Claiming Duel

"C'mon just a little to the left" Rune coaxed to his enemy as he watched the enemy pod move around on his screen just outside of the Lock-On zone.

Tiffany knew she couldn't hold this guy off for much longer. He was a good pilot and her starboard engine was only partially functioning. "Try this on for size, jackass" and she flipped the yellow switch to release the pod's Distraction Shrapnels.

"Shit!" Rune sent the pod spiraling away from the scrap metal the enemy had just released. His screen showed a flashing red image of his port wing. Basically there was nothing left of it which made straightening the pod out difficult. Difficult but not impossible. "Oh no you don't" Rune said as he carefully steered the pod to follow the enemy who had sustained enough damage to decide to land on the nearby planet of Drakana. He locked-on the enemy and shot a Tach Pulse, neutralizing all electronic devices of his and the enemies. That way he couldn't kill Rune with some cowardly blaster.

"Fuck!" He had hit her with a Tach Pulse the stupid bastard! Oh he had a lot of nerve! Tiffany braced herself just before the pod hit ground hard and slid for almost a mile before coming to a sighed in relief. She checked to make sure all her knives were in place on her back before climbing out of the small craft. Just as her feet touched ground, she saw the enemy pod hit ground hard. It rolled twice before landing right side up a few hundred feet away. Tiffany reached back and tied up her long blonde hair into a high ponytail. "Maybe he broke his neck" she said to herself hopefully.

But her hope was in vain as Rune jumped to the ground. The enemy pilot was a woman! He had heard of women pilots before but had never seen one. Women were not fighters on The Conquest. He stayed by his ship to observe her as she approached him slowly. Her fair blonde hair was long and thick and looked like smooth silk. Her skin was the same way: fair and smooth. But her eyes said otherwise about her personality. They were a brilliant icy blue and the expression in them was much like ice at the moment: cold and collecting.

Every mercenary had computer implants and right now her implants were telling her that he was an enemy to be reckoned with. Not that she needed implants to tell her that. At six feet five inches and large defined muscles covered in skin tight heat-resistant armor, Rune knew he looked intimidating.

He watched her hips sway rhythmically as she approached and knew what he must do. There was no way this woman wouldn't be prosperous for The Conquest. Now all he had to do was get her there. But could he turn her in to be a Breeder? He had always felt that the Breeders and the all the women really were treated unfairly. But now was not the time to dwell on all this.

Tiffany halted about ten feet from the handsomest and most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. God he was beautiful. Strong jaw, tanned skin, dark short, thick hair, tall, muscular... everything she craved in a man. And his eyes were like an ocean at night beneath moonlight. The dark blue was almost black but not quite. But none of this mattered. He was the enemy. "Alright stud lets get this over with shall we?" she said nonchalantly as she lazily unsheathed the knives from the holsters across her back.

"I challenge you to a Claiming Duel, beautiful." This way if he won he kind of owned her. He could control what happened to her somewhat aboard The Conquest.

What the fuck was a Claiming Duel? Oh well. She wasn't planning on losing so it wasn't like it mattered. "Yeah whatever. So come on big boy. Gimme your best shot" she coaxed.

Rune grinned. Oh he'd give her his best all right. He pulled a knife from his boot and they began to circle one another.

Tiffany made the first move. She leaped and pretended to aim for his shoulders but at the last second, aimed for his legs. Rune jumped to the side and grabbed her around the neck in a head lock. "Not bad for a woman." It was actually rather sexy. He found that surprising. "You'll find Im full of surprises" she muttered before flipping him over her head and onto his back. Rune knew she must have used a boost of energy from her implants to pull that stunt since he weighed almost twice what she did. Tiffany had sacrificed her grip on one of her knives to pull that off so she only had one at his throat when she straddled him. Desire flared in them both but they ignored it. Now was most definitely not the time. Rune grabbed her wrist and squeezed until she gasped and dropped the knife. He rolled her off of him onto her back and flipped her over onto her belly before she could even blink. He pinned her arms behind her back and laid most of his weight on her to be sure she couldn't escape. "Why do you bother with fighting when you're as beautiful as you are?" Rune asked curiously.

"It's what I'm good at. Now are you gonna kill me or not?" she asked impatiently. "No." His answer was so blunt it startled her. "Why so surprised?" "Well you didn't seem to have a problem with killing me when we were flying." Rune smiled slightly. "That was before I saw how beautiful you are." "So what do you want then? To rape me?" Rune's mouth fell into a grim line. "No. I'm not a rapist." "Then what the fuck do you want?!" This guy was really starting to irritate her.

"I won the Claiming Duel. You belong to me now." "Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down big boy! I don't belong to anyone. Besides I didn't know what a Claiming Duel was." "Well it's not my fault you agreed to it without asking what it was." "Maybe we could come to some sort of compromise." Tiffany knew she wouldn't be able to get him off of her by struggling. That would be a waste of energy she made need later so she didn't bother. So far he didn't act like he would try to take advantage of her so maybe he could be reasoned with and they could both walk away from this satisfied. "Why would I want to compromise? What's in it for me?" "I don't know but we could talk and figure something out." Rune frowned as he considered this.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it before he heard a strange growling sound. Rune looked to the right and became two shades whiter. "What the hell?!" Rune leaped up, grabbed the woman by the arm and hauled onto her feet and ran like hell for his ship.

Sorry about all the cursing everyone! I promise there won't be near as much later this was the worst chapter. There's hardly any after this =) Sorry! And don't forget to review! Reviews are awesome even if all you say is "I like it!" or "I hate it!" or whatever! =)