by E. A. James
Her heart skipped when she saw him walk out. His eyes scanned the crowd and landed on her. For a second, the sounds around her faded, the smell of sweat and blood evaporated, and the only thing she saw was him.
“Five minutes to exchange bets!” Aldo yelled out, snapping her back to the present.
Looking around, she started to shout. She dug into her bag, pulling out anything and everything she could get her hands on.
“Who are you for?” a burly Terran man asked, waddling up to her.
Even though she was standing on the bench, the man stood at eye-level with her.
“The soldier,” she said, holding out the collection of things in her hand.
The man examined them. The air was filled with shouts and wagers, but she didn’t hear them. She barely heard the man in front of her. Her eyes kept wandering around him, back to the ring. Her stomach flopped nervously.
“What do you want?” the man asked.
She glanced down at what he was willing to offer. She spotted a make-shift pulse gun and pointed at it.
“You’re going to need to offer me more than that for this,” he said.
She dropped her bag to the ground and the contents spilled out.
“All of it,” she said.
“You’re willing to put all of that on the soldier?” the man asked, looking back at the ring. “Fine. It’s a deal.”
Just as they shook, the ding of the bell starting the match rang out.
Kira held her breath, not wanting to watch, but not wanting to look away. She had never seen him fight like that before—hand-to-hand, one-on-one. Even from a distance, she could see the tension coursing through him, the way his jaw clenched tight, his eyes fixed on his target, his hands balled into fists.
The Vorian male stood at least six inches taller than Thor, his scale-covered green skin pulling tight around his eyes as they locked in on his opponent. He chose to fight unarmed, as well. Kira scoffed to herself when she noticed. It was foolish of him to think he could defeat an Arcanum bare-handed.
“He’s fighting without a weapon?” Kira asked the man standing next to her.
He didn’t look back at her but nodded in response. “He was one of the strongest warriors back on Voria Prime, or so he’s been claiming since he got locked up in here. He’s too proud to arm himself.”
Hopefully, his pride would be his downfall.
Thor made the first move, gliding across the ring with jaw-dropping speed. Before the oversized lizard could even process what was happening, Thor had him pinned down on the ground. Kira let out an excited cheer that caught in her throat when the Vorian reached up and took hold of Thor’s foot, twisting it about violently.
She winced, waiting for the crack of bones.
It never came. Thor used the forced motion to his advantage. Throwing his body around in the direction his opponent was twisting his foot, he let his other leg crash into the side of his opponent’s face.
The Vorian let out a loud, frustrated cry of pain, releasing his hold on Thor simultaneously. Thor hurried back as the Vorian rolled onto his stomach, his hands pushed up beneath him. In one surprisingly swift movement, given that the Vorian were not known for their agility but rather lack of it, the warrior leaped to his feet.
The second his feet hit the ground, he took off. He barreled in Thor’s direction, his arms outstretched. Just as he rushed up to him, Thor was gone. The Vorian spun around, a look of anger and frustration on his face that made the hairs on Kira’s neck stand on end. Thor was now standing on the opposite side of the ring, a cocky smile on his face and his arms crossed casually over his chest.
Again, the Vorian charged. And again, Thor side-stepped his attack.
“He’s going to wear himself out, damn it!” the man that had made the bet against Kira exclaimed, turning to look at her.
She smiled and shrugged.
“Son of a bitch,” the man muttered, reaching for the pulse gun she had spotted hanging in his holster. “Just take it.”
She did, dropping it down into her bag of goods before turning her attention back to the ring. As the man shuffled off, mumbling his disgust under his breath, she let out cheers of victory she knew were not preemptive. Thor had tackled the Vorian once again. She couldn't help but notice how his green, scale-covered chest rose and fell quickly as he gasped for breath.
Thor won that match and all the matches that followed. His stamina, something he had gained with his cybernetic enhancements, serving as a very noticeable advantage. Other fighters who had been through as many rounds as he had were quickly growing tired. Their movements were lazy and uncontrolled; their feet drug through the sand beneath them. Thor, though, remained at the top of his game.
Kardok even suffered from fatigue, losing a match that Kira had hoped he wouldn’t. The opponent who claimed victory over him would be the one to go up against Thor in the final. When she saw who that opponent would be, her heart sunk into her chest.
“The Dralaxian,” she muttered, elbowing her way through the crowd to meet with Dario and Aldo on the sidelines of the ring.
“I found a guy with an entire drone,” Aldo informed them. “He’s willing to put it on the line if we’re willing to bet everything we have—all of us.”
“Who does he want?” Dario asked, dropping his very full bag of acquired goods on the ground in front of them.
“The four-armed freak,” Aldo said. “He saw the two of them get into it on your first day here.”
