Apella

[Crash Calestorm 0]

Away Team Bravo

Villager Territory

Main Village

 

The leader of the Villagers, Apella, walked away from the corpse of the Hill tribesman. A single shot through the chest had killed him and the village leader was pleased – his aim was getting better. The seeping red blood stood out in contrast to the brown leather and light cloth stitching’s worn by the dead man.

 

His dark eyed gaze took in the gathered crowd, the typical gaggle of regular travelers from other towns, his own people, and drifters heading to seasonal work in the northeastern areas. Some of the more adventurous individuals, both men and women, inspected the fallen man more closely.

 

Apella desired to launch an attack against Tyree and his Hill tribes, though had been cautioned by Mistress to have patience. Her reasoning had been some nonsense about burning through the ammunition stores too quickly and maintaining the count of forty rifles that had been given to him.

 

He also desired more of the fire sticks, and more of the metal nuggets that flew outward and struck his enemies. He wanted all of his men that served in the town militias to carry the nugget throwers. Again, the Green Skin of the Sky had cautioned him to maintain his patience.

 

It irked Apella to take instruction from Mistress; she was female after all. He tolerated the situation only to achieve his goals, and would bide his time. For now, the smaller patrols would be armed, and continued to harass the Hill People.

 

One of the chief patrol leaders had reported that Nona, the witch wife of Tyree, had been killed during an altercation. So much the better. It would only be a matter of time before he and his people scattered Tyree and his flea bitten nomads to the four winds.

 

A young man trotted over to him, his light blue tunic indicating a militia man in training. Unlike the others, he was not permitted to carry the projectile sticks. “Apella! There is an argument at the main market.”

 

Apella held his own flintlock one handed, resting it on one shoulder. “Antilles and Mace?”

 

“Yes; they were haggling over a cow and the woman, Ventriss, again. It has turned heated.”

 

He sighed and quirked a smile at the boy. “Those two tend to keep the market lively. Good. This is an opportunity to give you instruction on handling bartering altercations. I will be along directly. Go.”

 

As the youth took off back in the direction of main market square, the Village leader signaled to one of his regular guards, a man in a deep red tunic. As the man approached, Apella began issuing orders to him. “Have one of your men stand watch over the supply dwelling, my friend. I will be back as soon as I tend to matters.”

 

TBC in Sim

 

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*The Apella character is copyright Classic Star Trek Series/CBS