“I’m aware of that, Acclo, but there's not much we can do about it.”
I was hugely frustrated with Astrid and her small group for splitting from us. It had forced me into having guards on rotation, to cover the access to their section of the station. It left a kinda unwanted stain on Uprising.
“I wonder what her plan is for when we get off here?” Mick said. “Is she just expecting to come back on board with us?”
“I haven’t got a clue what the silly fucker is thinking. I try not to think about her at all when I can help it.”
Ogun nodded in agreement. “That is probably for the best, Ember. I have tried to speak on several occasions, but they don’t wish to hear anything we have to say. It just doesn’t make any sense for her to be behaving like this. Dare I say, it’s out of character for her.”
“Ah, this talk is ruining my day. We’ve enough people to look after and give a shit about. Let's just focus on exploration and tournaments!” I said with a half-hearted fist pump.
Following the announcement of our grand tournament, the areas we could access became a hive of activity. Corridors filled with people running. The main hall saw people doing sprints and laps, with a range of wrestling and shadow fighting. I found it amazing how fickle people could be. One day they were sacks of misery, the next day, members of a high-energy training camp. Laughing, smiling, and panting (not that kind!) rang out in every corner. Eventually, I caved and joined in, running around the corridors with Koparr and Mick. It was far more enjoyable than I had expected.
When the tournament came around, I had only entered the long-distance run around the corridors. We operated three scheduled sessions of races to allow for everyone to take part, with the final the following day. I made it comfortably through those heats into the final race, but I noticed a clear pattern of top performers. They were 90 percent Veiletian. Who the hell knew they were such talented long-distance runners? Unlike the humans, they never jostled for position. They just seemed to slip past like a greased eel and there was nothing you could do about it. I was learning a lot about the members of Uprising here, if nothing else.
The middle-distance run consisted of four laps around the massive hall. There were no heats for this race, as for one reason or another it involved only twenty competitors. Even so, there was actually a good mix of Human, Veilitian, and Torax involved, including Mick and Miraek. I was internally rooting for Mick, but it wouldn’t be good for me to openly favor someone.
The race began and everyone stayed bunched together for the first three laps, fighting each other for the front few spots. Coming into the final lap, a leading pack began to pull away slightly. Up front were Gukarr and Saulagg, two Torax, with Miraek close behind. At the back of the small leading group was Mick. I felt sorry for him, as he looked to be the most exhausted, pink cheeks blazing with exertion, chest heaving, and sweat dripping. But I also knew we humans displayed signs more obviously than the Torax who didn’t really sweat or get too hot. Veiletians where just cold as fucking ice all the time.
They came around to the last half of the final lap. The speed increased, and the spectators started cheering as though in sync, roaring out names. I did cheer, but remained impartial. Miraek took the lead over the two Torax, but impressively Mick kept pace with her to surge past them halfway around the last lap. It looked to be Miraek all the way, but Mick put his head down, digging deep like his life depended on it. Putting everything he had left into one last burst, he somehow took the win. It could be argued half falling, half diving past Miraek over the finish line helped. I clapped and cheered for him. The mad bastard! It took over a minute and help from Miraek for him to stand back up. The two Torax made their way over and gave Mick a pat on the back and began laughing amongst themselves. Mick was looking rather pale now.
Finally, to end day one, the sprints. There were over 100 participants for this one, split into heats that would decide the final of ten competitors. Of those ten, I was not surprised to see Calparr and Koparr among them. I was slightly surprised to see William; I would never have believed sprinting would be the pissheads kind of bag. I was obviously wrong. They lined up, the human competitors crouching down like they were professional sprinters, while the two Torax remained standing in an I'm about to run position. They started, and the line moved forward as one. After half the distance William faltered. A split second later Calparr’s stride also stuttered, losing his momentum. He turned to face William angrily.
Meanwhile, the race was won comfortably by one of the humans, Dennis if I remembered correctly. Medium-height and built like a barn door. His shoulder-length dreadlocks bounced wildly as he celebrated with a huge smile plastered on his face. The cheering was subdued, though, as all the attention was on William and Calparr squaring off against one another in the center of the hall.
