They rode on for hours, traveling well into the woods to the northeast and skirting the edge of foothills to the northern mountain chain. They pushed on hard, knowing that safety lay in distance from Hercor, and time was important as ever. Although the night's activities had drained them, and their bodies craved rest, the small group pushed their danier through trails that Raso pointed out, riding until well past sunrise.

Van Horn had finally called for them to rest, and Raso led them to a kurrnaki campsite. It was located at the end of a ravine carved by a spring that ran hard following the summer rains, but it now was a mere brook flowing through the center of the ravine. The area where the spring poured from the hillside was a flat pan, carved from sedimentary rock by the flowing water and gouged out by the summer torrents, making the area larger than the ravine itself and setting up a clear place to camp.

Van Horn mused about the place as he finished tying up the second danier, the first already having been taken care of. The stand of trees that the animals were tied to had grown on what had once been a kind of sandbar and that was now an island of thick vegetation on the rock shelf. There, finished, he thought to himself as he finished the last knot. "You're not going anywhere tonight, laddie." He spoke to the danier softly, in English. After all, doesn't matter what you say, so long as it's soft and helps your body language towards them. Van Horn had known a little about riding horses, one of his friends belonging to a better-off family on his homeworld.

Van Horn turned around and looked over the encampment, noting that Pavlo, Alexis and Raso the bandit were already laying down on blankets that they had brought in their supplies, and were fast asleep, though Mikula was rummaging in a pack. Briefly, the thoughts of those long-ago summers on Desmonde made van Horn wonder just where his friend was now. Joey always wanted to be a pilot of some kind, but I didn't hear from him after I left for the M.I. training camp on Logan's Reach. The human smiled widely as he walked to where he had set down a pair of blankets for himself. Man, if he could see me now! He'd probably think that I was nuts... And he'd be right. Van Horn sighed and sat down heavily. Damn, I should get in contact with him when I get out of this.

Van Horn's sigh and somewhat loud landing made Mikula look up from his search. "Is everything alright Earl?" He asked of the human.

Van Horn looked over and smiled again as he noticed that the lupar had a piece of jerky sticking out of the side of his muzzle. "Yeah, just remembering." He said. "But what I want to know, is what are you doing there?" He pointed to the slice of cured meat that was lodged in the other's mouth.

Mikula blinked, and then gave his usual grin as he pulled the snack from his mouth. "I was a bit hungry." He replied and then took a bite from the jerky. "I was looking for more when you sat down." He managed to get out between swallows.

Van Horn grinned at the lupar. "Well, don't eat all of it, since we may need it in the future."

Mikula nodded as he finished his snack. "Oh, I know. I was just making sure I knew which pack had all of the pieces." He said with a tired grin. He and van Horn shared a soft chuckle at that, and then both fell quiet.

For van Horn, it was a nice period of silence to reflect more on his situation and the events of his life. So many things led me here, to this place, this time. My enlistment, my choice of careers, my desire to learn about a totally new and unknown culture... And not to mention all I've done since the damned Wobbies arrived. The thought of the Blakests gave van Horn pause enough to take a quick look around. He noticed that Mikula was gazing over the others in the miniature camp, as he sat furthest out, even further than van Horn. And, of course, the human couldn't help notice that the lupar's gaze lingered over one individual in particular.

"Something on your mind?" Van Horn asked the young lupar. I seem to be stuck with this melodrama, so I might as well jump into this thing with both feet.

Mikula started a bit, apparently forgetting that van Horn was there. He faced the human, a slight look of embarrassment evident in the way his ears were positioned. "Oh, I was... Well, frankly, I'm worried..." His voice trailed off and he looked back at the subject of his previous interest. "Alexis wasn't supposed to come with us... Well, I'd assume so, since you told me and Pavlo that it would only be us and the bandit with you." He turned to the human for confirmation.

Van Horn nodded. "That was the idea, yes, but we couldn't leave her behind to be arrested, now could we?"

"I know, but," Mikula paused for a deep breath, "this is a dangerous mission, and I worry for her safety."

"I understand." Van Horn replied. "But, again, we couldn't leave her behind. Besides," he stretched his arms, working some kinks out, "Alexis can take care of herself. We've seen that."

Mikula tilted his head and turned back towards the human. "Yes, well, she can take care of herself in some situations, but we may be going to fight some Kurrnaki bandits, or even the invading Wobbies. Females aren't as tough as males, especially in combat, and-" he cut himself off at van Horn's motions; the human had stuffed a knuckle in his mouth and began to make choking sounds. Mikula didn't recognize the gesture, but he knew it when someone was trying not to laugh. "What? What did I say?"

