It has been a while. Life has been... Well, life. Still, I'm finally back with a new chapter. I eagerly await your comments. As always: Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 47: Petrel

County Ravenna

"It's beautiful country out here," Taylor commented as he looked around. A mild breeze was blowing. The sky was a hue bluer than any of the Earthborn party members could recall ever seeing.

"And it is all yours, my lord," Aurelia smiled.

"The land does not belong to us. We belong to the land." Taylor quoted the words of Chief Seattle. "A wise tribal leader on Earth said that long ago."

"Wise, indeed, my lord," Aurelia replied and glanced at her sisters. "Our foremothers would surely have welcomed and shared such sentiments." She paused. "But in the world of our father, if the land must be hewn into boundaries then at least this land will gain a good steward and one who will treat his people just and fairly."

"Sounds like a lot of responsibility to me. I trust you will help me?"

"Of course, my lord. As to be certain, will Lady Panache."

"Good," he said, sparing a look to Nayu, who rode serenely a pace behind and on his right. He envied how calm she seemed to be in an environment so different from her home forest and mountains.

"If this map is correct," Argenta noted, looking at the old hand-drawn map her mother had given her, "We are about five leagues from Adurni, where Lord Vespasia resides. There is a lake not far from here. I suggest we make camp there. Then we can rest and bathe before heading on to Adurni."

Taylor nodded. They could have driven in air-conditioning and been at Adurni days ago. But first off, there was not enough room in the trucks for the whole party as it currently stood and secondly, Taylor had; for better or for worse, agreed to play the part of a noble. And that meant things like maintaining a proper appearance and not just driving up in the middle of the night. And, to be honest, days of riding even in such beautiful country, tended to make one a bit dirty and less than fresh.

Looking around at his assembled party of Marines, Engineers. Warrior Bunnies, knights, armed retainers, and at Nayu, Taylor sighed. I signed up to do Navy things. I never expected to be like King Richard showing up to tell Prince John 'I'm Back!'.

Naturally, part of maintaining the proper appearance included wearing the proper dress of a Saderan lord instead of the uniform of the off-world invaders, all the while standing at the head of a small army.

"Alright, lead the way." He looked over at Merisa, who had been listening thoughtfully. "We'll need to rotate a guard just in case. I'd like not to be caught by surprise out here."

"Of course, my lord," Argenta agreed as Merisa nodded agreement.

Rondel

Back in Rondel, Itami rubbed his eyelids in frustration. Part of him wanted to just get out of here and go home.

But that was not an option. Not really.

If he could wake up back in his own bed back on the other side of the Gate tomorrow…

No more worrying about someone trying to perforate and mutilate his body…

Not caring about who might call him a coward…

But…

But he did care. Not in that twisted sense of Bushido from the old war…

But to Tuka and Lelei, and Yao,,,

To Kurata, Tomita, Kurokawa…

Even to Rory and Shino…

He cared.

If he ran, that didn't mean trouble wouldn't still follow him.

Besides… Lelei had asked for him to be here. For this test, this moment in her life.

He couldn't walk out on that, could he?

Damn it! Running away has never sounded like a better idea. But I can't. I guess I really do have to stop running from my problems… From myself…

"We'll have to draw this assassin out. I'd rather not let him dog me from here all the way back to Alnus."

Grey smiled. "Excellent!"

Itami smiled back, though a little less confidently.

As he did so, in the back of his mind was a single thought:

Taylor… You suck!

Near Adurni

Taylor sneezed.

"Are you well, My lord?" Aurelia asked.

"Oh! Just fine," he shrugged. "Probably just dust or something." He looked over at the lake. "So? Who goes first?"

"By your leave, Lord Octavus," Kahlua spoke up after a nod from Merisa. "Would it be a problem if we knights went first?"

"I don't see why not. I assume you'll want to set up a guard," Taylor said.

Merisa shook her head. "No need, My Lord. How safer could we ladies be than under the eyes of your Marines?"

