Kalon
Chapter One-Hundred-Twenty-Seven: Ukar Nemi Tul - Part Two
Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant
Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation
Solar System: D-447
Planet: Ora
Location: Orarak City, above the planet's surface.
The rusted metal door creaks, opening into a walkway, there are other doors opening, revealing more of my people, their eyes glow dully in anticipation. We all begin to walk through a large archway, towards the sands that I glimpsed through the cracks. As I step out into the full light of day, the sheer magnitude of what I see sweeps me. I have never seen so many marvels of civilization in one place before. It is breathtaking to behold.
We are standing in a massive Colosseum, the bottom area filled with sand is much larger than the size of the upper and lower markets of my old city. The seats begin more than ten paces above the sand and are filled to the brim with people, all shouting and cheering, the echo of their voices shakes the very sand I walk upon. There are lights all over the stands, making a sea of false stars in the shadows of the Colosseum.
Vendors peddle their wares moving between people. The smell of spiced meat makes my belly grumble in protest. I see smoke billowing from sections of the crowd, it reminds me of Sage Artemius, who always used to imbibe on his pipe, often blowing smoke rings for us as children. A fond memory, I push it away, I must focus on the details, absorbing as much as I can.
The people look strange to me, they wear refined clothes of styles I do not understand the purpose of, just like Fennec and the twins used to wear. There appears to be no practicality in it. Their bodies are covered in glittering jewelry, and lights dance on them. Some have their faces painted like Warden Adona, others in ways I do not understand. One thing is certain however, I have never seen so many vibrant colors, not even in Tarvashal.
Looking further upwards surrounding the Colosseum in a circle, I see towering buildings rising ever skyward, they gleam in the sun with polished metal and sparkling glass, and light emanates from them throughout. They seem to blend into the arches of the Colosseum near the upper rings. Streams of floating pods begin to fill the air around them. All of them are filled with more people. Bipki drones hum as they hover past, always watching us.
It is surreal to see this after a lifetime of scavenging scraps for their floating cities. They are exquisite, like mountain-sized gems sparkling in the air, their towering buildings of metal and glass. It is wondrous, I feel my chest pounding with excitement, despite the hate I hold for them. From the sides of the Colosseum, banners begin to unfurl and hang, flowing in the wind, the Talum Merchant Federation's insignia embroidered on them.
As I look closer, I see the entire structure is decorated with carved sandstone, the metal looking more like accent pieces. Flowing archways separate the levels, stairs between sections rise through the crowds, I cannot even begin to count the number of people. It must be hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions. I did not even know this planet had so many masters to call it home. As I peer closer, I see that not all of the seats are filled with Alverians, some of their ears are like mine. Races I do not recognize sit with them, shades of skin that I didn't know a body could have. Green, purple, red, every color, faces that look strange stare at us. Features I don't recognize, too many eyes on some, not enough on others. The ones here must be the upper class of the Imperium's society, the ones that can afford to come here.
It strikes me as I look upon the beauty of everything around me, how much it contrasts with the nature of the masters. How can those who have made something so wondrous be the ones who hold the whip? The anger stirs in me. They have so much yet they still seek more. A loud booming voice pulls me from the distractions of my thoughts and refocuses me.
"Welcome Hunters!" the voice says, enhanced by some kind of sound equipment around the structure, "Give it up for the first round of hunters everyone!"
The crowd stands and screams at his words, my ears ring from the noise that echoes in the center ring. What did he mean by round?
"Okay – Okay settle down everyone, and now a word from the Governor of this system. The one gracious enough to organize the festivities for all of us!" the voice says.
A large open pod a hundred paces above takes to the center of the arena. The Federation Anthem begins to play and the crowds stand, placing a fist over their hearts until it finishes. I spit upon the ground, and I see many others of my people doing the same. Projections around the Colosseum begin broadcasting a closer view of the pod in the center. My holopad chimes and the same broadcast emits from it.
"I am Adonius of the great and noble House Helenius. As many of you are no doubt aware, I am the Interim Governor of this wonderful solar system," he begins.
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He pauses for a moment before he raises a hand for silence.
"I am pleased to announce the official start of the 447th annual Grand Hunt. We have a large selection this year, the largest ever I am told."
The crowd roars in approval.
"Twenty Kuwathi cities have volunteered their citizens seeking glory. Exactly one million souls will compete this year."
A million… yet they made us cull half of our people to come. How many were slaughtered before coming here? The crowd goes wild at this revelation, and my anger rises, we did not enter this for glory, it was this or death. There is no honor in this farce. If my blade could reach him, it would rip the tongue from his mouth. My eyes look around me, each person moving a good distance from others, blades at the ready. We do not know what the challenge is yet, so we are wary of each other.
"I hope you all enjoy the opening festivities. For coin and glory, our Federation thrives," he says, the entire crowd repeats it back to him, turning to the man next to him he smiles, "Marcus, I think they are ready for you."
"Thank you, Governor!" Marcus says, he is the man who spoke before, his voice so loud from the speakers it hurts my ears, "Give it up for the best Interim Governor this system has ever seen!"
