Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of "Storm Hawks", nor am I making any type of profit from this story. It is a work of fan fiction, for enjoyment only.

Chapter 7 - All Aboard!

The train trundled along through the jagged peaks with a rhythmic clackety-clackety as Finn stared out the window with chin resting on his open palm. He wore a rather nondescript denim jacket with the collar turned up to partially hide his face, an old blue cotton shirt, worn jeans and dirty sneakers, thus blending in seamlessly with the twenty or so other passengers in the compartment. An over-large, dusty, tattered travel bag lay on the bench beside him, enhancing the image of a worn traveler and completely concealing his weaponry from prying eyes. A baseball cap disguised his distinctive hairstyle, and he kept his nose buried in a book or staring out the window to discourage casual conversation. In the sparsely-occupied carriage, no one was sitting near enough to worry about, anyway. Apparently this wasn't a very popular route. The train only had the single passenger compartment, situated right behind the engine. On the other side was the baggage/mail car, with the guarded security car beyond that. Finally there were twelve freight cars, hauling everything from grain to unprocessed ore. Certainly an unprepossessing convoy, and one that would fall beneath the radar of the average bandit.

He had only been on the train a few hours, and already Finn was bored to tears. Living in a relatively small ship with five other teens meant that he could always find someone to talk to. He rarely had to find ways to entertain himself. Now, here he was, riding a near-empty passenger car on a train traveling through a dreary middle-of-nowhere landscape, with strict orders to 'lay low' and not draw attention to himself. You might as well order him to stop breathing! Sighing, he hoped Piper was right and something happened soon. He shifted position to stare at the door at the far end of the carriage, for a change of pace. Maybe Junko was having more fun than he was. At least the Wallop was allowed to have a conversation with the guards, as long as he didn't discuss what they were actually guarding.

Turning his gaze back out the window, he settled in for a long wait.

--

Junko had been surprised at the presence of only two guards at the station when he boarded, and they appeared somewhat sloppy, considering that they were guarding such a powerful crystal. Slapping himself mentally, he remembered that they thought they were just carrying some weapons-grade industrial stones in the small black box. He had rapidly introduced himself and was apparently expected, for they welcomed him heartily.

"This may be a bit boring," warned Sam, the older of the two. "One of us is stationed inside the armored car, while the other is outside the locked door. We take turns, so that we each get a chance to sit down. The whole trip is about 18 hours, so with you along we can actually split the duties three ways."

That explained why they were so happy to see him and honestly, he didn't mind helping out. He took the first hallway shift, as he wanted to be sure to be in the room with the crystal as they passed through 'No Man's Land'. George and Sam were pleased to be able to take it easy so early in the trip, and didn't mind saying so. The pair broke out a deck of cards as they disappeared behind the steel door and threw the bolt. Junko stood outside, weapon ready, occasionally checking on the outside landscape through the small window set in the hallway. The train had just started traveling through "No Man's Land' when George relieved him, sending him inside with Sam.

The older man looked up and grinned. "Know any good games?" he asked, shuffling the cards. As Junko shook his head negatively, Sam's grin grew impossibly wider. "Well, then, let me teach you a few." The Wallop took a seat as Sam began to deal.

--

Finn was dozing, elbow propped on the arm of the train bench, chin on fist, one outstretched hand resting possessively on the bag camouflaging his crossbow. His mouth hung open in a soft snore as his head leaned sideways into the window glass. He startled awake as a series of thumps rattled the carriage, instantly alert for trouble. 'Rough track?' he wondered. Wiping the thin trickle of drool from his cheek, he sat up straight and peered around the train car at the other passengers, most of whom seemed to be doing the exact same thing. The confusion was suddenly cleared up as the door leading between the passenger compartment and the engine flew open and eight armed men poured through the opening, weapons drawn. Finn savagely suppressed his instinct to pull out his bow and come up firing, and instead sat perfectly still.

"Nobody move!" exclaimed the leader of the group, scanning the scattered occupants with a narrowed gaze. The men were dressed in dirty jeans, muddy boots, and plaid shirts with sweat-stained armpits. Each wore a traditional cowboy hat and had a handkerchief tied over their nose and mouth, just like in the old westerns.

'They must have landed their skimmers on the roof - that's what the shuddering was!' thought Finn, staring at the group. 'But those outfits - how corny can you get? Wait a second. That guy in charge looks familiar somehow…'

'That guy in charge' was busy issuing orders, and missed Finn's calculating gaze. First, he pointed at two men in the rear of the ragtag band and instructed, "You and you! Go secure the engine!" The pair rushed out of the room to do as they were told. "You two, secure this car. The rest of you - follow me!"

Finn's eyes widened in recognition as the four masked men pushed past his bench on their way to the rear of the train. 'Oh no! That's the Dark Ace! What's HE doing here?' Mentally he slapped himself. 'Duh - robbing the train, idiot, what do you think?' He ducked his head to hide his face as much as possible as they went by, letting out the breath he was holding after he heard the door shut behind them. Looking up again, he noted that the taller of the two remaining stooges was addressing the group of anxious passengers.

"Attention, citizens of Gnossus. This, as you may have guessed, is a robbery. However, we want nothing from you but your cooperation. If you sit still and don't cause any trouble, you'll be allowed to complete your journey unharmed. Otherwise…" he slapped his weapon against his palm menacingly. Twenty worried faces met his gaze; several of them nodded agreement.

"What guarantee do we have of that?" demanded a brash young man near the front of the car.

"Just my word for it," smirked the disguised Cyclonian. His partner kept the room under surveillance, but wasn't watching Finn too closely. The Storm Hawk took the opportunity to ease his hand into his bag while they were otherwise distracted, fumbling around for the silent alarm Piper had given him. 'Socks…shirt…sandwich…ammo…' he mentally catalogued, pushing each item aside. During his search, part of his attention remained riveted on the drama at the front of the car.

"Yeah, well that's not real reassuring, mister," replied the young man, beginning to rise from his seat.

'Don't do it!' willed Finn desperately, making sure he could come up shooting at a moment's notice if things got ugly.

Both bandits fixed their weapons on the perceived threat, as Finn's hand finally located his alarm box. He blindly pressed the button in center, grateful that it was so prominent, then began to slip his hand out.

"Sit down, you idiot!" hissed one of the other passengers at the trouble-maker up front.

"You'll get us all killed!" whimpered a young mother, holding her daughter tightly to her chest.

The Cyclonian's smile grew wider. "I'd do as they say, kid. I'd really hate to have to hurt you."

Just then the other guard noticed Finn. Swinging his gun around to point it at the incognito Storm Hawk, he demanded, "You there! What do you have in that bag?"

Finn thought quickly, raising his right hand and slowly withdrawing the left from his satchel, grabbing his snack in the process. Holding it above his head to demonstrate its unthreatening nature, he remembered to act frightened. "Just a sandwich, sir," he squeaked. "I get hungry when I'm scared!"

The two robbers peered at the innocuous object, then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Finn seethed, but managed to hide it from his unwitting audience.

TBC…..

AN: Sorry it took me so long to update - computer problems...

Let me know how you like it!