The Champion

by Scott Sigler

  “At any rate, Barnes, you are back. Are you now ready to fulfill your media obligations? Messal has many interview requests lined up for you.”

  Quentin shook his head. “We won the Galaxy Bowl. That’s my only obligation. After this meeting, I’m leaving for a vacation on Earth. I’ll be back for the Tier Three tournament.”

  Gredok’s single softball-sized eye stared down. In years past, the crime lord would have ordered Quentin to stay, but their relationship had obviously changed. Quentin had delivered the ultimate prize. For now, at least, he clearly had Gredok’s respect.

  “The interviews can wait,” Gredok said. “Enjoy your trip to Earth, Barnes.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Before you depart, however, there is something I’d like to discuss. I understand that, at times, your sister is living in Ionath City?”

  Quentin stayed calm. Gredok had nothing to do with Jeanine’s ordeal in the Portath Cloud. That didn’t change the fact that she was still a potential target for Villani, for the Creterakians, for Kirani Kollok — and for Gredok the Splithead.

  “Couldn’t say where she lives,” Quentin said. “She’s a grown sentient. She goes where she wants to go.”

  “Then she should choose better company for her travels. I’m told she still associates with that criminal Frederico Gonzaga. It would be a shame if violence directed at him were to impact her.”

  Was Gredok still out for revenge on Fred? Quentin had hoped that might blow over. More likely, Gredok wanted to let Quentin know that Jeanine wasn’t safe.

  “If anything were to happen to my sister, I’d have to find out who was responsible. Who knows, I might even have to miss part of the season to track them down.”

  Quentin saw a flash of color in Gredok’s eye, there and then gone: the green of stress, mixed with a few curls of black. Perhaps the fear of Quentin missing games was greater than Gredok’s need to control his every move.

  “Should it come to that, Barnes — and I hope it does not — I employ sentients who will do that for you. Professionals, I might add, professionals who are experienced with such matters.”

  Quentin glanced to the base of the column, where Virak stood like one of Gredok’s statues — a statue with an eye of swirling black. Sentients like Virak worked for Gredok. Quentin could only imagine who Gredok had on retainer. Thugs, hit men, police, probably even a few sentients in the military. The bad side of Gredok was a bad place to be.

  “I deeply appreciate that offer,” Quentin said. “If anything happens to Jeanine, I’ll use whatever resources you provide in addition to searching for the culprit myself.”

  Quentin hoped that made things clear. Even if Gredok threw his entire organization behind such a search, Quentin still wouldn’t play football. If Gredok tried to use Jeanine, he’d lose his All-Pro quarterback in the process.

  The Leader eased back in his throne.

  “There are open apartments in the Krakens Building, similar to yours. If she lives here, she will be protected night and day.”

  Oh, that was just too much.

  “Gredok, do you really think I’m dumb enough to deliver my sister to you?”

  “You just told me that if anything happens to her, you will not play football. Do you mean what you say?”

  Quentin sought the trick in the question but couldn’t find one.

  “Absolutely,” he said. “I mean it.”

  “Next season’s Galaxy Bowl is in the Jupiter Net Colony,” Gredok said. “If I want to be on the podium in Red Storm City, raising my second-straight championship trophy, don’t you think it is in my best interest for my best player to be on the field all season long?”

  Again, basic logic. Quentin nodded.

  “I admit that I manipulated you with your father,” Gredok said. “However, that was to achieve the goal of signing you to a long-term contract. Now my goal is to help you focus on football, so you can bring me another title. If keeping your sister safe accomplishes that goal, than it is logical for me to have her live here, in the most secure building in Ionath City.”

  The Krakens Building, where Quentin lived, protected by Gredok’s guards, by the police on Gredok’s payroll. His sister would be safe, just a few doors or an elevator ride away. But Gredok also lived here, and Gredok was, well, he was Gredok: a liar, a conman, a killer.

  “Barnes, I know you doubt my intentions, but I have extended this offer to many others in my organization. Samuel Darkeye and his wife live here. Jason Procknow and his five children are one floor below my own.”

