Sabledrake Magazine
August, 2002
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CTF 2187: Divided but Not Conquered
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CTF 2187: Divided but Not Conquered
Copyright © 2002 By Shannon Muir
ABOUT THE GAME: CTF 2187 from Advanced Gaming Enterprises features teams of Battle Bots pitted against each other in Arenas. Two or four sided contests are possible, as well as a yearly Free-For-All contest where a group of Bots fight to see who's "the Best in the Arenas". Some players act as Independents, allowing the GMs to put them with anyone. Others organize themselves into teams, either official (on record with AGE) or unofficial. This story centers around actual Pilot characters in CTF 2187, with moderate basis in game play; mainly it captures the historical and political climate in which the ‘backstory’ of the game is based. The framing events come some time after "Vows and Vengeances," previously published by Sabledrake Magazine in May 2002; the flashback story begins with events shortly before "Storms in the Soul" (Sabledrake, August 2001) and ends concurrent with events in "Black Hearts and Broken Dreams" (Sabledrake, February 2002). Some material contained within is copyrighted by Advanced Gaming Enterprises and used by permission. I’ve been playing the game for over ten years, but that’s my only association with the company. For more information, write Advanced Gaming Enterprises, or see their website at http://www.ageforfun.com.
---
At a cafe on the outskirts of Arengas, three friends got together in a brief, precious window of time between Arenas. Once they'd all fought together under the banner of Blackdeath -- Damian Blackheart, Richard Shadowhand, and Derrick Deathex -- but had since gone separate ways.
"Thank you for getting together way out here," Derrick said as the two men sat down and joined him. "Sometimes a change of pace from Lazer's is required."
"Yeah, especially once everyone's gotten to know you," added Richard.
"Hey, glad to see you or Richard's not hopping mad at me," Damian Blackheart replied. "I mean, you stood behind me getting my own team together and all. Then I had to go and bust it up over a bunch of arguments with someone I don't even consider a friend. Maybe I was wrong about all that. Maybe Blackdeath could have been something even with Ignatius Darkstar as a thorn in our side."
"What's done is done, Damian," his best friend Richard pointed out. "And remember, we never did prove that was Ignatius. You just acted on what you believed was right. We've proven through more than a few Arenas as part of The Line that these games are where we're meant to be." Richard counted on his fingers to doublecheck. "Arenas 322, 340 and 355 since the whole Alias debacle. And some before that even. We've done all right."
"Maybe that's true of you," Damian sighed. "Me, I rarely get anything right. Almost always end up more dinged than earning points. Maybe that's why Blackdeath bombed. Because I suck."
"My friend, what you bring to the table is a willingness to keep getting in there despite the pounding you take. And that I find most admirable," Derrick told him.
"I never looked at it that way, thanks. Positive spin takes so much effort these days."
"Now what about you, Derrick?" asked Richard. "We're taking a breather after five straight campaigns. Are you headed back into the field?"
"Yes, I got my notification yesterday. The team is Helen Mayne and Guns 'Anne' Rosas and myself, just as it was our last Arena."
"Helen?" Damian chided Derrick. "No Helluva Assertive Lady Mayne?"
Derrick returned the comment with a stern stare.
"Uh, Damian," Richard tugged on his friend's sleeve. "I think that translates to don't go there." Then valiantly trying to change subject, "I spent some time up at my Mom's house," Richard said. "Celebrated her birthday the other day."
"At least you have your mother to go visit," Damian remarked.
"I see where you are coming from though," Derrick commiserated. "There's no one left in my family now, except for Francine. She is a miracle in my life. Otherwise I would also be alone. For a while it looked like I would be alone when Mother was dying but before I knew about Francine. I was frightened."
"I miss Dorian," Damian sighed. "I'd been able to prep myself for Dad dying, because he was going slowly. I thought I'd be ready to lose someone in the Arenas, but I never imagined it would be my own sister. Boy do I miss her."
"I know you and she did not graduate at the same time," said Derrick. "Was it something about having a joyride in a Bot?"
Richard nodded.
