All That Glitters Ch. 56

Around them the battle for Asocan dominance raged. The Asost found himself in a battle for his life against an opponent who was determined to kill him. He did not recognize the Asocan he was fighting but she was a skilled warrior. Had he engaged her before his time with Kim and Mbibo, he would have been killed almost immediately. As it was, he not only held his own, he pushed back against the assailant until he found an opening and slid his >Curlat through her defences. The look of surprise on her face as his weapon struck home was a salve to the Asost's soul as she obviously hadn't expected him to be so skilled.

Kim engaged one Asocan after another, her flashing blades taking down each as they approached her. Kim could see that they were not the elite of the Asocan fighters and had likely chosen her because they thought that humans could not fight at their level. They came to regret that assumption as Kim cut them down with apparent ease.

Junelliya and Fayad were surrounded by a group of ten Asocans. They made to attack the pair but seven of them suddenly found themselves slumping to the ground. Fayad attacked one of the other three and, even though he was using he long knife, quickly killed his opponent. The remaining pair decided that this duo was not what they had expected and attempted to move away but not before Junelliya waved a hand at them and they collapsed into the soft ground.

Even on a raised surface, the ground was still 'squishy' Junelliya noted.

The battle had now been going on for more than ten Larr, surprising Unaayel. She had not expected >Catal to give such a good account of herself in this challenge. She saw two people moving in on her and smiled.

The Asoc suddenly found herself confronted by three opponents, Unaayel, Tarrest, and one she recognized as the Lastoc of Unaayel's personal guard. The Asoc had trained hard these last months under Kim and Mbibo. They had thrown all kinds of what the Asoc had then thought of as silly scenarios at her. She now realized that they were not so silly.

Kim had thrown round balls of various sizes under the Asoc's feet during training to prepare her for fighting on uneven ground. The many humiliating slips and falls the Asoc had taken during her training she now found paying off as she stepped around the battleground with trained feet that allowed her to move with confidence. Any time that she felt her feet rolling, feet and limbs moved to stabilize themselves and her.

Having surpassed her original abilities with the >Curlat, Kim had imposed new scenarios on the Asoc, forcing her to take on two, three, and even four opponents at once during training. Now those very scenarios were paying off as she fought against three skilled combatants.

The Asoc saw two blades come at her from each side while Unaayel raised her own weapon over her head in what would be a devastating two handed downward chop. She waited for Unaayel to commit to her chop then stepped back and twisted to her left from under Unaayel's strike which hit the ground just in front of her. She dropped her head under the thrust of the Lastoc's blade in front of her while slamming her left elbow into Tarrest's face behind her, forcing her away. The Asoc then counter thrust at the Lastoc, sending her own blade into that one's throat.

Spinning to her right, the Asoc found herself confronted by both Tarrest and Unaayel who, acting in unison, each thrust their weapons directly at her. With a quick upward, circular movement, the Asoc slammed her blade into the underside of each of the blades of her opponents, causing Tarrest's blade to sail from her grip and land some distance away.

Unaayel allowed her blade to be moved upward and prepare for another devasting downward chop. The Asoc didn't hesitate. With one swift, sure movement, she slashed across both of Unaayel's wrists. In what she thought to be a moment of extreme karma, Unaayel lost her hands which were still attached to her >Curlat, which unceremoniously landed on the ground in front of her. Unaayel starred in shock at the bleeding stumps of her wrists.

It was not the Asoc's intention to see Unaayel die out here in the swamps. She quickly grabbed a nearby torch and pushed it into the stumps of Unaayel's wrists. With a scream, Unaayel went down, the bleeding having been much reduced by the cauterizing effect of the torch.

Tarrest could not see where her >Curtal had gone. She looked around for support but the Asoc suddenly called out.

"I, the Asoc >Catal, have defeated Unaayel in combat. I order you to surrender. Those who fail to do so will die here and now!"

Unaayel's minions looked around at each other. First one, then another, then suddenly many, began to drop to their knees and hold out their weapons in surrender.

Tarrest snarled and reached for the only >Curtal she could see, her mother's on the ground in front of her. She reached down and pulled her mother's hands away from the bloody hilt and turned on >Catal.

"Unlike your mother, I do not need you alive, Tarrest. Fight me and you shall die," the Asoc called out.

