by Robin Roseau
I ducked a camera in behind her, trying to get her view. I couldn't find her opponent. I left the camera there but ducked another one behind him. He couldn't see her, either.
"Get those out of there, Andromeda," Clover said. "Event beginning in fifteen seconds, and they'll interfere."
"Right. Sorry." I zoomed them both back up above the height of the arena wall and put them back in auto pilot, each watching one of the contestants.
"That was good," said the administrator. "If you do anything else like that, tell me so I can catch it sooner."
"I don't want to piss Clover off."
The event began. Both contestants began firing their guns. They made sounds when fired, and I could even see the light."
"Why can I see that?"
"You can't. The computers are adding it just like we're doing to their visors."
"Oh. Clever."
Force fields activated. Some deactivated. Then they reactivated again. I didn't completely understand. But the woman was forced further and further towards the center. I could see her growing desperate, firing faster and faster but hitting less and less often.
I used one of the cameras to see where the Ardent was. Then I looked at the targets.
"Clover," I said. "Trust me."
She didn't respond.
"Administrator, camera A-13-B." Then I zoomed it away from shots of the group of Ardents, dropped it down into the arena, well clear of the action, and zoomed it along about two feet from the ground. I zipped it around the back, through the cage, and then past the contestant before spinning it around facing the human.
She was crying.
"Zoom in," said the administrator. "It can follow her face."
"Got it," I said. I clicked the proper controls then used another camera to track what I was doing with the first one.
She was pushed directly in front of the cage, and then a force field popped up in front of her. I barely got my camera out of the way before it began moving forward, a few inches at a time. She kept firing, and a glance at the other screens showed her hitting targets, firing through the force field. But then in a series of quick movements, the barrier moved forward, bumping into the human as she set up a last stand in the mouth of the cage. She flew back into the cage and then was suspended in mid-air.
I moved several of my cameras to watch her from different directions and sent two more down to track the alien.
He stood up and all the force fields turned off. The alien walked across the arena, his gun held high in the air, and when I looked, I saw the other Ardents cheering for him.
He walked to the mouth of the cage, and I moved two cameras into place.
"Will you take my hand?" he asked, his words gentle.
I let one camera track his hand. Two more watched his face and two watched hers.
She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks, but then she nodded, and I caught the image as she set her hand in his.
* * * *
"Well done," said Administrator Brighteyes. She'd led me to the cafeteria, and I had a glass of lemonade. She had declined anything for herself. "We've never caught images quite like those before."
"I did all right?"
"You did quite well. Not bad for a beginner." She reached forward and clasped my hand. "Questions?"
"Was that their final challenge?"
"Yes."
I looked down. "She was crying."
"She was." The Catseye leaned forward and lifted my face by the chin. "Her life isn't over, Andromeda. She will go home with him."
"To New York."
"Yes, at least for now. And he will help her fall in love with him."
"Will he, um. Cheat?"
"No. His is not a species that produces such powerful pheromones. But in spite of her tears today, she likes him, and he is very kind to her."
I nodded. "While it was happening, I was so absorbed in my job. But now I feel bad for her."
"Perhaps you should be happy for her. She has a new relationship. This is an exciting time for her. And while this isn't the life she would have picked, it can be a very good life."
"But what has she given up?"
"A job she didn't like. She won't see her friends for a while."
"Only a while?"
"She is from Idaho. New York isn't exactly next door, but it's far closer than Saturn's orbit."
"A country girl, and he's taking her to the big city. She'll be swallowed."
The Catseye shook her head. "No. For now, her life will be very controlled. He will keep her safe, Andromeda."
"The open sky," I said.
"Changes. Change can be hard, but it can be good. It is different."
"I'm from a major metropolitan area, but New York would overwhelm me. It's always so loud."
"You've been?"
"A few times. You can be on the 37th floor of a hotel and still hear the traffic. I'd hate that."
"Andromeda, she's going to be fine. He is a good man. All the Ardents are good, and he is one of the best."
"Except for the belief he has the right to force her against her will. That makes him evil in my eyes, Catseye, and you know it."
"And if she grows to love him?"
"Irrelevant. So she grows to love the man who is enslaving her to his will? When does he rape her?"
She huffed. "Never. I've told you that."
"So he just takes her choices away and makes her utterly dependent upon him for anything so every small gesture makes him seem kind and caring? Is that the plan?" I sighed and turned away. "I suppose there's nothing I can do about it."
"She's going to fall in love."
I thought about it. "It's wrong. You know that, right? Frankly, I hope she breaks his heart."
She didn't respond to that. "I need to check on some things. I want you to use your visor to review the next event. I'll see you back at the control room in fifteen minutes or so."
"Yes, Administrator."
She rose to her feet but then paused. "You may call me Jasmine if you like." She clasped my arm once more then left me to my lemonade. I drank for a moment and then accessed the visor.
