The Andromeda Mission (The Human Chronicles Book 19) by T.R. Harris

Author:T.R. Harris [Harris, T.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-25T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The home star of the Nuorean system was called Or, and the native word for two—or a pair—was nu. Located on the second planet from Or, the homeworld of the race became known as Nuor—Second from Or.

The Nuoreans had advanced basically to the stage of the ancient Romans when the aliens arrived, yet a thousand years before, they had taken a different path to building the culture that would one day dominate a galaxy. The Nuoreans had developed a society where combat was the accepted means of advancement, as well as achieving wealth and possessions. Yet in those early days, nearly all challenges were to the death. That changed when the aliens arrived.

The Nuoreans received star-travel—along with most of their other advanced technology—like most other races: They got it from others. The Juireans took theirs from the Klin; Humans, from everyone else. In those ancient days, the Nuoreans didn’t have much to contribute to galactic society; however, the arrival of the aliens on Nuor changed the race dramatically.

They continued to hold their gladiator games, yet in light of their new-found place in the universe, the Nuoreans began to value their own kind more, at least enough to stop the wholesale slaughter in the arenas. They retained the tradition of combat to attain wealth and status, but they made these contests more ritualized rather than lethal. An injury of a significant degree was enough to call the match and declare a victor. This way the race maintained their fighting skills as their population grew.

When the inevitable wars began with their galactic neighbors, the Nuoreans had neither superior technology nor weapons. What they did have were superior gaming skills. These initial clashes—three thousand years ago—were hardly contests. Every move the aliens made, the Nuoreans were already one or two steps ahead. Soon, the natives of Nuor had expanded their reach across half the rim, with no alien species able to stand against them.

But still they felt the bloodlust for combat to the death.

Having conquered hundreds of worlds, the Nuoreans began staging contests against the most-worthy aliens. Fighting other Nuoreans was a predictable endeavor; they had all been trained in the same techniques, almost from birth, so the challenge was limited. With the aliens, however, it was a whole new game. They fought unconventionally and with enthusiasm, especially after the Nuoreans introduced the concept of immunity challenges. It became a matter of life or death for the aliens, with nothing in between, which only made them fight harder.

The Nuoreans reveled in this new opportunity to hone their skills and achieve fame. Yet the aliens had no possessions the Nuoreans wanted. So instead of wealth transfer, these contests ended with the awarding of immunity points, which could be used to shield native combatants from loss of their own wealth, at least to a degree, depending on the challenge factor of the opponent. This new system flourished, and at the height of Nuorean power and influence, over five million immunity challenges were fought every day on a variety of worlds.

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