Star Trek: Epilogu
Movements of the Unseen Hand
by Charles Hackney
2375 AD
(Five years later.)
Woerner entered the arena with a swagger. The surrounding stands were packed with paying customers of various species. He turned around as he activated his amplifier and spoke, addressing the crowd. �Ladies and gentlebeings, I, Joshua Woerner, manager of Toth�s Arena, welcome you all! Here in the Orion Free Zone, unencumbered by the meddling of Federation do-gooders, we are able to bring you the absolute best in full-contact competition. Fighters from all corners of the Alpha quadrant come here, some by their free will and some as professional fighting slaves, to see who is the best! Once the fighters are in the arena and the contest starts, we have only one rule: THERE ARE NO RULES!� At this, the crowd erupted in riotous cheering.
Woerner continued: �In this corner, we have an old favorite, a veteran of Toth�s Arena. Five-time interplanetary boxing champion, he came to us for a taste of some real fighting.� Chuckles rippled through the audience at that. �And we gave it to him! Here he is, our current champion, all the way from Magna Roma� Marcus Spatarius!� The crowd erupted once more in riotous cheering. Marcus was clearly a favorite among the regulars at Toth�s.
�And in this corner,� said Woerner, �we have our �prodigal son.� Five years ago he fought here as a slave, but was freed in a Federation operation.� Boos could be heard in the stands as the patrons expressed their dislike of the Federation. �But he�s back! Fighting as a free man, from his new home on the planet Bajor� Arthur �the Son of Thunder� David!� The crowd�s reaction to Arthur was mixed. Some of the customers at Toth�s could remember Arthur from his slave days, and cheered his return. Others had no memory of him, and booed his association with the Federation.
Arthur stood, clad in the same type of jumpsuit that he had worn as a slave, so long ago, it seemed. He surveyed his opponent: The Magna Roman was heavily built, but light on his feet. An arrogance in his eyes spoke of his contempt for Arthur, and his anticipation of a short fight. He would be surprised.
Behind Arthur stood Gerard, and a small section of the stands was occupied by several individuals, about two-thirds of which were Bajorans. Arthur and Gerard�s students. In the five-year interim, Arthur and Gerard had decided to take up residence on Bajor. They had opened a martial arts school, and used the profits to fund their missionary activities among the Bajoran people. This made the two quite unpopular in many circles, and technically the Bajoran government could have had them ejected from the planet, but some slack had been given them due to their involvement in the Mar Teshem affair. The work was difficult, but slowly they were winning a small group of Bajorans over to the Lord. It was a beginning, a seed from which a mighty crop could spring. Time would tell.
The fight commenced, and Marcus wasted no time. He charged straight at Arthur, launching a massive fist at the smaller Human. Arthur charged to meet his attack, but at the last moment sidestepped, grabbing Marcus� wrist and pulling him off-balance. The Magna Roman tripped over his own feet and tumbled to the ground. He was up in a flash, however, and brought his hands up into a classic boxing ready position.
Arthur feinted and dodged for a short time, as he took the measure of Marcus� fighting style. He was a boxer, through and through. His upper body was powerful, and his footwork was quick, but limited in variability. He had almost no offensive skill in anything other than punching, though, which gave Arthur the advantage. Arthur stayed out of Marcus� range, seeming to appear just barely out of reach. Marcus had to swing harder and farther to try and reach his elusive opponent, and he lost a little bit more of his balance with every swing.
At last Marcus put all his strength into a titanic swing, throwing all his body weight behind it. This was what Arthur had been waiting for. He stepped outside the swing, and drove his thumb up into the Magna Roman�s ribcage. Marcus gasped for breath as he felt the impact of the attack, the force of a punch concentrated into the small area of a thumb-tip. Arthur pressed his advantage, grabbing Marcus� arm and twisting it into a powerful lock. Marcus squirmed in Arthur�s grip, but could not reach the Human. His every effort put him more and more securely into the lock, and consequently in greater and greater pain. Finally, Marcus got it into his head that he had reached the point that, if he were to struggle further, he would simply break his own elbow in the lock. He ceased struggling, and announced his surrender.
The crowd was on its feet in an instant, cheering. Arthur had put on a tremendous show, and even those who were initially against Arthur now cheered him. Marcus, released from the lock, looked at Arthur with a newfound respect, flashed a smile full of gleaming teeth, and said �Good fight. I�ll get you next time, though.�
Arthur grinned, and replied: �Next time, then.� The two shook hands, and Marcus offered to buy Arthur a drink. �I�d love to,� replied Arthur, �but my students and I really have to get going. I�ll take you up on it next time, though. Next time you�re near Bajor, look me up and we can train together.� Marcus again flashed his winning smile, and nodded. Arthur left the arena, whispering to himself �The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior.�
The trip back to Bajor was filled with exuberance, as the students were exited to see their teacher win (and several of them had won some money betting on him). The non-Christian students grew quiet and curious as Arthur, Gerard, and those students who were Believers had a short praise session and talked for a bit about God guiding events and protecting the Faithful. The non-Christians on board Arthur�s small ship Boanerges had grown used to this behavior, but it still perplexed them sometimes.
On the way back, they stopped off at DS9, as some of the students lived and worked on the station. Arthur and Gerard took the opportunity to have a few friendly words with the friends they had on the station.
As usual, they ended up at Quark�s. There, sitting at a center table, was Gerak. As they ordered drinks, Gerak filled them in on some of the many bizarre events on the station. Quark�s brother was now the Grand Nagus of the Ferengi. Sisko was on temporary hiatus, living with the Prophets in the wormhole, and Kira (now Colonel Kira) was in command. Quietly, they discussed the sad passing of Jadzia Dax. Arthur and Gerard had heard the news when it had happened, but they had never had the chance to really meet the much-missed science officer. More happily, they discussed Ezri, the new host to the Dax symbiont, and how Jadzia�s personality partially lived on in the young woman Ezri. Gerak seemed especially interested in news of how the two had prospered on Bajor; their activities, their ministries. Quark arrived with the drinks.
Arthur sipped his raktajino as Gerak spoke about the tactical officer, a Klingon named Worf who was about to leave the station to assume a diplomatic post. Gerak clearly had a rather low opinion of Worf, but smilingly acknowledged his mastery of the Klingon martial arts. Arthur extracted a promise from Gerak to introduce them before Work left. An invitation would be extended to Worf to be a guest instructor at the school on Bajor should he be in the area. Gerak agreed that that would be a capital idea, but (laughing) suggested that they might be getting more warrior than they bargained for.
Gerak took a long sip of his drink. He leaned forward, and said to Arthur �So� tell me about this God of yours.�
