Galileo (Battle of the Species)

by Meaghan Sinclair

  Not long after his brother died, Grus' parents had sold their family business to pay for his tuition to the Galileo. It was their only hope for saving his life. On the Galileo he would be around species who fared better alone, learning to become whole again without Achim by his side. Either it would work or it wouldn't. Only time would tell, but it was the only thing his parents could think of when they found Grus walking towards the forest one cold morning.

  “How did he die?” Professor Nicita asked.

  “We sat near a…” he stopped, shook his head, and looked over at the Zorgre brothers. “Dupaka?” he asked.

  The Zorgre brothers looked at each other whispering for a second, till one said, “River.”

  “River,” Grus continued, “and we were eating. Achim wanted something to drink, so he went to the river for some water. But something came out of the water and dragged him under. Zorgres can't swim, so we waited for Achim to come back out. If he needed help, Grus would have helped Achim, but Zorgres can't swim. So we waited until it got dark, but Achim never came back.” Grus looked away, shifting on his feet.

  “How did that make you feel?” the professor asked.

  “Sad,” he said. “Grus misses Achim.”

  “You did very well, Grus,” Professor Nicita said with a warm smile.

  Grus sat back down while the students knocked on their tables and patted him on the shoulder, causing him to beam from ear to ear.

  ***

  Because of the twelve-day school week, the students got one day off every three days, which Renn preferred to the weekends off on Earth. This way, there was always a day off a couple days away. It didn’t take long before the First Years figured out how to relax during the time off, and would often gather in the boys’ common area to watch an Intergalactic Battle of the Species Championship game.

  They all stocked up on food from the mess hall and brought it back to the dorms to eat, while they watched on the large screen. They sat on hovering chairs and couches, and then gathered around on the floor, whooping and hollering at the species tearing each other apart.

  Desh looked up to the fourth floor and projected, Grus, you're missing it, come on!

  Grus popped out of one of the doorways with a big bowl of food, hurrying so he wouldn’t miss the match. He ran down the spiral staircase, and took a seat next to Desh and Kia, watching the screen and gobbling his tasty snack.

  Desh got a bowl of fresh slugs stuffed under his nose, and looked over to see Grus offering to share his favorite treat.

  “No, thanks. It’s all you, Buddy,” Desh said, trying not to dry heave.

  The guys placed bets, arguing about which species would win, and yelling when their alien scored or lost a handful of points.

  Renn heard a familiar voice behind him and turned around, waving Meta, Lux, and Joss over from the doorway.

  Desh followed his gaze and straightened up when he saw Lux cross the room. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying his best to brush it all in the same direction. He looked up at the screen, a little annoyed, not having expected the girls to walk in.

  Renn’s eyes widened when a Mindeerian fighter chose S-shaped swords identical to the weapons he not only saw his mother fight with in Searsmont, but was the weapon Desh used to kill him in the dream. He watched in awe as the fighter spun them around with ease while electricity sizzled and snapped around the metal.

  “We’re going to go swimming in the simulation room and wanted to see if you guys want to come,” Meta said to Renn.

  “What?” Renn asked, unable to take his eyes off the Mindeerian swords.

  “Swimming?” Meta repeated, a second before Renn stood up, cheering when the Mindeerian fighter sliced his opponent in half, winning the game.

  Meta looked over at Lux and Joss, smiling. “They’re not going anywhere,” she said. The girls laughed and nodded. “Do you want to stay here or go swimming?” Meta asked.

  “What do you want to do?” Lux asked.

  Meta glanced over at Renn, and then gave a pleading look to her friends.

  “All right,” Lux said. She and Joss settled in.

  Joss sat on the floor, finding a bowl of popcorn offered to her. She looked up and saw Kia, though he wasn’t able to take his eyes off the screen. She took a handful of the popcorn, with a “Thanks” and stuffed her mouth with the warm, salty puffs.

  “Un-hunh,” Kia mumbled, cramming a handful of popcorn into his own mouth.

  Joss and Kia fell into conversation about techniques and strategy, both realizing that they could make a good fighting team. She glanced up at him a few times, noticing for the first time that Kia was a rather handsome guy, and then tried to think of something else, knowing that Torans never mated outside of their species.

  Desh kept looking over at Lux, trying to come up with an excuse to get her to sit near him, but couldn’t think of anything. Once or twice, he could swear she looked over at him, but he kept looking at the screen, not wanting it to look too obvious that he was interested in her.

  Lux kept trying to think of an excuse to sit near Desh, but couldn’t think of anything. Every time she thought of something to say, she’d look over, but it didn’t look like he seemed to care and she decided against it.

  ***

  The students walked into the robotics’ room to find two dozen men in silver suits standing motionless in the back of the room, in perfect rows.

  “Sit down, class. Come on, take your seats,” the Professor said, attempting to stop the door jams the students were causing.

  Renn listened to the whispering and the thoughts dancing about the room. “They’re real,” one student said.

  “They are not, stupid. This is robotics; they’re androids,” said another.

  They’re not moving, one thought.

