by Barry Solway
Mel tried to rub away the headache slowly boring into her head, and finally spoke up in the silence that had descended. “It’s actually obvious, isn’t it?”
“What’s obvious?” Riley said.
“Helping Anna. We have to find Kathor and his ship. If there’s any chance of saving her, we need to get another qCore, and there is only one place we know they exist.”
“I’ve thought of that,” Anna confessed. “But I only have three or four months. I doubt we can raise enough money to go looking for his ship by then.”
Mel sank back in her chair. There had to be a way.
“There’s nothing immediate to do, so let’s table that issue for now. There’s another gauntlet that’s come open that I wanted to discuss with you.”
“Already? It’s only been a week!” Jon said.
“It’s not tomorrow, Jon,” Anna said in exasperation. “Although, to be fair, it is only three weeks away. But you need to do at least half a dozen gauntlets to get the kind of money you need for a ship. The next one after is almost two months out. I’m honestly not sure you have much of a choice. With my condition, it’s even more imperative we don’t waste time.”
“Back up,” Mel said. “It’s not even clear to me that we have a team at all. I thought we did, but after talking to people today… I don’t know. I’m committed, and I know Riley is. How about everyone else? Are we still in this or does anyone want to get off the merry-go-round?”
“It’s not very merry,” Beats said. “We should try to win without killing people.”
“I’m all for it, Beats. With the emphasis on ‘try.’ Look, I’ve never tried to kill anyone. Sometimes things happen so fast we can’t control it. Sometimes emotions get too high. I don’t want to kill anyone, I swear. I don’t think any of us do.”
“I don’t mind,” Jon said.
“Okay, none of us except Jon. And he sucks at it, so it’s not like he’s a real danger anyway.” Jon scowled at Mel, but she pressed on. “I know this bothers you, but can you accept it? If not, then you should leave the team.”
“We can’t lose Beats,” Riley said.
“We can’t force him, either,” Mel said. She looked around the room self-consciously. Was she doing it again? Telling people what to do? It was exhausting having to think about it, wondering if she was saying the right thing or annoying people by speaking up. “Anyway, it’s up to all of you. I guess Anna just needs to know who’s in and who isn’t.”
“Can I not be in?” Jon said. This time, everyone ignored him.
“Beats?” Anna asked.
Beats growled, but finally moved his head in a quick figure eight pattern. He was in.
“Gorgeous?” Anna asked.
Gorgeous flinched. Riley was right about her being depressed. Mel knew she should talk to her, but then had another bout of second thoughts. She was always the one running around, trying to make everyone feel better. Maybe Gorgeous was as tired of it as Riley.
Gorgeous pulled her knees up to her chest. Her lips moved silently for a moment, then she nodded quickly without looking up.
“I’ve seen more enthusiastic responses, but I guess that’s a yes,” Anna said dryly. “Evan? Riley? Any qualms?”
“Tons of qualms, but I’m still in,” Riley said.
Evan seconded Riley. “I’m in. But tell us about this upcoming gauntlet.”
“I’ll keep it short. It’s on Chota, the planet that your friend Red Shirt was from.” Red Shirt had been a member of the other team in the last two gauntlets they had done with Kathor. He had displayed some kind of psychic ability, and had tried to trick Mel. But the effect had backfired and led to the alien’s death.
“The city is named Yantr. We’ll check out video later, but the Chota cities are basically forests with technology incorporated into the trees. The forest will have reclaimed most of the city, but there’s lots of ancient tech that is going to be potentially dangerous.
“As far as our competition, we have some old friends. Soryda and Wicked are forming a new team. They’ve got Kapha, who was one of the Asadharans in the last game. By the way, I discovered that Sahass has officially resigned from the gauntlets. Seems like the tsunami was too much for her. Anyway, rounding out the team are these three: a Chaturee, a Chota, and a Ghor. Using the naming algorithm I devised, the Chaturee is called Kotanu.”
