Tag Archives: Uncategorized

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #20

Brisa sat there for a few moments, paralyzed by fear.  Jaquan and his crew took their seats around the table.  None of them said a word.  Jaquan made it a point to sit just to the left of Brisa.  They waited in silence giving Brisa time to think.  Within a few minutes the servers brought food serving Brisa first.

Still, it took a little time for the truth to sink in: Catlin’s friends were the BigBad Crew.  Brisa thought back to their earlier conversations.  Each time Catlin giggled was a reaction to knowing this secret.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”  Brisa was still wearing the mask.  There was thin black cloth covering her eyes along with a painting of a mantis designed to hide were she was looking.  However, it was quite obvious that she was talking to Catlin.

“The first time we met, wasn’t under the best of circumstances,” was Catlin’s calm response.

“What do you mean?  You knocked on my cabin door.”

Neely was sitting to the right of Catlin.  He mumbled something to her.  Catlin whispered a barely loud enough for Brisa to hear, “I dropped it a few minutes ago.  We have to wait for her.”

After a time, she gathered her wits just enough to look them all in the eyes.  Almost all the BigBad Crew was there: Jaquan, Neely, and Liana still in her mech suit.  Even Justice was there.  Brisa wasn’t sure if he was an official member of the crew.  However, he had been with them since the championship victory party.  The only one missing was…

OH NO!

Catlin sat across the table from Brisa with a bored look.  Brisa had missed it all this time.  Catlin’s eyes were different than before.  Not red in black, not glowing, or spouting black flame, they were normal.  Still, there was no mistaking it.  Catlin had attacked her at the shuttle port.  The one she had the most reason to fear had just become her close friend in the last few hours.

Brisa’s thoughts of safety were nothing but illusionary smoke.  Catlin had tracked her down easily.  Within the first few minutes of the flight Catlin was knocking on her door.  Like a fool she opened the door embracing the enemy with open arms.

How did Catlin disguise herself so well?  She must have used something, perhaps an enchantment to hide herself.  She was never malicious and could have attacked at any time.  Instead, they had what Brisa thought was the most wonderful time.  Still Catlin used a trick to get close to her.  If she was truly repentant, she would have apologized at the beginning.

“I apologize for my reaction to you earlier,” Catlin said, “I thought for sure you were a spy.  I was looking for a good time to tell you but it never came.”

“We all apologize for our actions before,” Jaquan spoke up, “but now, let’s eat.”

Brisa was so full of conflicting emotions: ultimate deception by an enemy that had become a best friend; a lady that had given her so much to prove that she wasn’t what she had to be?  Brisa said as she got up from the table, “I’m sorry.  I can’t do this.”  She walked away from the table, back towards her cabin.  She half expected to be pulled back to the table and forced to sit.  Since she was not she assumed she was free to go.  Under the mask a tear left her eye.

Catlin stood almost grabbing at Brisa with her Kin-Po Talents but thought against it.  Instead she called, “We’re planning to leave for Bear Gate at hour seventeen.”

Brisa paused at the information then kept walking.  She was welcomed to join them but unsure if she wanted to.

“So,” Liana said, her mask altering her voice to that of a machine’s, “What do we do now?”

Jaquan simply answered, “We eat.”

#1 – Opportunity #19 – Opportunity #21

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #16

Metcalf accepted the challenge but first she needed to take a break.  The push drill was short, only thirty seconds, and it didn’t require her to move.  The extreme effort was there none the less.  She was sweating quite a bit.  Her armor wasn’t very good at letting heat out so she’ll be sweating for quite a bit longer.  She made a mental note to modify it later.

On her way to the water tank, students took notice of the push drill area.  It rarely used this time of year.  As such, the sudden air stagnation was new for most of the students there.  Even those used to the push drill would be surprised this time.  The air stopped enough that it was getting hard to breath.

On her way back from the water tank, there were students gathering around the pit to watch the next challenge.  Word spread pretty fast as always.  It was also hard to watch this drill from the bleachers.

The river stones were quite heavy.  Replacing one was a chore for motion skill classes.  It would usually take a team of students to remove an old one and bring out a new one.  This stone had seen a lot less abuse than most.  There was however that new crack down the center.

In years past, it was her trick to break a weakened stone into several pieces then push the pieces in different directions towards her opponent’s zone.  Dividing ones attention among separate targets was difficult especially for male students.