  When the class began, all the students were so alert and excited for class, Professor Tamar couldn’t help but laugh. “As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, the Autobotica Corporation was good enough to loan us a couple dozen of their androids to practice on. We’re not going to take any apart…”

  The students slumped down in their seats in disappointment.

  “…you will, however, learn to turn them on and off today. In case you find yourself fighting androids, which, if you’re going into the military, you inevitably will, you need to know how to disable them without much thought. Tomorrow, we will discuss strategies for fighting opposite android armies, but for now, let’s start with the basics.”

  Professor Tamar looked down at her tablet and commanded android Bagrot 3L-88 to come forward. One of the male androids from the back of the room animated and walked to the front of the class.

  “Now then,” the Professor continued, “Federation law states that all android manufacturers must place the on/off switch of the automaton at the back of the neck on all models. Any android found to have the switch in another location will be immediately destroyed and the manufacturer will receive life in the Federation prison. And though androids may be purchased from species who are not in the Federation, one would have a difficult time finding a skilled android maker who would risk disobeying this law, considering the consequences.”

  “To access the controls, one would need to remove a portion of the husk, which requires a magnet to unlock,” Professor Tamar explained, pointing to the spot on the android. “But if you're fighting one or need to have it power down without a key, then you're going to have to feel around for the off button. I want you all to feel around and practice turning them on and off. Their eyes will open when they’re on and close when they’re off, making it easy for you.”

  Professor Tamar ordered all of the androids forward and the students grinned with excitement watching the androids walk forward in perfect unison.

  Dylan had no problem turning his on and off, and looked around like this was a bit of a joke.

  Meta, however, was having a difficult time even reaching the neck, considering the androids were all around 6’4” and she was 5’0”.r />
  “Dylan, can you help her?” Renn asked, as he fumbled with his own android.

  Dylan looked over at Meta, who continued to poke the android’s neck without a response.

  “Come on, little girl,” Dylan said, walking over to her. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up onto a chair, where she could get a better look.

  Renn kicked himself, realizing he had missed a perfectly good opportunity to put his hands on her waist, but it wasn’t as if he could show her where it was himself. Where is it? Renn thought, trying to find the button on his own android.

  “Here, let me show you something,” Dylan said, handing Meta a pair of goggles.

  She put them on so she could see the android was covered in fluorescent blue lines, outlining where each section of the husk was pieced together. He then took a thin magnet, which immediately attached itself to the metal frame underneath, and he slowly slid it down the piece of neck, tracing the line. The magnet unlocked microscopic locks that would later be relocked by dragging the magnet in the opposite direction. He peeled off the skin on the back of the neck, thereby exposing the power switches.

  “This is what you’re looking for,” he said to Meta, indicating the specific button among a group.

  Meta pushed the button and saw the android’s eyes close, causing her to smile.

  Dylan put the skin back on, locking it into place, and Meta was able to turn it on and off, knowing where she needed to find it and what shape of button to feel for.

  It took some practice, but Renn found the button and turned it on and off from every angle, until it became quite easy. He wondered how often he would have to fight androids, since the school would focus a few months of self-defense against them.

  ***

  Renn kept switching on the Federation BOTS game on his computer screen every night, trying to catch another glimpse of Mindeerians fighting. The odds of seeing the same species again were against him, considering the massive number of species competing.

  It wasn’t until the Fourth Years’ BOTS game that Renn saw for himself how strong young Mindeerian fighters could be. Tabit and Pyxis were paired together and chose Mindeerian swords, igniting the metal, and spinning them around in the air. The swords hissed and snapped electricity, while the fighters slashed their foes with skillful precision.

  Unlike his mother, who seemed to always use two, the boys each fought with one sword, using synchronization that could only come from familiarity.

  Renn watched Tabit and Pyxis in awe, wondering if all Mindeerians learned to fight like that or if these two were just naturally gifted. Renn wished there had been another Mindeerian he could have talked to about it, but Professor Paro was seated with the other professors, Vela was in the holding tank waiting for her turn to fight, and Desh seemed to be more focused on exchanging glances with Lux.

  Renn felt sick when he caught the two of them looking at each other. Lux was beginning to feel like the sister Renn never had. It was bad enough to have Desh as a half brother, and didn’t want Desh as his brother-in-law to boot.

  Renn just shook his head when a few days later, Professor Ozrot paired the students up to work on a physics exam, and Desh and Lux were paired together. To Renn’s delight, he was surprised to see Desh look incredibly uncomfortable.

  “I changed my shampoo. Wanna smell?” Lux said, picking up a strand of her long blonde locks and holding it out towards Desh, with a mischievous grin.

  “Nope, I'm good. Thanks,” Desh said, not even looking over.

  “It's jasmine,” she continued. “You'd like it. They say Mindeerians can't resist the smell of jasmine.”

  “We can't resist the smell of ambrins,” Desh corrected, trying to hide that the smell had been driving him crazy since the beginning of class; that she might as well have dipped herself in Mindeerian pheromones before sitting next to him. “Jasmine’s the closest smell to humans.”

  “Oh,” Lux said with a grin, and smelled her hair, before looking back at the tablet.