"Mikula," van Horn said after taking a second to control his tired emotional state, "I think you are a bit mistaken in this. My people have let females participate in combat for centuries now, and I can say from experience that they are some of the toughest, nastiest warriors you'll ever see on the battlefield."

The lupar's face went blank, and he blinked heavily. "But... What...?" He stammered after am moment of silence. "They are weaker, more fragile in mind and body. Surely you can't mean that you don't protect them from the ravages of combat?"

Van Horn's amusement died a violent death as embarrassment crept into his mind, for both Mikula and himself, and he turned his head to stare at the rocky wall of the ravine to collect his thoughts. Sighing, he replied. "Mikula... It's not that we don't want to protect females," he turned back to face the lupar, "but it's that we've realized that women are people, too. Our entire society is based around the idea that everyone is created equal, and that we all have the freedom to do what we want to do with our lives." He paused to let Mikula absorb the information. "A female, a woman, has as much right to decide for herself as any male does, and they can make these decisions as well as any male. If they decide to fight, and we stop them, then we are just as bad as slave owners telling the slaves what they can or cannot do."

The reference to slaves made Mikula cringe, as van Horn knew it would. Their society is so relatively advanced in many ways - as a whole, at least, if not every single person - that this stupid gender-based modal thought is like a cold bucket of water in the face.

Mikula stared at the ground for a minute, and then looked up at van Horn, the conflict in his mind clearly on his face. "I... I never thought of it that way..." He said quietly. "It's just... Just..."

"Just the way things have always been?" Van Horn asked, causing Mikula's eyes to grow slightly wider. The lupar nodded and van Horn sighed. "It was that way for many, many centuries with my people. It took a lot, and it wasn't easy, but we changed, and we've never had cause to regret it."

Mikula looked down again, and he nervously played with the flap to the bag he had been rummaging through earlier. Again, he looked back up after a minute and faced van Horn. "What you say, about females... Before, I would have disagreed with you, but I've seen too many things change recently to doubt your words." He looked over at Alexis as she slept soundly, prompting van Horn to look at the gatón as well. "And, thinking of this in the light you present it... It makes sense... And yet, some part of me disagrees still."

Your libido? Came the dark thought in van Horn's mind, and he mentally chastised his subconscious for slipping in the unworthy, visceral thought. "Mikula, it's not easy, leaving old ways of thinking behind. I had to do it when I learned how to be a soldier, and I think you did to." He paused as Mikula nodded. "Then you know that what you once assumed could be terribly wrong?"

Mikula turned to the human and nodded. "Oh, yes." He responded quietly, remembering a time in training when his instructor had beaten him soundly after he had the arrogance to relax his guard and taunt the elder lupar. I thought him weak simply because he was old and had his tail cut off in a battle. He taught me that an opponent could always beat you, no matter what his apparent disabilities, especially if you thought them frail and weak- Mikula's mind clicked as the memory opened up a new avenue of thought. He then turned to look over Alexis yet again. Is van Horn right? Have we all been underestimating women for so very long because they appear weak? Might they have their own hidden strengths? The thoughts were dizzying in his tired mind, and Mikula shook his head as the discord between old and new gave rise to physical discomfort. "I have a headache now."

Van Horn chuckled very slightly. "I'll bet. We're tired and this is very new stuff to you. I think we should get some rest." He yawned as his words reminded him of his own exhaustion. "I think you'll have a better idea of what I'm saying when you wake up."

Mikula nodded absentmindedly. "Perhaps..." Despite van Horn's suggestion, the lupar sat up for much longer, even after the human himself had fallen asleep.

Van Horn awoke to the sounds of alien birds singing the sirens' call of their kind. He opened his eyes and was momentarily confused about where he was, as many people are when awakening in a new place. Quickly though, memory returned and he blinked his eyes clear of sleep's affects. He propped himself up on his right elbow and looked over the small camp.

Everyone was sleeping still, which was hardly surprising given the previous night. I'd be sleeping myself yet if the army hadn't taught me how to set my internal alarm clock, van Horn thought as he yawned and stood up slowly. Although the group had stopped to rest for good reason, van Horn had planned to move again after sleeping into the mid afternoon. The better to realign our clocks with the day/night cycle, he thought as he quietly stretched his muscles. Taking another look over the group, he decided to let them sleep a bit more, and so he began to quietly move about, first to the danier to take care of their needs, such as food and water, and then to pick up packs that needed to be refastened to the beasts of burden.

Though he moved quietly, van Horn's movements did disturb on individual after a while. Alexis, a habitual light sleeper, soon found herself opening her eyes to a pale blue sky framed by the trees that grew on the hillsides above the camp. Beautiful. But what woke me? She asked herself. The question was easily answered as an indecipherable word came from the direction of the danier, and she turned to see who was up already.

