The Fighters
Eva heard the booms and crashes of the heavyworlders wrestling above her head. Both of them had been raised on Breen which had almost three times the gravity of a E type planet like Corgol, as a result they were wide, squat and hugely muscled humans. Breen was a mining planet which produced many of the rare elements necessary for interstellar travel and as such the Breen were typically wealthy and well educated. When it was first settled the mining had been done by humans in exosuits until their children were able to adapt to the gravity of their new home. It was strange to see two Breen in the pit, but Eva could only assume that they were here of their own free will. Probably just a pair of rebellious and privileged teens looking to spend some time between school years slumming it on dangerous worlds light years away from their home planet.
The equine pitmaster approached Eva's holding pen to tell her that she was next in the pit. He whinnyed to her that he would be praying to all of his Gods for her good fortune, but that he was not convinced that they would be able to help her before cantering away, snorting into his communicator. Eva remained unfazed by the pitmaster's words, she hadn't had the assistance of a god of any sort for at least six years and she hadn't fared any worse for their lack interference in her life. She knew that the Bone Eater was a ferocious combatant and she wished that there was a way to end this fight without her death but Gorzal was infamous for consuming her foes. You don't get a nickname like "Bone Eater" any other way. Eva had done a bit of research on Gorzal's race and knew that there were very few weak points on a post-menopausal Cr'khanl brood mother, especially for someone armed with less than a class 8 pulse cannon or at least an incendiary grenade launcher. Eva couldn't take either of these into the ring with her so she was going to rely on her vibro-blade, it had kept her alive on half a hundred worlds and she was convinced that she was about to add Corgol to that list as well.
Through the walls of her pen Eva could hear the distant thunder of the pit's speakers announcing the upcoming bout as she stepped onto the open elevator platform.
"Now gentle beings, we present for your delectation this evening's main event. Coming from the fiery eighth planet of the H'tharth system, standing at twenty-seven feet and weighing in at an undisclosed amount (because a gentlebeing never asks) the Horror of a Hundred Worlds, the Mother of a Million Murders, Gorzal the Bone Eater!"
The already unruly crowd erupted with cheers, grunts and screams, Gorzal had developed a following in the Hospitality Zone's pits and her fans were loyal and blood thirsty. Gorzal usually fought groups of large enemies or entire squads of humanoids with edged weapons so it almost seemed ludicrous that a creature as mighty as Gorzal the Bone Eater would be fighting a single human female, but this was no ordinary human. This was the celebrated and feared Cheyenne.
The lights of the pit were almost blinding after the dimness of the holding pens, but Eva had taken this ride too many times to show weakness by shielding her eyes as she was raised to the arena's floor. Before the lift had even stopped beings began yelling her name, but they were silenced as the announcer thundered through the loud speakers.
"Joining us from the depths of the big beyond or from exile, assexination or just plain vacation, you know her as the the Taker of Life, Death's own wife, the Holder of the Shining Knife, the one, the only Cheyenne!"
Even though it had been years since Eva's last fight the gathered beings went berserk. It wasn't every night that an actual superstar of the pits visited the 'Gazer, someone who had fought their way across the galaxy and earned a place in the pantheon of Champions. A dozen different chants broke out across the arena along with a smattering of small fights between rival supporters which were quickly quelled by the security squads. All around her Eva could see beings screaming and waving to get her attention, but the roar was so deafening that she could not make out individual words, it was just a solid wall of sound. This was what Eva missed about the pits, the cheers, the expectation, the hunger, but most of all she missed the passion. There is no other feeling in the universe like having five thousand beings screaming for either your death or that of your opponent, nothing even begins to come close.
Wave after wave of commingled adulation and hatred washed over Eva as she turned to face Gorzal across the sandy floor of the pit. Gorzal, a mountain of thick plates stitched together by gnarled flesh, flexed her enormous forearms and brandished her warty spiked hands over her head for the crowd to see before slamming them into the sand in front of Eva, creating a tremor that shook her entire body through the floor of the pit. They stood twenty feet apart, the monstrous Cr'khanl, looking like the product of a coupling between an alligator and a threshing machine, hulking over Eva who was no more than five feet five inches of wiry, supple, human muscle. Gorzal trumpeted through both of her trunks menacingly, but Eva just winked at the Bone Eater, activated her vibroblade and smiled as the crowd went wild!