* * * *
When I arrived back in the control room, it was Jasmine in the center chair. Dark Skies was at the same console as earlier. Sal was seated where Jasmine had been earlier, and Clover was nowhere in sight.
"Andromeda," said Jasmine as soon as I appeared. "Can you handle cameras alone?"
"Yes," I said.
"Next to Sal." She pointed, and I returned to the same computer console as earlier.
Sal leaned over. "Need help?"
"I think I have it." I clicked around, woke the cameras, and soon had them positioned. "Jasmine, did you want anything special?"
"This is a less complicated event from the last one, but it can move quickly. Don't let a camera interfere. Otherwise use your judgment, Andromeda."
"Got it."
I put the cameras to the same tasks as earlier then used one to tour the arena. This was to be basic combat. The human could win either by escaping from the arena or forcing the alien to submit. The alien would win by disabling the human. Each would be provided one weapon, and I saw at opposite sides of the arena a simple stand with a sort of futuristic staff cradled in it.
"The human doesn't stand a chance, does she?" I asked Sal.
"Oh, I don't know. Did you look at her bio?"
"No. I ran out of time."
"You should take a look."
I accessed my visor and was surprised. The alien was female, a member of a species called Greenbears. I looked quickly at her first, wondering where the name came from, and it was clearly obvious. She had six limbs, and most of her body was at least as furry as the Wookies. But she had a face that was nearly human and seemed small for her size, almost elfen. Her fur wasn't green, but her face was.
"She's beautiful," I said.
"The Greenbear?" asked Sal. "Yeah."
Using my visor, I switched to the human. She was a woma
n named Dana Chow from San Francisco. I read quickly.
Dana was a martial arts instructor and competed in mixed martial arts.
"Oh shit," I said.
Sal laughed. "Their challenges have been good. This is their fourth. They'll have one more."
I used one of the cameras to examine the weapon stand. When Sal saw me doing that, she said, "I missed that. Can you do it again?"
"Sure." I lifted the camera into the air, did a circle of the crowd, then spiraled down, zooming across the stands until I came to a stop in front of the weapon stand. Then I moved from side to side slowly, examining the entire weapon.
"What is it?"
"We just call them power staffs," Sal said.
"It looks like it would hurt to get hit."
"Not like you think. It's padded, and the human will wear protective gear. But it's powered. A strike actually goes to your nervous system."
"Like an electric current?"
"Yeah. If either of them falls behind in her defense, the other is almost assured to win."
Then I saw there was rope hanging from the stand as well. I examined that. "What's this for?"
"What do you think?"
I didn't answer.
As before, the alien took the field first. I used my cameras to watch her. She strode in on four legs but was upright from there, a little like a centaur, I suppose. Her stride was odd, and I couldn't place it. "She walks oddly."
"Different joints. You're accustomed to Earth animals. Her proportions are entirely different."
Like the Wookies, she wore no clothing except a belt worn around her middle just in front of the middle pair of legs. I zoomed a camera around her as she walked to the nearest weapon stand. She first collected the lengths of rope, tucking them into the belt. Then she picked up the staff.
At that point, she rose onto her back feet, and I watched as she went through a variety of motions with the staff, gripping it in any combination of four paws. Hands. Whatever the right word was.
Then she dropped back down to four feet, the staff held casually in one free hand.
Two minutes later the guards brought the human woman into the arena. Again, I sent my cameras around her, although I kept several watching the alien. And even I could see the hungry look that came into her eyes.
"Has she been fed?"
"They're vegetarian, actually," said Sal.
The woman was led to a pillar, just like each of the other events I'd watched. Her hands were secured, and the guards left. Once they were gone, Jasmine spoke, outlining the rules. Then the woman looked around, and I knew she could see. A moment later, her hands were free. She set her eyes on the weapon stand, stepped around the pillar, and collected a staff.
But she surprised me when she collected her own rope. All she had to do was get past the Greenbear.
Both combatants spun their staffs, and then Jasmine called begin.
They both ran towards each other.
I couldn't remotely follow the individual strikes of the staffs. They were both amazingly fast. The Greenbear was bigger and more powerful. The human was actually rather petite. She didn't try to block the Greenbear's swings but instead deflected them. And she was amazingly fast to counterstrike.
They both landed blows, and they both cried out from blows, pulling back.
"She's actually hurting the Greenbear?"
"A higher setting on the staff," offered Sal.
The two fought, circling each other. And then in a flurry of strikes, Dana drove the alien back then slipped inside her guard, ducked underneath, and somehow -- I didn't see how -- flipped the alien onto her back.
I stared in surprise.
At that point I expected Dana to run for escape. Instead she swept the Greenbear's staff out of her hands. The weapon went flying. Then she launched herself astride the alien and began raining down blows from the staff.
The Greenbear howled and tried to protect herself.
"Ground and pound," said Sal.
"What?"
"Mixed martial arts. She's doing a ground and pound. She's hoping to make the Bear submit."
"Gutsy."