"Most people know that story by now, nothing like it before or since," Damian detailed. "It was really the three of us, but I let her get caught. So stupid. But back then I was reckless and didn't care. That recklessness quickened the tearing apart of Blackdeath."
"I thought it was all about Ignatius Darkstar, not agreeing with you but you could not kick him out," Derrick commented.
"That's only part of it. Most of it was about me. And I nearly wrecked my relationship with Dorian in the process. I'm not even sure we ever totally got it back. Now I have to live with that forever."
Derrick pulled his chair up closer.
"Please tell me more about her."
"Her story and the fall of Blackdeath, it's all interconnected. You may have been in Blackdeath, Derrick, but you never heard the half of it. Tell you what. I'll start right when we got out of Arena 156. You probably remember the Sisters of Silicon also had a team in that Arena, with Lauraic Vileslayer leading. It was my first ever, with Richard Shadowhand and that firebrand wannabe Ignatius..."
+ + +
As soon as they'd gotten out of postgame ceremonies for Arena 156, Damian sped off to see how his father was faring and get in some one-on-one time at the convalescent facility where Darian Blackheart received his frequent treatments. If this fast-spreading cancer wasn't dealt with aggressively, he'd have no chance. Afterwards, came back to the apartment he shared with Richard. The first thing Damian saw was Richard hunkered over their commscreen, reading a text-only message.
"What's the latest buzz?" Damian asked his friend as he got out a cold beer.
"I can't believe you did this!" Richard seethed.
Puzzled, Damian looked over his shoulder and read the text. It spoke of accusing them entering with the sole purpose of double-teaming with the Sisters of Silicon to be a "colossal insult" and referred to a temporary alliance (which had been done briefly for strategy reasons, but not for the reasons for which they were accused) as "a joke" and "a foolish mistake" that "would not be repeated." It concluded with a vow of becoming "more wicked" in future contests.
Damian pulled back, horrified.
"That wasn't me! I want people to respect us but not fear us! And I can't believe people are accusing us of entering solely to function a second team for the Sisters! Did this get widebeamed to the whole Arenas?"
Richard gravely nodded, then dared to broach the question, "If it wasn't you or me, then who--"
Damian snarled as he slammed his fist into the table. "It has to be Ignatius Darkstar, that hot-headed braggart! How could he do this to me?"
"Earth to Damian. You, me, Ignatius, and Derrick Deathex are Blackdeath. Dorian too, maybe even Sinister, if they'd ever sign up," Richard pointed out. "You think I'm not upset someone signed my name on such a cruel posting too? But we don't know if Ignatius did this!"
"I can't believe this is happening! My father and Femme Fatale's father, they fought side by side. He respected her Dad, so he'd expect me to do the same to her. That's why I didn't have us rush and fight against them. And the first public response we give is that we're out to kill everyone, and that we have no respect for anyone! I wish the Arena Officials had never put us together in #156!"
Damian grabbed his can of beer and threw it against the wall.
"Curse it!"
Richard grabbed his friend's arm.
"This will pass, Damian. Blackdeath will be something to be proud of."
"I hope so," Damian said, relaxing his arm. "I want my father to be proud of me."
Damian pushed Richard out of the console seat.
"What are you doing now?" Richard asked.
"Damage control."
"Shouldn't you calm down first?"
"No, this has waited too long! If I'd known he'd transmitted this during the Arena, I would have done something then! I need to tell everyone how we made a first-timers mistake of defending our CP, and got badly damaged early on. My Mauler ended up with only two engines! The Sisters just happened to all be in that Bot's area too. You and I turned on him because we had no choice, while Ignatius talked us into letting him go CP hunting and left us to take the fall. The fact we all wore the Bot down was coincidence!"
Richard sighed, with the sound of one knowing friend could not be swayed once he'd made up his mind.
