Chapter-2
It had been about a week since the inter-academy war games on Zoness but Fara's ribs
ached and her head still throbbed from the blow she'd received from the blue-eyed
swordsman who ambushed her. The exercise had been an unmitigated disaster when
every other recon team had been ambushed and wiped out just like hers had.
In a matter of hours the Cornerian forces had been outflanked and destroyed with
alarming speed and ferocity. Who ever had been leading the assault, had clearly been
a gifted commander and skilled tactician.
The halls of the Cornerian military academy were buzzing with rumours that the
Tallius academy forces had won due to a battle plan devised by a single student. Of
course there was nothing to back this up, but still the rumours persisted. Dropping off
her books in her locker, Fara turned to her two best friends Kat Munroe and Aiko
Motoshiro.
Aiko was a border collie who had dark sandy coloured fur, long matching hair, white
fur on her muzzle and paws with lighter orange patches under her deep brown eyes.
Personality wise however, she was best described as blond, but in a scary kind of way.
It wasn't really for anything she did, but rather the "happy, happy, joy, joy way in
which she would snap the practice droid's necks like dry twigs and then drop the
bodies because they had stopped making entertaining noises. She was famous across
the academy for being able to colour coordinate her accessories with oxygenated
blood.
To that end she wore a set of silver hair clips and a sunset pink neckerchief with her
dark blue academy uniform jacket and fatigues. Fara and Kat wore the same uniform
but unlike Aiko, they didn't accessorize.
"You look down. I know it was a pretty big thing, what with your team being one of
the first to picked off and all, but you've got to get over this kind of thing sugar.
You've got the rest of semester to worry about," Kat said, watching her friend's look
of concern. "Yeah, like its not as if there's some mad scientist out there who gonna
declare war on us or something," Aiko added chirpily.
Despite the Bellaire accent and blond personality, Aiko was a lot smarter than she
appeared. She already excelled in ground combat and piloting as well as having high
degree of skill in chemistry. She made her own hair-care and beauty products, which
in a pinch could also be used as high power explosives. It had also been rumoured that
the Cornerian Intelligence Agency were already interested in her as a "Special Ops"
agent.
"Its not the ambush that I'm thinking about. It's that guy that ambushed us. I can't get
him out of my head," Fara replied. Ever since her fight with the mysterious canine
commando, she couldn't stop thinking about his bright burning blue eyes. They had
blazed like blue flames in her mind, not dimming with time. They were fresh in her
mind now as they were when they had bugged out after she kicked him in the balls.
"Hmmm, sounds personal to me," Kat chipped in smiling. Aiko just looked confused
for a moment and said, "Huh? So, like is this a "We must go shopping immediately,
I'm in love" kind of thing?" Kat just looked at her and said, "Uh, Aiko, I think this is
more of a raging need for revenge kind of thing. Besides, Fara's got Fox." Aiko
smiled in comprehension and said, "Oh, I see. Well Fara? If you don't want this guy,
can I have him?" In addition to being blond and semi-psychotic, Aiko was also a boy
crazy flirt.
"Two of your last boyfriends ended up in the infirmary after your first date didn't
they?" Fara asked, grinning evilly. "Yeah, well how was I supposed to know that their
rib cages were so fragile," Aiko replied, giving the dismayed-blond-whimper. It was
theorised that if Aiko's dismayed-blond-whimper were passed through a high-
powered microphone, it would shatter bones at fifty yards. They weren't really sure
what would happen if they tried it with her happy-blond-squeal, but it would probably
fall under Beta Aqaulea convention on weapons of mass destruction.
Kat just smiled at Aiko and said, "Don't fret hon, there's plenty of fish in the sea.
Besides, we've got close combat class next. That always cheers you up." Aiko's ears
suddenly pricked up and her eyes lit up. Everyone in the corridor quickly covered
their ears and hit the deck as she let loose the dreaded happy-blond-squeal. As the
high-pitched noise subsided a dark-furred ermine, one of the combat engineering
students walked past on his way to the infirmary, his glasses shattered and his ears
bleeding.
"We really ought to issue a five minute warning to clear the room before we do that,"
Fara said, picking herself off the floor and wondering if that ermine would get his
hearing back in time for the midterms. Aiko just hopped up and down with a frankly
quite frighteningly happy look on her face, normally reserved for when a practice
android made a particularly entertaining noise as it broke in half.
The gym was about fifty meters long and thirty wide. At one end was the weight
training and gymnastic equipment, at the other end was the sparring area with fall
mats, kicking bags and storage crates for the practice droids.
Practice droids were generically anthropomorphic robots, designed to mimic a living
opponent of various species in every way when it came to their movements, athletic
prowess and most of all when they broke. They were built with synthetic muscles on a
ceramic skeleton based on real bone and would crack just like real bones.
