Gabriel woke up filled with determination. Breakfast soon arrived, thankfully no blue slop but instead a plain gruel. Not the best breakfast Gabriel had eaten in the past month but not the worst. After that, they were taken to a training room and locked inside. The room was made of stone, Gabriel had expected more steel, the same as the cells. There were several different padded weapons and even some armor on stands at the sides and dummies in the center. It looked very old fashioned and archaic.

“Now then Gabriel, let’s see what you got,” Deana said grinning and tossed him a padded saber along with a shield. “Get some padding on.”

“We’re starting the day by beating each other up?” He asked and swirled the blade around in an exaggerated way, a smile on his face.

“Sure, but not really, I want to see how good you are with weapons, I have had a few weeks of practice,” Deana said and pulled a gambeson over her tank top.

Gabriel did the same and swung the blade around a bit more, it felt hollow, “Shouldn’t they be heavier? I mean to build strength?” He asked them. Sen’Chakar stopped some strange warm-up that looked similar to Tai chi and gave Deana a questioning look.

“They are...” Deana said confused, “Not by much I’ll admit,” she added, returning Sen’Chakar’s look. Gabriel tested the sword lightly on the practice dummy and felt he probably could shatter the blade should he so wish.

“If you say so.” He said and took the best stance he could, not at all trained in sword fighting but a frequent watcher of fantasy. In short, he held the shield in front and the sword above his head, ready for a downwards strike. His stance was wide and steady though, he knew better what to do with his feet in this situation.

Deana took a stance as well, “Right, there are no helmets so please avoid strikes to the head.”

“Yep,” Gabriel said and they both started circling each other. Deana tested his defenses with a few swipes and stabs but they were blocked by the shield or simply dodged. Gabriel swiped back a few times, testing the blade and Deana’s reaction more than anything.

She delivered a few quick strikes while pressing her attack. Gabriel backed off blocking, but inexperienced as he took two strikes, one to the upper thigh and one grazed his shield arm. He parried a strike and stabbed at her shoulder forcing her to spin out of reach. From there he pressed forwards and slashed in the best manner he could, trying to get a hit but barely using any force. He only manages to glance off her shield and catch her on the thigh before she backed out of reach.

“You’re quick,” She said and blew out a few heavy breaths. Gabriel was just warming up but had begun to sweat, more so because of the heavy clothing than anything else. She feigned a strike at his shoulder and when Gabriel raised his shield she charged and tried shield bashing him off balance. That only slightly worked as Gabriel simply rocked back before shoving back. Deana almost left the floor as she stumbled backward and fell on her ass.

“Right, very strong you said, and fast, those hits were hard to block,” she grumbled and dusted herself off.

“Yeah, sorry, you good?” Gabriel asked and moved forwards towards her.

She held up a hand, “Perfectly fine.” She looked him over, “We’re about the same height, I didn’t know the difference would be that big.”

“Well...” Gabriel said sheepishly and scratched his head.

“What?” she asked suspiciously and narrowed her eyes.

“I can go faster, and hit harder,” he said almost apologetically.

She squinted at him, “Right...prove it.” she said and raised her shield again.

“No, I’m not going to hit you, neither of us needs to be injured right now,” Gabriel said and moved over to the practice dummy. He dropped the shield and rapped his knuckles on the wood. It was thin and hollow and not thoroughly braced ether allowing the wooden plates to shift and move when hit. Gabriel raised the saber over his head and with both hands on the grip swung as hard as he could right at the dummy's head. The swords shattered into splinters and the tip bounced off and landed at Sen’Chakars feet. Then Gabriel drove his elbow into the chest plate, shattering that as well. He planned on using his fists but didn’t feel like getting splinters.

“Point taken,” Deana said in amazement, “How in the...how did they capture you?”

“Gas,” Gabriel shrugged, “And a lot of firing power I guess. But mainly gas.” He briefly went over his capture on the ship taking care not to mention either Madeline or Cani by name. Just in case.

“So the rumors were true,” Sen’Chakar said as he approached. He stopped and stared intently at Gabriel. It was a little unnerving as Sen’Chakar was half a head taller and had the pupil-less silver eyes of the Igris. “Then you fought off a group of ten Igris and rescued two hostages doing so, and armed with a pipe against guns?”

“More or less,” Gabriel said, leaning back from the stare, “I believe it was nine.” He added, feeling like he needed to keep the conversation going for some reason.

“Hm, good,” Sen’Chakar said and returned to his training.

