“Be careful not to choke on your aspirations” - [Rogue One]



Welcome to the Sarlacc Pit

{Hotel Room - Greece - “Bending and Breaking}
[off-camera]
[Monday 6 AM]

The early morning light showed through the balcony doors. The outline of each individual pane of glass was represented on the ceramic tile in front of me as I continued to stretch. As I worked through the motions of warming up. First jumping jacks, then I moved my hands behind my back to jogging in place. I continued on with my stretching and shadow boxing to finish it out. From behind me, I heard my wife Amber clear her throat. “Ahem”. I stopped and turned around to see her smiling. She looked at me and said, “It seems that I learn something new about you every day.” Grabbing a towel, I scrub my face to get the sweat taken care of and give her a kiss. “Oh, that? Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve thought about incorporating it back into my arsenal.” She nods. “Krav Maga,” she stated simply.

I smiled, “Yeah.” She studied me for a moment and then asked, “How was your teacher?” Still working on my breathing and the cooldown, “Kalei Hale, she was the sensei that the Navy had under contract.” She smirked at me in that Amber kind of way, “You actually took instruction from a woman?” I returned the smirk, “I do, almost daily.” The sparkle in her eyes and the amused expression told me a lot. We were still recovering as a couple, but we were making progress. That was probably the most important part to me. “Tell me about her,” she asked quietly. I nodded, “Back then, forward operations for the construction battalion were considered special forces. So, while we were in Biloxi, Mississippi, we received a guest.”

Over Twenty Years ago

I had been known to find myself in awkward positions from time to time, but this was new to a nineteen-year-old man. We had a guest instructor that was going to teach us the basics of something called Krav Maga. The only thing I knew was it was taught to the Israeli special forces. The name of the instructor was Kalei Hale, according to the Chief, she was world renown in her knowledge and ability to teach. They told us that this style of fighting was practical and would serve us in our deployments and if we chose to leave the service, in our life outside of it. Today, the awkward situation I found myself in was on my back, gasping for air. I was completely immobilized by this woman who stood only five feet tall and might have weighed eighty pounds. I already had a healthy respect for women in general but this was a whole new level of respect. She had put me in this position so effortlessly and the pain that followed was worse than anything I’d ever experienced. This was just the first day, and I was already in love with learning what she was teaching. I don’t know what it was but was able to shift my weight and lessen the pressure that she was applying. She released the hold and helped me to my feet.

“Very well done, Bane, you learn quickly.” I bowed to her in response, “Kido, Sensei”, which blossomed a huge smile on her face. “Very quickly indeed.” I turned to leave the circle, but she gently grabbed my sleeve. “How did you know what to do? Not many first-time students grasp that so quickly.” I smiled, “This is all new to me, so when you were covering the basic concepts in the classroom an hour ago, that was one of the things that stood out to me.” She gave me an impish smile, “Thank you, Petty Officer Bane. You may take your place back in line.” I gave her a proper bow, “Kido Sensei”. I went back to my place in line and watched the rest of the session, as she slowly but surely broke down every member of my squad. After a two-hour session, the squad was dismissed for lunch. “Mac, when you have time, even if it’s after your enlistment is over, come see me in Chicago. I have a feeling you could go far with advanced training.” I gave her a look that probably radiated my confusion, “What do you mean?” She smiled again, probably amused at my lack of forethought. “Combat sports are on the rise back home, you could excel at that. You could even go the mercenary route if you choose. Not that I recommend that, not a long life expectancy. Your instincts and attention to detail will take you far in Krav Maga”

Return to present day

“So, you intend on unleashing this on that Marf in XWF?” I smirked, “If the opportunity presents itself, yes.” She nodded, handing me a fresh cup of coffee. “You know me, it will be a slow integration into what I already do. This match is extremely important to me.” She smiled again, “I can tell, you’ve got that look on your face and that fire in your eyes.” “You forgot about the rage in my heart. This is the season of settling scores after all.” She looked at me thoughtfully, “Knox?” I gave her a look, “I’d rather talk about pleasant things.” She smiled, “Fair”. At that point, we went out onto the balcony to enjoy the morning sun the coffee, and each other's company.

