"The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everything)

[sonofccn]

Sweet. Words can't add to it so:

I. hope this works. Warriors of the World-ManoWar.

[Admiral Breetai]

Sweet. Words can't add to it so:

I. hope this works. Warriors of the World-ManoWar.

ManoWar is awesome I'm gonna have Wildstar play sons of Odin over the com during the first UFP battle in Tides

[Praeothmin]

Teaser 2:

He finds it odd that one moment, he was in his quarters on his ship, in front of his totem wheel, praying to his totem, hoping Puma would hear him and grant him his wisdom and patience, and then the next moment, he is here, in this strange arena, with strange companions.
The man to his right is young, but a big man, slightly taller, and slightly larger than he is, which is something he is not used to in Starfleet’s Section 31.
He is not worried though, for he knows –how he knows is a mystery still- that the man is an ally, closely affiliated to Starfleet, but in a shadowy way, just as he, John Rainbird, is.

[Admiral Breetai]

"you are my tag team partner"

the puma as Rainbirds sacred eh?

and I'm guessing Q got bored?

[sonofccn]

You really know how to turn those screws don't ya? :)

Kidding, keep it up the great work! :)

[Praeothmin]

Yeah, I know... :)

If all goes well though, the entire story should be posted tomorrow morning...

And I'm not kidding...

I hope it won't disappoint you guys though...

[Admiral Breetai]

that's not possible preao

[Praeothmin]

Here it is...
Please keep in mind that this is MY vision of your respective characters, as seen from my perspective, so it is quite certain that they will not be 100% as you envisioned them...

I hope it is to your liking any ways...

Interlude: Fight of the Universe

He is no longer aboard the Musashi, he realizes.
As he looks around him, he sees he is in some sort of an arena, at least thirty meters wide, separated in three equal-sized areas by shimmering force fields.
He is not alone.
In each separate area are two living beings.
The one with James is also human, and almost as big, though clearly older.
He is of Amerind descent, with long dark hair that is slightly greyed, attached in a pony tail.
A handsome face weathered by time and many battles, where are seated two dark pools filled with dark intensity.
He knows his name, even if he doesn’t know how: John Rainbird.
This John Rainbird is holding to tomahawks, swinging comfortably at the end of both arms.
It is then that James notices he is also armed.
His trusted Ares Monosword is in its sheath at his back.
He knows this Rainbird is not the enemy, in fact, they both represent one faction in what is to be a Gladiatorial style combat: The Federation of Planets.
There are two other factions, he knows.
The Empire, of which James knows nothing, except for the name of the two officers representing them, Captain Robert Jackson and Sergeant Aphorious.
He can only see them with difficulty through the hazy force fields, but he sees both are humans, and as with his companion, both are tall and broad.
But all four of them are dwarfed by the other two combatants, representing the Xeno forces, Im’Pec the Klingon and Sar’Ur’Ion the Viper.
He doesn’t know how he got here, only that he will have to fight the others as soon as the force fields drop down.

*****************************************************************

He finds it odd that one moment, he was in his quarters on his ship, in front of his totem wheel, praying to his totem, hoping Puma would hear him and grant him his wisdom and patience, and then the next moment, he is here, in this strange arena, with strange companions.
The man to his right is young, but a big man, slightly taller, and slightly larger than he is, which is something he is not used to in Starfleet’s Section 31.
He is not worried though, for he knows –how he knows is a mystery still- that the man is an ally, closely affiliated to Starfleet, but in a shadowy way, just as he, John Rainbird, is.
He sees the two other humans in a separate section of the arena, enemies both, representing a faction he only recently heard about.
The Empire!
Both of them are also big, which brings a slight smile to Rainbird’s mouth, as if the universe has chosen champions for a fight to determine who wins in the Cosmic balance.
But Rainbird knows only confidence, because the young man besides him shows no trace of nervousness, and in fact his eyes only betray a steely resolve, just as John’s own eyes do.
The other arena’s occupants are also known to him, Sar’ur’ion of the Vipers, a snake-like alien with the upper body of a massive man.
But Sar’Ur’Ion only gets a casual glance, for now John Rainbird sees the giant next to the Viper champion, a figure Rainbird sees in his every dream, and even in some waking moments, the most dangerous foe he has ever faced, the one person he fears, his greatest friend.
For how else can you call someone who shows you more respect than anyone else, someone who shows himself truly to you without pretence, someone you can trust implicitly to always be upfront with you, but more importantly, how else can you call someone who knows you as much as you know yourself, who can see your soul and show his to you.
All the times they faced each other, people thought these fights were merely the result of hatred, the culmination of orders to destroy the enemy of their respective governing bodies, but few understood these battles for what they were: a baring of one’s soul to the other, a discovery of oneself through battle, the forging of one’s ego.
In these times, these battles, Puma is always with him, lending him some of his strength, speed and agility, for how else could one human compete with the giant of a Klingon and still live?
In a way, Rainbird ponders with mirth, his and Im’Pec’s stories are like those of old lovers meeting again for the last time.

