by Ron Francis
Garrinoras had the height advantage and a significantly greater reach. Jesse was having trouble getting inside his defenses, especially with the metal gloves waiting to connect. He imagined that one good shot to the face with those would leave him unconscious, and that would not bode well for him. He settled on playing defense and waiting for an opening. Garrinoras, however, was not quite that patient. Even after seeing him fight the Pandaran, and hearing the stories from his own men, he didn’t think Jesse would put up too much of a fight. He expected his opponent to be good, but it turned out, he was very good. They had been sparring for almost an hour now and he hadn’t landed a clean shot on Marcos. He needed to start doing some damage quickly.
Jesse had settled on playing defense until he could gauge his opponent’s style and skill level. He could see the pirate was actually an extremely disciplined warrior. He was very strong and possessed speed that was significantly faster than one would expect to see in a being his size. Jesse could see his claim of never being defeated actually being true. Jesse was still faster, though, and he had expended little energy. He knew the big Zinnebailan would be tiring soon, and then he would strike.
Garrinoras decided to wear down his opponents defenses. He began to throw hard overhand rights, while trying to slip in some stiff left jabs. Whenever he thought he saw an opening, he would go for a knee to the gut. Jesse parried every shot, but his opponent began coming faster and harder at him, and he was steadily moving backwards. His arms were beginning to tire and ache from being hit by the metal gloves as Garrinoras strategy was beginning to have its desired effect. Suddenly, he spotted an opening and landed a hard left to Garrinoras’ jaw with the gralium knuckles. Garrinoras had thought Jesse’s gloves to be purely defensive, and was shocked as the blow stopped him cold. The punch drew blood as it split the corner of his lip. Jesse pressed his advantage as he landed another hard sidekick to Garrinoras’ knee followed by a leg sweep. As Garrinoras teetered, a hard shot to the chest knocked him backwards, and Jesse landed a hard overhand right to his eye on the way down. As their champion hit the floor, the crowd grew quiet. As his enemy tried to rise, Jesse floored him again with a savage right to the same eye. He unleashed three hard kicks to Garrinoras’ ribs, and stomped hard on the knee he had targeted. He knew this thing had to go three more sessions. It would be better not to have to face his opponent at full strength again.
The pirate crowd, as Jesse had began thinking of them, was almost completely silent by this point. It was obvious that no one on that side of the building had expected to see this sight. Their hero was lying on his back, and the hated human was standing over him raining down blows. Then they began to boo as Jesse went in for another attack. They were no doubt left wondering how a mere human could be beating their champion. The pro-human crowd was on their feet, although he suspected they were just as surprised as his opponents. Garrinoras was able to kick out with his good leg hard into Jesse’s chest in a desperation move that launched his opponent almost two meters. Jesse landed in a roll, came up at a run and tackled Garrinoras as he tried to stand. He hit him three more times in the eye, opening up a deep gash. By this point, the eye was almost swollen shut and blood was flowing freely down the pirate’s face. Zinnebailan blood seemed to be slightly thicker than human blood and was light blue in color. As Jesse hit his enemy, droplets of the light blue blood sprayed into the lush orange leaves on the ground. He also made sure to land hard on his enemy’s swollen knee. Garrinoras cried out in pain, knowing his knee was finished, but the tackle turned out to be an ill-advised move. As Jesse was landing another shot to his jaw, Garrinoras stabbed him right through the leg with the spike at the end of his battle gloves. Jesse rolled off him in pain as the blood began to soak through his tan BDU’s. There was now a colorful mix of blue and red blood littering the orange leaves and golden dirt of the arena floor.
One careless move had allowed Garrinoras to even the odds. The pirate was still lying on his back writhing in pain as the blood flowed from wounds on his lip, nose and eye. Jesse, meanwhile, was now the one trying to gingerly walk on an injured leg. He stumbled while looking for balance as he tested the leg. The pirate crowd, seeing the blood of the hated human, let out a loud prolonged cheer. Their hero had finally gotten on the board in the death match. That was all the pirate had needed to do. The pro-human crowd had now grown silent as they watched their hero gingerly moving about. Garrinoras would be able to use a weapon after the break, and the pirate crowd felt that their hero had regained his advantage over the hated human.
