“The Krakens’ Building,” Quentin said. The grav-cab slid noiselessly down the track.
Opening week of the Quyth Irradiated schedule held few surprises. The Glory Warpigs (1–0) topped the Grontak Hydras (0–1) thanks to a pair of interceptions by the Warpigs’ All-Pro corner-back Toyonaka.
Last year’s rookie sensation Condor Adrienne showed why he’s the hope of the Whitok Pioneers (1–0), throwing for 334 yards and three touchdowns in a 42–10 blowout win over the Quyth Survivors (0–1).
Donald Pine, quarterback of the Ionath Krakens (1–0), showed no signs of his age, throwing three TD passes in a 31-7 win over the Woo Wallcrawlers (0–1).
The Sheb Stalkers (0–1) couldn’t manage any answer to “The Mad” Ju Tweedy, who ran for 212 yards to lead the Orbiting Death (1–0) to a 32-7 win. Ju notched three rushing touchdowns, and knocked two Stalkers defenders out for the season.
The Bigg Diggers (1–0) edged out a 21–16 win over the Sky Demolition (0–1).
DEATHS:
Princeton, a kick returner for the Bigg Diggers, was killed on a tackle by Yalla the Biter. League officials ruled that it was a clean hit.
Offense: Condor Adrienne, quarterback, Whitok Pioneers. 31-of-42, 334 yards, three TDs, no INTs.
Defense: Arkham, cornerback, Bigg Diggers. Six tackles, one sack, two interceptions, five passes defended.
GAME TWO: Grontak Hydras (0–1) at the Ionath Krakens (1–0)
QUYTH IRRADIATED CONFERENCE STANDINGS
THE HYDRAS WERE 0–1, but drastically better than the Woo Wallcrawlers. The Hydras wore white jerseys with bright red numbers and yellow trim. The jerseys looked normal, but their leg armor was painted a bizarre red-and-yellow checkerboard pattern. Red facemasks adorned pure red helmets free of any logo.
Quentin watched from the sidelines, his black jersey and orange leg armor pristine and unblemished with dirt or sweat or blood or the blue streaks from the plants that made up the playing field.
Pine’s uniform, on the other hand, was far from clean. A cut on his left forearm had spilled blood all over his shoes and his orange leg armor. He’d been sacked three times. Iomatt-blue stains and dirt marks spotted his uniform. His black jersey had come half-untucked and he’d never bothered to fix it.
Pine had taken a beating. In addition to the three sacks, he’d been knocked down four times and hurried ten. His classic pocket-passing style ran into problems against the Hydras’ defense. The Hydras’ secondary played a lot of woman-to-woman, bump-and-run style, taking away Pine’s accurate short-passing game. That gave the defensive line more time to get to him, which had resulted in the pounding he’d taken thus far. Hokor countered with running plays to keep the defense on its toes. The woman-to-woman coverage also meant receivers were eventually going to get free — Pine had torched the secondary with two long TD passes, putting the Krakens up 23–17. Both TDs went to the right side of the field, to Scarborough. The Hydras’ star cornerback, Wichita, had shut down Hawick on the left side all day long.
Quentin watched with mixed emotions. He knew he could have used his speed and mobility to avoid the defense. Each time Pine went down, Quentin felt a smug satisfaction that Hokor was sleeping in the bed he had made for himself. Yet at the same time, Quentin wanted to win — when Pine threw a completion, he found himself hissing “yes!” between clenched teeth. Pine kept getting knocked down, knocked down hard, and he kept getting back up. Slower each time, it seemed, but he refused to stay down.
The game was a real nail-biter, but Hokor seemed to have things under control. Up 23–17 with 1:41 to play, ball on the Krakens’ 32, Hokor relied on running plays to Mitchell “The Machine” Fayed. sFrom the sidelines, Quentin saw where he got his nickname. The punishing Hydra defense brought it all against Fayed, delivering big-time hit after big-time hit. Yet after each bone-crushing impact, some so devastating they made other players wince just from watching, Fayed simply popped up and ran back to the huddle. He smashed into the line again and again, dishing out as many hits as he took.
Paul Pierson, Fayed’s backup, had also seen several carries. Quentin hadn’t been that impressed, and wondered if Yassoud could do better.
On second-and-six, Pine dropped back and stood tall in the pocket. Wichita, the defensive back, lined up over Hawick, took two steps back as if in pass coverage, then came full speed on a blindside blitz.
As Pine checked through his receivers, Wichita closed the fifteen-yard distance in only two seconds, a white-red-yellow blur of speed. Pine saw the blitz at the last second and fired a pass to Fayed in the flat, just before Wichita dove at Pine’s legs. Even from the sidelines, despite the roar of another 185,000-plus capacity crowd, Quentin heard the snap.
Wichita hit Pine at the thigh, seemingly bending him in half and driving him to the side. His orange-colored leg armor split into two pieces and spun away like large chunks of shrapnel. The two players hit the ground, Wichita on top, Pine already howling in pain. As Wichita rolled off, Pine’s hands flew to his thigh. His leg suddenly seemed to have an extra joint — the thigh flopped sickeningly halfway between the hip and the knee, more like a Ki’s leg than a Human’s. At this new, unnatural joint, his cool-suit stuck out at a weird angle. A growing circle of bright blood stained the microtubule fabric.
Whistles blew as Harrah refs swarmed to the downed quarterback. Doc flew out onto the field, the medsled stretcher automatically following slowly behind. A hush fell over the crowd as Pine rolled to one side, then the next, clutching his leg, his face a scrunched-up vision of agony.
As Doc reached Pine, Quentin noticed the Sklorno players trembling on the field. Not the excited trembling he’d seen before, but something else, something disturbing. They huddled together, Kraken and Hydra both, raspers linked like a pile of entangled snakes. All but Wichita, who stood a few yards away from Pine. Her tentacle-arms were spread out to her sides, and her eyes looked up to the sky. Quentin didn’t know what to make of the strange behavior.
Doc put a small device to Pine’s neck. One second later Pine stopped moving. Thin wires snaked out from the gravsled, sliding under Pine and lifting him up off the ground. With Pine dangling motionless underneath, the medsled glided noiselessly off the field towards the end-zone tunnel, Doc flying gracefully by its side.
“Barnes,” Hokor called loudly.
Quentin blinked a few times, not sure if he’d heard right. He was benched. Yitzhak would be going in, not him.
“Barnes!”
Quentin pulled on his helmet as he ran to the coach. Without being told, he knelt on one knee so he could look Hokor in the eye. Hokor put a pedipalp on Quentin’s shoulder and drew him close.
“Barnes, we’re in a bad spot. We need to play for field position and let our defense win this thing, you understand?”
Quentin nodded vigorously.
“You run the plays that I call, and we’ll win this game.”