"This can't be happening," Jason whispered. Crusher looked like he'd lost a considerable amount of weight, and his body bore many fresh scars. The feral, nearly berserk look he wore told Jason all he needed to about how his friend had fared in Duat. "Can he win?"
"It will take all his skill and strength," Lucky said, considering the odds. "But I believe he has a chance of winning."
"It looks like they've starved him and beat the living shit out of him," Jason muttered. "He doesn't have all his strength."
"Then let us hope his skill will be enough," Lucky said, his eyes never leaving his friend. "It is possible for me to move to the other side of the cage and intervene if necessary. They would be well within my weapons range."
"And you'd be blasted by those cannons up above us," Jason said. "Even you would have a hard time walking away from that. I'd lose you both ... it's not worth the risk."
The pair looked on in horror as the announcer and all the handlers rushed out of the cage and the door swung shut and locked with a resounding clang. The crowd waited in near silence as one of the handlers pressed a button on a remote he carried and Crusher's restraints popped off and dropped. The warrior instantly reached up and ripped the muzzle from his face before leaning back and letting out a bellowing roar that echoed off the walls. The hairs on Jason's neck and arms stood at attention as the primordial part of his brain recoiled in fear from the sound. Crusher was enraged beyond reason and Jason could only imagine what his life had been like the last couple of months.
Another button was pressed and the restraints holding the nyphens to the cage wall popped off. One of the pair charged Crusher in a mindless rush, clawed hands out in front of him. Crusher balanced on the balls of his feet and waited, timing his strike perfectly. He knocked the nyphen's arms down with an overhand sweep with his left forearm while simultaneously bringing his right fist down in a savage strike on the alien's face.
The nyphen hissed loudly in pain and Jason could see that Crusher had smashed its left orbital socket, obliterating the eye in the process. As the crowd jumped on their feet and cheered, Crusher delivered a kick to the writhing alien's midsection that sent him tumbling backwards onto the floor before he squared off with the more cautious of the pair.
"This is a promising start," Jason said. "Maybe it'll be over quick."
"I do not think the Watchers will allow that," Lucky said and pointed to a pair of guards holding a variety of melee-style weapons. "If it looks like Crusher will win too easily I am sure their job is to handicap him somehow." Jason looked around quickly for the vendors that had been there during the previous fights where spectators could purchase weapons for the combatants. Apparently they had been removed from the floor for this special match.
The second nyphen kept circling in, moving closer to Crusher gradually. Jason couldn't understand the tactic until he remembered the pair were brothers. The second was trying to lure Crusher away from the injured first. Crusher seemed to realize this as well as he stood his ground by the first one, turning to face the second. After another couple seconds of this he backed up a step and kicked the first nyphen in the head, eliciting another hissing scream of pain.
It seemed to have the effect Crusher wanted as the second nyphen charged at his brother's scream of pain. The two met each other in the middle of the cage and there was a flurry of claws and snarls as they each tried for a quick kill. When they separated the nyphen could no longer stand on both legs, a major tendon having been severed near the ankle, and Crusher was holding his left arm in close to his side while blood flowed freely from several deep wounds.
"He's losing steam," Jason said with concern. Crusher looked winded and weak, a pale shade of the powerful warrior Jason was used to seeing.
"He has disabled both opponents," Lucky said. "Hopefully he can win a decisive victory."
Crusher came in fast again, sweeping the good leg out from under the second nyphen and landing on top of him, pinning both arms with his knees. The big warrior forced the chin of the lizard-like alien up and plunged his right into the side of its neck multiple times, his claws penetrating until on the fourth hit a fountain of blood erupted from the wound. What he didn't see, however, was the first nyphen roll slowly to his feet and stalk across the cage towards his turned back.
"Behind you!" Jason shouted over the crowd, stopping himself just before saying his name. Two things happened simultaneously that he hadn't intended. He saw Crusher stiffen up at the sound of his voice, freezing at a critical moment. The other thing was the crowd turning on him, hurling insults and threats for interfering with the match.