She saw van Horn standing next to one danier, working on some strap to attach a bag to the riding harness of one of the horse analogs. As Alexis watched, the human again let out with a small utterance that she didn't understand. The trouble he seemed to be having with the knot he was trying to make, however, gave her a clue as to the word's general meaning. Strange word, 'fuhk.' I wonder what it means? She had enough tact to not give voice to that question, however, and instead she simply stood up and moved towards where van Horn stood.

The latter noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to face Alexis, his face breaking into a warm smile. "Hello, Alexis. I hope I didn't wake you?"

Alexis returned his smile. "You did, but it's no matter; I've always awakened at the least sound or movement."

"Ah. My people call it, 'being a light sleeper.'" He replied as he tightened the knot that had been giving him trouble.

Alexis found the phrase curious, but decided to let it rest for the moment. "Do you want some help with getting the danier ready?"

Van Horn smiled sheepishly. "It would be most appreciated. It's been a while since I've had to do something like this."

Alexis shrugged and went back to pick up her blanket and those that van Horn had used. Coming back, she placed them on the backs of the danier, as the gatón and lupar rode without saddles in the fashion of the North American aboriginals. "I guess you don't have to do this sort of thing often, when you have all of those fancy machines to carry you around?" Alexis asked, breaking the quiet that had taken root.

Van horn lifted one of the last bags up and settled it onto the rump of the danier he was tending. "No, not really. Though it really depends on where you live." He paused to fiddle with a strap. "On some planets, those that are just recently settled, machines are in scarce supply, and so people usually go back to using animals for a while." He grinned a bit. "Hell, on many planets, we still keep animals like these, not to do work, but for recreation."

Alexis paused at that and turned to look at van Horn. "Recreation? As in, to have fun?" She asked, clearly puzzled.

"Yes. Some people actually find it enjoyable to ride animals like these danier," he patted one to emphasize, "so those kinds of animals are still around, though it is expensive to keep them, so usually only the wealthy have them."

Alexis blinked and tilted her head quizzically. "So you are rich then, since you mentioned having to do this before?" She asked naturally, and was confused when van horn grimaced in a fashion that she had come to know as surprise and an attempt to keep from laughing. "I'm sorry, is it rude to ask?"

Van Horn shook his head. "In some places, some times, yes. But now? Not hardly." He replied as he fastened one last strap on a bag. "It's a natural question. I just was surprised because I've never had anyone ask me that before." He smiled at Alexis as he said this, causing her to blush slightly. "But no, I'm not rich. I had a friend whose family was better off, however, and he was a good guy, let me come over all the time, so I got the hang of these things a bit." Van horn then took a step back to give a once over o his work so far. "Now my turn. Where'd you learn how to do this?"

Alexis gave another little shrug. "Before the Shaman picked me as one of his apprentices, I had to help out on the farm like any other child, so I learned how to harness the few work animals we had." Although her face revealed nothing unusual, van Horn could her a tiny, nearly imperceptible crack in her voice at the mentioning of her past. He decided to move the conversation along to a topic he wanted to broach. "So, Alexis, are women usually picked for apprenticeships?"

She paused a second, apparently caught off guard by the question. "Well, it's not all too common, but you've seen that it happens often enough. You've seen that with shamans Jukas and Garona, they even become shamans. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was curious, since you brought it up. It was my job you know, to study your people." He replied.

Alexis blushed a bit at this reminder. "Yes, so you've said before. Though I still cannot see why you would want to do so. But then, I cannot see building machines that carry us to places, so I guess I'm just not that smart."

The look on van Horn's face gave Alexis pause. Seldom she had seen him angry, and she didn't know what she had said to anger him. "Did I say something wrong?"

Van Horn frowned and got himself under control. "In a way. But this brings up a subject I wanted to talk to you about anyway." He waved towards the mouth of the ravine with his hand. "I also think we shouldn't be talking about this where we could wake the others."

Alexis frowned, unsure of what van Horn was speaking about, but she nodded her head. Alright, please lead on." She replied. Van Horn then nodded his head and turned to walk down the ravine, stepping carefully to avoid the small stream that was the outflow of the spring. Alexis followed closely, and soon they were around a small bend that partially hid them from view of their sleeping friends.

Van Horn stopped then, and turned to face Alexis, leaning on the log of a fallen tree as he did so. Alexis took his cue and she leaned back against the vegetation-covered wall of the ravine. "Now, what is this you want to talk about that you didn't want the others to overhear?" She asked.

"It's about you, Alexis." Van Horn said quietly. "You know that you weren't supposed to come with us, so that has changed our plans. Before we can go on, we need to decide what we need to do about this situation."

