Back to Created and Consumed: Ch 5 Pt 1

The last task was hand to hand combat, this I felt I did horribly at, I stayed in the ring for a mere two minutes before being plucked off of my feet and chucked from the battle arena. Doxo lasted a grand total of three minutes, only because he managed to knock out his opponent within the first two minutes so that he could boast about it throughout the third. Jurdo, surprisingly, was able to outsmart his opponent, letting him believe he had sprained his wrist in the last task. He managed to fight single handed for ninety seconds before being forced to add his second hand. He pinned the warrior down and had to hold him for a further sixty seconds before being allowed to return to his place. Ehle’s performance was spectacular; it was obvious that close combat was one of his finer points. He dodged, blocked and served with such precision it impressed even the Commander who was seated quietly on the edge of the room. He even applauded a throw which sent Ehle’s opponent several feet across the floor.
The other performances were rather mediocre, boring in fact, generic moves used for generic warriors, there was very little variety in their performance. Then it finally came to the last length of the evening.

Morta’s was the last.

“Alright, Serracree, let’s hope there are no more of your tricks this time, I want a fair fight.”

Morta spread a grin over his scarred face, “Of course…”

The Commander must have seen Morta fight before, but what did he mean by tricks? I hadn’t the time to speculate before the bout was called to a start. “Begin!”

The Elite facing Morta was much larger than he was muscle-wise; not to mention at least a foot’s height difference between him and his opponent. The Elite’s name was Coenu Kylressimee, a Special Operations Commander in the Sangheili Stealth Unit. I heard some of the other Gudili talking about him while we sat on the sidelines; he was the top Molta of the SSU, he was a renowned infiltration specialist in this part of the Covenant and on top of that, he was incredibly dangerous. As the chatter continued between students, Jurdo, Ehle and I watched the battle.
Morta opened with a forward attack, he was blocked easily. It took me a while to figure out this Elite’s plan; he was focussed solely on the enemy’s face. Being an Elite of shorter stature, I would have gone for the legs, they were rarely guarded as well as the chest or face and were an easy target for anyone at a height disadvantage. Yet this Morta character persisted, much to my irritation, to attack Coenu’s upper body.
I wanted to yell at the fool, he was going to lose. This Morta was supposed to be a killer; he wasn’t displaying any of his boasted skills at all. Now what I wanted to know why he was being trialled in the first place, he had already been given rank as Molta Spec. Ops Infiltrator Second Class, why was he enduring this tedious assessment? I lost track of the battle momentarily while I pondered over it and missed a throw performed by Coenu, slamming Morta to the ground. The loud crack of armour hitting crete brought my attention back to the brawl. Morta lay on the ground almost unconscious while Coenu dragged him by his foot toward the edge of the ring. I smiled satisfaction when boos and hisses erupted from the ranks for Morta’s poor performance.

“This battle is over!” Coenu cooed; punching the air and lapping up the attention, I would never understand the male infatuation with popularity. He picked Morta up by one leg and let him dangle there like a sack of meat.

“Not yet…” Morta hissed and kicked Coenu in the mouth with his free foot; instinctively Coenu dropped Morta and held his face, screaming out in pain. When dropped, Morta landed on all fours and leapt for Coenu’s throat, clasping his hands around the thick muscle and cutting off the air supply. It took a while for Coenu to realise he couldn’t breathe but when he did, he punched Morta in the gut and shoved him away. Neither let up for the next seven minutes, exchanging blows with each other, their endurance was remarkable, but I couldn’t help but believe that they were toying with each other.

Beside me Jurdo yawned, “Jees, I wish one of them would win already…”

“Something isn’t right…” I shared my concern, “… Morta has been given ample opportunities to defeat Coenu by now, why hasn’t he taken them?”

“Maybe he wants to beat Coenu in a certain way?” Ehle suggested on my other side, “Coenu is waiting until Morta is worn out, he doesn’t realise that Morta is an Elite who specialises in endurance training. His efforts are fruitless if his goal is to outlast him. Morta on the other hand, he has a plan that may work, he’s battled these Elites before and he knows each strength, each weakness, if there is a window of opportunity to be had, he knows where it is.”

“What’s his plan then smarty-armour?” Jurdo huffed, “Bloody know-it-all…”

“Shh!” I hissed, “Watch, and then afterwards you can discuss this, I’d like to see this so-called plan and your moaning is distracting me…” I heard Jurdo grumble but he silenced.

The ninth minute came and went, Coenu began to slow down and his hits were less accurate, Morta slowed to make it look like he too was gradually becoming more fatigued.
When he thought he had Morta down, Coenu thrust forward with a tackling move, Morta dodged easily and drove his elbow into his ribs, knocking the wind out of him easily. Coenu fell to the ground and gasped for air as Morta stood over him and grinned at his shocked expression.

“Morta, finish the battle already, my Guild doesn’t teach bore tactics.” Gura called from the sidelines.

Morta shrugged and looked back down to Coenu, “Looks like it’s time to break you, Commander…” Break? What did he mean?

“Just do it, don’t pester me with empty threats… finish it…” Coenu seethed.

Morta leaned in, “Oh, I will…” I saw Coenu’s eyes widen in fear before Morta gripped him by his head, “… and when I’m done, I’ll be the one wearing the crest of the SSU…” A deafening crack resonated through the silent room and the ranks inhaled all at once. Morta had snapped Coenu’s head backward causing his vertebrae to falter and slip from their regular formation. Shock stricken faces turned to sickened expressions as Morta picked up the seemingly dead Coenu and dragged him from the ring, waving his limp hand to the spectators.
I felt ill when applause followed the unceremonious dumping of Coenu’s body on the side of the ring.

“Warriors!” the Commander stood and walked to the front of the assembly, “I commend you all on your performances today, even if some of you feel you have done poorly.” He glanced to Lega who had done worst of all of us, “Do not let any judgement lay on your minds, it will only untie your focus while you train in the coming weeks. You will know your fates in time. Stand.” The entire room stood. “To your barracks.”

Onward to Created and Consumed: Ch 6 Pt 1