***********************************************************************
Captain Jackson doesn’t ponder too much on the implications of what’s happening.
He knows he has a war to win back home, and he needs to get there as soon as possible, if only to protect Imperial citizens from the Vipers.
He knows he has one of their good war Leaders in the other area, and knows he can count on the Sergeant next to him, for the man has an air of one accustomed to following orders, even onto the brink of oblivion.
His cavalry saber in hand, he calmly looks at the Viper leader and knows who his first target will be, although the Viper’s giant companion does worry him a bit.
The worry lessens when he sees the giant pay no heed to anyone but the dark-skinned human in the other area.
These two have a history, Captain Jackson deduces from the way they look at each other.
Fear, mingled with a great deal of respect, and even something one could call affection, if one can believe it.
So the only true unknown, then, is the broad human next to the dark-skinned one: James Reynolds.
That one will require close attention from Jackson when the fighting begins.

*************************************************************************

Aphorious is eager to get this over with.
He was planning the next mission, staying awake with the Hyper-metabolic pills the Empire provides its troops.
He is certain the pills’ effect wore off and he dozed off, explaining this dream.
His no-nonsense mind tells him this can only be a dream, for how else can he explain his knowledge on people he’s never seen before, or this strange setting he finds himself in?
He knew the drugs would have strange hallucinatory side-effects when taken in great quantity, but he had to, as the mission’s planning was critical, and he would not let others take his men’s lives in their hands.
He recognizes the figure next to him though, for he has seen his face on the Holonet once or twice.
Captain Robert Jackson, an Imperial officer.
One who gets into the thick of things, one who does not shy away from battle, blood, or pain if need be.
He knows he can trust the man to stand side-by-side with him, and this knowledge means he will follow this man’s orders, whatever they are, for they will be born of battlefield knowledge, and not text-vids written by armchair generals with no actual fighting experience.
He tightens his grip on his combat knife, a dangerous looking blade almost two feet long, and readies himself for what is to come.
He has to chose a target, which is rather easy for Aphorious.
He does not know the other three, and has no standing orders on encountering them, but he does have standing orders on Viper encounters: kill them on sight.
The Viper goes down first, he decides, unless Jackson tells him differently.

*************************************************************************

Im’Pec is content.
The Gods have been good to him, he thinks.
John Rainbird, there, within his reach.
His blood is racing, for he fears him, but his heart is soaring, for once again he will dance with his friend, and together they will create a battle worthy of songs.
Rainbird is unlucky in a way, Im’Pec believes, for the man has a true Klingon heart, and Im’Pec believes that being born human has impeded Rainbird’s Klingon blood to shine.
For if he were not a Klingon deep down in his soul, how could he stand up to him, how could he be such a magnificient warrior?
He barely looks at the others, for they are insignificant, even his “ally”.
A worm with arms and a humanoid torso.
Hmmph! He thinks, an abomination, nothing else.
After the fight with Rainbird, this creature is the next to die.
IF he survives, he thinks.
And he knows that this is the saddest part of the epic dance which will begin: one of them has to die.
For one great warrior to survive and sing the song, another great warrior has to die.
It must not matter, Im’Pec decides, for to die in battle is to die with glory, and glory will allow one to go to Sto’Vo’Kor, where the vanquished’s ancestors will welcome him with open arms.
Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam: Today is a good day to die!