Taylor noticed a slight smirk on Aurelia's face which confirmed his suspicions.

This should be interesting.

And indeed, it was not as if Corporal Walter Peterson was not doing his absolute best to keep his eyes off the ladies as they bathed. He was a properly raised boy, and a Marine and he had no intention of showing disrespect by gawking like a schoolboy. He'd seen those ladies training and it was certainly clear they knew perfectly well how to defend their honors if they felt a need to do so. Balancing that was the fact that these girls... women... were all very fit and attractive and that Kahlua had placed their towels on a rock behind where Walter was standing guard.

"Who wants to dry with a wet or dirty towel?" She asked mildly, citing why they didn't keep the towels right at shore side.

"Uh... Yes ma'am," Peterson had managed to reply, locking his eyes ahead, trying not to stare at the attractive and very fit knight as she walked past him.

Poor kid, caught in a rigged game, Taylor noted and also noted Kahlua's satisfied expression as she seemed to note the corporal's blush.

His sergeant chuckled. "Poor boy is in it deep."

"I believe it was Patton who said as soon as our soldiers... Meet and get to know the local ladies... And, uh, write home and tell our women... Just how lovely they are... 'Then the sooner the American ladies will get jealous... And force this war to a quick termination'. If he didn't, then George C. Scott certainly did." He shrugged. "It beats them trying to kill us and us having to kill more of them."

"Yes, sir. But what happens when Lord Snorkel finally pushes the button? You heard the speech they recorded. That nut actually thinks he can take us!"

"The problem is how many others he can convince. These people are from a long tradition of getting a boot to the face and then coming back until they win."

"You think they can beat us, sir?"

"Not a chance in hell but they have lost armies on a huge scale before. Unless we go biblical and leave no stone unturned, their traditions tell them to get back up and keep fighting."

"So, you're saying we either have to level their civilization or just keep doing this forever?"

"Or we find a way to make this war not be about us."

In the meantime, Kahlua was not yet done with Corporal Peterson as she grabbed a flask of olive oil from her saddlebags. "Of course, now we're only half done. Now it's time for a good oil rub and strigilation, she smiled demurely. "It's too bad you're on sentry duty, I'll bet your hands would be good at oiling the hard-to-reach places."

"Strigilation?"

"Oh yes! Soap and water don't get out the oils. So we rub in olive oil and take a strigil..." She showed him her silver-handled scraper. "And scrape it off, along with any more dirt and the bad oils. It does wonders for the skin!" She continued to smile as she studied his face. "Even a handsome face like yours could use a good strigilation. Perhaps sometime I will teach you how." Kahlua suggested as she headed back to where the other knights were waiting, leaving several marines blushing and Peterson eyes agog as Kahlua's knights began rubbing each other down.

As Taylor suppressed a chuckle, Aurelia smirked.

"Of course, as befitting a noble of high rank, you will also need a good strigilation so your appearance will be at its best. Do not worry, My Lord. My sisters and I will help you."

Naturally, once Kahlua and her sister knights had finished bathing and their oil cleanses, this did not mean that they were done teasing the Marines as they and the contingent of Seabees now took their turn in the water.

"A glorious sight, sisters! Let us guard them well! Lest a swarm of nymphs or a mob of mermaidens abduct them all!" Merisa declared, the knights grinning as the men looked around nervously.

"Nymphs?" Taylor asked Aurelia.

"It does happen occasionally but there are no nymphs or Mers in this particular lake. There is a larger lake about ten leagues south where a Mer colony resides but by agreement, this lake is left to us, land dwellers."

"Considering what the Empire did to the Bunny Tribes, I would have expected them to have simply destroyed any such colonies?"

"Much like the various Elven clans and villages," Nayu pointed out. "The Mer are simply too well dug in to make rooting out their colonies worth the effort. Unless, of course, a particular colony makes too much a nuisance of itself, the territory doesn't favor the Legions."

