FOUR DAYS EARLIER
"And here it is, folks, the moment you've all been waiting for!" the announcer sat in his booth high above the arena and the crowds said into his speaker. "Please rise and give a big round of applause for Kovos' supreme dinosaur fighter: The one, the only...Dolric Justinian!" The crowd gave a thunderous roar as the large doors at the northern end of the arena swung open and Dolric himself strode out into the sunlight, the armoured battle suit he was strapped into boosting his height to nine feet. Flashing a dazzling smile, he saluted the ecstatic crowd with his power-lance held aloft.
The applause died down to a hush of tense, excited expectation as Dolric looked at the doors across from him, behind which could be heard snuffling and growling. Filled with confidence Dolric shouted "Let them come!" With a crash the gates were flung open and, with louder roars, two adult specimens of carnotaurus charged out onto the sand, swinging their blunt, bulldog-like heads on powerful necks as they observed their environment. Their eyes blinked below the short horns atop their skulls. Then those same eyes fixed on Dolric, and they lowered their heads menacingly and stalked towards him whilst snarling.
Carnotaurs were among Dolric's favorite dinosaurs to fight; their skulls made such fascinating trophies. Devil-bulls, some called them, for their tempers as well as their horned appearance. "Well come on then!" he taunted the two now slowly approaching him. "I don't have all day!"
Uttering a ferocious bellow the nearest carnotaur lunged forward, to be hurled back by a blow to the snout from Dolric's lance, which elicited a screech of pain and rage from the saurian and chorus of approval from the multitude of spectators. Dolric laughed, basking in his confidence as he started to step forward in his suit to continue the glorious sport...
And that was when it happened. No sooner had it touched the sandy floor than the mechanical extension of his left leg suddenly froze and the servo-motors gave a short series of tortured groans and gurgles. The next instant saw his lance thud to the ground, dropped by now useless steel hands. After that, Dolric's whole world became horror and agony as both carnotaurs slammed him onto his back and began tearing at metal and flesh.
In his booth the announcer was screaming. "Jesu Apollo, where are the guards! Get them off of him NOW! Clear the damn arena, get the MEDICS!"
OOOOOOOO
The voice and expression of the newsreader on the public screen later that afternoon was solemn as he announced the tragic death of Dolric Justinian, the planet's beloved prime fighter of dinosaurs, due to a systems malfunction in his battle suit. This was instantly accompanied by footage of wailing and weeping mourners gathered in the streets to pay homage to their fallen idol.
There followed an interview with Dolric's tearful husband. "He was so perfect," he was sobbing into the camera. "Everyone loved him so much! I can't...I just can't believe he's gone forever...it's so unfair...!"
The days passed, the grief continued unabated. At a press conference Prime Minister Norag made a statement that was broadcast across all of Kovos: "Dolric was a hero to us all. And as a hero, he deserves a truly glorious send-off. He deserves deeds of valor in his name. Tomorrow a ship will set off for Siluria, the home planet of the beasts which took his life, carrying the fighters who knew knew him, for a very special event. Far from Kovos, but watched by us all, they will battle and slay dinosaurs on their home ground. Honor and vengeance for Dolric!"
OOOOOOOO
With the last power rod planted firmly in the ground, Klen activated a switch on his handheld control pad and, with a brief crackle, the energy barrier encircling the ship was in operation as night swiftly fell over Siluria. Klen surveyed his handiwork and nodded in satisfaction, before turning and walking towards the open hatchway in the side of the ship, bypassing the carcass of the baryonyx they had killed earlier that day. "Fence is up and running, lads," he said to the three fighters lounging in the mess room.
"Good work, Klen," Brant said, not even looking up from his pad as he watched the footage shot earlier of him battling the baryonyx. "Let me know if a lizard comes along though," he added. "I only got one kill today, and I like to go to sleep on at least two." He chuckled and Klen noticed, not for the first time, how unbothered by Dolric's death he seemed. Brant had always been second to Dolric in the arena, and no doubt relished the opportunity to surpass his rival's glories.
"Don't get too greedy, Brant," Welner, fighter, commented. "And remember the main reason we're here: To honor Dolric, not ourselves."
Brant opened his mouth to reply, paused, then shut it, shrugged and went back to gazing at his pad. After a moment of silence the tele-unit mounted from the ceiling above them blinked to life, displaying the face of the captain. "Pardon the interruption, boys," he announced, "but it looks like we have some visitors."
"Visitors? You mean dinos?" Klen queried.
The captain nodded. "Yeah, but...well, I think there may be something a bit...odd going on. Perhaps you should look for yourselves." The screen switched then to an exterior view in night-vision. Several yards beyond the fence around the ship could be seen three dinosaurs. When the fighters saw them, they instantly knew what the captain meant.
"What the hell?" Welner muttered. The dinosaurs were all of different species: A hadrosaur, a styracosaurus...and a tyrannosaurus; all stood close together, immobile, watching the ship. The air was not cold, yet Klen shivered.
"Right, people," Brant was saying. "Think it's time to suit up!" He turned to go, then stopped and turned round when saw the others were just standing there, still looking at the animals gathered outside. "What? It's nothing we ain't fought before. What's the matter with you?"
"This...this isn't normal, man," Welner said.
"Welner's right," Klen added. "I mean, look at them. When did you last see a T-rex with a hadro and a styrac, like that? I don't like it."
Brant stared at them and gave a short laugh of derision. "Fine, have it your way. I'm getting myself some fun." And he walked briskly out of the room.
OOOOOOOO
Some minutes later, Klen and the others watched on the screen as Brant, in his battle suit, approached the fence, beyond which still stood the dinosaurs. The creatures had not moved an inch or made a single sound since they had first appeared. At a signal from Brant, Klen cut the power to the fence to allow him to step through. As soon as he was past, Klen reactivated it. They saw Brant hefting his lance. They saw him drop it and his limbs start jerking and flailing uncontrollably. They heard him yelling in panic.
They, along with the captain and the few crew members, came running outside, armed with guns, just in time to see Brant's battle suit ripped from his body by some invisible force - and then his body itself torn apart in the same manner. The dinosaurs bellowed in unison and advanced forward over what was left of Brant. "Not possible...not possible!" Klen screamed as the energy barrier protecting them sparked, fizzled and collapsed before the beasts approaching them.
"Jesu, the guns won't fire!" the captain yelled as he frantically jabbed at the controls on his weapon. Behind them the ship was rocked by an explosion from within; a plume of flame blossomed from the open hatch, engulfing Welner, the last fighter, and two of the crew. The last thread of Welner's courage broke and he fled into the shadows of the jungle. Behind him he heard the crash as the styracosaurus rammed into the ship, and the captain's scream cut off as the T-rex scooped him up in its' jaws...