A quick note on this chapter. If any of you have seen the movie Quigley Down Under, starring Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman, you'll see where I got my inspiration for this chapter. Yeah, it's kind of corny, but that's one of my favorite movie scenes.

IX

Brindy Malcolm long ago had been part of the Colonial Armed Forces. On the day of The Holocaust, she had been training to be a Colonial Marine, specializing in counter-intelligence and Special Forces. She grew up in the wide open spaces far away from any decent-sized city or town on Caprica, her family for generations hunting for food and living off the land. She had mastered many different models of shotguns and rifles and could hit a squirrel from five-hundred meters without a sweat-with the right weapon.

She was halfway through her training when the Cylons attacked those many years ago. Already regarded as a marksman, she had been training for four months with the latest sniper rifle that the Colonies used. The official name was the Delta 24 Seeker, with an effective range of 2.65 miles as measured in the United States back on Earth. Originally a tandem-team weapon with one sniper and one guidance expert who measured distance, wind, drop, temperature and humidity, it was designed to take out Cylons if war ever broke out between humans and the machines. About a dozen had been manufactured before the nuclear strike. Brindy Malcolm was fortunate enough to still have the one that she had been training with that very day.

It hadn't been easy, but she had kept the weapon in working order. The small computer system that was used by the spotter was discarded, Brandy learning over the years how to use it by herself. She had scavenged for years to stockpile rounds of ammo that she had hidden near her small village.

On the day of the Cylon attack, she had been in her barracks north of Caprica City. The base barely had enough time to register what was happening before all hell had broken loose. She had headed for her designated evacuation area when the order to do so was broadcast.

Raptors were stationed to lift off and clear Marines from the base in case of an emergency. She had been knocked over by the concussions of the first nuke that had hit some thirty-five kilometers away and had staggered to her feet, heading for her rendezvous, still more nukes falling in the distance.

When she arrived, she saw her designated Raptor closing its hatch. She desperately gestured to it, screaming at the top of her lungs. The right-seater had been looking right at her when he gave the sign to lift off, leaving her behind, scared out of her wits, a blazing fury sweeping over her. She didn't sit and sulk, but instead, she used her Special Forces training and set out to find somewhere in the middle of nowhere that the Cylons probably wouldn't strike. She had run back to her barracks, grabbed her sniper rifle, a standard assault rifle and all the ammo she could carry and set out cross-country.

For the first three days, she had watched nuclear detonations go off in the distance, praying to the gods that either none would come close to her or that one would land right on top of her, sparing the horror of survival. She eventually reached her old village, which was standing but deserted, a living grave that personified the entire state of the planet.

Over time, she met other stragglers, most of whom she convinced to join her in her village. The fact she was such a formidable hunter and could find plenty of game for food spread her reputation, even on a planet in shambles. Within five years, there were about seven hundred people in the village.

Brindy eventually married a man name Gregorius Cyrian, originally from Saggeteron who had been on Caprica for business when doomsday descended. He had been a religious zealot like most people on that strange world but had discarded those ways very quickly after reality had set in on a planet where radiation and sickness were ever-present. He had been a farmer, and, like Brindy, an avid hunter. They never wanted children of their own and were more than content in each other's company.

Some ten years later, rumors began to reach them about a group that was holed up in the Caprican Mountain Range that was taking prisoners, for what purpose only the gods knew. That's all they ever heard about this group.

Until they arrived five years later.

The Kingdom. That's all they called themselves. They took every able-bodied man away, and a few younger women. Since Brindy was a little older, they didn't want her, and Gregorius made sure they hid all their weapons. He didn't want her playing a martyr. It was the last time she had seen him.

That had been fifteen years ago. The burning anger toward The Colonial military was turned toward The Kingdom.

Until two years earlier.

That's when what looked like Raptors appeared overhead; that's when smaller telescopes in the village showed a fleet with what looked to be a Battlestar overhead. Brindy Malcolm's rage turned again. She wanted revenge on those who had stranded all of them on this gods-forsaken planet.

Using her Special Forces training, she set out to find The Kingdom. The members of that strange group had claimed they were holed up in the Caprican Mountains. Knowing it was likely that the new Colonial Fleet and forces would probably be based in Caprica City; she gave the city a very wide berth, circled far south of the mountain range, and approached the mountains from the east, hoping a single person wouldn't draw too much attention. She had her sniper rifle, plus an assault rifle broken down so they wouldn't draw attention, all wrapped in a bundle as if she was simply a nomad, wandering Caprica, as many still did so many years after The Holocaust.

Five Caprican months after setting out, she was in range of the mountains. She traveled mostly at night to avoid any Raptors that would be spotted occasionally overhead. Just before she headed into the foothills, she hid her rifles, keeping her sidearm.

