Grakkan's Union • Chapter Two - “Impressive”

Dreena made her way down the large flight of steps outside Magistrate's Vellun's office building. The grey sky had clouded over even more in the short time she had been inside and threatened rain. She wouldn't let the weather dampen her spirits, however. She had accomplished what she had set out to do. She had gotten her team a place in the Grakkan Union Games. She'd have to start at the Detrius Arena since she was a first-time owner. Her family name carried some weight, but not enough to grant her a bye to a more prestigious arena. That was fine with her; the less pressure on the team at the start the better.

"How'd it go?" another female voice asked.

Dreena met the other woman at the bottom of the stairs. The woman's skin was deeply tanned, and she sported very long, straight black hair that she kept in thick braids. The parts of her body that weren't hidden by a dark cloak were toned and firm.

"We're in," Dreena said, deciding not to mention Kashen's disapproval. "Where are the others?"

"In the market," the woman answered.

"What?" Dreena asked. "Gail, I told you to keep them close by."

"It's alright," Gail said. "The Captain is watching them."

Dreena shook her head. "C'mon, we'd better go fetch them. We've got a lot to do before tomorrow."

* * * * *

"Straight from Ansymer Prime, 'tis this! Originally worn by the great Oolumus Greel, three-time Champion of Grakkan's Games! You won't find a prettier piece for your collection anywhere in this sector!"

The diminutive Gnoovian was hocking his wares to all who would listen. A small crowd was gathering at the mention of the great Oolumus Greel, a name that was semi-revered on the Detrius Colony; a hometown favorite so-to-speak. The denizens of Detrius loved their gladiators.

"Oolumus Greel?" a voice called out. "Wore that?"

"That's right me lad! He fought more than twenty matches wearing this simple jerkin."

"I'm surprised he survived one minute wearing that thing!"

There was a uniform intake of breath from those who had gathered around the Gnoovian's stall. The young man who had spoken was slight of build and was wearing a simple cloak. His brown hair was greasy and hung lifelessly down to his shoulders. His arched eyebrows gave him a somewhat devilish air. An odd-shaped crystal hung from his neck on a length of cord. A dark mist seemed to swirl about within the crystal. It was an ugly thing.

"I assure you, young man," the Gnoovian continued. "That this was indeed worn by Greel, and that he fought bravely in it."

"Huh," the boy chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Is it true he died in a puddle of his own vomit?"

Again, the crowd got restless. The Gnoovian approached the young man. The little alien barely came up to the boy's shoulders, but he placed his thick arms on his hips and stared hard at the human lad.

"Who do you think you are, to speak of the great Oolumus Greel in this manner?"

"I'm the Kid," the young man replied. "And I'm here to take part in the games. I'm a gladiator."

After the briefest of pauses, there were a few laughs and guffaws throughout the small crowd.

The Gnoovian laughed the loudest. His frog-like belly jiggling with joviality.

"You!?" he snorted. "A gladiator are ya?"

The Kid's face was calm. "That's right."

"Well, I didn't know," the Gnoovian boomed. "Ladies and Gentlemen, little did I know that we have a great and mighty gladiator in our presence. Oh yes, I'm sure he'll give Freakshow himself a run for his money."

The crowd laughed some more. The Kid was not laughing. A slight smile began to appear at the corner of his lips. He stared deep and hard at the Gnoovian merchant. The alien suddenly stopped talking and stared back into the eyes of the Kid. The smile disappeared off the venders' large lips and his eyes began to water. His legs started to tremble, yet he could not tear his gaze from the Kid's dark eyes... his dark and bottomless eyes. The crowd didn't really know what was happening and most were beginning to lose interest and shuffle off. The Gnoovian began to drool on himself and make gibbering noises. The Kid tilted his head slightly and moved in close to the alien.

"I might at that," he whispered, his eyes still locked onto the venders.

