Legionnaires: Timber Wolf

Wolf Hunt

by CSyphrett

“Ah, you’re awake, Mr. Londo,” said a cheerful voice from far above him.

Londo slowly opened hie eyes. He was at the bottom of a cliff. It was night. The three moons above told him he had been taken from Earth. He wasn’t restrained in any way as far as he could feel.

A lone figure stood at the top of the cliff.

“I guess this would be the time to tell you why you are here.”

“That’d be nice, said Londo. “Why was I brought here?”

“It is the monthly meeting of the Huntsman Society,” said the stranger. “You are the guest of honor this month.”

“Joy,” said Londo. “What do I get besides the headache I have?”

“The honor of being the first Legionnaire on our trophy wall. We have never been able to hunt a unique individual such as yourself before. Everyone is anticipating the pleasure they’ll get from being the one who killed Timber Wolf.”

“Far be it from me to be a kill-joy, but I don’t see it happening,” Londo said. He tensed his leg muscles and leaped up at the man. He passed through the huntsman without resistance.

“I’m not really here, Mr. Londo,” said the speaker. “I’m back at the lodge loading my weapons.”

“When do I get to meet you?” asked Londo.

“Soon, Timber Wolf, soon,” said the speaker pleasantly.

Brin Londo took stock. His flight ring and protective costume were gone. He was alert and able to fight as his system rapidly dumped whatever drug that had been used on him out of his system.

He picked a direction at random and began to jog through the forest that surrounded him. His keen eyes allowed him to see in the triple moonlight as well as if it were daytime. His strength, speed, and endurance would carry him along until he could find out where he was. He had already decided to fight this out. He knew he was going up against unknown odds, but he couldn’t run forever. He just had to find a place that would suit an ambush, and hit and run these so-called Hunstmen until he had a way off the planet.

This whole situation reminded him of the early days of his career when bounty hunters chased after him across his home planet. He had thought of himself as a lone wolf until he’d met Ayla Ranzz.

Londo found an area where blasters had been used extensively. Someone had went down fighting here, Londo realized. Broken trees gave him a place to hide.

He settled in to wait under a set of snapped trunks. He pulled a bunch of leaves in around him to form a blanket.

Let’s see what happens when I can get my hands on them, he thought with a grin.

Londo waited in his lair for an hour before he heard the hummm of hovercraft approaching. He readied himself under the broken wood. He would go down fighting like the other one they cornered here.

He waited until the hovercraft were right above him. He leaped out, flipped off a tree, and landed on top of the floating platform.

“No runnning for you, eh?” said the owner of the craft.

Brin recognized the massive body type immediately. He hooked his fore arm in the Khund’s face as hard as he could. The blow seemed to barely phase the heavier humanoid.

“My turn,” rumbled the Khund. He raised his left hand. Londo felt loose as he saw the energy cannon attached to the wrist.

The barrel glowed white hot from the lance the Khund loosed at the Legionnaire.

Londo leaped straight up over the energy beam. He landed behind the Khund. The cyborg turned, raising his right arm. The Legionnaire ducked the arm, and dropkicked his enemy in the head as hard as he could.

The massive Khund tipped over the side of the hovercraft rails. He dropped headfirst into the ground below. He was down, but not out.

Londo leaped from the craft as the Khund blasted the fans underneath with his arm cannon.

Londo used a tree as a springboard as the hovercraft crashed into a line of trees. He looked over at the Khund. The big humanoid was trying to take aim at his hurtling form.

The Legionnaire used the surrounding forest as a series of hand-holds to manuever around the hunter. The heavier man couldn’t spin around fast enough as the hero dropped down on top of him, sending him into a tree.

Londo grabbed the arm cannon and beat it against the ground with his own phenominal strength. The Khund back-handed him away with his free arm.

“Now you are my kill,” the cyborg gritted out, raising his cannon.

The Khund fired his weapon. It exploded in his face. His arm flew away in one direction while his body went the other way.

Londo lunged forward, grasping his enemy’s head in both hands and began to smash it against the hard wood of a tree. He didn’t stop until he was sure the man was out.

***

 

Londo hoped the man’s friends could help him because the Legionnaire wasn’t sticking around. He had places to be. And the idiot had given him a direction. Time to get away from here.

He used the trees as a highway to cover the ground necessary. He wondered how many hunters were chasing him through the woods.

Brin Londo paused when he saw the hunter’s base camp. It appeared to be a converted ship placed in the ground. He spotted a man getting ready to depart on another hover platform.

Maybe this one would talk more than the Khund.

The Legionnaire circled to get ahead of the lone hunter. He waited for the man to fly straight into his ambush. The man obliged him quickly and suffered a foot to the face that knocked him out.