Anna’s head disappeared and was replaced by an image of the Chaturee. He looked like Simon, but a bit bulkier and definitely meaner.
“We should be consistent and call him Thing Four,” Riley said. “Why do all your alien names sound like Japanese, anyway?”
“First, they don’t all sound like Japanese,” Anna said. “And second, they don’t sound like English because I created an algorithm that uses a combination of Asian, Indian, and Eastern European languages to take whatever their names mean in their language and turn it into something unique that you can actually understand. Oh, and Klingon, that’s part of the algorithm too. But if you must call him Thing Four, it’s obviously up to you.”
“Klingon?” Evan said, laughing. “That’s epic. You never stop surprising me, Anna. But I kind of like Kotanu. I’ve always thought the Chaturee had an anime look about them.”
“Glad I can keep you entertained,” she responded. “Here’s our next two players.”
The next image that came up was a Chota. Mel’s translator gave her the impression it was a female, although the Chota men and women looked almost identical. This one wore a tight, electric-blue bodysuit that contrasted with her greenish-brown skin.
“The Chota sure do have a fashion sense,” Riley said.
“Is she psychic, too?” Evan asked.
“Doubtful. What Red Shirt could do is rare,” Anna said. “She’s good with tech, especially electronics, which will be a help in Yantr. And she’s good with pistols. Fast and small. Definitely dangerous.”
“I think we should stick with naming the Chota after what they wear,” Riley said. “Let’s call her Bodysuit.”
“She has a name,” Gorgeous said, barely loud enough for any of them to hear.
“Chadiya, if it makes any difference,” Anna said.
Riley shrugged. “Who cares? We’re making up names either way. Frankly, I don’t want to get to know someone I may have to fight in the gauntlets.”
“Someone you may have to kill,” Gorgeous said.
“Yeah, that,” Riley replied.
Evan interrupted. “Honestly, it’s a bit hard to remember some of Anna’s names anyway. I can remember Kotanu, but I don’t know about… uh, chia diva. Whatever her name is.”
“This is a waste of time. Who’s the last one?” Mel said. The emotional upsets over the last hour weighed on her. She really wanted to get away from this meeting and be by herself. Away from Gorgeous and Beats, away from talking about the gauntlets.
“He’s a Ghor, like the Whale from our very first game. His name is Ashumat,” Anna said. The image shifted to a huge Ghor. They were giant blobs with eel-like arms and legs. Mel thought that the Whale was big, but this one was huge. He stood over ten feet tall and looked to be almost as wide.
“Jesus,” Riley said, leaning forward. “Is he for real? And I thought the Whale was big.”
“He’s a giant, even for a Ghor. Weighs in at over seven hundred pounds, which may be to our advantage, assuming you don’t get too close. He’s obviously a tank and is on a par with Stoner in terms of being dangerous. We’ll talk tactics later, but you should all steer clear of him.”
Beats sniffed. “I’ve seen bigger.”
“He’s bigger than you, dude,” Riley said.
“Size isn’t the only important thing,” Beats replied.
“We’ll see about that,” Anna said. “Anyway, that’s the team. You guys know what Soryda and Wicked can do. Ashumat is an obvious danger. I think Kapha, Kotanu, and—fine, Bodysuit—are about what you’d expect for a second level game. They’re a tough team in a dangerous location, but not the worst we�
�ve faced. And there’s one other snag. Riley won’t be ready to compete in time.”
“What?” Riley said. “No way!”
“Sorry. I’ve discussed it with Sheila. The soonest we can do the surgery is three days from now, and there’s no way you’ll be fully recovered in two weeks. You’ll need at least a month of rehab.”
“We’ll be a man down, then,” Mel said. “We can’t go in with only five people.”
“I’m looking for a replacement,” Anna said.
“It’s not a good idea,” Beats said. “If they come in this late, there’s no time to train.”
“It’s the best I have. The other option is to wait two months and do the game after.”
Mel sat quietly, letting Riley break the silence. “But then we waste weeks where Anna gets worse. We’re running out of time. What do you think, Mel?”
