There was only one direction for them to escape: west. The cliff sides of the canyon blocked off retreats to the north and south, while east would only lead them deeper into enemy territory. It was west, or nothing.

But the enemy knew that just as they did, making it a race… a race only one side could win.

“Move! Move!” Rúna shouted to her team, dropping back while Kai and Alpha team provided covering fire. Another rocket flared to life, streaking out from the hillside and detonating against the rocks protecting Tawfiq and Rivka, the blast driving them both to the ground. Miraculously, moments later they were both back in position and firing once more as Bravo team took cover.

Time to return the favor.

“Covering fire!” she screamed as they took up the slack, pinning the enemy down to allow Alpha team the chance to retreat. Sergeant Kai shouted the order to fall back the instant Bravo started firing, racing past their positions to take cover behind them, reloading as they went.

The Book called it “Bounding Overwatch”. It was a proven technique, honed over the centuries, but it required skilled operators and split-second coordination to make it work. One mistake and the enemy would cut the squad in half, destroying each team in turn.

“Covering fire!” Kai shouted to Alpha, signaling Bravo to move. Another rocket streaked by as they fell back, impacting against a cliff face and showering them with debris. At least the rocky terrain offered them several positions to take cover behind, the only good news of the evening.

Diving behind a broken wall of stone, it was their turn once more. “Covering fire!” Rúna howled once again, but this time she added, “Arthur! Take out that rocket!” There was no time to babysit here; either he’d rise to the occasion or he’d fall. Moments later she heard his launcher in action; hopefully, he’d understood her order and was doing his best to obey.

Again Kai was up and moving with his team, but as they raced past, he shouted, “First squad, fall back!” They’d put a couple hundred more meters distance between them and the enemy, just barely enough to give them some breathing space. Enemy fire was slackening off; either they were giving up on pursuit or were redeploying to follow. Either way, they had a narrow window of opportunity to break contact, and Kai was taking the gamble.

Bounding overwatch was effective, but it was slow and used up a great deal of ammo. The idea was to get them out of harm’s way; once that was done, it was time for Phase 2.

Run like the devil was chasing you.

She fired another burst before grabbing Arthur by the harness. “Time to go!” she shouted in his ear as they stumbled back, with Becca and Yendrick right on their heels. There was no strategic formation, no orderly retreat, no tactical withdrawal… just the desperate need to put as much distance between them and the people trying to kill them. Only the night vision built into their helmets kept them from breaking their legs as they ran pell-mell from the enemy. Weapon’s fire was scattered now, as they continued to put distance between them, and if their luck could hold out for just another minute…

Up ahead, she watched as Rivka screamed, clutching at her ribs as she tumbled to the ground, with Tawfiq at her side a heartbeat later. “Medic!” he screamed, as Doc raced to their position, while Kai ordered a hasty defensive position to cover them. Rúna and her team filled in the gaps, facing out as the enemy continued throwing shots in their direction.

“How bad is it, Doc?” the gunner demanded, as Kai knelt down to confer.

The medic’s hands were bloody as he slapped on a pressure bandage equipped with a seal. “She’s lung shot,” Svoboda reported, while Rivka gasped for air. “We’ve got to get her out of here now.”

“... Right,” the squad leader grimaced, before turning to the gunner. “Tawfiq, can you…?”

The big man was already one step ahead of him, gently gathering her up in his arms and cradling her as if she were a small child. “I’ve got her,” he vowed.

“Yendrick, take the gun,” Rúna ordered, as the other man hurried to comply. They’d need that machine gun in operation if things went south again and expecting Tawfiq to set down his wounded partner and fight was asking too much. Yendrick grunted as he slung the weapon over his shoulder, nodding once he redistributed the weight. Once that was completed, she looked to their leader. “Orders?” she asked him.

