Seas of Rhye:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Starring: Ashley Williams

~Fortune that is mine~

	There was a knock at my door in the middle of the night. I gazed up at 
the clock. "1:38," it read. I groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore the 
rapping at the door. But it was persistant. I pulled the pillow over my 
head, attempting to drown the sound out. The rapping continued, cutting 
through the cheap pillow stuffing. "I gotta buy a cotton pillow," I 
muttered. I looked to the door. "Go away!" I shouted. "It's one in the 
morning." I layed my head down once more. The rapping continued. But wait, 
there was a pattern this time. I listened...one...three...six...seven. I 
instantly got up, put my bathrobe on, and went to the door. There was a 
silent messanger there. He handed me an envelope and bowed. I nodded and he 
left. I poped it open and read the files inside. Another field of Rhye was 
found. I needed to go and destroy it.

	Rhye. The ultimate high. The super drug. It's an interesting plant. 
It's looks are indistinguishable from the wheat plant. But it is not used 
for making sweet buns or bread. Every part of this plant can be smoked, 
ground up into a powder and snorted, or liquified and injected into the 
body. The blossoms are the most potent, giving an effect of LSD and 
Marijuana with a slight hint of Speed and was as addictive as crack-cocane 
doused in nicotteen. Everything else was a lesser effect. If prepared and 
used properly, Rhye will send you on a trip that you will never want to come 
out of. If improperly prepared or used.....

	Savanna, the only other Hunter passionate about destroying every last 
Rhye plant, decided to accompany me on this trip. The lioness had lost half 
her family to the foul weed and was dead set on making sure that nobody else 
would follow that path. What jagged edges that were left of her right ear 
told the horrible tale of an unfortunate encounter with a Rhye dealer. I 
have always respected her for her dedication to this cause. I gladly call 
her comrad.

	Our jeep rolled to a halt at the top of a hill. I stepped out of the 
passenger's side and looked over the scene. All I could see were empty 
fields, save the omnious looking base-like structure ahead of us. "Savanna," 
I said. "Is that thing our target?"
	She stepped out of the jeep and came to my side. "I don't know," she 
said in her soft voice. "Let me check." She brought a pair of binoculars to 
her eyes and looked at it. "Yeah, there's a field in there. Take a look." 
She handed me the binoculars and I took a look. I could see through the 
wall. And behind that was a virtual sea of the horrible plant.
	"Damn, it's a motherload." I looked at the fortress. "I could probably 
get a mortar into the confines."
	She smiled. "Don't be foolish. They probably have a field stretching 
over the top of the opening. It'd do no damage and surrender our position."
	I smirked. "I think we can still use a mortar to our advantage. Tell 
me, do we still have those firebombs and that remote trigger mechanism?"
	"I think so, why?"

	We rolled the jeep to a safe place beside the gates to the facility. 
I looked at Savanna. She nodded, signaling all was ready. I crept out of the 
jeep, a firebomb in hand. I leaned up against the wall and nodded to 
Savanna, who triggered the mortar we had set up on the hill. It fired it's 
single shot, which flew overhead and, as she expected, exploded on an energy 
field. We could hear shouts in Spanish from within the facility. The gates 
flew open and a bunch of armed guards ran out to intercept our decoy. I 
readied my firearm and entered the farm.

	The seas of Rhye made me sick to my stomach. The plants were ready for 
harvesting, unfortunately. I quickly estimated the entire crop would have a 
street value of at least 30 million. If we didn't nail this fetus in the 
womb, that's 30 million into the hands of the kingpins and drug lords of the 
underworld. But it was quite odd. There were no guards. Were the ones that 
ran out after the decoy the only guard detail for such a large crop?

	Of course not....

	I caught sight of a hovering security droid. I dived into the field 
and started to crawl, watching it from my barrier. The plant was good for 
one thing - obscuring your position. I made my way further into the field 
and stopped where I guessed was the center. I set the bomb up and pulled the 
trigger. I had two minutes before I was caught in a brushfire. I wasn't 
about to go that way. I powered up my firearm, got to my feet, and ran. The 
droids spotted me and fired. The laser proof armor I was wearing deflected 
the shots. I returned fire, clipping the arms of the spherical bots. 
Suddenly, the bomb went off. The plants were so packed together that the 
fire started to spread, and fast. I decided to ignore the droids and just 
took off full speed for the exit. The flames lapped at my heels. In a 
desperate attempt to avoid getting burnt, I dove for the exit and rolled 
out.

	Savanna was concerned when I dove in through the passenger side 
window. "Ashley, what's wrong?"
	"Don't ask," I said. "Drive. Let's get to the highest hill. I want an 
overview of this scene. She nodded and hit the gas. The jeep's tires 
screeched and we blared across the field. The vehicle easily scaled the 
tallest hill, where we stopped. We both stepped out and turned to the 
compound. The entire field was in flames, and it was visible from our seats. 
The flames flared up and released a smoke cloud. It took the shape of a 
skull, held that for a few seconds, and disappeared. Was it an sign? 
Perhaps. We weren't concerned about it.

	We sat there for a good five minutes, watching the weeds burn and 
release a plume of purple smoke. That's what you always got when you smoked 
Rhye. Savanna sighed and said a small prayer. Her brothers, her sisters, 
her father, her uncles, they all fell victim to this plant. And we had just 
nailed one of the biggest crops that we've ever seen. I put a hand on her 
shoulder. "Savanna?"
	She looked at me. "Yes?"
	I lowered my head. "I'm sorry." It was sort of a tradition with these 
sorts of missions. We'd nail the crop and then I'd give my condolences for 
her losses.
	She smiled. "It's okay." She took that hand and gave it a gentle 
squeeze. "Ashley?"
	"Yeah." 
	"Will we ever destroy all of the Rhye?"
	I laughed. "Of course. You and me sister. We'll burn every last 
plant." We both laughed and turned back to the bon fire. One of these days, 
I told myself, we will see the last Rhye plant smolder into ashes. Every 
life shattered will be avenged. This was a major victory in our struggle.

	I smiled. 30 million credits worth of this shit down. Only 90 billion 
credits worth of it to go.

End
Ashley Williams and Savanna are © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>

-See you next time
	Ashley Williams and crew