+ + +
Later on, after calming down, Damian went to the convalescent home for Arena veterans who outlived combat and needed health care for more age-related issues to visit his father, Darian Blackheart. Many former pilots, most dating back to pre-modern Arenas, were given great incentives to get out of the combat roles to train the next generation. Darian, versatile at both the tank wars that preceded the Bot Arenas, and the Special Contest Bots that would be run as periodic specials until Arena Officials phased out the tanks entirely, loved instructing others and eagerly became one of the first -- and foremost -- Academy instructors.
Now the well-lauded, much-decorated Darian Blackheart lay propped back in his bed. Though weak in body, Darian's mind remained sharp as ever.
"Did I do the right thing, Father, about that message?"
Darian struggled to turn his head toward his son.
"My son, you did what was best for your team's reputation by explaining what happened." Darian stopped to take a breath, then continued, "you did it without pointing fingers as to whom had broadcast the other message. You did not mudsling or call attention to problems in your organization."
"Why would I have done that?"
"If you had accused someone of signing that note with all your names. You handled yourself like a leader."
"Then why don't I feel like a leader?"
Darian breathed heavily. The conversation had begun to wear on him.
"Sometimes those who lead best are not aware that they lead."
+++
Damian helped Dorian straighten the shoulder trim of her dress uniform. Today she would finally join him as a graduate of the Academy and become a Bot Pilot in the Arenas. Dorian wore her long ebony hair in a tight bun befitting the formality of the occasion, a rarity for her.
Just then, Dorian's childhood friend and Academy mate Myrna Raeburn burst in. She'd been flighty and indecisive as what to do with her life, and only went into the Academy because Dorian did. At that moment, Myrna stood arm in arm with her boyfriend of the hour, a grungy long-haired fellow with a goatee and a loose-fitting dress uniform. Though already dressed for the graduation, Myrna's dress uniform was rumpled.
"Myrna, you are so sinister!" chastised Dorian. "What were you two up to?"
"Of course I'm sinister! Why else do you think I chose to become Cadet Sinister?" She flexed her left arm. "Of course, doesn't hurt I'm left-handed." Then she playfully punched her boyfriend with her left arm. "But don't make fun of Gorrik that way. He may be graduating too, but I guarantee he'll rough and tumble like a veteran."
"Given the state of your uniforms," Damian commented back, "I'd guess so."
Damian exchanged cold looks with the ruffian Myrna introduced as Gorrik.
You'll never cut it as a Pilot, Damian thought of the other man.
Myrna looked down and, blushing, struggled to smooth out her wrinkles. Just then, the call went out for the graduating Candidates to assemble.
"See you out there, brother," Dorian said, hurriedly pecking her brother on the cheek and running out. Myrna raced behind, struggling to keep up, Gorrik right behind.
+ + +
Damian watched his sister cross the stage to have her Candidate bars pinned on, his father Darian at his side leaning on him like a human crutch. After the ceremony, Damian kept an eye on Dorian as she made her way back to them. Right as Dorian arrived, a middle-age Middle Eastern man stepped in her path, wearing the insignia of the Arena Police. Damian and Darian could hear the conversation unfold.
"Officer Nafissi," breathed Dorian. "I'm not in any more trouble... am I?
Officer Nafissi remained stoic, but his voice came out gentle.
"I may be your parole officer, but that doesn't prevent me from wishing you well in the Arenas, does it?"
"Well, no."
"Just make sure you don't get in over your head with any more stunts, not after that Bot joyride. You're a smart girl."
"Thank you, Officer."
Damian watched his sister salute Officer Nafissi as he went on his way. The salute was orderly, no mocking whatsoever.
"Whew!" Dorian said to her family, wiping her brow. "I thought he'd bust me again."
"Have you done anything that would warrant that?" Richard asked, concerned.
"Of course not, silly! Why would I want to mess this up?"
"Then congratulations are definitely in order," he said. Damian watched his friend's surprise as Dorian responded with an energetic hug.
"I am so proud of my girl," her father Darian added in, voice quavering. "Your mother, rest her soul, would be too."
"Even after getting busted and all that, you still love me?"
Sometimes Damian wondered that himself, but dared not ask it.