As Jesse limped almost ten meters from his opponent, he took out his canteen and took a long swing. He then poured a little on the injured thigh. He tore the sleeve off his camouflage shirt and tied it tight around the puncture wound. He was careful to make sure he would still have good motion as he cautiously tested the injured leg. It hurt when he walked, but it didn’t seem to be inhibiting him too much at this point. He knew that as long as he moved around, the injury wouldn’t get too stiff, although he knew he was going to be feeling it later. He tested out a couple kicks and tried to run a quick ten meters. He wasn’t running as fast as he was capable, but he could still fight. When he was finished tending and testing his injured leg, he noticed that Garrinoras was back on his feet and headed his way. He dropped back into a modified defensive stance as his enemy began to swing wildly, trying to connect. He kicked Garrinoras in the chest and was able to withdraw his leg before the spike came down. Jesse had expected the move and pivoted into a kick that caught Garrinoras’ arm while it was still on the downswing, driving the spike of his glove into his own leg. Garrinoras cried out in pain, and Jesse moved to his side before he withdrew the spike. The underdog hammered down blows to his enemy’s head and chest. He landed a hard knee to the face that he was sure broke Garrinoras’ nose, and sent his enemy flying onto his back. As he was falling backwards, Garrinoras connected with a grazing shot to Jesse’s face with his left glove. The blow didn’t connect full force but was still hard enough to spin him around and land him on the ground. Garrinoras’ parting shot had left him a little dizzy. The studs had left three cuts under his left eye. He slowly rose, wiping the blood from his face, only to see his opponent still lying there. He suspected that Garrinoras might be playing possum, so he took the opportunity to rest. He had been going hard for over two hours straight now, and he had just under an hour before the break. During the break, he could eat a ration bar, put on his battle suit, down an energy drink and get his wound field dressed. He would also be given his gralium Bo staff. Josiah and Kimi would be the ones coming out to help him in the contestant tunnel. He didn’t want Suzy to be at all vulnerable, because he had no doubt that the Zinnebailans would try something to take out his only doctor. I would love to have Suzy treat these wounds, but I can’t risk it. She is the most irreplaceable member of my crew. This would be unsafe for her even if she had extensive combat training, which she doesn’t. I’ve tried to teach her, but she always laughs at me and reminds me that she’s a doctor. Still, I wish she had learned, then I wouldn’t have to worry so much about her. He was amused to find that in the middle of this death match he was thinking about his ship doctor’s lack of combat training. He took another long drink from his canteen, thirstily slurping down the water as it sloshed about the opening of the canteen and dripped down his neck.
After nearly twenty-five minutes, he noticed that Garrinoras was still not moving. He slowly approached and the pirate crowd began to boo wildly. When he as within striking distance, Garrinoras began to rise. He swung wildly at Jesse and followed with a kick that would have connected if Jesse had over reacted to the wild swing. He followed Garrinoras’ mistake by catching the leg and bringing the elbow down hard on the knee. He then threw his enemy off balance and hit him in the chest with a flying sidekick. He landed badly after the kick, forgetting to compensate for the puncture wound in his thigh, but Garrinoras was on his back once again. Jesse scrambled to his feet and took immediate advantag
e, continuing to work on the damaged knee. He knew that when this was over, Garrinoras would need extensive surgery in order to walk under his own power again. The hateful pirate crowd continued to rain down their venom on the hated human, unable to understand how he was winning. Garrinoras was able to get his hands up and shove Jesse before he could hit the knee again. The shove was hard and he lost his balance on his injured leg. He went down awkwardly and took his time getting up. He saw his enemy still lying on the ground. As Jesse approached, Garrinoras started to rise. Jesse kicked him hard in his face as he rolled out of the way of his opponent’s spiked glove. The pirate went back down hard as Jesse rolled to his feet. Before Jesse could further press his advantage, the horn blew, signifying the end of the morning battle. He noted that the horn blew almost twenty minutes early. It seemed that it was beneficial to have hometown judges as well as a hometown announcer. Garrinoras was ushered back to his tunnel on the back of a hover vehicle, while no such luxury was afforded to him. He thought that might happen, which is why he hadn’t strayed too far from his tunnel to begin with. As he tiredly limped back to his tunnel, he doubted his opponent would come this far over in the next session.
