(Speical Thanks to D.X for helping with the last bit, as well as Editing. I appologise for such a length between updates, I’ve been having a rough go at thing as of late, but here we are Chapter 66 at last!)

“…In an amazing display of dominance on the field, rookie sensation Felltree enjoyed a crushing victory over Reefsman. And last night’s upset 4-0 victory didn’t just cement Felltree’s advancement, it also brought through novice qualifier PuppetMaster, who came back from a disappointing performance early in the Tribute, and has been steadily climbing and clawing her way through this tribute. It’s not every day we see two tender-fott novice players advance to leave behind strong seasoned players like Reefsman and Deliverance. Top that off with the reigning champion participating in the round robin and getting through, and it has already been a Grand Imperial Tribute like no other!”

Loona flicked off the pre-recorded broadcast and spun in the leather office chair that few were ever given the privilege to sit in. Dr. Freeman normally gave even Loona a hard time about sitting in ‘his’ chair, but when Tol Bot was concerned, even Dr. Freeman knew his boundaries.

“You’re not gonna throttle me, or muss me up, are you?” Niall asked with the smallest hint of sarcasm, as his eyes remained focused on his own work.

“Heh, Felltree and Puppet Master, never saw that one coming.” Loona tactfully ignored Niall’s jab, spinning idly on the comfortable leather chair.

“You should be happy, Darren move….”

Niall was cut off by both a hissing voice and a mean scowl. “PuppetMaster!” Loona corrected.

“Yeesh, you know who I meant didn’t ya?” Niall grumbled, not hardly shaken by Loona’s tone.

“The walls have ears, and besides its bad luck. Even if you know who they are, you don’t say! Do you want to hex him?” Loona shook her head.

“Strange species you lot.” Niall raised a brow and shook his head. “Strange as you are huge!”

“Shut up, isn’t there anything you get excited about? Nothing from back home that used to get your fires stoked? Something that made you feel alive, happy as it made you angry…or were you as ‘fun’ there as you are here? Hmmmm?” Loona stuck her tongue out at Niall, who hadn’t taken the time to notice as he was engrossed in his work.

“Sure, plenty of things. I used to love a good football game, though Rugby is where the action is. Course that was a lot different than watching two grown adults in silly costumes play Super Mario Kart on live television.” Niall shrugged.

“Oh, you’re such a bore, you know that!” Loona fussed, grumbling and crossing her arms for good measure. “You don’t even give the game a chance! Besides look at what Marionette is doing, this is exciting stuff Niall, he’s making a statement, a powerful one. You know, like another super star human I know, who beat the odds and made his mark on the Empire?” Loona rose a brow and grinned.

“It’s not the same at all. I broke the glass ceiling and earned a staff position at one of the most respected, prestigious Universities on in the Empire. Da….Puppetman impressed a bunch of muppets by playing a mean game of Star Craft.” Niall scoffed and shook his head. “And he hasn’t won yet either….”

Loona was as silent as she was stunned. It took her almost a full moment to comprehend what Niall had just said, more so in fact that it was he who said it.

“Niall, that’s just…I mean…how could you even say that?” Loona’s voice dropped, she wasn’t angry, though she wanted to be, she really did. Anger would mean she could yell, all Loona felt was disappointment.

“What? Oh get off it, it’s just a video game Loona, rubbish.” Niall dismissed her with a simple wave of his hand.

Loona took a breath, and with surprising tact and self-control she leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand, she put on a façade, and looked at Niall carefully. She had entered legal-eagle mode, which, if you knew her, was far more frightening than Tol-Bot fanatic mode.

“Interesting,” was all Loona said; then she sat back on her chair as she crossed arms over her chest. “So what you’re saying is your contribution to human rights in the Empire has more weight than the Marionette’s?”

Niall wasn’t sure if he should be frightened by the abrupt mood change, or intrigued. Loona taking on a role opposed to Niall wasn’t anything new, but her doing so with such calm was a different matter altogether.

