'So here goes', said Rory. 'I basically returned to my time only a matter of a
minute or two from when I left. The reinforcements we had been hoping for had
arrived and we got out of our tight situation and back home. From there after
medical treatment, I was discharged from the Army as a reward for exemplary
service. Because it had been a secret operation I received no other recognition
except assistance to obtain a job in civilian life'.
'Where did you go, after ceasing life as a warrior?' asked Gandalf.
'As I said, I was given a choice of where I could go. A group of people in
Africa who release captive bred and orphaned lions back into the wild heard I
was looking for work, and I joined them. I was lucky enough to trained in lion
handling, and the release work, by a bloke who was trained by the best, a man
who started this programme overthirty years previously. He started by releasing
lions who were used in movies, which are, uumm, a modern form of entertainment and story
telling'.
Aragorn interrupted at this point 'What I cannot understand is why people
working to put lions back into the wild would be interested in you, an ex
warrior. Surely your fighting skills would be of no use there?'
'And,' continued Gandalf, 'why would anyone be interested in putting lions back
into the wild? I should think there are enough lions'.
'Ok', Rory continued, 'firstly many animals in my time have been hunted nearly
to extinction, Rhinos for their horns, Elephants for their ivory, and many other
animals for their skins, tails and other body parts. Lions are often wrongly
blamed for stampeding or killing domestic livestock and shot by the locals on
sight'. She sighed, and continued, 'It's not just that a few animals are killed,
whole herds are murdered in a night, and left to rot, the only parts of their
bodies used are those sold on the black market. Many baby animals are left
wandering, orphaned to perish horribly in the bush, and then there's the traps.
I've seen the antelopes caught by the neck or leg left to be eaten alive or die
of thirst because the poacher may not get back to those traps for a week or
more. It is hard to be angry with those who illegally graze cattle in the
National Parks, or men who kill protected game to feed their families, but the
poachers are just disgusting'.
'National Parks?' queried Aragorn
'Ahhhh, yeah, an area of wild country set aside for the animals to live without
being hunted or otherwise bothered by people. Of course, a lot of illegal
hunting, or poaching goes on. Park Rangers are supposed to prevent this, and
generally monitor the Park, and the fencing if it is a fenced Park, to protect
people who come into the Parks to watch and study the animals. Many of these
Rangers are decent blokes who take their jobs very seriously, but of course
there are bad eggs in any bunch. Some assist the poachers, or take money to
ignore poaching activity; even with all honest Rangers like were I worked, the
poachers are just too many, and move about too much.'
Rory paused in her story. 'I still don't see how your military skills were
essential', remarked Aragorn.
'We spent all day in the bush, working with the lions, covering a lot of
country, and often ran across heavily armed and determined poachers. Frequently,they would
shoot at any one they saw, and I was originally employed to teach the lion
people to defend themselves. Then when the Park management found out who I was I
often went with the Rangers on Poacher patrol. I tell you give me a proper war
any day, at least you know who the enemy is.'
'Rangers are killed?' exclaimed Aragorn.
'And others, people simply working with the animals, studying them, or like the
lion people I worked with, releasing animals back into a wild state. Hardly a
day went by without a battle of some kind, and people killed or injured. Yet we
would not give up and watch the animals slaughtered'.
'That still does not explain your injuries', said Elrond from his window.
'I was wondering when someone was going to wake up that I was ignoring that
question and hoping it would go away', said Rory.
She looked at Elrond who was sitting on the wide windowsill, his legs dangling
and looking more like a bored schoolboy than an Elf Lord. 'Are you going to
answer me or not?' he asked.
'I was careless', she said, 'I got captured by poachers'.