by Barry Solway
Mel thought for a moment. “You’re right, I don’t. Can you tell me? What does it feel like to be stuck on the ship, seeing your friends go off to fight and die for you, while you can’t do anything to help them?”
“That’s a weirdly specific question. Are you making fun of me?”
“No. I’m serious. It’s important, actually. I’d like to know.”
“I’m not sure I can explain it. Frustrated, sure. But mostly… guilty. Or even ashamed. Like I’m not good enough, as a person. Hell, I can’t do anything, not even die uselessly with them. That doesn’t make sense, I know. It’s confusing.”
“No, that helps,” Mel said. Guilty and ashamed. She filed that into her subconscious with all the other churning thoughts. The funny thing was she felt those same feelings even though she had been in both gauntlets. And she wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she had been there, on the ground, fighting beside her friends, and had still been useless. Riley’s mistake was to think he could actually make a difference.
“I miss Jeff,” she said, surprising herself.
Riley put a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry. I really am. It must be horrible to have seen him die right in front of you.”
“He was protecting me. The funny thing is that I’m angry about it. There were all these things I wanted to yell at him about, about how he was a jerk. I want to yell at him for being an idiot and protecting me. And now he’s dead and I can’t.”
“Yeah. That’s the way I feel about Evan.”
“Evan? Oh, I get so angry with him. I don’t know what he was thinking, blowing that bomb like that. He should have been faster or more careful, should have hidden or… or…” Mel’s voice faded. She didn’t know what she thought Evan should have done.
“He should have stayed alive. Right? Not been an idiot or a hero or someone who makes a choice and then goes and gets killed because that choice was a mistake. I miss him, Mel. And I’ll admit it, I miss Jeff too. I can’t bear how sad it makes me, so all I can do is get angry.”
Mel wiped away a tear. “Yeah.”
Riley’s voice firmed. “That’s why this thing, what’s happening to me, is so important. Because now I can do something about it. I don’t want you or Sharon or Gorgeous to get hurt anymore. I can protect you all, in ways I never could before.”
“I don’t know that Gorgeous needs protecting. She’s pretty badass.”
Riley smiled. “So are you. It’s not just about me. We’re a team. You and Beats and Gorgeous and me. We work together and we can get out of this alive.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah, Mel. For the first time in a very long time, I really do think so.”
“Thanks, Riley. Sorry for coming down so hard on you earlier. What you can do is… it’s cool. I’m happy for you, that you aren’t sick anymore. But it is part of Kathor’s game and we can’t afford to forget that. That’s all I was trying to say.”
“I know and you’re right. Maybe it is Kathor’s game. But we still have the choices we can make.” Mel realized that Riley was choosing his words carefully. “We don’t always have to play by his rules. That’s all I’m saying.”
The door to the main room opened and Anna walked in with an alien behind her. He wore black and silver armor, dented and singed, that covered his entire torso, arms and legs. A helmet with a smoke-colored visor was tucked under one arm, and a holster on his right side held a large pistol. He was the same race as Kathor and Marksman—an Asadharan. She was getting a better appreciation for what Kathor meant when he talked about his daughter’s face “not setting.” The bony ridges on his face had hardened into lines that looked like a goofy smile. Reading it as a human face would make you think the man was slightly mad. But Mel recognized the emotions around the eyes. Cold, unfeeling, merciless.
“Who’s Mr. Happy?” Riley asked.
“Not someone you want to cross,” Mel responded.
“What’s with the armor?” Riley asked. “Dude, looks like he’s auditioning for Halo: The Musical.”
“Don’t know. Maybe he’s a space marine,” Mel said. She laughed at Riley’s expression. “What? I watch movies too.”
Anna walked to the center of the room and gathered everyone’s attention. “Our next match is in three weeks. We have qualified for and entered our first level two gauntlet. For various reasons, including recent injuries and keeping an appropriate team balance, neither Mel nor Jon will compete in the next event.” Mel knew why she wasn’t competing, at least part of the reason. But that was news about Jon, and Mel suspected it wasn’t because Kathor was fond of him.
