The Great Nebari Swindle: Part II
"Gray Girl Rising"
By Chant99
Berret crossed his arms across his armored chest and let his frown deepen.
"I do not like this," he announced.
Besides him, Rygel stopped cheering for the moment.
"You never like anything fun, so what else is different?" the Hynerian asked.
"I like this even less than the last slave scheme the two of you came up with," the Shrike added.
Rygel scowled back up at him. "Deal with it! I'm sick of listening to you complain," the smaller being said from his Hoverthrone. He then turned back to look at the spectacle before him and started to cheer again.
The Shrike debated signaling his displeasure to the displaced Dominar by a quick stinging blow to the back of his head, but concluded that such would be a waste of this his time and effort… at least for the moment.
He turned back to watch what Rygel was watching.
They were in the front row of a crowed arena, just in front of a ring that was mostly surrounded by loose netting. Inside the ring, two female contenders fought in what was supposed to be a match, limited by rules to only specified techniques involving simple punches, kicks, and grappling.
However to the ex-Enforcer, the rules seemed to be enforced rather loosely… or not at all, much to the crowd's delight.
"This is not a wise idea," he said again despite himself.
"Shut up," barked the Hynerian ruler, "Can't you see… OH YOTZ! Now look what you did, nik-nik! I missed the end of the bout. Trat! The impressive female I wagered on lost!" he add in a tone tinted with disbelief.
"Of course she did," Berret replied. "Her stance was faulty for most of the match, and her defenses were weak on her left side. It was only a matter of time before her opponent surmised her faults and she was defeated. I realized that within the first ten microts of the first round."
"You saw that and you didn't tell me?" Rygel cried.
"You did not ask."
The Dominar groaned. "You farble-head! I could have adjusted my wager during the fight and at least made a few credits. Can you do that again?" he asked.
"Probably."
"Good!" Rygel said with new brightness. "Then you'll give me tips on the next few fights and I'll make my money back."
"No," Berret told him.
"No? Why the frell not, you backstabbing son of a Jaelmoonian tralk?" Rygel nearly bellowed.
The Shrike tilted his head as if to say the reason should be more than obvious with that last comment on Rygel's part.
"C'Araller's eema… have it your way then," the Hynerian grumbled. "I was going to split my winnings with you too."
Berret re-shifted his folded arms slightly and raised one disbelieving eyebrow.
"You never intended to share anything," the ex-assassin said bluntly. "Just be content that our seating was moved to the front because the promoters believe we are on Syndicate business."
Rygel snorted. "At least you and that tin suit of yours did some good."
Berret frowned again, and then decided there was no point in matching wits with the Hynerian. He knew he would accomplish more by simply banging his head against one of Moya's bulkheads.
The announcer attracted his attention as he announced the next pair of fighters that were now entering the ring. One was a local favorite, judging by the positive applause of the spectators.
The other was Chiana.
The crowd gave the Nebari girl more boos than her opponent, but that was to be expected as the challenger. The gray girl smiled out at the throng anyway, and gave them a cheery wave. Their crewmate went to her corner, where she unbelted the tan robe she was wearing and let it slide to the ring mat.
Underneath, Chiana was wearing tight fitting fighting leathers, the same tan color as her robe. The crowd's boos turned to whistles of appreciation from most of the males in the audience… and a few of the females. The garb left her arms, shoulders and mid-riff exposed, and the pants clung tightly to her hips and legs.
Elastic panels placed strategically around her legs, and especially the knee area of her garb, gave her free range of movement and motion, while the tougher leather sections provide some form of protection. Light flexible shoes that came halfway up her calves, and designed for the ring competitor, completed her sport outfit.
Chiana revealed in the attention and smiled brightly at the mass of people watching. Berret stole a glance at Chiana's opponent, and plainly saw the other woman wasn't pleased at all with the reaction the pretty Nebari was getting from what she probably consider her personal home audience.
And being the other fighter was head and shoulders taller then the gray thief, and about thirty sacmar heavier if he were any judge… he concluded that his smaller friend might be heading for trouble.