Gabriel shot a confused look at Deana but she just shrugged, “An Igris of few words that one,” she explained.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Gabriel looked around and found a relatively large sword. It was probably meant to be used with two hands, but the weight felt better with Gabriel's limited knowledge of medieval weapons. He practiced swings the best he could with pointers from Deana and Sen’Chakar. They got food delivered for lunch so they could keep practicing. They were apparently not allowed to leave before dinner in any case. Not that Gabriel saw any harm in letting them back to their cells to eat, but he decided not to think too hard about it.

With no guard observing, he could train as much and as hard as he wanted, but he kept it to a sensible amount as there were likely to be an area fight the day after and he didn’t feel like battling muscle ache at the same time. Still, the hours gave him some familiarity with the various weapons they had for practice, skill would have to wait. Just before dinner, signaled by Sen’Chakar who seemed to always know the time, they were escorted back to the cells. The training area was outside the cell corridor but in the opposite direction of the armory and had no other ways out. So unless he could dig through the stone escaping while training would not be an option.

“How much time until the food gets here Sen?... Chakar,” Deana asked when the guards had left.

He seemed to ponder the question for a moment, “Less than an hour, but likely more than a half,” he answered.

“Good, then we have time to shower,” she smirked at Gabriel, “You need it.”

“Do I stink?” Gabriel asked and sniffed his shirt.

“Not right now no, but dried sweat stinks,” Deana said and pressed a button at the head of Gabriel's bed. She tossed him a plastic package with folded clothes inside. “Warm up the shower for me would you?”

Gabriel chuckled, “Sure,” he entered the bathroom and after some experimenting figured out how the shower worked, and where the shampoo was located. He showered quickly and felt refreshed as he entered the cell again finding a clothe shute on the way out.

“Don’t eat my portion if it arrives before I’m done,” Deana said and slapped his back as she passed.

“I’ll try, but no promises,” Gabriel said and sat down on the floor, deciding stretching would be a good idea before his muscles stiffened up. He finished just as Deana was done with the shower and the food arrived. This time the food was almost good. “Do you always get better food before fighting?”

“Usually, dinner, breakfast, and lunch tomorrow will be better. I hope,” She said and rummaged around the plate, “I mean this is not anything spectacular but compared to the normal stuff.”

“Good to see you haven’t lost a sense of taste...How many fights have you been through?” Gabriel asked after eating quietly for a bit.

“Four, this will be the fifth,” She said and pointed with her fork at the door, “Sen has been here for three.”

“Hmm, so what can I expect?”

“Surprisingly small crowd considering how many the stands can hold, but I guess with this entire thing being illegal It’s harder to fill seats. And I have no idea what we are fighting. First for me was an arrogant Igris, then just various animals, many I don’t even know the name of. In fact, I don’t think I know the name of any.” She shrugged, “Shame really.”

“How so?”

“I assume most are taken illegally from various planets. If we ever get out that could lead to uncovering some syndicate activities. Maybe. If they exist.” She finished.

“I guess so, I don’t suppose describing the mining ship would help any?” Gabriel asked.

“Maybe? But they are usually mass-produced. Well, most ships can be found in a catalog somewhere. It’s a lot cheaper to build out of the same interiors, or the same series I guess.”

“Huh, so two ships from the same manufacturer might just have another hull and some...more thrusters?” Gabriel ventured, not sure how to upgrade a ship.

“And everything else to match yeah, but with everything made to work together, It’s easier to increase power or thrust or add an FTL drive and the like. You don’t have to start from scratch every time.” She explained.

“That makes sense, not unexpected either. But I assume custom builds exist?” Gabriel said.

“Oh sure, if you have the money for them you can get what you want.” She said. Gabriel wondered what It would be like to own a ship of his own. Not that he even knew what he would do with it if he had one, and he couldn’t fly it in any case, though he could probably hire a pilot.

“Right,” he said, putting those thoughts aside for the moment, “What kind of armor will be available tomorrow?”

“Not enough, it just covers the vitals. Chest, thighs, head. And there are bracers and greaves” she said, “Would be boring to watch otherwise I suppose, they want to see some blood.”

“Well It’s better than nothing,” Gabriel said. “Weapons? same as in the training room?”

“Mostly, there are some with no training equivalent, a large hammer, and an axe from what I remember, probably more.”

Gabriel scratched his beard, “Hmm, you wouldn't happen to know what we are fighting?”

“No clue,” Deana said. “Sen?” she shouted. Gabriel thought he heard a sigh from the other cell.

“No, I don’t know either,” He said. “And stop calling me that!”

Deana grinned, “Gotta have some fun,” she said.

Gabriel nodded slowly, he wondered…”I have a strange question,” he said.

