The Planet of Terran

The scrape of the knife against the stone echoes through the tunnel as I draw my weapon back and forth, sharpening its blade. While the arena above thunders with excitement from the crowd, the pits below carry an eerie silence. It is here that I wait for my turn to claim my prize. With my head down and my focus on my weapon, I only risk subtle glances at the other creatures surrounding me, also waiting their turn in the arena.

A clanging behind me disrupts the quiet concentration of the room. I turn to find Kayne waltzing into the room behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, immediately annoyed that he isn’t following our plan and staying at the ship.

“I thought I’d offer some emotional support,” he says, striding over to my side. As he passes a weapon stand, he pulls a dangerous looking one from its place, equipped with pointed spears on both ends, and tests its weight in his hands. “This one is not a bad choice either, brother.”

“Yes, but I’ll only have one opponent. That weapon seems more suitable for many. I chose the lightness of the blade over the weight of the spear.” I lift my chosen sword so he can admire it. With a freshly sharpened blade this weapon will cause problems no matter who my opponent turns out to be. “How the hell did you get in here?” I ask, changing the subject.

“I paid the guards, just like I told you to do. If you weren’t so damn stubborn we would already have the human and be on our way back to Lunis Station.”

“What example are we setting if we break the rules we expect everyone else to follow?”

“Ugh, I can’t listen to you. There are no rules on Terran, brother. I think you’re about to find that out. Not to mention, it is illegal to trade humans no matter where we are. It wouldn’t be a stretch to seize her in the name of the Force.”

“True. But that will cause more of a disturbance than we need.” A loud cheer from the crowd erupts from the arena, signaling the finale of the fight above. They’re chanting the hero’s name. Although I can picture it all in my mind, the only glimpse of the action we get down below is when they carry the loser’s body back down.

I ignore the tiny seed of worry in my gut and focus on the prize. We’ve been tracking the human slaves for months and this is the first lead we have on finding one. When General Koba discovered that our enemies, the Atronox, were dealing stolen human women, it was the wake up call that we needed to step up our influence throughout the galaxy. Kayne and I, as well as a full team of Force members, have been following the clues to find the women and free them from slavery. The second part of our mission is to find out if they have been implanted with a capsule containing a material capable of creating an extremely powerful weapon. A weapon more powerful than anything our galaxy has witnessed before.

General Koba discovered the power of the weapon first hand when he was shot by the Atronox and almost died, something that is not an easy feat for our warriors. Typically our bodies heal quickly and regenerate. After he was shot with this new weapon, Koba was not able to heal on his own. It was how we knew the Atronox discovered a new kind of devastation.

Now that I’m so close to a victory on this mission, failure in the arena is not an option.

“You there, Gaian,” the guard says, pointing at me from the end of the tunnel, “It is your turn.”

“Well, I suppose I had better go find my seat,” Kayne says.

“You must be joking,” I say, looking at him out of the corner of my eye while I tighten the thick leather strap that secures my armor .

“No, not at all. The rest of the team is already out there. Hopefully they were able to find something toward the front. I’ve never been to this arena before but I’m hoping that they are selling roasted markhor nuts for the fight.” Kayne smiles, and I want him gone so I can concentrate on the job before me. “Good luck then, brother.” He slugs my shoulder by way of encouragement and walks back where he came from.

“Let’s go,” the guard says, with an impatient tone and a cold glare.

The time has come. I grab my helmet, tighten my grip on my sword and walk to the entrance of the arena. I’m surprised to find that it is approaching evening. Turns out this wasn’t the quick easy-in, get the girl, easy-out type of mission that I thought it would be.

I let my eyes adjust to the brightness of the arena as I walk out to the center, waiting for the first glimpse of my prize. It would be hard to miss the women that are being offered to the champions. They are standing in a line on a raised platform just below the covered section of the arena where Master Yhm sits. There are eight in all, but none of them are human.

Hiding my frustration, I look up at Yhm, ready to bow to show the required respect, and that’s when I see her. Instead of being on the platform with the other women, she stands next to her master, quiet and still. She holds a fan in her hands, next to the small table that holds Yhm’s water and food. Her hair is pushed forward, making it hard to discern the exact features of her face. She is striking, though. It is easy to see her voluptuous curves through the sad excuse for a dress she’s clad in. Even from this distance, seeing her makes something inside of me stir.

