© Copyright 1996-1999 by Clayton J. Powers

"Nah, not all the way. There's a pass but you can't see it from here," Xena said gently. Smiling, she couldn't help getting in a little gibe at her talkative friend. "You could have bought yourself a horse, y'know."

Gabrielle looked up sharply at her friend, who was serenely sitting on Argo's back. "I think I'd rather have one of those mechanical thingies Hephaestus uses to have the gods driven around." Gabrielle said.

Argo turned her head and stared at Gabrielle with her huge brown eyes and uttered an irritated snort.

"Hey! All right, Argo, you didn't have to take that personally!" Gabrielle bleated defensively.

Xena threw her head back and laughed. Although they had tramped seemingly thousands of miles together, Gabrielle and Argo were still in a constant state of mutual irritation, but when push came to shove, Argo would die for the little strawberry blonde just as the horse would die for Xena. The palomino knew that Gabrielle would do anything for her in return. Xena thought their ability to get on each other's nerves was all pretty silly.

Gabrielle was upset because, as usual, Xena was pushing the pace. The Warrior Princess said that they had three days to cover 120 miles over some of the highest mountains in Greece, so most of the way had been at the trot straight up.

"Y'know, Gabrielle," Xena began sort of wistfully, "I was really looking forward to getting away and burying my sword for a while."

Gabrielle looked up at her friend with a knowing grin on her face. "Can't get 'im out of your mind, huh?"

Xena snapped her head around, then smiled. "Yeah. Best thing about the whole Eros mess was that since then I've never been so relaxed!. It feels good!" Gabrielle nodded in agreement. Gabrielle was pleased that Xena was happy.

"Y'know, Xena, Demodocus is such a great guy! He's sweet, kind, brilliant, brave, and a lot of fun to talk to. I found myself talking to him for hours and hours about nearly everything. And that gift of his! Imagine being able to know all of someone's feelings merely by touching his head! What an awesome responsibility! Its amazing it didn't drive him insane. I know it would drive ME insane. Makes me wonder why nobody has sung great poetry about him before. He's going to keep me writing stories for months!!" Then Gabrielle paused for a second, looked up at Xena and said, "There was a time there that I thought that I was falling in love with him."

Xena's eyebrow crawled up her forehead and hid under a bang of her hair. She was shamming mild shock. Xena knew very well that Gabrielle was interested in the priest.

"Yeah, but he wasn't interested in little ol' me" Gabrielle continued. "Seems he had this big, beautiful warrior on his mind all the time, and Oh! a 30-foot-tall goddess, too." She continued looking up at her friend and snorted in mock disappointment.

Xena bent and reached down to the top of Gabrielle's head and ruffled her hair gently. Xena's affection for Gabrielle grew greater every day, bit by bit.

There was a short silence, which was rather odd considering Gabrielle, but both women just took time to enjoy being with each other. This little moment didn't slow them down though. Xena was in a hurry for the note from Melosa was urgent.

"Lemme see that note again, Xena." Xena pulled the paper from her bosom and handed it down to Gabrielle who opened it and read it carefully.

"Dunno, Gabrielle. You're the Amazon." Xena chided.

Gabrielle snapped an irritated look at Xena, handed back the note, and reached into a saddlebag to get her pan pipe. Just then Argo's ears pricked up and she shied. Xena reached down, patted her mare on the neck and whispered, "What is it Argo? Hear something?"

The horse stopped, pranced, and pawed the ground. Xena looked at Gabrielle with her war face on. Gabrielle got the hint, put back the pan pipe and pulled her collapsed staff out of the bag. She then hustled off the road, expanding the staff as she ran.

Off the wagon trail to the right, Xena saw a smaller, even more deeply worn track that dove sharply down into a defile. When Xena and Argo reached the entrance of the track, she finally heard what her horse did--the sounds of combat and revelry. Xena lightly jumped down off Argo and led her into a copse of dense underbrush and hobbled her. When that was done, Xena slowly picked her way down into the defile. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gabrielle doing the same on the opposite side of the track. After what seemed like hours, Xena found a vantage point over a small clearing that contained a village. Xena whistled like a bird, and Gabrielle began to approach her in short bounds from cover to cover. Gabrielle arrived and looked down into the town and immediately turned white with horror. There were armed men in the process of slaughtering the townspeople in the most hideous way possible. Both could see that several of the village men had already been crucified.

Gabrielle looked at Xena imploringly, but she needn't have done so. The look on Xena's face revealed all. Her face was hard and intent, and her eyes darted from place to place. Xena was clearly assessing the tactical situation and terrain looking for any advantage that they might have in attack. The attack wasn't going to be easy at all. The defile in which the village lay was very small, no more than an acre or two and there were about twenty buildings, all either built together or jammed very close. The streets were too narrow for a horse although there seemed to be a large livery stable opposite Xena's present position. The town was surrounded by a ring road or track. A cavalry charge clearly would not do.

"How many do you count?" Xena asked Gabrielle in a harsh whisper.

"I've seen six."

Three unfortunate men were being hung up on the side of the stable, their limbs spiked to posts in the wall. They were too far away to hear much, but Xena could hear something of what the criminals were saying, but couldn't understand it. The language did sound vaguely familiar however. She'd just have to get closer. She noted the garb that they wore. Black leather armor with silver piping. One was wearing silver chain mail and a very shiny silver helmet, fringed with fir. The top of the helmet looked like an upturned amphora. The men moved with precision, and they jumped when the man in the silver helmet said anything. Close to him there was another man with a slightly less ornate outfit. Xena surmised them to be officer and sergeant. Clearly these men were highly trained and very disciplined. The others she had seen worked in pairs each covering each other's back. Wading in blade drawn was out too. Untrained louts were one thing to charge into, but motivated troops quite something else. However, the men always seemed to be looking back at their leaders for something. After a few minutes she determined that there were ten men, and no other living villagers in sight. "They must be locked up somewhere." Xena muttered.

There was a rock outcropping that came out of the wall of the little valley that nearly overhung the roof of a house on the left of Xena's field of view. There was a lot of brush up the slope to cover her approach and she might be able to hide behind the rafters of the house. A few more seconds thought and she was ready. "Gabrielle, diversion from over there. and make it really good. I'll call when I want you to start." Xena pointed to the right hand end of the town where there was a little niche of open land in the tree line.

Gabrielle turned to Xena and was about to complain, but then she considered the fact that her friend could have told her to go watch Argo. "Well at least I'm good enough to be a diversion now." Gabrielle, thought with a slightly sour look. Xena glared at her, and Gabrielle began working her way around to the right.

When Xena got to the outcropping, she saw that she had a fair view of the little courtyard of the livery stable. She could also see the little clearing where she had sent her friend. The site had tactical possibilities all right. The roof of the house was only about 5 feet over her head and the roofs of 3 houses ran end to end past the stable. The stable was just to the right of the third house and was about a 10 foot jump.

"What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?" Gabrielle thought to herself as she crept silently to her post. She was able to clearly see that the people pinioned to the wall of the shed like so many deerskins were in terrible pain, and worse, the two men in fancy armor were taunting them. After a few seconds, another pair of the men came out dragging a child by the arm. He was squalling loudly. Gabrielle didn't take the time to stop, but her stomach turned because one of the men that was crucified was the father of the child. The poor man was screaming his son's name and weeping while the leader of the troops was still yelling taunts at him in Greek. Through the corner of her eye, she could see that the leader had picked up the little boy, and she saw the monster kill him in the most grisly way possible. Shaking now with rage and anguish, Gabrielle set herself to her duty, sure in the knowledge that Xena would mete out harsh justice. When she arrived, she saw that the little notch in the tree line was caused by a low, flat rock. It was a tiny stage on which she could perform.

Xena was ready and waiting when the bird call that announced that Gabrielle was in position came. Xena returned the call with a cawing of a crow and she saw Gabrielle emerge from the tree line and sit down. "What is she UP to?" Xena breathed to herself. She was anxious to get going. She saw the poor child die too.

Gabrielle sat down languidly on the flat rock and drew her up knees while hiking her short skirt up as high as she dare. Having previously taken her boots off, she pointed her toes and planted them onto the rock so that she could show as much leg as she could. She then took the straps of her top and pulled them down to her upper arms and ruffled her hair. When she was ready, she leaned back on both arms, arched her back, turned towards the men and with a big come hither smile. called out, "HEY YOU BIG HANDSOME SOLDIER YOU! WOULDN'T I BE MORE FUN THAN THAT SQUALLING KID??

The head of the leader swiveled about, and upon seeing this enticing vision his eyes popped out of his head. The eyes of his helper popped too. The leader uttered a sharp whistle and the men began to appear from behind the houses and out of the doors. Some were dragging women and other children. One even had the head of an old man in his hand.

Gabrielle gave the performance of her life. She somehow didn't allow her horror to affect her. She acted coquettishly, first licking her finger then slowly dragging it down an arm. Then she kicked a shapely leg into the air while following its contours with her hands. The invitation was having the desired effect. More of the men were emerging from the village. Now she counted ten of them. There was twenty yards between her and the group of criminals, and she noted with extreme concern that they were now moving slowly in her direction spouting obscene propositions and catcalls. "Any time you're ready Xena!" She thought earnestly behind her bright, sexy smile.