Fade

{Makeshift Trainer’s Office - The Endor Set from Return of the Jedi - “Please provide the code”}
[off-camera]
[Wednesday 11 AM]

I had spent a lot of time walking around the various sets, wearing my black skull cap, blue jeans, and button-down, plain white shirt. I marveled at the set, this was state of the art back in the nineteen-eighties. The team had done a thorough scrub of all the surfaces, one can never be too careful after all. So, needless to say, my senses were assaulted by the aroma of the cleaning solution. The scent was so strong in fact that it came close to making me cough. The trainer stuck his head out of the training room door having heard a noise.

“God damn, Doc, did you use every ounce of Clorox on planet earth?”

He chuckled briefly at my complaint and smirked at me.

“Not quite, but pretty close.”

I shook my head and handed him the manila folder with my medical records. He smiled at receiving them and motioned me into his office. Upon entering, he politely closed the door and motioned for me to sit down. I did sit down, and leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees, I awaited his prognosis on getting me cleared.

“Let’s see what we have, Mac.”

He leafed through the reports which included the analysis done by the MRI and X-ray techs.

“Okay, so, no structural damage.”

I flipped the page and continued to skim the report.

“A slight strain to your MCL.”

He flipped the page again, seemingly satisfied, he handed me a bottle of pills.

“As needed, Mac, don’t overdo it.”

I held up my hands with palms facing outward.

“No thanks, Chief. I don’t do pain meds, not unless I have to have surgery.”

He nods, and to be honest, I have a reputation in the industry on pain meds.

“How about wearing a knee brace then, it will help at least.”

I gave him the thumbs up.

“That I can and will do.”

He nodded his head sagely, then reached into a file drawer beside him. Pulling out a notepad, he scribbled something on it. He handed it to me.

“Give this to Page, it’s your clearance to fight.”

Taking the note in my left hand and fist-bumping him with the right I smile.

“Thanks, Doc, I appreciate ya.”

We shook hands and I stepped out into the hallway.

Fade.

{The Millenium Falcon - Deep Space - “Never tell me the odds”}
[off-camera]
[Saturday 9 PM]

The klaxon began to sound as we dropped out of hyperspace prematurely. The refreshers kicked on, supplying a fresh round of oxygen, god I needed to work on that, too. One of the hundred things that needed maintenance on my ship. I smacked the control panel and the alarms ceased. “Oh my! Captain, that’s an interdictor cruiser!” the droid began chirping about their capabilities and was a never-ending annoyance. “I’m aware Golden Rod!” The tone should have been enough to calm him down but he continued to prattle. Chewie seated next to me rumbled something about turning him off, I laughed at his comment. “That was not funny at all!” The protocol droid exclaimed in a high-pitched whine. I looked over my shoulder, “What? He wasn’t talking about permanently.”

That was when I felt the lurch of the tractor beam kicking in. “You guys installed the generator this morning, yeah?” Chewie and the droid looked at each other and then back at me. The big Wookie shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I’ll be right back.” in his native language. “Are you kidding me right now?” I yelled after him. I couldn’t afford to use too much in the way of resources, the Imps had powerful tractor beams. Too much and I’d burn my maneuvering jets up or worse. An incoming message flashed on the holo receiver. “Captain of the Millenium Falcon, do not attempt to flee. Deactivate your engines and shields and prepare for boarding”

I sighed, pressing the button on the console, I replied, “Understood Interdictor, shutting down now.” I started with the shields, “Chewie! Status!”, he growled something about needing one more minute. The shields were notoriously slow in de-energizing. I had started to feel the perspiration form on my forehead. “Millenium Falcon, why are you delaying?”. I smacked the console again, “Interdictor, my shields are coming down at this time. These old sorosub generators are notoriously slow.” If he thought I was lying there was no clear indication of it. Instead, the inevitable threat came. “You have three minutes until I fire ion cannons to disable your ship.” “Acknowledged Interdictor,” I responded quickly. An interdictor cruiser did two things really well. First and foremost it would jerk you out of hyperspace and the other is boarding ships. Their tractor beams were second to none in the known galaxy. I whipped the sweat away as I pinged Chewie again, “Are we there yet?” He barked an affirmative and I whooped in joy. “On my mark, let’s give them what they thought they wanted.”

