THE ALL-PRO
Authors: Scott Sigler
ALL-PRO
Galactic Football League: Book Three
THE ALL-PRO
September 2011
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2011 by Scott Sigler
www.scottsigler.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier printing as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sigler, Scott
The All-Pro / Scott Sigler. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Science Fiction—Fiction. 2. Sports—Fiction.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011904462
ISBN: 978-0-983-19634-1
Book design by Donna Mugavero, Sheer Brick Studio
Published in the United States of America
by Dark Øverlord Media
Limited Edition
This book is dedicated to
Terry Bradshaw,
my first football hero.
This book is dedicated to
the Orange and the Black —
the greatest fans in the galaxy.
1. Transcript from the “Galaxy’s Greatest Sports Show with Dan, Akbar, and Tarat the Smasher”
7. Preseason Week One: January 1 – 7, 2684
8. Preseason Week Two: January 8 – 14, 2684
9. Preseason Week Three: January 15 – 21, 2684
10. Preseason Week Four: January 22 – 26, 2684
Book Three: The Regular Season
11. Week One: Isis Ice Storm at Ionath Krakens
12. Week Two: Ionath Krakens at Yall Criminals
13. Week Three: Coranadillana Cloud Killers at Ionath Krakens
14. Week Four: Ionath Krakens at Hittoni Hullwalkers
15. Week Five: Alimum Armada at Ionath Krakens
16. Week Six: Ionath Krakens at 0S1 Orbiting Death
17. Week Seven: Lu Juggernauts at Ionath Krakens
19. Week Nine: Ionath Krakens at Wabash Wolfpack
20. Week Ten: To Pirates at Ionath Krakens
21. Week Eleven: D’kow War Dogs at Ionath Krakens
22. Week Twelve: Ionath Krakens at Themala Dreadnaughts
23. Week Thirteen: Ionath Krakens at Vik Vanguard
Gridiron greats, who line up to play every damn Sunday:
A “Future Hall-of-Famer” Kovacs
publisher, ally, warrior to the core
Donna “Chalkboard” Mugavero
interior book design
Scott “Big Fish” Pond
color insert design
John “The Franchise” Vizcarra
continuity coach
Jerry “SI Coverboy” Scullion
jacket design
Rob “Moo” Otto
football analyst
Irv “Coach” SiglerSpecial Thanks
playbook consultant
Team Dark Øverlord:
Arioch Morningstar
audio production
Carmen Wellman
Siglerpedia Czar
Also by
Scott Sigler
Infected
Contagious
Ancestor
Books in the Galactic Football League series
The Rookie
The Starter
The All-Pro
Short Story Collections
Blood is Red
Bones are White
All of these books are also available at
scottsigler.com
Oh, hello there. I didn’t see you hanging around, waiting patiently for this book. That’s a lie. Of course I saw you, you stalker.
A brief timeline note for THE ALL-PRO. If you read THE STARTER, an article at the end of that novel reported the results of the 2683 Tier Two Tournament. The Orbiting Death won the T2 Tourney, beating the Texas Earthlings in the championship game. That earned both teams promotion to Tier One, where you will see them play in this book.
As THE ALL-PRO opens, however, the T2 Tournament has not yet happened. That article about the Orbiting Death’s tourney win? That was a
flash forward
, a little sneak peek to set up a primary rivalry for the Ionath Krakens.
In the pages you are about to read, our story begins with Quentin scouting for players at the Tier Three Tournament, also known as the “Two Weeks of Hell.” This tournament happens three months after the 2683 Tier One season that you read about in THE STARTER and right before the beginning of the Tier Two season.
Am I confusing the bejezus out of you? Here, this might help:
THE STARTER:
Tier One Season: Jan. 2, 2683, to May 22, 2683
THE ALL-PRO: (off-season for Quentin & Co.)
Tier Three Tournament: Aug. 14, 2683, to Aug. 28, 2683
Tier Two Regular Season: Aug. 28, 2683, to Dec. 25, 2683
THE ALL-PRO: (in-season for Quentin & Co.)
Tier One Preseason: Jan. 1, 2684, to Jan. 22, 2684
Tier One Regular Season: Jan. 27, 2684, to April 20, 2684
Tier One Postseason: April 27, 2684, to May 11, 2684
I hope that clears things up. Now, enjoy the book, drop and give me twenty and
run the plays that I call!