“Alright,” Deana said, “Go for it,”

“Am I pretty?” Gabriel asked, “No wait, are my features considered pretty?” he corrected himself.

Deana chuckled, “Cuter is a better word.” she took a moment observing him, "Yes, rounded ears, thin nose, soft hairs on your head. Cute." she nodded.

“Do you think I can use that to my advantage?” Gabriel asked, feeling a bit embarrassed being inspected like that.

“You’re not my type so I don’t know, but If you trim those scruffy hairs on your chin maybe,” she said and shrugged. Then she leaned forwards and squinted at him, “Yeah, that would help.”

“What are the odds of that happening?” Gabriel asked and scratched his beard. He agreed that at least shaving his neck and tidying up his cheeks would likely be helpful to his appearance.

“Not high, unless you use some strange method that does not include blades.”

“That’s what I thought, hmm.” Gabriel rested his chin in his hands and began to think. “I suppose there are more guards here tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Deana said and lowered her voice. “The day after a match is probably the best option to escape.”

Gabriel nodded, “Got ya, now we just have to figure out how to get to the armory, or staging area or whatever it’s called.”

“That is the problem isn’t it, and the next door as well I suppose.”

Gabriel looked over at Deana and smiled apologetically, “Sorry if I jump around different topics, I’m easily distracted, and I have a lot on my mind.”

She chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, just talking is nice. Watch my back tomorrow and you can ramble about whatever you please,” she said grinning.

“I will, thanks,” Gabriel said.

And so the day ended and the day for the fight arrived. The breakfast was good, much to Gabriel’s surprise. They were informed that the fight would take place around dinner time and that they had free reign to the training room until then. The door remained open although twice the amount of guards guarded the armory door and likely more were inside. Gabriel tried to familiarize himself with all training weapons and quickly realized he should probably try and find a club or bat or something similar. He knew how to handle a knife, at least somewhat from his time in boot camp but swords were out of his expertise. The lunch that was served was also good and varied. After that, they had three hours to prepare.

“How are you feeling?” Deana asked as the time for the fight quickly approached.

“Nervous as hell,” Gabriel said honestly. But he was a bit excited as well, this would be his best chance to scout for a way out and the idea of bashing a few syndicate members in the skull was quite intriguing.

“I don’t know what hell is but I feel the same. Though with your strength you’ll do fine.” She said and began stretching. “I suggest you limber up, we will only have a short time to pick armors and weapons.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know why I was put in your cell, as opposed to Sen’Chakars or even an empty one?” Gabriel asked as he rolled his shoulders.

“Not at all,” she said. “You told me you woke up with a Zilgi last time?”

“Yeah, apparently I was sold as some bloodthirsty monster or some such, but that story doesn't hold water. I mean Made...” He paused. “The Zilgi was probably taken for ransom, and just giving up a lot of money to test a theory seems very strange.” he finished.

“Hm,” Deana said, either not noticing or ignoring him skipping Madeline's name. “Yeah, that is strange, well no use worrying about it. They sure didn’t tell me anything, just dragged you in and put you on the bed.”

“ Another mystery added to the pile,” Gabriel muttered.

A short time later all of them were taken to the armory. Many different armors and weapons stood or hung on the walls. Benches stood lined up in the center of the room and a ramp led up above the cells to the arena. On Gabriels right was a door guarded by four armored and armed Igris Gabriel guessed. It was hard to see with helmets on but they had no ridge on the top to allow for the Ronieans crest. Gabriel wandered around and picked up a few armor pieces. Deana and Sen’Chakar quickly armored up and walked over.

“You don’t have very much time,” Deana reminded him.

“I know, what’s the heaviest metal here?” Gabriel asked. Deana walked over to the far wall and brought over a chestplate. Gabriel’s eyes widened, It was made of steel, or maybe not, it weighed the same but was slightly yellow. He turned it around in his hands and found it was likely a replica of some kind but it felt heavy and sturdy. It looked very new and unmarred by either battle or time. And the straps were some synthetic material and not the leather he’d expected. He grabbed the rest of the set and put it on.

“Isn’t that heavy?” Sen’Chakar asked as he strapped a shield to his arm.

Gabriel grinned, “It’s perfect, my home planet has higher gravity.” he explained. “It’s better than on space stations but I still feel light here.” His helmet and armor were, to Gabriel’s limited knowledge replicas of gladiator armor, likely from a movie. Sen’Chakar wore a rounded armor with ridges which reminded Gabriel of an insect's carapace. Deana wore a greenish metal quite similar to Gabriel’s in form and shape, but slightly angular.

