Revolt of the Nons

His well-trained men immediately reacted, but by then the air was full of arrows. The Corper leader had made the fatal mistake of depending on his perimeter guard, who were now lying on the forest floor with their throats cut. There were twenty of the Corpers, and several of them had enough time to fire their automatic rifles and were spraying bullets in every direction before they died.

Dar was watching the communications man, hoping to get a clean shot, and he did. But he was too late, the man got off a signal. "Hurry!" he shouted at his men, "The helicopters are coming!" And he thought they probably had at least one nerve can mounted on the nose.

The Nons grabbed uncle Sly and what they could and faded into the dark forest. Dar was the last to leave, and just as he left, the clearing lit up with a blinding light. The helicopter had mounted searchlights on them. Dar ran through the woods as fast as he dared because he did not want to trip or brain himself on a low branch. He picked up the pace, one of the lights was moving toward him. Then there was a humming ripping noise and the scream of a man in mortal agony. "The nerve can!" One of his men had been hit, and he began to panic and run faster. The nerve can was the most painful weapon known. It fired every nerve in the human body. Very few people survived even one shot. It locked the muscles so bad it broke the bones and stopped the victim’s breathing. The North American Corporation of America had developed it to control its unruly workers. It got a gold mark at the annual Corporation meeting.

Just as the searchlight reached the frantic Dar, a flash of light streaked into the sky. The helicopter blew up in a terrific explosion, scattering burning debris into the forest. Dar kept running but breathed a sigh of relief. One of his men had used a ground-to-air missile they had gotten off the pack train. It must have been Dell; he had been a mercenary for the Corporation and had learned weapons. He quit the mercenaries because he wanted to fight a meaningful fight. The mercenaries fought for money.

The other helicopter had gone in the opposite direction and had been circling in the distance, seeing the extinction of his partner. The other pilot, instead of avenging his comrade, took off full speed and soon was gone. The Corpers did not like to face a situation where the enemy fought back. They would not live to collect their dividends that way.

Dar continued through the forest and headed for the rendezvous. Along the way he met with Dell, who was carrying the missile launcher. "Good shooting Dell, you saved my ass."

"Yeah, it felt good, but I am afraid of the retribution this will bring down on our people," said Dell.

"Yes, I know, but the only way we can justify this to ourselves is to look at the greater picture. Someday we will be rid of these bastards and we will run this country."