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💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“And here we go, the bell has rung and…“

Fiona’s grab attempt was on point, the younger wrestler able to grab onto Elina’s left wrist as the two closed in for what at first looked to be a straightforward grapple. Elina was clearly caught off guard, her eyes slightly widened.

“And Fiona with a quick grab and…!” Dan Rich leaned forward as Fiona tried to execute the throw on Elina. Elina, however, quickly recovered from the initial surprise and as Fiona went for the throw Elina manage to wrench her arm free midway. Instead of being slammed down hard on her back Elina tumbled across the ring and came to a shaky stand.

“Fiona almost throwing Elina down flat on her back right after the bell rang but Elina managed to avoid the hard impact!”

Elina immediately charged forward and with a low thud of body-against-body she and Fiona were caught in a full grapple this time in the center of the ring, their arms locked around each other’s shoulders.

“And Fiona does not want to play this game,” Brent pointed out, “Elina is a technical mat wrestler through and through.”

“The two are locked up in another grapple, and…”

In a quick move Elina shoved both of Fiona’s arms off to her right side and grabbed Fiona around her midsection, preparing for a quick side slam.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“And Fiona looks to be in high spirits tonight!” Dan Rich mused.

“I would be too, Dan,” Rhonda stated, “Fiona got her first win this month over a CSW prodigy and her partner, Kendra Snipes, managed to weather an ambush two weeks ago and score her first win. Th-…”

“Against a parking lot jobber.” Brent interrupted pessimistically.

“Brent, shush.” Rhonda snapped in an annoyed tone. “As I was…”

“Wait, hold on,” Dan quickly pointed to the stage, “here comes…”

“Elina Zamora…” A low, ominous woman’s voice filled the air finishing Dan Rich’s sentence. Magenta lighting enveloped the entire arena as a thorny red rose appeared on the titantron. There was a pause, then gunshots broke out over the speakers followed by an upbeat Spanish rap song as Elina Zamora herself strolled out onto the stage. The former luchadora champion stopped just short of the ramp, slowly spreading her arms and basking in the deafening adulation of the crowd, which dwarfed what Fiona had received at her entrance. La Rosa de Sonora was without doubt going to be the favorite tonight. Elina wore a bright red robe which she ceremoniously reached down and untied, letting it drop gracefully from her curvaceous form onto the stage. Elina wore a sleeveless gold-trimmed magenta top and matching tights with white boots and white pads on each elbow. Though her wrestling outfit was rather generic, the white and black paint around her eyes — which formed a mask — was her true signature

“And her opponent, from Hermosillo, Mexico, former two-time CMLL luchadora champion… weighing in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds… La Rosa de Sonora… Elina… Zamora!”

“As I was saying,” Dan Rich shouted, “Elina Zamora! The two-time luchadora champion that graces us tonight with her debut!”

Elina started down the ramp, her eyes fixed on the ring, each step broad and confident. She occasionally shouted acknowledgements at a passing fan and at one point threw up a double hand sign. Mexican flags were waved in the stands along with various signs showing support for Elina. Elina came to a stop near the apron and looked up at Fiona, maintaining direct eye contact for about four seconds before raising her right hand and forming a pistol with her index finger and thumb. She made three quick shooting motions in sync with the continuous gunfire before sliding under the bottom rope. Elina rolled up into a stand, looking straight at Fiona with a knowing smile - her eyes like fluorescent pearls contrasted by the layer of black paint. As a group of front row fans jeered at Fiona the referee moved to check her over first, Elina’s entrance music and light theme slowly fading away. The crowd grew rowdier — cheers, piercing whistles, and thunderous stomps signaled the imminent ringing of the first bell.

“And Elina offering no respect to Fiona,” Dan Rich noted, “this is going to be a scrappy, feisty match, I think.”

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

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MOODY CENTER
AUSTIN, TEXAS

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“And here we are, back again with another great evening of No Mercy Wrestling action!” Dan Rich, the NMW lead commentator, struggled to be heard over the Austin, Texas crowd. The home of the Longhorns was hyped for tonight. The event card was promising and in just the first three weeks since its grand opening the newest wrestling brand of note was already boiling with action and drama - a point which Brent Christi highlighted. “Dan, these people are ready for tonight! They have seen what the No Mercy Wrestling brand has to offer and they want their share of it.

