"So that's how we'll go about this, correct?"
Maxim stood back and listened as Melek began to wrap up the strategy meeting. Eric nodded his head. "Yes. You, Kolten, and I will go on the offensive on the frontline with Amanda providing us long range support. Maxim will stay back at the button and protect it from any enemy that may get by us."
Amanda smirked. "Looks like Maxim will be having the easiest role. I can assure you that no one will be able to get by me."
Melek shook his head. "Don't be so certain of this. We have no idea what their team is capable of."
Maxim nodded. "From what I can tell Aidan is going to be a problem. He's already very skilled in combat and will be able to lead their team well. If we underestimate them, we'll be on the losing end."
Kolten nodded. "I agree with them. We were all selected to be a part of this 'special' class. They have to be in some way or another on the same level as us."
Amanda scoffed slightly but didn't respond. Before anyone else could say anything, there was a crackle on the loudspeaker. "Alright looks like both teams have finished up their planning. In a few moments I'll open the entrances to the arena on both ends. Once everyone is in position, I'll give the signal to start. Good luck everyone."
Immediately, the wall in front of Maxim began to open up. As soon as the door was high enough for Maxim to be able to look into the room, he grinned. The arena was filled with tons of sand and dirt, enough to create large dips and small hills. In addition, there were large boulders that blocked both views of the other side and provided protection for anyone who got behind them.
"Just how much did this cost?" Eric mumbled to himself. "If this is just a simulation, it looks like a damn good one to me."
Melek nodded. "I'd also imagine that this is just one environment this arena is capable of. I have a feeling that we'll be fighting in a variety of environments here."
Amanda tightened her grip on her rifle and smiled. "With the exception of those boulders, it's like a shooting range for me."
Maxim glanced at the rifle, as well as the sabers and weaponry of the other three. From the looks of it, Amanda is a sniper, and an experienced one at that. The other three don't seem to be any slouches either. In terms of skill and experience we come out on top. However...
Maxim walked over to his spot right next to the only button he could find. Following Maxim's lead, the other four got into their position. Amanda walked towards a large dip in the sand and crouched down, only exposing her head and rifle while the others started behind some boulders.
Sydney cleared her throat. "Everyone is in position! Good luck everyone! Starting in 3...2...1...start!"
Amanda immediately began scanning the area, her right eye pressed against the scope. Melek and Kolten both quickly dashed around the same boulder they had started hiding behind and dashed towards the first deep ditch. Eric immediately grabbed his blaster from its holster and went along the opposite side in sync of Melek and Kolten. Amanda spotted some movement and immediately fired in the direction of the movement. "Missed." She muttered to herself as Freya, the one Amanda shot at, dashed behind another boulder, saber already ignited.
Amanda continued staring at Freya as Kolten and Melek continued their advance. Within several seconds, the two of them saw Brandon, running towards them, his weapon activated.
Seeing the two of them, Brandon raised his weapon and a bolt of purple energy discharged from the weapon directly towards the two of them. Kolten dodged, grabbed his blaster, and started firing at Brandon. To his shock, Brandon's weapon immediately changed to a shield, easily able to block the blasts. Melek ignited his saber and charged towards Brandon, hoping to draw Brandon's attention to himself to give Kolten an opening.
At the same time, Eric began firing at Ellie and Aidan, who had revealed themselves to him. Ellie began laying down suppressive fire as Aidan dashed towards Eric, both his pistol and saber out and ignited. As he approached Eric, he fired a shot at Eric, forcing him away from his cover spot. Eric immediately ignited his saber and swung at Aidan. The two sabers clashed for the briefest of moments before Aidan disengaged and started firing at Eric.
Eric immediately began dodging the blasts and tried to mimic Aidan, grasping his larger blaster with one hand and saber in the other and returned fire. However, as he was concentrating on Aidan, he completely had forgotten about Ellie who had slowly moved into a position that provided her with more cover and a great firing angle. As Eric dashed towards Aidan, shooting several blasts, Ellie fired at Eric, hitting him three times in the shoulder. Immediately, Eric's weapons powered down. Eric sighed as he sat down, frustrated with himself for so easily being distracted. Ellie and Aidan immediately continued their advance.
Meanwhile Brandon had managed to parry Melek's initial saber barrage and blocked every blast Kolten had fired, frustrating the two. However, Melek maintained his composure and tried deliberate, focused attacks. After several parried blows, Melek managed to force the shield in an awkward position, creating an opening for Kolten to fire a blast.
Brandon, however, quickly deactivated the shield, allowing him to quickly dodge the blast. After dodging, he almost instantly changed the mode to a pulsated blast. Sidestepping another strike from Melek, Brandon charged up the device and pointed at Kolten. The concentrated pulse launched towards Kolten, knocking him far backwards. When he hit the ground, his weapon powered down.
Melek immediately started furiously swinging his saber at Brandon, using every technique he knew to try to land a hit. Brandon reactivated the shield function and kept up with the assault. However, Melek pressed his saber against the shield and began pushing, causing Brandon to slowly start sliding backwards. Brandon was soon pressed up against a boulder, trying to keep the shield from touching him.