They could move and fight just like a real live enemy. But the blank featureless skins
could be highly disturbing to look at, like something half-finished, a person without
fur or a face.
Fara's cadet company was assembled and warming up with stretches as well as a few
light aerobics. For close combat, the cadets wore more casual clothing than their
uniforms such as fatigues and vest. Aiko on the other hand wore a pair of pink shorts
the same shade as her neckerchief and a matching crop-top and high-heeled sparkly
go-go boots.
Despite the injuries sustained during the war games on Zoness, Fox, Fara and the
other cadets were still in full physical training. At the academy, they believed that an
injury meant a change in training rather than a break in it.
Sergeant Herrman, a brawny German shepherd with a huge broad back and a large
raking scar across the left hand side of his face strode in and barked out orders, "TEN
HUT. Alright, lets get started, shall ve?" He shouted as the cadets snapped to
attention. Producing a data-pad from behind his back, he read out the role call,
checking off each student in turn, "Denton, Phoenix, Grey, Sorenson, White,
McCloud, Munroe, MOTOSHIRO?" Double taking as he looked up and saw Aiko
grinning at him. Calmly Herrman put down the pad and barked, "MEDICS."
Almost immediately, a first aid team jogged in and got set up for the almost inevitable
injuries that seemed to occur around Aiko during sparring (that she was usually
responsible for). "Alright, today ve vill begin with the practice droids to varm up vith
and then ve shall be moving on to sparring vith each other. According to the reports,
almost all of you vere engaged and eliminated in hand to hand combat, so that vill be
our emphasis for today's session," The sergeant yelled, extra emphasis added by his
thick German accent.
A practice droid was released from its storage crate, one for each cadet. They moved
with a stiff, almost rigid posture but then fell into a combat stance as they reached
their assigned cadet. Herrman operated a small handheld control pad that adjusted the
droid's skill level, fighting style and physical ability to suit each individual student.
Generally the students already possessed some level of training in various martial arts;
this class was more about honing those skills and how to use them most effectively.
"You may begin," Herrman shouted, activating the droids fully. Instantly, the droids
exploded into action, automatically taking the offensive. As her droid sprung forward,
Fara also took the offensive. The droid's limited AI was incapable of anticipating
anything but a logical strategy and took a few seconds to reset itself and react, by that
time of course Fara kicked it in the gut and pushed herself up on its pelvis, driving her
knee into it's face.
Although it was knocked sprawling to the ground, the droid quickly recovered and
sprung up onto its feet, immediately lashing out and hitting Fara in the side of the
muzzle, spinning her around like a top. Stunned for a moment, Fara then cried out in
surprise and pain as the sparring robot hammer punched her in the small of her back.
As she fell to her knees, out of the corner of her eye Fara could see it sweeping its leg
up to finish her with an axe kick to the back. Reacting quickly, she back kicked the
droid in the ankle with an audible crack of bones. The droid fell soundlessly to the
gym floor. As it fell Fara caught its neck between her legs and slammed it down with
all her strength, snapping its neck like a twig "killing" it instantly.
"Excellent Phoenix, I'm glad to see that you have improved since our last class,"
Herrman called out from across the gym. Fox on the other hand was not doing so well
against his practice droid. His leg was still bound up and hadn't fully healed from
having been skewered by a sword yet. The droid was taking full advantage of this
fact, kicking him in the side of his leg, dropping him to the mat in pain. As Fox hit the
mat for the fifth time, Sergeant Herrman deactivated the practice droid and shouted,
"McCloud, what are you doing? You are better than this, I have seen you do better."
"It's not my fault sir," Fox replied as he stood up, sore and bruised. "My right leg is
still injured from the exercise last week," He said, slightly pleadingly. The sergeant
was having none of it, "That is a poor excuse for a poor performance. Your right leg
may be injured but there is nothing-wrong vith your left leg. Now pull yourself
together and…" The sergeant was interrupted as a new cadet entered the gym.
He was a canine, but what species Fox couldn't be sure. He had thick silvery fur and a
bushy tail that made Fox think that he may have been an arctic fox at first. But he was
too solidly built to be a fox; his ears were smaller than a fox's and his muzzle was
larger and more wolf-like. He was wearing a uniform, which consisted of a pair of
black fatigues, a flowing long black coat, a black collarless shirt and a pair of shiny
black jackboots with silver buckles on the straps. On the lapel of his coat, a small
crest of a silver sword with ivory wings on a circle of gold, shone like a star against
the blackness of his uniform.
As he walked across to the sergeant, Fox also notice that he walked with a slight limp,
as if he had recently pulled a muscle. Even so, he carried himself with an air of quiet
confidence. And there was a slight sense of aloofness in his manner, but not
arrogance. He didn't think he was better than the other cadets, he knew he was better.
