miraculously still attached, he had hit me with the flat part of the sword. It had been no mistake, he was toying with me.
“That will be the only quarter I will allow you , Mike.”
I stood up , not daring to touch my arm which felt as if it were broken, it was already beginning to bruise and swell. Well that answered that he wasn’t toying with me , he was honoring me, but at th at point what was the difference.
“Drababan, ” I answered , “If I get the same opportunity I will not yield.”
He understood what I meant and nodded. “You will not get the chance . ” He wasn’t cocky just sure. I circled him slowly , flexing my arm about , I could not afford to have it stiffen up if I ever got the chance to wield it. Drababan charged — God he was fast — my mind raced, I had watched all of his fights, he had done this maneuver no fewer than ten times, six times he had dodged to the right at the last moment and lashed out with what ever weapon he had, three times he had dodged to the left and crossed his weapon across his body to yield the same deadly results. Once he had just completely bowled his opponent over skewering him like so much chicken on a spit. I had no choice , I had to play the odds, even if they were sixty/forty . If I miscalculated , this would be over quick . As Drababan’s pivot foot set and he squared to the right, I dodged to the left and tucked down, sticking my sword out hoping it would find purchase, my sword struck his breastplate sending seismic shivers through my forearm and into my spine. I nearly dropped it and then I felt som ething yielding. Drababan had r u n past my assault , my sword slipped off of his breastplate armor and found the soft spot on hi s side. It wasn’t a terribly dee p wound, it surely wasn’t life threatening, but Drababan stopped and turned toward me. He dropped his shield and ran his hand over the glistening wound, putting his hand up . A surge of hope leapt through me as I watched blood drip off his fingers. He howled in what I can only take for rage. There was nothing in his flat eyes except murder, He headed toward me with no other intention than ending my life. My victory was seemingly short lived.
The ground leapt underfoot , Drababan in all his glory was thrown like a puppet into the air, I for the most part didn’t move as I was already in a crouch, I had put out my hands to brace myself as dirt and stone rained down all around and on me. Small arms fire erupted everywhere , I was so disoriented at first that I didn’t understand as I watched Devastator troops drop like dominoes. And then it dawned on me, this was the rescue I had hoped beyond hope would happen . I was frozen, clouds of dust made vision difficult and my sense of balance w as still reeling from the shock wave, if I stood and tried to run, I would most likely look like a drunk having one too many at happy hour. And I still had no clue from which way the rescuers were coming. How was I going to get out of t here anyway ? The ship above us may have only been a troop transport but it sported more powerful weapons than anything dreamed of on my planet. As if in direct response to my query the transport swooped down and began to make itself known. I heard screams of agony and death as plasmas cannons shot down destruction. Guards and camouflage fitted troops fell alike, no one was imm une to the strafing fire. It seemed the ir troops ’ lives were of less value than stopping the rescue, and throug h it all Drababan began to rise. I f he was awed by the whole scene he showed little, murderous intent still blazed hot in his eyes. I didn’t know for sure which way to run, but away from Drababan seemed like a good idea. I rose and dropped everything, heading in full sprint away from D ee and closer to what sounded like M-16 s. One benefit of the transport ship coming down was the illusion of the coliseum was broken I could once again see the ground I was trying to traverse, it was of little
“That will be the only quarter I will allow you , Mike.”
I stood up , not daring to touch my arm which felt as if it were broken, it was already beginning to bruise and swell. Well that answered that he wasn’t toying with me , he was honoring me, but at th at point what was the difference.
“Drababan, ” I answered , “If I get the same opportunity I will not yield.”
He understood what I meant and nodded. “You will not get the chance . ” He wasn’t cocky just sure. I circled him slowly , flexing my arm about , I could not afford to have it stiffen up if I ever got the chance to wield it. Drababan charged — God he was fast — my mind raced, I had watched all of his fights, he had done this maneuver no fewer than ten times, six times he had dodged to the right at the last moment and lashed out with what ever weapon he had, three times he had dodged to the left and crossed his weapon across his body to yield the same deadly results. Once he had just completely bowled his opponent over skewering him like so much chicken on a spit. I had no choice , I had to play the odds, even if they were sixty/forty . If I miscalculated , this would be over quick . As Drababan’s pivot foot set and he squared to the right, I dodged to the left and tucked down, sticking my sword out hoping it would find purchase, my sword struck his breastplate sending seismic shivers through my forearm and into my spine. I nearly dropped it and then I felt som ething yielding. Drababan had r u n past my assault , my sword slipped off of his breastplate armor and found the soft spot on hi s side. It wasn’t a terribly dee p wound, it surely wasn’t life threatening, but Drababan stopped and turned toward me. He dropped his shield and ran his hand over the glistening wound, putting his hand up . A surge of hope leapt through me as I watched blood drip off his fingers. He howled in what I can only take for rage. There was nothing in his flat eyes except murder, He headed toward me with no other intention than ending my life. My victory was seemingly short lived.
The ground leapt underfoot , Drababan in all his glory was thrown like a puppet into the air, I for the most part didn’t move as I was already in a crouch, I had put out my hands to brace myself as dirt and stone rained down all around and on me. Small arms fire erupted everywhere , I was so disoriented at first that I didn’t understand as I watched Devastator troops drop like dominoes. And then it dawned on me, this was the rescue I had hoped beyond hope would happen . I was frozen, clouds of dust made vision difficult and my sense of balance w as still reeling from the shock wave, if I stood and tried to run, I would most likely look like a drunk having one too many at happy hour. And I still had no clue from which way the rescuers were coming. How was I going to get out of t here anyway ? The ship above us may have only been a troop transport but it sported more powerful weapons than anything dreamed of on my planet. As if in direct response to my query the transport swooped down and began to make itself known. I heard screams of agony and death as plasmas cannons shot down destruction. Guards and camouflage fitted troops fell alike, no one was imm une to the strafing fire. It seemed the ir troops ’ lives were of less value than stopping the rescue, and throug h it all Drababan began to rise. I f he was awed by the whole scene he showed little, murderous intent still blazed hot in his eyes. I didn’t know for sure which way to run, but away from Drababan seemed like a good idea. I rose and dropped everything, heading in full sprint away from D ee and closer to what sounded like M-16 s. One benefit of the transport ship coming down was the illusion of the coliseum was broken I could once again see the ground I was trying to traverse, it was of little
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