Several Alliance members, and other species not in the Rim, challenge the humans to a 20 k race. The humans show why they survived to become the apex predators on earth. -- BKF
[AN: Alliance space is more than the galactic rim. Thanks to wormholes, parts of the Alliance linked by Hyperspace could be ANYWHERE]
The funny thing about Humans is - they don't look like Deathworlders. No horns, claws, fangs, or venom are on their side. They look like lanky awkward, squishy sacks of mostly water.
Looks, the Edge Territories learn, are deceiving.
Those territories have already learned that Deathworlders are competitive, and usually use their interspecies dares as a basis for gambling. Those who have been around long enough know to always bet on the Humans. They have their ways of getting there in the end.
The Tenaubrians initially challenged the Humans to a hunt, but thanks to the Vegans in the audience, it was changed to a mock hunt. Chasing a robot down over a steeplechase-esque arena. They were each given a spear and a spear-throwing tool, as well as adequate supplies for a long hunt.
Tenaubrian Zziv took off for her designated prey. Human Ian threw his spear, which landed in a vulnerability, and then began slowly trotting towards the running beast.
Zziv laughed as she ran. She could easily outpace the Human and catch her quarry. Or so she thought. The robot ungulate was nimble and fast, able to jink out of Zziv's path and leap ahead far enough to take its rest.
The Human trotted onwards, following the tracks of their own robotic prey as it leaped and bounded away.
Five kilodus[1] later, the Human was still trotting, never having caught up with his prey. Zziv was starting to flag, feeling an ache in her legs that forced her to use her spear as a walking staff. She could follow the tracks of her assigned prey, and wait until the fatigue wore off before resuming her sprint-and-pounce strategy.
The Human didn't even have a spear to throw any more. Ian was simply trotting along in his prey's tracks, as if he wasn't in a race at all.
This prey was trouble.
Ten kilodus into the race, Zziv missed her last pounce before needing another rest period. She stopped to drink in some shade. Panting, she watched Ian trot on past. Drinking from his own supply as he went.
"You still haven't caught it," Zziv taunted.
"Be a while yet," countered Ian. "I'm wearing 'em down."
Fifteen kilodus in... Zziv's prey was still fast and agile. While Ian's was beginning to slow and wobble. Zziv could empathise. All her reserves were nearly depleted. She felt on the verge of collapse.
"You all right?" asked the Human, trotting backwards. "I can take a break to call the ERT's for you."
"I know where my panic button is," Zziv growled. Invigorated by spite, she levered herself up and plodded after her own prey.
"Okay, but I'm keeping an eye out," said Ian, and resumed trotting ever onwards.
Compared to the rest of Terran's animal kingdom, Humans just don't stop. -- Humans' observances on their own species.
Twenty kilodus... and Zziv could not raise her feet any more. Neither could Ian's mechanised prey animal, which slumped to the ground in simulated exhaustion. Ian caught up with it at long last, and delivered his finishing blow.
He sat on it, puffing and blowing. "Whoof. That was a bit of a rough one."
Ian was lucky she couldn't lift her limbs very far. Otherwise, she might have killed him. "A BIT of a rough one?" she yawped.
"Must have missed anything very important," panted Ian. "Then again, it's my first time running a marathon in pursuit. I've only read about that old hunting technique, so... not bad for a first try, I guess."
Zziv squinted at the approaching pickup vehicles, soaring through the sky on their way from the base. "What the flakk is a ma-ra-thon?"
"It's a race over a long distance, named after the run Pheidippedes took from the city of Marathon to Athens to deliver the news that Sparta had won. That's forty kliks[2]."
"That's twice as far as this hunt," boggled Zziv.
"Yeah. It is. According to the lore, he also ran from Athens to Sparta and back again before that war, and that's two hundred and forty kliks." Ian shrugged, "But that's just a story."
The transport would be arriving any minute, and Zziv knew that she would be in pain for a tenday following this bet. "Why haven't you conquered the universe?"
"We're too friendly for our own good, I guess."
[1] Kilodu - one thousand Standard Distance Units
[2] Klik - slang for kilodu.
[Photo by Jimmy Liu on Unsplash]
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