Every one in the gym stopped what they were doing and an odd hush fell over the
entire hall. Only the click of the newcomer's finely polished jackboots broke the
silence as he walked across and handed sergeant Herrman a data-pad and saluted
smartly, not saying a word.
Accepting the data-pad, Herrman read it and then boomed out loud, "Hmmm, cadet
Edward Weldon is it? What happened to your leg?" The cadet answered immediately
in a clear, measured tone of voice, "Yes sir, that is correct. And my limp is the result
of an injury sustained during the inter-academy war games last week sir, but nothing
serious," He responded curtly. His accent sounded Fortunian, but the soothing and
melodious voice that typified the ice world's inhabitants had a cool and ever so
slightly unnerving undertone to it, like a dagger wrapped in a silk handkerchief.
"In that case, fall in with your class mates and we will continue," The sergeant
boomed. Then without hesitation, the new cadet threw off his coat and shirt. Stripped
down to the waist, it was clear that he was in top physical condition. He was about
Fox's height and although he was lean, he was also well muscled. Taking up his
position with the other cadets, cadet Weldon seemed even more imposing in just his
fatigues and jackboots than he did in full uniform.
"This is cadet Edward Weldon. He is joining this cadet company as part of the cadet
exchange program from the Tallius academy on Macbeth. Although he may wear the
uniform of our rivals, for now at least he is a student like you and will be treated as
such," Sergeant Herrman announced. As he was speaking, the sergeant held the
practice droid controller behind his back and activated the droids nearest to Weldon.
Instantly the first droid charged Weldon from behind and launched itself at him.
However, the young canine simply turned and caught the droid with a kick to the face.
Grabbing its forearm as it fell, he rammed it down into his knee, snapping its spine.
The second droid then came at him from the side, but he dealt with this one just as
easily. As the droid lashed out with a front kick aimed at his chest, he nimbly dodged
to one side and then dodged in towards his opponent. Suddenly with a deep snarl, he
latched his powerful jaws around the droids neck and tore out its throat with his sharp
white fangs.
The dark blue fluid that passed for simulated blood in the practice droids, covered
Weldon's jaws and upper torso. Every cadet in the gym stood open mouthed at the
Tallius cadet's ferocity and the savagery with which he finished off his second
opponent. All that is except for Aiko who grinned gleefully at having someone else
who used her fighting style. Sergeant Herrman also seemed to be impressed.
Aiko (who was also covered in the blue fluid) turned to her classmates and said, "See,
I told you that was a great trick. Except that stuff is so hard to get out of silks and it's
so high in calories. They should fill these things with diet Coke, because its better for
my figure and I think the other stuff is dying my teeth blue as well," Pointing to her
own equally impressive fangs. Her classmates cringed away in fear. As frightening as
Aiko seemed normally, the thought of her on caffeine was simply a terrifying concept.
All across the academy, the faculty were trying to limit the various sources of caffeine
to an absolute minimum to try and reduce the number of Aiko related injuries.
Tossing Weldon a towel, He said, "Very good cadet, very impressive indeed. I see
that they obviously use that training technique on Macbeth as well. But let us see how
good you are against a living opponent." Looking about the gym for a suitable
candidate as Weldon wiped himself clean and made for the main sparring ring. Aiko
jumped up and down excitedly with her hand raised going, "Oh, oh me sir, pick me,"
Desperate to face off against Weldon, whom she had decided was a kindred spirit.
The sergeant made his decision and his gaze came to rest on Fara. "Phoenix, front and
centre," The huge Alsatian barked. Fara took a moment to respond, still a little
spooked by the silver furred killer's viciousness. It took a lot to intimidate Fara, but
she was intimidated for only a few moments and she quickly jogged over to the centre
of the gym where Weldon was already waiting for her.
The two combatants bowed to one another and limbered up. It seemed that they were
doing this to intimidate each other as much as to prepare. As she fell into stance, Fara
sized her opponent up. "Alright, he's probably stronger than me, but that injury
should slow him down giving me the advantage," She thought to herself. Weldon then
took up his own fighting stance and locked his eyes with Fara's. His eyes were bright
blue and seemed to blaze in his sockets like tiny orbs of frozen fire.
Fara was taken aback for a second by the intensity of those eyes; it felt for a moment
as if she had seen them before somewhere. But then she just shook it off and focused.
"The match will be decided by best of three falls. Begin," Sergeant Herrman barked
loudly. No sooner had the match started, Weldon lashed out and hit Fara in the side
with a powerful hook punch. She was struck hard right where her ribs still ached
having just recently healed after her fight with the unknown sniper on Zoness. As the
pain shot through her side, Weldon darted forward and hooked his leg around Fara's.
