Omega Force 7: Redemption (6 page)

"Was there something specific you wished to talk about?" Jason said, his nerves tingling.

"I know who you really are," Saditava said quietly with a smile. He quickly held his free hand up as Lucky turned towards him. "Wait! Let me explain before your guard does something rash."

"Go ahead," Jason said.

"I don't know you by name, of course, but I was there at The Vault the day you destroyed the facility and made off with Bondrass's storage ship," Saditava said quietly.

"I wouldn't exactly say we destroyed the place," Jason protested mildly, "and from what I understand it was more than just Bondrass's loot on that ship."

"True, but it was mostly his," Saditava insisted. "I also know those actions led to his death and the subsequent collapse of his considerable empire."

"I think we'd better move along to the point of this pretty quickly," Jason said, not sure he liked where this was heading.

"I was one of those who moved in to fill the void he left," Saditava said. "I've always wanted to meet you, to return the favor for what you gave me."

"I don't see the need for that," Jason shrugged. "It certainly wasn't my intent to make room for others by eliminating Bondrass."

"Yes, I have heard the rumors about you and your crew," Saditava said. "Your ship is still quite recognizable for the few that know the truth of what happened at The Vault. Which brings up an interesting question ... why are you here? If what I've learned of you is true, this isn't something you would normally partake in unless there was a target involved."

"It's not something I wish to discuss openly, obviously," Jason said. "But I'm not here for any of the spectators. In fact, it's a completely internal matter."

"I see," Saditava said. "Well, I will not keep you. Please keep my offer in mind. It was good to finally meet you."

"I'm not sure if this complicates or helps matters," Jason said to Lucky as Saditava walked back over to where his guard stood.

"How so?" Lucky asked.

"If he recognized me by sight there's a chance he was in the hangar when we escaped The Vault," Jason said. "If that's true, he might recognize Crusher too."

"There is nothing we can do to minimize that risk now," Lucky said. "We will continue with our plan until circumstances force us to change."

"Agreed."

****

The first three matches of the event showed it to be as brutal as Jason had feared. Prisoners were led out in chains, deposited in the cage, and basically told that the only way to get back out was to eliminate the other. The teaser matches with small, weak prisoners struggling to kill one another turned Jason's stomach. To make matter worse, for a small fee the spectators could have the fun of tossing a weapon to their favorite combatant.

The prisoners were led from a tunnel that was partially obscured by the stands so Jason couldn't see a clear way to sneak into where the combatants were being staged. Even if he could, he had no weapons, and even with Lucky's abilities a large group of Watchers with energy weapons would be a problem. As he was wracking his brain to think of a way to get to Crusher the answer presented itself as if a gift from Heaven.

"Since it was so popular last tournament, the winners of the main event pyramid matches will be available for auction after their respective fights," the announcer said as he strutted around the cage while crews cleaned up the blood (and the body) of the most recent loser. "Please inquire at the betting tables if you are interested. Now ... onto the night’s main event!"

"Holy shit!" Jason exclaimed, tuning the announcer out. "Could it actually be this easy?"

"Assuming Crusher is alive, featured in this event, and wins, we still have a significant problem," Lucky said. "I doubt that he will sell cheaply and we have no money left after buying our way in here."

"I know that, and you know that, but the Watchers have no idea how much money is left on the
Phoenix
," Jason said, struggling to keep his voice low as his excitement grew. "Either way, this is by far our best bet to get within proximity of Crusher and then try to make our way out from there."

"I am not disagreeing with your point," Lucky said. "I am just making sure you do not overlook the obvious pitfalls in your exuberance." Jason just made a face at him, but decided not to respond. He needed to keep up the appearance that he was only here for the bloodshed. There was also the fact that he was the only one in the room actually speaking to his "bodyguard."

They sat through eleven brutal, bloody fights before the stands began to get crowded and there was a buzz of excitement in the air. Jason, having been trying to ignore the barbarism on display in the cage in front of him, straightened up and watched as two struggling aliens were dragged into the cage. Both were restrained and both were still putting up a hell of a fight against the handlers.

"We have a special fight for you this evening to start the upper tier pyramid tournament," the announcer said, deftly avoiding the snarling aliens as they were secured to the far side of the cage. "Remember that this isn't part of the pyramid. If you wish to bet on this fight you must place a separate wager. Tonight you will see a spectacle not witnessed by many."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jason said as he looked at the two saurian aliens still trying to get at their handlers.

"As do I," Lucky agreed.

"Fighting as a tandem this evening are two brothers," the announcer went on, "Nyphen twins born from the same clutch. These two killed more than eighteen people during a weeklong reign of terror deep in the Concordian Cluster."

"What are nyphens?" Jason asked Lucky.

"Closely related to Korkarans," Lucky answered. "Stronger and far less intelligent; however, they are fearless and vicious."

"And to go head to head with these two beasts we have found a being rarely seen away from their home planet," the announcer said as a hulking biped was led into the cage with a bag over his head and shoulders. It didn't stop Jason from recognizing him instantly. "Banished from his homeworld for a long list of violent crimes, one of the legendary Galvetic warriors!" The bag was ripped off and Crusher stood there, arms bound behind his back, muzzled, and eyes blazing with an insane rage.

"This can't be happening," Jason whispered. Crusher looked like he'd lost a considerable amount of weight, and his body bore many fresh scars. The feral, nearly berserk look he wore told Jason all he needed to about how his friend had fared in Duat. "Can he win?"

"It will take all his skill and strength," Lucky said, considering the odds. "But I believe he has a chance of winning."

"It looks like they've starved him and beat the living shit out of him," Jason muttered. "He doesn't have all his strength."

