The metal door creaks, opening into a walkway, there are other doors opening, revealing more of my people, their eyes glow dully in anticipation. We all begin to walk through a large archway, towards the sands that I glimpsed through the cracks. As I step out into the full light of day, the sheer magnitude of what I see sweeps me. I have never seen so many marvels of civilization in one place before. It is breathtaking to behold; I am standing in a massive Colosseum, larger than the size of my tribe’s city, the seats beginning more than ten meters above the sand are filled to the brim with people, all shouting and cheering, the echo of their voices shakes the very sand I walk upon. There are lights all over the stands, making a sea of false stars in the shadows of the Colosseum.
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Vendors peddle their wares moving between people. The smell of spiced meat I will never taste making my belly grumble in protest. I see smoke billowing from sections of the crowd, it reminds me of Sage Artemius, he always used to imbibe on his pipe. Often blowing smoke rings for us as children, a fond memory, I push it away, I must focus on the details, absorbing as much as I can.
The people look strange to me, they wear refined clothes of styles I do not understand the purpose of. There appears no practicality in it. Their bodies are covered in glittering jewelry, lights dance on them. Some have their faces painted like Warden Akaria, others in ways I do not understand. One thing is certain however, I have never seen so many vibrant colors.
Looking further upwards surrounding the Colosseum in a circle, I see towering buildings rising ever skyward, they gleam in the sun with polished metal and sparkling glass, light emanates from them throughout. They seem to blend into the arches of the Colosseum near the upper rings. Streams of floating pods begin to fill the air around them. All of them filled with more people. Bipki drones hum as they hover past, always watching us.
It is surreal to see this after a lifetime scavenging scraps for their floating cities. They are exquisite, like mountain sized gems sparkling in the air, their towering buildings of metal and glass. It is wonderous, I feel my chest pounding with excitement. From the sides of the Colosseum, banners begin to unfurl and hang, flowing in the wind, the Republic’s insignia embroidered on them.
As I look closer, I see the entire structure is decorated with carved sandstone, the metal looking more like accent pieces. Flowing archways separate the levels, stairs between sections rising through the crowds, I cannot even begin to count the number of people. It must be hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions. I did not even know this planet had so many souls to call it home.
It strikes me as I look upon the beauty of everything around me, how much it contrasts with the nature of the masters. How can those who have made something so wonderous be the ones that hold the whip? The anger stirs in me. They have so much yet they still seek more. A loud booming voice pulls me from the distractions of my thoughts and refocuses me.
“Welcome Hunters!” the voice says, enhanced by some kind of sound equipment around the structure “Give it up for the first round of hunters everyone!”
The crowd stands and screams from his words, my ears ringing from the noise that echoes in the center ring. What did he mean by round? What is going on, why are there so many people?
“Okay - Okay settle down everyone, and now a word from the Governor of this system. The one gracious enough to organize the festivities for all of us!” the voice says.
A large open pod a hundred meters above takes to the center of the arena. The Republic Anthem begins to play and the crowds stand placing a fist over their hearts until it finishes. I spit upon the ground, I see many others of my people doing the same. Projections around the Colosseum begin broadcasting a closer view of the pod in the center. My holopad chimes and the same broadcast emits from it.
“I am Senator Adonius of the great and noble House Helenius. As many of you are no doubt aware, I am the Interim Governor of this wonderful solar system.” He begins.
Now having to raise a hand for silence as the crowd cheers to him loudly.
“I am pleased to announce the official start of the 447th annual Grand Hunt. We have a large selection this year, the largest in over a hundred years I am told. Ten Kuwathi cities have volunteered their citizens seeking glory. More than 100,000 souls will compete.”
The crowd goes wild at this revelation, my anger rises, we did not enter this for glory, it was this or death. There is no honor in this farce. If my blade could reach him, it would rip the tongue from his mouth. My eyes look around me, each person moving a good distance from others, blades at the ready. We do not know what the challenge is yet, so we are wary of each other.
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“I hope you all enjoy the opening festivities. Long live the Republic.” He says, the entire crowd repeats it back to him.
Now turning to the man next to him he smiles, saying “Marcus, I think they are ready for you.”
“Thank you, Governor!” Marcus says, he is the man who spoke before, his voice so loud from the speakers it hurts my ears “Give it up for the best Interim Governor this system has ever seen!”
The crowd is electric in its excitement.
“When it comes time to vote I know who I’m voting for.” He makes a miming motion behind his hand pretending to whisper “Senator Adonius for Governor.”
The crowd roars in approval, the menagerie of words they utter slowly converging into something more cohesive. My jaw clenches as their unified words echo into my ears.
