"I would not dishonor him with the offer."
Kai nodded grimly at Malthus' words. "And were I to surrender, the offer would never be made."
"But if you surrendered, you would still be alive," Deirdre insisted.
Kai wanted to reach out to her, but instead he said, "Deirdre, you don't understand. As much as you are a healer, I am a warrior. You would use all your skills and abilities to keep someone alive, and here, now, I can do the same."
"But I wouldn't die to save someone!"
"With any luck, neither will I." Kai looked over at the Elemental. "If you are ready, so am I. Let us begin."
"I am ready." Malthus lowered himself into a fighting stance. "Begin."
Well aware any long fight would be one he lost, Kai glided forward. He reared back, feinting a side kick to the Elemental's head with his right foot, then lashed out at Malthus' right knee. The Elemental's left arm came up to block the head blow and his right hand partially deflected the lower kick. Still the kick hit hard and Kai danced back out of range before Malthus could come after him.
The Elemental rubbed at his leg for a moment, then nodded. "You are very good, Mr. Jewell. I see why Corbin fell to you. He would have underestimated you, but I shall not do the same." Straightening up, Malthus waved Kai forward. "Come, again!"
Kai attacked again, but as his right foot scythed through where Malthus' head should have been, the Elemental ducked and cut to the left and toward Kai's back. Something heavy and hard slammed into Kai's spine, pitching him forward. Pain shot down his back and into his legs, momentarily numbing them.
He landed on his face and instantly flipped himself prone. Lying on his back, he saw the Clanner's right foot stamp down through where he had fallen. Kai snapped his right leg up, driving his toe into the back of Malthus' right thigh, then pushed off and rolled further from the large man.
Kai regained his feet slowly and felt a pulsing of pain from the center of his back. Blake's blood, he nearly cripples me with one punch and nothing I do fazes him.He watched the Elemental turn in his direction and saw no weakness in the man's right leg.
Give up, Kai,hissed the small voice in his head. Let the farce end now.
The Elemental drove at Kai. An overhand right arced in at his head, so the MechWarrior brought his left arm up to block it while his own right hand shot straight toward Malthus' jaw. He felt his own blow connect and heard a grunt from the Elemental.
Malthus' punch drove Kai's aim back into his own head and exploded like a bomb in his brain. Sizzling rainbow balls burst before his eyes and his knees turned to water. Unable to regain his balance, he spun to the ground and tasted blood and dirt in his mouth. He pawed at his face, and his hand came away wet and red from a concussive nosebleed.
Huge hands grabbed him by the thigh and the back of his neck. Malthus shook him, then tossed him three meters. Kai crashed into the ground hard, then rolled a few times and stopped on his back. Stars still shimmered in his eyesight and the rest of the world looked as if dusk had turned to midnight.
Malthus grabbed the front of his jumpsuit and hauled him to his feet. A punch to the stomach doubled Kai over as his breath exploded from his lungs, then a knee to his ribs sent him reeling. His lungs burned and his stomach ached as he struggled to stay on his feet. He half-succeeded and held himself off the ground on a hand and one knee. He wanted to yell that he surrendered, but breathless he could not do it.
Panicked and half-blind, Kai looked up just in time for another of the Elemental's punches to hammer him into the ground. He tried to pull out of the way of the punch, but only partially succeeded, which meant he flopped onto his side instead of landing prone again. He kicked out blindly and felt his foot connect, but had no idea where he had hit Malthus.
The first bit of breath back in his lungs drove the panic from him, but did nothing to cut through the despair in him. You have failed, Kai. Your whole life comes down to this: blind and bleeding and dying. It is a pity your parents will live with your shame and Deirdre has to witness it.The pain in his ribs and the ache in his stomach underscored the ignominy of his defeat.
"No!" he howled in response. I will not give up. I am not fighting for Deirdre or my parents or posterity. I am fighting for me."I will not be beaten!"
Kai heaved himself to his feet and concentrated on breathing his pain away. Across from him, Malthus slowly stood and massaged his right leg. Kai used his sleeve to wipe the blood from his nose, then slowly beckoned the Elemental forward. "Come on. We should end this before it is too dark to fight."
Malthus came in at him cautiously, slightly favoring his right leg. Kai knew his only chance to defeat the Elemental came in knocking him out, yet to strike such a blow would be to leave himself open to hideous punishment by the Elemental. It doesn't matter, it has to be done!
Kai waited until Malthus planted his right foot, then leaped forward. He led with his left foot, then snapped his right foot up and around in a kick that pinned Malthus' right ear to the side of his head. He saw the man's head twist around, but he knew from the feel of the kick that Malthus was just moving to try to lessen the effect of the blow.
Malthus' right fist swatted Kai from the air. He hit the ground solidly, crushing his right arm into his ribs and knocking the wind out of him. He bounced once and began a lazy roll through the air. Kai heard thundering in his ears and saw flickering lights high in the evening sky, but could make no sense of them or the noise.
He stabbed his right leg down to try to land on his feet, but something tangled itself around his foot, then slipped sideways. As he brought his left foot down, he saw his pack and gunbelt bind his feet together just as the plateau disappeared from beneath him.
Unable to breathe, he could not even scream as he fell into the darkness.
* * *
Khalsa saw Dave Jewell drop off the plateau as his gunner finished blowing apart one of the Elementals. Behind him, in the crew compartment, the jump master screamed, "Go, go, go!" over and over again. The jump infantry, their jump-pack exhaust burning a brilliant argent in the evening sky, made an easy descent to the plateau.
The pilot flicked on the helicopter's external spotlights and lit the plateau brighter than it would have been at high noon. He nodded to Khalsa.
The demi-Precentor adjusted his headset microphone. "This is Demi-Precentor Khalsa of ComStar. By command of Primus Myndo Waterly, our Blessed Order is taking control of Alyina. Wherever they served on our world, all of your men have been rounded up or, regrettably, killed, Star Captain Malthus. You are now our prisoner."
Malthus slowly climbed to his feet and shook his head to clear it. "Stravagdog! Come down here and I will pluck your heart out with my bare hands!"
"Tsk, tsk, Star Captain. Is that any way to speak to your host?" Khalsa rubbed his hands together, then scratched at where dead flesh from beneath the cast still flaked off. "I could have my men kill you where you stand, but I don't think you want that. And don't think you are alone in having been disgraced. Operation Scorpion is rounding up you invaders from all over the place."
Khalsa killed his external microphone. "Call the other helicopters to come in and get their prisoners. We will take them back to Dove Costoso until we have to send them on to the main center at Valigia." The pilot nodded and Khalsa smiled again. "Operation Scorpion, I love it." He pointed down at Malthus. "Sting, I got you!"
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