The Mark of Duty

As soon as the duel started I saw a hundred ways to end it. Her blade was beautifully made and would do less than nothing to stop my sword from bisecting it and reducing her to a headless body skidding across the floor. My warrior instincts screamed for blood, but my own sense of honor curbed it. I thumbed off my blade, deflecting her first swing easily. She started an assault that served little purpose besides earning my interest. My feet shuffled to the side as an ill-timed stab whiffed harmlessly beside me. I slid my blade upwards, unbalancing her blade. With a twist of my blade, her sword went flying, and the guard on the reverse side of the chainsword rested against her neck. The hall was silent before I raised an eyebrow, looking to the sword. "You going to get that. I would hate to strike at an unarmed combatant." My blade snaked its way into the ground beside me. I rested my chin on it, quirking my head. "Unless you'd prefer to concede now. THough I would respect you less for it."

Ruby glared at me, keeping both eyes on me as she stepped back to her blade, stooping down while watching me. She slowly lowered herself into a slightly different stance, her sword above her head in a defensive pattern. I nodded. "A wise choice now that you've realized an offensive attack is worthless. Before we begin again may I ask a question?"

She blew a lock of hair out of her face. "If you must."

I nodded. "Fair. Do you dance?"

She paused, her sword wavering. "I fail to see how that it relevant."

I shrugged, standing again as I drew my sword up to my waist. "It is utterly irrelevant. However, the way you move carries a certain grace that I thought familiar. I would hazard you practiced ballet at some point, at least long enough to retain their fluid movements."

Ruby nodded. "Yes, ten years of ballet before the foundation made an offer. Then I moved onto tactical and blade combat. Mostly because the opportunity was too good to pass up."

I nodded, flipping my blade up to a low ready in one hand. "Of course, and you are a fair opponent. I shall endeavor to make this bout as fair as possible." I put my free hand behind my back, turning my side to Ruby And raising my blade. "I'm sure you'll forgive a misstep or two on my part. I'm afraid I haven't tried fencing for a longer time than you can imagine."

She grimaced, stepping forward slowly. If she wanted to play defensively then I would give her a few strikes to practice with. I sent a low swipe to her left, which she deflected. I could have powered through, but I was curious to see how she responded. She raised her blade in time for a swipe from the right, which she deflected by locking the blades. I clicked my teeth. "Come now dear, I'm sure you noticed the design of my blade." I twisted my wrist wrenching the blade upwards and was surprised when she relinquished the blade. Without her hand it slid down, leaving my blade high as she caught her own and dived forward. To be honest it should have been a fatal error on my part, spending to long playing with food and whatnot. With my body at its current angle, her blade should have slid expertly between my ribs, finding purchase in either lungs or heart. However, I was more than a man.

The blade sunk a few inches into my skin, sending the same dull feedback as the rounds I had taken earlier. I looked down at it with a confused expression. "Interesting, you're better than I gave you credit for." She pulled back but found her blade sealed into the wound by my own clotted blood. I raised a hand. "Allow me, Ms. Ruby." I reached around the blade, pulling it free with a brief flash of pain I inspected the blade, noticing a small nick at the top of the blade. I flipped it over so the grip remained in my hand. "May I inspect your weapon for a moment ma'am?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You're already holding it." I offered it back to her, but she paused. "Yes, but only if I can look at yours."

My footsteps were heavy as I flipped my weapon around, holding the reinforced parrying edge with my bare hand. "Beware, it is a heavy beast." She took it, and her body shuddered at the heavy weight of the weapon. It was not so heavy as to be unliftable, but most people do not expect a weapon I wield so easily to weigh over thirty pounds. Then again, a third of it was the self-sustaining energy core tucked into the grip.

With her appeased I took the time to look over her blade. There was little in the way of adornment, the only decoration a small inlay of gold in the center, a strange script flowing up and down the blade. The steel itself was both well-made and well-maintained. I ran a thumb across the edge, a small splatter of blood sprouting to match the red at the tip of the sword. I nodded. "A fine weapon young warrior. A worthy addition to any of mankind's various arsenals." I flipped the sword through the air, catching the blade. I proffered the grip to her. "Take it, and we shall resume where we left off."

I heard a female voice shout from behind me. "MARXIE, WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO DAMN LONG? I GOT SHOT AND WOULD REALLY LIKE THE FUN STUFF YOU KEEP AT OUR PLACE!!"

I paused, looking over at Alice as she stood with one leg slightly cocked while she leaned against a wall. "A shame, I'm afraid I shall have to end this without proper etiquette for one of your skill. I apologize, Ms. Ruby."

She spit on the ground beside her feet, a flash of rage appearing in her eyes. "So what, you were playing with me?"

I shook my head. "Oh perish the thought. You simply literally couldn't keep up without a handicap, and a duel should be as fair as possible." I raised my blade. "If it's any consolation I shall refrain from wounding you any worse than I have suffered myself."

