“Obviously, I like her, you moron. I wouldn’t have brought her on the crew if I didn’t at least like the girl,” said Galia, not to be presumed about.
“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” said Rey. No sooner than his lips closed again, both of his hands shot up in surrender. By the time they got there, Galia’s knife tip pointed at his chest.
“Your personal business is none of mine, but… she’s not built for this. If you want her to stick around, you’ve got to show her the ropes.” Galia drew her knife back, laughing.
“And what do you think I planned to spend these next three days on?” she said. Rey let his hands back down, slow, so as not to enrage his captain even further.
“Alright, alright. I was just making sure. Listen, if you didn’t want someone checking in on you once in a while, you wouldn’t keep me around,” Rey reminded her. Galia turned her knife to the pork on her plate instead, smirking.
“Exactly. Everyone’s here for a reason. Deidra included. Give her a chance. Trust me. You’ll see,” said Galia. That was around the time she noticed Deidra slumped over with her head on the wall by the desserts. “Damnit,” she sighed.
“I’m sure I will… you better make sure everyone does. They’re nervous, after what happened in the Bangbox. We’re down two now,” said Rey.
“Yeah, I know,” Galia bit. She certainly didn’t need reminding that Delia and Crow hadn’t yet woken from their comas. “You still never told me how it happened.”
“I… just don’t ask me to tangle with that guy again,” Rey said, eyes staring over Galia’s shoulder, like he was lurking right there.
“Guy?”
“Daniel. It was Daniel. Chased us down. At first, I thought he was trying to stop us from getting to the center, but… once he got his hands on Delia… he just kept slamming her against the wall. With one hand.”
“Daniel. The guy in the suit?” Galia marveled, slack-jawed. Rey shot a look both ways, to make sure he wasn’t right there.
“Yeah. Crow told me to run for it, for the bonus, and I did. Daniel… didn’t come after me. He was after them. I don’t even know what he did to Crow, but he’s got a dent in his forehead the size of a baseball.” he said.
“Right. Steer clear of that guy,” Galia shuddered. She got up to retrieve the now drooling Deidra, but stopped long enough to plant a hand on Rey’s shoulder. He flinched. “Delia and Crow knew what they were signing up for. They made their choice, and the best thing we can do for them is to carry on. Whatever’s wrong with them, we can fix with the Gold Medal.” reassured Galia. She went, without hearing Rey mutter:
“No one signs up for that.”
Their first training session replayed behind Deidra’s eyelids several times the next night. Galia had shown her exactly how to use the shock-knife she’d given her for the Bangbox. There was more to it than a sharp taser. There was a spray nozzle in the hilt, after all, that deployed a liquid conductor on the press of a switch under the guard. Deidra practiced her swings wide to get the feel for slinging arcs of the stuff at Galia, for demonstration. All it took was a second, different button press to charge the misty arc with sparks. Deidra gasped with delight the first time she completed the procedure. Swing, switch, shock, as Galia said, and purple plasma bolts jumped from her blade to her imaginary foes.
The triumph came and went. What was left, afterward, was apprehension. Deidra had so much to learn in the three-day break for combatants from the Olympia’s challenges. She awoke on day two to realize it was too much. There was no way Galia could teach her complete combat readiness in so short a time.
“You ready?” her captain asked that morning when they woke in beds on opposite sides of another luxury hotel room. This one didn’t seem to have a particular theme, aside from modern convenience. The walls were solid silver, the floor a lush carpet. There were a few flowering plants of red, orange, and peach in the corners of the room. A viewing window overlooked a rushing hoverway through spectator hotspots.
“Ready for what?” inquired Deidra after a pensive moment, “How do you know what to train me for, when we don’t know what the next challenge is?” Galia rested a hand on each poised hip.
“Well, aren’t we contemplative this morning?” she laughed, “I’m trying to get to ready for… a little bit of anything. It’s the best we can do. We don’t exactly have the time for a three-credit course.”
“No, but… what if we could get more specific?” Deidra realized.
“Well then, we should… what are you cooking up in that pretty lit
tle crockpot of yours?” asked Galia. Deidra leaped up to pace the room as she retraced her steps of thought.
“I was thinking… the Terra Eagle knew about the first arena before the match. Devin said it was because she had so much experience with the Olympia. I have a friend who’s got as much experience as she does, if not more. Maybe she knows a thing or two,” said Deidra. She’d never thought to ask until now.
“You...” Galia shook her head, as if incapable of accepting it, “You have a friend?” she couldn’t resist the prod. Deidra rolled her eyes, and headed for the door.
“Come on,” she said. Galia smiled when she didn’t bother grabbing her jacket.
“Clarabelle, this is Galia. Galia, Clarabelle,” Deidra introduced the two most important women in her life. The one that had kept her alive until the Olympia Gold met the one that had done the job since. The barkeep squinted at the rugged captain, up and down, for a full thirty seconds. For that time, the rest of the Forge’s patrons hardly mattered. Her eyes opened, then lightened with the wrinkles of a smile.
“You took my girl in. Kept her kicking. Thank you,” said Clarabelle. She plopped a tankard on the bar and tipped a pitcher of something bright blue over it. Galia reached back for her wallet, but stopped at the barkeep’s raised hand and shaking head.
“Keep the taps open, and we’ve got an arrangement here,” Galia smirked. Deidra tensed. She couldn’t imagine a struggle between them, past Clarabelle pinching Galia’s ear and the two rolling across the floor. Thankfully it didn’t come to that. Deidra flinched instead at a sound she’d never heard before. Clarabelle’s laughter.
“What can I do for you girls?” she said, when she’d managed to calm herself.