Scene #653:

Owner	Pose
No. 9	There's a Fed on Station Zephyr. They'd arrived without fanfare, sat down without violence and regarded the ring of guns without evident worry. So untroubled were they that they seemed to have drifted off just a bit, against a wall. Serious danger of being incarcerated by being ground under by large numbers of mooks, sure, but he didn't seem troubled. Likely either didn't think they'd hurt him, didn't think he couldn't fight his way free or, maybe, just didn't care. That Fed is No. 9. He seems to be sitting against a bulkhead sort of leaning in, half-asleep, waiting on someone from the Union to show up and dance. He looks tired and gray, a little haggard, a touch wasted, a bit thin, especially around the cheeks, the area under his eyes darker and more stained then normal. But he's got his guns and his weapons and his body armor, so he's loaded for bear, even if he is drowsing just a little.
Auron	...Well. That was an odd distress call. Even the people sending it sounded more confused than afraid. Of course the personnel were going to use the time it took a Union Elite to get there, to evacuate. They were confused, not stupid. In fact, Auron may have taken just a little more time than strictly necessary, to give them more time to do just that. He understood it was a target, and battles were going to be fought over it. But items and resources could be replaced. Lives were a little harder to replace. Eventually though, Auron gets to the location via a pick-up from a craft he'd requisitioned from the Union. Thankfully this one came with a pilot, since Auron had /no freaking clue/ how to pilot a spacecraft. He comes to the battle with only his usual attire-- a Katana, bracers, leather breastplate, and clothes. Only in the Multiverse could he stand a chance against Nine while so armored. Auron is quickly pointed to the place where the Confederate Elite is half-asleep against a bulkhead. He thanks the worker and then instructs that worker to evacuate. Then he approaches the other Elite. "...Nine." It's a simple statement, spoken only loud enough to wake the dozing cyborg.
No. 9	SNORT. "Mn, nn, mh?" Blink. He sits up, rubbing his face. He has a bullethole, however shallow in one shoulder, and one of the guards seems to have a bit of a shiner, so the only casualties so far, looks like. He's rubbing his face with the heel of a mechanical hand. Rubrubrub, "Right, sorry. Tired. Ngh." His hands sort of scrape against each other a few times, then VIGOROUS RUBBINGS on the face. "I'm awake, I'm awake." And the he's up, cracking his neck, swinging his shoulder, working out kinks, and a bit of blood from the divot in the flesh. "I'm up, I'm awake, mn..." A thick, wide yawn... and he blinks blearily over at Auron.
Auron	Auron raises the brow of his visible eye as Nine... appears to be waking up from a nap? It's a very tired Golem he sees before him. That's not really the best condition to be starting a fight in. Which Auron observes quietly, "You don't seem to be at your best." It's not an insult or an attempt to psyche Nine out. It's an honest observation. "Are you sure you want to do this now? The mining station will still be here after you sleep."
No. 9	His eyes seem to blaze, his face tight. "I'm trying not to fall into the kind of sleep you don't wake up from. Someone suggested bein more useful n' gettin things done, bein motivated. I am DOIN this man, this is supposed t' MAKE me more wakeful, I aint gonna get thar on my own. I go t' sleep now man-o I might not wake up."
Auron	Auron frowns at that statement-- never wake up? But maybe he does understand it. He did, after all, have a reason to come back from death. Nine may lack that. And when one is without direction, one can easily become so lost. Regardless, he accepts the statement at face value. He nods, and raises his left arm out of the coat where he has it tucked, to let the left side of the garment fall free on his left. Then he shifts a foot forward, lowering his stance and propping his sword on his right shoulder. "Then fight me," he says quietly. "Fight with all your strength. If you don't, you'll never pull out of this." In a way, he's doing this to help Nine. He's been where Nine is before, given the way the other Elite's situation was described to him. He had only his promises to Jecht and Braska to keep him going.
No. 9	There's a nod, low, deep, thoughtful. "Right." A nod... and then he draws his fists up, the metal making a soft srrrrrl sound as the cybernetics winch down. "Right, let's DO THIS." He's doing the first bits hand to hand, because he needs the good reverb up the arm... his first punch is sharp and brutal, the second lighter, the former aiming for the stomach and the latter hooking for the jaw.
