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Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #035

Mahari’s bot lagged about to send the information to the factory computer.  It didn’t take long to set a beacon but Dusk’s bot was long gone before Mahari could finish.  There was no point in trying to slow Dusk down either.  All Mahari could do was mark his speeders location the computer’s internal map and try to follow.

It was flustering to trail behind but they had to keep the target moving and slightly panicked.  Soon, all training-bots and speeders will be in this area to trap the intruder.  If they allowed enough time to hide, they would lose their prey.

Mahari had to judge from sound alone exactly where Dusk had gone.  With the bot’s enhanced hearing, he caught the already faint whine of a speeder flying through the alleyways.  At that, he kicked into gear and raised his speeder above the rooftops towards Dusk’s general direction.  By cutting across the roofs, he caught up and was soon above and behind Dusk again.  As suspected, Dusk was darting quickly through the alleyways at nearly impossible speeds.  Granted, he seemed to be having a little trouble on the turns, but he was as determined as always.  There was no way their target could be far.

This was the tricky part.

Past experiences taught Mahari never to underestimate academy students.  He and Dusk were honored to take part in the academy’s final exams and tournaments.  As a result, he had an idea of what he could be facing.  Hopefully, Dusk remembered as well.  This one was still training but, was being personally tutored by a Founder.

The average students were beyond difficult to beat in groups, more difficult when the groups were organized.  Even though this student was alone, Mahari knew to be careful.  In the tests, his bot was destroyed many times before he knew anything was happening.  That may happen a few times today as well.  He kept an eye on the path ahead of Dusk’s bot to check for odd happenings.  Often, Dusk got so focused on the trail that he may miss things that were right in front of him.

 

Dusk followed the footprints hurriedly on their path.  The distance between prints spread further and further as this student ran faster and faster through the alleys.  It had to be a girl.  There was no way a dude’s feet were that small.  She somehow managed to run ridiculously fast without running into anything on the ground or walls.  

At times, her stride was more than twenty centimeters.  To be honest, he wasn’t certain that he was catching up.  She ran on walls as she turned while Dusk had to slow down to avoid crashing.  They had crossed a few streets but were going so fast, any patrolling bots would only hear his speeder zip by and miss the chase completely.  

Her path seemed random but she was generally heading for a small housing district.  Dusk wasn’t sure if she was going there on purpose or if she was truly panicked.  Either way, he knew where she was going.  He pressed a button on his speeder to contact his partner.  “Mahari.”

“Aye,” received Mahari on the other end.

“She’s goin’ to… OhShu!,” Dusk swerved violently as he twisted around to correctly make a turn.  Sparks flew as he scraped the concrete ground.  Once upright, he kicked the speeder back into gear to get back on her trail.

“Careful,” Mahari warned.

“Always,” Dusk lied.  The concrete scratch on the bottom of his speeder was a testament to that.  “She’s going to Pine Hill.”

“Got it.  I’ll set it up.”

“We’ll catch this one.  First hit is mine.”

Dusk was surprised at his own aggressiveness.  The Protectors had never done any wrong to him or his family, they had actually been very good customers.  Nonetheless, he was currently hunting one down with the hope of beating her to submission.

For a brief second, he considered going easy just this one time.  He pushed the thought aside just as quickly as it came.  Though she was still in training, the harsh realities of Protector life would be realized eventually.  Enemies to Glory City definitely won’t go easy and would have reason not to.  

They would torture and kill gruesomely.

Comparatively, they were being merciful to her and the trap will finish this test.  As planned, all training-bots started converging near the housing district, hidden and ready to pounce.  

She was not getting away.

#1 – Lost and Found #34 – Lost and Found #36

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #7

A thousand points?!  No way, way too much!  Even though a small win would be outstanding, a wager that large is not even close to being worth the risk.  Metcalf didn’t even try to hide her reluctance.  The amount may have been reasonable for Isabeau.  The top students had many more points to play with.  For Metcalf, a big loss at those stakes would set her down to zero.

“If that’s too much, we can change the amount.”  Isabeau’s expression showed as well.  This made no sense.  Metcalf was wasting her talents here.  She had seen students gambling points in training centers; the competition it created.  Even when students worked together, they never stayed in this arena for as long as Metcalf, Naoh, or Koh.

The students here usually had no other way to get the extra points they desperately needed.  They had to win Academy Points or face expulsion, utter failure, and disgrace.  There were no other options.  Their future, their hopes, the free life of an academy student, the honor of a Protector, everything depended winning.

Most only knew the basics but they used those basics in ways never taught in the classrooms.  They fought hard for those points, the fiercest competition she had ever seen.  At times, more inventive students happened upon variations of advanced strategies and techniques.  Isabeau only hoped to gleam some of the techniques to use as her own.

At the end of the mid-season, the winners and losers were determined.  Losers never came back, expelled after the final.  Winners rarely came back, not wanting to fight in the Training Center again unless it was absolutely necessary.  Metcalf stayed in this environment and thrived.  True, Metcalf was low in the student rankings but only because she wasted her time here playing for tens and twenties.

Isabeau had no doubt that Metcalf would win with the proper incentive.  More points meant a stronger fight, right?  She was pretty much giving Metcalf points for the honor of a challenge.  But, if a thousand points a target was too much, “What about five hundred?”

Well.  Maybe, less than that. Though it was definitely more reasonable, it was quite a lot more than usual.  So much, much more than Metcalf had ever played for before.  Isabeau could be using a negotiating tactic; starting unreasonably high so that a sucker could suggest something unusually high.  Things rarely ended well for the sucker.  Metcalf was having no more of this. “Two fifty,” she spoke with certainty.  It still could be a trap.  The amount was well more than double what she expected to bet, but it was still recoverable if she lost.  However, that was her final offer, no higher.

