I fell silent, and Nay'li waved me along.As I slid out of the booth, I felt a hand clasp around my forearm.I jerked, glancing behind me, my vision a bit blurry with tears, and saw Araxis.He tugged me off to the side and took my face in both of his hands."Youshouldbe proud," he said, firm.His thumb ran across the skin beneath my lower eyelid, gentle."I am proud to know you, Sashen Solar."And then he pressed the softest kiss against my mouth before releasing me and following after his purple ketaari handler as she tapped her wristband impatiently.
Silver Sea found me a few moments later, once I'd finished scrubbing my face with one of my sleeves.She led me to my fitting for the arena, which was really pulling on some base layers and then being strapped into some thin and flexible armour.It wasn't enough to stop a blade, but it did deflect any poorly aimed blows and so prolonged the conflict.It felt very similar to wearing a slightly stiff sweater, and the team had me run a few laps of the room with it on.They even gave me blunted practice blades so I could run through a few sequences; they stopped me a couple of times to tweak the fit so that, by the time they were done, it really felt as though I were wearing just my base layer and nothing else.All the while, Silver Sea sat off on the side, flicking furiously through documents that flashed up from her wristband.Once, she vanished from the room entirely, and when she came back, I saw that her eyes were milky, her second lids extended in surprise before they clicked back into place.
My gear was stowed and the armour team sent me on my way, so I sidled up to Silver Sea and glanced at the document she had glowing in front of her.It looked like a legal contract of some sort."Are you okay?"I asked.
She stood and tipped her head to indicate I should follow, leading me out of this smaller staging ground and toward a low, square building I was unfamiliar with about halfway between the village and the media centre.Beyond us, the arena towered over the complex, casting deep shadows across the sandy ground; I could feel it looming, an almost physical weight pressing at the edges of my peripheral vision and my consciousness.
I suppressed a shiver and tried not to look at it.Tomorrow, it would be filled with screaming spectators, massive hovering screens spinning around the open mouth and filled with images of panic and violence.Hopefully, I'd only be part of the panic, and I'd get to skip entirely over the violence.
"Isn't the tea ceremony starting soon?"I asked, still following Silver Sea's back, her robes fluttering behind her.She was being strangely silent, except for the jingling of her charms.I tapped at my wristband.We didn't have long for this detour, or we'd be late.
"I will make excuses," she said."There is a meeting you must attend."
My eyebrows shot up, and I jogged to catch up to her."Wait, another meeting?I thought –"
"I have received information that is of significance to you."Her mouth was pinched, drawn tight, and it looked like some of the colour had actually drained from her skin, which I didn't know was evenpossible."Come with me."She approached a low side doorleading intothe squat building and bustled inside.I was a half-step behind, so it took me only a second to recognize who was sitting in the room, lying in wait.
Three low chairs sat around a round table, where a bowl of fruit waslaid out,untouched.Sitting in one of the chairs was Adelaithe, thejournalist fromThe Good News, her round, cheerful face angled toward us as we approached.
I stopped in the arched doorway as Silver Sea continued in and took a seat, her movements uncharacteristically stiff."I said I didn't want to meet with Seraphim," I said accusingly.
Adelaithe beamed up at me and waved one pale hand."Wecompletelyunderstand.But your ketaari friend here agrees that this is pretty important information for you to have, Alikander, before you hit those arena sands."
I looked at Silver Sea, whose mouth was a long, flat line.When our gazes met, she gave me the tiniest nod, her stare golden and sharp.
Whatever it was,shethought it was important… and it had rattled her.I didn't believe she'd throw me to the wolves without a good reason.I glanced back at Adelaithe, scowling."You'd better not try to kidnap me," I said testily, pacing forward into the room and nudging the remaining chair away from the table so that I had more distance.I might not be particularly good at fighting, butsurelyI could throw this woman off if she made a grab for me.
"We wouldnever," Adelaithe insisted."But what wewoulddo is file an official claim for loss of credits due to deliberate damage to our corporate reputation.You'll find that our claim has been approved by the Central Primus Economic Forum.Here, I brought it on paper.I'm a bit old fashioned that way."She reached into a bag near her feet, drawing out of a sheaf of papers, which she slid across the table."I've gone ahead and highlighted the important bits for you, Alikander.I've seen your scores in math, so I know the numbers can get a bit tricky for you."
