The Ring of Fire
By Dawn Nyberg
Disclaimer: Tribune owns the characters of Andromeda. No profit is being made.
READ AND REVIEW! Thanks :)
******************************************************************
Harper was sitting on the edge of his bed when they came for him. The sun had reached its peak. He was escorted outside instead of the Grand Hall. He walked into a large open area. The sun was tremendously hot. The Brescia audience, which stretched back, wave after wave, sat in the shade of temporarily erected sunscreens. Harper spotted Dylan and the others out of the corner of his eye sitting under a sunscreen beside the Chancellor – they had ringside seats. There were drums being pounded as Harper was led to the center of the large circular area. An officer approached from the opposite side of the circle and thrust a weapon into Harper's hand. Harper turned and looked the distance over to the Chancellor – he also spotted Gavin off to the side sitting in the shade.
"Mr. Harper," the Chancellor spoke – her voice amplified so that he and all the audience could hear. "The weapon you hold is called an assagai."
Harper looked at it closer. He took the long-bladed, short-handled spear and tested its cutting edge with his finger. It was not sharp. The weapon was designed for close combat thrusting and stabbing, not cutting.
"This is the Ring of Fire," the Chancellor spoke as she motioned her hands out to show Harper he stood within a large circular area. This is your second trial. You will fight a battle clone to the death. He is a Cyborg and can be killed. You must stay within the circle." She stopped speaking.
The drums reached a fever pitch as Harper's opponent entered at the opposite side of the circle. Once the battle clone was inside the circle – Harper noticed the Chancellor raised her hand and as she dropped it large flames ignited in a wide perimeter enclosing him and the clone.
"Mr. Harper, if you try to cross the perimeter you will die. The flames burn at 2,000 degrees. Your only tasks for this trial … win or die. Let the battle begin."
The battle clone was around Tyr's height and he was muscular. He raised his weapon into the air in appreciation of his Chancellor. There was a thunderous roar of appreciation from the crowd. Harper noticed his opponent carried a kind of heavy-handled knife with a moon-shaped double blade. A form of ax.
Harper waited for his opponent to come to him. The man looked at Harper with intense eyes as he approached. The two men squared up to one another. Harper held the assagai with both hands, like a sword, hoping to hurt his adversary in some way so as to try to get the ax.
There was much weaving and dodging from both men. Harper found he had to be extremely agile to avoid blows from the ax. He could have stabbed his opponent several times, but they would not have been lethal, and although a Cyborg could be killed it would have to be a direct hit and the young engineer knew this.
Beka sat and watched with her heart in her throat. She wished she had gone to talk to Harper and now it was probably too late. She was going to lose him, her little brother. She was damn angry with him, but didn't want to lose him. Dylan and Tyr sat with stoic faces. Trance was watching, but her eyes had a far away look to them as if she didn't really see the battle.
Harper caught the Cyborg on his shoulder, but the weapon did not even break the skin. The sweat was pouring down Seamus's back as they each feigned a rush, and then went in together, to lock weapons. He let his own fall to the ground in an effort to get hold of the other man's weapon, but failed and thus left himself completely unarmed. The Cyborg attacked him with renewed vigor now and Harper had to ward off blows with his hands, receiving many cuts. The Cyborg rushed him. Seamus sidestepped and stuck out a foot. The other man saw it, jumped, turned, and came in again. Harper was on him again and there was a second struggle for the ax. Harper – was lean and he wriggled out of the Cyborg's grasp.
Finally, out of desperation, Harper ran for his own weapon, snatched it from the ground, turned and slammed it point-first into the chest of the battle clone.
There was an "Aaaahhhh…" from the crowd. The Chancellor rose to her feet. All eyes were on the transfixed opponent of Harper. The man staggered forward, his mouth hanging open. He clawed at the assagai with frantic fingers, took one last beseeching look at his Chancellor, his commander, then flopped to the ground and lay still, and obviously dead.
Harper was stunned and then lowered his head in exhaustion.
"Mr. Harper, you have survived the second trial. Your third and final trial will take place tomorrow at sundown." The Chancellor raised a hand and the flames receded back into the ground and officers walked in to escort Harper back to his holding room. He looked down at himself his shirt was bloody, he ached, and he could still feel some wounds bleeding. He was so exhausted from both the heat and the battle that he didn't even raise his head as he was taken from the arena.
Beka clutched Dylan's arm. "He's hurt Dylan."
"Trance," Dylan spoke. "Get in to see him and take a look at his wounds."
"I was all ready planning on it."
Tyr was quiet. He had at one point sat and watched Gavin during the fight. If Gavin survived tomorrow and succeeded in killing Harper – it would be a short-lived victory. Tyr had all ready planned to kill him if that happened. He would be quick and silent and no one would find the body.
Harper collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion. The door opened shortly after and he was too tired to even open his eyes. But, when a hand touched his forehead gently and ran fingers through his sweaty hair in a soothing manner he opened his eyes and looked into Trance's caring eyes. He offered a small smile.
"Zigged when I should have zagged," he quipped, his voice quiet.
"Shh…" Trance soothed, as she looked him over. "Rest."
He closed his eyes, his mind all ready thinking of the final trial, but his body needed rest and he fell asleep under Trance's gentle care.