“Well of course, I mean advanced physics and video games can’t be compared. Sergeant Puppet Man is wasting his time messing around with such things. There are more important things he could be doing with his time. I’ve met the man, personally he’s capable of better.” Niall set his attention to Loona, looking to her and turning his chair to face her.

“But surely there are other avenues one can take in order to leave their mark on the world, outside of academia?” Loona watched Niall carefully, speaking with poise and calm.

“The pursuit of knowledge is the single most important thing a society can achieve. The unsung heroes of science are who have changed the world for the better Loona, not foosball and Star Craft.” Niall spoke with a hearty helping of his signature arrogance, sprinkled with a soupçon of condescension for good measure.

“Fascinating. So on Earth I assume more youth have pictures of physicists on their wall, not athletes?”

Niall opened his mouth to speak, but paused soon after.

“No?” Loona at last broke her stoic demeanor with the slightest hint of a grin peeking out from the corner of her lips.

“Well, I had a poster of Hawking on my wall.” Niall huffed, looking away from Loona as to avoid her dopey “I beat Niall” grin.

“Yeah, well you’re weird. How about everyone else?”

“Beckham…O’Driscoll. Especially the girls.” Niall sighed. As much as he was loath to admit aloud, Loona had a point. As much as he believed sports and games to be a waste of time, there was no denying their influence.

“I thought so.” Loona sat back, the smile Niall had been dreading at last came out, her arms crossed over her chest as she relaxed in the spiny office chair.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…now get off my chair you!” Niall barked, waving his hand dismissive.

“Yes sir!” Loona teased as she stood up and rounded the desk to the front, where the much less welcoming and far less comphy ‘guest’ chair sat. “Marionette is infiltrating one of the most sacred institutions known to the Empire. Like it or not, it’s a milti-billion credit industry. Every child will know his name, there won’t be a corner of the Empire from here to Fribbilous Xax and back that won’t see what he’s doing. Years from now, when history remembers the year 2102, it will remember the Freeman trial, the Darren Avery trial, the Dosorovich Act, and the human who made it past the quarter finals in the Grand Tribute.” Loona smiled; it was no longer a smile of triumph. It was something much more.

“That’s if they figure out it’s him.” Niall added, disinclined to admit she was right, but unable to deny it either.

“Oh, they will…it’s only a matter of time. In fact, I’m willing to bet a surprising number already do.” Loona spoke with sage assurance.

“Mmhmm.” Niall hummed, feigning interest. Loona may have bested him, but he still didn’t have to find the game remotely interesting.

“He’s up against The Pain next. I like The Pain – he plays to the crowd, and he’s an honorable competitor, but he’s no superstar. Zennikar odds are in The Pain’s favor of course, but given PuppetMaster’s performance against Deliverance, I’m expecting to see a 3-1 victor, with a loss in the space round ticked against him.” Kymie Abaforad spoke up, her gangly, thin frame standing in the doorway to Niall’s office. Wearing a simple knee length skirt and a white blouse, her hair was roughly tied back almost absentmindedly.

“Kymie!” Loona greeted the other woman with a smile, edging the uncomfortable chair about to face her.

“Lovely, you’re late you know Kymie.” Niall barked, with out looking up from his screen.

Loona sent Niall a displeased look, which he promptly ignored.

“Oh, sorry Dr. Freeman, you’re right Dr. Freeman, I’m sorry.” Kymie spoke, tail between her legs with a soft apologetic voice.

“I assume you were up late watching Tol-Bork?” Niall mumbled gruffly.

Kymie looked down at her shuffling feet and nodded.

“Jorm is from Urasula, Niall, it was a rough night for her, give the girl a break, eh?” Loona spoke up, giving Kymie what looked to be a panic attack in the process.

“Who?” Niall asked, looking to Loona with a tired expression.

“Jorm the Mighty, he went down the The Magician last night. He was the first player to make the quarters out of Urasula, back in 2099. He played well, Kymie, The Magician has been a tough draw this tournament,” Loona said, looking to Kymie sympathetically.

