NOVEL NEXT Book 2. Chapter 63. One in the Pink.
The outskirts of the arena's combat zone were made of what looked like an urban battleground. Buildings stood half destroyed, vehicles sat smoldering and burned out, and what seemed to be roads and alleyways were all broken and destroyed. This urban environment fully encircled a wooded area in the center third of the arena. Large trees resembling massive pines dotted the landscape before giving way to a fully open grassland with a large stone temple-like structure in the very middle of the arena. Elvis exploded into the massive arena's urban zone. The air around him was turned to plasma as he ran screaming like a banshee toward his first victims, a squad of five Council security guards who had taken a defensive position behind a pile of rubble that formed when a dilapidated building had collapsed. The guards were laying down suppressive plasma fire and shouting amongst themselves as Elvis dashed toward them with a maniacal laugh. Jumping 20 feet into the air, he landed on one of the guards as the other four were thrown several feet back, landing hard on the ground.
Elvis raised a burning fist into the air and punched down into the chest of the guard he was standing on. "TAG! You're dead!" He roared as he pulled his gore-covered fist back, lifting the guard's dead body with it. Elvis looked inquisitively at the body and began shaking his arm, trying to dislodge it from the corpse. After several shakes, the body slid off with a sickening slurping noise as the four remaining guards looked on in horror. Elvis spun with a chuckle, waiting for his next opportunity to strike.
"Let us do the measuring of the dicks, you Council scum!" Elvis slammed his fists together, causing sparks and superheated plasma to shoot out in all directions. One of the guards yelped as a globule of plasma landed on his leg, causing Elvis to turn the entirety of his wrath in his direction. The guard was slapping at the superheated plasma and jumping around as he tried to prevent his pants from catching fire; the lapse in focus would be his last.
Elvis dashed toward the flustered guard with blinding speed and, with a single uppercut, removed his head from his body. "Two down," Elvis growled before spinning on the other three guards, who were now regrouping and training their weapons on Elvis.
Elvis stood erect and took a deep, satisfied breath, "This is good day, very good day!"
The guards opened fire. Plasma rounds zipped through the air, the green glow of each round illuminating the area around the group. The guards fired without pause for what seemed like an eternity, but truly only amounted to about 15 seconds before stopping and inspecting the area to confirm their kill.
A cloud of dust suddenly billowed up from the spot Elvis was standing in. After expending their available ammunition, the guards watched warily, waiting for the dust cloud to settle, the barrels of their plasma rifles glowing orange from the extended duration of automatic fire.
"Did we get him?" One of the guards asked.
"I think you missed," Elvis said from behind the group before roaring again and pouncing on the three remaining guards. Five seconds later, it was over. Elvis stood over the pile of corpses and beat his fist on his chest, shouting into the darkness of the arena. "Elvis has biggest Dick! Elvis will kill you all! Death is my ally, and we both hunger for more!"
"OH MY GOODNESS!" The arena announcer shouted. "It seems that it will take more than groups of five to deal with this demon of fire and blood! The Council Security force has a real fight on their hands today, folks, a real fight indeed. And that was before Elvis got his first loot crate! You all know the rules: The Arena awards the violent. Looks like Elvis may be getting a little help!"
Elvis stood panting as a long electronic beep rang through the arena, followed by a voice that sounded oddly similar to the voice you would hear in the Halo video games.
"FIRST BLOOD!" the voice said exaggeratedly, and began listing other achievements. "KILLTACULAR" referring to Elvis getting five consecutive kills, "ONE IN THE PINK," I assumed this was referring to Elvis getting his hand stuck in the torso of his first victim. "HEADHUNTER," referring to Elvis literally knocking one of the guards' heads off. Elvis looked up, spinning like a crazed animal as the voice made its announcements before a large chest materialized directly in front of him.
I watched from the suite, shaking my head in disgust. While I was a big fan of Halo in my younger days and couldn't help but appreciate the addition of killstreak rewards, I couldn't help but wonder why the arena was basically ripping off a game from my teenage years.
"It seems familiar, yes?" A soft voice asked from behind me.
Surprised, I spun to see a beautiful Boutelerien woman standing behind me. She was my height with long flowing blonde hair, fair skin, and burning amber eyes. I cocked my head in confusion. "Yeah…how did you know?"
"The Council has detailed records of your planet, and even more detailed records of the most wanted man in the galaxy, Captain Dawes."
"Well, I guess I am kind of a big deal," I shrugged. "I identified the woman, but got nothing in response, just question marks where her species and level should have been.
"I am afraid that will not work on me," The woman gestured to a spot near the viewing window. "We should get closer to the viewing window. We wouldn't want to miss any of the action, after all."
I nodded warily, "Who are you?"
"I am someone whose attention you don't want, Captain Dawes. Unfortunately, you have a large portion of that attention now, and have for some time."
"Well, I feel like a special boy now."
The woman stopped at the viewing glass and clasped her hands behind her back. "I was warned of your irreverance. It is to be expected from an uninitiated species, I fear." The woman stared intensely at the action below as Elvis continued his rampage and achievements continued to be announced.
