Then it was total chaos in the hook-up room. More androids flooded the scene as my escort touched my neck with something cold and sharp.
Then the white ceiling again for a few seconds. After that, darkness. Oh, how I hated that darkness already. It made me feel like I had no control over my life. In that moment, I realized that was pretty much the case. I was a pawn to these game administrators. Much more so than being Rhese’s worthless rookie.
My past life was gone forever. I suddenly came to terms with that. My future was unsure. All I had for now was my teammates. They were my world.
Chapter Thirteen
I woke up in my room, lying on top of the blanket still wearing my skimpy hook-up clothes. My robe was hanging back up in the open closet area. At least the person that drugged me didn't strip me down while I was unconscious to change my clothes. Just the idea of my body being handled as it was being transported to my quarters was bad enough.
Almost instantly, I remembered what happened after the game. Rhese and Zaya fighting. The captain pushed Zaya and received a nice kick to the stomach in return. Security droids appeared from invisible alcoves to return order. A dozen of them had been embedded into the wall in a matching color so as not to draw attention. I wondered how often their services were needed. Were they the ones that carried my body to my bed? That wouldn’t be so bad, I guessed. I took a moment to check for bruising in case unnecessary force was used but found none.
There was no news regarding the incident available to me through my panel or Philia. I would have to wait until the next social hour to see how things turned out. That was scheduled for just two hours after I woke up. The best that I could tell, my drug induced slumber lasted less than an hour. That was a bit of a relief. My lethargic muscles tried to convince me that I had been out much longer.
I watched the replay of the mission on my computer table, changing angles often to catch as much of the action as I could. It also provided progression details on the other players of my team while I was away from them, tracking their performance with statistics. Rhese's numbers were impressive, but Zaya topped her in nearly every category.
I gained another Tech point from retrieving the second component. Two Aim points, which Philia said was a record performance for a rookie. And a point each in Capacity, Conceal, Endurance, Resolve, Strength and Wield. I figured the last one came from striking an opponent twice with the butt end of my small rifle.
The computer listed my performance as best ever for an Orange Dragon player's second game, beating the previous mark by just one point. That record had been held by the great Zaya.
My twelve accumulated skill points pushed me to Level One already. After just two games. Well, one game really, since I wasn't given a fighting chance in the first one. Again, only Zaya had reached the first rank that fast for our team. And just five other players in history league wide. Several badges appeared next to my name on the team roster.
My dad had to be proud of me. I only wished that I could hear him say it. A serious man his love had been hard to earn throughout my childhood. Sure, I knew that he loved me regardless, like any parent did. But with a man like him recognizable love came in the form of respect and appreciation.
Unlike my mother, he wouldn’t just smile at the sight of me. It took hard work and determination on my part to earn his happy face. My friends sometimes felt sorry for me saying that my father was a hard man to please. But to me it wasn’t like that.
My dad made the world black and white for me. He instilled a moral code in his children so we could easily determine right from wrong. Good from bad. Rewardable performance from unacceptable. There was real value in the stability that his outlook provided. At every moment in my life, I knew how my father would react to my decisions. In that way he was always there to guide me.
There was no doubt in my mind that he was bubbling over with pride after watching our last mission.
Back to the game replay, Rhese and Zaya tackled the last building with a magnificently coordinated effort. They assembled the rocket rifle and blew up the wall blocking the exit, which also eliminated the last opponent in the game. Our team score was ninety out of a hundred and we ranked the third fastest to complete the mission. With just two of us surviving, though, we placed fourth overall in points. I noticed that each of the two top teams had three high level players, opposed to our two. And the third team had a level nine and a level eight.
It was nearly time for our social hour by the time that my brain was finished feasting on the data. I hurriedly showered and got dressed, anxious to see my team. I knew that Zaya was delighted with my performance, and surely Memphis would be impressed. I wasn't all that concerned about how Rhese treated me. Let her be a hardnosed commander if she wanted. I was feeling really good about myself.
I realized my hesitancy to forward a relationship with Memphis came largely from a lack of confidence. That was going to be much less of a problem now, I figured. Though I still had practically no experience with girls and romance. If today got me some one-on-one time with her, I hoped to improve in that area. A tremble of weakness shot through my limbs at that thought. It was the same reaction that my body had when a game had me standing on a ledge facing a long drop. Vertigo my father called it.
I was so excited to see my teammates that I forgot about taking food with me. When the door whisked open, I darted back to the kitchen area to grab a pack of crackers. Two voices could already be heard in the common area by the time I left my quarters.
There was one significant difference to the space that I noticed immediately. One of the security droids was standing in the exact center of the room, currently motionless. His white body plating did not blend in with the subtle green tones of our common area.
