Defenders of the Rim: Beginnings: A Far Future SciFi Thriller

by Randal Sloan

  “Too bad for him,” Jarra told her team. “That just means that the blood won’t show up as well on him and they won’t stop it as quickly.” That brought a laugh from the few nearby that could hear her and a glare from Greg who also heard.

  Sara sent Jarra a message by implant. “The local bookie is giving five-to-one odds in Greg's favor. This should make me quite the rich girl, assuming you can deliver. You can deliver, right?”

  Jarra sent back to her friend, “I never lose. Ask Master Sergeant Gibbons about my stint with the Marine Corps. I didn’t lose there and I’ll never lose to this boy who only thinks he’s something special. The hardest part is going to be making it at least look like a contest. That and not killing him.”

  Jarra couldn’t help but smile at the last sentence she sent her friend. She really did want to kill the little snot for thinking he could rebel against the Empire. Her smile turned into a grimace at the last thought. God, I hate traitors.

  Commander Connors stepped up to the podium overlooking the small arena. “As the officer placed in charge of this contest, I must warn the contestants that although we take every precaution to prevent injury, there is always the possibility one or both of you could be injured. Are you sure you wish to continue? There are no retaliations allowed if you wish to withdraw from the duel.” He looked rather pointedly at Jarra. He couldn’t see beyond her considerably smaller size versus Greg who always had been a rather large bully with way too much money.

  Jarra smiled. “I will continue.”

  Not to be outdone, Greg said, “No, she asked for this. She can forfeit if she’s worried about getting hurt, because I’m not here to play nice.”

  “Very well,” the Commander continued. “Lieutenant Carsean has indicated you were given first choice of the contests. What is your preferred contest?”

  Greg smiled a rather evil smile. “Despite the fact I want to knock that stupid smile off her face, I choose target pistols. Best score out of five shots on the target range, higher points for distance. If a tiebreaker becomes necessary, it must be the furtherest target.”

  As the school’s contest pistols and targets were brought in, Greg was feeling quite good. He was a crack shot, so he expected to beat her easily. Just in case, he had gotten a little help on this one.

  The pistols were checked by Commander Connors and the school armory sergeant, who was in charge of all equipment used for the competition.

  “Are the pistols acceptable?” the Commander asked the Armory Sergeant.

  “Yes, sir. I find no problems. Bores are clear and the bullets are armory standard.”

  “Does either of the contestants wish to examine his pistol?”

  “No, sir,” Jarra told him. “Sergeant Kruger’s word is good enough for me.”

  “It’s fine,” Greg declared. “Let’s get on with it. I’ve got other things to do.”

  “Contestants, shake hands and prepare for the match.”

  Greg had been anticipating this part with relish. He grabbed her hand, intending to squeeze it as hard as he could. Instead, he found his hand stuck in a grip that felt like iron, almost bringing tears to his eyes. Just what kind of girl was she?

  Greg pulled back from the handshake. He knew he had to get it together. He had his plan and he just needed to stick to it. Finally, he stepped up to the firing line. He carefully lined up on the nearest target, squeezing off his first shot easily. It was very nearly a bulls-eye. He couldn’t resist a smirk. He’d be done with this soon and then he could have some fun.

  Jarra stepped up, quickly firing her shot. To her surprise, her shot was nowhere near the bulls-eye.

  “One point to the red!” Sergeant Kruger yelled, his job as Armory Sergeant meant he would be the one to call out the points. He had placed a sizable bet on the girl, and now he was wondering if it was a mistake.

  For a moment she just stared at it, then sent an urgent ping to Sara’s implants. “Something’s wrong with the pistol. Can you tell me what it is?”

  Sara didn’t take long. “He’s had someone hack the controllers on the pistols so that your pistol will always be off your aim. You need to stall for time and let me figure out how to undo it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just send me the offset he used on the hack and let me know if he tries to change it.” Jarra sent back to her.

