Kaden and Alister sat together in a small waiting room near the Military Field training arenas. They were both wearing full combat gear.
Kaden was again wearing his own personal suit of armor. Despite his positive experience with the G-83, he didn't need that much armor normally. More importantly though, the G-83 series just didn't have the integrated circuitry that he needed to control all the combat devices he wanted, some of which had already been added to his newly repaired suit.
As Kaden ran suit diagnostics, Alister sat tapping his foot nervously.
The white-furred Lombax hadn't really known what to think when Kaden suddenly 'convenient called' him over his NID and ordered him to get his combat gear and be ready to join a CtD team.
Of course, Alister knew what Capture the Depot was, but very rarely did anyone below a level four participate in them. He also knew that registration for new team members was closing tonight and couldn't imagine what team would still be looking for members this late… and that worried him.
Varin opened a door to a dark room and confidently walked in. She sat down next to one of the three figures that were already seated within and turned to the large holo-screen that they were all studying intently.
On display was a small rectangle which showed a security camera live feed of two armored Lombaxes sitting in a lobby. The rest of the holo-screen was composed of two open files on the Nova Academy status of two students named Kaden and Alister.
"Nice of you to join us, Varin," said a female voice from one of the shadowy figures.
The person it had come from was tall, with tan fur and brown stripes. Her head was shaved to the point of matching her normal fur length, which was common for most students of the Military Field.
"You're welcome, Boss," replied Varin arrogantly.
The Lombax called 'Boss' smiled at her response, "So, tell us more about these two Fuzzies you brought us. I hope they're at least worth the effort I put into walking here."
Varin shrugged, "Unfortunately, I don't really know much about them," she admitted, causing an unhappy stir among the group. "Kaden is a new student of mine. He's not even in the military field and his MSET score was zero, but I know that he'd make an amazing tech. His Science Field scores are very high for his level and age. However, this is my first time seeing the other one."
Another figure in the room, a male Lombax with black fur, turned to address their leader, "So, we have yet another set of useless fuzz balls for the grinder, huh boss? Registration is in less than eight hours. I say we cut 'em now and save us both the trouble."
The third figure replied from the darkness, "The greatest musicians can make beautiful music from even a poorly made instrument, but even 'they' can do nothing with no instruments at all," he countered.
This third Lombax had white fur and was male as well. He was also enormous! Easily one of the largest Lombaxes at the academy, or possibly on Fastoon, and his body appeared to be made from pure muscle. The chair he sat in had to activate a micro anti-grav field just to handle his weight.
"Ha, he means you don't have a choice," laughed Varin. "You guys have scared off every new recruit that asked to join before pre-season even started. Maybe you shouldn't have been so mean when you thought you had a full roster."
The black-furred Lombax sighed, "I don't like the idea, but it's not my decision to make."
The leader nodded, "Don't worry Wraith, I know about this one, Alister Azimuth," she said with a finger pointed to the white Lombax's file. "He took second in the last MSET. If he was good enough to beat Vi then maybe he'll fare better than she did."
"Huh, I hope so," said Wraith, with just a hint of sneer.
The one known as 'Boss' eyed the back of Wraith's head coldly and both Varin and the large Lombax looked at each other in concern.
"You forget your audience," warned the large Lombax.
Wraith turned to the large Lombax with a look of confusion and then, with sudden realization, turned to face his leader's gaze, "Boss..." he began hesitantly. "I didn't mean..." but his voice trailed off as she stared him down.
A long, silent moment later she breathed out slowly, before turning back to the holo-screen, "No... you're right," she admitted somberly. "If we're going to have any hope of winning the Platinum Trophy, we'll 'need' someone better, so I guess our choice is made... Azimuth will be our new team member."
"And what about Kaden?" asked Varin with a note of concern in her voice that seemed odd to her three companions.
Their leader turned to her with a questioning look, "I've seen him fight, he's not bad, but we already have a Tech. don't we?"
"Uhm, about that..." Varin began guiltily. "Have I ever mentioned how much I don't like getting hit with giant anti-tank OmniWrenches?"
Wraith glared at Varin accusingly, "Are you saying that you're chickening out!?" he demanded.