Aurelia nodded. "In the case of a couple of particularly belligerent colonies, Imperial engineers dammed up the waters feeding the lakes, where those colonies were located and waited for the lakes to dry up but it was expensive and costly so the two sides have learned to accommodate each other."

Content to enjoy the view, Merisa and her knights allowed the Marines to finish bathing in relative peace, although Corporal Peterson noted with some justified satisfaction that some of his brother Marines were themselves attracting the interest of said knights.

Kahlua smiled, handing the young Marine his towel. "We must do this again, sometime! Or perhaps what your people call a 'date'?"

"I think I'd like that, ma'am."

Kahlua smiled in satisfaction. As she had been told by her fellow knights, the newcomers were a fascinating contrast to the men of the Empire. Certainly, these were not the vicious savages that popular rumor in Sadera held them to be. No, Kahlua realized these men were more dangerous than that. These men were calm and thoughtful. Like true knights, they were dedicated to their oaths and that made them all the more implacable a foe.

But do I not gain a victory when I bring an enemy into my tent and make an ally of him? Kahlua recalled the quote from her lessons. Certainly, Knight Commander Panache had done so and from what Kahlua could see, had gained far more than that. Kahlua hoped her own experiences would prove to be as fruitful. Of course, later, Kahlua suffered a few blushes when she checked and learned that the actual quote had referred to 'Bringing an enemy into one's camp' and not one's 'tent', but this was a minor point in the greater scheme of things.

Then it was the turn of Taylor, Nayu, and the Warrior Bunnies. Of course, even now, Taylor could tell that the Bunnies were listening for signs of danger. Even bathing, the other Bunnies naturally formed a perimeter around him while Aurelia and Nayu began to scrub.

"You do know that I'm quite capable of washing myself?" Taylor noted mildly.

"Yes, my lord," Aurelia answered without breaking stride.

"This is another argument I'm not going to win, isn't it?"

Nayu stopped scrubbing and quirked her head. "Does this bother you, love?"

Aurelia covered her mouth to hide the smile as Taylor's cheeks reddened and his voice stuttered. "Um…"

"It's so interesting how humans object to things they enjoy," Nayu observed as she resumed scrubbing, moving downward.

"Indeed," Aurelia agreed. "I take it your father was different?"

"Different enough to be accepted into a tribe of Uial," Nayu agreed. "But our beloved is nothing if not adaptable, is he not?"

"Very true!"

Taylor laughed to himself. Might as well enjoy this while we can. And I certainly can't say I'm not enjoying this!

It was quite enjoyable, Taylor admitted… As was reciprocation. After bathing and a thorough oil cleansing, Aurelia presented him with the attire befitting the Count of Ravenna. This included the sword Lady Octavia had commissioned for his use.

Merisa and her knights nodded approvingly as Taylor took up the proper appearance of an Imperial noble.

Now I just have to feign the requisite confidence, Taylor thought. Well, it's part of the job. If you're going to enjoy the perks, you need to do the job.

Aurelia beamed with pride as she pulled her horse alongside that of her liege. "Shall we proceed, My Lord? Your home awaits!"

"Yes. I have promises to keep."

Unfortunately, as the group drew closer to Adurni, Taylor recognized the now painfully familiar appearance of smoke rising just as he had seen at Koan Forest and at Italica.

"Stay alert everyone! Looks like trouble ahead." He dropped back to the lead Marine vehicle. "Radio Starbase and inform them of the situation. This looks like it could be trouble."

"Aye, skipper."

He turned to Merisa. "My Lady… Your counsel?"

Merisa glanced at her knights and the rest of Lord Taylor's company. She was quite certain they could easily defeat any mere brigands, but charging blindly into a fight was worse than foolish. "I suggest we quicken our pace but only in urgency, not panic or haste, My Lord. Let us learn first who we would fight."

"Agreed." He looked around. "Alright people. We're going in."

A/N: The Petrel is a seabird sometimes known as The Storm Bringer. The first drops of rain are falling but the deluge has not quite begun.