Ancient Terra 200 B.C.
Two Gladiators stood firm and strong, their armor and hands stained by the blood of others, yet still shining radiantly in the hot sunlight. They were sucking the air greedily from inside their helmets, and every time they drew a breath, it sounded as if there were beasts behind their blood stained masks. They stood amidst the bodies of the fallen, their mangled and broken bodies strewn in various ways across the arena. They were the last, they were the survivors, and they patiently awaited the verdict of their audience. At length the Emperor stood and they bowed. Then he spoke in a voice that thundered through the stadium for all to hear, he had chosen the winner.
"Rise gallant warriors, for thou has played the game fairly,
Rise o mighty warriors, for my decision now is made rarely."
"I have heard your battle cry, I have seen you slay,
I have seen your bloodstained swords, and I won't forget this day."
"The game today where the Victor cannot be justly decided,
So I call for a final duel, so the winner shall be sighted."
The Emperor sat down and the two Gladiators rose once again. They turned each other, and the Emperor said:
"Let the Games Begin!"
Joe Rolles Bar,
Silesias, Solaris IV
Three men stood at a table in the local bar. One was a middle-aged man, with a seemingly gentle appearance, yet he spoke to the two others in a harsh and gruff voice.
"You can't seriously be thinking of starting in the season." He said, "Yes you know how to pilot a mech but that's nothing boys, they're murderous out there, there's no way you rookies can even think about starting without-"
One of the younger men interrupted him. He had dirty blonde hair that ran to his shoulders and a short cut goatee, "Without some good training and practice." He said.
"Listen Chuck, we were mercs for five god damned years. Don't call us inexperienced rookies. Take a look at our mechs, we worked our damn asses off to earn them."
The older man rolled his eyes, "I understand that. I understand that you were good mercs." He grinned, "I was a pretty good man myself, but in many cases, the Arena is worse than the battlefield."
"It doesn't matter what mechs you've got, that just explains what a rich prick you are. What matters is your skill…your skill to pilot, your will to dominate, your acceptance to lose… There's a lot more on the line than just your life you know. "
"The third man looked up, he was handsome, brown haired, and spoke with a clear English accent. "Yes, yes Chuck we got all those. Were ready in every way possible. But what else is on the line other than your life? When you're in your mech and your fighting the enemy, that's the only thing that matters. Yeah the money doesn't hurt, but when your-"
"On the battle field…" Chuck finished for him. "That's just the thing about you rookies, you don't realize just what you're getting into."
"You wanna know what's at risk? Honor, pride, money, respect, skill…they are all invaluable assets to the pilot and are just as easy to lose as they are to gain."
"Honor…I've seen it play right before my eyes, when you lose that, there's nothing left. I've seen those Kuritan boys commit suicide because they failed. They say they've got no honor left to carry them on."
"Pride, one of the most important elements in a warriors soul." He looked at the first man and added, "It doesn't help if you have the ego as big as a Dyson's Sphere."
The first man shot him an indignant look but didn't interrupt.
"You get pride and joy by winning. If you lose it, it's easily replaced with depression."
"If you lose a game, you also lose respect. There's the crowd and your fans. You lose a match, they lose their bids and thus you also lose their respect. And it goes beyond the walls of the arena too."
The third man practically blew up, "Oy! What in the bloody hell are you doing? Don't discourage us! We told you we're prepared for the consequences, what more do you want old man?"
Old Chuck didn't respond, instead just took a long pull from his ale. At length he finally said, "Alex, I'm not discouraging you. I'm just warning you about what might happen. Take it from me…" his voice trailed off as he said so.
Alex thrust himself back in his seat, feeling guilty for speaking to his dear friend like that. "I'm sorry Chuck, but we've only received flak from everyone we've told. I thought you might understand…I mean, we're more than qualified aren't we?"
"Oh I know your qualified…but heed my warning." He leaned closer to them.
"Your opposition will be strong and fierce, they will not give up, and they will be relentless. They will do whatever it takes to win…whatever it takes, no matter the cost."
"And so we will do the same." The first man replied. "Have faith in us chuck, we'll win."
Chuck grinned, "You are young, ambitious, and downright stupid Kyle, yet I will always have faith in you."
The three men stood up and made to leave the table.
"Remember, if you ever need me or need some help, you know where to find me." Chuck said
They walked out of the bar and stood in the cold night. Chuck raised his hand for a cab.
As it pulled to a stop he opened the door to get in but paused half way. He turned his head to them and said, "Always remember what I've taught you two, and good luck to the both of you…you're going to need it."
Alex nodded, "Thanks for all that you've done for us old man, and good journey yourself."
Chuck nodded solemnly and stepped into the cab. The two men stared after it for a while as it sped off, and finally turned and headed down the street.
Gah…short again….Ok people, I wrote this on a different computer with Word 2000 so I don't know if it will turn out right. And um…stupid Gladiator thing at the top…I really wasn't awake when I did that. Definite grammatical errors but they are mostly in the way the characters talk. There won't be any mech fighting for a while, so bear with me a bit. But the chapters will be short until then. This is a new installment to my mech works I guess (though I cant say I've written an archive) and I hope for this to keep running. Also I'm working on two other stories and I recently broke my ankle so things are going to come along pretty slow. Ah well. -.-
Shank
Lead…tastes great, less filling.