Two fifty?!  Metcalf is definitely showing her a lot of respect.  But if that’s the way she wants it, “Deal.”  Such a low bet.  She was going to be very upset if she won.

The negotiations finished, they waited for their number to be called.  They sat without speaking for a while.  Sometimes, the wagers were the hardest part of the challenges.  They both wanted their way, and each had to flex their wills to get it.  It was especially tough for the nicer students.  If they became friends later, it would be great.  It was never certain though.  After the awkward silence, Isabeau suggested they eat somewhere after the mid-season.

“Sure,” Metcalf said without hesitation.  She was still a growing young lady of course.  She loved to eat.  Also, she could ask her about a few special techniques.  Such a high ranked student had to know some techniques that only the Quarter Masters taught.

“I’ll give you my contact after this.”

#1 – Lost and Found #6 – Lost and Found #8

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #6

Metcalf and Isabeau walked quietly to the preparation area, a separate room above and behind the seating area of the shooting range.  Often the challengers created quite a bit of noise while preparing for their matches.  Armor would bump.  Ammunition would fall.  The challengers would talk.  Behind the soundproof wall, they could do what they needed without disturbing the observers.

Once inside preparation area, they could relax.  Having been there many times, they knew exactly what to do.  The first thing was to select the height of the towers they were to stand on.  Taller towers were safer, of course, but made for harder targeting.  Metcalf selected the tallest tower setting, Isabeau did the same.

Then, they selected the weapons they would use for the challenge.  It was common for a student to have two or more different sets of weapons.  One weapon was never good enough for all situations.  When long distance weapons were used, they needed to be effective for the situation.

It was an easy choice for Metcalf.  Her short bow, Blue, was her primary distance weapon.  Its size was quite deceptive as the draw strength was unnaturally great.  She needed to use her motion energy skills to pull the string far enough to fire.

The Seeds, Metcalf’s collection of seed shaped throwing knives, were more for mid-range fighting.  Rasz and Black were dead weight in this case.  Keeping any of these weapons on her armor would only add unneeded weight.  They were better kept in her gear bag.

Isabeau’s choice in this matter was even easier than Metcalf’s.  She had only one long range weapon.  Her ash colored crossbow, matched her armor perfectly.  Hummer looked like any other crossbow except there was an empty space under the loading area.  The long hole was surrounded by a sliding contraption with two silver circles at the front.

The next matter was to select the students they wanted the training-bots to imitate.  The school kept track of each student’s fighting style and abilities.  The only thing different about the bots was energy abilities.  It was impossible for the bots to use them.  Wanting this to be a short battle, both Metcalf and Isabeau chose the most aggressive students they knew.

Preparations complete, they had a bit of time to wait while they stood in queue.  Metcalf was very curious about how Hummer worked.  Blue was quite basic, but Hummer seemed almost like old and new technology combined.  “I thought crossbows were only good at short ranges.”

Isabeau noticed Metcalf was interested in her weapon.  Taking ideas from another student’s design was natural.  Everyone in the training center wanted an edge, something to help them get to the next level.  “Most are, but this one is special,” she said as she gestured to trade weapons with Metcalf while they waited.  Metcalf agreed.  “Hummer’s draw strength is incredibly strong.  I need this machine to pull the string back.”  She pointed at the sliding contraption Metcalf noticed earlier.

“How did the Founders to approve this?”  Metcalf asked.  Hummer seemed too much like a gun.

It was the Grand Master’s philosophy that Protectors should use their skills in some way in almost every aspect of combat.  Guns and blasters required little to no skill, only steady hands.  Even a slightly trained Commoner can master their use.  Protectors were called in to save Commoners.  Commoners didn’t need the kind of help they could give each other.

“It was Forge Master Sef’s idea.  He said it was alright if I powered it myself.”  She held out her gloved hand.  The glove was covered in rubber everywhere except the top of her index finger and thumb, the two points that would be in contact with the silver buttons on Hummer.  Instead those fingers were tipped with silver.  With a brief amount of focus, she caused quite a very large spark between them.  “Something about a loophole in the rules,” she said smiling.  The spark lasted a half second more, then died.

“Nice,” was her immediate reaction, then she thought about the personal implications.  “Does it hurt?”

“Not really,” Isabeau stopped and corrected herself. “Yes,” she said definitely, “but when you expect the shock, you can brace for it.”  Isabeau took her time inspecting Blue, amazed at its simplicity.  For a short bow, Blue was surprisingly heavy, like really heavy.  She pulled at the string with all her might, almost to the point of looking comical.  Even at the point of breaking a sweat, she simply could not move it more than half a millimeter.  “I think Forge Master Lai designed some special armor for his great, great grand niece using the same type of technology.  Makes her faster and stronger.”

Metcalf thought back to Naoh and how fast she moved and how utterly she defeated her opponent in the three strike drill before, “Yeah.”

“Ok.  Last points of business.”

“Right almost forgot,” she said honestly.  They were having fun and almost immediately became friends.  However, they would not be there at all if they were not wagering Academy Points.  So what was the amount, twenty per target?  That would be recoverable if she lost.  Surely, a hundred points per target would have to be the most anyone would want to bet.  That would be a fantastic start for the day if she won.

“How does a thousand points sound?”

#1 – Lost and Found #5 – Lost and Found #7