Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match (12 page)

Jesse felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he could see by the look in Josiah’s eye that he felt bad for him. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and began. “Jo, I don’t know if I’m gonna make it through this one. I’m still not physically right and let’s face it, he’s gonna cheat.”

“Don’t even go there, Jess,” he interrupted, not at all happy with where his friend’s head was at.

“Jo, please, this is hard enough for me to admit.” He took out a data card and handed it to him. “This is my will, Jo; I want you to be the executor in case…” He stopped and took in Josiah’s reaction and looked at his first officer, Special Forces brother and close friend. They had been through a lot together and in all the battles, all of the impossible situation, he had always kept an air of invincibility around him, for the sake of his unit or team, but now that air was gone and Josiah knew it. He looked sadly at his first mate and continued, “In case I don’t make it. No one else can know about this because I don’t want anyone to know I’m having doubts. Everything you need to know is on there. You’re the only one besides Nina that I would ever trust with this responsibility, and believe me, I hate to have to give it to you.”

“I’ll take care of it, Jess, and then I’ll give it back to you after you kill Garrinoras.” He smiled for assurance as he tucked the data card away in his pocket. It didn’t sit well with him to see Colonel Marcos this unsure about his future.
The Jesse I know always has his next move planned out. Heck, he always has his next ten moves planned out.

“That’s not all, Jo,” he awkwardly continued. This was new territory for him and he wasn’t navigating it well. “If I don’t make it, you have to make sure the crew gets home. You’re the only one that can. Kimi is the best team member anyone can ever ask for, but she doesn’t have any leadership experience. Neither does Suzy. Collin is as faithful as they come and one of the best pilots in two galaxies. Reece is an awesome addition and we are Bessa’s family, but it falls to you to take care of them if I lose. Tanna and Xanu can still go back to their homes if they want. Everyone else only has us until we reach Polisia.”

“Jess, enough,” Josiah had nearly reached his own breaking point and he couldn’t take any more of this conversation. His boss needed a serious morale boost. “You’re not gonna lose, this is all unnecessary. Of course I’ll do it, and I’m honored you would trust me, but it’s not gonna be necessary. Now go finish getting ready to get rid of that nuisance once and for all.”

“I hope you’re right buddy. I know I can take him in a fair fight, hands down. I’m just unsure as to how fair this fight will be. I’ll talk to you later.” He stood and left the room and Josiah let him go prepare himself for battle. He had never had a conversation like this with Jesse. In over twenty years of friendship, he had never heard him say he wasn’t sure he could win; and it really bothered him.

______

As many different sentient species began to fill the mammoth stadium, the cool breeze of an autumn morning could be felt all around them. The most anticipated event of the decade was less than two hours away, and the excitement of the crowd was so think it could practically be touched. History would be made this day. The massive stadium almost seemed alive. The rhythm of the crowds and noises coming over the public address system almost seemed to be a heartbeat. This behemoth was practically a living work of art. It was easily the largest structure on Chawanas. Standing almost two hundred stories high, there were taller structures, but none bigger. The stadium was built in an oval shape and the inside boasted over three kilometers of space on the arena floor. The arena itself was almost three kilometers long and two and a half kilometers wide, and then there was the seating, the corridors, the breezeways and the refreshment stands. This arena had everything, including a temperature-controlled field. They could make it hotter than summer or colder than winter with the touch of a button. The arena could be transformed into almost any setting in just under a week. Garrinoras had insisted on a jungle, complete with streams and real trees. The jungle was Garrinoras’ favorite hunting environment, and he had announced that he planned on hunting Marcos for two days, before mercifully extinguishing his light from the galaxy. Jesse was sure there was nothing merciful about what his opponent had planned for him.

When the government of Chawanas asked him for his topographical preference, Jesse let them know that it didn’t matter to him and that he was fine with what Garrinoras had chosen. He had no faith that they would accommodate him anyway, so he just went with the flow on that one. He had spent enough time in the jungle where he didn’t feel like he would be at a disadvantage. Besides, from the look of the field, it almost seemed as much a forest as a jungle, and the forest was his favorite environment, so ultimately, it didn’t really matter. When it came to the seating arrangements, the government of Chawanas wisely kept the supporters of Colonel Marcos on one side of the stadium, while Garrinoras supporters were on the other. In the one location among the stadium seating where the two sides would come together, the neutral Farannsian people were seated.