Alexis felt her ears go down in embarrassment. "I know, I only came along because of the guards being alerted too soon." She replied with a sigh. "So I suppose you want to tell me what you decided?"

The shake of van Horn's head caught her by surprise. "No, Alexis. I haven't decided a thing, yet." He crossed his arms and leaned a bit further back. "Despite what you said back there, I know you're not a stupid person. I haven't known you as long as Forbasa, or even Mikula, but I've known you enough to tell that you are an intelligent, cleaver, and caring young woman." He paused to catch his breath a bit, and then carried on. "Which brings me to my point. I can't make a decision, Alexis, until you've made yours."

"Mine? My decision?" Alexis asked, her ears twitching in confusion. "I don't see what you're talking about."

Van Horn sighed before he spoke again. "Alexis, as I've said, you are a smart person, and clearly smart enough to make decisions about all sorts of things. Why else did shaman Forbasa have you take care of the wounded, even without his supervision? Why else did so many agree with you and stay behind with me when the main caravan went to Hercor?" He paused to let her remember, and then moved on. "And how else could you have volunteered to help out in stealing the danier, if you were not smart enough to see that you could help?"

Alexis shook her head. "I... I felt like I had to do something to help. Your plan needed someone with stealth to move and surprise the guards at the gate, and since you didn't want to let more than a few people know about the theft, it made sense that I would be the best to help, given my size and the fact I knew already. "She hung her head down... "It was obvious, not smart."

Van Horn's quiet laughter brought her head back up to see a wry smile on the human's face. "Alexis, it's only obvious to you because you're smart. Why did you think I supported you volunteering, even when Forbasa turned it down?"

Alexis frowned. "I honestly don't know. Why did you?"

"Alexis, I supported you because I saw the very same reasons you did. More importantly, I knew that you had the inner strength to carry the plan out, despite any misgivings you'd have." Van Horn said sagely. "That inner strength let you make the decision to volunteer, and now you need to let it help you make another decision now."

Alexis nervously rubbed her left arm with her right, and her tail curled around her ankles. "What decision is that?"

Van Horn took a deep breath and paused to collect his thoughts before replying. "The decision you have to make, Alexis, is whether or not to go with us." He paused as she looked back up, surprise on her face. "Before you say anything, let me inform you of what the consequences are.

"You've seen some terrible things lately, yes? The attack on Mikula's army unit, the terrible attack on your own village..." His voice trailed off as Alexis shuddered with the pain of those memories. "I am not going to lie to you now. You may very well see things as bad, or even worse, if you want to go with us. You may even see one of us die, or die yourself." He paused to let this sink in. "On the other hand, if you want to go back, we will either need to go with you, and lose time, perhaps giving the kurrnaki the chance to relay to the Wobbies what happened, thus threatening the lives of the people of Hercor. Or, we can just send you back with one danier, and rely on the other to carry the four of us." Van Horn paused, and stood from his leaning position, feeling that the subject warranted a more serious stance. "That would tire it out much faster, and again, slow us."

"Not to mention, I'd be arrested as soon as I got back to Hercor." Alexis said quietly, hanging her head down as her emotions warred in her head.

"There's that, yes," van Horn replied, "but you'd be a lot safer. I don't think the Hercorians would even arrest you, if you made up a story that you were kidnapped, yet managed to escape with the danier while we were sleeping." He said with a melancholy tone.

"Safe, unless my leaving slows you like it you said it would, and the Wobbies come after being warned." Alexis said, still quietly rubbing her arm.

"Alexis, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to be scared." Van Horn said, concern bleeding into his voice. "I just wanted you to have all the facts. I promise you, that I will do my utmost to keep that from happening, even if it means carrying Mikula, Pavlo and Raso myself." He finished with a weak smile.

Alexis looked up and returned the smile, hers as weak as van Horn's. "An amusing image, but hardly convenient." The smile died and she turned to look back towards the camp. "Why are you even giving me this decision anyway?" She asked after a moment, clearly temporizing as she wrestled with the thoughts in her head. "Why don't you make this decision for me, like most males do when something of this nature comes up?"

"Because you're a free woman, with your own mind, and your own thoughts." The iron tone of van Horn's voice cut through Alexis' thoughts like a scythe cutting hay, and she brought her head around to face the human again. "My people cherish personal freedom above all. We feel that the greatest gift of life is to be able to make your own decisions." He paused to take a breath. "I can't make this decision for you, because I believe it's wrong to take such an important, potentially life-altering decision away from you." He took a step forward, and reached out to grab Alexis by her shoulders. "This is a decision that only you can make, because you are the only one qualified to make it."

