Tarik: Entry Level Warfare (2 page)

“What happens if I refuse a challenge?”

“Refusal of a challenge comes with a penalty of ten thousand points, after which the refusing party would not be permitted in any establishment but a transportation office and is then exiled from the world.”

Okay, so either fight or sulk back to Sol a poor man.

“What about weapons?”

“Challenges are normally unrestricted in regards to weapons. Most challenges end in death for one party and at times both.”

“What are the potential rewards you had mentioned?”

“The winning party will inherit all of the losing party's assets less the funeral costs of 100 points.”

So that’s the game they wanted to play. Get him all worked up ready to fight and then split the purse after he was dead or intimidate him enough that he walks away but still poor. Given the scarring around the Gorrex’s talon’s it was obvious this particular creature was extremely deadly. Being one of the few species who would stand a chance against a
human
, Gorrex were fast and could disembowel a
human
 with those talons. If the talons didn’t get you their beak would with a row full of wolf like teeth. They had a natural
defense
 of a thick coat fur with a waxy coating. They did have several weakness though, hollow easily breakable bones, incredibly delicate nerve endings along the entire backbone and short arms that could be ripped right off given enough pressure. Gorrex were natural strikers but would be demolished in a grappling match, the trick was out
maneuvering
 them to that point.

“... you hold down the young
humans
 like this one with your fore claw, careful not to cut too deep or they will leak [untranslatable] everywhere. You have to wait for them to empty their bowels and bladder or you're going to have a mess when you butcher them…” The older Gorrex was explaining to the dealer, obviously enjoying himself.

Squaring his shoulders,
Tarik
 turned to see the Gorrex. Inexperienced he was but a plan had formed and he was going to have to execute it immediately if he was going to get out of this alive.

“Got something to say [untranslatable]?” The Gorrex said while digging the talons of his left feet deep into the floor.

“Just thinking how familiar this all sounds, my brother used to tell me about trying to fry up pieces of Gorrex. The butchering was much the same but the meat, what little there was on those skinny bones, was inedible. Something about the disgusting parasites you have built up in your body spoil what's left too quick to get a decent meal.”

The Gorrex shook its tail meant to display his numerous red feathers. The dealer activated a diffusion screen behind him protecting him from the back of the counter to the very rear of the store.

“Why not set down the rifle young one while your elder shows you a thing about respecting your superiors.”

“I’ll set down the rifle, but I have yet to see anyone superior here.”

Tarik placed the rifle down on the counter behind him and half turned ready for the Gorrex to issue his challenge.

“I hereby issue a challenge
human
, do you accept?”

“I do.”

“Good, let us commence then.”

Getting right down to business the Gorrex was just waiting to kill. Tarik stood ready to defend the first attack, letting his body show that he intended to shift forward to take the attack head on. Gorrex assumed all
Humans
 were arrogant and
Tarik
 wanted to play on that.

The Gorrex leaned forward about to spring off with his talons and bared his teeth which turned green to signify excitement; he was now salivating in anticipation. His upper body tensed, pulling in his short forearms. This Gorrex was skilled and powerful, just the look of him told you he relishes bringing pain and death to others. He pounced then, head forward but swinging so that his talons were coming directly at him.

As soon as the back legs made the rotation and were trained on his chest,
Tarik
 grabbed the rifle from behind him. Knowing the Gorrex couldn’t see what he was doing from that angle. He was careful not to pull the trigger and forfeit the match; he activated the shield and leaned backwards in case this didn’t work.

As
Tarik
 brought the rifle around and began his lean, angling the tip of the rifle to where the Gorrex midsection will be when he reached the position
Tarik
 was previously in. The Gorrex noticed the change in posture, not wanting to relinquish he first strike advantage but unable to change his momentum he turned his beak to his left aiming for
Tarik
’s exposed neck.

The Gorrex came down missing his mark but because of
Tarik
’s movement it got him deep in the shoulder. As the Gorrex
sank his teeth into
 him, the shield Tarik had activated sliced right through the neck of the Gorrex; decapitating him on the spot.

The severed Gorrex head snapped open and closed once more gouging deeper into Tarik's shoulder. The head then fell to the floor with a splat. It rolled around and started snapping open and closed again. The body however continued its talon first charge with purple blood squirting from the neck clear across the room. Not slowing down the talons gripped the edge of the counter and started to run vertically up the protective shield the dealer had activated. The body walked up the field and with enough
force
 it took 3 steps on the ceiling where the spurts of blood then turned into a steady stream before dropping hard onto the floor, with a loud crack of multiple bones and still kicking did a full turn on the floor then finally coming to rest. If he weren't so damned scared and in pain he probably would have laughed.

Tarik stood stunned, mouth agape at what just happened. He needed to think quickly!

“Legal counsel, did I break any laws in this establishment?”

“No. Everything that has transpired was legal. Would you like me to process your claim for challenge reward?”

“First send the recording to local authorities to
cover my ass
. Then submit the reward claim.”

