The Death Guarantor
The name given to the super weapon capable of erasing whole planets, and— less coincidentally— the name given to this human rights nightmare of a tournament run by the planetary coalition.
Forty chosen planets were all forced to compete, each allowed to allocate four pilots to fight for them. When all four pilots die, the planet is eliminated.
The fighting ends when only five planets remain.
***
The crowd froze. For a match that was always going to end in death, they still somehow looked surprised.
"Did he just aim for the cockpit?"
"Thats pretty fucked up."
"I paid over a hundred Eura and it's already over?"
Boos circled the arena, rattling against the invisible barrier.
[Veig] Mech still at 100%. Well done, Rexton."
Puppy-Cat stayed perfectly still as Riko paused. The soft sound of blood dripping onto the concrete grew louder in his head, drowning the crowd.
Plop
Plop
Plop
[Lumi]... Rexton?
Riko snapped back into reality.
"Thats it. Shifting back to neural, easier to walk backstage."
He guided the mech toward the white room as the hologram city faded away. It was covered in sponsors and desperate consumerism.
The director was waiting for him, wearing a particularly shit-eating grin. He stepped forward offering his embrace, as if expecting a hug.
Riko slid out of the cockpit and stood on the frame.
"I don't want your congratulations. I'm fighting for my freedom, remember."
The director dropped his arms but kept his smug smile. Riko was right— he was just a prisoner fighting for a planet that wasn't his.
"Either way, well done pirate."
Tsk.
Riko clicked his tongue and jumped down from the mech. He walked past the director, stopped, irritation rising.
"Hey. Are you gona to cuff me or what??"
The director pointed sheepishly at his own neck.
"I don't think the cuffs are necessary anymore."
Every competitor had a chip implanted into their neck a few days prior. No clear explanation why had been given, but almost everyone came to the same conclusion—
A kill switch.
Riko groaned, his face very much highlighting his spite.
Then why even cuff me in the first place.
"So what now?" Riko asked.
"Follow me."
They walked through the backstage corridors filled with workers. Eyes followed him— judging, hostile, curious, curious.
Riko returned their glares with his own, causing the workers to posture up. As expected after what they had just seen.
"I don't get why they care how the fight ended. I was told to fight to the death."
The director led him to a small room labelled control room PT.
"As long as you keep winning, don't expect a lecture from me. And well if you lose…"
The door opened and a young man immediately grabbed Riko by his collar.
"What the hell what!?"
Riko stared back, unimpressed. He couldn't help but think how hostile everyone has been today.
"Huh?"
The young man was yanked away by an older pilot in the same jumpsuit, grey haired and scarred like an ex-gangster moviestar.
"Rune, he won. No point arguing."
So he's arguing about the fight as well. He doesn't look the ethical type…
"Yeah, but why wouldn't he destroy the star core too?" Rune snapped. "Now we might have to fight that mech again."
Oh.
Riko's expression shifted slightly.
"No point wasting good metal. Whether they admit it or not, this tournament's about blood… not the bots."
The director clapped, gathering everyone's attention before the dispute could deepen and began introductions.
He pointed at the tall young man first: dark hair, pale skin, taller than everyone else in the room.
Rune Luseix
19 years old.
Prodigy pilot.
Son of a military commander.
Then pointed to the older pilot: sunglasses pushing his long grey hair back, face carved.
Alek Veig
42 years old.
Veteran.
Suffers from Neural Saturation Disorder.
A girl sat in the corner watching the fight over and over. Her hair was pure white, her skin tanned covered in lighter patches; like snowflakes in the sun.
Lumi Purtana
17 years old.
Esper traits.
Daughter of the King of Purtia.
Then the director turned towards Riko. No introduction necessary. His face was already plastered across Puritan media:
The pirate child who destroyed over twenty Purtian mechs without killing a single pilot.
Riko Rexton
16 years old.
Devil's Mane Pirate.
Sentenced to life imprisonment.
Lumi grabbed Riko's wrist and dragged him towards her monitor. She paused at a precise frame.
"Explain."
"Explain what?"
"Explain how you shifted from neural without any lag. That's impossible."
Arms crossed; princess like.
She looked out of place in the jumpsuit— not because she was a girl, but because she radiated inexperience.
"I don't know. I've always been able to shift instantly. If I was religious I'd call it a gift from God."
She clearly didn't like that answer and replayed the clip again, continuing her persistent analysis
The director pointed to the giant screen and repeated the tournament rules.
The Death Guarantor
Forty planets
Stage one:
Ten groups of four planets, assigned randomly.
Each group is hosted by a Coalition planet.
Each planet may allocate four pilots and four humanoid mechs.
Pilots can share mechs.
Mechs must be 40-80 feet tall — however a height difference more than 20 feet between competitors leads to a coin flip and the loser must change mech.
The group stage ends when only one planet remains.
Planete may repeat pilots.
"Okay. I'll leave you to bond. The next match will appear on the screen."
He left and the silence solidified.
Lumi continued to watch the fight, Rune read in his own corner and Veig laid out across the group couch omitting roar like snores.
Riko sat leaning back on the door lost in thought, until Lumi rolled back in her chair and spun towards Riko; visibly annoyed.
"I didn't know you could kill so easily. I should have assumed…you are a pirate."
He didn't respond.
"You didn't kill anyone during the convoy raid," she continued to bite. " But this time you explicitly asked me to find the heat signature. You were out for blood."
Riko walked towards the door with his back turned towards her.
" I don't see why it matters. I'm gonna look for a cafeteria or something."
Before he could leave, party like alarm music blasted from the giant screen. Colours flashed across the room.
The same announcement echoed through the halls.
Planet names shuffled on the screen:
Sylvia State
Huda Colony
Purtia Empire
Nuxta Colony
< Match-Up Two>
Sylvia State vs Nuxta Colony