Jack strapped down the kovaack's carcass after shifting the iron so that the weight was evenly distributed throughout the cart. This was a significantly larger load than they'd taken on the first trip. With this haul, he had no doubt they could get all the furnishings needed to fill S'haar's room, stock up on things like food and hides, and still have a fair bit of refined iron to bring home. The less energy Angela had to spend on refining, the better.

Angela was just saying her farewells to S'haar as he worked. "Make sure you both get plenty to eat! Don't forget that while Jack can eat most of the food, he needs to stay away from your alcoholic beverages! Speaking of drinks, don't let Jack forget to drink water periodically. Left to himself, he's likely to get himself dehydrated!"

S'haar's face was pure incredulity, and Jack was sure that if left to her own devices, Angela would go on forever, so he walked up to interrupt. "Thanks mom, I love you too, but we've done this before, remember? We'll be fine."

Angela wasn't going to let them off that easy. "And remind me how that turned out? Because if I remember correctly, you almost got yourself killed and ended up with a broken foot! Clearly, someone needs to talk some sense into you two!"

S'haar was slowly backing away from the two siblings, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Jack set into a more relaxed stance and tried a different approach. "Listen, we've almost got what we need to get a decent transceiver up and running so you can come along with us for future outings, but for now, we have to head out on our own. We're better prepared for any trouble we might run into this time, and hopefully, we can avoid it altogether! I promise you, we'll be careful and do whatever we have to do to return safely, ok?"

Angela looked a little sullen but seemed to realize Jack was right. "Fine, but if you get yourself killed out there, I'll never forgive you!"

Jack grinned. "If I get myself killed out there, I promise to come back and haunt your ship, so you're never alone. We'll become the sort of ghost ship that sailors tell stories about for hundreds, no thousands of years!"

Angela responded with a curt, "You'd better!" before fading away and closing the door.

Jack turned back to S'haar with a slightly more weary grin. "Shall we be off?"

-

This time the journey was a much more relaxed affair. All the stress and what-ifs from the first trip were absent, leaving the two to enjoy the quiet sounds of nature as they walked. By midmorning, they were about halfway to the village, and Jack was walking along with half-closed eyes. He was enjoying the crisp early winter scent in the air, and it took him a moment to notice when the sound of the wagon next to him had come to a halt. Looking over at S'haar, Jack saw her focused into the distance. Following her gaze, he could see a distant wisp of smoke quite some distance to the north.

S'haar looked back to Jack with a face of careful neutrality. "Why don't you stay here with the cart? I want to go check that out. It's probably nothing..."

Jack returned her look with a steely resolve. "But it might be something. You can check it out, but I'm coming with."

S'haar looked like she wanted to argue but looked back at the smoke and instead responded with a slightly distracted voice. "Fine, you're the boss. Though I'm not defending you to Angela if you get yourself killed."

As S'haar set off, Jack followed, grumbling to himself. "What's with everyone assuming I'm going to get myself killed today?"

-

As they crept closer, Jack and S'haar both stayed low and crawled over the crest of the final hill separating them from the smoke. Looking over the ridge, Jack could see what looked like a temporary camp of argu'n. However, these ones looked even more primitive than the villagers Jack was now familiar with.

There were also a variety of items scattered around the camp that looked like they didn't belong. One argu'n was wearing a delicate dress that seemed totally out of place as she guzzled down her drink. Another was using a well-crafted dresser as a stool on the far side of a campfire.

S'haar spoke up beside him, her voice thick with disdain. "The hill people. They were thieves and murderers exiled from their villages. They then gathered together and formed their own villages hidden in the hills for survival. For a long time, they minded their own business, then they started raiding anyone they saw as vulnerable.

By that time, they had grown so large and knew the hills so well that every expedition sent to wipe them out either never found them or never returned. This band must have taken advantage of yesterday's warmth and went out for one last raid. It looks like they found someone too... Probably some poor merchant trying to make his way to a winter home. My guess would be..."

S'haar's explanation cut out mid-sentence. The reason for the interruption was easy for Jack to see. Out of a tent came the largest argu'n in the camp. Behind him, he was dragging a child. The child obviously didn't belong in the camp. She was of lighter build and better fed. Her back was covered in welts like she'd been severely whipped recently.

As the child fell down crying, the large argu'n kicked her in the ribs until she got back up and continued following her captor while choking back more sobs.

Jack felt his stomach drop out from under him. As S'haar eased her way back down the hill, Jack followed. Calming himself, he turned his attention to S'haar. "What is going to happen to that girl?"

S'haar's eyes were focused in a far off place, and her pupils were dilated. "If she lives, she'll be a slave. She'll either belong to one of the members of the raiding party, or more likely, She'll be sold to curry favor with someone more powerful. However, given her current state, she'll most likely die, probably before nightfall..."

