By: Mike Jennings

The Story


     The Tracker didn't seem in to much of a hurry, but then, if it knew
anything about the area it didn't have to be.  Rim Stalker knew the area
well too, and HE knew that the recruits that the Tracker was following
were heading for a dead end canyon.  Of course the Tracker didn't know that
it was also being followed, but that was the Trackers problem.

     Rim Stalker was waiting for the Tracker to stop moving (he was pretty
sure that it would wait at the entrance of canyon for the recruits to come
back out) so that he could get a good shot at it. He only had one round left
in his Herculean, but that should be all that he needed, one round from a
Herculean should more or less oblierate a Tracker.  The Tracker was nice
enough to oblige him by moving up to the mouth of the canyon as the recruits
entered, and then standing motionless while it waited.

     Rim Stalker raised the Herculean and took careful aim at the Tracker
when he heard the report of a Sanplizer behind him, instinctively he dove
to his right, rolled, turned and fired all in the same fluid motion.  The
Hydrite's head vanished from its body which stood there for a moment as if
not understanding that it was dead, then it crumpled to the ground.  Rim
Stalker cursing himself for a fool for being too over confident, threw
down his empty Herculean and bolted for the canyon the Tracker had already
disapeared into, he hoped he wasn't already too late.

     As Rim Stalker rounded the last curve in the canyon he could see that
the two green recruits were already down and the Tracker had the third
recruit up against the wall, as the Tracker brought his Tevix-Bahn back for
the final blow Rim Stalker lept feet first into the side of the Tracker,
knocking him back against the canyon wall, The Tracker came off the wall
swinging the Tevix-Bahn at Rim Stalker.  Rim Stalker steped toward the
Tracker moving inside the weapons range, he grabed the Trackers arm as it
came around and with a quick twist and an audible snap, broke the Trackers
arm at the elbow.  As the Tracker screamed in pain, Rim Stalker moving under
its arm, brought the arm and the Tevix-Bahn around and with all his might
shoved it into the open maw of the wide eyed creature, burying the weapon
in its brain.

     The remaining recruit was already examining the two who were down as
Rim Stalker let the Tracker drop to the ground.  One was beyond help but
the other was able to get back on his feet with the help of a medical kit.
They collected the equipment from the creatures that Rim Stalker had killed,
including the empty Herculean that he had droped, and with the two recuits
carrying there dead companion, Rim Stalker lead them back to the complex.

     Back at the complex the surviving recruits told the others of thier
adventure and Rim Stalker was congradulated for saving thier lives.  But he
could not forget that it was a close call, and alot of it was his own fault
for being too over confident.  It was one thing to risk your own life like
that, but he had almost gotten them all killed, and had definitely allowed
one recruit to die.  He could not forget that, and thought that it would be
a long time before he could forgive himself for it.

Xanth BBS *Wildcat 3.0* Sac Ca 916-364-1826

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