Help Arrives

Tir glared at the assassin. He knew that he couldn't step aside with a woman in danger. The gun was pointed at his face and he knew that he would be dead before he could do anything useful, but it was better than surrending.

"Go to hell bastard!"

A sadistic smile crept onto the face of the assassin. "Gladly, but at a later date perhaps. Goodbye young hero."

Tir saw the man's finger squeeze the trigger, but suddenly a fist flew out of the darkness nearby and sent the man spinning into a wall and his shot firing over Tir's head. Out of the darkness stepped Jean and a tall dark skinned woman. Jean smiled at his companion, who was now cracking her knuckles.

"Nice one Veld. I knew you were the right choice for this."

"I'm not a soldier any longer so I'll expect a tip for having to clean up your messes."

The assassin regained his balance and charged at Jean. Tir hadn't seen when he did it, but the assassin had switched his gun for another dagger. Metal met metal as Jean drew his sword and parried the first dagger while the other thrust just past his throat. Veld's fist shot out again, but the assassin danced backwards and slashed, barely missing her arm. Tir threw a dagger, but the assassin pulled the cloak from around his shoulders and caught the dagger with it while throwing the cloak aside. Tir could finally see the man's whole body better. He was build like a brick wall and his arms were covered in scars, some fresher than others. Tir charged to join the attack as Jean's sword began to dance and weave, searching for an opening in the assassin's defense. The red haired man blocked and parried with his daggers keeping both the young pirates held off. He lashed out with one foot, catching Tir in the gut. As Tir fell backwards, Veld took his place, spinning on the ball of her foot and kicking her right leg across the man's face. The assassin stumbled into a dark alley. Tir stood and started to go after him but Jean held up a hand to stop him.

"He's not there. Not anymore. Who was that guy Tir? And why was he after you?"

Sasha came from her hiding place over to Tir and wrapped her arms around his right arm, still crying softly. Jean's face softened and he smiled. "Well that answers my question about why he was after you. Looks like you picked up some trouble for us. Doesn't matter. Captain Carlin wouldn't leave her behind with someone like that after her."

Veld snorted "That was the Hound. A Veertor assassin who goes by the name Vargas. He reports directly to general Alexander. If he's after that girl then she must be important."

Jean laughed. "The Hound? If that's true then we really have found a treasure! Oh by the way Tir, this lovely woman is Veld. She's the ship's whore I hired for the trip. She used to be a Veer soldier in her younger days. In case you didn't notice, she hasn't lost her edge."

"I enjoyed fighting, just not for the Veer," was all the woman would say before crossing her arms and turning her head away. Jean patted her on the back with a friendly smile.

"We better get back to the ship before more trouble finds us."

Tir nodded and wrapped an arm around Sasha. "Yeah I agree. This is Sasha by the way. She wanted to come along for personal reasons."

Jean simply nodded and began heading for the ship with Veld a step behind him. Tir couldn't help but wonder how this would effect the rest of the voyage.