"This is bad," he said out loud.
"Shut up," Rygel told him again.
"Do you want to know my prediction for this bout?" Berret asked. Hoping that after the Hynerian heard his hypothesis, that he would exercise his purgative as Chiana's manager and get her out of the ring before the other woman hurt her.
"No," Rygel said stubbornly. "I already know how this one will end."
"What…?" Berret asked in mystification.
Before he could ask anything more, the gong sounded and both Chiana and the other woman stalked their way toward the center of the mats.
Chiana danced on the balls of her feet out to meet her opponent in the center of the ring. Custom said that both contestants were supposed to briefly touch palms in a gesture of sportsmanship. However, when the Nebari held hers up, the other woman thrust her palm into the gray girl's chest in a hard shove. Chiana staggered back a step or two but caught her balance easily in that graceful Nebari way she had. The crowd murmured excitedly at the other fighter's contempt of the tradition, and Chiana merely gave her a smile that plainly said, "Okay, if that's the way you want to play."
The gray woman then held her hands up in a defensive posture and the two combatants began to circle each other. Neither woman wore any form of protective gloves; instead their hands were wrapped in tight leather-like bandages that left all their fingers free to grasp.
"Not good," Berret muttered to himself, the sound level from the audience had grown boisterously enough that Rygel couldn't hear him now.
The other woman made use of her slightly longer reach with probing jabs at Chiana in the first few microts of the round, attempting to test the smaller girl's defenses. Chiana had been busy also in her own way while her opponent probed for a weakness. After the third test jab, the Nebari had gauged the other woman's distance and reach, and on the forth jab, Chiana responded by slapping the woman on the back of the hand she had jabbed with.
Nebari musculature was just as spring-like as some of their bones, and Chiana's hands were blinding quick… and could deliver a stinging slap if she wanted too.
The bigger woman looked annoyed at the contact, and then jabbed with a one-two combination at Chiana's chin. Chiana bobbed and weaved; then again dealt a slap to the first hand, and two more on the second hand before the woman could pull it back in.
The sound of flesh swatting flesh was plainly heard even above the crowd this time. The woman continued circling the smaller gray female, but now she was shaking her hands out. Chiana gave her opponent a grin that was almost a sneer; the Nebari had given her a nearly full-power demonstration of her whip-like abilities on the last round.
"What the yotz is she doing?" Rygel asked in puzzlement.
"Making her mad," was all the Shrike replied with growing worry.
Rygel's eyebrows rose as if suddenly enlightened. "Ah yes! I see now, putting on a show… smart girl," the Hynerian rambled.
The other fighter clenched her fist once more and this time came barreling straight in at Chiana. The jab again came in and the Nebari girl went to meet it with her usually counter attack.
"No…" Berret found himself saying. Too late… the Nebari's larger opponent faked with the jab once more, and this time sent a front straight kick up into Chiana's stomach. The thief buckled at the waist as the wind was knocked out of her, so she didn't see the arching full-hand slap that blasted into the side of her face and sent her spinning to the mat.
The ex-assassin winched at the sight in sympathy. The Hynerian at his side had a totally different feeling.
"Yes, that's much better!" he shouted.
"What?" Berret demanded as he turned to look down at him, not believing what he'd heard. Chiana had been knocked down, why the hezmana would Rygel be pleased about that?
"Be quiet and let me concentrate," was all the Dominar spared him as an answer.
In the ring, Chiana was pushing herself back to her feet while her bigger rival circled. The more experienced woman seemingly deciding to allow her the time to regain her feet instead of moving in for the kill just then. The Nebari shook her head a few times, and then brought her hands up again to protect herself as she edged back in toward her opponent.
The crowd was roaring its approval, which seemed to make the other woman happy. She brought her own hands up and danced in to meet Chiana near the center of the mat.
The pair again circled around each other, both testing for a weakness. A few minor blows were traded but neither woman landed much in the way of a solid one. Berret found himself picking apart the other woman's defenses and saw several opening he would have exploited in an opponent… even though doing so would have meant using techniques that were forbidden in the matches. He had to stop himself from shouting out directions to Chiana on using them, unlike the spectators, who were more than happy to offer advice on illegal moves.
