Uncharted allies. Combining two worlds, part 1(Un-edited version)

A LIGHT IN THE DARK

A thin mist hovered above the ground, giving the dark forest an earie aura, and Rhán grinned, for though the Shri'Traccal were not religious, they were no strangers to superstition. Some saw low-hanging fog as a harbinger of trouble. Well, those troubles were indeed on their way, he chuckled to himself.

Like ghosts, Rhán and his hundred men blazed their way through the forest. A small group of twelve of his most flexible men had led the way to take out, as far as they could find, the cameras Latarji had had placed in the trees. He felt his blood coursing through his body and the thought of a fight made him almost euphoric. Most of all he would enjoy his hands around Latarji's neck, watching the life disappear from his eyes was something he had dreamed of for a long time.

The death of the previous Tároc of the Krill clan was still shrouded in mystery. He had always thought that Gh'ara had something to do with it, but since the latest developments he wasn't so sure. Yes, the man was a cold-blooded bastard, and he had always bothered Rhán, but he always respected his Tároc... Probably his own dislike of the man had wanted to put the blame on him...

Rhán shook his head, if this was over and Gh'ara was still alive he would question the man about this, but now he had to focus on the upcoming fight.

Although the gate of Latarji's property was well secured by his men and the defenses shaken up, Rhan had anticipated this. Varsa had given them the codes of the installations that would allow Birgg back on the Azury compound, to override the orders at the time of the attack, preventing Latarji's men from using the main arsenal and allowing Rhan to enter the stronghold without great resistance.

Latarji's men fought hard and fierce and heavily outnumbered Rhán's physically stronger warriors in the end. Where Latarji's men had let their training go down, Rhan had sat on his men's necks daily, something that was now bearing fruit. During the fights he occasionally looked back at his comrades and saw the thrill of the fight burn in their eyes and all could only grin. This was what they were born for!

Beneath the stronghold they found long corridors where Gh'ara's men were held in cells. A few had minor injuries, most were in poor condition and in urgent need of medical attention. When he ordered the men to be taken to the medical facility, Rhán was frustrated to learn that Latarji had had the entire medical floor destroyed. Without thinking he opened another door, and bile rose in his throat. More than fifty dead bodies of Gh'ara's men were piled against the walls of the great room, all killed with a single shot to the head.

Rhán closed his eyes for a moment. If he had launched the attack a little earlier..., but shook his head. No, it wouldn't have mattered, these men had been dead for over two days, and he realized that the chance of finding Gh'ara alive was virtually zero, Latarji probably would have killed him first...

"Ikat..." Rhán turned to Ri'kil.

"Did you find him?" But his heart sank as the man shook his head in denial.

"No, Ikat, I'm sorry. He must have slipped out with a couple of his men when we started our assault..." Furious, Rhán slammed into the concrete wall next to him.

"Ikat..." He looked at Ri'kil with his blazing eyes.

"WHAT?!"

"I'm worried about the women and the medical staff..." His young protégé looked at him with a worried frown on his bloodied face.

"Now that we know that Latarji has escaped, he can look for our hide out... If he gets his hands on the women and the medical staff... I..." Ri'kil didn't get to finish his sentence, as Rhán raised his hand and silenced him.