The desert wind caught wafts of sand in its embrace as it moved across the barren land.
Pieces of that sand, and even smaller particles found their way into the crevasses of Joamer's armor. He felt the wind die down again, its only purpose now seemed to be to torment him. He figured in the last three hours they had been walking the wind itself had deposited about ten pounds of sand on his person. Least it felt that way considering how his body chafed with every shift in position.
They were making decent time. Over an hour ago the still unknown girl had decided to wake up and join the world. The liter was quickly disposed of, a simple desert outfit was given to her along with her pack. Every member of the squad carried pretty much the same supplies. He made sure they carried enough water for five days, so roughly five liters each. The food was the harder part, they only carried enough rations for one day each. Being this close to Bastion if they were not in the city in one day they would be dead. Or facing an even worse fate.
As they made their way slowly over the dunes, and around the larger ones, they split into pairs. The difficulty of traversing the dunes did not seem to lessen any, but Joamer did not correct them. Bright was walking next to him, every once in a while she would turn to look at each group in turn. Joamer knew who she was really looking at though.
The girl and Heliwer had stuck together like glue ever since they had found her. She was either going to use him when the time came, or she was generally interested in him. With his training he figured it was the first option. Specially when she told them her name.
Sorain Tyime, apparently sold pies at market in Bastion. She was captured by a mercenary band nine months ago, and had been their capture ever since. He knew it was a lie, so did Bright. She was too well-trained for one, he noticed her watching everything around her.
Specially the weapons everyone was carrying at any one time. Her walked signified special training, possibly republic special forces. Something told him that was not true, or if it was she was very new to the job. What he did not notice, nor did anyone else, was the small holdout blaster pistol she had slipped from her bag to her right boot.
With the squad behind them at the bottom of the dune Joamer and Bright stood at the top, carefully keeping their balance on the shifting sands. Ahead, less than a klick away, stood the gently climbing cliffs and light vegetation that surrounded the entrance to Bastion.
"Now begins the really fun part." Bright said softly, she made sure her voice did not carry to the others. Joamer nodded slowly, his mind going over possible ways the girl could make a nuisance of herself.
He felt the datapad he had taken from Mox tucked away in his pack, it pulled at him constantly. It was just yet another worry he found himself with, another possible spy in his group. Two out of six were bad odds, he wondered if Mox would join her.
"We need to be prepared when she moves." Joamer said after a long minute. He did not tell Bright the hunch he had about Mox. He knew he should have, but he wanted to be sure first. He just needed a way to get the boy to open up to him.
"What happens if she stays with us when we reach Bastion?" Bright said as they started down the other side of the dune. Joamer did not answer as the group continued their journey. He was wondering that very same thing.
An hour later, their time delayed by a sudden wind storm that caused their pace to slow to a crawl, they finally reached the edge of the inhabited area. They stepped onto the road and saw recent tracks of wheeled vehicles, he knew it was from the convoy. A simple sign hung on a tree next to the road. It read simply.
Get them home. The hand writing was instantly recognizable. Havock had taken a moment to tell them she was still alive. A few cheered as he told them it was from her, but Bright shared a look with him. Something told him, deep down in the pit of his stomach, that he may never seen her again. At that moment he felt truly alone in the world, with five souls looking to him for their very survival.
They started walking a few moment later. Joamer keeping his thoughts to himself, and trying to keep his face under control. Bright was walking closer than usual, her eyes told the story she could not voice. She knew something had happened to Havock.
He had scanned the area quickly, disguising his intentions as best he could. From what he could tell he did not see signs of a struggle, or a battle of any type. It gave him hope, but it still worried him.
He looked up as the road changed. Ahead of them, six hundred yards in the distance stood Bastion. They had finally made it, he knew the convoy was safe inside. Havock would have not failed in that duty.
A commotion behind him caused him to spin around. He forced himself to not draw his Particle Magnum as he looked into the eyes of the girl holding a blaster to Heliwer's head.
"Sorry boss, she surprised me. Grabbed my sidearm before I knew what was up." Heliwer said a second later. The girl pressed the muzzle tighter as a way of getting him to shut up.
Joamer motioned for Bright to stand down, he noticed she was slowly moving her hand towards her blaster.
"Alright young woman, you've got our attention." Joamer said, his own hand well away from his sidearm.
"First, drop your weapons. Then, everyone against that tree over there." She said, he watched her finger trigger remain away from the firing stud.
No one moved, they were all waiting for Joamer's orders. He was thinking, his mind going a hundred miles a minute. After a moment he decided to take a gamble and risk his troopers life.
"No, I don't think so. You won't pull that trigger, because if you do you will lose your one advantage." He said, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Wrong gamble." She said, somehow reading his intentions. He watched in fascination as she pulled the firing stud on the blaster. Her reaction changed to alarm when the pistol refused to fire. A second later Mox cracked her in the upper back with the butt of his rifle. Heliwer stumbled as she was driven to the ground, with him under her.
Walking over to her he drew his Particle Magnum and looked down. She coughed a few times before looking up at him. Mox and Bright helped Heliwer to his feet, quickly kicking the pistol away from her as they did.
"Now, lets start simple. Tell me your name." Joamer said, as he pointed the Magnum at her.
- OOC:
- Objective complete. Dun dun dun....