“We double-time our asses out of here and get back to base as fast as we can,” Kai told them, slinging his own weapon and checking the load. “Move out,” he barked, as they resumed their jog down the hill, their speed falling off as Tawfiq struggled not to jostle the wounded Rivka. Doc had given her a hypo for the pain, but the strain lined her face.

Eventually the sound of weapon’s fire behind them disappeared, though no one was taking their respite for granted. Maybe they’d given up, satisfied with driving them off, but only a fool would make that assumption. Smarter to operate under the notion they were still hot on their trail, intent on finishing the job.

The ravine was opening up as they neared friendly lines; the hillsides slacking off as they entered the coastal plain. They ran in silence, the only sounds made being their footfalls on the ground and heavy breathing. Their formation was little more than a ragged mob with only a single thought in their minds, to get back where it was safe. Just a little further, and…

The squad skidded to a halt as a lone Ixi warrior stood before them, blocking their path. His hands were at his sides, free of weapons, though he wore a pulse rifle slung across his shoulders while a pair of swords hung low against his back. The Ixi were vaguely humanoid, with blue-tinted skin, an ancient race that had embraced warfare even more earnestly than Homo sapiens itself. They treated combat as if it were a sublime form of art, a race of warriors that gravitated easily to the life of a mercenary, yet as cultured as a samurai. The swords they carried were most definitely not for show.

Of the three Mercenary brigades facing them, they were perhaps the most dangerous of the lot.

That he stood before a squad of armed humans seemed not to trouble the Ixi warrior in the slightest. As she glanced around to their flanks, Rúna spotted movement in the rocks.

So, not alone then.

“Greetings,” the alien said with a curt bow. “I am Paygan Kuosha Xeing. It is a pleasure to address true fellow warriors.”

Their squad leader stepped forward, motioning to the others to lower their weapons. “Sergeant Agilmar Kai,” he answered. “How did you get ahead of us?”

The alien mercenary made a chortling sound. “In fact, we did not. Other units informed us you were traveling in this direction. It was a simple enough matter to intercept you.”

The implication of that statement didn’t pass unnoticed. Stepping forward as well, Rúna returned the alien’s bow. “Corporal Rúna Aukes,” she said in introduction. “I have to wonder why you’re greeting us with words, instead of bullets.”

“There will be plenty of time for that in the days and weeks ahead,” he answered with a casual wave of his hand. “To simply shoot you down on the first day of our arrival, without properly conveying honor to our most worthy adversaries? We would find such a thing… distasteful.”

The two NCOs shared a look. “Your compatriots didn’t seem to share that concern,” Kai pointed out.

The Ixi sneered, spitting on the ground. “Zaitai filth,” he growled, “good only for terrorizing the helpless. They have no honor.”

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“And yet you’re fighting alongside them,” Rúna pointed out, somewhat less than diplomatically.

The blue-skinned alien spread his hands. “A contract is a contract,” he answered with a shrug. “Distasteful it may be, but we have taken our benefactors' coin and agreed to their terms. Such is the nature of things.”

Tawfiq stepped forward, still carrying his wounded assistant. “Sarge, she needs a Knight now,” he hissed, shooting daggers at the Ixi. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Ah…” the Paygan nodded in understanding, “time is indeed the most precious gift of all. To business then.” He smiled, bowing once more. “I present to you the opportunity for your champion to face me in single combat,” he explained, sliding both swords from their scabbards and jamming them point-first into the earth. “Should they be victorious, you and your fellow warriors may pass unmolested.”

“And if they lose?” Kai asked quietly.

The Ixi let out an almost human-sounding sigh. “That, I am afraid, will force me to obey our clients’ wishes,” he shrugged, as a dozen more warriors appeared from behind the rocks. Given their numbers and position, any skirmish between their two forces would likely be both one-sided and brief.

The sergeant nodded his acquiescence. “Very well. In that case…”

“... I’ll do it,” Rúna blurted out, stepping between them, as Kai sputtered in shock.

“What the hell?”, he hissed, grabbing her arm. “I’m the obvious choice here.”

