Yan woke up with a splitting hangover, which he considered to be one of the three least pleasant things that could happen in the universe. In his opinion, the other two were suffering from severe injuries and running into ugly women. Luckily, he was quite adept at concealing his physical discomfort. After a lifetime of being used to sonic cleaning, he staggered into his cabin's fresher unit and turned on the water shower, which was still a new experience. The pounding in his head was lessened, but not completely, by the hot water. He hurriedly got dressed, still feeling sleepy, and went out into the main corridor of the Kyara, anticipating that the others would already be awake and getting ready for the day.
The hallway was quiet and deserted. He was startled awake by the sudden loneliness. He felt a glimmer of anxiety and hurried to Kieran's cabin, praying nothing was wrong. Kieran's cabin was dark for the 'night' cycle, but Yan could see a big lump on the bunk, huddled under the blankets. He hurried across the room and shook the lump's shoulder as firmly as he could. With an incomprehensible groan, the lump turned over and instantly resumed its low snore. Yan shook it once more, this time with greater vigor. Unquestionably Kieran, the lump complained and grudgingly withdrew the covers from his head while blinking owlishly at Yan with unfocused eyes.
"Wha's goin' on?" Kieran muttered as he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position.
"Kieran, it's time to move! Today is Nora's fight! What's the matter with everyone? Kieran arched a doubtful brow.
With patience, Kieran said, looking at the cabin chronometer, "Yan," it is exactly 0207 hours. Any sane person on board this ship must be operational by 0600 at the latest. Yan started to object, but Kieran interrupted him. "Exactly how much did you drink last night?"
"Oh, come on!" Yan gave a defensive stutter. "I think I only had about six drinks. Ish. Kieran gave a knowing grin.
"Six? Isn't that essentially abstaining on your part?" Yan started to think of a furious response, but Kieran's glance cut him off. "Yan, you might want to moderate your intake. Drinking too much alcohol is often associated with poor judgment and dubious decision-making. Kieran was so pleased by this declaration that he immediately rolled back over and covered his head with the covers. Yan withdrew to his own cabin and muttered complaints about unjust accusations and critical hosts.
The group gathered in the Kyara's main egress bay at a more sensible 0600 hours, Yan among them, appearing a little sheepish. Already energized, it appeared that Nora had been up for an hour, most likely relaxing with a strenuous simulator program. As Kieran joined the group, Yan saw the smugness that still lingered on his face and prepared himself, knowing that his early-morning gaffe would soon be made public.
"Morning, Yan!" Kieran gave him an overly jovial greeting. "Sleep well after our little chat?" Yan briefly considered punching Kieran's arrogant face, but the stark contrast in size and weight swiftly put an end to the idea. Instead, he chose casual deflection.
"Fine, thanks," was Yan's casual response. "And yourself?" Exaggerated innocence was evident in Kieran's voice.
"Oh, how wonderful! However, I had the most bizarre dream—I thought someone who fit your description might have wandered into my cabin at around 0200." Everyone looked expectantly at Yan. The deck plating suddenly caught Yan's attention. With a tone full of laughter, Nayla broke the silence.
"Feeling a little rough this morning, brother dear?" One of Nayla's favorite things to do was to make fun of her twin.
Yan gave a defensive shrug. "Perhaps somewhat. Shall we drop it right away? Nora needs to prepare for a fight. He turned suddenly and strode down the long ramp that led from the ship to the dock. After exchanging wry looks, the others trailed him as he left the ship. Luna accompanied Nora to provide support and help with her armor as she made her way to the assigned preparation area.
Kieran, meanwhile, accessed BattleWeb and retrieved the information on Nora's opponent using a public terminal nearby. Treskan was listed as the opponent's name. The name sounded vaguely familiar, and not in a good way, Kieran scowled. A brief cross-check verified it: Though no formal sanctions had ever been successfully imposed against him, Treskan had been plagued by rumors of cheating in at least six previous tournaments. Skilled cheaters were insidious in that their tactics were frequently hidden until after the match, after the damage had been done. The most astute ones used adjustments that were sufficiently subtle to evade routine pre-fight equipment checks. That's what Treskan seemed to be. His recorded loadout fluctuated greatly from tournament to tournament, probably as a strategy to evade constant scrutiny. He was equipped with a shoulder-mounted micro-missile launcher, two high-capacity sidearms, and a heavy-caliber sniper rifle for this battle.
