ajmucha
New Member
This is part of my story, Chapter 6 to be exact. Enjoy. Comments are not only welcomed, but encouraged. 
“Claíomh Solais…the legendary tournament planet…a re-creation of the mighty Roman Coliseum…I never thought I would be fighting on this rock.” Korit muttered over his headset as his Esion’s cockpit hissed close. He heard a slight chuckle on the receiving end of the secure line created between Roland’s Esion and his own. “What do you find so humorous?”
“If you must know, the 14th Royal Guard received a special request to compete this year, which, as you should know, is a high honor.” Roland replied as he waited patiently inside the serene darkness of his own cockpit.
“I vouch for your father’s theory. The tournament organizers only wanted a celebrity to enter the tournament to draw spectators. Just make sure you stay alive.”
“I am not concerned with such complications, old friend. The organizers took every conceivable precaution to prevent any instance of that. Also...” his reply was cut short by a sudden broadband transmission from the control ship hovering high overhead.
“Attention: The Ring of Fire stage of the ninth annual Claíomh Solais Tournament is about to begin. Most of you already know that this round is the quarter-final round of the Colossus Championship. There are twenty-four of you today, each in pairs. The top eight pairs will move on to the Semi-Finals, and then the last two teams proceed to the final round. Then the last team standing shall earn the envied title of Claíomh Solais Champion! On behalf of the CSTC and trillions of fans across the Terrain Republic, we wish you an honorable and phenomenal fight. Let the games begin!”
The transmission ended as abruptly as it began, a loud siren signaling the start of the round. Roland’s eyes quickly adjusted to the light as his Esion’s reactor roared into life, lighting up the myriad of displays and controls. All across the battlefield, others did likewise.
With a dull thud, the right foot of Roland’s Esion moved forward, the fiber-optic camera system revealing a crisp 180° arc of the battlefield. He looked over to see the Esion of Korit, his partner, turn sharply left and raise the twin mortar cannons of his Goliath, already taking aim. “Be careful. Remember what happened in the last round. Try to let the enemy fight back a little bit before blasting them to kingdom come.” The only reply he received was a grunting sound, as the barrels glowed white and launched the twenty-seven unit diameter high-explosives over to the neighboring island. He glimpsed the sight of a bluish fireball erupting, soon followed by an orange explosion and a plume of smoke.
Roland grinned a little as he concentrated his aim at a Hydra on the neighboring island. He watched cautiously as his targeting systems locked on. Piloting his customized Eclipse swiftly through the trees, he broke through a slight clearing and fired off a shot from his Rail Gun. The humming of the electromagnets temporarily blocked out the announcer’s commentary as the depleted-uranium and titanium alloy slug tore through the air, colliding with his opponent and sheering off a majority of the armor on its left arm, shattering key electrical cables and joints, causing it to fall limply to its side. His opponent turned to face him as a pair of Dragon Fang Missiles collided with its other side, turning its other arm into a chunk of twisted, molten metal.
His Esion’s feet hit the water, moving closer to his opponent’s island so he could attain a new lock for his twin Rotary Large Laser Cannons. A salvo of approximately ten Stinger Missiles crashed into the water around him as Korit shouted over the line, “I’ll cover you. Just concentrate on your target!”
Roland grinned as from the edge of his view screen he saw Korit’s Goliath recoil under an assault of nearly twenty missiles, though seemingly unfazed by the barrage. He heard Korit laugh as he brought his mortars to bear again, and fired, blasting the cliff out from under the modified Bowman.
The voice of the commentator blared out “Ouch! He’s gonna feel that one in the morning!” A brilliant white flash shot the cockpit of the Bowman thousands of units into the air. “We got an ejection folks! You all know what that means; he loses his Esion to the victor!” The Esion careened into the water below, followed almost immediately by cascading rocks. Through the sensors, Roland could hear the sounds of steel and earth falling into the sea.
“Well now…even when Korit and I win…that Esion will be useless…the damage it will sustain from the debris will be substantial.”
Roland’s eyes shot back to his target, already heavily injured from previous assaults. The light from the sun distorted as his Esion fully submerged underwater, now moving a significant amount slower than normal, but more effectively protected from enemy fire. The voice of the commentator continued, relaying information about general movements and which combatant shot the other.
Water boiled and evaporated instantly around him as laser fire pounded the surface of the shallow water. Flashes of red, green, blue, purple, and white lit up the area. The foot of the Hydra broke through the turbulent surface and Roland fired off a pair of missiles immediately. Watching the missiles slowly muscle through the water, an impressive array of fire and bubbles burst from where the missiles struck, penetrating the weakened armor, as a large, dark-colored shape fell forward into the water as heat from his opponent’s reactor leaked out into the water. The torso and head of the Hydra hit the ocean floor with a dull thud, now rendered idle and useless, as if it were a marionette whose strings were cut.
