“This track is boring!” announced Sir Nitram and pointed in the direction the Dirtling had run, “We will follow the Dirtling to his lair.”

  Solcrend looked at his assistant who gave an almost imperceptible shrug.

  “Yes, Sir,” said Solcrend as he redirected the group into the woods. Sugen and Lurch followed behind at a small distance. Lurch watched ahead using his VisionBot 1200, but visibility was limited by the trees and underbrush. The guards were looking in all directions, much more nervous than before the earlier engagement.

  Sir Nitram put on his atmosphere mask as they skirted some ponds and marshes and waved his tentacles at the guards, “Move on, move on! Dirt smells like mud.” Lady Natalia laughed at his joke and after a short while the guards gave a polite chuckle. They had worked with Sir Nitram for many years and knew when they should laugh.

  “Halt!” said Solcrend as they came to an open area. He turned to Lurch and signalled for him to send the VideoBot 1200 forward. Lurch moved to the edge of the woods as he tracked what the bot was seeing.

  “I see a glimpse of orange on the other side of this clearing. The Dirtling is over there,” Lurch said, pointing to an area at the other side of the clearing.

  Solcrend directed to two guards and told them, “You two. Secure the woods at the edge of the clearing over there. The Dirtling has escaped and we are following.”

  Sir Niram sighed loudly, “Are we moving?”

  The two guards ran in a staggered way to the other side. No shot rang out. They entered the edge of the woods and knelt down.

  Solcrend waved everyone forward and they moved across the open area. Sugen guided Lurch across the clearing while Lurch’s attention was on the VideoBot 1200. Lurch suddenly looked up and started running. Sugen turned and saw what Lurch had seen and shouted, “Run for cover!” and joined Lurch running past Sir Nitram and his guard.

  “Oh, what now?” sighed Sir Nitram stifling a yawn as he looked up at the sky where Sugen had pointed. In the air was a flying machine with odd propellers spinning above it. It was travelling fast towards them. The closest guards raised their weapons and fired at the approaching craft, hitting the front but not destroying it. Solcrend and his assistant efficiently picked up Sir Nitram and Lady Natalia and raced for the cover of the trees.

  The approaching flying craft had machine cannons which fired at the guards standing in the open. Lurch directed the VideoBot to capture the attack. Sugen noted that the bullets fired from the Dirtling flying craft had some of the bullets light up, almost like it was tracing where the bullets were hitting. Sugen changed his description. Not bullets, more like explosive projectiles.

  The shots hit the ground and made small explosions in a line directly towards the guards. One guard leapt to the side while the other guard paused, changed the power on his laser gun and fired again. His full power laser bolt hit the flying craft’s propellers, shearing them off in a molten mess.

  At the same time, he was struck by multiple projectiles which ripped through his bright orange laser reflective armour making him look like a bright cheese grater. The guard collapsed as the flying craft made a rapid descent to the ground. The second guard tried to avoid the crash by dodging again, but his legs were caught by the tail of the craft. He fell on his back and brought up his rifle as a couple of Dirtlings staggered out of the crashed craft. He shot down both Dirtlings as some projectiles fired from the wreck and stitched through the guard, killing him.

  Lurch was shocked as he knelt down with Sugen behind a large tree at the edge of the clearing. Sugen hit him in the shoulder, “Lurch,” he said, “Snap out of it. This is war.”

  Sugen looked around and saw Sir Nitram, Lady Natalia and the guards a few metres away and whispered to Lurch, “This is what happens when the targets fight back. I don’t think the guards are used to a fair fight. Keep controlling that VideoBot.”

  Solcrend ordered the other guards, “We will cover you. Make sure there are no survivors. We don’t want to be ambushed by defeated vermin.”

  Two of the guards raced to the downed craft. Solcrend fired at movement in the wreck and was satisfied with a scream of pain. The two guards reached the wreck and fired a couple of shots. One of guards turned back to Solcrend and made the hand signal indicating that all was clear. They sauntered back with a slight swagger, proud of their cleanup.

  Sit Nitram pushed past Solcrend and pointed at the wreck, “I will get the kill!”

  The swaggering guards leapt in either direction as Sir Nitram fired his weapon - at full strength of course - and hit the wreck, exploding it in a huge ball of explosive fire. The guards held their armoured hands over their heads as bits and pieces of the wreck landed around them. They eventually stood and returned to the party.

  Solcrend then tapped his assistant, “Mark our dead friends with tags so they will get returned to us.” The assistant quickly ran out and placed a tag on each of their comrades and raced back into cover.

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  “Now,” said Sir Nitram, “Where was that Dirtling running to?”

  Surrounded by the four remaining guards, Sir Nitram and Lady Natalia continued down the path they had reached in the direction they had last seen the Dirtling in orange.

  “Camera guy!” called Sir Nitram dismissively behind him, “Did you capture my brave shooting back there when I destroyed that flying craft?”

  “Yes, Sir,” answered Lurch.

  “Good,” said Sir Nitram, “Now see if you can find that Dirtling. I want him for a trophy.”

  Lurch redirected the VideoBot 1200 from observing the burning wreckage and downed guards, shrouded in smoke and wreckage, back towards the front to see if he could find the Dirtling. He found him, escaping into a shed a short distance away from a large house. Should he let Sir Nitram know? Did he want to be the one responsible for the Dirtling’s death?

  “Ummm, Sir,” said Lurch, “There is a house up ahead of us. The Dirtling must have gone there.” Lurch hoped that would be a good enough answer. True, but not the full truth.