"Avenge me, daughter," Tarrest heard from her mother, who had started to come round.

"Avenge you! You fool, you were supposed to take the position of Asoc, you have failed to do this mother. You were supposed to become the most despised Asoc in history, so that I could challenge you and become Asoc in your place. Instead, you have bungled every lead, every opportunity I gave you as your strategist.

"I will not avenge you, mother. But I will kill this interloper!" Tarrest screamed.

"Tarrest, I bested you, your Lastoc, and your mother. If you come against me this day, you will be killed," the Asoc snarled.

"I have been training with my mother for years, >Catal. I have learned about her and all of her moves. She considered herself the best warrior in the Asocan realm but I know for a fact that she is not. I can defeat her and I can defeat you," Tarrest shouted attacking the Asoc with no further warning.

The two came together in a clash of blades. Tarrest knew how her mother fought. She herself had fought endless battles against her while training, always leaving the impression on her mother that she was her mother's inferior in battle. No longer. She came at >Catal with determination and all the skill that she had learned through countless mock and real battles.

Initially, Tarrest moved the Asoc back, her mother's blade whirling through the air to clash repeatedly against that of her opponent. Her strength was fierce to watch as her weapon slammed against that of >Catal's. But each time they connected; her weapon was turned away by >Catal.

Tarrest recognized a certain mastery of the blade. >Catal had matured as a warrior and had learned new techniques. Tarrest realized that she was expending her strength against >Catal while >Catal was not using nearly as much effort to turn her blade.

The pair spun and turned, their blades coming together frequently with a noise that was almost deafening as they impacted each other. They fought for much longer than Tarrest had assumed they would. The combat went on for three, then four and finally entered the fifth Larr of time.

Tarrest was tiring and she knew it. Her youth, something she considered initially as an advantage, was being spent uselessly against what she now understood was a superior blade user.

Tarrest stepped into the Asoc and pushed her with her much younger body. Having been fighting now for over twenty Larr, the Asoc stumbled. Tarrest saw her opponent momentarily lose her footing and raised her own blade for a sudden downward chop. It was a blow that could not be stopped, could only be avoided and the stumbling >Catal had no means to do so.

The Asoc saw Tarrest raise her blade and decided on another move all together. Instead of avoiding Tarrest's strike, she put forth her own strike. In a move that Kim had been teaching her for many months now, the Asoc struck across Tarrest's raised arms. Unfortunately for Tarrest, her neck was between those raised arms.

Unaayel watched, helpless and her daughter's head rolled in the mud. She looked up at the angry face of >Catal and knew real fear.

Shugrand appeared in her mother's view. She watched as her other daughter picked up her >Curlat, the same weapon that Tarrest had unsuccessfully used against >Catal.

"Avenge me daughter," she shrieked.

"Avenge you? Are you serious mother?" Shugrand demanded. "I have been working since I have become an adult to correct the mismanagement that you and Tarrest have left in your wake.

"No mother, I will not be avenging you this day!" Shugrand stated.

She knelt before the Asoc.

"Asoc >Catal Mutt Herrtt, the legitimate ruler of the Asocan people. I, Shugrand Mutt Herrtt, of the second clutch of Unaayel Mutt Herrtt, do claim that my duty to you and the Asocan people is at an end. I surrender myself into your care and, inevitably, the embrace of death." Shugrand raised the >Curlat of her mother and presented it formally to the Asoc, who took the offered weapon.

"I accept your surrender, Shugrand, and regret that we cannot save Unaayel's Mutt line," the Asoc said just as formally.

"You need not fret, Asoc. I knew what I was getting into when I offered my assistance to you back on ShemetAR. I would ask one boon of you if I may, Asoc. My assistant, Gashafen Mutt Shemet has been loyal to me and by extension, to you, since she has been assigned to me at the Raddon's office of ShemetAR. I would ask that you treat her with respect and allow her to return to ShemetAR." Shugrand explained.

"I will take that under advisement, Shugrand. Your word holds value with me. If you vouch for her, I will see what I can do to complete this boon of yours," the Asoc replied.

"NO! Asoc! Please. You cannot execute Shugrand. She has worked tirelessly in your name," Gashafen pleaded.

