by Luigi Robles
This is starting to look nice, Larissa thought. It looks like we are going to have a lot of fun tomorrow, although I don’t think that I’ll fare well in these kinds of games. Nevertheless, I’ll give it a whirl. Maybe I’ll come out above Eora and, if I really try, Pycca. I won’t get carried away. There’s nothing wrong with some friendly competition. Nope, there isn’t! And then perhaps, after I dominate most of the games, Fain and I can take a walk and talk about how good I was. He’ll say, “You know what, Larissa, you are the best. You make me forget about the killer aliens we have on our tail, and I just want to spend all of my free time with you.” In fact, I think I should practice some of these games tonight, when I get back to my quarters. That way Eora and Pycca really won’t stand a chance.
A familiar voice interrupted Larissa’s thoughts.
“Larissa?” Fain asked.
Larissa felt herself blush, and quickly turned around, acting like she had forgotten something.
“Are you OK?” Fain asked again, stepping in front of her.
“Ah, yeah,” Larissa said. “What makes you think that I’m not? I’m fine.” She forced a smile.
“Maybe you are working too hard?” Fain asked with a concerned look on his face. “You know you can always ask for more help if you need it.”
“No, I’m fine, really,” Larissa said, still trying to calm her nerves. “I mean, really. But thanks for your concern. So, what’s up?”
“Alright, if there’s anything I can do, just let me know,” Fain said, with one hand resting on the back of his head. “I just wanted to come and thank you personally for all of this.” Fain made a quick gesture to the array of games that were already up and the hundreds of people working together. “None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for you. Without hesitation, you would take the entire load of the world on your shoulders and find a way to deal with it. I think you are an amazing person. Thank you, Larissa. You are one of a kind; something special.” Fain smiled slightly.
Larissa felt Fain’s words hit her like a speeding train, but in a good way. The way Fain had said it left no doubt in her mind that he meant every word.
“Ah, I don’t know what to say,” Larissa said bashfully. “But hey, that’s what I am here for. Don’t mention it. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Maybe we can play one of these games together.”
“No way, knowing you,” Fain said. “You will beat me for sure. I don’t think I can ever come up with a good enough strategy to beat you.” Fain chuckled.
“What’s the matter, Captain?” Larissa questioned. “You aren’t afraid to go up against extra-terrestrials and their spaceships, and yet you are afraid to go up against little old me?”
“Alright, if that’s what you want,” Fain said with a grin on his face.
From afar, August was yelling at Fain. It was inaudible through the crowd until he got nearer.
“Fain, stop slacking off.” August looked like he was yelling at the top of his lungs, yet it was barely audible. “I need your help to move this crate.”
“I’ll be right there,” Fain yelled back.
“Why is he yelling? Is his wristband not working?” Larissa asked.
“Apparently it has been glitchy since he got the prosthetic,” Fain said. “Kya is working on a solution for it as we speak. I’ll see you around.”
“I’ll see you around,” Larissa echoed.
Fain began walking towards August, and as August kept screaming, Fain ran. Larissa was sure they were just enjoying working together.
The anticipation for the time off was real. People were smiling, arguing playfully, and enjoying themselves, and for a minute or two, even Larissa was able to forget the looming danger.
Eora was finalizing the last of the day’s exercises, testing the drones and ship’s cannons. Excitement built up within her. She wanted the shift to end, because in all her life she had never had the joy of experiencing a carnival. The aliens had come to Earth before she was ever able to enjoy such things as carnivals or theme parks. Society was too scared to be out in the open in large groups for a long time. And by the time she was able to join the ESAF, she had outgrown such activities. But the games that she had helped build last night looked promising, offering a distraction to everyone.
“The thirty-six dodging targets have reached their maximum allowed distance,” Cass said. “They are getting out of range fast.”
“Begin full power maneuvering,” Eora said with authority. “Small cannons one through six, take out those targets before we lose them to speed. On screen.”
The main screen in the weapons bay highlighted the thirty-six targets moving wildly in order to avoid Sodenia’s firepower. But the skill of Sodenia’s cannon operators was precise and refined by many years of training. Eora knew that they wouldn’t miss.
“On target,” Garret yelled out from the cannon operating booth. “Firing one shot each.”
The targets disappeared from the main screen in an instant.
“Where is the long-range target now?” Eora asked.
“It will be at its maximum distance within a minute,” Cass said.
“Can we get a visual that far out?” Eora asked. “Ready an E5 long-range missile. Prepare to lock on to target on my command.”
“Trying to establish visual 111,093 miles away,” Matt said. “Coming on screen.”
The main screen changed view, looking for the smaller target. When Matt first found it, the screen was shaking and the target was blurry, but soon the target appeared before them, complete with details.
“E5 long-range missile,” Eora said. “Lock on and fire when ready.”
“Firing in three, two, one… E5 LRM fired. Engaging full thrusters,” Garret yelled out. “Reaching target in t-minus five minutes.”