********************************************************************

Sar’Ur’Ion does not like this.
Deep in his heart, he knows this to be true, knows this to be real.
If he dies here, he dies for real.
The worst part of this situation, in his mind, is that he is facing four smooth-skin Xenos, and has a monster for a partner.
The Viper leader despises all that does not slither, and so trusts no one without a tail.
Worse, the air is dry, and cold.
He is not comfortable, and hates it.
As soon as the battle begins, he will choose his prey and kill it, and then he will kill anyone still alive, even his partner.
Sar’Ur’Ion will be the ultimate victor because he is a superior being, a War Master with infinite wisdom and cunning, and he will crush all the inferior Xenos.

************************************************************************



As the force fields are lowered, they all hear a loud voice coming from hidden speakers, shouting:
“FIGHT!”
James knows what he’s capable of, knows he has to do all he can to protect the humans, even the ones who are supposed to be his enemies, and so he takes off like a rocket and runs towards the giant Klingon.
By the time the others react, he’s half way across the arena, his Ares Monosword no longer in its sheath.
Only one other being seems to follow his movements: the Viper, Sar’Ur’Ion, has left his position and is slithering at great speeds towards him.
James accelerates and veers to his right, intent on circumventing the advancing Viper.
He succeeds, of course, his augmented reflexes and fast twitch muscles giving him speeds no one can match.
As he reaches the giant, the Klingon lifting his huge sword as easily as if it weighted no more than a feather, he hears a heartfelt “NO!” come from his back.

********************************************************************

Im’Pec cannot believe the speed of the human, James Reynolds.
He has never seen anyone move like this, especially someone his size.
But Im’Pec is growling, annoyed.
This human wants to deprive him of his fight with Rainbird, a fight the Gods decided.
He will swat the fast human aside and then, he and Rainbird will accomplish their destiny.
He hears the heart-wrenching cry of his friend, and shares in his pain.
Their glory will not be denied by an upstart speedster.

*********************************************************************

Sar’Ur’Ion is surprised.
He has never known bipedals to move that fast, except for the occasional Jeah-Dy, but this one does not wield the light swords common for their cult.
Nevertheless, he is now considered the most dangerous of his enemies.
But the Viper war leader is no glory seeking fool.
He will let the Jeah-Dy fight the giant, let him suffer injuries, tire himself, and will take him down when he is weakened.
For now, he will take on the two Imperials coming his way.

********************************************************************

Aphorious is dumbfounded.
A Fething Force user.
The Federation has Fething Force users.
He is almost happy the Force-user had decided to tackle the giant, for he will be able to concentrate on the Viper, and he hopes the two most dangerous foes will hurt themselves enough to be easier to take down after the Viper’s taken care of.

*********************************************************************

Of Course!, Jackson thinks, These son’s ‘o bitches had to have a Force user in ‘eir ranks.
Still, it doesn’t matter much, the man thinks, because they will have their hands full with just the Viper.
So he will concentrate on the Viper, and then he and Aphorious will kill the giant, the Force user, or whoever still stands in their way afterwards.
All for the Empire, all for the Outer Colonies.

**********************************************************************

Rainbird is livid.
The young one is trying to take away his friend, to steal his destiny.
That, Rainbird cannot accept.
He needs to get to his friend before the very rapid youth has a chance to injure him.
He asks Puma for his speed and strenght, and suddenly, the youth’s movements slow down, if only a little, but sufficiently for Rainbird to get there in time to stop this travesty of a fight, he hopes.

**********************************************************************


As he hears the cry, he drops to his left side and slides across the floor, a move which allows him to evade a devastating swing from the Klingon’s great sword, who sweeps it from right to left.
Such a blow can cleave him in half, he knows, but it is not important.
What is important is the distress call from his ally, so when his slide is about to end, its momentum depleted, he presses on his left foot and pushes with his left arm, bringing his body to an upright position again.
But he what he sees doesn’t register with what he heard.
Rainbird is running like a mad man towards the giant and him, yet looks unscathed.
Why would he even let out such a cry?

