Chapter EightGo to chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 ==February 17, 2096, 14h After one last hurried check of the sound equipment, Kathy Kijap allowed herself the luxury of a folding chair and a sip of coffee. The diminutive woman smiled as she looked over the LBC camera setup here inside the newly expanded WAR Testing Chamber. She had gotten the perfect camera array, and everything was working fine for possibly the first time this month. Only one thing remained: Steve McDunnet was still missing, ten minutes late. Shrugging, Kijap thought, I'll give him five more minutes, then I'm covering the fight myself. The McDunnets will catch an earful from me this time! Taking a casual glance around the room, Kijap saw PR representative Shirro Lang enter the room with, as usual, a smile for everyone. Not surprisingly, he started making the rounds of the major networks, trying to ensure everyone put the official WAR spin on things. By the time he got around to her, Kijap was fairly sure she knew what he would say. "Miss Kijap, remember, this isn't the Arena anymore. Jonus Augardi is just another contestant, and giving him undue airtime wouldn't be in either of our best interests," Shirro said, confirming Kijap's guesses. Like Aidoann, the other contestant in today's fight, Jonus preferred to be known by his first name, claiming it kept him from being too formal with everyone. Although with him, Kijap mused, that wouldn't be a problem anyway. If he weren't so good, he'd be insufferably arrogant, but as it is, even we newsmen have to admit he deserves his reputation. LBC News had a good business relationship with the man; oddly enough, Eliza Laim was the only member of the press he really trusted, and with LBC giving him airtime, he quickly became one of the most popular Arena fighters in the sport's history. The Arena was as close as anyone had ever been to a HAR duel before; the fighters were actually strapped into metal strength-enhancing frames, as opposed to the current system of a remote connection to the pilot's brain, but most of the rules were the same. Jonus wasn't very strong physically, but the "man with the perfect mind" (as the tabloids dubbed him) was always a finalist for the championship. His stylish good looks and affable personality made him a favorite with the crowds, and he continued to make sporadic appearances in the public spotlight even after the Common Government disbanded the sport half a decade ago. Obviously Lang thought Jonus had outlived his usefulness as a news item, and preferred to focus on the dramatic tension of a robot duel between two skilled fighters instead. Kijap was ready with a smooth answer: "I can assure you LBC won't have problems with that, Mr. Lang. You forget we've already spent plenty of time promoting Aidoann as well." Her accompanying smile never touched her eyes. Lang decided it wasn't worth pressing further and moved to the next camera setup. Inside the Testing Chamber, metal blast doors rumbled apart to reveal Aidoann's Electra. The green and gold color scheme looked suitably impressive under the harsh lights of the chamber, drawing everyone's attention up to the Electra's spike-hands. With a theatrical flourish, Aidoann turned on the electricity, and the resulting power surge briefly lit up the arena as one of the lights overloaded in a mammoth burst of static electricity. Tech crews hastened to the scene; Aidoann responded with only a robotic shrug. A replacement light was still being maneuvered into place as the opposite set of forty-meter-high doors opened to permit the second contestant, Jonus piloting a Katana-model HAR. WAR's sales pitch for the Katana advertised it as the "Ultimate Weapon", capable of taking down everything from helicopters to intruding HARs. Iron Fist's infamous use of a Katana to dismantle an entire space station had gained this security model notoriety, and its catlike grace and slightly feminine build gave it style to match. Jonus' model was outfitted in metallic green and gray, his trademark colors from the Arena days. Just as it was nearly impossible to miss the Electra's supercharged hands, the Katana's design naturally drew the eye to the double-edged blades that gave the robot its name. Instead of hands, a chevron of durasteel protruded from the Katana's forearms, giving an edge on the front of the blade and two points pointed slightly back. These three areas were sharpened and reinforceduntil, like knives advertised on holovision, they could cut through a meter of solid lead in ten seconds, and held enough weight to allow Katana to climb sheer cliffs. The blades whistled through the air as Jonus moved into a traditional fighting stance, one blade-hand extended in front for balance. Speaking softly inside the control room, Kijap explained to the holivision viewers what was going on. "The previous winner, Aidoann Traillieu, seen here in the green Electra robot, is facing off today against former Arena contestant Jonus Augardi, using a Katana. Both people have proven their worth in combat, so it proves to be a captivating match." Any further details were overridden by Shirro's amplified voice announcing the starting of the match: "Ready…Fight!" As Jonus was well aware, the best way to start a fight is to surprise the opponent, so he started off with the showiest move in his arsenal. Aidoann watched as her adversary took a flying leap away from her to land against the back wall. Memories presented themselves from her years of experience: a dossier of the Katana's capabilities, a documentary on Jonus' fighting style, a video of this particular move, dubbed the "Razor Spin". The Katana would use the wall as a springboard and start spinning as fast as possible, leaving no weak spots uncovered while still able to cut the opponent with a blade. Aidoann's Electra dodged to the side, but not fast enough: Jonus tore a gash in its left shoulder, then kicked off Aidoann and spun back to a safe distance. Before he reached the opposite wall, though, the Katana demonstrated its surpassing agility by