Kerseas sat against the side of the cavern looking out the cavern’s mouth to the fields and hills beyond. Three days had passed in the small cramp cave. Two claptraps were setup at the cave mouth along with a buzzbox. A make shift defense that would prove futile should they be discovered. The back of the cave was filled with supplies stored for emergency including personnal possessions such as Cerius’ philosophy book. Cerius had found a repair pack as well as some weapons and ammo. He had spent the past few days preparing a plan for escape. Kerseas had spent the past days staring blankly out the cave; too wounded to help Cerius prepare, too depressed to help him plan. His mind was engulfed with thoughts of Kathlyn and others he would likely never see again. His mind burned with rage and simmered with sorrow.

Cerius stepped out from the back of the cave to come sit down with Kerseas. Cerius stood tall in his Diamond Sword armor, restored by the repair pack to its full luster and pride. Kerseas’ armor was gone. Where once was the proud emblem of his tribe was now bandages. His wounds were too severe for a simple repair pack, Cerius knew he needed to get him too a fully equipped medic before his condition worsened. Cerius looked down at Kerseas, his eyes glowing light blue through the visor of his helm. Kerseas did not meet his gaze. He only starred out the cave at nothing.

“I’ve got a plan. Were leaving in an hour,” said Cerius.

“What’s your plan?” asked Kerseas. His gaze did not shift; his voice was a whisper barely audible.

Cerius sat next to him. His armor made a scraping sound against the rock of the cave. He rested his legs cross-legged, as was his manner. He pointed a steel finger out the cave entrance towards a distant hilltop. “There is a Horus pulse sensor located on that hilltop. I’ve found some equipment in the back I can use to redirect its signal. If we can make it to the Horus and realign its dish we might be able to send a distress signal. If a Diamond Sword ship picks it up they will probably come for us.”

Kerseas chuckled weakly to himself as he looked over to his friend. A slight smile formed on his lip. Cerius knew that grin. It was one of determination. “That’s a lot of ifs and maybes friend.”

“When caught between the sea and the storm, the wise man learns to swim.”

“Who said that? Totoro?”

“Weilex.”

Kerseas chuckled again. He followed Cerius’ finger. He looked out at the distant spinning form of the pulse sensor. He looked back at his friend. “The Blood Eagle patrols are too tight. If I go with you I’ll slow you down. We’ll be caught. Go alone.”

“Sacrifice is either noble or foolish. The true warrior knows the difference.”

“Are you saying we wouldn’t be caught? Because I can almost guarantee you we would. I can’t even walk. You would have support me the whole way.”

“It is something I am willing to chance.”

Kerseas looked out the cave entrance again. A long silence filled the cave. Kerseas lay a hand on Cerius’ shoulder. With a heave and a painful grunt he rose to his feet, leaning against the cave wall as he rose. “Let’s get ready to go.”

The next hour was spent equipping and planning a quick route. Cerius took a Stormhammer, Plascannon, and Artemis laser rifle. Kerseas took only a simple blaster; powered by a weak battery it held only a couple dozen blasts. Kerseas had said he wanted it more for the sense of the security then anything else. Cerius took a buzzbox to hide them from enemy sensors and a repair kit in case Kerseas’ condition worsened.

He couldn’t tell how serious his wounds were. He knew ribs were broken and he suspected his kidney or lungs could have been seriously damaged. He feared internal bleeding but knew if that was the case all he could do was get him to a Sword dropship.

They walked long and hard across the rising hills and dropping valleys. Cerius had estimated it would be about six kilometers to the hilltop. At the injured pace they were holding it would be a few hours before they reached their destination. The grass of Verseux II had grown wildly for millenium upon millenium and was tall enough to hide the two Diamond Swords from patrollers. Cerius had often refereed to the grass as similar to the African savanna of old Terra. Kerseas never did know what that was supposed to mean. Numerous patrols scoured the surrounding areas searching for any survivors. Gyrfalcons and Wyvern LPCs and even an occasional Dragon HPC passed over head, all branded with the sign of the Blood Eagle. Every time the silent hum of their engines was heard in the distance the two men dropped and lay still in the grass. It always took Kerseas a moment to rise back to his feet.