Varin returned the gaze with her usual, unconcerned expression, "Sure, if that's what it means to you," she answered calmly. She then turned back to their leader, "You know I wouldn't just bail on you guys, but you also know that I'm useless in a fight. That hasn't been a problem until now, but with Kor's new attack strategy, you'll need every member of the Tough Nuts to know how to handle a wrench. Not to mention Kaden's considerable mechanical skills."
The tan Lombax eyed her teammate intensely, "Varin, you're the best Med. Tech. in Nova. If it weren't for your nano-tuning then Vi might have been put out of commission for the rest of the season. Even if Kaden is as good of a Mech. Tech. as you say, then he can just work on our gear pre-match like most Mech. Techs. do."
Varin shook her head, "Kaden won't take a support role, it's not his style. Besides, he wants a shot at Kor."
"Then he'll have to get in line," interrupted Wraith indignantly.
Varin simply ignored the comment and continued, "I know you'll stand a better chance of winning if you make Kaden your Tech. instead of me," she insisted.
The room fell silent again as the 'Tough Nuts' considered the proposal.
The large Lombax broke the silence first by clearing his throat, "Ahem, even the finest violin cannot compete with a guitar in a competition of rock and roll," he said. "There is no shame in admitting it."
"Thank you, Torque," said Varin with a nod of appreciation. She then turned back to their leader, "I'm not saying you have to make a decision now. Just give him a chance to prove himself. Give him… a test."
There was a clear change of atmosphere from the other three Lombaxes when Varin had finished speaking.
"You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?" asked the tan-furred Lombax with the ghost of grin hanging on her lips.
Wraith spoke up, "You know we stopped doing that with Fuzzies. Even I'm not 'that' heartless."
Torque nodded his head in agreement, "Any instrument is useless if it's smashed to pieces."
Varin leaned back in her chair with no evidence of worry in her expression, "I'll make you a bet then, test them both at the same time. If they don't break, you take them both and I sit on the sidelines this season. If not, then stop after you break the first one and then just take the one that's still standing."
The leader of the Tough Nuts contemplated the idea for a moment before grinning broadly and standing up, "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said. "Tell them to head into the arena."
After she left, Varin turned to Torque and Wraith with her own grin, "A hundred bolts says they both make it," she declared as she slammed her hand down on the table.
Wraith put his hand down on the table as well, "Hundred and fifty says your nerd breaks first," he countered.
Varin smiled and nodded her acceptance to the wager. Then they both turned to Torque eagerly.
The large Lombax didn't move for a while. Then, slowly, he placed his hand down as well, "This match will end with 'both' those young performers in pieces," he said. Varin and Wraith looked at him with puzzled expressions. Torque smiled knowingly, "A true artist like 'Lacera Suraisu' never halts a good performance mid-way."
Kaden and Alister walked into the arena as Varin had instructed them to over Kaden's NID. Standing in the center of the circular room was a battle ready Lombax. The only thing either young Lombax could see of their face was a set of lips under their helmet's dark visor.
Kaden had spent half the time sitting in the waiting room wondering what he'd need his combat gear for and the other half concerned about Sorana's odd behavior. Now though, his mind cleared itself, because the first question had been answered.
"See those weapons on the table there?" said the mysterious Lombax without moving a muscle. Kaden and Alister turned to see a table with several devices on it before turning back and nodding. "Those and your wrenches are the only weapons you may use, so dump whatever you don't need now."
Alister and Kaden looked at each other thoughtfully for a second before setting about the task of removing their gear.
Alister dropped his grenade holster, his bomb glove, and his Combuster. Kaden removed the heavy modules on his gauntlets for his shields and disconnected his utility pack. The anti-grav motors in it deactivated and the heavy metal backpack that held all of Kaden's special gadgets and power cells slammed into the ground with a loud thud.
Alister gave Kaden an sarcastic look, to which Kaden simply shrugged before shifting his gaze forward again.
Seeing that the two of them were finished, the mysterious Lombax spoke again, "Here are the rules: You may only use your wrenches and those weapons. Once you step onto the arena floor, I will attack you. If one of you manages to get a single, clean hit on me, you win. If you leave the ring, lose consciousness, or die... then you lose. End of rules. You may proceed when ready."
"Hold on," said Kaden. "Who are you?"
Lacera's lips twitched as if to smile, but returned to their neutral state, "If you're still conscious by the time we're done, I'll tell you," she replied with no indications of jest. "Now grab your gear."
