KEYAN RAIKO
Countless hours had passed. With no sense of time or the cycles of day and night, Keyan had merely sat hunched in the corner of his cell, his thoughts lost in a myriad of dark subjects. Mostly though, he feared for his wife and his son.
Harrar K'null was a criminal, Keyan knew that much. A smuggler, information broker and racketeer. Keyan would never have imagined that he was into kidnapping people though. Were Adela and Jaden sat rotting in a cell like he was? Or had a worse fate befallen them?
Keyan was torn from his thoughts by heavy bootsteps outside of the cell. Not looking up, he listened to the hushed whispers of his captives before the familiar clicks of the old keypad that opened his cell door.
He did look up now, as a dark shadow loomed above him. "It's your turn".
Keyan glared at the huge Duros in front of him. "For what?" he asked.
The lipless mouth of his captor curled upwards, the red eyes appearing to shine in the gloom. "Oh, you'll see soon enough".
Keyan was grasped roughly and dragged to his feet, his wrists were tied together and he was marched out of the cell where a Weequay and a droid guard also stood waiting. The three of them marched Keyan down a dark corridor. At the far end he could light piercing through a rock covered entrance. From the other side, he could hear the muffled baying of what seemed to be a throng of people. Keyan half turned to his guards and scowled. "What's going on?"
"Quiet!" the Weequay barked and shouldered him forward towards the entrance.
Keyan was thrown against the rock wall and the Weequay pulled out a knife, holding it up to Keyan, almost for inspection. Keyan swallowed hard as he eyed the blade. Before he could react, the Weequay brought the blade down.
Keyan winced for a second before the blade dropped between his hands and cut his bonds. Then the knife was thrust into his palms and he was spun towards the entrance.
Keyan tried to question the guards, but both the Weequay and the Duros were disappearing back into the shadows. Only the droid remained. "Can you tell me what's happening?" Keyan queried.
The Droid merely clicked and groaned, leaving Keyan unsure as to whether it wouldn't -or couldn't- speak. As he considered his next move, the huge rock covering the entrance to the tunnel rolled back and the Droid led him through the gateway.
Key found himself standing in a dusty bowl, each side littered with stands of people from many species, baying and hooting. Glancing at the knife in his hand, realisation slid upon Keyan like a dark cloak. The droid stepped forth and began to introduce Key to the crowd. The noise tuned out of Keyans head though as from two other entrances, two more slaves were marched into the arena. And from the opposite side, from behind a metal cage, a trio of Nexu stalked into the dusty pit....
KEYAN RAIKO
Key watched in horror as one of the slaves in front of him screamed and broke into a run. The Nexu instantly flicked their attention to the movement and leapt into pursuit. The first of the trio leapt, tackling the Bothan slave to the ground and sinking its fangs deep through the golden fur of the Bothan and into the flesh beyond.
Keyan moved sideways, towards the other slave, an alien he had never seen before. Across the arena, the three Nexu argued and fought over the corpse laid in the dust.
The alien glanced at Key and shook his head.
"Bit of a mess we're in here, huh?"
Keyan looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you could say that".
"So" said the alien amiably,
"What's the plan?"
Keyan stared at the man. Dressed in plain black pants, boots and a vest, his fur was a mottled grey, and his yellow eyes flecked with silver. His nose was chitinous and hooked down towards his upper lip. And despite seemingly facing imminent death, he seemed jovial and free spirited. Ahead of them, two of the Nexu were feeding on the Bothan. The third however, had turned to face them, and was flashing a grin that revealed the many teeth adorning it's wide maw.
The aliens tail flicked anxiously. Keyan wiped his hands on his pants legs and looked around. The dust bowl was filled with debris, but no visible weapons. Seeking something to defend himself with, he saw nothing immediately obvious.
"Uhh.... it's coming..." the alien muttered.
"We split up" Keyan growled.
"You go left, I'll go right. See if you can find anything to fight with. They're fast and agile, but they've got a weak bone structure. Hopefully, we can hurt them".
The alien said nothing but began edging away to the left, his tail twitching. Keyan himself, moved right. The Nexu hesitated for a moment, swinging its headto assess the targets. Apparently deciding on its quarry, it angled towards Keyan. Glancing around, a long wooden pole, with a tattered and torn flag on the end lay a few feet away.