Seeing that Brandon's attention was solely focused on the shield, Melek kicked the legs out from under Brandon, slicing his saber across Brandon's torso, instantly deactivating his weapons. Looking over at the other side, he saw Eric sitting down with Ellie and Aidan advancing towards Amanda, whose attention was still focused on finding and eliminating Freya. Melek abandoned his assault and ran to try to assist Amanda.
Amanda continued slowly scanning the area for Freya, who was hiding behind the boulder, afraid to peek out. As Amanda looked to one side of the boulder, she heard some footsteps approaching from her left. Quickly glancing to her left, she saw Aidan only a few feet away from her, saber ignited. Dropping her rifle, she grabbed her backup pistol and began blasting at Aidan. Deflecting a shot, he jumped to the left, revealing Ellie with her pistol out. Ellie shot a few blasts at Amanda, who somehow dodged the shots and returned fire. Aidan, by now, had moved behind Amanda and swung at her. However, the saber clashed with another, as Melek had made it to Amanda just in time. Aidan took a couple steps back and got into a fighting stance. Melek also got into a stance that had long been drilled into him. Aidan glanced at Melek. That's not a stance I've seen before...yet it seems he's well trained. What school of sword fighting did he study under?
As Amanda and Ellie continued exchanging blasts, Aidan slowly began to move closer to Melek, waiting for the moment Melek would advance towards him. He didn't have to wait long as almost immediately after, Melek closed the distance between them and thrust his sword forward. Aidan easily parried the blow, launching a quick assault of his own. Melek kept up with the onslaught, parrying or dodging each thrust and swing Aidan could throw at him. As Aidan launched a powerful right swing, Melek dropped down, dodging the blade, and did a sweeping kick, knocking down Aidan. Right as Melek was going to deliver the disqualifying blow, three blasts hit him in the back, causing his weapons to power down. Looking back, he saw Freya, who had moved from her position as bait, standing behind him, her sights already set on Amanda. Two blasts to the back later and Amanda was also disqualified.
Maxim sighed as he saw the rest of his teammates get disqualified. For being the most naturally gifted of the bunch, and most experienced to boot...they sure didn't fight like it. More of an individualistic effort except with Melek and Kolten, just like I feared when this plan was devised. As he saw the three of them cautiously advance towards his position, Maxim ignited his saber and grabbed the pistol from its holster. Let's see what they're capable of up close.
With Ellie on his left, Aidan in the middle, and Freya on the right, Maxim fired at Freya as soon as she was in range, allowing plenty of time for her to dodge. As soon as she showed signs of dodging to the left, Maxim fired another blast towards where she was going to land, successfully hitting her in the head and powering her down.
Maxim looked at Aidan and Ellie, who had both stopped in their tracks, waiting for the next move Maxim would make. Giving a slight smirk, Maxim holstered his pistol and got into a saber fighting position, a position Aidan immediately recognized. The Steiger school, eh? That explains why he was able to easily identify what Freya was going to do. Aidan grinned. Looks like my instincts were right about you. Let's see how long you can last against the two of us!
Almost in unison, Ellie and Aidan dashed forward, Ellie firing several blasts towards Maxim, forcing him to deflect the blasts as Aidan closed the distance. Raising his saber above his head, Aidan landed a strong downward strike. Maxim blocked the blow, sidestepping and momentarily disengaging, separating his saber from Aidan's before swiftly thrusting forward. Aidan blocked this, launching a few strikes of his own.
Maxim effortlessly blocked these strikes, preparing to launch an assault before rapidly turning around and blocking two blasts Ellie had fired at him before turning around and blocking another strike from Aidan. Ellie fired another shot, causing Maxim to duck and forcing Aidan to block the blast. Maxim used this small chance to get back in between the button and the two of them. Aidan smirked. "You weren't kidding when you said you were best at using a saber. You're definitely well trained in the Steiger school."
Maxim grinned. "Let's not ignore the fact that you've trained in the Cedeno form."
"Looks like you're just as much of a saber nut as I am, but even if we're evenly matched, you're outnumbered."
As if on cue, Maxim had to dodge three blasts from his right. Looking at where the blasts came from, Lexi had her rifle up, pointed at Maxim. Aidan took this opportunity to charge in, launching one powerful blow after another. As Maxim dodged or parried each blow, he had to also deflect a near constant stream of blasts from both Ellie and Lexi. After deflecting a blast from Ellie, Aidan did another powerful upward strike, using all his might to keep Maxim's saber in place and prevent him from deflecting the blasts that came in both directions. Maxim was hit on both sides, causing his weapons to power down.
Instantly, Sydney's voice crackled over the loudspeaker. "And that's the match! Congratulations to the Blue team! Looks like teamwork wins the day yet again! As for the red team, with the exception of a couple, I was very underwhelmed to say the least. However, that's why you're here. I'll be adjusting your training accordingly to what I've seen. If you'll please exit the arena, I'll debrief you just outside where you were split into teams. I'm sure you all want to make it to your rooms to unpack. See you then."
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