“What do we do?” Dario asked, his eyes filled with worry. “Should we wait? Should we just hold onto what we won and try to trade it later? Maybe we can find someone…”
“No,” Kira said firmly, cutting him off. “We bet on Thor.”
“But, we’ve seen what that orange monster can do to him!” Aldo countered.
“It was different then,” Kira said. “He didn’t have room to move.”
“He can dance around all he wants, that doesn’t change the fact that if that Dralaxian gets a hold of him, he’s screwed,” Aldo argued.
“We bet on Thor,” Kira said again.
Dario and Aldo exchanged wary looks. Kira shifted her gaze over her shoulder, to where Thor was leaning against the wall on the far side of the ring. Although he had sustained some minor injuries during the fights, he was still in good condition. The Dralaxian had been fighting throughout the entire tournament, as well. He was tired, worn down.
Kira’s gaze shifted to where he was standing.
He was staring at Thor, a sort of bloodlust in his eyes.
He didn’t look as worn down as she had hoped. It seemed as if the chance at revenge had given him a second wind.
“He’ll be fine,” she said, turning back to Dario and Aldo. “We bet on Thor.”
Her word was final. Although they had their reservations about her decision, they didn’t voice them anymore. Dario and Kira remained on the sidelines as Aldo scurried off to confirm the bet. It wasn’t three minutes later that their Rengar companion was back in the center of the ring, preparing to call the last fight.
Kira remained where she was. From there, she was guaranteed the best view of the fight that the arena had to offer. She hoped that it would mean she had a front-row view of Thor’s defeat.
The fight was announced; the crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers. The second Aldo scampered back, the fight began. It started fast, the Dralaxian making the first move. He dove in Thor’s direction, his arms outstretched. Kira smiled to herself, knowing that if he intended to win the fight that way, Thor had nothing to worry about.
The orange blob of muscle and arms charged across the ring, not even coming close to tackling Thor, who moved out of the way without as much as blinking. When the Dralaxian turned around, though. He planted his feet, spread out his arms, and dared Thor to make a move.
“I’m not going to give up as easily as the others,” the Dralaxian warned. “You’re not going to wear me down. You want to defeat me, fight me like a man, not like a ra
t!”
“Hey!” Aldo cried out in protest.
Kira elbowed him in the side and fixed her eyes on Thor. His eyes narrowed as he absorbed his opponent’s words. Nodding slowly, he moved his weight to the balls of his feet. Pushing off in a burst of energy, he seemed to fly across the arena. Kira didn’t blink, afraid she would miss something.
Leaping into the air, Thor came down behind the Dralaxian. Before the orange giant could spin around, he leaped up again, this time coming down with his arms wrapped around his neck. The Dralaxian swung his massive arms about, trying to take hold of Thor, who had his right arm near the point of cutting off his air circulation.
With a cry of frustration, the Dralaxian threw his weight backward. Kira let out a frightened gasp as she watched his massive frame fall backward to the ground.
“Thor!” she tried to call out, to warn him.
But she was too late; or, really, Thor was too quick.
Just as the Dralaxian neared the ground, Thor pushed himself back. His opponent anticipated this, though, and reached out, taking hold of his left ankle just before he slipped out of his reach. With a triumphant grunt, the Dralaxian pulled Thor to the ground with him. Thor spun around, attempting to kick him in the face, but the Dralaxian ducked, again anticipating his move.
With a hearty, ground-shaking laugh, the orange monster grabbed onto Thor’s other foot. Pushing himself up, he spun around once, lifting Thor off the ground and tossing him to the side, like an old, unwanted child’s play thing.
Kira cringed.
Thor hit the ground with a hard thud. She could see that he was hurt. He struggled to push himself back up; she struggled to remain in place, every bone in her body wanting to rush out to help him.
It was clear that everyone around them felt that the fight was all but done, the Dralaxian included. He swaggered over to where Thor was still kneeling on the sand-covered ground. He leaned in, taking hold of Thor’s jumpsuit and lifting him up, he balled up two of his fists and prepared to deliver the blow.
When his fists flew, Kira let out a soft, wordless cry. One of them landed square in Thor’s jaw, the other in his gut.
“What the hell is he doing?” Aldo muttered. “Fight back, damn you!”
Again, the Dralaxian cocked his fists back. Again, Kira felt the cry of desperation and worry pushing at her throat.
This time, when he let them fly, Thor did react. He reached up swiftly, taking hold of the blow directed at his face. His face contorted with pain as the second blow found its home in his stomach. Still, he held tightly to the hand he had captured—the hand that was nearly the size of his head.
With one swift, unexpected movement, Thor twisted his arms around. Even amid the chaos going on around them—cheers, sneers, and shouts—Kira could hear the bones snap. The sound rippled out, cutting through the air and filling her with a spark of hope.