Alexis hung her head again, obviously in thought, and van Horn stepped back to his previous position. He stayed quiet as Alexis took a long time to think the decision over. "Either go with you, and perhaps see people die, or go back, and making it more likely that I will see the same thing, writ large." She said quietly. "Doesn't seem like much of a choice."

"But it is, Alexis." Van Horn replied quietly. "There's one thing I neglected to mention, and I am sorry for not bringing it up before." He paused as Alexis brought her head up to face him again. The fur around her eyes was wet, and she clearly fought back her emotions, making van Horn feel torn apart inside for what he had to say next. "If you do decide to come with us... It's not just risking your life. You will have to work hard, fight if needed, and even..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly lost the courage to say the words he wanted to speak.

"You mean, I may have to kill someone?" Alexis asked with a surprising calm in her voice. Van Horn nodded, and she closed her eyes before continuing. "I told you, in the hospice, about how I felt that day when I thought Mikula was dead. What I didn't tell you, was then and there, I swore that I would do whatever it would take to prevent anyone else form ever again feeling what I felt that day." She spoke quietly, yet with a strength that matched the iron of van Horn's voice. Alexis opened her eyes and looked into van Horn's. "I didn't quite understand what I could do then, but when you came to Forbasa with your plan to steal the danier, I felt it was an omen that I could make good on my vow after all." She took a breath before continuing. "And now you ask me to make this decision, whether to fight and kill or be killed, or flee to Hercor... And perhaps risk death anyway." She shook her head. "You said this was a decision, but it's really not. I couldn't live with myself if I ran away now, against my vow, against my judgment and knowledge." Alexis paused, her gaze having shifted down as she talked, but again she brought herself to face the human again. "No matter what, I feel that my only choice is to go with you and the others, so that I might make a difference for the better."

Van Horn smiled softly. "You are wise beyond your years, Alexis." He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "No matter what happened to bring me here, no matter what may happen in the future, I am proud to know you."

Alexis blushed at that, and van Horn dropped his hand from her shoulder. "Now, let's get going."

Eluso Grono dropped his pack heavily on the ground as the exhaustion of the day's hike wore upon his psyche. Around him, the Kurrnaki raiding party that had attacked Hercor set their packs down as well, having reached their campsite for the night. About time, too, Grono thought. Their trek from the disastrous raid had been haggard compared to their usual movements; a result of their low morale.

Grono sat heavily with a sigh on the grass that covered the ground of the forest glade in which they had set up camp many a times on their treks out form and back to their village. The others in the party were beginning to set up their lean-to shelters and collect wood for a fire, but Grono took advantage of his new status as the group's war leader to rest quietly instead of working. As if that's any compensation for the defeat we have suffered. His thoughts turned dark, and his ears lay back unconsciously. I had never imagined that I would see such a day, or that I would become leader after the chief and his brother were cut down. The lupar sighed again. He was still young by most standards, being only about twenty-six years old, and so the role of leading the raiding party had never occurred to him before that fateful night. We lost many good men on that attack, and for what? Because those accursed Invaders told us to! Damn cowards. He growled softly as he reminisced. Hiding in their metal wagon, killing a defenseless family, and having us attack one of the best-defended towns in existence. Now we run home, because that's what they wanted us to do if our chief ever died. He turned and reached into his pack, eventually pulling out the strange black box that he had to risk his life to retrieve after he had ordered the others to fall back. I knew that if the others retreated, the Hercorians would lower their guard enough so that I could get to the chief's body. He hefted the relatively light box in his hand, careful of the long protrusion that came from one end. They used this, somehow, to speak to us. They only told Chief Rom're how to use it, and wanted us to keep it at all costs. His curiosity over how the black box worked warred with his disgust of the raiders and everything that was associated with them.

As night fell, though, Grono's thoughts turned more to the demon that had come to the Hercorians' aid. I never would have guessed that the Hercorians would know how to conjure one up. He hadn't gotten any good look at the creature, save when it attacked Raso and Felar at the gate. Even then, all he saw was a tall shape that moved quickly, killing them both. Or so the lupar assumed, seeing as demons were supposed to be bloodthirsty creatures. I hope Felar and Raso weren't caught up in what the elders tell us is the demon's personal realm. Grono shuddered at the memory of the tales that his grandmother had told him when she was alive. Tales of black magic, of demons, and of the brave heroes who slaughtered them.

Grono then pressed the thoughts from his mind as the smell of food wafted into his nose. Automatically, his began salivating, as his body, at least, remembered that he was starved. He looked up from his little place to see that the fire had been built in the customary place, and that the group had largely settled in around the fire and the spitted shumaa that roasted above it. Some of the group stole glances over to him, and he realized that they were waiting for him to begin eating first, as was the custom of their tribe.

