by T. R. Harris
Daric jumped away to avoid the twirling piece of sharp metal. Even inadvertent injury would be grounds for match termination.
Linoc stepped back, momentarily glancing at his broken weapon. It was the opening Daric was waiting for. With extreme skill and accuracy, he flicked out with his own sword, catching the bottom of Linoc’s ear in the process. A generous section of flesh fell away as blood gushed from the wound.
A horn sounded, signaling the end of the contest.
Daric eyed his opponent with singular focus, knowing there was a moment within every challenge when uncertainty ruled. Would the vanquished yield to the horn, or would temper flare and the contest continue—with often unfortunate consequences? Daric backed away, extending his blade in an effort to advertise to Linoc that he was beyond the reach of his broken sword.
To his credit, Linoc showed no willingness to continue.
“Do you yield?” Daric asked.
“I yield…today you are the Master,” Linoc chanted in the traditional manner, dropping what remained of his weapon.
Each bowed to the other, before turning to the referee. In unison they spoke: “The Way is preserved, this game is over, to be continued another day.”
The referee spoke: “The challenge is awarded to Daric (416) of the Kallen-Noc. As the vanquished, you, Linoc (611) must surrender all possessions beyond Basic to the House of Daric immediately. Let the contest be recorded…let all animosity cease.”
Daric turned to his young blood-kin. “As is my right, I offer an after-game analysis. Do you accept?”
Linoc seemed genuinely surprised by the offer. “Of course, Lead-Player, I would be honored.”
Daric nodded, before leading the youth from the arena and into the primary staging area. No following contests were scheduled for this field, so they were alone.
“I will begin with an admonishment,” Daric said sternly. “Your ambition is obvious, yet it is never wise to challenge within your own Blood-Team.”
“I understand, Master, yet on the station there are so few members of other Teams to challenge.”
“And you knew I will be leaving tomorrow.”
“Hence the urgency.”
“Linoc, as a member of our Blood-Team who holds much potential, I wish to offer you counsel. You jumped levels to challenge me. That shows recklessness. Now all your possessions above Basic will be forfeited. Your three acquired mates will become mine and your family will be moved from their present accommodations to those of a lower status. You risked too much. It would have been better to move in more conventional stages, analyzing your opponents—be they fellow Team members or not—until the outcome is virtually guaranteed. You are young, so there was no real urgency, only an artificial deadline you placed upon yourself. You could have returned to Nuor and found ample opponents outside the Team. Now you must start over, able to challenge again only once life-points have been acquired…or you can find access to elusive immunity points. You have set yourself back by several years.”
Linoc thrust out his jaw and glared at the older Team member. “All your statements I recognize, yet you must acknowledge the scarcity of first-level immunity challenges. My only recourse is to acquire points from others. It is not as easy to advance today as it was when you were my age. I was willing to take the risk considering the potential gain.”
“And you thought me to be an easy target?”
“Forgive, Lead-Player, but you have not had a challenge in eight cycles. I believed you to be out of practice.”
“I appreciate your honesty; however you failed to learn of my non-recorded habits. I train every day; therefore my skills and reactions are intact.” Daric smiled. “Yet I must admit I did welcome the opportunity for a live-contest before embarking for the Kac.”
Daric reached out a hand and touched his finger to the blood still oozing from Linoc’s wounded ear. He brought the bloody finger to his tongue and tasted the red liquid. “Your blood is my blood, Linoc. Remember that.”
Studying the young Kallen-Noc before him, Daric reflected on his words. The frustration they conveyed was shared by many of the Nuor; indeed, Daric among them. The opportunity to gain immunity points was growing scarcer by the cycle. For thousands of years, the number of advanced species in the galaxy had been diminished to the point where their populations were now managed as a way to retain a steady supply of immunity players. Yet only the most-privileged among the Nuor were allowed to challenge the aliens directly. The only avenue left open to many lower-level players was to challenge those who already held immunity points in their award packages.
Yet that did not fully explain Linoc’s reckless challenge of a clearly superior opponent.
“I will now continue with my analysis,” Daric said. “This next point has to do with your playing style. Just prior to a strike, you test the grip on your sword, causing a vein in your neck to pulse. Be aware of this. By knowing it happens, you can use it to deceive an opponent, yet only after you have learned to control it.”
“I thank you, Lead-Player. Is there more?”
“I smelled your fear. It was evident from the beginning—” Daric stopped speaking as a thought occurred to him. “You knew you would lose…and yet still you challenged.”
Linoc remained silent, meeting Daric’s gold eyes with intensity and fire.
“You had other motivations for the challenge,” the Lead-Player stated. “What are they?”
Still Linoc hesitated.
“Answer me! I command it.”
“I wished to gain your notice…and an audience.”
Daric felt his anger rise, yet it was not directed at his young blood-kin, but rather at himself.
“My compliments, Linoc, well played. Yet you sacrificed much for this opportunity. What is your end-game?”
“I wish to accompany you to the Kac.”
“You are not on the list.”
