Eddy was surprised to see that someone had elected to actively defend the lighthouse -- a group of women came riding down upon them, naginata and bisento at the ready, determined to halt their mission. There was no reasonable way that two samurai could stand against twenty mounted warriors, even if they were merely bushi. As they approached, however, Eddy could see that they were in fact samurai themselves -- their tight formation and precise weapon grips gave their skill away. 

Eddy glanced at his companion, and in the seconds remaining before the female contingent arrived, he reached under his cloak, armed the bomb, and handed it to his companion. "I'll buy you the time you need -- just get as close to the port-side of the lighthouse as you can. You have thirty seconds. I'll see you on the other side."

The samurai nodded and began to sprint. Eddy threw a quick message to Orochi's communicator: "Bomb delivery compromised." When he heard no response, he had to assume Orochi had been killed. Things were not going well for the Theimos -- too many surprise elements stacked against them. First the assassins in the reeds -- ronin, most likely. Then these mounted women. The intelligence the Theimos had received had been completely bunk. Either that, or it always was a suicide mission. 

Eddy hated suicide missions. This would make his third, and he was amazed at how upset his superiors were when he survived. When would they stop sending him on these stupid missions? 

The first mounted warrioress got within stabbing range, and tried to lance Eddy. He stepped forward and to the side, getting within her range, and ducked under her horse. As the beast reared, Eddy stepped out the other side, deftly lopping off the blades of a few of her companions' bisento and using the fact that he had his back to their commander's horse to keep them from getting too aggressive. 

Eddy sighed. This whole 'lone injured defensive stand' thing was getting to be a specialty of his, and it was one he'd really like to stop practicing.