“Choose a weapon!” Barked a guard from across the room. Gabriel glared at him but walked around the room looking over weapons. There were a lot of swords in different shapes and sizes, many knives, and a few spears. Gabriel grabbed the heaviest knife he could find, It was of the green metal Deana wore and looked around for something more. He found a few swords he swore were from Earth, at least the designs, but he found no maces or morning stars or anything of that kind.

“That’ll do,” He said finally and picked a strange green metal club from the wall. It was slightly curved and had metal spikes or studs? Blunted short spikes on the outside of the curve. “Strange...” he turned it around in his hands. “What was this for?” he asked Deana.

“Killing a riding animal that had a very hard head in the ancient times back on Roniean I,” she said. “I seem to recall it was placed on the shoulder and swung down on the animal's head or aimed at the rider, then dropped for a more agile weapon,” Deana said and grabbed a sword and shield. Gabriel tested the weight, it was not light but considering its size he could easily swing it around. He grabbed a short sword he thought was from earth and a small shield.

Gabriel held up a hand to a guard, “One more moment,” he said and drew the knife stepping over to a mirror. He quickly shaved off the patchy beard on his upper cheeks and neck. “There we go, better?” he asked Deana.

“Um, sure?” she said confused. “Do you always cut your hair with daggers?”

“No, this was a first,” Gabriel said and grabbed the rest of his weapons, the helmet under one arm. Deana and Sen’chakar both put their helmets on and together they were escorted to the arena floor. Gabriel was a bit surprised to find sand coating the inside of the floor. The arena was indoors with a domes roof above and strong light shining down on the sand, leaving the spectators in shadow. There were fewer spectators than he would think, many had their own boxes. It made sense considering this was not exactly legal he supposed. Still, he felt there was a significant lack of music and cheering.

The large doors slammed shut behind them and they were left alone on the sand. Gabriel looked at the sides but the arena had very tall walls with a thick fence on top. Even standing on Sen’chakar’s shoulder he would not reach the fence. So escaping from here would be difficult. If he could get up to the fence he could climb the rest of the way, no doubt under fire from the guards he saw stationed around the stands. He made sure to show off his face before putting his helmet on. In the quiet of the arena, he heard talking amongst the boxes but no specific words.

“Now what?” he asked Deana and Sen, “just fight whatever comes through that door?” he asked, nodding towards the far side was a similar door sat in the wall.

“Pretty much,” Deana confirmed.

Gabriel started to bounce in place and roll his shoulders, “All this waiting...” he said while warming up. “Waiting around, by Gabriel Walker,” he said, mostly to himself. He turned to Deana and Sen, “I think I just named my memoirs,”

“Congratulations,” Sen’Chakar said, “Focus,” he pointed with his sword to the far gate. It was slowly but surely opening. Three Ronieans walked out, dressed in armor that covered their stomachs but otherwise armed similarly, all with swords and shields.

“Quick question, why do they look, for the lack of a better word, depressed?” Gabriel asked.

“Two types come through here, most often those I mentioned earlier, those looking for glory or just to kill. Some are forced because of some mistake.” Deana said and shrugged. “I think.” The gang members slowly walked over weapons at the ready, appearing uncertain. Gabriel almost felt bad but they were still criminals he reckoned. And even though he’d met Deana and Sen yesterday valued their lives more.

“So, one on one or do we all just brawl it out?” He asked.

“One on one,” Deana said, “They get upset otherwise, though this only applies to people.” Gabriel shrugged the large club off his shoulder and went for his sword and shield instead. He walked off to the side, forcing one to separate from the group and meet him. Deana did the same, leaving Sen with whoever was left. Gabriel’s opponent had a strange helmet with round eye holes, Goggles then, Gabriel decided to name him.

Gabriel decided to remain on the defense and waited with his shield raised. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” he said. Goggles ran forward, sword held high and shouted as he swung down. Gabriel easily blocked the strike as well as the following five. The sixth he batted aside with his sword before bashing Goggles to the ground with his shield. Goggles were used to violence and quickly got up and they circled each other for a while, Goggles waiting for Gabriel to make a move. Gabriel heard a shout of pain and risked a glance behind him. Sen’Chakar’s opponent lay on the sand not moving.

He turned back in time to block another strike from Goggles and swung back, glancing off Goggles shield and scoring a deep line across his thigh. Goggles shouted in pain and limped back but still held his weapon up. Gabriel made a show off breathing hard and pretended the sword and shield weighed him down. Goggles made a desperate lunge and aimed a stab at Gabriel’s stomach. Gabriel blocked the strike with his shield but stumbled back on purpose when Goggles collided with him. Goggles slumped against him and slid off Gabriel's sword that had worked its way into the gap under Goggles armpit.