Alister didn't move, "You really think you can take us both without a scratch?" he asked.
The Lombax didn't reply or show any sign of having heard him, she simply stood there waiting. Eventually Alister and Kaden turned and walked toward the weapons table.
On it were six weapons from the three basic combat weapon types. There was one for each of them, a blaster type weapon (similar to Alister's Combuster), a shotgun type weapon, and explosive type weapons in the form of two bomb-gloves.
Kaden lifted one of the blasters and magnetically attached it to the lower-left side of his midsection. Upon detecting the magnetic grip of the holster, the blaster folded up to shrink its profile for storage.
Kaden and Alister each equipped the rest of their weapons and turned to face their opponent. Alister had his blaster drawn while Kaden hefted his shotgun.
Just before they stepped onto the arena floor, the Lacera spoke again, "I will only use my weapons so long as you have yours drawn," she informed them, before dropping down into a defensive stance and drawing a long OmniWrench from seemingly nowhere.
Kaden and Alister both recognized the weapon. One of its prongs extended down to its hand guard in a very streamlined fashion and its tip was sharpened to a point. It was called a KatomniWrench, because it had been designed to be more like a sword than a wrench. Its slim profile made it lighter and the extended prong increased its striking range. Judging from the size of the one the Lacera was wielding though, it seemed that she had an even more streamlined version than a standard one.
This told Kaden that she was probably quick with her strikes and it was all the more reason for him to keep her at a distance with his weapons. He and Alister turned to each other and saw that they were both thinking the same thing. Silently they agreed that their enemy was probably more skilled with a wrench then they were and that they should keep their weapons drawn.
They then simultaneously took a step forward.
The grenade had closed most of the distance between her and her targets before either Kaden or Alister had even registered that she'd switched weapons. They both dove and the orb exploded on the spot they had just vacated.
Kaden got up quickly, but was immediately chased by a stitching line of blaster rounds. Alister came to his friend's aid with his own salvo of shots.
Lacera jumped backward and dodged them easily, pulling her shotgun out before she landed. Alister had only just realized that there was a gun aimed at him when he was peppered with the flak of a spread-shot round.
From the range it was fired, the shot wasn't too damaging. But a lucky piece of shrapnel managed to find a soft spot in his leg armor.
Dropping to one knee Alister tried to raise his weapon again. There was a loud bang that echoed around the arena just before he brought his gun to the spot where his opponent had been a mere millisecond ago.
Alister stared, dumbfounded, at where his opponent should have been. Then, he was brought back to reality by a click of metal on metal and Alister turned his head just in time to look down the barrel of a shotgun and see the grinning, half-hidden face of his opponent on the other side.
Thinking quickly, Alister dropped his blaster and it clattered to the ground at the Lacera's feet.
There was a short, cold laugh from her before she kicked the blaster out of the ring and lowered the shotgun.
Alister breathed a sigh of relief, but a moment later the shotgun came sailing back toward him, being used like a club this time, but halfway to his face it seemed to magically transform into a wrench before it struck.
Bells went off in Alister's head as the blow left a deep dent in his helmet and a crack in his visor.
As his head was sent flying with the force of the strike and as his body followed, another grenade appeared, just far enough for Alister to be clear of its blast zone.
There was another strange bang, this time emanating from Lacera's feet, where a jet of hyper-ionized plasma sent her flying just ahead of the explosive shockwave that gave chase a second later.
The overdriven jump-pulse of her hoverboots sent her straight towards the explosive's source, Kaden.
Kaden offered a small portion of his brain function to be amazed at how she'd not only dodged the explosion so quickly, but that she had dodged it in a way that was also an attack.
Kaden then switched from his bomb-glove to his shotgun as quickly as he could, but just as he had raised its barrel, a round from another shotgun exploded in his chest at nearly point blank range. The blast sent him sprawling and gasping to the floor. His own shotgun slid from his grip and skidded out of the arena.
Kaden rolled off of his back and onto his stomach. Luckily, the attack had hit the largest piece of armor he had, the chest plate, and most of the force had been absorbed.
Unluckily, he was now unarmed and had a blaster pointed directly at him, only inches away.