“Ye bloody clipped me ankles,” cried William, “ye pointy headed wanker!”
“You cannot run in a straight line, you unbalanced Chidica! It was you who hit my foot.”
“What’s a bloody Chidica!” He looked over to where Calegg and I sat. “Calegg! Wha’ did ‘e just call me?”
“Don’t worry about that, William!” I interrupted. “This is supposed to be fun. Now knock it off and both of you go congratulate Dennis on his well-deserved win.”
They nodded like a pair of naughty schoolboys and skulked off to where Dennis still celebrated.
“What is a Chidica, Calegg?” I asked quietly once they’d move out of earshot.
“It’s an amphibious creature from Torax with eight short legs, and four eyes on top of long stalks for looking out of the water. It is very ungainly when on land.”
“Ah, sounds weird.”
“Yes, a very strange-looking creature, but relatively harmless.”
The next thing I knew, the two men were talking and laughing like nothing had happened. I shook my head. I was surrounded by nutters.
The following day began with the long-distance run final which ran alongside the early rounds of fighting. For me it just ended up being a long, lonely run around the station, as all the Veiletians had taken off. It took me an hour and a half to complete the course. The winner, by a huge margin, so Calegg told me, was Hwista who completed the course in 43 minutes.
After I showered and freshened up, the lightweight competition had already been won by a Veiletian. The second semi-final of the heavyweights was just starting. Roger versus Calparr. The winner was to face William of all people in the final. I let out an audible groan when Calegg informed me. I knew Calparr was a well-respected fighter on Torax, the second best-rated. He was supposed to fight Shaun, what now felt like a different lifetime ago. He stood a few inches taller than Roger as they faced off. I was genuinely interested in who would win. Though without using powers, I had to go with Calparr.
The fight started in earnest, with the two fighters assessing each other with tentative punches and kicks. Calegg spoke from my side. “I’ve watched Roger’s fights so far. He's a good fighter, but predictable. He’ll lunge in suddenly with a ferocious punch or a spear dive at Calparr’s waist. That's how he has won his last three fights, quickly too. Calparr won't fall for it.”
No sooner had Calegg finished talking than Roger went and pulled that exact move, suddenly spear diving the bigger man's waist for a takedown. It seemed Calparr had been waiting for the move too, as he jumped backwards, sending a powerful knee to Roger's temple as he flew in. And just like that, it was lights out for Roger as his body slapped against the cold metal floor. Calparr coolly raised an arm in the air to acknowledge the win, then bent down to check on Roger. I must admit, I was slightly concerned too. It was a hell of a well-paced blow. Thankfully, Roger came round quickly. He climbed up from the ground, dazed but gracious in defeat, patting Calparr on the arm in congratulations.
After that drama, the final of the middleweights was with none other than Mick again. He was facing Harlek, the Veilitian he’d lost comprehensively to prior. He was hard to miss with an
impressive stature, for the usually diminutive Veilitians. Easily matching Mick’s six-foot, with a lean corded body and broad shoulders. He had long, black-to-blue hair, and his skin was more grey than the purple of the others. All in all, he looked like a mean motherfucker, moving with a lithe grace that reminded me of the Parde. I was in awe.
I felt proud of Mick for reaching the finals and did my best not to think him beat before he was. I watched with anticipation as Harlek moved forward confidently, arms in an unusual style.
Mick fought in a classical boxer stance, bouncing lightly on his toes, guard up covering his face. He snapped out a left hand as Harlek came within range.
Harlek swayed, moving to Mick's side to deliver a sharp punch to Mick's ribs. Except Mick was no longer there. Harlek must have been as surprised as the rest of us, when Mick, having followed through on his original punch, had dropped seamlessly into a forward roll.
When he came to his feet, I could tell Mick was trying to keep the grin from his face at the move he just pulled.
Harlek nodded respectfully at him. They began again, Mick loosened up from his original stance, focusing more on movement and evasion. It was painfully obvious that he was on borrowed time as Harlek herded him around the ring.