Napoleon once said that the greatest attribute of a warrior was to be lucky, and Xena was lucky. The little squad of men took the lead towards Gabrielle and the leaders hung back. Her chance had arrived. Although she could clearly see her target, she couldn't get a direct shot at the two men. So Xena lept out onto the outcropping and with a great grunt she threw her chakram with the strength of ten men towards a huge cedar tree at her right front. The war quoit struck the tree with a loud "BLANG!" and deflected around the house in front of the outcropping. It flew as if guided by some god and neatly lopped off the heads of both of the two leaders, then impaled itself in the corner post of the stable. She wasted no time on regrets. Xena knew that her act was justice.

The Warrior Princess bounded onto the roof of the house and began running towards the men as fast as she could. Leaping the spaces between two of the houses with incredible ease, her sword arm moved so swiftly and gracefully that the blade rasped out of its scabbard seemingly by itself. Finally, she reached the gap between the three houses and the stable. A shout of fierce joy exploded from her mouth and she leaped up onto the stable while doing a front flip. The gap seemed as if it didn't exist at all. At last her objective was in sight, the knot of men who were still heading for Gabrielle. Remarkably, Gabrielle was still maintaining her deception.

At the edge of the roof Xena pushed off with all of her might and the terrifying cry of ALALALALALALALALALA!!! exploded from her throat. The gap between the stable and the sitting targets was at least forty feet, yet Xena seemed to fly over it. Xena's eyes were ablaze with the fires of combat; her black hair trailed behind her like a cape. In mid air she twisted her body around to show its length to her targets. In an instant, she struck five of the men with the side of her body knocking them to the ground. She landed on the same side and rolled swiftly to her feet. Xena's left hand flew to her bosom, pulled out the breast dagger and with a backhanded sweep she threw it and it landed unerringly in the back of the neck of an unfortunate soldier. The blade buried itself in the man's skull beneath the helmet and pithed him like an experimental frog. He was dead before his face hit the ground.

The soldiers were completely stunned. A moment before they were going to help themselves to a little easy rapine, and now they had a demon in their midst! Before anyone's hand reached for the pommel of a sword, two heads and three arms, THEIR limbs, were flying through the air, severed from their hosts with utmost violence.

Xena taunted them, "THIS IS THE BEST YOU GOT YOU YELLOW BASTARDS?? HOW DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE WHO FIGHTS BACK?" The last word was delivered as Xena's sword, driven by the incredible power of BOTH her hands, crushed the ribcage and ran through the heart of another man. She kicked the body off her blade and whirled around to face the remaining two she was to kill.

They were brave men. Both had recovered from their shock. The sun glittered off the sharply curved blades of their swords as they faced the killer of their comrades. Even though they were shocked to see that their tormentor was a woman they remembered their duty and attacked. Xena looked at them with a terrifying smile on her incredible face, her eyes shooting lighting bolts. Then she acted with such quickness that only Gabrielle's storytelling could do the movement justice. The man to her right lunged with his sword while the man on her left tried a sweeping roundhouse slash. Xena easily knocked aside the thrust with her sword and kicked the sword out of the hand of the other. The man who still had his sword recovered from his lunge only to get the hilt of Xena's own sword on his nose, breaking the bone over the sinuses with a sickening snap. The other man charged in with his bare hands but ran into a head butt. As he fell back, the air cracked with the sound of Xena's blade. In a spray of blood, the man's head was severed and it tumbled to the ground. The fight was over before Gabrielle could sprint the twenty yards between her little stage and the stable.

Gabrielle was as pale as a sheet when she arrived by her friend, who had stooped to look at the man she had hit in the face. He was unconscious and there was blood coming from his ears and a clear, yellowish fluid was coming from his nose. Xena turned to Gabrielle saying, "His skull's fractured. He won't live long." Quickly examining the others who had lost arms, both had no place on which to tie a tourniquet. Xena had sealed their fate as well.

Xena turned back to the man with the fractured skull and said, "Who are you? Where did you come from? You're going to die, so save your soul!"

The man groaned and tried to open his eyes. He couldn't because they were swollen shut. Then, very weakly he began to talk in a language that Gabrielle didn't recognize. She cocked her head and looked at Xena.

"I recognize it, Gabrielle. It's a dialect of Luvian. This man is from Asia Minor somewhere." Xena began speaking to the dying man in the language of Troy. Gabrielle watched Xena's face carefully as she interrogated this man and saw her expression grow harder by the second. To Gabrielle's amazement, she saw a tiny hint of fear in her friend's azure eyes as well. Then with a loud rattle the man lapsed into unconsciousness and died.

"What did he say?" Gabrielle asked.

"Not much. He mostly insulted me and the people here. Then he mentioned a name--Tudhalias. He also said all of Greece would soon fall to Tudhalias and that all the Amazons and centaurs would be exterminated. His last words were, 'I spit in your face!'"

"I was going to ask if you really needed to kill them all. I see now that you had to. These men were maniacs--berserkers!"

"No, Gabrielle it's far worse than that!" Xena said in a strangled hiss. "This man was convinced that if he died for Tudhalias, he will be in the Elysian Fields for an eternity--provided he took as many of Tudhalias' enemies with him as he could. He was a fanatical bigot."

Xena looked up at her dearest friend with her face a mask. However, Xena's eyes gave her away. Xena was hurt down deep inside and powerfully outraged. Gabrielle could see that even though Xena was convinced that she had made the right decision to kill them all, the deaths of these men chipped a little more of her away. Gabrielle marveled at Xena's incredible strength of heart.

"C'mon, Gabrielle, we got to get those people down off that wall."

It was a gods awful mess. The pair took down three men who were pinioned to the wall and Gabrielle bound their wounds and tried to comfort them. Xena went swiftly from house to house searching for more survivors. There were fifty five people in the small village, many of them women children and old men. Almost everyone was dead. Of the few that lived, the men who were crucified were in the best shape. Every one of the women had been violated. All of the old men had been beaten to death, and all of the older male children had been put to the sword. It made Xena want to vomit. One small boy, about ten years of age, was unharmed, but he was so traumatized psychologically that he couldn't talk. He lay by the body of his mother weeping. Xena tried to put her feelings aside and did what she could to help.

Xena reemerged into the daylight she saw that Gabrielle had everything in hand. Xena shook her head in wonderment, for one of the men was smiling. Gabrielle must have told him a story to cheer him, despite his wounds. Xena examined the poor souls closely and to her relief most of the men weren't badly injured, save for the nail holes in their limbs. The criminals weren't skillful at crucifixion. They had driven the nails only though muscle not bone.

"Xena, we have to stay and tend to these people!" Gabrielle implored.

"We can't." Xena replied.

"Why? Can't you see how they're suffering?" Gabrielle spat out without thinking. Turning white, she lowered her eyes and said softly, "I'm sorry, Xena, of course you can."

"We've got to get to Melosa. She has two of those monsters alive. We have got to find out what's going on. Gabrielle, I hate this. I'm deathly afraid that there's going to be a war here soon. A war so horrible that it makes the civil war in Thesally that we broke up look like nothing happened. Everyone who lives in Greece may be at the risk of their lives."

"Why, Xena? Why do you think that?"

"Did you watch these men?" Xena said pointing at the body of the criminal in black armor.

Gabrielle nodded. "The seemed very good at what they were doing."

"They were, Gabrielle. These men were highly trained and rigidly disciplined. Their morale was sky high. If a few of these men can disrupt things as badly as we've seen here, imagine what a few tens of thousands of them could do. Saving the rest of Greece is more important than saving a few villagers."

Why would these men do such awful things, Xena? What would it get them, besides killed if they get caught?

I think they were on a two part mission, intelligence and terror. They were scouting the territory to see what the terrain and any possible resistance was like.

"So why terror?" Gabrielle continued "Didn't they know that if they were surrounded they wouldn't survive?"

"I'm sure they did, Gabrielle. There are probably a lot of these parties scattered throughout Greece. Most of them'll raid territories that are much easier to take than Melosa's land. When they've finished gathering information and terrorizing the people, the parties would escape to a waiting ship and go home. The information that some of the parties have gathered is probably on its way to this army's home base by now. This army is using terror to try to kick the fight out of Greece. Its leadership wants to keep their cost in blood down. Dying to the last man proves their soldier's fanaticism, and to the untrained person that is probably the most terrifying thing that they could do. They proved that they are all willing to die to serve their warlord.

Gabrielle saw that Xena hated to make this decision to leave the wounded. She was about to reply when one of the village men who had been crucified spoke up. "I heard you, woman. You're right. You go on. The warning has to be spread!"

Xena turned on him. "How do you feel? You've lost a lot of blood."

"I'm weak, but I can help. There's another village deeper in this valley. I can go get help there. It's very isolated. I'm sure that those bastards didn't know about it. There is a small hot spring and a shrine of Asclepius there too. They have a physician. I can get him. Its only about an hour's hard ride."

"You can't ride." Gabrielle told him.

Maybe not, but there's a light cart in there," he said pointing at the stable. "and a very fast horse. I can drive that. I'm O.K.. Really!'

Xena asked him for his name.

"Pindar" he said.

"You're a brave man, Pindar. I'll remember you."

"C'mon there woman help me up; we got work to do."

Xena hoisted him up, put one of his arms over her neck and began walking to the stable. He hobbled very badly at first but loosened up. They reached a water trough and Pindar drank an enormous amount. Turning Xena pointed at a house and told Gabrielle about a woman who was in there who was hurt but not all that bad off. Gabrielle nodded and went in while Pindar and Xena found and harnessed the horse.

Somewhere Gabrielle found a wheelbarrow and with the woman's help, they gathered all the living into a big house at the center of town. Gabrielle checked all the wounded and then made sure that there was water and food available. Xena and Pindar pulled the horse and cart out of the stable and Xena lifted the man up onto the seat. Pindar wavered but he stayed up. He was about to leave when he remembered something.

