We all move away to give the two combatants their space, Pok and Zatrophos both circle each other for a time. Like cautious beasts ready to pounce on one another, with the slightest revelation of weakness. The two finally cease their movements and stand opposite, with some distance between the two. Pok seems to calm his nerves, settling his breathing into the basic Junpo act of readiness. Placing his right foot forward and left foot back, his clenched fists rising to meet his enemy.
The form was near perfect, ensuring balance and sturdiness before combat can begin. A feeling of pride wells up in my chest, for a mere moment. I quickly pull myself out of that daze and cast my gaze towards his adversary. Zatrophos was standing upright with his arms to his sides, before leaning forward. His lower arms plant themselves, powerfully onto the floor, his upper arms kept in a defensive position, in front of his face. The odd stance was like a four-legged beast ready to strike with savage efficiency, I will admit it was an odd sight.
Zatrophos's four-legged stance and Pok's traditional Junpo stance both beg the other to make the first move. An air of silence quickly descended over the small battlefield. As if time stood still, two combatants seemed to freeze, Pok's face, cold as ice without a shred of expression, only focusing upon the enemy. Zatrophos, on the other hand, is the exact opposite, his expression quickly shifts from wariness to eagerness until finally a burst of anger. With that aggression manifesting in his action, his body leaps forward with tremendous speed.
A lunge aimed directly at his enemy, with his right arm, pulled back, ready to slam his fists against Pok's face. I could see the confidence in his eyes, he leaps a fair distance. It would have been a majestic sight if not for the truly savage expression on the Wokan's face. Just as the creature is about to collide with Pok's face. The Garudan side steps to the left, completely dodging the Wokan with a swift movement. I would have applauded but the Wokan managed to recover by rolling gracefully before recentering himself in his four-legged stance.
Impressive recovery, I continue to observe this unique yet primal method of fighting. The Wokan begins his next assault, ready to fight once more. The staring contest begins again, Zatrophos lunges forward this time weaving from side to side before lunging towards the legs. His plan is likely to hobble his opponent before finishing him off with a ground fight. Simple yet effective for most if they have mobility.
Pok indeed realises his intention and performs a crude backwards roll evading the lunge, causing Zatrophos to catch nothing but artificial air. Undeterred by his failure, the Wokan pounces forward with a half-strength lunge, too eager to attack. Pok regaining his balance quickly has no choice but to brace the assault aimed at his midsection. The Wokan savagely punches his torso without regard for precision. Pok descends his arms to block, managing to brace the impact of most of the hits, with only two from his right, hitting his side.
Pok grunts in pain as the savage hits seem to cause significant damage, likely bruising his mid-section. The grunt of pain seems to embolden Zatrophos to continue his strikes with greater fervour. The pounding of each strike is heard by all, yet no cheering can be heard from the Wokan's as they all glare intently at the spectacle. Pok continues to play defence as Zatrophos begins weaving from side to side with powerful strikes blocked.
Only a few strikes breakthrough, leaving the combat at a sort of stalemate of who will fold first under the pressure. After some time, I spy feint movements displayed by Pok. When his enemy lunges forward, Pok would adjust his stance, slightly to the opposite side of the attack. The others barely notice but soon this battle will come to an end.
The two engage more and more in a contest of speed and endurance keeping an even battlefield. Zatrophos continues his strikes from left to right. Suddenly Pok shifts his body at the right moment, causing the Wokan to at last punch air. With his body shifted to the side, he parries the Wokan across his mid-section whilst simultaneously grasping his left upper arm, twisting it. The act caused the Wokan to plummet to the ground headfirst.
With Zatrophos down Pok twists his upper right arm to his back, locking it in place before kneeing his lower arms to the ground in a mounting position. Atop the enemy, the Wokan furiously rages against the oppressive weight, without success as the strength of Garudan surpasses the Wokan by a great margin. Satisfied with Pok's performance I briskly walked over to the struggling Wokan. Glanced at his shocked subordinates, granting them no heed before descending towards Zatrophos.
His eyes glared back at me, an unfamiliar sight adorning them, likely fear, anger, shame or perhaps a combination of both. With his attention now mine, I begin the speech I prepared for a while now. "There is no need to struggle third Pralator, you were soundly defeated. There is no shame in defeat, only how one deals with defeat." Speaking in Shahnese I attempt to at least comfort the defeated foe. Illuminate something I had learned from observing many cultures.
