Chapter 3: Thunder CrashIt was only a few months later that I was taking part in broadcasted tournament matches. Myself, Bjorn, Arielle and another rookie named Blake soon became an incredible force to be reckoned with, and our alliance with another team, the Iron Guard, made us that much stronger. I learned to enjoy the life of a Tournament superstar, yeah I had the odd welt now and then from other teams' stun blasters, but that was a small price to pay for the adoration. I couldn't believe it, we would go out somewhere after a show and we would simply be swamped with fans and admirers. I was on top of the world, I didn't think life could get any better… the sad part is I was right, it never did. Anyways, the end of my first season soon arrived, and in the finals it was us against another upstart team called the Thunder Crash. They were a party of former United States army soldiers, special forces I believe. They were led by a powerful man named Bernard, seconded by another man named Othello, and supported by a pair of rookies named Taylor and Malcolm. We had trained for weeks to prepare for this battle. Bjorn clearly would get Bernard, I was given Malcolm, Arielle had the task of handling Othello while Blake was to target Taylor. I remember Arielle was so excited, this was going to be her big night. She was paired off against the second in command of our opponents in the championship match, quite an honour. Normally I would have been upset that I would be stuck against just a raw recruit, but I was happy for Arielle, I guess as long as it was her getting the boost then I would accept it. Little did I know that the rookie I was up against would become one of, if not the most popular combatant ever to compete, and our paths would cross many times as we climbed the ladder.

Finally the big night came, the tournament championship. This was the Superbowl of the tournament, the big dance, and we were convinced we couldn't lose that night. I remember Blake and I were walking along the halls of the stadium that our match would be held in. As we came into the main corridor where our dressing room was located, we saw the Thunder Crash standing together by an assortment of vending machines. We decided to introduce ourselves, I wished we never had. Before we could even put out our hands for a handshake Bernard was yelling at us, saying how it was men like us that forced them to turn their backs on the military, and that they would show "the man" that Thunder Crash was here to stay. Bernard shouted at us and insinuated that we hated them because of the colour of their skin, we decided it was best to walk away and save it for the match. By the time we arrived at our dressing room we were both steamed, and had the motivation we needed to really make an impact. We suited up and kept ourselves pumped up for our match. It would not be until later in the evening as the teams not in the finals were pitted in smaller matches for the spectators' delight.

Eventually the time for our match arrived and Bjorn called to us from outside our dressing room. He and Arielle stood in their combat gear as we joined them in the hallway. Arielle was so beautiful even in her combat gear. It fit her firmly and left nothing to the imagination, she was the only woman I can think of who could ever make thick acrylic and durasteel plates look good. We set our headsets and walked towards the huge metal door that would slide open any moment once the arena was quickly modified for our match. Then our team's theme music hit and blared through the arena's sound system. I never did ever listen to the song, all I knew was it was a favorite of Bjorn's, some old group from the early 2000's named Pillar, I think the song was called "Frontline"… I don't know I never was into that older music. Anyways, the door slid open and dry ice steamed out from behind us and cloaked us as we stood in the doorway. Bjorn lightly told us to stay there momentarily while laser lights etched the air around us and a powerful floodlight shone from behind us, silhouetting our figures while we stood in an intimidating manner. Bjorn then motioned for us to move out and we walked out through the smoke and acknowledged our audience. I will never forget the deafening roar of the crowd that night. It was ear splitting from the moment our music hit, but simply grew louder and louder as we came more into view and took to the arena. We walked towards our makeshift "base", the match would be a capture the flag game. Yeah it's a child's game, and very old, but it's a much different game when you add stun blasters. Thunder Crash came out after us, their reception was not as warm as ours was, in fact there were even some idiots in the crowd with signs that bore racial slurs, fortunately those morons were evicted as soon as the signs came out. As I watched the Thunder Crash march to their base, ignoring the crowd, I felt sorry for them. They were clearly exceptional soldiers in order to have made it to the final championship, yet they seemed to get no respect, I pitied them… that was my first real mistake of my career... never pity someone who can kill you.