Kieran thought grimly, "Great." a specific ranged configuration. It's highly likely that he plans to camp. Numerous rocky outcrops and caverns made up the fight's arena, which was perfect for such ignominious tactics. Finding a defendable position and only using ranged attacks, or camping, was typically thought to be a strategy used by combatants who lacked the confidence or expertise to engage in close combat. It would be more difficult for Nora to catch Treskan cheating in the middle of a battle if he was using targeting systems or illegally modified ammunition and was doing it from a distance. But Nora had a considerable edge Treskan probably wouldn't have expected.
One of the most advanced personal sensor suites on the market was hidden beneath the patchwork plating of her scavenged armor; it had been specially constructed and improved by Rahmyn family technicians back home. In addition to monitoring basic life signs, estimating the amount of ammunition left based on weapon energy signatures or mass detection, and even performing basic spectrographic analysis of carried metals, her system could locate an adversary with near-precise accuracy. All within ranges that are close to a standard mile. One of Nora's most valuable tactical advantages was this sophisticated sensor capability. The armor itself continued to be a patchwork, seldom combining more than one or two salvaged plates from a single vanquished enemy. It was a long-standing, if slightly strange, custom in House Rahmyn to scavenge and integrate armor.
Clad in her mismatched armor, Nora checked her own weapons one last time. Her loadout consisted of her utility dagger, two high-velocity kinetic pistols, the newly acquired Terran-style katana, and twin Uzi-pattern submachine guns that could fire fully automatically.
Her weapons came from 'Arena Armaments,' a private company that had a monopoly-like grip on authorized weapons for the main gladiatorial arenas. Using cutting-edge contemporary alloys and manufacturing processes, AA created weapons based on both their own exclusive designs and significantly improved versions of traditional Terran patterns. Despite being built on standard frames, almost all of the firearms they offered were tailored to the individual needs of the buyer. Usually, Nora had two extra magazines for each gun. The official summons for her match reverberated through the preparation area, and she was finally satisfied that her equipment was ready. She gave Luna a brief, ferocious embrace before turning decisively in the direction of the arena entrance tunnel.
She was momentarily blinded by the change from the tunnel's darkness as the heavy gates in front of her retracted upwards and she emerged onto the sun-drenched sand. The internal Heads-Up Display on her helmet immediately superimposed sensor data, verifying that Treskan was also coming in from the other gate.
Treskan's posture and movement were fully depicted by the tactical readouts and visual feeds that were provided by multiple display windows. Nora experienced a familiar rush of adrenaline upon seeing him, along with a sudden, intense outburst of anger. She was surrounded by rivals who, despite their shortcomings, typically engaged in valiant and skillful combat for their own honor or the prestige of their Houses. Then there was Treskan, a man who was suspected of cheating his way to tainted victories because he lacked the genuine skill to win in a legitimate manner. Silently, she clenched her fists and vowed, "I'll show him how cheaters are dealt with in this league." As she waited for the starting signal, Nora positioned herself in a ready stance and pulled out her katana and one of her Uzis.
As soon as the klaxon sounded, her HUD saw Treskan running toward the rocky edge of the arena floor, toward the outcrops and caverns that provided good cover. Her sensors showed that he was running and trying to chamber a round into his sniper rifle at the same time.
This guy is what kind of amateur? Nora snorted to herself. Before entering the arena, does he not even load his primary weapon? Incredibly so. For the time being, ignoring his awkward retreat, Nora launched herself into a quick sprint, following her sensor track to the group of rocks Treskan was aiming for. In a matter of seconds, she arrived at the foot of the low hill he had selected. His precise position was identified by her tactical display: he was lying prone behind a rocky ledge, 893 feet away horizontally, and about 34 feet above her present altitude. He had a view of a large, open area of ground, and the impassable arena boundary wall—a traditional sniper's nest—was right behind him. Moving forward over the open terrain would put her squarely in his line of sight. Excellent. With all of her senses tuned for the smallest sign that Treskan was pursuing her—the glint of optics, the energy signature of a weapon locking on—Nora started to cautiously creep towards the edge of the clearing, hugging the cover that was available.