I don't feel like eating, Grono thought to himself. Yet, the others do, and I should keep my strength up for the good of the pack. At this last thought, he pushed himself up, leaving the strange black box on the ground next to his pack and walked the short distance to the fire. One spot was open for him, and he recognized the rock that was the traditional right of the pack leader to use, thus propping above the others in the group; they sat on the bare ground.

It was with a heavy heart that he sat on the stone and took an offered piece of meat. He took a big bite, chewed it, and swallowed it down. This was the signal for the others to begin eating, and they attacked their meals with a gusto that Grono lacked. The latter merely ate mechanically, his thoughts drifting back to the Invaders. What will they do when they find out we failed? Will they kill another family? He swallowed hard a piece of his food as the next thought came to him. Will they kill my family? He had no idea, no previous experience to tell him what to do. He was cut off from any advice that his elders could give him, and he couldn't even speak with his friends about it, for they now had to treat him with the distance that decorum required when dealing with the pack leader.

What do I do?

Higher up on the mountain that the Kurrnaki camped upon, several pairs of eyes watched the glow of the fire from a kilometer away. Van Horn levered himself up from his belly-down position to face Raso. "That would be them, correct?"

The bandit lupar nodded his head slowly. "Yes. That is the preferred campsite we use when returning from raiding to the southwest." He pointed across the valley they faced that ran from southeast to northwest. "I am not sure if you can see it, but our village is on the mountainside of the big one in the middle." They all looked and indeed, saw the faint glow of light from the area the Kurrnaki pointed at. "We like to camp here because we can see our village, and they can see us. It gives the raiding party a good feeling, to know that only a day's walk is left, and it lets the village know that someone is coming. Usually friend, but perhaps foe."

"A strange custom." Mikula commented. "But it makes sense, if you're paranoid."

Raso gave the lupar from Tanzano a sour look. "When your people are hunted upon, maybe you would be paranoid yourself."

"You wouldn't be hunted if you didn't raid villages and traders." Pavlo retorted for his brother.

"Enough!" Van Horn's voice, low though it was, carried the kind of iron that Alexis had heard in it several days before. Its presence now quieted the quibbling youths. "We can't be bickering now. Raso," he looked at the bandit again, "in all seriousness, just how paranoid are your friends there? Will they have sentries out now that they're so close to home?"

Raso frowned as he thought about it. "I don't think so. At least, it's not normal to bother, since they, like us, have been following a trail that's only known to Kurrnaki. Well, until recently." He turned and gave another, brief sour look at the Farkas brothers before turning back to the human. "But thing aren't normal. We had a shock when the invaders arrived, and the results of the raid on Hercor will have them on edge bit." Raso then paused a second, and stroked his chin in a fashion that van Horn found to be eerily like a human's. "On the other hand, whoever is leader now may be wanting to calm them, and setting up sentries at a time and place that normally wouldn't require them could spook the pack further." He shrugged ineloquently, given his prone position. "I would have to guess that there probably aren't any tonight, though I wouldn't rule them out entirely."

Van Horn nodded, his eyes distant. "Then we'll have to be cautious, and move in at just the right time."

Grono was still awake late that night, trying to make sense of things and to decipher what it is he would have to say to the Invaders, and what he would have to appease them. If I even can. All the others in the party had fallen asleep, and the fire was now mainly coals that gave off little light, though they had plenty of warmth to give yet.

Grono looked up, through the break in the trees, and stared at the stars above. It's almost like old times, before the Invaders, he mused to himself. I always liked looking up at the stars before. Now, I can't bring myself to look up, so worried that I'll be distracted and fail in my task, whatever it might be. He had spent many nights like this, back at his village when he was young, or on sentry duty when his raiding party would camp someplace that wasn't trusted fully. I wonder what the stars think of all this? Of these Invaders, of our lives before they came, and of our lives now... Do they even think at all? Or are they merely pinpricks in the cloth that covers the sun so that we can sleep, as my mother always said when I was a child?

Grono sighed and tilted his head back down to look at the coals that were still at his feet. Such stupid thoughts. They can't help me with my problems. He felt a bit of shame at his flight of fancy. What do they matter, those stars? How important can they really be?

Alexis crept slowly into the clearing, walking near van Horn as they moved towards the Kurrnaki camp, approaching from behind the one that was still awake. It is fortunate that these clothes serve me as well here as they did in Hercor, she thought to herself, trying to keep her nervousness at bay. Van Horn's plan was so simple in design that Mikula had wondered aloud as to whether it was a real plan at all. The idea was to have Alexis and van Horn sneak up and into the clearing and quietly and sneak up on each of the lupar individually, and then put their head into a sleeper hold that van Horn knew from his M.I. training while Pavlo guarded Raso and the danier. Meanwhile, Mikula would wait in the trees in case things 'went south,' as van Horn put it. Once the bandits were not only asleep, but knocked out completely, they would be tied up and the group would wait until morning and confront the hapless band.

