Star Dust (A Paladin Adventure)

The games begin

We blinked like moles in the bright sunlight as we were led across a large squareby the large man, who seriously resembled a minotaur. Not kidding. He was taller than any of us, more massively muscled than even Steve (by about twice), and wore a helm from which two horns that were similar to Texas longhorns protruded. They looked like they might actually be attached to the man, but how did the helm get on him? It was a question I wasn't prepared to ask. His face wasn't visible. We were brought into a pavilion, where we stood one at a time and were scanned by some sort of machine. I listened as the scanner read out my height, weight, body fat percentage, bone density, brain mass, estimated strength and agility, and identified my skin mutation and vision enhancement. After this had been completed for each of us, he gathered us and reviewed the  team.

"Overall, you have much strength in your group, especially these," he indicated Steve, Bucky, Sam, T'Challa, and Clint. "This one," Natasha "has strength and flexibility.  Your fliers and this one," Tony, Jim, and Scott "are entirely dependent on their technology, which some will find easy to defeat. In addition, one is crippled without his gear. The other two females are weaker than the males. For the best chance to succeed in the games, my recommendation is to reduce the team to the first six, seven if the able one can fight without his suit of armor."

"No," T'Challa said, his voice deep and resonant. "It is all or none."

The man shrugged. "Your choice, one by which you will live or die. The rules of the games are these: in the first round, you will meet four opponents as a team. The opposition will almost certainly not equal your numbers, but the aggregate strength of each group will be approximately the same. The teams with the highest numbers of victories will advance to the second round, no more than half of the starting numbers. Victories are determined in this round when one team is clearly overwhelmed by the other, but the Grandmaster will make the final determination. Losers in this round will be detained to provide the work setting up the arena and cleaning for at least the duration of the competition." He waved his hand and a list of dates and times appeared in the air, red letters burning. "It is decided. You will fight first tomorrow morning, the last match of the day tomorrow afternoon, the first match after the midmeal the day after, and the third match on the third day. Rankings are posted before the lastmeal each day following the final match. A word of warning; the top scoring teams are served first and...as you humans would say, go to the head of the line at every opportunity. Challenge them only in the arena; punishment for fights outside are immediate removal from the games and your fate is at the whim of the Grandmaster. We are coming to the end of the day; daily showers will be provided for those species who use water to clean themselves, followed by the lastmeal. There is free time, during which combatants can mingle if they choose; teams also can use this time for strategy. During the day when you are not in the arena, you may make use of the training facilities. When you are not training or in the arena, your weapons will be placed into lockers. Only the owner and designated games officials will have access to the lockers, and tampering with the lockers and/or weapons will not be permitted. When you are in the showers, you will place your clothing in a hamper to be cleaned. It will be ready for you by the time you are done. Place the clothing into the hamper, shut the lid, and take the flexible band that will eject. Retain this during the shower, return it when you are done, and reclaim your clothing. When the lights go out, you are expected to sleep. You are to find an unoccupied pallet; they are not assigned.  When you are not occupied in the arena, you may spend your time as you see fit; however, physical damage to other combatants is not permitted, nor is deliberate psychological intimidation." He led us over to a barnlike building and indicated rows of lockers. We found lockers here and there in reasonably close proximity in the same row, and racked our weapons. "You will be roused for firstmeal in the morning and you will have approximately half an hour in your reckoning of time to consume it. There will be half an hour following that for preparation,  then you will be brought to the arena. Your collars will flash blue before you are scheduled for combat; retrieve your weapons and wait by your lockers and you will be guided to the arena. If you attempt to remove the collar or attempt an action that could be interpreted as an escape attempt, the collar will flash red and you will have a few moments to desist. If you do not, the collar will inject a drug into a major vein or artery which will kill you shortly. Depending on your physiology, it may or may not be painful. I advise you not to find out which it would be. If you advance to the next round, the new rules will be explained to all combatants then." He turned and left. We looked at each other, processing all the information.