Auron	Auron is slow, but his reflexes are still good. And he sees movement better than small details. He takes the first strike directly to the gut, but weathers it with a choked grunt, stumbling back as the air is forced out of his lungs. The second is deflected with the flat of his sword, but even then the sword is slammed against his chest with the impact, and he winces. On the bright side, that's very probably provided the reverb Nine needed! Auron is unlikely to be able to match Nine's sheer physical strength. That and when swinging at Nine, there's a 50/50 chance of hitting metal. Which would be quite painful, and would probably hurt Auron as much as Nine. So instead, Auron aims the flat of his blade at the cyborg's side.
No. 9	Whap indeed- truth be told flat of the blades to Nine's sides normally wouldn't do much, but Nine's side kinda has a bit of a funnybone in the form of the life support system and it's not a fun reverb. He falls back, hissing, and then drops down, trying to sweep one of Auron's legs, send the other guy crashing to the ground. Given that he's awkward moving sometimes but finds movement easy on all fours, the leg sweep sort of balances out between awkwardness and fluidity.
Auron	Auron does indeed fall, finding his legs swept out from under him. He goes with the motion, though, into a roll that takes him up to his knees. That hurt; his leg is going to be quite pained after this battle. He's lucky Nine's strike didn't break it outright. From his knees, he surges upwards to his feet, pulling his sword up above him, hoping to catch Nine with the flat. Sort of like a headbutt, but with the sword in front of his head. Because headbutting Nine would probably hurt Auron worse!
No. 9	Naw if Nine wanted to break it he would've tried to break it, but he's grinning a fierce and feral grin as he sweeps up, eyes a-blazing and smile wide. Hee. But then THWANK and he's got a sword to the head, reeling back dizzy and disoriented... before surging forward, trying to headbutt Auron's sword into his own dumb forehead. Rebuttal!
Auron	Auron gives a stifled grunt of pain and surprise as he finds himself hit in the forehead with his own sword. Good thing he's pretty hardheaded! Still. Sword to the head -- ow! He steps back far enough to get his bearings, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. Nonetheless, he chuckles. "Good reversal tactic," he says. So Auron tries another tactic. He doesn't use punches generally, so he's not likely to break his hand this way. Instead he aims an open-palm strike at Nine's midsection. As he moves forward again he concentrates his qi into his hand, so it's likely to both cushion the blow for his hand, and make it enough to actually cause some damage. Presuming it hits, of course.
No. 9	He's rubbing his face. "Yeah well it wus right thar. Woke me up tho, h-HA!" He's still grinning. Now Nine would normally be in a bit more trouble from that then you'd think, but he moves up a bit and it hits his stomach instead of right on the life support system which would lead to a bad fucking wrecked sort of day. He OOFS as the palm strike hits, rocking through the layers of armor and padding and making his guts roil, a faint grimace on his face... and then he LUNGES forward and gets a mouthful of Auron's clothing- which is actually what he was going for, so he could hold him in place for a few more quick punishing punches to the stomach, covered over by the growling and the thrashing of his head. Rrrr. RRRRR! >:E..
Auron	There are a number of disadvantages to having clothing falling loose on one side of you. This is one of them. Nine gets a chomp-grip on the fabric at Auron's right side and before Auron can pull away, he takes several punches to the midsection. Thank the Fayth for his warrior-monk training, otherwise there would be a lost lunch right about now. Even with the tensing of his abdominal muscles it hurts, and he grimaces. And still the fabric of his coat holds fast. There are times when that damn thing could stand to be LESS sturdy. But since he can't pull away, Auron has no choice but to go forward. Which he does. Knee first!
No. 9	Oof, fuck! Ow, fuck fuck, rrgh! Nine's letting go, because while he likes it up close and dirty he doesn't like the taste of most washing detergents, modern or otherwise, and he wants his head free- to do things like headbutt Auron, which he does. Not hard enough to crack his skull, but he's got a momentum going and the frequent headblows are waking him up and invigorating him, hell yes!