*****************************************************************

“He is MINE!” Rainbird hears from his mouth as he runs across the open space to his kindred spirit.
The youth looks puzzled, and this makes Rainbird realize the man has yet to encounter the one who will destroy all his preconceptions about himself, who will look upon him in all honesty and allow himself to do the same.
He has not battled his demon, not yet.
But Rainbird knows one thing for certain: Im’Pec is his, and no one else’s.
He finally arrives to his friend, oblivious to the two humans who are engaging the Viper, and signals the youth to move away, lets him know with certainty this fight is his, and his alone.
As the youth moves away, satisfied, John Rainbird looks at his friend, crosses his Tomahawks in front of him in the traditional Apache salute, and then hits his chest with his right hand in a Klingon salute.

****************************************************************

Im’pec smiles, for though he would have loved to do battle with the young human, his speed and agility making him a great challenge, he knows his true calling, his one true opponent this day:
John Rainbird, his friend, his kindred spirit, his Boq Ga'.
The youth respects Rainbird’s wishes, showing his honor, and so Im’Pec nods a salute, then turns to his battle brother.
He salutes the Klingon way, then crosses his arms in front of him in an approximation of Rainbird’s Indian salute as a show of respect.
He smiles, Rainbird returning the smile.
“Let us make them sing long and hard of us, my friend.” He tells Rainbird.
“Q’apla!”
And then he attacks.

****************************************************************

Aphorious does not have time to watch what is happening with the giant and the Force user, for he has his hands full at the moment.
The Viper is dangerous.
It is fast, and its great sword keeps Aphorious at bay.
The sword comes in low from his left, and he pivots his torso to face it, his right hand turning his blade upside down and going straight to intercept the blade, his left hand coming to rest on his right wrist to add power to his block.
The Viper uses the block’s momentum to circle the blade up and bring it back in a downward strike aimed at his head.
Aphorious simply keeps his hands in the same position but trusts them up in the blade’s way.
The Viper retracts his sword by grating it on Aphorious’s blade, creating sparks, and then stabs straight at the man’s abdomen.
As Aphorious steps back, swinging his blade down in a left to right semi-circle to block the sword trust, he sees the Viper’s tail coming in from his right.
He is fully compromised in his actual parry, and knows he will not be able to react in time.
He is doomed.

**********************************************************************

There’s no way Jackson will let that fanged horror kill a good man like Aphorious.
His cavalry saber, its curved blade gleaming in the surreal arena lights, comes in at the last instant in a sweep, down and to the right, redirecting the Viper’s deadly blow to strike nothing but cool air.
He smiles as it hisses, and stands side by side with Aphorious.
The soldier is glad to see him, he can feel it.
They spread a bit, putting some distance between the two, but not too much, so the Viper cannot fully use all its weapons against them.
The creature is angry, but it isn’t a fool.
It does not let its anger control it, and so does not wade in like a crazed maniac oblivious to its surroundings, making costly mistakes.
No, it simply falls back, assesses the new situation, and then comes back in.

*******************************************************************

Sar’Ur’Ion underestimated the Xenos.
They fight well and are very strong.
They know the importance of teamwork, which makes his situation more delicate, but not impossible.
He is Sar’Ur’Ion, War Leader of the Vipers, and he will prevail, for unlike the other creatures, he has other weapons in addition to his sword.
And he has mobility.
He attacks to the left while his tails takes the right, then retracts and sweeps upward with his sword, follows closely left to right with his claws and attacks low with his tail.
When these attacks are foiled, he spins around on his lower body, his sword sweeping high while his tail comes around in a circling strike, sweeping low.

************************************************************************

Im’Pec sweeps at Rainbird’s midsection from right to left, which the warrior easily evades by stepping back, then reverses his sweep left to right while taking a great step forward.
Rainbird blocks by twisting to his right while stepping forward, both axes coming up to block the sword.
The momentum imparted by his great strength still pushes Rainbird to the side, even with the man’s supernatural strength.
But the huge Klingon smiles when he sees his opponent has counted on that, for when his body starts moving, Rainbird uses his Tomahawks to push against the great blade of Im’pec’s sword, rolling towards him with quick pivots, eventually coming out of his pivots when Im’Pec retracts his sword.
The final pivot from Rainbird has him bend his legs in a helix, him sitting on them, and he delivers a sweep of his right tomahawk directly at the Klingon’s knee.
Im’Pec simply lifts his right leg over the sweep and tries to stomp on his friend.
But Rainbird is too fast, as Im’Pec knows, and the human warrior uses the position of his legs to propel himself forward, rolling under Im’Pec, disappearing from his view.
Im’Pec is no novice, though, so he bends his left knee while whipping his great sword vertically around his body, to the left, and brings it in at his back.
A satisfying metallic noise lets him know Rainbird’s blow is blocked.