“Of course, that is why I have staged this event. Please let me explain.”
Daric owed him as much for his skillful maneuvering of a senior player. He nodded.
“Yes, I am ambitious…as you once were, as you are now. That is why you command the invasion fleet of the Kac Galaxy. I can see the motivations behind the Kac Project and I believe it will save our race. Yet I was not chosen to participate. I may be invited to play at some future date, but I seek a quicker path. I am a skillful player, and within the Kac there will be untold opportunities for meaningful challenges, opportunities no longer present in the Suponac Galaxy for a Nuorean such as I. Grant me this, Lead-Player. Place me aboard a small, insignificant warship. I will not disappoint, yet through your generosity, I may earn the immunity points I so desperately seek.”
Daric studied the young Nuorean. He was indeed ambitious. Yet not only that, he was also cunning and had skills unrecognized. He had taken an incredible gamble, with little chance of success.
It was at that point Daric realized he was looking into a mirror, at a younger player from ages past. Nuoreans often live to a hundred cycles or more yet are only allowed to offer and accept challenges between the ages of twenty and seventy. Linoc was twenty-five; Daric, forty-eight. When Daric was twenty-five, the opportunity for immunity points was not much more than they were today—contrary to Linoc’s belief—and he had essentially followed the same path as Linoc, although in more calculated steps.
He was also lucky. He won all of his initial games except one. Yet by then he’d acquired enough immunity points that he suffered no loss of possessions or status in his defeat, only a portion of his IP’s. Eventually, he reached a level of points and skill where he was allowed to go against the aliens, with even more immunity points awarded with each victory. Linoc was simply doing what he felt necessary…under current conditions.
Without warning, Daric took Linoc by the neck and pulled his face close to his. All pretense of friendship or fatherly counsel was gone. “I will make you a bargain, young Linoc,” he growled. “I will approve your transfer to the fleet on the cond
ition that you do not let them repair the damage to your ear. You are to carry the deformity for the rest of life as a reminder of your reckless gambit. You do not move before it is time, you do not reveal yourself when it is not necessary, and you never let your opponent smell your fear. Now go…tend to yourself. Then report to my shuttle. I grant you your wish, although you may not live through the consequence.”
“I am not afraid.”
Daric sniffed the air. “And one other thing, Linoc (611), do not lie to me again.”
Daric watched Linoc rush from the staging area, still frustrated that he had been so easily manipulated into the negotiation. He had not seen the end-game coming, and that was a problem. He was to lead a vast fleet into a galaxy full of unknown challenges. For that he must be on his game…or else it would be he who would not be returning alive from the Kac Galaxy.
Adam Cain is an alien with an attitude.
His adventures continue….
42
“He is called Adam Cain.”
“A Grand-Master?”
“No, simply a player—yet they call them warriors in the Kac.”
Daric (416) was taken aback. “One individual…for of an entire galaxy? Surely he must be a game leader, commanding a team of considerable size?”
“A team has been mentioned, yet it is only comprised of a few, five others at the most.”
The information was conflicted. The language translators prevalent throughout the Kac Galaxy had been breached cycles ago, allowing the Nuor to decipher the information they were receiving with high confidence. Thousands of passive drones were constantly being sent through the Compressor, tasked with gaining even more data on the inhabitants of their neighboring island of stars. This data was then relayed to the jump point, and every three days sent back to Nuor for analysis. Already they knew much about the Kac, including tactics and strategies that would be employed once the invasion began.
Most of the information received was encouraging. As expected, there was an abundance of advanced life in the Kac Galaxy, yet with a complexity within their interactions that spoke of a community even more connected than that of the Suponac. There didn’t appear to be as many stellar empires as there were—or had been—within the Nuor’s home galaxy, but the ones they did detect were of a grander scale.
The probes had detected no less than five of these affiliations, including two major, although at the moment they appeared to be melding into one galaxy-wide unit. This opened up the possibility for major games, using fleets as players more than individual contests. This would provide the crewmembers aboard the Nuorean ships the opportunity to earn immunity points with each victory, although fewer than could be gained through single games.
The timetable for the invasion was planned around a major event taking place within the Kac. A majority of the advances species would be in attendance, making Daric’s job easier than if he had to journey to each individual planet to gather test subjects.
Daric welcomed the deadline. It gave him and his people a goal to reach, an opportunity to exploit.
He was ready, as were the Nuor.
Yet here was this creature, this Adam Cain. Daric refused to believe that a single creature could have the skill and ability to be rated the most-proficient player—warrior—out of thousands of advanced species. The diversity of lifeforms made it nearly impossible for an individual to gain such status. It was Daric’s primary responsibility to rate the advanced species of the Kac so immunity scores could be assigned for the upcoming contests, and no matter how high his individual challenge-factor may be, Adam Cain would be but a single event. Granted, the immunity points for such a game would be incredible, yet there would be no carry-over. Not unless his entire race was as such….
“He is a Human, is this correct?”
