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Act XXVIII: Taur Tar and Skammer Jam

My first stop, after burying the count and getting the Scions settled, was to gain information from my young witch friend, Rosa Saturnyne, and her familiar, Tabor Talbot, in Nekoton, the home kingdom of Lord Puss'n Boots.

Rosa and Talbot were pleased to see me again. Rosa shared tea and cookies with me, while Talbot sat in my lap, while I retold all of my recent adventures to my two curious friends.

Talbot rubbed against my chest.

"There is a wereboar living to the north of here but you should be careful. He claims that Chess has attacked him several times over the past few years. Of course, that is just plain silly, as you well know."

I hummed as I took in this information.

"Don't worry about me, Talbot. I have some special protection, if I can use it before the wereboar attacks me."

Rosa smiled.

"You've always been very resourceful, Jansen. And I happen to like you. Please try to be careful around Buskovf. He has trouble trusting humans."

I nodded my head at Rosa, while I petted and rubbed on Talbot's head-fur.

"Thank you both for worrying about me. But I have to go see him. I think he can help me. Just give me some good directions and I can get on my way."

Moments later, I was riding one of Lord Puss'n Boots' mighty stallions northward through the old forest toward the grounds where Buskovf roamed. I wasn't sure what I was about to get into, but one thing I did know, was that Buskovf had to have been the victim of Skam. Why else would he have been fighting against Chess?

Soon, I arrived at the clearing. I dismounted the stallion and pulled an Australian flag handkerchief out of my pocket. As I waved it, turning around in a slow circle, I called out.

"Buskovf! I am Jansen Tanner, here on behalf of Reed Huxley! I know you don't like Chess, but hear me out! If you are close by, I'd rather you remained hidden! Reed is needing two cases of German wereboar hoof-clippings! Rather than your taking a chance and bringing them to me, I am suggesting that you take the two cases to Rosa Saturnyne in Lord Puss'n Boots' kingdom! I will return to Rosa's home later and pick up the cases! I will leave Reed's token here, on the edge of the clearing, for you to verify that I do indeed know Reed Huxley!"

I placed the handkerchief exactly where I said I'd place it.

"I am withdrawing now, Buskovf! Reed needs other supplies! But remember these two things, Buskovf! First of all, a good Chess agent never needs to use a gun! And secondly, regardless of what is written in the Chess text books, never expect your subject to totally obey what you've been taught! They are people just like we are! They can think and they can react to any situation that changes their normal lifestyle!"

I started to turn to leave, when suddenly, I heard a soft response.

"...Jesse..."

I turned around slowly.

Standing there was a very large male wereboar wearing a spiked collar and iron bands.

"Jansen Tanner... you are Jesse's chosen... He was the best of the best... I will provide what Reed Huxley wants. But it will take some time to collect them. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

I took a breath and released it.

"Tell me of the so called Chess agents who attacked you. I need a clue as to who they really were, or how to track these people down."

Buskovf nodded his head.

"The men you seek wear a uniform with a single symbol located on the left side of their chest. It is an old world chess king piece interwoven with circuitry. The uniforms are mainly white, but they have either silver or golden armor just beneath the surface. The weapons they carry are gun like, with laser sighting and radar tracking. Whoever sponsors these people is extremely wealthy. Wealthy enough to make his male troops look identical to Chess. The females on their team dress similarly to the organization known as Psi, in the United States. At the last Tranquility Moonrise, an American cousin of mine was telling me of these females. Their uniforms are mainly red, but instead of black, they too have silver or golden armor plating."

I almost growled. Almost.

"They are called Skam. Search and Kill Alien Monsters. From now on, direct all of your Chess or Psi contacts, if you can, directly through either myself, Danath Gaul, Krystal Silverly, or Marla Borva. Trust no one else, regardless of who they say they work for. If they carry guns, you avoid them at all costs. Whenever possible, direct reports through Rosa Saturnyne, Tabor Talbot, or even, Lord Puss'n Boots, himself. They will get the message to me."

Buskovf nodded his head and stepped forward, shaking my hand.

"You're a good man, Jansen. I will spread the word to all of my allies in this region on what you have just told me. And Reed will get his hoof-clippings. Safe journey to you."

I bid Buskovf farewell and remounted the stallion, taking him back to Lord Puss'n Boots. I then informed Lord Puss'n Boots of the regional plan and I was off toward the United Kingdom. It was night time and I could see the moon clearly, which gave me the opportunity to utilize a power that I didn't use very often.

The moon door power.

Moments later, I arrived in Scotland. None of my previous missions had ever brought me to Scotland, but where else could I get a quart of Nessie tears? I walked along the side of the Loch of Ness, wondering how Reed would get something like this, when suddenly, I was tackled and wrestled by inhuman strength to the ground!

Sitting on top of me was what appeared to be highlander.

"What brings ye back to the shores of the Loch, out-lander? You were warned to stay away!"

