Havok Bringer

The Guard withdrew slightly, circling C.J. in slow, intentional circles. The metal of their silver-grey combat armor gleamed in intervals as the orange warning lights of the cargo bay flashed intermittently. Standing a head taller than C.J., the Guard possessed a confidence in their combat ability that C.J. couldn't hope to have after only training for the last several months.
Sure, C.J. had seen his fair share of combat in that time, but most of it hadn't held any real consequence. During the Alacaran dungeon, C.J. had been remotely piloting his drop suit. It had been destroyed, and the only consequence was the time and resources required for Elvis to fabricate a new one. Now, things were different; losing here meant more than being short one drop suit. It meant losing his life.
C.J. took a breath and focused. He had trained for this. His drop suit was attuned to Andy's level, and C.J. hadn't seen many initiates with a higher level to this point.
"Kinthragor, you're initiated, right?"
"Yes," Kinthragor responded. "It is a requirement for males of my species to be considered worthy of service."
"Did you happen to get a look at this thing? Happen to see its level?"
"I did identify the guard before the doors closed. It is level 47."
"So much for an easy fight." C.J. groaned.
C.J. readied himself and pulled a custom-made boomstick from a magnetic holster on his back. The boomstick was about three feet long and crafted in an unusual shape for a traditional boomstick; instead, it was the shape of something wholly familiar to C.J., a standard baseball bat. The boomstick was black with composite copper strips built into the top half. In between the copper strips were rows of chromium spikes, and the name 'Lucille' was painted in jagged red letters along the shaft of what C.J. had renamed his 'Boom bat'.
C.J. grasped the boom bat in both hands, choked up on the handle, and took a swingers' stance. The guard stopped circling and spoke for the first time.
"Humans," the guard practically spat the word. "I feared I would be outnumbered and was prepared for a battle. Instead, I find a small human with a homemade boom stick, preparing to swipe at me as if I were a child to be disciplined. Killing you will be…satisfying."
C.J. bent his knees slightly and engaged his core as the guard sprang at him, blade poised to strike at his torso. The Boom bat came to life, arcing and crackling with electricity as C.J. recalled all the lessons he had received in elementary and high school baseball. Uncoiling with the advanced power of his drop suit, the Boom bat made contact with the guard's left shoulder, catching them in mid-air. The chromium spikes pierced the guard's armor and ripped into meat and bone before the Boom bat expelled its electrical charge.
"Whoo!" C.J. whooped as the guard slid into a bulkhead several feet away. "That's what I'm talking about, bitch! You might know fighting, but you don't know jack shit about good ol' American baseball. That there is what we like to call a grand slam!"
"Is he down?" Michael asked. "C.J., you good? Need a sit-rep here, what's going on?"
C.J. spun, surveying the room for a mechanism to release the doors on the cells. "The guard is down. I introduced him to Lucille. Looking for the cell door release mechanism now."
"It would be ideal if we were in the cargo bay with you." Kinthragor chimed in.
"Oh, shit, yeah. Hang tight, I'll open the door." C.J. jogged over to the panel the guard had used to override the bridge door. He reached out to press the button that would disable the override as a plasma-edged blade plunged down into his forearm, piercing clean through and exiting on the underside.
C.J. didn't register the pain at first; instead, he stood confused, looking at the glowing combat knife protruding from his arm. "Guys…I don't think the guard is de-" is all he could get out before a plasma round exploded into his back, launching him forward into the bulkhead.
C.J. saw stars and gasped, but was unable to catch his breath immediately. He rolled onto his back and took note of the multiple red flashing warnings in his HUD. He was hurt, but he wasn't dead. His drop suit was informing him of multiple systems that were either offline or severely damaged, but he was still combat effective. He reached for the blade that was still stuck in his arm and tried in vain to pull it free. It had seemingly pierced his armor, muscle, and bone before coming to a stop with about six inches of the blade sticking out the other side.
C.J. got to his feet slowly, using the bulkhead to stabilize himself. He had lost his Boom bat in the attack, but the guard had lost their combat knife as well, so it looked like it was going to be hand-to-hand combat moving forward.
C.J. got into a fighting stance and raised his fists, only to realize that his right hand was incapable of making a fist due to the large combat knife that was still lodged in his forearm. With a quick look at his HUD, C.J. isolated the right arm of his suit and manually locked the fist in place.
"Aaah!" C.J. screamed, and his vision blurred as the muscles in his forearm were dragged into the blade, forcing his fist into a closed position. He took a deep breath and refocused on the fight.
The Guard wasn't doing much better. The armor on their left shoulder and arm was gone, revealing deep red skin, dripping with black blood underneath.

