The Path We Choose Ch15: Roktris.

The Baron pulled out two Shock Blades. He yelled into the translator, "I am Roktris, Winter Baron! And I accept the challenge from..." "Geren, Captain of the Maverick." Geren supplied. "Very well, Geren." Two Dregs ran up and untied Moron. They dragged him to the side of the arena. The pikes were also driven to the side. "Fight!" Roktris yelled. Roktris lunged forwards, hoping to catch Geren off balance. But Geren sidestepped, allowing the Baron to slide past him. Geren swung with all his might, bringing his blades down on the Baron's back. If not for the armor, the blow would cut deeply. As it was, Geren's blades hut with a thud, but not doing any damage. Roktris whirled around, taking a swipe at Geren. Geren narrowly avoided losing his head, as he ducked. He dove forward, rolling between the Baron's legs. He came up, and slashed his blade across the back of Roktris's knees, where the armor was weakest. The Baron roared on pain as he fell to one knee. Geren immediately slashed at the Baron's head, but Roktris was no fool. He spun and blocked the blow, then slammed a fist into Geren's stomach. Geren flew backwards until he crashed into the ground, breathless. Roktris jumped to his feet and began to charge. Geren stood up, and evaluated his options. [i]"I could dive through his feet and catch him on the back again?" "No, no, no. He would simply use the momentum from his strike to carry him around to block." "Remember, when you are in a fight, aim for the weak points." "I'll try to remember that."[/i] Roktris unleashed a wicked swipe at Geren. Geren ducked underneath the blow, and slashed upwards at Roktris's armpit. Again the blade split the weak armor. The Baron staggered, holding his side. He turned to face Geren, just in time to see Geren's blade split the air in front of his face. The blade cleaved several pipes connecting his mask to his Ether supply tanks. Roktris gasped for breath, trying to stop the flow of Ether. As he tried to hold his mask in place, Geren's Shock Blade penetrated his side armor. He fell forwards, onto his face. Geren walked over to the Vandal holding his shotgun, and ripped it from the Vandal's grasp. He then walked back over to the Baron. Roktris was still struggling to breathe. "There is no shame in this." he said. Roktris closed his eyes, and Geren took the shot. Silence reigned over the crowd. Then the Captain who had brought Moron and Sully spoke. "Coward! You speak of honor but you would kill a man who is helpless! There will be no escape for you! You will not be set free!" Geren looked at him and raised his eyebrow. "You seriously think I would be stupid enough to believe that you would keep your word? I'm not moron! No offense." the last remark was directed to Moron. "Then what was the purpose of the fight?" asked the Captain. "I was just buying time." Geren said. "For what?" The Captain asked. "This." Geren replied. A massive explosion sounded behind them, and the biggest tent disappeared in a fireball. Ships appeared in the sky, firing missiles. "It is the Dead Soldiers!" The Captain yelled. "Sound the alarm!" Geren took off running. In the confusion of explosions and Fallen running left and right, no one paid him any attention. He quickly found Moron and Sully being dragged off towards the cages by several Vandals. A few shots from his gun, and they were free. "Why are the City's forces here?" Sully asked, wincing in pain. He was being carried by Geren and Moron, who were not very gentle. "I sent Soren and Myra back to the ship to call them here. With a little luck, the City will be happy with saving these people, and let us off the hook along with some repairs." Geren said. "You trust those devils?" Moron asked. "Right now, I don't have a choice." He replied. They quickly made their way up the ridge, and back to the Maverick. Two guardian ships were waiting. A Titan stood talking to Myra and Soren. He turned as they approached. "My name is Tierian. I am the leader of fireteam Dragon, and on behalf of the City, we want to thank you, for your help in aiding our efforts to shut this mining colony down." "You're very welcome. Anything we can do to help." Geren said, an award winning smile on his face. "Come, we can heal your comrade in our ship. We will have yours towed back to the City for repairs." "Thank you." Geren said. They all boarded the ship, as it lifted off. With a roar, the ship disappeared amongst the stars. [i]note, I will be taking a short break from writing. I should begin again in a week or so. I will still be active during this time. To all authors out there, keep writing.[/i]