Chapter 2
Nothing was out of the ordinary here for Alex Kovacs- to his logical mind; it was just another solo operation for some unknown benefactor. So far he had discovered five bloodied bodies, all had tasted lead. Then he had added three more bodies to the death count- one with a knife he had found on one of the corpses through the back of the throat. The other two had been introduced to "The Kids" as he called his two Enforcer Sub-Machine Guns. Now he was pinned behind a container in what had turned out to be the cargo bay of this LMC ship by another convict who had the advantage of an elevated position, up on the gantry and armed with some sort of energy weapon that emits a very powerful purple beam or ball of light.
Now this crappy armour is not going to protect him from a hit from that thing, no matter what the adverts used to say. Think Al! Use his surroundings against him.
He was looking around the bay for something to give him the advantage.
"Hel-lo"
He spotted an LMC stamped crate, under the gantry in a pile of crates. This one had a sticker warning him of explosives. It was easy enough to get to-not too far away, but it would mean a sudden break from cover to get under the gantry. One shot from the energy weapon would be fatal though, but the reward could be worth it.
What if it's empty? Ah, fuck it!
He burst from cover firing the Kids blindly in the direction of the other con, who wasn't giving up his position any time soon. He managed to get some shots off, including one which made the hairs on the back of Alex's army shaved head feel like they had been burnt off. But luck wasn't on his side. Alex slid the last few feet into cover as the gun ran dry.
Kovacs started to push the crates off the top of the one he was after, whilst his opponent was slapping in a new energy canister and running around the gantry to the opposite side of the bay. Alex had to hurry. If the guy made it to the other side without Alex cradling something better than pistols then he would be open and done for. He had seconds to spare when he ripped open the crate.
Groovy!
He found a three-barrel rocket launcher and ammo in the crate, loaded the weapon, swung around to face the position his military training told him his opponent would want just in time to see his opponent face him and then freeze as he saw the three barrels stare at him and then spin as three rockets headed his way.
With and almighty explosion the weapon died in Alex's hands. Before he had time to worry about the weapon malfunction sirens blazed and a booming voice echoed
"YOU HAVE WON THE MATCH!"
He let himself slump back in the bay, whilst he waited for the craft to reach it's destination. He picked up his enforcers and kissed them both
"Who needs a wife when I have you two?!"
The craft touched down and the hatches in the side of the small craft opened as five walkways locked into place by each exit, with a Liandri Guard standing there in heavier riot armour armed to the teeth with a whole manner of weaponry. Outside were giant reinforced concrete barriers with thousands of fans standing in the sunshine, on two levels of the spaceport, screaming and holding banners and signs with slogans, messages and icons for all the different teams in the tournament, all of whom being controlled by numerous men in caps and black jumpsuits with the big green LMC pyramid icon on the back, each cradling a shotgun. Obvious Liandri take security at tournament events very seriously!
Behind the fans on both levels and at each end of the transport were giant vid-screens, each easily fifty feet tall showing pictures of the new Tournament fighters as they emerged from the craft, but were shackled by each guard and stood at the top of each walkway. There were five of them, Alexander saw- one brute of a human being in big bulky armour- a genetically boosted juggernaut, courtesy of Axon Research- the most famous of which was the 2302 Tournament champion, Gorge. Other included two women, one red head (literally, red) and one a brunette, both wearing similar armour to Alexander. Then there was an alien creature dressed in very ornate armour and, of course, Alex himself.
Suddenly a voice boomed over the PA system of the spaceport, silencing the crowd.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, fans of all ages and races, welcome to the first ever Lower Tier Tournament draft."
The crowd roared at the announcement
"With the first pick in the draft, Vesuvius, captain of the Nemesis team selects…"
Alexander looked on from his position down the end of the ramps to where an official looking woman was in conversation with a giant juggernaut before talking into her headset. The guy was looking at the middle platform where the new juggernaut contender stood
"RRRA-ZOR!"
The juggernaut threw his hands in the air as all the cameras focused in on him and he began to walk down the walkway to his new team captain.
Well what a surprise there! A Juggernaut team picking another Booster
It is pretty much a known fact that, in the Tournament, gene-boosted juggernaut teams tend to stay with their own kind and select other Juggernauts (or "Boosters" as they were known in the NEG army) - people always said it makes them feel less odd and more human than being with standard, genetically stable Homo sapiens. Regardless of the reason, it gave such teams a huge advantage of most other teams, except Gen Mo'kai teams, whose alien members could use their agility and killer instincts to cancel out the Juggernaut's brute strength.
He knew this from books, but had also seen it during an NEG/Gen Mo'Kai joint operation to hunt down and execute a group of Boosters who had escaped from an Axon bio-research facility and were terrorising a major MLC- Multi Level City- on Tanoth IV. The NEG had hired the alien mercs for this very reason, and they worked like a charm, so much so they were recruited into the R3.