The thing is, it looked like it could work. The Greenbear was obviously much more powerful than the small woman, but Dana managed to use the staff to control her opponent. The Bear howled with each strike, but she didn't surrender.
And then she reached up and caught the end of the staff. She screamed at that, but she held the staff, screaming, and then yanked it from Dana's grip, sending it flying.
Two more hands reached up and grabbed the human before she could escape, then two more, then the last two.
The human struggled, but the bear rolled over, pinning the human to the ground. After that, in spite of her struggles, the Greenbear meticulously tied the woman up.
I was caught staring instead of running my cameras, and Sal had to use the ones on auto. But I zoomed two down, one pointed at the Greenbear, one at the human. The Greanbear finished the knots then slumped onto the ground beside the human, two limbs thrown over her. Then she pulled the human to her, rolling onto her back and holding the helpless woman.
I zoomed in as she gently caressed the human face. I watched as Dana laid her head against the massive hand.
"Congratulations, Pegasus," said Dana. "Are you all right?"
The Greenbear's voice was a rumble. "Yes, Dana. Well fought." And then she pulled the human closer, and Dana laid her head on the furry shoulder.
I focused on that, then I slowly pulled my cameras away.
Challenge
As soon as the event was over, Jasmine ordered me to return to my cell. I nodded and let the visor guide me. Of course, it guided me to the changing room. I sighed, changed into my skimpy clothes, and then meekly returned to my cell.
I sat down on the bed and sighed again.
I was only there for a few minutes before words appeared.
Please take care of any personal needs then change into the clothing provided.
I looked, and the nook was open. I hadn't heard it. I stepped over to find boots and one of the skintight jumpers. There was a tube of sunblock and a floppy hat.
Ten minutes later I was ready to go. Two minutes later the guards arrived. My visor dimmed even before they had me shackled.
* * * *
When next I could see, I was being hugged by a chair, my hands trapped by the table. I thought that was ridiculous given all the running around I'd been allowed, but I didn't say anything.
Jessica Maple was seated across the table from me, Jasmine beside her. At the end of the table was Dark Skies.
"Hello, Jessica. Was that your squad mate in the arena earlier today?"
"Hello, Andromeda. Yes, it was."
"When you see him, congratulate him for me."
"I will." She paused. "I must ask. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Did you change your mind?"
"No, but I thought you may have."
"I'm nervous, but no, I haven't changed my mind." But I turned to Jasmine. "But I would like to know what will happen if I win or if I lose."
"Then you should ask the event coordinator," said Jasmine. She gestured towards Dark Skies. So I turned towards her instead.
"That is to be determined," said Dark Skies. "I will say only there will be a reward if you win, and there will be a price if you lose."
"You will not say more than that?"
"We will come to that at the end of these negotiations."
"Jessica Maple has invited me to dinner following our event. If I lose, will I still be able to attend dinner with her?"
Dark Skies inclined her head. "That is the agreed understanding."
"All right then," I said. I turned back to face Jessica and smiled. "Do I have a chance?"
"It wouldn't be a good competition if you didn't," she said.
"Very good," said Dark Skies. "I have been told this event is to be an opportunity for both of you to get exercise, and that it is to be together."
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I cocked my head. "What do you mean?"
"Many of our events begin with the mating candidate and the challenger separated. You saw earlier. But today you wish to interact more directly."
"Ah, yes," I said. "I understand."
"Very good," said Dark Skies. She glanced at Jasmine. "In order to fulfill the mutually agreed goals, I would suggest you allow me to make some of your selections."
"Which selections?"
"I recommend we utilize the smallest of our savannah arenas," said Dark Skies. "It is a rough rectangle two kilometers wide by four long. Objections?"
I looked at Jessica. "Whatever," I said.
"This is acceptable," Jessica said.
"Very good," said Dark Skies again. "Well then. We can work a grid system, or I could recommend an event. Which do you prefer?"
Jessica turned back to me. "If you let me make one choice, I will allow you to make the others."
"Oh?"
"I wish my goal to be to catch you."
I laughed. "That seems like a popular goal."
"It is," agreed Dark Skies. "The species that enjoy these challenges enjoy catching their mates."
"We're not mates," I said. "But I understand." I smiled then turned to Dark Skies. "Can you devise a competition in which I can perform far better than I did our battle of wills?"
Dark Skies snorted. "You couldn't possibly perform worse."
"You two had a battle of wills?" Jessica asked.
"It was a taste," I said. "A demonstration only. She let me go after winning."
"You have been a very busy human," said Jessica.
"Are you upset?"
"No. Surprised. Shall we continue?" We both turned back to Dark Skies.
"Do you accept your challenger's request, Andromeda?"
"I want exercise and I don't want this to be too easy for her."
"You sound like you expect to lose."
I laughed. "Look at her. Can you even come up with something I could win?"
"Of course," said Dark Skies. "I could produce an obstacle course and have some of the obstacles require crawling through a very small hole."