  “Procknow has five kids? He’s only twenty.”

  “You’re surprised that someone from your system bred early and rapidly?”

  “Good point.” Most people from Purist worlds were married by thirteen or fourteen, and if girls weren’t pregnant by the time they were fifteen, it was thought that something was wrong with them. Quentin hadn’t even known Procknow had children at all, let alone five.

  “Too many Human larvae in this building, truth be told, but that is the cost of doing business,” Gredok said. “Yitzhak Goldman lives here with his wife and two sons, and they rarely leave. My servants cater to their every need, just as they will your sister’s.”

  Yitzhak ... Quentin never saw that man anywhere outside the stadium or the Touchback. Every minute Zak wasn’t playing football, he was in this very building. Granted, he wasn’t a starting quarterback and therefore his family wasn’t as much of a target, but he had little kids — if it was safe enough for families, maybe it was safe enough for Jeanine.

  “It’s a compelling offer,” Quentin said. “But after what you’ve done in the past, Gredok, I doubt I can trust you.”

  “I have invested a great deal of money in you, Barnes. Protecting your sister maximizes that investment. Don’t let your lack of trust wind up making her an easy target.”

  Quentin wanted to say no, didn’t want to believe anything that Gredok said, but the arrangement just plain made sense. While Quentin could hire guards for Jeanine, he couldn’t offer anything close to the security she would have here.

  And, she would be his neighbor.

  “I’ll talk to her about it,” he said. “If she agrees, I’ll move her in immediately. But there’s one catch.”

  “There always is with you, Barnes.”

  “Frederico is her best friend. He needs access to the building, to come and go as he pleases. I need to know your feud with him is history.”

  Quentin still didn’t know the cause of Gredok’s beef with Fred, but if the Leader let it go, everyone got what they wanted.

  “Acceptable,” Gredok said finally. “I will have Messal prepare an apartment for your sister.”

  “Thank you, Gredok.”

  “You are surprised at my generosity, Barnes, but I am well known for taking care of that which is mine. One more thing before you leave. I understand you had a physical altercation with Virak after the Galaxy Bowl. Is this true?”

  Quentin concentrated on keeping his breathing and heart rate normal. He and Messal weren’t out of the woods yet.

  “It is,” he said and left it at that. No need to give Gredok extra words to play with.

  “It seems Virak took my orders too literally,” the Leader said. “He should have used better judgment. Virak, you have something to say to our star player?”

  The Warrior’s eye went from swirling black to a sheer sheen of onyx. When he spoke, the words came out forced, with barely veiled hate.

  “I apologize,” he said. “I should not have touched you. I ... I ...”

  Gredok slapped a middle hand down on his throne’s armrest.

  “The rest of it, Virak!”

  Quentin wondered if it was possible for a Quyth Warrior to explode from bottled-up rage.

  “I beg your forgiveness,” Virak said.

  Gredok spread his pedipalps. “There, you see, Barnes? Sometimes it is hard to control the lower castes, but with constant correction, you can make them behave. Beings like you and
me understand such things. Do you accept his apology, or would you prefer I have him punished?”

  Quentin felt stunned. Beings like you and me — Gredok considered Quentin to be the Human equivalent of a Quyth Leader. For all the sentients who said Quentin emulated Gredok, this was, perhaps, the worst comparison of all.

  None of this had anything to do with football. Quentin didn’t want any animosity with Virak. He just wanted all of this to go away. A few months with Becca, then, maybe, when he came back, he could patch things up with the linebacker. They could all focus on defending the GFL title ... together.

  “I accept the apology,” Quentin said. “No punishment necessary.”

  Virak’s eye remained black as coal.

  “One last thing,” Gredok said. “Catch.”

  The Leader tossed something, something metallic that flashed in and out of spotlight beams as it fell. Quentin held out a hand: the small solid object landed in his palm.

  It was a ring.

  A GFL championship ring.

  “Congratulations,” Gredok said. “Since you are vacationing, you’ll miss the ring presentation ceremony, so you may have it now.”