"HEY!" the alien shouted from across the pit. The two feeding Nexu looked up, but returned to rending flesh from bone. The third though, did turn and glare at the creature.
"COME AND GET ME! COME ON!" The alien leapt up and down, waving his arms. Keyan could scarcely believe it.
The Nexu charged and Keyan himself shouted a curse. Racing for the flagpole, he grasped it and raced for the animal as it bore down upon its prey. The nexu was impossibly fast though and Keyan knew he wouldn't be able to stop it from leaping upon the alien. Still, he poured on a burst of speed and held the pole like a lance.
In front of him, the Nexu leapt, but lightning quick, the alien dropped into a crouch and spun. It's tail wrapped around a diamond shaped shard of twisted metal, about teo feet long and flicked it through the air, plunging it home into the neck of the beast. The Nexu howled and fell into the dirt. As it tried to rise though, the alien leapt upon it, a rock the size of his head in his hands. He drove the rock down into the forehead repeatedly, his face a twisted, feral mask of rage. As blood spurted, the cat-like beast slumped into death.
Suddenly Keyan felt the presence of oneo f the other Nexu bearing down upon him. He felt the pulsing excitement of the hunt emanating from the beast. Spinning on his heel and dropping to a knee, he raised the pole up, planting the butt into the ground. As he did, the Nexu sailed through the air, claws extended, teeth dripping with hungry anticipation. Keyan held the pole firm as the Nexu landed, chest first upon it. Flesh torn, bone popped and snapped and the Nexu died in an instant.
Keyan stepped back, recoiling in shock and confusion. The alien joined him at his side as the final Nexu left its meal and began to stalk around the perimeter of the arena, all of its eyes focused on the pair.
"How did you do that?" asked the alien.
Keyan looked at him, his gaze flushed with worry.
"I have no idea... it's like... it's like I felt it... Like I could sense it".
The alien raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Across from them, the Nexu dasheed forward, it's movements zig-zagging, with terrible speed. The alien leapt, but was batted aside. Keyan, his pole still embedded in the last Nexu, dived away. The Nexu landed exactly where Key had stood only a fraction of a second before and swung, it's maw snapping at his heels. The alien leapt in again, hurling rocks he scooped up with his tail . The Nexu snarled itsa fury and fell back. Key rose to his feet and edged around the snarling beast, trying to read it's movements. He sensed its agitation and frustration. Keyan breathed and swallowed hard. "You don't have to do this" he whispered, not knowing why he was he even talking.
The Nexu tilted its head and took a step back, it's fangs still bared. Keyan moved around, hoping to reach the pole that still hung out of the downed creature. The Nexu rested back on its haunches, preparing to spring. Panic ran through Key as he saw the impending attack and he cried out. As he did, the Nexu hesitated once more, apparently unsure as to what to do. Key reached out towards the pole and the creature leapt...
From the left, a blur of motion caught both man and beast in surprise. The Alien, flew in, both feet first and caught the leaping Nexu in the ribs. The sound of snapping bone rang out as the Nexu howled and rolled to his feet, snapping at the alien slave with rage in its eyes. Keyan grasped the pole and leapt forward, stabbing out and driving the creature backwards.
With a final roar it leapt, Key struck out, striking the animal across the maw. The alien leapt in, a long metal bar in hand and brought it down across the creatures head, driving it into the ground. Key snapped his pole and drove the sharp end into the neck of the Nexu. The beast snarled and as Key looked down upon it, he felt the fear and uncertainty flow from the creature as it died.
The feelings faded in synch with the light fading from the beasts eyes. It drew one final ragged breath... and was still.
Keyan stepped back and the alien clapped his hand across Keyans back.
"We did it!" he grinned.
"Onto the next round, now!"
Keyan eyed him. He felt bone weary and his mind was fuzzy, his thoughts racing at lightspeed.
"What?" he managed to ask, dropping to his haunches and dragging his sweat stained hair back from his face.
"You don't know?" the alien asked. All around them, the crowd were whooping and hollering. The doors they had entered the arena through reopened and a gaggle of guards of random sizes and species entered the arena, weapons trained at the two slaves.
"Slave games..." the alien said quickly.
"This was our first round. There are three rounds. If we survive and win all three rounds, we're free".
"And what if we don't win all three?" Keyan asked as the guards closed in.
"You'll be dead". the alien answered simply.