The Dralaxian let out a loud cry and stumbled back, cradling his injured arm. Thor didn’t let him get far. Leaping forward, he pushed the orange giant back to the ground.
It seemed like the entire arena shook.
Kneeling on his chest, Thor balled his hands into fists and let them fly with speed, fury, and stunning accuracy. His blows landed in the Dralaxian face, gut, and chest, moving in a pattern that left his opponent gasping for breath between his cries of pain.
Finally, he threw one of his large orange hands down onto the sand.
“Surrender,” he croaked.
“What’s that?” Thor asked, not getting to his feet just yet.
“Surrender,” the Dralaxian said, his eyes filled with rage and the look of blood-lust now at an all-time high.
“He surrendered!” Aldo announced, running out into the ring.
Kira ran behind him, not noticing or caring about the crowd around her. The second Thor was on his feet, she was in his arms.
“You did it,” she said, pressing her lips to his. “You did it! We got the drone! We’re going to be free! We’re going to be free!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Alaria never thought that seeing the Galactic Bazaar would bring her so much joy. Although they had survived their encounter with the Zel’Dar, the experience left her somewhat shaken and eager to get their Captain back in the pilot’s chair.
She would never admit that to Bron, though.
The truth was, he had done well in getting them to their destination unharmed. She knew that he was proud of that fact, as well. So, she wasn’t going to take that away from him.
"So, what's the plan again?" Bron asked as he guided the Curio toward the small Artech station hovering between a handful of the Bazaar's main asteroid bases.
“Simple,” Alaria said, straightening up in her seat and folding her hands neatly in her lap. Plastering a smile on her face, she repeated the speech they had rehearsed a dozen times during their trip. “My name is Zenia and I’m looking to open a business here in the Galactic Bazaar. You are my partner Max and we are doing some investigation into security systems. Given the Bazaar’s edgy population, we want to ensure that our goods are safe at all times.”
“And what goods do you intend to sell, Zenia?” Bron asked, making his voice sound as official as possible.
“Second-hand and antique weapons,” Alaria replied. “I’m a collector, myself.”
Bron looked over at her and smiled. “And while we’re in there rambling on about this system and that one, Vinnie and his metal side-kick will sneak off and find any computer, use your old employee log-in information, hope it still works, and download the plans for Jaantu 7 onto the repair bot’s hard drive.”
“And if it doesn’t work, they take the entire hard drive out of the computer and we figure it out once we’re back on board,” Alaria said.
“Sounds like we’re as ready as we’re going to be,” Bron replied.
Alaria nodded and smiled confidently.
Their plan seemed foolproof. And, it started off well. Alaria and Bron had been greeted with the warmest of welcomes and ushered into a large, official looking room where they were seated in plush, comfortable chairs and a cheerful woman with a round face and warm smile outlined the various security systems their company offered.
The station was small. As Alaria had said, it was only an outpost. From where they were sitting, they could see the main entrance, complete with receptionist desk and waiting-room style chairs. Just past that, they could see down a long hallway that led to a handful of offices.
That was where Vinnie would be heading.
Waiting for the right time was the hardest part, trying to time it perfectly. When that time came, though, Alaria put on a nearly flawless performance.
Bron held his breath as he watched her reach for the glass of water she requested upon entering the office. She didn’t look; she simply moved. Her hand nudged the glass gently. Just enough to tip it onto its side.
“Oh dear!” Alaria exclaimed, jumping up and clasping her hand over her mouth.
Water had gone everywhere, including across the cheerful woman’s shirt and trickling down into her lap.
“It’s nothing,” the woman replied, pushing herself up quickly. She shot Alaria a fake, forced smiled and added. “I’ll just be a moment.”
Just as they expected, she hurried out of the room, sending the receptionist in to wipe down the desk and offer Alaria another glass of water.
While Alaria discussed whether it would be best for her to get another glass of water or not, Bron glanced out the large glass windows separating the office space from the reception area. He didn’t see Vinnie enter.
“I’ll just give you a moment to think,” the woman said, smiling at Alaria and turning to leave the office.
“Wait,” Bron said, drawing her back. “Maybe I would like some water.”
The receptionist let out an audibly annoyed sigh and looked down at him.
“I’m not sure though,” he said, looking past her.
When he saw Vinnie pop his head around the corn
er and go cartwheeling into the room, followed quickly by the gleam of a small metal dome, he relaxed back in his chair and turned his full attention up to the woman.
“I don’t know,” he said, turning to look at Alaria, who was seated across from him. “What did you decide about the water, dearest?”
Alaria’s cheeks flushed and a soft giggle escaped her. The receptionist shot her a quick glare.
“No water,” Alaria said, wiping the smile off her face.
