Blackstone - The Temple of Trials

In the Arena

David and I flew through the Jump Door and landed on a sandy surface. We got up and looked around. We were in a massive arena that looked like something out of Ancient Rome. I remembered seeing pictures of the Coliseum in school. This would have put that to shame. It was night time and fierce hot lights blared down on us. The roar of a massive crowd greeted us. I could see all kinds of different alien races in the stands. They screamed and pointed at us. Huge television screens were placed throughout the arena and they focused on David and me.

"David, where are we?" I said over the jeers and shouts.

"The Temple of Trials," David said.

Suddenly a floating platform flew out from the stands. Standing on it dressed like some kind of rock star priest was a tall human male. He wore elaborate white makeup and carried a tall staff and a cordless microphone in one hand. His amplified voice boomed out to the crowd.

"Welcome to The Temple of Trials. Where only the strongest shall survive!" The crowd roared in excitment. "I'm your host Father K."

The platform zoomed in close and set down on the sandy ground. The man bounded off onto the ground. Floating cameras floated around us and snapped pictures.

The man stepped up to me and David and shoved the microphone into our faces. "What's your name, young man?"

"I'm David Ross of Earth. And this event is in violation of half a dozen galactic treaties. The Galactic Council will have you in prison for this."

"Prison. Oh, my. What are we going to do?" the man jeered. The crowd laughed. Father K turned to me. "Well, aren't you a pretty sight. What's your name sweet thing?"

"Eliza Grant." I said tersely.

Father K turned back to his adoring audience, raised his hands and shouted, "Introducing Eliza Grant and David Ross of Earth. Over the next three days you will thrill to their adventures across multiple worlds as they battle for the Golden Crown. Only one team shall survive the Trials. Now let's meet their competition."

Multiple Jump Doors opened up in the arena. Over a dozen alien races poured out. I saw Insect creatures, Reptilian Creatures, as well as humanoid beings. They all were dressed in battle armor and carried extensive weapons: blaster rifles, laser swords, spears, knives. One thing was for certain. All of these aliens looked like hard core mercenaries, criminals, or worse. I tensed my hands around my razor phone. The weapons David and I carried looked insignificant next to the hardware these aliens had.

Father K strutted around. The crowd in the arena cheered. Father K motioned at the other competitors, "What you see before you is the very best or shall we say the very worst the galaxy has to offer. Only the most hardened criminals and the fiercest warriors have come before you today to compete in the Temple of Trials. Let's meet them all."

Father K jumped on his floating platform and zipped around the arena. He interviewed all the competitors who responded in their various languages. The universal translator that was on our razor phones worked to keep up with the various alien tongues.

"We've got to find a way to get a message to Blackstone Control," David said.

"Good luck with that. I don't even know where we are," I said.

David touched his razor phone, but nothing happened. "It looks like they're jamming our phones. I can't get a reading on where we are. We've got to be in the Outlands though."

The Galactic Outlands were a dangerous place that very few traveled. Full of the worst kinds of smugglers, pirates, and thieves, the Outlands fell outside the rule of law of the Galactic Council. It was in the notorious corners of the Outlands that the sporting events like the Temple of Trials were held.