Fighting with rules was not only pointless as far as the ex-Enforcer was concerned – it was complicated!
Suddenly the other woman broke the timing in her footwork to throw a hard punch, but she did it sloppily. Chiana saw it coming and she stepped in with a technique he recognized as one that Crichton had taught to her. It was something called a "haymaker."
Berret categorized it as a wide roundhouse punch thrown with all of one's weight behind it. Not very tactical from a recovery standpoint should one miss with the blow, but devastating if one does in fact connect with it to a soft target.
And connect Chiana did.
Her small fist impacted the side of the other woman's jaw, just as she perfectly dropped her weight into the punch. The other contender was driven to her knees in an instant.
The audience exploded with cheers, and Berret found himself swept up in the moment and discovered he was yelling for his friend too.
Besides him, Rygel's eyes became big as serving platters.
"What the pleebig does she think she's doing now?" the Hynerian growled.
"Winning!" Berret replied almost happily. He was beginning to consider that maybe the scheme his shipmates had come up with was perhaps one of their better ones. If Chiana could land a few more strikes like that against her adversary, it was possible they could get out of there without the little Nebari being injured too badly.
Just as soon as he had the thought, matters shifted as the other woman suddenly reached out and grabbed Chiana's forward foot just behind the heel and slightly below the ankle. She jerked hard upward and the Nebari was set off balance, going over backwards as the other fighter push herself up off the mat.
Chiana recovered enough from the upset to go with it, letting herself fall backwards. Her trapped ankle was jerked free as she hit the padded floor and she instantly threw her legs and hips upward and back over her left shoulder. The momentum of her lower body carried the upper portion with it, and she back rolled nearly to her feet again.
The other woman wasn't about to give the gray girl a chance to fully regain her feet. As soon as she realized Chiana was attempting to roll out of the toss, she charged in – bent on finishing the smaller ring-fighter before she could get back on her feet.
Whether it was instincts or experience, Chiana did the unexpected and stayed kneeling down. The other woman barreled in, having assumed the Nebari would be halfway to her feet by then. Instead, she felt Chiana seize her arm at the elbow joint and ram her hand into her hip on the same side. The smaller Nebari pulled downward on the elbow and pushed upward at the hips, both at the same time.
The heavier opponent's weight and impetus did the rest as she sailed over Chiana in a perfect combat throw typically programmed into Syndicate Enforcers.
The crowd grew silent, as it appeared that the small gray girl physically picked the larger woman up and threw her halfway across the mats. She hit with a hard thud that shook the ring.
"Blast!" Rygel yelled, his frogeyes opened wide, he turned to look angrily at the Shrike beside him. "You taught her that, didn't you!" he said accusingly.
"Yes," Berret replied somewhat mystified. "I have taught her many things," he then affirmed.
"Yotz! And she'll probably show-off and try them all!" the Dominar grumped.
"That move was not technically illegal," said the ex-assassin, "She is winning again. Why are you so…"
LOOK!" Rygel interrupted. "The ring official has sent Chiana back to her corner while he's checking on her adversary. I hope he doesn't end the bout now! Come on, you lumbering Toxcill – get up!" he shouted at the down woman. "Are you going to that slip of monochrome tralk-bait beat you?"
"What the frell are you doing?" Berret demanded. "If she stays down, Chiana wins! Why the hezmana do you want her to get back up?"
"Because I don't want Chiana to win, Phot-brain… that's why!" Rygel finally told him.
Berret had at this point had enough of partial answers, and grabbed the Hynerian by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up to eye-level.
"Why the hell not?" the Shrike demanded again. The Dominar had not been playing close enough attention to the ex-Enforcer's all too fluid mood swings. He swallowed hard as the fact that Berret had used one of Crichton's odd swear words registered on him. He'd noticed that the Shrike normal only did that when he was becoming extra annoyed by something.