He then pushed and tripped her up over his leg, throwing her to the mat heavily. The
breath was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground hard. She lay there for a
moment slightly dazed. Then to her surprise, her opponent held out his hand and
helped her up.
"Thank you," She said as she regained her feet. But Weldon said nothing; he just
stood back and fell into stance again. If anything, his eyes burned even colder. Fara
just fell into stance as well. Just as fast as his first attack, Weldon lashed out again.
This time however, Fara was ready. As the larger canine kicked out aiming for her
head, Fara dodged to the side and slung in low. She elbowed him in the back
knocking him forward a few steps, but he maintained his balance. Not letting up, she
kicked him across the face as he turned round and followed up with a flying spinkick
that struck him hard across the face. Weldon was thrown spinning for several feet
before landing on the mat with a loud thud that reverberated through the gym.
Just as Weldon had helped her up, Fara offered a paw to him. The look on his face
was not one of anger as he stood up and retook his position, but one of recognition of
their own mutual mistakes. She had underestimated his speed and he had
underestimated her power and tenacity. It was a mistake both of them had learned.
The final round would be hard fought and vicious. Across the gym, Fox stood open
mouthed at the newcomer's performance. "How could he move like that? I thought
that he was injured, but he's moving like there's no injury at all," He thought to
himself. Then he noticed the grimace on Weldon's face. He was hiding it, but Fox
could see that Weldon was in pain. His every movement had been agony, but he had
suppressed it and fought on regardless of his pain. Try as he might, Fox just couldn't
think of any reason why someone would needlessly put them selves through that kind
of punishment.
With a loud shout Fara charged, taking the offensive this time. She punched at
Weldon's face, but he cross-blocked her attack and swept his leg round to knock her
legs out from under her. His kick was foiled when she jumped over his sweep, mantis
kicking him in the chest and kicking back a step or two. In return, he hit her with a
double spring kick as she landed, hitting her in the stomach and face. The kick to the
face made her lip bleed and threw her backwards. But Fara skilfully recovered,
landing on her hands and springing up before she hit the mat. As she gracefully
landed on her feet, he sprang forward into a front kick intended to knock her over
again. In stead she nimbly dodged to one side, catching his leg and then head butting
him. Fara's head-butt hit him hard on the side of the muzzle, painting the side of his
face red. In response, he hit her again in the ribs as she still held on to his leg. The
short, sharp pain to her ribs made her release his leg as the shock ran through her
torso.
With his leg free, he went on the offensive again, with a two-punch and backhand
combo. Fara blocked the first punch, but was hit by the second and then spun round
by the backhand. Using the force of the backhand's impact, she swung her leg out in a
scything roundhouse kick that struck him squarely across the face and spun him in
turn. Not giving him a chance to recover, she hit him in the back knocking Weldon to
his knees.
The match wouldn't end until his whole body hit the mat, so Fara prepared to finish
him off. But as she approached to kick him over, he snarled out loudly and spun
round. Again and again he hit Fara in the ribs and then stood up and hit across the face
twice with sidekicks that drew fresh blood from her right cheek, followed by an
uppercut to the gut that doubled her over. Now it was his turn to finish her off but
instead, she stood up strait again and kicked Weldon in the gut, back flipping off and
giving him a black eye as she kneed him in the face. He returned her kick with a hand
edge blow to the side of the neck. Both of them bared their teeth and snarled, but
suddenly a loud German voice boomed across the gym.
"That's enough, both of you. Cadet Phoenix, cadet Weldon, stand down," The
sergeant shouted. Both Fara and Weldon were panting and gasping for breath, on the
verge of collapse. The two of them were bruised and bleeding and it looked like
neither one of them would have been willing to back down had the sergeant not
intervened. "The two of you get checked out by the medics and then hit the showers. I
think you've earned it," He continued. With a nod and a salute, both Weldon and Fara
made their way to the locker rooms and the first aid staff there.
Even after his fight and the myriad injuries, Weldon's silver fur (stained as it was by
both his own blood and that of the practice droids) and stance still maintained their
lustre and dignity as he picked up his shirt and coat on his way out. Watching him,
Fox turned to Bill and said, "I'm not sure, but I think that guy would have fought to
the death if to win," A slight tremor was audible in his voice. Bill just looked at him
and replied, "Dude, you saw Fara. I think they would have both fought to the death!"
Meanwhile, out of sight from his new classmates Weldon looked about him to make
sure there was absolutely no one around. Satisfied that he was alone, he let his
seemingly regal composure go and fell to the ground, growling in pain. He almost
passed out as the agony from his previous injury mingled with the fresh ones he had
just received. He'd underestimated Fara out there just as he had when they had fought
on Zoness. He should have learned that lesson the first time and now he was paying
the price of that.