Kymie shook her head, as if to distance herself from Loona’s transgression. “Oh, no I’m ok…really. I just…slept in is all…it won’t happen again, you can be sure of that Dr. Freeman!” Kymie looked quickly to Niall, then to Loona, then back to Niall.

“I should hope not.” Niall said as he finished transferring his lecture notes from the massive titan built ‘hand held’ data pad he used as a desk top terminal, to the small portable device Dhanyle had built for him.

Niall stood and walked to the edge of his desk, tapping his foot impatiently as he looked to his wrist, where there was of course no watch, but the gesture itself spoke louder than words. “Well, off with us now, before I lose my job, and you yours.” Niall sighed, with a disappointed shake of his head.

Loona bit her tongue, and sent Kymie a sympethic look. “Well, hope you feel better Kymie, there’s always next year right?”

Kymie scampered over to Niall and set her hand aside the desk for him to climb in. Cradling him against her stomach for stability, she flashed Loona a warm smile before looking to her own mobile pad. “So, you’ve your 17:00 lecture, then a lunch with the head of the Astrophysics department, Naskia is going to stop by at 26:15 to take you to your retro-viral treatment with Dr. Selil, then you have an afternoon lecture at 33:00 after your nap.” Kymie went on as she carried Niall out of his office, leaving Loona shaking her head.

“Equality apparently doesn’t breed personality.” Loona muttered with a bemused smile.

“I’m surprised with you Kymie, a smart girl like you following a silly game like Tol-Bot.” Niall lectured as Kymie rather tactfully dodged the heavy morning hallway congestion.

Kymie kept quiet, the last thing she wanted to do was set Dr. Freeman off, especially when he was cross.

“I can practically hear your poor brain cells rotting away as we speak.” Niall chuckled.

“Well, I don’t know sir, it does take a fair bit of critical thinking, and a surprising amount of dexterous multi-tasking. Studies have shown Tol-Bot can stimulate Neurogenesis in the brain, which can lead to increased brain size and connectivity.” Kymie said, with about as much confidence as a newborn baby Shaar.

Niall grumbled, unable to glare at Kymie due to his position. “The whole universe has gone mad.” Niall sighed.

“I…I hope Puppet Master wins.” Kymie added at last, once she felt some of the tension had settled. “I know…I mean nobody has told me, I understand because player identities should be secret. But I figured it out on my own. There’s only one person I know who says ‘gat-dang’, and hangs around a woman that teeny.” Kymie giggled.

“Heh, well apparently Loona will box your ears if you tell anyone, so shh.” Niall chuckled.

“I hope he wins.” Kymie repeated. “PuppetMaster has a strong following here on Campus Dr. Freeman.” Kymie added, meekly.

“He…she…they do?” Niall asked, in surprise.

“I don’t think anyone else really knows who they are, just people who’ve met them and can put two and two together…but…well you’ve had a big impact on the student body here Sir, there’s a big debate over who the real player is, but those who know the truth…well they want him to win too…and you had a lot to do with that, you’ve changed a lot of minds, sir.” Kymie said, turning a corner.

Niall took a moment to let what Kymie said sink in, once they had reached their destination, Kymie set Niall at the front of the lecture hall and turned to begin transferring his notes to the projector.

“PuppetMaster plays tonight eh?” Niall asked, gruffly.

“Yes…he does.” Kymie answered.

“Just…try not to be too late in the morning, alright?” Niall relented, with a low sigh.

Kymie smiled quickly, then went back to her work.

***

The luck of the draw set Darren up for a first round knockout in the ground warfare round; it was a style of combat he was quite used to, reminiscent of colonial-era earth. The Pain was tasked with holding on to an oil-rich province in what looked a lot like Southern Chirae; while the conventional tactic would have been to seize the rich oil fields in a long drawn out battle, Darren blitzed the field and set fire to The Pain’s resources, and used the chaos to easily win the round.

