The Iron Pit
Nuvia City, Risa
2100 hours

Malcolm let himself be dragged along by the Risian, because he was feeling pretty good about himself. He had Loya all over him…and she was wearing that. From the dancing thing a while ago.

He actually turned away three or four times to take care of that very necessary bit of business but the Risian just kept distracting him.

Loya was making it pretty clear she wouldn't mind a little slap and tickle right there in the crowd. Reed didn't mind that either. Let them all watch, he didn't care. She was a very tidy bit of business, and that business needed tending.

Loya was nibbling on his neck and making some very provocative noises while she doing was it. Muttering something very huskily in Orion, he was fairly certain. Scratching at his back a bit, running her fingers wildly through his hair. And the Risian leading him around all over the place…that didn't seem to slow her down a bit. She practically floated right along, not even losing her grip.

She could keep that up all she liked. That was doing right wonders.

But the Risian was so distracting.

"The most amazing fighter I've ever seen!" He gushed, dragging him along by the arm. "We can make enough in one night to live like kings for a month!"

That sounded pretty good. In fact, a nice comfortable resort room…one of the really flash rooms along the beach...that would make Loya go positively wild.

Or…wilder.

And he could show off a bit in the process.

That sounded pretty good. Of course he'd do that!

He was in the pit before he knew it. But not before the Risian was suddenly insisting he had to have a name. He had a name. What kind of question was that?

"No, no! A fighting name!" The Risian explained.

Loya was already bouncing on her toes.

"The British! That's what everyone calls him! He's the British!" She grinned, wildly.

"Perfect!" The Risian exclaimed. "What does the 'the British' mean?"

"Tritanium testicles!" Reed laughed.

"Perfect!"

Malcolm stood down in the pit now, the crowd elevated above on the bleachers all around. Some cheering, some jeering. It was all very exciting and he couldn't help but grin. He still had his black, sleeveless shirt on…so he tossed up his dukes a little for the crowd. Flexed a bit to get things jumping.

Mostly for Loya, because she squealed like a little girl when he did. Cheering and clapping and yelling to everyone in the crowd that that was the British down there. And that was her man.

The crowd loved it. They went nuts. Risian credit chits were raining down into the arena before the other guy even showed up.

Then he did.

And…he was big.

A big, thick, hulking brute of a Risian. Bald, mean looking. He had at least two feet in height on him. Nearly twice as broad.

Malcolm grinned, a wicked little grin.

This was going to be so much fun!

He waited, fists up. Swaying a little but not moving from where he stood. Just keeping eye contact with the big, sweaty, dead eyed monster across the pit from him. Just a few steps away.

Waiting for the announcer to finish whatever he was going on about.

Sparing Loya a smirk…and a wink.

She swooned a little, and squealed a lot.

Oh, yes. So much fun.

A loud, grating buzzer sounded…and the hulk was moving in, like a big, fat tide of pain coming to crush…

Malcolm stepped out and to the left, then back to the right again quickly. Just enough to draw that guy's ponderous weight in the wrong direction, for just that split second.

A slight, quick jump to the monster's flank…left knee raised high…foot arcing out and to the side…

Smash! Right to the side of the knee…

Down he went.

Funny how it seemed to take him a second longer to fall than any other man. Because he was so big. And maybe it really did take him longer to fall. The floor of the arena certainly shook for a few seconds.

Malcolm knocked a couple of other guys out before he realized all these guys were just bouncers sent in to tell him to stop stomping on the big, fat, sweaty one.

Okay, right.

He nodded, grinning. Turning to raise his fists triumphantly in the air and roar for the crowd.

More crazed screaming by the masses. More credit chits raining down. He eyed Loya, grinning, and gave her another leer and a wink.

She really did swoon that time. T'Pol had to reach over and catch her from falling because her knees buckled.

Oh, the things he was going to do to that poor girl tonight! Once you go Human, you never…go…back or…

Anyway, a flash room, a hot tub, clean sheets and a pile of credit chits! Nice long weekend making the bird sing.

But, first…who's next?!

The second one needed a little work. He almost landed a blow, so Malcolm focused a little then. Taking things a bit more seriously.

He swayed right, letting his left drop a little…and the guy brought in a hard hook to the jaw because he'd been dumb enough to leave himself open….

Malcolm batted it aside, grabbing the wrist and twisting the arm until he had him locked down.

Then let him go to try that one again, backing up until he was ready.

Dropped his left again…a big, hard fist in a jab this time…

Malcolm broke his wrist. Swaying under and to the other side, swatting at the wrist with the other hand now…twist, snap…

Stepping back. One more go.

He dropped his right this time, looking for all the world like he was focusing all his power into a left hook of his own.

The guy came in with the same hard hook now, with his left, to take advantage of that.

He dislocated his shoulder that time.

It took a couple of solid hits to the jaw while he was bent over wailing about that to finally put him down.

Screaming, credit chits, Loya swooning. He was fairly sure she had a little joy over that one…if you know what I mean.

Next?

He made it past the preliminaries easily enough. So he was in the running.

He got to use the back room to wash up a bit now, since he'd made the ranks…then he was late for his first match up, because Loya got away from Trip and T'Pol. And the Risian couldn't convince him to go fight again until he was a least a little finished there.

He had a point about the really flash rooms though, at the top of the Golden Bough. Those were the best rooms. That required a lot of credits and Loya would love that. So they had to make a quickie out of it.