There isn’t a lot of time to process why she’s with Master Yhm instead of the other women. The crowd is loud and raucous from a full day of drinking and sport. My Force brothers are sitting in the crowd, in the front row immediately to my right. My annoyance flares again. By leaving the ship, they’ve taken away the option for a quick getaway if we need one. But I’m distracted from this thought by a second wave of cheers that erupts when a large bulbous creature, more than three times my size, enters the arena from across the way.

“Of course,” I mumble under my breath. “A Kmohax. I thought they died out a long time ago.”

The Kmohax, like so many creatures in this unforgiving galaxy, were in a fight over land and resources for a long time. The war cost them countless lives, causing many to believe that their kind had been completely wiped out. It makes sense that if there are some of them alive, they’d be here … fighting to win a mate in order to repopulate their species.

The Kmohax lumbers toward me, dragging his massive feet through the dirt, causing dust clouds to form around him. He hefts a battle-ax over one shoulder, and it glints in the afternoon sun. He wears no armor over his torso or chest, though there are thick scales that cover his skin, providing some protection.

“No armor?” I ask when he stands before me.

“No need,” he replies in a low grumble. He leans to the side and spits a huge wad of green slime into the sand.

“Fair enough.” I grip my helmet and secure it to my head. Now that we are both at the center, drums begin to beat, amping up the reaction from the crowd. The Kmohax grips his ax and swings it down in an arc toward my torso, signaling the beginning of the fight. I easily leap backwards avoiding the cut of the ax. Kmohax are large, but they’re slow and that will work to my advantage.

He ambles toward me again, readying the ax for another swing. The slow, wide arc of the weapon makes it easy to avoid. When the ax falls toward me again, I step out of the way and continue to circle around my opponent, sizing him up and looking for his weak spot. The ground rumbles in response to his movements and this time when he attacks he growls loudly when the ax meets the strength of my sword. My muscles strain and bulge, fighting to push him back so I can attack. But with an extra shove from the Kmohax, I’m pushed backward, landing against the stone wall.

My aggravation propels me forward, eager to strike a win. This creature’s size gives him strength just from the pure mass of him. But taking advantage of his lack of speed, I run toward him. When he sweeps his ax toward me again, I duck and roll underneath it, through his legs. Using my sword I strike at the back of his leg, cutting through the scales and drawing first blood.

The creature bellows his rage and catches me with his arm, throwing me again toward the brick wall. He follows up on his hit and comes at me while I’m still dazed from literally running into a brick wall. The handle of the ax presses against my throat, blocking my airway. I grip the wood and put all of my strength into pushing the weapon off of me. I manage to lift it just enough to suck in a quick breath of air. All of my focus is on this moment, when I hear a familiar voice coming from just behind me in the stands.

“This is where that spear would have come in handy,” Kayne says wryly. “Block the ax and then strike with the other end. Ah well, in your current situation I won’t rub it in.”

If I could move my head, I would shake it in disbelief. Instead, I shift my weight ever so slightly and deliver a strong side kick to the creature’s knee, making it lose its grip on the ax and fall to the side. While it’s distracted I push away from the wall and make my way toward the center of the arena. Kayne stands just behind the railing, smiling and eating roasted markhor nuts from a small sack.

Before I can think anymore of it, my opponent is coming toward me again. Fueled by Kayne’s taunting I choose to attack. First blocking the ax, and then striking into his side with my sword. His skin is tough and it isn’t easy breaking through the scales, but the sword just does so, guided by my strength. A few more blocks and strikes, and the Kmohax’s strength is failing.

The thought of killing this creature for sport and for the opportunity to have my pick of the slaves leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It seems dishonorable. But I’m driven by the fact that the human’s life is up for grabs and if I win here today I secure her. Keeping this knowledge at the forefront of my thoughts, I sink my sword deep into my opponent with his next attack. As the sword slides from his body, he falls to the ground and doesn’t get up.

The crowd roars around me.

I walk toward Master Yhm’s section of the arena and bow. He stands and puts his arm in the air, acknowledging my victory.

“Congratulations, warrior,” Master Yhm says. “Choose your prize.” He waves his hand below him, toward the women standing on the platform.

I look the women over as they stand before me, completely petrified. Finally, I point to the human standing next to Yhm and say, “I’ll take her.”