Auron	Ouch! More head trauma! At least Nine let go, so Auron can stumble back, shaking his head to clear it. Ow. Reminds him of trying to argue with Jecht... the result was usually beating his head against a wall. That headbutt gave him the same kind of headache. But with more head trauma. So Nine's looking for head trauma? Auron can do that. He crosses the small space between them with a leap, aiming his sword up to try to bash the flat against the top of Nine's head. He's not trying to kill him, hence why only the flat.
No. 9	Ow, fuckin hell! He's thrown back, landing HARD on his back and thrashing in a pile of zzzhing metallic limbs. Ow, ow fuckin mother puss bucet that hurt! He's up, not long after, up and hissing, and then launching forward on all fours, aiming a headbutt not at Auron's aching head but at his stomach, battering him and pushing him back. Not biting but trying to push and topple and bring to the floor.
Auron	Auron is indeed struck with the headbutt to the stomach and emits a muffled grunt of pain. But he rolls with the momentum, letting himself be thrown back, out of tackling range. He rolls back onto his knees again, and then changes the direction of the momentum, pushing off with his back foot into a body check that might end up hurting him more than Nine.
No. 9	They tangle and Nine winces, hissing and snapping at the man. He tries to get him in a bearhug and might well succeed. Now on a lot of folks if Nine really really REALLY concentrated he might be able to meet his arms against his body and to hell with who's in the middle, but that's not really what he's going for here. He wouldn't be able to on Auron he knows, but he's also not going to try- not going for hurting the man seriously but some crushing, vicing pressure and making it hard to breathe would get his point across.
Auron	Clinch! Auron emits a choked huff as the pressure of the bearhug pushes the air out of his lungs. As Nine is not going for breaking anything serious, that doesn't happen, but Auron's quite sure the cyborg could if he wanted to. However, getting loose from this clinch is going to be a trick. Auron's not exactly an escape artist. And without the use of his arms, he only has his legs. If he can, he's going to try to plant one foot on Nine's stomach and use that to push himself free. Which is likely to feel like a punch in the gut. Provided his foot can find purchase on the cyborg's midsection.
No. 9	Houff! He's stumbling back, rubbing his stomach and wheezing, his face halfway between a snarl and a sneering smile. Yeah, he's enjoying this. It's fun, without breaking someone or drawing a shitton of blood it's a lot of fun. He surges up, laying into Auron again- not going for broken but bruised and battered, knowing he was in a fight. Ribs aching but intact, stomach sore but not ruptured, jaw rattled but not dislocated. And oh it's /fun/.
Auron	Auron manages to mitigate some of the damage, but the sheer power behind Nine's blows is just too much to completely mitigate. He winces at the hits, and staggers back with each one. But yes, he recognizes the intent to /hurt/, not to /injure/. This is much appreciated! Totally sending a thank-you gift later. For right now, though... He tries to reach up with one hand, grip Nine's wrist as he swings, and use the cyborg's own momentum to fling him into a wall. This is mainly to try and get some space, but it might still hurt if he succeeds.
No. 9	He's having fun. He really should be more responsible to his faction and to his people, but really, he's having fun. He's about to aim another hard hook into Auron until his wrist is grabbed. Eyes wide, he finds himself smashing into a wall- the sound of metal on metal is AWFUL, for all that he's laughing. Laughing. Oh he's laughing. Scrambling, scrabbling up, laughing. And then he's trying to get an arm around Auron's neck. And it's a good thing he's not trying to kill the person, because that's not a good hold to be in with someone who's trying to break your neck or suffocate you. But he's not trying to do either, so, um, good?
Auron	"Hrk!" That's the sound of cut-off surprise as Auron finds an arm winding around his neck. It's not exactly 'good', but it could definitely be worse. Struggling isn't going to get him much of anywhere, he knows that. But he's more flexible than he looks, thanks to all that Shaolin-type monk training. So... It's kind of awkward, but Auron's going to try to twist in the hold and try to hook his heel over Nine's neck. That's going to be a trick, but it it works, Auron has some leverage to cause a faceplant!
