Rivals

It was nighttime, and the troopers guarding the crashed ship were doing their part in patrolling and protecting it. Makeshift towers stood with a trooper and a spotlight keeping an eye out for intruders, and the ship was walled off and enclosed with barbed wire. At first glance, the entire place appeared secure and peaceful - until Faith began her infiltration.

Quietly cutting through a section of the barbed wire, she snuck her way to a vent and opened the cover, entering the ventilation system and crawling inward towards the inner section of the ship.

"Alright, my turn," Riu said as she cracked her fists.

She pulled out her bow and aimed at a trooper standing atop one of the sentry towers. With a deep breath, she let her arrow fly, hitting the trooper's neck - the vulnerable spot of their armor. The trooper fell off the tower, alerting the others, who quickly took cover and began shooting in her direction.

"Whoops, time to go," Riu muttered to herself.

She began running back through the forest and away from the ship, making the troopers chase after her. She continued running until eventually, the troopers lost sight of her in the middle of the forest. They stopped running and began scanning the area around them, using their night vision mode to help them see better.

"Hey, idiots. Up here!"

They look up but it was too late. Riu jumps down at a group of them, taking them out with a ground slam. After that, she stood proud while holding her spear. The others then began firing at Riu, and she began maneuvering around them. Her speed is incredibly fast, making the troopers unable to hit her at all. She would also begin swinging her spear at them, taking them out one by one until the last man falls.

"Hmph, these guys are no challenge…" Just as she said that she moved her head a little as a bullet grazed her cheeks "I spoke too soon"

Riu jumps into the trees and disappears from the sniper's sight. However, she had already found where the sniper is. She jumps from tree to tree to reach the sniper's position. And when she is above him, she could see the sniper is lying down on his stomach while aiming his rifle at her last position.

"Gotcha"

With enthusiasm, she jumps down and pounces on him. Only to find it was just a stack of leaves with a rifle in front of it.

"The hell?"

Before she could react, a trooper would stand behind her and shoot her stomach from behind. She ran towards the nearby tree and hid from him, however, the Trooper then threw a smoke grenade and disappeared from her sight. Even though she was caught off guard, she smiled at the excitement of the fight she is getting right now.

"So there is someone like that here. Amazing"

Riu was engulfed in the fight and was too focused on defeating this Trooper. She continued to hide behind the tree and began strategizing her attack on him.

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553 hid behind a tree while focusing his attention on the tree where his attacker was hiding. He didn't see any movement and presumed that she was still hiding there. He used this time to contact the others using his comm.

"553 to all units. I've engaged the enemy in sector 4. I need back…" He stopped mid-sentence as a spear thrusts towards him and the girl stood in front of him with a big smile on her face.

553 then fired at the girl, but she was too quick and dodged every shot that he could give her. She then knocks his rifle out of his hands, which gives him an opportunity to take out his knife and slash her hands, making her drop her spear as well. She then jumps back and gains some distance between them. 553 stood there as well, on guard against her but also not trying to grab his rifle just yet.

"You fight better than the rest of them. Perhaps you can satisfy me. I am Riu Tanaka of the clan Tanaka. What is your name warrior?"

553 paused for a moment, confused as to why she suddenly introduced herself. Cautiously he answered her "My number is Trooper 553"

"No no, I want your name, not your whatever number is supposed to mean"

"I…Don't have a name"

Riu looks puzzled "You don't have a name?"

"Yes" While answering her, 553 slowly put his hand behind his back to grab his holster pistol.

"Hmm, it is strange indeed how you wouldn't have a name. But remembering your number is going to be a pain"

553 quickly grabbed his pistol and began shooting at her, but Riu was too quick and managed to get close to him to get rid of his pistol, followed by her punching off his helmet to reveal his face. She then puts a knife next to his neck and pins him to the ground.

"If you don't have a name, then I shall give it to you. From now on, you shall be known as Raze"

"Why bother when you're about to kill me?" 553 asked with no fear in him.

"Because I like to remember my opponents, and so far you don't disappoint. But you are right about one thing. You're going to die"

Riu raised her knife up and intended on stabbing 553. When she began to stab him, 553 held the knife with his left hand, giving his right hand to grab a knife from his pocket and stab Riu in the stomach. After that, he kicks her off and rolls backward until he stands again. Riu kneels and is in pain. However, she soon also stands up and smiles once again.

"Amazing. Being the undefeated warrior of my village, you are the first to wound me. You are truly amazing"

553 gets into his fighting stance, holding his knife backward with his hand "What are you playing at here?"

"I'm simply looking for a fight Raze. It's the way of the warrior for me" While she was talking, her wounds started to heal. The stomach and places that 553 had shot started to burn, and new skins replaced the broken and bloodied ones. The blood on her body would also burn away to nothing.

