Page 2 of Claimed By the Orc

Blinking my cameras on again, I tried to work out what fans of the sport would pay to see. I’d have bet my last Credit Imperial that my natural focus would be popular with more fans than they would like to admit, but that wasn’t whatAlien Arenaswould pay me for.

The two fighters strode back and forth, glaring at each other impatiently. They wanted the fight over with, both of them straining at invisible leashes and snarling insults at each other. Trash talk; I wished I was close enough to make out the words. The amplified voice of the announcer drowned out everything as she worked the crowd until, at last, they were eager enough for her taste.

A shrill whistle started the fight, and the gladiators leaped at each other, blurs colliding with an impact I felt in my bones.Their attacks came too fast for me to follow, and I just had to hope my camera caught enough of the grisly detail to hold a fight-fan’s attention. A few seconds later, the fighters parted, catching their breath and circling.

The Orc warrior left a trail of blood, and his foe moved slower than before—both had taken injuries in their clash. I couldn’t tell whose were worse. Their next exchange was more cautious, neither fighter going for the quick kill. They exchanged light, probing blows before the sheer strength of Toragah’s mechanical arm forced Gragash back.

My heart was in my throat as I tried to stay focused on the fight, despite the way I winced every time either fighter delivered a solid hit. From the sound the fans made, this was a great show. I forced myself to keep watching, swallowing my horror at what might happen at any moment.

Why do I care what happens to that Orc?I didn’t have an answer, just a solid certainty I cared. I had to force open my hands from fists so tight my nails cut into my palms as Toragah drove Gragash back against the cage’s bars. The bigger alien’s sword blurred, moving too fast to see, and Gragash had nowhere left to run. I froze, staring, and I wasn’t the only one. The whole arena fell silent, Toragah’s fans with anticipation, Gragash’s with dread.

Gragash’s back hit the bars, and Toragah thrust without hesitation. Time slowed to a crawl for me as the point of the blade stabbed toward the orc’s neck. It was perhaps an inch away when Gragash’s lightning-gloved hand struck the sword, sending it past him and between the bars.

Though Toragah must have been surprised, you couldn’t tell from his reflexes. He leaped back, withdrawing his blade—or trying to. The orc gladiator smashed his gauntleted fist into the blade, and, caught between his hand and the bars, it snapped. Toragah only kept a couple of inches of steel, looking at theremains of his blade with almost comical confusion. Before he could recover, Gragash had stabbed the rest of the sword up under his chin. Lightning crackled over it.

The silent moment stretched, and then, finally, Toragah fell. Gragash stepped aside, and the giant blue warrior hit the floor of the cage with a thump that broke the crowd’s paralysis. All around me, they went wild.

“Abigail,Abigail, those are some amazing shots,” Tony said. He sounded no more sincere than before. “You’re going to win awards for this.”

“There are awards for reporting on illegal sports?”

“Notofficially, no, but come on. These are gold, and if nothing else,Alien Arenaswill pay you extra. This is your ticket to the big time, honey. Stick with me, and I’ll make you a star reporter.”

Sure, except I never want to see anything like that again.Glad as I was that Gragash won, the kill was still a grizzly sight I wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

“Don’t call me honey, and thanks, but no thanks. Somehow, I think your help comes with a price tag I don’t want to pay.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. We can make a lot of cash together, you know. You got some dynamite shots ofGragash!Do you know how rare that is? That fucking Orc never talks to the press, never does photoshoots. When someone manages to get a picture, he always looks like he’s about to rip the photographer’s head off. But you? You got him lookingsad.”

The glee with which Tony said that made my skin crawl.Yeah, wonderful, awesome, I got a photo that shows the killing machine’s secret misery.I shook my head and tried to ignore the creep. At least he wasn’t anywhere nearby, so I didn’t have to worry about him turning up and wanting to celebrate or something. Then again, he was only in orbit. I’d rather have a few lightyears between us.

He’s got a point about the money, though. I got good pics, and the video will be worth something even if I flinched at some of the good bits.I sighed. Money was a powerful motivator, especially given the debt I’d taken on for my implants. When I got them, I’d had starry-eyed dreams of investigative reporting, following shadowy figures, breaking open conspiracies at the heart of the Terran Hegemony. Seeing the galaxy.

Instead, all they got me was a creep in my head and a chance to travel to such delightful spots as…an alien bloodsport arena. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Pictures were one thing, even ones that showed a new side of a pit fighter. But if I’d seen a side of him no one else had, maybe I could snag an interview, too?

Worth a try. And not, I told myself sternly, as an excuse to get closeup shots of his amazing abs.

Notjustthat, anyway,a thirsty voice in the back of my mind piped up.There’s also his magnificent ass.

Telling myself to shut up was unproductive, so instead I rolled my eyes.

3

GRAGASH

The thrill of victory was lacking. In this business, it always was. Standing over the body of my defeated foe, I saw exactly how much our lives were worth. A pair of Baurans emerged from Toragah’s entrance, looking at his body with disgust. One kicked the corpse, then spat on it. His companion chattered away in a language I didn’t know, but the contempt dripping from his words didn’t need translation.

My opponent’s ‘managers’ were unhappy with his performance, which was understandable. Their disrespect towards his remains was not. I felt the snarl spread across my face and stepped forward, lightning crackling across my fist, and the Baurans exchanged worried glances.

“Another splendid victory, Gragash.” Ty’anii’s voice held an edge of warning, and without looking, I knew the smile the Prytheen female was sporting. More a predator’s hungry grimace than anything friendly. With a last snarl at the Baurans, I lowered my arm. Crushing their skulls would not be worth the consequences, so I would have to make do with making them flinch.

Captain Vaher sauntered in behind Ty’anii, looking every bit the dashing pirate captain he wasn’t. His long coat billowed likea cloak, and his shirt was open to show off the crimson skin of his chest. If I’d ever harbored any illusions about the romance of space pirate life, Vaher and his crew had cured me of it. To be fair to them, they’d cured me of most romantic ideals I’d held. They were thorough, if nothing else.

While the captain spoke to the Baurans in their own tongue, Ty’anii checked me over for injuries. As always, I hadn’t noticed all of them during the fight. That sword had been sharp as anything I’d seen, and fighting a skilled swordsman without taking a few cuts was close to impossible. None of the cuts looked dangerous to me, though.

“Aw, nothing a bit of sprayskin won’t fix,” she confirmed with a pout. She was the closest thing to a medic Vaher had, and she liked her skills to be useful. Something anyone could fix with a spray can wouldn’t remind anyone of her importance. For my part, I was glad I wouldn’t end up in her infirmary again.

---