"Why is this thing here?" Memphis asked. "Was there a problem after the mission?"
That told me that this wasn't the first time that the security measure was deemed necessary. Perhaps when Dashell was still here irritating Rhese it was a regular occurrence. The droid’s presence was unsettling in a strange way. I didn’t fear it. Instead, I couldn’t help but question the stability of my teammates if this robotic peacekeeper was required.
"Rhese and I had a fight," Zaya said as she peered into the open doorway to the team captain's quarters. "Rhese," she called. "Come out. Let's talk."
No one appeared, so Zaya stepped into the private space. I watched to see if she was going to get zapped, drugged, or restrained by the android for breaking that rule. But nothing happened. Perhaps it was more of a guideline instead of a punishable offense.
Zaya stepped back out a moment later announcing that Rhese wasn't in there.
"What does that mean?" I asked. I tried to think of what situations would call for one of us to be missing during our team’s scheduled social time.
"Did you hurt her?" Memphis asked our star player.
"No," Zaya replied defensively. Then reconsidering the situation, she added, "I don't think so."
Memphis informed her, "It must have been bad enough if you sent her to medical. What did you do?"
"She kicked her in the stomach," I answered when Zaya didn't. She was looking even sadder than she did a moment ago when she couldn't find our captain, her friend. She wasn’t quite the heartless loner that she often pretended to be. "But they broke up the fight right away after that. If Rhese is hurt, I don't think that it is very serious."
"Yeah," Zaya said then, obviously not convinced.
"I see that we beat the mission and finished fourth overall," Memphis said, changing the subject.
"Thanks to the two of you," Zaya perked up. "You both had stellar performances. And Boone is Level One already."
"What?" Memphis said exaggeratedly. Truly shocked or being playful, I couldn't tell. "That's amazing, Boone."
The pretty girl then rushed toward me to give me a hug. I was caught off guard and didn't reciprocate as well as I would have liked. Her body against mine already was more of a surprise than a delight. S
he released the embrace quickly and I got the impression she felt that maybe she had overstepped.
I flashed her my timid smile and said, "Thanks. For the hug. I mean, for the compliment."
The grin she gave me made me blush, but at least she had an inkling of how I felt. I was not uncomfortable with the contact. Well, that wasn't exactly true. But I didn't want to be uncomfortable with her touch. I just couldn’t react fast enough to make her feel at ease with the gesture. Next time I’d do better.
"How did you do that?" Memphis asked me. "That has to be some kind of record."
"It is," Zaya responded, failing to mention that she was the only other Orange Dragon to accomplish such a feat. "Didn't you see the replay?"
Memphis shook her head. "No, I just looked at the results and my stats. I gained just one Heal and one Recovery."
"He was amazing," Zaya said as she approached me. I froze up expecting another hug. I had to stop doing that. Instead, she just rested her slender strong hand on my shoulder. "He gained points in seven categories. Boone took down the first guy with the butt stock of his little rifle. I nearly choked when I saw that. Him getting to the second rocket component before us earned his second Tech point. And he got two points in Aim from sniping enemies while prone. He's the best rookie this team has ever seen."
I looked her in the eye, surprised that she still didn't bring up her own performance in her second game two years earlier. "There was one other player that did just as well," I told her.
She smiled and nodded, sincerely appreciating the recognition, but still didn't speak up about it. I had expected the best player on the team to be as cocky as the captain was bossy. Instead, she came across as naturally humble. Her standoffish behavior when we first met was a facade. Or, like she indicated later, she didn't want to invest herself in a friendship with someone that wasn't going to be sticking around.
"We're solid now," Zaya announced, looking almost emotional. "The four of us. We can all look out for each other now. You two still need to grow your skill tree quite a bit, but we'll make sure you get there."
"Hey," a new voice said tentatively. Rhese was back.
Instead of our casual clothes for socializing she was wearing a uniform. What did that mean? Was she leaving us? Had her fight with Zaya caused her to be placed with another team? Or booted down to Athlios? No way! That couldn't be. Despite my personal issues with the queen of the Orange Dragons, I didn't want to see her go.
"Rhese," Zaya turned to face her, blood flow retreating from her unusually pale cheeks. "I'm so sorry about the kick. I don't know..."
"Save it," Rhese replied. It was an expression that typically came with much more attitude than she was currently giving. She had something to say and didn't want to talk about the fight. Was she going to announce that she was being removed from the team?
"I have news," Rhese said. "Let's sit at the table and I'll tell you all about it."
Hesitantly, the three of us followed her to the team table and grabbed our usual seats which corresponded with the location of our private quarters. That always had me facing Memphis and side-by-side with Zaya. An enviable position for a young man like me.