Darian reached out his trembling, frail hand to his daughter. The treatments, though driving back the mysterious cancer that had so quickly ravaged him, left him weak and infirm. She gently held it in her own.
"I will always love you. Both of you. Never forget that."
+ + +
Damian went off into Arena 169, while Dorian went Independent and jumped into Arena 179 -- not willing to wait until her brother returned. Sinister also had gone Independent and dumped her boyfriend Gorrik Vileslayer after he refused to be in the same contest as her (he went off into Arena 164); Damian knew his sister Dorian had wished the lottery would have put the women together on the same team in the same game.
Arena 169 proved to be quite the growth experience for Damian, even though his team did not win. Damian earned his first Bot Kill with a swift thrust of his Titan's Battle Blade to an enemy Reaver Bot. Ignatius Darkstar ejected towards the end of the contest.
In the meantime, Derrick quit Team Blackdeath almost as fast as he'd joined, which was right after saving Femme Fatale from the twisted Ambassador Lorne. None of it had to do with bad feelings toward Damian or his team. As Derrick explained to Damian, WASP and the Sisters of Silicon (run by his newly discovered half-sister) had a long-standing alliance and since Derrick could prove eligibility for WASP he emotionally felt he should be there. Deep down, Damian wondered if maybe there might be some other motive, such as Femme's best friend, Helen Annie Lynne (H.A.L.) Mayne. Sadly, but on friendly terms, Damian let his newfound friend go.
Once Dorian finished Arena 179, neither Damian nor Dorian immediately rushed back into the Arenas. Now that the initial thrill faded, both determined to get in quality time with their father as his treatments appeared to have no positive effect.
One evening soon after Dorian's return, Damian just finished a dinner when the apartment buzzer ring. He answered, and at the door stood Dorian, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes with her long black hair.
Damian ushered his sister in. "Is it Dad? Is he--"
"They got Sinister," she breathed.
It took Damian a second to match the Pilot name and face to his sister's friend Myrna, and then to realize that although Sinister had gotten an Arena first, combat ended anywhere between seven and ten turns based on secret parameters. Arena 179 had ended before Arena 177.
"Her Titan took a hit right through the Left Rear Torso with Mini-Missiles. Oh Damian. Damian. Knowing Dad's not got long left and now this."
She plopped down on Damian's couch.
"Maybe I should just give up."
"Don't you dare give up on Blackdeath!"
Dorian looked up at him, anger radiating from her face.
"Is this all about you and your precious Team Blackdeath again? Listen, brother. I joined the Sisters of Silicon, and when I'm ready I'm gaming with them."
Angry, Damian grabbed his sister by her long black hair.
"Joined another team without telling me? You dare turn your back on Blackdeath? You dare surrender the dream?!?"
Dorian winced as she pried her hair out of her brother's grasp.
"You mean your dream! Since we both joined up, all you've done is manipulate me. Used my technical knowledge to break in and take a joyride, then make me take the fall. I joined up to make you happy, and now you abuse me if I don't jump at your command. I want my own identity, Damian! I'm sticking with the Sisters of Silicon."
"Don't you dare do this!" her brother shouted back. "Imagine what it'll do to our father."
"Why are you bringing Dad into this? I know he's not doing well right now, but he respects the Sisters. It's not like I'm running off and joining the enemy. Dad and Femme Fatale's Dad were friends."
"His being sick, that's exactly why. Let Dad see us fight together for one time in his life. He may not get the chance again. Please, join Richard and I when we team up with the Cheyenne Social Club. I just made a deal to fight a game with them as a subteam as Blackdeath."
"Now wait a minute! You went and set up a combat deal for Blackdeath after we agreed neither of us would fight. How can you get on me for joining the Sisters?"
"I want Dad to see us in action before the end, make him proud of us this time. Us. You and me, Dorian. Please."
Dorian sighed.
"That's the only reason I'll do it, Damian. Just this once. For Dad. After this, I make my own life."
+ + +
Damian explained his desire to Femme Fatale with Dorian by his side. She understood and authorized the paperwork to authorize Dorian's transfer to the Blackdeath banner. Everyone understood, however, that the move served as a temporary and symbolic one. Dorian would return to the Sisters after this single contest.