seeming to stop in midair as it twisted around so both deadly blade-hands faced Aidoann's Electra as the legs landed with infinite poise on the stone floor. Jonus whirled into a defensive maneuver, creating an impenetrable wall of razor-sharp steel, drawing applause from the crowd, but was forced to quit his posturing when a metal spike threatened his position. He jumped away gracefully and circled around the Electra slowly. Although injured, Aidoann was nowhere near quitting. She leaped at Jonus, electric spike-hand extended, and although he parried the blow, he was forced on the defensive as the Electra launched punch after punch. He had no opening for a return strike, while Aidoann could be as creative as she wished. She made the most of the opportunity, and although Jonus' reflexes were second to none, he could not defend when he had no idea where the next strike was coming from, and finally a low kick swept him off his feet. The "man with the perfect mind" was famed for his ability to rebound from any situation, and as he fell, he lashed out with a vicious backhand, digging into the Electra's arm with a durasteel point sharper than any razor. Both combatants fell together, and almost before she rose, Jonus pressed his advantage. Aidoann supporters in the audience winced with each metallic crunch, each spark of internal damage the Electra showed, while aside from a few scuffs in its shiny new paintjob, there was no evidence the Katana had ever been hit. Aidoann had no recourse but to use the same trick that had so elegantly worked on her previous opponent, Devroe: as a metal knee rushed toward her, it was met by both of Aidoann's hands, suddenly flaring with high voltage as gigawatts of power rushed into the Katana. Lightning crackled up the length of its leg, a thunderclap of sound swept into the control room as the air around the robots ionized, and Jonus stopped in his tracks, stunned. Aidoann dashed in with an uppercut to knock the former Arena fighter flat. The hit never landed. Cameras across the stadium suddenly tilted and panned back as Jonus jumped dozens of meters straight up in the air, catching Aidoann's chin with a well-placed knee on his way up. His Katana whirled around and drove both his hands like spikes into the nearby wall, leaving him hanging like a gigantic, metal mountain climber. Aidoann knew she had one chance only: to hit Jonus with a burst of lightning before he could detach himself and counterattack. Before Jonus' Katana had reached the wall, she was running towards it, hands charging up for a stun blast that would throw him off the wall and into her grasp. She reached up with the confidence born of decades in an Electra, a sustained lightning bolt thundering between her hands spelling the end of the match for her opponent. Jonus, acting with his trademark perfect timing, launched himself into another Razor Spin, evading the electric charge by less than a meter but covering his retreat with one super-sharpened 'hand'. With only a split-second to react, Aidoann turned to face him, then checked herself as she realized there was something wrong with this spin; it was going to fall short of her. If she tried a flying kick, she would miss and leave herself open to the Katana's deadly bladed hands; the thing to do was stay put and let him miss. Accordingly, she settled into a defensive position and waited for Jonus' gamble to play out. Unfortunately for her, this was what Jonus had planned all along. Still spinning, he shot out his right hand, slashing open an entire armor panel on the Electra's chest. Aidoann took an involuntary step backward and raised her hands to block in a haze of pain, hoping her electrified hands would prevent the Katana from attempting to follow through on the attack. Jonus, moving at what seemed superhuman speed, evaded her defenses by smashing his left leg into the Electra's robotic legs. He continued to spin; the Electra dropped to its knees with a metallic crunch that would have shattered an observer's eardrums, had the control room and audio pickups not been carefully shielded. A vicious airborne backhand to the side of Aidoann's head knocked the HAR all the way to the ground and crushing durasteel structural supports like aluminum foil. The Katana landed like a feather. The final kick with the Katana's pile-driver legs drove into Aidoann's stomach as she fell to the ground. This was the last straw for the Electra's fragile interior; with the horrendous sound of blowing fuses and splintering metal, the deadly, electric spike-hands flickered and died. Aidoann began to rise from the stone floor, but soon abandoned the effort and conceded defeat. Jonus raised a bladed arm in victory, doubtless imagining the roar of the crowds in the long-ago Arena. Kathy Kijap struggled for words to match that impressive finale, but none came. Shrugging inwardly, she spoke into the microphone: "Well, if you wanted a close, nail-biting match, folks, this sure wasn't it, but those of you who just wanted to see sparks fly had the time of your life. Jonus Augardi is the victor in the latest round of the HAR tournament, hosted by mega-corporation World Aeronautics and Robotics. Now let's go to Eliza Laim back in New York for a closer analysis of today's match." * * * * From his room inside the Budget Motel, Trent turned off the holovision angrily. Aidoann may not have been the world's best pilot, but she deserved better than that humiliating defeat. Jonus had obviously been playing with her like a cat and mouse, waiting to see if she had anything else up her sleeve before crushing her. It reminded Trent uncomfortably of his own behavior just days ago in his daily training regimen; he had schooled himself to ignore or excuse his own brutality, telling himself that he had to be tough against machines or he wouldn't stay focused properly, but to see it in action was something else entirely. Trent resolved to pay a visit to Jonus as soon as possible. If worse came to worst, he could always challenge Jonus to a duel and give the man a taste of his own medicine. |