Amazon Arena of Mars
Tara Loughead
Copyright 2010 Tara Loughead
A Bulays and Ghaavn Adventure
For Leigh Brackett
"Pint of bitter and your comm number."
The big-breasted bartender regarded Bulays with amusement, because she'd certainly heard that one before.
"Bit desperate, aren't you?" Called a deep female voice from a seat in the shadowy far corner of the bar.
The woman that stood as she spoke was tall and built and muscled like a lioness. She walked with a flat-hipped arrogance, more than a match for the swagger of Bulays. Her hair was like coiled midnight. She wore a kilt and sandals, her magnificent body bare above the waist. She carried a longsword sheathed across her back.
"Well, well," said Bulays, turning at the voice from her unsavoury criminal past. "Erica Stark. They let you carry a sword in here?"
"No-one has tried to take it away," she replied, staring into the eyes of the black-clad Amazon of Earth.
Bulays grinned at that. "What are you doing here, Erica? We thought you'd disappeared."
"Looking for you, actually. You might have gone upmarket, but some old habits die hard."
Bulays looked at her silently, unable to argue, as Erica continued. "Come with me." Her gaze was full of promise and danger. "I can offer you much more than a Martian tavern girl." She dismissed the buxom barmaid with a wave of her hand.
"People that run with you, Erica, have a habit of dying."
"You're still here aren't you? The strong survive." A hint of a purr entered her voice as she stroked the back of a hand along Bulays' upper arm. She then closed her fingers in a grip of steel around the blonde's bicep. "If you are still undecided," she went on, giving the black Amazon of Earth a smouldering look. "Then I'll arm-wrestle you for it."
Bulays couldn't help but laugh at that.
*****
Sweat dripped off the foreheads of the two women as they called a halt to their contest. "Two all," said Bulays with a grunt. "Good enough, Stark. What do you want?"
Erica's taut, sharp breasts rose and fell as she took a deep breath of relief, smoothing a sweaty dark curl back over her brow. "The slave pits of Valkis. There's an underground fighting tournament there. I need a partner."
"I need to tell Ghaavn, before we go."
"You report in, then?" Stark's voice was laced with scorn.
"No, Erica, we are partners. We work together. That is something you'll never understand." The truth of that accusation could be seen in the hollow, sorrowful look that appeared in the eyes of the Wild Woman of Mercury.
*****
In a cheap hotel in Valkis, Bulays put the finishing touches to her new hairstyle. She had dyed her blonde mop and ponytail a dark colour. Not as deep as Erica's, but close.
"Is that dry yet?" Erica asked from her chair, amused at the cosmetic display.
"No," Bulays retorted.
"A shame," she purred with hungry eyes. "Not all is lost, though, before you make everything match..." Erica rose and with a pantherish glide of muscular thighs she stood in front of the blonde woman seated on the bed. Kneeling, Erica placed her hand on Bulays' chest, pushed her forcefully down on the bed and buried her face in the still-blonde-for-now pubic hair and started lapping.
******
"Double-woman elimination?"
"Yes," said Erica. "A special event. Which is why I needed your talent with blades. And your new matching hair." She looked her up and down. "An angle for the crowd. We need to win them fast. And in a place like this, we may end up fighting naked."
"I'm not here to slaughter overmatched desperate girls, Erica."
"Neither am I. That is another reason I wanted you. I knew I could trust you to put them down alive. The Dukes of the Pit are the ones I want." Her gaze went hard. The gleam in her eyes spoke of blood and death.
*****
The early rounds went quickly. Their first match took all of 1.7 seconds to be over, leaving their opponents bleeding and crying on the ground.
Later rounds were not much more difficult, their flashing blades and prowess slowed only by the desire to leave their opponents in the realms of the living.
Another pair advanced on the other side of the draw, also with seeming ease. Not a single woman they faced survived.
The next match announcement was posted to the scoreboard:
FINAL MATCH
Loreleis vs Black Amazons
Weapons: Contestant's Choice
Conditions: Unclothed
The crowd roared at the sight.
The announcer's voice was loud. The crowd hushed. "WELCOME TO THE
SLAVE PITS OF VALKIS, YOUR NEW CHALLENGERS - THE BLACK AMAZONS!" The crowd's approval was deafening, as they hungered to see the newcomers naked. Erica and Bulays strode into the arena proudly, flanks lean, the flat curves of their thighs matched in step. Black of mane and crotch they stood, strong, firm breasts high and proud. Erica with sword in hand, Bulays with two long knives. The cheering continued.
"NOW, YOUR CHAMPIONS - THE LORELEIS!" The two women that entered had long, flowing platinum hair. They, too, were well muscled, but their bodies were lusher than the two hard Amazons. Their nipples were green, and their hairless bodies were flecked in sparkling silver. The woman on the left carried a trident. On the right, a spear. Each had a whip coiled round their waist. They too, were applauded, but their displeasure at the crowd's favour of the Black Amazons was obvious.
Erica turned to her partner. "Slay these at your leisure, Bulays. They delight in killing and pain."
"Easier said than done, I think. These two look like they know what they are doing."
"That arrogance will destroy them." Some would have called Erica Joan Stark overconfident, but Bulays knew she spoke fact. N'Chaka had walked through fire and ice, led armies and destroyed ancient races. She was not given to boasting.
The announcer's voice came: "BEGIN!"
