Si Vis Pacem

Through the darkness of the world

Through darkened and broken soul

Through life on his own.

Through years of fighting, through pain and suffering. A man who prevailed now lay down his life for his entrusted friends.

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Marshall Callahan, was from a very young age enthralled by the men of the army, to have something to stand for and believe in, was truly something the young man ired, to be a part of something bigger than himself. The army was the only way for the young man, his one true calling.

Though the same very code he held so dear, would later betray him.

Callahan wasn't deemed a good man by the civilized world anymore, he was ruled an outlaw, a thief and a murderer, although the former Brigadier General did what he had to do, in his eyes he was fighting a corrupt government and never once had he killed anyone who wasn't crooked. Of course the government knew about him and his allies, the outlaw group known as the Riverside Misfits, a band of people with almost nothing in common except for their hatred against the system in one way or another.

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Tall Trees, 1902.

After many years on the run, many robberies and assassinations of corrupt government officials, destruction of federal property and much more, the outlaw group known by the name of the Riverside Misfits had been found by Pinkertons near Manzanita post in the Tall Trees region, Marshall Callahan, Killian O'Beirne, Russel McMillan and Inge Birk alongside other of the Misfits were pinned down by fire, an old cabin serving as their only protection against an ever increasing amount of government agents. Though the men and women of the outlaw gang were no newcomers to firefights, this one was taking a toll on them all. The Sharpshooter Killian had broken a window which pointed out into an open area, where the elderly man held suppressing fire, McMillan was sat beside Killian, armed with a rifle with low ammunition, attempting to aid their leader with stragglers.

Inge Birk alongside fellow gang member Sheamus Byrd were holding the front door, making sure that any Pinkerton who got too close, lost a limb or two, the group had the small cottage under their control, but their ammo was finite. However, during the initial ambush the Pinkertons had launched on the Riverside Misfits camp, Marshall Callahan had been separated from his allies and was rushing through the woods of Tall Trees, tearing down bushes, pushing through overgrown shrubberies, he knew standing still would surely be his death and he'd be of no use to his allies dead, he needed cover or to escape his pursuers. As Callahan ran through the woods, sprinting past wildlife, he heard the gunfire from the cabin which caused him to stop and look in the direction, his allies were pinned, a deep breath left the old mans lungs as his grib on the Bolt Action tightened but at the very instant a bullet grazed the left ear of the old man, leaving a horrendous ringing in his ear as he fell to the ground. The Pinkertons were still hot on his trail, the old man crawled hurriedly to a boulder in the middle of the woods where he hunkered down, preparing for the inevitable firefight which was about to ensue.

And ensue it did, ten armed government agents rushed towards Callahans position, some armed with Springfield rifles, others armed with Semiautomatic pistols came at the old veteran. Once again Callahan allowed himself a few seconds to take on deep breath, knowing it could very well be his last before he stood up and chambered a round. One by one he took down five of the Pinkertons before another bullet came, however this time the old veteran wasn't as lucky as before, the bullet whizzed past his left ear, causing even further pain to the already horrendous ringing. The old mans balance was slowly deteriorating from the pain and he fell back against the rock, waiting for his demise to come around, though, what he heard was far from the expected. Returned fire, the sound of numerous rifles and the screams of government agents ordering a retreat, Callahan immediately grabbed the rifle by his side and a pair of boots came into view, and as the old man looked up, he couldn't help but chuckle. Killian, standing in front of him with the smug irish smile as the man always had, as if their lives hadn't just been at risk like never before.

"What are you on ye arse for Cal? Can't you see we've been fighting off the government and you're having a fucking picnic ye lazy shit"

After Killian had made his joke as always, Callahan groaned a little and rolled his eyes, the two understood each other and had grown a brotherly bond with one another, Killian helped the somewhat wounded Callahan back to his feet and over to his horse where he mounted up and then turned to the old Irishman.

"You know old friend, they'll be back... And they'll be back fast. There's no way we're shaking them off this time. Let's find a place... A place where we can hold, at least for a time till they inevitably catch us"

The other of the Misfits laughed a little and joked with one another at Callahans comment, as if he had been joking but Killian didn't, he knew just as well as Callahan did, that there was no more running, not for all of them and the Irishman only nodded, a slow yet accepting nod.