Cameras were placed everywhere throughout the field of combat, so no one in the arena or around the galaxy would miss a second of the action. Giant vid screens placed all around the stadium would be showing the action in a larger than life format. Five hundred thousand beings would be attending this event live, and surprisingly enough, just over forty percent of them were in support of Colonel Marcos. Almost fifty percent were here for Garrinoras, and the rest were from Chawanas. Even though they claimed neutrality, Jesse knew most of them were rooting for the pirate. Because a human was involved in this match, Zinnebulous had decided to allow the event to be broadcast to any planet in the galaxy willing to pay for the vid rights. It was likely that hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of people around the galaxy would be watching this event unfold. Garrinoras and Colonel Jesse Marcos were likely to be household names for a long time to come after this event. The winner would go on to become one of the most famous names in the galaxy. Jesse had no interest in the fame that would be associated with winning, but he had no wish to lose either.

______

As Jesse walked the corridor back towards his quarters, images from the training mission to the Zyrnn began to fill his head again. So much had happened that week and it was all rushing back whenever he found himself alone. He wondered why.
Perhaps it was the last time I could remember being afraid before battle, or maybe it was because I was unsure of the outcome then, just as I am now.
His mind once again flashed back to the frozen planet of his final training mission.

[The hunters had fallen right into their trap. The first speeder triggered the grenades, and the third speeder blew up. Instantly, several men were out and firing. They didn’t even know what they were firing at. The explosion had killed two and Jesse’s men had stunned three more. Blaster fire lit up the night as Davis abandoned his cover only to take one right in the shoulder. He cried out and went down hard. Josiah was able to pull him back behind cover as the leader of the hunters called out.

“We blew up your ship and you don’t know where ours is; throw down your weapons or you will die on this rock.”

“We’ll take our chances,” Manny replied as he stunned another hunter.

“Why are you attacking us? What have we done to you?” The leader called out as he fired a killing shot at Thomas. “You can’t beat us, and you can’t get off this world if you do.”

“You blew up our ship without provocation, that’s not enough?” Josiah yelled into the fray.

“No, there’s got to be more. You wouldn’t have even been aware of our actions concerning your ship until after you had already stolen our blasters.”

“Blasters you shouldn’t even have,” Josiah continued.

Manny saw Thomas lying dead a few meters from him and yelled at the hunters. “We attacked you because we didn’t like the way you were killing the villagers and stealing their women.” When there was no reply, Manny peered around his cover to see where the leader had gotten off to. He froze when he felt the blaster pressed against the base of his skull.

“Whoever you are, cease fire or I blow this man’s brains out.” When the blaster fire stopped, the leader of the hunters marched Manny out right into the middle of the engagement. There were only two other hunters left. He looked confidently around and said, “Now, come out of hiding and drop your weapons or I kill your man.” Nothing happened, so he fired his blaster into Manny’s leg. Manny cried out in pain as he fell to the snow. “The next one goes in his head. Test me, see if I….” Before he finished speaking, Jesse was on him.

Jesse had heard enough from this man. He only needed another moment to get into position when the hunter fired into Manny’s leg. That was when Jesse attacked. He could smell the charred flesh on Manny’s leg as his teammate writhed in pain in the snow. He tackled the hunter and they rolled in the heavy, wet snow. The hunter came up on top and fired. Jesse was able to hit the blaster at the last moment as the hard light burned into the snow inches from his ear, Jesse let out a breath as the steam from the melted snow tickled his left ear. He then brought his elbow up into the hunter’s throat and followed by knocking the blaster from his hand. Josiah and Collin had stunned the remaining hunters and they were looking for an opportunity to help Jesse. He didn’t need it. He had knocked the hunter off of him and pinned him to the ground. He hit him several times in the head, each shot sending a jolt through his own body as his hands felt brittle in the cold. The hunter began to plead for mercy as the blood flowed freely down his face from his nose, littering the snow with crimson droplets. Jesse harshly pulled him up and began moving him towards one of the cages when the injured hunter pulled his holdout blaster. He was sluggish from his injuries and Jesse quickly rolled to pick up the blaster he had knocked from his adversary’s hand earlier and fired as he came out of the roll. The hunter’s blaster was set on full power and Jesse’s shot killed him. It was the first life he had ever taken. Jesse looked at the smoking hole in the hunter’s chest and felt a deep remorse. Killing someone for real was nothing like the combat exercises and even though it was in self-defense, it was not something he ever thought he could get used to.

When the battle was over, three hunters were dead and twelve were stunned. They woke up in the cages they had kept the villagers in along with the five that had survived the initial fight against the creatures. In all, ten were dead and seventeen were prisoners. Jesse’s team had lost one and had two injured. It had been a long day and Jesse prayed he wouldn’t have another one like it for a long time. He definitely felt conflicted. On one hand, he had used his training to save some innocent villagers, on the other hand, his plan had gotten one of his Marines killed and left him with blood on his hands. He couldn’t stop thinking about that and he briefly wondered if he was cut out for this. He would have to talk to someone on the base’s medical staff when he returned to Fort Buffalo. After a short while, the stunned hunters had woken up with treated injuries and food in their cages. Fortunately, they had heaters and supplies that allowed Jesse’s team to properly care for Manny and Davis as well. Collin fixed the transmitter array and Jesse laughed at his grease-stained, white snow fatigues as he called Sergeant Kelly.

