Chapter 1. The Unyielding Captain and the Weakling

The ranger was at the end of his ropes. The grizzly Orc before him was ready to deliver the finishing blow. The ground beneath them was decorated with the corpses of the Uruk 's fallen underlings.

"Use my power" said the Wraith.

"Your services are not needed" answered Talion.

"Ha ha ha!" said the massive Uruk. He donned a set of messy brown armor, and was crowned in a helm covered in grotesque spikes and ridges. His large spiked club was about to bare down on Talion.

Talion rolled to the side and swung his sword forward towards his enemy. The sword cut into the Orc's armor, and remained lodged there. As the Orc swung his fist to the side, the ranger flew forward with his shoulder into the Orc's chin. The Orc, surprised and caught off-balance, abruptly fell down. The ranger crawled on top of him and pulled out his make-shift dagger, the remnant of what had once been a proud war sword. The shard dug into the Orc's brain, quickly putting an end to his grunts and gargling.

The Wraith said, "That was close. Too close."

Talion said, "Should I be afraid? I am nothing but a corpse that has not been put to rest. I die and live to die again. So if I am to be caught in this eternal cycle, then let me fight as I like."

"Very well." said the Wraith. His condescending tone from earlier had disappeared. More slowly, he said, "But I ask you that you do not fall prey to despair and aimlessness. Finding this captain was no easy feat, and much work lies before us. Do not lose sight of that."

Talion said, "I have not forgotten my mission."

As he headed back to his campsite, Talion's mind was heavy with stress and calculation. His plan had gone terribly astray. His reconnaissance had not been detailed enough. His plan was simply to assassinate the captain in his camp, but immediately upon entering the camp, he had been spotted by an archer. He had expected dozens of Orcs, but nearly a hundred had surrounded him. He had been forced to flee. After the captain and a hunting party followed after him, Talion turned the tables on them. However, the captain had proved difficult to take head on, with his thick armor and equally well-armored guards. Talion had won, but this was only one captain. How could he hope to take on a Warchief on his own? If he had an army, perhaps it was possible, but alone, even his other-worldly powers would not bring victory. Talion knew he needed allies. He needed eyes and intel.

The Wraith broke the silence and said, "You are eager I know. I too am eager to end this. However, patience is key. We must be cunning if we are to take on an army, if we our to take on Sauron's black ranks."

Talion replied, "We have grown no closer to our quest. You know nothing of yourself and I have no way to reach the Black Hand, not even his underlings"

The Wraith said, "We need an ally, someone within the army."

"I know," said Talion, "So who then? What Orc would betray their kin and how can such an Orc be trusted? As for Gondor, our rangers are dead or worse. I'm afraid we have no allies here."

"For now. Talion, we may have to extract the information from an Orc. One under the captains should do."

"I have no experience in torture", said Talion, "And no stomach for it, not even for vermin like Orcs."

"I may be able to… influence our captive." said the Wraith.

"How?" asked Talion.

"I do not know how to explain, I only know that I can feel it. Do not forget when we were plagued by that row of archers, I was able to first summon my bow. Now as we need information, I know it is within my power to take it."

"Interesting. It seems you have your uses."

"It is I who keep you alive Talion, is that not useful?

"It was merely a joke," said Talion with a light smirk.

The Wraith said with some strain, "Oh? Is that so? I see."

Talion said, "Let us return to our dead captain's camp. Perhaps one of his followers remains."

Talion began to comb the campsite, staying close to the bushes and rocks. A few Orcs were roaming about, clearly disorganized without their leader. As Talion made for the center of camp, he found several Uruks sitting about lazily, speaking about the same crude topics they always did, much of it about Talion. Amidst the obscenities, he heard an odd bit of chatter.

An Orc said, "So who gets promoted?"

A fat Uruk responded with, "You idiot, they ain't giving the job to us grunts. That Ranger slew all the officers, except old Tu-Sug. My guess is Olg will take charge here, add us to his ranks."

"Olg? That can't be good, with his nasty temper."

"Relax, he takes his temper out on Ursa. He'll be happy to have more men under his command, all the better to threaten her with."

"What's his beef with her?"

