Duel on Alkaff

> *"You do realise who you are speaking to?"*
>
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> *"Absolutely. But as Acting Supreme Commander, my authority over the Mileage Military exceeds yours."*
>
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> *"Acting Supreme Commander? This is insubordination, and I'll be having a word with Lord Adithyaa about it."*
>
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> *"You will be having a word with no one. Supreme Commander Adithyaa is dead."*
>
>
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> ― General Anna and Governor-General Steven Lim, after the Duel on Alkaff
>
>

The Duel on Alkaff took place during the Second Mileage War at Alkaff Mansion.

## Prelude

After learning that the sole Coros Pace 2 prototype was located in the office of the Chancellor, Supreme Commander Adithyaa Ganasekar arrived at Alkaff Mansion to retrieve it, accompanied by his aides Yan Ren, Abraham, Danial and Zjun Hern. Captain Praveen Kumar escaped in a 1-Group shuttle with the prototype, leaving Chancellor Jie to face Lord Ganasekar and his lackeys.

## The Battle

Upon arriving at the seventh floor of Alkaff Mansion, Lord Ganasekar blasted open the doors to the Office of the Chancellor, and Brigadier Yan Ren cast a spell that rendered the Chancellor's secretary dead. After being confronted about the location of the prototype, Jie replied that they would not find what they wanted here. Lord Ganasekar then noticed that one of the Chancellor's transports were missing, deduced that someone had evacuated with the prototype, and instructed Brigadier Abraham to pilot a shuttle to hunt down Captain Praveen. But Jie struck Abraham down before he could reach the shuttle, beginning a duel with an angered Adithyaa. With the aid of burst shields and energy beams, Lord Jie swiftly took down Major-Generals Danial and Zjun Hern, leaving only Yan Ren and Adithyaa standing. Jie then engaged in a series of quick attacks against Adithyaa, while deflecting blows inflicted by Yan Ren, whom he subsequently trapped under his massive desk that he levitated from across the room.

Realising he had lost all four of his lackeys, Adithyaa channeled his rage into a single beam, forcing Jie to throw up a forcefield. The forcefield, which required great amounts of energy, quickly drained Jie's power on defense, while Adithyaa was gaining the tactical advantage. Eventually, the field broke, leaving Jie defenseless, but he caught Adithyaa off-guard and delivered a blow to his chest. Immediately after Jie continued attacking Adithyaa with orbs of power, whilst the Supreme Commander only managed to respond with a series of fruitless attacks, all the while relinquishing his initial advantage. It was becoming apparent that the Chancellor had the upper hand. Jie then unleashed a full blast of energy upon Adithyaa, who dodged the attack and retreated behind a shuttle, which was quickly destroyed by the might of Jie's preparación. However, just as Jie was about to defeat Adithyaa, Yan Ren escaped from under the desk and assaulted the Chancellor, leaving him unconscious. Adithyaa then told Yan Ren to stay in the office while he went after Captain Praveen, despite Yan Ren's protests to join him.

With the aid of the trackers on the shuttle, Adithyaa quickly located and caught up to Praveen, activating the shuttle's dual cannons. But before he had the opportunity to fire at the Captain's shuttle, he was attacked by a long-distance spell cast by Praveen, causing the shuttle's engines to fail. The Supreme Commander then plummeted 1,600 metres to his death.

## Aftermath

The duel resulted in the death of Lord Adithyaa and caused Chancellor Jie to become unable to walk again. Brigadier Yan Ren was the only one of the five officials to survive the episode, ironically because he had not been allowed to accompany Adithyaa on the shuttle. The position of Supreme Commander was temporarily empty, as it was Mileage custom for a post to remain vacant for four weeks after the death of an official. General Anna was made Acting Supreme Commander during the interim period before a new one was appointed.

Despite the injuries sustained by Lord Jie, the duel was considered a major victory by 1-Group, as they had brought down one of the Emperor's most trusted lieutenants, alongside three highly-ranked officers. Praveen Kumar was promoted to the rank of Colonel and became known as a legendary figure to both 1-Group and Mileage for assassinating the mighty Adithyaa.