Their target was obviously an Earth Element fighter because of his dark green armor. His initial response was to try to position the heavy PEB for fire, but Nayla deflected the weapon with ease and ripped the PEB from his grasp. She did this with a quick Jujitsu joint-lock move that would have easily broken his arm if it weren't for the armor plating. The Earth warrior's pole axe was free when Nayla unlocked it, and he launched a deft sweeping blow that sent Nayla sprawling backward onto the concrete. She immediately jumped back to her feet three meters away from her opponent after using the momentum of the impact to perform a backward roll. Drawing three throwing stars from a holster at her waist, she skillfully spread them out in her right hand like a deck of cards.
His sai held pommels forward in a standard ready stance, and Okani arrived at her side just fifteen seconds after the first engagement started. Their opponent, obviously unsure of his next move, looked anxiously between the two fighters. For a moment, he glanced at his abandoned PEB, which was lying pointlessly on his side of the line. Two expert fighters with blades and ranged weapons stood between him and the formidable weapon, obviously intent on stopping him from getting it back. As Nayla and Okani swiftly surveyed their target, they spotted areas of his body lacking armor plating, exposing metal parts underneath. This revealed that he was an Elek, a race that was bioengineered in cloning vats and had bionic limbs and organs made of nanofibers as essential components of their physiology. Massive forges and factories that produced some of the galaxy's best military hardware were part of the Elek society, which held metal and technology in high regard.
Both Nayla and Torin had to frantically duck and roll to avoid the deadly slash as the Elek launched his attack first, spinning the pole axe's business end around his head twice in one fluid motion. As Torin approached within the weapon's effective range, he immediately began a ceaseless barrage of sai attacks, slamming into any available gap. Nayla rolled away once more, stood up, and threw her stars with deadly accuracy right away. None of the three projectiles managed to gain traction on weak spots or joints; in fact, one star broke when it collided with the sturdy Elek armor. Okani kept up his intense close-quarters attack, using his twin sai to jab, slash, and block with lightning-fast speed. Torin skillfully tangled the weapon's two-meter haft between the guards of his sai, then jerked upwards with force, sending the pole axe flying from his opponent's grasp as the Elek raised his axe defensively to block another rapid thrust. The disarmed fighter stumbled backward and fell heavily to the ground, completely unprepared for Okani's speed and technique.
With her sword out, Nayla sprang forward with the intention of forcing the grounded Elek to give up. With the point of her sword pressed against his throat plate and one knee firmly planted on his chest, she pinned him firmly. Okani was standing guard next to his ally.
"Do you yield?" Nayla insisted. She saw him smirk through the thick plate glass of the Elek's helmet faceplate. Slowly, he lifted one hand into her line of sight and pointed purposefully behind her.
Instantly responding to the silent warning, Nayla spun off the Elek's chest and spun toward the direction it had indicated, her sword raised in an aggressive stance. A few meters away, Okani assumed a ready stance, mirroring her movements. There were two more Elek fighters standing there, one wearing black armor and the other red. Calmly, they aimed their PEBs at Nayla and Okani, holding them exactly like their fallen comrade. After gathering his pole axe and discarded PEB, the first Elek clambered to his feet and stood next to his fellows.
One of the newcomers ordered, "Surrender," his voice heavily accented and distorted by the helmet speaker.
Nayla lowered her stance a little and tightened her hold on the hilt of her sword, but she knew there was nothing else she could do from a tactical standpoint. She nearly missed the two new sensor contacts that were rapidly approaching on the tactical display of her helmet because she was so frustrated by being trapped.
"I said surrender!" the red-armored Elek reaffirmed firmly. A hefty cardboard cylinder with recognizable metal detonators at either end fell onto the concrete five feet ahead of him as he was finishing his sentence. It was one of Nora's trademark flashbang grenades, and Nayla recognized it right away. The gadget briefly produced almost seven million candlepower when it struck the ground and exploded with a dazzling white flash. All three Elek, who had been staring at the device, turned away reflexively, doubling over in shock at the sudden sensory assault, as an ear-splitting bang sounded simultaneously.
With their swords at the ready, Nora and Luna exploded from the cover of surrounding obstacles. Having the foresight to look away as soon as the flashbang landed, Nayla and Torin recovered from the deafening blast of sound in three seconds. However, their opponents fared much worse, with the intense flash temporarily blinding them and causing their eyes to sting and their ears to ring violently. Luna and Nora each took on one of the confused Elek, relying on Okani and Nayla to recuperate fast and deal with the third. With minimal resistance, Nora's opponent was swiftly defeated by a vicious kick to the abdomen and a crippling blow to the back with the pommel of her sword. Luna gave the second Elek a powerful uppercut to the jaw, followed instantly by a decisive roundhouse kick, and the second Elek fell with equal ease. The combined assault of four experienced attackers quickly overpowered the third Elek, which was just starting to recover from the sensory overload.
All three Elek were instantly disqualified and eliminated from the match because they had been captured deep within enemy territory. They strode glumly off in the direction of the locker rooms, clearly annoyed that they had been able to win.
"Thanks," Nayla said sharply over the team communication.
"Anytime," Nora said with a smile under her helmet.
Yan's voice abruptly and urgently shouted over the radio, "Speaking of saving backsides," "we found the other three! I need help right now!" The background crackled with the sounds of heavy machine-gun fire and the characteristic discharge of energy weapons.