“Wrong,” she fired back. “You’re the squad leader,” she reminded him, “and our people are counting on you to do just that. If this goes south...” she said pointedly, nodding her head to the rest of the Ixi, “… they’ll need you to save their asses.” Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “This isn’t your fight. It’s mine.” Pulling away from his grip, she turned to face the alien warrior. “What do I have to do?”

The Paygan had watched the byplay with interest but had said nothing. Now that they had chosen a champion, he stretched out his hand and showed the two swords. “As the challenged, the first choice of weapon is yours. I will take the other. We will face one another with steel in our hands, as the ancestors have decreed.”

“To the death?” Rúna surmised.

“That is your decision,” the Ixi shrugged. “Other options are also viable.”

“Other options?” she asked with renewed interest. “Such as?”

A hint of a smile appeared on his face. “In cases such as these, honor is served by limiting the duel to First Blood.” The confusion on her face must have been clear, even to an alien. “Whosoever draws first blood in the match is the victor,” he explained.

“Does it matter how much blood?” she asked warily.

“It does not,” he chortled once more. “In fact, we consider it to be the very height of skill to triumph while only shedding a single drop.”

“I’m liking the sound of this,” Kai said in relief.

“Yeah, well, I still have to win,” she reminded him, shrugging out of her gear and setting it aside, “or else we’re stuck with Option B.” She glanced over at the other Ixi warriors, their weapons still at the ready.

Tawfiq had laid Rivka on the ground, while Doc attended to her. He shot Rúna a desperate look. She turned and went to where the two swords were jammed into the dirt, examining each in turn. The heavier of the two was a wickedly curved scimitar, thicker and more weighted towards the tip. They had designed it to be used single-handed, but it felt unwieldy in her grip. Replacing it back into the ground, she plucked out the second blade.

It was thinner and straighter than the first, with a guardless hilt that could be employed with either one or both hands. It was almost elfin in appearance, but as she turned it over in her hands she realized its delicacy was deceiving. This was the blade of a virtuoso, even if she couldn’t rise to that level herself.

“Tell me you know how to use that,” Kai urged her.

“Blye showed me some moves,” she shrugged, taking her stance as the Paygan took his. “Let’s just hope it was enough.” Whipping the sword up to her face, she saluted the alien in the manner the Knight had taught her. Pleased, the Ixi saluted her in return, slapping his own blade diagonally across his chest. The pair silently gauged one another, the others watching with great intent as the Ixi suddenly leapt and charged her.

Rúna barely dodged his attack in time, her own blade coming up to meet his and deflecting it aside with a loud skittering clang. But even as their swords broke free of one another, he was already turning, whipping around for a second slash aimed at her face. Ducking under the blow, she dove for the ground, tucking and rolling to come back up at the ready.

“Well done!” the Paygan roared with approval, his broad grin positively infectious.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she allowed, earning her another chuckle. It was almost enough to give her a boost of confidence, were it not for one inescapable truth.

The Ixi was toying with her.

She was certain he hoped to draw out the contest between them as long as possible, thoroughly enjoying the ancient form of combat, but the simple truth was he had trained with a blade since he’d been old enough to hold one, while she barely knew one end from the other. The longer they danced around, the greater the odds she’d make some fatal mistake. She needed to play to her strengths, not his, if she were to have any chance at survival for her and her squad. But what...?

Her eyes widened as an idea came to her. It was risky, and she’d need to time it perfectly, but if he wasn’t expecting it then maybe, just maybe, she had a chance. She saw something flicker across his face, a recognition that she was up to something, so instead of attacking she backpedaled, putting distance between them. The Paygan paused for a moment, weighing her apparent stratagem, before choosing to close for another strike. This time he held the sword crosswise against his body, trying for a backslash, but at the last moment she saw it for what it really was.

It was a feint.