Of course, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The lone Kurrnaki that was up yet had to be taken out first, and being awake still, he could make enough noise to alert the others. Van Horn, however, decided to go ahead anyway, trusting his luck and to the fact that his opponent would be too tired to put up a real struggle.

Alexis resisted the urge to finger the two hunting knives she still had from Hercor. She instead used her arms to keep herself perfectly balanced, thus avoiding tripping on anything in the darkness and making deadly noise. I can't let the others down now by being clumsy! Her new job was to stand by in case the bandit got clear of van Horn in his struggle, and quiet him. 'By any means necessary,' Alexis remembered the human telling her. The nervous strain of the night was unlike anything she could imagine, and yet she felt a core of stability beneath the tumultuous waves of uncertainty that ran about her mind. I will do what I need to do to protect my friends.

Thus, Alexis crept forward and to the side of van Horn, angling out as he had told her in whispers just seconds before they entered the clearing. She stopped at a distance that she felt was appropriate, being close enough to the bandit that she could move in on him quickly, yet far enough away that she wouldn't by in the way of van Horn's actions. She slowly dropped her hands to the hilts of the knives where they stuck above her belt. Great Creator, I will do what is necessary, but I ask of you to not make it necessary that I kill anyone.

Van Horn was deep into his own world now. Amazing how it all comes back, even after years, was his brief thought as he drew his M3000 pistol and aimed it at the back of the lupar's head. He clicked the hammer back slowly enough that it wouldn't wake the other lupar in the camp.

As van Horn intended, however, the Kurrnaki sitting at the fire tensed and turned around, his hand reaching for the knife that was still fastened to his side. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he saw the human pointing the deadly weapon at his head from a distance of mere inches.

A moment of confusion on the bandit's face was expected to van Horn, but he was surprised when the lupar's expression changed to one of sadness, even despair. "I guess you know." Came his quiet words.

Van Horn's thoughts raced, though his face showed none of his sudden confusion. Play along. "Yes, I do."

The lupar sighed quietly. "Then, if you want retribution, kill me, I am in charge now. But please, let the others and our families be. They surely don't deserve to die for our failings."

He thinks I'm one of the Wobbies! Van Horn's realization came through his mind like a thunderbolt. What the Hell do I do?

The time seemed to stretch as van Horn struggled to end the situation. The lupar at his feet, however, couldn't take the silence too long. "Please," he said, his voice beginning to crack, "I beg of you, don't kill our families because we weren't strong enough."

It was too much for van Horn. He pulled the gun away, pointing it up into the air and away from the lupar. "None of you need die." It was all he could think of saying at the moment.

The lupar blinked, obviously fighting tears. Dear God, what did those assholes do to these people? Van Horn felt revulsion that another sentient creature was brought to the point where it would beg for death. "You, you won't kill anyone?" The lupar asked, hope filling his voice.

A seed of a plan sprouted in van Horn's mind. "No, none of you or your people, so long as you co-operate with me."

This caught the lupar off guard. "What? But, we're already doing what you told us to do. We attacked Hercor, just like you-"

"I am not one of them." Van Horn spat out the last word, infusing it with venom. "I am not one of those worthless sacks of danier manure that kill innocents."

A light of understanding showed in the kurrnaki's eyes then. "You're one of the others that they warned us about..." His hand inched closer to the hilt of his knife. Van Horn noticed this, of course, and brought his pistol back down to point at the lupar. The latter froze, and van Horn spoke again. "'Warned?' Just what did those bastards 'warn' you about?"

Grono gulped, panic in his mind. "They told us that there were others like them, who might come. They said that the others would kill all the men, and rape all our women before killing them as well."

The look on the creature's face changed, and though Grono didn't have much knowledge to judge the new expression, even he could tell that it wasn't pleasant. Then the furless creature spoke, focusing the lupar's attention on it.

"I can see that they would tell you such things." He said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Those that attacked your village, that hold your families hostage, are outcasts. They are the lowest, most vile persons ever to be born. They will not hesitate to lie about me or anyone else who wished to stop their wicked activities."

The revelation that the creature, though not of the Invaders, knew about his village shocked Grono. He recovered quickly, however. "How am I to know that they lie and you tell the truth?" Although he had meant his words to be neutral, anger bled into his voice, anger at the Invaders, anger at the deaths of his comrades, and now anger at this perplexing creature that confused him. "You could very well be lying yourself."