Damian, Dorian, and Richard came from submitting the Blackdeath-Cheyenne Social Club team into the Arenas, headed for the victory celebration for Arena 196 per an invitation from Femme Fatale, who won the Individual Victory for the contest. Damian saw a familiar face approaching. It took him a minute to recognize Ambassador-Major General David Blaze of the High Council of the Arenas, which oversaw policy and procedure.
"Damian. Dorian. I've been looking for you."
Both siblings stopped cold as they realized they were not being addressed formally.
"Sir?" Dorian inquired nervously.
"As a representative of the Arenas, it has been entrusted to me to inform you as next of kin that your father, Darian Blackheart, has passed away."
Dorian reached out to try to hold her brother, but he turned away from her dejected.
"We didn't even get the chance to win for him."
Dorian broke into sobs, and Richard gave her a brotherly hug instead. Damian could only stare icily forward at Ambassador-Major General Blaze.
"You folks can go see Femme get her stupid medal if you want. Someone has to bury a hero."
"I'll go with you," Richard said.
Dorian wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked up at Richard.
"I can't deal with this, I just can't."
"Then go run off with the Ambassador-Major General for a while. Richard and I will do what has to be done."
"Do you want me to stay with you then?" Richard asked concerned.
"That's very sweet of you, but I'll be all right at the ceremony. I don't want Damian to be alone, but I don't feel strong enough to handle the next step yet. Take care of my brother."
Damian watched his sister give Richard a tight hug and then go off in the company of Blaze, leaving the two young men together.
+++
Damian stayed true to his word; he and Richard dealt with most of the logistics for the internment. Darian Blackheart, as one of the first instructors in the modern Arenas and a successful Pilot in his own right, drew an overflowing crowd to the remembrance hall that had been booked. Femme, Rus, H.A.L. and Derrick -- their lives changed by the help Darian Blackheart provided for Femme to find her past -- all attended.
Damian shifted nervously as he heard Femme talk of his father to the packed assembly. He'd always been the crafty one, never comfortable with speaking in front of a crowd. Dorian, however, was too heartbroken by Sinister and her father's closely-timed deaths to manage even a few words. So it fell to him.
"Without Darian Blackheart's help, I would never have been able to clear the name of the man who was a father to me, Frank Forsythe. I didn't get to know him long, but I am thankful for all the stories he told me about training and fighting alongside Frank. It allowed me to feel I'd gotten to know Frank better, even though he wasn't in my life all that long. Darian was a man of honor and respect, and I know many of you learned under his tutelage at the Academy before he retired instead of accepting a seat on the High Council of the Arenas. He shared a fatherly touch with everyone that I know will be missed. I will certainly miss him in my life."
Femme stepped down from the podium. Damian swallowed nervously and followed her; he would be the last to speak.
"On behalf of my sister Dorian Blackheart and myself, I wish to say goodbye to our father, our champion, our hero, Darian Blackheart."
Damian saw his sister manage a weak smile between her tears, as Richard Shadowhand handed her a tissue.
Thank goodness she's not having to sit out there alone, he thought. Good, reliable Richard.
"My father held together a team after losing its leadership, and boosted its morale even as their former commander was accused of being a traitor. Though they changed their name from Forsythe's Falcons to Blackheart's Bears for the remainder of the Special Contests, this was not because he forced it on them but by majority vote. He respected what everyone thought and that all opinions counted. He was a gifted tactician, a patient instructor, and loved by everyone. I just wish I could be half the man he was, and that he could have seen me lead a team worthy of the Blackheart legacy. Thank you for coming."
With that, Damian stepped off the platform. He'd planned to say more, but he just couldn't do it. It felt like the emotions welling inside would crush his chest. Damian never wanted to feel this way again.
+++
Damian went to join Dorian for the difficult task of sorting through the last of their father's belongings at the convalescent home. Though most items were clothes that could be donated, a number of Darian's Arena trophies and personal effects decorated the room. Normally staff would just clean out the room and box the items, but the high regard everyone in the Arenas had for Darian Blackheart, it became the consensus that his children should handle the matter since they could do it on a timely basis.
