It was already early evening as Zeppelin and her company were on their way back with their prisoners in tow. They met up with the dam group and the two others who apprehended the farmer working as a lookout on the road. The additional able men were welcome as they had a few injured ones in the squad. For some strange reason, even though the revolutionary officer was quite talkative back in their confrontation, he was very much quiet now and wasn't causing them any trouble. Rather than be relieved, she was honestly worried. Her good instincts were telling her something was up. At the very least, these were not the type of men who would come quietly like this and were more prone to putting up a resistance down to the last man. The captives were certain to make a move before they arrived at the base. She had to be ready for anything.

Her worries were affirmed as the road came to a much more open area. There right up ahead of them, she spotted a large group of people carrying torches and farm tools heading their way. These were not proper soldiers. There were even women among them who looked like ordinary housewives, if not for the fact that they were carrying knives or brooms. Half the men could be considered to be on the elderly side with graying hair and wrinkled faces. The middle-aged man at the head of the group had a stern look on his face, the kind that did not take no for an answer. He wore a band on his arm suggesting he was a village chief. She ordered the company to stop as she walked over to see what it was all about. Though if her guess was right, these were the locals whom the revolutionary claimed were not on their side. And that would be trouble indeed.

"Good evening. Is there some sort of problem?"

The leader grunted, annoyed that she even bothered to ask when it was rather obvious what their intention was. The thought that they were on the verge of being jumped by civilians was scary. Not because they were skilled fighters or anything, but because she may not find the heart to fight back against them.

"You're damn right there's a problem, officer! Release those men at once! We will not stand for any injustice towards the saviors of our town!"

His demand was followed by cheers from the people behind him. Back at the company of Marines, the smiles on the revolutionaries' faces were unmistakable. This was what they were waiting for. Zeppelin remained calm and reassessed the situation. They certainly could not comply with that demand. On the other hand it would bad for the image of the Marines if they clashed with the civilians. The revolutionaries were sure to spin a story of oppression and tyranny that the locals "suffered" at their hands. She had to find a peaceful compromise until she could come up with a plan.

"Chief, I'd love to sit down and explain to you the crimes these people have committed but I doubt you are in the mindset to listen. Nonetheless, we cannot really just release them. That would be a huge problem itself."

She could feel the man's anger building. Just as he was on the verge of signaling the townspeople to approach, Zeppelin quickly interrupted him.

"Wait! I never said we would not hear you out. Let us meet half way until we can have a proper discussion on the matter shall we? I understand you are angry at how your "saviors" are being treated. We'll allow your group to accompany us and tend to the men and ensure they are being treated with a reasonable amount of compassion and care."

It took a fair bit of convincing but in the end, Zeppelin managed to get the locals to agree to her proposition, traveling with them back to base. The leader of the Marine patrol discreetly expressed his concern for how things turned out but she reasoned that it was better than having to get into a fight. As they walked, she kept a close eye on the chief who seemed to be engaged in a private conversation with the revolutionary officer. This was one of the things she had to consent to in order to appease the villagers. She gave her own instructions to her company however. They were to travel surrounding the prisoners and villagers, keeping some distance away. In addition, she had about five of them slip away unnoticed behind the group in case the worst scenario were to occur.

About an hour or so later, her precaution would bare fruit. It was honestly predictable.

"Stop this procession! Nobody move! Unless you don't care about these people's lives!"

It was the lieutenant. He was "somehow" free from his bonds and was holding one of the women at knife point. Close to him, the chief was wearing an expression of shock and disbelief, obviously not expecting that particular turn of events.

"This was not what we agreed on!"

"Shut up!"

The sound of a gunshot rang through the air as the chief found himself on the ground writhing in pain as a bullet was put through his leg. The villagers were in panic, with most of them attempting to flee from the revolutionary group. Unfortunately some were not so lucky and found themselves taken hostage. It seemed they were convinced to release the revolutionaries to allow their escape and the fiends decided to repay the kindness by using them as shields.

It's not as though Zeppelin did not understand the man's thought process. They were frantic and weren't about to trust their safe passage to the civilian's direct actions. As soon as they were free, they preferred to take matters into their own hands. The hasty decision would cost them the civilian's support but apparently that did not matter to them at this point.

This was why Zeppelin positioned her men away from the group. If any attempt to escape were to happen, the first thing they needed to do was to deny the enemy any weapons they could use to fight back. True enough aside from a few farm tools, the revolutionaries only managed to get a couple of guns smuggled by the villagers while Zeppelin's troops were fully armed. They still had a hostage problem to deal with though.