She wanted to meet whoever ran this so-called Kingdom and to make a deal with him. She wanted revenge on those who had stranded her on this rock so many years ago.

Clevin Monteith eyed the woman his soldiers were escorting to him. She was about his age, or so it seemed, and although her face was weather-beaten, indicating a life lived in the outdoors, she was intensely beautiful. The message she had sent to him via courier a few days earlier had raised his eyebrows.

As she was approaching, he pulled out the note again, reading through it one more time.

Sir;

Like all of us, I was abandoned when The Cylons destroyed our worlds so many years ago. I was a member of the military and was left behind, my Raptor in sight, but it left without me. I have never forgotten that. With Colonial forces back in New Caprica, I'm looking for some payback. I think I might have some military skills that you could find useful-and quite deadly toward your enemy.

Brin

The Crown was no dummy: he had seen others bring up similar messages to him, either looking to slum off of his people or for other untoward purposes. A good leader had an open mind, but a healthy skepticism as well.

"My lady", he said politely as the woman was in front of him, "I'm The Crown, the leader of this mountain paradise", he said with some mirth.

"I'm Brin, as I said in my note." Her voice, her inflection, her features gave nothing away.

"Is that all I am going to get", he asked archly.

"I don't suppose you want to tell me your real name now, do you?"

He was taken aback by her uncompromising tone and throwing his question right back in his face. He was power-hungry, to be sure, but he didn't torture people or kill them just to kill. But her insolence made him look at her a little closer.

"No that wouldn't be my first choice, come to think of it", he said, with a slight cough. "Very well, you were intriguingly cryptic with your little communication. How may I be of service today, Brin?"

"As I said, I have some scores to settle. I was a Marine, and my Evac Raptor left without me when I was within sight of it. For five years I scratched out a living, like most of us. I owe those fracker's a few black eyes."

He gave the woman an amused smile. "And, uh, just how do you propose to do that, my dear?"

"I trained as a long-range sniper when I was with the Marines." Her eyes were deadly earnest, and Monteith knew she was not pulling his leg.

"I believe you", he said gravely, "but I don't exactly see any sniper weapons with you. I imagine you have a sidearm with you, however?"

Brindy shook her head. "Yes I do, sir. I do have my main weapons hidden away", she informed him. "In fact, if you're interested, I'm willing to give a demonstration of my ability in the next few days."

"Boss", one of the soldiers spoke up, "it could be a trap, ya know? There are Colonial Marines all over the place."

His eyes had never left Brindy's as his subordinate spoke. "Yes, it could be, but I don't think it is."

The woman nodded. "I know of a spot where I can make an effective demonstration where there are no soldiers around for several kilometers. Nice and quiet, where I can demonstrate my abilities. Oh, and I have a silencer as well." She didn't grin when volunteering that information but kept the same grim look on her face.

"Who's to say that you won't show us your skill and we won't simply take your weapon and kill you?"

She did give a smug grin then. "I have it set up so only I can fire the weapon. No one else. I have several fail-safes to make sure no one else can use it."

The Crown nodded his head approvingly. "Very good. And if we agree to 'hire you', as it were, I'm sure there's a price?"

"Oh, there is", she agreed, "but we won't discuss that until I've made my demonstration. So, do we have an agreement for me to show my skills?"

Monteith didn't hesitate. "Oh, yes indeed, you have me quite curious now." He turned to one of his men. "Set her up in a good location for the evening, and make sure she has plenty to eat. My dear", he turned back to her, "I think we'll be able to demonstrate sometime

tomorrow. Until then, if you'll excuse me."

Brindy Malcolm had found a secluded area northeast of the mountain that was bare of any UED troops. Monteith and a handful of his fighters met her at the designated sight early in the afternoon. The woman who had met him the day before was standing facing his group, with what was no doubt a sniper rifle in her grip They also noticed there were a saddled horse and a bucket near her as well. The barrel of the weapon was longer than any of them had ever seen. They all looked at each other in wonder.

"Ms. Brin", Clevin said with a smile, "that's an impressive looking weapon you have there. Is it of your own manufacture?"

"No this was the Marine sniper rifle that was just starting to be produced when The Cylons showed up. It's called the Delta 24 Seeker. This might be the only one that still exists. It has, shall we say, quite an impressive range. "

"So how do we test this 'impressive range', might I inquire?"

Brindy looked at the horse, then the rabble in front of her. "Can any of you ride?"

Clevin looked behind him. "Trace, you grew up riding, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir", the other man stated, and he looked over at Brindy. "How far you want me to go?"

"I'll fire my sidearm when you've gone far enough." She smiled at the man. "Don't worry, those troops won't hear it. Oh, grab that bucket and set it down when I fire."

Trace got on the animal, grabbed the reigns. "Heeya!". Man and beast sped off.

