Page 46 of Thexan

I shifted trajectory mid-step, forcing his aim to adjust again, reducing the effectiveness of his range advantage. The blade formed as I entered engagement distance, the hum of it barely registering over the impact of movement and the shifting terrain beneath us.

He anticipated the attack.

His stance shifted instead of retreating.

The first strike met resistance.

He blocked.

Not fully, not cleanly, but enough to deflect the angle and force recalibration. His counter came immediately, a close-range discharge that I avoided by shifting inside his guard, reducing his ability to fire without compromising his own position.

We were no longer maneuvering.

We were engaged.

His movements matched my own in structure, his training evident in the precision of his response. There was no wasted motion, or hesitation—only continuous adaptation.

The difference was in alignment not in speed.

I pressed forward, forcing him back along the uneven ground, limiting his footing, reducing his stability. His balance compensated, adjusting for the terrain, but the correction cost him timing.

That was the opening.

I shifted left, then drove forward, closing inside his guard before he could reestablish distance. The blade aligned with the structural gap beneath his upper frame—

—and he broke contact.

He dropped low, rolling across unstable ground to create separation, his weapon coming up again as he regained position.

He had learned.

Behind him, stone shifted.

Brynn.

The distraction was minimal.

Intentional.

But it was enough.

His focus split for a fraction of a second.

I used it.

I closed the distance again, forcing him into a position where his weapon could not be brought to bear without sacrificing stability. His response came late this time, his movement constrained by the terrain he had chosen to use against us.

The blade struck cleanly.

The energy edge passed through the same structural point as before, disrupting internal function before his system could compensate. His body locked, the signal cut before it could complete.

I caught him as he fell.

The impact was controlled, lowered without sound.

He was non-functional.

I disengaged the blade and secured his weapon immediately; the second unit’s equipment was now added to the first, expanding available options for the final engagement.