There was now a considerable audience at the motion drill pit.  She disliked showing off but Lance was much stronger than she expected.  She needed a better plan than last time.

Metcalf reached her platform.  To her surprise, all of Lance’s criteria were set already.  As always, if the stone reached the wall the match was over.  But this time, a greater proportion of points were given if the stone reached the wall earlier in the match.  She accepted the terms and their second round began.

At the bell, she pushed as hard as she could expect the same effort from Lance.  There was none, instead the stone moved quickly into Lance’s zone.  The screech was quite loud.  It seemed like Lance wasn’t doing anything this time.  She knew better than to check the other platform though.  She needed to be focused to win as many points as possible.  She may even hit his wall.

At three seconds into the match, the crowd was acting strangely.  They were all focused at Lance’s platform.  Then there was a thud.  Right after the thud the stone stopped cold.  In an unexpected turn, Lance had jumped down into the pit.  He endangered himself to push the stone by hand.  There was no rule against that but it never happened, ever.

To her surprise, the stone started moving quickly towards her zone.  She was using motion skills to push just even harder than before.  The stone refused to respond in the slightest way to her commands.  It kept pace with Lance’s walk as though the stone was on wheels.  With Lance pushing, the stone reached her wall in just under eight seconds.  Still, there was no stress on his face.

A defeat like this could only be devastating.  She calmly checked the platform pad for the amount of points she lost.  She was upset but strangely calm when she realized the truth.  She had lost all but a quarter of her points.  She was almost finished at Spear Mint Academy.

Right there and then, she decided to make the best of what time she had left.

#1 – Lost and Found #15 – Lost and Found #17

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #20

The wait was surprisingly brief.  Ge’s Noodles and Subs knew how to treat their high rollers.  Oyintsa was sure to thank them with a generous tip, with a little extra for the cook.  He grabbed the bags and they were out the door.

The trip out of Bosstown was a lot quicker than the trip to the restaurant.  For one, Oyintsa and Royal used a directional system to know exactly where to go.  They also had purpose enough to get there quickly.

Even though she held no equipment or bags, AD7 lagged behind.  The thoughts of her closest companion stuck deep in her mind.  The war was finished but Eighty-Seven would not consider that possible until AD7 told her directly.  So, as far as Eighty-Seven was concerned, she was deep behind enemy lines.  AD7 could only guess what Eighty-Seven would do to get out.

—–

Rubin’s Trail: Main Research Lab

Adrianne was still a little shaken by the Gankers’ attack.  They were probably bandits trying their luck; testing the strength of Rubin’s Trail’s defense.  She couldn’t begin to guess where they came from but they were very well funded.  Cloaking devices and hover-hunters were not easy to come by.

However, those thoughts were for another day.  She was back in her element now.  Sitting in her laboratory office, she listened as best she could to Chaeri’s reports on AD7’s treatment and responses.  The researchers had waited as long as they could for Dr. Yu to return.  After too long a time they had to take some actions.  She wanted to know as much as she could about this mechanical chisho before they met.

Chaeri explained that after AD7 woke up, she had shown near crisho responses to almost all stimuli.  She was thus deemed near crisho and moved from the research facility to one of the observation apartments in the lab.  It would be rude to treat a crisho in any other way, even an enemy.  A semi-prison, there was no way out of those apartments.  An electromagnetic field and other precautions prevented any contact with the outside world.

AD7 didn’t seem to need any sustenance, possibly the result of her mechanical state.  She also seemed to have an involved interest in the mechanical devices as she touched and stared at them often.  That was all they decided to do without Dr. Yu’s approval.

Dr. Yu was interested in everything AD7 did.  It was her childhood dream to meet such an iconic former Champion.  She had given pause to the greatest nations in the area.  Her Mech Fortress was strong enough to cause them to negotiate peace, combine their forces, and even ask for worldwide aid from Champions.

She started as a simple builder who wanted to defend a city.  Now she sits in their lab.  What was she now, a prisoner, a project, an example, a secret weapon?  All that would depend on her reaction to questioning.

Adrianne stood at her desk, “I would like to meet her,” an understatement.  She almost bolted out of the room with excitement before she remembered her status.

Chaeri stood and bowed trying to ignore her leader’s excitement, “I will take you to her.”

#1 – Awakening #19 – Awakening #21