  They focused on their lesson, attempting to solve one of Ozrot’s equations, but Desh kept smelling her hair and thinking about her neck. Like a good Mindeerian, he tried to clear his mind and focus, but the tablet they were working on was so small, they had no choice but to get in close.

  He looked around, trying to think of something else, only making him more frustrated that he couldn’t. She has to be wearing thought blockers, he thought.

  “What about this?” she said, writing down an elaborate physics’ equation on the tablet.

  He used the opportunity to look right at her, having avoided it all class. Just a sly glance to get a good look, he thought. He looked over and studied her long black eyelashes that seemed to curl up by themselves, and flawless skin, giving her the appearance of a manufactured doll.

  She looked up into his diamond eyes. Her eyes widened when the palm of his hands illuminated with blue light.

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets, embarrassed by the alarmed look on her face. “Sometimes they turn blue for no reason,” he whispered, looking down to the equation. “It’s a good equation, but you wrote it wrong. I think you meant this,” he continued, writing a new equation on the tablet, but it was too late. Her body language had changed dramatically and she was now sitting back, glancing around, as if waiting for the class to end.

  Some days, he hated being Mindeerian.

  ***

  “Renn Andreas,” Professor Zaneer said, looking up at her call sheet in species class. “Are you ready to give your speech?”

  “Yeah, okay,” Renn said, wishing Desh weren’t in the class, knowing he’d just sit there, judging him.

  Renn initiated the hologram projector, displaying an Eminite riding an Aranea. “I did mine on Eminites,” he began. He could feel Desh’s eyes on him, and glanced up to see the Mindeerian paying closer attention than usual.

  “Eminites live on Urland and have been in existence for more than fifty million years. They have a reputation for going from planet to planet, killing all of the inhabitants and draining the planet's resources. They were denied access to the Federation for this tendency, since the portals would have given them access to any planet they wished to conquer. They still manage to take over other planets in nearby solar systems with their space fleet and are one of the species referred to as “space pirates,” boarding and taking over ships while still in flight.

  “The only species they don't kill are the Aranea, which are used for transportation and hunting. Aranea share a single consciousness, so if one is given a scent to hunt, they will all seek out the scent until ordered by the Eminites to stop.

  “The Eminites have no abnormal physical strengths to speak of, but are intelligent, and able to use technology to their advantage during battles. They use both laser guns and swords to kill.”

  When Renn was finished, he walked back to his desk while everyone knocked on their tables — everyone except for Desh that is.

  “Desh,” Professor Zaneer said, with a disapproving glance. “You’re next.”

  Desh walked up to the front of the class and tapped on his tablet, displaying a hologram of an Eminite in front of the class.

  The students snickered.

  “That's awkward,” Dylan whispered to Renn. “Like wearing the same gown to the ball.”

  Desh looked up and announced he had done his on Eminites, then made eye contact with everyone, daring them to continue laughing at his expense. The room fell silent.

  “The Eminites are ruled by a totalitarian government and live in a militant society, raising their children to become soldiers. They have an air fleet of hundreds of carrier ships, which can hold up to fifty Aranea and two hundred and seventy five Eminites apiece. There are thousands of fighter ships with laser capabilities in their fleet, but they continue to take over other species’ ships, using them as ruses to gain access to off limit planets.

  “Their weapon of choice is a sword, but they also use 5.2 Hutman laser guns, which hold a hundred an
d forty five blasts per charge. The general of the Army is Zirkov Utrena, who controls the two dozen commanders beneath him. Each position is carried on through their bloodline, ending the chain if the Eminite only gives birth to females or no offspring at all.

  “The only way to overtake the Eminites is to take down all of the commanders and their sons, and then kill the general, who would have no choice but to engage in battle. At this time, eight commanders have been assassinated, leaving seventeen commanders, four of them with sons, making twenty one Eminites who would need to be terminated before the Eminite army could be destroyed…”

  Renn listened, realizing how calculating Desh was as he continued to break down the Eminite’s army, showing detailed anatomy charts of the Eminites with their kill zones highlighted. Renn wondered how much Desh had lost when Mindeere was destroyed, having misinterpreted his stoicism for lack of hardship. It was the first time Renn understood Desh had a vendetta. He was out for blood and wouldn't stop until it was done. Renn tried to feel more for Mindeere, but it just seemed like someone else's planet. Earth was home.

  CHAPTER 12

  Blue Illumination

  Renn stood deep within a pocket of a cave with no entrance or exit in sight. His heart rate increased and he dug his feet into the dirt to gain traction in case he needed to lunge.

  Defense class had evolved into a series of drills, with each student in their own nightmare. Renn’s attacker was announced as a Class D Bignet, and it appeared before him with four arms and six legs, in a metallic shell.

  “Simulation will animate in five, four, three, two, one,” Ava announced.

  On “one,” Renn fired electricity blasts, but the streams reflected off the suit and hit the cave wall. The Bignet grabbed Renn’s torso and pulled him close until it took a chunk out of his neck. The beast vanished and then reappeared with frozen animation in the exact spot it had started from, signifying that Renn had been terminated and the simulation would repeat until he learned to survive.