*************************************************************************

James is lost in admiration of these two warriors, their fight more akin to a dance than to actual battle, every move with a perfect counter, executed as one would execute a rehearsed dance routine.
But then his eyes catch view of the Viper fighting the other two humans, and he sees the danger before they do.
He moves like the wind, his augmented body reacting perfectly to every command.
He knows he won’t be there in time, and sees the two men crouch in unison to evade the sweeping sword, but only the black man jumps up fast enough, and high enough, the evade the tail.
The older man, the one with authority, jumps, but the tail strikes him in the calves and up-ends him, sending him on his back in a hard landing ten feet away.
The Viper continues his spinning motion, using its momentum to continue to batter Aphorious’s defences while it positions itself between the two Imperials.
Its tail barely misses Aphorious’s head when its sword comes down on the rising Captain.
James arrives in a spinning jump, right to left, his right hand bringing his sword across the Viper’s, sending it wide out, while his left hand gently pushes the older man out of the way.
Still, with James’s augmented strength, and the speed he used to get there in time, his “gentle” push propels the man another ten feet back in another hard landing.
At least, James thinks, he still lives.

**************************************************************************
The Jeah-Dy comes to the rescue of the Viper’s hated enemies.
After seeing the speed at which it moves, and the strength of its sword arm, Sar’Ur’Ion knows he cannot fight him and Aphorious at the same time.
And so he spins again, this time all his attacks are aimed at putting as much distance between itself and the Jeah-Dy.
At the end of his movement, Aphorious is acting as an unwilling buffer zone for the Viper.

**********************************************************************

Aphorious doesn’t like his situation.
He is alone against a dangerous enemy, and now the Force user has taken out the Captain and is now at his back.
He has no choice.
He runs at the Viper, blocking a sword trust, jumps over its tail and accepts a blow from the creature’s claws which impacts on his right calf, leaving a long gash, the pain burning through his leg.
He still succeeds rolling and getting back up, and now has the satisfaction of seeing the Force user on the other side of the Frustrated Viper, and Captain Jackson getting up behind this new enemy.

************************************************************************

The man’s strength is unbelievable.
Jackson never thought it possible from a human being, but then again, he knows Force users can do things no other beings can, like move faster, hit harder, and take hits that would drop anyone else instantly, and keep on fighting.
He knows he was right in fearing this man, but he cannot waste time pondering what this means.
He gets up, picks up his saber and gets back in the fight.
He sees the young man glance at him briefly when he pushes him back, but then he turns his back to him, and focuses on the Viper.
The youth moves too quickly for Jackson to see the moves he uses, but the results are undeniable, for after a few heartbeats, the Viper’s tail and body bleed from a few wounds.
This makes Jackson smile, for he sees these wounds have an effect on the Viper, for now Aphorious, bleeding from a few gashes as well, has taken the fight to the Viper.
But Jackson knows he cannot tarry, for when the youth finishes with the creature, he will turn against Aphorious and him, and they cannot beat him, he knows.
But if the youth is dead, he knows both Imperials can kill the Viper.
So he moves, slowly, advancing towards the Force user’s back, saber ready for a strike.
As he gets in position for a decapitating strike and swings, he sees the Force user cock his head to the side, and with blinding speed, right after a parry of the Viper’s sword, which allows Aphorious to open a big gash on the creature’s back, the Force user spins around and steps inside Jackson’s reach, his left fist impacting with the Captain’s right wrist.
The saber goes flying out of Jackson’s hand at the same time the Force user’s right foot comes up upon Jackson’s stomach, and a quick push from the youth sends the Captain through the air to land six feet back.
Jackson lands hard, but knows the youth could have pushed much, much harder.
He is puzzled.