  With a trembling hand, Quentin slid it onto his left ring finger. So heavy. Smooth metal, silvery, flawless and cold against his skin. The face was a rectangle with rounded sides. A deep-orange football-shaped gemstone sat in the middle. Curving above it, the word GALACTIC, and below it, the word CHAMPIONS. On the ring’s right side, carved into the metal, the GFL logo and the words “GFL Champions” with the date of the Galaxy Bowl victory. On the left, a helmet with the name BARNES.

  A ring. The ring, the talisman that Quentin had dreamed of since he’d been a little boy. Only a champion could wear one of these, only the best.

  And it was his.

  “Touch the top,” Gredok said.

  Quentin did, lightly tapping the top with a fingertip. The orange gem suddenly flared to life: a hologram of the Krakens logo hovered just above it.

  “You earned that,” Gredok said. “Enjoy your vacation. You are dismissed.”

  From UBS Sports

  * * *

  Teams Set for T3 Tourney

  by PIKOR THE ASSUMING

  LEAGUE OF PLANETS — Are you ready for Two Weeks of Hell?

  The Tier Three tournament is about to take over the League of Planets. Once again, the best lower-tier franchises are set to do battle in this grueling 13-day single-elimination tournament, with teams playing every three days until a winner is crowned.

  Larger conferences, like the 51-team National Football League (NFL) of the Planetary Union, put multiple teams into the T3 Tourney. The NFL places the top four teams, the most of any T3 league. The Ki Gridiron League (KGL) places three teams (the champion, the runner-up and the winner of the third-place game). The Chachanna Football Collective and Tri-Alliance Gridiron Association (TAGA) each place two, their champion and their runner-up. The rest of the T3 conferences only place their champion into the tourney.

  If a team doesn’t place high enough to make the T3 tournament, the GFL commissioner has the prerogative to appoint teams that excelled but fell short of their respective championships. These “Commissioner’s Choice” selections fill out the 32-team tournament field.

  Unlike Upper Tier tournaments, where bracket positions are based on win/loss records, all first-round match-ups in the T3 tournament are based on random draw.

  The T3 Tourney is known as a breeding ground for future Upper Tier stars. Scouts have flocked to League space to evaluate the talent that will be playing at various venues across the system’s five worlds and two colonies. Without a doubt, many players will leap from T3 squads and join the rosters of T2 and T1 teams.

  National Football League (Planetary Union)

  Champion: Jakarta Jaxxons

  Runner-up: Colorado Bulldogs

  Third place: Quantico Leathernecks

  Fourth place: Kellyville Gangsters

  Ki Gridiron League (Ki Empire)

  Champion: Ru Dragoons

  Runner-up: Market District Eagles

  Third place: South New Castle Borough White Knights

  Chachanna Football Collective (Sklorno Dynasty)

  Champion: Chachanna Einharjar

  Runner-up: Bellatrix Battlers

  Tri-Alliance Gridiron Association (Tri-Alliance)

  Champion: Kipplebas Frenzy

  Runner-up: Barnard Star Badgers

  Satirli 6 Gridiron League (League of Planets)

  Champion: Miles Mastodons

  Gridiron Accord of Tribes (Harrah Tribal Accord)

  Champion: Satah Flayers

  Runner-up: Wapashana Skyjackers (Commissioner’s Choice)

  Whitok Gridiron (Quyth Concordia):

  Champion: Jobu Junkies

  Chillich Football League (Sklorno Dynasty)

  Champion: Hallacha Hungries

  Tower Football League (Tower Republic)

  Champion: New Madeline Manglers

  Runner-up: Citadel Blue Angels (Commissioner’s Choice)

  Yall Football League (Sklorno Dynasty):

  Champion: Samlan Slayers

  Ki Rebel Establishment Football League (Ki Rebel Establishment)

  Champion: Trent River Rats

  Quyth Gridiron Association (Quyth Concordia)

  Champion: OS3 Raiders

  Thomas 3 Gridiron League (Planetary Union)

  Champion: Steinmetz Stallions

  Wilson 4 Gridiron League (League of Planets)