When he arrived at the tunnel, he was greeted by the encouraging smiles of Josiah, Kimi and his entourage. They had him lay down while Josiah took his gloves off and Kimi began taking off his ruined, bloody BDU’s. His battle suit was lying on the ground as Josiah took off his camouflage shirt. He began applying some medicated cream to Jesse’s bruised arms. The cream would reduce the swelling while considerably numbing the area, so as to limit the pain he would feel for the afternoon.
“They stopped the bout twenty minutes early,” Jesse mused as Kimi applied the cream to his leg and dressed his wound. “I had him on the ropes; I could have ended any shot he would have had. I thought he was playing possum, so I waited. I was also really tired, but I came back at him strong. He would be in no position to even stand, let alone fight, if they didn’t cheat and end the session early.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Jess; we knew they were going to cheat in every way possible. It wouldn’t surprise me if they ended the next session early if you injure him again. But look on the bright side; you get the extra rest as well. You’re doing great, by the way. None of the galactic commentators can believe that you are winning. Good job, buddy, I never doubted you.” Josiah finished tending his arms and put his new shirt on while Kimi was helping him put his battle suit on.
“That was a good speech this morning, too, Jesse.” She added as she began lacing up his boots. While Kimi was helping him dress, Josiah handed him a ration bar. “You are doing very well,” she concluded as she gently helped him up. Once he was standing, she began tending to the cuts and bruise on his face. She was very close to him and he noticed again that she smelled like jasmine, which for some reason made him smile. He took a long swig of his energy drink and Josiah refilled his canteen. He only ate half of his ration bar because he didn’t want to be sluggish when it was time to fight again.
“How is Captain Reed doing?”
“Suzy removed an explosive device from her abdomen, Garrinoras did indeed betray us. There is also one at the base of her skull that Suzy believes she cannot remove without killing her. Collin and Enso are both working on a plan. Don’t worry, Jess, they’ll save her.
“I’m too tired to be angry right now, but he will pay for this.”
“Yes, he will,” Kimi agreed.
Reece returned from a sweep of the area to check on the positions of their allies. “All of our people are stationed and ready for anything the Zinnebailans or Farannsians might try,” he began. “They won’t be able to take us at the end, trust me. You’re doing great by the way, Jesse, working on the leg like that was smart. Now relax until it’s time to go back, but keep moving that leg a little so it doesn’t get too stiff.” Jesse nodded and Reece made his way to the other end of the tunnel to begin another sweep to see if there were any signs of danger outside the stadium. He knew Endeavor would contact him if there were, but he wanted to be diligent.
“Do you think they are going to extend the break so it lasts until the advertised time?”
“Actually, that would be more beneficial to Garrinoras, so I believe they will. Why? Kimi asked as she gently helped him sit back on the ground.
“Because I’d like to lie on the ground and rest for as long as possible. Our doctor told me I wouldn’t be punching and kicking for two and a half straight hours, and I believed her.” He joked as he smiled at Kimi.” I’ll have to fight for five hours next session, so every second I’m not moving is extra time I can fight.” He finished off his energy drink and lay back down. Sergeant Rivada rolled up a jacket and placed it under his head, and he nodded his thanks. They were all silent as his crew stood guard, vigilant for any tricks the Zinnebailans might have up their sleeve.