Jack had never seen S'haar like this. She was so angry that despite remaining entirely still, she radiated a murderous aura. It was clear that S'haar was getting ready to go do something stupid. Looking over to Jack, she calmed herself enough to speak again. "This is where we part ways. I'm afraid I can't go with you any further."

Jack suspected he knew why, but wanted her to say it. "What are you planning to do?"

S'haar looked down at the ground, her claws digging into her palm so hard that a small trickle of blood fell to the ground. "I'm going to go down and challenge the largest raider in the camp to one on one combat for the child's freedom. When I win, the rest of the camp will rush and kill me. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to take another two or three with me. There's no way I can take them all, but I can't walk away either, so I'm afraid I can no longer act as your bodyguard."

Jack spoke sharply, forcing S'haar to look up. "I refuse to allow you to leave my service at this time! I am about to find myself in an extremely hazardous situation, and I'll need my bodyguard to keep me alive."

S'haar looked at Jack with disgust for the first time since they had met, and when she spoke, her voice held acid in it. "I realize you're probably frightened by the nearby raiders, but I'll give you enough time to get a head start running home first. Angela should be able to keep you safe."

Jack had pulled out his handgun and was checking the magazine with a shaking hand. "You misunderstand. I'm about to go down to that camp and save that girl. If I'm going to have any chance of pulling it off, I'm going to need my bodyguard by my side." He was proud of the fact that his voice was more steady than his hands at the moment.

S'haar's look lost its edge, and when she spoke, her voice was much softer. "I'm sorry, I misjudged you. However, while I appreciate the offer, you'd only slow me down. There's no reason for both of us to die today."

When Jack finally took his eyes off his gun and looked S'haar in the eyes, he appeared strangely calm. "S'haar, I want you to think of all the wonders and marvels you've witnessed since you first met me, now I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say. I have the ability to kill every single person in that camp. The only question is, whether or not I'll live long enough to do it."

Jack just wished his hands would stop shaking so much while he was speaking. S'haar's gaze fell to his hands for a moment as the shaking got worse. "Are you certain you will be able to kill when the time comes?"

Jack's expression split into a sad shaky grin. As he spoke, a dark, hopeless laugh echoed in each word. "Honestly? No, I'm not, I've never killed a person before, and for all I know, when the time comes, I'll be shaking so bad I'll miss every shot, or maybe I'll just freeze up completely and wait to be killed."

Closing his eyes, Jack let out a deep sigh. He didn't even notice as his hands steadied while he continued speaking. "What I do know is what I can't do. I can't walk away and leave a friend to die. I can't condemn a young child to a life of slavery or death. I'm going to go down there with you, and if all else fails, at least you won't die alone."

S'haar looked at Jack for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like hours. Then She gave him her best predator's grin, but this time it didn't unsettle jack as much as usual. When She spoke, there was something new in her voice that Jack couldn't quite place. "Huh, what happened to the soft little shut-in I knew up until now?"

As S'haar looked at Jack, she seemed to be searching for a hint of hope. "So, what's your plan?"

Jack went back to checking his gun, making sure he knew where the safety was and checking for a full magazine a second time before chambering a round. "Well, step one will be the same as your plan. You challenge the toughest looking argu'n down there, then kill him. Once the rest charge, you focus on slowing them down and not dying. I'll try not to wet myself and thin the herd. After that, things will be so chaotic any further planning would be a waste, so we just try and live longer than any of them."

S'haar nodded. "I expected a little more subtlety or trickery out of you, but that'll have to do."

Jack looked back to her with an almost halfway confident grin this time. Holding up the gun for S'haar to get a better look, he explained. "The trick is, I'm hoping the shock and confusion of what this thing can do will slow them down enough for us to do what we need to do. We are both better armed and armored than them, mix in a little shock and awe, and we might just get lucky enough to walk away."

Lowering the gun, Jack looked off into the distance again. "I wish I had a few more supplies from the ship, a rifle to pick them off, maybe a few grenades, hell, even some fireworks would make a world of difference." Jack shrugged. "The problem is, we don't have time, so we go with what we have and hope it's enough."

-

S'haar walked right toward the camp, and Jack followed a little way behind. As the men around the campfire stood and watched her approach S'haar jabbed her spears into the ground and walked a short distance further. Stopping well shy of the camp, she shouted out her challenge. "IS THERE ANY MALE HERE STRONG ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE ME?"

Many argu'n looked interested in taking S'haar up on her offer, but the largest of the group pushed his way to the front, standing a full head above the other eight-foot behemoths. His presence silenced all other challengers. Over his shoulder was slung a club with a stone tied to the end. It was larger and probably heavier than Jack was. The men of the camp started chanting, "Dol'jin, Dol'jin, Dol'jin!"

Waving his men down to silence them, Dol'jin looked S'haar up and down, getting her measure, though apparently not as a fighter. Leering, he replied, disdain thick in his voice. "What do I get when I win?"