Ignoring the plethora of violent crime bosses threatening to disembowel him, Jason watched in horror as the remaining nyphen clamped down on Crusher's neck with its powerful jaws. The warrior howled in rage and pain as he fought to dislodge the nyphen, but the effort only caused the curved teeth to sink in further and strengthened the grip.
In an incredible display of sheer will, Crusher rose to his feet and, with the nyphen still hanging off his neck, dragged himself over to the side of the cage where the pair had been restrained. Before the armed Watchers could react, Crusher had pulled one of the sets of restraints off from around the bars and with his left hand whipped it over his head. Despite the fact the lizard was clamped down on the blood supply to his brain, Crusher was able to swing the manacles twice more until the heavy end hit the already demolished orbital socket with a wet smack.
The result was instantaneous as the pain caused the nyphen to involuntarily cry out, opening its mouth in the process. It fell to the floor, clutching at its ruined face and hissing out in pain. Crusher somehow stayed on his feet, despite looking like he might go down at any moment, and walked up to stand over the nyphen, straddling its head. With as much strength as he could manage, Crusher repeatedly swung the heavy restraints into his opponent's head. Over and over until spectators were actually looking away and the meaty smacks of steel hitting the nyphen's head gave way to wet squishing sounds as its skull split open. Crusher didn't stop until three Watchers rushed in and hit him in the back of the head with a cudgel, dropping him instantly.
"We have to go," Jason said as Crusher's inert form was unceremoniously dumped onto a sled and the announcer tried to proclaim the results of the fight over the sounds of the crowd. Many people were still angry at Jason, mostly the ones who’d bet heavily on the nyphens, but one look at his battlesynth bodyguard kept their anger retrained to loud insults and not physical violence.
Jason led Lucky down to where the auction would take place for the victorious combatant. He'd hoped since Crusher looked to be near death that there wouldn't be many bidders. His hope turned out to be in vain as a crowd of about fifteen people were jostling their way up to the table.
"Shit," he muttered, elbowing a few people out of the way.
"Technically, the Galvetic warrior is still alive," the auctioneer said just as Jason found a spot close to the front. "We're selling him as is ... no medical treatment will be administered and no refunds if he dies before you can collect him."
While not at all like any auction Jason had ever seen on Earth, he quickly learned how it worked. The bidding quickly went very high until it was only Jason and one other person bidding on what could end up being a poorly kept Galvetic corpse. After another two rounds the other bidder, obviously quite angry, bowed out and stalked off.
"Sold to the ... whatever you are," the auctioneer said. "The agreed amount will need to be paid in an accepted currency, ConFed Universal Credits included, and before you take delivery."
"I have it on my ship," Jason said. "I can pay you when he's delivered to my cargo bay."
"That's not how it works," the auctioneer said firmly. "You'll pay me here, and now, and then you can worry about how to get the body back to your ship." This put Jason in a serious bind since the amount of the winning bid far exceeded the total amount of money aboard the Phoenix. "I hope you did not bid an amount you have no means to pay," the auct
ioneer said ominously. In truth he was just another Watcher in a ridiculous suit and very obviously armed. At his tone, two more stepped forward and gave Jason a decidedly unfriendly look.
"Of course he didn't," a voice said smoothly from behind him. "He was simply entering a proxy bid for me. I will be paying the full amount."
"Of course, Saditava Mok, sir," the Watcher said, his tone shifting from aggressive to servile in an instant. "My apologies to your associate."
"It's fine," Saditava said with a dismissive wave. "I'm sure you weren't hired here for your intelligence. Please speak to my bodyguard about securing payment."
"What's this all about?" Jason asked suspiciously as the Watcher walked over to the bodyguard with a tablet to transfer the funds.
"I told you," Saditava said with a smile. "I owe you a favor. This paltry sum is just one way I may repay that favor."
"You must have inherited a fairly lucrative chunk of Bondrass's operation," Jason said, swallowing at the amount of money the gangster was tossing around like it was nothing.