Eora and the crew in the weapons bay waited in silence for the missile to hit. This would be the last exercise of the day. Eora could hardly wait to get it over with. During the day, she and the rest of the weapons bay crew had successfully run seventy-four drills, from operating drones and pushing them to their limits to target practice, all while moving through space at an outstanding speed.
With ten seconds remaining, a timer appeared on screen, counting down the last few seconds as the main view began to zoom out. There was a bright flash on the main screen.
“Target destroyed,” Garret yelled out.
The entire weapons bay came to life with cheers, and most of the crew got out of their seats to celebrate.
“Alright, alright.” Eora made her voice heard. “Everyone quiet down. Listen.”
The weapons bay became silent once again.
“I just want to say, it was one hell of a job we did today,” Eora said, letting her serious side show. “And it wouldn’t have been possible without each one of you. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. It’s because of you that we stand a chance against the aliens. That being said… Tonight’s Space Walk is meant for us to relieve the pent-up stress that we have all been feeling. And we do deserve that, but! Make no mistake, while you are out there having fun, you should know full well that the enemy could attack at any time. If any kind of alarm goes off, I want you all back here in the weapons bay. Got that?”
“Yes, ma’am!” they all responded.
“Alright, let’s go have some fun,” Eora said, back to her usual self. “Who here thinks they can take me on in the ring toss?”
Eora thought about going back to her quarters to change, but all she would accomplish by doing so was changing back into the same exact uniform she was wearing now. Instead of going through all that trouble, she decided to go straight to the Space Walk event, letting her hair down as she boarded a corridor pod.
The designated area for the event was teeming with life. Hundreds of people had already gathered around. The ship lights in the area were turned off, letting the lights from the carnival-like games illuminate the place. The temperature in the room was also slightly different, Eora noticed. It was colder than
the rest of the ship. Perhaps they were trying to set the mood, or they were accounting for the thousands of people still to show. People were already forming lines in front of the games, and the giant scoreboards that Larissa had installed in the center of it all were starting to populate.
So, this is what it’s like to be in a carnival, she thought as she walked. There are so many things I want to do all at once. I want to try the games and talk to people. Wait, is that some kind of grilled food I smell? Is that the smell of bacon?
Sure enough, at the end of the fair, there were three small food stands serving bacon-wrapped hot dogs, bacon-wrapped mushrooms, and grilled corn. There was also one thing she had never heard of, but she was able to distinguish the letters above the stand. It said Funnel Cake.
What’s a funnel cake? she wondered. Is it like a cake in the shape of a funnel? Or a cake with a funnel on it? Either way, there’s only one way to find out.
She beamed. The intoxicatingly delicious smell was beginning to fill the area, and large lines were forming in front of the food stands, more so than at the games.
Ha! It’s amazing what Larissa was able to pull off, Eora thought. Even to the last little detail.
Eora let herself get lost in the Space Walk carnival, going from game to game, trying the delicious grilled food, enjoying herself, and talking to people. It all reminded her of why they were out in space in the first place and what they were doing far away from home. The answer was clear and would always be the same: to protect the people of Earth.
August had felt the terror of the Acram firsthand, quite literally, when one of the beasts pulverized the bones inside his hand. His new prosthetic hand, although top of the line and the best Sodenia had to offer, still had an alien feel to it. He was able to feel sensation and touch just like before, but some part of it felt like it didn’t belong to his body; a foreign object. He wondered whether this was a permanent feeling or just an adjusting phase that he was going through. The prolonged use of the prosthetic caused him pain, but he was sure it would go away as soon as the swelling around the amputated area receded.
The doctors in the medical bay had told him to go easy on himself, that it would take some time to adjust. But August didn’t have that luxury, or more accurately, he didn’t want to sit back and let the world pass in front of him.
He was determined to enjoy the night. He owed it to himself and to the people who saved his life.
He decided to try his luck with some basketball; he remembered being good at it as a kid. And he was sure that Larissa hadn’t tried to rig the games in any way. The hoops wouldn’t be smaller than regular ones, and they didn’t look oblong. It was good old-fashioned basketball. The rules were simple: you made a basket and you scored points. Each person in line had three shots. The shots from ridiculously far away or half court would count as seven points, while the two other options counted as three and two.
When it came time for August to try his luck, he thought about going all out on his first try despite his body telling him otherwise. He stayed way back, almost to where the line for the game began; he wanted to attempt a seven-pointer. He bounced the ball twice, and that alone gave him all the confidence he needed to make the shot. The ball wasn’t over-inflated; it was just right. After a few seconds of weighing the ball in his good hand, he threw it using his non-prosthetic hand. The ball went through the exact center of the hoop without a problem. The crowd cheered.
But August, instead of cheering with the crowd, reeled in pain. He felt as if the muscles all around the new prosthesis were tearing themselves apart. He knew then that he had exerted too much force for the condition he was in.
“Commander, are you OK?” a crew member asked from the crowd, stepping towards August.