The crowd is electric in its excitement.
"When it comes time to vote I know who I'm voting for," he makes a miming motion behind his hand pretending to whisper, "Adonius for Governor."
The crowd roars in approval, the menagerie of words they utter slowly converging into something more cohesive. My jaw clenches as their unified words echo into my ears.
Governor Adonius - Governor Adonius - Governor Adonius
As their words rattle the sands, another sound begins to hum in my hand, the song of my blade calling out, seeking Adonius, wishing for him to become a notch upon it.
"Now, now, let's not make this about politics, you all came to see the glory of the Grand Hunt," Adonius says, but behind the smile, I see the machinations of his twisted mind.
"Indeed Governor!" Marcus yells, holding both of his arms outward, "Are you ready?"
The sand quakes with their excitement, I can feel it in my chest.
"Courtesy of the Flagship Thorn of House Helenius, the first wave for the hunt comes to us from the edges of Federation space, from the small system of Gana Minor," Marcus says, bringing his hand up in the air, a large spaceship blooms from the clouds above, flying low in orbit. Motion draws my attention as it ejects a series of objects from its belly.
The crowd begins to go wild again.
"Thoughtfully procured due to their ability to thrive in desert climates, these natives of the Gana Minor system are ravenously predatory," Marcus grabs his chin, "Now sponsors, remember bidding has opened for any hunters that catch your eyes, and you'll see a plethora of exciting new additions this year in the patronage menu."
The objects begin to reverse thrusters a few hundred paces from the ground before slamming into the sand. One lands less than fifty paces from me. My pulse quickens as I look upon the large container, there is an eerie scratching coming from it. I see the other Hunters moving into groups now, there is no guarantee that is the safest option though, so I wait. Twirling the blades in my hands and then tightening my grip. I feel a buzzing from the holopad on my wrist, but I ignore it, my focus on the task at hand. There is a red light flashing on the container nearest to me, each flash making me question my decision to not join another group.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I give you the Gana Emperor Scorpion!" he yells, drawing out the words.
The container light turns green, and a wall from it falls to the ground. The crowd erupts once more. A large, deep black mass spills out from the container skidding across the sand. Huge claws with pincers large enough to rip a man in half begin to snap and click loudly, there is a chittering from the mouth of the eight-legged behemoth. For a moment I freeze, unable to take my eyes off the beast as its massive tail unfurls itself, a razor-sharp stinger on the end of it, poised to strike. There is a frantic buzzing on my wrist that brings me back. Sekat.
Moving now towards a group of hunters I take with me a spear and shield, the only other weapons on me, the blades I've tucked into my boots. I have abandoned the other assorted weapons and tools, it will only weigh me down, I must travel light. A cord of rope hangs around my shoulder, bouncing back and forth as I run across the sand.
"Fun fact, the venom from the Gana Emperor Scorpion is so toxic that it can even kill others of its kind, and did you know their stomach acid is so volatile it can even break down metal? Makes transporting them incredibly difficult," Marcus says with glee.
I am almost upon the other group only ten paces away, when I see the Scorpion that landed near me take notice at last. Vek, it is much faster than I expected. It scuttles effortlessly across the sand gaining on me rapidly. I will not make it to the group, they are running from me now too. Sekat, I see a man across the field being stung, spewing blood and foam from his eyes, nose, and mouth a few moments later. There must be thirty or more of them on the field. Our numbers I think around a thousand.
"Hunters be sure to check for messages from sponsors, you must accept a patronage gift to receive it," Marcus says, his voice an attack on my focus.
Mustering every ounce of courage that has ever dared drip into my soul, I stop and turn completely, I cannot outrun this beast, I must outfight it. My pace is measured and smooth as I begin to quicken it towards the creature, spear and shield in hand. Several Bipki drones change their paths now following above me. I pay them no mind, let the demon eyes watch me.
I launch the spear through the air, as hard as I can manage. The spear smashes against the shell of the beast and barely leaves a scratch. Sekat, these weapons will not be enough on the hard shell. Its tail looms more than six paces overhead poised to strike. The chittering mouth salivates as it surely imagines my flesh within it, the acid that drips from its mouth makes the sand sizzle and smoke where it lands. The massive claws snap when they are in range of me, I roll to avoid them, and I feel the wind of the tail as it strikes the ground near me. My wrist is vibrating constantly now from my holopad notifications, I wish I could silence it. Focusing again, I run along the side of the creature now, trying to test its blind spot. It spins with a shuffling of its eight legs.
The sand dusts the air as it moves, and the tail strikes the ground where I just was. It is an excellent dance partner as I jump and roll, it strikes once more this time into the shield I placed on the ground.
A thunderous crack as the shield breaks apart. These tools are not enough to fight, hearing the hum of a Bipki drone moving past me, an idea comes to me, an idea that crawls from the primordial muck of desperation, inspired by the will to survive. Gripping the cord of rope I have around my shoulder, I begin to plan my next move.
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