"Don't you know anything? Why wouldn't he want to rip out her guts? She's a sickly little maggot who thinks she gets to be captain. She ain't killed a thing in her life and she thinks other Uruk ought to follow her? He ought to teacher her a lesson. He will too. She's about to lose her head this time."

"What do they mean by 'she'? Are there female Orcs?" wondered Talion. Talion was interested in this conflict however. He tailed the especially-chatty Uruk around the camp until cornering him behind a lonely tent.

As the Uruk turned around to see the Ranger, his eyes widened in fear. The Ranger's appearance had transformed into that of an illuminated corpse, clad in fine armor, with pale flesh and long black hair. The Wraith quickly reached out, as if this was second nature to him, and grabbed the Orc by the forehead.

"Forfeit your mind!" he roared as he peered into the terrified Orc's thoughts. He quickly ripped out the information he sought.

"Finished?" whispered Talion, a bit frustrated with the wraith's theatrics.

"End it." said the Wraith.

Talion did not hesitate to gut the Orc. Quickly, they fled the campsite and headed into the wilderness to discuss what had been learned.

The Wraith said, "He did not know much more than he spoke about earlier. However, it seems this Olg is a powerful captain, aiming to become the right hand of one of the Warchiefs. He has a large battalion under his command and if he defeats this Ursa the Weakling, he will be all the more powerful. This foe deserves our attention."

"Then we will give it," said Talion, "Do you know of Olg's location?"

"I have. That being said, Talion… it appears he is at Ursa's camp negotiating. By negotiation, I think it is likely a siege of sorts."

Talion said, "If we are careful, we may be able to take the heads of both captains."

"Indeed."

Following the location the Wraith had discovered, Talion made his way to the location of Ursa's base. Unfortunately, the dead Uruk had not known the exact location of the base, so it took Talion an extra hour to find it. He hoped by the time he reached her base, Olg had not made off with her army.

Her camp was little different than any other Orc captain, save for one detail. There were no Morgai Fly hives to be found, or cages of undomesticated Caragor. When he was fleeing the last captain's base, Talion had only managed to escape by relying on unleashing these creatures. In fact, the several other bases he had scouted out prior all sported these hazards. Yet, Ursa's base was clean of them. Still, Talion was not worried. For now, he was like a shadow and the advantage was with him.

To Talion's surprise, there was no invading army to be seen. The Orcs he found were few in number, barely enough to occupy the base. Still, they seemed well at home.

"This is our punishment for relying on hearsay." said Talion.

"What will you do?" asked the Wraith.

"This weakling Orc might be better off left alone, yet if I can remove her and these troops, it will be an improvement. I believe I can deal with these troops silently."

The Wraith added, "It's possible. They don't seem well-organized."

Suddenly, they heard the raised voice of an Uruk echoed out of a building up ahead. Wishing to know the reason for the disturbance, Talion agilely scaled up the side of the building, his fingers managing to grasp the small ridges of bricks and his muscular arms propelling him up the stone as if his weight was that of a child.

He reached the structure which he assumed to be the Uruk captain's headquarters. To heighten his advantage, to transformed into the transparent guise of the Wraith. As he slipped inside, he heard the enraged Uruk continue his tirade. Talion crept closer, hiding behind some kegs of Grog ale. He peaked over to see a large Orc and two guards facing what he guessed to be Ursa. From what he could make out, she was a small pale figure with black hair.

The loud Uruk said, "What will you do when Olg returns? You are defenseless! Why should I and my Uruk-hai follow you? We are the big joke of the entire army."

Ursa said, "W-Well, Org mistreats his men. H-have I not treated you with respect Isulek?"

"This is not a matter of respect. Your reign is over my captain. When Olg's messenger returns in the morning for your reply, what will you tell him? He will bring his troops and chop you and I up into pieces and serve us to his Caragor!"

"I will tell him to give me more time" said Ursa, "We can work out an alliance I think. I know things he wants to know and may be of use to him."

Isulek argued, "Olg doesn't care! He hates you! He doesn't challenge you only because he's doesn't want to taint his blade in your dirty blood. Captain, it's time for you to run. I'll deliver the army to him."

"I c-can't. At least, let me negotiate. If it doesn't work, I'll accept his offer."