“And I thought Tulsa was loud!” Rhonda Pierce laughed.

“Yeah!” Dan replied, “But this is what I love! I love seeing a packed house like this that is ready for some professional wrestling, and they are certainly going to get it.”

“You know it!” Brent grinned.

Dan Rich adjusted his headset and reached for his schedule as he looked to the nearest camera, “Well, folks, tonight we have a good one in for you coming off the heels of that impactful showing last week and certainly the one from the week before that! And we are kicking this one off with Fiona Chevalier against Elina Zamora! The former luchadora two time champion was signed about a week ago and tonight she is making her NMW appearance. Fiona meanwhile just earlier this month defeated Ada Eberhard and is without doubt looking to get the snowball rolling with another win tonight.”

“I doubt Fiona Chevalier is going to be a match for Elina, her little snowball is about to be melted by Elina’s Latina heat.” Brent said with a smirk.

“Jesus, Brent.” Rhonda leaned forward to look over at Brent, “You got a crush or are you just that much against Fiona?”

Brent threw up his hands defensively, saying, “Hey, I’m not against Fiona. I’m just calling it like it is. Elina Zamora is a two time champion and has been wrestling for years at this point versus Fiona who had one admittedly good year with a now defunct brand.”

“Well, Rhonda,” Dan shrugged, “Brent does have a point there. This will be Fiona’s toughest opponent in some time now, the odds are definitely not in her favor.”

“Don’t count Fiona out!” Rhonda slapped her pen down on the table and sat back with a triumphant smirk over at Brent.

“The beers are on you if she loses.” Brent said smugly.

“Speaking of Fiona, I think she’s about ready to make her entrance.”

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“Ah, yes,” Diana said, resting her right hand on her hip, “I would apologize about that decision last week to put Kendra and yourself out there completely unaware and exposed. But you both handled it so well and it really made for good television, and I never apologize for decisions that work out well in the end.”

Kendra shuffled her feet uncomfortably, looking sideways at Fiona and then back to Diana.

“Fiona,” Diana then raised her right hand and made an emphasizing pinching motion with her thumb, index finger, and middle finger, “next week you will be facing… Elina Zamora.”

“The former luchadora champion?” Kendra blurted out.

“Yes, indeed.” Diana smiled and nodded, lowering her hand back to her hip.
“We signed her just a few days ago and decided the ideal opponent for her debut would be Fiona. The braveheart girl next door against the fiery desert rose. The principled ‘white knight’ character against the saucy heel. It’s a fit! You two will be the opening match of the night!”

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“Well…” Diana started but then hesitated, her eyes again moving between the other two women, “I’m sorry, we have not actually been introduced.”

Diana slipped her phone into the front right pocket of her cream-colored Alexander McQueen jacket and extended a dainty, manicured hand. She quickly shook with Fiona and Kendra while flashing a very forced smile with glazed over eyes to match. “I’m Diana Deguara, lead producer, but you know that.”

Kendra nodded, “Yes, ma’am, Fiona and I are so glad to be part of… all this.”

“Good,” Diana nodded with a dimpled smirk, “Mark Trenton has spoken highly of you particularly, Fiona. He said you have come such a long way from those early days of NMWW.”

Kendra fought to keep the disappointment from bubbling up across her face. The way Diana had just passed her over so easily for Fiona stung. Kendra quickly reminded herself not to be shaken by it. NMW is after all a business and Diana was interested in performance records and results, not merely sentiment. It still stings though.

“I just wanted to tell you, Fiona, that next week you have a match scheduled. A very special match at that. I had considered putting you on the card for tonight but I felt it better to wait a week before your second fight. And it works out perfectly as your next opponent will be a very recent acquisition for NMW!” There was a twinkle in Diana’s eyes as she said this.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Kendra’s mouthed opened to respond when she was cut off by an “Excuse me.” in a commanding tone, followed by the unmistakable hurried clacking of heels against linoleum. It was an approaching woman’s voice that had come from behind Fiona. Kendra looked past her partner, her initially inquisitive expression quickly morphing to one of concerned surprise. It was Diana Deguara, lead producer of No Mercy Wrestling and the daughter of the NMW GM, Antonio Deguara. Diana walked toward the two former NMWW prospects with a stern look on her makeup-caked face. The Deguara heiresses’ brisk way of walking just radiated purpose and power. So much so that Kendra seemed to almost involuntarily snap to attention beside Fiona, arms at her side and chin high like a private before a drill instructor. Fiona and Kendra had not actually met Diana directly, this being their very first face-to-face with her. Kendra’s heart pounded like a drum at this prospect.

