All-Star

"... could smell like! I'm on a horse!" >Whistles<

[Commercial Ends]

"AND WE'RE BACK! WHAT A MATCH, FOLKS!"

"That haymaker is definitely going on the replay! Isn't that right, Aqua?"

"You sure are, Cacao! How's your neck feeling?"

"Fully unbroken. Unlike Humanity's losing streak!"

"Yes folks, she did it, Arin Firenz with the help of Slzsh-Crknackgrffalclck has saved humanity from subjugation by Warsport!"

"I have no idea how you pronounce those names, Aqua. Haha."

"Takes practice, Cacao. The Warsport match came to a surprising end with a mutual dialogue interrupted by the swiftest lithoid in the galaxy, after AK-47 absolutely destroyed her zyr opponent and gave Paragon X a run for their money. And afterwards: What a dramatic reveal!"

"That's right, Humanity's 8th Paragon has a personal grievance with Paragon X! Polity officials have come on the record stating that they knew, but could not anticipate the zyr would hire the same mercenary who was present during the death of her parents and the 4th Paragon."

"Without a confession, however, it's unlikely the case can be re-investigated. Not with the blanket immunities given to Paragons."

"We'll just have to wait and see then, won't we, Aqua?"

"You can't make these things up, Cacao. Here's hoping AK-47 lasts long enough to get some closure in the arena. This could be a rivalry for the ages!"

"We'll have a detailed analysis of the fight as well as a breakdown of Humanity's newly available Warsport and Wager-Sports options after these commercials."

*

Arin should have been riding high on her victory. Well... her shared victory with Slzsh, who was quite the chatter-rock, it turned out.

"And then I saw Paragon X, and I was like: Zoom! Right into them. There was a crunch, but that could have just been a grenade I ate, and that's how I knocked them out."

Slzsh was retelling her side of the story for the umpteenth billion times as she sat at the same table with Arin.

So far, Arin's lithoid former teammate had gone through a small mountain of synthetic gems, a gravel milkshake, and a dessert of fine ceramic (formerly just a plate).

Arin was more thoughtful as she picked at her sushi, fatty tuna with wasabi and sliced ginger that sent her fur bristling and her tail fully stretched.

I could have gotten them... I shouldn't have hesitated... Monologuing was the worst habit a Paragon could have - aside from losing. She'd fallen for the zyr Paragon's trap, but on the contrary, the extended talk with Paragon X had saved her from getting shot out of the ring.

But more importantly, she'd won. Humanity had won. And in the process, a claim had been laid bare that the Polity would need to investigate and answer...

The zyr were dosing people into assimilating...

Almost immediately after her victory, word came in from the Armed Forces of Humanity scouting group - ESPAF having renamed itself with great speed - that there were "atmospheric anomalies" on Orpheus, the former capital planet of the system. Further investigation was pending, as the fleet was required to wait for the zyr to finish withdrawing, which they had just over half a year to do, but the outlook was... not good.

Stuff it, I just have to keep winning, so shit like this doesn't happen again.

Her internal dialogue was muddled by Cherry arriving with a bottle of tequila and a person on each arm. "Mija! They got the silver stuff!" She freed her arm to push the tequila onto Arin.

"I see that," Arin tried to smile, sliding the bottle back onto the table. She needed to turn off her nanites to get drunk, which she didn't quite feel up to tonight.

"Don't be sour! You'll get that pinche pendejo next time you meet. Don't get disqualified until then, si?"

"I know, Cherry. Thank you for the reminder," Arin said. "Enjoy your smash."

"At least you didn't fall asleep this time! I'm going to take these two back to the hotel. See you tomorrow, mija!"

Aaand now I'm on my own... Well, on her own with about eighty security guards.

The Polity was even more determined to keep her alive now that she'd actually won a match.

Even going so far as to freshly print every craft she would be transported on, in secure AFH facilities.

If the core of human governance still relied on money, it would have been a wasteful expense. Arin wasn't into the "money game" like people who relied on it to feel good about themselves. But money was important for civilians to access high-end equipment... or had been until she'd become the 8th Paragon.

Now she could expect to be showered with both money and Warsport equipment... Even more so as she went up in the rankings and the restrictions on what she could bring to the arena eased.

A flash of pink hair drew Arin's attention, but it was just a random person.

"Hello there, human Paragon," a flutey voice suddenly drew Arin's attention to her left.

The alien was tall and avian, with four long, brown-yellow legs that ended in six-fingered hands. A pair of small wings adorned the top of his head, with another pair more for gliding than flying at the center of his torso. Long, colorful tailfeathers spilled down to about where his knees were. Like earth birds, he had a beak, but was more flexible. His voice came more from his throat than his face, which featured two gem-like eyes of bright purple.

"Oh, you're Thrisk, aren't you?" Arin had looked him up some time ago.

"That is correct. I apologize for not having the chance to meet you until now." He lifted one hand off the floor and offered her a shake. "This is the human form of greeting, yes?"

"It is," Arin smiled and shook.

"I will get straight to business then. As the Proctor for Earth, since there has been a serious accusation leveled at the Zyr, there is some desire to accelerate the transfer of the Lyra system."

"Don't tell me they're challenging us back."

"In Warsport, no, the Reclamation Rule does not allow them that. They are, however, offering to Wager the acceleration against Earth in the Syzutash Grand Race. As the human Paragon, you have a say on whether this is acceptable or not."

It would take months for the zyr to remove themselves from the Lyra system...

"Have you talked to the Polity about this?" Arin asked.

"My task as Proctor is to mediate for you, on the galactic stage. And between your government and you. As soon as Earth returned to dual-system status, my accountability to your government ended. The reason we haven't met, it because there were some administrative considerations, which the swiftness of Earth's Wager did not help."

Thrisk chirruped in the Wys'larian equivalent of annoyance and then pride, at least according to Arin's translator. He made diplomatic immunity sound amazing. "A Paragon has the right of refusal or choice when it comes to the whims of their governments - for anything less than Warsport. They have always served as the beacons of their race's morals - for better or worse."

So it was all on her now... just... great.

Opening the bottle of tequila, Arin switched off her anti-poison nanites and took a huge pull.

I am so getting a hangover tomorrow, she thought as the fire passed and her body started to heat up. After about a minute, she made her decision.

"Tell the Polity..."