“That makes the third kill by the Terrain Gladiators, two by the acclaimed gunman Korit, the other by his highness, Roland with an assist by the Dark Horse, Canaan Faulkner!” Roland couldn’t help but roll his eyes. An assist? It was a disgrace to be assisted by a no-name. Roland thought. Emerging from the water on the other island, he was greeted by the looming presence of another Goliath, seemingly stripped of all typical weapon and armed to the teeth with heavy weapons such as Dragon Fang Missiles and Rail Guns. The opposing Esion wore some dark-colored crest, difficult to make about against the obsidian and crimson “Savage” paint scheme. Seeing the signature bluish-white glow, he threw his Esion’s controls forward as the ominous twin Rail Gun system launched its shells, buzzing the armor on top of his Esion. He returned fire with his own Rail Gun, the powerful slug glancing off the Goliath’s leg armor and exploding into a large boulder, showering the area with debris.
The ground near his opponent came alive with fire as Korit maneuvered his own Esion towards the two of them, unloading his most powerful weapons to protect his friend. They both recognized the signature colorations of the opponent as the Five Ring Avengers. “Korit, stay in front, I need to flank him.”
“Negative, sir.” Korit’s eyes scanned the area and quickly calculated the distance, his left eye’s pupil seemed to dilate and change color slightly. Artificial augmentations of senses such as hearing or sight were common, especially in military fields. Shaking the ground with each step, his Goliath trundled forward as a split appeared in the right forearm of his Esion. Thin metal wires emerged, and swinging his arm up against his opponent, they formed into an axe shape, emitting a contained energy field. “This one is mine.”
Roland threw the Eclipse into reverse, and fired his missiles into the ground, using the heated air and shockwave to propel him backwards in the air. Amber flashes illuminated the cloudy sky as he fired his Rotary Large Laser Cannons, the streaks barely missing Korit and pummeling the shoulders and torso of his foe. Very few of the shots left much damage beside charring and scorching the armor. A sudden, violent jolt threw him back into his command chair, as his Esion reeled backwards from a hit by a Dragon Fang, the other missile barely passing to his right. He heard Korit’s swearing and shriek of rage as Roland toppled into the sea, armor melted and vaporized by the hit. The instant before his view became distorted by the waves and steam, he saw the Plasma Axe carve deeply into Canaan’s shoulder joint.
Blacking out for a few seconds after colliding with seafloor, Roland opened his eyes to see a plume of smoke spiraling up into the air; Korit apparently damaged the internals of the other Goliath. “What a match! Weapons are flying everywhere and so are pieces of the combatants! Canaan just drilled Roland with a Dragon Fang; he’s down and not getting up!” Roland let his Esion lay motionless on the seafloor as more fire poisoned the water around him, most laser fire vaporizing water, rendering it useless, while some other ballistics-based weapons sheared from the surface tension of the water. Lying motionless, he listened to the commentary roll forward. “This is it folks! The end’s coming, only two more teams remain: From Terra, the Terrain Gladiators, and from our own Claíomh Solais, the Five Ring Avengers!” He barely heard another explosion echoing through the air as another competitor fell. “Two on one! Seems like Terra has outdone themselves this time, it’s gonna be a fight to the finish!”
Whining and groaning from the hit, Roland’s Esion seemed reluctant to enter the thick of combat once again. Slowly standing up on his feet, he fired off more rounds from his Rotary Large Lasers. More Amber blasts streaked through the air, devastating the hillside and anything else in the way. Korit threw his Esion sharply to one side to avoid friendly fire. A few of the shots grazed his shoulder and arm, the rest cascading into Canaan, forcing him to retreat some distance. All over the battlefield, Esions lay crippled from the firefight, many still operational, but a few, every now and then were hopeless. The two Goliaths apparently refused to give in, both missing chunks of armor or pieces of their limbs. Suddenly, Korit’s Esion plowed forward, crashing into Canaan’s. “Commander!” Korit’s voice pierced the intercom which until recently remained so silent. Both his friend and enemy were thrown off balance, struggling to stay standing. Flipping up a cover on his control console, Roland slammed his fist down on a button and input a five-digit code. Instantly his cockpit turned into a sauna as every single one of his weapons fired simultaneously, dropping his opponent instantly, doling out heavy damage to armor and internal parts. Darkness fell to his cockpit as his Esion shutdown from the immense heat wave. Cross necklace swinging slightly, he grinned as he heard the commentary. “I’ve never seen such tactics in my history with these games! Team Terrain Gladiators wins this round, with an amazing finishing Alpha Strike by Roland!”