Brindy was adjusting the site on her rifle, and would occasionally look up at the men gathered near her, with a smile on her face. The animal, with Trace on it, grew smaller and smaller, a few guffaws and snorts of derision escaping the men at the distance.

She looked up one more time at them, then turned and looked at the horse "Right about there ought to do it." She took the sidearm out of the back of her pants and fired the weapon in the air. Moments later, the horse stopped and Trace set the bucket on the ground.

She inwardly smiled when she heard one of the men say, sotto voce, "there's no frackin' way the broad can hit that."

Brindy put her game face on.

She looked at the bucket, some four-thousand yards in the distance. She adjusted her weapons sight again, bent over and grabbed some grass, tossing it up into the light breeze, following the direction the blades blew. After walking forward a few feet, she adjusted the gun sight gently, then brought the weapon up. Looking through the sight, she was barely breathing as she first pulled the hair-trigger; she adjusted her aim slightly and…

"Are you sure...you don't want Trace to move the target in just a little bit?" Clevin had done that to unnerve the woman, not as a joke, but to see how she reacted to interruptions and distractions. The others that were present snickered.

She looked back at Monteith, staring at him momentarily, then quickly turned back around, aimed the weapon again, firing a quick shot. With a silencer, it didn't make a lot of noise, but a few seconds later; all the men saw the wooden bucket clearly jump into the air as the bullet impacted it.

"Lords of Kobol!" one of them exclaimed.

Brindy turned back to Monteith. "Quite sure." She then fired off two more quick shots, hitting the bucket both times.

The all-male ensemble that had accompanied Clevin for this demonstration all stood still, mouths agape. None of them had ever seen someone shoot like that.

Brindy brought the weapon down and looked expectantly at their leader. "Interested?"

"You're hired", he said with a wry grin. "What exactly do you plan to do with such skill, may I ask?"

"I think that's quite evident, sir", she said confidently. "I'm sure you have spies near Caprica City and near their bases, I plan on finding out who the big brass are, civilian or military, and perhaps taking some of them out."

"You could be right, my lady", Clevin said in a non-committal voice. "And if I do agree to use your very impressive skill, what do you want in return?"

"I want my husband, if he's still alive up here", she said with some anger in her eyes. "You took him about a dozen years ago. If he goes by his real name here, you'll know him, I guarantee you."

"And his name?"

"Gregorius Cyrian."

Another of his lieutenants spoke up. "I know this man, Boss", he said emphatically. "He's as big as this mountain, and he's originally from Sagiterron. He's a mean son-of-a-bitch."

She didn't let Monteith speak. "After this war is over if any of us are still alive, we have our freedom, and you will never bother us again. Ever."

Clevin studied her for a moment. This is one serious woman, he thought as he came to his own conclusions about the future. "You have a deal, Ms. Brin. Would you be our guests in our city for the next few days?"

She nodded her head immediately. "I accept. However, I will come up there a few hours after you. I have no intention of letting anyone know where this weapon, the other weapons I have, and my ammunition is. That's my guarantee. Although I doubt any of your boys could handle this weapon, to begin with."

Some of the men around him cussed under their breaths at that remark. Clevin only laughed. "I can tell you at least as far as I'm concerned, you're right! Besides, most of us don't have a lot of experience trying to be part of the land for a few decades like you. I suspect you know how to conceal yourself, even in broad daylight."

"I do", she said with a grim smile. "Sir, if you'll depart with your men, I shall be up there in a few hours." She turned to gather the few items she brought with her. "Oh, and please tell your pickets that I'll be coming? I wouldn't want to have to accidentally kill one of them because they weren't aware of my presence."

With that, she turned around without another word and ignored Monteith, something he wasn't used to. His mind was still churning as he himself turned around. "OK, everyone, back to town. Right now." His followers obeyed without a second thought.

Monteith was satisfied that he had just acquired what could be a lethal weapon for his cause: not just in the fact that she could take out some high-profile targets, but for the psychological havoc she could sow within the enemy. He also had no doubt she could cause havoc in all directions for all kinds of people. The old saying about keep your friends close; keep your enemies even closer rang through his head.

Within three days, Clevin had sent five very trusted people to dig up some intel on exactly who they were facing. He knew the had Colonial equipment and the two Officers he had met with-that Adama and that Tyrol guy, were definitely both Colonials, but it struck him as odd that they'd been gone so long, with no real explanation, and were suddenly back.

The three women and two men had been in his service for more than fifteen years. They had made many a trip by horse to Caprica City and outlying areas just to get keep tabs on the relatively few inhabitants that remained on the planet of Caprica. In the last two years, they had made several trips to Caprica City since this military had arrived, and the population of the city had risen quickly. Those visits avoided military contact. This time, he was looking for solid intelligence.

He and they knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to see what he was up against.