Siyo was staying immobile; he feared that someone might have spotted him. Out of the thirty recruits that entered the games, ten were already marked out. Siyo had taken care of two of them. He was hiding on the high pass to the top of a flat plateau. The plateau offered great visibility at the cost of cover. Siyo’s position was about three fourths of the way up the pass. He had rocks overlooking the pass, and small shrubs were covering his back. Just in case some lucky recruit was to sneak behind him, he had a trip wire rigged to a Hurricane Hand Grenade. Though it was only a stun, it would suffice for warning him of someone’s presence. He slowly peeked over the lip of the rocks.
He saw a figure, moving slowly across the rocky gorge below. An old river must have flowed here some time ago, but it had long since dried up. Siyo raised his weapon, and took aim. He fired three rounds at the figure and ducked below his cover. He heard a strangled cry, and felt relief that the target was hit. His celebration was short-lived; his trip line going off interrupted his mind. He spun around, and brought a holstered Ion Sword to bear. He saw a recruit dazed, with his photon rifle on the floor nearby. Siyo rushed up, and shot the recruit once to ensure that he couldn’t move. Siyo quickly spun around, and made sure that no one saw the explosion. He knew that someone must have, and now must be watching him. He grabbed his equipment, and started up the ridge again.
He reached another ridge, about ten meters from the top of the plateau rise. He was setting up camp when he heard a distinct crunch against the silence of the night. He slowly reached for his sword, and brought it up. He peered into the night, and a flash erupted from a hilt, and a figure lunged at him. He parried with his hilt, and opened his blade. Him and the unknown recruit started a complex dance, lunging, stabbing, overhead strikes, and quick side strikes. He blocked the relentless blow at every strike, looking for his chance. The sword wielder was indeed a great sword master, and it dawned on him who it must be.
“Ranyk? You need to step up your skills, you should have had me by now!”
Siyo waited to see if the figure would respond, and no sooner than he was about to speak again, he did.
“Ahaha but Siyo, I have left you with so many openings for you to strike, and you have taken none of them! You need to improve, and I can see you won’t last much longer.”
Siyo realized that he was right. Siyo was tiring, and his form was becoming less perfect. Siyo knew that he must win, to uphold his title. He also knew he was no match at swordplay against Ranyk. Siyo jumped back, and un-holstered his Slicer pistol. Ranyk laughed at him.
“You need a gun to save you? I’ll finish this quickly then.”
Siyo fired as Ranyk lunged, and he felt the very tip touch his side, and he went rigid. He also saw that he hit Ranyk in the gut with the pistol; they both fell, stunned by the hits.
Siyo awoke some time later, still in the sand. It seemed that the Drill Instructors hadn’t dragged them away yet. Siyo slowly looked over at Ranyk, and Ranyk was returning the look. They quickly rose, and grabbed their blades. They were back to swordplay already. Siyo knew he couldn’t pull off the same trick. Siyo jumped back, and off the edge of the ridge. He started to fall, but Siyo knew that he could stop himself. He looked at where he just was, and saw Ranyk with a photon rifle, aimed right at him. Siyo started to slide against the edge of the plateau, and stirred a cloud of dust behind him. He hoped that would throw off Ranyk’s aim. He reached the path below, and headed downhill. He found a small cave he could take refuge in for the moment, and slid inside.
The cave was longer than wide, and due to the darkness outside, Siyo could tell no more about it. Siyo turned, and waited for the inevitable, Ranyk would come after him. Siyo grabbed another tripwire, and stun grenade, and rigged it to the entrance. He turned around, and brought out his photon rifle, and activated its barrel light. He figured it was safe enough in the cave to use. Siyo walked to the back of the cave, and it opened up a little, gaining height and width, and it opened up enough to allow Siyo to spread his arms out, and then enough to allow his arm, and photon rifle to be held out. The cave abruptly ended, with a pile of boulders against the wall. Siyo turned, and looked behind him, and no one was there. He figured that he would be safe for a while, as Ranyk climbed down the plateau. Siyo set his photon rifle against the cave wall, and looked at the boulders. He walked up, and pulled on the top one, trying to move it out of the way, but it was stuck. He tried again, and he heard a click. He peered around the pile, and the boulders sank into the ground. After the dust cleared from around the cave, Siyo looked in. There was a shaft, with handholds leading down. Siyo thought it through for a second, and said
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained…” as he descended into the shaft.