T
HE
O
FF
-S
EASON
April 23, 2683, to
December 31, 2683
1
Transcript from the “Galaxy’s Greatest Sports Show with Dan, Akbar, and Tarat the Smasher”
DAN:
Hello again, sports fans. I am the semi-mystical being known as Dan
the Man
Gianni, once again bringing you the most stunning show the universe has witnessed since the Big Bang. With me as always, Hall-of-Fame linebacker Tarat the Smasher and my lil’ buddy, Akbar Smith.
TARAT:
Thank you, Dan.
AKBAR:
Lil’ buddy
? Are you kidding?
DAN:
No need to thank me, Akbar. Everyone in broadcasting needs a great nickname.
AKBAR:
And your great nickname is
Dan the Man
? That’s the best you got?
TARAT:
Well, we can’t all have names like
Smasher
, lil’ buddy.
DAN:
Hey! Was that humor out of Tarat? Fantastic.
AKBAR:
Tarat, how many times do I have to tell you to not encourage him?
TARAT:
But I thought it was good to offer Humans encouragement.
DAN:
Never mind him, Tarat. Let’s get into the news. The Tier Three Tournament is underway. We’re through the first round of the famed
Two Weeks of Hell
.
TARAT:
My money is on the Achnad Archangels.
AKBAR:
I’m going with the Kull Conquerors.
DAN:
You’re both wrong, wrong and ... oh wait ... I have a memo here ... yes, it says
wrong
! The Pittsburgh Steelers are the cream of the Tier Three crop this year and they’ll bring the Homestead Cup back to Earth for the first time in a decade.
AKBAR:
The Steelers? You’re crazy. And what the hell is a
steeler,
anyway?
TARAT:
A stealer is someone who practices theft, Akbar. And Dan, with a statement like that, I have to question the validity of your decision-making process.
DAN:
Both of you, shush it. We’re not going to dwell on Tier Three, because the real story is free agency for the upcoming 2684 Tier One season. You guys know how this works. Tier One finishes, which takes us to the Two Weeks of Hell for Tier Three and when
that
finishes we have the Tier Two season. With Tier One season finished and the Wabash Wolfpack crowned champs, we immediately jump into the free agency window. Teams can sign any player who is not under contract.
AKBAR:
Sure, but we won’t see any big signings for another few weeks, Dan. Players have to feel things out.
DAN:
Wrong, fish-breath! This just in. The Galaxy’s Greatest Sports Show is the first with the story — Rick Renaud, formerly with the New Rodina Astronauts and the top freeagent quarterback in all of football, just signed with the Yall Criminals.
TARAT:
The Criminals got Renaud? That is a big move.
AKBAR:
That instantly makes them contenders again. Last year, they were six-and-six, but in ’82, they were eleven-and-one and favored to win it all before they lost to the To Pirates in the semi-finals.
TARAT:
They only lost that game because quarterback Morite Whittmore was hurt in the second quarter. The Criminals were ahead when that happened.
DAN:
Well, we’ll see what the Yall Criminals can do now that they have their man. Renaud’s deal is eighteen megacredits a season for six seasons, one hundred eight megacredits total, forty-eight of those guaranteed. That’s forty-eight
million
credits, guaranteed, even if he doesn’t play a down for the Criminals. That makes him the highest-paid player in the history of the GFL. We know the rules committee is looking into a salary cap for 2686, which means the 2685 season could be the last year where a team can pay whatever it wants to land a player. With Renaud defining what a quarterback can make, what does that mean for free-agent quarterbacks at the
end
of the 2684 season, heading into 2685, which might well be the last year of monster contracts?
AKBAR:
And by
free-agent quarterbacks next year
, you’re referring to Quentin Barnes?
DAN:
Who else? His contract with the Krakens is up after the 2684 season. There will be no other major QBs on the market. Sure, Frank Zimmer is available, but even if the To Pirates don’t re-sign him—
TARAT:
Which won’t happen unless the Pirates want bloody riots all across the Ki Empire.
AKBAR:
Try across the whole damn
galaxy
.