  Sara shook her head at her friend in disbelief, but she finally sent it to Jarra. “Six degrees to the left and three degrees above the target coordinates.”

  Greg was really having fun, enjoying the frown he saw on the girl’s face. This was going to be easy, although really he doubted she could shoot to his level anyway. He decided to make it a little harder, since she might get in a lucky shot. Instead of lining up on the same target, he chose the next level out. Firing again, his second shot was still almost a bulls-eye. Greg's smirk was full on now. Let’s see her top that!

  Jarra lined up and fired her second shot. But this time, to Greg's complete surprise, her shot passed exactly through the bulls-eye.

  Sara stared a moment, sending an implant ping to Jarra. “I thought you weren’t going to show off!”

  “Sorry, I changed my mind. The whole cheating and smiling about it ticked me off.”

  “Two points to the blue!” Sergeant Kruger yelled, this time a little bit of excitement in his voice. This might be fun after all. He wouldn’t have admitted it if he’d been asked, but the reason he had put his money on the girl was what he had seen just before placing his bet. The Marine Master Sergeant had been placing his own bet just in front of him. The Master Sergeant had placed a very large bet on the girl, a lot more than Kruger had to bet. But one thing Kruger had learned during his years in the service, you don’t go against a Master Sergeant. He’d immediately switched his own bet. Now he was thinking that maybe that wasn’t such a bad bet after all.

  The contest continued. Each time Greg shifted out to a further target and each time he managed to get close to a bulls-eye, but that girl would just nonchalantly fire a shot that not only beat his but was a perfect bulls-eye. How was she doing that? He was beginning to get worried. This was supposed to be the easy one, and he couldn’t cry fowl, claiming she was cheating, when a check could easily reveal his own cheating. He had grossly underestimated his opponent.

  By the time he reached the fifth shot, Greg knew the only way he could possibly win was to go for the furtherest target, which would give him barely more points than her accumulated total. He agonized over the shot, finally squeezing it off. Success! He didn’t get the center area, but he was close. No way she can beat that. His smirk was back.

  Jarra had her own smirk by now. In the Marines, she would have been expected to hit that target while on the run and under fire. Standing still, it was a piece of cake for her. She fired her last shot, another bulls-eye, just off the center.

  “Ten points to the blue. Match goes to the blue!” yelled Sergeant Kruger, his excitement rather obvious by then, but who was going to argue with him. He was certain now that bet was one of the best decisions he had ever made.

  Dang, girl, you need to practice. That was terrible. Jarra couldn’t help but catch Master Sergeant Gibbons’ eye, who just shook his head.

  Personally, Master Sergeant Gibbons knew he couldn’t have made that shot. He’d heard about the training the Princess had taken, the elite training among the elite, and how she had exceeded everyone’s expectations, including the Emperor and the Marine trainers who had designed the course to discourage the Princess from her planned Marine career. It had worked in a way, the girl shifting her career plans to the Rim Patrol instead of the Marines, but it hadn’t been because the course had been too difficult for her.

  “We’ll take a fifteen minute recess. Contestants are not allowed to leave the arena.”

  #

  Jarra’s team surrounded her so she could talk freely without anyone overhearing. Sara was now the spokesperson for them. “Are you still sure about the second contest? Greg appears to have
more skills than we anticipated. Plus he has a considerable size advantage over you. We know he won’t play fair; one lucky blow could end the whole thing for him.”

  Jarra smiled at her friend. “He would actually have to hit me to deliver that blow. I don’t intend to be hit at all. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Jarra smiled. She remembered the time she had to fight off three marines, all bigger than her. None of them had gotten close to hitting her, although she would admit it had been challenging. But she shouldn’t get cocky, she knew. She needed to keep herself fixed on her goals and not get too overconfident. Sara was right about it only taking one blow.

  Greg had gathered his own group together. He was getting a little worried about the outcome of the next match. He knew he needed an edge on the second match after losing the first. He pulled one of his guys off to the side. “Jacko, can you do me a little favor?”