  Champion: Harvey Generals

  Withrit Gridiron League (Sklorno Dynasty)

  Champion: Troip Olla Maulers

  Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn & Venus League (Planetary Union)

  Champion: Jennings Brotherhood

  Capizzi Gridiron Association (League of Planets)

  Champion: Antonville Archaeologists

  Wilson 6 Gridiron League (League of Planets)

  Champion: Dark Matter Destroyers

  Vosor 3 Gridiron League (League of Planets)

  Champion: Vosor 7 Ebony Wolves

  Runner-up: Vosor Horrors (Commissioner’s Choice)

  Reiger 2 Football League (Planetary Union)

  Champion: CenTex Centurions

  Whitok Kingdom Football League (Whitok Kingdom)

  Champion: D’Koda Bears

  Rodina Planetary League (League of Planets)

  Champion: Kyndal Talleies

  Purist Nation Football League (Purist Nation)

  The PNFL does not compete in the T3 Tourney.

  Champion: St. Addison Wheelmen

  Runner-up: Purist All-Saints

  Third place: Jacobstown Railroaders

  Fourth place: Allah Ascendants

  Teams in the Running for Advancement to T2

  Commissioner Froese has released his short list of teams he is considering for advancement to Tier Two. He has based his selections on fan support, facilities and proximity to existing T2 conferences.

  • Denton Creepers (Satirli 6, League of Planets)

  • Zachary Attack (Satirli 6, League of Planets)

  • Bo Bristlebacks (Fa, Ki Empire)

  * * *

  28

  The Tier Three Tournament

  THE LAST TIME QUENTIN HAD BEEN in this stadium, confetti had been falling, lights had been glaring, his teammates had been celebrating, and he’d stood on a podium lifting the Galaxy Bowl MVP trophy high into the air.

  And what better way to add even more memories to the Shipyard — home of the relegated Hittoni Hullwalkers — than by hanging out with Becca, Choto and Fred, watching the T3 Tourney and scouting for potential new Krakens?

  They sat in a luxury box designed to hold about twenty sentients comfortably. Seeing as there were only four of them, they had plenty of room, although Becca sat in the seat to his right, leaning against him slightly.

  Hokor was in another luxury box. Quentin had heard Gredok was in the stadium as well, but he hadn’t seen either of them.

  Que
ntin could finally relax and appreciate what he and his team had accomplished. No need to worry about Jeanine, Petra’s crazy doomsday prophecy, Gredok’s next move, his contract or anything else — for once, Quentin was happy in all phases of his life, and he reveled in the moment.

  He angled his bowl of chili-cheese fries toward Becca.

  “Sure you don’t want some?”

  She looked longingly at the messy food, then sighed and shook her head.

  “Suit yourself,” Quentin said. He lifted a bunch of fries to his mouth, dripping some chili on his pants as he did.

  Quentin reached down to the next row and offered the bowl to Fred, who grabbed a handful of fries. Somehow his fingers didn’t touch any chili in the process. He didn’t even look up from his messageboard as he ate.

  “Fred, are you reading a book?”

  “Very observant, Quentin,” Fred said. “Can’t put one past you. Choto recommended it.”

  “Why are you reading? This is the championship game.”

  Fred looked up. “This is the sixteenth game we’ve watched in the last two weeks, and football is boring to begin with.”

  “Boring? You think football is boring?”

  Fred shrugged. “Oopsie. My little secret is out.”

  “Then why did you come with us?”

  He lowered the messageboard. “You won the Galaxy Bowl. You’re a higher-profile individual now, even higher than before, and that’s saying something. You never know when you’ll need protection. And I like piloting the Hypatia.

  “Fred is right,” Choto said. The Warrior sat a row back, making sure he was between the door and his shamakath. “You should be protected at all times, Quentin. That is my responsibility, but I am happy to have Fred’s help whenever possible. Fred is far more dangerous than he looks.”

  Fred bowed his head. “Why thank you, Choto the Bright. I will take that as a compliment.”

  “You are most welcome, Fred. Are you enjoying Hot Midnight?”