They marched through out the hours of the afternoon, Kerseas leaning his full weight of his body against Cerius. The strength provided by the Peltast armor all that kept both men on their feet. The buzzbox jammer hummed silently on Cerius’ back was often the only sound to be heard. Cerius remained cool in the self-contained environment of his armor, but Kerseas blessed every gust of cool wind that blew into his sweaty brow and cooled him from the heat of the fierce sun.

After a few number they reached the tall hill that they needed to climb. Kerseas looked over to Cerius with his determined smile. “I’m impressed were not dead yet.”

“Sword and shield can serve well in a battle but the wise man first chooses faith and resolve.” Cerius said with a slight laugh. The grim face of a Diamond Sword helmet looked back at Kerseas but he knew behind it lay the carefree smile of his philosophical friend.

They began their travel up the hill. They had become accustomed to dropping for cover and having their leg muscles burn from the labored travel. With each step Kerseas’ body was racked with the same pain as when he had first awoke within the cavern but he ignored it as best he could. In an hour that passed at a dragged pace they arrived at the hilltop. The Horus pulse sensor loomed over their heads turning slowly with its sentinel gaze.

Cerius lowered Kerseas to lean against the foot of the sensor and slammed the buzzbox into the ground next to them. He quickly went to work. He tore open a panel at the base of the pole of the sensor and gazed inside at the dusty circuits that lay in the shadows. This was probably the first time in centuries the circuits had seen light. “I’m sending a priority distress call to any passing ships anywhere near Verseux II’s orbit. There are probably a small number of Diamond Sword ships near by awaiting orders over whether to launch a counter or not. This should reach them,” explained Cerius.

He stuck his head into the open panel and gave a sigh. “One should not put all his trust into the power of machines. Metal can rust but the mind stays untainted.”

“Something wrong?” asked Kerseas as he ran a hand through his short red hair.

“Old circuits. Not a serious problem but it might take longer than I thought for me to understand what to adjust.” Cerius grabbed a number of odd tools from a cloth pack he had brought and dove into the open panel. The sound of sparks arose from the panel.

“Anything I can do to help?” asked Kerseas.

“Not in your condition. Just keep an eye out for the enemy.”

Cerius worked long through out the day only arising from his work to grab a different tool or take a look at what he was doing. No conversation passed between the two of them. A few time a scout would fly by but they ducked out of sight before they could be spotted. After an hour Cerius finished his work. Shutting off power to the sensor to cease its spinning he proceeded to realign its dishes.

“Won’t they notice the realigned dishes and come to investigate?” asked Kerseas skeptically as Cerius began to reach up to the sensor’s dishes.

Cerius stopped to consider this a moment. “I don’t think the patrols will pay any mind to it. Their looking for soldiers not malfunctioning sensors. They’ll report it but they won’t investigate. As long as we aren’t spotted we should be fine.” Cerius went on with his work. “I programmed it so the message tells its receiver our situation and our need for evacuation and where to find us.”

“What if it is picked up by an Eagle ship?”

“If I had a proverb about pessimism, I would lecture you. Just say a quick prayer to the immortals and cross your fingers.”

“How long will it take for them to come you think?”

“I don’t know.”

Cerius finished realigning the dishes in a matter of minutes. Kerseas looking up at him from where he sat as he worked. Cerius finished his work and dropped back to the ground. Digging his arms into the open panel and reactivated the sensor. It began to spin slowly one again. Cerius opened his mouth to say something. His thought was interrupted by the explosions of a Stormhammer disk that crashed between the two of them.

A Wyvern LPC was approaching them at its sluggish pace. A Myrmidon and a Hoplite were firing disks from the passenger seats, a Peltast piloting behind them. Kerseas rolled down the hill and into the deep cover of the tall grass. Cerius returned a disk of his own that sailed harmlessly by them before following Kerseas. In an instant the Wyvern was over head. The Blood Eagles peering down into the tall grass for their prey. The response they get was unexpected. A pair of disks accompanied by a short stream of blaster fire rose from the hillside crashing into the bottom of the LPC. With a thunderous explosion the LPC exploded, its passengers baled out an instant earlier escaping the brunt of the explosion. The pilot was not so lucky and was sent flying through the air, twisted and broken.

