9
The anger was gone.
Only calm knowledge of what she had to do was left.
She had already told the Maquis what had happened; expect she hadn't mentioned Brown's part.
Several of the newer recruits wanted to avenge their leader without knowing who to attack but she had assured them she would take care of the murderer personally.
While they prepared Deanic for his burial, Ro hunted.
She hunted a former Maquis, comrade and friend.
She hunted a murder, thief and traitor.
Only she didn't know where he was.
She had already searched Shakin thoroughly with no results.
Ro sat down on a bench in the village square to think when a memory came up.
The clearing, the clearing where Pat had found Talia.
It was a long shot, but it might be were Brown was.
Ro spotted the faint trail, and followed it as it wound through the underbrush till it finally came out beside a stagnate pond.
The entire clearing was deserted; Ro could tell that at a glance.
A rustle in the trees behind her caused her to pull her gun and face this new enemy but nothing was there.
Or was there?
Carefully inching forward, Ro pushed the plants aside and stepped into another, smaller, clearing.
This one was obviously a hiding place but it seemed as deserted as the clearing by the pond.
Suddenly something hit Ro in the back of the head and she pitched forward, almost cracking her skull on a rock.
Rolling onto her back, Ro grabbed for her weapon but couldn't find it.
Frantically she scanned the ground until her eyes met with boots.
She followed the boots upward to find herself staring at Brown.
Reaching down, he picked up her disruptor and studied it before looking at the woman on the ground.
"Ro, didn't I teach you never to lose your weapon?" he chided her.
Ro glared at the man, swallowing all the things she wanted to tell him.
"Well Ro, it has been a pleasure working with you."
Causally he pointed the disruptor at her and placed his finger on the trigger before adding, "Farwell Ro Laren, I guess you're going to find out the truth about the Prophets sooner then you hoped."