After a brief flurry of punches and kicks, Harlek finally managed to slip past Mick's defense, snaking around to his back to take him in a chokehold. I cringed a little, as it was an almost identical move to the one I killed Rufus with. Yeah, it was necessary, but the scene still plagued my dreams.
Fortunately, Harlek didn’t snap Mick’s neck. He released him as soon as Mick tapped his arm. To everyone’s surprise, Mick began cheering like he’d won. Harlek stood back coolly, clapping and smiling at Mick’s performance as he shouted to the crowd, “I told myself, if I lasted more than a minute against Harlek, I’d count it as a win!” He laughed, and the audience cheered him. Harlek waited a few seconds, before finally raising his own arm in victory, causing the cheering to intensify.
Next up was the heavyweight final. This was going to be fun. I liked William, but I reckoned Calparr would kick his ass.
“Ye owe me a victory after tha’ race, ye big bastard,” William shouted for all to hear.
“Not today, wee man,” Calparr said with a wide grin, which brought a roar of laughter from the crowd at the huge Torax’s perfect reply. To his credit, even William smiled. Then the battle began in earnest. It started tentatively again, but both these guys were huge and immensely powerful. William must have only been a shade over six-foot, but he was built like a bull, and Calparr was close to Ogun’s height with a warrior’s physique. One blow from either could end it quickly.
My theory on why they were so cagey soon disappeared as it quickly became slug fest. Skill seemed to be abandoned in place of dealing as much damage as possible; kicks and punches flew, not just with power, but with surprising speed and agility from both men.
William’s face was opening up badly, blood flowing freely from multiple cuts. While Calparr’s skin didn’t seem to split quite so easily, his face was becoming very swollen. His left eye looked to have closed up entirely, but that didn’t stop him pulling out an amazing roundhouse kick to William’s head that knocked the big human to the floor. But without missing a beat, William kicked out as he fell to buckle Calparr’s knee, sending him partially to the floor. Calparr lunged forward as he fell to pin William, who was too quick, wriggling away and getting quickly back to his feet.
A second later they faced each other once more, panting heavily, but still game. The barrage started again, though they were both visibly tiring, and they brought their previously abandoned skills back into this epic brawl. Only the result was much the same. As far as I could see, this was a stalemate. I already had a high opinion of Calparr, who was skilled and brave. But I had to alter my opinion of William. He was currently laughing and beckoning the towering Calparr on, before moving in for another attack. He took two solid blows, but scored two of his own before the distance opened up once more. The bloke had the heart of a fucking lion, as did Calparr, and if someone didn’t stop this, we were going to have two heavily brain-damaged crewmates on our hands. Ogun was refereeing and had so far been taking a very relaxed approach, but I could see he was growing concerned too.
I spoke into his mind. “I think we need to stop this. They’re gonna beat each other into comas at this rate.”
“Yes, I agree. I didn’t want to stop it too early and cause upset, but I think the time has come to call a draw,” he replied, as he moved to the centre of the ring, separating the two men. “That is enough, gentlemen. I think we have our winners today.” The two opponents allowed Ogun to cease the fight without complaint. Clapping echoed around the hall, as clearly everyone had appreciated the action. These two warriors could not be separated, and they didn’t need to suffer anymore. Ogun raised both of their arms in victory.
I shook my head at the pair of them. They were a right mess and I wondered what Shaun would have done about their fight. I hoped he’d do the same, though I know if he was fighting, he would have stood and slugged it out like these two had. My thoughts of Shaun hit me like a sucker punch, knowing he would have loved all of this. He’d have been right in the thick of it. I desperately hoped the big daft bastard was alright. Then he spoke to me.
“Ember?”
I thought it was in my head at first, but then I noticed the rest of the crew had fallen silent. Was that fucking real? What the fuck! We all listened carefully into the absolute silence.
The voice came again through the station speakers. “What do you mean they can hear me? I thought I was gonna get to speak to them.” Shaun’s voice without a doubt. It was followed by another voice.
