Snippet #1371824

The ship's gymnasium, situated towards the farthest ventral reaches of the Dancer, whistled with the song of blades being swung and shouts being uttered.

The large room was occupied by a man and an android, a specially-programmed training robot that Kenneth Deladrier, mercenary, had paid a hefty sum on the black market to obtain for the purpose of keeping his fighting skills sharp. Thus far, it had performed its job admirably, and in the process of keeping Deladrier's combat instincts well-honed, it also kept him from having to follow the standard exercise regime for a man of his size in a low-grav environment. He parried away a straight thrust from the robot with Clarice and pulled it arm-first onto the padded gym floor, holding the arm behind its back in a subduing hold. The robot eventually shut down, declaring Deladrier the victory after a short fight, for little more purpose than to get Deladrier's blood flowing. As he returned Clarice to its scabbard, the comms unit on Kenneth's belt buzzed, telling him that his presence was requested on the bridge.

The bulky mercenary grunted. It was rare that the entire crew was called up to the bridge, so Deladrier was mildly intrigued when the call came through. Stowing his blade away on his back, Kenneth climbed into the turbolift from the under-decks and headed for the bridge.