**************************************************************************

Im’Pec sends his sword in a wide sideway sweep, right to left, which Rainbird evades by ducking, and then brings it back up and down to cleave the bending man in half.
He fails, of course, for while his opponent is now suffering from many bleeding wounds -all glancing blows, of course- he is still quite fast.
This latest blow is deflected to the man’s right side after a side-step to his left, Im’Pec’s sword, driven by its weight and the giant’s strength, digging in the arena’s ground.
He kicks at Rainbird to force him back, allowing him to retrieve his sword, his wounds sapping his strength as well.
Both opponents stop, and observe each other.
They are bleeding, suffering, and have slowed down.
They are both smiling, happier than they’ve ever been before.
There will be no orders to retreat, no one to interfere; they will finally know the outcome of their dance of death.
Im’Pec goes straight at Rainbird, then steps to his left at the last instant, and uses both hands for an upward swing.
Rainbird cannot evade, and uses both Tomahawks to block down on the sword.
Im’Pec heaves with all his might, and so the swing isn’t slowed down and it keeps going up fast.
Rainbird understands, Im’Pec sees, that the swing is not intended to injure, that the giant knew his opponent would block, and that the intention is to tear the weapons away from his adversary.
And it seems it will work, for Rainbird’s right hand is losing its grip on its weapon.
And then Im’Pec knows only admiration for Rainbird, as before his left hand suffers the same fate, he pushes on his Tomahawk’s handle will all his might, forcing the weapon to spin around the rising sword.
As Im’Pec struggles to halt his swing, one Tomahawk propelled far in the air, the other falls into Rainbird’s waiting left hand, in view of the Klingon’s unprotected torso.

***************************************************************************

James has to be careful, his goal is not to kill the old man, but simply to keep him from getting hurt seriously, and to give him time to deal with the serpent.
Hopefully the two men will listen to reason afterward.
He turns back towards the Viper and sees its hurting, but James getting out of reach to take care of the old man had allowed it to concentrate completely on Aphorious.
He sees it take a life threatening hit from the soldier’s knife to its abdomen, in return cutting off the man’s knife arm to the elbow.
As it lifts its sword up high to finish the man off, James jumps on the creature’s back, his left hand closing on its wrist like a vice, and he plunges his Monosword deep in its back, going through scale, bone, and then its heart.

******************************************************************************

Sar’Ur’Ion is seething with rage.
They should not have prevailed, he should have killed them.
He knows they cheated though, the Xenos used a Jeah-Dy to fight him, those cowardly curs.
He feels the iron grip of the Jeah-Dy just as its sword plunges in Sar’Ur’Ion’s back.
The Viper War Leader feels a twinge of pain from his heart, and knows he will die.
He is already on his way to unconsciousness when his head is severed from his body.
As the last nerve endings fall lifeless, his dying brain sees his killer let his body fall unceremoniously to the floor.

*************************************************************************

Aphorious sees the Force user pull the blade out and jump down, still holding the Viper’s sword arm, and cut its head off.
He doesn’t pay his wound any heed, he doesn’t have the luxury to, he simply uses his left hand to pull his knife out of the Viper, and then gets in attack position.
He is no lefty, but he is a highly trained fighter, and so he knows he should not be underestimated.
But his opponent is no ordinary opponent either.
He is the one person, along with Jackson, who is still unscathed in this fight.
Aphorious knows it has nothing to do with his skill, not because he doesn’t have any, but because the circumstances favoured him.
Had he fought the giant has he originally intended, he would not be so fresh or strong, and would be a more manageable opponent.
He does take solace in the fact that Jackson is getting up and running back in the fight.
He just hopes it will be enough.

************************************************************************

Rainbird sees the opening, lays his Tomahawk horizontally in front of him, and goes in, spinning from right to left.
The Tomahawk digs deeply in the unprotected Klingon flank, opening a gash at least a foot long.
Rainbird knows it is a deadly wound, so his heart is saddened with the knowledge he just killed his best friend.
His spin ends with him to the left of the giant, and then he smiles, for he realizes he is directly in the path of the descending giant’s sword, Im’Pec knowing he could not stop the blow, and so sacrificed defence for a strong offense.
As the sword opens his torso from shoulder to waist, he falls dead, a smile on his face.
As his last breath escapes his lips, he sees his best friend fall to the ground, smiling just as he is.