"His messenger didn't come here to negotiate. It's over, you must surrender."

Ursa said, "Please, have faith in me a little longer."

"Argh!" said her first-in-command, "Time is against us. Why do I put up with your stupidity?"

He quickly turned away and began marching out of the room.

"Isulek…. thank you" she said.

He grumbled and left the area.

Talion knew this was his chance. This female Uruk was certainly an interesting one, but her life was as good as over.

He knew she was alone now. Isulek had grabbed her two bodyguards and left with them. All the others were stationed outside. If he was silent, he could take her head and then pick off the others off one by one. Likely, she had about fifty under her command, but he'd only seen half of that in the base. The rest were scattered about in tents and in war parties. Unlike his last assassination attempt, this one would be easy.

He crept closer to her, concealed in the shadows. Nearly upon her, Talion pulled out his dagger, ready to stab her in the nape. Suddenly, the front door slammed open. It was the two bodyguards returning from their lecture with Isulek. Ursa turned around at the sound of it. She saw the Ranger only a few feet from her.

"I-It's you. The Gravewalker. Please wait..." she said.

Talion lunged forward. Ursa fell backwards off her feet. She quickly scrambled up on them and ran towards her bodyguards. Talion spun around as she bolted away from him. She was surprisingly quick, but Talion's battle experience matched her. As he had turned, he swung his dagger and nicked her arm.

She continued to race out of the room yelling, "Help. Guards! It's the Ranger!"

The two bodyguards dashed ahead of her. Talion knew he was in trouble. The guards were armed with long spears and heavy-wooden shields. He didn't want to fight them, not while in pursuit of her. As one of the guards reached him, Talion ran onto his shield and launched off it, landing behind the Orc.

Ursa was in a panic.

"Please, someone help me!" she cried.

The ranger was in hot pursuit. Any second now, he could take her life. Her guards were still scrambling to reach her. She made for the main army, clutching her wounded arm.

Talion broke off pursuit, realizing he was about to face a legion of Uruks he was not prepared to fight. He had lost her, but only for a moment. She wouldn't return to her headquarters until she figured out how he had infiltrated it. Instead, he found a nearby roof and listened.

Ursa was hiding in a tent, with dozens of Uruks surrounding her. Unfortunately for her, her Uruks were not ready to keep this up.

"You expect us to face the ranger?"

Another said, "You rat! Whoever kills him will get to be captain. Think about it."

"Like he's going to let you" said the other, "I'm not about to die for one sick little She-Orc."

Ursa said, "We just need to scare him off. If he can't get into our defenses, he'll have no choice but to retreat. This formation isn't good though. We need archers on the roofs. He could be hiding there."

"I ain't going there alone, not with him out th-" The Orc's pleas were cut off by an illuminated arrow that ran through his head.

Ursa screamed and fell backwards, curling into the corner of the tent.

Isulek pushed several grunts forward towards the direction of the shot. "Go check it out you fools!"

Ursa said, "He's moved. He'll try a shot from a different angle."

Sure enough, an arrow skewered another bowmen from a different direction.

"I'm not sticking around for this."

The other archers ran off, towards one of the outer camps. A few skittish Uruk followed them. Unfortunately for Ursa, seeing the ranks thin only caused more Orcs to flee. In return, the stronger Orcs that remained now felt there was little reason to stick around.

Isulek turned to Ursa and said, "Sorry Ursa."

"Isulek please… I—" she began, "No, you're right. I—I can't expect you to die for me. I'll try to escape okay?"

Isulek nodded as he and his legion marched off.

Talion couldn't have been happier. Under their weak leader, the Uruks were of little threat to him. Only a little pressure was needed for them to abandon her. Now he merely had to finish what he had started.

Despite her brave deed, Ursa's flight was not dignified. As she ran into a canyon, she was clutching her mouth to block her screams of horror. Her killer, as she feared, was close in pursuit. After several minutes though, her desperate flight was at an end. She gasped for air as she looked for a place to hide. She found none that would do so she settled on hiding behind a dead tree while she regained her energy.