"I forgot to ask your names, so that we can remember what you did for us."

"My name's Gabrielle, and this is..."

"Xena."

Pindar's eyes popped out of his head when he heard that name, then he tipped his head back and laughed. "No wonder those suckers didn't last five minutes! Thank you, Xena! You'll never know how much we owe you." Pindar exclaimed. With a sharp crack, he whipped up the horse and the cart trundled off around town. Gabrielle called after him to not forget the burial party and Pindar waved his hand in acknowledgment. Suddenly, Xena and Gabrielle heard a familiar snort and looked. Somehow Argo had broken her hobble and was trotting down the road into town.

"Get the hint?" Gabrielle asked Xena.

"Yup!

Xena mounted and the pair hustled back up to the main road. If Xena forced the pace earlier, she crammed it now. She told Gabrielle that she was determined to make sixty miles. Gabrielle thought about complaining but changed her mind. She knew full well why Xena was in such a hurry. There was a very heavy sword hanging over all of their heads, and it was hanging by a hair. It was one hundred and twenty miles from Chalsis to Melosa's compound and they had already covered fifty. Xena's biggest concern wasn't for herself or Gabrielle, it was for Argo. Horses rarely had to cover such distances in a day, so not long out of the village they had saved, Xena dismounted and walked. Late into the night the pair marched. Finally, Argo could go no further, so they stopped under a brilliant full moon. After Xena fed and watered her exhausted horse, Xena and Gabrielle lay down without a fire or other preparations. Gabrielle looked at the moon and half prayed, "I hope Artemis is with us." Xena was beyond caring. She was already snoring.

They arrived in Melosa's compound late the next afternoon. The moment the pair entered the gate, their escort called out the women to welcome them, which they did with great enthusiasm and warmth. It didn't help Gabrielle much for she had maybe three hours of sleep over the last two days, and she was nearly unconscious. She asked for a bed and a big Amazon picked her up and carried her to one. Xena, seemingly unaffected by fatigue, and despite the dark rings under her eyes, demanded that she be taken to Melosa.

Xena knew her way to Melosa's chamber. The guards showed her great deference for she had once beaten Melosa in single combat and allowed Gabrielle to become Queen of the Amazons for a single day. Xena was incredibly tired, but she strode vigorously into the presence of the woman who owed her crown to her. "Melosa?" She asked as she pushed aside the skin covering the door.

The Amazon Queen stood up from behind her desk but did not demand deference. The pair were equals under Amazon law and in each other's esteem.

"Xena, welcome!" Melosa exclaimed warmly as she walked out to greet her honorary sister. Then she added, "I'm amazed you got here so fast! Where did my messenger find you?

"Chalsis. Gabrielle and I covered the distance in two days rather than three."

Xena reached out a firm hand and took Melosa's forearm as Melosa did the same. They then shared a sisterly embrace.

Parting, Melosa said, "Xena, you look terrible! Would you like to sit down?"

"Later. Please tell me what you've got," she said, and Melosa complied.

After a few minutes of talking, Melosa rang a bell calling one of her aides into the chamber. After the Amazon Queen whispered something into her ear, the warrior left and in a short time the two prisoners were brought into the chamber--Eponin and Ephiny behind them. The lieutenant was chained hand and foot. The sergeant wasn't so bound but he complied quietly. Both were seated on benches next to the wall and the chains were removed from the lieutenant. He sat quietly too, for there were two Amazon guards for each prisoner and each of them were armed with hideous looking swords.

Xena and the three Amazons conferred quietly at Melosa's desk. From time to time one of the woman would look up at the two prisoners. Both men wouldn't react except when Xena looked at the sergeant. Every time Xena looked at him, the sergeant could see bloody murder in those azure eyes and he would visibly flinch. To the two men the discussions seemed to go on for hours and hours, they were beginning to get impatient.

Without warning, Xena exploded over the desk with a roar. She sprinted the few steps to the lieutenant who had only begun to move when she arrived. Crossing her arms, Xena grabbed the opposite shoulders of the man, and lifted him into the air while driving him into one of the building's posts. The man's breath blew out of his lungs and Xena grimaced with the stink. The blow had knocked any possibility of a fight out of him.

"Who is Tudhalias?" Xena shouted into the man's face. "WHO IS TUDHALIAS?"

The lieutenant was both shocked and scared. He had been treated with moderation, even though he was constantly bound and kept awake. Now he had a fierce presence pick him up with ridiculous ease and throw him around like a rag doll. Nevertheless, he held his tongue.

Again Xena shouted, "WHO IS TUDHALIAS?

Ephiny walked up beside Xena and placed her face next to the Lieutenant's ear and whispered. "Do you know who this is? This is Xena, the Warrior Princess of Kalmai, The Destroyer of Nations! She's crazy, you know. She's EVIL! She really hates people who don't obey her!"

Xena' face turned into a rictus of insanity. Her eyes went wide and a gleaming, hideous smile came to her lips. She began to chuckle in a soft, ominous way, then she slammed him into the wall again.

At the mention of that name, the sergeant went white and began to cower. He backed himself into a corner, even going to the extent of climbing on his bench to get away from the monster. The Lieutenant's eyes went very wide and tears came down his cheek, but he held his tongue.

"Did you know she can kill you with a touch?" Ephiny whispered. "You want to stay alive don't you?" Xena again easily slammed the man's back into the post.

"Yeah," Xena hissed through her teeth, "You really don't want to make me mad, do ya?"

The lieutenant shuddered but said nothing. The sergeant was clearly made of much less stern stuff because he began to whimper and ask in a quiet voice to be let go.

Ephiny kept whispering. "Look, we Amazons are fair people. We want to treat you nicely. But we're thinking of turning you over to Xena. She was our Queen once so we owe her. Some of your people killed some friends of hers, so she wants blood. She's already killed one of your ten man parties single handed. That's right ain't it, Xena?"

"Oh, YES!" Xena hissed like a beautiful cobra, her face a hideous mask. "I LIKED killing those men. I'll like killing you too!" Again she slammed him into the wall. "WHO IS TUDHALIAS!" Xena repeated. A terrible smell filled the room. One of the men had soiled himself. Xena said in seeming desperation, "He's not talking, Ephiny. I wanna touch him now!"

"You better start talking." Ephiny said sweetly. Still, the man said nothing. However, his silence seemed to come from fear, not defiance. After a moment Ephiny said simply, "OK, Xena."

Xena dropped the lieutenant. She swiftly tapped and twisted the vessels on his neck, but before either Xena or Ephiny could say anything. The sergeant piteously cried out, "TUDHALIAS IS OUR EMPEROR!!"

Quickly, Xena reversed her touch and the lieutenant fainted.

Ephiny and Xena ran over to the sergeant whose spirit had clearly broken. Xena grabbed him too and threw him up against the wall.

"Go on," Xena said.

"He's our Emperor! He wants to make Hatti great again!"

Xena turned over her shoulder at Melosa and told her, "Hatti! Melosa! These men are Hittites!"

Melosa's eyes went wide in wonder and she sat down on her throne hard. "Hittites?" she questioned.

Melosa was stunned because the Hittites historically had not been involved in conflict in Greece. The Hittite Empire consisted of most of the Anatolian peninsula and they had been at peace for centuries with most of their neighbors. Hundreds of years earlier, Greek armies had carved out settlements on the southern border of the Hittite empire, but after much bitter conflict, everyone resolved not to fight again. Most of the Greek monarchies had concluded peace agreements with the Hittites. Indeed Hattusas, the Empire's capital, was famous for its sophisticated diplomacy. Generally, the Hittite Empire only resorted to the sword when forced.

Xena eased off on her pressure. The dam had burst in the sergeant's mind. He would tell anybody what they needed to know. The man rambled on and on about how the Hittites had been under greater and greater pressure from the Assyrians from the east and from the Caananites from the south. A great deal of opposition had developed within the Kingdom to the reign of King Suppiluliumsa because of this pressure. His diplomacy had given more and more land to the Assyrians. Much of this land was where Luvian speaking peoples lived and it was very rich in minerals. The aristocrats affected had formed a conspiracy against the king and had built a lot of support throughout the peasantry by claiming that The Hittites were a better people than those who surrounded them. The loss of the surrounding territory was denying them the power that they as a people deserved. Consequently, a short rebellion started and Suppiluliumsa had been assassinated. The man the conspiracy had put on the throne was Tudhalias the Fifth.

"If Tudhalias' neighbors are so evil, what is he going to do about them?" Melosa asked.

"Put them to the sword, all of them, if they oppose our demands. We're the worlds greatest people and empire. Those who don't oppose the Emperor will serve us as slaves. Those who do oppose the Emperor we'll exterminate. We deserve this!" The sergeant proclaimed with very evident pride.

"That's ridiculous! It's crazy!" Ephiny exclaimed.

Xena left the sergeant's side and sat down in a nearby chair. She leaned back and crossed her legs; her face a mask, but her eyes were cagey. "Is it?" Xena asked Ephiny.

The scout looked at Xena with puzzlement. Melosa answered her sister's questioning eyes.

"All new rulers find their positions shaky. One of the best ways for a ruler to build more support for his new leadership is to trump up a threat from the outside. The ruler does this by blaming all of his neighbors for problems at home. This can inflame his subjects and get them to do anything he wants." Melosa, an experienced ruler, knew the trick well. She used it herself sometimes.

Xena asked the sergeant, "Is Tudhalias building an army and a navy?"