'Wait a second,' he wondered, 'when did she switch to a blaster?' He didn't bother finishing the thought as it looked like this was the end for him.
But Lacera didn't pull the trigger. Just like with Alister, she refused to use her weapon if he didn't have one. Instead she swung at Kaden with her wrench which had suddenly appeared back in her hands.
Kaden put his arms to his face to guard it, but his assailant pulled the attack at the last moment. Instead, she took a quick side-step to get behind Kaden before stopping and raising one leg, as if to kick a ball. She then mentally activated another jump-pulse from only her one boot.
With the added force of the super compressed plasma, the assailant planted her armored boot squarely in Kaden's tail end, flying head-over-tail, straight into the dazed and just now standing Alister. They both crashed back into the ground.
"GOAL!" shouted Wraith and Varin while simultaneously raising their arms high in the famous referee symbol for scoring a goal in a hoverball game. The two of them, along with Torque, were watching the match unfold, unseen in the observation stands above the arena.
"An excellent show!" agreed Torque through a mouthful of popcorn.
Kaden carefully helped a twice-disoriented Alister get shakily to his feet, while keeping a wary eye on their opponent. Lacera though, seemed content with allowing her prey to regain their orientation. She just stood there calmly, on the spot she had just punted Kaden from.
Kaden took this small break to analyze the situation. Foremost on his mind was how much his tail was stinging at this moment, but that could wait for later. The next thing he analyzed was his opponent's speed and skill.
Lombaxes were known for their speed and agility, as well as their diverse gadgetry. It was said that if there was a situation then there was always a Lombax weapon or gadget that was built for it.
Higher level Lombax warriors are trained to implement a vast range of weapons during any single combat mission and their skills were measured in both the number of weapons they can field and the speed at which they could swap between them.
It was clear that this Lombax was a high level master of weapon switching, since Kaden wasn't even able to even see her do it. Conversely, Kaden and Alister were relatively low leveled in that category. Alister hated the complication of dealing with so many different devices, one of the many reasons why he preferred grenades and bomb-gloves to most conventional arsenals.
Kaden, on the other hand, simply lacked the reflexes that allowed for such rapid selection and implementation. This was why most of his weapons were integrated into his gauntlets and/or controlled by his NID.
"What do we do?" asked Alister, still a little wobbly from the head trauma.
"We attack her together, wrenches only," Kaden concluded. "We can't beat her at switching speed, but if she won't use weapons so long as we don't use ours then we can overwhelm her. Are you ready?"
"Yes," answered Alister with squinted eyes, "but which one's the real one?"
Kaden turned to his friend and saw the still dazed look in his eye, "Alister, follow my finger," he ordered before raising his index finger and holding it up just in front of Alister's face. Kaden then moved it slowly until Alister's eyes refocused, "Better?"
Alister blinked a few more times before turning to their opponent and hefting his wrench, "Yeah, let's do this."
Kaden nodded and together they both charged toward their calmly-waiting enemy.
Alister reached her first. He swung lightly, knowing full well that his opponent would either dodge or block it, which left him plenty of leverage to react. Even so, Lacera's counter attack was swift. She parried Alister's wrench, but was able to bring hers back just as quickly as Alister could. He just barely managed to stop the strike aimed for his ribs.
Kaden came in a second later swinging with full force. Knowing that his opponent couldn't block a heavy attack well with her light wrench, he was counting on the fact that she'd have no choice but to dodge it. Everyone knows that if you can predict your enemy's moves, they're done for.
Lacera dodged the attack smoothly, knowing that Kaden had no chance of bringing it back in time to guard from an immediate counter strike.
Unfortunately for her, she was fighting more than one opponent. Alister had seen Kaden's move and figured out what he was planning. His wrench was swinging for the exact spot Lacera would be before she even reached it.
Still in motion from her last evasion and unable to change direction fast enough, Lacera had no choice but to parry Alister's strike.
It took a lot of strength to block Alister's heavier attack with her lighter wrench, so much so that the recoil from the collision of their micro-kinetic multiplier enhanced wrenches sent both weapons reverberating away from each other, and sending a stinging pain into the hands of their wielders.
Once again, this put Lacera and her opponent on even ground, but, once again, the difficulty of fighting two enemies showed its head. Kaden's swing was already coming at her before the echo of the previous strike had even died.