"Captain Dawes. I fear that meeting me is an unfortunate turn of events for you, after all, only a select few meet a Galactic Monarch and live to tell the tale."
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"My family has painstakingly guarded this secret since the Council was formed millennia ago. These people," she waved her hand toward the throngs of people in the arena's stands. "They need to have a sense of purpose. They need to believe they can have an impact. So, in our own way, we let them."
"Woooow," I shook my head and chuckled. "This place just gets more and more fucked up."
"BABY POOPED HIS DIAPEY!" another achievement rang out as apparently Elvis had caused one of the guards to soil himself before finishing him off.
"Well, the thing is, I don't really care either way," I shrugged. "An elected Council, a monarch, a species trying to claw its way back from a prison dimension. None of that matters to me."
"What does matter, Captain Dawes? If I might be so bold as to ask."
"What is your name?" I asked, ignoring her question.
She turned her head to look at me, seemingly surprised at the question. "I would normally not allow a member of the uninitiated caste to speak to me, much less bless them with my name," She sighed and turned back to the viewing glass. "I believe we are far past the pretense of social norms at this point, however. My Name is Calista Dantaris. I am the sole heir of the Galactic Monarch, Solaris Dantaris," She turned her gaze in my direction. "You may call me Calista."
I held a hand in her direction, "Calista, I'm Andrew. Sorry, we had to meet under these circumstances."
Calista raised her eyebrows. "You are sorry? I don't believe that you understand the weight of your current circumstances, Captain. Let me explain in detail."
"Ugh, I am kind of busy," I said flippantly. "Not sure if you noticed, but that is my friend down there cutting through your guards like a hot knife through butter." I turned back toward the viewing panel. "I'm honestly impressed. I mean, I knew Elvis was a monster, but you guys went and gave him the thing he has been craving since he first got his body. He lives to fight, loves a challenge, and more than anything, he just wants to get stronger so he can fight stronger people. You dummies went and locked him in a fighting pit for weeks, for what? To punish him? To torture him? All you did was take a dull knife and sharpen it to a fine edge. Elvis is gonna kill every living thing in that arena. Then I am going to kill Jax, and we are gonna leave this godforsaken place."
Calista sighed. "Captain Dawes, I am afraid you are mistaken. You walked into this place willingly with some misplaced notion of being the hero? I am afraid there are no heroes to be found in this place today. The squad of mercenaries you have been working with should be making their way to the Council suite as we speak," Calista turned and stepped toward me menacingly, like a predator cornering its prey. "They will be apprehended, with appropriate force. They will then be imprisoned and tortured, and you should understand that you are the cause. Your crew is being held in a Council containment vessel in orbit. You will not be leaving here with them, win or lose. No, I am afraid that the series of events that are about to unfold will not be in your favor, much the opposite in fact. When this day is done, you will likely be dead or severely injured and imprisoned, awaiting your death sentence in a Council prison. Your crew will be held in a separate facility where they will be interrogated, tortured, and finally put to death. The mercenary squad that you have been working with on Boutelerien will suffer the same fate, albeit over a much longer period of time. We want to make examples of them after all. It is one thing for a crew of misfits and outcasts to rebel against the Council; it is another thing entirely for Boutlerien citizens to rise up. Examples must be made. Finally, you will be defeated in that arena today. I have asked that your life be spared so that we may hold a public execution, but Karis informed me that his little science project down there isn't exactly…stable. It's a pity, really, but I fear I can't expect my plan to come to fruition perfectly with so many variables in play."
I turned and stared directly into Calista's hateful amber eyes. "You are used to getting your way, aren't you?"
"Call it a perk of my station. Some are born into power and glory. Expectations are built over time. There is a hierarchy of power in this galaxy, Captain Dawes, and while you have successfully disrupted the optics of that hierarchy for the past three years, I fear you have done little to disrupt the actual balance of power." She smirked like a spoiled child. "The strong get stronger. The weak live to serve. Your people are weak; they will serve or they will die."
I turned back to the viewing panel. "I'm glad we got the chance to meet face to face, Calista."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. See, I didn't know who was pulling the strings before today. I, like most everyone else, assumed the Council was just corrupt and full of elitist pricks. Now I know who to come after when this is over," I sighed and turned to Calista with a smile. "You are going to be fun. I'm not gonna kill you, though. No, that would be too easy, too fast. No, I am gonna kill your father, then I am going to take you and drop you on one of the most secluded planets I can find. You are going to live among the so-called 'little people'. I will let them decide how long and what kind of life you have when all this is done. You had better hope they don't share your views."
"Ha! How exciting!" Calista clapped mockingly. "I was told that you had a certain…bravado. You do not disappoint, Captain Dawes. In another life, I may have taken you as a pleasure slave," She reached out and gently ran a finger down my chest, toward my stomach. "Your energy is absolutely delicious!" She withdrew her hand quickly and cleared her throat. "Unfortunately, you have caused too much damage. I can't very well have a human of all things out there murdering members of the Council and threatening to expose the monarchy. No, I am afraid you die," She turned to leave the suite before calling over her shoulder, "It would have been fun though, Andrew. It would have been so much fun."