The ventilation system was the easiest way for him to gain access to most points in the building without coming into direct contact with the enemy. As Orin approached one of the large vent housings, he heard the deep roar of the system working to supply fresh air to those within. He pulled out a spicor disc to get through the heavy gauge wire covering the vent, and then decided against igniting an energy weapon in the presence of the sensor- controlled guns.
Instead, Orin carved a hole with his blade then crawled inside. Once inside, he began a controlled descent until coming to a horizontal tunnel. Orin entered it and slid along as quietly as possible, knowing any noise he made would be amplified by the tunnel. In turn, he also heard many voices filtering through the system as it collected the activities of the complex and amplified them all. Orin knew he had a long meticulous search ahead of him. He only hoped he might be able to sense Tiet if he got close enough.
General Grod passed through the automatic doorway and into the control chamber. Inside, various computer terminals monitored the happenings in the chamber below them. On the far side of the room was a large row of viewing windows looking into the huge dome. Grod sat in his command chair and waited.
“General, we have him in position.”
“Is he awake yet?”
“The suspension field is active. Subject is conscious. Our warriors are in place. Battle droids are in place and activated. The teragore is in place in the outer dome. All successive inner domes are secured,” reported the technician.
Grod held a great interest in what was about to happen. He wanted to know the abilities as well as limitations of this Barudii warrior. The Barudii mental power had once been an integral part of his plan for conquest of the Vorn race and this planet. Another opportunity to utilize that power had been lost. But now he had a second chance and he wanted to see what his prize could do.
“Release the Barudii.”
SPORT
Tiet had not realized he was unconscious until he awoke. His environment was different now. No longer did he see a laboratory setting as before. He and the mechanism which held him suspended inside its energy field were now centered within a large dome. The walls were mirrored like two-way glass. Someone was obviously watching him. Near the walls Horva clones stood ready for battle
The suspension field disappeared, dropping Tiet three feet to the ground. He was free, but unarmed. As soon as the field released him, the soldiers attacked. As soon as Tiet’s feet touched the ground, he rebounded to the air, bouncing off the top of one of the suspension mechanism’s curved pylons toward the Horva. Several crimson laser shots cut the air as Tiet sent his bare foot into the face of one of the men. The soldier tried to defend himself with his metal Bo staff, but Tiet’s powerful kick snapped his neck and dropped him to the ground. Tiet snatched the weapon from the soldier’s hand as he fell and launched himself back into the air.
The clones tried to track the blur only to miss again and again. Tiet landed among several clones bunched together-more blaster fire. Tiet dodged. Clones shot each other in the confusion. Tiet parried and smashed a laser weapon, along with the man’s hands with the Bo. The other end quickly followed into the soldier’s head.
Tiet whirled, blocked strikes from two more Horva and then spun downward under their weapons, sweeping their legs out from under them. They fell backward hard. Tiet struck one in the head, but was forced to evade more blaster fire before he could hit the other. The soldier tried to roll out of striking distance as Tiet pulled a knife from a sheath on the Horva’s leg and hurled it back at the other clone with the pulse rifle. As the knife did its work, Tiet dropped the Bo and caught the man’s rifle with his mind. He laid down a steady line of fire inside the dome. There was nowhere for them to run. Tiet stopped, waited. Both he and the gun barrel exhaled. What would happen next?
The dome around Tiet split across the top. Two equal halves separated and rolled back into the floor. Beyond this stood another larger domed room. Within this dome six battle robots stood twice the size of a man. They were armed with cylindrical rapid-fire laser cannons. Tiet’s laser rifle buzzed and shutdown, the power supply run dry. So that’s how it is, he thought. The clones weren’t going to allow him any advantage in this blood-sport.
Tiet retrieved the metal Bo staff. He raised it into the air with his right hand and spun it rapidly. The battle robots raised their weapons and locked on target. Tiet sent the spinning Bo into one of them like a buzz saw. The laser cannon, which made up one of the robot’s hands, was smashed to pieces. The Bo ricocheted into its head, sending metal shrapnel in all directions.
The others opened fire. Tiet only had time for an instinctive move. He charged the air with his mind. A rapidly vibrating air bubble repelled the blasts from the robots. A firestorm raged against his mental shield, yet he remained untouched.
The robots continued to fire, trying to penetrate the mental defense. Grod looked on with intense pleasure. He had not expected the Barudii to have this much power over the elements. He knew of no such incidence recorded about the Barudii of old times. This display was better than he had expected. His eyes fixed on the young warrior through the wobbling refraction of light the charged bubble created.
Tiet wouldn’t be able to maintain the shield for long. An advanced technique such as this was an intense drain on one’s strength. Tiet caused the bubble to explode outward with such intensity that each one of the robots slammed into wall of the dome crushing their exoskeletons. Once again, Tiet Soone stood alone within the arena.
“Impressive power, is it not? I really wasn’t expecting him to survive the battle robots,” Grod said leaning forward in his chair.
“Shall we open the last dome with the teragore, sir?” asked one of the control techs.
Grod punched a key pad on the arm of his command chair. “Varen, do we have a viable sample of the boy’s DNA?”
“Yes, General. The samples we extracted should work well for what you have requested,” a Vorn scientist said.
“Very good. Proceed according to schedule. And Varen…remember your family.”
“I understand, sir.”
Grod tapped the communication switch and turned back to his technician. “Golon, retract the last dome!”
The clone technician did as he was ordered. The last dome wall began to retract.
Orin tried to follow the loudest sounds he heard. Orin came to a branch veering off to his right. The sounds were definitely coming from somewhere off this branch. The shaft narrowed considerably, but he got through on his belly. He crawled for another fifty feet until he came to a side vent with more light coming through it. Here, the noises intensified.
Orin crawled up to the vent screen and peered through. He saw a massive creature standing fifty feet high. Tiet was held inside an arena of sorts. The reptilian beast had four stubby, powerful legs. A long, thick tail with a cluster of large spikes on the end curled around the animal. The head was fierce with swords for teeth. The hide of the animal was multicolored and paved with row upon row of tough scales.
Tiet did not seem to acknowledge the presence of the beast in the outer dome. Scattered around him were several smashed robots and a number of Horva bodies. It looked like some deadly sport.
Then the dome around Tiet folded down into the floor. He watched in horror as the beast regarded its new prey. The massive beast stepped toward Tiet and lunged with its long neck, propelling the deadly head and teeth right at him. He got out of the way fast, taking to the air. The creature lunged for him again as he landed. He threw out his hands and sent a massive kinetic blast at the predator’s incoming face-knocking it away.
The beast reeled for a moment then regained its composure with more fury. A chemical spray issued from its mouth, ignited in the air and became a peel of flame. Tiet formed another protective bubble trying to repel the deadly fire engulfing him. The flame was disrupted, but not the heat. It was too hot to protect himself this way. Tiet blasted the creature again with his mind. But the animal only became more enraged by his counterattacks.
The teragore opened its great mouth again and a long whip-like tongue shot out toward Tiet. He flipped over its strike, as the beast tried to catch him. The sinewy tongue darted back and forth after its prey as Tiet continued