Just before Kaden's wrench hit it mark, his opponent disappeared with a bang.
Kaden's body followed through with his swing, but his eyes were already turning to the sound of metal boots screeching to a halt on the arena floor.
Lacera bled her velocity with practiced ease and stood up to face her opponents once more. She nodded once in a gesture of satisfaction to Kaden and Alister as the two of them quickly reoriented themselves and squared off as well.
Lacera then pointed her wrench at them and flicked her head back as if to say 'Let's see if you can do it again.'
Kaden and Alister were all too happy to oblige. Feeling confident from their last exchange, the two Lombaxes charged again.
This time it was Kaden who reached her first. His strike was on the heavy side and his opponent dodged it easily. Alister's strike came next and it was parried.
In a blink, Kaden brought his wrench back around for the second strike in his multi-strike combo.
Lacera once again dodged his attack, but a moment later Alister's second strike whipped through the air and was met with another parry.
Before anyone could breathe, there was a hushed whistle that warned Lacera of a coming Comet Strike.
With no time to even see where the attack was coming from, Lacera had to guess and rolled away just in time to avoid Kaden's wrench by a hair's breadth. It continued to whistle as it flew off into the distance
Kaden had chosen wisely not to finish his combo. Besides being predictable, it offered too much time for such a skilled opponent to recover. Now that Lacera had needed to lose her footing to avoid an attack, her recovery time was increased by precious few milliseconds.
This was more than enough time for Alister to complete the haymaker third strike of his own Multi-strike combo. His attack forced his opponent to bring her weapon to the center of her body for protection, but preventing the recoil effect that she would have used to gain some distance from him. With a thunderous clang and a flash of sparks, Alister's heavy attack was only just barely halted, but had accomplished its true goal and forced Lacera down to one knee, pinning her to the floor.
Kaden saw this play out before it happened and was already skillfully guiding his Comet-strike's boomerang return on course to collide with his opponent's blindside.
With nowhere to go, Lacera once again activated her hoverboot overdrive system and launched herself backwards. She managed to avoid Kaden's attack with the move, but with only one of her feet free, her course was awkward and she only went half the distance she needed.
Alister was back up and on the attack before she had time to recover. Again she was forced to block rather than dodge, but his attack was even stronger than before. With a powerful Hyper-strike, Alister sent shockwaves of numbing pain down Lacera's arms.
She was only just barely able to hold off this attack, but was once again pinned to the floor.
And, once again predicting the opening that Alister would leave, Kaden was in the air before Alister's strike had even connected and was coming down with his own Hyper-strike.
In the back of Kaden's mind elation was taking hold, as he knew there was no way out for his opponent. Lacera couldn't move her body to dodge under the weight of Alister's attack and her wrench was already occupied for the same reason.
The cherry on top, Lacera had mistakenly dropped to the same knee as before, meaning the only free boot she had was still cooling down from her last jump-pulse. Another jump-pulse this soon would likely result in a hoverboot explosion.
"This is it!" his mind yelled.
Sparks flew as Kaden drove his wrench down with as much force as he could muster. His visor reflected the bright flashes of superheated metal shavings as he watched with glee the head of his wrench inch its way towards his opponent's heart.
His mind froze in confusion, however, when his attack was halted a mere centimeter from Lacera's armor.
Kaden's opponent had managed to stop his attack with her wrench, but the confused tan Lombax could clearly see that Alister's wrench was 'also' still being held back by Lacera's wrench, so then how could both attacks have been stopped?
Slowly, the cold realization dawned on both him and Alister that Lacera was now holding two KatomniWrenches.
The pair of lips just under Lacera's dark visor, which had been constantly twitching toward a smile, were now split into a huge grin that spread from ear to ear.
Very slowly, Lacera licked her lips, as if savoring the sweet taste of something delicious.
"Very good," she whispered.
Her voice held the tones of barely contained excitement and just a hint of extreme pleasure.
"Oh no!" exclaimed both Wraith and Varin in unison.
Shortly after the Tough Nuts had established 'the test' for new recruits, Lacera had decided that they should no longer administer 'the test' to Fuzzies. Also, at about the same time, she also realized that she shouldn't use both her KatomniWrenches against most new recruits either.