"Is everything okay?" Memphis asked. I could see that she was as concerned as me. Possibly rationalizing the same way.
"Everything is better than okay," Rhese said. I had heard girls talk like that before when they were pretending that something hadn't hurt their feelings. Yet, our captain didn't really look pissed off.
Zaya reached for Rhese's hand once she was seated and pleaded, "Please accept my apology."
"We'll talk about that later," Rhese answered, giving her teammate's hand a quick squeeze before releasing. The gesture made me even more confused than before. "There is a new development that is bigger than any disagreement than we have ever had."
When she stared at us one at a time, I saw excitement in her eyes. Confidence. And maybe a bit of pride. She was already the team captain. It wasn’t like she could be promoted to a higher position. But that was certainly the way that she was acting.
"There is a new league starting soon," she announced.
None of us had expected that declaration, for sure. We were all bewildered and murmuring questions. Once she got us focused again, she explained. The vibe at the table had changed dramatically, and for the better.
"They are starting a new four team league that is going to be epic," she told us, looking even more excited. "Larger maps. More time in game. It is supposed to be more integrated with our personal lives as well. They are a little vague on some of the details. If we get selected, we'll move out of this place to a much larger home. More luxurious I'm told."
"I thought that this was luxurious," Memphis mumbled.
"If we get selected?" Zaya asked, focusing on the same point that I was hearing.
"Yes," Rhese said as she placed both of her palms on the table. "The top eight teams have a chance at making it into the new league. We'll be matched up against one of the other teams. Win and we're in."
"That's it?" Zaya asked. "Win one game and we go to this new league?"
"Yes," Rhese nodded happily. "And there is more. If we make it into the new league, we can never be demoted to the planet for hard labor. Ever! And, we don't have to take regular jobs at age twenty-two either."
"What do we do then?" Zaya asked, looking very skeptical.
"We live our lives in luxury," Rhese answered. "And continue to play, for the rest of our existence. That may have been their words exactly."
"Wow," Memphis responded. "Is this for real?"
"Yes, it is. I just met with the Skotopia committee themselves. This is all legitimate."
There was a lengthy pause as we all considered the implications of this announcement. All our lives we were taught that we needed to excel to live the good life. Qualify for the games at age eighteen. Reach level ten or age twenty-two on one of the teams to earn a good job on the station. Never be sent down to the miserable existence on Athlios. Work five hours a day and enjoy everything that the Kylos Magnus space station had to offer. That was the good life. Or it was supposed to be.
Did I really want to play these games for the rest of my life? In this league that meant an hour or two every other day on average. But Rhese said this new setup would integrate with our personal lives somehow. Was that a good thing? Would it be better than a five hour a day job? Our team captain sure seemed to think so.
"So," Zaya broke the silence. "This new league is still part of Skotopia?"
"No, not really," Rhese answered. She obviously didn't understand the situation completely either. But if she had more information, we wanted to hear it. "They didn't tell me the name for the new league. Only that it won't be plugging into the same computer using the hook-up room. Instead, we would each get our own suit to wear. We'll prep ourselves instead. In private."
"No more laying on a bed in my underwear for everyone to see?" Memphis asked rhetorically. Rhese and Zaya both snickered.
Then words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. "You can still do that if you want."
All three girls looked shocked at my statement, but in a good way. At least they were all smiling. "Ooooo," Zaya and Rhese said as they looked at Memphis. My favorite teammate blushed, but it was nothing compared to my embarrassment. My face felt like it was on fire. Pressure started welling up tears in my eyes. I had never, ever in my life said anything like that to a girl before. My determination to be more confident around women needed to be dialed in quite a bit.
I coughed and looked down at the table. Focusing on controlling my emotional state, I couldn’t apologize or say anything. My breathing stopped completely, and I felt like I just might suffocate.
"Looks like Memphis has a boyfriend," Zaya said playfully.
When I glanced up at the pretty girl sitting across from me, she was still blushing. But it didn't stop her from replying, "Finally."
Oh, oh. What just happened? What did I do? And why was I so in
credibly embarrassed about it. Isn't this what I wanted? My plan was to get closer to Memphis. But I expected it to be a slow somewhat comfortable journey. Not a leap straight to declaring that I liked seeing her in her undies!
"That's another thing about the new league," Rhese said. "No more private kitchens and exercise areas. No more mandatory workouts either. Our new place will have one kitchen, one dining room, and so on. There will be no socializing restrictions. Friends, and lovebirds, can spend as much time together as they want."
That would be a big change. I was feeling overly isolated by the restrictions placed on players in this league. More socializing would be good. But would we get to mingle with other people? Perhaps the players on other teams?
Gamer 1 - Skotopia: A Gamelit novel for science fiction action fans Page 8