"Oh yes!" The sergeant exclaimed beaming.

"How big an army?" Xena asked.

The sergeant sat upright. "I'm not going to tell you!"

Xena roared and was at the man's throat in a second. "Now what was that about not telling us?" Xena hissed into the sergeant's face.

The man collapsed again. Wanly he said, "We were fifty thousand strong when we left six months ago. Tudhalias said we're going to have the mightiest army ever. One million men!"

Melosa's and Ephiny's tanned faces went a few shades paler, their eyes widened in fear. Xena didn't react, but dropped the sergeant.

Turning to the Amazon Queen, Xena asked, "Did you say you were going to release these men?" Melosa nodded.

"I think you better not, Queen Melosa. We can't afford to let Tudhalias know we're on to him."

The Queen said, "Prisoners of War then." Calling into the hallway for the guard, the Queen had both men carried out to the village jail.

"What I can't figure out, is why this Tudhalias doing this crazy thing now?" Ephiny wondered.

Xena answered her, "Troy."

"Troy? I wish you wouldn't be so mysterious sometimes, Xena." Ephiny grumped.

Melosa continued for Xena, "Most who live in Greece don't like to hear this, but this entire area depended on Troy for its security. It was a huge, prosperous city with a powerful military. No ruler in his right mind would try to attack Greece because Troy would have surely been threatened and allied itself with Greece. Greece, despite the fact that Troy was at war with them for ten years, was the city's biggest trading partner. For Troy to survive, Greece had to survive.

"One of the stupidest things that King Menaleus of Sparta did when he sacked Troy was abandoning it. Now we don't have that bulwark between us and the Hittites. They can jump the Hellespont and march through Thrace, Macedonia, and all of the rest and be in Athens in a few months, and we really can't do anything to stop them," Xena explained.

Melosa picked up the explanation. "Ephiny, one of the rules of statecraft is that there is no such thing as enough power. A wise leader must keep the power relative to his neighbors growing or one of them might overtake him and eat up him and his kingdom. From what we know now, Tudhalias might be acting in the usual way that statesmen act--maybe more brutally though." Melosa humphed. "One thing we know for sure, Tudhalias isn't very subtle."

"What I don't understand, Xena," Melosa continued averring, "is why we haven't heard from the Ionians. They're right there in Asia Minor. If Tudhalias wants to build a navy he needs the Ionian ports."

"He probably just played diplomatic hardball with 'em--cowed 'em into silence. Nobody else spread the word because he hasn't done anything yet, really." Xena answered. "He'll probably hit 'em first when his army's ready. The war parties he sent to areas he didn't know or couldn't influence, like mainland Greece. Xena said.

"Well, Xena, what's your feeling?" Melosa inquired. "Is this guy bluffing? Could he possibly mean to take all of the Eastern Mediterranean by force? Does he have the manpower and the resources to build a one million man army? Is he a normal King, or a power mad warlord doing this for his own amusement?

"Dunno Melosa, but I'm going to Hattusas to find out."

"This is a long range reconnaissance, Gabrielle; we need to find out as much as we can about the Hittite's ability to carry out their Emperor's threats."

"Well, what's your plan? You always have a plan," Gabrielle asked while twisting her staff.

"Still thinking about it. One thing for sure I can't do it myself. I need help."

Gabrielle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was rare for the Warrior Princess to admit she needed help.

"Well, I'm going with you." Gabrielle said firmly.

Xena looked at her dearest friend with concern, but finally nodded.

"Yes, Gabrielle. You're going. You've got two important jobs to do."

Gabrielle beamed. "What jobs?" she asked excitedly.

"Well first, you're very good at meeting people, and you can get them to talk to you. I need you to ask around, find out things and report back to me what you've discovered. This job is going to be really important when we get to Ionia."

"What else am I going to do?" Gabrielle asked.

"Keep me company," Xena said while looking at her friend with affection and a small but warm smile on her face. Gabrielle returned it.

"Do you need any more help?" Gabrielle asked.

"I think at least two--warriors. Somebody who's really sneaky." Xena said.

The two friends looked at each other quizzically, then the realization struck.

"Ephiny!" both exclaimed together.

"Who else?" Gabrielle asked.

"Dunno, we'll have to look around." Xena said just as they drew even with Eponin on her reviewing stand.

Gabrielle looked up at the big Amazon who was once her mentor, and nodded her head in her direction.

"Can't go, Gabrielle. She's got a big job getting the women ready for war. They're going to have to undertake big unit training. Eponin's in charge of that."

Gabrielle looked up at Eponin, who was leading calisthenics. She had just rattled off so many pushups that Gabrielle totally lost count. Shaking her head, Gabrielle waited until the Weapons Master stood and shouted at her, "Almost done?"

"Sure, Gabrielle! Be right there." Eponin answered.

After dismissing the women to go to their individual weapons drills, the powerful Amazon jumped down off the reviewing stand, grabbed a staff from a rack and led Gabrielle out onto the field. Xena started limbering up by doing a unarmed kata.

"Well, Gabrielle, you've been gone a year. Have you used the staff at all?"

Gabrielle grunted and swept the feet out from under her teacher, whose narrow brown eyes went wide in surprise. Then Eponin laughed.

"Shows me!" Eponin exclaimed. She got up and started attacking. Relentlessly, the weapons master threw move after move at the far smaller woman. Gabrielle at first held her own but Eponin's vastly superior strength began to tell. In a few moments Gabrielle was on her back, defeated.

Gabrielle was acutely embarrassed. She was convinced that she could have held her own with her teacher, but her illusion collapsed in less than a minute.

Eponin looked down at Gabrielle tolerantly and offered her a muscular forearm on which to grasp. She then hoisted Gabrielle to her feet and said, "You've improved an amazing amount Gabrielle. I'm proud of you." Eponin's statement was clearly true. The big woman warrior with the broad shoulders and the hawk like face grinned in pride at Gabrielle's achievement. When she was first ordered to train Gabrielle in Amazon weapons skills, Eponin initially thought that Gabrielle was hopeless. However, not long in training her, Eponin saw a glimmer of talent in Gabrielle, talent that Eponin had hoped would have been nurtured.

"Well, sister, you hang around Xena for a while you tend to get a lot of experience, y'know?" said Gabrielle.

"Did she help you train?" Eponin asked.

"No, not really. She's still a little uncomfortable with teaching me the warrior arts. So, I've just kept using the drills you taught me. The experience helped a lot too."

"Did you ever spar with her?"

"No. She's never shown me anything really." Gabrielle humphed. "I think she's afraid of hurting me or teaching me just enough to get me killed. I hate it when she tries to mother me." Gabrielle put on a sour expression.

"That's a shame. Xena's the most talented warrior, male or female, that anyone's ever seen., and she's way, WAY stronger than me. She'd be perfect to train with."

"I know, there isn't a weapon Xena isn't great at using. She can pick up a weapon she's never even SEEN before and be brilliant with it.. Some god gave her that gift." Gabrielle said with wonder in her eyes. She looked at Xena whose kata was now moving so fast that she couldn't see her hands and feet moving any more. Gabrielle shook her head. She looked up at Eponin and added, "Wanna know something REALLY freaky?"

"Yeah what?" Eponin asked in curiosity.

"Xena told me her younger brother, Lyceus, who's now on the Other Side, was a LOT better than her."

Eponin was incredulous. "I don't believe it! What happened to him?"

"He was killed by the warlord Cortese' army. Xena won't tell me how. She misses him very much. It's sad."

Eponin nodded her eagle like head and added, "Well, that proves Xena's the greater warrior, Gabrielle."

"How?"

"She has one trait her brother didn't have--Xena's lucky." Gabrielle nodded.

After a second, Gabrielle asked, "Eponin, what have I got to do to improve? I think I'm going someplace really dangerous soon."

Eponin's mood lightened a great deal. She was back to the subject she loved the most--teaching.

"You've got to get much quicker Gabrielle. No matter how good a shape you're in, you'll never be able to beat people on strength alone. You've got to be quick and smart. Now, let's see if I can find someone who's quicker than me to train with." Eponin said looking around.

"There's somebody quicker than you? Besides Xena that is? No way!" Gabrielle exclaimed.

"Yeah there is! Actually, there's someone better than me in all of the skills, but I'm the best in weapons fundamentals. For example, Queen Melosa is the best chobos fighter in the tribe. I know just about everything about all weapons and know how to use all of them properly. I can teach them all too. That's why I'm weapons master. Who can we get?" Eponin wondered scratching her considerable chin.

Eponin looked around the athletic field with her sharp, and discriminating eye. After a few moments, the Weapons Master's gaze settled upon a group of Amazons near a fire protecting themselves against the dawn chill. "Yeah! There's our girl!" She exclaimed. "Come on, Gabrielle, you gotta meet Pyronia."

Gabrielle called for Xena to follow over her shoulder, but she waved, shook her head, and continued with her workout. Gabrielle shrugged and followed her teacher over to the fire. There, seated on a tree stump was an Amazon. She was tall, very tall with honey blonde hair and an upturned nose that was just a little crooked. Her somewhat untraditional Amazon leathers were decorated with wolf's paws and tails, as well as the usual feathers. The feathers were tied in a single braid that ran sinuously down her strong back. The woman sat, her head cradled in long, elegant fingers while her elbows rested on her knees. The woman's large, rich, brown eyes stared with deep, languid fascination at the roaring fire. Between the Amazon's teeth, Gabrielle noticed a small stick, with one end painted with something red.