  When Jackson immediately nodded, he went on, “Do you have a patch ready that I can use to dose her with your knockout drug? I’ll need to be able to pass it to her when we start the next match.”

  Jackson reached into his pocket, pulling out a translucent patch. “This is it. Make sure you get the right side down if you don’t want to dose yourself.”

  Greg laughed at him. “I’m not that stupid, you know. The last time it was in the dark and I couldn’t see it, so it’s not my fault. The girl missed out on all the fun.”

  Jackson just shook his head. He would never understand Greg and the crazy things he got off on, but if he could use him to get further along with his career, he would do what he asked. He still found it was funny that the thing had backfired on Greg and he’d been the one drugged. By the next day, that girl was long gone. Luckily, Greg hadn’t had a chance to try the stunt again.

  Commander Connors stepped back up to the podium. “We’re ready to begin the second match. Lieutenant Carsean, what is your choice for the second match?”

  Jarra smiled as she announced, “I choose the Bo staff. Three points to win. Points earned by touch on any part of the body.”

  Commander Connors was taken aback. That was the last thing he had expected her to choose. “I assume you want rules disallowing strikes above the shoulders and below the waist.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I doubt Lieutenant Resault would feel constrained to follow those rules anyway. Not that I intend to allow him to strike me anywhere.”

  The whole crowd grew hushed as the weapons were sent for. Greg for himself was feeling pretty good. Between the drug and the rules, he figured he had it made. One good hit on her pretty little head and he’d be done with it.

  Sergeant Kruger quickly examined the staffs, verifying that there were no cracks or other signs of damage. Personally, he was a little worried about this development, but when he glanced at Master Sergeant Gibbons, he saw no sign of concern. Just who was this girl?

  “The contestants will shake hands and prepare for the match.”

  Greg was looking forward to this part. He always enjoyed looking the mark in the eye when he tagged them. He stepped forward, reaching out to shake her hand, but looking straight into her eyes. That was perhaps a mistake, for when he looked into her eyes, what he saw terrified him, almost making him lose his nerve. But the handshake was made, the drug delivered as confirmed by his implants and he relaxed a little. He’d just have to work that look out of her eyes later.

  Jarra for her part was thinking about not killing the traitor yet when the fool was crazy enough to look her in the eyes. She couldn’t resist showing a little of the malice she felt. Then he shook her hand and everything changed.

  “Warning! Dangerous drug has been administered! Only partial reduction of effects is possible.” Jarra’s implants screamed in her head. Jarra shook her head, already feeling an effect from the drug slowing her down.

  “Water,” she demanded from her teammates, knowing that would help dilute the drug and give her a little more time. She instructed her implants to flood her system with a stimulant. That would help too, but it was a dangerous game. Too much could kill her. Guzzling the water, she quickly whispered, “Somehow he’s drugged me. I think I can hold him off, but you need to be ready, just in case.”

  Sara stared at her in total shock, but before she could tell her to back out, Jarra picked up her staff and stepped into the ring. His smirk back, Greg picked up his own staff, also stepping into the ring. This was going to be fun.

  Jarra wanted to hit the asshole right between the eyes, but she knew her reflexes were too slow to do that. Instead, she went back to her basic training with the staff many years ago at the hands of Master Kadash. Everyone she competed against had been bigger than her and Master Kadash had shown her how to take advantage of that. After she survived her first few times in the ring, his instruction had started to make sense.

  “Concentrate on blocking your opponent’s move until he makes a mistake. Because of his size advantage, he will be overconfident and he will overstrike, thinking he can finish you quickly. When he makes that harder strike, instead of blocking it, deflect his movement downward toward the ground. It will be easy since he will already be swinging from above you. Then you can strike him. Stomach or chest, but if it’s life or death, go for below the belt.”

