If he wants a fight give him one.

“Very well. Does he have a second.” I looked around as I pulled off my jacket. People where already steeping away to give us room to fight in

“I will be his second.” A young man stepped forward.

“No. I will. He is an idiot but he is my cousin.” Another said stepping out.

“Very well. You will fight with him. The three of you versus me alone.” I said as I unbuttoned my shirt.

“My lord...” Anastasia spoke but Miranda stopped her.

“If I die the princess can select my successor. Your families titles and estates will be restored. I said pulling off the body armor I was wearing just to make it fair. “Shall we?” I put my hand on my sword. The hot headed one charged in first. I drew my sword backhanded so the blade rested against the back of my arm. I blocked his blade and deflected his sword then jabbed the basket of the sword into his face as it smashed into his nose making his eyes water as he staggered backwards. His friend came at me from my right. I deflected his blade and caught his wrist and drove my knee into his stomach making him double over and struck the back of his neck with the back of my elbow sending him to the ground. The cousin came at me next as he grabbed his cousin and pushed him back. I blocked a thrust followed by a slash of his sword. He was good. Keeping me at a distance so I couldn't get a hand on him. The first wiped his eyes and blood from his face.

They came at me as I had to fight the two of them. The cousin managed to land a cut as his blade slashed against my chest making me wench in pain though it left him open. I managed to clock him in the head as the basket of my sword hit him in the temple sending him staggering though he staggered only slightly and quickly got his guard up. This wasn't just implanted skills. He clearly had hands on training. I wasn't sure if I could beat him without killing him. He went around me one direction as the blonde man went the other. They had smartened up. I of course kept my line of sight on the cousin leaving my back open to the blonde haired man. He of course took a shot at me as he came at me. I blocked his strike and then swung my blade back around to deflect the cousins attack at my front as I spun. I ducked the next attack from the blonde haired man as the sword grazed through the air over my head. I turned back and my sword sliced into the back of his knee making him fall to his knees as he screamed out in pain. I pulled my sword out as his cousin came back at me blocking another thrust that almost buried into my chest and would have hit my heart. He still landed a strike as he sword hit my shoulder. I deflected his second attack as a he swung.

The blonde man thrust his sword at my back. I caught his sword with one hand and swung my blade to his neck stopping just short of slashing his throat open. A small trickle of blood running down his neck from where it had grazed the skin. The blade resting at his jugular vein.

“Yield and I will show you both mercy.” I said as I glanced at his cousin. He looked ready to kill me as my back was now exposed giving him a clear shot but threw down his sword. It was a gamble but I figured the same thing that got him into this fight was the same reason he would yield for. I glanced at the man who I had a sword point. “Yield.” I said pressing the blade to his throat harder. Truthfully I think he would have rather have died on the spot from the look he gave me but he dropped his sword. I let go of his arm. I looked at the third who still laid on the ground dazed but still conscious. I pointed my sword at him.

“I yield.” He threw up his hand up and slid his sword away. Miranda and the security detail collected the blades.

“My lord.” Anastasia rushed over putting a cloth of some kind to my arm.

“I am okay.” I smiled.

“Anyone else here to care to question this mans honor or right to the throne speak now for you shall not have the chance again. He was placed here by the duke himself and has the trust of my father the emperor to lead this world to a better future and undo the damage brought about by the former administration. I would not have come all this way otherwise.” The princess said loudly. She had the attention of every one in the room. Hell the entire planet was watching as camera drones moved in closer for a tight shot of her. No one of course spoke up. “Very well then. This matter is now closed.”

“Miranda. See that these men are looked after and get attention for their wounds.” I glanced over.

“Yes my lord.” She nodded.

“Steward.” I said looking at the old man.

“My lord.” He said stepping out of the crowd.

“See that the lands and titles of these men and their families are restored.”

“My lord? They lost.” He said looking at me a little surprised.

“I said they only need fight me. Not that they needed to win. This planet needs people who are willing to fight for it and it's people. ” I stated and looked at the one who had managed to wound me twice. Part of me wondered how things would have gone in a one on one match. I gave him a nod and he returned a bow.

