Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match (2 page)

As they entered the dining hall where they were to eat, Jesse noticed that the dinner smelled wonderful. Sweet and tangy aromas teased his nostrils and made his mouth water. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. After everyone was seated, dinner was served. He loved the roasted bird and the potato like substance was also very good. He concentrated on his meal while everyone took some time to get to know the people they didn’t already know. For him it was a welcome diversion from thinking about what was to come.

After a little while, it seemed to him that everyone thought he was going to lose the death match. They were thanking him and saying all the great things they remembered about him, many of them sporting resigned looks to go along with their words of remembrance. Admiral Dyson had arrived along with Admiral Togglasem, and they joined in as well. He had the feeling that none of his Kaldorian or Ginderian friends expected him to survive. In his mind they were all but saying, “Thank you for giving up your life so we can avoid war.” It was a constant interruption to a great meal that had actually managed to take his mind off the match and it didn’t take long for him to start getting a little tired of it. He stood up quite suddenly with his drink in his hand and loudly proclaimed; “I would like to propose a toast.” He had everyone’s attention, so he continued. “To me!” The entire gathering looked at one another more than a little puzzled. “I will not be dying this week, so please stop acting like you’re attending my funeral and let me enjoy my meal. I appreciate all of the thoughtful things you are saying to me, but it’s not necessary. Garrinoras has underestimated me again, and this time it will cost him his life. There is no need to speak and act as if I’m not coming back.” He sat back down, content that he had gotten his point across and went back to enjoying his meal.

Josiah laughed at Jesse’s bluntness as he raised his glass. “Here, here!”

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted, then the atmosphere became a little bit livelier. Collin stood up while Bessa looked up at him with admiration in her eyes and said, “Jesse may be the underdog to the rest of the galaxy, but they have never seen Colonel Jesse Marcos fight four Pandarans at once and win. They have never seen Colonel Jesse Marcos jump into Death Brush and live, or fight his way past half a dozen pirates to escape his cell. None of them have seen Colonel Jesse Marcos escape and incapacitate his torturer, while he was being tortured. When the rest of the galaxy finally has a chance to see Colonel Jesse Marcos in action, they will realize they have been in fear of the wrong man all this time.” As Collin finished his exhortation, the room erupted in cheers. It was quite loud even though there were only forty or so people there. Jesse smiled at his Collin’s summation and looked over to him and raised his glass. Collin smiled and returned the gesture and they both drank.

Mayor Valinor stood up and announced, “Thank you, Lieutenant, you are quite right. Alright everyone, please continue to enjoy yourselves, and get reacquainted while I borrow Colonel Marcos and a few others to talk strategy.” With that, Jesse, Josiah, and Wennagal got up and joined the Mayor, the Chairman and the two Admirals in the next room while the dinner continued. Mayor Valinor ushered the people involved in the strategy session into a plush room decorated in deep reds and wood stain. Beautiful wood stained tables sat on plush red carpeting, while couches and chairs of finely stained wood frame were covered in red velvet upholstery. There were several paintings in the room depicting wine in its various stages; from vineyard, to wine press, to bottle, to glass. This room reminded Jesse more of a high-class drinking establishment than a strategy planning room. Everyone took a seat around a large wooden table, and a servant came in with a round of drinks as they began.

______

“We already know he’s not going to honor the arrangement.” Wennagal said passionately. “He’s Garrinoras! He’s going to look for any possible way to kill Cassie and Jesse with as little risk to himself as possible.” He was so worried about his Captain that he had not even touched his Julanii white wine.

“We’ve heard he’s trying to put together a big enough armada to take out our ships,” Admiral Dyson informed as she swirled her red wine around the oversized wine glass. “We have no way of knowing how many ships he will have available by the time the match begins. Two hundred
Battle Hammers
should still be enough, but it might not be as easy a battle as we had hoped, and that doesn’t bode well for Captain Reed.” She looked apologetically at Wennagal as she said that last line.

“Kaldor will be adding an extra fifty ships to Ginderbar’s fleet in orbit,” Admiral Togglasem offered. “Garrinoras will be hard pressed to match two hundred fifty ships.” He downed a shot of Farannsian whisky as if to emphasize his point.

“He doesn’t actually have to.” Jesse reminded the assembled leaders. “He only needs a sufficient quantity of ships to keep us busy so he can betray the people on the ground. He knows a prolonged battle will result in other players being drawn in to the game, if they aren’t already. He’s at an advantage because he knows we have no wish to see the Lawless Sector embroiled in war, but that has been his plan all along. Let’s not worry about the ships in orbit just yet. Let’s make sure
Endeavor
along with the entire crew will be able to get off the ground whether I kill Garrinoras or not.” Jesse had not even touched the Sollonian brandy the servant had put down in front of him.

“I agree,” Mayor Valinor offered. “A few strategically placed units among the guests on Chawanas should be able to help to that end. They won’t be part of your entourage, so you will not be breaking any rules.” He looked thoughtful as he added. “You can also have as many soldiers as you like on
Endeavor
; the rule states you may only bring twenty-five to the stadium. What is your ship’s capacity?”

“We can hold fifty fairly comfortably.” Josiah interjected.

“Well then you should invite another twenty-five soldiers to stay on your ship before you leave for Chawanas.”

“I think our ships should wait in an adjacent system, ready to be called in by Ginderbar if the need arises. It would be one surprise Garrinoras people would not be expecting, and might make us appear more vulnerable, goading the Zinnebailans into a precipitous action.” The Chairman added as he sipped on his Sollonian Brandy. Gone was the energetic leader, replaced by a man that seemed aging and frail. Jesse wondered if all of this unrest had begun to take a toll on Kaldor’s chairman.