Londo quickly landed the hovercraft. He hid it from casual passersby with limbs that had fallen from the nearby trees. That would have to until he could get some answers from his victim.

If he could get some answers…

Londo grabbed his victim’s jaw and slapped him awake. He had to get a reading on his enemies before they realized what was going on.

“Wha–?” said the prisoner.

“I’d like some answers, please,” Londo said.

“I don’t think so,” said the prisoner. His body caught fire, burning away his bonds. “Time to die, Legionnaire.”

Tendrils of flame struck at Londo.

Brin Londo somersaulted out of the way of the fiery blast. He should have just dumped the guy somewhere instead of trying to question him.

The hunter let loose another explosive fireburst at the agile Legionnaire.

Londo leaped on top of the hovercraft. He set the fans to full blast and lifted the nose so that the mini-hurricane blew directly on his enemy. The man slammed into a tree, flaming aura almost snuffed out.

Londo lunged, his fist leading the way. The hard blow knocked the fire thrower out.

***

 

Londo piloted the hovercraft back to the lodge. There were no other hunters in sight. The Legionnaire landed the platform as close as he could to the building. He ran to the entrance of the lodge and threw the door open.

No one shot at him. No noise at all.

That was good.

Londo didn’t like what did greet him. Numerous bodies were frozen in transparent cases. An empty case stood at the end of a long row. His name was on it.

Brin examined the lodge carefully. He did not see any type of communications equipment. Nor were there any weapons. He was on his own, a lone wolf again.

Londo looked around outside the lodge. A narrow trail led off to one side into the treeline. He jogged down the trail quietly.

Something must have been down there, since pains were taken to hide the trail from casual inspection. Maybe a radio, or if he was really lucky, a spaceship to get him out of here.

It would have helped if he knew how many of the hunters he was up against.

Londo slowed to a walk as he inspected the trail. Something was not quite right about it. An instant later, he was starting to fall into a pit. He grabbed the edge of the hole with a twist of his body. Spikes were at the bottom of the pit, waiting for him.

He yanked himself up with a single pull of his arms. A whirring sound whipped at him. He bent forward into a shoulder roll as two logs swung together overhead.

Londo realized he had stumbled into an automated trap zone. He remained still as he listened and watched for anything else to go off.

“Hello, Legionnaire,” said a female voice on the trail Londo had walked along to get to his present position. “Welcome to my web.”

Londo smiled thinly when he saw the dark haired woman aiming a hunting rifle at his prone body.

He pushed his body into the air as she fired the rifle. The narrow beam cut underneath his spinning body as he soared through the air.

Londo landed on his feet behind the huntswoman. She tried to turn to fire again. His fist stopped that with one blow. He smashed the rifle before heading back in the direction of the lodge.

He wondered how many more wanted to put him in that trophy box. Would it make them feel good to know they bagged a Legionnaire? They weren’t getting him that easily.

Londo wondered what to do next. He could pick his foes off one at a time, but that wouldn’t get him off the planet. He needed to find their spaceship if he could, or failing that, a radio that worked. He wished he found his flight ring but realized that would have been the first thing the huntsmen had discarded when he was captured.

He started his hovercraft and headed out. He would try to direct the rest of the hunters into a trap. Maybe one of them knew about leaving this deathtrap. He headed deep into the woods, humming a song as he worked on the details of his plan.

Londo directed his craft away from where he had been dumped and the lodge. He wondered briefly how many were after his head. Did the successful hunter get a reward for a job well done?

A buzzing came from behind him. He glanced over a shoulder quickly. A swarm of insects filled the air behind the hovercraft.

Londo pushed the throttle forward as the strange bugs flew closer with unnatural speed.

One came close enough for the Legionnaire to examine it. It was a mechanical replica of a real bug. The attennae glowed for a second before a thin slice of energy reached for his face. He jerked out of the way. The beam struck the control panel, sending a stream of sparks in the air.

Londo brought a hand around with his unnatural reflexes and slammed the bug into a passing tree. It embedded itself in the wood with a protesting whine.

Londo struggled with the hovercraft as the robotic insects closed in from behind. He spun the platform to go in the other direction. He leaped away as machines met in a crackling collision.

Timber Wolf leaped into the branches of a tree as the surviving insects began to gather again with an angry buzz.

The Legionnaire used the trees as a highway to trace his path back in the direction he came from. He heard the bugs start after him. Small slices of energy tried to cut him as he leaped from tree to tree.

He needed to find who had sent the mechanical menace after him.

Londo came across his foe as he fled the swarm. A tall, skinny Malusian stood among a bunch of robotic animals. Londo glanced back to gauge how close the insects were to him.