“Marcos, you’re the last person I expected to be dropping out.” Sergeant Kelly’s voice came through the transmission hard and unforgiving.

“No, Sir, it’s not like that.”

“What is it like then, Marine? This had better be good, or you’re gone. Talk fast!” The Sergeant’s angry reply had the whole unit worried about their future in Special Forces.

“The planet wasn’t uninhabited, there was a group of twenty-seven heavily armed hunters. They had murdered several primitive villagers and enslaved several more. Our drop ship landed close to their location, so we knew they would find us. We took action to free the villagers after the hunters destroyed the drop ship. Ten of the hunters are dead and we have seventeen prisoners. Thomas was killed in the fighting and Davis and Hernandez suffered injuries. We used the hunter’s equipment to field dress their wounds and Specialist Torrensede fixed their damaged transmitter array so we could alert you to the situation, Sir. We are all ready and willing to stay the remaining three days, Sir, we just wanted you to know what was going on.” There was a long pause that unsettled the unit’s already frayed nerves even more.

Jesse almost jumped when the gruff voice finally answered. “Let me get this straight, Marcos, you led ten unarmed men against twenty-seven armed hostiles and defeated them losing only one Marine in the process?” Jesse almost thought his Sergeant sounded impressed as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

“Yes, Sir, well, we did steal some of their weapons before we engaged, Sir.”

“I have to say, I’m impressed. We will have a ship to you to pick up your team and your prisoners and we will mark Zyrnn as inhabited so that we don’t ever bother those villagers again. Sit tight for three hours. Your assignment wound up being far tougher than anything we could have come up with and your actions were those of Coalition Special Forces Marines. You all pass, and Thomas will be given a hero’s funeral.”

“Thank you, Sir, he deserves it.” Jesse paused before asking his last question. “I do have one question, Sir.”

“I think you’ve earned the right to one question, make it a good one, son.”

“You keep referring to the group as my team, how did you know they had elected me to lead them?”

A deep laughter erupted from within the Sergeant. It almost frightened Jesse as he realized he had never heard Sergeant Kelly laugh before. “There was never any other choice, son.” The communication ended and they waited for the pickup.

Before they boarded the ship to leave, several dozen villagers came out to meet them. One of the young women that had been held hostage apprehensively came to greet Jesse’s team. She bowed low and then said, “We not speak you tongue good, we say thanks to you. Sorry one did not live.” She bowed again and prepared to leave.

“Thank you for your kind words,” Jesse began. “We are sorry these men hurt people in your village. They will never be back to bother you again.” He smiled and she returned his smile before walking back to her people. They all cheered as Jesse and his team boarded the ship sent to pick them up. The area had been cleared of all the technology the hunters had brought with them, and the villagers had asked to be given the dead creatures. They probably provided both food and warm clothing, and Sergeant Kelly had allowed it without reservation.

When they arrived back at Fort Buffalo, they were treated as conquering heroes. It turned out the men they had fought were wanted on nineteen Coalition planets. They were near the top of Earth’s most wanted list. Jesse was promoted to Sergeant and given his own team to lead. Jesse had earned the top spot in the Special Forces training class. He was told he could pick from among any of the fifty-three Marines that had completed the training. He picked the eight men that were with him on the frozen world and then added Natasha Blatski, the top communications specialist among the rest of the class to join them. The rest of the soldiers in the graduating class were given assignments with existing teams.]

As the thoughts of Zyrnn fled from his mind, Jesse decided he was not happy with his lack of sleep over the last couple days and he could only hope he was rested enough to face whatever enhancements Garrinoras would be sporting for the morning session. He wearily sat down on his bed and wondered if this would be the start of his final two days among the living. He silently berated himself for his doubt and quoted the mantra; adapt and overcome, over and over.