Diana came to a sharp stop mere inches from Fiona and Kendra, the near melodic clack of her black Cesare Paciotti shoes ceasing. The executive woman’s hazel-green eyes were like lasers reflecting through her thin glasses as she gave both halves of Defiant Dream a calculative once over. She was almost Kendra’s height, though anyone that looked down could credit that to her shoes. Diana had a clipboard tucked under her left arm and in her right hand she held her iPhone, the newest model.

“They told me you two were back here,” Diana said in a flat businesslike monotone, her eyes fixating on Fiona, “I had something I wanted to personally talk about with you.”

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Kendra stood up straight, finally relaxing her arms at her sides as she looked at Fiona. When Kendra had beaten that jobber that had tried to ambush her and her partner she had felt almost untouchable in that moment. She had avoided being embarrassed by an underhanded attack and had won the match despite her opponent’s obvious willingness to play cheap tricks, all as the NMW fans and her partner cheered her on. And then there was Fiona’s stellar promo prior to that. Defiant Dream had made itself known in just the first two shows, on the mic and in the ring. But as her thoughts swirled around everything that was going on - at how fast the pace at NMW was picking up so early - Kendra suddenly felt very small and very vulnerable. And not just about the spiral from above. In her first match for NMW, Kendra had beaten a jobber. A mid card filler that had a petty grudge against her. Mister McKinney probably considered himself throwing her a bone. That was nothing compared to the kind of opponents Fiona for example had faced and even beaten. Now was not the time to climb up on a high horse. If there ever will be a time…

“Well, we can definitely bet that Isabella and some of the other, you know… ‘vets’ are gonna feel the worst of the heat. I know I shouldn’t think like this… but I really feel this is going to be a very one-sided affair.”

Kendra took a deep breath, her eyes moving down again, “I like Mister Trenton, I really do. He gave me my big break after all. What I am getting at here is that they say you have to fight fire with fire. And… can we really trust him to bring the heat against crooked management setting up ambushes and ‘cutting deals’ behind our backs?”

Someone had once told Kendra in passing that “politics” was a massive part of professional wrestling. At the time she thought that was just outright silly. Now she understood it. And she really didn’t like it.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“You know,” Kendra said, crossing her arms, “I don’t keep up with the whole… Wall Street, big business… ‘crypto bro’ stuff. But…”

Kendra hesitated, turning in place and leaning up against the window, her arms still crossed over her chest. “I was worried about us working for the Deguara’s. I mean… sure, Mister Trenton is the CEO and all but our ‘direct boss’ is Gordon McKinney who basically answers to Diana Deguara. And all it takes is a few google searches to find out just what kind of person Antonio Deguara is.”

Kendra fidgeted for a moment, her eyes downcast. Frankly, she should not even be talking like this with Fiona about the NMW GM or his family. Not just in the context of work but common decency as well. Still, Antonio Deguara had a reputation as a cutthroat entrepreneur and just a few minutes of reading online articles about his past business practices and allegations around him made it clear what he was. A hard nosed utilitarian business mogul through and through. Fiona, Kendra, everyone that was part of NMW - they were assets first and people second. At least this was how Kendra interpreted everything. She could be wrong about, most likely.

“I think - I hope - maybe this is just… ‘chest thumping’.” Kendra said, “Antonio and Diana are accustomed to running everything their way. So, they probably feel the need to showboat and undercut here at the beginning. Still though, what happened last week… with Jay and… that Serbian Goliath…”

“That was just too much.” Kendra shook her head. She didn’t know Jay Wyatt at all, she had never spoken to or even made direct eye contact with him. Kendra had only seen him in passing backstage and in the parking lot. But she felt for him, deeply. And what he had been walked into last week was just fiendish. and unfair.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

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BOK CENTER
TULSA, OKLAHOMA

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The following week…

The third showing of No Mercy Wrestling was set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, hosted by the Bank of Oklahoma. The BOK Center was packed to full capacity with an eager crowd that had given the NMW a boisterous first greeting to their city. Every match and promotion of the evening seemed to rouse the fans like they were at a PLE which in turn motivated the performers to give their all. Even the commentary team seemed more lively than usual. The positive energy was a nice distraction from the events of the previous week which were still seeped into everyone’s minds.