As he approached the room, Damian heard a voice inside, male, one he didn't immediately recognize.
"I went into Arena 164 with my distant cousin Loric Vileslayer because he promised me he could return our family to glory, we just had to turn on Lauraic, a thorn in all our sides. He promised me a lot of money. But you know what, his Bot blew in the Arena with him in it! And I got nothing!"
Damian surmised the angry man was Gorrik. He held fast and continued to listen.
"So you thought it was right to try and steal from his estate? And wound up getting caught?"
"You know what they made me do for getting busted? Not only did I have to do community service at Bot Med, they made me take Orientation Training as part of my plea bargain to prove I was rehabilitated. The poor man's route to Arena training for dumb grunts. Do you know what kind of scumbuckets I had to spend my time with? Me, Gorrik Vileslayer, Arena graduate, had to repeat school!"
"You're just a scumbucket who funded his education on stolen money," Dorian muttered. "Except this time, you got caught."
Angered, Gorrik grabbed Dorian and pinned against the wall. She struggled but could not move. Gorrik's strength was far greater than Damian's.
"We were all alike, you and me and Myrna. To tell you the truth, I always thought you were the better one, but you never gave me the time of day. Myrna dumped me and now she's dead. Refuse me and maybe you'll suffer the same. The Vileslayer hand has a mighty reputation."
Damian could take no more of this. He barged in and knocked Gorrik across the face before he could react. The shock caused Gorrik to lose his grip on Dorian and stagger across the room. Damian immediately turned his attention to his sister.
"Dorian, are you--"
Before he could finish his sentence, Gorrik tackled Damian to the ground and tried to put a chokehold on him. Damian could barely make out Dorian as she leaped Gorrik from behind and tried to wrestle him. Her efforts were successful in making Gorrik loosen his grip on Damian, but Gorrik responded by tossing Dorian against Darian's shelves of Arena trophies. It shook and the trophies swayed and fell, crashing to the floor.
Damian tried to take advantage of that distraction to whack Gorrik a good one, but he locked arms with Damian instead, and the two rolled across the floor and ultimately into Dorian.
"Freeze!"
Damian, Dorian, and Gorrik looked up at two Arena Officers, guns drawn. Damian figured someone on the convalescent home staff must have called after hearing the trophies fall over. The Arena Officers kept their guns on the trio, not wavering.
"Get to your feet," commanded the senior officer.
The trio complied.
"Gorrik Vileslayer, I see," continued the senior officer. "Fresh out of your plea bargain rehab and already causing trouble. Guess there's no changing stripes, just like that saying goes."
"And aren't you Dorian Blackheart?" the other officer said. "Officer Nafissi won't be pleased to see you've violated parole with this little scuffle. He had high hopes for you."
"No, Officer, it's not the way it seems," pleaded Damian without a second of thought. "Gorrik and I, we just had a misunderstanding. And since my father passed away, well, it's been tough. I over-reacted. Dorian tried to calm things down. If you got to take anyone in, take me. I started it."
The senior officer nodded to the junior one, and they holstered the guns. Instead, the senior officer took out an electronic pad and began tapping information into it.
"Anyone pressing charges here?"
Gorrik, Damian, and Dorian looked at one another and said nothing. The officer closed his electronic pad.
"I've written this up as a warning, since no one got hurt and there are extreme circumstances. This happens again and you won't get out of it so easy. Understand?"
All three nodded. The officer rejoined his partner and they departed the scene. Damian turned and glared at Gorrik Vileslayer. They locked stares for a moment, Damian burning inside to rekindle the fight and convinced Gorrik wanted to do likewise.
"Get lost, Gorrik," Dorian's voice cut through the tension. "Before there's any more trouble."
Coldly, Gorrik Vileslayer turned on his heel and walked out.