Big Valley, Hanging Dog Ranch, 1902.

A few days after the shootout in the woods of Tall Trees, the Riverside Misfits now found themselves in between the town of Strawberry and the snowy mountains of northern Ambarino, right by Little Creek in big Valley, Callahan rode alongside Killian, both of the elderly men discussing what to do next and how they should proceed once the Pinkertons find them again, this time they'd surely hit harder and with more firepower, which worried the two toughened men, even though they had restocked on ammunition and explosives, they gang wasn't suited to wage a long war. Knowing this, both Callahan and Killian sighed, they had to tell the rest of the gang, they needed to be prepared for what was to come and so, they stopped at their final destination, Hanging Dog Ranch, an old abandoned farm consisting of a house, an enormous barn, some tents, a few pens and a couple of torn structures.

After dismounting his steed alongside the others inside the barn, their leader, Killian called everyone to rally up by him, which everyone did, joking and chatting with one another until Killian spoke.

"What happened in Tall Trees wasn't an end... It was only a beginning, they've found us and they've gotten to close. All of us won't get away from this farm with our lives. As you can see, they've hit old Cal pretty bad, he's a primary target for them. As am I"

Killian was looking around at the Misfits, making sure everyone understood him, that everyone listened to him and knew that, this, was no joke. Callahan, who now had a bandage covering the left side of his head, stepped forward and looked at Killian.

"Despite these... Minor scratches they've given me, you can rest assured that I'll give them one hell of a shootout, one they'll never forget. And I know all of you will do the same. Just, be prepared"

The Misfits turned their eyes to Callahan, many raised an eyebrow at his last words, 'be prepared' most of them had no idea what he meant by this, but the few that did remained still in silence, knowing what would soon come to be. Killian looked at Callahan and once again, his smug Irish grin came to be to which Callahan shook his head with a chuckle.

"I hope you're ready for war old man"

Callahan said as he walked alongside Killian, exiting the barn out into the fresh air of Big Valley, looking at the clear blue sky, though a storm was rolling in from the snowy mountain tops, which would provide the perfect cover for the Misfits to make their escape once the Pinkertons would launch their attack. However, to ensure the group had at least a somewhat bigger fighting chance, everyone began assisting one another with building fortifications and laying down traps, such as dynamite to be shot, lanterns drenched in oil next to fire bottles, soon, their defenses were ready and now came the wait.

As the first few drops of rain softly hit the ground surrounding the farm, wagons and lanterns could be seen, coming both from the direction of Wallace Station but also Blackburn Forest, an incredible amount of Pinkertons were rolling in, with assist from none other than the U.S Army. The Pinkertons wanted to get a hold of the Irishman, whereas the U.S army wanted Callahan strung up for treason, the murder of his general he committed so many years ago. But the two were not giving up without a fight, both the Pinkertons and the army knew this.

A yell came from the fields of Little Creek, an army general had moved up ahead, and was now commanding the surrender of Marshall Callahan and Killian O'Beirne, warning the band of outlaws that failure to comply would result in death, yet none of the Misfits moved in the slightest. Callahan and Killian alongside McMillan were holding down the main house, Inge, Sheamus and the rest were holding the barn, protecting the horses.

It wasn't long before the first wave of Pinkertons and army men rushed towards the farmhouse, as they crossed the dirt road and ran unto the small patch of green grasz before the fence of the property, a single sniper bullet echoed from the top floor window, Killian drew first blood, a bullet whizzed past the Pinkertons and hit a small patch of oil, lighting it ablaze, inside the small oil pool laid a stick of dynamite, which alongside the oil caught fire and quickly exploded, killing a few Pinkertons and wounding more, and so the shootout began, as more and more Pinkertons and soldiers rushed the farm, the gang quickly ran out of traps, grass was burning, the smell of burning flesh lingered in the air, the screams of wounded and dying men echoed through Big Valley and the Misfits held their ground, taking down as many as they possibly could. After an hour of fighting Callahan looked towards the front door and spotted a large group of soldiers circling around in an attempt to ambush the Misfits in the barn, Callahan rushed to the door and yelled to the people in the barn, but as bullets flew by and screams echoed, his words were faint and unheard, he grabbed the door and shut it before looking around the house and spotting McMillan to whom he quickly rushed to and grabbed a hold of his shoulder.