Mihailo Vasić‘s vicious beatdown of Jay Wyatt and the obvious shade thrown at Mark Trenton by Antonio Deguara earlier the previous week had left everyone tense, fans and wrestlers alike. The latter had also stoked smoldering embers online among the NMW fanbase which was, after all, a melding of two former promotions’ followings. Many among the CSW carryover fans were quick to join the bashing of Mark Trenton as NMWW carryover fans immediately rushed to defend him despite everything. The harsh reality was that Trenton had been the founder and GM of NMWW and barely kept the ship from sinking with everyone aboard. Had it not been for the CSW merger proposition Trenton and all the women of NMWW would be adrift with their careers. And it was obvious now that Antonio Deguara II enjoyed everyone being reminded of this truth, professionalism be damned.

And then there was Mihailo Vasić and his sister, Katarina - both recruited by Antonio Deguara himself - who were rumored to have been put up to brutalizing and belittling Jay Wyatt in every way possible. To further toy with Mark Trenton what with Jay Wyatt being Mark’s “golden boy” in the business. While no open accusations had been made the scuttlebutt was out there and anyone who had been in the main office said the friction was practically visible in the air. Needless to say the vibe in Tulsa was proving a good enough distraction for the NMW universe. At least for the night.

It was raining outside, a heavy downpour with gentle rumbles of thunder in the distance. Kendra Snipes was standing near a backstage window and watching the rain spattering against the glass. Kendra was dressed in her ring gear but wore a solid black leather jacket over her top. She and Fiona were not scheduled to compete tonight and had the run of the arena to themselves. Kendra was somewhat let down that she and Fiona weren't getting to take advantage of such an animated full house but she reminded herself there would always be more shows and more crowds.

STARFINDER ~ Rogue Voyage

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The crew of the Ionera had prepped themselves, MIRAGE specifically recommending flashlights and portable communicators. MIRAGE suggested Zaeli maintain a constant uplink with the Ionera so the former could provide real time advisement over comms. The Ionera slowly closed the distance between itself and the Prudent before docking successfully with the old orc vessel, directly connecting the cockpit airlock with the bow airlock of the larger ship. According to the schematics this entryway lead straight to the bridge. As the Ionera rocked slightly from the impact MIRAGE stated that the singular life sign in the bridge was moving deeper into the ship and judging from the speed of it’s movement the subject was running. No doubt alerted by the Ionera’s arrival. The question was if the unknown figure was retreating out of fear or moving to alert the others aboard the ship. The fact was there was no way to preemptively know if the handful of detected signatures were even “friendly”. For all anyone knew they could be stowaways or boarders that were responsible for stalling out the Prudent.

As he had promised Venture-Captain Arvin sent the profiles of the two missing Starfinders to MIRAGE. One Kasinn Navasi and Nuru Adeyemi, a half-elf Witchwarper and an Aasimar Solarian, both of whom were members of the Exo-Guardians. A faction within the Starfinder Society that dedicated itself to acting as protectors of the Pact Worlds and not just explorers and artificers. Arvin had added that while he had only occasionally interacted with Kasinn and Nuru they both had a solid reputation among not just the Exo-Guardians but the Starfinder Society as a whole. The fact that whatever ill had befallen the Prudent and its crew had done so with those two aboard was telling that the situation was quite severe.

“It is likely that the life sign in the engine room is one of the Starfinders given that is where the signal is coming from,” MIRAGE reminded the crew, “the other Starfinder could be alive but obviously I cannot guarantee this. The signal could also have been activated by a crewman who managed to acquire the emergency device. The only way to know for sure is to go to the engine room.”

MIRAGE stated it was better for the crew to pry open the jammed airlock door rather than cutting through it. With the power out the emergency door would not be active and it was foolish to risk the bridge of the Prudent being exposed to the vacuum of space should the Ionera be forced to pull back for some reason.