A shower of LPC parts rained down onto the hillside. The Hoplite glided to a halt atop the hill; the Myrmidon landed with a heavy thump. They scanned the hillside. Suddenly the Diamond Sword Peltast they had seen jumped from his cover, Stormhammer in hand, flying high into the air under the thrust of his jetpack. The Blood Eagles responded to the sudden threat and opened fire with frightening accuracy. Two balls of plasma turned the gray armor black before a spinning blue disk collided into the Cerius’ chest, sending him spiraling from the air. He landed hard on his stomach atop the peak of the hill. The Blood Eagles approached the fallen foe. Cerius tried to rise but his strength was sapped and he fell back to the ground.

The Hoplite raised his Plascannon to finish the job. A second stream of blaster fire shocked the air with an electrical zap. The stream of red fire struck the Hoplite directly in the back of the head. The Blood Eagle crumbled under the assault, falling limply to his feet, dead before hitting the ground. The Myrmidon turned his attention from the Peltast to where the blaster fire had come. This time Kerseas had been spotted. A disk crashed into the ground close to him. Normally such a bad shot would be of no concern but without his armor the explosion sent the crippled man rolling down the hill, the force of the blast nearly blacking him out.

The Myrmidon stomped down the hillside after the fool who had killed his fellow Eagle. He found him a short way down the hillside trying desperately to sit up but far too wounded to manage. The Myrmidon chuckled grimly to himself at the futile resistance. He brought his Stormhammer up and pointed it at the bandaged Diamond Sword. The rolling thunder of a chaingun shattered the hillside. The Blood Eagle cursed as the explosive flechettes stung his back. He turned to see the Peltast back on his feet and charging full speed down the hill, chaingun blazing.

Cerius was running too fast. He couldn’t stop his descent and he crashed into the Heavy full speed. The Myrmidon stood like a brick wall as Cerius fell backwards from the impact. Before he could recover the Blood Eagle was upon him. He picked up Cerius by his throat while slapping the chaingun from his hand with the butt of his Stormhammer. Cerius flailed wildly as his foe tightened his grip. The Blood Eagle laughed at his weak enemy.

“Hey fatty. Look behind you.”

The Myrmidon turned to see Kerseas lying on his stomach, his blaster in hand. Kerseas pulled the trigger nothing happened. The battery was drained. The Blood Eagle broke out into uncontrollable laughter. He put away his Stormhammer and pulled out his own chaingun. He turned to look back at the Peltast he still held by the throat. He decided he would finish him first. Make his friend watch as punishment for the fatty remark.

He turned back to the Peltast and found the nose of his helmet pressed to the end of the Peltast’s Stormhammer. An explosion lit the hill blue. The Peltast was thrown like a rag doll from the point-blank blast nearly back to the peak of the hill. A spray of blood painted the hillside red, as the headless crimson warrior fell to the ground.

“CERIUS!” screamed Kerseas through a raspy choked voice. He scrambled up the hillside to his fallen friend. Cerius lay in a heap. His armor was charred completely black. His arm groped the air weakly as if trying to touch something. A gaping wound marked where his Diamond Sword. Cerius was trying to say something but it was coming out in a whisper. Kerseas carefully took off Cerius’ twisted helmet. His face was streaked with blood from a wound in his brow. Kerseas put his ear to Cerius’ mouth so he could hear him.

His voice was like the faintest breeze, a whisper of a mouse. He stuttered and choked as he spoke. “The wise man knows the difference between noble sacrifice and foolish sacrifice. I meditate with the immortals now friend. Thank you for your faith in me. Thank you for your friendshi…” His voice trailed off. His gaze turned to stare up at the plain blue sky. “So beautiful, like an endless field of azure.” And then his gaze was empty. Kerseas’ scream shattered the air.

When the dropship came moments later they found Kerseas slumped over Cerius corpse. They picked them both up and brought them aboard, taking off again before any Blood Eagles could arise. Kerseas had lost everything on Verseux II. He left with only the mangled remains of his friend’s helmet and a rage to be served. A need. A thirst. A thirst for one thing. Revenge.