On Antares X

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. ‘Cause I heard Mensa screamin’ my name pretty clearly in the cargo hold last night!”

A roar of drunken laughter erupted around Kuiper as he divulged his story to the table.

I peered from over the rim of my drink’s can, which held a concoction more like vehicular oil than anything drinkable. As if Mensa or any woman would exist within twenty feet of Kuiper, let alone touch him and scream his name while doing so.

And I would know, because Mensa and three of her friends were keeping me company last night. Celebrating my win.

“Andromeda!” Kuiper bellowed to my corner of the tavern, “What’re you looking at, girl?”

I gave him a sycophantic smile and set my can down. “Just listening. Quite a story.”

“Awe, c’mon! Don’t be jealous. All you have to do is ask me.” He cackled some more.

I laughed with him as I stood and strolled by his table. “Keep dreaming.”

Kuiper was too dumb to be angry at. Most men were. It wasn’t worth it. His grumbling and groaning as I left were amusing.

I stepped out onto the streets of Antares X and looked up at the artificial night sky. This ship and the city within it, its people, never slept. Apparently, our Earthling ancestors once said that about another city, one on the ground. Learned that in Earth History 101 when I was still on track to become a scientist.

A downpour of manufactured rain started to fall from the holographic panels in the ceiling, filling the potholes in the street with murky water. It always seemed like a waste to me, when we could be drinking it. But They claimed simulating weather was “good for population morale.” No one left by that point remembered Earth, or ever even lived there, so I didn’t get it.

I threw my jacket’s hood over my dampening curls and stared at the ground while I walked. The neon lights on each building reflected in the water pooling under everybody’s splashing feet, mirroring lewd images from billboards as their jingles echoed around.

This was the side of town They forgot about. Where They hid everyone who did the dirty work. Like me and Kuiper and Mensa. Mechanics, cleanup crew, grunts.

And then there were the underground extracurriculars we were all involved in. The things They ignored if they kept us satiated and out of the way. Things that I got caught up in instead of school. Things that threatened to ruin my chances of going into space.

But I was working towards it. Doing the best with what I had.

The sign for Club Cygni was dimmer than the others surrounding it, and it flickered every few seconds. It hung crookedly over a slanted metal door. A bouncer nodded as I stood in the red glimmer of the blinking letters.

“Andy,” he said.

I raised my eyebrows by way of greeting and waited for him to open the entrance. It led to a narrow descending staircase, which then led to another beat-up metal door. It creaked as I pulled it open; the noise echoed up the stairwell.

The locker room was at the right end of a short hallway. I walked in and saw Mensa’s blonde bob swaying as she pulled on a tiny foil-looking skirt. She was the ring girl on weekend nights. A janitor at an office park on weekdays.

“You’re so late,” she snapped over her shoulder as I brushed by her. After taking a whiff of the air, she scoffed. “You gotta stop drinking before matches.”

“Why do you care, Mensa?”

“I only want you to live up to your full potential,” she chimed, mocking me, and rolled her amber eyes.

My locker was rusty. Beyond rusty, maybe. Its hinges almost stuck together. I had to punch the bottom corner to leverage it open. I grabbed my gear; the brown leather of the perforated gloves blended with my skin. A panel on each glove’s back lit up as I slipped them on.

A wired headset replaced my hood, and I turned to Mensa. “Worry about your job…”

“Hmph.”

“And look pretty.” I tapped her under the chin with my finger and she stuck her tongue out at me. A round piercing glinted on the end.

“Fuck you.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Thought we already did that?”

“Get out!”

I scurried out, avoiding her flailing arms, and walked towards my entrance to the arena. As I made it further down the hall towards the lift, I could feel the crowd’s roaring coming through the ceiling.

The lift operator remained stoic and silent as I got on, and he stiffly pulled the lever that lurched the whole thing upwards.

Spectators’ cheering funneled through the open ceiling, reverberating through me. The lift brought us up to the center of the stage, under the yellow floodlights. The crowd screamed and cheered even louder, banging on the barriers around the arena. Through the ringing of my ears, I could hear the announcer calling my name, telling everyone my specs.

I took a deep breath and faced them all, raising my hands and yelling with them. When I stepped off the lift, it rattled back down to the basement and a panel of flooring slid in to replace it.

My platform was two stories above the stage, supported by wooden beams. I made my way up the stairs and tapped on the panels of my gloves. Below me, a static-y form took shape.

Hamal was my Combatant. A hologram sourced from the panels on my gloves and controlled through my mental intentions. An iridescent, translucent ram, twice as tall as me. Kind of an asshole, but his mind was mine, so that was my fault.

He raised his head and snorted, stamping the ground with his scintillating hooves.

The fans loved it. He loved it. I loved it.

I clapped my hands together, and he ran one lap around the ring, passing our competitor on the other side.

A guy whose name I forgot and his Combatant, an ugly dog whose name also didn’t matter to me.

Mensa appeared from a door in the arena’s side, alongside the announcer with an over-sized microphone. She held up a sign with a 1 on it and strutted for the crowd as he revved them up. “Will Andromeda and Hamal defend their title for another night in a row?” There was a mix of booing and encouragement. The people loved Hamal. Had some other opinions about me. Not fair, considering Hamal basically was me.

The announcer threw his free hand in the air and ran to the sidelines with Mensa at his heels.

The crowd counted down with him from ten; at one, I released Hamal to run straight for the dog. She waited for him with an open, drooling maw. He lowered his head, aiming the sharp horns atop it at her snarl. She lunged for him a moment too early, and I sent him accelerating towards her exposed underbelly. She whimpered, and her Controller hissed atop his platform, as we sent her flying against the solid barrier. Her shimmering body crumpled over Hamal’s before we threw her aside.

To their credit, she recovered quickly and turned to pounce on Hamal’s flank.

The spectators got louder and louder with every passing second.

I tapped on the panels of my gloves, coding an escape maneuver and sending Hamal the signal to buck her off. He kicked furiously as she dug into his side, clawing and biting.

She could only hold on for so long, and she slipped to the floor.

We didn’t give her the chance to recover from her vulnerability; I directed Hamal to trample on top of her, using those fancy hooves to smash through the reflected light that made up the dog’s body.

It was over when she began to glitch, freezing and stuttering.

I looked up to see the man throwing his headset to the floor.

“KNOCKOUT! KNOCKOUT! KNOCKOUT!” The onlookers roared.

The announcer ran back out to the center of the arena, avoiding the trajectory of Hamal’s victory lap. “That has to be a record!”

I made my way down from the platform to the stage, meeting the announcer and Mensa - who held my winnings. A crude chest filled with a cash prize - the source of, I never asked. What mattered was how I’d use it, not where or who it came from. Some of it would go right back into upgrades for my gear.

There was a wave of chanting, “ANDY! HAMAL! ANDY! HAMAL!”

“Congrats, Winner.” Mensa handed me the chest and kissed my cheek.

“Ladies and gents, your undefeated champ!” The announcer held up my hand.

I closed my eyes.

Most of the money would go towards the fund I had started for myself. I would go back to school and study Earth. I would get off this ship.

Maybe Hamal could come with me.