Deathwatch by Joshua Guess

Author:Joshua Guess
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joshua Guess
Published: 2017-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

18

Beck ducked, spinning on one foot beneath the powerful but wild swing, and danced away from her attacker. The small tablet in her hand pinged at her constantly, the volume increasing with every second she ignored it.

Her fingers tapped out an answer to the question written on the screen, drawn from one of several potential disciplines within the Deathwatch. This in particular was a mid-level inquiry about the array of possible punishments a Sentinel in the Enforcement division would have at their disposal for a person accused of thievery.

Her answer was a single word: investigation. Because you don’t punish someone based solely on accusation. Two weeks of relentless training and classes shaped her mind in ways she would scarcely have believed.

In the process of typing out the answer, Beck wandered too close to the perimeter. Her cohort stood in a loose circle around the mat, each with a slim prod. One of them did their duty and gave her a shock. This had happened so frequently as to become a non-event. She took the hit without stopping, throwing herself into a diving roll to slip past Caleb, who barreled toward her as mercilessly as ever.

As she popped back to her feet, facing him, the tablet pinged another question at her. This time it was a math problem having to do with the thermal regulation system of a standard set of Deathwatch armor. Beck only had to glance at the numbers to remember them, a handy trick that helped make her deft with machine languages, and worked out the solution in her head. She never took her eyes off Caleb as she typed in the answer. When he rounded on her and began to level a kick, her fast response saved her an extra five seconds.

She dropped the tablet into her left hand at the last possible moment, dropped to her knees, and thrust a fist into his liver as his leg brushed her left shoulder.

Caleb flew off balance and crashed to the ground like a bag of stones, coughing and retching. The hit hadn’t been enough to cause serious harm, though liver shots were certainly capable of it. The proof was in his reaction; he rose to his feet a few seconds later with murder in his eyes.

Beck didn’t pause to think or consider the consequences. She stood facing what her instinct told her was a very real threat to her life. The tension in his muscles, the unchecked fury contorting his face, the savage movement of his body as he lurched toward her.

She did the last thing he would have expected and threw herself at him. Literally.

Her timing was imperfect, but the leap was close enough. Instead of trying to match him blow for blow, which even with her rapidly increasing strength would have been sheer idiocy, Beck put every ounce of her weight behind the knee extended in front of her. Waiting until he was nearly on her was dangerous, but she had to win this in one shot.

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