Ambition's Debt

If Stray had blocked with his right arm instead of his left, the impact from Amber’s blow might have shattered his bones. Instead the impact sent a shudder coursing through the unfeeling prosthetic, leaving him reeling off-balance. Amber closed the distance in an instant, denting his chestplate with a swift punch at his sternum. She threw herself at him, her weight against his, and even as he fought to hold his ground he realized just how futile an effort it was. The wound Cassandra had inflicted on his leg was still fresh; it buckled beneath him as Amber forced him down to one knee. The Kru’desh warriors ringed the command room, looking on at the humans impassively. No one moved to help their beleaguered commander. Each had known this was coming. They had no honor left to lose; they simply threw their lot in behind the strongest. And now the strongest was being determined before their very eyes. At the edge of the chamber, only one warrior averted his gaze. Tuka ‘Refum looked away from the spectacle, hearts sinking as he realized the outcome was decided. After a moment he motioned to the two warriors beside him. No one even noticed them leave the chamber. Stray forced Amber back with a snarl of effort. He drew a knife from its sheath on his leg and dropped into a defensive pose, trying to keep weight off his injured leg. “Why?” he hissed, too low for anyone but his fellow Spartan to hear. She just shrugged, making no move to draw a weapon of her own. She simply raised her hands, fists framing her calm smile. “It’s like you always say: never waste an opportunity. Right?” She twisted to avoid his first cut, batted the second away, and hammered him back with one punch after another. He faded away before her, limping and tired and confused, while she advanced, all triumphant confidence. “You’re a hell of a lot more surprised than I thought you’d be. Thought you were prepared for anything.” A kick forced him to the ground again. Amber loomed above him, fists raised. “I thought you’d changed. I thought you were stronger than this. But I guess it was all just another act, huh?” She blocked a stab at her side, grabbing his wrist and locking it painfully in place. “You get your ass kicked by a never-was like Cassandra, then come crawling back and still expect to be in charge? Get serious.” He shifted his grip on the knife, fighting to force it back up at her throat. But his arm was sore, his mind a shambles of failed plots and ambitions as everything fell to pieces around him. Once again he heard it: the faint laugh of a woman mocking him as everything he’d worked for fell to ruin. “Jul ‘Mdama isn’t around to protect you anymore.” She forced the knife back, steadily twisting it to point back at him. “Thanks for helping get rid of him for us.” “Amber, wait,” he whispered, revolted by the quaver in his own voice. “Everything we’re trying to—“ “I thought you’d at least be too proud to beg.” The smile remained plastered across Amber’s face but her eyes were full of rage. “That was a lie too, wasn’t it?” Another twist from her arms; the knife gave way and Stray gasped in pain as she plunged it into his side. Amber ripped the blade free and made no effort to stop him as he staggered away, back towards the command console. She calmly wiped the blood off on her gauntlet, scanning the warriors lining the hall out of the corner of her eye. “Everyone has a dark side, Simon. Why don’t you like mine?” A sudden surge of hope pierced Stray’s panic. Diana. He had Diana. Of course. She would take control of the situation like she always did. He just needed to ask… He staggered back towards the command console, the words already forming in his mind. Save me.Like she always had. “Diana…” And he saw her, silhouetted amidst the light of the console. Arms folded, watching him approach with cold, pitiless amusement. He saw her, perhaps for the first time. And he knew. The true architect of Amber’s betrayal. “Diana!” The name burned in his throat. A curse. A prayer. A plea. A declaration of love. He heard Amber approach. The end closing in. But his eyes were fixed ahead on the shining light that had betrayed him.