Evrok glanced at the shrugging Trove before giving the order. “Open the channel.”
“Mingrein of Korbaal, we demand your immediate surrender,” the voice said through the loud speaker.
“Your translator module is butchering our language. I find it offensive.” Evrok struggled to not laugh too loudly at himself.
“You underestimate the severity of your situation,” the voice responded.
“Come back when you have a proper translator module,” Evrok continued.
“Suit yourself.” The transmission ended.
Gildract arrived just in time to hear Evrok command, “To arms!”
* * *
Yohei Nakamura arrived at his home and went straight to his personal quarters to freshen up before meeting his guests. He placed the long package upon a table as he passed by and began picking out some casual, yet elegant clothing to wear. A sound caught his attention and he paused to listen. Assuming the familiar sounds were those of his granddaughter's training in the garden, he proceeded to his private restroom. But halfway through the process, he heard the sounds escalate. He quickly put on his clothes, grabbed a sword from the rack, and raced down to the doorway that led out to his garden. What he saw next was quite surprising, as his granddaughter, who was standing next to a beautiful blonde, was offering instruction to another young lady as several young men were pulling themselves up from the ground.
“Yui!” he shouted. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Grandfather, they are doing some training while they are here.” Yui bowed deeply, but could not stop smiling. “This is Miss Denise Blake, from the United States.” Denise bowed. “And this is Constanthos.” Constanthos bowed deeply. The young men stood at attention, waiting to see his reaction.
“I suppose there is no harm in doing a little training,” Yohei said finally. “But it looks as if she may be ready for her next rank.” He smiled as he walked forward. “Hiroya has spoken highly of both of you.” Yui translated his words into English, in a quiet tone, for Denise. “I'm assuming that you already know Japanese,” he said with a smile to Constanthos.
“Yes, Master Nakamura. I am very honored to meet you. You have raised a fine young man in Hiroya. And Frank holds you in the highest regard.” Her speech was perfect.
“I am to understand that you are new to being a human, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“How is it that you are able to do all of this?” He waved his arm around to where the young men had been on the ground.
“I've always observed Frank's training. And he uploaded his memories into the computational system. You could say I brought a bit of him into this body with me.”
Yohei smiled and looked twenty years younger. “That is most impressive. Do you also share his gifts?”
“While he and I process information differently, I am, for the sake of simplicity, the female version of Frank Ford.”
“While some of my students go on to train women, I never do. Traditionally, battle was a place for men. I will make an exception in your case.” Yohei looked her in the eye. “Hiro was right about you. I can see it in your eyes.”
23.
Frank had regained consciousness and continued to lay on the floor. He quickly realized that they had knocked him out so they could safely clean the cell. The tray of meat was gone and everything was wet. He thought about trying to stand up to get a drink, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. After a while, he could hear his new neighbor begin to stir. And soon thereafter, while he didn't recognize the language, he heard his neighbor begin to curse. And talk. And sing. The seemingly mindless banter went on for some time.
Finally, his neighbor stopped, possibly to take a moment to think of a new song to sing. Frank seized the opportunity and yelled out, “Free bird!” His throat was very dry, but Frank managed to laugh out loud. His neighbor yelled out something in response, so Frank answered with the question, “Do you know English?” Again there was a response but Frank still didn't recognize the language so he switched. “Do you know Sessiki?” Still having no luck, Frank switched again. “How about Lianese?”
“Of course I know Lianese, but I fear there are Li around, so this is all the Lianese that I will be speaking. Thank you very much.” The neighbor's accent was rough, but totally understandable.
“How about this?” Frank asked in the Gurdik language.
“Sorry, too many Gurdiks.”
“Well then, you try some!” Frank demanded jokingly, still in the Gurdik language.
After several attempts, his neighbor hit found one that Frank recognized. “Unified Taltosh? Where the fuck is this language from?” Frank asked.
“I do not even know,” the neighbor answered, “but I highly doubt any of these fat fucks know it.” They shared a laugh before the neighbor asked. “So, what is your name?”
“I am Frank Ford.”
“I am Jard Dundarsheef. Perhaps you have heard of me.”
“I do not know the name. I am sorry.” Frank found the lack of contractions in the language to be mildly annoying. It was a naturally slow way of talking.
“Some day I will meet some being that will know the name and shrink in terror. But not today.” Jard laughed before asking, “What is your species?”
“I am human. How about yourself?”
“You are human? How is it that a human is in a tournament?”
“I suppose they want me dead. You did not answer my question.”
“I am a construct.”
“Some of my favorite people are constructs. May I ask who made you?”
“You may not. I was sworn to secrecy. It was part of my freedom agreement.”
Frank chuckled and found his dry throat to be terribly uncomfortable. He grunted as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “I admire your conviction. So how did you find yourself here?”
“I am a professional assassin. I was hired to kill Korick. But my mistake was overestimating my own abilities.”