"Gashafen, you shame me," Shugrand admonished her aide. "I am of the Mutt line of my mother. Her crimes are so great that, by law, all her Mutt line must be eliminated. That means all adults in her Mutt line will be executed. I was aware of this when I made the pact to save the realm with the Asoc. Now that my services have ended, I am ready to face the consequences of my mother's actions as a member of her Mutt line. While I do not wish to die, I understand the need for justice for the realm. I will not shy away from this action, my final duty to the realm."

"Well spoken, Shugrand," the Asost said.

">Korme my mate! You survived," the Asoc said with a hearty grin. She was quite pleased by this turn of events as on previous coup attempts, she had lost two of her previous mates.

"Aye, my mate. Thanks mainly to the severe training that Kim and Mbibo put us through," the Asost answered, rubbing his snout against that of his mate in an obvious show of affection.

Warship Astigalin, In Orbit of AsocAR, The Asocan Realm

Admiral Grazia was fuming. He had been winning this battle until the advent of the second fleet, then the tide had turned in favour of the Asoc's fleet. Things got even worse when the Dewfall, the Wanderer, and a couple of escorts, had punched a hole in the fleet and made close orbit of the planet in order to send down Marines and the Asoc to confront Unaayel.

The twin enemy fleets had mad short work of the Targe Class ships and were now targeting the Grazia Fleet's vessels. So far, they had been keeping the twin threat at bay but his fleet was losing a ship every few minutes as they were knocked out of service by the relentless pace of the battle.

Grazia's ships had done damage of their own, knocking out at least six of the enemy heavies and damaging still more but it was not enough. Grazia knew he was losing this battle. He knew this was his final battle as he was certain that he would not be allowed to escape.

"Two more of our ships have been damaged. They are out of action," Comms on the Battle Bridge called out. Grazia looked up at the Tactical Link and did not like what he saw. Too many of his ships were damaged now, the demise of his fleet was now certain.

"We need another way to get weapons in on the enemy fleet," Grazia muttered. "Our atomics cannot engage the enemy if they keep avoiding our missiles."

"Why not use the slaves?" Capt. Joseph Matteus suggested.

"What do you mean?" Grazia demanded.

"We can 'implore' to the good nature of the enemy and send our slaves from this ship to theirs, along with a warhead designed to take out as many of their ships as we can," Matteus said with a sinister smile.

"Very well, contact the Dewfall, Captain to Captain, and ask to transport our slaves to safety," Grazia replied.

Matteus called the Boatswain, MCPO Mark Prestel, who showed up quickly.

"Boats, get the Weapon's Master to move one of the warheads and hide it on shuttle three," he instructed the Boatswain quietly. "Set it so that it detonates on a pre-set radio signal. Then move the slaves from the brig into the shuttle. We are sending the enemy a request to take our slaves on humanitarian grounds. Keep this quiet from the rest of the crew for now."

The Boatswain nodded his head, understanding exactly what the captain meant. This ship was one of the few that had not sent it's compliment of slaves to the supply ships for the battle, not thinking that they, the flagship of the fleet, would be at threat.

"We will need a pilot for the shuttle," the Boatswain stated. "May I suggest we send PO1 Brandt as the slaves will listen to him and, quite frankly, I do not like his attitude to the senior personnel on this ship."

"I concur. Make it happen, Boats," the captain ordered.

"Comms, get me the Dewfall and send it to my ready room," Matteus called out.

NS Dewfall, in Orbit of AsocAR

"Sir, we have a communiqué from the Astigalin," the Comms O said.

"Send it to my ready room, Comms. Ask the Number One to attend me," Noor ordered.

The Number One arrived swiftly and Noor had her sit out of line of site then opened the Comms unit.

"This is Capt. Henadi Noor. Who am I speaking with?" Noor demanded.

"I am Capt. Joseph Matteus, commanding the Astigalin. We have taken some damage from your fleet and are at risk of leaking atmosphere. We have slaves on board and would ask that we be allowed to transfer them to safety with our supply ships," Matteus stated.

"Denied. I do not want anyone getting away from your ship at this time, captain," Noor replied.

"Captain, there are eighty slaves in the brig of this ship, the only place we can put them while we are engaged in combat. We would normally have sent them to the supply ships ahead of the battle but, quite frankly, Admiral Grazia did not anticipate that we would take hits or be at risk of venting. We need to get these slaves off this ship," Matteus answered in turn.