Mel shrugged. “I would at least try. Register for the gauntlet, try to find a sixth person, see if it works. It wouldn’t hurt to have a backup anyway.”
“I don’t like you all going in without me,” Riley said.
“I agree with Mel,” Evan said. “This thing with Anna is a real problem. Without her, there’s no way you guys are getting home. We need to start raising money faster if you’re going to have a shot.”
“Anyone else? Jon?” Anna asked.
“I say do it. And see if you can find a seventh person to replace me too.”
“Keep in mind that anyone else we get on the team is going to have to be paid and will take money away from finding Kathor. And no, I’m not going to find a seventh person to fight for you. I’ll get the ball rolling. We’ve had a break the last few days, but you should all get back to training this afternoon.”
“Anna the taskmaster,” Riley sighed. He stood slowly, grabbing his crutches. “I’d love to join you all, but I have an appointment with Sheila I need to hobble to. Enjoy the training.”
“Let’s take a break for now,” Mel said. “Meet for training after lunch.” She turned to Evan. “You still want to go into the market?”
“Yeah. That would be nice. I need the air.”
“Cool. Hey, Gorgeous, do you—” Mel didn’t finish the sentence before Gorgeous quickly stood, almost running from the room.
“What’s up with her?” Jon asked.
“She’s bothered about the last games,” Mel said, doubt creeping back in. “I’ll talk… never mind. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
***
They walked back to the market, near a grassy park that abutted a river. Although she appreciated it even more in the daylight, Mel wondered if she would ever get used to the Latanua.
The feeling was partly due to how normal everything seemed. How the people of the town walked around doing mundane things. She still had some weird notion that aliens should all be training and gearing up to attack Earth, not buying groceries at a farmer’s market. As she paid more attention to the town, a deeper understanding crept in.
The buildings were square and plain, muted tan and brown boxes that all blended together in a dreary sameness. Chunks of plaster and paint peeled from the walls of the larger buildings, and she could see cracks in other buildings that appeared to be made of wood. Patches of grayish-blue grass grew in clumps along the road, trimmed in some areas but growing a foot or more in others. The road itself was a hard, dark gray material that seemed more similar to concrete than asphalt. They stepped around a large pothole as they crossed the street. Apparently, the Latanua didn’t believe in sidewalks and Evan and Mel had to walk along the side of the road. They paused as several boxy, nondescript vehicles drove by, then crossed to a narrow gravel path that took them into the park and to the market.
A fair number of people milled around, although not enough for it to feel crowded. Mel noticed that more people seemed to walk than drive. While many of the Latanua dressed simply in loose pants and flowing shirts, they did wear electronic devices on their forearms and around their necks, that they used in ways that reminded Mel of cellphones. In an interesting twist, some of the Latanua manipulated the devices with their face tentacles. For the forearm devices, they would hold it up to their face and touch the device with their tentacles while looking at it. The ones who wore devices hanging from their necks could just reach down and touch it directly, but those devices didn’t have screens that Mel could see.
It was a strange juxtaposition of technology: the credit cubes, wearable electronics, and tablets that people carried versus the boxy, utilitarian vehicles and run-down buildings.
Mel followed Evan to gather his list of supplies for Sheila and the kitchen. He picked up some of the yellow fruits for Beats, which didn’t seem to affect him the way they did the humans. Mel tried another kind of fruit, which was bitter and not as tasty as the yellow ones, but also not intoxicating. Afterwards, they sat in the park, watching Latanua children running in the field and between the carts the vendors had setup. A few Latanua led pets on leashes, different variations of a dog-sized lizard with four thick tentacles growing from their faces. Other Latanua had little creatures on their shoulders that looked like monkeys, but with the face tentacles of the Latanua. She shook her head. Aliens with pets. It made sense, but seemed so… normal. So different from her experiences in the gauntlets.
Evan sat awkwardly next to her, his cybernetic legs too stiff to fully fold under him. “Are you and Anna okay?” he asked. “You seemed a little weird in that last meeting.”
