The glow on the far wall changed colour, roiling to a dark purple."How bad was the altercation with Grigor Spade?He has been disqualified.You were not at fault."
"And Araxis?"I asked, my gut churning.
"His response was proportional and assured your ability to continue to participate.Without intervention, we are quite certain Grigor Spade would have killed you.So, a bad interaction, but not an awful outcome."A thin sound whistled from her nostrils."I should amend: it was anawful outcomefor Grigor Spade's handler, but he will recover his status after several years as an intern again."
The light shifted again to an orange, warm."How bad in terms of the effect on viewership?It has been considered a rather riveting turn of events.It would have been better if we had a camera on the rooftop at the time of the altercation, as the footage we were able to salvage was low quality – but I believe that has added an illicit quality that has been particularly exciting for our audience.How bad in terms of how this has impacted your current odds with the official bookkeepers?I'm afraid to say they are not optimistic about your chances of winning the Tournament.Nearly being beaten to death was not a net gain for your betting odds, although your viewing metrics are exceptional."
"Great."I propped an elbow against the mattress and gingerly slid myself to a seated position, my shoulders wedged against the plush headboard.I felt fuckingweird, as if all my joints and bones had been wrapped in cotton batting.Nothing moved quite like I expected, andeverythingtookdeliberate intention.My body, the tool of my trade and firmly under my command, was a stranger to me, and Ihated it.I made a show of scrubbing my face as if to wipe away the bleariness of sleep, but instead I tried to hide any evidence that I'd been crying.
"There are two areas in which thingsarerather bad," said the shadow that was Silver Sea, lit up only by the faint glow of her wristband as she sat on one of the couches."First, our legal and sponsorship department."
I swallowed around the lump in my throat."Okay," I said."How?"
"Grigor Spade had his entry fee paid byGrace Mining Initiative."She said the name in English, which was jarring coming from her mouth, none of the vowels quite right."They are a new corporate entity born from a partnership between a smaller mining affiliate on Mar and Seraphim Station.They have filed an official complaint about Grigor Spade's disqualification.As the marn interest is held by some of the ruling warrens, this has caused several significantsponsorsto threaten to withdraw their funds."
"They think heshouldn'thave been disqualified?"I couldn't believe that, not after everything Silver Sea had told me about how the conglomerate ran its show.The threat of disqualification was part of the appeal, and a big reason why contestants were able to make it to the actual Tournament instead of being poisoned or, you know, bludgeoned to death in the filming leading up to the official commencement.
"Grace Mining Initiativealleges that you used cultural knowledge to deliberately provoke Grigor Spade.They have also claimed that human physiology made it impossible for him to resist his violent urges, and that as you are a human and were aware of his weaknesses, this should be perceived as an attempt at sabotage."
I wheezed, winding up to interject, but before I could force any words out, Silver Sea stood and came closer.Herweight settledon the edge of the bed."The conglomerate has rejected this claim and there will be a later investigation into the basis of this physiological assertion.As we have not had human participants before, the truth of that matter is unknown and will guide future acceptance decisions."
"I can tell you that it's bullshit, but sure – whatever you have to do."I folded my arms tight across my body, holding myself as I blinked through the murky darkness at her shadow."You said two things were bad.What was the other?"
"Where you stand withme," she said thinly."That is also currentlybad."
Well, shit.A wash of panic, frigid as ice water, slid down my back."Hang on," I said, "You'renot in trouble, are you?"
"You sent me certain messages that would suggest your altercation with Grigor may have been intentional and deliberate.This would lend merit to the idea that your efforts were a type of sabotage."
"Fuck, I'msorry, Silver Sea," I said, sudden.I reached out for her in the dark, but she was too far away."I'm – I didn't mean –"
She huffed out a thin, whistling breath again, and I heard the soft jingling of her trinkets."How fortunate that there is no record of those messages."Her tone was casual, quiet in the dark between us.
"I –"
"It is also fortunate, I think, that none of the video or audio feeds in your quarters are currently active and that your wristband has been deactivated for the time being."
My tongue wet my lower lip, my mouth suddenly very dry.My body must have thought I was in danger, because my pulse picked up."Is this… when you kill me for making you be an intern again?"
There was silence between us for a moment, palpable, and then Silver Sea laughed.It was a bark, bright and sharp and a little dangerous, and it didn't make me feel any better at all."You are fortunate that I am very good at three things: the first is scheduling; the second is making allies, which is why certain conversations are able to happen off-the-record; the third is getting what I want.And what Iwant, Sashen Solar, is awin.So tell me, and do not try to lie to me: what is it exactly that you are doing here?"
So I told her.
I mean, I also lied to her, but I told hersomeof the truth.
I was here because I owed a massive debt to Seraphim, which they'd finally decided to claim.I had no other options – it was this or go back there, and frankly, being beaten to death on the rooftop would have been better.
I told her that Grigor had said Seraphim wanted me back, and that I thought they were worried I was going to talk shit about them and make them look bad.Given Grace Mining's reaction to what had gone down, I assumed they werestillworried about that.
I admitted that I had hoped coming in that I might use my wiles to convince some rich, lonely alien watching the broadcast to pay off my debts so that I could yield and be whisked away to some galactic palace or sex dungeon or whatever.That I had figured Grigor was going to maybe try to kill me or get me in some sort of trouble, and therefore my chances of winning or, more likely, winning someone's heart were at risk – so I had wanted to get him out of contention.
I'd slipped him a suggestive note and waited for him to chase me down, because he was disgusted by me and would be revolted at the idea that I'd make a pass at him or, worse, thatI thoughthe'd be interested, and I'd had Araxis along just in case things got too violent and I needed help.
She listened, and only asked a few questions.And when I finished, admitting that my plan had been incredibly stupid even if it had sort of worked, I added, "I'm not sure I'm the person to work with, though, if you want to win.I'm not going to win this."
She snorted."There are many ways to win and few of them require winning the Tournament.You've said yourself: a victory for you involves being free of Seraphim's debt claim, one way or another.A secondary prize would be tosurvive."
"Yeah.Although, I mean, the palace on the moon would be pretty nice too."I risked a smile.Her eyes were better than mine, so I bet she could see it.