  Jarra had later progressed in the Bo to the point she no longer needed those basic instructions, but they came back to her now. She knew she had no choice but to work as if she were a beginner, her lightning fast reflexes dulled to normal, so she went back to that beginning.

  Greg advanced, his grin huge by this point, anticipating having a little fun before he finished her off. To his surprise, she managed to deflect all his strikes, staying just out of his reach, even though he saw signs the drug was working on her. She shouldn’t even be able to stand!

  Master Sergeant Gibbons knew something was wrong with the Princess. He knew enough about her training to know she had beaten Imperial Marines with the Bo. She was moving much too slowly and barely deflecting his strikes. She had to have been drugged somehow! He was about to jump up, demanding they stop the fight, but he was too late.

  Greg had finally grown tired of the game. He just couldn’t get a hit on her. Fine, I’ll just finish her quick. I’ll have plenty of time to play later. Raising his staff, he struck downward, intending to bring it down on her head. Somehow, she blocked it, but even more so she shoved his staff to the ground, leaving him completely open to a return. That was when Greg felt the most intense agony he had ever known. All he could do was fall to the ground and curl up into a ball.

  When he could actually think again, Greg realized he had underestimated her again. If he didn’t find a way, he was going to be this girl’s personal servant. But as he lay there, she came over near him and he heard her whisper to him, “Get up if you want, asshole. Now that this drug you gave me is working its way out, when you do get up, you’re going to realize what you’re feeling now is mild compared to what I’m going to do to you.”

  She stalked off to stand with her friends. Suddenly, just being a servant to her didn’t seem quite so bad.

  #

  Eventually, Greg recovered enough to stand and after discussing everything with his friends, he told Commander Connors he would forfeit the second match due to his inability to continue it physically. Now everything was down to the third match. Mathematically, Greg still had a chance to win if he won the third match since those points counted double. Now that he was no longer in pain, he felt foolish at letting her scare him. It doesn’t matter. I’ve rigged the last part so I can win. She’s embarrassed me for the last time and she’s going to be sorry when I’m done. She needs an attitude adjustment and I know just how to do it.

  Jarra for her part was about ready to drop the undercover act and pull her Princess card. She would declare martial law and hang Greg and his father the Governor together for treason and be done with it. If I didn’t think the rest of the rebels would get away, I’d do it in an instant. For now, I’ll wait to see where it goes, but he’d bett
er not try anything like that last trick with the drugs again, or I’ll make him wish he were dead.

  Commander Connors stepped back up to the podium. “As everyone knows, the third contest is chosen by the Rim Patrol AI so that it is guaranteed an impartial choice. It’s also worth double points so the duel is still yet undecided. The AI will now reveal the nature of the third contest.”

  Connors touched an icon on the podium to activate the AI. The AI spoke in the somewhat stilted accent that high-end AI’s seemed to like. “As bequeathed my station, I have chosen the third contest to be a test of knowledge of political, physical and historical details of the Empire and the Rim Patrol.

  “Contestants will each be given three questions and the contestant must answer the question without assistance from any source, including implant access to databases. If a contestant is unable to answer a question or answers it incorrectly, the other contestant is allowed to steal the points associated with that question if he or she can answer it correctly. If at the end of the three questions a tiebreaker is necessary, it will be given to both contestants and the first one to supply the correct answer will win.

  “The contest will begin in fifteen minutes and I will disable access to the contestants’ implants during the questioning period.”

  Each team withdrew to the side to discuss their plan for the contest while an area in the arena was set up for the match. Jarra was all smiles. Finally, all those hours and hours of studying everything possible about the Empire were going to pay off. “There’s nothing I don’t know about the Empire or the Rim Patrol. I’ve got this,” she started to tell her team, but Sara interrupted her.

  “I knew something didn’t sound right about that AI. What I’ve just discovered is evidence that points to a hack of the AI by someone working for the red team. What do you want to bet that the hack extends to him being able to use his implants to look up the answers to his questions?”