Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match (13 page)

His crew watched as he slowly walked the hundred-meter path towards the stadium. It was the loneliest walk of his life. Commando could sense his unease and fixed him with a quizzical stare. He stopped almost five meters short of the contestant tunnel, looked around at the beautiful forest surrounding the stadium and called out to the Zinnebailans waiting for him. “Send Captain Reed out to me.”

They shook their heads no as the lead guard responded. “We have orders not to release the prisoner until you are on the arena floor. Come this way, human.” His matter-of-fact tone told Jesse it would be unwise to defy him, but Jesse just glared at him and defied him anyway.

“No, I don’t think I will.” He stood his ground; he was getting sick of having to fight for every last detail of what was already agreed upon. “I know that once I enter the arena, I can no longer leave under penalty of death. At that point, I have no guarantee that you will release Captain Reed. In fact, I’m certain you will not because I don’t trust you. I won’t enter the arena until Captain Reed is safely aboard my ship.”

The lead guard drew his blaster and repeated with some menace in his voice, “Come this way, human.” His partner had also drawn his blaster and the showdown had begun.

Commando began a low rumbling growl that clearly frightened the Zinnebailan guards and was soon joined by Shadow. The sight of the two giant snow wolves waiting for the order to strike while baring their teeth and growling was enough for the guards to take a step back. Jesse just looked at the guards blasters and laughed as his team all raised theirs. “You want to shoot me? Go ahead!” He laughed again. “But I don’t think Garrinoras, or the half million people in that giant stadium, will be very happy with you if you do. All I’m asking for is what we have already previously agreed upon. If you can’t do that, I can’t fight. Bring her out now or I walk away. I’m tired of your nonsense, what’s it gonna be?”

The lead guard still shook his head no, so Jesse continued. “Last chance, it’s all up to you. Do I see Captain Reed board my ship, or do I walk away? It’s your call.”

Jesse began to walk back towards his ship and the guards relented. He saw out of the corner of his eye two more guards bringing Captain Reed out. He turned back around to see them take off her restraints, and she began walking slowly towards him.

She looked haggard, tired and a little bit bloody, but she was still beautiful. She stopped when she was close enough to touch Jesse and said, “I can’t believe you would do this for me, after how I ended… things.”

“There’s more at stake here than just you and I,” He replied as he looked at her. “How are you feeling, did they treat you alright?”

“About as well as could be expected, I’ve been through worse.” Her eyes, however, told a different story. As she began to move, Jesse gently caught her arm, and she stopped to look at him again.

“I just have one question, was any of it real? I’ve never been good at reading women, so I have to know, was there ever a point that our relationship was real for you?”

She turned away, this was the part she had been dreading most out of the whole ordeal. “No,” she replied not meeting his eyes.

“Why then? What did I do to you to deserve that? I gave you my word from day one that I would help you. There was no reason you had to use me to get what you wanted. I was always going to do my best to get your cousin back. Then, as soon as we got Enso and the treasure, you took your share and you were gone. You didn’t even say goodbye.” The hurt was rolling off him in near visible waves. She had so desperately hoped to never see him again, because she knew she had not treated him fairly, but here he was, getting ready to put his life on the line and he needed answers.

Either Jesse and Cassie were unaware that they were being recorded for all to see, or they didn’t care, but the crowded stadium was transfixed on this drama that was unfolding before their eyes. The lead guard was given instructions not to interfere in the conversation because the added drama was pushing up ratings even further.

“I’ll tell you what happened, I at least owe you that much.” She continued while still looking at the ground. “I did everything I could to get you to fall for me because I needed to be sure you would stay interested in helping me get my cousin and my ship back. I have never been good at trusting people. I have always felt that other people just wanted to take advantage of me. Because of that, I developed the philosophy of taking advantage of others before they have the opportunity to take advantage of me. I know it’s not the best way to live, but it was always how I had gotten through life. Enso is the only family I have left and I couldn’t lose him. It’s always been easy for me to get guys to fall for me, so I did it to you. I didn’t believe you would follow through otherwise. As soon as I got what I wanted, I left. I know it was a terrible thing to do, but I did what I had to do for my family. I am sorry I hurt you.” She replied with tear-filled eyes.

“You never really knew me at all; did you?”

Cassie slowly answered as the galaxy watched, transfixed on the drama unfolding before them. “I guess I never did, and I’m sorry for that as well. You have always kept your word, and I had no reason to doubt you would continue. Thank you for coming for me. I honestly didn’t think you would.”

Jesse smiled a little as he looked up, “I almost didn’t; you can thank my crew, Captain.”

With that, he turned and began slowly walking towards the stadium as she hurried towards
Endeavor
. It had stung that he had not called her by name, she had gotten used to the way he called her Cassie, but what did she expect, she had used him and he was still hurting. When she reached
Endeavor
, Suzy came out to scan her. She did a through scan with the portable, and then gave Jesse the thumbs up. Then, she took Cassie into the ship. Jesse looked at the lead guard and said, “Let’s go.”

The guard just looked at him, shock evident on his green face and said, “That woman betrayed you, and yet, you are still willing to give up your life to help her, why?”

He looked at the guard and replied, “I guess there are three reasons. First, where I come from we don’t leave our people behind. She was a member of my crew, so she doesn’t get left behind. Not if I can help her. The second reason is that I have no desire to see the Lawless Sector descend into chaos, which is what might have happened if Kaldor and Ginderbar mounted an armed rescue. Billions of innocents would suffer if that happened; innocent Zinnebailans, Mannagore, Humans, Farannsian and many others. If we can avoid all of that suffering by only putting two lives on the line, than that is a noble undertaking.”