"Of course it had to be a fuckin Rerek," C.J. grumbled at the realization of what he was fighting.
"I'm C.J., by the way, figured it's only right that you know the name of the human who is about to kill you."
The guard relaxed a bit and responded. "Honorable, I can appreciate that. I am known as Naeve, daughter of the Rerek grand general Obsidius."
C.J. paused. "Wait…you're a girl?"
"I am female, but I fail to see why that has any bearing on this battle, human."
"You're just so…big. Like, you're just a big bitch, it caught me off guard. I didn't expect to be fighting a girl."
Naeve launched forward and shot out with a lower leg kick that dropped C.J. to one knee before punching down with her left hand, catching C.J. directly in the visor, shattering it.
Naeve took several steps back, groaned in pain, and pulled her fist back. Obviously, using her left hand had been inadvertent, and punching the strengthened composite glass of C.J.'s drop suit visor would not have been advised.
C.J. stood up slowly and unsealed his helmet. The visor had been shattered, and his HUD was now completely useless. He took a deep breath as he threw the helmet to the ground.
Naeve responded in kind.
C.J. was surprised at what he saw. Red skin, dark black flowing hair, and feminine, attractive features. Piercing yellow eyes and full lips, hiding two sharp upper canines. Naeve shook out her hair as she too threw her helmet to the ground.
"Honor demands equal footing," Naeve announced. "Aside from your distasteful language, I feel you have comported yourself in an honorable manner to this point, human. I shall respond in kind."
"Whatever you say, let's get back to it." This time, C.J. made the first move, rushing Naeve and leading with a straight left that she intercepted, followed by a right elbow that made contact with her chest. Naeve was knocked back a couple of steps, and C.J. took the opportunity to continue his attack. As Naeve tried to strike back with a left hook, C.J. blocked with his right arm, only to recoil as she made contact with the hilt of the combat knife.
C.J. grunted with pain but kept his focus. He quickly kicked forward toward Naeve's torso, and as she dropped her arms to defend, C.J. whiped his foot up and around, catching her directly in the chin. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the deck like a rock. Before she could recover, C.J. grabbed her foot, lifted it, and kicked down hard into her knee, inverting her leg as she cried out in agony.
"Be thankful that you are fighting a human today, Naeve. My humanity is the reason you will live to see another sun rise."
Naeve screamed and grasped at her leg, rolling to her side in pain. "Kill me, human. It is the honorable thing to do. I will not live with this shame, I will not live having been defeated by trash!"
C.J. walked over and picked up Lucille before reaching into a small compartment on his waist and pulling out an electric green vape and taking a long drag. "God, I needed that," He exhaled slowly before walking back over to Naeve. "Nah, not gonna kill you, but I don't wanna hear you screaming either, so I have a compromise."

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Naeve looked at C.J. through slitted, angry eyes. "I need no compromise, human. You and your entire filthy species will face the wrath of the Council. Mark my words."
"Maybe so, but no today," C.J. walked closer as Naeve watched intently. "I told you I had a compromise, and I am a man of my word." C.J. held up his Boom bat and pointed it at Naeve. "Naeve, meet the compromise," he reared back and cracked Naeve on the side of the head, knocking her out cold.
"Okay, guys," C.J. said shakily as he took another long drag of his vape. "It's all good, I beat her."
"Her…?" Michael asked teasingly.
"Yeah, her. She is Rerek, man. It's not like she is a 110-pound human woman. She almost cut my arm off!"
"So, you're first big fight was against a…girl?" Michael burst into laughter.
"Just get in here," C.J. disabled the bridge door locks as Michael and Kinthragor came walking in. Kinthragor immediately walked over and started tapping on a console before all the cell doors powered down.

Within seconds, the crew was all awake, and Tiff shot up with a blood-curdling shout. "Andrew is in trouble! We have to help him!"

Jax reared back and prepared to punch down into the back of my neck. I knew I had lost the fight; I was outclassed and just couldn't compete with his upgraded strength and speed. If it were that alone, I might have stood a better chance, but Jax had been trained in various combat techniques, he had fought against men knowing that only one of them would live to see another day, and he had come out on top. I was getting better by the day, honing my skills, acclimating to my new abilities, but I couldn't yet overcome the hard truth: Steel sharpens steel. Without my armor and full capabilities, I wasn't ready to take on a trained killer who also possessed many of the same enhanced physical attributes that I had.

"Wait!" I shouted just before the strike fell. "I will do it, I'll activate the Seed, you can do what you want with me after, just let my friends go. That's the deal."

Pain pulsed into my head as Ses spoke a single word. "No."

I ignored Ses as Jax glanced up at Karis, who hovered silently, pondering my words. Jerking my head violently to the side, Jax bent down close to my ear, "You are in no position to make demands, Dawes. You had your chance and decided you were up to the challenge. Now deal with the consequences like a man."

Karis held up a hand, deflating Jax's growing bloodlust. "No, Jax. I will agree to his terms."

Jax threw me to the ground before stomping up to Karis, his rage at losing his chance to kill me causing him to boil over. "Nah, man. Fuck that! You told me I could end him! You told me I could break him!"

