The Ninth: Invasion by Benjamin Schramm

was reduced to little schoolgirls playing gossip and matchmaker.  I can’t take it any more.”  Doug let out a long drawn-out sigh.
    “I knew he was popular,” Humphrey mumbled, “but I had no idea it was that bad.”
    “Tell me, Mr. Sneaky, do you have feelings for the fair Penny?” Cain asked in a feminine voice, obviously taunting Doug.  “We are all just dying to know.”
    The squad burst into laughter as Doug started pounding his head against a cockeyed bedpost.  Getting settled hardly took any time, as no one dared take out any personal possession in such a run down shack.  Leaving the stuffy building, they watched the Protectorates spar for a while.
    “They are giving me an idea,” Cain said at last.  “Owen, you said your family was worse than Ronald’s back in the day, right?”
    “Why do you ask?”  Owen raised an eyebrow.
    “Did you have any special training?  Any secret techniques passed down generation to generation?”
    “You’ve been watching too many 3Ps.  We are farmers, not ninjas.”
    “Nothing at all?”
    “Well, my grandpa would occasionally try to teach us something, but it never made any sense to me, and dad absolutely forbade all fighting.  I had to agree to avoid combat training for my dad to even let me sign on to the military.  Come to think about it, my dad would probably skin me alive if he knew I went through a combat exam twice.”
    “Then it’s settled.  Ronald, how do you feel about a practice match before dinner?”
    “Now, wait just a minute,” Owen protested.  “I never agreed to anything like that!  Weren’t you listening?  My dad would kill me.”
    “Then it is a good thing we are on the other side of the Commonwealth,” Cain said with a devious grin.  “Think about it.  We already know Ronald is tough.  Cassandra told me he once beat the tar out of a trooper from the SW.  You are bound to lose, but there’s no shame in being beaten by someone so skilled.”
    “So what’s the point in us sparring in the first place?” Owen asked.  “For a bookie, you are doing a terrible job on selling this proposition.”
    “You wound me!”  Cain staggered back a step as if physically struck.  “Well, we have nothing better to do, and I for one am interested to see exactly how well your family lineage stacks up against Ronald’s.”
    “He does have a point,” Humphrey mumbled.
    “What point is that?” Owen asked, surprised.
    “We have absolutely nothing to do.”  Sanderson yawned, still managing to look poised despite it.
    “Fine, I give,” Owen said, tossing his hands up.  “But when this is over, one of you is taking on the victor.  If I have to entertain everyone, we all have to take turns.”
    “Sounds fair to me.”  Doug jumped up and started stretching for a match.  “Plus it would be nice to do something besides talking about our feelings ,” he added in the same feminine voice Cain had used.
    The squad laughed as Owen hesitantly took up a position opposite Ronald.  Ronald took a complicated stance that demonstrated his years of training.  Owen tried to make sense of the odd stance, studying the one outstretched arm while the other hung limp with his legs rigid.  Owen stood normally, shaking just a bit – suddenly regretting agreeing to the whole thing.
    “Let’s get this makeshift tournament started!” Cain shouted.
    The volume of his voice surprised everyone.  Even some of the Protectorates stopped what they were doing in surprise from the sudden burst.  Despite what Cain said, neither party moved.  Owen and Ronald continued to stare each other down, neither taking a single step toward the other.  A small crowd of Protectorates gathered around the idle match.
    “Well, someone do something ,” Doug said impatiently.
    Ronald shrugged and moved toward Owen.  Owen raised his fists in defense but didn’t move.  Cain burst into laughter as they were once again staring each other down, Ronald a single step