“Yes,” replied Data-Tech Gandish (316) Kallen-Noc. “His race maintains one of the stellar empires, however it is nowhere near the largest.”
“Why not? Is not his race proficient gamers?”
“Still unknown, yet in the case of Adam Cain, his name is mentioned among hundreds of races above all others, even though he is a Human. He is known through all of the Kac.”
“Place the Humans at the top of the list,” Daric commanded. “How many does that make?”
“Thirteen, so far,” Gandish replied. “It is a start.”
Daric took the databox from his subordinate. He read the names on the list: Human, Juirean, Formilian, Klin, Kracori, Silean, Rigorian, Castorian, Que’l, Belsonian, Dal’ish, Incus and Nac. And these were just the major species the probes had identified, even before his fleet arrived. Daric reflected for a moment. His own galaxy had many more advanced species, so he was sure others would be found once he made the jump.
He dismissed Gandish so he could absorb the information from the briefing before meeting with Team-Master Falon. In spite of this odd bit of information, Daric’s mission was coming into focus. He felt surer, his prospects better defined.
In order to gain high immunity scores an alien race need not be the leader of an empire, merely a star-traveling species with a level of military strength making the games competitive. Each would be graded upon their challenge-factor, with appropriate immunity points awarded. It was Daric’s job to determine the challenge-factor. He would accomplish his task through a series of blind and visible contests, as well as staged military engagements.
The Nuor had been conducting such tests for thousands of years, yet only within their own galaxy. Now after all that time, many of their high-factor races had been vanquished, almost to the point where there were very few immunity contests left. For an ambitious Nuorean like Daric—as well as young Linoc (611)—this limited his potential.
Yet presented before him would be an entire galaxy full of unchallenged species, some of which—apparently—were comprised of great players. The potential for acquiring immunity points was unlimited.
If all went according to plan, Daric would return to his home galaxy with enough acquired immunity points to challenge any of the Qualifying-Masters, and without consequence for failure. He may even be able to advance further, to the Grand-Master level itself. That was his dream. Yet time now protected the current Grand-Masters. With so few immunity races in existence, their positions were secure—at least that was what they believed.
It had taken overwhelming effort and influence for the GM’s to agree to the Kac Incursion Project. Once underway, it would open up the Masters to a multitude of challenges, as hordes of Nuor returned from the Kac, overflowing with an abundance of immunity points. Yet the GM’s were growing old, many beyond challenge years. Without a turnover of new, younger Grand-Masters, their numbers would continue to diminish, until the very concept of the Master was antiquated and in need of modification.
Such modification would involve an entire re-writing of the rules, something most Nuor were not anxious to see. They appreciated the current structure of their civilization and would do whatever it took to preserve it.
The Kac Incursion Project was the most ambitious the Nuor had ever attempted. It involved over thirty Blood-Teams for construction and execution, as well as the scientific expertise of the entire race. Even then, it took over two hundred cycles to reach the point where they were today—on the verge of invading the Kac Galaxy.
And Daric (416) Kallen-Noc would lead that invasion.
Daric met Team-Master Falon (219) Kallen-Noc on the station’s observation deck. When he arrived, the other Nuor in the room left, leaving Daric and his Master to speak in private.
They spent a moment in silence gazing out at the massive tubular construction hovering in space and dwarfing the station by a factor of a thousand. It was the largest artificial structure ever built, a giant gravity generator capable of compressing space over a distance of nearly three million light-cycles. It took three days to recharge the generators before making a jump, and since its completion, it had been singularly tasked with transporting information between the neighboring g
alaxies.
In seven days, it would be transporting more than just data.
“I witnessed your challenge,” Falon began with a grin. “It was obvious you let it go on longer than was necessary.”
Daric turned his attention from the spectacular view to his senior blood-kin. “Not too obvious, I hope,” Daric stated. “I did not want the young Kallen-Noc to lose respect among his peers. I see promise in him.” He wouldn’t tell the Team-Master how his young opponent had out-played him. That was something Daric would have to deal with on his own.
The smile vanished from Falon’s face. “Then he should not have challenged within his own Blood-Team.”
“I told him as much, among other things. Hopefully the scar he will carry for the rest of his life will be a reminder that it is best to bide one’s time for the proper opportunity. It is all part of basic game strategy.”
“Do they not teach that in school any longer?”
“To a degree, yet the most-ambitious will always seek ways around the rules. For these individuals, they will either succeed or fail. There will be no middle ground for them.”
“You hope he succeeds?”
“He is of the Blood-Team, and I admired his tenacity so much that I added him to the invasion fleet. I figure after our foray into the Kac, there will be a substantial shift within the GM hierarchy, and we will need all the players on our Team we can retain.”
Falon eyed his subordinate with amusement. “You still have the fire, I see. If not for your mission to the Kac, I would fear a challenge coming my way. My immunity points make me a potential target for many among us, you included.”
Daric laughed. “There are other ways of reaching the Qualifying-Masters without challenging within my own Blood-Team, especially now with the Kac. It will be target-rich, full of glorious games.”