February 5th, 8253

You have to push past a line of paparazzi on your return to the Edwards Small Arms Training Facility. The hype around the Arlazu Assembled Accord is growing by the day and the press releases from the Ministry of Interstellar Diplomacy and Communications aren't helping things at all. So far your superiors and the diplomats are clamoring to claim all the fame, but it's your ship, crew and sensors that made the discovery and had a successful first interaction. Even if that interaction basically consisted of a two week staring contest and hoping nobody got jumpy and pulled a trigger.

You have been turning away requests for statements by the media for some time now with a stock 'not my place to comment on the diplomacy of the Star Empire' statement. With introductions and initial trade negotiations going so well, if the press releases are to be believed, you expect that you will have to make some sort of official statement sometime in the near future.

You re-check the map and find your destination, the melee training rings, are actually up a few floors. Frowning you check again and note that there are actually two main rooms for the melee training rings, bot on the upper levels, plus a third older one tucked away on the main floor in the 'old wing'. Checking closely you note the room numbers for each and pull up the detailed floor guides to confirm your suspicions. The shiny new training rooms are marked off for the Navy and the Royal Marines, in particular you suspect for their Extermination Teams, and the older area tucked away in the old wing is now earmarked for the Surveyor's Corps.

You shrug off the feeling of disappointment at being stuck with the older facilities with the confident knowledge that there won't be a line this time. You make your way over to the old wing, hopping over a stray janitor automaton scrubbing as a piece of chewing gum stuck to the floor, and enter the designated room. Leaning against a wall is a crusty old ring master chewing at a piece of gum.

“Right, let's get this done with. How many weapons do you need to qualify with.”

“Sword and boarding ax ring master.”

“Both at once or one at a time?”

“One at a time.”

“Sensible. I'll set the training dummy accordingly. Left or right handed?”

“Both actually, thanks to some practice.”

“Good on you. Too many young hotshots forget that getting a hand beat on or blown off happens all too often. Qualification is simple. Rounds of slowly increasing difficulty. Land a hit and don't get hit yourself to pass a round. You need to pass five rounds to qualify, seven for 'with distinction' and ten for mastery. Sword first if you don't mind. Step into the ring when you are ready.”

You set your weapon cases down on the bench and withdraw your sword. It's the standard issue blade, nothing fancy, and you hold your thumb over the activator stud on the disruption field.

“Blades on or off ring master?”

“On of course. Training dummy is a hologram and I'm way over here.”

You stab your thumb down and bring the blade to life. Walking over to the edge of the ring you stretch briefly and then step into the ring. The training dummy comes to life. It's a human shaped pink blob with a red blade in one hand. It moves forward clumsily. You take a testing stab at it to try and gauge it's reaction time, but all it does is stop for a moment leaving you out of range. Its sword comes across in a horizontal slash and you step out of the way, follow in behind and stab it in the chest.

“One down. Next challenger in five seconds!”

You step back to the edge of the training ring and watch for the next training dummy. It appears and begins to stalk towards you with a bit more skill then the last. You lunge forwards and skewer it in the belly, easily avoiding it's attempt to block.

“That's two! They'll start blocking now.”

The third dummy appears at a different location and carries a boarding ax. It comes into a ready stance and waits for your approach. You stride forwards and stab for the dummy's head. It tries to bring the boarding ax up but only manages to flail wildly.

“Number four coming up!”

Number four proves to be armed with a spear and appears already lunging at you. You react in time to parry the shaft of the spear aside and follow in with a stab of your own. The dummy can't responding rapidly enough and you land a hit.

“Four down! Beat this one and you pass!”

The fifth dummy has a sword again and comes to an on guard position. You lead with a high cut this time but the dummy blocks. It's blade shatters on impact, destroyed by the disruption field on your sword.

“That is the pass, but keep your guard up!”

Number six appears behind you, already stabbing with a knife. You twist about and barely manage to block the strike. You respond with a quick cut of your own but the dummy manages to avoid it. It lashes out with it's empty 'fist' in a haymaker punch and you take it's arm off at the elbow before the blow can land.

“Brutal!”

The seventh dummy leads off with a wild overhead swing of a boarding ax. You sidestep it with ease but it rolls over your counter strike. You check it's advance but fail to land a hit. Circling it sweeps a strike at your leg which you parry and roll your sword to nick it's wrist.

“With distinction!”

The eighth dummy has a tower shield and charges you. Bemused you sidestep and let it simply charge out of the ring.

“Ring out's don't end the round!”

You nod in understanding as the dummy reappears at the edge of the ring and rushes in again. This time it catches you with it's bull rush and a buzzer sounds.

“Oof! Yeah, the bull-rush dummy is something of a skill check. Still that's you qualified with the sword and with distinction no less. Still want to try for the boarding ax too?”

“Yes I do ring master. I also want to see what you thing of this one. Took it off of a wrecked pirate cruiser I came across.”

You put your sword away and crack the carrying case on your boarding ax, offering it up for the ring master to inspect. He takes it, feeling the heft, turning it over to look at things, and then turning on the build in disruption field

“She's a right beauty. Hand-crafted for sure but the maker sure knew their stuff. A battle steel blade combined with that disruption field... this thing will rip right through Royal Marine powered armor I'd bet. And the marine inside too. Small tip: if you make it to the bull-rush dummy again with this it'll probably rip right through that shield. Ready to go again?”

“As soon as you hand the ax back over I will be ring master.”

“Ha!”

The first seven dummies fall in fairly short order but you have a harder time blocking their strikes with the boarding ax due to it's poor balance. The bull rushing dummy's shield eats your first two boarding ax strikes, though both leave large virtual gashes in it's appearance. The third strike breaks through the shield and is set to cleave the dummy's head clear in two but the buzzer goes off before your strike lands.

“Shit! What got me there ring master?”

“Shield clipped your leg. Were this real he'd be very much dead and you'd be only wounded, but that's not how the scoring system works. Congratulations on qualifying with distinction with both weapons.”