"Welcome everyone! I am emperor Kerth. You are all here today to witness history! Gathered here, are many fearsome warriors, representing their planets in the ultimate battle." He paused to let the excited crowed quiet slightly. "The battle for the hand of Empress Asonia Geay of the planet Zindaki."

The roar of the crowed drowned out every other word the emperor spoke, but no one cared. All they knew, was that someone was going to win. And that was all that mattered.

When the sound finally died down, Zaclyn walked up to the podium. His hair as wild as ever. "As requested by the empress herself, this tournament will test all of you in challenges of her choice. There is to be no killing."

Some people booed, and others just slumped back, suddenly bored. They had come for a bloodbath. Not a safe tournament.

Finally, Asonia went to the podium, her face painted white, and her jeweled crown on her head. She only wore it on very special occasions. And this was one of those. It was made of a substance similar to gold in color, but harder than steel. It was in the shape of her family symbol.

It rested on her head perfectly, and made her golden eyes look even brighter. Her hair was still in its braid, but she'd let her bangs stay out. "The first challenge I choose for this tournament is archery. Let the games begin!"

The competitors, Klingon and Romulan alike all looked extremely upset. They came to bash skulls in, not shoot a bow. But Pavel, he had the biggest smile on his face.

His aim was impeccable, and Asonia knew it. As the Zindakian guards (who were in charge of supervising the entire thing) passed out bows and quivers of arrows, their faces never changed from a scowl.

They hated the fact that their ruler had to choose a king from these beasts. Each one knew why all the different species wanted to form an alliance, and it was the exact reason why they were cautious of joining anything outside of their solar system. It was all about the natural resources.

The scowls stayed etched on every face, until Pavel Chekov walked up. He wore a black t-shirt, and khaki cargo pants. His hair was recently cut, and Hus face shaved. He walked with a confidence none of the others had.

The guards each nodded at him as he passed. Knowing he was different, and had the empresses favor in his side.

The Klingon Prince, Dejen went first. For the first time since she'd met him, Asonia noticed he wasn't drunk. Something that said a lot about his fathers need for him to win.

She had heard their arguments from across the castle, as Kerth took away every bit of alcohol from his son. It was quite entertaining, to be honest.

The rules of the competition were simple. Each challenge was different, and each had its own difficulty. The ones who did poorly would be weeded out, until the only ones who remained were the best two.

They'd then battle it out in hand-to-hand combat until a single victor remained. Though Asonia could choose from any of the failed competitors, it was expected of her to choose the winner.

Dejen barely even held the bow correctly, he pulled back the string, and with a snap, the arrow landed two rings from the center of the target.

Which, even though it wasn't all that good a shot, it was better than any if the others did. Most of them didn't even hit the target.

When Pavel stepped up to take aim, Asonia felt her pulse quicken. Sensing his empresses anxiety, Zaclyn took her hand comforting. The second he arrived with the guards, she had told him the plan.

Even though he didn't think a 100% good plan, he knew it was better than her marrying Dejen.

Chekov held the bow like one would an old friend. His hand fit the handle perfectly, and when he pulled back the string, it was just the right amount of tightness.

He did math problems in his head to calm himself down, then, he took aim, and let the arrow fly. For a split second, everyone thought it wouldn't make it. But then, with a loud thump, the arrow lodged itself deep within the center if the target.

Right on the bullseye.

Some people gasped in shock, while Asonia sighed in relief. He was doing very good so far.

~

The next challenge was a four hundred meter run. Which also went in Pavel's favor (most of the others either fell when the race began, or tripped halfway).

The third one, was like an extreme version of hide and seek. A portable set was brought out, filled with so many hiding spots. The competitors were given five minutes to hide, then the guards were sent to find them.

Pavel being the smallest of them all, and probably smartest, found the best place, and crawled into it, knowing no one would find him.

One guard did find him about ten minutes in, but didn't tell anybody. It was obvious they wanted him to win as much as he did.

In the end, Pavel was once again the winner. Half of the crowd cheered in his favor, suddenly hoping the little human would win. But the others, they cheered for Dejen, who won second place each time.

With each second place rating, Dejen's blood boiled. He was supposed to be winning. He was supposed to marry the empress, and give the resources to Qo'noS.

But Pavel kept on getting in the way. Making him more and more angry. By the time everyone was gone, and the two person duel was about to start between the two of them, Dejen was practically steaming, he was so mad.

In order to make it a bit more interesting, Asonia allowed them to have swords of equal length, and sharpness. She knew Sulu had given Pavel fencing lessons, now she hoped they would pay off.

~

Down in the ring, Pavel's eyes were closed as he waited for the last challenge to begin. He gripped the sword in his hands, and stood in the position his friend had taught him.

Finally, the whistle was blown, and he opened his eyes. Dejen charged at him, holding the blade with only one hand. He screamed as he ran, a wild look in his eyes.

Chekov easily evaded the Klingons' attacks, and Dejen quickly began to tire. The physical exhaustion, mixed with his anger, and the heavy sword was too much. Soon, Pavel had the upper hand.

He was practically dancing around the ring, his blade making contact with his opponents occasionally. When a weak spot was found, he would cut him with the tip. Not deep enough to inflict real damage, but it still hurt nonetheless.

Finally, Dejen was down, too exhausted to continue, he dropped the sword as he fell to his knees, bleeding from many cuts around his torso and back.

With a deafening cry, the crowd cheered his victory, making him have to cover his ears as he turned to Asonia.

She had the biggest smile on her face. It made him smile even more just seeing her that happy. She stood from her seat, and walked to the podium, ready to announce who her champion was.

"Many people have fought today, and many have lost." She began, her eyes shining with tears she wouldn't let fall. "I have made my decision, I know my champion. The person I am going to marry is....." She was cut off by a scream from the crowd.

A man wearing all black, with a scarf covering his mouth and nose jumped down into the arena, his dark eyes locked on Asonia.

Before anyone could move, he drew a phaser, and fired a shot right at the empress. She fell to the ground, blood seeping from a wound to her chest.

Zaclyn was at her side in seconds, pressing his hands to the bleeding wound. Her tiara was laying on the ground near her head, and her hair had fallen loose from its braid.

"Stay awake Asonia, stay awake." She heard a voice say, but by the time was able to comprehend the words, her eyes were already closed.

A/n
Dun dun duuuuun! You guys probably hate me more now..... Sorry about that. But hey, something had to happen, right?

Well stay tuned for the next chapter!

~Clieo