THE REALM OF THE ROGUE MARINE

in the valley of darkness

in the shadows of the night

rising from the ashes of humanity

he lives for honor

2002-01-22 / 11:03 p.m.
Alternate Entry 9

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Age may have taken my looks, but only death can defeat me. Alexander Hall looked in the mirror of his small apartment. His powerful frame was every bit as fit and in shape as it was when he was younger. While he was no longer armored by the invincibility of youth, he knew thath is presence and strength still gave him decent attributes.

He dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. The complex where he and his four companions lived in had a workout gym on the first floor, and a place for him to practice with his sword. He looked to the place on the wall above his bed where it was mounted. The long blade was about the length of his arm, and was styled after the ancient Samurai blades of Japan, although it was made with much more modern materials. He smiled as he removed the sword from the mounts, and attached it to his back.

He made his way out of the apartment and into the practice room. He had to cross the gym and saw his four companions working out. He gave each a curt nod as he moved to the far end. There was a punching bag and a stuffed humanoid figure hung for practice. He drew the sword and twisted the bottom of the handle. This twisted a mechanism that retracted the sharp edges of the blade, and turned it into a thin, but sturdy club. He took a step back and held the sword in a two handed grip, and angled the sword out. He brought the light blade halfway back, and lunged forward with a massive strike that stuck the left side of the humanoid's "face".

Hall quickly brought the blade back, and twisted halfway around so that his back was towards the dummy. He quickly took a step back, and drove the hilt of the blade into the sternum of the dummy. He then flicked his wrist down to bring the blade into the subject's groin area, and then reversed his wrist.....

....and Rogue brought the blade right into the dummy's face. The dummy's material gave way under the pressure, and Rogue took a moment to admire his handiwork before the putty-like material reformed itself. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and it showed. Sweat had soaked the front of the shirt and consequently it clung to his muscular chest. Rogue was the only one in the gym area, so he took a moment to calm himself and go over his workout.

"Looks like you got quite a workout," said a voice from of to his side. Rogue, his head a little slowed from the exertion, didn't immedaitely recognize the voice and wondered if it was Ferret pulling one of his suprise visits, which seemed to only serve to annoy him. A look to his right instantly blew apart that theory as he mind recognized the similarly-clad figure of his wife.

"I did indeed," he said.
"You always did have a fascination for blades."
"I think everyone should be trained in at least their use, in case the shit hits the fan out there."
"How good are you? We've never actually had a full-court match."
"I never could say no to you."

Chameleon approached her husband. Her slim figure was instantly apparent to any observers, as was her medium chest size. She could very easily pass for just another single girl or prostitute, which became very useful for undercover assignments. However, the fact that she was trained to kill, and not unwilling to do so, meant that she was more than a plaything. As she approached, she pulled the blade from its sheath on her back. She stepped out onto a nearby mat that would give them plenty of room, and she motioned with the blade for him to join her. The mat was soft, but firm enough for them not to lose their footing, and was ideal for hand-to-hand and melee combat practice.

Rogue, already with sword in hand, moved to the left side of the mat, and his wife took the right. They met in the middle, and inspected each other's blades. They were built with a switch in the hilt that would retract the sharp edges and turn the weapon into a thin but sturdy club. After ensuring that each blade was on "safe", they handed them back to their respective owners.

They moved a few paces apart from each other, and raised their blades at an angle so that the tops of each blade met. Rogue looked at his wife in the eye. His cold gaze never seemed to faze her, and she looked back with a matching firey gaze. He opened his mouth to speak. "Are you prepared?"

She didn't even flinch. "Yes."
"Defend yourself," was what he said casually, but there was nothing docile about the way in which he struck. He rotated his wrist and struck her blade in an attempt to knock it to the side. She had anticipated the move, and had lowered her blade so he would miss. When his blade came to knock it aside, it only broke air. Chameleon then started a full-body twist that would bring her blade to collide head-on on his left side. Rogue, realizing that she didn't fall for the trick, executed a back flip and was airborne just as her blade cut through the position he had just vacated.

