Sigma/Star

Chapter 117: Assault on Razul Part 3

Before Rich could react, Ardwen's knee had come up to meet the Major's falling body, causing the two forces in opposite directions to collide. It barely damaged the Goliath, and probably did almost as much in return to Mother Gaia, but Ardwen didn't care. He was undergoing a rush of adrenaline, the thrill of hand-to-hand combat flying to his head. He had never engaged anyone like this, and for a moment he thought he was as powerful as Raul or Porter.

But reality took over. Enrich took advantage of Ardwen's sudden lapse in concentration, snapping his head up and knocking back the young pilot. The palm of the Biorg suddenly opened up and a pulse of pure energy rippled through the air, a blast of force that crashed into Ardwen's chest, sending him flying.

He had forgotten his opponent, letting his guard down momentarily and imagining himself as the victor of a minor fight. That was Ardwen's folly. But it would not happen again. The strategist's mind was razor sharp once more, and his analytical side quickly returned as he stood up. As he prepared to dodge another assault, he brought up the files on the enemies all over again, checking for any patterns, weaknesses, additional concerns he should have.

All three of the majors were quite young, and one of the Generals had only recently been granted the title. They may have all had significantly greater ranks than the former students, but they were still new, inexperienced compared to what they could be fighting. It made sense though, for new officers to be sent out to guard a prisoner in isolation. Every veteran soldier would be called upon to stave off the Jahari, to answer the call of invasion. Having rookies or young majors on the frontline wouldn't do much compared to pulling away experience just to guard a former general in rehabilitation.

The fact that there were inexperienced majors on the battlefield, instead of veterans, was a great advantage for Ardwen. And it was an advantage he was happy to press. The choice to divide and attack, to remove strategy and instead enforce nothing but skill was where they had gambled, and the strategist was determined to make it pay off.

Another strike with the head. This time it was a feint, Ardwen knew that immediately as he saw the posture was slightly off, that Erich was clearly holding back all of his force, or at least it was clear to Ardwen's ultra-observant eye. It was in the tiny details that he noticed how the Goliath's legs weren't bent quite right, how the thrusters were humming at a lower frequency, how Erich's hand was being held back just slightly, waiting to strike forwards and unleash another burst.

Ardwen caught the false attack, anticipating the follow-up with the force weapon. He let the open hand collide with his own, guiding it by moving with it, absorbing the power and then trapping his opponent under his Goliath's armpit. Twin lasers erupted from two of the orbs around the Mother Gaia, firing a series of quick bursts into the Biorg's body. Ardwen then leapt back as quickly as possible, not wanting to give his opponent a chance to react. He knew he could easily be overpowered in long confrontations or actual duels, and so he had to constantly get in and out of these fights. He wanted skirmishes, little interactions of a second or two, nothing more or less, and then a hasty retreat to safety.

He would do this forever if he had to. He knew he could outlast his enemy, especially with his smaller motions and movements. While a battlesuit certainly couldn't get tired, the pilot inside could. Fuelling a portion of their battlesuit with their own chi, it was entirely possible to drain an opponent through conservation of energy. Of course, that was not Ardwen's larger plan, just one of many he had to fall back on in case things didn't go as expected.

Erich tried for another attack, this one more reckless, an effort to wrap up Ardwen and trap him. It seemed the Major had determined Ardwen's glaring weakness: the massive disparity in strength between the two units. But even this discovery was accounted for, taken into consideration when Ardwen bent backwards, letting the Biorg fly above him.

It was Ardwen, not Erich, who wrapped his arms around his enemy, using the natural momentum already generated by the Goliath during its attempted tackle. Ardwen continued to flew backwards, smashing his opponent down into the ground in a suplex. As he did, the balls hovering through the air unleashed a barrage of beams, slicing through more chunks of armour, slowly flaying the Biorg and generating new weak points.

This was what Ardwen had waited for, had prepared for during the fight. Each laser, each blast previously, perfectly aimed and co-ordinated to gradually strip away key defenses in the battlesuit. Even though the Biorg was a custom model, it was still based largely on the Exo-class model, and Ardwen knew almost every single possible class of Goliath inside and out from his studies. There would be no escaping him if he had a chance to chip away at an opponent.

The execution was simple and easy. Ardwen had stomped down on the shoulder joints of the enemy warmachine, snapping off the arms as the weakened connectors gave way. A concentration of laser fire at the base of the Biorg's spine severed the functions in its legs, cutting through exposed circuitry and wiring to cripple Erich. They didn't need deaths on their hands, especially senseless ones. The Goliaths just needed to be out of commission until the escape plan was completed.

And so, Ardwen walked away from the downed fighter, stepping back to rejoin Nami and Riya, provided they both won their bouts as well. He couldn't contain the smile on his face though, as he celebrated his first personal victory in a one-on-one match.

* * * * *

Nami and Ardwen approached Riya, watching as her twin gatling guns angled downwards at her fallen opponent. The foe she had gotten, one Major Branejan, was lying on the ground, his warmachine battered. It was coated in blackened craters, missing large chunks of armour in places, and one arm was twisted around into an unnatural position, clearly destroyed.

A fierce round of fire exploded from Riya's battlesuit, the bullets shredding through Branejan's warmachine. In a matter of seconds, the Goliath had been split in two at the waist, ripped apart but the barrage of fire from The Warlord. Ardwen and Nami both winced at the brutal destruction, the finishing blow coming not from grace or tact, but through sheer, merciless power. This had been in a match in which one machine outgunned the other, plain and simple, and it hadn't taken long from the looks of things. Ardwen had noted that Riya was the last one to engage in combat, Branejan taking longer to get to her.

"Then I guess that settles that," Ardwen remarked as he approached, still a bit shocked at the slaughter coming from Riya.

"That sucks," Nami pouted. "I was really hoping to watch something from you guys, but it happened so fast."

"Same." Ardwen's vision swung between the two girls. He was rather impressed by the efficiency they had displayed in dispatching their opponents. They would have never come close to this level of skill a month ago, not these three at least. Only Porter had ever been able to challenge a General and come away breaking even, and Ardwen still held on to bitter memories of his defeat at the hands of Jericho.

Things were different now though. They were stronger, different from ever before, and experienced. Unfortunately, they had seen things as well, learned things they had never hoped to discover, but it came with the territory of growth.

All three turned to face the base, the military station turned into a partial prison. They could see Porter's fight, but Raul was lost to the snow, duelling somewhere with the man he had so adamantly wished to fight. "I suppose we should meet with them then," Ardwen continued. It seemed he snapped Nami and Riya out of a daze, a shock all of them were experiencing at being finished so quickly.

They could only hope Porter and Raul would fare just as well.

A/N: The battle continues, but it's only Porter and Raul left. Who can survive in a showdown between Generals and students?