Kallian was at peace. He had just finished half a barrel, and his cup lay on his chest. He awoke in a drunken stupor. Something was happening at his basecamp, something big. Gunfire erupted. He heard an unfamiliar buzzing sound, a snap, then the buzzing sound.

  He saw silhouettes moving outside, most scavengers, but one looked almost like a nude silhouette. He drew a breath, that was the silhouette of someone in a Ponu suit.

  Just then, Dukota rushed in, frantic and wild-eyed. "We've got to go, they broke through, they're already in the camp, get your ass up, now, we've got to fight our way out of this."

  Kallian stumbles out of bed, halfway hoping Dukota is playing some cruel joke on him in his current condition. Attacking the Red Band in Kallian's main camp? Who would be that brave or dumb?

  Dukota's words are a stream, most of which flow past Kallian. Something about Geeryo, white containment suits, and a black aircraft. It makes no sense.

  Dukota opens the tent only to have an arm grab him by the neck, lifting him up. It's an arm covered in pink fabric. Dukota's eyes open wide. The Ponu man, "Four", steps forward and then tosses Dukota. Kallian gets up, enraged as "Four" turns to him, smiling.

  Dukota stands up, taking out his knife, he takes a couple of steps towards "Four" before something from behind wraps around his neck. It is the energy whip from "Three." The pink glow of it makes an eerie spectacle along with Dukota's bulging eyes and desperate face. His mouth opens in a silent scream as the whip seems to explode every nerve center in his body. His lifeless body falls to the floor.

  Kallian looks on in horror. He reaches for his gun, but "Four", still smiling, showing Ponu quickness, reaches it first. He tosses the gun over to "Three". He wants to enjoy the dismantling of Kallian.

  Kallian tries a punch, but it's easily blocked. Then one blow to the gut bends over Kallian.

  "Four" smiles, enjoying every second of it.

  Kallian falls. "Four" reaches down to pull him up for more punishment.

  Just then, gunshots ring through the tent, "Four" and "Three" both duck and take cover, fleeing out a slit in the tent. It's Jarigal, with an automatic weapon and red eyes. Kallian doesn't need to ask, for the usual stony Jarigal, only one thing could put her in this state, Jettal must have been killed by the Ponu.

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  "This way," She points, "head straight for the woods, some of the survivors are regrouping there, I am not leaving, these bastards have to pay for what they did to my friend!" She hands Kallian a gun as he escapes the tent.

  Outside, a White Guard spots him, but refrains from shooting at him for fear he may kill their prize. He instead shoots ahead of Kallian, but the drunken warlord ignores the warning shot.

  Kallian runs. It all seems so unreal. Those were Ponu, the audacity to attack a scavenger camp, a Red Band scavenger camp. They killed Dukota, Jettal and almost killed him.

  He makes it to a tree, his first thought is he needs to throw up, the running, the fright, the booze, was not a good combination.

  He hears a scream in a familiar voice; it's Jarigal, they have got her now, too. His camp is lost. He thinks that he needs to run; he needs to find safety. He makes it to the woods and sees the dozen or so survivors of his Red Band militia camp. They march on, trying to live another day to fight back. All were in shock at what had just happened. They leave behind the civilians of their Red Band camp to be dealt with by the Ponu.

  For just a brief second, Kallian is the terrified, powerless little boy again, seeing his village being marched to their death by Ponu conquerors.

  Back in Kallian's tent, Jarigal's body is laid next to her friend Jettal and Dukota. "Two" looks over them. "Stupid waste, is this the best the scavengers have to offer?" "One" seems occupied with what's outside the tent. "It doesn't matter that his lieutenants are dead; we need him. Geeryo demands it of us."

  She looks outside as their team, the armed "White Guards," continue to "clean up" any scavenger survivors. Just then, the metallic sphere appears. Everyone present gets tense.

  The hologram images of the same man and woman from before, in black business suits, appear.

  Everyone kneels.

  "Is he captured?"

  "No," One says, raising her head from a kneeling position. "But we are sure we know where he is going. We are just cleaning up the mess here before pursuing. He will be captured and deliv..."

  before she can continue, the geeryo woman hologram interrupts...

  "Might I remind you that we have precious little time. If we don't capture him in time, it will have drastic consequences for all of us...especially for you. Keep that in mind, and hasten your pursuit."

  One turns towards her team, "You heard our masters. We burn the camp and then leave.

  This sends a message. It also keeps anyone from using this camp as a rally point to come up from behind us.

  We move fast, see the next camp he makes it to, then attack. This time, we catch him at all costs. No escape"

  In the woods, "What do we do now?" one of his Red Band militia asks.

  He feels the urge to say "we wake up", but he slurs out directions that they head west with all haste, towards the camp run by Janeda. They move, each in turn, looking back to see when the Ponu will follow. Nothing, only a hidden, slowly moving metallic sphere keeping an eye on their movements.