BTW, TJ, I took your advice of not editing until i'm done.
Chapter 6
“Claíomh Solais…the legendary tournament planet…a re-creation of the mighty Roman Coliseum…I never thought I would be fighting on this rock.” Korit muttered over his headset as his Esion’s cockpit hissed close. He heard a slight chuckle on the receiving end of the secure line created between Roland’s Esion and his own. “What do you find so humorous?”
“If you must know, the 14th Royal Guard received a special request to compete this year, which, as you should know, is a high honor.” Roland replied as he waited patiently inside the serene darkness of his own cockpit.
“I vouch for your father’s theory. The tournament organizers only wanted a celebrity to enter the tournament to draw spectators. Just make sure you stay alive.”
“I am not concerned with such complications, old friend. The organizers took every conceivable precaution to prevent any instance of that. Also...” his reply was cut short by a sudden broadband transmission from the control ship hovering high overhead.
“Attention: The Ring of Fire stage of the ninth annual Claíomh Solais Tournament is about to begin. Most of you already know that this round is the quarter-final round of the Colossus Championship. There are twenty-four of you today, each in pairs. The top eight pairs will move on to the Semi-Finals, and then the last two teams proceed to the final round. Then the last team standing shall earn the envied title of Claíomh Solais Champion! On behalf of the CSTC and trillions of fans across the Terrain Republic, we wish you an honorable and phenomenal fight. Let the games begin!”
The transmission ended as abruptly as it began, a loud siren signaling the start of the round. Roland’s eyes quickly adjusted to the light as his Esion’s reactor roared into life, lighting up the myriad of displays and controls. All across the battlefield, others did likewise.
With a dull thud, the right foot of Roland’s Esion moved forward, the fiber-optic camera system revealing a crisp 180° arc of the battlefield. He looked over to see the Esion of Korit, his partner, turn sharply left and raise the twin mortar cannons of his Goliath, already taking aim. “Be careful. Remember what happened in the last round. Try to let the enemy fight back a little bit before blasting them to kingdom come.” The only reply he received was a grunting sound, as the barrels glowed white and launched the twenty-seven unit diameter high-explosives over to the neighboring island. He glimpsed the sight of a bluish fireball erupting, soon followed by an orange explosion and a plume of smoke.
Roland grinned a little as he concentrated his aim at a Hydra on the neighboring island. He watched cautiously as his targeting systems locked on. Piloting his customized Eclipse swiftly through the trees, he broke through a slight clearing and fired off a shot from his Rail Gun. The humming of the electromagnets temporarily blocked out the announcer’s commentary as the depleted-uranium and titanium alloy slug tore through the air, colliding with his opponent and sheering off a majority of the armor on its left arm, shattering key electrical cables and joints, causing it to fall limply to its side. His opponent turned to face him as a pair of Dragon Fang Missiles collided with its other side, turning its other arm into a chunk of twisted, molten metal.
His Esion’s feet hit the water, moving closer to his opponent’s island so he could attain a new lock for his twin Rotary Large Laser Cannons. A salvo of approximately ten Stinger Missiles crashed into the water around him as Korit shouted over the line, “I’ll cover you. Just concentrate on your target!”
Roland grinned as from the edge of his view screen he saw Korit’s Goliath recoil under an assault of nearly twenty missiles, though seemingly unfazed by the barrage. He heard Korit laugh as he brought his mortars to bear again, and fired, blasting the cliff out from under the modified Bowman.
The voice of the commentator blared out “Ouch! He’s gonna feel that one in the morning!” A brilliant white flash shot the cockpit of the Bowman thousands of units into the air. “We got an ejection folks! You all know what that means; he loses his Esion to the victor!” The Esion careened into the water below, followed almost immediately by cascading rocks. Through the sensors, Roland could hear the sounds of steel and earth falling into the sea.
“Well now…even when Korit and I win…that Esion will be useless…the damage it will sustain from the debris will be substantial.”
Roland’s eyes shot back to his target, already heavily injured from previous assaults. The light from the sun distorted as his Esion fully submerged underwater, now moving a significant amount slower than normal, but more effectively protected from enemy fire. The voice of the commentator continued, relaying information about general movements and which combatant shot the other.
Water boiled and evaporated instantly around him as laser fire pounded the surface of the shallow water. Flashes of red, green, blue, purple, and white lit up the area. The foot of the Hydra broke through the turbulent surface and Roland fired off a pair of missiles immediately. Watching the missiles slowly muscle through the water, an impressive array of fire and bubbles burst from where the missiles struck, penetrating the weakened armor, as a large, dark-colored shape fell forward into the water as heat from his opponent’s reactor leaked out into the water. The torso and head of the Hydra hit the ocean floor with a dull thud, now rendered idle and useless, as if it were a marionette whose strings were cut.