"McMillan! There's a large group of these fuckers circling around the barn, they're gonna get behind the rest of us. I can't get a hold of them. I need you to run out the back and make your way to the others! Kill those bastards and get the hell out of here, run for Colter with the others"

At first McMillan was hesitant, not out of fear of being shot by the army men, nor the fear of being captured but Callahans last words hung within him, he was to leave him and Killian behind, though he hated the idea, he ed what Callahan had said earlier, to be prepared and with a simple nod, McMillan ran for the back door and to the barn.

Callahan grabbed a cupboard and pushed is against the back door, making it jam the door shut, he did the same with the front door, however most of the downstairs windows were uncovered, the old veteran ran up the stairs to Killian who still held his ground with a rolling block.

"I've sent McMillan to the barn, and told him to get the hell out of here alongside the rest of our boys. I told them we'll hold of as many of these sons of bitches as we cant, now, If you want to them, now's your fucking chance"

Callahan yelled, loudly as to overthrow the noise of hundreds of bullets, however Killian just looked at him and shook his head, pointing to his rifle and a box of ammunition.

"Callahan, I'm going nowhere till this box runs out, and it sure as shite hasn't yet, so let's give these fucks a fight"

A small grin grew upon Callahans lips as he stood up and motioned for Killian to assist him in moving one of the bunkbeds, which he did, and the two of them pushed it down the stairs, blocking the way up though they knew it wouldn't hold, it would buy the two only mere minutes.

The two hardened men hunkered down together for a final time, they were the last line holding the spot to allow their friends an easier escape, their determination set on giving the government hell. Killian reloaded his Rolling block rifle and took aim out the window, one shot, another one goes down, the sound of the rolling blocks fire, echoing inside the house, Callahan groaned as he grabbed his Bolt Action rifle and stood up, blood running from his left ear down into his thich man bush and down the side of his neck, the painful ringing yet present. Callahan sat down beside Killian and let his gun rest on the window frame before chambering a bullet and firing. As the two men now waged a battle they knew they'd lose, their minds were set, hold them back by any means necessary but ammo was becoming scarce and Killian soon found himself with a mere twenty rounds of ammo left, whilst Callahan still had eighty round combined, for the Bolt Action and his Colt Navy.

Killian, now low on ammo, moved away from the window in an attempt to find more ammunition to no avail, he was at the other side of the room when he heard the sound of a sniper rifle firing and a man falling to the ground, suddenly everything stopped for Killian, the world seemed motionless as he turned around and saw Callahan on the ground, a bullet through his right shoulder, Killian rushed to his friend and dragged him from the window and sat him up against a wall, ordering him to stay put. However the old Irishman knew it would only be a matter of time before the soldier stood back up, both of them knew Callahan wasn't making it out of this house alive and so, he firmly pressed Killians hand before pointing to his Bolt Action rifle.

"There's ammo for ya.. Not your specialty weapon but I'm sure you can pick off quite a few with this beauty"

Killian picked up the rifle and sat by the window once more, taking down a few government agents until he heard the sound of rummaging around downstairs, they had gotten inside, Callahan stood up with his Colt Navy and waited by the stair where soldiers rushed up, he took one shot and a soldier fell but there were too many, the soldiers hit Callahan in the abdomen, the leg and his right lung before Killian managed to take them out, the veteran slowly slid down against the wall, coughing and gasping for air, blood running out his mouth and his several bullet holes, this was surely the end for the soldier and Killian knew it.

"It's alright.... I've l-lived a life, not the b-best nor the worst... Give them hell old f-friend"

Callahan said before he raised his Colt Navy, holding it by the barrel so Killian could grab the handle, Callahans eyes had a smug glare to them, same as when he gave him the rifle, Killian knew that his friend wasn't afraid of what was waiting beyond death, if anything at all. As Callahan gasped and coughed up blood Killian sat by his side, and after mere minutes, Callahan raised his hand and grabbed Killians forearm, looking him in the eyes, a firm look upon the dying mans face before his grasp became weak and his arm fell to the ground, his head slowly leaned back and one last deep breath left his damaged lungs.