Eirik knew he had fucked up. He knew it the moment he laid eyes on Tai'Tanu. The correct thing to do would be to keep going. To keep running and stabbing until they hit the mark where they had to retreat.

Nut seeing her this close, ready to fight. This was more temptation than any man could resist. As soon as he changed direction, his men went with him, and the 2 groups, within the battle, clashed together.

Tai'Tanu's guards were among the finest warriors the Kloxna empire could produce and they had worked together for a long time, this was evident in the way they attacked each Terran in groups of 10 with a few handfuls hanging back to move in as support if needed. Tai'Tanu herself was flying towards Eirik after using one of her guards to leap off of, but she missed her target due to the group of her guards that connected with him like they were taking down a Bruxloz* back home.

Eirik had 2 on each limb, 1 on the torso, and 1 on the head causing him to stumble backward, desperately trying to get rid of the Kloxna doing everything in its power to find a way through his armor. He could feel the other Kloxna trying just as eagerly, but he needed his vision to get them off. He managed to twist the spear in his hand, stabbing the Kloxna in the back. It was a bad attack that didn't kill the offending guard and only enraged her. In defiance, she bit down on his helmet, trying to chew through it.

Through the sound of sharp teeth scraping across steel alloy, Eirik heard the triumphant yelling of Jesper as the man managed to shake off some of the guards that had jumped on him, and immediately began ripping and tearing in the armor of the rest of the Kloxna to get free.

Driving the spear deeper into the Kloxna he heard the gurgling from the guard, her jaws still locked around his helmet. Shaking his head and using the speas as leverage, he managed to get rid of the corpse. That's when he felt a pair of claws finding their way into a crack in the seams of his armor and the entire left arm was ripped away. This brought the Kloxna off balance and Eirik got rid of both soldiers on the now naked arm just in time to avoid the swiping claws of the one on his chest.

Seeing the weak spot, the Kloxna on his chest changed its target but it was a short-lived idea as Eirik used the now free hand to start bashing the Kloxna on his right arm. Despite not having the armor to absorb blows or enhance his strength, his blows rattled the 2 Kloxna clawing at his right arm. The one on his chest was quickly dispatched as he could reach around its neck-.

As he finally managed to free his right arm, Eirik felt mind-shattering pain unlike any he had felt before. Raising his head to the sky, he started screaming as Tai'Tanu bit through his arm and ripped it off.

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Tai'Tanu was fine with her guards doing the hard part of the fight. It was their job to bleed and die for her. She had chosen the biggest and most violent of her personal guard to be the ones to go after Eirik and she was furious and shocked as she saw him start to regain control of the situation. Then, one of her guards managed to rip the armor off of his arm and she knew it was only a matter of time before the perfect chance presented itself.

There!!!

She jumped, maw open and teeth glinting, when he reached across his own body to get rid of the last of her guards on his arms. Her teeth sank into his soft skin and flesh and she tasted the sweet Terran blood before she crushed through the bone and ripped the arm off, spitting it out on the ground. His screams of pain were like the most wonderful music. His blood tasted like fine wine. She would enjoy this kill.

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The tears were streaming down Eirik's face as pain and agony coursed through his body like a fire. Through the pain and tears, he could see Tai'Tanu walking toward him, and some murderous instinct took over his thoughts. With his left stump pressed close to his chest, he waited for her to jump for the kill. When she did, he flung a handful of dirt and gravel from the ground, in the direction of her head and heard her pained cries as her eyes were filled with the debris.

Looking around in his pain-filled haze, Eirik spotted his spear and grabbed it. Without thinking, he started wailing on Tai'Tanu with the shaft of the spear. He could see her armor deform under every hit and heard bones crack several times. He barely registered it. As Tai'Tanu fell to the ground, scrambling desperately to get away from the one arm that still worked, Eirik could quickly feel consciousness fade because of the blood loss. If he was lucky, he would faint before he went into shock.

The only thought left in his mind was to beat Tai'Tanu to death, but his body gave out before he succeeded, falling over and crushing one of Tai'Tanu's legs under the shoulder of his right-hand armor.

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Jesper managed to get rid of the last of his opponents. When he looked around, he saw 2 of the squad leaders dead, but the rest were still alive and fighting off the personal guard of Tai'Tanu.

That's when he saw Eirik, face down on the ground "NO!!" He yelled and moved to get by his side, but more Kloxna soldiers blocked his way. Jesper literally threw himself at them, leaving the ground as he sailed through the air, intent on snuffing out their lives before they could raise their claws. He didn't need to. Gunfire from their lines flew past him and hammered into the Kloxna soldiers around him.

"GET EIRIK AND CALL THE RETREAT!!" He heard David command over the radio and he didn't hesitate. With the help of 2 of the squad leaders, he managed to turn Eirik around and see the missing arm that was still bleeding heavily. He hoisted Eirik up and ordered the 2 squad leaders to take him back immediately. "Knud!" He called on the radio, "Eirik is on his way, he lost an arm."

"...What" Knud sounded as if Jesper had slapped him.

"HE IS MISSING AN ARM!! WHAT OD YOU NOT UNDERSTAND YOU SENILE OF QUACK! Make sure he lives!" Jesper growled before changing radiofrequency. "RETREAT!! RETREAT!!" He ordered and watched the attack break off as soon as the order was given. Nodding, he turned to run when he looked down and spotted her on the ground. Tai'Tanu...

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The retreat was effective and orderly. The first troops to reach the defensive lines started firing at the few Kloxna that foolishly decided to chase after them. All in all, the counter-attack was extremely successful, only taking the lives of 107 Terran defenders, Including TA losses amongst the flanking attackers. Compared to the estimated 8000 losses the Kloxna suffered, it was a victory.

Las'Tai and Trasti had been at the defenses during the counterattack, acknowledging the fact that they might be mistaken for an enemy in the confusion on the field.

This also made them the first to see Eirik being brought back from the battle, a trail of blood showing the path taken as the soldiers heaved for breath under the strain.

When they got him to the improvised field hospital and put him on the operating slab, Knud was there immediately with a complete surgery team.

"Thank all his gods that they ripped off his arm below the broken armor. We don't have to remove it to operate" Knud mumbled. "We have to move fast, I do not like how pale he is." He said out loud as they started work on preparing his arm for a cybernetic replacement.

An hour later they could relax. The bleeding had stopped and Eirik was stabilized. He would live, with time, though he might have to get used to the new arm. "Knowing him, he will be pestering Signe for hidden weapons within the first 12 hours," Knud thought to himself. "That kid is nothing but dreams."

His thoughts were interrupted by Jesper who tapped on his shoulder. "Is he going to live?" He asked, always direct and blunt. He didn't have time to mince words, a quality Knud could appreciate. "He is" Knud answered and made to walk away, but was stopped. "I have another patient for you. Critical." Jesper said and pointed to a stretcher with a cloth over it. "But no one else can see her. If they do, they will kill her." Jesper added.