Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match

by Ron Francis

  “Who knows what they understand, Jack, these savages don’t even speak common.”

  “They’re not savages; they’re just primitive compared to us. And their status doesn’t stop you from using their women to keep you warm at night, Jeremy.”

  “Whatever,” he replied impatiently. “Let’s go get our blasters back before they figure out how to use them against us.” If the villagers were armed and looking for a fight, this could go bad really quickly. He had no doubt they could take the villagers if it came to it, but that would mean murdering almost two hundred people and some of his men would undoubtedly be hurt in the process.

  “Ten armed primitives would barely pose a threat to us; there are twenty-seven of us.” Jack replied, not getting the danger an uprising could present.

  “Nothing can stand in our way. We’re gonna be rich when we capture enough of these four-armed arctic bears. We’ve got eight dead ones already, but the real money is gonna come from the live ones. If we bring a couple dozen back to Earth, it will have been well worth the trip. We only have seven, so we are gonna be here a while longer. It took us too long to learn how to capture these things without killing them, they’re pretty tough.” Blaine thought Jeremy was being over dramatic about the danger the villagers posed.

  Jeremy wasn’t willing to let it go, though. He knew he had to nip it in the bud before it became a problem. “Alright, Blaine, you stay here with eleven men, I’m gonna take the rest to the village and see what’s going on. We may need to kill a few more of them to remind them of how serious we are.”

  When Jesse saw the men leave the camp, he sent in Collin and Simons to cause a distraction. They infiltrated the camp and unlocked all of the captured beast’s cages. Then they unlocked the captured villager’s cages and told them to run. Nothing happened, and Collin realized they didn’t speak common, so he mimicked the beasts breaking free and pointed to the villagers and mimicked running. They seemed to understand, and it was clear to them that Collin and Simons were not with the hunters. The villagers quietly left the camp and began to run towards their village. Collin wired the remaining speeder while Simons set up a diversion in the munitions tent. A moment later, there was an explosion, which caused the creatures to become agitated and rattle their cages. When they did, the cages opened and the beasts realized they were free. The creatures began to wreck the camp while trying to escape as Blaine and his remaining men attempted to stop them. In the confusion, Collin and Simons took off in the speeder.

  The creatures did not go down easy, killing Blaine and six of his men before the final three escaped. That’s when the rest of Jesse’s team struck. They were able to stun all five of the remaining hunters and lock them in the cages quickly. They then prepared for the return of the rest of the hunters. He was sure they would have heard the explosion at the camp and turned around. I hope they didn’t make it to the village before the explosion. I would hate to see any more villagers hurt by these hunters, Jesse thought as he heard the explosion. He had sent Collin in the stolen speeder back to the drop ship to send a transmission Sergeant Kelly and update him on the situation. He felt it had gotten to the point where his superiors needed to know about it. Unfortunately, Collin returned pretty quickly with news that the hunters had destroyed the ship and were headed back to their camp. Jesse did a quick scan and noticed their transmission array had been damaged by one of the rampaging creatures. I wish I had enough time to fix it before the hunters get back, but I’ll just have to wait. My men are as ready as they can be, and the remaining hunters would be back here soon. It’ll be fifteen against ten, but my men have the best training available, and the element of surprise. We will emerge victorious. He only hoped his whole squad made it, too. He picked up one of the viewers they had found at the camp and put it to his eyes. He saw the four speeders heading their way and used hand signals to alert his men to stay out of sight. He had asked Manny and Josiah to set a trap at the most likely point of entry, and to that end, they had used six of the grenades. They were ready and they wouldn’t have to wait long to test the limits of their training.]

  The flood of memories subsided and Jesse realized that Josiah would be arriving momentarily. Jesse nervously picked up a data card and prepared to have a difficult conversation. When I hand this card to Josiah, it will be the first time that I am actually admitting to anyone that I’m not sure I can win. As that thought hit him, the whole scenario suddenly became more real to him. He knew Suzy knew he was having doubts, but he hadn’t expressly verbalized it, at least he didn’t think he had. Now, however, he would not only be verbalizing it, but putting a contingency plan in place with his first officer. He knew this conversation would not sit well with Josiah, but what would happen in the event of his losing the match had to be discussed.

  Josiah knocked at the open door and Jesse motioned him to come in. As he entered his Commanding Officer’s quarters, he closed the door behind him. He waited a moment for Jesse to begin, but he didn’t like the silence. “What’s up Jess? What do you need?” He inquired as he sat down by the desk.

  Jesse felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he could see by the look in Josiah’s eye that he felt bad for him. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and began. “Jo, I don’t know if I’m gonna make it through this one. I’m still not physically right and let’s face it, he’s gonna cheat.”

  “Don’t even go there, Jess,” he interrupted, not at all happy with where his friend’s head was at.