"Pyronia?" Eponin asked putting a hand on the woman's shoulder. Before the word was finished, the tall Amazon bolted to her feet with a huge battle ax at the ready, her flashing eyes glaring balefully at her sister. Gabrielle couldn't believe it, but the woman was growling quietly, just like the wolf whose pelts she wore as decoration. In a fraction of a second Pyronia's glare eased considerably and she relaxed. She let the ax head fall to the ground and a shy, slightly embarrassed smile came to her fine lips.

"Oh sorry, Eponin! You know how I am when there's a fire." Pyronia said while leaning on the ax handle with a powerful, easy grace.

Eponin tipped her head back and laughed, then she grabbed her Amazon sister by the upper arm and pulled her into a hug while slapping Pyronia on her back. "Forget it, Py."

Eponin reached over and put a big arm around Gabrielle's shoulders and said, "Pyronia, this is Gabrielle, holder of the Right of Caste of our lamented sister Terreis. You never had a chance to meet her. Gabrielle, this is Pyronia, fire bringer for Artemis herself and keeper of the Sisterhood's wolves. She can start a fire in a pouring rain by rubbing two centaurs together!"

Pyronia grinned slightly while Gabrielle's eyes went wide and began to giggle.

"You think I'm kidding?" Eponin asked in mock indignation. "Show her Py."

Pyronia's grin widened to a half smile and she removed the stick on which she had been chewing from her mouth . She swept her cloak from her arm and stiffened her long right leg tightening the suede leggings as far as they could be stretched. She then took the stick, put its red tip on her legging by her knee and dragged it up the side of her leg very quickly. To Gabrielle's utter stupefaction the tip of the stick smoked and ignited!

Both of Gabrielle's sister Amazons smiled widely as Gabrielle began to stumble over words of astonishment. Pyronia lifted the burning stick in front of her nose and with evident pride, sucked in her breath and blew the little fire out. She then flicked the smoking remnant into the fire. After a second, Pyronia found and put another of the remarkable sticks between her teeth.

"What in Tartarus is that thing?" Gabrielle said, her mouth agape in wonder.

"It's the red stuff." Pyronia said. "I was making up something for one of the healers when I just happened to accidentally rub a rough pot over some of this powder and it started burning. After I put the fire out, I had this idea. Put it on the end of a little stick and use it to start fires. It took a bit of messing around, but I found out if you dipped a cedar stick in shellac and then into the powder, the powder sticks well and still touches off. I made thousands of them. Very handy! heh heh heh."

"Do it again!" Gabrielle begged, and Pyronia complied. After a few more times, Pyronia rolled her eyes and Eponin stepped in to save her.

"Gabrielle is a pretty good stick fighter, but needs to get quicker. That's why we're here. You got the fastest hands in the sisterhood. Work with our little sister, will ya?." Eponin said.

Pyronia nodded in acknowledgment. Reaching for a staff that was propped on a rock she said, "En Garde, Gabrielle!"

Gabrielle complied and almost before she had her staff at the port position she was on her back.. Pyronia's movement was so quick that Gabrielle never saw the move that swept her feet from the ground.

Frustrated, Gabrielle said, "Eponin was sure right. You're quick as a viper. I don't think I'll ever be that fast!" Gabrielle frowned.

"No, no, no, Gabrielle, you'll get it." Pyronia said while hoisting her to her feet, "Your technique is great, but you're THINKING too much. You got to let go, FEEL your strikes. And you need to relax. Tension is slowing you down. En Garde again!"

"OK, OK" Gabrielle muttered.

Pyronia's advice worked. Gabrielle immediately improved.

Off in the distance, Xena had finished her kata and was watching her friend's progress. She shook her head. Watching Gabrielle become a warrior was still a little painful, but Xena was now realizing that it was inevitable, and that Gabrielle did have a lot of talent for the job. Gabrielle's biggest talent was her strength of heart. Gabrielle NEVER gave up. Xena watched the two women with interest and started to walk over to get a better look. Then something happened that made Xena's heart leap into her throat. Gabrielle made a sweeping blow and in a second, Pyronia had stepped inside it, jabbed Gabrielle on the knee, whacked her hard on the ribs, and then brought the staff up and nailed her flush on the point of the chin sending the little woman flying.

Rage, explosive rage flooded Xena as if she swallowed all the lava a volcano could produce. Every nerve on edge, she stalked over to the tall Amazon and grabbed her by the upper arm and got right in her face. "You like beating up on girls half your size and ability don'cha? What would you do with ME?" Xena hissed with a frightening smile on her face. Xena's incredible azure eyes sparkled dangerously.

Gabrielle wasn't knocked out but she was stunned. She got up on her elbow and began to massage her jaw. When her vision cleared she saw Xena confronting Pyronia and heard these words from Xena, "Choose your weapons!"

Gabrielle was horrified. Under Amazon law, a challenge from an Amazon to another Amazon couldn't be refused, for to show cowardice was to be immediately thrown out of the Sisterhood. Pyronia surely knew that Xena was honorary queen of the tribe. Still Gabrielle couldn't act, her head was still a bit fuzzy.

Pyronia wasn't intimidated. She looked at Xena with haughty disdain, her big brown eyes pools of fire. "So you're the Thracian Bitch! If I'da been there when you fought Melosa you'd be souvlaki by now! AXES!"

Gabrielle shouted in terror and anger, "NO, XENA DON'T!!!!!!!"

It was too late. The entire tribe began to gather around the athletic field. Eponin had axes of all kinds stacked up about thirty feet apart, and both participants in the duel turned their backs on each other and walked towards their respective stacks. Pyronia got to hers first. She stepped on one of the small throwing hatchets, it popped up into the air and caught it. In one smooth motion the tall Amazon, who was still chewing on her fire lighting thingie, shied it at Xena's head.

"XENA LOOK!" Gabrielle began to shout in warning, but it wasn't necessary. Xena had felt the oncoming blade, and with exquisite contempt, she reached over her shoulder, and without looking, caught the weapon.

Gabrielle was enraged. Although the rules of an Amazon duel said that after the weapons were agreed upon the participants must defend themselves immediately, she couldn't believe Pyronia would do such a thing as throw an ax when Xena's back was turned. Looking around Gabrielle saw no such outrage on her sisters.

Xena immediately chucked the blade right back. It was headed directly for Pyronia's nose when the big Amazon easily plucked it out of the air as well. This time it was Xena's turn to be surprised. If she was affected, she showed it only by the ironic smirk on her face. Pyronia heaved the ax back at Xena. The moment the weapon left her hand she popped another into the air and threw it. Pyronia did this again and again until all of the throwing axes in her stack were flying at Xena.

Xena caught them all and flung them right back at Pyronia. The hands of both women were moving with godlike quickness. This was no juggling exhibition, for both women were throwing to do maximum damage. Every ax headed to different parts of their respective bodies with incredible accuracy. Xena threw at Pyronia's head, knees, feet, arms, chest and the Amazon did the same to Xena. Nevertheless, all of the weapons were caught and came flying back at their thrower. In the background, Amazon drums began to sound as the deadly rhythm of the battle infected the entire village.

Slowly, painfully Xena worked her way over to the stack of axes that she had intended to reach before onrushing doom interrupted her. One of the Amazons had stacked the throwing axes in a convenient pile. With what Gabrielle thought were eight axes in the air already, Xena began kicking hatchets into the air and adding them to the murderous chain of flying death. 9 10, 11, 12 Gabrielle tried to keep count of them but failed.

Behind Gabrielle, the crowd rustled and parted. The short but commanding presence of Melosa appeared. "What by Artemis is going on here??" She demanded, her lovely face a thundercloud.

One of the Amazons piped up, "Legal challenge, My Queen! Xena challenged Pyronia for knocking Princess Gabrielle down."

Gabrielle stood, ran up to her queen and bowed her head in supplication. "My Queen! Pyronia made a mistake! She didn't mean to hit me so hard. Xena shouldn't have challenged her You've got to stop this. They could be killed!" she shouted in anguish.

"Be calm, Gabrielle; if you are to lead us some day you must be cool under stress. This is a legal challenge, it can only end when one or the other is satisfied." The Queen said patiently.

Gabrielle went white with fear and disgust. "You mean one of them has to die!?"

"Yes, Gabrielle; it could come to that."

Gabrielle was livid. She turned and watched the battle while sharply folding her arms across her chest. "If I'm ever Queen around here that law's gonna be changed." she said.

Melosa turned on her. "Don't be presumptuous, Gabrielle." The Queen snapped.

There were now so many axes in the air it looked like a continuous ribbon of iron. Finally, Pyronia was beginning to feel hard pressed. Xena saw the subtle change in her opponent's expression, while her goddess like confidence permeated the entire crowd. Slowly, Xena began to walk towards the Amazon reducing the reaction time necessary to catch the missiles with every step. Now Pyronia was beginning to get scared and she showed it. Xena kept walking in. The tall Amazon was now very close to the breaking point. In an instant, and with a scream of exertion, Pyronia dove towards a stack of battle axes. Behind her, a dozen hatchets hit an archery target in sequence with loud thwacks. They ended up all grouped within a foot of where Pyronia's head should have been.

Xena had anticipated Pyronia's dive. She had taken at least three steps before the Pyronia had started her leap. With a nerve jangling ALALALALALALALALALA!!!!! Xena dove forward at least fifteen feet and careened over Pyronia, snagging a battle-ax from the stack while in flight. She did a tuck roll and gained her feet, but much of her momentum was lost so she could only land in a squat. Pyronia had an advantage. She had snagged an ax herself and was standing right behind Xena with the weapon at the ready. Already the huge blade was on its way down on the top of Xena's head, but again to Pyronia's absolute shock, Xena had her ax handle in both hands over her head! Xena caught Pyronia's weapon just under the head. With a mighty heave, she pulled forward and down. The movement came so fast that Pyronia didn't have a chance to let go of her ax and she was thrown right over Xena's head. A strangled AH came from the crowd, and the volume of encouraging shouts for both women increased.