Riley chuckled. “I think ‘appropriate team balance’ is code for ‘Jon and Mel have too high a score to be filler and too low to be useful.’” Mel nodded in agreement. She hadn’t mentioned her conversation with Kathor to anyone yet, but Riley was likely right in either case. Jon was still recovering from his injuries in the last gauntlet, and would likely be a liability. The drugs Kathor and Anna had sped up the healing, but nothing like what Mel had gone through.
“This is Harkin,” Anna continued. “We’ve obtained his services for the next game. This is considered temporary, although Harkin may come on permanently in the future to give us a fuller roster. He’ll be training with us over the next two weeks.”
Harkin bowed his head slightly, but didn’t look around or try to catch anyone’s eye. Anna nodded and continued. “We’ll have a review of the next game tomorrow. There will be modifications to the training to prepare.” Then Anna and Harkin turned and left the room.
“Charming fellow,” Riley said.
“Privileged, too. Apparently, he isn’t staying with the rest of us little people,” Mel said. “It does make you wonder about his suit though. Is that even legal in the games?”
“Not at level one. I’ve seen people wear outfits like that in some level two games. At level three, almost anything goes.”
“I just realized something else.” Mel scanned the room, looking for Sharon. She had been sitting next to Jon, but now she stood with a stony expression and walked to her room. “Sharon didn’t get a pass. They’re taking me and Jon out, but not Sharon.”
“Because they need someone on the low side to balance the team and you and Jon weren’t low enough. Well, Jon might be in his condition, but I don’t think they give out medical waivers. Honestly, I’ve been looking at video of old games and this team is pretty crazy. Beats and Mirage on the same team? That’s not even counting how crazy good Gorgeous is. I think Beats is actually the first of his species to ever compete. They’ve talked about how good his race would be, but they’re all pacifists and won’t fight. The Sathir, Mirage’s race, sometimes do, and they’re almost always at level three. Mirage will be there after another game, I’m sure. Beats too, probably.”
“So they need Sharon to come in low enough to qualify for a level two match,” Mel said. “I wonder how they’ll score you.”
“I’m expecting to come in low. I think it’s part of Kathor’s strategy. So maybe I’ll get a 20 or so, same as Evan and Jeff.”
“You’re better than that. Maybe as good as Gorgeous.”
“That would use up our entire allotment, so no room for Mr. Happy. But I’m not as good as you think. I have this crazy athletic ability, but I haven’t been working skills the way you guys have. Gorgeous and I went at it today. I barely held my own. Okay, I didn’t hold my own. She’s good.”
Mel nodded in agreement. “You’ll have time to train. It’s interesting, though. If you think about everyone’s scores, then Harkin isn’t really all that tough.”
“Let’s hope he’s tough enough. It’s nice to have someone to take the heat away from the rest of us,” Riley said. “Glad to be sitting the next game out?”
“No, not really. I’m not good at waiting in the wings.” She felt the churn in the back of her mind speed up. “I need to talk to Anna. I’ll catch you later.”
Mel went to her room and grabbed the electromagnet she had
hidden under her blanket. Not a very good hiding place, but she didn’t have anywhere else to put it. Sliding it into her pocket, she went out in search of Anna. She found her in the training room, calibrating the robots.
“Do you ever rest?” Mel asked.
“No, not really,” Anna replied. “What do you need?”
Mel took the electromagnet out of her pocket and weighed it in her hand before lifting it to her left ear. “I need to talk.”
Anna looked up as if about to say something, when she noticed the electromagnet in Mel’s hand. She straightened and stared at her. “That won’t be necessary. At this point, I’m the only one who monitors the translator feeds.”
“Are they recorded?” Mel asked.
Anna hesitated, then shrugged. “Yes.”
“Then it’s necessary. Kathor told me he’s taking me out of the competition.”
“I know,” Anna said. “I told him it was a bad idea. My suggestion was that he put you into hibernation until the final gauntlet. He thought it too risky. Was there something about it that you need to know?”