White light and pain shot across the Kid's vision and he fell to the wet ground. He stood quickly, noting that the Gnoovian had run off, whimpering to himself. He rubbed the back of his head and tried to clear his vision. Standing in the mud in front of him were three large humans, dressed in dirty uniforms. The local militia no doubt.

"That wasn't very nice, lad," one of them said.

The Kid's fingers lightly stroked the crystal, as within the dark smoke swirled...

* * * * *

The Captain watched from a few steps back as the Kid surveyed the wares of the market. The Kid had behaved himself the last few days and the Captain had no reason to believe he'd start acting up now. He was too excited about the upcoming games to get himself into any trouble and ruin his chances of fighting. The Kid stopped at a Gnoovian's stall as the little alien began his pitch. The Captain hung back and looked over a stall selling what appeared to be real apples.

"Goddess!" a voice said. "It's Captain Impressive!"

The Captain turned to face the older woman, his cybernetic eye coming up negative on an automatic weapon search. She was apparently the owner of the stall with the apples. She was pawing at him with filthy hands; her grin huge on her face.

"By Jumba's Hammer! You're right love!" a short man said, moving up beside the woman and staring at the Captain. "What do you know about that? Captain Impressive right here at my stall! You know, I saw you fight in the Grava Cor Pits not five years ago, young man."

The Captain couldn't help but smile. He always liked talking to the fans. The Grava Cor Pits were known for their brutality and he had fought well in them.

"Did you? That was a good match," he said.

"The Captain was so good in those games," the man said to his wife. "Took out Rooter and Sinjin Crypt he did. That's when they started calling him Impressive. But then he dropped off the map. Say... are you here for the Games?"

"As a matter of fact..." the Captain was cut off by a commotion. He turned and saw that the Kid was staring down three militiamen. The Kid had the crystal in his hand. "Oh no..."

* * * * *

"We don't want any trouble, boy," one of the militias stated. "But we don't mind giving it out if we hav'ta. Why don't you come quiet and we can talk?"

The Kid smiled, his eyes narrowed. The dark mist was a maelstrom inside the crystal as he clutched it in his hand.

"Kid!"

The Kid's smile turned into a frown. The party had been stopped before it even got going. The militiamen turned as one as a large man approached, his cloak flapping behind him. Both hands and his left eye were cybernetic, and there was a streak of white in his hair at each temple.

"Do I know you?" one of the militia asked, staring at the Captain as if trying to place the face.

"Holy Kartch!" another of the men stated. "It's Captain Impressive."

"You're right!" the first man said, smiling. Then he remembered the Kid. "You know this kid, Captain?"

The Captain frowned. "Yes. He's with me. Has there been a problem?"

"Oh, well, there was a disturbance..." one of the men started.

"But nothing too serious," the first militiaman stated. "If he's with you, I'm sure it was a misunderstanding. Just keep an eye on the lad. Alright, folks let's get on with it!"

The crowd dispersed, and the Captain took the Kid by the scruff of the neck and led him out of the market.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"I was provoked!"

"And the crystal?" the Captain asked.

"Well, it was three on one, wasn't it?" the Kid stated. "I had to even out the odds."

The Captain stopped sharply and pulled the Kid in front of him. "That's for the arena only!"

The Kid flinched. Very rarely did the Captain get this serious. And when the Captain got serious, he sent out a shocking aura that blinded the Kid's special senses. No wonder he was known as Impressive in the arenas.

"Alright, sorry. Shssssn'ta! It was just a bit of fun."

"Enough fun for one day," Dreena said as she and Gail joined the two at the market outskirts. "Let's go." Captain Impressive and the Kid joined Dreena and Gail as they made their way to the spaceport.

"Where are we going?" the Kid asked.

"To pick up the last member of the team," she replied.

"What? I thought we were set already? Who is it?"

"At one time he was one of the best solo fighters there was. He fought for my father."

The Kid blinked. "I thought your dad's fighters were all dead."

"This one," Dreena said with a hint of a smile on her lips. "Was never alive."