“Complete. Local authorities acknowledge the file and confirm that no crime has taken place. Your reward of twenty one thousand one hundred sixty points less one hundred points for funeral
services has been processed.
”

Snapping his jaw shut with the
realization
 that he just nearly doubled his available funds
Tarik
 sobered quickly. He needed to get out of this place now but he also needed to leave an impression with the crooked dealer.

Tarik turned to the dealer. “The weapon has been heavily used” He casually reached into his left pocket grabbing a handful of wound sealing packets applying them to his shoulder he went on “I think twenty thousand points will be suitable, deal?”

The Sornain said nothing, it just stared at the gruesome scene that lay before him and nodded twice. Almost in agreement the Gorrex head snapped twice.

A final look at the decapitated body and Tarik saw worms flailing about. He felt like he was going to vomit.

Tarik
authorized
 the transfer and walked out the door without looking back for fear of showing how nervous he actually was. Holding back the urge to run he quickly made his way to the recruitment
center
. Onlookers stared at him with his shirt torn to shreds, the mix of Gorrex and
human
 blood, and the thick chunks of gore covering the entire left side of body.

Tarik walked as fast as he could without running. The sight of him however attracted far too much attention. With the overlay map showing he only had a few hundred feet left to travel before he made it to the recruiting
center
 he hoped he could find safety before he could be challenged again. As good as he felt about his first kill for money “job” he doubted he could withstand another challenge.

Reaching the door he glanced back and saw a mob of thirty Gorrex rushing towards him. He squeezed through the door before the first challenge could be issued.  Not even a city full of Gorrex would risk angering the
Coalition
 of
Human
 
Domain
 
Corporations
, The might of over four hundred thousand military
corporations
, not to mention the other five million supporting
corporations
, would decimate this planet before the Interplanetary Union could even call a meeting to condemn the Gorrex. The pack worlds wouldn’t risk starting up another war, being at a serious disadvantage since the Kami raid started. The
Human
 domains were becoming more powerful everyday having only lost two mining worlds and one population system since the Kami arrived. Most think the Kami simply have no interest in
human
 worlds due to their location. Some
humans
 in complete arrogance say the Kami fear us. Others, like the Gorrex, think we are actually in collusion with the Kami.

In any case he needed to get into a corporation and fast, not only to secure his dream but to ensure his safe exit. If he wasn't taken he'd hoped there was a back way to the transportation
center
 or this would be a short adventure.

Getting to the screening terminal he saw there were one thousand three hundred fifty eight military
corporations
 recruiting. He allowed the
machine
 to take his biography and the
number
 dropped to fifty
six
. He figured this would happen given his lack of experience. He
entered in
 his new weapon information and that
number
 dropped to four, although powerful the weapon would be too exotic for most small
armories
 to work on.

Sighing, he
entered in
 his application details and was immediately rejected by two of them. He now only had two
corporations
 willing to meet with him. The terminal told him to go to room forty
six
 for personal interviews and displayed a map. He touched the screen and the map overlayed to his retinal implant. One last glance at the door showed the crowd had not dissipated but now stood at over three hundred angry Gorrex.

Arriving at the room he
realized
 how bad he looked and smelled but without a chance to clean up he just hoped they bought his story.

The two
corporations
 willing to see him were both smaller independent subsidiaries but could be a launching pad for his mercenary career. If he was accepted and lived for two years he could get a job at Kill
Force
 or
Blue
 
Rain
. Maybe even get to put the rifle down and go work for Sol
Sphere
 as security. He liked to think it was destiny but he knew it could only be accomplished through skill. In the meantime he needed to suck it up and go
kick some ass
. He shook his head; he was getting ahead of himself. The first thing he needed to get through was these interviews.

Tarik entered the room and was blinded by the interview lights. He heard the whispers immediately, heard a door open, then close and an announcement that only one corporation remained.

The lights dimmed and he could see a man rise to get a better look at him.

“Fucking hell kid. Did you swim through a Naxh roach’s cunt to get here?”

“Not exactly sir… I was challenged by a Gorrex and this is the result.”

“You aren't some kind of dead Gorrex fucker are you? You former miners get out here and do some crazy shit.”

“No sir, not at all.”

“Well shit, you won a challenge so I guess I got to hear the story now.”

Tarik went on to relay the story, occasionally asked for more details he recalled every detail he could.

“Well
fuck
 me sideways and call me pampered. That's one hell of a way to make some points.”

Unsure of how to reply to that
Tarik
 thought it best to keep his mouth shut.

“I'm Davius Markterm. Looks like I'm the only one left to offer you a job. So here's the contract. Base pay of four thousand points per month, mission bonuses of two thousand per successful task. Wait, do you know what that means?”

“I think so, but if you could clarify I would appreciate it sir.”

“Well it means that if you're given a task to get something and you do that you get the bonus but if I give you another task, if someone dies and is still a requirement of mission completion you do that task for another bonus. If the mission itself is not complete, you don't get shit. In addition to the base pay and bonus you get the standard boat ride. You were a miner so you should know what that means, right?”