"Drop your weapons and back away!"

"No we will not. I seem to remember you bragging to me earlier that you got the locals on your side. Is this how the revolution treats its allies? If so, I'm quite glad to be on the side of the government."

Her primary intention was to stall. The men she had instructed to separate from the group had orders to create a little "illusion" for the revolutionary party and she was waiting for them to finish setting it up. At the same time, this was the perfect opportunity to get the locals back on their side. Whatever brainwashing and trickery the revolutionaries used to gain their favor would all be wiped away tonight. Not that revolution soldiers didn't already do this themselves.

"This is your government's fault. Desperate times call for desperate measures! If you had only quietly stepped down from your positions of power, then we revolutionaries would have created a more fair and peaceful regime!"

"Forgive me if I can't believe the words of a man holding a helpless woman at knife point. If you have any shred of nobility and compassion for these people, then you would never have gotten them involved in your war games. I do what I must. I will not allow you to hurt these people more than you already have. And the best way to do that is to keep you from getting away from here tonight... by any means necessary."

She raised her hand, prompting her men encircling the revolutionaries to aim their guns at them and prepare to fire. The hostages gasped in fear at thought of being caught in the crossfire.

The revolutionaries were clearly anxious now that the Marines seemed willing to put them down despite the fact that they had hostages. At that same moment, they spotted what looked like torches approaching and the sound of whistles. Backup for the Marines had arrived, or so Zeppelin would want them to think. In truth, these were the men she instructed to break away and, using a bit of deception in the cover of darkness, make it appear as though a second company of Marines were coming to their aid. The intention was to crush the revolutionaries' spirits and any hope of escaping. True enough some of them slackened their grip on their respective hostages, allowing them to run away.

Realizing their plot to get away was all but stopped, the revolutionary officer once more challenged the one he figured was the head of the entire operation, letting go of his hostage and pointing his knife at the young Marine. Zeppelin was glad to take him on once more after seeing his true colors. As her troops moved in to subdue the insurgents who didn't really put up much of a fight anymore, she signaled to the rest of the men that she would face the lieutenant alone, feeling the need to personally hand down his punishment. She wanted to break his spirit too and the best way was to do so single-handedly.

The man wielded a knife this time but was no less adept with it than when he had used a sword. There was no confusion and surprise to take advantage of unlike their earlier confrontation so his strikes were far more precise. Despite Zeppelin's best efforts, she soon ended up with slices on her uniform, though so far none cutting deep enough to give her more than a scratch. On the plus side, the shorter blade meant she could fight with her contact moves a little easier. But the man was no slouch in hand to hand either, making good use of his free hand and legs in the duel.

The first decisive move was a successful counter, parrying the man's knife arm to the right while she followed up with a punch to his gut from the left. The officer grinned, apparently barely hurt by the blow at all. It was times like this that she wished she had a more strength-oriented martial arts style. She then received a kick to the midsection, knocking her back a few feet and making her feel a bit winded. The man was formidable and was quickly all over her giving her no time to properly recover. Little by little though, she was piecing together the man's fighting style and making it easier for her to avoid his strikes.

She tried to recall how she ended their fight that afternoon. She managed to throw the man to a tree and he landed in a bad way on his head, knocking him out. Well, there were no trees where they were at so she would have to find a substitute. She did notice however that in their exchanges, he had a bias towards guarding his face. A weak jaw perhaps? Or was he still feeling the damage from when he lost? She found her heading.

Zeppelin adjusted her moves such that the lieutenant would chase after her to hit her. Luring him in, she once more attempted to grab his hand as he lunged forward for a thrust. He was expecting this though and withdrew is arm quickly, but the young Marine wasn't out of moves yet. Turning her back on him, she kicked off the ground at high speed, tackling him on the chin with her head. The man's eyes rolled back, almost immediately losing consciousness from the impact, as he slumped to the ground knocked out.

Zeppelin found herself panting, feeling a bit exhausted at the ordeal, but it was finally done. Her men who were watching her came over to help her up, as did some of the villagers, their eyes having been opened to who the real saviors were.

The events of that day were rather troubling despite their success. Zeppelin realized first hand that not everyone was satisfied with the government and support for the revolution's cause was the real deal. If she had been less fortunate, things may not have turned out so well.