  “Jo, please, this is hard enough for me to admit.” He took out a data card and handed it to him. “This is my will, Jo; I want you to be the executor in case…” He stopped and took in Josiah’s reaction and looked at his first officer, Special Forces brother and close friend. They had been through a lot together and in all the battles, all of the impossible situation, he had always kept an air of invincibility around him, for the sake of his unit or team, but now that air was gone and Josiah knew it. He looked sadly at his first mate and continued, “In case I don’t make it. No one else can know about this because I don’t want anyone to know I’m having doubts. Everything you need to know is on there. You’re the only one besides Nina that I would ever trust with this responsibility, and believe me, I hate to have to give it to you.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Jess, and then I’ll give it back to you after you kill Garrinoras.” He smiled for assurance as he tucked the data card away in his pocket. It didn’t sit well with him to see Colonel Marcos this unsure about his future. The Jesse I know always has his next move planned out. Heck, he always has his next ten moves planned out.

  “That’s not all, Jo,” he awkwardly continued. This was new territory for him and he wasn’t navigating it well. “If I don’t make it, you have to make sure the crew gets home. You’re the only one that can. Kimi is the best team member anyone can ever ask for, but she doesn’t have any leadership experience. Neither does Suzy. Collin is as faithful as they come and one of the best pilots in two galaxies. Reece is an awesome addition and we are Bessa’s family, but it falls to you to take care of them if I lose. Tanna and Xanu can still go back to their homes if they want. Everyone else only has us until we reach Polisia.”

  “Jess, enough,” Josiah had nearly reached his own breaking point and he couldn’t take any more of this conversation. His boss needed a serious morale boost. “You’re not gonna lose, this is all unnecessary. Of course I’ll do it, and I’m honored you would trust me, but it’s not gonna be necessary. Now go finish getting ready to get rid of that nuisance once and for all.”

  “I hope you’re right buddy. I know I can take him in a fair fight, hands down. I’m just unsure as to how fair this fight will be. I’ll talk to you later.” He stood and left the room and Josiah let him go prepare himself for battle. He had never had a conversation like this with Jesse. In over twenty years of friendship, he had never heard him say he wasn’t sure he could win; and it really bothered him.

  ___
___

  As many different sentient species began to fill the mammoth stadium, the cool breeze of an autumn morning could be felt all around them. The most anticipated event of the decade was less than two hours away, and the excitement of the crowd was so think it could practically be touched. History would be made this day. The massive stadium almost seemed alive. The rhythm of the crowds and noises coming over the public address system almost seemed to be a heartbeat. This behemoth was practically a living work of art. It was easily the largest structure on Chawanas. Standing almost two hundred stories high, there were taller structures, but none bigger. The stadium was built in an oval shape and the inside boasted over three kilometers of space on the arena floor. The arena itself was almost three kilometers long and two and a half kilometers wide, and then there was the seating, the corridors, the breezeways and the refreshment stands. This arena had everything, including a temperature-controlled field. They could make it hotter than summer or colder than winter with the touch of a button. The arena could be transformed into almost any setting in just under a week. Garrinoras had insisted on a jungle, complete with streams and real trees. The jungle was Garrinoras’ favorite hunting environment, and he had announced that he planned on hunting Marcos for two days, before mercifully extinguishing his light from the galaxy. Jesse was sure there was nothing merciful about what his opponent had planned for him.

  When the government of Chawanas asked him for his topographical preference, Jesse let them know that it didn’t matter to him and that he was fine with what Garrinoras had chosen. He had no faith that they would accommodate him anyway, so he just went with the flow on that one. He had spent enough time in the jungle where he didn’t feel like he would be at a disadvantage. Besides, from the look of the field, it almost seemed as much a forest as a jungle, and the forest was his favorite environment, so ultimately, it didn’t really matter. When it came to the seating arrangements, the government of Chawanas wisely kept the supporters of Colonel Marcos on one side of the stadium, while Garrinoras supporters were on the other. In the one location among the stadium seating where the two sides would come together, the neutral Farannsian people were seated.

  Cameras were placed everywhere throughout the field of combat, so no one in the arena or around the galaxy would miss a second of the action. Giant vid screens placed all around the stadium would be showing the action in a larger than life format. Five hundred thousand beings would be attending this event live, and surprisingly enough, just over forty percent of them were in support of Colonel Marcos. Almost fifty percent were here for Garrinoras, and the rest were from Chawanas. Even though they claimed neutrality, Jesse knew most of them were rooting for the pirate. Because a human was involved in this match, Zinnebulous had decided to allow the event to be broadcast to any planet in the galaxy willing to pay for the vid rights. It was likely that hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of people around the galaxy would be watching this event unfold. Garrinoras and Colonel Jesse Marcos were likely to be household names for a long time to come after this event. The winner would go on to become one of the most famous names in the galaxy. Jesse had no interest in the fame that would be associated with winning, but he had no wish to lose either.

  ______

  As Jesse walked the corridor back towards his quarters, images from the training mission to the Zyrnn began to fill his head again. So much had happened that week and it was all rushing back whenever he found himself alone. He wondered why. Perhaps it was the last time I could remember being afraid before battle, or maybe it was because I was unsure of the outcome then, just as I am now. His mind once again flashed back to the frozen planet of his final training mission.