“I’m afraid the station's systems are on full lockdown, so it is only possible for you to speak to them. Be mindful that the announcement is ship-wide, not just to Ember.”
“Oh fuck, right. Nothing too lovey-dovey then. That’d be embarrassing, right?” Shaun’s voice said, and I couldn’t help but laugh as tears spilled down my cheeks. “Okay then, everyone. My beautiful peeps of Uprising. These dodgy Apochros bastards wiped all my damn memories, so I didn’t even know I'd lost you all. They had me training all day, every day, like a machine. But I managed to break free. I did accidentally kill some of their council members as well, which I have to quickly sort out. But there is some good news; we do still have some allies among the Apochros, and they’re helping me out. So as soon as I’ve sorted some shit out, I’m coming to get you all, I guarantee it!”
The entire hall erupted into cheers, but everyone had the sense to stop dead when Shaun spoke again. “Things should start looking up from here, I promise. Although these fuckers will have to give us some more ships, they torched them all except the Uprising. I’ve found Havok too! So, uh, yeah, should be good. See you all soon, and eh... fuck it! Love you, Ember, and can’t wait until I’m with you, can’t wait to see you again… and everyone else of course. Hang tight, the sooner I go, the sooner I can come for you all, and it's a bit weird just talking to no one.” And just like that, the communication ended.
“I love you too, Shaun,” I muttered to myself. Then spent some time trying to compose myself with deep breaths before I could join the conversation with the others.
Calegg had a huge grin on his face and loomed in front of me. “It looks like Shaun is going to come through for us again!” Then, the big uncomfortable bastard hugged me. I hugged back, but it was mainly to hide the tears that had again started to flow. Stupid fucking eyes, doing their own thing. When we finally broke the hug, I smiled blearily. Luckily everyone was too busy to notice me; all cheering, hugging, and crying tears of their own in some cases.
I was soon swamped by those closest to me, all giving hugs and chatting excitedly.
“Remind me why we didn't do this a week ago if this is the tournament prize,” I said.
“I certainly think if we can, we should continue the tradition, even just in honor of this mo
ment,” Acclo said. “If Shaun agrees, of course.”
“Shaun hasn’t got any choice, we’re doing it.” I looked down at William and Calparr. “Without a repeat of that, though,” I added, pointing to them.
We all moved into the canteen after that with a party atmosphere in full flow. Mick sat down by my side, looking bruised, beaten and extremely happy. “Hey Em, sorry to spoil the party mood, but we haven’t seen Astrid. Would you want me to go talk with her?”
“Thanks, Mick, way to spoil my mood.” I smiled to let him know it was in jest. “And nah, it’s my responsibility. I wonder what the hell Shaun’s gonna say when he finds out I killed Rufus and lost Astrid’s little gang.”
“Not a lot, I’d imagine. His loyalty is to you above all else. Everyone can see that.”
“I hope so, it’s kind of a big deal.”
He shrugged, unconcerned. “So what are you planning to say to her?”
“Dunno, but she’s not getting back in the Uprising. Not after this. I suppose just keep an eye on them till we can send them packing.”
“Fair. Well, when you go, I’ll come along with you. You shouldn’t go alone.”
“Why? You worried I might kill her?” I said seriously.
“Nah, more worried they’ll all try to kill you.”
“With Shaun coming? Are you serious, that’s the worst kind of suicide.”
“She seems to have lost the plot, Em. She probably thinks she could talk him around even as he splits her in half.”
“Maybe, come on then, you’ve already fucked my good mood up. Best get this out the way.”
Rallying a few people together, Calegg, Wulek, Ogun, me and Mick entered the area claimed by Astrid’s group. The other side of the door was barricaded, but it was easy enough to clear with a telekinetic blast.
There she was, sitting meditating with the others in the center of the canteen. At least they were until I’d blasted their barricade all over the place. Clearly training was high on the group’s agenda. I shouted over the room, “What are your plans if we’re to be rescued?”
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