“The name is Herbert de la Mare”

“I don’t care” I answered immediately.

He’s pointing his blade of light at me, but there’s about five meters of distance between us. My wrist blade is pointing downwards, and I'm standing still with my knees slightly arched, ready to spring forward at a moment's notice.

I’m not sure if i can parry that blade of his somehow, as it seems to go through metal almost without resistance, as my half hand can testify. Hallie? Got anything?

[Combat mode will attempt to use Psy barrier, a grade four skill of the psymancy skill tree, but given user proficiency it will be at an estimated 7% efficiency]

Yeah, i guess that’s pretty cool but spell it out for me will ya?

[User’s body will be covered by a psychically generated barrier but it won’t hold a strong attack]

Got it.

“You know, you are pretty rude for an old lady”

I raise my only eyebrow at the comment.

“Yeah, i know about you, Lieutenant Zsofia… the general told me about you, and how there was some chance that we’d get blessed by your visit” He said with a mocking tone, as he started drawing his steps towards me, albeit very slowly. I stood my ground, as backing down will not give me any kind of advantage.

“Guess i’ll have to chat with a pirate general huh… one thing off my bucket list” I retorted, but i would be lying if i said i wasn’t curious about that general. How did he know about my existence, let alone that I'd be coming here? There’s a mole on the Union? Or is it Dominion Corp? Or someone is trying to get rid of me?... Fuck, too many variables. I have someone to kill right in front of me, I’ll get to think about it later.

“Oh so you know how to talk like a civilized human, here i was guessing you were just a senile bitch” He said with a sneer, but i remained calm, as that type of insult was a long way from getting on my nerves; I just watched him get closer, while not putting down the sword of light in his hand.

“Looks can be—” Before I finished my sentence, I pushed myself forward, closing the short distance between us while making an upward diagonal slash, trying to catch him off guard. I almost succeed, as the surprised look on his face tells me, but he manages to block the edge of the blade right before it cuts his chest. Not even a second after, I see how my wrist blade that is in direct contact with his is starting to corrode. I pull it back before I end up without a weapon, but he’s not letting the opportunity leave as he pounces on me, swinging his hand like an amateur with a telegraphed slash that I avoid with a quick step. But then, a sharp pain comes from my right arm, as i see his blade has extended again, taking a curved shape; it’s a small but deep cut, but at least it’s not bleeding immediately as Rejuvenation is working at maximum capacity; I’d be long dead if it wasn’t for that ability.

“Stay the fuck still!” He screams at me, seemingly mad. He is probably used to his enemies not being able to dodge that nasty moving blade, and i’m not going to admit it to his face, but he makes quite a formidable enemy in close range, that’s why he chose to engage here, where i’d be force to come to him on a narrow space. I have to thank Hallie that I'm somehow immune to his psychic interference or else I'd be a training dummy and die damn quick, regeneration or not.

Speaking of which, Hallie, can you focus on getting my hand healed?

[Acknowledged, regeneration in other body parts will be severely hampered while doing so, advising caution]

Yeah yeah.

You gotta gamble sometimes though, I can't stay here all day with my team risking their asses back there, so unless i can finish this quick, we’re all doomed.

I activate Physical enhancement, and now all of my muscles swell, just not as flashy as before, and the metallic portion of my legs also get bigger, as if resonating with the rest of my body, and I dash again, sinking the ground below me from sheer pressure. I aim the tip of my blade to the front, as if trying to stab him, and he responds by putting his sword in front to parry my own.

We clash with force, as a gale of wind brushes past both of us. His blade of light starts corroding my wrist blade, but I’m totally aware this time, and I push with more force, relying on the boost given by Physical enhancement. I managed to push him back a bit, to his surprise. He was forced to put more strength into his blade, but I could see the strain it put him into. When my own blade was already black, and seemed like it’d break at any moment, I pulled it back; that caused the energy blade to advance forward, threatening to cut me vertically in half, but then I grabbed it with my right hand, completely made of the same material as the sword. It started corroding immediately as well, but I bought a moment with that. He looked deranged by now, mixed between surprised and furious, as someone had dared to counter the skill he was most proud of with a bare metallic hand.

Hallie, put all the Psy barrier into my arm!

Without waiting for an answer, as I didn't want to give him time to think, I charged my Tracer, readying myself for a short ranged burst beam. He noticed, and used his left hand, which he had kept free until now as a tool for balancing his body, to produce a Psy barrier similar to my own. His looked sturdy enough to withstand a fully charged beam and made me realize that he didn’t only rely on a technological shield to cover from my rifle but on his own technomancy skills, but now, due to a part of our bodies clashing through our arms, his shield could only cover a part of his body.

In the end, I released a fast Burst beam that crashed against the shield without much force, illuminating briefly the darkness around us with a flash, not so different from a plasma bolt. I then put a bit more force in my arm to push this fucker back, and then I moved back, as if retreating.

He tried to rush to me, but fell on one knee, his shield disintegrating and his blade made of pinkish light started to grow dim. Not understanding, he then felt a warm feeling on his chest, and then saw a finger-sized hole right on his sternum.

A gun in my hastily healed left hand, which only had regenerated half an index finger, was enough to finish this combat. I looked at him, as he processed the information and came to the realization that his wound was serious, and that death loomed over him, closing in with haste. I would have left him to bleed out, but I still have a mission, and I'd rather make sure.

I aim my gun at his head, and with another pull of the trigger, the Mindscrew is no more.