+++
Damian struggled to figure out what to do next in his life when the Arena assignment for the Blackdeath-Cheyenne Social Club teamup came. With all the funeral arrangements, he'd forgotten all about it. Now he discussed it with Dorian, who came over to visit after a discouraging simulator performance with Femme Fatale.
Damian showed his sister a printout.
"We got our Arena assignment today. Arena 225."
"I thought you'd already gone in with those Line guys. What happened?" Dorian asked puzzled. "I mean I just got done telling Femme that in the simulator room today. Thank goodness I didn't go try to change my paperwork back to the Sisters this afternoon."
"The Line people are still in the planning stages on who all they want to recruit and their mission statement. Got to admire them for planning this out. And I haven't put in the final papers to walk away from Blackdeath yet. Just a formality really."
"You know I didn't do well at that simulator today," Dorian reminded him. "And I told Femme I wasn't going to go out for a while, because I thought you'd cancelled all this paperwork. But now I must," Dorian insisted.
"You don't have to," her brother emphasized. "There's no point now, you're right. We should cancel it. After all, Father will never see--"
"We can fight in his memory, Damian! You, me, and Richard, with the Cheyenne Social Club in one last big hurrah before you close the door on Blackdeath forever. And Femme said I should get into the thick of things to move forward. Maybe she was right. After this, I'll go back to the Sisters, like I promised."
"That's only eight people," Damian pointed out.
"Ask Derrick and tell him it's a memorial contest for Dad. I'm sure he'll come back just for that. He really respected Dad. I don't think you'll have to ask Ignatius."
"I can't get rid of the team as long as that jerk's still on the rolls. Stupid Arena rules. I'm just glad he's kept his distance."
"Then it's his problem. Saddle him with the horrid reputation. We can start fresh, build a new legacy. Something Dad would be proud of. But right now, we've been called to battle. Would Dad turn his back on an Arena?"
"Never," her brother replied.
+++
Keeping their promise, Blackdeath fought together one last time in Arena 225. Richard chose a light 30-ton Gnat Bot, speedy but with thin armor. Dorian chose the more classic yet still light Reaver Bot, while Derrick Deathex and Damian went with the Medium-tonnage Avenger, known for its diverse weapons mix.
Damian directed Richard to move forward five spaces to a Lake at Sector 4-11. Better to keep the fast Bot cool as long as possible, since damage would quickly heat it up. Initially blocked by a Heavy Building at 24-8, Derrick was sent to cut across a Gully and end up at 19-11. While out in the open, it would place him with a clear line of fire, as buildings surrounded both sides of the Gully. Dorian, on the far side of the board from the boys, found cover as well. Damian planned to head for some Light Woods in 6-11.
Following the phases he'd programmed into his Bot prior to the start of the turn, Damian turned Right and Moved Forward from his starting position in 5-7 to Sector 6-8. The weapons tried to fire but no Bots were in range then. This changed quickly as Bot 14, who moved after Damian due to its heavier tonnage, now had him in range. Damian took a hit to his Left Front Torso with a Mega Missile S-Pack.
Readouts registered that Bot 18 tried to attack at the start of the next phase, but did not damage him. Damian's Avenger then moved forward to 7-9. Now his targeting computers found Bot 14 as the Nearest Enemy Bot (which he'd asked it to search for) and shot off a Mega Missile S-Pack, ending with a successful Right Front Torso hit. Bot 14 returned a volley straight into his Bot's Left Front Torso.
His next move forward to 8-10 moved Bot 14 out of the field of fire for his Mega Missile S-Pack, but conversely Bot 14's attack did not damage him. Next phase's turn left and forward movement to sector 8-11 put the Bot back in Damian's Mega Missile S arc and struck it in the Right Arm. Now comfortably in the woods for the fifth and final phase, Damian shot off missiles again at Bot 14, hitting it in the Left Front Torso.
The warning tones sounded that the turn had ended. Now Damian had to get on the horn to the others and see how they fared.
"Richard, buddy, status report. We've got to decide what to program next."