Instead of wasting time answering verbally, the four winners just ran, racing in the direction of Kieran and Yan's last known location. Along the way, they heard the booming sound of Kieran's shotgun, the quick reports of Yan's OICW, and a strange, ominously loud sound that sounded like huge pieces of paper being torn to shreds.
About 90 seconds after Yan's distress call, Nayla and Okani arrived side by side. They briefly paused at the edge of the engagement zone to evaluate the situation before making a commitment. Kieran and Yan were huddled behind the remains of a sizable piece of abandoned industrial equipment, pinned down very close to one another. Across the concrete pad where the enemy flag lay, the cover was slowly falling apart, vaporized by hits from bright red balls of energy fire coming from the woods. Kieran and Yan were defending themselves, firing back through holes in the rusted metal structure that were getting wider and wider. The three remaining Elek warriors, each with an infantry PEB and displaying dangerously enthusiastic trigger fingers, were likely their attackers. Torin signaled a flanking move with a quick hand gesture to Nayla. Immediately, the two started to move silently toward the suspected positions of their targets along the clearing's edge.
"Prowler, Dragon, Dude, and Midnight, get ready! A status update! "Where on earth are you?" Desperately, Kieran transmitted.
With composure, Nayla replied, "Prowler to Gearhead, engaging targets now, proceeding with flanking maneuver,"
According to Luna, "Midnight is with Dude, thirty seconds out,"
With a strained voice, Kieran abruptly shouted into the comm, "Man down! Say it again: Rambo is down.
Behind the rapidly decaying machine that had shielded him for almost five minutes, Kieran pressed himself even lower. His only cover was being relentlessly eaten away by the Elek PEB blasts, which were converting solid metal into superheated gas at the point of impact. He was aware that he wouldn't be able to move quickly enough to get to a new position without getting struck if it failed entirely. Kieran couldn't be certain, but Yan was lying close by, either dead or unconscious, having been hit by a lucky grenade that one of the Elek had thrown carelessly. Severe gashes on his upper arm, leg, and chest caused blood to pool darkly on the concrete surrounding him.
Hold on, Kieran sternly told himself. You've fared worse. He felt a flare of defiance.
When? At once pessimism retorted.
Kieran jumped back up, gritting his teeth and bringing his 20-gauge shotgun to bear. He quickly depleted both magazines with three heavy shells and his final grenade. He quickly ducked back behind the smoking remains of his cover, not pausing to consider the impact of his shots. The radio crackled once more as he fumbled for his last grenade clip from a belt pouch and ejected the spent one.
"Midnight and Dude are in position."
"Prowler and Dragon confirm that the targets have been neutralized. Kieran, nice shooting back there. When we engaged, there were only two hostiles left.
"Well, finish it already!" With a rush of adrenaline, Kieran shot back. He tensed, waiting for the oncoming fire to stop, and slapped his last magazine of shotgun shells into the weapon's receiver. After ten seconds, it did, and was suddenly replaced by the metallic, sharp report of Luna's M-16 and the almost silent thwip of crossbow bolts, interspersed with the barely perceptible blast of Okani's magnetic sniper rifle.
With his last remaining energy, Kieran jumped out from behind his destroyed cover and ran towards his allies, automatically pulling out his bladestaff as he went. He could clearly see how the fight ended from where he stood: the first Elek left was pinned and forced to surrender by Luna after being struck by Nora's quick katana slashes. With a stunning combination, Nayla destroyed the last opponent by rolling under his guard, quickly changing direction, and then jumping high into the air and landing hard with one knee slamming into the Elek's chest. Both opponents promptly gave up.
The team awaited the official signal that the game was over, but it took some time to arrive. When Nora realized the oversight, she threw up her hands in frustration.
"Obviously! "The flag!"
"Oh, right," mumbled Nayla as she pivoted on her heel and ran back toward the flag post across the dividing line into enemy territory.
Kieran arrived at the group just as Nayla was leaving. He turned back to Yan's position and saw a group of arena field medics carefully loading him onto a repulsor stretcher. Kieran sank heavily against a rock, breathing raggedly, and let his heavy bladestaff clatter onto the concrete as soon as they vanished through a nearby service door.
"Are you alright?" Sheathing her katana, Nora asked. Kieran took deep, gulping breaths and nodded silently.
"What happened to Yan?" Luna asked in a neutral voice.
Kieran assured her in between breaths that "...he'll live," probably mistaking her question for a personal one rather than a tactical evaluation, as Luna hardly ever showed obvious concern about anything.
Kieran was well enough to stand after two minutes. The captured flag, a straightforward metal pole with a meter-square piece of plain blue cloth on top, was brought back by Nayla and Okani. The group gathered around the flagpole, Kieran joining the other players. Gripping the pole together, they lifted it well above their heads. Even through the thick plasti-steel shields enclosing the spectator areas, the cheers of the enormous crowd were clearly audible. As soon as the five winners started to leave, officials entered the field and reset the captured flag in the scoring zone of the blue team. Work crews appeared at the same time, quickly replacing the damaged equipment close to Kieran and Yan's defensive position, clearing away the hundreds of spent shell casings, and removing the noticeable scorch marks from the concrete floor.