The ambush spot – Approximately 1 hour later

"That's Niter. Look at the uniform" Lieutenant Zolus stated as he shook his head and fought to control his anger. "…Or what's left of him. Dhenos, prepare the body for burning."

"Sir…his paws… and his head…it's…just gone" the young ape private gasped holding back strong feelings of nausea.

Private Dhenos was well trained. He was relatively disciplined and a first-rate tracker but was still new to the Group and quite young. The Ape nation had no enemies. None like this anyway. Dhenos had trained and trained and trained; He'd also participated in simulation after simulation and field exercise after exhausting field exercise. He thought they'd never end and that he was going to go insane but he'd never actually witnessed a colleague fall in battle. Up to this point it had been mocked-up.

Sergeant Niter had been more than a colleague, he'd been a mentor. Dhenos respected and greatly admired the ape. Niter seemed unbeatable, yet there he was dead, decapitated and disgraced. And by humans none the less. A weak, ignorant, animal. Or so he thought. These bizarre freaks spoke, used muskets …and de-thumbed their …victims.

"Go on Dhenos, prepare the body for burning." Zolus repeated, putting his paw on the apes shoulder. "We'll have justice, Private. Get him ready and get your head back in the chase!"

"Yes Sir." Dhenos replied as he went off to do what the lieutenant had instructed.

Zolus spoke a few words of tribute regarding their fallen comrade. Next they burned the body according to their customs and traditions. Once the body was consumed and the ritual was complete Dhenos addressed his commanding officer.

"Sir I've picked up their trail. They went off that way …there." Private Dhenos said as he pointed a finger.

"We don't need to track them. They're going to come to us. We have their equipment and we have the traitor. What we are going to do is, adjust our strategy! I can see why the Lord Prefect wants those mutants dead. I would have wagered a month's pay that Niter could have handled a dozen of them. Let's move out." Zolus said as he brought a forearm to his forehead and wiped the perspiration away.

The two apes scurried downhill and mounted their horses. They galloped down the trail heading back to their camp.

About two hundred yards down the road March keyed his mic and whispered; Ok Jonny, here they come, get ready on my mark.

The ape riders galloped closer and closer as Hayes tightened his grip on the rope. He tensed as he prepared himself for the events that were about to unfold. His mic crackled with forewarnings from March as he bent his legs slightly and adjusted his footing.

Fifty feet…forty…thirty…Hayes took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He quickly took in another and did the same as he anticipated the order that was coming any second.

"Now Jonny!" March yelled.

Hayes pulled the rope tight at his end while March picked up the slack at the other. By the time the two apes noticed the rise of dust and leaves, followed by the rope, it was too late.

The Lieutenant's horse wailed in pain and threw him toppling end over end in the air. The Private pulled back on his reins but his momentum was too great. The rope caught his side and the horse went down pinning him as it finally came to a stop.

Lieutenant Zolus did his best to regain control as he abruptly slammed into a tree then landed face first on the ground. He reached for his sidearm and awkwardly un-holstered the weapon. He was dazed and tried to use the tree as cover. However, he had no idea where exactly he should conceal.

The horse he was riding was on the ground and convulsing from what looked like a broken neck among other things. Of course what did he care? It was the stallion the fugitives had taken from the farmer.

Dhenos, who was half stunned, shifted the 950 lb steed and slid loose. The spooked horse rose to its feet and dashed off down the Trail. "Lieutenant!" He said as he leapt several feet in the air and landed next to his commanding officer. "What do we do, Sir?"

That was a good question. Lieutenant Zolus wasn't exactly sure. They'd been ambushed but why hadn't they been finished off? Unfortunately for him, he was about to get the answer.

"Can you climb? Get up this tree and see if you can spot anything. Someone had to be pulling on that rope." Zolus coughed out as he pointed at the tree top.

Dhenos grabbed the nearest branch and began to pull himself up as the deafening sound of the rifle shot startled him slightly. But that was the least of his worries. The sound was followed by a 7.62 mm round slamming into his shoulder. It ripped through the lose uniform and took out a sizable chunk of meat, as it punched into the trunk. Dhenos lost his grip and fell to the ground.

The shaken gorilla looked at his bleeding wound in wonder. "N…no musket is that powerful" he said, unlatching his pack as he went for the medial supplies. "What are we going to do Sir?"

The answer never came.

A second round knocked into the midsection of Lieutenant Zolus, followed by a third into his thigh. The fourth shot hit Zolus in the throat. The ape died instantly. Another punched into the Private's hip. The last shot hit Dhenos on his opposite side and shattered the gorilla's knee, as he was moving for cover. If he lived, he would never walk again.