"For the second pick in the draft, please welcome Xander, acting captain of the Lucky Sevens team" said the announcer as the juggernauts were packed up into a transport skimmer and whisked away.
"Who?" asked Alex. He had never heard of the Lucky Sevens, then again, he had been in prison and on a lot of operations recently. The question was, of course, to himself but the guard jabbed him in the side with the butt of his rifle, knocking some of the wind out of him
"Shut up con and wait your turn!"
Coming up from his crouch, taking a few deep breaths, he looked at the guard
"If I wasn't in shackles I would-."
"You'd what?" retorted the guard, cocking his rifle "Don't think that I am not allowed to kill you, because, given a reason, I wouldn't think twice about it!"
Alex gritted his teeth. The guy was right; Liandri would probably show it on tonight's highlight reel!
The crowd roared. He had missed the name of the contender but the woman with bright red hair was walking down the walkway into the Lucky Sevens team
Got to find out who they are sometime.
As they were led off a guy in battle-damaged armour, which was probably originally black, but the scratches, damage and replacement parts couldn't give him a definite answer.
"With the third pick in the Draft, here comes Blake, leader of the Dark Phalanx"
Blake? Dark Phalanx? What the hell is a pedigree team doing in this Lower Tier Draft?
Numerous years ago, before Malcolm had beaten Xan, Blake was Tournament MVP and the Phalanx were title contenders, known particularly for being champions of the Assault event multiple times. Of course that event was removed and, if his memory served him correctly, they started to fall off in the Championship race. Team members began to leave or die and they disappeared from the radar. He remembered this for two reasons.
Firstly, some of Colonel Nathan Blake's tactics, such as the Blake formation is taught as part of the training process in the NEG forces and secondly, the Dark Phalanx were originally NEG operatives, not too different from Alex, who had been cheated out of wages and had been on suicide mission by an NEG executive, which lead to numerous massacres. The guy was connected to the upper realms of the government and was untouchable. Blake and his men threatened him and wanted justice and so joined the Tournament in order to earn enough money and power to get NEG to prosecute the executive in question, plus it would remove the fabricated charges that the colonel had been convicted for by a closed NEG court.
Corruption- comes with the mega-corporations and shadow ops I suppose.
The trick is not to become someone's lackey and stand up for yourself, like Blake had done and been silenced for.
The vid-screens showed Blake, an older but still well built man with a grey flat top and closely trimmed beard, with hairs no longer than a centimetre. He still had that senior officer look about him. He pointed towards Alex's way. And then stood in the typical "at ease stance" found in any armed force- feet shoulder width apart, hands cupped behind your back, with back straight.
Me? Blake wants me?
Alex felt his blood rush and felt an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. Nervousness, mixed in with a little excitement.
"Dark Phalanx selects…Alexander Ko-vacs"
The PA confirmed it and Alex, as professional as ever simply clenched his shackled fist and tensed his jaw.
Yes! This is going to be very interesting.
"Move con!" ordered the Liandri guard in the midst of a fairly muted crowd response. Dark Phalanx wasn't as popular as it once was to these bandwagon-jumpers, who probably all supported the first team name they read in the top six of the league table!
With a sharp jab to the back with the guard's gun barrel Alex began the walk down the walkway. The guard would continue prodding Alex when he was being slowed down; it was obvious too, as was Alex's irritation.
"I'm in shackles you dumb bastard. Want me to walk faster, take them off!"
"Shut up I said"
One harder prod was all it took for Alex to lose his cool near the bottom of the ramp. He stopped dead in his tracks two meters from the bottom of the ramp way and his newly acquired team leader.
"Move!" yelled the guard as he rammed the butt of his rifle into Alex's back, knocking him forward and onto the floor. Cameras were all on this; even the announcer was getting in on the action
"It seems the Phalanx draftee has an issue with one of our fine correctional guards!"
The crowd booed like the devoted Liandri followers they were. This didn't bother Alex as Blake helped him up
"Come Kovacs, get up and stop being stubborn"
"In a moment, colonel"
He turned around to face the guard and with lightning speed proceeded to head butt the guard's visor, shattering that and the guard's nose. Blood was everywhere as the guard dropped his weapon and cupped his hands around his nose. This left him open to a strong knee to the gap between his belt and the bottom of his body armour, which knocked him to the floor. Alex was about to kick him when Blake pulled him off
"Cool it soldier, otherwise you'll be put down by the Liandri snipers and never have a chance of freedom and trust me, that isn't something to be taken lightly"
Alex stepped back and began walking alongside Blake to the waiting skimmer, whilst having drinks cups, stones, and insults hurled his way by the Liandri brainwashed mass.
"The guy was being a jerk, sir"
"It's a pre-requisite of the job they do! I'm Nathan Blake, no longer colonel, so drop the sir."
They stepped into the skimmer after running the gauntlet. The doors were locked and the skimmer began to move
"Alexander Kovacs. Alex or Kovacs will do though"
"Pleasure" Blake said with a smirk.