Governor Adonius - Governor Adonius
As their words rattle the sands, another sound begins to hum in my hand, the song of my blade calling out, seeking Adonius, wishing for him to become a notch upon it.
“Now - now, let’s not make this about politics, you all came to see the glory of the Grand Hunt.” Adonius says, but behind the smile I begin to see the machinations of his twisted mind.
“Indeed Governor!” Marcus yells “Who is ready?”
The sand quakes with their excitement, I can feel it in my chest.
“Courtesy of the Flagship Thorn of House Helenius, the first wave for the hunt comes to us from the edges of Republic space, the system of Gana Minor.” Marcus says, bringing his hand up in the air, a large spaceship flying low in orbit ejects a series of objects from its belly.
The crowd begins to go wild.
“Thoughtfully procured due to their ability to thrive in desert climates, these natives of Gana Minor system are ravenously predatory. Now sponsors, remember bidding has opened for any hunters that catch your eyes, and you’ll see a plethora of exciting new additions this year in the patronage menu.”
The objects begin to reverse thrusters a few hundred meters from the ground before slamming into the sand. One lands less than fifty meters from me. My pulse quickens as I look upon the large container, there is an eerie scratching coming from it. I see the other Hunters moving into groups now, there is no guarantee that is the safest option though, so I wait. Twirling the blades in my hands then tightening my grip. I feel a buzzing from the holopad on my wrist, but I ignore it, my focus on the task at hand. There is a red light flashing on the container nearest to me, each flash making me question my decision to not join another group.
“Ladies and gentlemen! I give you the Gana Emperor Scorpion!” he says, drawing out the words.
The container light turns green, a wall from it falls to the ground. The crowd erupts once more. A large, deep black mass spills out from the container skidding across the sand. Huge claws with pincers large enough to rip a man in half begin to snap and click loudly, there is a chittering from the mouth of the eight legged behemoth. For a moment I freeze, unable to take my eyes from the beast as its massive tail unfurls itself, a razor-sharp stinger on the end of it, poised to strike. There is a frantic buzzing on my wrist that brings me back. Sekat.
Moving now towards a group of hunters I take with me a spear and shield, the only other weapons on me, the blades I’ve tucked into my boots. I have abandoned the other assorted weapons and tools, it will only weigh me down, I must travel light. A cord of rope hangs around my shoulder, bouncing back and forth as I run across the sand.
“Fun fact, the venom from the Gana Emperor Scorpion is so toxic that it can even kill others of its kind, and did you know their stomach acid is so volatile it can even break down metal? Makes transporting them incredibly difficult.” Marcus says with glee.
I am almost upon the other group only ten meters away, when I see the Scorpion that landed near me take notice at last. Sekat, it is much faster than I expected. It scuttles effortlessly across the sand gaining on me rapidly. I will not make it to the group, they are running from me now too. Sekat, I see a man across the field being stung, spewing blood and foam from his eyes, nose and mouth a few moments later. There must be thirty or more of them on the field. Our numbers a few hundred.
“Hunters be sure to check for messages from sponsors, you must accept a patronage gift to receive it.” Marcus says, his voice an attack on my focus.
Mustering every ounce of courage that has ever dared drip into my soul, I stop and turn completely, I cannot outrun this beast, I must outfight it. My pace is metered and smooth as I begin to quicken it towards the creature, spear and shield in hand. Several Bipki drones change their paths now following above me. I pay them no mind, in the old tongue Bipki means simply - Demon eye.
I launch the spear through the air, hard as I can manage. The spear smashes against the shell of the beast and barely leaves a scratch. Sekat, these weapons will not be enough on the hard shell. Its tail looms six meters overhead poised to strike. The chittering mouth salivating as it surely imagines my flesh within it, the acid that drips from its mouth making the sand sizzle and smoke where it lands. The massive claws snap when they are in range of me, I roll to avoid them, I feel the wind of the tail as it strikes the ground near me. My wrist is vibrating constantly now from my holopad notifications, I wish I could silence it. Focusing again, I run along the side of the creature now, trying to test its blind spot. It spins with a shuffling of its eight legs.
The sand dusts the air as it moves, the tail strikes the ground where I just was. It is an excellent dance partner as I jump and roll, it strikes once more this time into the shield I placed on the ground.
Bang - Crack as the shield breaks apart. These tools are not enough to fight, hearing the hum of a Bipki drone moving past me; an idea comes to me, an idea that crawls from the primordial muck of desperation, inspired by the will to survive. Gripping the cord of rope I have around my shoulder, I begin to plan my next move.