Mel shook her head. Thoughts raced through her head. She felt clear about some things, but it felt like she was waiting for something to make a final decision. She couldn’t trust Anna. But she had to ask the question anyway.
“Nice to know you have my best interests at heart, Anna,” Mel said sarcastically. “But that actually begs my question. Whose side are you on?”
Anna stared impassively at Mel. When she finally spoke, Mel thought she sounded sad. “I have always fought to protect you and the others. You don’t understand the constraints I have, how Kathor controls me. Every day I work to gain my freedom so that I can help you gain yours. Whose side am I on? I serve Kathor, I have no choice. I… I love you, all of you. You and Riley and Sharon. I want to see all of you safe and back on Earth. More than anything. But it would be a mistake to say that I’m on your side. I don’t have that choice to make. Right now, I’m on the only side that matters. My side. Just like you and Riley and everyone else on this ship. I can’t… I can’t say any more.”
Anna cut Mel off before she could reply. “I have to finish these calibrations, so I don’t have time to talk. If I have more to say, I’ll find you.”
Chapter 35
An image of an alien city projected in the air. The other two cities had been surprisingly normal, with rectangular buildings made up of something like concrete and steel set up in standard grids. Even the abandoned vehicles hadn’t been horribly out of place. But this city felt truly alien, and seeing it made her heart skip a beat. Elegant buildings with swooping architecture ascended into the sky. A network of roads or walkways snaked around and into the buildings like a huge, three-dimensional spider web. The color of the image created some of the effect. Dim light and a red sun that hung low on the horizon cast strange shadows. The buildings shone in muted colors of gold and reflected red.
“The city of Sor Asthona, on Agprith. Also known as the City of Sunsets,” Anna said. “Abandoned two hundred years ago due to a failed geo-engineering effort to stave off a cyclical global cooling trend. It’s summer there now, and temperatures should reach the sixties during the day, but may drop below freezing at night. If it were winter, you’d be looking at minus seventy-five degrees or so.”
Anna clicked to another slide. “You’ll be familiar with most of the other team. Our friends, the Whale, Wicked and Junkyard have regrouped. They’ve brought on Soryda and Red Shirt from your last match. But there is one new face, and it’s not good. This guy.”
Anna projected the image of a squat, barrel-like figure. There seemed to be a head on top, but it was as wide as the body. There was no visible neck, and it made it look as if the top of the barrel had the ability to swivel to the left and right. There were two eyes and a very large mouth, but no nose. In place of ears were curving indentations on each side of the head. The creature barely stood four feet tall. Stubby legs stuck out like two sausages and the creature didn’t have any knees. Mel couldn’t imagine how the thing could run, or even walk for that matter. The arms were more than twice as long as the legs, but very thick and boneless. The overall impression was that two anacondas had attached themselves to a tree stump.
“An Akshay,” Beats said, obvious surprise in his voice. “I have never heard of them competing in the gauntlets.”
“Much like your race,” Anna said. “You are right, though. He is the first. His race is dying out. The ones who are left, a few million at this point, are primarily monastic and claim to be seeking spiritual perfection. Participating in the gauntlets is blasphemy. We have no idea how they found him or got him to compete, but it’s a real problem.”
“Why is that?” Riley asked. “He’s a short little dude. Looks tough, but look at that expression on his face. He looks high as a kite.”
Mel smiled. That was true. A glassy look in his eyes and the open, relaxed mouth made him look stoned.
“Don’t project your college life on the aliens, Riley,” Anna said. “That’s pretty standard appearance for his race. And the reason he’s a problem is because these are the toughest people in the galaxy. Easily. They are heavy-worlders who live in a very harsh environment. They don’t have a standard skeleton. Instead, their entire bodies are composed of an organic carbon fiber matrix. It’s like if you had a sponge made of steel, only tougher and lighter. They’re strong and nearly indestructible. You could probably drop a building on one of them and they’d survive.”
“They breathe, don’t they?” Mel asked.