  [The hunters had fallen right into their trap. The first speeder triggered the grenades, and the third speeder blew up. Instantly, several men were out and firing. They didn’t even know what they were firing at. The explosion had killed two and Jesse’s men had stunned three more. Blaster fire lit up the night as Davis abandoned his cover only to take one right in the shoulder. He cried out and went down hard. Josiah was able to pull him back behind cover as the leader of the hunters called out.

  “We blew up your ship and you don’t know where ours is; throw down your weapons or you will die on this rock.”

  “We’ll take our chances,” Manny replied as he stunned another hunter.

  “Why are you attacking us? What have we done to you?” The leader called out as he fired a killing shot at Thomas. “You can’t beat us, and you can’t get off this world if you do.”

  “You blew up our ship without provocation, that’s not enough?” Josiah yelled into the fray.

  “No, there’s got to be more. You wouldn’t have even been aware of our actions concerning your ship until after you had already stolen our blasters.”

  “Blasters you shouldn’t even have,” Josiah continued.

  Manny saw Thomas lying dead a few meters from him and yelled at the hunters. “We attacked you because we didn’t like the way you were killing the villagers and stealing their women.” When there was no reply, Manny peered around his cover to see where the leader had gotten off to. He froze when he felt the blaster pressed against the base of his skull.

  “Whoever you are, cease fire or I blow this man’s brains out.” When the blaster fire stopped, the leader of the hunters marched Manny out right into the middle of the engagement. There were only two other hunters left. He looked confidently around and said, “Now, come out of hiding and drop your weapons or I kill your man.” Nothing happened, so he fired his blaster into Manny’s leg. Manny cried out in pain as he fell to the snow. “The next one goes in his head. Test me, see if I….” Before he finished speaking, Jesse was on him.

  Jesse had heard enough from this man. He only needed another moment to get into position when the hunter fired into Manny’s leg. That was when Jesse attacked. He could smell the charred flesh on Manny’s leg as his teammate writhed in pain in the snow. He tackled the hunter and they rolled in the heavy, wet snow. The hunter came up on top and fired. Jesse was able to hit the blaster at the last moment as the hard light burned into the snow inches from his ear, Jesse let out a breath as the steam from the melted snow tickled his left ear. He then brought his elbow up into the hunter’s throat and followed by knocking the blaster from his hand. Josiah and Collin had stunned the remaining hunters and they were looking for an opportunity to help Jesse. He didn’t need it. He had knocked the hunter off of him and pinned him to the ground. He hit him several times in the head, each shot sending a jolt through his own body as his hands felt brittle in the cold. The hunter began to plead for mercy as the blood flowed freely down his face from his nose, littering the snow with crimson droplets. Jesse harshly pulled him up and began moving him towards one of the cages when the injured hunter pulled his holdout blaster. He was sluggish from his injuries and Jesse quickly rolled to pick up the blaster he had knocked from his adversary’s hand earlier and fired as he came out of the roll. The hunter’s blaster was set on full power and Jesse’s shot killed him. It was the first life he had ever taken. Jesse looked at the smoking hole in the hunter’s chest and felt a deep remorse. Killing someone for real was nothing like the combat exercises and even though it was in self-defense, it was not something he ever thought he could get used to.

  When the battle was over, three hunters were dead and twelve were stunned. They woke up in the cages they had kept the villagers in along with the five that had survived the initial fight against the creatures. In all, ten were dead and seventeen were prisoners. Jesse’s team had lost one and had two injured. It had been a long day and Jesse prayed he wouldn’t have another one like it for a long time. He definitely felt conflicted. On one hand, he had used his training to save some innocent villagers, on the other hand, his plan had gotten one of his Marines killed and left him with blood on his hands. He couldn’t stop thinking about that and he briefly wondered if he was cut out for this. He would have to talk to someone o
n the base’s medical staff when he returned to Fort Buffalo. After a short while, the stunned hunters had woken up with treated injuries and food in their cages. Fortunately, they had heaters and supplies that allowed Jesse’s team to properly care for Manny and Davis as well. Collin fixed the transmitter array and Jesse laughed at his grease-stained, white snow fatigues as he called Sergeant Kelly.

  “Marcos, you’re the last person I expected to be dropping out.” Sergeant Kelly’s voice came through the transmission hard and unforgiving.

  “No, Sir, it’s not like that.”

  “What is it like then, Marine? This had better be good, or you’re gone. Talk fast!” The Sergeant’s angry reply had the whole unit worried about their future in Special Forces.

  “The planet wasn’t uninhabited, there was a group of twenty-seven heavily armed hunters. They had murdered several primitive villagers and enslaved several more. Our drop ship landed close to their location, so we knew they would find us. We took action to free the villagers after the hunters destroyed the drop ship. Ten of the hunters are dead and we have seventeen prisoners. Thomas was killed in the fighting and Davis and Hernandez suffered injuries. We used the hunter’s equipment to field dress their wounds and Specialist Torrensede fixed their damaged transmitter array so we could alert you to the situation, Sir. We are all ready and willing to stay the remaining three days, Sir, we just wanted you to know what was going on.” There was a long pause that unsettled the unit’s already frayed nerves even more.