Frank was eyeballing the water button as he spoke. “Oh? How so?”
“The gravity got me. But now I have had time to acclimate. As soon as I gain my freedom, I shall complete my mission.”
“They are not giving me time to acclimate, apparently. So, who hired you?”
“I am not at liberty to say.”
“Of course not,” Frank said with another chuckle. “I admire your professionalism.”
“I thank you, Frank Ford.”
“You can just call me Frank.”
“I must say, Frank, it is nice to speak with someone that gets it.”
“I would not say that I get it. I can tell that you live by a code and I respect that you do not deviate from it.”
“I have a reputation for being really good at my job,” Jard said. “But I do have standards. I research the history and politics of a potential job before I take it. Unfortunately, I am not suited for much more than this. I disdain the thought of scaring children.”
“Hold up,” Frank said. “Who said anything about children?”
“You see, Frank. I was named after a fictional character that was created to frighten children. I am the embodiment of Jard Dundarsheef, as imagined by my creator.”
“Maybe you should just change your name then,” Frank suggested. Jard answered with a furious laugh. Frank took advantage of the pause to try to stand. He felt like he weighed a ton. Losing his balance momentarily, he slammed against the wall and his collar sent a jolt through him. But he remained standing. He reached up and pressed the button. He was rewarded with a stream of water to the face.
“What are you doing over there, Frank?”
“Oh, I am just trying to get a drink.” Frank tried again and was able to get the stream to hit his mouth. The water tasted terrible but he didn't care. “So, Jard, do you have a title?”
“Titles are stupid.”
“Yes! Finally someone agrees.”
Jard laughed again before asking, “So, what is you
r title? You must really hate it.”
“My real title is 'Custodian of Earth.' I do not mind that so much. But some being gave me one that I detest.”
“So, what do they call you?”
“They call me the Monster, of Earth.”
* * *
“There are ten drop ships, Sire.”
“Where do they think they are going to land?” Evrok asked.
“They are trying to set a perimeter,” Trove responded. “They might have a solution to the mingala.”
“Trove, do you have their ship figured out” Gildract asked.
“More so than they did. Gotes are idiots.”
“I suggest you go to the ship, and ready its departure,” Gildract said.
“I see where this is going,” Evrok added with a chuckle. “Launch the smaller craft now to the outside of their perimeter. Instruct them to stay low to avoid detection.”
“Yes,” agreed Gildract. “Let them land and fight the mingala. It will only attract more. Our fliers will then obliterate them.”
“And I will torpedo their warship from close range.” Trove laughed out loud himself. “If they only knew what we found below.”
* * *
“So, I am talking to the infamous Monster, of Earth? What is an Earth anyway?”
“It is the name of the planet I am from. So I take it you have heard of me?”
“I have seen your propaganda video. They made me watch it. Why did you make that?”
“I did not make it. Some Li fuck made it and called me that.”
“So you killed some Mingrein and got a title. You know they do not do well in the tournament, right?”
“Those are not real Mingrein.”
“There are fake Mingrein?” Jard asked. “Why would they make fake Mingrein?”
“That is not what I mean. The Mingrein here are raw. The Li was supplying them for the tournament. They are undersized, untrained and untested.”
“So the Mingrein that you defeated were somehow better?” Jard asked.
“The Mingrein are a fierce and noble race. When I took Korbaal, the main group was very displeased to find out about the tournament.”
“Korbaal? I have heard of that. It is known as the worst of all the planets.”
“I would not quite say that about it.”
“There are creatures there that sneak up on you and eat you.”
“Well, yes. But it is a nice place otherwise.”
“That is why they call you a monster. It all makes sense now.”
“I will have you know that it was never my intention to be known as some kind of monster. I only sought to defend my planet.”
“So is your Earth as terrible as Korbaal?” Jard asked.
“It is much worse. We have politicians.”
* * *
“Ten drop ships, still, Sire.” The fourth-gen Mingrein never looked up from his instruments when he answered Evrok's request for an update.
“Everyone, hold steady. Let us wait and see what these idiots have planned.” Evrok was standing next to Gildract.
“I've missed this feeling,” Gildract said as he adjusted his belts.
“As have I, my friend,” Evrok replied.
“They are splitting up, Sire. It looks like they are planning to surround us.”
“Is everything in place?” Evrok asked.
“Everyone is reporting ready,” the seated Mingrein answered. “Trove is signaling that he is ready.”
“Remind everyone that we need at least one Gote left alive for interrogation,” Gildract added.
“Yes, Sire.”
* * *
“Enough!” Yohei commanded as he stopped to catch his breath. “You are even faster than Frank,” he complimented.
“Thank you, Master,” Constanthos said with a bow.
Yohei stood up tall and smiled. “This is an odd thing that we are doing.”
“How so?”
“It doesn't feel like I am actually teaching you. It is more like I am helping you remember.”