The guard looked really confused as he asked; “Why would you care about what happens to Zinnebailans or Mannagore or any other sentient species besides humans?”

“Because, I don’t have any ill will towards anyone, and it is my deepest wish that eventually all of the hate will stop. I wish these worlds could all live in peace with one another.”

Jesse continued into the tunnel and the guard stopped him. “Wait, what is the third reason?”

Jesse smiled as he turned around and said, “I really don’t like Garrinoras, and killing him seems like a good idea.” He turned and stepped into the arena, past the point of no return.

The guard just looked at him, thinking about the conversation they had just had. It was the first conversation he had ever had with a human, and it troubled him to think that there were some humans that didn’t hate him, because that was what he had always been taught to believe.

As Jesse entered the arena, Garrinoras smiled and pressed a button. He knew his signal wouldn’t penetrate
Endeavor’s
jamming field, but as soon as the field was turned off, Captain Reed would be dead. The device also contained a backup on a timer that should begin starting its countdown any moment now. She was dead either way; she just didn’t know it yet. He had put explosives in her head that would be impossible to get out without killing her. She should be dead about an hour before the end of the day’s fighting. Then Jesse Marcos would take his tired and battered body back to his ship only to find out his death would be for nothing. The despair he would feel would be almost good enough to taste. He smiled again, and then strode purposefully into the arena to rid himself, once and for all, of Colonel Jesse Marcos.

______

Mayor Valinor had some potentially devastating news, and he needed to contact Chief of State Enosal to let him know immediately. It seemed to him that their enemies were intent on starting a war no matter what precautions were taken to avoid it. As he sat in his office, waiting for his transmission to be put through to his new ally, he couldn’t help but think about Colonel Marcos putting his life on the line to avoid this very problem. He prayed it wasn’t for nothing.

The Chief of State of Ginderbar appeared on the transmission with a wary smile, “Mayor Valinor, I am told you have some urgent news to discuss.”

“Yes, my friend, unfortunately I do bring bad tidings. A fleet of over a hundred ships was seen leaving Zinnebulous for Ginderbar. Another fleet of over a hundred ships was spotted one system away from Chawanas. That’s bad news for several reasons.”

Enosal looked distressed as he said, “We’ll still have them outnumbered by close to fifty ships at Chawanas, but I cannot send anymore ships without compromising our security, especially if one hundred ships are poised to attack here. If that happens, we’re all in it for the long haul. Thankfully, Negowinz, Julan, Valagan, and Zelanott have all agreed to join our alliance. The Rizniaz of Negowinz are almost as hated on Zinnebulous as humans are. They are eager to see the Zinnebailans taken down a notch or two. That gives us eight powerful worlds in our alliance and four species. Four more worlds with smaller militaries and fewer resources have also been added to our alliance, bringing us up to twelve worlds as your Chairman has probably told you. But none of that matters if Chawanas has joined with Zinnebulous. With the Xenul, Mannagore, Salvarians, Banijard and Jar-Kargen, that gives them seven species controlling fifteen worlds. The Farannsians control two fairly powerful worlds, which are strategically placed. We really needed the Farannsians on our side. If Chawanas has sided with Zinnebulous, then we really need a miracle to keep this from being a long war.” The weight of responsibility felt heavy in his chest and for the first time he thought he might have been better off without the Sword of Targon. He might be responsible for leading a newly united Ginderbar into all-out war.

“My friend,” the Mayor began. “Let us not jump to conclusions. We don’t know that Chawanas has joined Zinnebulous yet. Either way, the Lawless Sector is in for a large-scale conflict the likes of which it has never seen, if we cannot figure out a way to diffuse this situation. I have been given intel that suggests if Garrinoras dies, the alliance against us falls apart.”

“Another reason for us to hope that Colonel Marcos prevails in his match then. In the meantime, we need to contact all of our allies and make sure their militaries are put on high alert. They must be ready to move to Chawanas or Ginderbar should the need arise.”

“I shall get on it right away. We will talk more later.” as the transmission winked out, Enosal sat back and hoped he wouldn’t have to fight an all out war.
Ginderbar has only just been united and I really wanted to continue strengthening Ginderbar and the alliance. War will be a destructive detour to my plans for a better sector. I have no desire to see Colonel Marcos put his life on the line only to have to go to war anyway. Why can’t Garrinoras just die already?
He contemplated all of these things and more as he waited for more intelligence that would let him know what was really going on over Chawanas and Ginderbar.

______

Cassie boarded
Endeavor
to warm smiles and big greetings from her Cousin and Teha. She didn’t know any of the mercenaries, although they were very warm and polite to her. Collin was cordial but she could tell he was still upset with her for how she left Jesse. Collin’s girlfriend also looked at her apprehensively. She was tired and malnourished and her conversation with Jesse had taken a lot out of her. Suzy immediately took her to med-bay to give her a more thorough evaluation and make sure Garrinoras didn’t leave her any nasty surprises. She didn’t think he had, but a second look wouldn’t hurt. She also wanted to get some clean clothes on her and tend to her bruises and lacerations. She marveled at her patient. Even covered in dirt and bruises, she was still strikingly beautiful. It was easy to see why Jesse had fallen for her, what man wouldn’t?

On their way to med-bay, she put her arm around Cassie and smiled. “Let’s get you all taken care of, and then get you something to eat.”

“You don’t have to be nice to me, Suzy. I know you’re all mad at me.” Cassie frowned as she knew she would be experiencing the consequences of her poor treatment of Jesse four months earlier.

Suzy stopped and looked hurt as she addressed Cassie. “Some of us may be disappointed in how you left things with Jesse, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still care about you.”