Nano Contestant - Episode 1: Whatever It Takes by Leif Sterling

news media.”
    Skylar stirred her coffee. “Agreed. Ok, so you need to know about Roland’s tech.”
    Lincoln stretched his arms. “Yes, I do. Fill me in.”
    Skylar explained to him about how the nanotech worked, and what they had seen so far. She pulled up the data from Roland’s three mile run and let Lincoln look it over. He only asked a few questions here and there, but mainly, he took notes.
    Lincoln set his notebook down on the table. “Wow, well, that is very different. I think you guys have some real possibilities here. It seems like the biggest issues you have are an internal communication method that doesn’t rely on outside hardware and internal controls for Roland. Contestants that rely on external comms have a hard time and usually don’t make it very far. The comms also need to be encrypted. Keep in mind that these contestants will do anything to get an advantage. Signal jammers are common. Duke has three of them. And it is vital that Roland be able to control the nanotech himself.”
    Skylar finished the last of her coffee. “I have an expert coming over today to begin helping us with those two exact problems.”
    Lincoln gave a thumbs up. “That’s great news. Please let me know when you have something we can test. I want all of the wrinkles ironed out before the games start.”  
    Skylar pushed her cup and saucer away. “Of course. I’ll let you know.”
    Lincoln turned to Roland and stood up. “Let’s talk fighting and weapons.”
    Roland stood up too. “I’ve been doing martial arts since I was a kid, and I was in the Marines for four years.”
    Lincoln stepped away from the table. “Do you have a garage or training area?”
    Roland motioned for Lincoln to follow. “The garage is this way.”
    Lincoln walked around the garage and looked at the punching bag, wrestling mat, pull up bars and other equipment. “So you’ve done tournaments and stuff then, right?”
    Roland nodded. “Yep, I’ve been doing one or two a year.”
    Lincoln stepped forward and before Roland could react, had a knife at his throat. “The Tech Games are nothing like those tournaments. Now, you’ve got to learn to fight dirty. A tournament is defensive. The games are offensive.” Lincoln relaxed his knife and stepped back.
    Roland took a deep breath and stared at Lincoln. “So, what kind of coach are you, exactly?”
    Lincoln whipped around and threw his knife. It flipped end over end and then landed with a loud ‘thwack’ sound in the bullseye of a target hanging on the wall at the end of the garage. He turned around to face Roland. “Allied Robotics hired me to be the lethal force coach for Duke.”
    Roland smiled, fully, for the first time in a long time. “Well, Coach, I’m ready to learn. I want to know everything .”
    Lincoln pulled his knife out of the wall and came back over to Roland. “That, Roland, is something I never heard from Duke. He never listened to anyone. Your attitude alone puts you miles ahead of Duke. I think your tech will give you abilities far greater than what either a hybrid or a digital can achieve. I will teach you how to strike first, hardest and last. I will show you how to make sure your opponent does not get up again.” Lincoln stood with his hands on his hips. “What weapons are you trained in?”
    Roland went over to the corner of the garage and picked up a wooden katana blade. “The sword.” He went through a few steps, demonstrating common moves like the thrust, parry and counter. Roland returned the sword and picked up a staff. “The bo staff.” Roland also performed several moves with it. He set it down and picked up a pair of nunchucks. “And nunchucks.” He whirled them around his body and then set them down. “I prefer the bo because of its reach.”
    Lincoln reached in his pocket, pulled something out and then tossed it to Roland. It was a cylinder, about an inch in diameter and about five inches long. The whole thing was a dark gray color.
    Roland