A metallic bird took wing. Small lasers fired from the tips of its wings as it closed with Londo. The Legionnaire leaped through the blasts. He landed on the ground lightly, prepared to spring again. A gorilla with six arms rushed at him intent on protecting its master. Londo hurtled the gorilla, leaped through another burst from the flying bird, and flipped a simulcrum of a sabertoothed tiger.

The robotics master tried to back away from the angry Timber Wolf. His animals converged on the supposed quarry. Londo leaped and flipped completely over the hunter. He threw one punch and the animals went dead as the robotics master collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut.

Londo smiled. Maybe this one could tell him something useful.

Londo disassembled the robots before their master regained his senses. No use letting him activate the things again. He wrapped a piece of metal around the fallen huntsman to hold him in place.

He slapped the robot master awake.

“Ow!” said the hunter, trying to rub his face, and finding his upper body restrained.

“All I want to know is where can I get a ship to get off this planet,” stated the Legionnaire. “That’s it.”

“There’s no way,” said the hunter.

“What do you mean?” asked Londo.

“It’s automated,” said the robo-master. “A ship won’t return until you have been declared killed by one of our implants.”

“You’re telling me I won’t be able to leave until one of you gets me?”

“Correct,” said the robot master. He started smiling.

“Guess who isn’t getting the win?” said Londo. He knocked the robotics master out with one vicious punch.

“There has to be another way,” said the Legionnaire. “What idiot didn’t put some kind of fail-safe in place in case things didn’t go as expected?”

Maybe if he beat the rest of the hunters. He immediately dismissed that idea. That was more likely to cause the pick-up ship to self destruct rather than land to carry off survivors.

He had to make it look like he was dead.

He pondered the idea as he circled back towards the lodge. Maybe he could fake his death. The circumstances would have to be just right. He would have to fool the hunter and his implant to succeed. That could be easier said than done.

A whirring noise sounded from behind. The hero threw himself down out of instinct. A nearby tree exploded from an unseen impact.

What was that? Londo asked himself as he dodged behind a tall, thick tree for some kind of cover. Another projectile sailed through the air. This one he tracked and easily moved away from before it exploded.

Timber Wolf leaped behind another tree further along. He couldn’t quite figure where the thrower was standing amidst the brown forest.

Maybe this was the break he needed to get off this rock and head back to civilization. All he had to do was trick this idiot into thinking he was dead. How hard could that be?

Four of the killer lances flung themselves at Londo. He moved as quick as a snake to get beyond the range of the explosives. He set off in a fast paced trot.

He knew exactly what he was going to do if he could find the right place.

Timber Wolf moved with all of his enhanced speed. The javelins had stopped as the hunter lost his view of his target. Londo heard clothe and a faint tinkling as he headed for his ambush point.

Hopefully his plan would work and he could get out of this insane mess.

Londo came to the edge of a gulley. It deepened as it ran to one side. All he needed now was one of those exploding spears.

“Turn around, Timber Wolf,” said the hunter. “It’s time to bring this to a close.”

“Do it,” said Londo in mock rage.

“Yes, no need for more talk,” said the hunter.

One hand pulled a javelin and threw it at the waiting Legionnaire. Londo fell over the edge of the gulley, spear in his side.

“Kill one hundred,” said the javelin thrower with undisguised glee. “The others will explode over this.”

He pressed a button on the side of his targeting visor. Robotic units would come and claim the carcass for stuffing and mounting when the ship landed.

A yellow streak descended from over the horizon. The designated landing spot was at the lodge. The hunter took off in that direction as fast as his augmented legs could run. Another successful hunt to log and everyone’s humiliation had been recorded.

Perhaps they should hunt other Legionnaires.

He wondered who would make a good target. Perhaps Lightning Lass would like to join Brin Londo in the Hall of the Fallen.

***

 

The augmented hunter arrived at the lodge as the ship lowered its landing gear. A ramp extended from one side as an entrance opened. He slowed to a walk as he contempelated the successful completion of the monthly hunt.

No one else had ever ran the gauntlet and survived before. Timber Wolf would have a place of honor in the trophy hall.

The huntsman disengaged the ship’s security with a thought. After all, his only enemy had a spear buried in his chest.

A lone figure lunged from the treeline with a soft growl. It smashed into the Huntsman from behind, knocking him down easily.

“Guess who’s going in the box,” Brin Londo said as he brought a fist down on the Huntsman’s head.

Epilogue

 

Brin Londo grinned at nothing at all as he watched the vast emptiness of space slide pass his viewer. He would be home soon. That’s all that mattered.

He wanted to talk to Ayla about his experience, but she was away on Legion business.

Their relationship had suffered in the last few months. He wanted to put things back on an even keel.

He vowed to work on it when he got home to Earth. He would be better than he had been, even as he had been better than the Lone Wolf persona he had thought of himself at the beginning of his career.

He would quit the Legion if he had to to make things better between himself and Ayla again.