  “Excellent!” said Sir Nitram, “Let’s hurry up.”

  He began to move faster forward and the guards increased their pace to ensure they retained their cover formation.

  The reached the edge of the clearing at a gate in a waist high fence. A short distance away was a short hedge either side of a small entrance building. A large double storey dwelling was behind that.

  “That looks like a nice house,” said Sir Nitram, “Pity they decided to shoot at us.”

  He then kicked the gate, intending for it to fall down. It shook and remained upright.

  Sir Nitram stared at the gate and glanced at Solcrend. Solcrend kicked the gate with his armoured boots and the gate smashed into pieces. Solcrend stepped aside as Sir Nitram stepped forward.

  He raised his rifle and fired at the entrance building. The full force laser bolt hit the wooden structure sending shards of laminated and painted wood flying in all directions and the edges began to burn, sending smoke into the air and spreading, partially blocking the view of the house.

  ‘That’s for making me look foolish with the gate,” said Sir Nitram, “Let’s go to the house.”

  The front two guards raced ahead and through the smoke-filled opening. Sir Nitram and Lady Natalia followed with the other two guards covering the rear.

  Lurch and Surgen followed at a distance, the VideoBot 1200 hovering above Sir Nugent.

  “Um,” said Lurch as he saw what was happening but didn’t have time to call ahead.

  Solcrend and his assistant had raced forward, straight through the smoke and directly into a pool of water. Lady Natalia hovered above them and called to Sir Nitram, “Love! Stop there. Don’t fall in to the water!”

  Sir Nitram stopped at the edge of the pool and looked down at the guards. “Up you get,” he helpfully commanded and then walked around the pool. One of the guards went with Sir Nitram while the other assisted Solcrend and his assistant out of the pool.

  A shot rang out and the guard assisting the others buckled at the knee and fell into the pool head first.

  “Where is the Dirtling?” called Sir Nitram.

  “Over there, my love!” called Lady Natalia pointing at the nearby shed.

  Sir Nitram stood in a brave pose and fired at the shed.

  Click!

  “Bah!,” said Sir Nitram in disgust and threw his rifle away, “Where is my spare!”

  The guard next to him handed over the spare rifle, and another shot rang out, hitting the edge of the house just near Sir Nitram’s head and ricocheting past him, nicking one of his tentacles.

  Sir Nitram gave a little squeal of pain and pushed himself back against the wall, holding his slightly damaged tentacle, “Get him!” he screamed.

  Solcrend and his assistant, with water sloughing off them, charged towards the shed and through the small decorative fence separating the two buildings.

  “My love, look!” shouted Lady Natalia as she heard a familiar sound and pointed towards where they had seen the last flying craft. Another one was flying towards them.

  Sir Nitram quickly raised his new laser rifle and fired wildly in the direction of the flying craft, missing completely. The craft dropped out of sight behind the woods.

  “There,” announced Sir Nitram, “Got him!”

  “Excellent shooting, Darling,” said Lady Natalia as she quickly hovered to a hiding position under the verandah of the house.

  Solcrend and his assistant had also seen the descent of the flying craft and knew it had not been hit. They raced back to protect their charges and hurried them both into the house. The house looked to be solidly built and should provide some protection. A bullet bounced off the armour of the guard at the rear of the group.

  Solcrend looked around him, and asked the trailing guard “Where’s Gerry?”

  They all looked and the trailing guard peeked out the window at the pool.

  Solcrend glared at him and pointed.

  The trailing guard raced out of the house and lay down next to the pool and looked in. Gerry was down there and not moving. Noticing a pole with a net next to the edge of the water, the trailing guard grabbed it and poked Gerry. There was no response. Pushing harder he pushed Gerry over and saw the broken visor and the shocked look on Gerry’s face.

  “Sir!” he called out, “Gerry is dead.”

  “What?” yelled back Solcrend, “How?”

  “His armour is frozen and face plate cracked,“ answer the guard, “looks like the bullet disrupted the mechanics. His suit froze and we were too busy with everything to notice.”

  “Tag him!” sighed Solcrend, “And get back here.”

  The trail guard reached down as far as he could and flicked the tag so it stuck to Gerry’s armour. He then quickly ran back to the house.

  “Well?” demanded Sir Nitram, “Why are we hiding in here?”

  Solcrend debated explaining the threat of the flying vessel or the Dirtling that kept firing at them but realised that it would not achieve anything.

  Sugen and Lurch had retreated to the woods to the other side of the boundary fence.

  “Lurch,” said Sugen, “Hide your gun.”

  “What, why?” asked Lurch, “We’ll need it for our defence!”

  “We’ll be outgunned. The guards are down to three and look how well armed they are,” said Sugen as he hid his pistol in his back pack. Lurch reluctantly placed his own gun in his own pack and they lay down, watching the house while Lurch used the VideoBot 1200 to observe the action.

  They each froze as they felt a prod in their backs. They turned and looked up to see some uniformed Dirtlings wearing helmets and body armour staring at them with death in their eyes. Sugen and Lurch stretched their arms out wide, in the universal sign of surrender. The Dirtlings pointed at them with clear signs for them to stay where they were and not to move. Sugen and Lurch shook their heads in agreement and the Dirtling stared at them harder, pointing their guns meaningfully. Sugen and Lurch spread their arms wider and closed their eyes.

  A short while later Sugen peeked out of half open eyelids and saw they were alone. “Don’t move,” he whispered to Lurch, “They might be watching.”