Arum City

"As soon as General Grazot returns you are to have him report to me immediately. And for his sake, he'd better have that weapon. …That is, if he ever returns." The Lord Prefect said gritting his teeth.

"We could follow him, you know. It would be dangerous and time consuming but we could hire some of the hatchery crews and go after him." Ndola said as rain drops started to spill into the open window across the room and trickle onto the floor.

"No. he'll be back. He didn't trudge off with the intention of staying out there. If he isn't dead, he'll come to us soon enough. Besides, the thought of going anywhere near that water makes me feel uneasy in more ways than I can say." Sullen replied as he walked over to the window and shut the wooden doors.

"Sullen, I feel I am somewhat to blame. I have always known that the gorilla is the most aggressive of our species but I also considered them nothing more than a bunch of arrogant, glory seeking, buffoons. I fear I underestimated the General." Ndola answered.

Sullen mumbled something about the foul weather and shook his head; "No Ndola. You did not underestimate anything. The General may not be a total buffoon but he is drunk on power. I don't believe for one minute that he took that pistol for self-defense, as Colonel Mikos stated. I'd like to believe that was the motive but I'm no fool. It's the whole reason he simply took the thing rather than asking for it. He knows full well that you would have never handed it over willingly. He's been bitten and the venom has gone to his glory-seeking head."

Sullen moved closer to Ndola as the rain began to beat down on the command post. He rubbed his brow as he felt a headache rising. Wagging a finger between them he sarcastically said; "Unfortunately, our glory seeking General has been playing us as the buffoons. This plan he concocted about shooting humans did work but it also cemented the fact that there are humans left in the territory. Under the right conditions that fact could be used as tool of manipulation."

"But what are we to do? There are those who think that we should use all the human knowledge now, rather than waiting. Malrep has voiced that opinion more than once. The General does have a small influence within the council. And he is highly regarded within the military. If we make an issue of this, he will surely play those cards." Ndola added.

"And he'll lose too. The council is aware of our history, my friend. The true history, I might add. They all know that this threat is much larger than some kind of internal political struggle. They will not side with Grazot. Even Malrep realizes that" Sullen stated firmly.

"Yes, but if he tries to seize power via the militia he will have the means at his disposal to do as he pleases" Ndola replied.

Sullen replied with a vicious certainty in his voice "We will exterminate the humans and destroy their nest and then we will return to building our society. If the General has an issue with any of that he too will suffer that same fate as the humans. I will not give him the chance to preach his message of glory. He is to be sent to me immediately. In fact, when we're done, dispatch a rider and summon General Zuglanus without delay."

He paused as he regained control by taking a sip of tea and biting into a raw piece of fish. He chewed on the fresh catch and concluded with; "We have carefully introduced human know-how into our society with great caution and care. We've done it for our protection and to improve our quality of life. It's done in small quantities and under absolute control. It's incremental and that is not going to change. Grazot will be reassigned and sent to Kuo, where it is quiet and monotonous, and where he will be totally out of sight, mind …and influence. And before he departs, the General will surrender the weapon and any other devices those humans possess. That is, if he actually locates the beasts."

The Island

General Grazot had unquestionably located the beasts. But his plan wasn't going precisely as he'd hoped. His entire squad was dead. The chimps that had the knowledge to negotiate the choppy waters of The Pond were now at its murky bottom. Even the vessel he'd arrived in was nothing more than splintered debris. He had located them indeed. He had even captured them. However, for now, he was just as much of a prisoner as they were.

The deal that Grazot presented was simple. They were to arm and train his apes and in return he would guarantee safe passage back to their territory. If they refused, they would be taken to the Ape Council where they would most certainly be persuaded to divulge everything they knew of their human colony. Then they would die. The choice was obvious; deal with him and live or deal with his superiors and die painfully. It was purely a marriage of convenience as the human March had mockingly declared it.

To give his argument more teeth, Grazot had impressively lied to the men. Stating that the apes knew exactly where the humans were and that more ships were scheduled to arrive if he wasn't back in a reasonable amount of time. Grazot made it unmistakably clear that the apes on those vessels would treat them viciously, so his deal was the only deal they'd get. He also made it very clear that they had better be long gone before those ships arrived.

Grazot was the only survivor of his group. The Gorilla Amie hit with the crossbow bolt died within a day. He'd been exposed to too high of a dose of the nasty poison combined with a lucky shot at such a close range. The bolt had punched though his back and pierced a lung. Surprisingly, the humans offered their own concoction of a remedy to ease his pain; a drug that seemed to instantly remove the pain and even make one euphoric. Not so barbaric, after all, as Ndola and Sullen had insisted. What kind of barbarian shows mercy on his would-be killers? No, there was more to these human animals than the keepers of the faith had revealed. He didn't want to embrace them as long lost family but he wasn't about to dismiss them as total savages either.

When Grazot ordered the humans to prepare the bodies for a proper burning, the pathetic creatures couldn't even lift them. One of the humans was wounded but even a wounded ape could have lifted the body of the dead ape soldiers, easily. Yet, with the help of the female, they ineptly accomplished their task.

For a weak and frail species these humans made up for it with skill and expertise. Grazot had both awe and disdain towards his soon-to-be allies. That was an odd combination indeed. So blasted resourceful and yet so …pathetically feeble. He could crush them without the slightest effort, yet they seemed to possess an understanding of things that even rivaled that of the great ape.

He'd accepted Madera's explanation for being on the island but was baffled by the obvious love she'd had for the human he'd cut in two; All thanks to the sophisticated pistol he now possessed. A love that seemed to match the hatred she exhibited towards him. Of course he'd made it plainly obvious that he didn't care and that he was now absolutely in control. He concluded that her affection was probably the love one would have for a pet or an object of deep sentimental value.