Humans aren’t meant to fail, he thought. I had already made up my mind about it. We have all the tools necessary to adapt and overcome any situation. If I let this thing that’s in front of me now beat me, as simple as it may seem, I might let something else beat me in the future.
August lifted the index finger of his prosthetic hand, gesturing to the crew member to wait.
“One second. I am just a little winded,” August said, not letting his weakness win. “But I can do this. It’s just going to take some getting used to.”
The crew member-turned-carny bounced the basketball back to August. He stood bouncing the ball, thinking of a better way to throw it without injuring his body any further. He settled for throwing the ball with less care and just a bit more force, so it could rebound off the backboard.
“Here goes nothing,” he said as he threw the ball with more of a swing than a precise movement.
It worked. The ball bounced off the backboard and made its way through the net. His body felt sore, but not as bad as the first time around. As the crowd cheered once again, he knew that he had this game in the bag. He asked for the basketball, bounced the ball once, and made the third shot in the same way as the second time.
The crowd cheered even louder when they saw that the ball had gone in the third time. And for August, all those times he spent playing basketball as a kid were finally paying off.
August was looking forward to playing the other Space Walk games. He was keenly aware of the games he would be good at and the ones he would not. But he was happy, because now he knew how his body would react to certain movements, and that made him feel whole again.
At first, I was scared, August thought as he lost himself in the carnival. Scared of not ever being myself again, scared that the alien had taken something that I would never be able to replace. But now I can start seeing myself in the bigger picture. We don’t have to be perfect to make a difference, and we don’t have to be perfect to enjoy our lives. We only have to try to make a difference and try to enjoy our lives. Open up to new possibilities and new horizons. Because we never know where we are going until we get there.
Pycca went straight for the food as she entered the Space Walk area. She felt like she hadn’t had good food in ages. But tonight, that was about to change. The only problem she faced was that she was a light eater; it would take very little food to get her full. So, she would have to make a wise choice.
Let’s see, which one of these delicacies will taste the best? Pycca thought as she waited in line. The bacon-wrapped hot dogs do look good. Grilled onion, probably mayo on the bun, with ketchup and jalapeños, but I want to try that corn also! I’ve never had it… I’m just going to get it now, together with the hot dog. If I go and eat the hot dog and then come back and wait in line for the corn, I’m not going to be hungry anymore as the food settles in my stomach. And nope, we cannot have that. Who knows when I will get this chance again? Who knows if there’s even going to be a chance or a next time. Better make the most of it.
The food on her tray smelled heavenly, filling her nostrils with delight. But the food did not only smell good, it looked good too. They were genuine bacon-wrapped hot dogs with grill marks on them. She suspected that the food printer had little to do with this, and that Larissa was hoping to create a genuine experience. It was hard for her not to start eating the food right there and then, and if it wasn’t for the manners she had been taught since she was a little girl, she might have.
She looked for a place where she could eat her food in peace, and she spotted several benches near the outskirts of the carnival. Most of the benches were empty, and the ones that weren’t were occupied by other people enjoying their food.
Perfect! she thought.
She sat down and started in on her food. It tasted just how she had imagined it, but better, way better. The hot dog was juicy, the bun wasn’t dry, and the corn and whatever they had added to it was creamy. As she took her last bite, she saw the crowd near the basketball area in uproar for someone.
“I wonder who that could be?” she asked as she tried to focus on the person playing the game. “Is that August? Ha! That’s him.”
But he shouldn’t be doing that, she thought. That looks like it’s t
oo much strenuous activity; he might get hurt if he is not careful. But I guess it is something he has to do to try and feel normal again.
She sighed, feeling sad for the man who had lost his arm.
Then she realized that nearly everyone on board this ship had lost someone or something to the Acram. But she scratched the thought. She was trying not to think about it.
She sat on the bench, curled up with her arms around her knees, just listening to all the wonderful sounds coming from Space Walk. People were laughing, screaming, cheering, and talking, and any trace that the council had been on board the ship was quickly washing away.
Games! she thought. Which game should I play after this? I don’t think I’ll be very good at them. My mind doesn’t work that way. I would be trying to fix the game so that the ball or hoop or whatever automatically goes where it needs to go. I can already see that happening. Why can’t I just let loose and enjoy simple things like other people? I am always trying to fix things, even the things that cannot be fixed.
Then thoughts of her parents came creeping into her mind.
“No!” Pycca said. “Not today.”
“What’s not today?” Fain said as he approached the bench where Pycca was sitting.
“Just the stupid past,” Pycca muttered.
“Yeah, that’s the one thing we can’t change,” Fain said. “Do you mind if I sit?”
“No, not at all. I think I would prefer the company.”
“How come you are not playing any games?” Fain asked. “I think you would be good at them, since you are a critical thinker and all. I can see you figuring out a way to ace all of them.”
“Naww, I wish,” Pycca said. “I was thinking about it just now. But my mind doesn’t work that way. I think I would perform poorly. Plus, I don’t think I could ever beat Larissa. So far, she’s at the top of the leaderboards for most of the games.”