The generator that he had just installed was a smuggler’s wet dream. Once he hit that switch, the back feed through the tractor beam would work as an effective electromagnetic pulse attack. It would disable the cruiser's shields and ion cannons. More importantly, it would take their tractor beams offline. I felt the metal hand tapping me on the shoulder, “Sir, Sir…the odds of this working are over…” I cut him off with a glare, “Never tell me the odds, Golden Rod”. “Hit it!” I knew the moment he flipped the switch, a faint surge, and then the Interdictor lost power, freeing us from the tractor beam. I worked quickly and got the shields back up and the new course plotted in the navigation computer. I could see the cruiser starting to regain power as the docking bay opened up and the tie fighters began pouring out. Soon the wook regained his place in the co-pilot’s seat and we were off! “Whoo!” I yelled as we hit hyperspace once again. Our next destination would be manaan to deliver our payload and get some much-needed downtime before meeting up with the farmboy and his sister.

Fade.

{The office of Chris Page - Hollywood - CA - “Cleared and ready to go”}
[off-camera]
[Tuesday 7 PM]

My knee felt noticeably better, and my limp was less obvious. The physical therapy on top of my normal workout routine had helped a great deal. I still wasn’t one hundred percent, but then again, was anyone in this game ever really? I walked into Page’s office at the studio with a smile, a swagger, and my release to compete. I handed him the clearance from the doctor and he returned the smile. “Good! Glad to see this. How’s the wheel?” He asked with excitement. “It’s sore but manageable,” I said in response. He pointed at the seat across from him and I took a seat. “Water?” he asked, and I responded, “Yeah, that would be good.” From the fridge under his desk, he grabbed a bottle of water and slid it to me. “Thanks, Chief,” I said in appreciation. He waved it off, “Least I can do.” I twisted the cap off and took a drink, the water itself was ice cold, which kissed m soul. Putting the lid back on, I grinned a bit too much. “What has you so stoked?” I laughed, “The idea that I could be in contention for my first title coming up shortly. That’s just for starters.”

He smiled, “Well shit Mac, I’m glad you’re excited about this. Like I told you in the beginning, I’ll put you in a position to succeed, the rest is entirely up to you.” I nodded knowing it to be the absolute truth. I knew he liked having me around, I was one of the heavy hitters for the Enterprise, he also knew all he had to do was call me and I’d be there. Chris had started out as an agent and mentor-type to me. I felt like it was growing into more of a big brother/little brother kind of relationship. He knew all too well, how little I trusted most people. There were very few people who I felt I could trust. I could count them on one hand, to be honest. His question broke me out of my reverie, “Hmm? Sorry, must have been daydreaming for a sec.” he laughed, “How are you and the misses doing? I noticed things got a little intense there.” I nodded, and leaned forward, “Progress my friend, progress, at least we are no longer trying to verbally castrate each other anymore.” He chuckled, “Those redheads man, they are a handful,” he said and we both laughed. “We should connect with Peter later and talk about how much fun that match could be at Leap of Faith.” “Yeah, we can definitely do that.”



{Unnamed Studio - “The Sarlacc Pit”}
[on-camera]

Coming off the loss to Marf, my gait was still a little awkward as I walked towards the microphone. My limp was a bit obvious, it was no longer a sharp pain but more of a dull ache today. I grimaced as I came to a stop. I move the microphone a little closer and make sure the pop filter is secure. Sliding the headphones on, I get the acknowledgment that they are ready. Then I begin my match talk segment.

Welcome to the Sarlacc Pit, bitch. Marf thinks he’s a funny guy, but instead, he’s just pathetic and lame with his bullshit. So, one of the questions asked by my esteemed opponent was what had I actually done in XWF

Shaking my head in amusement, I hold up my index finger as if asking for a moment. When I look back up, any sense of amusement is gone.

Well, dumbass, before I faced you? I had exactly one match under my belt in this company. Other things I did slightly before that were beating Lux one on one. I set Vinnie Lane on fire and sent his sorry ass to hell at the Denzel Invitational. Before that, all I’ve done is had fourteen world title reigns.