She growled as she advanced, and the duel was decided there. I slipped forward as she went for a low slash, raising my prosthetic leg where it met blade with the solid clang of steel on steel. Her eyes widened as my blade revved, roaring through the air. It didn't slow as it slipped under her ankle bone, cleanly removing her foot from her body. I dropped the blade and caught her as she fell, shock already setting in as her blade clattered to the floor. I held her up with one hand, lowering her to the ground as I dug around in the pack strapped to my belt. I pulled out a tourniquet, applying it swiftly below her knee. "Medic, I assume you can assist?"

I moved with sure hands, ripping the plain white shirt off my chest and using it to dab away the blood. I only noticed how many red spots were on it when I went for the first dab. I had apparently splattered more blood over myself than I thought in the fight. There was a rush of boot steps before a white-uniformed guard appeared beside me. "Remove your hand sir, I need to see the injury."

I moved the remains of my shirt away, and the guard peered at the wound. "Okay, one of you grunts, go to section four-twelve! I need you to drag Doctor Helpinghand awake and tell him to make a pirate special and make sure he adds in two extra doses of anti-inflammatories. This isn't the prettiest wound I've ever seen."

I dug around in my pack again, passing a sealed bottle of pills to the good medic. "It's not much, but I have some of these in my bag of tricks."

The medic scooped them up, reading the label before shaking her head. "Nope, don't know it off the top of my head. Gonna have to stick to our stockpiles." He began to rapidly dress the wound. "And someone with a radio call central and fill him in. I don't want to deal with any extra issues because the person that chopped off Ruby's leg is the only one trying to help!"

I nodded, grabbing Ruby's sword. I laid it down on her chest, taking both her hands to rest on the grip. I raised a hand in a quick salute as the medic moved to the side of the room, corraling a team of people wearing scrubs as they began rushing to Ruby. I turned around, heading to my merry band of fools as the looked at each other having a hushed conversation. I bent down on my trek, grabbing my helmet and vest as I walked up. I sheathed my sword with one hand, throwing my vest over me as I walked up. "Well, I'd say that went well. Is everyone here okay?"

Alice limped up, but nodded. "Yeah, Sunset got grabbed, but Tsubaki here took quite a bit of offense to that."

Tsubaki nodded, her pompadour bouncing with her head. "Hell yea, only a fuckin' coward goes after a kid like that." She paused, looking around. "Wait, hold up. Her names Sunset right?" I nodded, already guessing where this would go. "Oh shit, she threw a punch!" Tsubaki knelt down. "Sunset, kid. What size jacket you wear?"

Sunset blinked, and I followed. This was not where I saw this going. Sunset looked at Tsubaki for a second. "Uhm, I normally get a medium I think? Why?"

Tsubaki jumped up, grabbing me by the shoulders. "Big guy, I need you to send me back for like, a minute. I need to grab something and it's like, super fuckin' important!"

I flinched back. "Er, alright. I dismiss you from my service." Tsubaki jumped up, an audible pop sounding off as she disappeared. I looked at Alice and Sunset for a moment. "So, is everyone actually okay?"

Sunset nodded, walking up and wrapping me in a hug. She sniffled softly as I patted her head, digging her head under my vest. I felt a sharp intake of breath from her as she stumbled back, but was spared any questions by a guard walking up in full kit. It was a he, which was noteworthy enough in the group of guards I had seen so far. He had an smg holstered on his hip, and a pistol strapped to his chest. I took note of his walk as he approached, the quick, terse steps that betrayed his unease. He stopped in front of us, looking each one of us over. "Where's the last member of your group?"

I reached into a chest pouch, pulling out the hair gel and focusing on it. There was a crash as Tsubaki appeared in the air above us, falling onto her ass while clutching a leather jacket. She instantly jumped up, running to Sunset. "HEY KID! You did damn good, so you get a once in a lifetime offer!" Me and the guard both stared as Tsubaki jumped in the air, flipping and flying before pointing to the sky. "By my rank, I officially dub you into the Happy Horse Hierarchy as an honorary member!" She slowly floated down as her jacket whipped about without any wind to power. She held the jacket in front of her. "Please accept this complimentary jacket and swear to always fire on all cylinders."

Sunset stared at the jacket for a few moments before slowly reaching towards it. "Uh. Thanks, ma'am..."

Tsubaki waved her hand, taking a few steps back. "Nah, I ain't no ma'am. Just call me Tsu!" She turned to the guard and me, staring for a second. She leaned into me, raising a hand and whispering into my ear. "Hey, one of those guards is right beside you, and he looks like, super pissed."

The guard sighed. "Okay, I'm supposed to escort all of you home. In accordance with the deal, we're going to send a point of contact to you as soon as possible." He rested a hand on the small SMG at his hip. "Please follow me."

I nodded, looking at Alice. "Well, Alice did this go how you saw it?"

She looked at the bodies around us as various personnel began to catalog and treat the dead and wounded. She looked down at the bisected corpse on the floor as we passed it, covering Sunset's eyes. "Honestly? This is a lot less bloody than I thought it would be."