"I didn't give you permission to call me by that name. But that's not a bad name"

Riu ran towards 553 and began to fight again using her knife. However, this time 553 managed to parry it perfectly, giving her a difficult time attacking him. This only excites her even more, until the two would be in a deadlock where Riu and 553 knives are at each other's throats with each of their hands holding them in place.

Their fight would soon be interrupted as they saw Faith running away from a group of troopers chasing her. Riu would click her tongue and jump away from him while grabbing her spear.

"We'll continue this some other time Raze"

Riu immediately ran off to help Faith. 553 then grab his weapons that are on the ground, then runs after them to help the troopers that are fighting them. When he got there, the troopers were all unconscious and the two were already gone.

"Huh. What's up with her?"

Suddenly he gets a call from Priad through his comms.

"553, I heard the alarm go off. What happened?"

"It's Faith. She and one of the locals just attacked us. What's the call?"

"Regroup and do not pursue. We'll assess the situation first"

"Yes sir. And get a couple of guys here, we got wounded"

"Copy that"

553 sat down leaning against the tree and looked at the distance, wondering what that fight was about and why she was so happy and excited.

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Faith gasps as she was sitting on a rock to regain her strength, while Riu was just leaning against the tree and looking back on the forest that she had just fought in.

"Did…We lose them?" Faith asked.

Riu didn't answer and was only staring there.

"Hey, Riu!" This time she screamed.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, we did. Don't worry about it"

"You look like you've seen something there"

"Yeah. While you were getting the data, I was fighting with someone that's on my level"

"Who?"

"His number is 553, but I give him a name, Raze. He's awesome. He almost killed me with his techniques"

Faith sighs "Didn't know you enjoyed that kind of stuff. Still, don't get too lovey dovey with him. In the end, he's just a trooper and he doesn't care about fighting you unless he completes his mission, whatever that is"

"Oh don't worry, that works just fine…Wait" Riu blushes "It's not like that, I wasn't crushing on him, I was having fun with him"

"Right, whatever you say. Maybe I should tell the others and see what they think of this"

"Don't you dare"

"Relax, I'm kidding. I'm not the type to spill the beans like that" Faith shows a USB drive to Riu "Anyway, all the info we need is here. Now we only need to manufacture and create countermeasures against them" Faith smiled as her plans seemed to be drawing together perfectly.

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Back on the crashed Frigate, Priad helped the troopers that were wounded, carrying some of them to a medical bed. 553 walked over to him wearing his helmet, though the bruises and cracks from his fight with Riu were still there. Priad turn to look at 553.

"You look like you've been busy"

"Yeah well, I was fighting our attacker. A female local. She's pretty good at fighting in close quarters. Her name is Riu Tanaka"

"Wow, didn't think you actually got her name"

"I didn't. She gave hers to me"

A small girl wearing ragged cloth then approached them. She is a little shaken and nervous when addressing them "C…Commander. I have helped the others who are wounded in getting them to their beds"

"Nice work" Priad pats her head which made her blush "We'll get you new clothes later. For now, go get some rest"

"Y…Yes sir. Thank you sir" She bowed and walked away.

"Who's that?"

"Shinaka Mori. Little child from the recently destroyed Mori clan. We bought her from a slaver for a very cheap price"

"Heh, we are playing slavery now?"

"Not exactly. We'll need a guide if we're going to survive on this planet, and she can help us with that"

"Why not ask one of the locals?"

"Slavery has its perks. They can't betray their master because of a curse that's been put on them. If we can, I don't want to use it. It'll be better if she helps us by her own will"

"I see. So what's this curse look like?"

Priad points to his own chest "A symbol that electrocutes them for disobeying orders. It gets harder the more they resist"

"Yikes"

"I know right? So before that happens, treat her as one of our own"

"You got it. I'll treat her like my own sister"

"Oh by the way. While you were busy fighting that woman, Faith snuck in here and stole something from us"

553 scratches his head "Sorry. Most of us were too busy fighting Riu"

"Not a problem actually. In fact, Faith just helped us out"

553 paused for a moment "You got a plan Priad?"

Priad smiled, but 553 couldn't see it because he was wearing his helmet "I'll brief you all later. For now, get some rest"

He then walks away towards the crashed Frigate. But before he could get far, 553 stopped him.

"Hey Priad" He paused. "What do you think about the name Raze?"

Priad turned to look at him "Is that going to be your name?"

"Well…Yeah. Any opinions?"

"Nope. Pretty or not, it's your name so keep it" Then he continued walking.

553 muttered to himself "I see" and looked at the sun that was going up, and the morning greeting them all. Deep within him, he feels happy about getting a name, but he doesn't know why yet. So he stood there for a while, just watching the sun while wondering why.