VRDET Op: The Marraketh Connection
Segment #11: "It's shooting fire!"
By: Nexxus
==================================

        "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane,
        it's a...it's a...what the heck is that?"

        Nexx blew a strand of hair out of her face and breathed a sigh
of relief, or was it determination? Shad had spotted the others from above
and made his landing several yards from them, letting the windblown
Mountain Rangers scramble for the most welcome sight of land.
        "Looks like we were almost late for the party." she commented
before walking towards the Sea Rangers. "Let's see, Cal, Thes, Red, Maru..."
Nexx halted her mental inventory. "Who or *what* is that!?" she thought,
spotting who she would later find out, was Byrnhild.
        The Sea Rangers had spotted them and were waiting. "Who's this?"
she demanded, eyeing the furry-footed creature. "And where's Bryn?"
        The furry-foot shifted uncomfortably at this and looked down.
        "Oh!" Nexx exclaimed. "Oh...I see. Sorry, Bryn." she apologized,
realizing her faux pas. "It makes a great disguise."
        Bryn nodded, "It's a long story..."
        "Right." Nexx commented. "Well, we're finally here, so"
        "Hey, is that *your* dragon? And where's Kapella?" Red
interrupted.
        Nexxus glanced at Shadur, sorely tempted to answer 'yes, and if
you don't behave he'll eat you'.
        "It's not an 'it', it's a 'he' and he's not *my* dwagon, he's
Shadur. You know, TRES, Zeta squad? And we didn't find Kapella, there
were no records of him making it to this side in Chi-Lin and Mal didn't
mention him in his message." Shad smiled at Red, doing his best to look
hungry.
        "You got a message from Mal?" Calculus asked. "When was this?"
        "Around an hour ago, or close to it." she shrugged. "Sounded
like he'd been here for a while. Anyways, Kapella may still be back at HQ.
We've got more important matters to deal with right now." she pulled the focus
back to the matters at hand.
        "The plan goes something like this; we're going to make our way
through the city as a group and divide up once we reach the castle. Shad
will be playing distraction from the air to make our trip through the
city a little easier. Any questions?" she glanced at the rescue team and took
a deep breath. "O.k. then, everyone get your weapons out and keep them
handy, just in case. Don't use them unless you absolutely have to, we
don't need the attention."
        She made a few quick adjustments to her pack and started towards
the city at a quick pace calling back, "Let's go People!"

****

        Just outside the city, near an unruly clump of shrubbery, Nexx
stopped and held her hand up to signal the others should do the same.
She glanced upwards, looking for any sign of their air support, and upon
spotting him [at least she was pretty sure it was him] she motioned for
everyone to move forward.
        About the time they had all ducked down an alley, Shad made his
first attack. From there on out, it was a fairly brainless activity to
make their way to the castle. The townspeople were a bit more interested
in saving themselves than in asking questions of the strangers running
through their streets.
        So it was that the Rangers arrived together at the castle with
no more effort than running...and running...and well, you get the point.
After several days of sleeping on the ground, constant walking and
eating rations the Rangers were already nearing the point of exhaustion.  
The group ducked into a narrow passage formed by the exterior courtyard 
wall and another building to make their final plans.

****

        "I think our best bet would be to split up, at least that way
we don't run the risk of all of us being captured at once.  Large groups
are easier to spot in any case." Nexx began, looking briefly at each
Ranger.
"The front door looks like it has been left open, so I want Aris,
Phoenix and Thes in one group and then you three, and then...where's Red?" 
she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.  "Never mind. Cal, you wait 
here for Shad and then follow us in. We'll break off in the outer courtyard 
and I'll make use of my other nose to sniff out Red. Lets Go!"

        The group cautiously made their way through the gate, knocking
out a couple of spongin' who had managed to summon up the bravery to stay 
at their post...more likely, they were too afraid to leave it. No matter,
they were out of the way in a matter of seconds and the day began to 
look a lot better as the moment they stepped into the courtyard, they were 
greeted with a song that was not the Wyrm's playing at maximum volume over 
some sort of sound system.  This was the equivalent of dropping a hungry dog 
into a room full of cats and seeing that the sponge brigade was a bit busy, 
the Rangers ran for the doors into the castle.
        Nexx was the last one through the gates, choosing to hold up the
rear in case she spotted Red. Instead of Red, she spotted something
quite unexpected to the far right. A Lyran.
        Under most circumstances, anyone with more brains than a stunned
herring would turn around and run in the opposite direction upon
sighting a Lyran. However, the fact that the "Lyran" had just blown a 10 foot
hole in the outer wall of the castle, made it seem like a good idea to find
out what it was up to.  Nexx broke ranks, turned feline, and took off in
pursuit.


TBC in "10 reasons it sucks to be a cat."