Round two - Bertrand vs Sara

Posted on Mon Mar 26th, 2018 @ 3:37am by Commander Bertrand Cuprum & Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri

Bertrand and Sara became aware of their surroundings again, the recent combat with Cor and Avist having passed before them in some coma like state.

"Thank you contestants," The woman spoke to them. "You are progressing to round 2. Only one of you may pass to round 3, however..."

Again the shift in focus, and now Bertrand and Sara were in the arena on opposite sides.

A voice boomed over the arena, "Ladies and gentlemen, and other viewers. I present to you Round two PVP Combatants Combatants 1338549 and 1338550, Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri vs Commander Bertrand Cuprum! Only one can continue to round 3! Place your wagers now!"

"What? No!" Bertrand called out.

Sara looked around the arena confused, she hadn’t heard the announcement as she was feeling a little out of it due to the constant transporting. Seeing Bertrand on the other side of the arena to her, she started to walk towards him hoping he would have answers as to why they were still here.

Bertrand could read Sara's confusion easily, after all their real forms were still within meters of each other somewhere. He did not fear her, knowing he would have warning before he needed to react.

"They're looking for a showdown between us," he explained as she approached. "Maybe they weren't convinced by our performance against the droid... I don't know. I also don't know what happens to the contestant who is eliminated."

"Star fleet protocol dictates preservation of ranking officer where possible, but there is some latitude in that, and in this case, I believe that if resuscitation is required you are in the best position to provide it. Let's see if a Heavy stun will be convincing enough or if they need a kill, shall we?"

Sara smiled, “I'd love to, unfortunately my weapon doesn’t have a stun setting. However, i am more that happy to knock you out with a physical attack if that is what you intend.”

Bertrand looked surprised, "You're a Lieutenant. You should have been issued with a Type I as stan... never mind. Take mine."

Bertrand pulled the small, credit card sized Type I phaser from his belt adjusted it to setting 3 for heavy stun and passed it to Sara.

"If I'm wrong about this, don't let Elijah build a bloody statue to me, or some rubbish."

Looking down at the small phaser she’d been handed, Sara pocketed it and looked back up at Bertrand, “You have my word, Commander, no statue or refuse will be created in your honour,” she said, turning on her heal and walking to the centre of the arena. Once she reached the approximate centre, she turned back to Bertrand, “Let us give them the ‘show’ they are asking for.”

Bertrand stood clenching and clenching his fists, "You know, I'd rather not give them the satisfaction..."

He closed his eyes. Even though one sense was silenced, he could feel Sara's mind focusing and getting ready to fire. Every instinct in him screamed for him to move.

raising up the phaser to point at Bertrand, it was only then that she realised she could sense his emotions. this told her that although their 'copies' couldn't used their abililties, they were still in the same room. that also explained why the twins earlier weren't effected when one of them was 'killed'. As she processed this new information, she just stood there as if frozen to the spot.

Bertrand growled, "Don't drag this out, Sara."

Snapping out of her own thoughts, Sara gave a sigh of resignation, "I'm sorry about this Commander, I hope for your sake that you will not feel anything" she said, firing the phaser at the centre of Bertrand's chest.

So do I, The thought flashed through Bertrand's head before he passed out.

"Life forms everywhere, we have a winner; Combatants 1338549, Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri! Give her a big hand as she progresses to the penultimate round!"

The perspective shifted again and Sara was sitting in the chair facing the real Bertrand, who appeared unharmed but immobile.

"The organizers take every precaution to ensure the safety and well being of all contestants," the female android intoned. "Your opponent is unharmed and will remain in suspended stasis until the games are resolved. Congratulations, you are on to round three. Would you like to observe the other contestants?"

"Why have you placed Commander Bertrand in stasis? is this how you treat all of your competitors?" Sara asked, worried for the Commander. Now that she was back in her body, she could sense his emotional presence, but little more. "The Commander is no threat to you or your master."

"All contestants who are eliminated are stored, as a courtesy, till completion of the games and the presentation ceremony. Currently there are one million, three hundred and thirty eight thousand, five hundred and forty seven contestants in suspension."

Sara was shocked, "You have over one million lifeforms in suspended animation? Is that not a waist of resources? Why not simply return them to their own people when they have been eliminated?" she asked, hoping to make a case for sending Bertrand back to the Victory so he could update the Captain.

"Due to the nature of the games, it was deemed important that any participants were prevented from exiting and re-entering the games. Due to the gradual degradation of the quality of life for the local inhabitants, it was deemed conducive to return them to their environments, as normal fatality levels would have removed the majority of applicants."

"In simple terms, people on the planet were dying, so it was decided to store them here until the victory celebrations to avoid them dying out. That decision was passed 858,767 solar rotations ago. The planet and games are now totally automated."

Sara was shocked, “858,000 solar cycles? How have you managed to maintain stasis over such a long time? What kind of power source are you using?”

"The planet uses renewable Energy, combining Solar and Geothermal sources. The Facility itself is linked to the primary Geo-thermal facility which is maintained by triple redundant automation."

"Are you ready to proceed to Round 3?"

Looking back at Bertrand, Sara sighed, “it would seem I have no other choice. Proceed”