The second round saw Puppet Master ride the wave of momentum he had gathered in the first round, taking the battle by air in a showy but well fought win, though the Steampunk inspired airships and zeplins took some getting used to.

The Pain came back in an easily-predicted win in the Deep Space round, sapping Darren’s momentum and drawing out the Sea round to a lengthy and tiresome war of attrition, which eventually went to PuppetMaster, who only managed the win by securing his last objective moments before The Pain was able to breach PuppetMaster’s blockade.

The Pain had theatrically shrugged, and bounded over to PuppetMaster, and shook her wrist with vigor. “Nice win,” he said; then quietly enough that it wouldn’t be picked up by the microphones, he added, “hope to get a shot at you guys again in the future.”

They moved on to the quarters, as had Dibilique, The Magician, the Hierophant, and – shocking nobody – Iron Maiden. On Darren’s half of the bracket, Felltree had easily defeated LerKarrgh, and was set to square off against The Executioner. As for PuppetMaster – well, they would face Daemon.

As Eyrn went about donning her PuppetMaster gown, in the relative seclusion of their dressing room, she could not help but grin as she heard the faint but distinct sound of Darren’s snoring coming from his spot on her vanity. Once fully clothed, she appeared from behind her blind and snuck over to where Darren was napping. Her hair was still a chestnut brown, not having bothered to change the color using the application on her mobile device just yet.

“23 hours, that’s rough even for me.” She whispered, resisting the urge to snap a picture of Darren with her data pad. Darren was a piss pot, full of fire and brimstone, but he was sort of peaceful looking when he slept.

“I’m up.” Darren mumbled. “Just resting my eyes.” While Darren had a long break between games, practicing and training and everything else he had to do quickly filled the long seemingly endless days rather quickly. Adjusting to sync his circadian rhythm with a titan clock didn’t come easy, despite the experience he had on Earth with their adjusted work day for the sake of Eyrn.

“Daemon’s got a bit of a reputation. He’s known to be quite intense on the field.” Eyrn took a seat and began the long arduous process of pinning her hair in PuppetMaster fashion. “Not just that he’s ranked seventh, or made the semis last year.”

“Eh, kid once you’ve locked horns with one ginormic yahoo, it don’t quite matter how intense the rest are. Hell, after Lyroo I think I could take on the biggest, meanest titan for all it’d matter. Bring it on.” Darren chuckled and sat up, taking a moment to let the sleepy groggy feeling pass.

“Not just that, he has a rather long rap sheet for game misconduct, poor sportsmanship, and use of excessive force during combat tie breakers.” Eyrn cringed as she looked at the image of the strong looking steroid induced batman villain want-to-be on the screen before her.

“So what yer saying is…don’t tie?” Darren walked over to where Eyrn’s data pad was leaning against her vanity mirror. “Christ he is a tough-lookin’ fella, ain’t he?”

“I mean it! They don’t let you use mechanical enhancements for the combat round, so if you tie and I have to fight him I’ll get bent in half!” Eyrn winced.

Darren didn’t respond, from the look of him, the Sarge had something else entirely on his mind.

“What?” Eyrn said as she spun a gathered lock of her hair into a tight bun.

“Nothing.” Darren said wistfully. “Just thinking.”

Eyrn didn’t say another word, she knew she really didn’t have to, she’d known Darren long enough to know when something was bothering him, he was rarely ever quiet about it.

“We never really thought that part out Eyrn.” Darren said, looking before him at the grostesque, angry-looking tough on the screen.

“What part?” Eyrn asked, her long straight hair starting to take shape.

“Tie breakers.” Darren cleared his throat.

“What about ‘em?”

“Now that were passed the round preliminaries, it’s something we gotta worry about.”

“Heh, yea I guess I never thought much about that either…guess I should be practicing up on my hand to hand eh?” Eyrn said, half joking by the tone in her voice.

“And if we happen to tie Tiny over there?” Darren said, not at all as sarcastic as Eyrn sounded.

“He is a bit of a bruiser…but whatever, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Eyrn shrugged it off.