Pyronia was very good however. She executed a perfect dive roll to her feet and someone from the crowd (who had parted to let the flying woman pass) tossed her another ax. Turning, she faced her raven haired tormentor in a ready crouch, her eyes glaring. A lot of concern could be seen on the woman's solid face as well. She turned her head minutely and while staring at Xena, and she spit the fire stick from her mouth. "GEEEESH!" She rasped.

Xena laughed! Gabrielle recognized that laugh immediately. It wasn't the taunting laugh Xena used with opponents of inferior ability, it was the belly laugh she used when she was hard pressed and enjoying herself. Pyronia's extreme quickness and strength had made her a formidable opponent, formidable enough that Xena's incredible talent wasn't going to beat her easily. Xena nodded as if to say "Not bad." Then she charged with a violent grunt, her ax over her right shoulder.

The Amazon stood her ground; she had somehow anticipated Xena's next move. Xena's charge was a feint! She dove for an area just in front of the Pyronia's feet but when she completed her dive roll, to her shock she absorbed a powerful kick to the mouth. Xena was stupefyingly tough though. She shook the blow off and countered with an immense strike with her ax handle to Pyronia's chest. Gabrielle couldn't believe it, but a small trickle of blood appeared at the right side of Xena's mouth.

Pyronia was staggered and stepped back. Then came a sequence of blow and counterblow that was almost too fast to see. One of Xena's ax strikes succeeded in shaving a thin layer of skin from the Amazon's upper left arm, while Pyronia got in a kick between Xena's legs. Then Xena found her opening. Pyronia was vulnerable to kicks to the body. Xena made three straight feints with the ax, opening Pyronia to three devastating kicks to the belly. Each kick landed on the mark. Each blow was accompanied by ohs and ahs from the crowd. An old axiom of the Boxing Game says that if you kill the body the head will fall, and this is what happened. The last kick doubled Pyronia over and her guard dropped. Xena crouched and with a short strike with the end of the ax handle, she hit Pyronia flush on the side of the head knocking her flat on her back. Xena leaped and straddled the supine woman and with a gigantic grunt of effort brought the ax head down on Pyronia's open neck.

"NO, XENA!!" Gabrielle screamed, but she needn't have worried. Xena's control of her body was so firm that she stopped the ax head just as it touched the skin of Pyronia's throat.

"Artemis! Xena, I'm sorry I knocked your friend down. I lost control of myself. I didn't mean it!" Pyronia said in an exhausted tone.

"I know that too. I lost my head. I, I guess I'm a little overprotective when it comes to Gabrielle." Xena said somewhat sheepishly while throwing the ax aside.

"Are you satisfied now, Xena?" Pyronia asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Oh, yes." Xena said equally exhausted.

"Gods woman, you are GOOD." Pyronia said with a sardonic smile.

"You're not half bad yourself, Amazon. What's your name anyway?" Xena asked while clasping Pyronia's forearm and hoisting the woman to her feet. "I think we're going to be seeing a lot of each other."

"Pyronia. Call me Py. Why?"

"You wanna job?" Xena asked, while a look of tired puzzlement came to the honey haired warrior woman.

By then, Gabrielle had succeeded in elbowing her way through the applauding crowd of Amazons with the Queen and Ephiny right behind her. Gabrielle touched Xena on the shoulder and Xena turned right into the scolding of her life.

"Xena, what is wrong with you?!" Gabrielle began. She was so angry that Xena could see her shaking. "When are you going to learn that I'm a grown woman and can take care of myself! If I don't get hit, I won't learn, and If I don't learn, I probably WILL get killed. LET ME RUN MY RISKS! There's another thing. You could have gotten yourself or Pyronia KILLED! Challenging her to a duel like that. That was the first truly unthinking thing that I ever saw you do. How dare you..." The tirade went on.

Xena stood there braced to attention because she knew her friend was right, and she was ashamed of herself.

Gabrielle finally reached her peroration. "You promised me!" Gabrielle blasted, a finger held under Xena's chin. "You promised me that if anything happened to me, YOU WOULD NOT BECOME A MONSTER!" Then the Gabrielle saw something that really told her how much Xena had changed since she first met her.

The last sentence Gabrielle threw hit Xena like a body blow, but Xena's pride fought the pain. Nevertheless, her emotions betrayed themselves. Her shoulders drooped slightly, her cheek muscles worked, her head dipped a fraction, and most tellingly, her azure eyes filled with tears. The tears didn't fall, Xena would not let that happen.

Pyronia came up behind Gabrielle and said, "Gabrielle, it was as much my fault as Xena's You've got to let me take a part of the responsibility."

Gabrielle turned to face Pyronia, but her mood had totally changed. Now her face was working with emotion for she now saw how much Xena really cared about her in the most graphic way possible. Xena had showed, at long last, that Gabrielle's feelings were important to her. That realization stole Gabrielle's ability to speak.

Xena looked down at Gabrielle then braced again; "Can you forgive me, Gabrielle?" She asked in a strangled whisper.

Gabrielle's tears fell like rain. She wrapped her arms around her big friend's waist, squeezed hard and then looked up into Xena's eyes. "You don't even have to ask!" She choked softly.

Xena returned the hug, and put the side of her head on the top of Gabrielle's "You never give up on me!" Xena exclaimed wiping a tear from her eye.

The entire crowd of Amazons was deeply affected, there was many a tear staining many a cheek. Then someone started cheering, and the cheer was taken up by all. Even the tough little Queen Melosa's shoulders shook with emotion. All of them, Xena, Gabrielle, Pyronia, Ephiny, Melosa, every Artemis blessed one of the tribe truly were, in that telling moment, sisters.

Pyronia was uncomfortable. She wanted off this subject as fast as possible. By now Xena and Gabrielle were smiling broadly, the air between them thoroughly cleared.

"So what's this job you got for me, Xena?" Pyronia asked while shambling and putting another fire stick between her teeth.

Gabrielle's eyes went wide in disbelief. "You mean right after you nearly killed each other you're working together?" she asked.

Both Xena and Pyronia shrugged.

"I nicked your arm pretty good Py, we can talk while I dress the wound. We better get do the dispensary too, we're both gonna be really sore soon." Xena said.

"Yeah, Xena, you don't look too good yourself. Check your mouth," Py said.

Xena swept her hand over her mouth and found the blood that was beginning to clot. Then she chuckled. "Come on."

Pyronia turned to Gabrielle and told her she'd need a new training partner for a bit and she followed Xena to the healers.

"Need to know, Gabrielle. I know lot of things I know could get you killed, and I couldn't live with that. Could you do me a favor and let it go for now?" Xena asked.

Gabrielle looked at her friend a trifle more sharply than she wanted to, but then she shrugged and nodded her accession. Looking up at the ship with its bright shiny black color and the huge white eye with its blue pupil painted on the bow, she said, "It's beautiful Xena. Her name is lovely too."

Over the staring eye in gorgeous, silver Greek script was the name "Lyceus". "We've been pretty poor over the last two years. Why didn't you sell her?" Gabrielle asked.

"Figured I might have a use for her someday, but I didn't have enough money to put her in the water or crew her before now. It was cheaper to book passages when I had to. I was lucky I found a place to lay her up anyway. Nikos, the boatyard owner, was one of my men during the Corinth campaign. He got hung up in a pocket in the mountains north of Megara and his unit was being butchered by a battalion of Sisyphus' infantry. I was able to lead a relief party to bail him and his men out. He offered me a favor sometime. Since I knew his father owned a boatyard, I asked him to take care of the Lyceus here, and he did. I didn't think he'd keep her up so well though. She looks a lot better than when I was using her regularly."

"Can you sail her?" Gabrielle asked. Xena just cocked an eyebrow. "Of course you can. Silly question! You and your many skills."

Behind the pair and up the dune they heard an approaching commotion as Nikos himself ran down the slope to see his old commander. Nikos ran past a column of Amazons, about thirty in all. Included in the group of women were Ephiny, Pyronia and twenty others to crew the ship. There was also a "camper" wagon and five horses. Trailing behind them was at least five more wagons full of provisions and equipment. Trailing was a more ornate cart. This cart was important for it was Melosa's.

"Marshal, MARSHAL! Xena!! Wonderful to see you!!" Nikos was skipping as he ran down from his house.

Gabrielle looked at Xena quizzically. "Marshal?" she asked.

"It's what my men called me. The officers used my name."

Xena studiously took a relaxed posture. She was no longer this man's commander but a friend and customer. Nikos didn't think so. The moment the rough middle sized man with the huge hands and the huge black beard arrived in front of her, he immediately jumped to attention and snapped his right arm across his chest in salute.

"Relax, Nikos." Xena said holding out a hand. Nikos did more than shake it, he reached out, took Xena's hand and kissed it. "Mother! What an honor to have you here again." This sentence got an even more quizzical look from Gabrielle. Nikos saw it and responded before Xena could. "All her men called Xena mother. She took care of us. She treated us all as if we were her beloved sons--All of us. Even the old, ugly ones like me. Except for the bravest of the brave, they were..."

"That's OK, Nikos." Xena said in a mildly chiding tone. Gabrielle looked confused again. Xena told her almost nothing about how she led her army. "The ship looks wonderful. Thank you."