Grono half expected to be killed right there, and part of him almost welcomed the release. However, he received another surprise when the furless creature brought his weapon out of line with his head again, pointing it down. "Those who invaded your village, they killed a family, correct?" He asked. Grono frowned in confusion, but nodded. He was then again surprised when the creature tossed his weapon aside.

Van Horn felt nervous as he had when he had arrived at Kuamket. I hope this works, because I don't want to kill this one. "You want to see proof of my claims? My proof is that I could have killed you when I had the chance, and your only warning would have been my hands around your neck." Van Horn held them up and flexed them, showing the lupar that it was no idle threat. "I could have killed you just now, choosing to avoid any further discussion with you, since you seem so suspicious, and yet I throw down my weapon." He moved his arms to his sides and splayed out his hands in the gesture that even the natives recognized as showing disarmament. "I can be like the invaders, and take hostages, and kill innocents to terrorize you into doing my bidding.

"I could do any, or all of those things," van Horn continued, and he again put the iron into his voice, "but I haven't, and I won't." He paused to let the lupar think of his words for a second. "I didn't want to kill your people at Hercor, and I don't want to now."

The lupar's eyes grew as wide as saucers, or so van Horn thought. "You were-? You're the demon that helped them?" He asked and accused, all in the same breath.

Van Horn frowned. "I am hardly a demon. I don't kill for pleasure, and I don't torture for fun."

The bandit blinked his eyes a few times. "No... No you're not." He paused, and then shook his head and continued. "And you're obviously not what the invaders described you as, otherwise you'd have done the things you said you could have. I believe that now, knowing that you were the one that tore apart our attack." He bent his head down, and looked at the ground. Silence reigned for a moment, and then the lupar leader spoke again. "What do you want of me? Of us?"

Van Horn felt a pang of guilt at the lupar's tone. He sounds so defeated! "I want to help." He said quietly, almost so low that the other couldn't hear him. "I want to help you, your village, this entire world against those who have invaded your homes, and killed your loved ones." He said, much stronger this time. "But I can't do it alone."

The lupar looked back up, again his face a model of confusion. "Help? You want to help?" He asked plaintively.

Alexis had stood quietly by until now, her own emotions rising and falling with every word the lupar and van Horn spoke. Now she could stay quiet no longer. "We all want to help." She said, startling the lupar, who whirled about to face her. He didn't reach for his knife, though, which showed just how distraught he had become. "We?" He asked.

"Yes, we." Alexis replied, and she took a slow step forward. The lupar's face lit up with recognition. "You're a gatón." He muttered.

Alexis nodded. "I am, and like my friend here," she turned and gestured to van Horn and then turned back, "I want to help. And there's a few more of us, as well, in the woods, and back at Hercor, even."

"But, why us?" The confused lupar asked. "Why do you care? Why would you want to care, after we attacked Hercor? After all the things we've done that causes everyone to hate us?"

"Because it's right." Van Horn spoke again, bringing the lupar's attention back to him. "What's happened in the past cannot be changed, but what's happening now can be." He took a breath. "Your people, the Kurrnaki, are not free from transgressions. But one thing my people have been taught is to forgive, and to help out those less fortunate than us, even our enemies." Van Horn then looked the lupar eye to eye. "We may have fought, but I am willing to move past that, because you were forced into doing it by others who are my enemy as well.

"The question is, do you want our help?" Van Horn asked this of the lupar. "As much as it took for I and my friends to overcome our... Displeasure over your attack," van Horn said diplomatically, "it may take you and your comrades even more. We want to help, but not if you don't want it. After all, we don't wish to wake up with daggers in our throats."

The lupar blinked hard, trying to absorb the massive paradigm shift that had been forced upon him. "I... We..." He sputtered for a moment, and then fell silent as his gaze focused out in what van Horn recognized as being the 'thousand-yard stare' of someone who has had too much happen to him in too short a time. Oh God, I think we broke him, came the human's half-panicked thought. He waited though, staying silent, but making eye contact with Alexis. He gave her a nod and a faint smile, which she returned. You did good here, girl. Let's hope it didn't go to waste.

Meanwhile, Grono was deep in thought. They are outsiders; they can't want to help us! One voice said in his mind, but another thought drowned it out. Outsiders usually kill us when they have a chance! Even the Invaders killed us, and that was to get us to help them! How then can you explain that these creatures appear, silent as the night, armed with the Invaders' deadly weapons, and don't take advantage of the situation to kill everyone?

They are trying to lull us into surrendering the location of our village! The strain of paranoia screamed out again, only to be silenced in the reply. Fool! They crept upon an encampment that supposedly only Kurrnaki know about! They can fucking SEE the village from here! They don't need us at all!

But we need them. Grono looked up at the furless creature. "You really wish to help?" He asked, getting a nod in return. "Then please, help."