Dhenos wailed in pain and tried to position himself better behind the midsized tree. He was losing blood and at a point of passing out from the pain. His eyes blinked as he saw the blurry figure, silhouetted by sunlight, draw near. His head was telling him to find the flintlock but his body wasn't cooperating. Surely his Group Captain heard the shots and was on the way. He could only hope.

The strange figure approached Dhenos with an odd looking musket pointed squarely at his bleeding body. He looked half human and half plant. The man's face was painted brown, green and black and branches, twigs and leaves were attached to his dull green clothes. …And what was that dangling from his neck. …By the great ape…thumbs. Dhenos cringed within but wasn't hiding his disgust very well.

The man stopped about three feet away and spoke immediately as time was of the essence. "How's it goin' Koko? Major Thomas Jefferson March, United States Air Force, Service Number; one-one-eight-one-three-three, at your service" March said tilting his head slightly as he saluted the ape. "We can dispense with the military courtesy and you can just call me Tom. What do you prefer; Koko, Jambo, Chita? Of course Chit was a chimp…"

Dhenos huffed out at the man and cursed. Who was this lunatic? He slapped at the ground in an attempt to retrieve the Lieutenant's pistol but stopped when the man tensed like he was about to shoot. Where was his Group captain?

"Why are you trailing us? And what are your orders?" March said as he kicked the lieutenant's medieval weapon aside.

"You - you're … de-dead ... huu …mon" Dhenos grunted out in pain.

"Ok, we don't have a lot of time so here are the choices; Answer me and live or stall me and I'll kill you and get the answers from Group Captain Frehber." March said. "And just so we're clear as glass let me illustrate with … this." March turned his rifle at the wincing horse a few yards away and shot the animal in the head. It was actually an act of mercy but in this case it also provided an added psychological effect.

The man had no idea who Frehber was. He'd gotten the name from Grazot but he did notice that Dhenos had perked up with surprise when the ape's name was mentioned.

March dropped the leather pack they'd taken from Sergeant Niter. He reached inside and pulled out the small ape field ration pack. The apes hadn't learned to dehydrate their food. What they didn't discard they'd preserve with salt. March opened one of the containers and poured its contents on the gorilla's knee as he asked the questions for a second time.

It took more time than March wanted but the young ape finally broke and revealed the information he was after. March wouldn't have to kill him since it was apparent that the blood loss was doing the job for him.

I'm glad I was paying so much attention during Psych-ops training March thought, grinning slightly. He reached for the walky-talky and was about to speak when a musket ball whipped past and took chucks of bark off the nearby tree. A second ball hit Dhenos as March instinctively dove for the ground.

The man could hear shouting and approaching horses as he realized that his time had run out. The apes had decided to scrap their cat and mouse rouse and were now going to directly engage the men. More shots fired in his direction as March low-crawled for cover behind the two apes. Dhenos looked dead but the thought of getting close to the ape made him feel uneasy. The Major eased himself behind the dead carcass and flipped the setting on his rifle to Full-Auto.

The mic crackled as he lay prone to avoid the musket fire; Tom, stay down! There are several dozen apes on horseback approaching. I have an idea. When you see smoke you beat-feet back here. Hayes out.

The majority of the gorilla riders had fired their muskets. They weren't shooting at the man directly. They were trying to prod the creature and pin him down.

One major advantage the humans had was that the gorillas had to reload, and that took time. As they galloped towards March, the two most forward apes dropped a net. They rode towards March as the others followed their lead.

"Hurry the hell up, Jonny" March said as he impatiently waited and hastily sighted his rifle on the lead gorilla. Just as he finished the sentence he heard shots. The horses of two apes carrying the net fell. A few of the riders directly behind topped over while others jumped their stallions and tried to maneuver left or right to avoid the gorilla's on the flanks.

Ok Sir… now… Hayes said as popped the smoke grenade and threw it as far in front of March as he could. March stood and had to fight the urge to empty his clip into the smoke. Instead, he ran in a full sprint towards Hayes. Seconds later he heard the explosion of a grenade. From the screams that followed, it had obviously done its job.

"Ok Jonny let's get out of here. Move towards there." March huffed and puffed pointing to a densely populated hilltop in the distance. "…It'll proved good cover and it's high ground. We can regroup and figure out our next move from there." Hayes simply nodded and the two soldiers moved towards their new location.