Kimi looked at Jesse while he lay on the ground with his eyes closed and hated that he had to do this, especially for his ex. If it wasn’t for Cassie, they would probably already be together. The more she looked at him, the more she realized she needed to be with him. She knew she was ready, and she decided that she needed to tell him soon. She silently prayed that he would live through this and that one day soon, they could be together.
As it turned out, they did extend the break, but only ten minutes. The Zinnebailan guards came into the tunnel, and made Jesse walk back out into the arena. As he stood at the threshold of the arena floor, he looked back and smiled, holding his staff high above his head. He then walked almost one hundred meters and sat down on the golden dirt. He couldn’t cross his legs this time, and he didn’t close his eyes as he suspected his enemy was probably not coming from the tunnel. The Farannsians had probably given him a ride to another entrance onto the field of battle, and he was probably trying to sneak up on him from the side or behind. He sat there almost twenty minutes, thankful for every second he wasn’t fighting as he held on to his Bo staff. The pirate crowd was chanting anti-human slogans the whole time, and he began to laugh, drawing a chorus of boos. He also heard the encouragement from the pro-human crowd, and nodded thankfully to them. His thoughts drifted to Kimi and the smell of jasmine and once again, he found himself smiling. He shook the thought and focused to stay alert when he suddenly felt someone behind him. He rolled up onto his good leg as a large studded sledgehammer hit the ground where he had just been and the second session had officially had begun.
______
Cassie felt terrible watching Jesse fight Garrinoras, and even worse since he had put his life on the line for her, especially after the way she left things. She had apologized to Jesse, which unbeknownst to her was being broadcast live, in front of the whole galaxy. Now, the first break was over and the fight had started back up. Several of the soldiers were very interested in seeing every second of the action, but she wasn’t going to be able to see how the day ended because it was time to go back to med-bay so that Collin and Enso could continue working on her problem. As afraid as she was for Jesse, she was even more afraid for herself. Explosives attached to my brain stem? How are Enso and Collin going to be able to fix that? There’s not much chance I’m going to survive and there’s still so much I want to do. As she sat there contemplating her mortality and waiting for a solution, she noticed that Bessa, Teha and several of the soldiers had gathered in med-bay to watch Collin and Enso work.
Suzy also noticed how crowded it had gotten so she stood up and readied herself to speak. “Alright everyone,” She began, “You all need to go except Cassie and our tech geniuses over there. We have to get this thing out of her head or Jesse’s out there for nothing, and they need to concentrate.” As everyone filed out, Suzy noticed that Cassie looked relieved.
“I’m probably not the most fun person to be around until they get this thing out of my head.”
“I don’t blame you, Cass, but don’t worry; Enso and Collin are the best. They also happen to be highly
motivated to make sure you live through this.” Suzy smiled as she spoke, but Cassie could see the worry in her eyes. She wasn’t sure they were going to be able to come up with something.
“I think I have something, Enso.” Collin spoke so suddenly that it almost startled Suzy. They went on to whisper for a few minutes before agreeing and turning to see Suzy waiting impatiently for their explanation.
Collin had figured out how to get the implant out of Cassie’s head, but it was a good news, bad news scenario. He didn’t think she or Suzy would go for it. Enso had checked his findings, and they both agreed that it was the only way to remove the implant that stood even the slightest chance of success. Cassie saw the somber look on his face, and immediately turned to Suzy. She was more anxious than she had ever been and they both knew that he didn’t have reassuring news.
“There’s no easy way to say this, but there is no way to safely remove the device Garrinoras implanted in your head. Collin announced. “
“I’m sorry cousin.” Enso began with an apologetic frown.
“You said safely,” Suzy interrupted. “To me that implies that there may be a way which isn’t safe, but might work. We’re on a tight schedule here, so let’s just skip the word games and tell me the plan.” Suzy didn’t mean to be so direct, but with Jesse likely coming in injured, she wanted to be able to give him her full attention when he arrived. He would need it and he deserved it.
