Chapter 1- Caught?

"Raise your hands above your head, scum!"

Lujen muttered a word he hadn't used in ages. Didn't those muscle-bound Shavenni realize that his hands were already raised?

The Shavenni had not always been run by muscle-men. Once, in the old days, the Shavennian peace-keeping force had been respected by all, including Lujen.

But that was before the council had been overthrown and all of Fernail had been plunged into chaos. Sometimes, Lujen wished things had not happened the way they had. There was nothing you could have done, he reminded himself. 'Even one dissenting voice could have changed things' a voice whispered.

'Yeah, right, like anyone would listen to a Jasr!' he argued with his conscience. 'Draver would have' came the reply.

"Hey, Jasr, don't try to play dumb with me, 'k?"

Lujen looked up and found himself staring into the eyes of a huge, Shavenna who easily towered above him. A feral grin played on his lips as the Shavenna brought up the stunner to hit him.

Time slowed, and in a flash, it was over. Lujen was in possession of the stunner and the Shavenna lay on the ground, hands cradling his head. Kids, he snorted and shook his head. Hoping he had guessed right, Lujen crept toward the hovercraft. He swung around the door and into the hovercraft, bringing his stunner up. And relaxed.

Lujen allowed himself another wide grin; his bet had worked. From the beginning, he had noticed, from the way the craft was handled and the hesitancy in the Shavenna's voice that the Shavenna was inexperienced and probably just out of cadet school. One look at the kid had confirmed his suspicions.

After that, it had been almost safe to assume there were no other Shavenni on board the craft. Legally, a hovercraft was supposed to be manned by two Shavenni, but dozens of Shavenni had died in the Kaznak riots a few days ago. Add to that rumours that the Shavenni had closed down one of their two existing academies and Lujen had known he could bet on the hovercraft being empty. Risky, but worthwhile, he thought, looking at the craft and it's gleaming, new interior. He would be able to sell it for a good price.

Author's Note: Phew! First chapter's done. Got any comments/criticism for me? Tell me so I can decide if I should continue.