"The Duel III" by Corry Vrecken and David Sinclair

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She sat in the officer's mess and picked at her food. Across from her, Red and Thorn were talking in low tones. Not quite low enough though.

"Five minutes!"

"I'm guessing two."

Corry looked up at her friends and tried to figure out what they were going on about. Finally she just gave up and asked.

Red replied with an airy wave of her fork, "We were just betting on how long it would take you to stop torturing your food and tell us what your problem is."

"I don't have a problem"

Thorn popped something green into her mouth and chewed methodically, her brow furrowed. Finally she swallowed and said, "I don't think I know of any time in history when that statement was actually true."

Corry's fork clattered off her plate and she leaned back in her chair. "Oh, alright. Truth is, I just graduated."

"What do you mean?" Red pushed something red to the side of her plate and started in on the mashed tubers.

"David and I were trading lessons. He promised to teach me hand to hand combat with a knife and in return I promised to teach him how to throw one. We've been meeting together at least twice a week for the last 8 weeks for training. Well, I just graduated."

"Congratulations! You don't look very happy about it."

Corry snorted. "As a reward for my brilliant performance, David has decided I don't need any more training sessions and I now get to practice with a droid or one of his holo-programmed opponents."

Red and Thorn exchanged knowing looks.

"Aren't you supposed to train him on knife throwing?"

Corry pushed her plate aside and slumped forward over the table. "Done. It took him a whole two days. I've been practicing since I was eight and he beat me after two days."

"So what's the real problem? That he beat you, or that you don't have a captive audience anymore?" Red asked.

"What?"

"Sounds to me like you need more weapons training. Anything else he can teach you?"

"I would love to use that sword of his. But it's too heavy for me. I'd cut someone's ear off. Probably my own."

"Hmmm. What about a lighter weapon? Epee? "

"His reach is too long. I'd never have a chance to score."

"Saber?"

"I considered a saber. But his broadsword would shatter it on the third pass."

Thorn stopped this conversation by thumping her glass of milk onto the table. "Wrong. You're going about this all wrong. What you need is something you can teach him."

Corry considered this statement for a moment. "You've got a point, Thorn. I can't be begging for lessons, I have to find something... oh, wait." Her eyes got bigger and she began to smile. "Amazing... I actually do have something that I bet he knows nothing about."

A few days later...

David was watching both of his opponents, a pair of humans armed with weapons similar in weight and reach to his own. The redheaded one on his right was a capable swordsman, but there was no question that he was younger and less experienced than the massive man circling to David's right. The older man was taking his time, evaluating David's movements. He was the dangerous one. The red headed soldier had to go first, and quickly.

Suddenly, the younger man moved forward, leveling a vicious slice towards David's midsection. Tumbling forward and away from the scene of action, David leveled a sharp kick to the redhead's leg as he got up, snapping the joint sideways and crumpling him to the mat. The older man chose that moment to move in and slash at David's throat. Parrying the blow, David swiftly rolled to his right, back towards the younger opponent who had just regained his footing. His left leg was totally useless, and that gave David the advantage. Leaping to his feet, he attacked the red head, clashing steel with him at a blurring rate. Just as suddenly, David dove to the soldier's right side, placing the red head between himself and the older master.

The young man wasn't prepared for the move, and was caught off balance, having expected to meet a sword where there was now just air. As he fell, David took advantage and plunged his sword through the man's lower back, sending the tip tearing forward until it met air again. While he would have wished the man a cleaner death, this was combat and time for niceties was rare indeed. It was not likely that he would ever again meet a situation like that on Adumar where he had been able to spare his opponents life.

Several meters above the gym floor, a figure sat in the small observation stands, watching each move with interest. As the red head dissolved in a flash of light, Corry saw the older warrior step forward, his sword ready and waiting. She was sitting as quietly as possible, trying not to distract David. She wanted to see how it all turned out... and get away with sneaking up on him.

She took a perverse pleasure in being able to do this one little thing. She knew it drove him nuts, but he never admitted it. He never even scowled at her. He just let her get away with it.