“It ain’t no joke Eyrn, some of these players are really tough looking, I was watching some of last year’s Tribute finals, people can really get hurt out there.” Darren was trying not to look at Eyrn, that was made a lot more difficult when he suddenly found himself ensnared by her fingers and dangled before her face, her none too pleased face at that.

“Darren Lemuel Avery, don’t you dare go all protector of the realm White Knight on me! Have you once again forgotten that I am in fact a grown woman capable of making her own choices?” Eyrn’s tone was a tad more frustrated than angry.

“No.” Darren answered reluctantly.

“We are not on Area 51 are we? It’s no longer your job to ensure my safety, is it?” Eyrn asked next.

“No.” Darren admitted with shame.

“Nor is it your place to decide what I am, or am not able to do, no more than it is my place to decide for you.” Eyrn’s brow rose as she awaited an answer.

“But….”

“No buts!”

Darren sighed. “No…it’s not my place.”

Eyrn smiled sweetly and set Darren on her palm. “There, all settled! Now just don’t go doing something crazy like tying that man-beast and were all good!”

“It’s not just about that Eyrn.” Darren said at last.

“Than what is is about?” Eyrn looked down in though to Darren, who was looking back at her.

“It just don’t seem right…” Darren made a quick blocking moment in anticipation for another assault from Eyrn, “and gat’danget let me finish b’fore you maul me!”

Eyrn couldn’t help but giggle, Darren knew her quite well.

“If you gotta fight my battles for me, then am I really the one who’s winning?” Darren asked, settling down a bit.

Eyrn opened her mouth to answer, but then went quiet.

“It’s supposed to be me doing all the work, yer just for show remember? Now ya know I appreciate all you do, but I duno Eyrn, having you win a tie breaker just don’t seem right to me.”

“Well,” Eyrn set Darren down and continued with her hair, “if they made it possible for you to compete fairly, we wouldn’t have to keep up this ridiculous charade at all.” Eyrn sounded snappy and smart.

“Yer right.” Darren sighed. “But, it is what it is.” Darren shrugged.

“You know,” Eyrn began, she was making a strange face in the mirror as she began to apply her makeup, “not so long ago, there was no tie breaker round. Combat was just the fifth round, all competitors needed to be well rounded in all styles of warfare, Tol-Bot was more a rite of passage than a sport for amusement.” Eyrn puckered her lips and began to apply the bright red lip-stain that aided in her transformation.

“Sounds like it would have been a soldier’s game really.” Darren said, casually watching Eyrn.

“Actually no, see back then it was much more widely played, it would seem. See, imperial citizens were mandated to serve one year imperial service before emancipation, which generally happens by age 16.” Eyrn ran her finger aside the corner of her lips to clear away extra stain, then began to apply her foundation and eye liner.

“Mandatory military service, heh.” Darren smiled a little to himself. “Not so sure that’s such a bad idea personally. The army made me the man I am today, separates the men from the boys, ya see. If more youth had to spend a few years in the service of their country there’d be a lot less crime, and a lot less grown men living with their momma’s at 31.” Darren scoffed and folded his arms.

Eyrn rolled her eyes and continued with the task at hand. “Well, it wasn’t limited to armed forces, though that was an option. Youth could choose between Planetary Defense Corps, Space Exploration Corps, Peacekeepers, or Military Intelligence, the science and development branch of the imperial armed forces.” Eyrn said, with a surprising amount of confidence in her tone.

“Historically, Archavian culture was quite bellicose, placing emphasis on civil service and one’s duty towards the crown. A citizen was more than simply a member of a cultural group, every adult was responsible in some small part for the defense and prosperity of the community.” Eyrn shrugged, turning back to her mirror.

“How’n the hell do you know all this twat? Seems like yesterday you didn’t know the name of the Emperor, now yer a history major?” Asked Darren with a grin.

“I’ve been taking an online history course actually. Professor Duvix Maxchem from Tannhauser Gate University. Dr. Freeman recommended I take it actually.” Eyrn said, with a hint of embarrassment, but also a fair bit of pride.