Tomorrow hung like a dark storm cloud over him …
By Dawn Nyberg
Disclaimer: Tribune owns the characters of Andromeda. No profit is being made.
READ AND REVIEW! Thanks :)
******************************************************************
Harper was sitting on the edge of his bed when they came for him. The sun had reached its peak. He was escorted outside instead of the Grand Hall. He walked into a large open area. The sun was tremendously hot. The Brescia audience, which stretched back, wave after wave, sat in the shade of temporarily erected sunscreens. Harper spotted Dylan and the others out of the corner of his eye sitting under a sunscreen beside the Chancellor – they had ringside seats. There were drums being pounded as Harper was led to the center of the large circular area. An officer approached from the opposite side of the circle and thrust a weapon into Harper's hand. Harper turned and looked the distance over to the Chancellor – he also spotted Gavin off to the side sitting in the shade.
"Mr. Harper," the Chancellor spoke – her voice amplified so that he and all the audience could hear. "The weapon you hold is called an assagai."
Harper looked at it closer. He took the long-bladed, short-handled spear and tested its cutting edge with his finger. It was not sharp. The weapon was designed for close combat thrusting and stabbing, not cutting.
"This is the Ring of Fire," the Chancellor spoke as she motioned her hands out to show Harper he stood within a large circular area. This is your second trial. You will fight a battle clone to the death. He is a Cyborg and can be killed. You must stay within the circle." She stopped speaking.
The drums reached a fever pitch as Harper's opponent entered at the opposite side of the circle. Once the battle clone was inside the circle – Harper noticed the Chancellor raised her hand and as she dropped it large flames ignited in a wide perimeter enclosing him and the clone.
"Mr. Harper, if you try to cross the perimeter you will die. The flames burn at 2,000 degrees. Your only tasks for this trial … win or die. Let the battle begin."
The battle clone was around Tyr's height and he was muscular. He raised his weapon into the air in appreciation of his Chancellor. There was a thunderous roar of appreciation from the crowd. Harper noticed his opponent carried a kind of heavy-handled knife with a moon-shaped double blade. A form of ax.
Harper waited for his opponent to come to him. The man looked at Harper with intense eyes as he approached. The two men squared up to one another. Harper held the assagai with both hands, like a sword, hoping to hurt his adversary in some way so as to try to get the ax.
There was much weaving and dodging from both men. Harper found he had to be extremely agile to avoid blows from the ax. He could have stabbed his opponent several times, but they would not have been lethal, and although a Cyborg could be killed it would have to be a direct hit and the young engineer knew this.
Beka sat and watched with her heart in her throat. She wished she had gone to talk to Harper and now it was probably too late. She was going to lose him, her little brother. She was damn angry with him, but didn't want to lose him. Dylan and Tyr sat with stoic faces. Trance was watching, but her eyes had a far away look to them as if she didn't really see the battle.
Harper caught the Cyborg on his shoulder, but the weapon did not even break the skin. The sweat was pouring down Seamus's back as they each feigned a rush, and then went in together, to lock weapons. He let his own fall to the ground in an effort to get hold of the other man's weapon, but failed and thus left himself completely unarmed. The Cyborg attacked him with renewed vigor now and Harper had to ward off blows with his hands, receiving many cuts. The Cyborg rushed him. Seamus sidestepped and stuck out a foot. The other man saw it, jumped, turned, and came in again. Harper was on him again and there was a second struggle for the ax. Harper – was lean and he wriggled out of the Cyborg's grasp.
Finally, out of desperation, Harper ran for his own weapon, snatched it from the ground, turned and slammed it point-first into the chest of the battle clone.
There was an "Aaaahhhh…" from the crowd. The Chancellor rose to her feet. All eyes were on the transfixed opponent of Harper. The man staggered forward, his mouth hanging open. He clawed at the assagai with frantic fingers, took one last beseeching look at his Chancellor, his commander, then flopped to the ground and lay still, and obviously dead.
Harper was stunned and then lowered his head in exhaustion.
"Mr. Harper, you have survived the second trial. Your third and final trial will take place tomorrow at sundown." The Chancellor raised a hand and the flames receded back into the ground and officers walked in to escort Harper back to his holding room. He looked down at himself his shirt was bloody, he ached, and he could still feel some wounds bleeding. He was so exhausted from both the heat and the battle that he didn't even raise his head as he was taken from the arena.
Beka clutched Dylan's arm. "He's hurt Dylan."
"Trance," Dylan spoke. "Get in to see him and take a look at his wounds."
"I was all ready planning on it."
Tyr was quiet. He had at one point sat and watched Gavin during the fight. If Gavin survived tomorrow and succeeded in killing Harper – it would be a short-lived victory. Tyr had all ready planned to kill him if that happened. He would be quick and silent and no one would find the body.
Harper collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion. The door opened shortly after and he was too tired to even open his eyes. But, when a hand touched his forehead gently and ran fingers through his sweaty hair in a soothing manner he opened his eyes and looked into Trance's caring eyes. He offered a small smile.
"Zigged when I should have zagged," he quipped, his voice quiet.
"Shh…" Trance soothed, as she looked him over. "Rest."
He closed his eyes, his mind all ready thinking of the final trial, but his body needed rest and he fell asleep under Trance's gentle care.
Tomorrow hung like a dark storm cloud over him …