To be continued…
It had been about a week since the inter-academy war games on Zoness but Fara's ribs
ached and her head still throbbed from the blow she'd received from the blue-eyed
swordsman who ambushed her. The exercise had been an unmitigated disaster when
every other recon team had been ambushed and wiped out just like hers had.
In a matter of hours the Cornerian forces had been outflanked and destroyed with
alarming speed and ferocity. Who ever had been leading the assault, had clearly been
a gifted commander and skilled tactician.
The halls of the Cornerian military academy were buzzing with rumours that the
Tallius academy forces had won due to a battle plan devised by a single student. Of
course there was nothing to back this up, but still the rumours persisted. Dropping off
her books in her locker, Fara turned to her two best friends Kat Munroe and Aiko
Motoshiro.
Aiko was a border collie who had dark sandy coloured fur, long matching hair, white
fur on her muzzle and paws with lighter orange patches under her deep brown eyes.
Personality wise however, she was best described as blond, but in a scary kind of way.
It wasn't really for anything she did, but rather the "happy, happy, joy, joy way in
which she would snap the practice droid's necks like dry twigs and then drop the
bodies because they had stopped making entertaining noises. She was famous across
the academy for being able to colour coordinate her accessories with oxygenated
blood.
To that end she wore a set of silver hair clips and a sunset pink neckerchief with her
dark blue academy uniform jacket and fatigues. Fara and Kat wore the same uniform
but unlike Aiko, they didn't accessorize.
"You look down. I know it was a pretty big thing, what with your team being one of
the first to picked off and all, but you've got to get over this kind of thing sugar.
You've got the rest of semester to worry about," Kat said, watching her friend's look
of concern. "Yeah, like its not as if there's some mad scientist out there who gonna
declare war on us or something," Aiko added chirpily.
Despite the Bellaire accent and blond personality, Aiko was a lot smarter than she
appeared. She already excelled in ground combat and piloting as well as having high
degree of skill in chemistry. She made her own hair-care and beauty products, which
in a pinch could also be used as high power explosives. It had also been rumoured that
the Cornerian Intelligence Agency were already interested in her as a "Special Ops"
agent.
"Its not the ambush that I'm thinking about. It's that guy that ambushed us. I can't get
him out of my head," Fara replied. Ever since her fight with the mysterious canine
commando, she couldn't stop thinking about his bright burning blue eyes. They had
blazed like blue flames in her mind, not dimming with time. They were fresh in her
mind now as they were when they had bugged out after she kicked him in the balls.
"Hmmm, sounds personal to me," Kat chipped in smiling. Aiko just looked confused
for a moment and said, "Huh? So, like is this a "We must go shopping immediately,
I'm in love" kind of thing?" Kat just looked at her and said, "Uh, Aiko, I think this is
more of a raging need for revenge kind of thing. Besides, Fara's got Fox." Aiko
smiled in comprehension and said, "Oh, I see. Well Fara? If you don't want this guy,
can I have him?" In addition to being blond and semi-psychotic, Aiko was also a boy
crazy flirt.
"Two of your last boyfriends ended up in the infirmary after your first date didn't
they?" Fara asked, grinning evilly. "Yeah, well how was I supposed to know that their
rib cages were so fragile," Aiko replied, giving the dismayed-blond-whimper. It was
theorised that if Aiko's dismayed-blond-whimper were passed through a high-
powered microphone, it would shatter bones at fifty yards. They weren't really sure
what would happen if they tried it with her happy-blond-squeal, but it would probably
fall under Beta Aqaulea convention on weapons of mass destruction.
Kat just smiled at Aiko and said, "Don't fret hon, there's plenty of fish in the sea.
Besides, we've got close combat class next. That always cheers you up." Aiko's ears
suddenly pricked up and her eyes lit up. Everyone in the corridor quickly covered
their ears and hit the deck as she let loose the dreaded happy-blond-squeal. As the
high-pitched noise subsided a dark-furred ermine, one of the combat engineering
students walked past on his way to the infirmary, his glasses shattered and his ears
bleeding.
"We really ought to issue a five minute warning to clear the room before we do that,"
Fara said, picking herself off the floor and wondering if that ermine would get his
hearing back in time for the midterms. Aiko just hopped up and down with a frankly
quite frighteningly happy look on her face, normally reserved for when a practice
android made a particularly entertaining noise as it broke in half.
The gym was about fifty meters long and thirty wide. At one end was the weight
training and gymnastic equipment, at the other end was the sparring area with fall
mats, kicking bags and storage crates for the practice droids.
Practice droids were generically anthropomorphic robots, designed to mimic a living
opponent of various species in every way when it came to their movements, athletic
prowess and most of all when they broke. They were built with synthetic muscles on a
ceramic skeleton based on real bone and would crack just like real bones.