*****************************************************************************

James knows the older man is coming behind him, he can hear him.
He sees the giant Klingon and the Amerind warrior kill each other, and he knows he will have to kill his opponents unless he acts fast.
He attacks the soldier, a low sweeping blow aimed at the man’s stomach, one the soldier blocks easily, which James had hoped for.
He uses the block to push against the man’s knife, quickly bringing the blade up in a circle, over and then to his right.
As the blades are levied to the right, James sidesteps to his left, and punches the soldier in the face, hard.
The soldier is good, as James knows, and he begins to roll with the punch, but he cannot do it fast enough to completely absorb the powerful blow, and so by the time Jackson arrives, Aphorious is falling to the ground, unconscious.
The older Captain attacks viciously, from all kinds of difficult angles, with feints and counter feints that would have left a less skilled and experienced fighter vulnerable, and most likely dead.
But James is anything but a weak fighter, and so he parries blow after blow, at then sees his chance.
As Jackson hits his sword close to the hilt, a blow intended to disarm an opponent, James lets go of his sword, his right hand sneaking quickly past the older man’s defences to grab his wrist and pull towards him.
He welcomes him with a knee to the stomach, and then an arm lock and a projection leave the man in a crumpled heap eight feet away, while his saber lands ten feet in the opposite direction.
He turns around and goes to Aphorious.
He rips the man’s shirt to create a bandage, and uses the man’s belt as a tourniquet in stem the blood loss until he can get the proper equipment to help the man.
He turns to Jackson and says:
“We need to talk!”
And then everything disappears in a flash of white light.

*************************************************************************

“What a pitiful ending to a great battle.” Says one observer.
“Now why did James have to try and help his enemies?
I knew we should have chosen someone else to give us a great show.” He added.

“Oh shush!” Said another observer.
“This was quite entertaining.
You’re just frustrated because we did not choose your precious Picard to participate in our game.”

“Picard would have been a great contender.” Says the first observer.

“Really? What would he have done?” Asks a third one.
“Orate them to death? Convince them of the error of their ways, and to renounce their beliefs?
He wouldn’t have lasted three seconds with any of them.
My Kirk would have been far more suited in there.”

The first one sulks a bit, but then brightens up.

“You are right, Picard would not be suited for this kind of contest, but in a contest of ideals…”

The second observer agrees.

“Yes, and I have the perfect counter for Picard.
There’s a one called Vire’tess, in one reality…”

“We need to plan this.” The first one says.
And then they disappear in a flash of white light.

[sonofccn]

That was a thing of beauty. I can't speak for Rainbird or Im'pec but you nailed Jackson, Aphorious and I loved Sar'Ur'Ion. Poor lizard can't get a break. Bravo.

[Praeothmin]

Thank you!

[Admiral Breetai]

I liked it great deal are you kidding me? What a fantastically written battle and the two great warrior meet in battle for a final time indeed what an epic clash

and..did I hear this right? Are you seriously doing Vi'retess vs Picard? oh goodness that's awesome

[Praeothmin]

Glad you liked it, Breetai...

Did you like the personification of Im'Pec and Rainbird?
I wrote Rainbird from the Shadowrun perspective, and I wanted to explain why it was he could so match the huge Klingon in battle, and since James was already an "augment", I felt going the mystical way worked...

Jackson, to me, was the epitome of experience, and so that's why i had him so perceptive, able to read things the others couldn't...

Are you seriously doing Vi'retess vs Picard? oh goodness that's awesome

Well, no, I wasn't, it was just a tease, really...

Who knows, maybe some day...

I'll need to see more of the shadowy figure from sonofccn's fic before I can do a good story though... :)

[Admiral Breetai]

a three way between those two eh? goodness

and I thought you did well, I've been considering explaining why Rainbird can match A Klingon capable of welding a six hundred pound sword like a reed but leaving it blank or implying a mystical connection is after reading through it very good.

Rainbird is apache though I was going to have him be a descendant of a character that appeared in the TOS comics

I think you handled their characterization very well, all of them

[Praeothmin]

Rainbird is apache though I was going to have him be a descendant of a character that appeared in the TOS comics

I know he's Apache, I wrote it so...












Pay no attention to the edit notice, it has nothing to do with this... *whistles as he turns away*

[Admiral Breetai]

What edit do you speak of "I see nuzzzing nuzzing!!"

I hadn't realized how opposed Jean Luc and Vi'retess were until you brought it up but now that I think about it