If she weren’t quick enough, the slash would draw blood, but she’d already proven her reflexes were up to the task. No, he was counting on her to parry the blow, allowing him to complete the pivot and land the follow-up strike as he whirled like a dervish. It was a brilliant maneuver, and she knew he would execute it perfectly, drawing first blood.

Time for her to make her own move.

Their swords crashed once again with a mighty clatter, stinging her wrists and hands, but she forced herself to ignore the pain. As their blades broke apart, he used the momentum to continue the turn, and the instant his back was to her she made her play, tossing the sword from her right hand to her left in a flashy hand switch that no swordsman in their right mind would ever attempt.

While Rúna was no swordsman, she was a fairly decent juggler.

While her left hand easily snatched the sword from the air, her right plucked the knife at her waist free, flipping it blade first before hurling it in a straight-arm throw. The Paygan was just completing his turn when the hand switch caught him by surprise, distracting him, his eyes naturally going to the sword, expecting an attack from her off-hand… only realizing too late that wasn’t her intention at all. He was badly out of position as he struggled to twist his body clear of the thrown dagger, and despite his incredible prowess was a split second too slow. The knife embedded itself in the folds of the belted sash at his waist, forcing a grunt out of him as he stared at her in amazement.

Panting heavily, she kept up her guard as the Ixi warrior pulled the knife from his garments… its blade now streaked with dark green blood. He regarded it for a moment before looking up at her, and then raised the blade high, showing it to his fellow warriors. “Yuutsah’Zhoz!” he cried out, as Kai and the rest of the squad tensed, readying their weapons.

“Yuutsah’Zhoz!” the others roared, raising their own weapons up in the air… and cheered.

Rúna blinked. “Umm… what?” she stammered.

The Paygan’s grin was back with a vengeance. “You have bested me in honorable combat. The victory is yours,” he said, bowing deeply before her.

Unsure of the proper response, she mirrored his efforts, bowing as well. It seemed to be the right choice based on his reaction. “It was a good match,” she said awkwardly.

“It was indeed,” he concurred, as he held out the dagger to her. Wiping the blade clean, she tucked it back in its sheath before presenting the sword to him. The Ixi bowed once again, formally accepting the blade, but instead of returning it to its scabbard he removed the carrier from his waist, re-sheathing it and holding it out to her once more.

“As proof of your conquest, I present to you the blade you used to best me,” he intoned. “As I received it from the one I defeated, so now it belongs to you. May it serve you well, in the battle ahead.”

Her fingers curled around the prize as she bowed once more. “I thank you, Paygan,” she said haltingly, struggling to find the correct acknowledgment. Her first reaction had been to refuse the gift out of politeness, but the ritualized way he’d given it to her, the words he’d chosen, they all spoke to some ancient custom it would be unwise to contravene. “The honor of the Ixi is proven yet again,” she told him. Maybe it wasn’t the proper thing to say, but it felt right, and as he raised his head, she could tell her words had pleased him.

“As promised, you and your people may depart in peace,” he informed her, sweeping his hand towards the sea. “I assure you; you will arrive at your destination unharmed. I, Paygan Kuosha Xeing, swear it to be so.”

“Thank you,” she said again, bowing once more, before grabbing her gear and throwing her harness back over her shoulders. She slung her rifle and tucked her helmet under her arm before sliding the sword in its scabbard through her belt. “It was an honor to meet you, Paygan,” she said sincerely.

“Likewise, Corporal,” he smiled as he raised his blade in salute. “May you die well.”

“And you,” she nodded, as Kai touched her on the shoulder.

“Time to go,” he told her, as he put his helmet back on. Tawfiq already had Rivka in his arms, as Doc shot her a barbed look. They’d wasted enough time already.

“Take care,” she told the Ixi, giving him a casual wave, as the two groups parted ways, shaking her head in disbelief. How the hell was she going to explain this?

“I shall look for you in the days ahead,” the Paygan chuckled as they resumed their march, “for I have every intention of retrieving my sword.”