“Good on you kid!” Darren said with a chuckle. “You always did have a thing for history, eh?” Asked Darren.

“Thanks.” Eyrn smiled, then quickly went back to preparing her face. “Yea, I dunknow why, just always found it fascinating.”

“Well, you were around for a bunch. What else are you learning about your people’s history?” Darren asked with interest.

“A lot, if you’re curious you can always read up on it yourself.” Eyrn winked, Darren had learned standard galactic Archavian quicker than she had in fact.

“Heh, me? A human, learn something?” Darren gasped in mock surprise.

“Simply rubbish!” Eyrn teased.

Darren chuckled, it felt good to joke around with Eyrn, every now and then she almost made it feel like equality really was something that could be grasped on to and achieved. If only more thought like her.

“You really would jump in that ring for me, wouldn’t ya?” Darren said with a slow exhale.

“I’m here aren’t I?” Eyrn responded with her signature air of sarcasm and humor.

“Suppose we’ll just play it by ear eh? Though knowing yer willing to take on the Man Beast if it comes to it…well…means a lot.” Darren smiled a bit of a dopey Sarge Avery smile.

“Yea, well I’m not so sure about the Terminator over there…just do me a favor and beat his ass ok?” Eyrn insisted, though there was a tiny bit of jest to her voice.

“Heh, not like you’d stand a chance against many of the others…there all buff looking for the most part.” Darren grunted with a shake of his head.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence…I’ll have you know I may be small but I’m scrappy!”

“Scrappy won’t do you a whole lot of good against Conan the Barbarian.” Darren teased, though still inside felt uneasy about the whole thing. After all, if Eyrn had to fight his battles, was it really worth competing at all?

***

“Were here, live at the Tarsuss Center in Sunny Warrenden Bay bringing you live coverage of the 2102 Grand Imperial Tribute quarter finals! Kargah, what exactly did we just witness?” The cheery young blond haired reporter looked to the stern looking green scailed Ler beside her.

“It was a glorious first-round victory for the mighty PuppetMaster, over the pathetic efforts of Daemon!” The Ler shouted into his mic.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha, it really was a one sided maritime battle, Puppet Master dominated the field with an impressive display of Navel supremacy.”

“It was quite masterful indeed! Pitiful Daemon stood no chance! However next comes the Galactic Warfare round, where Kargah believes Daemon will destroy the mighty Puppet Master and her adorable little pet!” Kargah shouted.

“I guess its fair to say you’re decided on PuppetMaster for the win?” The perky blond said with a million dollar smile.

“Kargah is impressed with Mighty Puppet Masters under-kipp preformance! She was a weak pathetic puny whelp, but has come back strong and has crushed all who stand in her way! Crushed them without mercy Dayiane!” Kargah shouted and made a ball with his fist.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha, and her adorable human companion is a fan favorite too! Though word on the vine is the human may be more than meets the eye.”

“Ridiculous! The little puppet is simply adorable, however still just a puny human!”

“I get the feeling you’re not a fan of humans then Kargah?”

“Nonsense! Kargah adores humans! I would crush it with affection! It is quite amusing how the Mighty Puppet Master uses her adorable human to work the controls, but the idea that a puny human can play Tol=Bot is even more amusing!”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha, well Kargah, the scrappy new novice Puppet Master has certanly not disappointed fans, she was greeted with the largest ovation she has seen yet, however I don’t think Daemon will allow her to slide by as easily as The Pain. She will have to keep on top of her game if she is going to advance to the next challenger.”

“Kargah is confident she will destroy all who stand in her way!”

The blond reporter laughed one more time before facing the camera. “Well Kargah, I can tell by the screams and shouting that its just about time to start the next round.”

“It will be glorious indeed puny titan reporter Dayiane!”

***

The outcome of the Galacti Warfare round predictably went to Daemon, who delivered a rather unsportsmanlike defeat over Puppet Master in a manner that could only be described as showy and barbaric. The minority of supporters of Daemon cheered loud enough to drown out the booing jeering of the rest as Puppet Master walked off the field while the AI was reset for the third round.

