Authors: Julia Sexton
Ac'von raised his other hand. The crowd began to quiet. He waited as the cheers stopped. When all was quiet he said, "Let The Combat Begin."
A new roar of cheers went up. Ac'von turned and led Mary to two seats. No, not seats, thrones magnificently carved with symbols and then overlaid with gold. Soft pillows covered the seats. From the thrones they had a view of the circular arena in front of them, now covered with flowers and colored confetti.
"Now, you can eat," Ac'von said. Was this her new life? He decided when she could eat, or rest, or appear in public. The excitement of the kiss and the cheers fell away as she thought about a life dominated by one person, one that did not tolerate disagreement.
Ac'von raised his hands. Servants arrived with goblets and a pitcher of wine. They were followed by platters of food. Mary gave in. She was so hungry. The aromas alone made her stomach growl. She pointed to this and that gambling on whether she would like the taste. Her plate on a side table next to the throne filled with food.
As she started eating she looked around a realized they were not the only ones on the platform. Tu'ver gave her an approving smile. Seated next to her must be Tu'von who gave her an avuncular, friendly wave. There was a small, round man with rosy cheeks and an angelic expression. Mary wondered who he was.
In the arena, clowns were tumbling and pointing at people in the audience. The crowd was laughing. Mary didn't understand their words, but clowns seemed to be universal in action, even here on this strange planet. Mary started eating. Whatever the food was, it was delicious.
A group of colorfully dressed boys came out with rakes. Each was dressed head to toe in one color: red, green, blue, yellow, white and black. As the clowns continued their antics, the boys raked away the flowers, paper and hats scattered on the ground. The boys and the clowns left together. Silence fell.
Mary finished her plate. Immediately Ac'von signaled for more food.
From the other side of the arena in the white section, a man stood up holding an official looking sheet. "No arms. Sho'vu of the Green challenges Si'min of the Yellow. Si'lin of the Yellow challenges Ri'shi of the Red..." He continued with five more pairs. When he finished, he sat down. Drums played as men came out of gates and paired off.
"What is this?" Mary asked.
"The Combat. It's part of The Way. People settle disputes personally and in public. It is much less costly than your court system." The drums stopped. The sound of a large gong reverberated around the arena. As the last waves of sound faded away, the men started circling and feinting. In a few minutes, pairs of men were fighting, rolling on the ground, hitting, kicking.
"This is barbaric," Mary exclaimed.
"It is The Way. These are only small offences."
The afternoon progressed. Men fought men. Women fought women. Women fought men. It seemed to be equal opportunity as to who could challenge. Mary was surprised at some of the winners.
The announcer in the white section stood again. "Daggers. Si'ver of the Yellow challenges Om'sik of the Blue." As he continued reading Mary, thought daggers. This was serious.
And it was. The fights were bloody and in some cases vicious. One man was stabbed in the chest and dragged from the arena. Another lost three fingers. Another a hand. One had his Achilles tendon cut.
"Ac'von I want to leave. This is too barbaric. Watching people get cut and stabbed. It's not what I want to be doing."
"My Ac'ver. The Way requires us to stay until The Combat is over."
The announcer was up again. "Swords. Om'vis of the Blue challenges Si'ver of the Yellow. Ci'mon of the Green challenges..."
Mary felt her stomach grind at the food she had eaten. Swords, this is not just serious, it's deadly. This isn't sport, this is killing.
"Ac'von, I can't do this. I am a fencer. I know what swords can do."
"Yes, I know. As queen...almost queen, it is your duty to uphold The Way and remain until the entire ritual is finished. I think I know how to solve this for right now. Let me introduce you to The Arbiter."
"The Arbiter?" Mary asked. "What's that? Who is that?"
Ac'von took her hand and led her to the side where the little round man sat watching the men come of the gates carrying swords.
"Ac'ver this is The Arbiter. Since he always remains objective, once he takes office he does not use his name in public."
"My child, Ac'ver." His round face looked up as he clasped her hand. "A pleasure, indeed. Sit, please." He gestured to a carved chair next to him. "What is it that confuses you?"
Out in the arena a man cried out as a sword cut from his shoulder down through his abdomen. Blood and guts poured onto the ground.
"That," Mary said, pointing the fallen man, the victor standing over him waving his sword in the air.
"Ah, yes. I have heard much of your planet Earth. You are looking for justice and, perhaps, mercy. As you stay here, you will find that Our Way holds a justice that is merciful."
"This does not seem merciful to me."
"We hold the military values as the highest. Everyone here, men and women, train in the arts. Worlds that have replaced this system, find that murder is common. Men must be taken from the military to police the populace. The Combat prevents these murders, often committed in unreasoned passion of the moment."
"But, this is cold-blooded murder."
"You call it murder but both parties willingly consent to combat. In a place like your Earth, two die, instead of one. And often here, no one dies. In your system the law tracks down the murderer and sentences him to death, or worse, lifelong imprisonment as a burden to the state, as though that death would restore the victim's life."
Mary felt confused. This culture, this planet Rama, was so different. She felt her life had been so easy. For her, fencing was a sport, not military training.
The Arbiter continued, "So if a thousand legal combats prevent, at the most, 500 murders, the state is no worse. And, The Combat survivor is most likely the individual suited to defending the state. Your system which accepts murder lends itself to intrigue, corruption, plea bargaining, and many injustices."
Mary's head was spinning. She didn't know if it was following the logic of The Arbiter, or the sight of so much bloodshed and mutilation.