"You have no idea," Saditava said, still smiling. He reached into his coat and pulled out a thin data card. "Here, take this. There are various points of contact on there by which you can reach me should you ever need my help again."
"Thanks," Jason said slowly, taking the card. He knew something like that didn't come without strings attached, but it would be rude not to accept it. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Please do," Saditava said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I wish to return to the fights and I'm sure you would like to tend to your friend. Until we meet again, George Washington."
"Sir, if you'll come with me I can show you to your prize," the now-respectful Watcher said as Saditava and his Korkaran guard departed.
"Lead the way," Jason said as he and Lucky fell in behind the smaller being.
They followed the Watcher down through a series of roughhewn corridors, the floors as smooth as polished marble from centuries of feet shuffling over them. The Watcher stopped at a security door and keyed it open, waving them through. Crusher still lay on the wheeled sled, his blood dripping steadily on the floor.
"Here he is," the Watcher said without interest. "If your plan was to keep him alive you probably should hurry to your ship. I have to tell you though ... any plans you might have of using him as a soldier should be abandoned. He's killed seven Watchers since he was brought here, even after our ... enhanced ... security measures. You're better off killing this one, but if you let him live, never turn your back on him."
"Thank you, that will be all," Jason said coldly, his hands beginning to shake as his anger built and his turbocharged adrenal response began to cloud his reason. Recognizing the signs, Lucky intervened quickly.
"We would like to take the Galvetic warrior to our ship immediately," he said. "Do we use the same passage we came in through?"
"No," the Watcher said, looking at Jason closely. "Go left out of here and all the way to the end of this corridor. Go right and then it's straight on from there to the security exit that will let you out onto the landing pad."
"You have my employer's thanks," Lucky said. "We have no further need of your assistance."
"Sure," the Watcher said, backing out the door. "No problem." Once he left the pair moved quickly to the sled.
"He's still alive," Jason said. "Hold him down and I'll dose him." Lucky leaned over and gently restrained Crusher as Jason pulled out three auto-injectors that Doc had rigged up, each containing a cocktail of drugs and nanobots that were designed as a catchall for whatever condition they might find him in.
Jason pulled the safety caps off with his teeth and pressed the devices firmly into the thickest part of Crusher's shoulder. The big warrior grumbled and shifted as the heavy needles deployed and the injectors shoved the viscous mixture into his bloodstream.
"These will start working fast, but we've got to get him to the infirmary quickly," Jason said. "Let's go ... you lead and I'll push him along."
Lucky opened the door and Jason maneuvered the unwieldy sled out and to the left, waiting for the battlesynth to move ahead of him and take point. He should have known better than to think things would go so easily, as if they could just wheel Crusher out to the Phoenix and be on their way. As soon as they made the right turn into the last corridor they could see the path was completely blocked.
"You have something I want," the same alien who had been in a bidding war with Jason called out. "I intend to take it." He had at least twelve bodyguards with him, their bulk completely obscuring the view ahead.
"I don't think the Watchers would appreciate you trying to strongarm one of their paying clients within their own walls," Jason said. "Do you?"
The alien thought this extremely funny for some reason, laughing in a bizarre cough/wheeze sort of way. "Who do you think paid them to have you make your way down this back corridor with my prize?" he said. "They are fully aware of the situation."
"Please let me handle this, Captain," Lucky said, walking calmly towards the group. They all tensed up, but held their ground.
"I know what you are, battlesynth," the alien said. "But you know as well as I do that any energy weapons fired in this corridor will trigger the security measures and we'll all die, including your boss. You're nothing more than another strong body here."
"I am fully aware of the restrictions placed upon us," Lucky said calmly, still walking. He pulled off the tunic he'd inexplicably been wearing to reveal two of Crusher's wickedly curved long blades fastened to his back. "I have no need of energy weapons to dispatch you and your hired muscle."