Anna frowned. “No. The planet they come from had a fairly toxic atmosphere. They get oxygen from their food supply and store it internally. They can go for a day or so without food, the way humans can without water. Less if they exert themselves heavily.”
“Joyful,” Mel said. “Well, if you drop a building on him, he’s not going anywhere for two days, right? Problem solved.”
“Bloodthirsty, aren’t you?” Riley said.
“Sorry, I’m just… never mind,” Mel replied. She didn’t think she was bloodthirsty. Almost the opposite. Bloodless. It didn’t sound like fun to drop a building on someone and let them slowly suffocate under it for two days. It was just what needed to be done. But maybe Jeff was right. Maybe the healing process had damaged her.
“No worries, Mel,” Riley responded. “Keep those awesome bury-em-in-rubble ideas coming. We’re going to need it.”
“What’s his score?” Gorgeous asked.
“A 99. As high as a player can get at level two. And that’s low, in my opinion. Maybe the architects were bribed, or it’s because he’s never played in a game before.”
“We can outrun him, right?” Riley asked.
“You can. If you hit thirty miles an hour. They run like cheetahs. I don’t have any footage, but I did some modeling. They swing forward with their arms and push with the legs to leap forward. It’s fairly impressive.”
Mel turned to Riley in surprise. “You can run thirty miles an hour?”
“I hit forty-two in a hundred-meter test run,” Riley said nonchalantly. “No big deal.”
Mel shook her head. “You are so full of yourself.”
Riley grinned back, “Flaunt it if ya got it.”
“Children, please pay attention,” Anna said. “Anymore questions about our new friend?”
“Stoner,” Riley said.
Anna sighed, but she had a light smile. “Stoner it is. He is built like a boulder, I suppose. Just don’t let his expression fool you into thinking he’s not a threat. If he’s left his world and his people, it likely means something bad. He could be psychotic or disturbed in some way.”
“Anna, he’s in the gauntlets,” Riley laughed. “Of course he’s disturbed in some way.”
“Right. Okay, pay attention. The Whale is coming in at an 80, Wicked is a 60, Junkyard is a 55 and Soryda is a 45. Red Shirt is an 8. The team score is a 347 out of 350. But I would guess Stoner should be more like 150. This team should be ove
r a 400, easy. Notwithstanding that this is a level two game, this is going to be the toughest team you’ve faced.”
“We aren’t so shabby ourselves,” Riley said quietly. “Beats, Mirage and Gorgeous. Pretty deadly, if you ask me.”
“Hey, what about me?” Sharon said. “I know how to blow things up.”
“Yeah, we’re going to need that,” Riley replied.
“Anything else we need to know?” Mel asked.
“Yes. There are two goals. You need to get both to win.”
“So if we get one and the other team gets the other, then it becomes a siege. It’ll turn into a bloodbath,” Mel said.
“That is the worse-case scenario. It’s better if you can get both goals immediately. However, looking at old two-goal matches, they ended up with each team getting one goal eighty percent of the time,” Anna said as she shut off the projection.
“So, eighty percent of the time, it turns into a bloodbath,” Mel repeated.
“Let’s review some strategies,” Anna suggested.
***
Only three days remained until their third gauntlet and Mel wasn’t thrilled with how the team was coming together. Mirage was the only one who performed consistently, her strange behavior aside. Beats continued to hold back in training, reluctant to fight. While Gorgeous had become a lethal one-on-one fighter, she often lost track of the larger picture and became distracted and bored when not fighting. Perhaps trying to make up for lost time, Riley was a showoff who tried to be everywhere at once.
Harkin, who Riley insisted on calling Mr. Happy, worked okay with most of the team, although he tended to alternate between being a lone wolf and ordering the others around. But it became a real problem with Sharon.
Mel thought Sharon had made tremendous strides since the last game. She had learned quite a bit about explosives and also had taken an interest in field medical care. Harkin’s disdain for her lack of fighting ability made him constantly critical of her. Just when her confidence was on the upswing and her skills were improving, Mel saw her withdraw into herself, becoming nervous and hesitant.