Corry was not aware that he knew exactly how she did it. He had been taught to do the same thing at the Imperial Academy years before when he underwent special forces training.

The older warrior feinted left, then swung his sword crossways to the right. David parried and stepped to his right. The warrior seemed frustrated that this test hadn't made him step back as he had wanted, and came in swinging from all different angles. Their blades connected three, four, five times, each attack faster and harder than the last creating a cacophony of noise and light as the flying steel sparkled in the gym's lighting.

Suddenly, the older man broke and rolled to David's side, trying to gain an advantage over him. Seeing him move, David dove forward and out of the swordsman's reach, rolling to come up on his feet. The older man moved in again, hacking downwards with his sword. David's blade met his opponents, and was followed by a sharp kick to the man's stomach, sending him flying across the mat. Before the warrior could get up, Sinclair was there, swinging. The man parried the first two strokes, but the third was a successful thrust to the chest, ending the warrior's existence in a shower of light.

Stepping back to catch his breath, David turned and saw her sitting there. This time he raised an eyebrow. That was more reaction than he usually let people see. It was far more than she usually got out of him.

"Nice bout." She commented. "I think the red haired guy needs to concentrate on his point work."

"What are you doing here?" David asked. This took Corry back a bit. She had hoped to find him in a really good mood.

"I came to extend an invitation. You're an expert with edged weapons, as well as most guns, so I thought I'd find something else." She gave him a hopeful smile, "How would you like to try your hand at something completely different?"

David considered this for a moment and then said, "OK. Why not."

"Great." Corry said with some relief. "Tomorrow afternoon at 2? Meet me at the hanger. We'll be taking swoops out, so wear something that will cut the wind."

The next day...

The sun was warm; so David carried his long leather coat over one arm as he approached the hanger. Corry had left an unusual package at his quarters that morning, which upon opening had revealed itself to be a grey hat of some Tau'ri style. As he walked out, the hat on his head, she was waiting for him beside two swoops that had already been signed out, fueled up, and checked out. She looked like she was really excited about this, so he decided to play along.

"David! Are you ready?"

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, he took the proffered helmet. "Just what is it that we are doing today?"

Corry settled her goggles and tightened the strap on her helmet, then swung aboard her swoop. "You'll see soon enough! Follow me, Commander!"

Ten kilometers from the base, Corry swung to a halt on the top of a low rise. Below, a course had been laid out with two lanes, each with eight targets strung over a three kilometer run. Perfect. But first, the basics.

David pulled up beside her and she jumped off her swoop and headed away from the rise, hoping he wouldn't see the course right away. She stopped several meters from the edge where a line had been drawn in the dirt and waited for him.

"Alright, Corry. Time's up. What's going on?" David said as he dropped his helmet on the seat of the swoop and joined her at the line, glancing at a paper target fluttering in the breeze three meters away.

"Commander, you are about to be introduced to the time honored techniques of the American Bullwhip!"

Corry pulled a dark red and brown braided whip from behind her back and presented it to him with a flourish.

"It's only an 8 footer, you'll probably need a 10, but it's best to learn on a shorter length. And it's a 12 plait. That's almost top of the line." She blushed a bit, "I can't afford the 16 plait. But I picked the pattern especially for you. I hope you like it."

Something akin to horror seemed to pass over David's face, be it was gone as quickly as it came. He didn't take the whip from Corry's hand, instead he looked at her and said, "You know how to use one of these?"

Corry laughed, "I'm actually a fairly decent hand at the whip. I started playing with them when I was just a kid." She broke off at his look of astonishment and said, "I really do know what I'm doing, David. I wouldn't waste your time."

He swallowed and then said resignedly, "Alright, show me how this works."

Corry knew something was wrong, but for the life of her she couldn't decide what. "Come on, David... it will be fun. You'll catch on quickly. It's really just a matter of hand-eye coordination. After some practice up here we can move on to the exciting part." Catching his arm, she took him to the edge of the rise. "See—I've got targets laid out and we can run the course on the swoops. You cut the target as you race by..." She stumbled to a halt as the look on his face became cold and distant.