The humans and the chimp had been stripped of their weapons and equipment. At first March wouldn't cooperate but as soon as General Grazot pointed a pistol at Hayes's unconscious body he grudgingly wised up. Of course, he didn't need to use the weapon. He was far superior in speed, strength, and stamina. One squeeze of his paw and the human would snap like a twig.

Grazot hadn't really known what to do with the varied crew of misfits. He could lock them up but what would that accomplish, out here? He could have threatened their lives to help him but if he killed them how would he get the knowledge he desired? Sure he possessed their equipment but he wanted the means to manufacture more. Enough to arm his entire contingent. Enough to arm all of the contingents. He could not do that without their help. So for now they were free but on a very short leash.

No, threats, violence or intimidation were not the answer. Well, not the total answer, anyway. The best way to deal with this crew of oddballs was to cut these humans loose and let them do what they appeared to best; make the complex simple. Yes, let them solve the issue of finding a way out of this prison.

Weaponless, the two men had been sent out to scout for a boat or anything that might carry them off the island. One card that Grazot did have to play was Madera. He didn't need her for anything. Her death wouldn't alter his plan one bit. If they even crossed him in the slightest manner, he'd assured them Madera would meet a very slow and painful end. For now, that was keeping the humans in control.

The two men scoured the island for a day and half with no luck. Madera had lived here for two decades and knew of nothing of a port, boats or anything of value. There was a long abandon loading dock a mile or two to the north but it was overrun and the walls had collapsed long ago. The men found vehicles and equipment there but they were weathered, rusted and massively corroded. The long exposure to the elements of nature had rendered them nothing more than decomposed rubbish.

"You…March…come here." Grazot barked out as he waved him over with pistol in hand. The two men looked exactly alike to Grazot. The only way he could tell them apart was because Hayes was wounded and held his side as he walked. "What did you find?"

"Nothing General. Just like yesterday. And there's no need to point that gun at me every time we speak. I'm not all that excited about getting my head blown off because of your facilitation with your little toy." March said.

The General popped the clip, cleared the chamber, and set the 9 mm aside. He was getting quite good at field stripping the weapons and he seemed more and more comfortable handling them. He'd made March explain or demonstrate each and every item in their inventory multiple times. He was like a young boy who just found a container of his father's relics from World War III.

"Listen General, you're as much of a prisoner here as we are. And as amazed as you are with our gear you can see that it is what it is. In other words, once it's gone, that's it. We can't resupply. Now, I do know where a boat is but it will never hold our combined weight." March stated directly.

"Just how much weight will it hold and where is this boat? You said you found nothing." Grazot replied.

"Maybe twelve hundred pounds, thirteen hundred max. It's state of the art and designed for 4 men with a full military compliment. It's the craft we arrived in. Now, I weigh about 220 and Hayes is probably 210. You're at least 600 plus and Madera is just as close. That's over 16 hundred pounds and that doesn't account for our equipment." March explained.

"Then we leave the female here. That will be more than sufficient for all of us and the equipment" Grazot stated frankly.

"That's not an option, General!" Hayes said jumping in. "We all go or none of us go."

"You are in no position to give orders." Grazot snarled back. "We are leaving here and we are going to do it quickly. You invaded our territory human. You are killed hundreds of apes and every soldier I brought with me. Don't try and mislead me into thinking you care about the life of a female chimpanzee."

"And of course you want us to train and supply your soldiers with automatic weapons so that you can shoot holes in the dirt to plant daisies…all in the name of peace and love. Yes General, I witnessed first hand how benevolent you apes are as I watched your animalistic soldiers rip Colonel Johnson out of our ship and tear him into tiny pieces." Hayes spouted back in defense.

Grazot was not a kin to being spoken to so bluntly by what he perceived as a subordinate. He'd had taken note that the two men were trained combatants. The rank and structure were very similar to those in his militia. And he'd noted that March conducted himself as the ranking officer. Hayes even used the word 'sir' when talking to March. His brow tightened as he propped himself up on his feet. The more it hit him, the angrier he became.

He moved his hulking mass over Hayes and calmly said. "Maybe I'll start by planting you like a daisy!"

Hayes was no coward but the overbearing size of the gorilla made it clear that he was not comfortable. His heart started to race as his brain searched for the right words to get him out of the foolish mess he was now regretting. However, before the situation got any worse, March cut in.

"Get away from him General, now." March said as a familiar click-clack sounded in their ears. It was the recognizable sound of the clip locking in place. March then chambered a round and pointed the weapon directly at Grazot's large head.

Both Hayes and Grazot turned to see March holding, the now assembled, 9mm pistol. Grazot flinched, reaching for Hayes, but stopped as he read the unspoken words that were pouring from March's face.

"We are leaving this island, General…All of us…together. I don't give a damn if you want to start your own private war. But I do know this; we need each other and if we want this to work there needs to be a level of trust. Call it military courtesy if you will…Sir. We can't go around wondering who's going to kill who. You help us and we will help you. This is your backyard so you make the calls. But be certain of one fact; we're going to do this as equals." March stated. And with that he paused and starred at the General.

You're getting soft in your old age, Grazot, the General thought to himself. That was just stupid. But the human had a point. He'd come this far and was too close to let it all come toppling down because he'd been insulted. So he reluctantly replied. "Alright human…equals then. But we follow my lead…by the letter. And if you're determined to take the female then you figure out a way to get us all off of this rock. I want to leave in the morning."