Her Brother's Keeper: A Story of Alpha Centauri

Interlude 2

Her opponent surprised her when she rushed within the reach of her spear-like armament. ‘Don’t panic,’ she reminded herself, ‘Just do what sensei taught.’

Although blocking a steel blade with the long oak shaft of her weapon wasn’t something she could do repeatedly with a combat veteran, her foe was also a novice. A seasoned fighter might have used this opportunity to cut into the wood and weaken it. However, they had not trained her nemesis to use an actual sword, but a wooden one. As a result, she mistakenly blocked with the side of her katana, which was batted aside by the heavier spear. She then flipped the weighted iron-clad butt of the naginata around and hit the other girl squarely in the lower ribs.

Despite the protective plates of her armor, her rival let out a yelp of pain as the impact caused her to lose her balance. However, it wasn’t enough to knock her off her feet.

‘Well, that didn’t go as planned,’ she thought as she spun the shaft and attempted a sweeping attack with the bladed end of her polearm.