Gabriel turned to watch Deana who was still fighting, she had dark green blood on her arm from a small wound but her opponent was worse. He, or she, stumbled and Deana slashed him or her across the inner thigh. The strike was clumsy and maybe accidental but it did the job. Gabriel and Deana walked over to meet Sen in the middle.

“Are we done?” Gabriel asked.

“I think so,” Deana said while trying to steady her breathing. “Maybe they were just testing your...” she trailed off looking at the far gate. Gabriel turned as a large animal with a rider lumbered into the arena. It was horse-like in appearance but flatter, like it was hunkering down, with scales on its head and back. A rider with a spear sat on top.

“That beast will run you down without any problems,” Sen’Chakar said. “It’s very heavy and strong.”

Gabriel dropped his shield as the rider picked up speed, though it was pretty slow. He grabbed the club and hoisted it to his shoulder, making it seem heavier than it was. “Back off and prepare to dodge,” he told them. Both did as he said and Gabriel waited, growing more and more uncertain if this was a good idea. But before he could change his mind the rider was upon him. He jumped to the rider's left so the spear could not reach and swung the club down on the animal's head. Or rather shoulders as he missed.

But the force made the animal slip and it crashed head first into the sand and threw its rider from the saddle. Sen took the opportunity to finish the rider off. The animal got to its feet a bit stunned but alive and sauntered off towards the far gate. Gabriel lifted the club up to his shoulder again and looked around the arena.

"That was a bit anticlimactic," He said to Deana and Sen. “Are we done!?” He shouted at the stands. “Are you not entertained?” he felt he had to add. He got disappointingly little of a response, just some faint murmuring as their gate opened and guards brought them back to the armory. They were forced to leave their gear and Deana got an injection and her wound bound. Then back to the cell they went.

“I guess that went well,” Gabriel said.

“Yes, it did, but that was likely just a test,” Deana agreed and prodded her wound. “This medical injections itch,” she complained.

“At least you get one,” Gabriel said and splashed water on his face from the sink.

“Can’t have the fighters unable to fight,” she sighed.

“I guess, do you want to shower first?” Gabriel asked.

“No, I need my wound to close, it’ll take a few minutes, you go ahead,” Deana said, looking like she was trying and mostly failing not to scratch at her arm. Gabriel jumped into the shower, allowing the water to cool him down as it slowly warmed up. He quickly dressed and walked out as Deana peeked under her bandage. “Water is warmed up for you.”

“Thanks,” Deana said and grabbed a change of clothes, “Good fighting today, dealing with the Wogni on our own would be difficult.” she stopped him and grabbed his arm, she pulled it out and grasped his forearm. Gabriel returned the gesture a bit confused. She slapped his shoulder grinning and walked off to shower. Gabriel collapsed on the bed, and dinner soon arrived, also good quality. Gabriel savored it as tomorrow it was probably going back to the bland stews and soups.

“So, now that we’ve fought together, do you trust me enough to tell me what happened to you, and who you were with?” Deana asked. Gabriel felt a bit embarrassed and gave her an apologetic look. “Don’t get me wrong,” she said before he could say anything. “I understand why you didn’t immediately trust me, but from what Sen told me, it’s not a very good kept secret.”

“Oh right, yeah, I’ll tell you. Would you mind telling me your story? I know very little about this universe.”

“I’ll trade stories sure, but you first,” she said grinning. Gabriel went through most of what happened, keeping some of the more private moments to himself. By the time he finished, it was quite late. “You’ve been through a lot,” she said sympathetically. “My story is not as interesting,” she yawned. “But can we take it tomorrow?”

Gabriel nodded, his eyelids felt heavy. He hadn’t noticed while talking but the day had taken its toll on him. “Yeah, goodnight Deana, and you to Sen!” he shouted. He heard a defeated sigh from the other cell. “You can call me Gabe if it makes you feel better!”

“It does, a little. Do you have any names for Deana?” Sen’Chakar asked.

“Dee?” Gabriel suggested.

Sen’Chakar laughed, which sounded like clicking and hissing. “That will do, goodnight Gabe and Dee,” he said and walked off.

“What have you done,” Deana sighed, “Now I can’t annoy him without consequences,” she said.

“Really, did I pick a name that means anything?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah, it's an older word in Roniean, not often used,” Deana said and didn’t bother following it up, she did however have a smile on her lips, even as she acted annoyed.

“And?” Gabriel followed.

“And what?” she said, straightening her covers.

“What does Dee mean?”

“Nothing important,” she said.

“It means cutie,” Sen’Chakar laughed.