"David? What's wrong? What did I say?"

He shook his head and started toward his swoop. Picking up his helmet he turned back to Corry, "I can't do this Corry, I can't use one of those. I'm surprised that you can. I'm more surprised that you would."

He turned away to strap on his helmet, but Corry was suddenly between him and the machine.

"Wait. Please don't leave. I'm sorry, but I don't understand. What's wrong with this?" He almost flinched at the sight of the braided hide in her hand, so she moved it behind her back.

David took a firm stance and said very clearly, "I use weapons, but only on people who can defend themselves. That—" he motioned toward the hidden whip, "is a weapon for cowards. It's used to hurt people who can't fight back."

All the blood drained out of Corry face and she stammered out, "No! This isn't... David, this isn't supposed to be used on humans! It's for driving cattle! And we don't strike the animals, we just crack the whip above their heads. I would never..." She was so miserable that she couldn't even finish her sentence.

He saw the problem then. The massive gulf between their two cultures had created this misunderstanding. She just didn't understand... "Corry, where I come from, Force whips are very common. They are used on people, not animals. Within the Empire, they are a very popular choice for controlling large crowds of people. And they are also a very effective weapon for torture." David knew this from personal experience. Although it had been brief, he had been very young when was first introduced to a force whip.

"And you thought I would use such a thing." Corry couldn't look him in the eye. She took a step backward and then another. "This was a mistake. I'm sorry." She flung herself on her speeder and took off at top speed.

David picked up her discarded helmet and goggles and then slowly reached down and retrieved the intricately braided whip. He stared at it in his hand for a moment then tucked the items in a saddlebag on the bike and headed back to base.

A week later...

Corry was in her office going over requisition forms when David came in. The two bundles beneath his arm looked heavy, perhaps more symbolically than physically.

"David... I'm surprised to see you here." Corry said. She had spent the past week avoiding him, and she had no doubt he had been avoiding her too. She knew that she had made a horrible mistake with the whip, but she didn't know how to make it up to him.

"Corry." David nodded. She can't even look me in the eyes... he thought before continuing. "I think these are yours." He placed her fallen helmet and goggles on the desk beside her paperwork.

"Oh, thank you! The quartermaster was rather unhappy with me when I didn't return them last week." She replied. Much quieter, she continued. "David, about that... I'm so sorry. I had no idea you would react that way..."

He put his hand up to stop her. "I know you didn't mean it, and that you didn't know about the horrors that have been perpetrated with that... weapon." Laying the whip on her desk he continued, "A long time ago, I swore I would never learn how to use any weapon like this. Please don't ask me why." he added, noting the questioning look on her face.

"I want you to watch this though." He said as he handed her a datapad. "The holo recording on that pad is from a protest march on Coruscant. I can promise you, it isn't easy to watch; almost half of the protestors died that day. But I think it will help you to understand why I have vowed not to use that weapon."

"I'll try David." Corry managed to say.

"I also have one more thing for you." He said, laying the long wrapped bundle on the desk beside all the other objects. Unwrapping a blanket from around it, he produced a sword case. "Go ahead, open it."

Undoing the two latches, she swung back the lid to reveal a broadsword of the same style as David's own. This one was lighter and more delicate in appearance, with a leather wrapped handgrip and engravings on the blade from hilt to point. A small oval plate was set into the center of the hilt between the two hand guards.

"This might one day be yours Corry, but first you will have to earn it. To do so, you will have to train with it harder than you have before. You will have to prove to me that you are proficient in its use. Above all, you will have to prove to me that I can trust you with it. When you have done these things, I will personally engrave your name upon this sword." He said, pointing to the thin flat plate. "Until then, this is mine. Remember that—your ownership will not be automatic. I will see you tomorrow evening at the usual time."

Corry was torn between relief and excitement as she watched him pack the sword back up and leave the small office. He had forgiven her, but had not left without first imparting a lesson. She sobered as she picked up the data pad and plugged it into her holo viewer. She didn't know if she could do what he had asked, but she would try.