I reached forward, staring blankly at the sheets before me, and pulled them into my lap.They rustled softly as I paged through them, my stare jumping between highlighted numbers.With each new line, feeling left my limbsuntil, by the time I stared down at the final page, I was certain I’d begun hovering somewhere over my body, drifting away on violent cosmic winds.
"You made a lot of very inflammatory and defamatory comments about Seraphim and, by proxy, Grace Mining Initiative," Adelaithe continued, her voice sweet and dripping with pity."CPEF takes those kinds of damages very seriously, and they've found the initial equivalent damage to be in excess of the potential winnings from the Galactic Tournament of Superiority."
"In excess of," I repeated, mouth feeling clumsy.The numbers shuddered and shivered before me as I stared at the sum."As in –"
"Even if you won, you'd still owe Seraphim a sizable debt, to say nothing of our original claim.As I said, this is CPEF's preliminary finding; we expect it will go up.The initial investments we put in, alongside our partners, for infrastructure alone, only for you to go and upend it!So we have a problem here, don't we?I know you don't know me well, not yet anyway –" When I looked up at her, startled, she gave me a pleased little smile and a wink."ButI'm not the kind of girl who likes who show up with a problem and no solutions."
I tore my eyes away from her, looking to Silver Sea."Is this real?"I asked, numb, my fist tightening on the papers as they crinkled in my grip.
She gave her tiny nod again.
"These damages are a problem for you, Alikander, and for Seraphim.So we'd like to offer for you to come on home.There won't be any funny business, just a chance for you to learn a bit more about who we are now, and who we're on the road to becoming.If you like what you see, we'll film a little video saying as much so we can set the record straight, and your debt will be cleared.Quite generous, given the financial hit we're taking!But money just isn't everything.Seek first to be righteous and abide by His word, and the riches of the Heavens will rain down upon you."Her smile grew even wider, closed mouth and tight.Her blond hair was done in perfect bouncy curls, although her face was free from any other colour beyond the natural rosy blush of her cheeks.
I hated her.I wanted nothing so badly as to fly out of my seat and throw her to the ground, to hit her and keep hitting her until she was nothing but blood and gristle.Until she'd never fucking smile again.
"And if I don't like what I see," I said, voice low.The papers crumpled in my hand, and I kept grinding them in my grip, tighter and tighter.
"Oh, we'll find something for you to do for work.It won't be glamorous, but it will be decent.And there will be none of thesere-education campsyou keep going on about.Honestly, I don't know where you came up with that idea!You'll go to servicefour timesa week, just like everyone, and go on with your life.Easy!We've even drafted an agreement stipulating just that.I've sent it to your ketaari friend to look over."Her smile grew knowing, and in a fake whisper she added, "I know you can be a little paranoid, so I thought you'd like the extra layer of assurance."Adelaithe leaned back, smoothing away imaginary wrinkles from her blue skirt."Now,I’m sure you’llneed time to think about it –"
"I won't," I said, flat."I said I'm not going back, and I'm not."
A tiny line appeared between Adelaithe's pale eyebrows, creasing her otherwise unlined face."You know, I suspected you'd be stubborn.I think you should really run this by your other… friend.The abayan boy."
"He's not aboy," I snapped, suddenly furious.She didn't understandanythingand had no right to be so dismissive.
Adelaithe waved my interjection away."Oh, it's hard to keep up.No matter what he calls himself, you tell him what we're offering, since he won't be able to afford to pay your debt either, and I'm sure he'll tell you it's better to be alive and well-treated, as per the contract we've drawn up, than dead on those sands.I may not understand how the two of you fell together, but it's clear you care about each other in your own special way.Let he who is without sin, you know."She raised her hands, and then shrugged."The offer stands.And honestly, Alikander, I'm not even sure the conglomerate is going to let you step into that arena in the first place.If you die out there, CPEF is going to find thatthe conglomerate isresponsible for damages in lieu of you."Next to me, Silver Sea twitched, Adelaithe continuing on merrily."The conglomerate chose to broadcast what you said, so they're culpable.I'm sure those higher-ups in their fancy offices arerunning the numbers right now.You're pretty popular but…" Her smile sharpened as she tipped her chin toward the papers, now wadded into a ball in my lap."Gosh, thatisa big number, isn't it?"
I stared at her, my jaw clenched so hard that I could almost taste blood."I just don't understand," I hissed after a long silence."If you hadn't filed the debt claim, I never would have come here and this wouldn't evenbean issue for you.Why did you even bother?Why now?"