"Because we arranged that she would lose this fight," the small Hynerian confessed in a low voice.
"We?" Berret prompted, preparing to throttle Rygel if he'd collaborated with some outsider against Chiana.
"Chiana and I! We did!" Rygel filled in.
Berret look of growing anger dropped instantly, to be replaced a look of stunned dread.
"You both rigged the fight?" he asked in near disbelief. They had failed to mention that part when they approached him with the new great scheme of having Chiana fight in amateur ring matches, that featured only females as contestants. Both the Nebari and the Hynerian had eventually convinced him that Chiana had the necessary skills and experience to win a few bouts against amateur opponents that fought with rules, and only for sport and entertainment.
He was only supposed to be along as insurance that the game promoters would pay off any won wagers instead of welching.
Rygel looked around them apprehensively to see if anyone had overheard the Shrike's nearly hissed statement about the cheat.
"Shhhh!" he warned, "Keep your farbing voice down. Do you want us to get caught?"
"Who else is in on this?" Berret than asked.
"Including you?"
The Shrike gave the Hynerian a hard shake. Rygel immediately crossed him off his list of accomplices.
"Just me and Chiana," he corrected. "… And some nurfer I had lay some ghost wagers for me."
Berret uttered a string of Scarran curse words that Rygel had never heard before.
"Its too late to do anything about it but see it through," the Dominar told the assassin. "As long as Chiana loses the fight, we'll be okay."
Something about the way Rygel had offered that condolence struck Berret as strange.
"What else are you not telling me," he said with another quick shake.
"ARG!" Rygel croaked. "Put me back in my chair… and I'll tell you. People are going to notice you manhandling me in another few microts… and then everything will be lost."
Reluctantly Berret set him down. He waited a moment while Rygel arranged himself.
"I am waiting," he said, crossing his metal clad forearms in front of him.
"Don't get you mivonks in an uproar now…"
"Rygel!" Berret hissed.
"Okay! You remember those counterfeit crandar credits I had left over from the slave scam? The extra I didn't have transferred over to local Quid chips… before I started counterfeiting them as well?"
Berret felt the blood drain from his face just then.
"You did not!"
"Well, it was the only thing we had to wager with… and I had a lot of them…" the Hynerian ruler went on.
"Just how much?" Berret asked with growing dread.
"Ummm… just a few thousand crandar worth."
"A few thousand!" Berret exclaimed.
"The odds were only two-to-one against the monochromed tramp," Rygel offered as if that would make everything all right. "I had to place a large wager!"
Berret bent down to his level, this time it was the Shrike who was looking around apprehensively to see if anyone could overhear then.
"Do you have any idea of what you've done?" he hissed at the smaller being. "This is a satellite Syndicate operation, not some secluded back-planet tariff outfit. They will be using chip verifiers here."
"They do?" Rygel asked, the surprise plain on his face.
"Yes," Berret confirmed. "And as soon as the scan one of your chips they will know it for the fake it is."
Rygel swallowed hard again and began to sweat. "Then we better hope that Chiana loses this round. They'll give my original wager back before looking at them to closely, along with my winnings."
Berret looked at him like he was contemplating strangling the Dominar right there.
Just then the official called for the bout to start again as he helped the other fighter to her feet. Chiana got up from her spot in the corner and pranced out to meet the pair.
"Look… there's still a chance. The match is still on," Rygel pointed out. "All Chiana has to do is follow the plan."
The taller woman gave the Nebari a mean scowl, obviously not at all happy with the last turn of events inside the ring. Berret read more than a promise of payback on her rough features. The crowd saw it also, and was now split between the women. Just as many now cheered for the small gray girl as there were for the more experienced fighter. The bigger combatant pointed a finger at Chiana and snarled something the Shrike couldn't make out over the audience's ramble, but he was sure whatever she had said – it wasn't good.
Chiana however, responded to the tirade with her trademark smirk. She was in her favorite element… creating trouble and causing chaos.
"Not a chance of that," the ex-Enforcer remarked to the Hynerian beside him just as the gong sounded again.