Chapter 24

Camulus' smile is the same as his sister's, friendly and warm.

"The names we picked are all gods of war," He warms to his subject. "I am Celtic, Gun is African and Seth is Egyptian. He was going to with a more Asian god but I think the god of war for the Hindi is a woman. Seth say it was"

"And you three just knew that you were going to be grouped together?" I throw my head back and laugh. The gods of war how sophomoric but then all the names were like that. A great deal of thought, at an age that thinks nothing of the future. And now you are stuck with some silly name. No wonder Gwen shortens everyone name. It is easier to ignore the silly ones that way.

"Where else would you put us?" He laughs with me as we walk back to the group.

I decide to help Saul with looking after the wounded. Some broken limbs and stab wounds. Camulus was right there will be a few people out of commission for a couple of months. Working with Saul gives me a sense of peace and balance. I don't usually get to use my healing skills. It is a nice change for the day.

As sunset approaches, the Protectors congregate together to try and sort out their next step. I decide to stick my nose into the meeting and see what kind of plans they have. With this in mind I join Annie as she waves me over to her side. She was once again, armed to the teeth. She tells me who the protectors are.

"You know Saber, Holiday and Seattle. Then there are the gods of war, Camulus, Seth and Gun, that is six you know. The rest are Ajax, Bunyan and Twain the legends," she point to three men in order. Ajax is a short but well muscled man, standing next to a tall man with a long beard and the third is a skinny fellow with a shot gun and what looks like a sniper rifle.

"Then there the saviors. Mao, Gunga Din and Thanos," she points out the two men next Gunga Din. Mao looks like a classic Robin Hood in a green tunic and hood, covering his messy brown hair. But he is carrying what would be classified as a double recurved bow. Thanos is just dressed in black with many different kinds of weapons strapped to his legs and back, it is very impressive.

Saber brings the impromptu meeting to order. "So far we have accomplished our major task," Saber starts. "But I don't know like how close to the Compound these Brutes were," he sighs and puts a hand on the back of his neck to rub a kink out.

"I guess the real question is how do we get every one home," Seattle points out.

"True. With the Hummer we can transport the wounded," Holiday pipes in.

"But you are still in enemy territory," I point out. "We can not camp out here," Annie hugs me. I think she agreed with my assessment.

"It is a three day trek," Annie reminds every one. "With that thing," she point to the hummer. "We made it in under 2 hours."

"So would you be willing to transport everyone back tonight? That becomes the real question," I add quietly.

"We are not sure how long the batteries will last after dark," Gunga says.

"Longer than you think," I look at him and into him. Gunga shudders.

"What can you do?" Saber asks now getting an inkling that I know something.

"You have seen," I nod my head at him. "I can speed things up and slow them down. I can do the same for weight, make things lighter or heavier." I don't go into all the schools of mind I know. Or the universal sense that I have worked up to having. "Plus my Cybernetics enhancements allow me see in the dark," I add for their benefit.

"My kind of girl," Gun says all wit and witticism gets everyone to chuckle.

"I thank you, oh god of war," I say and give him one of my flourishing bows.

"And you know how to drive that thing," Holiday put in. "I vote Chronos drives us back."

A show of hands go up. "Are you really sure we can get everyone back to the compound?" Gunga Din asks.

"I believe I can. The hummer has been sitting and charging all afternoon. From my readings, the battery packs will hold a 12 hour charge. You could not have used all of that just getting here," I look out over the group of Protectors. There is some snorting and shuffling of feet. "You got lost," I sigh in pain.

"Did you bring a map?" There is some more shuffling. "Is there even a passable road out of here?"

"Oh yeah, not a problem," Holiday says brightly and with complete conviction.

This is what I stayed around for. Oh dear Universe, now I know where the women got their comedy routines from.

"Pick your groups," I resign myself to being the driver. "Give me a least one person who can get back to the Compound. I will drive all night if I have to." Annie gives me a quick hug.

"Thanks Chronos. I knew we could count on you," She chirps in delight in my ear.