Firebird had been scheduled against Pierce in the first combat the following morning.
She had been polished and her shoulder had been repainted in the middle of the night by an obsessive Dank. Even moments before the match was to start, Dank was up to his shoulder in the hip mechanism fussing over the motivators and electronics.
Pierce was a bright metallic bot, polished to a high gloss. As far as the rest of the combatants were concerned, Pierce was one of the leanest. High strength metal framework was protected by rounded metal plates. This, combined with the long build, gave the bot higher speed comparatively and better reach with the spear.
Junior had fought a spearing Beater before. He did not anticipate coming away unscathed.
He knew that piercing damage tended towards the dramatic. Often a single strike could disable a deeply buried internal system and end a fight early.
While not wanting to pit Firebird's speed against that of Pierce directly, Junior knew he would need to close quickly to get inside the range of the weapon and slice with impunity.
The announcer called for the start of the match and Dank slammed the hatch he had been working under and stepped back, giving Junior the thumbs up.
By the time Junior had taken two steps in Firebird, Pierce had taken half a dozen directly toward him, spear lowered like a lance.
Junior slowed and faked a misstep in Firebird to dodge and spin at the last moment as Pierce shot past him. He used the momentum from the spin to slash at the back of Pierce, but the bot had already moved out of range and was circling back for another jab.
Junior stepped back from the assault, the sound of his left blade deflecting the spear ringing in his ears.
Quicker than Junior anticipated, the spear jabbed in again, hitting the left hip joint with the harsh squeal of metal tearing through metal.
Junior brought the right blade around in front of himself, slicing a deep gash in the Pierce's torso.
The bot retreated a few steps before crouching and coming at Firebird in a wild seeming leap, dropping the spear and grabbing her hip plates and using the weight of his body to lean her backwards.
Junior slashed down at the neck and shoulder joints, cutting slice after slice into the thick armor and hurling curled strips of metal to the dirt packed floor.
Firebird fell. Pierce sprawled across her.
Junior flailed, desperate to get the other bot off before it could reach in and rip out the delicate electronics or coolant cables.
He noticed quickly that the other bot was not actively fighting him anymore. In fact, it seemed inert.
Junior rolled to the side and dumped Pierce unceremoniously to the ground. As he stood, he saw that Pierce's pilot was climbing out of a hatch in the back. In the struggle, Junior had apparently managed to disable something important and win the match in spite of the fall.
Chapter Forty Three Interlude
File: Datanet Core Server Gamma Beta Sixty Three, Galactic Entertainment, Era: Modern -0, Perth Mechanized Combat Exposition, Index Earth Prime Protection Force, Data source EPPF Press Corps
It was another stunning but unsurprising victory for the Earth Prime Protection Force's own champion rocked the Perth Arena today during Round Two of the Southern Hemisphere Mechanized Combat Exposition.
In this match up, the formidable opponent Pierce was unlucky enough to face down Firebird in the single-round devastation that has almost become her trademark. Truly, the Faithful citizens of Earth Prime are fortunate to share the same energy management system as this finely created machine.
While the pilot and national hero was unavailable for comment, the losing pilot seems to have suffered some kind of cardiac arrest following (but completely unrelated to) the bout.
The following day, Junior was scheduled to fight Lobster, who had defeated Hammer the day before.
Lobster, with her bright red paint and multi-championship history, was a crowd favorite. Junior got the impression that the crowd's view of Firebird, on the other hand, was of a government lackey, or even a cheat.
Junior wasn't either of those things. He found himself tempted to throw the match. It would be easy enough to do. Hell, Lobster might not give him the option either way.
But he wanted to win. Junior had worked towards being a Beater pilot for as long as he could remember and he was here, on Earth Prime, in one of the biggest arenas still in operation. He intended to prove that off-worlders could build a better bot. He owed that, and much more, to Dank and Trixie May.
He also felt he owed a debt to the people of Earth Prime. He'd been jealous of them for his whole life and had just learned the feeling was hardly justified. The Faithful lived in as bad, or worse, conditions than those on EcoHope 11. They fought real battles everyday just to survive.
As the announcer called for the start of the match, Junior channeled power into Firebird's limbs and started forward.
Lobster immediately turned to the left and moved around the outside of the arena, right arm held up defensively.
Junior knew this whole match could be over if Lobster got behind him, so he turned Firebird to keep her back to the arena wall and closed in, blades extended in front of him.
Well before Junior got into striking range, Lobster flew into the air over Firebird, flipping to land on the far side.
Junior had expected the move, and held Firebird's arms in the air overhead, slashing at the other bot as it flew overhead.
Lobster landed hard and poorly. Slashed deeply at left shoulder and right ankle connection, it stumbled and sparked, unable to lift the left grasper.
The bot still attempted a grapple with the right grasper, but Junior had turned and slashed the limb with both blades, dropping the limb to the arena floor in a small cloud of dust.
Firebird kicked out with the left leg and Lobster fell. It did not move again.
The crowd roared, but Junior couldn't tell if they were excited or angry.