The formerly surly somewhat battered Wokan, grunts in pain still being held down by his opponent. I look up at the stunned yet gawking crowd, the Garudan's were beaming with pride at their kin's accomplishment. While the Wokan was taken aback at the astounding defeat of their comrade. I try to maintain a calm expression, yet it's difficult to not feel prideful since I did train Pok. Shrugging off these thoughts I turn back to Zatrophos.
I lean forward just as he looks up at me, his expression is difficult to discern, a mixture of anger and shame. I speak to him calmly, trying to maintain a balanced expression and tone. "You must take heed, the Garudan's are not savages. They have pride in their skills as warriors, much like your own." I pause not really for a breath but more for effect. I let my words sink in before continuing. "I suggest you reconsider your opinion of them before labelling them as such." He downcast his gaze, either in shame or consideration of my words. Seeing this I turn to Pok and nod to him, prompting his disengagement from the restraint.
Pok rises to a straight posture, lending his hand to the downed Wokan, as customary to the ways of the warrior. Naturally, Zatrophos does not accept the gesture and quickly ascends on his own to gaze intently at Pok. The two bulky warriors stand before each other, each trying to stand as tall and imposing as they can. Pok does not flinch and returns the provocation, yet unexpectantly Zatrophos places his upper hands to his forehead, horizontal with the tips of his fingers facing each other.
The gesture is relatively unknown to most Garudan, but it is known to me and all Wokan. The cultural symbol of their people as to the acceptance of a superior force, neither acting submissively nor mocking the enemy, but accepting their victory with grace. Pok seems confused as do most of the Garudan, but I know precisely what this means, this is progress. The other Wokan seems shocked at their leaders' actions and quickly starts making a ruckus at their leader's actions, this is quickly silenced with a single look from Zatrophos.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I will say one thing about this Wokan he can keep his people in line. Makes this easier as basic military psychology, gains the admiration or loyalty of the leader and the followers will fall in line. Nodding at this realisation the training begins, I turn to my faithful Garudan soldiers and give out commands to pair up with a Wokan for melee combat. It will be best to get the Garudan's used to fighting Wokan in close quarters before weapons training. Normally this training will take many cycles but we are short on time, so a militia will be sufficient for now.
I fall back to gaze at the open area, every Wokan and Garudan are standing opposite each other readying themselves for combat, inspecting them is truly a learning experience. The Wokan for instance has a very bestial combat style that freely utilises their multiple limbs to attack from all fours. They seem to prefer lunges and swift brutal strikes to deal with foes. The brutality of the fighting style can seem crude and unrefined but there are tactics there, each lunge aims to hobble the opponent.
Their aim seems to be to disable the opponent's ability to put up further resistance before continuing the battle on the ground. In comparison, Junpo could be considered far more technical, relying on grappling and holds to immobilise the opponent's capabilities. Quite similar to the two combat styles except the Wokan's style clearly shows their bestial roots, as many predators from my world's history hunt their prey the same way.
Hmm, I seem to have gotten lost in my musings, best to get back on track. Since the training is running smoother now. It was as I expected, a warrior race such as the Wokan tends to hold more respect against opponents, which bests them in combat. The Garudan's had little time to truly display their capabilities since the Wokan's invaded with advanced weaponry. Yet still, the Garudan's managed to resist according to reports on the planet.
I cast my gaze to the training as every Wokan and Garudan are paired up. Engaged in various sparring contests, to show each side the capabilities of the others. Junpo is indeed a useful combat art for the Garudan and learning the fighting style of the Wokan will prove invaluable. Side bonus the Wokan may begin to see the Garudan in a different light, after a few victories of combat.
Well, best to keep this momentum and turn the Wokan to our cause as soon as possible. Because I doubt all the Wokan on board will be as receptive to my orders, enemies on all sides it seems. The only variable that takes higher precedence is the Vixorm serum, I turn down to my altered Demthesian garb and check the inside pocket on my left breast. Opening the pocket, I reveal a vial containing a blue liquid for my own inspection. Casting my gaze forward I spot several Wokan still engaged in combat, with one's gaze firmly placed on me. This causes the Wokan to be knocked off his feet in the distraction, by Elkra's precise jab to his left cheek.