Bulays and Erica approached cautiously, wanting to look the underdog. One Lorelei took out a whip, and started cracking it in their direction for the crowd. Bulays closed with the whipwoman, trying to draw her off. The long lash cracked towards her as she did, the sharp metal tip striking for her face. Bulays was quicker, and grabbed the end of the whip behind the head as it flashed towards her. The knife flashed in her other hand and she sliced the end off.
Defanged, the Lorelei threw the whip to the ground and took a double-handed grip on her spear. Bulays advanced at a run to take the initiative. The spearwoman stood her ground, thrusting at Bulays. She scored, but only a slice across the rib. Bulays was past the danger, and buried one knife in the Lorelei's stomach, and slashed open her throat with the other. With a choking gurgle, the Lorelei collapsed to the ground, dead. Bulays stepped back as the corpse voided itself, and gathered the spear. She turned to look at Erica.
Stark was engaged in a probing duel with the trident wielder, neither having an advantage as they thrust and parried. Bulays looked, hefting the spear. A brief calculation, she heaved it towards the surviving Lorelei. The woman sensed her danger, and moved to avoid the deadly missile.
That opening was enough for the blackest of the two Amazons of Earth. A terrific, striking slash took the second Lorelei's head. The body slumped to the ground, spouting blood at the neck. The head rolled away, eyes flickering briefly..
Bulays and Erica rejoined. Stark took her hand, and raised her partner's bloody arm in the air and gave a primitive ululation of triumph. The crowd roared their approval as the two Black Amazons stood legs apart, breasts heaving as they drank in the applause.
They saw movement in the box where sat the Dukes of the Pit. The announc
er cried again. "A GIFT FOR YOU! AN EXTRA PRIME EVENT, COURTESY OF YOUR DUKES. THE BLACK AMAZONS VERSUS COLOSSA, THE METAL MAID OF MARS!"
The partners lowered their arms and separated as the crowd quieted down. "You know, Erica, that's another thing about low-rent crimelords. They cheat, especially if you make them look bad. So, time to improvise." She told her fellow Amazon her intentions.
*****
The Dukes gave the two gladiators a few minutes to recover and to build the crowd's anticipation after the startlingly brief prior upset.
"NOW, THE METAL MAID OF MARS!"
Into the arena strode an automaton, its blocky form roughly feminine in appearance. It clanked and whirred towards them, towering over the two Amazons, over twice their height.
Bulays carried the trident and spear she had lashed together with the two whips as a long polearm, a knife in her other hand. She had given Erica her other knife. Stark now wore a length of the whip as a belt above her well defined hips, complete with a loop to hold her sword. They slowly backed away to draw the hulking automaton towards them. They headed for the arena fence, the robot pursuing. They backed away, and backed away around the fence line as the crowd grew restless. A few catcalls of derision came forth. Then, almost in front of the box of the Dukes of the pit, Erica swapped the polearm from her partner for a knife, and raced towards the centre of the arena. Bulays darted in to distract the Metal Maid, knives striking sparks.
Erica reversed direction, and sprinted towards the robot, holding the polearm in the air. Sprinting the robot, she planted an end in the ground and vaulted in to the air. Soaring towards the Metal Maid she used the robot beside the fence as a launching point to leap for the box. The stunned Dukes of the Pit were no match for the soaring Amazon with the knife between her teeth. Her sword sang of ducal decapitation. The two bodyguards of the Dukes could not save their masters, their guns useless as shots would burn down their employers as well. Erica took advantage and her thrown knife buried itself in the eye of one, and she took the gun hand of the other with downward chop. He clutched his arm as Erica put him down with a backhanded slash.
A terrified topless waitress stood cowering in terror, her tray of drinks now smashed. "If you value your life, be somewhere else!" Stark commanded. The girl sobbed and fled.
The crowd was stunned into silence.
Erica strode to the front of the box, and held up her hands. In each was the head of a Duke of the Pit. "THE SLAVE PITS OF VALKIS ARE MINE! ANYONE WHO DISPUTES THIS SHARES THE SAME FATE." She tossed the heads contemptuously into the arena. "NOW BEGONE!" Her final deep voiced command rang forth, and the crowd hurried for the exits.
*****
The two Black Amazons were now what passed for dressed in the Slave Pits of Valkis. "I'm glad I'm your friend, Erica." Bulays was a hard woman, but Stark was dangerous at a deep, primal level. "I'll get Ghaavn to talk to the Patrol about the Pits."
Erica smiled. "Thank you Bulays, this means a lot to me." She pulled the woman into an embrace, her smallish breasts pressing into the other's full chest. Her hands in the small of Bulays back, she locked groins and kissed the not-blonde woman passionately for some time, who returned the affection fervently.
When they parted, Erica spoke. "You know I'm a lone wolf, but if you need me, leave a message with Simone."
Bulays watched Erica Joan Stark walk alone into the wind that whispered wickedly through the red dusty streets of ancient Mars.
THE END
Artwork by Vickie Shan
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vickieshan/2352441249/in/faves-jekkarapress/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
JEKKARA PRESS
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You can find all of the Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn as well as The Gender Switch Adventures at :
Coming Soon
The Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn
12 Skathi-Tooth – Tara Loughead
The Gender Switch Adventures
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Shadow Kingdoms Fallen [Kell] – Roberta E. Howard
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