Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

John gave me a victorious grin, having goaded me into doing what he wanted. That would be his last victory for now, I thought. I was going to give him something to smile about. He rummaged around an open crate for an extra pair.

“Boys, boys. I mean, is this really the best use of our time before we depart on a mission? If someone gets hurt, I don’t want to have to be the one to explain to Stacy what happened,” Lou said, exasperated. “To be honest, she kind of scares me.”

“It won’t take long,” John assured him, coming back with a pair of black gloves.

“John will be out in two minutes,” I said.

“Well, if I can’t talk you out of it, maybe we have an opportunity here to bring some people enjoyment. That’s been a rare commodity these days,” Lou said, dropping his weight and running off. “Give me a few minutes.”

I looked over to John with a shrug.

“He’s a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but I like him,” John said as he moved around the workout area. He started making room, positioning the equipment to form a rough circle.

I stepped in, dragging the workout bench to the side so we could have more room to maneuver.

“Full contact?” John asked. “Knockout or submission?”

“As long as you think you can endure that and still be ready to go out tonight,” I said. “I just don’t want you making excuses later that you’re too hurt to go on the mission.”

John stopped, looking down at me with mock condescension. He was a few inches taller and a good thirty pounds heavier than I was. He grinned and shook his head with a laugh. He thought this fight would be a lock on his part.

We were nearly finished setting up our fighting pit when the first onlookers appeared. It was Meenaz and Doctor Allbright, the latter with a look of concern on her face, along with dozens of others.

“You two know what you’re doing?” she asked. “I mean, we have enough issues without you two going at it and someone breaking a bone.”

“It’s all in good fun,” I said, grinning cheekily. “I’m not going to hurt him... too bad.”

“You two be sure that you don’t,” Doctor Allbright said with a scowl. “You think these medical supplies get delivered to us on a daily basis? We have a very limited amount.” While I understood her concern, I still wanted to go ahead with the fight, if only to provide a little entertainment for the colonists who led such austere lives.

More and more people found their way through the tent alleyways to gather around us. Some of the tension about the upcoming mission left me and I felt a familiar thrill work its way through my veins.

“Is Lou doing this?” I asked as people squeezed in, cheering and smiling as they tried to get a view of what was about to happen.

“Oh yeah,” Meenaz said with a smirk. “He’s going tent by tent, telling everyone there’s about to be the fight of the century.”

“He would have made one heck of a promoter on Earth,” John said with a huff. “Could have used him then.” We both chuckled at this assessment of Lou’s promoting abilities.

“What’s going on here?” Stacy’s voice cut through the mob. “Dean, what are you doing?”

Uh-oh. I winced when I heard her voice. Not because she was going to tell us to stop, but because she was probably right about it.

Stacy appeared next to Meenaz and Doctor Allbright a moment later, her right eyebrow raised with a disapproving look.

“Dean, is this what it looks like?” Stacy asked, hands on her hips.

“Well, if it looks like I’m about to put your Civil Authority Officer over there in a world of hurt, then yes,” I said while John snorted with derision at the comment.

More and more people pressed in, excited to see two gladiators go at it, a bit of nostalgia for them. It was the closest thing we had had to entertainment since we crash-landed.

“Dean, I’m going to have to stop this,” Stacy said, shaking her head. “Officer Bowers, stand down. There’s not going to be a fight today.”

At her words, the crowd started booing.

Jezra appeared a moment later. To my surprise, the kooky old bat started a chant. That crazy Remboshi was always surprising me. She lifted a three-fingered fist in the air and led a chant of “Let the humans fight. Let the humans fight.”

The survivors laughed raucously at the chant but soon joined in.

I shrugged, looking over at Stacy questioningly with my eyebrow and the side of my mouth raised.

“The people want what the people want,” I said over the chanting of the crowd. “Come on. One fight. We won’t do any serious damage.”

Stacy rolled her eyes then looked at the eager faces and nodded in assent. “Okay,” she said reluctantly.

A cheer went up from the crowd.

“But,” Stacy said, lifting her hands, “if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.”

Everyone, including me, looked at her in confusion.

“Follow me,” Stacy said. “I have an idea.”

6

Stacy didn’t just have an idea, she had a vision. The fight was moved over to the courtyard just inside the front gate. Word spread like wildfire until what seemed like every single colonist was gathered around us. From the catwalk on the wall to the ground around a rough pit that had been made for us, people packed in to see the spectacle.

Everyone pitched in, eager to see a fight between two real gladiators. A few even remembered me, not by face but by name. “Steel Hands” had been a catchy title my coach gave to me as we came up in the industry. It was easy to remember and stuck with people.

A pit was set up, lined with rocks as a border. I was provided with not only gloves but shorts to wear, as was John. Everywhere I looked, I