"Thank you, Arbiter. There is much to think about."
"My child, Ac'ver, I am always here to explain The Way."
She left and returned to her throne. Her stomach churned as she saw the blood and hewn body parts strewn across the arena floor. The crowd was restless. Mary could tell many were drunk on whatever it was they drank here.
Ac'von turned to her and smiled. "Did The Arbiter help you understand. He is so wise, even though he is young."
"I'm not sure. Everything is a big jumble in my head. Ac'von you've brought me to a place I don't understand."
"You will," he said confidently.
Older boys, teenagers were out on the arena floor tossing offal and body parts into carts.
The announcer in the white section stood. Drums rolled. "The Combat is finished."
A cheer went up. At last, Mary thought. This hideous ordeal is over. But, as she looked around the area no one got up to leave. There was an expectant silence.
Ac'von sensing her anxiety turned, "Just one more ceremony, then we will leave."
"The Examinations," the announcer called in his resonant voice.
Now what? Mary thought. Could anything be worse than what she had just seen? Ac'von seemed noble on stage here, but what he presided over was mayhem. Looks are deceiving she thought as she studied his chiseled face and watched his long, dark eyelashes blink in the light.
The announcer started reading out pairs of names much a he had done for each combat. Now and then the crowd groaned or sent up a faint cheer.
"Ri'son of the Red," the announcer hesitated and glanced toward their pavilion. "Calls to Examine Ac'von of the Black."
Silence for a few seconds. Suddenly the entire Red section rose to their feet, stomping, yelling, clapping their hands, beating drums, making noise in every way possible.
Ac'von stiffened in the throne next to her. He started to rise, then sat back as the entire crowd went wild. The noise was deafening.
The drums beat until the crowd settled down to a low murmur.
The White announcer said, "The Day of The Combat is successfully terminated. Rama reigns us all."
Ac'von took Mary's hand, raised it in the air, and strode defiantly to the edge of the pavilion.
CHAPTER FOUR
All
the way back, down the elevator, along the tunnel, and up the elevator Ac'von said nothing. His mother and father trailed in silence. The Arbiter kept shaking his head. Mary would have given anything to get back to Cherryvale.
When the elevator doors opened his mother and father and The Arbiter all went separate ways without saying a word. Ac'von took Mary's hand.
"You are my queen, you must support me." He walked them toward the transparent doors at the end of the hall.
"Support you. Support you in what? What is this Examination?"
Ac'von pushed open the doors and walked to a bench under the portico. He took her hand and pulled her onto the bench next to him as he sat. Mary felt her body tremble at his touch. She was glad they were sitting. The entire day had her confused. Just being here on Rama didn't make any sense.
"At each Combat there is a list of proposed wrongs to be examined for the next Combat. Usually it is just a formality. The Arbiter and his supporters look at the claim and then add the challenge to the list. Never before, in the history of Rama, has anyone challenged the King." His jaws clamped together as rage stiffened his entire body.
"But you are not the King. You have to marry for that to happen. Isn't that what you told me? So, this is legal by your Raman standards. What do you call it? The Way?"
"That is easy, we can marry tomorrow."
"No, we won't."
"I am the commander, you will do as I say."
"Commander or not, I am not going to marry a...man who abducts me without warning and takes me away from everything I know."
Ac'von tightened his jaw and looked at her in astonishment.
"No one speaks to me like this!"
"I do. Me, Mary Smith, human. I talk to you like this. You go about commanding everything to your whim. I am not a whim, I am me. I don't want to marry you. Take me back to Cherryvale."
For a moment, Mary thought he was going to hit her. He raised his hand, and then dropped it.
"Am I really that repulsive?"
"You are not repulsive. Look at you. You are beautiful, as if you were made to be the epitome of what a man should be...on the outside. Tall, handsome, athletic."
She looked in up and down in his form fitting black. "You are gorgeous. Any woman would want to be with you...that way. Except, behavior tempers all those good looks. If you want to really claim a woman's affection, you need to treat her well. Try to understand her. Not command her to do something with no explanation. You need to ask, and tell her why you are asking."
"Hmm. I was on Earth such a short time and I was not studying women, I was overseeing the cellular studies."
"Who is this Ri'son? Why is he challenging you?"
"Universal Research," Ac'von grunted.
"What? The Lab? Why?"
"Ac'ver, I thought you were smart. Your intelligence...and your fire hair...were the first things I noticed about you. Didn't you wonder about some of the tests you ran?"
Mary thought for a second. "It wasn't my tests, it was the reports from bio-chemistry. They didn't jibe with what I found."
"Exactly."
"What? My tests were wrong?"
"No, the opposite. Those bio-chemistry results were all faked. Those and many more. And who was in charge of your division?"
"Dr. Riesen. But he didn't really bother with us. He just sent for reports and I turned in my results."
"Yes, Dr. Risen. You have met Ri'son of the Red. All of our names were changed to sound my Earth-like."
"Dr. Risen? The tall, good-looking man? Always ready with a smile. What was wrong?"
"Everything. He was conducting unethical research twisting the results to get more Earth funding, showing test results that he...manufactured. Didn't you notice?"
"I...I...reported the discrepancies but no one responded. I was only there a short while. I was on contract. I think just about everyone in the lab was."
"Yes. And all of the work was distorted. That's why I shut it down."
"You! You shut it down? You made it disappear?" Mary remembered looking at the empty field where the day before Universal Research facilities had stood. It seemed impossible.