"Made it to the lake," Richard informed him, "but I'm being blocked by lots of Heavy Buildings. Bot 18 dinged me once in the Left Front Torso with Mega S. Going to make an end run around the Arena edge to catch Bot 18 from behind, he's down in the Gully."
"Derrick, report in."
"As expected, buildings blocked me for most of the turn. But now Bot 13 is a viable target..."
+++
"You were there, Derrick. I don't need to tell you how horrible that Arena ended. After that we all went our separate ways -- you to WASP, Richard and I to what would become The Line, Dorian back to the Sisters, and who knows what became of the Cheyenne Social Club."
"It wasn't your fault, what happened," Richard commented.
"After Dorian died in Arena 297, I can't tell you how many times I just wished I'd bite it. If I hadn't already signed on with The Line before Dorian died, no telling what I would have done. But I think Father and Dorian would want me to live."
Damian put his head in his hands.
"That's enough. No more."
Derrick got up from his seat.
"That was more than I expected, my friend. Though I knew of Gorrik's theft convictions, I could not have imagined what he attempted on Dorian. Nor did Lauraic tell me Gorrik was repeating his training as part of his plea bargain. She implied he was a new recruit when I saw him."
"She may not have known," Damian replied. "Lauraic wasn't close to him, after all. Or maybe she just wanted to avoid the embarrassment."
"Regardless, I shall keep both eyes on him in the future. Have you informed his cousin Lauraic of the Sisters?"
"No, but I should. Tell you the truth, I had a crush on Lauraic before I even got in the Academy. If female Bot pilots did pinups, she'd have been on my wall. Lauraic seems larger than life to me."
"I may inform her if you prefer," Derrick offered. "I would hate to see him hurt anyone else."
"I think she should hear it from me, but I'll let you know when I feel ready and need the introduction," Damian told Derrick as he stood up, Richard following suit. "Except for you and Richard, I'm all alone now. I'm glad to have you around. But you know, I tell you, if I had any chance to have a romantic partner who could understand the agony of this life, I would do it. No hesitation. And no offense meant, guys. But there's just things I can't share with you. With a romantic partner, I could build a new family."
"Even if that person was a Pilot too?" asked Richard. "You could lose your love to this same insanity."
"Right now, Richard, I'd do anything to thaw out my heart. My life is my work. There must be a better way."
Damian shoved his hands in his pockets and walked on ahead. In a beat, Richard appeared beside him.
"I just can't get rid of you can I? What did you say to Derrick?"
"That I'd check and see if you wanted us to take a hike."
Damian stopped, turned, and looked at Richard.
"Cripes, that was draining. I sure hope people take the hints and realize the precious things in life and the people who care about us."
"I think Derrick knows that about Femme."
"That wasn't what I meant. Clearly it didn't quite work. There's something more in Derrick's face, and I don't know if he'll act on it. And Richard. Did you know she loved you, and would you have acted on it had you known?"
For a long time, only the background bustle of the city filled the air.
"I didn't know then, Damian," Richard finally said. "You're asking me to second guess the past. But if Dorian were here right now, and I found out today, then yes. Yes, I probably would. It doesn't matter though. We can't change it. Why did you even feel you had to mention it?"
"So you can help me help Derrick, good reliable Richard. By the way, I do want you to beat it right now. All this, it took too much out of me. Right now I just want to be alone."
With that, Damian turned and headed deep into Gamestown, to drown out his losses and solitude in the hustle and bustle of the city. As he passed a vidscreen shop, Damian saw a broadcast of a press conference where Femme Fatale and Lauraic Vileslayer stood addressing the press. He stopped to listen.
"In celebration of our long involvement in the Arenas," announced Femme, "today we are here to unveil the creation of a new subteam of the Sisters of Silicon called the Women of Weaponry. All members will have Arena awards to their names and represent the cream of the Arena crop. And now, a word from the leader of the Women of Weaponry subteam, Lieutenant Colonel Lauraic Vileslayer!"
Damian found himself gazing into the projected face of Lauraic Vileslayer as the vidscreen cameras came in for a close-up. He turned out her words as his mind got lost in imagination and nervousness, hope and dreams.
**