Very rarely had anyone ever forced her to use both her weapons until now. Sadly, none of those skilled warriors ever joined the Tough Nuts due to what happened next.
It wasn't the drawing of both of Lacera's weapons that told the observing Tough Nuts what was coming though, it was the wicked smile that split their leader's face which sealed the fates of her opponents.
Varin and Wraith turned to Torque who was happily munching his popcorn, "The curtain rises for the finale," he said with the air of someone having just been proven right, "and it will close on an epilogue of pain."
Lacera allowed herself to fall backwards, pulling her two assailants forward with their own weight, before driving an armored boot into each of their sternums. They were both immediately winded by the attack, but were then literally blown away by the jump-pulses that followed, slamming into their chests so forcefully that their eyes nearly rolled into the back of their heads. Both Lombaxes were sent crashing across the arena floor.
Lacera was on Kaden first. He had only just managed to recover before a KatomniWrench came screaming down to take off his head.
He parried it with his own wrench, but the recoil left him wide open for the other KatomniWrench to strike his gut. Lacera grinned even wider as she felt the familiar sensation of bone cracking behind armored plate.
Still reeling from the pain, Kaden tried to bring his wrench back from the first encounter, but Lacera was so fast that she had already brought her first wrench in for a second strike to Kaden's chest.
This attack was then followed by another strike that Kaden managed to counter with his forearm and a fourth that was parried with his wrench.
Lacera topped her combo off with a sweeping kick that cut Kaden's legs out from under him.
Alister, having only just recovered from Lacera's kick, charged in to help his besieged friend.
The white-furred Lombax put everything he had into his attacks. Adrenaline flooded his bloodstream as he swung harder and faster than ever.
Despite the gusto of his assault, however, Lacera was much more skilled than he was. Each time Alister swung, his wrench was deflected off course by a precise strike with half the power, before a follow up strike from Lacera's second wrench would hit his body.
Alister didn't feel the pain at first. He knew it was there, but there was too much adrenaline in his system to be bothered by it. He fought like a mad dog and several times his fury driven attacks almost made contact with his enemy's armor, but every time it seemed like he may have gained an upper hand, his opponent quickly dashed his hopes, along with his body, against the floor.
Kaden watched from the ground as Alister was slowly being torn down by the barrage of impacts to his body and limbs. He desperately wanted to go to his friend's aid, but knew that any attempts at rescue would be met with the same fate and it was clear that their opponent was no longer giving them any time to recover.
Kaden knew that he only had one option left.
Finally, Alister fell to the ground. With his strength exhausted and his mind on the edge of consciousness, he collapsed in a heap at Lacera's feet. Lacera then turned to Kaden.
Their eyes locked only for second, before the crack of propulsion jets filled the air, she was within striking distance a second later.
Kaden put all his effort into his defense. He couldn't prevent many of the blows, but he could at least minimize the damage until the opportunity he was waiting for presented itself. Kaden used his body like the pieces of a chess match, sacrificing hits to regions that were less sensitive, while slowly pulling his enemy into his trap.
Kaden's armor was covered in dents and his whole body felt like one giant bruise when his opponent finally drew back for a heavy double strike... an attack that someone like her couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to execute when Kaden had so graciously left an opening for it in his defenses.
With all the speed his numb arms could muster, Kaden drew his blaster and stuck its barrel right in his opponent's face, stopping it mere inches from the dark visor and the wicked grin.
The two combatants stood there for several seconds without moving. Kaden desperately wanted to pull the trigger on the still grinning face... but the twin barrels of a shotgun and blaster pointing back at his own face dissuaded him.
Lacera hadn't fallen for Kaden's ploy and had drawn her own weapons the very instant that Kaden had reached for his.
Kaden's mind wrestled with the decision before him like a pair of War Groks over scraps of meat. One side told him that all he had to do to win the match was to pull the trigger and score a single hit. His opponent's grin was the widest he'd seen yet, wickedly curved in the throes of some twisted pleasure, garnered from her love of a violent challenge. She almost seemed to be salivating in anticipation... just daring him to do it... begging him to do it!
However, the other side of Kaden's mind thought much further ahead and that same wicked grin told it everything. His sadistic enemy was simply waiting for him to decide. She was going to let him win the match if he could just prove that he had the tail to take victory from her. However, Kaden also knew that she wouldn't just let him have it without a price. The second he decided to pull the trigger, so would she. Both of her weapons were pointed mercilessly towards his face. Even if Kaden survived, he'd likely spend a long time in a hospital's intensive care unit.