No. 9	Trock goes down, with a crash, scrabbling at the floor... but he's still got the grip on Auron, the jerk, and he's not letting go. His head hurts, but Auron's has got to be pounding by now, the roar of blood in the ears fierce and terrible...
Auron	No, having Nine's full weight on him is really not pleasant. Especially since Auron ends up hitting the ground headfirst. OW! Yeah, that's not good. There's a moment where Nine will find him just sort of going lax, as his brain works to remember which way is up. Fight over? Nope. Not quite. Auron is nothing if not a stubborn bastard. And when fancy martial arts moves don't work? Well, there's always taking a page from Jecht's book. Jecht wasn't a martial artist. He was a straight-out /brawler/. Sure, he's probably going to break his hand like this, but flailing with fists is generally a good discouragement from having people keep hold of one. He hopes.
No. 9	Nine's only six hundred and twenty pounds. Cry me a river, you wuss. If he struggles too much Auron might get a knee somewhere he doesn't like. He winces and laughs, sort of play snapping at the fist as it batters his head. Oh it hurts but this is for fun! He's not letting the hold go but he eases off it a bit, snapping for the wrist and applying some pressure in a mild chewing motion, like a playful dog before rolling away, hissing in laughter.
Auron	It's always a very distinctive sound a man makes when he's struck precisely in his un-fun place. As it turns out, Auron did end up with a knee somewhere quite un-fun. It is indeed, un-fun. So un-fun, in fact, that Nine will find Auron noooooot quite immediately getting up off the ground when he rolls away. There is much ow going on there. That tends to be a weak point for men in general; it's a wonder Auron hasn't figured out to wear a cup or something when he goes to fight. He will /eventually/ get up off the ground, though. Between the hit in the nether regions -- accidental though it may have been -- and just sheer exhaustion, he doesn't have a lot left in him. But he's still got hold of that sword. Even if he hasn't used it much. He takes the opportunity to here, though. Still just the flat, but he aims a strike at Nine's leg, trying to knock the leg out from under him.
No. 9	His grin turns into a wince, a quick sssssss and an oooh, his brows drawing high above stained dark sockets. Yeeh, good to go Nine, way to hit a man in the not-kosher-place. He's... not, pressing. He sort of sits down a bit, waiting this out. He did just knee a man in the neithers. He has to take a penalty box moment for THAT. He's getting up and then he's DOWN with a heavy hard thud, wheezing and then swinging around and trying to repay the favor to Auron, trying to land him on his back as well. Again.
Auron	Nope! Auron's on his toes now. Amazing how even an accidental hit in the groin can make a man a /lot/ more aware of his surroundings. The samurai avoids the spin by planting his sword down on the ground -- probably /uncomfortably/ close to Nine's head -- and using it to vault over it. He'll also try to kick at Nine's foot to send him spinning the /other/ way. Which is liable to send him into the wall again.
No. 9	Whangn, and he's scrambling, sort of coming back upright... and then, gingerly, sitting down. "...Ah. I... think I, might be done." Wince. He tips his head up. "You okay man-o? I think I hit somethin I shouldn't've thar." Wince.
Auron	Auron's on-guard still; he knows Nine is dangerous. But he doesn't go after Nine again when no attack is forthcoming. The reminder of the ill-placed hit gets a wince from him. He nods. But then he notes, "We were essentially wrestling." Smirk. "Wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened." He doesn't seem upset about it.
No. 9	A wheezing laugh, and the Golem nods, curling up. "Yeh. Might've done a bit better cuttin ya up but then ya would've returned th' favor n' that woulda meant more work fer Taro n' Medusa, so fuckit."
Auron	Auron chuckles. "It would have," he notes. "But it kept either of us from getting injured too badly." He pauses, reaches into his coat -- slowly, so it doesn't look like he's drawing a weapon. He pulls out... a Potion? How the hell didn't it break? He takes a few steps towards the cyborg and offers it to him. "Here. This should lessen the pain."
No. 9	He laughs, reaching into his coat and coming out with a small bottle of whiskey. "Fair's fair." And he hands it over, accepting the healing potion and working at the stopper.