Noor noted her Number One pointing to the deck. She understood immediately what she was implying.

"Very well, captain. We will allow you to send the slaves out of your ship, however, they will come to this fleet and not to yours. That way, if you send your people off your ship, they will wind up in our hands anyways," Noor stated.

"Understood, captain. We will send them the slaves to you. We will send out three shuttles..."

"One large cargo shuttle," Noor said, cutting him off.

"That would be pretty tight for eighty slaves, captain," Matteus replied.

"And three large cargo shuttles could move 180 Marines in full combat EVA suits," Noor snarled. "One cargo shuttle. The slaves will be familiar with confined spaces as I am sure your brig is not all that large."

"Very well, captain. One shuttle with the slaves on board. We will be ready to send them in fifteen minutes. If we could have a cessation of hostilities until they arrive at your designated ship, that would be appreciated," Matteus asked.

"Fifteen minutes, sir. Then we would want to see that shuttle moving from your ship to ours. We will designate the rescue ship when the shuttle is in flight," Noor insisted.

"Very well, captain. Thank you for your consideration. Astigalin out." Matteus cut the link and smiled. So easy when you get them to do your bidding for you...

Warship Astigalin, In Orbit of AsocAR

Brandt had been called to the Boatswain's office. He moved there quickly, wondering what now, especially during combat.

"Brandt, we are moving the slaves off this ship," the Boatswain stated without preamble as Brandt entered the office. "You will be the pilot of the shuttle as the slaves like you and will listen to you.

"Prep cargo shuttle three for flight. Once you are ready, go to the brig and put the slaves on board. Your destination will be sent to you as soon as you are off the Astigalin. It is still being determined as we have a short truce in the battle to allow for the transfer.

"Don't waist time, Brandt. We only have fifteen minutes to get your shuttle into space," the Boatswain ordered.

Brandt moved swiftly to the shuttle bay and started prepping the shuttle. Something was odd about this order but he didn't know what. He ran his hand swiftly over the hatches and latches and noted that the rear hatch was dogged down tight. This was unusual as this hatch on this particular shuttle was always lose and had to be attended to.

His intuition peaked, he opened the hatch and looked inside. He almost died at what he saw there, a fucking nuclear warhead!

The warhead had a signal device attached to it.

So, they planned to blow up the shuttle within the enemy fleet, Brandt thought to himself. He and the slaves would be the bait to get this Trojan Horse among the enemy ships!

Angered, Brandt closed and latched the hatch then considered what to do. It would take too much time to remove the warhead. Instead, he opened another hatch and removed the shuttles ID sensor, switching it with that of shuttle four.

He moved to a locker where they held magnetic numbers used during pirate assaults. He pulled the numbers four and three out of the locker and placed them over the numbers on the respective shuttle, making shuttle four shuttle three and shuttle three into shuttle four. Fortunately for him, these two shuttle were in a dead spot for surveillance for this shuttle bay. He realized that the crew of the ship was probably unaware of this plot with only the senior officers and the Boatswain involved.

He quickly pre-flighted the shuttle and asked the guards in the brig to move the slaves to the shuttle bay as he was slightly behind.

Two minutes later, the slaves arrived. Brandt had them take seats until there were no more left, them put the remainder on the floor and showed them how to brace themselves. He called Hilda, the senior slave, forward to the flight deck and had her sit in the co-pilot's seat.

"Astigalin, Shuttle Three ready for launch," Brandt reported.

"Roger, Shuttle Three, we are opening the bay." Brandt heard the air being siphoned out and the sounds of the shuttle's hull popping as it expanded from inside. Two minutes later, the bay door opened and Brandt was given leave to exit the ship.

"Shuttle Three, you are to move toward the enemy fleet and report to them on channel one six for instructions, over," Brandt heard. He was surprised at that comment and looked to Hilda. "Roger, Astigalin, contact on channel one six. Shuttle Three switching now, out."

Brandt switched the frequency and made contact with the enemy fleet.

"Ah, this is Shuttle Three, with eighty-one slaves on board. We are instructed to contact you on this channel, over." Brandt sent out. He was sure that the Astigalin was listening to him.

"Roger Shuttle Three. Turn to port one four six degrees and proceed 1,300 kilometers on direct line until we contact you again, over," came the instructions, which Brandt acknowledged.