Jason watched with fascination as Lucky reached behind his back and grabbed both blades, releasing them with an audible snick and bringing them around, crossing them in front of his chest.
"You don't want it to go down like this!" the alien called shrilly. "Just give me what I want and I'll be on my way." Lucky was only ten feet away at this point so Jason just stayed silent and watched to see what his friend had in store.
Lucky stopped and held his arms wide, the blades angled down slightly. Once he saw the battlesynth had no plans to let them by, the auction loser signaled to his security detail to attack. The results were much as one would expect.
The first two to reach Lucky were hurt, badly. The battlesynth smoothly stepped up and crashed the pommels of both blades into the sides of their heads. This eliminated two threats, but it also let the remaining ten know that a battlesynth wasn't just a synth with energy weapons bolted on. The strength and agility had taken them by surprise and now they were exercising much more caution, trying to use tactics over brute force to take him down.
It didn't matter. Lucky was a blur of motion, disabling three more guards with a combination of two well-placed slices and another bone-crunching hit with the base of a knife. A shuddering moan caught Jason's attention and he looked down in time to see Crusher convulsing so hard he almost flopped off the sled, a mixture of blood and saliva foaming out of his mouth.
"No more playing Lucky!" Jason shouted. "He's dying! We have to move!"
Lucky responded immediately and changed tactics from disabling to annihilating. Both blades whistled through the air, decapitating one guard and biting deep between the neck and shoulder of another. He bodily lifted the latter in an effort to dislodge the blade, the body crashing into the boss who had been trying to sneak along the wall and escape. Jason began pulling the sled quickly towards the fray, stopping long enough to lean down to the now-blubbering losing bidder.
"What the hell was so important you'd kill all these people to get him?" Jason snarled.
"He was to be a gift for my father," the alien blubbered. "I was to have him preserved and hung." When it sunk in that he meant to have Crusher stuffed and mounted like a big game animal, Jason reared back and kicked the alien in the throat, the toe of his boot caving in the soft tissue and tearing one of the major blood vessels.
Jason looked up in time to see that Lucky was down to the last three.
He reversed his grip on both knives and plunged both blades into the chest of one, using the knives as handles to pick up the hefty guard and fling him out of the way where he lay and gaped like a fish out of water as his lungs filled with blood. The remaining two seemed undecided whether to flee or try and take on the battlesynth together. Their hesitation was their final act in life as Lucky leapt across the gap and killed both with two armored fists.
"We are clear," he said, turning to Jason.
"Great," Jason said, pulling the sled along. "Now make me a path through the bodies and don't forget to grab Crusher's blades."
The rest of the way was clear although the security gate sentries looked startled as a battlesynth holding two enormous knives and soaked in three types of blood walked around the corner and politely asked that they open the gate. As soon as the shielded doors parted Jason heard his com unit beep as it reestablished a connection with the Phoenix.
"Twingo!" he practically shouted into the device. "We're at an entrance approximately two hundred meters west of the main security gate. Taxi the Phoenix over as close as you can get her and make sure Doc is waiting for us in the cargo bay."
"We're on our way!" Twingo said.
It wasn't even a minute later when the ground began to tremble and the Phoenix rolled into view. Jason watched as Twingo skillfully swung the nose over and rotated the ship even as the ramp was dropping so that they would have a minimal distance to expose Crusher to the dangerously cold conditions. As soon as the ramp slammed into the tarmac, Jason and Lucky both moved him as fast as they could, the stronger battlesynth pulling the sled and the human sprinting alongside stabilizing his friend.
"Move aside!" Doc barked as the sled rolled to a stop in the cargo bay. Jason smacked the controls to raise the ramp and close the pressure doors while Lucky gently picked Crusher up and placed him on the bed of the makeshift trauma center they'd rigged up in the cargo bay. The thought was that should they have to blast their way out of Duat it would be better if Crusher could be immediately stabilized and treated instead of having to be carried up to the main deck and all the way to the infirmary.
Omega Force 7: Redemption Page 6