TO THE SHORES OF TRIPLE, LEE! - Ray Gun Revival

“Young Ones”, by Selena Thomason
“Let’s see it.”
A yellow and brown face appeared on the
viewscreen. “Valon Corp brings you the first
fight of its kind. Join us at the Markim Arena
on Halk 5 for a conflict like no other, featuring
a fighter like no other. An alien, completely
unknown in this sector, unlike anything you
have seen before.” A picture of Ensign Brody
appeared alongside the announcer.
“Humans, they are called,” the announcer
continued. The date and time of the fight
appeared at the bottom of the screen, along
with “Buy your tickets now” and a string of
numbers. “This fighter’s alien, he’s new, and
he’s definitely more lethal than he looks.
Be the first to see this new breed of fighter.
Markim Arena. Halk 5. Be there.”
The commercial ended and the screen
again showed the sporting complex.
“Halk 5 is only a couple days away,” Verid
said. “We have to move quickly.”
“More lethal than he looks?” Merrimore
grumbled, then in a softer tone added, “At
least he looks okay.”
“I told you they wouldn’t hurt him,” Verid
nearly whispered. “As for the commercial,
Akil is a fight promoter, not a poet. The good
news is that he heads one of the bigger corps.
They have the resources to take good care of
Brody.”
Merrimore walked to Lt. Craig’s station
and hovered over him. “Have you found him
yet?”
The young lieutenant seemed to be quailing
under the constant pressure of trying to
locate Brody. His hands shook slightly on the
console. He looked like if he had to say, “No,
not yet” one more time, he might crack.
Merrimore seemed to notice it too and
stepped back a bit.
“Um, no sir,” Craig stammered. “Not yet.
The station is pretty big. It may take a while
to get an exact location, even after we start
picking up his signal.”
“Okay, lieutenant. Just keep looking and
let me know as soon as you find anything.”
“Will do, sir.”
#
Less than an hour later, Craig finally received
a hit from Brody’s transponder.
Pg. 0
“He’s in the Maridian ship presently docking
with the station,” Craig told them. Verid
couldn’t help but notice that the lieutenant’s
hands had stopped shaking.
Merrimore’s face brightened. Verid realized
that the waiting had been getting to him.
“Great,” he said, “let’s get this rescue mission
under way!”
“They’re moving him,” Lt. Craig called from
his station, a slight note of panic returning to
his voice.
“They won’t leave the station,” Verid interjected.
“They are probably just moving him
into lodgings. It’s standard procedure. They
house all the fighters in a central dormitory.”
“Keep track of him, Lieutenant.” Merrimore
turned to Verid. “How do you know so
much about the Maridians and this sporting
complex?”
Verid shrugged. “Captain, I’ve been Maridian.
And I’ve visited this station several times.
It’s a good place for people-watching.”
“Are there any species in this sector that
you haven’t been?”
“None that I know of.”
Merrimore laughed and turned to his first
officer. “Cdr. Michaelson, I want you to begin
mapping the station and download it to an
HC. I want to have a route planned between
our entry point and wherever Brody ends up.
Plus, I want some alternate escape routes just
in case.”
“I’m on it,” Michaelson replied.
#
Verid knew that getting onto the station
would be the easy part. People were always
coming and going, and security was just
for show. Anyone who had currency was
welcome; she had learned that on her first
visit.
She was also not concerned about determining
where Brody was being held. Between
his sub-dermal transponder and her prior experience
with the complex, that part wouldn’t
be much of a challenge.
What would be difficult was getting into
the dormitory where the fighters were housed
or, more accurately, imprisoned. That would
take a little bit of ingenuity since the lodgings
were heavily guarded. After all, the Marid-
Ray Gun Revival – August 1, 2006 Issue 03