The equine pitmaster approached Eva's holding pen to tell her that she was next in the pit. He whinnyed to her that he would be praying to all of his Gods for her good fortune, but that he was not convinced that they would be able to help her before cantering away, snorting into his communicator. Eva remained unfazed by the pitmaster's words, she hadn't had the assistance of a god of any sort for at least six years and she hadn't fared any worse for their lack interference in her life. She knew that the Bone Eater was a ferocious combatant and she wished that there was a way to end this fight without her death but Gorzal was infamous for consuming her foes. You don't get a nickname like "Bone Eater" any other way. Eva had done a bit of research on Gorzal's race and knew that there were very few weak points on a post-menopausal Cr'khanl brood mother, especially for someone armed with less than a class 8 pulse cannon or at least an incendiary grenade launcher. Eva couldn't take either of these into the ring with her so she was going to rely on her vibro-blade, it had kept her alive on half a hundred worlds and she was convinced that she was about to add Corgol to that list as well.
Through the walls of her pen Eva could hear the distant thunder of the pit's speakers announcing the upcoming bout as she stepped onto the open elevator platform.
"Now gentle beings, we present for your delectation this evening's main event. Coming from the fiery eighth planet of the H'tharth system, standing at twenty-seven feet and weighing in at an undisclosed amount (because a gentlebeing never asks) the Horror of a Hundred Worlds, the Mother of a Million Murders, Gorzal the Bone Eater!"
The already unruly crowd erupted with cheers, grunts and screams, Gorzal had developed a following in the Hospitality Zone's pits and her fans were loyal and blood thirsty. Gorzal usually fought groups of large enemies or entire squads of humanoids with edged weapons so it almost seemed ludicrous that a creature as mighty as Gorzal the Bone Eater would be fighting a single human female, but this was no ordinary human. This was the celebrated and feared Cheyenne.
The lights of the pit were almost blinding after the dimness of the holding pens, but Eva had taken this ride too many times to show weakness by shielding her eyes as she was raised to the arena's floor. Before the lift had even stopped beings began yelling her name, but they were silenced as the announcer thundered through the loud speakers.
"Joining us from the depths of the big beyond or from exile, assexination or just plain vacation, you know her as the the Taker of Life, Death's own wife, the Holder of the Shining Knife, the one, the only Cheyenne!"
Even though it had been years since Eva's last fight the gathered beings went berserk. It wasn't every night that an actual superstar of the pits visited the 'Gazer, someone who had fought their way across the galaxy and earned a place in the pantheon of Champions. A dozen different chants broke out across the arena along with a smattering of small fights between rival supporters which were quickly quelled by the security squads. All around her Eva could see beings screaming and waving to get her attention, but the roar was so deafening that she could not make out individual words, it was just a solid wall of sound. This was what Eva missed about the pits, the cheers, the expectation, the hunger, but most of all she missed the passion. There is no other feeling in the universe like having five thousand beings screaming for either your death or that of your opponent, nothing even begins to come close.
Wave after wave of commingled adulation and hatred washed over Eva as she turned to face Gorzal across the sandy floor of the pit. Gorzal, a mountain of thick plates stitched together by gnarled flesh, flexed her enormous forearms and brandished her warty spiked hands over her head for the crowd to see before slamming them into the sand in front of Eva, creating a tremor that shook her entire body through the floor of the pit. They stood twenty feet apart, the monstrous Cr'khanl, looking like the product of a coupling between an alligator and a threshing machine, hulking over Eva who was no more than five feet five inches of wiry, supple, human muscle. Gorzal trumpeted through both of her trunks menacingly, but Eva just winked at the Bone Eater, activated her vibroblade and smiled as the crowd went wild!
posted by futron3049 at 12:57 AM
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