The buzzer rang out loudly and we were on our way. I wouldn't admit at the time, but we were worried about it being a capture the flag match, those were Thunder Crash's forte and we had really hoped for a "deathmatch". We had to quickly form a new plan. Bjorn told us that he and Arielle would attack their base while Blake and I would stand guard. I was a little resentful at first, but it was only fair since Arielle would have had a bigger role if it were a deathmatch. Blake quickly modded his stun blaster into sniper mode and positioned himself high above our flag on a perch in the wall, I didn't really see how he got up there. He was a wiry one, Blake. He seemed very high strung, like he always had to prove himself, he was a good kid but very headstrong... ah who am I kidding, the guy was an idiot. He likely never had many if any friends, he always had to compensate for something, make himself seem tougher than he was... you could only take so much of Blake before you wanted to punch him in the nose. The opening minutes of the match seemed to drag on and on, we saw no action for what seemed like forever. Suddenly Bjorn was led into the flag room by a martial, he had been "tagged" and now had to wait the fifteen second penalty before he could attack again. Arielle soon was brought back to. We waited, then once the fifteen seconds were up they went again, only to be brought back again. Thunder Crash was waiting us out, all four of them simply sat and waited at their flag and kept gunning down Bjorn and Arielle. Bjorn and Arielle were both growing visibly exhausted and Bjorn decided to call Blake to come with them and snipe out the guards to allow them safe passage to the flag. They left me alone and I still waited, and again they would be brought back. This went on for three minutes before the floodgates opened. Bjorn was so tired he could barely jog, Arielle was also thoroughly exhausted, Blake was not in much better shape. The stun charges took a lot out of you in those days, not to mention the endless running around. With no warning all of Thunder Crash stormed us, and my team mates were in no shape to defend effectively. Arielle went down again, as did Blake. I took down Taylor quickly, then Othello and Bernard, I will never forget the deafening screams of the crowd as I took them down by myself, I even heard the faint chant of "holy shit" from the audience as I made those three my bitches. I turned to see Bjorn was taken down by Malcolm, who grabbed our flag and ran like hell. I was too confident in my ability. Malcolm was bigger than me, and wore much heavier armour, I knew I would catch him easily, what I didn't know was he was also counting on it. I chased him down the hall of our base and into the midfield. When I got close enough to fire, I did so… I couldn't believe I missed. Malcolm turned and fired a single blast from his blaster and hit me directly in the chest, sending me backwards to the ground. I checked my HUD, which was shown through a small screen on the wrists of our armour. I was allowed one more hit, so I dragged my carcass off the ground and chased him again. He had already made it to his base when I got to my feet. I ran into his base and was met by Othello, his fifteen seconds were up. I don't know how I did it, but I guess my adrenaline took over from there. I somehow dodged his blast and ran up him and vaulted off his shoulders like a springboard. I turned in the air and gave him two quick shots to keep him out of my hair, again much to the delight of the audience. I landed and kept running, Taylor stood in my way and I shot him down before I was even close to him. My mind stopped thinking of the task at hand though. Something changes in your head the second you hear thousands of screaming fans chanting your name, you lose focus. I found Malcolm rounding the hall towards their flag. I remember being so smug as I sprinted after him. I tightly gripped my blaster and rounded the corner… right into Bernard. He was completely ready for me and blasted me right in the chest, the stun hurt like hell as I fell backwards. I watched as Malcolm stopped and handed the flag to Bernard, who took it and slammed it into the pedestal next to theirs… Thunder Crash had won, and I still laid on the floor stunned. Thunder Crash gathered around and celebrated their victory, they deserved it, they were the better team that night, but many analysts and other competitors told me I stole the show that night. Finally I started to get feeling back in my body and I got to my feet and went to walk away. Thunder Crash saw me walking away and I remember Bernard calling after me.
"Hey, cracker." he said gruffly, me being the stupid kid I was, turned around. He gave me a cheap shot from his blaster right in the face, it damn near knocked me out. I would have killed the bastard if I wasn't stunned from head to toe, plus the blast would leave a nice burn on my cheek to keep me motivated through the off season. Before I blacked out I could hear them all laughing, well, not all of them, I heard three voices laughing… I remember seeing Malcolm not laughing, he seemed disappointed that his leader had done that… he even seemed a little concerned for me, that was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.


Stun blaster right in the old face, that's a rough night. Looks like Jordan hasn't made any friends, but he's still living the dream... so why is he so bitter and jaded? Read on.