“That makes the third kill by the Terrain Gladiators, two by the acclaimed gunman Korit, the other by his highness, Roland with an assist by the Dark Horse, Canaan Faulkner!” Roland couldn’t help but roll his eyes. An assist? It was a disgrace to be assisted by a no-name. Roland thought. Emerging from the water on the other island, he was greeted by the looming presence of another Goliath, seemingly stripped of all typical weapon and armed to the teeth with heavy weapons such as Dragon Fang Missiles and Rail Guns. The opposing Esion wore some dark-colored crest, difficult to make about against the obsidian and crimson “Savage” paint scheme. Seeing the signature bluish-white glow, he threw his Esion’s controls forward as the ominous twin Rail Gun system launched its shells, buzzing the armor on top of his Esion. He returned fire with his own Rail Gun, the powerful slug glancing off the Goliath’s leg armor and exploding into a large boulder, showering the area with debris.
The ground near his opponent came alive with fire as Korit maneuvered his own Esion towards the two of them, unloading his most powerful weapons to protect his friend. They both recognized the signature colorations of the opponent as the Five Ring Avengers. “Korit, stay in front, I need to flank him.”
“Negative, sir.” Korit’s eyes scanned the area and quickly calculated the distance, his left eye’s pupil seemed to dilate and change color slightly. Artificial augmentations of senses such as hearing or sight were common, especially in military fields. Shaking the ground with each step, his Goliath trundled forward as a split appeared in the right forearm of his Esion. Thin metal wires emerged, and swinging his arm up against his opponent, they formed into an axe shape, emitting a contained energy field. “This one is mine.”
Roland threw the Eclipse into reverse, and fired his missiles into the ground, using the heated air and shockwave to propel him backwards in the air. Amber flashes illuminated the cloudy sky as he fired his Rotary Large Laser Cannons, the streaks barely missing Korit and pummeling the shoulders and torso of his foe. Very few of the shots left much damage beside charring and scorching the armor. A sudden, violent jolt threw him back into his command chair, as his Esion reeled backwards from a hit by a Dragon Fang, the other missile barely passing to his right. He heard Korit’s swearing and shriek of rage as Roland toppled into the sea, armor melted and vaporized by the hit. The instant before his view became distorted by the waves and steam, he saw the Plasma Axe carve deeply into Canaan’s shoulder joint.
Blacking out for a few seconds after colliding with seafloor, Roland opened his eyes to see a plume of smoke spiraling up into the air; Korit apparently damaged the internals of the other Goliath. “What a match! Weapons are flying everywhere and so are pieces of the combatants! Canaan just drilled Roland with a Dragon Fang; he’s down and not getting up!” Roland let his Esion lay motionless on the seafloor as more fire poisoned the water around him, most laser fire vaporizing water, rendering it useless, while some other ballistics-based weapons sheared from the surface tension of the water. Lying motionless, he listened to the commentary roll forward. “This is it folks! The end’s coming, only two more teams remain: From Terra, the Terrain Gladiators, and from our own Claíomh Solais, the Five Ring Avengers!” He barely heard another explosion echoing through the air as another competitor fell. “Two on one! Seems like Terra has outdone themselves this time, it’s gonna be a fight to the finish!”
Whining and groaning from the hit, Roland’s Esion seemed reluctant to enter the thick of combat once again. Slowly standing up on his feet, he fired off more rounds from his Rotary Large Lasers. More Amber blasts streaked through the air, devastating the hillside and anything else in the way. Korit threw his Esion sharply to one side to avoid friendly fire. A few of the shots grazed his shoulder and arm, the rest cascading into Canaan, forcing him to retreat some distance. All over the battlefield, Esions lay crippled from the firefight, many still operational, but a few, every now and then were hopeless. The two Goliaths apparently refused to give in, both missing chunks of armor or pieces of their limbs. Suddenly, Korit’s Esion plowed forward, crashing into Canaan’s. “Commander!” Korit’s voice pierced the intercom which until recently remained so silent. Both his friend and enemy were thrown off balance, struggling to stay standing. Flipping up a cover on his control console, Roland slammed his fist down on a button and input a five-digit code. Instantly his cockpit turned into a sauna as every single one of his weapons fired simultaneously, dropping his opponent instantly, doling out heavy damage to armor and internal parts. Darkness fell to his cockpit as his Esion shutdown from the immense heat wave. Cross necklace swinging slightly, he grinned as he heard the commentary. “I’ve never seen such tactics in my history with these games! Team Terrain Gladiators wins this round, with an amazing finishing Alpha Strike by Roland!”
BTW, TJ, I took your advice of not editing until i'm done.
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