"Anything for Mother! You saved my life. How could I not keep your ship beautiful, just like the Warrior Princess, no?" Gabrielle looked closely at her friends amazing face, but saw nothing but gentle comradeship.

"When can you get her in the water again, Nikos?" Xena asked.

"Immediately! If not sooner!" Nikos exclaimed

Gabrielle was impressed. She had always thought that the men in Xena's army were all vicious minor warlords. But Nikos was just a simple shipwright who clearly worshipped the ground his "mother" walked upon. Gabrielle touched Xena on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

"Not everyone hated me or my army. We were heroes in Thessaly. My war against the centaurs was very popular here." Xena said. "Nikos, well, get at it!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Nikos said saluting again. He turned and began running back up the dune yelling "Stavros!--George!-- Telly!! We gotta get Lyceus in the water right now!"

By this time Melosa had joined them as had Pyronia and Ephiny. Xena asked the Queen to let some of her Amazons assist in the tough job of preparing the ways for the ship to be launched. Xena then asked Nikos to let them on board to see her old sea borne home once again.

Lyceus was the kind of ship that commonly plied the sea lanes of the eastern Mediterranean. Stepped for a single mast amidships, her hull was pierced for five oars on each side on the top deck. Unlike many such ships, there was a single very large hatch forward of the mast that was big enough to take large cargo like a wagon. Below there was enough room to hold fifty tons of cargo or one hundred men. The space between the decks was larger than usual, for Lyceus had been designed to carry livestock as well. Xena had used thousands of such ships when her army was at its most powerful. Nikos had clearly treated Lyceus like a labor of love. Every metal fitting was like brand new. The paint was fresh, the wood as sound as the day the ship was built. Xena recalled that the vessel WAS better than when she first bought it. Lyceus once had a little rot in some of the timbers. That was all gone now.

The party climbed on board and looked around. Nikos came aboard first chattering like a magpie on henbane followed by Gabrielle. Melosa and the Amazons that weren't working all came on board as well. On a ship like this, it was customary for the stern post to curve gracefully up over the quarterdeck of the ship and terminate in a decoration of some sort. Gabrielle saw the stern post decoration first and her mouth fell open in amazement "Xena! Quick! Come here; you've got to see this!" she exclaimed.

Xena walked aft and her eyes opened wide in shock. Melosa was sternly silent, Pyronia grinned, while Ephiny shook her head. A titter of amusement shot through the rest of the women when they realized what they were seeing. Rather than a representation of some god, goddess or mythical being, on the stern post there hung an absolutely perfect likeness of Xena herself. Gabrielle thought it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. The woodcarving was delicate and precise. The paint work was perfect, and inlayed where the pupils of the eyes should have been, there were two glittering, blue stones. She couldn't be sure but she thought they were sapphires. Gabrielle turned and looked at her friend. By now Xena's expression had closed but there was enough feeling left on her face to see that she was mortified.

Xena purred like a dangerous cat, "Nikos, who did this? When I left this ship here, there was just a simple scrollwork on the stern post. I didn't order a bust of myself. I didn't pay for it either.

Nikos was abashed and then terrified. Nobody displeased Xena when she commanded an army. "I thought you'd be pleased! Please don't kill me!"

"Don't be silly, Nikos." Xena said in a sudden change of tone, as a warm smile crossed her face. It might be useful." Xena now looked downright cagey.

"Xena, you're up to something." Ephiny said, but the Warrior Princess stayed silent.

The tide finally came in and the ways were thoroughly greased, although it took a very sizable pig roast from the past to get what lubrication was necessary. Melosa led a small ceremony of blessing that implored Artemis and her half brother the God of the Sea Poseidon to watch the crew of the ship Lyceus in their voyage to Asia Minor. Once completed, Xena herself knocked the final chock out from under the ship and it slid gracefully into the water whereupon Nikos's brothers warped the ship to the stone mole to step the mast and erect the rigging. Once that was done, the wagon was loaded aboard as was enough provisions for several such trips. Finally, Melosa had the strongest of her Amazon escort haul a very heavy iron chest down the mole where a whip line from the yardarm was attached. The chest was extremely valuable. It contained 150 talents or 15,000 dinars in gold.

All watched in interest as the chest was brought aboard. The whip line squeaked through the blocks. Delicately, it was lowered down the open hatch towards the lower deck and a special cradle battened down just forward of the mast. Very few people had seen so much money in one place. Indeed several of the Amazons had expressed amazement to Gabrielle that the Amazon Nation even had that much money.

"Do you think this'll be enough, Xena?" Melosa asked as the block and tackle lowered the chest the last few feet.

"Dunno, Melosa. We have to find out how good Hittite security is. If it's really good, information--good information, isn't gonna be cheap. Don't worry Melosa, I know that's a huge sacrifice." Xena said pointing at the chest.

"I'll say, it's a quarter of the entire Nation's gold. But if it saves one Amazon life from those butchers it's a great value at a hundred times the price." Melosa said earnestly as her sisters bolted the chest onto the deck.

Xena looked around at all the gawking Amazons and then drew herself to her full height. "Awright ladies, we've got work to do!" With that, even Gabrielle set to the hard job of arranging the food, cargo and firewood and then securing it. At last they were almost done and the screw type hand pumps were brought out to fill the water casks and the scuttlebutt. Casks of cheap wine, intended to be watered down to make a kind of soft drink, topped the inanimate stores. Lastly, Argo, Ephiny's and Pyronia's horses were loaded as were the two that were to draw the wagon at their destination. Argo was a great help. She had seen many amphibious assaults with her owner, several from this very ship. The skittish newcomers were greatly eased by the palomino's influence. Xena seemed to be everywhere, checking lashings, assessing the trim of the ship, making sure that all was in proper order. Her leadership was so impressive that even Melosa pitched in to help, even though she didn't have to. Gabrielle was made responsible for the ship's books and the final copying out of the log, which every competent sea captain kept.

At last, all but the twenty four Amazons of the crew and the four women of the reconnaissance party were put back ashore. Melosa again demanded a short service to Poseidon and Artemis which included the sacrifice of a goat and the reading of its entrails. Melosa, who was a priestess as well as Queen, read the auspices and found them to be excellent for fair weather but profoundly mixed in all other matters. However, she determined that the time was right. Xena, who was far more practically minded, had to remind herself of the importance the spirit held by the Amazons and waited patiently, and with some understated reverence, for the service to conclude.

"Ladies, all hands to your stations, and up the mast!" Xena shouted and the two Amazons Xena had trained climbed the mast to the yard arm and walked the foot ropes out to the gaskets holding the rolled sail in place.

On the main deck, bare feet rushed as the remainder of the crew ran to the ten oars, two Amazons to each. The two remaining members of the crew stood on the bulwarks of the ship near the mooring lines and waited. Xena, Gabrielle, Pyronia and Ephiny hung the wide, flat steering oar in its lintel next to the curving stern post, and Xena leaned upon it to see if it worked freely. Gabrielle looked up at the portrait of Xena and thought that it almost smiled. Gabrielle, who was a bit of an oracle herself, knew for certain that this was a good omen, and that the voyage and the mission would be a success.

"Single up all lines!" Xena exclaimed, and the heavy mooring ropes were thrown inboard by Nikos and his brothers. Xena followed this order with, "Let go all!" and the remaining light lines were thrown in.

"Push off Nikos!" came next and the shipyard owner and his burly brothers heaved on their long boat hooks and pushed the vessel away from the mole. The Amazons on the dock began to play drums and wave as their sisters began a long journey into who knows what. Melosa stood front and center, arms folded across her chest, a look of concern and hope on her strong face. "Gods be with you all!!" The Queen of the Pindus Amazons called out to the ship and her glorious commander. Xena stood on the aftermost bulwark next to the steering oar and waved, with Gabrielle and the two Amazons of the expedition right next to her. Gabrielle was so excited that she nearly lost her footing and fell overboard, but Pyronia caught her before she pitched over the stern.

"Watch it, Gabrielle! Stories from wet bards ain't so good!" The Py chided.

"Yeah right!" Gabrielle said, embarrassed.

Lyceus drifted out away from the mole until there was enough room for the twenty foot long oars to be put through the oarlocks.

"Out OARS!" Xena called out and the shafts were slid into position.

"Back! Give way together--HEAVE!" Xena called out, and at once twenty powerful young women exploded into motion. Leaning into their work from their aft facing benches the Amazon warriors made their oars bite water at once and the ship shot backwards as if thrown from an onager. Pyronia had to catch Gabrielle again for she nearly pitched forward onto Lyceus' quarterdeck.

"Sheesh!" Gabrielle exclaimed in exasperation.

Ephiny was chuckling. "You better get down, Gabrielle."

"All right already! Sailor I'm not!" she shouted even more exasperated.

Xena looked at her friend with an affectionate, but ironic expression; an eyebrow arched high.

Three strokes and the ship was many feet away from the mole.

"Stop oars!" Xena shouted.

"Right bank ahead! Left bank back! Give way together--HEAVE!!" The ship pirouetted like a master swordsman.

Quickly, the order to stop oars came followed immediately by, "Left bank forward--heave, right bank drag!" Lyceus stopped immediately just where Xena wanted her to point.

The wind was blowing briskly down the Pindus mountains directly towards Asia Minor. Perfect for the start of the voyage. No more rowing was necessary.

"SHIP OARS!" Xena roared and the long poles rattled inboard. "Sheets and braces ladies!"

