Thread: Student of Dune (DarkAngel & Sync)

When he left Talgar, Ravis had headed in the direction the other man had disappeared. The Fremen had known Helene would be accompanied as she was escorted out of the Keep, but he hadn't known just who would be doing the escorting. He caught up with the other man a couple of minutes after leaving his companion, and was mildly surprised to find another Fremen. The other man - older, not as lean as Ravis - saw him a second later, and slowed enough to allow Ravis to catch up with him. Ravis, of Sietch Chondak, Ravis greeted the man was they fell into step. Anteg, of Sietch Tabr, came the reply. We are being pursued. I guessed. How many? Four, maybe five men. Don't know who. My task is to make sure they don't reach her. Ravis nodded. Mine is to make sure she leaves the city. The two men paused just long enough to grip each other's forearm in a shake of unity. They understood what needed to be done...and what the price might be of their success. Neither wanted to die, but they would give their lives to succeed. They moved in absolute silence for a few seconds when they stopped - they'd found their pursuers. A group of six men were gathered in what looked like a huddle - possibly planning their plan of attack. They were too close to Helene and Talgar for either Fremen to be comfortable, and the group looked well-prepared. Anteg hissed softly. More than I thought. I have explosives to disable and slow them, Anteg whispered. It was more than the other man had. I was only prepared to defend an escape effort, Ravis admitted in a hushed voice. I'll help. It was then that they both overheard something in the conversation from the huddle, and both Fremen's eyes widened markedly. They'd underestimated the length these men were prepared to go to in order to remove Helene from the universe. You must warn them! Anteg urged quietly. Ravis nodded his agreement, but the fates were not so kind - almost as one, the six men turned in the direction of Anteg's hissed urging. With a curse, Anteg stood and threw a device towards the six men. They rushed for cover, but it didn't stop the device from detonating, exploding quietly with a bright flash that obscured vision for several seconds. Ravis turned and rushed off, but not before the sounds of pistols were heard. Sounds of fighting could be heard as he ducked and darted, but he was not in the clear he felt projectiles tear into him, several times, and he knew they were not aimed shots...but they would still slow him down. He heard more fighting, shouts, then an explosion...Ravis knew he wouldn't see Anteg again. The Fremen moved as quickly as he could through the small streets, rushing between dwellings as best he could. He could feel his energy fading - he was wounded, losing the Water of his Life. He had to get to the marketplace where Tal and Helene were headed. He had to warn them...he wasn't sure he'd be joining them, but his duty was clear. Tal heard the explosion not far off. That was too close, and he straightened quickly, all but dragging Helene up with him as he grabbed her elbow. That was until he saw Ravis...running towards the market...running through the gaps between hovels. The two made eye contact, and Ravis waved an arm at them. The time for subtlety and silence was gone now was the time for urgency. GO! RUN! he yelled at the pair, even as his legs stumbled slightly in his effort to keep carrying him. Talgar hesitated, even then - he didn't want to leave Ravis behind. The older Fremen saw the hesitation, yelled again as his blood began to stain the outer skin of his stillsuit. RUN! Talgar nodded once, then did as his mentor urged. He recalled, fleetingly, that the girl had urged him not to wait, and he was no longer doing so. The girl's elbow still gripped in his hand, he started to run towards the city edge...towards the gate he and Ravis had entered the city through. A fifteen minute walk beyond the city edge, hidden inside a rocky outcrop, was a 'thopter waiting for them. They had to get this girl to that 'thopter. Tal knew it would be himself that did it. They were halfway to the edge of the city when they noticed the first tremors of the ground under their feet as they ran. The air around them grumbled as the ground shook beneath them, slowly at first, but with increasing strength. STONE BURNER! Ravis yelled again. He was falling behind, and he was sure, now, that he would not be leaving the city. As long as he helped Helene and Tal escape, then he could die in peace. RUN! By the...! Tal muttered as he ran alongside the mysterious girl. The grumbling of the ground continued to grow, until instinct made him stop and throw the girl behind a building and use his own body to shield her, using his body to cover her face even as he buried his face in her shoulder. Tal's timing was good several seconds after he'd moved to protect the pair of them, the grumbling reached a crescendo, and a bright flash of light erupted from near the market where Ravis and Tal had first waited. A wave of intense heat rolled past them, accompanied by a blast of wind and sound, the combination assaulting their senses. How long they waited, Tal couldn't say, but it was long enough...although it probably felt longer than it was. As the heat and light faded, screams of pain could be heard, and it was only when there was no rumbling of the ground that Tal dared to lift his head. He was covered in dust, as was the girl, but he was alive and apparently unharmed...just as the girl seemed to be. It was then that he saw the destruction caused by a Stone Burner - the market had evaporated, as had the dwellings near it nearer buildings were ablaze, and there were people wandering, staggering, aimlessly. Ravis was one of them. The older Fremen was near to the pair, and Tal wasn't going to let him die in the city. Ravis! he called out in a whisper. Ravis turned his head slowly, and instantly Tal knew what was wrong Ravis was blind. His mentor had not been able to protect his eyes from the brightness and damaging effects of the stone burner. They were close to the edge of the city, only a couple of minutes' walking remained in the ensuing chaos of the Stone Burner, they'd be able to get out well enough. Tal took the couple of steps needed to get to his mentor, gripped him on the shoulder. Ravis! the younger Fremen hissed again. Tal...is that you? Ravis queries, his voice cracked and raspy. I...I cannot see, my friend. Please...let me die in the desert. Let me die like a warrior. The pained expression on the younger Fremen's face said much - he didn't want to do it, but he knew there was no choice. The sietch would not be able to tolerate a warrior who could not hold his own, who could not pull his own weight, who could not perform his own tasks and duties. Without saying a word, he took his mentor's elbow and guided him towards the city edge. He made sure the girl was walking with them - he still didn't know her name. You must get her to our sietch, Talgar, Ravis murmured quietly, as if his softly-spoken voice would be heard over the wailing that had started in the wake of the Stone Burner. She is to learn our ways. You must be the one to teach her. She's an off-worlder, Tal sneered back, not caring that the girl in question was right next to them. Water-fat. She doesn't even have a stillsuit. We have a spare suit for her. And she is skilled, Tal. She will be able to teach you things as well. Be patient. By now the trio had reached the edge of the city - before them was an expanse of sand, open desert into which an incapable Fremen could wander and meet an honourable death. His water would be lost to the sietch, but his honour would remain intact. Ravis somehow sensed this, as he drew in a deep, strong breath and let it out slowly. Thank you, my friend. Walk with Shai-Hulud. Walk with Shai-Hulud, Ravis, Tal intoned in reply. The chaos of the city still behind them, Tal and the girl watched as the proud Fremen stumbled off into the desert. After a couple of minutes, Tal turned to face the girl...and it was the first time, he realised, that he'd actually gotten to really look at her. She was...pretty, in a severe way. Almost Fremen-like. Her golden-red hair hung down over her shoulders and off-set her blue eyes nicely. But her skin had that distinctive sheen of the water-fat off-worlder. He was supposed to teach her? And what could she possibly teach him? His blue-in-blue eyes studied her intently for several seconds, before he finally nodded his head in the direction of a not-distant outcropping of rock. Come...we walk this way. In spite of his apparent distaste for the girl, he did not begin moving towards the rocky outcrop until she did.