They could move and fight just like a real live enemy. But the blank featureless skins
could be highly disturbing to look at, like something half-finished, a person without
fur or a face.
Fara's cadet company was assembled and warming up with stretches as well as a few
light aerobics. For close combat, the cadets wore more casual clothing than their
uniforms such as fatigues and vest. Aiko on the other hand wore a pair of pink shorts
the same shade as her neckerchief and a matching crop-top and high-heeled sparkly
go-go boots.
Despite the injuries sustained during the war games on Zoness, Fox, Fara and the
other cadets were still in full physical training. At the academy, they believed that an
injury meant a change in training rather than a break in it.
Sergeant Herrman, a brawny German shepherd with a huge broad back and a large
raking scar across the left hand side of his face strode in and barked out orders, "TEN
HUT. Alright, lets get started, shall ve?" He shouted as the cadets snapped to
attention. Producing a data-pad from behind his back, he read out the role call,
checking off each student in turn, "Denton, Phoenix, Grey, Sorenson, White,
McCloud, Munroe, MOTOSHIRO?" Double taking as he looked up and saw Aiko
grinning at him. Calmly Herrman put down the pad and barked, "MEDICS."
Almost immediately, a first aid team jogged in and got set up for the almost inevitable
injuries that seemed to occur around Aiko during sparring (that she was usually
responsible for). "Alright, today ve vill begin with the practice droids to varm up vith
and then ve shall be moving on to sparring vith each other. According to the reports,
almost all of you vere engaged and eliminated in hand to hand combat, so that vill be
our emphasis for today's session," The sergeant yelled, extra emphasis added by his
thick German accent.
A practice droid was released from its storage crate, one for each cadet. They moved
with a stiff, almost rigid posture but then fell into a combat stance as they reached
their assigned cadet. Herrman operated a small handheld control pad that adjusted the
droid's skill level, fighting style and physical ability to suit each individual student.
Generally the students already possessed some level of training in various martial arts;
this class was more about honing those skills and how to use them most effectively.
"You may begin," Herrman shouted, activating the droids fully. Instantly, the droids
exploded into action, automatically taking the offensive. As her droid sprung forward,
Fara also took the offensive. The droid's limited AI was incapable of anticipating
anything but a logical strategy and took a few seconds to reset itself and react, by that
time of course Fara kicked it in the gut and pushed herself up on its pelvis, driving her
knee into it's face.
Although it was knocked sprawling to the ground, the droid quickly recovered and
sprung up onto its feet, immediately lashing out and hitting Fara in the side of the
muzzle, spinning her around like a top. Stunned for a moment, Fara then cried out in
surprise and pain as the sparring robot hammer punched her in the small of her back.
As she fell to her knees, out of the corner of her eye Fara could see it sweeping its leg
up to finish her with an axe kick to the back. Reacting quickly, she back kicked the
droid in the ankle with an audible crack of bones. The droid fell soundlessly to the
gym floor. As it fell Fara caught its neck between her legs and slammed it down with
all her strength, snapping its neck like a twig "killing" it instantly.
"Excellent Phoenix, I'm glad to see that you have improved since our last class,"
Herrman called out from across the gym. Fox on the other hand was not doing so well
against his practice droid. His leg was still bound up and hadn't fully healed from
having been skewered by a sword yet. The droid was taking full advantage of this
fact, kicking him in the side of his leg, dropping him to the mat in pain. As Fox hit the
mat for the fifth time, Sergeant Herrman deactivated the practice droid and shouted,
"McCloud, what are you doing? You are better than this, I have seen you do better."
"It's not my fault sir," Fox replied as he stood up, sore and bruised. "My right leg is
still injured from the exercise last week," He said, slightly pleadingly. The sergeant
was having none of it, "That is a poor excuse for a poor performance. Your right leg
may be injured but there is nothing-wrong vith your left leg. Now pull yourself
together and…" The sergeant was interrupted as a new cadet entered the gym.
He was a canine, but what species Fox couldn't be sure. He had thick silvery fur and a
bushy tail that made Fox think that he may have been an arctic fox at first. But he was
too solidly built to be a fox; his ears were smaller than a fox's and his muzzle was
larger and more wolf-like. He was wearing a uniform, which consisted of a pair of
black fatigues, a flowing long black coat, a black collarless shirt and a pair of shiny
black jackboots with silver buckles on the straps. On the lapel of his coat, a small
crest of a silver sword with ivory wings on a circle of gold, shone like a star against
the blackness of his uniform.
As he walked across to the sergeant, Fox also notice that he walked with a slight limp,
as if he had recently pulled a muscle. Even so, he carried himself with an air of quiet
confidence. And there was a slight sense of aloofness in his manner, but not
arrogance. He didn't think he was better than the other cadets, he knew he was better.