Darren and Eyrn did very little talking throughout the second intermission, but came back with a bloody vengeance during the Air combat phase. Darren mirrored Daemon’s quick and merciless victory, only kept the showmanship and mockery to an absolute minimum. Where Daemon had gone out of his way to utterly humiliate Puppet Master during the previous round, Darren swept through the field with pinpoint accuracy, it was the quickest win he had seen, in fact it was the quickest win the sport had seen in generations.

Deamon had been tasked with surviving for four hours against an all-out assult, PuppetMaster managed to win the round in only 44 minutes 13 seconds. The reaction from the crowd at the Tarsuss Center Arena was nothing short of off the wall.

“Not that I’m not happy for your awesome win there Sarge, but we’re getting painfully close to a draw.” Eyrn said as they re entered the arena after the third and final intermission.

Darren could only look on ahead, as the grand podium where he and Eyrn stood came in to view. “I don’t plan to let it get to that Twat.”

The announcer said his bit, the audience made their noise, Eyrn said a few words to him, and before long the field began to populate. None of that even regestered, all Darren could foccus on was Deamon, the beast of a man standing across the vast field before them. The giant amoung giants was the only thing on his mind.

“Ok, looks like were the defender this time.” Eyrn said as she read through the information packet on the screen before her.

Darren snapped to and looked up to Eyrn from the palm of her hand.

“Stoboda was the jewel of the Tannhauser League, stood for over two thousand years, their foothold on Chirae. Cultural Mecca, center for commerce and trade, and the largest city in the Tannhauser League until 1400 PA. The city fell to a Jotunn invasion after a lengthy siege that bled the city dry, but all could have changed in the second battle for the city. With reinforcements just four hours away, your task, is to hold the line until the ships arrive. Can you change the course of history? Eyrn read, then flipped the screen to view the resources she and Darren had to work with.

“Hmmm, simple enough.” Darren mused, while Eyrn dangled him over the playing field to get a look at what he had to work with from a better point of view. Statistics and numbers were well enough, but Darren loved a good solid physical look, it was the next best thing to walking down amoung his troops.

Now, it should be noted that the Second Battle of Stoboda was as famous in its own way as the Battle of Marathon, or the Battle of Thermopylae. It was halfway through the bitter Siege of Stoboda, which had left the city-fortress weakened. The Tannhauser League finally had broken the Jotnar Empire’s sea defense, and reinforcements and materiel were just four hours away. Knowing this, Taer the Brutal launched his desperate strike against the city. Armagh of Tirall, the commander of the fortress, fearing correctly that the outer North wall was about to be breached, pulled his troops and as many civilians as he could back inside the inner walls.

That was a catastrophic error, of course. By the time the Tannhauser reinforcements arrived, the Jotunn held the outer part of the city, preventing the reinforcements from resupplying the beleaguered troops inside the inner walls. The Jotunn drove the Tannhauserans back to the sea, and redoubled their forces. It would be only another year before Sabat of Stoboda, who had taken command from the deceased Amagh, was forced to surrender, ultimately forcing the Tannhauser League out of Chirae for seventy years.

Darren just had to hold on to control of the outer perimeter for four hours, and had he known the battle’s history, he might have aimed to do precisely that. Armagh, after all, had held it for three.

But Darren didn’t know Titan military history. And so he looked at the board anew, and watched his opponent.

Daemon knew Stoboda, of course, and he knew the North wall was the weak spot. He assumed PuppetMaster would reinforce the troops there, but he knew that all he really had to do was get inside. He had numbers on his side, a three-to-one advantage. Taer had one factor working aganst him; his troops had been spread in a semicircle around the fortress, leaving only the south port free. They didn’t know which wall would fall. Tt took time to move them in to position once the gates opened. But Daemon knew better. He ordered his troops to pull into a mass on the North wall. He intended to pulverize the little twerp, here in this round, and then in the tiebreaker.

