Tenth Year

Marine gave little thought to Sparrow. She gave little thought to anyone but Rick. Hammer spent her days in the various taverns, trying to glean news of the potential 'number three' Hero. The Hero of Skill. He was apparently hedonistic and evil, with a twisted past behind him. Which was just what she needed. She had been dating Rick for a year. Marine was lucky that Rick was a gentleman, otherwise they would have gotten frisky already. Instead, he took her home to re-meet his family, and the general's favourite comment was 'I should have seen this coming.' It was one they heard often when she went round for dinner.

The year passed uneventfully, until, finally, Theresa called her to Oakfield, and told her to wait on the docks with Rin, Sparrow's dog, who had stayed with Hammer during those ten years.

When a bald Spire Guard and an old, dark-skinned man stepped off the boat, Marine took one look at Sparrow and handed her what she needed-a hairdressing card. With her hair restored, the two women sat down, and, over a juice, talked until their jaws wanted to call it a day. They had so much to talk about. Bob, Sparrow's only friend in the Spire, the escape, the Commandant, the slave collars, the starving slaves, and the fact that time had not been kind to Lucien, something that she was glad of. The amazing architecture of the Spire. And Marine had a lot too. Rick, training, life, how Rin had been, guarding Giles' farm…they'd both had some great adventures. And now they were going to have some greater ones. It was time to get the third and final Hero.