He arrived and was ready to fight, even if that meant everyone was jeering now. He was late and crowds don't like to wait.

He would have made a show of it, to win the crowd back over…but this guy knew his business. Malcolm ended up having to go for the solar plexus a couple of times and box his ears just to get in close enough for a couple of solid body blows.

After that…he just blocked and redirected. Slapping him around to put some shock damage on him and humiliate him before the crowd. The guy got weak after a short bit of that, so Malcolm made a big show a few quick jabs, then a trio of hard hooks and, finally, a big midair spin and blow that put the guy's jaw over his shoulder.

The crowd went wild.

Down and out.

Next?

Broken jaw and shattered knee for the fourth guy.

Had to box the fifth guy for a while, taking advantage of every stunning blow he could land before he was finally able to show out a bit there, with a nice upper cut that left him staggering around while Malcolm tenderized his torso. He passed out right on his feet.

The sixth guy knew the arts. And that's when it started getting challenging. Malcolm had the guy's face looking like a mass of hamburger before the end but he just wouldn't go down.

He had Malcolm in an eagle grip of some kind at one point, right on the kidney, while he rained blows down on his face a bit himself. Then Malcolm finally broke lose of that and start putting some judo on him.

He'd never seen anything like that before, apparently. So that softened him up for a good old fashioned bit of brawling, once he was too weak to defend very well.

Guy number seven wasn't so bad. He used too much leg work, lots of high kicks and crescent variations. Then he thought Malcolm was weaker than he really was, so he tried to come down with a heel to his skull.

Reed went right for the groin. Took him a half minute to really put him down after that but it was already over.

Number eight was another monster. An Orion who roared a lot and liked to charge. Malcolm wasn't fooled though. There was a wary, intelligent look in the guy's eye. It was all a front, trying to make him think he could use his seemingly reckless attacks against him. Then he'd be right on top of you, using all his mass to just beat you right down.

He didn't let the guy get close and he brought out the footwork himself this time. Then took him off guard jumping on his back to choke him for a bit. After that it was straight fisticuffs. That was the most fun he had so far.

The ninth guy…Malcolm had no idea how he got that far in the ranks. He had nothing but lockdowns and redirects. He was almost entirely defensive. The fight took a while and Malcolm had to finally just let the guy catch him one time just so he could get close enough to hit him.

He beat the guy unconscious with the arm that wasn't locked down.

Then off to the back room again so Loya could fret over the bruises and the busted lip. And a little more of the raunchy.

Then the money men showed up.

The Orions had a good pitch. All the chits from the arena, plus what they were offering…that'd put them up all weekend, plus all the fancy food and lots of shopping for Loya in between the sheet work…

That sounded brilliant!

Of course he'd throw the fight! He could make a real show of it too, for a couple more thousand credits…

Number ten knew his business and he was very tough. So throwing the fight in an exciting manner wouldn't have been hard at all.

But he liked to play head games. Say things to make you mad and get reckless. Like what he said about Loya. No, that just wasn't about to stand.

Malcolm didn't lose his temper. He never lost his temper.

He just got mean.

The guy had Malcolm on the ground and made the mistake of trying to stomp on him. A quick grab at the knee with one hand, the other at the ankle…twist…and he had to go with it and let himself get thrown off or lose the knee.

Malcolm was back on his feet, coming in for the guy. Side kick to the gut, side kick the face, crescent across the jaw. Then again, the same exact combo. Then again, with a vicious forward stomp to the solar plexus instead of the crescent he was ready for.

He was too stunned to do much about the half dozen kicks Malcolm threw at him then, and he couldn't move because he had him up against the wall now.

He managed to spin out of that eventually and Malcolm let himself be drawn in, fighting forward. Punch, punch, jaw, hook, hook…hook…

And the guy suddenly had him in the exact same eagle claw to the kidney the sixth guy had used.

Malcolm wasn't showing out for the crowd anymore, though. He just gave him his elbow to chew on about a half dozen times, in rapid, powerful succession until he had to let go and stumble back…

Into the wall again.

He caught Malcolm's spinning side kick…but that was just funny. Because Malcolm just jumped and spun the other way, to bring the opposite foot at him. Broke himself lose before he could lose his ankle in the process, and that was lucky.

Laid him out, stunned. So Malcolm stomped on him, to see how many bones he could break before the bouncers were sent in to stop him.

He knocked a couple of those out just for good measure.

Then they had to run, because the money men, the Orions, weren't happy with all the money they'd lost betting on that guy.

And they didn't have time to pick up any of the money the crowd had thrown him either, which Malcolm kept trying to break away and go back for. Until Loya convinced him she didn't care. She wanted to do it on the beach anyway.

He'd managed to snatch a handful of it up, while Trip and Travis were dragging him of the pit…or so he thought. Turned out that was just a bunch of handkerchiefs the Risian girls threw at him…

Malcolm just stared, while the guys in black leather went on and on about it.

He…sort of remembered. A little.

Maybe.

But that didn't sound like him at all. He would never do something like that! Even if he was drunk…which he couldn't have been, if he fought that well!

But pitfighting?! For money?!

That was…barbaric!

He tried to play along, to keep the thugs occupied while T'Pol and Trip moved in on them. Got themselves into position. And for Loya to get her hands on the guy back by the truck…

But by the time they got to the end of the story he was honestly standing there with his jaw dropped.

He just couldn't believe it.

There had to be some other 'British' running around with an Orion, a Vulcan and a couple of Humans. There just had to be.