“But you are teaching me. And I am very grateful.”
Yohei maintained his smile. “I admit I tried a few techniques with you that I knew would be futile against Frank, due to his tremendous strength. But you were able to counter them with your speed. And what was that one strange thrusting move?”
“That was something that Frank picked up during his duel with Tirogof.”
“You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“I am sorry, Master. It was reflexive.”
“There is no need to apologize. I'm afraid I am done for the day. I have arranged for several yokozuna to come assist you in your training?”
“Yokozuna?”
“It is the highest rank of sumo. These wrestlers are very large. You need practice with large foes, correct?”
“Yes, Master. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome. But please, do not hurt them if you can help it.”
* * *
“They are coming in low,” the Mingrein reported. “We have no firing solution.”
“Are they landing?” Gildract asked.
“Yes, Sire.”
“Deploy the fliers,” Evrok commanded.
* * *
As each Gote drop ship landed, its ramp lowered and several Gotes with ridiculously large guns filed out. The sound of the ships had attracted the mingala, and as soon as they came into view, the Gotes opened fire. But the sound of gunfire only attracted more mingala. Of the ten ships, only two were able to offload soldiers. Gotes, with their normal armaments, were forced to assist the heavy gunners with the task of fending off the giant lizards. The hum of the fliers wasn't heard over the din of the relentless mingala attack until it was too late. Teams of Mingrein began strafing the Gote drop ships from aboard their heavily armed personal transports. Within moments, every drop ship was either destroyed or disabled. The mingala were insuring a swift death for any Gote that had been foolish enough to set foot on the planet.
* * *
“That one, there,” Evrok said, pointing to the view screen. “It isn't going anywhere soon, and there are Gotes inside.”
“Send one of the freighters over to clamp onto it,” Gildract suggested. “We'll drop them right in the airfield. Less mingala that way.”
“Trove is leaving the atmosphere,” the seated Mingrein said. “He has signalled to the warship that his voice comms are out.”
Evrok laughed out loud. “That Trove is a clever one. Hold off on that freighter until we know of his success.”
“You are right,” Gildract said. “They may still be in communications with the warship.” They were both wary of the notion of the warship simply dropping a few nuclear warheads on them.
* * *
Trove had set his trajectory so that it appeared as if his ship was making a break for it. While he was well within their sensor range, he intended for the Gotes to think that one of their own had secured the scout ship. He smiled to himself as he programmed coordinates for a micro-jump and let a rift open. But instead of entering the rift, he made a full reversal, followed by a dead stop. Sitting and waiting for a reaction from the warship, and finally deciding that they simply didn't notice him, he set out to plan his run. He nodded to himself as he looked over the configuration of his foes' ship. It looked like something the Li would have built, and because of that, he knew exactly where to target. Firing up the torpedo sequencing modules, he rotated the ship to face the Gotes, and went full throttle. He came in hot, leaving virtually no time for the Gotes to prepare a firing solution. His first pass was successful. The hull of the warship was cracked open in four places, the most important of which were where he assumed the control room and weapons targeting areas were. The control room alone might have been enough, but Trove liked to be thorough, and he didn't rule out the chance of there being some sort of secondary controls for the weapon systems. The impact of his torpedoes, followed by their ensuing explosions, caused the warship to turn away in a
slow spin. He knew then that their attitude control was dead. They were adrift. He briefly considered towing them into a course toward the sun, so that they might enjoy a long, drawn-out death, but he decided against it, in case they were to somehow regain engines. So he came around for another pass and cracked the hull the rest of the way open.
* * *
“His personal security was too tight,” Jard was saying. “The gravity got me. I was unable to achieve my objective.”
“Yes, this gravity sucks,” Frank agreed. “In hindsight, I should have put up a fight.”
“You did not put up a fight?” Jard asked.
“They said they would destroy my planet if I did not come along peacefully.”
“And you believed them?” Jard asked. But not waiting for a response, he continued, “Look, the Gotes are, as a whole, very stupid. But there are a few individuals that are quite clever. Korick is undoubtedly the most clever of the bunch. If you were the only thing stopping them from taking Earth, he obviously has it in his sights.”
“Damn. I let that fat fucker trick me.”
“Do not feel bad. You did what you felt was right.” Jard sighed loudly. “This is where such loyalties become handicaps. You were forced to surrender because you believed you were saving your world. Yes, it was a mistake, but there certainly is no shame in that.”
“Thanks,” Frank said sarcastically.
“You are welcome. It will pain me to have to kill you if we are paired up in the tournament.”
“I bet that would pain me more,” Frank replied. They were sharing a laugh as Frank slumped back to the floor.
* * *
“Phil, I'm confused,” Robert said. “The screen was full of action and then it went to this.” He pointed to the blank, starry screen.
“Allow me to explain,” Phildan began, “Hitakkita is a very busy planet. We performed a micro-jump to get us out of harm's way.”
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