During the day, I implement a supply drone control program.  I get good evaluations for my work from the Firver and even from other civilian contractors.  My ex-company rejects all of my work.  The Firver simply no longer allow my ex-company to review my work.

I try to avoid trouble with my ex-company's employees.  Thus I mostly avoid personal contacts at work.  This policy limits me to interaction with a couple of male Firver Lieutenants and the enlisted Firver lady who's the software librarian.

At night, I continue to work out, alternating sword workouts and strength/quickness workouts.  I continue to get a little stronger.  I have to get stronger, at least maintain my quickness and refine my sword form in the gravity of Blue Star World, my life depends on it.

I do have some interaction with the Firver troopers who workout at the gym, but my position as Lord Jal Vorn pretty much limits those contacts, as enlisted Firver aren't allowed to fraternize with officers or Nobles.

Wrapped up in my work and my workout, 27 days speed past and I again find myself standing at the edge of a dirt circle.

I'm ready and so is my opponent.

(My opponent is again a large man, if not so large as Arvan Glencie.  My second opponent is maybe six feet six inches tall and strongly built, maybe 250 pounds.  I see the big man take a fencing stance, in sixte.  I also assume a stance in sixte.  I see the big man lunge, attempting to use his long arms to drive home a killing thrust.  I parry and then riposte, driving my rapier into the big man's heart.  I then use my rapier to move the big man past me and then I withdraw my sword, as my opponent falls to the ground, dead.  I, once again, feel a wave of power come over me.  This time, I do retain enough composure to check to make sure that my opponent is really dead.  Again, every fiber of my being seems energized and I feel the power flow in me as I turn and check that my opponent is indeed dead.)

I then vaguely hear the officer in charge say, “Lord Jal Vorn, you will exit the arena,”

I turn and walk out of the dirt area.  I watch Firver troopers walk in and check the body of my second opponent and then call for a stretcher.

I again hear insults from the people from my ex-company.  The insults now mostly threaten to 'get him, some night.'

I don't reply. I just stand and wait for the officer in charge to give his next order.

The officer in charge then says, “Lord Jal Vorn, you will fight the next challenger at the time of the next crossing of the moons, in 27 days.”

A Firver trooper then approaches me and says, “Your weapons, please.”

I hand over my sword and dagger.

I again feel a great hunger come over me.  I have brought with me a workout bag that contains a workout shake.  I gulp it down, in several long swallows and then wash it down with maybe a liter of water.  I feel strength flow in me and I then walk off, toward my room.

Once I get back to my room, I ingest yet another workout shake and a bit more water, then I rest.

A few more days of work and workouts pass and then I'm directed to get some counseling.  I report as ordered and find myself in an interview room with none other than Kyra Verelle.  I say, “Hello, Kyra, it seems that we meet again.”

Kyra smiles and then says, “It appears that my shipboard dining companion is now a duelist.”

“It's true that I'm a duelist, but not by my choice.”

Kyra then asks, “Does the killing of two human beings not bother you?”

I sigh, “I'm a computer programmer.  My job is to solve problems.  The two who died were problems that I either had to solve or die myself.  I had no wish to die, so I did the necessary preparation and solved the problems.”

Kyra asks, “Then, you don't see yourself as a sort of invincible warrior?”

I laugh, “I realize that I'm very vincible.  However, I have no choice, except to fight.  Thus, I work out every night and prepare for the next assassin, dispatched to take my life.”

Kyra muses, “Your programming work is rated very well, by those that you work for.  You don't seem to be bothered by the dueling deaths.”

“My programming is how I earn my living.  My dueling is how I keep on living.  There's no real connection between the two, except that a dueling failure ends everything, with no chance to a retry..”

Kyra asks, “You don't hate your dueling opponents?”

“My first dueling opponent, I had met aboard the ship.  He tried to pick a fight and I walked away.  The second dueling opponent I don't think I ever met, before our duel.  I didn't hate either dueling opponent, I did kill each of them, to save my own life.”

Kyra asks, “You have no idea why your opponents tried to kill you?”

I hesitate, “Are my answers confidential?”

Kyra says, “Very.  I'm the only one who can access my interview notes, unless you grant permission for a doctor to look at them.  The doctor is then bound by patient confidentiality rules.”