"SET SAIL!" The women left their benches and ran to the ropes they had been shown how to use and the great square sail dropped into position. Everyone, including Gabrielle, pulled back on the sheets and the sail stiffened to the wind and the ship began to make headway. Xena ordered a little more trimming of the braces, leaned on the steering oar and the ship heeled and picked up speed. Asia Minor was four days away.

When the sail was properly set, the Amazons returned to their benches and added the power of their slowly stroked oars to the giddy pace of the wind. Gabrielle had pestered Xena almost from the beginning of the victualling of Lyceus to play the rhythm drums and this she did with relish. Gabrielle had also, without asking Xena, taken the morale of the women as her job, and she preserved good spirits of all by the recitation of poetry that fit the beat.

That night after making good time, Xena beached the ship on one of the thousands of islands in the Aegean. In the days before compass, sextant and chronometer, navigators only had the stars, sun and shape of the waves by which to steer. Xena was a good sailor but not a master, for she hadn't the vast experience that many such men had. It took a true master navigator to gain safe passage out of sight of land for long. Luckily, the Eastern Mediterranean made it easy because it provided many safe havens for the seaman. The stop was good for the Amazons too because none of them had been to sea before and many had to deal with seasickness for the first time. Gabrielle, who had also shown some tendency towards that particular malady considered it a great relief as well.

The atmosphere on board Lyceus was very light hearted considering the importance of the mission the crew was on. Gabrielle's seemingly limitless store of tales kept many enthralled. Pyronia proved to be a joy. She was an inveterate tease, constantly provoking her sisters to rough housing on deck. To Xena's amazement, the seemingly crude Amazon was highly intelligent and witty and started trading wisecracks with Gabrielle, holding her own brilliantly. Then before anyone realized what was happening, a sorority fight broke out. Gabrielle had just been on the losing end of a teasing insult and she exclaimed, "THAT DID IT!" and got out her pan flute and began to play it. Gabrielle was really pretty good with the instrument, but she played it deliberately as badly as possible to get back at her honey haired tormentor.

Pyronia, stood and drew herself to her full height and looked directly at Gabrielle. Her expression was one of danger, but her eyes were full of delight. Gabrielle didn't know what to expect, and Xena, who had been up to now watching her charges with motherly tolerance, looked at the tall Amazon with concern. Ephiny, who knew her a lot better, turned to Xena and told her,

"You better hang on, Xena!" But the warning was given with a big smile on Ephiny's face.

Quietly, Pyronia growled. Gabrielle, who had stopped playing the pipe when Pyronia rose from the deck, looked up her with concern on her face.

"Hey, Pyronia! What are you doing? PYRONIA?" Gabrielle exclaimed truly alarmed.

"You know, Gabrielle, I could burn you for being such a pain." Pyronia said in a half deadly, half mocking tone. She then took the fire stick out of her mouth and began playing with it menacingly as well as advancing on Gabrielle, step by slow step.

Xena became genuinely frightened for Gabrielle. Her eyes went wide and flashed blue electricity, but before a scowl came to her face, Ephiny put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her down. "Easy, Xena! Watch," she said with a big smile on her face.

"Gabrielle was getting genuinely worried now. "OK! OK! I'm not Pan himself y'know!" she bleated. Looking around for her staff, which was nowhere in sight, she muttered "Great! Xena's first rule! RUN!!"

With that, Gabrielle turned and tried to run but with two huge strides Pyronia was on her. Xena again tried to rise but Ephiny pushed her down once more. Pyronia reached out with her long arms, but instead of striking Gabrielle anything like it, she flipped the little woman's suede skirt up, grabbed her underpants and pulled up so hard that she lifted Gabrielle into the air.

Xena couldn't believe it. She exploded in laughter. The belly laugh was deep and loud and shook her big body from head to foot. Then she fell over because she was so overcome with mirth she couldn't support herself anymore. Ephiny fell over too, right on top of Xena.

The entire ship erupted as well. The laughter was so loud that it even awakened some of the townspeople in a little village near to where the Lyceus was beached.

"OH GAAACK! A WEDGIE!! THE LAST PERSON TO GIVE ME A WEDGIE WAS LILLA! AND SHE'S DEAD NOW!!!" Gabrielle roared in mock rage.

Pyronia stood there for an instant rubbing her fingers together near her upper lip as if she had a long, black mustache. She was uttering a long low laugh as if she was a villain in some kind of awful melodrama. Pyronia watched the flustered Gabrielle as she rearranged herself, then the honey haired warrior's eyes went wide, because with a screech the little strawberry blond woman charged Pyronia like a crazed mother elephant. Pyronia's big, brown eyes bugged out, she turned towards the bow of the ship and took off as fast as her long legs would carry her, and that was very fast indeed. The two women chased each other around the deck for the gods only knew how many times until both collapsed on the deck too winded to laugh anymore.

A total wedgie war broke out amongst the women and soon things were flying through the air as the exuberance of youth swamped them all. Xena and Ephiny had stood and Ephiny stared at Xena with an evil glint in her eye. Xena braced to her full height and put on her war face. Casting a sidelong gaze at the scout, she said, "Do it, and I'll take your eyes out." Xena then again faced the battle that was going on in front of her, but she now had on a big smile. Ephiny adopted a theatrical frown but grabbed Xena by the shoulder and laughed. Xena couldn't help herself, she started laughing again as well.

After a while, Xena lost her patience, and she tried shouting at the Amazons to knock it off, but they were too far gone in their glee, so Xena pulled her chakram from its hook and flung it over their heads. The Amazons saw the weapon and many ducked. The ring flew to the jack post on the bow and bounced back to its thrower unerringly. The whining of the weapon had done its job. Xena had their attention.

"All right, ladies! Fun's over, we've got a long way to go tomorrow!" Let's get dinner and some sleep!"

Gabrielle walked back aft to be with her friend. She was a winded wreck, but she could take the consolation in the fact that Pyronia wasn't much better off. Somehow, the fire loving Amazon's head was sticking out of the armhole of her tunic. Gabrielle did get revenge, Pyronia rolled in her gait, not because of the movement of the ship on the beach, but because she was still rearranging HER underwear. Gabrielle sat down with her back to the bulwark next to the stern post. She was still giggling softly.

"Amazons! What a hoot." Gabrielle said. "I haven't had a day like this since I was in school back home." Gabrielle looked up at Xena who was leaning on the steering oar. Xena had a wistful look on her face. "Whatcha thinking, Xena?"

"Oh, not much. I was thinking about the young men I commanded, although when something like what happened here tonight started it usually ended in a brawl with them. You know Gabrielle, I'm worried."

"About the Hittites?"

"Yup. If they really mean war we're in very great danger. They are a huge, unified empire. We're just a gaggle of weak kingdoms. Hades, our most powerful people are the warlords we've been fighting since we met. The one thing about war is that if someone wants one badly enough, they can have it. If the Hittite Emperor really wants war, I don't know how to stop him."

"I told Eponin a couple of days ago about your opinion of Lyceus:" Gabrielle said.

"Oh really? He was a better warrior than me. His skills and strength were amazing. Had he lived, he would have been a great leader." Xena said, diverted from her concern.

"Eponin said you were the greater warrior," Gabrielle said.

Xena looked at her friend and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Eponin said you were the greater warrior because you were lucky. Lyceus wasn't"

"Really? Doesn't feel like it sometimes." Xena said, her eyes turned down.

"Really, you're still alive to save lives."

"Yeah, and to take them too."

Gabrielle reached up and took her friend's hand. "Only as a last resort, and for very good reasons."

"We're looking at a war, Gabrielle, a big one. I hope to the gods that I'm wrong."

"Well let's not live in the future. We'll find out when we find out."

"Right as usual, Gabrielle. Y'know how did you learn so much so young?"

"Maybe I'm the lucky one?"

Xena reached over, ruffled her friend's hair and smiled. That smile was warmly returned.

"Well, I better help with dinner." Gabrielle said, and she went below leaving Xena to her thoughts.

Well, it might not have been Lilla's chicken with her 17 secret herbs and spices, but it wasn't bad either. The Amazons lived and ate simply. Lamb pieces marinated in lemon juice and broiled on skewers, Pita bread, onions, garlic, and cucumbers in olive oil, wine vinegar and oregano were prominent in the dinner from the fresh food that had been loaded on board. It turned out that Ephiny, and an Amazon named Julia, could do wonders with the basic fare. Julia, who was one of the woman that handled the deck and had no other job, had been busy all day making filo dough and she had made a huge batch of lovely baklavaa, dripping with butter and nuts. She had even driven Gabrielle insane by baking a super nut bread. Good food had always been a problem for Xena and Gabrielle on the road, and it was a pleasure for both to eat well. Badly roasted rabbit and Jerusalem Artichokes were what they usually ate. Xena was fairly credible at making hardtack, unleavened flour and water baked as hard as iron on a flat rock. It was terrible, but it did last forever in a saddlebag. There was many a time that both women often thought of chucking the wandering life to return to the Sisterhood. Xena's mission was paramount though; she could never stay one place for long.

Even Xena joined in the cleanup. She took the opportunity to learn the names of all of the women warriors and to find out a little bit about them. Xena had a fabulous memory for names. Whenever she learned a face and a name she never forgot it. It was one of the keys of her success as a commander. People love to know that someone is thinking about them and has real concern for them. By the time the mess had been cleared, Xena had made a firm relationship with all of them. Gabrielle saw that Xena deeply liked this process, despite her habit of solitude. Perhaps her aloofness was her way of not getting too close to people who she might have to order to die for her. Gabrielle didn't know.