Just as suddenly, the highlander was yanked backward off of me, and was being pinned down by a muscular hound glowing with fire! It growled with an ominous voice.

"Do you want me to kill him, ally Tanner?"

I blinked my eyes in surprise as I was getting up. It was a hellhound. A huge one.

"No, I am sure he mistook me for someone else. If I had to guess, I'd say he was protecting Nessie. Besides, you might poison yourself if you were to kill him."

The hell hound's fire dimmed considerably as he backed off of the highlander and began walking past where I stood.

"Diablo remembers his promise, Jansen Tanner. Where there is night, you have our protection."

I grinned at that. Good old Diablo. I then turned to the highlander.

"I am here on behalf of Reed Huxley. It's a supply run. But judging from your actions against me, I'd say you had an encounter with Skam recently."

The highlander slowly stood up.

"Aye, the Skammers. I apologize for getting the drop on ye. I thought ye were with them. They were here about a week ago. But I can plainly see now that you aren't with them. How can I help ye, lad?"

I told the highlander of Reed Huxley's request and instructed him to send the needed ingredient to Linda Star, who would make sure it was forwarded to Reed Huxley. I bid the highlander goodbye, then turned to leave. As I was walking back along the shore of the Loch, Nessie, herself, arose from the dark waters and nodded her head to me. I smiled back, then activated the moon door, once again, and walked through it.

For the second time in less than a week's span, I emerged into the middle of a battle. There were centaurs, jackal men and warriors with angelic wings and halos fighting against a large group of men and women dressed in the fake Chess and fake Psi uniforms. I quickly pulled out my video phone and called Danath.

"Danath! I found a large group of Skammers attacking the Wazriens near Eden Base! It's a full scale attack on the gates of Eden! I'm going to try to help the Wazriens!"

Danath replied loudly.

"Don't you DARE get yourself killed, Jansen! I'll be right there!"

And the vid-phone's signal quickly winked out!

"I strongly believe that Danath is worried about me."

Suddenly, Danath Gaul appeared, god-style, wearing Asgardian battle armor.

"Like you're going to have an adventure without me, Jansen. I know how you hate guns, Jansen, so I brought you a special weapon from Lord Frey himself."

Danath handed over a glowing golden bow and a quiver of magical arrows.

I accepted them, looking over the gift.

"He really shouldn't have, Danath. But we can discuss this later... Let's help the Wazriens!"

Danath teleported himself and I to the front lines of the Wazrien army! At that point, the Wazriens had a greater edge but the Skammers were still stronger. It was beginning to look bad for us. The Skammers had far more firepower.

Just then, a familiar plane jetted over the battle scene, dropping armed A34s directly on top of the Skammers! The explosions sent Skammers flying left and right! The plane came in for a landing, near the Wazriens. I smiled when I saw the words, Swan Medusa II.

"Krystal! You came!"

Krystal and Marla climbed out of the plane. Both were armed with Psi issue weapons and ammo. Krystal winked at me.

"We got Danath's call and we figured you might need some timely aid!"

Marla admired Danath in his Asgardian armor.

"You look well in that, Danath. Are those the Skammers?"

Danath nodded his head, pointing his sword toward the Skammers.

"You know it, Marla! But I guarantee you that they are one a small task force of them!"

Marla nodded her head and shouldered her portable ground to ground missile launcher.

"I've had a bone to pick with these fakes!"

After that, the Skammers were on the receiving end of a very angry Borva with a big gun. I was glad I wasn't a Skammer at this point. Marla simply wasn't a woman to cross paths with when she was angry. Finally, there was only one Skammer left, as Marla held the man to the ground.

"Okay jerk! Who do you work for? And you better have a better answer than just saying Skam!"

The male Skammer spit at Marla, snarling.

"Do your worst, traitor! I won't tell you anything!"

Marla grinned with one of those grins that you never want to see!

I didn't want to see the remainder of the interrogation. Instead, I turned to the leader of the Wazriens.

"Reed Huxley sent me to fetch an Eden Root. Can you provide me with one?"

The tall blonde-haired angel nodded his head and entered the garden while I wisely awaited his return just outside the gates. Through the open gates, I had a clear view of a wondrous sight. The garden was beautiful. I was glad that Sallee wasn't around to see this.

The angel returned with the root and dropped it into my awaiting ziplock baggy. I thanked the angel and returned to see how Marla was doing.

The Skammer was adamant about not talking.

Therefore, I felt it was time to run interference.

"It would be better if you just told her what she wants to know. Or, would you rather we do things..."

Both Krystal and Danath KNEW what I was about to say. They both grinned at each other as I said it.

"...the Tanner way?"

The Skammer lost all of his composure at that point and paled considerably.

"I'll talk! Just keep him away from me!! I work for Campbell Forbes Hodgson out of Cairo! He created Skam after Bigfoot killed his wife and kids! After that, he swore to wipe all of the world's monsters off the face of the Earth, once and for all!"