“To pull that off, your ships would have to start leaving Kaldor a few at a time, and in different directions right now in order for the Zinnebailans not to be completely on to us. They still might be, depending on if there are any information leaks, or how stealthily Kaldor’s ships can get off world between now and two days from now. They would, however, have a hard time determining how many ships Kaldor is sending.” Jesse replied with a nod. “Admiral Dyson, how do you feel about sending more of your soldiers aboard
Endeavor
?”

“No problem, all of my people are very interested in spending time aboard your ship, and meeting you and your crew. You are famous now and your ship is currently a very desirable post.” She replied while absently twirling her lanyard around her fingers. Jesse knew she was looking forward to some time with her daughter as soon as the meeting came to a close.

As Admiral Dyson spoke, Jesse thought about the large Hyperian fleet that would be coming to Chawanas.
Only King Dominus and I are aware those ships are coming. It’s my ace in the hole, so I think I’ll hold onto that information a while longer.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the people seated around the table, but he knew that the best way to make sure a secret doesn’t get leaked when you’re the only one that has it, is not to tell anyone.
This will definitely work to our benefit. Once the Hyperian vessels show up, it will take the focus off any of the ships leaving Kaldor, and it might just take the fight out of the pirates altogether.
As he listened to the planning continue, he felt a knot tightening in his gut as the prospect of what he was going to have to do became more real to him. He suddenly wanted to be very far away in spite of the blustery words he had spoken earlier. He had never feared battle, but somehow he was beginning to fear this and he didn’t like the feeling at all.

The conversation and planning continued for another forty-five minutes before they finished and rejoined the rest of the guests for dessert, much to Kiah’s delight. Jesse immediately went right to Kiah and sat with her while she happily devoured the cake she was served. He felt he needed the cute diversion to take his mind off of what was to come, if only for a few minutes. He had hardly touched his cake, so he cut it in half and stealthily slid half of it onto her plate when he caught her eyeing it. He didn’t want to give her too much, or she might get sick, and then he would face Seeja’s wrath. He poked at the remaining cake on his plate and had he had the appetite, he was sure he would have enjoyed the almost chocolate taste of the moist dark cake sitting in front of him. The filling in between layers was especially tasty, but somewhere during the planning meeting he had lost his appetite.

Jesse was lost in thought about the upcoming match.
Garrinoras is seven feet tall, solid as a rock and is credited with never having lost a fight in his life. Every being in the Lawless Sector is terrified of him. I am going to have to fight a monster, to the death, in front of the entire galaxy. Could I really kill him if it comes to it? Could I take his life if he is unarmed and begging for mercy? I don’t know.  This might wind up being my greatest test.
He knew he had been tested a lot during his life as a soldier, more times than he could count. His mind flashed back to his first big test, back during Special Forces training almost seventeen years earlier. He began to think of Sergeant Kelly and that night on the obstacle course.

[“Let’s go, Marcos, you worthless piece of trash. You may have been a big man back home, but you’re nothing here. You’re gonna take that obstacle course again and again until you break that course record. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Sir!” he yelled, although he knew there was no way he was breaking the course record tonight. He had been at it seven hours straight, it was raining heavily and his Sergeant had put twenty extra pounds in his backpack. He wouldn’t even be in this mess if Arco could have kept his mouth shut. As usual, he had to speak out, and as usual, the Marine to either side of him was punished. He was last in line today, so Jesse was the only one being punished. If it happened again, he was going to beat Arco within an inch of his life. It had gotten so bad, that whenever Arco was second in line, the first Marine would smart off just to pay him back for all the punishment he caused the others. Somehow, he always found his way next to Jesse and Jesse always wound up out on the obstacle course. Jesse already owned the course record, but he was unsure that Sergeant Kelly knew it. He was on his third kilometer for the ninth time today, while carrying the extra weight. He didn’t think he was going to finish the course at all.

“Marcos! Are you trying to tick me off? You better get yourself in gear or we’ll be out here all night. That wall ain’t gonna climb itself.”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Wait, I don’t think your pack is heavy enough. I have twenty more pounds for you. Would you like that? All you gotta do is say you’ve had enough and you can go to your little bed and sleep like a baby, is that what you want?”

“No, Sir!”

“Good, I’ll make you a deal then. You get over this wall using only your hands with your extra forty pounds and we’ll call it a night. What do you say?”

“It’s a deal, Sir!”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” He blew his whistle and somehow, Jesse managed to get his tired body up and over that wall using only his arms to climb. Sergeant Kelly sent him back to the barracks and he was greeted by a smug, smiling Arco.

“You sure look tired,” he quipped.

Jesse lost it, in that moment he suddenly had all of his strength back. He grabbed Arco by the collar and punched him in the face three times. He threw him to the floor and punched him again as he said, “You think this is funny? If you ever stand next to me again, I will beat you until you can’t even walk. How’s that? Funny enough for ya?” He hit him again as Collin and Josiah pulled him off. They had never seen their easy-going friend snap before, but they couldn’t blame him either. It did seem like Jesse was usually his target and no one knew why. Just then the Sergeant stormed into the barracks.

“Marcos! Did I just see you attack and threaten a fellow Marine?”

Jesse knew his weary body was about to take another beating as he replied, “Yes, Sir!”

“Good, it’s about time.” He laughed as an almost evil smile lit up his face. He turned and yelled, “Arco, I have an obstacle course with your name on it. Clean the blood off your face and let’s go. You don’t get to sleep until you break Marcos’ course record.”

As Arco left the barracks, every Marine in the room congratulated Jesse as he tiredly made his way to his rack. He had his best night sleep in months that night, and Arco only lasted two more days before giving up his Special Forces training.]