The Champion (60 page)

“Make sure Jonathan Sandoval never gets anywhere near me again. The only way I want to see him is at a post-game press conference with at least a foot of crysteel between us. Can you take care of that?”

“Of course, Elder Barnes. I will make sure that Mister Sandoval doesn’t bother you again.”

Quentin eased back into his chair. He had more problems than he could count, but at least one of those problems was gone — and that felt damn good.

For now, with Sandoval no longer a threat, he could focus on the task at hand — the To Pirates and keeping the Krakens undefeated.

• • •

DENSE CLOUDS BLOCKED
the afternoon sun. A hurricane-force storm raged rain down on the Ionath City dome. Far below that dome, the Ionath Stadium fans sat in perfect comfort. The afternoon was so dark that the stadium lights had been turned on, bathing the blue field in an artificial glow, making the battle against the visiting To Pirates feel like a night game.

Ionath 28, To 21, 3:48 to play in the third quarter, Krakens’ ball on To’s 45.

Quentin dropped back five steps and planted. He sensed, more than saw, the defensive linemen attacking; he let his instincts tell him how much time he had while he kept his attention focused downfield. Before the snap, he’d seen a flash of color in the eye of linebacker Izic the Weird, a flash that told Quentin that the Warrior might come on a delayed blitz.

One beat.
..

Izic dropped into coverage, staying three yards behind the line of scrimmage, ready to defend against a crossing pattern or help on an inside slant.

Two beats
 ...

The Warrior planted his big feet, leaned forward and blitzed, accelerating toward Quentin. Stadium lights lit up his blue-stained white jersey, lit up the black-fanged red Ki skull-and-crossbones logo across the chest, lit up his blood-red leg armor and the white-trimmed black Ki skulls on his thighs. Behind the facemask of that blood-red helmet with the single white-lined black stripe down the middle, a baseball-sized eye narrowed with hate and hunger.

Quentin stood firm. He saw Crazy George break off his route: Crazy George had seen Izic’s blitz and was moving to the area Izic would have been guarding.

Izic slipped between Kimberlin and Bud-O, each of whom were losing ground against attacking Pirate defensive tackles. Izic closed to five yards from Quentin, to four ...

Quentin stood his ground.

The Warrior closed to three, to two, leaned forward to drive all his mass and force into Quentin’s chest — then got blind-sided by Becca the Wrecka. Quentin barely had to move his feet as Izic tumbled by.

George broke into the open. Quentin gunned a pass so hard he heard the air inside the ball
ping
when it hit George’s hands, but George held on, because that was what George did. The big tight end tucked the ball and turned upfield. He made it to the 32-yard line before linebacker Bob Merrill grabbed him from behind, slowing him enough for Ciudad Juarez to land a hard head-to-head hit.

Whistles blew; the zebe signaled a first down.

Quentin called his team to huddle up, then heard more whistles to his left: Izic the Weird was still on the ground, rolling slightly. To’s team doctor flew onto the field. Quentin jogged over to the fallen player, as did To defensive end Johnny Mushet.

“Odin’s Beard,” Mushet said. “You see that hit?”

“Sort of,” Quentin said.

Mushet shook his helmeted head. “Never seen a fullback move like that before. Montagne is a
beast
”

Izic sat up, weak and wobbly. The Warrior raised a middle hand out to Mushet, who grabbed it and pulled the Warrior to his feet. Izic stumbled toward the sidelines under his own power.

Quentin strode to his huddle. Becca stood in the middle of the second row, right behind Bud-O-Shwek. There was a gouge on the left side of her helmet, cutting through two of the three Kraken tentacles there. The right shoulder of her black jersey had been torn open, letting the white-lined orange numbers there hang askew. Blue Iomatt stains lined her forearm and leg armor.

Quentin hadn’t worried about the blitz, because he’d known Becca would be there to protect him. He’d taken a couple of hits that afternoon, but nothing serious. Even Ciudad Juarez herself had blitzed twice: both times, Becca had kept the lethal strong safety at bay. With Becca once again at fullback, things felt good, things felt
normal
.

Unlike the debacle at D’Oni, Quentin had plenty of time to throw. That — combined with the absence of Pirates outside linebacker Richard Damge, still suspended from his lethal late hit in Week 7 — made it impossible for the Pirates to stop the Krakens’ offensive assault. Ionath had marched up and down the field all afternoon.

Quentin leaned into the huddle.

“All right, Krakens, let’s put this one to bed. I-formation, wide-set, off-tackle right fullback lead. On three, on three ... ready?”

“
Break!
”

GFL WEEK NINE ROUNDUP

Courtesy of Galaxy Sports Network

Both OS1 (8-0) and Ionath (8-0) won their Week 9 tilts, setting up a monumental regular-season clash to determine first place in the Planet Division and possibly seal home-field advantage for the divisional playoffs. The winner of that game will lock up a playoff berth.

Ionath’s high-energy offense burned To (5-3) by a score of 42-24. Quentin Barnes threw four touchdown passes, all to different receivers. Ju Tweedy rushed for a season-high 143 yards, adding two touchdowns of his own.

“We’ve got our house in order,” Tweedy said. “The Pirates have a good D, but we have a better offense.”

This was the Pirates’ second straight loss, dropping them into a tie for fourth place with Wabash (5-3).

OS1 stayed undefeated with a 21-14 dogfight against Buddha City (4-4). The back-and-forth affair saw five ties or lead changes as the squads traded touchdowns. Death QB Condor Adrienne put up the winning score in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard TD strike to receiver Brazilia.

Yall (6-2) took over third place in the Planet, courtesy of a 48-9 drubbing of Bord (3-5). The Criminals have won four straight, averaging 37 points a game during that span. Yall has not given up a touchdown in their last two games.

“Defense is on top, and offense can’t be stopped,” said Criminals defensive tackle Anthony Meaders. “We’ll make it to the playoffs, and then, look out.”

In the Solar Division, Vik (7-1) posted a 33-7 margin on Themala (3-5) to stay in first place. Bartel (6-2) got their winning ways back against winless D’Oni (0-8), handing the Coelacanths a narrow 17-10 defeat. Jupiter (6-2) edged past Shorah (3-5) by a score of 12-10.

Texas kicker Gregg Anderson kept the Earthlings (5-3) firmly in fourth place in the Solar. His last-second field goal lifted Texas 17-16 over D’Kow (3-5).

Relegation Watch

McMurdo (1-7) actually has a glimmer of hope to stay in Tier One, thanks to their 14-10 upset over Jang (2-6). This was the first-ever Tier One win for the Murderers franchise. With four games remaining in the season, McMurdo has the head-to-head tiebreaker should the squad finish with the same record as the Atom Smashers.

Deaths

McMurdo defensive tackle Buh-Ga-Mon, who suffered a broken spinal column in a fumble-recovery pile-up against Jang. No Atom Smasher player will get credit for the kill. GFL Commissioner Rob Froese has already ruled the death legal and incidental.

Offensive Player of the Week

Ionath quarterback Quentin Barnes, who threw for 384 yards and four touchdowns against To.

Defensive Player of the Week

Sheb cornerback Fairmont, who had three interceptions against Neptune (4-4). Fairmont’s final interception of Scarlet Fliers quarterback Adam Gurri came late in the fourth quarter, sealing the win for Sheb (3-5).

43

Week Ten:
Ionath Krakens
at OS1 Orbiting Death