interest and repeated them to her mother before they went to sleep.

Everything seemed to be going well, until a meeting was called for the captians. Ghost was giving a review on the attack, and he wasn't making it look good. "We let that mare escape. Not only is that one less for us but she could warn other herds of our existance. It is not acceptable."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" snapped Nickle, eager to prevent his name from being tarnished further.

Ghost paused for a moment to gather the attention of the captains. He turned to Pirate and said, "I propose a new division, Sir. Warrirors. Elite attack horses trained to kill quickly and effectively. If we had had them in our last attack, the stallions would have been taken care of within moments."

"And who would lead this new division, Ghost?" Pirate grinned. "You?"

The champagne dun nodded proudly.

Spuro stepped forward. "Objection!" he shouted, causing the rest of the captains to swerve their head to look at him. "This would render the attack force useless! And if they are trained to kill so well, the arena systems would break down as no-one could win a fight. What about all the officers who try to remove a stallion for an extra mare? They would be left with nothing for their extra efforts! And what if they grew too strong and rose against us all? What if they were better fighters than you, Sir?"

Pirate stayed silent and listened to his youngest captain intently. "We have no need for a new division, this is merely an excuse for Ghost to lead military units!"

There were hushed mumblings between the captains. James held his breath, hoping that Spuro wasn't asking for a fight with Ghost. He ahd only just escaped by the skin of his teeth in the trials. Pirate advanced on Ghost and said, "If you can give me a full report in a week's time on how this 'Warrior' division of your's would work, benefitting the entire Band, we will put it to a vote."

"Yes, Sir" Ghost replied. He glared at Spuro, "I assure you you will see my reasoning."

That night Ghost was patrolling the gullies alone. Spuro watched him from above, trying to work out his plans. There was only one way to find out. He slid down the slope and followed the dun allong the trench until they were far from any watching sentries. "I know you're there, Spuro," Ghost said, stopping but not turning.

The chestnut cantered ahead to look at his enemy in the face. "What are you up to, Ghost?" he snarled.

He huffed a laugh. "I know all about your Resistance. Like I said at the beginning of the circuit, Leon's information was very helpful indeed."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he snapped back. He couldn't show signs of worry or they would all be killed.

"Imagine it," Ghost continued, pushing into his face, "The strongest, fastest, cruelest horses picking off your secret members one by one. I am loyal to my leader, and I will make sure every treatcherous worm like yourself is wiped out from our herd. The time is nearing, Spuro old mate, for you to finally surrender."

The chestnut stepped back, staring the muscular oponent in the eye. Then he turned and walked away. What else could he do? Any further arguing could put them all in grave danger. He made his way back to the comfort of his quarters and slept uneasily throught the night.

In the morning he took Copper to James and Nickle. He was eager to get the youngster involved with the duo's plans with the mares.  He had been prewarned not to 'go near' the mares, even if they liked him, so, sulking over the lack of his own mate, he started to get to know the newest Resistance members. There were six out of the fifteen mares who wanted revenge for Pirate's evil ways. Both mothers of the colts were members, since their three year old sons had been taken away from them for training. They were a buckskin appaloosa blanket - similar to Nickle's coat - and a seal brown. They were all mustangs and there were also a black, a strawberry roan, a bay and a dark grey.

Spuro explained that when the next attack was called the defences would be lowered, so it would be an ideal time to leave in small numbers. "You are to stay here the longest - sorry - and send the rest of the mares on their way while the guards are few and far between. We'll make sure that some other Resistance members are on duty so that they don't cause you any trouble. We'll be bringing in more mares so hopefully no one will notice that the numbers are down."

"I don't know Spuro," Nickle said, "I think Ghost will have counted."

"Yes," he replied, "but Ghost is so eager to prove himself as a better attack captain than me that he will insist on joining us for the next battle. Anyway, if the other guards try to stop you, our horses will be prepared to kill them if need be. Van can take care of the evidence, he won't have a clue that they aren't traitors - he'll just be grateful to have an easy meal. And if we can butter him up, maybe the painter will come in handy in the future."

"One question, Spuro," the roan said. Her name was Sunset - or Sun - for her pinkish coat. He knew that she would do well as a leader for the mares. "Where do we send the escapees?"

Spuro didn't answer at first, but checked that no one was listening in. "There is a herd," he whispered, "far away from here. It's where I was born. I will not tell you the location right now, for my family's sake, but I know that they will let the mares in, they are kindhearted. Our herd has been carefully protected and lead for many generations, and they will do all they can to take care of them."

The week flew by and the day came for the voting of the Warrior Units division. Ghost gave his report to the captains, telling them how it would be a small group, only ten or twelve elite fighters, that would simply be on a cycle for battles. it would ease the pressure from the rest of them, and they would be classed as officers, letting the system remain intact. He would be a good leader of the group since he felt that his skills were wasted in as the Captain of Systematics, and he had earned much experience and respect through fighting.

The vote was taken, with Spuro, James and Nickle being the only ones against the plan. Even Pirate was for it. So Ghost was given a new position, Captain of Elite Forces, and was given permission to pick the top ten attack officers after the next battle.

Which led Pirate onto his next case. A week before he had sent out his top scouters to the south and locate the Waterfall Herd. Already there had been a reply, and a terrain report had come in. "Dry ground, exposed bedrock, lots of water including two large rivers, several streams, a lake and a series of waterfalls, ranging from feet to metres tall. Two stallions - an elder one, and his successor. Many colts, useless for the forces. around twenty mares, including a silver grullo, believed to be the one from the Wast Planes Herd. Sentries placed, easy travelling, the sooner the better."

James and Spuro had three days to select fifteen fighters suitable to the battlefield. They decided to not pick the best horses, in a final attempt to thwart Ghost's plans to train up the Elite Forces. If there weren't any fighters good enough, he couldn't choose them. Still, they picked their best attack members to go undercover and hopefully sabotage the Warriors' actions in the future. There were three volunteers. They chose all of them.

Quick-footed fighters were needed to stay aware of the ground around them. The report had described the land having a lot of water, so strong swimmers were essential aswell. They had chosen their fifteen by the end of day two, and Nickle had made sure to keep all of the Resistance defenders at the territory and volunteer to post as a sentry for the mares.

They let Pirate know that they were ready and they decided to leave in the middle of the night. A day earlier, in fact, saving their spies precious time. There was no time to draw up a plan so they held it off until they found a camp ground near the enemy herd. In the evening, Spuro slipped away to let Sun know that they had a few nights to escape. "Wait until at least six of our kind are on duty," he said hushly, "you'll know because they will have their ears turned to the sides. It's a special code we developed for operations like these. If you think someone's found you out, don't take any chances - tell our horses and they'll deal with them. The sooner you make a break for it the better, as Gorse is leading the Band alone while Pirate is gone."

They set off under the stars, the days ahead promising to be balmy and dry. As he had predicted, Ghost had tagged along to make sure he had an input to the battle plan, but Spuro was ahead of him. he was already thinking his way aorund the various problems that they would face. There had not been much rain in the south for a while now, so the riverbeds would be exposed save for the deepest parts. If there were walls of rock around a river then they could herd the mares up the narrow passage and block them off with the defence.

By the end of the third day of enless travelling, they reached a scouting officer that was waiting by a line of golden poplar trees. Pirate asked Shot, James and Spuro to join him on a terrain assessment to help with battle plan while Ghost and Nickle set up the camp. The trees were situated on top of a hill which sloped gently down into a small valley of lush, green