"Then let us hope his skill will be enough," Lucky said, his eyes never leaving his friend. "It is possible for me to move to the other side of the cage and intervene if necessary. They would be well within my weapons range."

"And you'd be blasted by those cannons up above us," Jason said. "Even you would have a hard time walking away from that. I'd lose you both ... it's not worth the risk."

The pair looked on in horror as the announcer and all the handlers rushed out of the cage and the door swung shut and locked with a resounding
clang.
The crowd waited in near silence as one of the handlers pressed a button on a remote he carried and Crusher's restraints popped off and dropped. The warrior instantly reached up and ripped the muzzle from his face before leaning back and letting out a bellowing roar that echoed off the walls. The hairs on Jason's neck and arms stood at attention as the primordial part of his brain recoiled in fear from the sound. Crusher was enraged beyond reason and Jason could only imagine what his life had been like the last couple of months.

Another button was pressed and the restraints holding the nyphens to the cage wall popped off. One of the pair charged Crusher in a mindless rush, clawed hands out in front of him. Crusher balanced on the balls of his feet and waited, timing his strike perfectly. He knocked the nyphen's arms down with an overhand sweep with his left forearm while simultaneously bringing his right fist down in a savage strike on the alien's face.

The nyphen hissed loudly in pain and Jason could see that Crusher had smashed its left orbital socket, obliterating the eye in the process. As the crowd jumped on their feet and cheered, Crusher delivered a kick to the writhing alien's midsection that sent him tumbling backwards onto the floor before he squared off with the more cautious of the pair.

"This is a promising start," Jason said. "Maybe it'll be over quick."

"I do not think the Watchers will allow that," Lucky said and pointed to a pair of guards holding a variety of melee-style weapons. "If it looks like Crusher will win too easily I am sure their job is to handicap him somehow." Jason looked around quickly for the vendors that had been there during the previous fights where spectators could purchase weapons for the combatants. Apparently they had been removed from the floor for this special match.

The second nyphen kept circling in, moving closer to Crusher gradually. Jason couldn't understand the tactic until he remembered the pair were brothers. The second was trying to lure Crusher away from the injured first. Crusher seemed to realize this as well as he stood his ground by the first one, turning to face the second. After another couple seconds of this he backed up a step and kicked the first nyphen in the head, eliciting another hissing scream of pain.

It seemed to have the effect Crusher wanted as the second nyphen charged at his brother's scream of pain. The two met each other in the middle of the cage and there was a flurry of claws and snarls as they each tried for a quick kill. When they separated the nyphen could no longer stand on both legs, a major tendon having been severed near the ankle, and Crusher was holding his left arm in close to his side while blood flowed freely from several deep wounds.

"He's losing steam," Jason said with concern. Crusher looked winded and weak, a pale shade of the powerful warrior Jason was used to seeing.

"He has disabled both opponents," Lucky said. "Hopefully he can win a decisive victory."

Crusher came in fast again, sweeping the good leg out from under the second nyphen and landing on top of him, pinning both arms with his knees. The big warrior forced the chin of the lizard-like alien up and plunged his right into the side of its neck multiple times, his claws penetrating until on the fourth hit a fountain of blood erupted from the wound. What he didn't see, however, was the first nyphen roll slowly to his feet and stalk across the cage towards his turned back.

"Behind you!" Jason shouted over the crowd, stopping himself just before saying his name. Two things happened simultaneously that he hadn't intended. He saw Crusher stiffen up at the sound of his voice, freezing at a critical moment. The other thing was the crowd turning on him, hurling insults and threats for interfering with the match.

Ignoring the plethora of violent crime bosses threatening to disembowel him, Jason watched in horror as the remaining nyphen clamped down on Crusher's neck with its powerful jaws. The warrior howled in rage and pain as he fought to dislodge the nyphen, but the effort only caused the curved teeth to sink in further and strengthened the grip.

In an incredible display of sheer will, Crusher rose to his feet and, with the nyphen still hanging off his neck, dragged himself over to the side of the cage where the pair had been restrained. Before the armed Watchers could react, Crusher had pulled one of the sets of restraints off from around the bars and with his left hand whipped it over his head. Despite the fact the lizard was clamped down on the blood supply to his brain, Crusher was able to swing the manacles twice more until the heavy end hit the already demolished orbital socket with a wet
smack.

The result was instantaneous as the pain caused the nyphen to involuntarily cry out, opening its mouth in the process. It fell to the floor, clutching at its ruined face and hissing out in pain. Crusher somehow stayed on his feet, despite looking like he might go down at any moment, and walked up to stand over the nyphen, straddling its head. With as much strength as he could manage, Crusher repeatedly swung the heavy restraints into his opponent's head. Over and over until spectators were actually looking away and the meaty
smacks
of steel hitting the nyphen's head gave way to wet squishing sounds as its skull split open. Crusher didn't stop until three Watchers rushed in and hit him in the back of the head with a cudgel, dropping him instantly.

"We have to go," Jason said as Crusher's inert form was unceremoniously dumped onto a sled and the announcer tried to proclaim the results of the fight over the sounds of the crowd. Many people were still angry at Jason, mostly the ones who’d bet heavily on the nyphens, but one look at his battlesynth bodyguard kept their anger retrained to loud insults and not physical violence.

Jason led Lucky down to where the auction would take place for the victorious combatant. He'd hoped since Crusher looked to be near death that there wouldn't be many bidders. His hope turned out to be in vain as a crowd of about fifteen people were jostling their way up to the table.

"Shit," he muttered, elbowing a few people out of the way.

"Technically, the Galvetic warrior is still alive," the auctioneer said just as Jason found a spot close to the front. "We're selling him as is ... no medical treatment will be administered and no refunds if he dies before you can collect him."