Every one in the gym stopped what they were doing and an odd hush fell over the
entire hall. Only the click of the newcomer's finely polished jackboots broke the
silence as he walked across and handed sergeant Herrman a data-pad and saluted
smartly, not saying a word.
Accepting the data-pad, Herrman read it and then boomed out loud, "Hmmm, cadet
Edward Weldon is it? What happened to your leg?" The cadet answered immediately
in a clear, measured tone of voice, "Yes sir, that is correct. And my limp is the result
of an injury sustained during the inter-academy war games last week sir, but nothing
serious," He responded curtly. His accent sounded Fortunian, but the soothing and
melodious voice that typified the ice world's inhabitants had a cool and ever so
slightly unnerving undertone to it, like a dagger wrapped in a silk handkerchief.
"In that case, fall in with your class mates and we will continue," The sergeant
boomed. Then without hesitation, the new cadet threw off his coat and shirt. Stripped
down to the waist, it was clear that he was in top physical condition. He was about
Fox's height and although he was lean, he was also well muscled. Taking up his
position with the other cadets, cadet Weldon seemed even more imposing in just his
fatigues and jackboots than he did in full uniform.
"This is cadet Edward Weldon. He is joining this cadet company as part of the cadet
exchange program from the Tallius academy on Macbeth. Although he may wear the
uniform of our rivals, for now at least he is a student like you and will be treated as
such," Sergeant Herrman announced. As he was speaking, the sergeant held the
practice droid controller behind his back and activated the droids nearest to Weldon.
Instantly the first droid charged Weldon from behind and launched itself at him.
However, the young canine simply turned and caught the droid with a kick to the face.
Grabbing its forearm as it fell, he rammed it down into his knee, snapping its spine.
The second droid then came at him from the side, but he dealt with this one just as
easily. As the droid lashed out with a front kick aimed at his chest, he nimbly dodged
to one side and then dodged in towards his opponent. Suddenly with a deep snarl, he
latched his powerful jaws around the droids neck and tore out its throat with his sharp
white fangs.
The dark blue fluid that passed for simulated blood in the practice droids, covered
Weldon's jaws and upper torso. Every cadet in the gym stood open mouthed at the
Tallius cadet's ferocity and the savagery with which he finished off his second
opponent. All that is except for Aiko who grinned gleefully at having someone else
who used her fighting style. Sergeant Herrman also seemed to be impressed.
Aiko (who was also covered in the blue fluid) turned to her classmates and said, "See,
I told you that was a great trick. Except that stuff is so hard to get out of silks and it's
so high in calories. They should fill these things with diet Coke, because its better for
my figure and I think the other stuff is dying my teeth blue as well," Pointing to her
own equally impressive fangs. Her classmates cringed away in fear. As frightening as
Aiko seemed normally, the thought of her on caffeine was simply a terrifying concept.
All across the academy, the faculty were trying to limit the various sources of caffeine
to an absolute minimum to try and reduce the number of Aiko related injuries.
Tossing Weldon a towel, He said, "Very good cadet, very impressive indeed. I see
that they obviously use that training technique on Macbeth as well. But let us see how
good you are against a living opponent." Looking about the gym for a suitable
candidate as Weldon wiped himself clean and made for the main sparring ring. Aiko
jumped up and down excitedly with her hand raised going, "Oh, oh me sir, pick me,"
Desperate to face off against Weldon, whom she had decided was a kindred spirit.
The sergeant made his decision and his gaze came to rest on Fara. "Phoenix, front and
centre," The huge Alsatian barked. Fara took a moment to respond, still a little
spooked by the silver furred killer's viciousness. It took a lot to intimidate Fara, but
she was intimidated for only a few moments and she quickly jogged over to the centre
of the gym where Weldon was already waiting for her.
The two combatants bowed to one another and limbered up. It seemed that they were
doing this to intimidate each other as much as to prepare. As she fell into stance, Fara
sized her opponent up. "Alright, he's probably stronger than me, but that injury
should slow him down giving me the advantage," She thought to herself. Weldon then
took up his own fighting stance and locked his eyes with Fara's. His eyes were bright
blue and seemed to blaze in his sockets like tiny orbs of frozen fire.
Fara was taken aback for a second by the intensity of those eyes; it felt for a moment
as if she had seen them before somewhere. But then she just shook it off and focused.
"The match will be decided by best of three falls. Begin," Sergeant Herrman barked
loudly. No sooner had the match started, Weldon lashed out and hit Fara in the side
with a powerful hook punch. She was struck hard right where her ribs still ached
having just recently healed after her fight with the unknown sniper on Zoness. As the
pain shot through her side, Weldon darted forward and hooked his leg around Fara's.