He landed on his feet a two yards away. "You're sharper than I thought!" he taunted.
She moved a couple of steps, with her blade again in both hands and angled out. "Never said I wasn't learning anything."
Rogue smiled as he took a step forward. The tip of his blade barely touched hers, but he had a different trick in mind. He tapped it with a slight movement of his wrist, and then immediately brought the blade down towards her midsection, swinging inward and stepping forward. She easily blocked the first attack, but it diverted her attention from Rogue's right foot as it swept in and hooked onto her left. He pulled his leg back rapidly, and she fell. She went down on her back, but she didn't loose her grip on her sword. Before her husband could make any move, she brought the blade up to strike at his leg hard and fast. He'd jumped and dodged the hit, but she used the forward moment to carry her around and onto the side and on all fours.

He brought his blade up, and lunged in to strike her. She rolled to the side again, and got up. Rogue quickly recovered and turned to face her, but that took a second, and gave his wife enough time to get back up and strike. Rogue brought his blade in line with hers and blocked the attempted strike at his upper chest, and started to swing his blade out and a little lower.

It was about this time that Ferret walked into the room. He heard the clatter of metal on metal, and a few grunts, both male and female. He looked at the far end of the gym, expecting to see something that should be happening only on movies and in your quarters, but instead saw his friend and Chameleon duking it out. At first he wondered if they were seriously trying to kill each other as he saw Rogue try to strike at her leg, but she swftly blocked it, and immediately counter-attacked with a strike aimed high. Then he realized that if they wanted to kill each other, they were far more proficient at firearms, and were probably practicing. The blades cracked one more time, and he saw Chameleon start a full 360-degree spin that would have connected with the off-balance Oversight leader's spine. She was halfway through the turn when he jumped forward and did a roll to clear the attack radius of the approaching blade.

Ferret heard voices outside the gym's door, and stepped outside to see the other members of Team One walking on by. He called to them, and they looked in his direction.
"Check it out guys! Chameleon is kicking Rogue's ass!"
Ghost, Hack, Owl, and Cobra moved in. They were wearing the standard olive-green uniforms, but each of them was carrying rifles, and Ferret assumed that they were either heading for the elevators that would take them to Parris Island or the shooting ranges. They all re-entered the gym and looked at the fight. Damn, this must be intense, thought Ferret, they didn't even hear me! Whatever was on the minds of the on-lookers was instantly lost as they set eyes on their leader and his wife slashing and stabbing at each other. Rogue had somehow gotten back onto his feet and was turned to deal with his wife's onslaught.

Ghost was the first to speak up. "Fifty bucks his wife takes him."
Owl replied just as Marine had blocked a series of fast strikes from his wife. "Make a hundred."
Ferret piped in "I'll take that bet. The wife's gonna get him on this."
Rogue wasn't aware that they had an audience, and didn't have time to look even if he was curious. His wife was throwing a series of fast strikes meant to keep him on the defensive, and he knew that she was building up to something. That realization didn't come fast enough, as she suddenly twirled his blade with hers, and it flew from his hands to land a yard on his right.

He didn't notice the collective gasp from the crowd as she did this, but he knew that he had to act right away. She lunged in with her blade to strike him in the center of the chest.....

Like it? This is an exerpt from the book that I'm writing. I'll throw out more little snippets of it later on.

You're all probably wondering if this might actually get published. Okay, okay, it's relaly just me. Call it a lack of self-confidence, but who would take a chance with an unknown like me? I guess ti doesn't matter. If it doesn't get published, I could just post it online.

Speaking of writing, Witch Medic was asking me if I wanted to work on a book with her. I'm still mulling it over right now, since I'm in the middle of one right now. I'll probably get back to her tomorrow. Anyways, duty calls. Just thought I'd let you all read what I'm so busy writing.

Time is short and talk is cheap. We shall speak again.

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