“Baron. If you would do me the honor. I have a doctor on my ship.” The princess smiled. I gladly agreed and followed her. He guards following afterwards. The princesses ship was huge for a private yacht and looked like it had come right off the assembling line inside. The princess had her people show me to the med bay. The doc took no time to fix me right up. A disposable hypodermic shot of soldiers cocktail as we called it in the field near the wound sites. A clotting agent to stop the bleeding, antibiotics to prevent infection, painkillers to numb the wound, and a angiogenesis agent to grow new blood vessels that speed the healing all in one little vial. By the time she used the microfiber stitcher I couldn't feel any pain. I doubted their would even be a scar as clean as the work was. One of the crew even found me a shirt. I went to see the princess before I left not that I had a choice really sense one of her guards had told me she wanted to see me. I went in to find the princess waiting in her room that looked more like a lounge.

“Can I get you something?” She smiled as she poured herself a drink.

“Ladies choice.” I smiled.

“I usually hate these things but this one was at least memorable.” The princess smiled. “Still not sure what you were thinking taking on three men at once.”

“I wanted to be sure no one else would challenge me again. If I defeated the three of them and didn't kill any of them no royal in their right mind will challenge me again.” I shrugged.

“Now you just have to worry about the crazy ones.” She said as she walked over handing me a glass. “I had confidence in you to beat the one man or I would not have encouraged it. I knew that you should have skills in hand to hand combat but didn't know the military trained people in the use of swords.”

“Special Operations tactics for the apprehensions and detainment of noble officers for intelligence gathering.” I said taking a drink. It was fancy wording for taking high ranking prisoners alive with as little physical damage for interrogation.

“Your from earth right?” She looked at me and took a seat on a lounge chair to the side and held out her hand motioning me to sit. “Your accent is earthen.”

“The southern Appalachian Islands.” I nodded sitting down.

“Ever think of going back?” She asked taking a sip of her drink.

“No. No offense but earth didn't have a lot to offer someone like myself. I was an orphan so I had no family ties so I joined the military.”

“Sadly it is not the jewel of the Empire it once was. We had a beautiful planet only to watch the oceans swallow most of it because of humanities greed. After my fathers **** I am sure Alpha Centauri shall become the new capital system.”

“You could always marry someone else.” I joked. I didn't know all the nuisances about noble marriage and political alliances. I understood the reasoning but I was a bit old fashioned I suppose preferring to fall in love with someone before marring them instead of marrying them and hope things work out.

“If only. I am expected to marry and his family is the most prominent in the empire. I would not say we love each other. Not yet anyways but we are close friends who both care about the empire. After the war is over we will marry. Guess that will be a little sooner then I had thought thanks to you and the uranium.”

“Sorry your highness.” I shook my head.

“Oh, what comes around goes around. I am sure that as news spreads and your fortune increases you will have many a noble women seeking your hand in marriage.” She smiled and took a sip from her glass.

“I could always make some money, change my name, buy a small ship, meet a girl I like and jump from system to system till I found a world I like. The imperial military taught me well enough to disapper.” I shrugged.

“Let me know when and I might go with you.” She laughed.

“Afraid it wouldn't be no where near as nice as this.” I looked around. Her cabin had all the comforts of home. Hell I would hate to see her room at the imperial palace.

“You think I am not afraid to rough it?”

“I couldn't say your highness. I hardly know you. It be fun to watch either way.” I raised my glass and took a drink.

“Well we could always change that. Get to know one another.” She said slighy as her foot brushed my leg. “Intimately.”

“What about your fiance?”

“I am not married yet. It's not like he has never played the field and he has his own concubines. Now that I am gone I am sure the two of them are seeing to his every need and want while he recovers.” She shook her head.

“Two?”

“Hopefully they are at least teaching him a thing or two about pleasing a woman. Nothing else he at least will have the stamina. Not that he could match someone like yourself. I here those who join the special operations have genetic modifications to...” She smiled slyly. “Enhance performance.”

“They do.” I said downing my drink.

“I normally don't have interest in noble born men, least I never dare to act on them if I did. Not a one of them would be able to keep it a secret. Such is their nature. But your not noble born are you.”

“No I am not.”

“And you clearly know how to keep a secret since you didn't tell the Duke or my father why you came all the way out here.” She teased as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “So what is one more secret between strangers.”