He then pushed and tripped her up over his leg, throwing her to the mat heavily. The
breath was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground hard. She lay there for a
moment slightly dazed. Then to her surprise, her opponent held out his hand and
helped her up.
"Thank you," She said as she regained her feet. But Weldon said nothing; he just
stood back and fell into stance again. If anything, his eyes burned even colder. Fara
just fell into stance as well. Just as fast as his first attack, Weldon lashed out again.
This time however, Fara was ready. As the larger canine kicked out aiming for her
head, Fara dodged to the side and slung in low. She elbowed him in the back
knocking him forward a few steps, but he maintained his balance. Not letting up, she
kicked him across the face as he turned round and followed up with a flying spinkick
that struck him hard across the face. Weldon was thrown spinning for several feet
before landing on the mat with a loud thud that reverberated through the gym.
Just as Weldon had helped her up, Fara offered a paw to him. The look on his face
was not one of anger as he stood up and retook his position, but one of recognition of
their own mutual mistakes. She had underestimated his speed and he had
underestimated her power and tenacity. It was a mistake both of them had learned.
The final round would be hard fought and vicious. Across the gym, Fox stood open
mouthed at the newcomer's performance. "How could he move like that? I thought
that he was injured, but he's moving like there's no injury at all," He thought to
himself. Then he noticed the grimace on Weldon's face. He was hiding it, but Fox
could see that Weldon was in pain. His every movement had been agony, but he had
suppressed it and fought on regardless of his pain. Try as he might, Fox just couldn't
think of any reason why someone would needlessly put them selves through that kind
of punishment.
With a loud shout Fara charged, taking the offensive this time. She punched at
Weldon's face, but he cross-blocked her attack and swept his leg round to knock her
legs out from under her. His kick was foiled when she jumped over his sweep, mantis
kicking him in the chest and kicking back a step or two. In return, he hit her with a
double spring kick as she landed, hitting her in the stomach and face. The kick to the
face made her lip bleed and threw her backwards. But Fara skilfully recovered,
landing on her hands and springing up before she hit the mat. As she gracefully
landed on her feet, he sprang forward into a front kick intended to knock her over
again. In stead she nimbly dodged to one side, catching his leg and then head butting
him. Fara's head-butt hit him hard on the side of the muzzle, painting the side of his
face red. In response, he hit her again in the ribs as she still held on to his leg. The
short, sharp pain to her ribs made her release his leg as the shock ran through her
torso.
With his leg free, he went on the offensive again, with a two-punch and backhand
combo. Fara blocked the first punch, but was hit by the second and then spun round
by the backhand. Using the force of the backhand's impact, she swung her leg out in a
scything roundhouse kick that struck him squarely across the face and spun him in
turn. Not giving him a chance to recover, she hit him in the back knocking Weldon to
his knees.
The match wouldn't end until his whole body hit the mat, so Fara prepared to finish
him off. But as she approached to kick him over, he snarled out loudly and spun
round. Again and again he hit Fara in the ribs and then stood up and hit across the face
twice with sidekicks that drew fresh blood from her right cheek, followed by an
uppercut to the gut that doubled her over. Now it was his turn to finish her off but
instead, she stood up strait again and kicked Weldon in the gut, back flipping off and
giving him a black eye as she kneed him in the face. He returned her kick with a hand
edge blow to the side of the neck. Both of them bared their teeth and snarled, but
suddenly a loud German voice boomed across the gym.
"That's enough, both of you. Cadet Phoenix, cadet Weldon, stand down," The
sergeant shouted. Both Fara and Weldon were panting and gasping for breath, on the
verge of collapse. The two of them were bruised and bleeding and it looked like
neither one of them would have been willing to back down had the sergeant not
intervened. "The two of you get checked out by the medics and then hit the showers. I
think you've earned it," He continued. With a nod and a salute, both Weldon and Fara
made their way to the locker rooms and the first aid staff there.
Even after his fight and the myriad injuries, Weldon's silver fur (stained as it was by
both his own blood and that of the practice droids) and stance still maintained their
lustre and dignity as he picked up his shirt and coat on his way out. Watching him,
Fox turned to Bill and said, "I'm not sure, but I think that guy would have fought to
the death if to win," A slight tremor was audible in his voice. Bill just looked at him
and replied, "Dude, you saw Fara. I think they would have both fought to the death!"
Meanwhile, out of sight from his new classmates Weldon looked about him to make
sure there was absolutely no one around. Satisfied that he was alone, he let his
seemingly regal composure go and fell to the ground, growling in pain. He almost
passed out as the agony from his previous injury mingled with the fresh ones he had
just received. He'd underestimated Fara out there just as he had when they had fought
on Zoness. He should have learned that lesson the first time and now he was paying
the price of that.
To be continued…