Karis looked at Jax with disdain as his eyes started to glow, trails of energy seeping into the air. "You forget your place, dog. I need not explain my motives to you. I require no permission; I am not bound to console you. You are merely a tool and will serve as such until I deem it no longer necessary. Now bring him forward so I can fulfill my destiny."

Jax fumed at the disrespect he was being shown. Unwilling to submit, he stood defiantly in front of Karis. Karis smirked and raised a single finger in Jax's direction. Trails of blue purple miasma snaked toward Jax before converging on his face, invading every orifice and forcing Jax to cry out in pain and fall to his knees. I watched from my knees as Jax crumbled to the ground, rolling and screaming in agony.

"OH MY! I'm not sure what is happening out there, but it seems a new combatant has entered the arena, folks! With Dawes on his last legs and Jax seemingly unable to fight as well, what is this newcomer planning?" The arena announcer's voice bellowed through the facility.

This was all ridiculous. People came here to watch a slaughter, to quench their thirst for blood and violence. All the while, steps were being taken to ensure this type of barbarism would not continue. I heard a loud explosion and turned my head to see that several sections of suites had just been completely destroyed. Smoke and fire billowed from the shattered view panels as the arena erupted into chaos.

Warning: Please exit the arena in an orderly manner.

Warning: Please exit the arena in an orderly manner.

Your safety is important to us. Please exit the arena in an orderly manner.

An automated announcement rang out throughout the arena as explosions continued in various areas of the upscale suite level.

"What is happening?" The announcer's voice rang out, "What do you mean the Council has been attacked? Attacked? What does that mean? Dead? All of them? How..what does that even mean? How? Oh shit, my mic is on," The words paused for a couple of seconds. "You heard it here first, folks. There has been a violent terrorist attack on the Galactic Council, and I am afraid I am hearing unconfirmed reports that all members of the Council have been assassinated. The arena staff have kindly asked that all attendees please exit the arena in an orderly manner and submit to questioning upon request."

I smiled as another explosion burst out. Karis looked enraged and turned his attention from the writhing Jax back to me.

"Do you think this accomplishes anything, Dawes?"

"I feel pretty good about it," I shrugged as more blood dripped into my eyes.

"The Council was irrelevant. I applaud your resourcefulness, however. I underestimated that crew of Chaff you were working with. That is a mistake I will not make again," Karis raised a hand as the silver object flew up and rested on his open palm. "Back to the matter at hand. I will release your crew, for what that matters. The Council may be decimated, but others will rise to take their seats. Others that I will put in place to serve my needs. The Council security force will be dispatched with urgency to apprehend or kill your friends. You are merely buying them time. I will allow it, though. Now, you will willingly activate the seed. If you attempt anything, I will have my dog incapacitate you completely and accept the additional time this process will take," Karis looked down at me in anger. "Do you understand?"

I nodded. I had lost the fight, but Kindo and the rest of the crew had succeeded in their task. The Council was crippled, and they had bought us time. Time that my friends could use to get away.

I reached out and placed my hand on the Seed. My body seized, and my muscles locked up. I saw visions of the past, I saw Ses and his people. I saw how advanced and utterly terrifying their technology was. A pulse shot from the Seed and blasted dirt and dust into the air all over the arena as Jax slid several feet away from the force. The blast of force continued, though I was locked in place, unable to move. Karis stood with maniacal determination, a smile creeping onto his face as he watched.

Above us, the void of space began to tear. A small rip at first that quickly expanded into a massive gash in the cosmos, glowing silver and blue as it spread. Massive starships and clusters of smaller spacecraft began exiting the rip as Karis looked on triumphantly.

"Yes! Yes! My people are free!" Karis proclaimed as the ships continued to pour from the rip in space. "Witness the return of vengeance, Dawes! Witness my people, the True Havokium people, return to set right the wrongs that we have endured."

I stared on as the waves of energy ripped through my body and mind. Ses had gone silent, and Jax was lying face down on the ground 20 feet away. I resolved to follow this through until the end, knowing full well that I was party to unleashing a nightmare on this galaxy. In my mind, I was only returning the favor after what they did to my planet and people.

Then I felt a hand on my cheek, soft and reassuring. I glanced to the side to see Tiff, or TT, I didn't know which, and couldn't muster the brain power necessary to guess.

She smiled softly as tears welled up in her strikingly blue eyes. "You've done enough, Andrew. Come back to us. Fight this and come back to us."

I watched as the waves of energy emanating from the Seed completely obliterated her. She never dropped her hand from my cheek.

Sherlock's voice crackled over my comms. "Captain Dawes, you now have full access to your armor and abilities. The crew has been liberated and is currently entering the atmosphere of the planet. They are coming to get you, Captain. You must sever your connection to the Seed and prepare."