Approximately 30 minutes later

Perfect Sullen grit his teeth as he looked over the dead and decapitated soldiers laid out before him. He wondered if those humans had a device that could steal an ape's thoughts. It seemed that everything they tried was totally irrelevant and always ended in disaster. Sullen missed his old friend Ndola but he wished he hadn't let the Magistrate talk him into such a passive role. Let me handle this, Sullen…My way! Ndola had urged. And what had that accomplished; Just more death, including his. His senior Generals were also dead or had turned traitor. Their military expertise and experience was being snuffed out, one-by-one, by these harbingers of destruction.

He was reminded of some verses out of their sacred scriptures. The lust of man destroys like fire and is never quenched. His fingers stretch out for death. His home is a grave and he gives no thought to his brother's life. Keep to a path far from him. Do not go near the gates of his lair, lest you lose your honor and your dignityto one who is cruel. Lest strangers feast on your wealth and your spoil is divided by another.

He would have simply let them go at this point but the bigger picture was all too clear. They would never stay gone. Where there were three, there were twenty and if not dealt with and exterminated they would spread like a plague.

Sullen looked up to see General Mikos approaching. "Sir, the critically wounded are being evacuated. Seven are dead; another three, possibly, five probably won't survive the day. Twelve more are wounded but can still perform their duties with minimal distractions. We also lost eight horses and put another down just minutes ago."

"Thank you Colonel …forgive me, I mean General." Sullen said somberly. With Grazot gone, Zuglanus dead and Narr missing, Mikos had been field promoted to Contingent General. Sullen assured him that once this was over and they were back in Kawaka, he'd see that it was permanent.

"It's ok Sir. I'm still not used to it myself. Lord Prefect, I am not diminishing our situation but all is not lost. The Special Group did capture General Grazot along with many of the human devices. I've served with Grazot for years. I know his tactics and I know how he thinks." Mikos stated.

"Yes, but those men… No one knows their tactics. They're like wizards weaving a spell of annihilation in every direction around them. Take a look at the bodies, General. Two… it only took two of them to level this amount of devastation" Sullen replied.

"You're looking at this wrong, Sir. The Special Group is scheduled to rendezvous with us shortly. I just dispatched the messenger. Our last report stated that they'd captured the human weapons. The animals cannot resupply and when their resources are extinguished they'll be as easy to pluck as a piece of fruit." Mikos said with confidence.

The newly appointed General took a huge swallow of water and cussed at the hot weather. He wiped his brow with his sleeve and went on. "I've also sent three riders south to secure that equipment and return it here. And if you want my opinion on the General, Lord Prefect, he should be executed as soon as he returns. Without his help those animals will never get through Argos."

"I admire the confidence, General" Sullen said directly. "But concentrate on your mission. I want at least one of those humans captured. The other you can kill and eat for all I care. And I'll handle your predecessor my way. And as for the weapons…"

"Excuse me Sir. I apologize for the interruption but we have a situation." a voice said interrupting the Prefects final sentence.

"What is it, Tyus?" Mikos sighed in annoyance; As if he didn't already have enough to sort out he thought within.

"The General Sir … Apparently he's escaped." Tyus replied

"Escaped? …Has it been confirmed and what of the equipment?" Sullen interjected

An uncomfortable Colonel Tyus flinched a bit and finally called for the Corporal who had given him the information. The gorilla explained that Grazot had overpowered both he and Group Captain Frehber. The Group Captain was shackled to tree. He'd sent the corporal forward with a message; A message for Sullen. One word; Grebek. The meaning was all too clear. Any ape with an understanding of history and the recent events would grasp the intended implication.

The leader of the last resisting territory during The Great Unification had been a ruthless warrior named, Lord Atilious. He'd proven to be a tactical mastermind. He'd conscripted a territorial army of thousands and had successfully pushed his aggressors back. Some argued that he was even on the path to victory. But he'd met his demise at the battle of Grebek.

Before that battle apes did combat with swords, bows and spears. The strongest and most skilled lived while the less fortunate were cut asunder. The now ruling Ape nation introduced the first muskets at Grebek. It significantly shifted the balance of power. Atilious and his militia were cut down from a distance. His soldiers were caught off guard in a slaughter, resulting in a loss of command and control. By the end of the battle, Atilious was dead and several of his commanders had been killed, wounded or captured. The battle turned the tide of the war in the Ape Nation's favor. The term Grebek was coined similar to the way humans coin, Waterloo

Muskets had proven their significance. Muskets had stopped an advancing enemy. Muskets had be come the weapon of choice. Grazot was sending a clear message to Sullen that his Grebek was about to arrive.

The Lord Prefect turned to General Mikos and asked, "Well General, how would you summarize our situation now?"