“I was forced to travel here, to Blue Star World, by the company for which I worked.  I suspect that the reason why I was forced is that the company needed a competent programmer, to cover for some of the company politicians who hold the title of programmer.  My Manager tried to force me to take a reduction in title and rate, to clerk.  I refused and I suspect that revenge for that refusal is the reason that I'm being forced to duel.”

Kyra muses, “Yes, the first man that you were forced to duel, was very large and very strong.  He would have surely killed you in a hand to hand duel.”

“Maybe, but I'm a lot harder to defeat than you might think.”

Kyra says, “You have pretty much failed to integrate socially here.”

I laugh, “When I have to live among those who want to kill me, I do tend to get a bit reclusive.”

Kyra asks, “Do you want revenge against your previous company?”

“I'm suing them for a fairly large amount of money, I have a lawyer working for me, back on Paranda, my home planet.”

Kyra asks, “Just legal action, no physical violence?”

“No physical violence, unless one of the top company executives suffers a heart attack when the company has to pay me a lot of money.”

Kyra asks, “You do realize that it's becoming obvious that at least most of the personnel that your former company has working here on Blue Star World are incompetents?”

“At least the company people that I have had to deal with are incompetents, who survive by politics.  By contrast, I'm a highly visible example of what they aren’t and the only practical solution is for them to try to kill me.”

Kyra asks, “How can you justify calling them incompetents?”

“Nartar Convre found that Firver law permitted him to set up a situation in which he thought that large, strong Arvan Glencie could kill me, hand to hand, as an example to any company employee who failed to bend to his will.  However, incompetent Nartar Convre failed to check out all of the ramifications of Firver law.  As a result, I now have to kill any number of lesser incompetents with my sword, or die in the process.”

Kyra says, “Unless you have more to add, I think that that about does it.”

“If you will keep it totally confidential, I would like you to do something that could be of a great deal of importance to me and to you.”

Kyra is suddenly very suspicious, “Exactly what is this mysterious thing that you want me to do?”

I laugh, “I want you to very carefully measure my height.”

Kyra laughs, “I was prepared to reject a much more personal request.  May I know why your height is of some importance?”

“I was, actually I am, a fencing champion, back on Paranda.  As a part of a university study of fencers, I was very accurately measured, just before I left Paranda.”

Kyra says, “Then, you think that your height may have changed, here on Blue Star World.”

“I very strongly suspect that my height has changed.  I would also be interested to find out if the height of any of the other recent immigrants to Blue Star World has significantly changed.”

Kyra says, “Let's measure your height.  If it has changed appreciably then I would be very interested to see if the height of other recent immigrants has also changed, especially since I'm one of those other recent immigrants.”

(The interview room is apparently also used for other medical purposes and there's an old fashioned doctor scale over in a corner, one with a height measuring device attached.)

We walk over to the scale and I slip off my shoes.

Kyra measures me and says, “You are five feet six and one quarter inch, maybe just a tiny smidge more.”

“Kyra, back on Paranda I was exactly five feet six inches tall.  Exactly.”

Kyra thinks for a moment and then asks, “Do you think that I might have also grown a quarter inch or so?”

I say, “Likely not.  I suspect that there's a reason why I have grown a quarter inch in less than two months.  It's just a hunch, but I would like to get measured at least once a quarter.”

Kyra says, “I think that I can arrange for that.  Do you think that it's some affect of Blue Star World?”

“Probably not directly, but yes.  I suspect that you and the other recent immigrants haven't grown appreciably.”

Kyra asks, “What made you suspicious of your height change?”

“Men's slacks.  Mine are now a bit too short.”

Kyra then asks, “Do you think that you'll continue to grow in height?”

I look Kyra in the eyes and say, “Yes, I suspect that my height will continue to increase.”  (I see Kyra blush and I think that she realizes what I'm really talking about.)

Kyra says, “Well, I'll try to arrange for regular measurements of your height.”

“Thank you.  Now I'll get back to work.”  I leave and walk back to my computer lab.

(I watch Jal Vorn walk away.  I realize that he does think that he'll continue to grow.  I'm not interested in a five foot six inch tall man.  Now, a five foot ten inch tall man, or taller, that's a different matter.  Jal is polite to me, but he looks at me as if he wanted to rip my dress off.  I'll have to really think about things.)  I then go and report to the doctor, for whom I work.