My nostrils flare as I feel the heat in my face.

It was not lost on me that you had spent time as an extreme titleholder. I just didn’t give a damn. That and six bucks will get you a cup of coffee in most places.

The heat is maintained in my face as the intensity rises.

I don’t know if you don’t realize it or you’re just too fucking stupid. Chris Page represents me as an agent. He approached me to join his Enterprise. Why do you suppose he would do that? It’s called talent, you might want to look that up, for reference.

I think about how the previous match ended and it just pisses me off.

I live in a world, where, “by any means necessary”, is the rule of law, not the spirit of the law. It’s what we all do, we do whatever it takes to ensure that we stay relevant.

Resting my hands on the podium, I lean forward slightly.

That we win matches and make money. We are not here to make friends, we are here to make money. The match we had, could have been great. The thing is one of us decided to take the low road.

My jaw tightens and my gaze hardens.

Much to the surprise of his “fans”, all twelve of them, it wasn’t me, it was you, Marf. Although it really shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

A self-amused smirk plays across my face, if only briefly.

You tried to cripple me, then had the balls to cheat again in securing the pin. Then again, what could I expect from someone who couldn’t hold onto the title they had.

The smirk was then replaced by a sneer and a low rumble in my throat.

How else could someone like you ever hope to beat someone like me?

I shake my head in disgust.

You couldn’t, and hey that’s okay you snarky little fuck, we’re going to do this again. If you can do it twice, I’ll congratulate you myself and give you the respect you think you deserve.

I slide my headphones off and then continue.

You said something about bending me and breaking me?

I bark a laugh in response.

Look, Princess. You’ve literally no idea how many half-assed schmucks in this industry have said the same thing. What do they all discover? That they weren’t up for it and neither are you.

I move from resting my hands on the podium to gripping it more firmly as my intensity builds.

You could put what your punk ass knows about submissions in a thimble. You could use the leftover space for a shot of jack. That was obvious by that weak-assed submission you tried to use on me. Felt more like a hug really.

I could see the fire in my eyes, from the reflective surface of the window that separates the booth from the production crew.

I’ve got nearly twenty years of doing this, kid. The United States Navy taught me everything I need to know about breaking a man physically and mentally. If you believe for a minute, you mental midget, that you have some kind of advantage. You are sadly mistaken.

I sneer at the camera in a perfect reflection of the level of disdain I have for this man.

I was killing it in extreme matches before wrestling was even a thing for you. They say you’re a man of a thousand and two holds.

I shake my head again.

All I’ve seen from you is holding a sledgehammer and my tights to score a pin.

My glare returns.

Our match aboard Jabba’s barge is perfect. No disqualification, just throw your opponent in the Sarlacc’s Pit.

My eyes narrow and my eyebrows furrow.

I know you’ll use everything that isn’t nailed down as a weapon. Just because that’s who you are. Me? Nah, don’t need ‘em. When you know what you’re doing, who needs weapons when I can use the environment itself.

My expressions soften somewhat so that it’s simply a look of a man that is addressing something so far beneath him that it speaks volumes.

For instance, I’d rather bounce you off every surface there is instead of hitting you with a kendo stick. I’ll drop you on your head on the surface of whatever is there, whether it be a table, movie prop, or something that’s been shattered during the course of our match. There is something much larger at stake than wounded pride and damaged egos.

I nod with a knowing smile.

This all leads to Leap Of Faith. I'm sure you think you have the advantage over me. What you'll be getting could have been The Gentleman Wolf, but you had to fuck around and find out what I'm like when I'm pissed. So, instead, you get the asshole that no one wants to fight. You won’t be getting the spot you want at Leap of Faith, but you’ll still be getting your leap. Welcome to the season of settling scores, Marf. This is all about the Supercontinental Title, where the winner of our match will take on either Peter Vaughn or Veta Valenteen. If I know any of the people in the Enterprise they would all love to see a CCPE final for the supercontinental title. I agree with them. So, Peter and I are gonna make it happen.

I smirk at the camera.

I’m going to enjoy turning you into a human fucking lawn dart, boy.

Fade.