Ferr struck low.
The piston drove his iron-headed staff toward Iven’s knee, a practical choice against an opponent whose plate guarded the upper body. Iven stepped back onto the fixed landing’s sound inner edge. Track held his other boot. The head passed in front of his leg and struck sparks from the rail shoe.
Iven did not chase the missed head.
He moved toward the commander’s hands.
A short paid turbine step carried his shoulder inside the staff’s long arc. Plate met the shaft near Ferr’s grip, spreading the load across Iven’s protected forearm. With his own right hand he turned the lance across the iron head and trapped it against the fixed rail.
Ferr drove the piston again.
The staff shuddered between rail and plate.
Iven felt the force. He also felt where it ended. Ferr’s Engine stroke could jar him and punish a bad stance; it could not make a sound rail and a stronger braced opponent cease to exist.