Darren muttered to himself. This was clearly an historic battle. Daemon must know the North wall was going down. He started to order the obvious counter, but held up.

Daemon was so intent on getting his troops in position for the assault that he was leaving his flank wide open.

He looked over the weapons at hand, and smiled when he saw naphtha on the list. “All right,” he said. “Let’s have some fun. Twat! Get me over to the second panel there.” He began to punch in new commands. It would take a few minutes for them to propagate through his forces – just like it should in a pre-electric battle. But he had time.

Daemon laughed as his scouts began reporting Darren’s troops moving away from the North wall. “Giving up so soon? Looking to get crushed, here, before we fight?”

“I’ll kick your tail in the next round if I have to,” Eyrn shouted. “You know it!” She knew she wouldn’t, of course, but she wasn’t opposed to trash-talking.

Daemon chortled, and dropped his leather jacket. He flexed for the crowd, which largely jeered.

Darren smiled. And the North wall suddenly caught fire.

Daemon turned back to the board, and narrowed his eyes. His troops didn’t have any incendiary weapons. That was an advantage the Tannhauserans held. So if the wall was on fire….

The troops from Stoboda came roaring in from both sides. The East and West gates were wide open, and everyone who could hold a weapon was charging. They cut into the sides of the Jotnar troops, who had been distracted by the fire. By the time they reacted, Darren’s forces had managed to fight through, cutting the main assault force off from the footsoldiers standing ready behind them.

“Frak!” Daemon shouted, and began to call out orders. But they were drowned out by the chaos; the troops in the back were being driven away, while those in the front were being forced toward a wall of flame. It didn’t take long for individual soldiers to begin giving up, while others tried to fight through the inferno.

Darren had within a few minutes reduced Daemon’s man advantage to near-even, and his troops had the technological advantage; he rolled out the catapults, and began firing the flaming naphtha into the back ranks, causing them to break and flee. Daemon made things worse by trying to have one unit attack the catapults head-on, only to have them cut down by archers.

“Fight, you fraking blue-faces!” he shouted, causing the crowd to gasp, but he was too addled to care. He was beyond furious. The North wall still burned, and there was no hope of extinguishing it before the inevitable. He couldn’t believe it. He had lost.

Daemon’s last forces surrendered, even as he threatened them with death; the siege had been broken. The tone signaling his defeat chimed. PuppetMaster was going through to the semifinals.

The ceremonial walk of victory felt a lot better than the quiet walk of shame they had grown used to early in the Tribute. Eyrn was starting to enjoy pandering to the crowds, while Darren always enjoyed getting a close up look of his opponent. This time however he just as soon would have skipped tradition if he had anything to say about it.

“The victor, and combatant who will advance to the semi-finals…Puppet Master!” The announcer proclaimed, and not surprisingly the crowd exploded with acclimation. Already, the booth announcers were talking about the history that had been made – PuppetMaster was the first novice ever to reach the semis.

“And the valiant challenger, Daemon.” came second, to a far less exuberant applause.

The two fighters lined up, Daemon was the first to extend his wrist to the tiny Puppet Master, who looked up close to be no bigger than a child of 10.

Eyrn only hesitated for a second; the man’ grip was tight, but she refused to show any signs of discomfort, she jeered back at him and tightened her own grip.

It happened so quickly, Eyrn hardly had time to register what was going on, quickly and with all the strength a man his size ought to have, Daemon pulled her close, then spun her around with her own arm, snatched the Marionette from her robe pocket, then shoved her away.

“Hey!” Eyrn yelped as she stumbled forward, catching herself clumsily.

The crowd went silent, the music that played as the players shook wrists stopped, and all eyes lay on the chaotic scene before them.

Darren could only struggle feircly the bull of a man manipilated the puppet strings, then displayed him before the silent crowd.

“I’m afraid you’ve all been lied to, well allow me to be the one to shed light onto that lie. Honored guests and spectators, I give you the true Puppet Master!”