Tag Archives: Brisa Gan

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #15

Brisa and Catlin talked for well over thirty minutes.  Catlin was very entertaining, nice, and clever.  She was apparently a world traveler.  She had gone everywhere, at least to every major city.  Traveling was one of Brisa’s dreams.  Catlin had apparently done it for a long time.

Brisa named city after city, Catlin told her about one after another.  With Catlin’s storytelling, Brisa was captivated learning about those exotic places.  The stories never got boring.  Catlin described the peoples, buildings, and food in such detail.  Brisa felt that she had there.  One day she would go, but that was for another day.

“Why are you going to West Drop?” Catlin asked.  She then stared at Brisa waiting for the answer.  The question broke into the flow of conversation.  If Catlin’s voice wasn’t so cheerful and high pitched, she would have seemed suddenly aggressive.  However, up to this point, they only talked about Catlin’s travels.  It was only fair they talk about Brisa for a while.

“I’m on assignment,” Brisa said.  She was honest but slightly hesitant to tell everything to someone she had just met.

“Assignment,” Catlin asked intrigued.  She paused slightly then continued as though she may have stumbled onto some secret plot, “what kind?”  Having already been told about Brisa being a reporter, she came up with the best answer before Brisa could say anything, “You’re following Jaquan aren’t you?”

“Well, not anymore exactly,” Brisa said in a defeated tone, “they’ve caught me.  It was horrible!”  Then Brisa told Catlin about the tragic event.  Afterwards she said, “They told me to get lost and I’m going to do just that.”

“I’m sorry,” Catlin said genuine sadness.

“It’s alright, there’s nothing you could do.  It took some ‘encouragement’ from my boss to get me on this shuttle.”  Brisa felt relieved being able to share her worries with someone, even a stranger.  It was nice to have someone concerned about her wellbeing.  “After the next reporter comes from headquarters I can go home.  It shouldn’t take that long.”

“Are you sure you want to stay in West Drop,” Catlin asked concerned again.  “If you’re going to hang around a place like that for any amount of time, you don’t want to stand out at all,” she said reading Brisa’s confusion, “Locals in a lawless town can get a bit restless.  They won’t want to be seen by someone that looks out of place.”

Brisa remembered what she read about West Drop.  The city would have strong warriors.  Warriors that would stay there probably have committed dishonorable acts other places.  They would commit crimes anywhere they could get away with it, even West Drop.  With her inability to fight, she would be unable to stop them in the slightest.

Catlin took a long look at Brisa.  The look of youth and inexperience was apparent on Brisa’s face.  That alone would make her a brilliant target.  “You’ll need a hood,” Catlin said.  “You’ll need some clothes too.  We can get those from the shuttle shop.”

Brisa was relieved to get the help she just realized she needed but there was another problem, “If I leave the cabin, one of Jaquan’s crew will see me.”

“Don’t worry about BigBad,” Catlin said waving off Brisa’s worries, “I’ve learned about Jaquan.  He’s the type to relax in the front to avoid unwanted attention.  Besides, this shuttle is huge.  There’s no chance you’ll be found.”

“Really?”

“Well, almost no chance.”

#1 – Opportunity #14

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #14

Brisa took a deep breath and turned on the hologram window.  Even though the walls were solid, passengers could view the outside with the press of a button.  A hologram of the world on the other side of the hull appeared to Brisa.  One look was all it took to take away all her worries.  The sky was beautiful.  It looked real enough that she could forget she was in the shuttle.

Even with all its troubles, life was going well.  She was on a glorious adventure.  This was the life that she imagined having; the life she always wanted.  It was scary but that made it all the more exciting.

She was really going to a remote part of the world.  A place riddled with danger.  Her stay would be short, but at least she could say she’s been to West Drop.  If anything, she would have pictures to send to her friends.  And a story they would never believe.

Now that she had calmed down a bit, she could take in her surroundings.  She had flown in shuttles like these before but Duard had always insisted on flying the first class cabins.  The scene in economy class was clean, but economic.

Her compartment was cozy.  There was just enough room for an opposing couch and a small walkway in between.  The couch and cushions were cheap.  One of them was discolored; the other was obviously brand new.

There was not a great deal to entertain the passengers besides the advertisements that displayed overhead if the passengers allowed them.  Between advertisements, brief bits of the news would show.  The Mech War still raged on but the new clans were making headway.  Hopefully, they would defeat the machines and bring peace to that area.  It all was too far away for her to give relevant concern.  The holograms changed back to commercials.  Some of them were quite funny but they were still commercials.

The set up in economy class seemed designed to push a passenger out to mingle with the other passengers.  They were to walk out and buy stuff in the shuttle shop and eat in the food court.  It was exactly the opposite of first class where the servers brought everything to the passengers.

There was the lingering urge to obey the commercials and go out to buy things.  Her will and her mission kept her in her seat.  The burning freezing discomfort in her chest reminded her of what would happen if she was caught.  It was too expensive.

She instead decided to keep her mind occupied by researching on her handheld.  She had this one chance to learn what she could about West Drop.

In her readings, West Drop was much more dangerous than she thought.  Reports of violence and lawlessness abounded.  If she was going to be there even for a short time, she would need to be very careful and stay away from the taverns.

