With Fire and Sword

[Wedgeatbarkura]

A rider was covering the great expanse of the steppe by himself upon a horse.  He wore a wonderfully beautiful coat made of fur, and an equally extravagant set of pants made of silk.  He carried a short of a composite titanium sword that sharpened to a brilliant point, and a las gun holstered at his waist.  His great figure sat confidently upon a warhorse and he galloped quickly towards a slachte

[Wedgeatbarkura]

John Skrytuski had been riding for a day until they had come upon their ultimate destination.  It had snowed the night before, and mud was everywhere.  A palisade wall, made out of the only materials found in the vicinity, soil and wood, surrounded the town they were coming upon.  There was a guard tower over the two gates that were the only entrances to the village.  The houses were arranged in an erratic fashion, though a road was visible going through the middle of the town.  As they rode by the soldiers could see many of the villagers going about their personal tasks.  Imperial infantry was patrolling the walls of the village, las guns in hand.  Other military personal walked about the village going about their duties.  An old man dressed in greatly dishelved clothing was singing in the town square, entertaining a large group of the villagers. The town blacksmith was hard at work making horseshoes and replacement parts for las guns.  The market was active this early in the morning and many villagers were buying their fruits and vegetables for the day, as well as inspecting luxuries from Crimea.  Others were getting their hair cut by a barber in the usual fashion that common in this area.  A beautiful woman walked past, who stared dreamily at Lt. Skrytuski, who fingered on of his whiskers and smiled back.  After riding through the village they came upon the most important place there- the village pub.

As they entered they saw large man vigorously downing a flagon of mead.  He was a bit overset, and seemed to revel in the fun around him.  Next to him sat a tall, long limbed man who was sadly drinking some beer.  He looked as if he had great strength in his frame.  They two men arguing in the back of the pub.