A Wonderful Day For Dueling Excerpt
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I started off by explaining that this had to be the largest duel in years. All ten of the world’s remaining nations and their Mercenary Houses decided to participate. With stakes this high, everyone expected the Secretary General to select a ground-based contest between mechanized battalions. Instead, the U.N., which basically ran the planet these days, called for an aerial duel. Each House would send one fighter with standard-issue thrusters, weaponry, and two weapon modifications of its choice.
The prize: a huge, recently discovered mineral bed smack-dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Rather than split the mineral rights amongst themselves, the ten Houses decided to have a “winner-take-all” duel to the death. While these House duels were an odd way to settle disputes, they were preferable to the nuclear wars of old.
Satisfied that I had covered the basics, I hit RECORD.
“Sorry about that,” I sighed. “My CO wanted a quick status chat. The duel is about to resume, so this is where I sign off. As always, you and your mom are in my thoughts. I'll win this duel and make it home to you both. I won't do it just for House and Country. I'll do it so I can watch you grow into a man and spoil your kids rotten.”
I grinned as my bird broke the sound barrier.
“Sleep tight, son. I'll see you tomorrow.”
With that, I hit a few buttons to end the transmission and sent the holo-letter to Colonel Zint. I pulled my helmet's visor down and headed for the Adriatic. The sun gleamed through the clouds in a mesmerizing fashion. I felt a familiar anticipation as I armed the weapons systems and waited for my enemies' fighters to appear on my long-range radar.
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