She debated telling Evan of her ability to control Anna and Anna’s request that she never do it, but decided not to. It had been odd in that last meeting, as Mel had been extra differential to Anna to avoid any chance that she was ordering Anna around. The new dynamic would take getting used to.
“We’re fine,” Mel said. “Actually, we’re great. We had a misunderstanding a few days ago, but we talked earlier today and worked it out. It’s actually a relief to have that resolved.”
“Good to hear,” Evan said.
“This all seems a little weird, doesn’t it?” Mel asked, waving her hand around the park.
“I guess. I’ve gotten used to it. I do miss Earth sometimes, but not as much as I thought I would.”
“You can get used to anything, I guess. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” She reached for Evan, her robotic fingers closing around his cybernetic hand. “It feels unreal sometimes. Like I’m not really me and all of this is happening to someone else. I can’t decide if I’m actually holding your hand or not.” She sighed. “Sorry, that probably sounds extremely silly.”
Evan laughed and gently squeezed his cybernetic fingers; Mel could feel it as a floating sense of pressure, like someone was brushing against her hand. Not unpleasant, but not the same feeling she would have had in her biological hand, either.
“Yeah, I feel that way sometimes. Like I’m just floating over this weird body and it’s going through the motions on its own. It’s not silly. Just part of adapting to the things that we’ve been through.”
“I’m glad you’re here. Glad we’re here. I mean in the park, right now, not on the other side of the galaxy. I can almost pretend we’re normal.” Evan raised an eyebrow and Mel laughed. “Well, if you ignore the blue grass and lizard pets and my hand-me-down Walmart body parts. Otherwise, it feels completely normal.”
Evan moved one arm over Mel’s shoulder and hugged her. “I second that.”
Mel? Do you copy?
Really? Mel thought. You have to interrupt right now?
Evan pulled away from Mel. “Did you get that? I just got a message from Anna.” Mel nodded and sat up, trying not to look grumpy.
Yeah, we hear you. What’s up? Mel replied.
Someone’s following you.
What? How do you know? Both Mel and Evan glanced in alarm at the Latanua and other races who milled in the marketplace and throughout the park.
I’ve been running an identification algorithm on your visual feed since you got to the park. I was keeping an eye out f
or the Order. I don’t know if that’s what this is, but based on the patterns, there’s someone over by the fruit cart who is interested in you and trying to keep it a secret.
Glancing towards the market, Mel quickly found the vendor selling the fruit. She saw a hooded figure move behind one of the stalls. The figure wasn’t particularly tall, but was definitely much larger than the surrounding Latanua. It gave the otherwise innocent activity in the park a sinister feeling. Just when she was getting comfortable and felt she could relax, something would happen to remind her of where she really was. She forced herself to relax.
Nudging Evan, she nodded with her head. “Over there, behind the vendor selling the super colorful shirts and hats.”
“Yeah, I see him,” Evan said. “He looks too big for a Latanua. But we don’t know he’s following us.”
Go for a walk.
What? Mel replied.
Go for a walk and see if he follows you. Be careful where you go, reception has been a bit spotty near the park.
“Anna wants us to go for a stroll,” Mel said.
“Yeah, I heard it. We really need to talk to her about spying on us without letting us know.”
“If she told us, it technically wouldn’t be spying. Let’s go down by the river. It’s a bit more isolated.”
There were other Latanua on the river path, and they gave both Mel and Evan strange looks. There were enough other alien species in the town that they weren’t unexpected, but both of them stood out as not being Latanua, while also not obviously being another familiar race. Mel pulled her makeshift hood up to better hide her hair.
They walked along the river, then turned around a bend and came to a clearing. Mel motioned to Evan to wait. She tried Anna again and thought she heard a faint reply. Like a thought trying to form, but not quite able to.
Mel, can… hear me?
Anna! Yes, Evan and I are down by the river.
I saw… three. … followed.