Ursa covered her mouth, and breathed through her nose. Tears were still streaking down her face. A twig snapped. She gasped and crawled on all fours. She moved across the rocky terrain, hoping to make it to a stony labyrinth up ahead. She hoped she would lose him there. Ursa heard a blade unsheathe not far behind her. Her drawn out execution was nearing its end.

She turned around to face her assailant. She saw the ranger fairly clearly now. He was a tall muscular man with a face that seemed empty and cold. He had long messy hair, as many men of Gondor sported. He wore a dusty old brown garb, some light pieces of armor, and a cloak lined with fur. It was the dress of a ranger captain. In his hand was a sword, which he carried diagonally.

"Give up Orc."

Ursa said, "Please, I beg you, have mercy."

"I have no compassion for a wolf's death throws, or the squeals of a pig before the slaughter."

"I beg you!" she cried.

Talion sad coarsely, "Beg? What mercy do I owe you? What do Orcs know of giving mercy? Where was your mercy when you killed my men and slew the innocent? Even the women and children were not exempt. Where was your mercy then?"

"I did no such evil. Please, I hold no malice or desire to kill you. I can help you. I can-I-I"

Her arms were shaking and her legs seemed to have gone limp.

"G-give me a c-chance. T-there must be something I can do."

He said, "The allies I require are not savage Uruks. Unless you can bring me the head of the Black Hand, you are useless to me."

"Ally? Yes, I can be of use to you." said Ursa, "I know things about the others. You are killing us to draw them out? That's why you are attacking the Captains, to weaken the Warchiefs. And if you kill the Chiefs, the Black Hand will finally leave his throne…. I understand. However, you will never succeed. You need an ally to aid you."

"You will sell out your kin so easily?" said Talion, "Then my conscious is clear."

"I understand what they've done is wrong. The others kill each other in contests. They mistreat and even kill the slaves. As things are, my life is next. I'm not like them ranger. My slaves are well-cared for, many I've freed. If you join me, I can replace the Warchiefs and make changes around here. I'll help you face the Chiefs and I'll provide sanctuary. Think of the good we can do. The hundreds of men they've enslaved…. free!"

Talion said, "Venomous words from a snake that would bite me first chance."

Ursa said, "What do you want me to do? What can I say to convince you?"

Talion said, "There is nothing. You can only die."

As he pulled up his sword, the Wraith appeared next to him.

"Wait! This Uruk is likely the only one who will ever aid you and ever be of use. Stay your blade for a moment and consider her proposal."

Ursa asked in a panic, "What is this spirit?!"

"Why not simply take the secrets she knows and use them. Extract her knowledge and cast her aside." said Talion.

The Wraith said, "If that is what you wish."

Talion looked down at her coldly. Ursa's trembling had continued, yet she seemed to realize she was out of options. She could not cheat death any longer. Her face became still and her eyes were frozen in shock.

Talion swung down, and Ursa screamed in terror. However, his blade had stopped inches from her throat. His mind was in turmoil.

What pity holds me from killing this creature? Ah I see, it is merely the urgency of my mission.

"You will do all that I say." said Talion, "Or you will die. Do you understand?"

She tried to speak, but couldn't find words. Knowing her answer decided her life, she attempted to nod. It was no use. Her body was still shacking violently, and she herself was still terrified out of her mind. It had been five seconds.

"Y-Ye" Her words were ineligible. Ten seconds had passed.

"Answer quickly Uruk or I'll remove your head."

Her chin started to move despite her paralyses. It barely counted as a nod, but she hoped Talion would understand. He scowled down at her for a moment, and then he slid his sword back into the scabbard. He looked down at the tiny trembling Orc that sat at his feet. She didn't dare look up at him as she tried to suppress her tears. For a moment, Talion almost wanted comfort her, but that emotion was fleeting. The far greater emotion that poured through him was inarguably: disgust. An alliance with an Uruk… it would be short-lived he hoped.

Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. As I've already written the story in its entirety, you can expect regular updates every Saturday!

I do realize some of the elements I'm using such as a female half-orc as a captain are a bit outlandish, but to be fair…female orcs likely exist in Middle Earth. I hope to fully justify this in-story for you as well. I'll also mention that Shadow of Mordor is already outlandish as far as Middle Earth lore goes. Anyway, please look forward to chapter two.