There was a knock on her cabin door.

Opening the door Brisa sees a familiar looking lady.  She was only a small amount taller than Brisa which still made her really short. Her perfect skin was green with small tan spots that grew more defined down her neck.  She wore an ordinary red t-shirt, blue jeans, and red sneakers with white highlights.  Brisa couldn’t shake the feeling that she really should recognize this lady, but the memory eluded her.  She could have been someone in economy class that Brisa passed while boarding the shuttle?

“Excuse me,” she starts with a soft voice, “are you Brisa Gan?”

How did she know that?  “Um, yes,” Brisa said as calmly as she could muster.

“My name is Catlin, may I please come in,” she says with a very polite bow.

Brisa paused for a bit, but how could such a polite young lady cause any harm.  “Why sure,” Brisa said happily.  She bowed and opened the way for Catlin to enter the cabin.  This trip was getting even better.  Conversation and meeting a new person would really help the time go by.

#1 – Opportunity #13 – Opportunity #15

 

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #13

Transport Shuttle: Stirrer 34, Midflight to West Drop

I’m crazy, just crazy.  A sane person wouldn’t do this.  I have to be crazy.  Brisa regretted getting on the shuttle the moment it showed signs that it would start moving.  She was on assignment to track a group people that didn’t like her in the slightest.  Any one of them could kill her.  She knew for sure that one of them hated her; Jaquan hated reporters.  She also knew for sure that one of them found her and attacked with no warning.

The ship had taken off about twenty minutes ago.  Brisa has had plenty of time to think about her mental state since then.  The original event was fresh in her head; forced to stare into those red in black eyes; hanging helpless in the air.  They found her once, they’ll find her again.  They could already know that she was there.

“No, no,” she said out loud trying desperately to push that thought away.  They found her once and she got off with a warning, a warning she will never forget.  She may not be so lucky if they found her again.

They can’t know that she was there.  The shuttle was huge.  There was no way they saw her get in the shuttle.  She sat in the back of the shuttle they were in the front.  They couldn’t have seen her enter the shuttle either.  The fans bombarded the Champion and his crew before she entered.  Besides, if they knew she was there, she would have known by now.

She was safe as long as she stayed out of sight.  Her part of this mission was about finished.  Things were going well.  All she had to do was get to West Drop, meet the other reporter, and go back home.

The pulsing heat on her chest was getting easier to bare.  It was far from gone though.  Maybe she was getting used to it.  The heat was getting to the point where she could possibly ignore it if she was distracted enough.  Now she just had to bare this flight, however long it would be.

—–

In the celebrity cabin, Jaquan, Liana, and Justice were on the phone with the last of the angry fight commission representatives.  Jaquan was under contract to fight Orien Quan plain and simple.  If Jaquan failed to make the appearance at the fight his title was forfeit.

Jaquan was perfectly fine with losing the title.  Things got a little complicated when ticket sales were added into the equation.  The promoters and event center owners were counting on people in the seats and gold in their pockets.  One at a time, everyone with a voice in the matter expressed their displeasure with the situation.  Some even made interesting threats.

Neely and Catlin were sitting on the couch sound asleep.  It was a wonder they slept without stirring.  As the messages played on, the speakers became more and more intense.  However, Jaquan had made his decision.  The BigBad Crew stood with Jaquan.  They were moving forward with this to see where it landed them.  If it gave them troubles later, so be it.

No doubt how Quan would spin this.  He took every opportunity to tell the press Jaquan was dodging a fight with him.  He would use this move to only “prove” his story.  As the messages ended, the three sat in silence.

Liana was the first to speak up, “Now that we’ve disappeared from the promoters, they’ll think you’ve run away from Chuan.”

“Not scared of him,” Jaquan responded as he would to a nagging parent.  When did Chuan get so important anyway?  It really was getting old.  All Quan did was talk about himself on the news.

“How would the public know that,” Liana gave the basic logical response.

Jaquan couldn’t get mad at that.  He was half thinking that to himself, “I’ll say it.”

“To whom,” Liana responded, “Whatever you say, Orien will spin to say whatever he wants it to mean.  He’s been doing it for years.”

“I find that face time is only good for drawing attention,” Justice added with an air of insight, “like advertisements.  Even if you sent a convincing message though the press, Chuan will counter.  But, if we show what you’re doing and prove Chuan a liar, he’ll have nothing to say.”

“No one respectable is here to film us,” Liana said, “We left without any notice to the press.  For all the promoters know, we’re going to West Drop to party.  No one even knows that we’re…”

They all came to the same conclusion, even Jaquan.  He slapped his head with disgust, “A reporter, really.”  He didn’t like it, but it was the fastest option they had to stay credible.  They had to get the word out that he was not hiding or running.  This would silence Quan before his loud mouth even opened.

They looked at Catlin and Neely napping on the couch.  If Brisa was truly from Champion’s Chronicle she’d be on this shuttle somewhere.  Once Catlin woke up, she could easily track Brisa down.  Then they’d have a special exclusive for the rookie news starlet.

#1 – Opportunity #12 – Opportunity #14