Boralis flinched away from her scowl, but said nothing.
Flynn leaned forward in his saddle. "And what business do you have with our employer?"
"That's not really any of your concern," the lead horseman replied, "but as a courtesy, from one professional to another, I will tell you this much: my employer feels that Boralis has cheated him, and either wants to speak with him, or have his head. He doesn't really care which. Come, there's no honor in serving a liar and a cheat; hand him over and we'll all go our separate ways. We may even find a place for you with us, if you like; your group has quite the reputation."
Flynn's eyes narrowed. He didn't for a moment believe that this bounty hunter (for so he appeared to be) was telling him anything out of professional courtesy; he was just hoping to get Boralis without a fight. However, his offer would solve a lot of problems. Flynn glanced behind at his friends, thought for a moment, then turned back to the bounty hunter.
"I cannot speak for my fellows, but my contract does not depend on the honor of my employer; it depends on mine. I cannot, in honor, break it. I regret that I must resist you."
"And you others," the bounty hunter shouted to the rest of the group, "what of you?"
Sasha looked around the group, seeing resolute expressions that matched her own decision. At that moment she felt more pride in her friends than she'd ever felt for any unit she'd fought with. She turned her gaze forward again. "We stand as one!" she called, defiantly.
The bounty hunter sighed. "I feared you would say something like that. A great pity." Raising a whistle to his lips, be blew a quick, shrill blast.
You have existed too long! Enslaved too many! radiated the first entity.
You are not the first to think so, nor the first whose life force I will have dissipated, the Hunter radiated back. Nor will you be the last. Once I have defeated you, I will hunt and destroy the rest of your ilk.
No! The thought struck the Hunter as an almost physical blow.
Unwilling to wait any longer, the Hunter struck. Its vicious beam of force coruscated and sparkled off the defences of its prey. But the prey did not remain inoffensive; the energy of its return strike was even greater than that of the Hunter.
For the first time in many aeons, the Hunter felt fear...
Flynn whirled his horse about, as a large band of men charged out of the woods. They were afoot, but were so close to the wagon that they closed the gap before Flynn could reach them. Ignoring the horsemen behind him, Flynn drew a sword with his left hand and drove his horse to the right, bringing him up behind the attackers. The distraction allowed his comrades to find their footing.
Boralis jumped to the ground and ran to hide in a large clump of rocks, far up the hill in the opposite direction to the wood. Trinias ran part way up the hill, turned, and started loosing arrow after arrow into the lines of their attackers.
Leandra tried to follow Trinias, but was grabbed from behind by one of the soldiers. Unexpectedly, she drew a dagger from a hidden pocket in her skirt, and thrust it backwards into the man's right thigh. The man howled, releasing her and jumping backwards - just in time to be skewered by Flynn's sword. Flynn, now on foot, nodded to Leandra and turned back to the fight. Dagger still in hand, Leandra hurried to join Boralis in the rocks.
Knowing how vulnerable a horseman could be when surrounded by footmen, Sasha quickly dismounted. She drew her sword and waded into the attack; she accounted for seven of their number before they collectively overcame their reluctance to fight a woman. Sasha grinned; sometimes it was useful to be a woman, after all.
Wolmark had reached for some of his explosives, only to realize the infantry were far too close. The horsemen weren't attacking, staying out of his range; they seemed content to let their foot soldiers do all the work. Wolmark grinned to himself. "I'll show them," he thought.
He quickly threw aside a piece of canvas that was covering a bulky object mounted on the wagon. The device that was revealed consisted of a narrow, slightly fan shaped array of seven metal tubes, with a large disk shaped plunger at the back. Swinging the device to face the horsemen, he quickly brought his fist down on the plunger.
The wagon rocked, as the tubes spat flame. Several of the horsemen were struck down by the lethal projectiles, and the rest turned and galloped off. Wolmark abandoned the wagon and ran up the hill; close quarters fighting wasn't his forté, and he had sense enough to know it. He joined Trinias, watching for a chance to be of more help.
Kwon and Ulf were in their element.
While Ulf didn't really think much when fighting, the others had spent a great deal of time teaching him to watch his back. He had eventually realized that, while he could easily deal with whatever was in front of him, the only thing he could do about the sword at his back was to make sure it wasn't there. Thus, the four combatants on the ground allowed themselves to be pressed back, even while slowly working their way towards each other.
Wolmark saw his opening. "Break!" he yelled, and the four fighters suddenly pivoted about and ran up the hill. The vial Wolmark had thrown arced over their heads, smashing on the bed of the wagon.
One of Wolmark's explosives was ordinarily devastating enough, but this time he'd been forced to leave the bulk of his supply in the wagon. The entire cache exploded at once, immolating most of those nearest, and knocking everyone off their feet.
"No!" Boralis cried from his hiding place. "My shipment!"
"Shut up, you fool," Leandra retorted, caustically. "You didn't really expect to get out of this with your skin and the goods, did you?" Boralis opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say. "And stop that," said Leandra in annoyance, "you look like a fish." Boralis took one look at her fiery expression, and bit back any reply he might have made.
Since the six of the group still in the open had been expecting the explosion (although perhaps not its magnitude) they quickly recovered, regained their feet, and raced for the shelter of the rocks. Their opponents, rather than give chase, took the opportunity to regroup.
Once in cover, Trinias kept a watch on the men below. He was reluctant to shoot however, due to his rapidly dwindling supply of arrows.
Flynn sat with his back to a rock, facing up the hill. He caught his breath, then took stock of their situation. "We should be able to hold them here a bit. Who knows, we might even survive this yet."
He froze, as he suddenly saw even more warriors crest over the hill above them. "Then again..."
The Hunter's defences were forced back and back, and its offensive strength grew steadily weaker.
How could you grow so strong!? the Hunter radiated.
I have planned for this event for cycles upon cycles, developing myself continually. Now you will face your extinction! replied its intended prey.
In spite of all it could do, the Hunter's volume was forced inward, closer and closer to a singularity, until - disruption!
At the moment of death, the total energy that the Hunter still controlled was instantly released. Distorted forces splintered off through time, and space, and planes of existence...
A great flash of light - like a lightning bolt, only much more intense - flashed through the sky, blasting the rocky area in which the small group was hiding. When their opponents could see again, they discovered that the area was fused into a single great slab of glass; of their quarry, there was no sign.
Flynn blinked his eyes open, sat up with a groan and looked around. The other seven did the same.
"Where are we?" Flynn asked himself as he gazed around at the scorched circle, in the open, golden field, surrounded by green jungle, the sun high in the blue sky - and the strange, blue skinned people that were staring, bewildered, back at them.
(to be continued)
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[This message has been edited by Slayer (edited 11-05-2001).]
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