The logical side of his mind demanded that he find another way, because this one wasn't worth the price of victory.
Halfheartedly, Kaden's fingers loosened on the pistol in his hand and it fell through the air in slow motion, before clacking on the ground and coming to rest at Lacera's feet. The wide grin on her face bent back into a frown.
Lacera clicked her teeth in disappointment, "Tch, what a letdown," she hissed with her guns still raised.
For a moment, Kaden feared that she might just pull the triggers anyway. Then, with a sharp bang, Lacera drove her rocket propelled, armored knee into his gut, doubling him over and dropping him to his own knees before a sweeping, roundhouse kick to his head sent him sprawling.
Still dazed and confused Kaden crawled away from his tormenter as fast as he could, as he gasped for air and his vision faded from the impact.
Lacera shook her head and looked down at the blaster on the floor, "It's not nice to lead a girl on like that," she taunted angrily, before lining up a kick to send the weapon out of the arena. "Maybe one day when you've managed to grow a tai-"
Just before Lacera's boot reached the pistol, the plasma capacitor, that Kaden had rigged to overcharge, reached critical and exploded with the force of more than a hundred individual pistol rounds going off at once. Lacera was blasted clear off her feet before being sent skidding across the floor in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.
When Lacera's body had come to a rest, Kaden squinted through blurry eyes at the sprawled form of his enemy, her armor covered in scorch marks and her body showing no signs of movement.
"I'm... sorry to disappoint you," he wheezed as he got unsteadily to his feet.
With a cautious eye on Lacera's body, Kaden gingerly made his way to Alister's side.
The white-furred Lombax was conscious and breathing shallowly, but he was also wearing a small smile, glad that he'd managed to buy Kaden enough time to come up with a plan.
With a great deal of effort he was able to reach up and take Kaden's hand when it was offered.
The two said nothing as Alister used Kaden's shoulder to lean on and they both took a moment to recount the past few minutes. The two friends looked at each other, bruised and battered with barely enough strength between them to stand and they started to laugh.
Then, the room suddenly went silent once again as the form of Lacera began to stir.
Kaden and Alister watched as she sat up on the floor. She then stretched her neck out one way and then the other before rising to her feet with her face turned away from her opponents.
"We won!" declared Kaden to Lacera's back. "An explosion to the face counts as a clean hit, right?"
Lacera didn't show any sign of having heard him, she simply stood there. After a moment, she turned to face them with her previous, neutral expression back on her lips. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
She reached out with her tongue and licked the wound experimentally. She then swirled the liquid in her mouth for a while, savoring the rare taste of her own blood, before spitting out a wad of red saliva onto the floor.
In a flash, Lacera was charging forward again, with both KatomniWrenches in her hands.
Kaden and Alister pulled out their wrenches in surprise, but stood to face her regardless.
Just before reaching striking distance, Lacera pulsed her jumpboots and drove a rocket-propelled shoulder guard into Alister's stomach, sending him flying out of the ring before slamming into the arena wall.
Kaden immediately swung in retaliation, but Lacera parried it with ease, before spinning around to deliver a quick strike to the back of Kaden's knee with one of her wrenches.
Like tree being felled by a logger, Kaden toppled backwards toward the ground. Lacera didn't let him simply fall, however.
Reversing her spin, she came back around to deliver another blow to Kaden's face, shattering half his visor and breaking his nose. The force also sent him on his way to the ground with an extra push.
Lacera put one leg over Kaden's body and straddled him before driving both her wrenches point first into the floor on either side of his head. She tore off her helmet and bent over close to his face.
"The name's Lacera, Lacera Suraisu," she said casually from atop Kaden's sternum. "My friends call me Cera, " she added, before leaning even closer and planting a kiss on the remaining half of Kaden's visor. It left a bloody lipstick-mark behind, "but you can call me 'Boss'. Welcome to the Tough Nuts."
AN:
A Convenient Call - is a term specific to Kaden where he hacks someone else's NID so he can force them to answer his call, thus 'conveniently' saving said person the hassle of having to answer it themselves.