Apparently the board won't let people quick reply more than a certain number of times per page, which, when you think about it makes sense.
Everyone will have to reread chapter 13 as I managed to fix it, and now it's much longer.



*Chapter 14: Arrival*

The sun was halfway up the sky, but here the airs was still cold and crisp; on the shady side of rocks were little mounds of snow and in places where the shadows stayed, away from the sun, there were icicles and snowdrifts. The streams ran with the promise, if not of ice, then of hypothermia. This was the high mountains; and they straddled the skyline like a series of large stone dominoes, immovable and ancient, sharp against the sky. The landscape curled downward from them, into lush valleys full of forests and meadows; from this vantage point it was as if you could see the whole world, spread out below like some glorious tapestry, basking in the heat of summer, bathing in the brisk promise of a new day.

Spaz looked at the view and yawned; at first it was entrancing, after an hour, amazing, two hours interesting, after three hours he had a look, now he was bored out of his skull. Apparently he had the whole day to sit here and stand guard, but there was nothing much left to do; he'd tried throwing snowballs at Kira, but it's hard to hit someone perched on your shoulders, and after a while she ate them. He'd already run through the sandwiches he'd packed, and a rather conspicuous and multicolored pile of feathers hinted that both he and Kira had managed to waste an hour or so tracking down numerous snacks, which had rather depleted the local birdlife; that which hadn't left at the appearance of the Goshawk had rather rapidly been plucked in mid-flight. But there was nothing left to do! And he had to stay put; it was very important; he'd been given strict instructions and this was a matter of national, nay, planetary security.

He sat down and twiddled his finger, then toes, then ears. He sighed and looked at the view again, still majestic. On the other hand; nobody would notice he was gone, would they? The Queen and Admiral hadn't emerged from their cabin all day. Deep down Spaz felt sorry for him; even five minutes with the Queen was enough to make most people crack. Well, that was settled then; nobody would notice if he went off for a brisk stroll, not too far away of course, merely to scout out the local terrain, in case it harbored enemy forces or unclaimed snacks. With a brief whoop of joy, Spaz tumbled down the nearest hillside. He came to a stop about a minute later.

* * *

It was almost midday when the lone character plodded sedately up the winding road toward the cafe, dragging their feet and mumbling to themselves all the while. Vernon stared at the three police ships outside, barely acknowledging their existence; he was already distracted almost to the point of walking into stationary objects. Inside about a dozen officers were clustered around a table, attempting to interview the occupants all at once. Vernon remembered his time in the Carrotus civil defense; there had never been much to do, even when there was a war on; what the police had t go through was probably solid paperwork from one donut break to the next. Still, he was here and this was the time, and those were the people, so he'd better not wait for everyone to be finished. He strode over to the group at the table; even before he'd entered the room all their eyes had been fixed upon him.

Red beamed as Vernon approached and took an officer's chair without asking. "About bloody time to! What the hell kept you? (-)! Lets blow this joint!" An officer stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Uh... Mam, there's still the matter of- hnnk!" He fell backwards slowly, like a felled tree, not bending at the knees, or slumping, just falling over in one smooth movement. His compatriots reached for their weapons, but somehow one must have caught in a piece of fabric, as it went off, rather messily removing the face of the officer in front of it. After that things moved in a blur; the officers backed away, drew weapons and somehow managed to trip over, one shot himself in the chest, another fell over a chair and didn't move after that, red dealt with the other four with one smooth sweep.

There was almost utter silence, followed by the sound of running footsteps as the cafe owner fled to the strong room out back, probably to call for backup. Red wiped the blood off her blade with the hem of her top, briefly treating the room to a sight many rabbits went to sleazy bars and paid good money for. Nobody noticed much except for Larrock, who had an expression of fascinated horror on his face. All six figures were standing now looking resolutely to the east. Wit was the first to speak 'Aah, its a great day for it; we've been away too long." Red snorted "To f(-) with the small talk, lets ride!"

Outside the cafe were five hoverboards. They had not been there that morning; each was different and had a sleek, purposeful air to it, like a freshly polished shotgun. They seemed to purr without making a sound, almost sparking with a buildup of potential.

Overhead a fresh wind brought clouds to the formerly blue sky. They rushed overhead like a white river, steadily turning toward grey, darkening the world below and bringing an almost palatable chill tot he air.

A storm was on the way.

.