Hmm, clumsy fellow, I turn my gaze to Elkra and give her a simple nod. She replies with the same nod before stretching her hand to the downed opponent. He swipes her helpful gesture away with his own slap, sneer's angrily and ascends to his feet for round six. I decide to ignore the man for the time being as I ponder what to do with the serum.
It is clear the danger of this serum in the wrong hands. It is a threat to my plans and the basic rights of all sentient beings. But what can be done, I doubt my new regret-filled scientist will come up with anything more than a temporary measure. The serum is already in the hands of the enemy, many Garudan has likely been injected with the serum and has developed a dependence. Even worse perhaps others aboard this ship have been injected. I will have to develop a method to test if someone has been injected, less the stability I have started to build will crumble at the foundations.
A plan is indeed necessary and from what I can see, bloodshed is inevitable and will be hard to avoid. We only have the element of surprise and the shaky loyalties of those under my command. It will be difficult to do what needs to be done when this goes sideways. Preparations and plans layered upon each other must be put in place. Indeed, I can see something taking shape; I do not like where this is going but it may be necessary.
Only time will tell if my plan will be a success or will other means be necessary. I close my breast pocket, concealing the vial once more before continuing with my orders. I decide to have the Wokan teach their new Garudan brethren weapon training with the CLR. I was originally considering having them train further with the stun rifles. Indeed, it is more valuable to disable enemies. Take them captive, but the stun rifle has a limited range, while more lethal weapons such as the CLR are more effective all around.
The Wokan and Garudan recruits begin their task's as I and Pok observe with interest. We inspect their training with impressive vigour and ease, they could become a force to be reckoned with. With my order time flew by quickly and the training ended. Pok and Elra left the makeshift training yard, to make our way to the security office. I had ordered the recruits to rest in their assigned dorms, upon reaching the security room. We entered and all sat on our assigned chairs glaring at the monitors before us.
There was utter silence as neither the three of us spoke a word. It was unusual for Pok as he would never shut up. But I believe he had taken the hint after Elkra hit him over the head a few times. The two had developed an odd relationship, which reminds me of the phenomenon on Korvan. They called it kinship, usually occurring with blood relatives, perhaps Pok and Elkra are related in such a way, though I doubt it.
After some time, the piercing silence that threatened to make every tiny minuscule sound as loud as a gunshot, I decided to speak up. "Elkra I'm sure you noticed the gaze of the Wokan you had been sparring with. He noticed the vial in my pocket?" She nodded to my question swiftly, she is indeed quick-witted and can easily figure out the situation without my guidance. With her assurance, I continue without the unnecessary explanation, with her acceptance I hand over a datapad.
This one had been tied into the security feeds, allowing the user access to the entire security camera network. "Watch him for me will you, note everyone he meets and talks to." She nods in confirmation, she has indeed become quite straightforward and to the point, something I admire about her.
I turn to Pok to deliver some further orders. "Pok, I'll need you to stay close to me and watch my back, just in case." My words seem to instigate a reaction within Pok, though his look is quite the opposite of what I intended. He seems rather confused; his forehead is creasing.
Indeed, he seems to be thoroughly confused, perhaps I miss spoke in Garudan. I mean it's not my best language, I am trying not to rely, too much on the memory recordings. In the time it seems dear Pok has come out of his shell of confusion and spoken up. "Of course, I will, but may I ask why do I need to watch your back?" Well, I guess figures of speech don't translate well to Garudan. They do seem to be a very literal species, best to avoid such a manner of speech... or I could teach such methods of conversation, I wonder if that will create a new subculture.
I leave my musings behind and decide to correct myself and leave such education for another time. I centre my thoughts and reply to his query with a simple explanation. "I just mean look out for me in case any enemies appear." Seems like that managed to explain it well, to the now pensive and serious Garudan. Who now appears to be scouting our surroundings despite it just being us here. I have to admire the dedication, but for now, we have the incoming Wokan vessels to prepare for. I will need to speak to Gem and ensure the preparations are secured for our guests.