Krystal whispered to me.

"That's pretty scary, Jansen. You're known even among Skam."

I just grinned back, as Marla handed the man over to the Wazriens. She told them to do with the man however they saw fit. And in an instant, the man was transformed into a fish and teleported into the Baltic Sea, far from Eden Base itself.

Danath hummed.

"Cairo, Egypt... Now, we have a real lead! And I can almost guarantee that's where we'll find your friend Josh Savage, Jr."

Danath provided transport for the four of us, including Marla's plane, directly to the main headquarters of Chess in Athens, Greece. At that point, we freshened up, as Luke, Locke, Byron and Jayne joined us in the conference room. Evidently, we weren't the only ones with a bone to pick with Skam.

Danath addressed those gathered in the conference room.

"As you know, we have a lead on Skam. They are being bankrolled by an American man named Campbell Forbes Hodgson and they seem to be based in Cairo. Our mission in Cairo is two fold. First, Jansen needs to locate his friend, Josh Savage, Jr. Second, we are to take out Skam and capture Mr. Hodgson, if at all possible. This is an extremely dangerous mission, as I don't need to remind you. Take no unnecessary risks. These people mean business. Are there any questions?"

Byron was first the respond.

"I think I can safely speak for us all when I say... Where Jansen goes, we go. He's taught us a lot over the past few years. Perhaps doing things the Tanner way gets better results. I'm not saying that we just throw out everything that we know, but we need Jansen's alternative perspective outlook on how we can get our jobs done. And through knowing him, we all have modified how we conduct our missions. That mission in Sebastian's territory taught me a lot about when the proper time to use or not use a gun was. We may not be Jansen himself, but we've each have been effected by his actions in Chess itself."

Locke nodded his head.

"Ah completely agree with that assessment, mate. Jansen 'as influenced us all."

Luke added his own words to the formula.

"I've chummed around with Jansen since nearly the beginning and I've often gotten to see how he gets things done even while Sheridan Wayne was around."

Jayne smiled.

"From what little I know of Jansen and from what other special beings have told me, Jansen is the one Chess agent that they trust the most. And that trust is well earned."

I blushed and grinned.

"Let me say... I apologize to any of you who had to directly deal with Dominic while he was among us, but he's absolutely necessary in the grand scheme of things. But for now, let us focus on our main objective in Cairo."

Krystal then spoke up.

"As many of you may or may not know, when I first met Jansen, I felt that he was a rival. It upset me that Chess' best agent was in Psi territory. I wanted to see who was the better agent. Him or me. But I let myself fall prey to a great weakness and through that weakness, Jansen put me in my place, not only by beating me at my own game but by also reporting my actions to my superior. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I mean, aside from, never go up against a Tanner... I learned what being the best agent was really all about. Then later, Jansen showed up at Psi headquarters for a very dangerous mission. He was there to give me a chance to redeem myself. It was a great outing. Now, I have to say that Jansen is one of my closest friends in the whole world. Through him, I have improved who I am and what I stand for."

Marla grinned, patting Krystal's back.

"And you can believe me when I say that I have noticed a vast improvement in Krystal's work."

Danath smiled.

"I too have been learning from Jansen. Who says you can't teach an old god new tricks? That's right, my friends. I said god. It's time you all knew. I am one of Odin's sons, although I choose to dwell here on Midgard. I am not a well known god, but for what I do here, it is a massive favor to all special species on the planet."

Marla nodded her head with a smile.

"As long as we're revealing secrets, I may as well release mine... I am one of the world's most powerful psionics, next to Hannah Seasons, and I pray to all the gods you never get on her bad side."

Marla winked and grinned.

Krystal eeped, as she realized just what exactly she had been working for. Everyone around the table laughed for a few moments, then the rest of our plans were laid out to our strike team. We were finally going to return to Egypt. I had some friends in Cairo and possibly they could lend us aid against Skam.

I was referring to Anubis, of course. He and his really handsome Nubian hounds. The last time I had seen Anubis, he helped me disappear for an entire year.

The typical Tanner boy vacation.

It took the team a few hours to gather our gear for our Code Red mission to Cairo, but one thing was for certain. We were all going to see some awesome action.

---

Joe ShadowWing was seated beside his loving wife.

"Jansen is quite a warrior! I wouldn't have guessed that!"

She nodded her head!

"He sure is, isn't he? But if he was any less than a Tanner, he'd have never gotten as far as he got in Chess. Buskovf turned out to be a real nice guy. Jansen got lucky quoting Jesse's catch phrase. And, the hellhounds kept their word and helped out, too."

Joe grinned.

"And now, their headed to Cairo to rescue Josh! I can't wait to see what happens next!"

She and Joe looked to the screen and relocated where they had just stopped reading, looking for the next part of Jansen's agent history.

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