S'haar's voice quieted, forcing the lecherous calls to end if the men wanted to hear her reply. "You get the opportunity to break me to your will, then do with me as you like."

Dol'jin laughed, the rest of the camp joining in half a breath behind. "We were going to do that regardless of the outcome! So tell me, what do you claim if you win?"

S'haar took a half step forward. "In your recent raid, you took a young girl, you will release her to me, and we'll leave."

Dol'jin's laughter was even more derisive than before. "Fresh meat like that is worth far more than some used up whore like yourself! Still, it hardly matters. You lost the moment you stepped forward!"

As the last word was leaving his mouth, the argu'n leaped forward, his club swinging in a blindingly fast arc. For a moment, Jack thought the fight was already over, but at the last moment, S'haar became a blur of motion. She dove under the club, drawing her blade and scoring a shallow cut as she passed.

Dol'jin looked down at the cut on his chest, right between two plates. Looking back up, his voice was thick with contempt and his eyes still leering as he spoke. "Is this little cut the best you can do? I've been hurt worse by the whelp you're so eager to save!"

S'haar just stood calmly, almost passively, and waited. Seeing that his taunting had little effect, Dol'jin launched into a new attack. Once again, swinging his club at ridiculous speeds. If that wasn't bad enough, he started bending the club's momentum in on itself in ways Jack wouldn't have believed possible, except that he was watching it happen. Soon the club was twirling around in a pattern too quick and chaotic for Jack to follow.

Apparently, it wasn't too quick for S'haar though. As Dol'jin approached, she slipped and slid around the club, sometimes so close that Jack could swear he saw the club lightly brush against her plates. The two fighters were at a stalemate, Dol'jin couldn't land a blow, but S'haar couldn't get close enough to go on the offensive.

Before long, it was apparent that both combatants were getting tired. They slowed almost imperceptibly until Dol'jin took a mere half a second too long to bring his club around, and S'haar struck again. Sliding low, this time she landed a shallow slice against the back of his left knee before bouncing back to her feet behind him.

Perhaps thinking S'haar would commit to an attack now that she was at his back, Dol'jin swung around wildly, using the momentum of his club to turn himself more quickly.

S'haar had been waiting for just that move. As soon as the club passed a little too far, she launched past Dol'jin again, landing another small cut on his lower bicep.

The crowd was still chanting Dol' jin's name, but Jack could see that Dol'jin was starting to realize he was in trouble. Being Argu'n, both fighters were built for speed and power, not endurance, and as the fight dragged on, it was taking its toll. Adding in his weapon's weight, pain slowing him slightly, and his increasing blood loss, and it was clear Dol'jin was going to tire first. It was time for him to try something new.

As Dol'jin swung the club this time, he loosened his grip for a mere fraction of a second before tightening his hold again. This caused the club to slip and extend it's reach a few inches mid-swing. It was enough for S'haar to miscalculate her dodge, and she took a glancing blow to her right shoulder, causing S'haar to drop her blade.

The watching argu'n let loose an uproarious cheer, and Dol'jin began another of his impossible moves, bending the club's momentum in on itself to land the final blow. S'haar rolled into the swing this time, coming up inside the club's reach and latching onto her prey. Her teeth dug into his neck while her left thumb's claw gouged into his right eye.

With a roar, Dol'jin grabbed her by the neck and threw her on the ground, and although she hit the ground hard, S'haar was able to roll away before he could bring his club to bear. It was clear who had come out on top of the exchange, although it wasn't enough to end the fight yet.

For the first time, the crowd was silent, and the fight took on a more desperate feel now that the only sounds that could be heard were the grunts of effort and pain of the two combatants. For the last time, Jack checked the safety on his gun. The end was rapidly approaching.

Knowing he'd all but lost, Dol'jin took a final desperate gambit. When he swung his club this time, he let it fly, forcing S'haar to drop low to avoid the massive projectile. Dol' jin followed just behind the club, hoping to pounce on S'haar before she could regain her composure and finish her with his greater strength.

As he lunged toward his opponent, Dol'jin could see one of her arms trapped underneath her, and his hope flared, until that arm flew out from under her. He saw the flash of steel just as he landed on the blade she'd hidden, his own momentum pushing the point completely through his bony chest plate and into his heart.

S'haar leaned in and whispered into his ear, "You lost the moment you stepped forward." before shoving the oversized Dol'jin off to the side.

She slowly stood, staring at the silent crowd. S'haar remained still, gasping for breath, taking advantage of every second of stunned silence to recover as much as possible.

Four things then happened in rapid succession. First, one of the watching argu'n lurched forward, his companions barely a half-second behind him. Second, S'haar turned and leaped for her spears as fast as she was able. Third, a loud crack of thunder tore the silence apart. Fourth, the lead argu'n's chest turned into a bloody crater. He fell as everything returned to stunned silence once more.

Jack aimed his gun at the second closest argu'n and pulled the trigger for a second time.