______

There’s nothing like a hot shower
. Jesse stood in the shower as the hot water hit his back and rolled down his body. He breathed deeply as steam filled the shower stall and he felt his confidence returning as the water seemingly washed the tiredness from his body. He exited the shower and sat alone in his room as he dressed for the match. No armor was to be worn for the first session of battle, so he dressed in his tan BDU’s with a navy blue battle suit tee shirt. The shirt provided minimal protection and could not be considered armor. He sat on his bed as he laced up his old Special Forces combat boots. He hadn’t worn them in a long time but they fit as comfortably as if he had put them on yesterday. He tightened his belt, which had a canteen of water attached to it. The canteen was the only object he was allowed to bring into the arena besides his gloves, and he would be checked as he entered. Garrinoras would also be checked as he entered by a delegation from Ginderbar. This was one of the compromises he had fought tooth and nail against, but Jesse just wouldn’t accept the challenge unless it was agreed to. This stipulation sent a clear message to the government of Chawanas that Jesse didn’t trust their ability to be objective in their treatment of Garrinoras. Not to mention, it put another ten soldiers on the ground for when it came time for them to escape. Jesse looked over his room and nothing was out of place. He smiled as the thought hit him,
at least one area of my life is in order
. His mind drifted to his crew and his friends and family in the Milky Way. He always knew something like this might happen, not a death match per se, but being killed on an alien world, far from his family and those he loved. He had some of the people he loved with him, and he was glad his family was not here because they might not make it out alive if they were. As much as he worried about Garrinoras cheating in the actual match, he worried even more about what was likely to take place when the match was done. Would his crew be able to get themselves to safety? As he stood to leave, he grabbed a long-sleeved camouflage shirt to wear over his tee shirt because he knew the temperature would be cooler outside.

He noticed a distinct lack of aroma as he sat down by himself to a small breakfast of a ration bar, a glass of water and an energy supplement. This particular supplement was designed to keep a soldier going for up to ten hours. He hated taking it, but he knew he needed it. He felt it might give him some of the stamina he had been missing since Pandara. He wasn’t sure he would ever be right again, but for today he needed any edge he could get. After he had left the bridge earlier, he had asked his crew to give him a wide berth until it was time to leave the ship. He needed to get himself into the right frame of mind. He knew that would be impossible with all of his crew and their Kalephi colleagues’ well wishes being sent his way the whole time. When the time came, they would all be waiting for him in the landing bay. He walked the gleaming white corridor of the ship to the empty common room and thought about home. He badly wanted to see Nina and Serge again. He wanted to hug his kid cousin, Ariel, and have one more beer with Manny and Jason. He wanted to shake President Sandoval’s hand, and see Admiral Bliney make it back from the outer territories. He knew
Endeavor
would be leaving the Kalephi Galaxy in six months, one way or another. He was going to make sure he was on board when it did.

As he walked the empty corridors alone towards the landing bay, his cool, collected outward appearance was at war with his inward feelings. He would make no public concession that there was even a possibility he would lose, in fact, the only concession he had made at all was a vid that stated if he didn’t make it back, everything he owned would be split evenly among his friends and family. No one but Josiah even knew about the vid, because he didn’t want to worry anyone that he might be having doubts. The reality was that he was having doubts. He didn’t doubt he could take Garrinoras in a fair fight. As he had told Josiah, he doubted his opponent would fight fair. He wasn’t one hundred percent and Garrinoras had what amounted to home field advantage. He knew Garrinoras would have people alerting him to his opponent’s whereabouts throughout the competition, and it wouldn’t surprise him if there were extra weapons hidden throughout the arena, but none of that mattered. He couldn’t change it if he tried. He just had to be ready for whatever his opponent had cooked up.
Adapt and overcome.

It was now time to go, and as nervous as he was, he was happy the wait was finally over. As he entered the landing bay, his crew of fifty awaited him. It was the largest crew that had ever been aboard
Endeavor,
and he actually knew less than half of them. He was, however, glad they were all here. Each one gave them a better chance to survive the aftermath of the match. He shook hands with all of Sergeant Rivada’s soldiers that would be staying on the ship as they wished him luck. He embraced Bessa. She was trying so hard not to, but she broke down and cried.

“Please be careful and come back to us,” she said softly while she held his embrace and hot tears streamed down her lovely face.

He kissed her forehead and replied. “You know I’ll do my best, and my best has always been good enough.” He smiled and shook hands with Collin as the Lieutenant moved to console Bessa. Finally, he moved to embrace Suzy, and he could see the worry in her eyes through the smile she tried to put on. He winked at her, causing her to smile a little more. He also greeted Enso and Teha before he left. He had elected to keep them on the ship in favor of two more of Rivada’s men, so that Captain Reed would have some friendly faces to comfort her when she arrived at the ship. The rest of his crew would be coming with him, along with the rest of Captain Reed’s crew, the Hyperian soldiers and nine of Rivada’s soldiers. He supposed it would make for a pretty imposing sight as the twenty-five men and women left ahead of him. They would also be bringing three of the big Ginderian hunting cats sergeant Rivada’s men had brought along. His entourage was to make sure everything was all right at the tunnel and at the stadium’s entrance before he approached. He followed behind them, flanked by Shadow and Commando.