“Feeling better this morning?” Alora asked Jack as he grumbled his way downstairs, having slept much longer than he normally would have, catching up on his lack of sleep from the previous day.
“Much better!” Jack agreed with a sigh as he plonked himself on the sofa, accepting a hot drink from the Eladrie. “Thanks! I really needed that!”
I’m surprised you were able to stay awake for as long as you did after all we went through travelling through a warzone, Chiyo added, taking a seat next to Nika who was looking at something on her commlink. Even if you took a nap during class yesterday, it can’t have given you much!
“It didn’t, but it gave me enough.” Jack shrugged, taking a sip of the soothing warm tea. “Honestly, my people can go without sleep for longer in worse conditions, and I probably could have kept going if I really needed to, but I’m glad I didn’t. I just wanted to stay up long enough to not mess up my sleeping pattern, and I should be back to normal after tonight.”
“There’s no rush,” Nika pointed out. “It’s the weekend, and though the two of us usually work out first thing, it’s not unreasonable to have a lie-in and skip it given the circumstances. Skipping it every day, however…” She indicated Alora and Chiyo at that with a bemused expression.
I don’t do sports. Chiyo gave the Kizun a grumpy look as Nika smirked. Anybody telling me I need to ‘better myself’ and ‘get on the grind’ is getting yeeted into the air!
“I do try, but I lack the talent for sports,” Alora added, much more diplomatically. “I’m much better with the Ri’Gael of my people and other similar activities.”
“I think Nika’s right…” Jack began, trying not to wince as Chiyo’s expression soured, but carrying on. “We saw how bad things could get, and if we’re going to be taking more jobs, especially from people that have turned on us before, at least putting some training in might mean the difference between life and death!”
“Well, good thing there’s plenty of chances for you all to practise today!” Nika grinned. “I’ve just sent a message to our mutual friends inviting them to meet up with us if it’s safe to do so. There’s a field close by that’s been left fallow for a while now we can play some games at, and you’re not allowed to say no, Chiyo!”
Oh, really now?
“It’s only fair,” Jack pointed out. “We all did your meditation session and I’m looking forward to the next one! Depending on the sports Nika picks, you might end up having a good time too! It’s not like it’s Master Kull running it after all…”
Stop sounding so reasonable so I can’t be mad at you! Chiyo grumped.
As the light of the morning began to filter in through the windows, more people began to wake up and join them. The scavengers from the previous night had managed to find and fix up another sofa, this one red with floral patterns that didn’t really fit well with the pale greyish decor of the living room, but at least Hessia and her other insectoid seamstress friends had promised to dye it something more suitable once they got what they needed. In the meantime, several of their fellow students were piled on, adding to the mass as more of them woke up with increasing frequency, the cacophony of voices and laughter lulling even the laziest of them to haul ass and wake up.
“So what time are we going?” Sephy asked with a yawn as she chugged down the mug of now lukewarm tea she had been given on stirring from her room.
“We’ll head there in about an hour.” Nika checked the time on her commlink. “Everyone should be up by then, one way or another.”
“Really?” Alora questioned, munching on a homemade cereal bar that looked more like a piece of flapjack. “That might still be somewhat early for some…”
“Nah, they shouldn’t be burning this much daylight!” The Kizun grinned. “If all of us are up after having the first proper rest after we fought our way through the city, they shouldn’t have any excuse! Besides, we’ve got stuff we need to do later, and if we’re all agreed on hearing Tagrilla out, I want to do that and start work on the fabricator. Sooner we get that the better!”
We would still require a lot of power for it, Chiyo warned. Sorting out our utility problem would also be ideal while we have the free time to work on that.
“Yeah, I want my showers back,” Jack agreed as he came back with another pot of tea. “Not to mention we’re running low on bottled water too.”
“Maybe make that the last pot for now,” Alora told him as he poured fresh mugs for everybody. “We need reserves in case the utilities get cut.”
Do we have any homework that needs to be done? Chiyo asked.
“None from this week since we’ve been watching films all the time, I think we’re all caught up,” Nika pointed out, before remembering something. “Actually, it depends on when we next have ‘Industrial Vocation’. Jack and I were working on a drone design. We’ve done most of it but we think it can be improved.”
“Would the fabricator help with that?” Jack asked.
“Maybe.” Nika shrugged. “Its main function would be to create sheets of material from what is given to it. Metal, fabric or glass for example. Working out shapes would be more complicated, and small, finicky bits will need specific blueprints.”
“I can download some basic ones from the DataNet,” Sephy pointed out. “Stuff like wires and connectors are easy enough, I can’t imagine you’ll be expected to do anything too fancy for homework.”
“I know.” Nika nodded. “But Mr Bazil was pretty impressed with it. I was thinking we could improve on the design and use it in the field when scoping out buildings. Jack came up with the eight-legged system based on a creature from his homeworld!”
“That good, huh?” The Skritta asked. “We don’t have the fabricator yet, but I’ll have a search running for drone parts while we’re out anyway. I’m down a few quadcopters anyway, and those are a pain in the ass to properly replace!”
“At least you can just copy the software you use,” Alora pointed out.
“Yeah!” Sephy grinned. “Took me over half a year to get it right but it was worth it! Eyes in the sky is such a game changer, but there’s always something I can do to make them better! Gotta get the right balance, not to mention getting the base chassis in the first place.”
“What kind of improvements did you want to make?” Jack asked out of curiosity, though admittedly he also liked seeing the Skritta so passionate about something she really liked doing.
“Stealthing, shielding, armour and functionality mostly. I don’t like it when my babies get shot down or hijacked! They’re expensive to replace!” Sephy chuckled. “But a fabricator opens up a lot of possibilities.”
Not to mention the improvements that can be made around the house! Chiyo noted.
“And that monstrosity of a shuttle we haven’t dared to move since we landed it!” Nika added. “The engine is the priority, but I’d feel much safer welding a proper hull onto the thing, and from there we can make us a proper transport to get around the city! Yesterday wouldn’t have gone nearly as badly if we had one!”
“So we really need it,” Jack noted. “Or at least it opens things up to being much better here, assuming we get the power to run the thing.”
“So we’re taking the job,” Alora noted with a sad smile. “But we’re not going to rush this right now, they said there’s time. We’re going to be as mentally and physically prepared as we can be.”
“Plus we want to have some fun this weekend,” Nika noted. “Both Vaal and Kritch have gotten back to us, they say they’re all in. They have free time before they’re needed in the evenings to guard their respective territories. They don’t think the current conflicts will hit them, but a show of strength and stability will be needed during the nights.”
“Cool, looks like we’re gonna get some good games going!” Sephy smirked, watching Chiyo’s expression falter at the prospect.”
Perhaps there will be too many people playing… The Ilithii began.
“No Chiyo, you’re not getting out of this!” Nika grinned. “You need the exercise most of all, and Alora’s already said she’s doing it.”
“It’s only fair.” The Eladrie nodded in agreement. “Sorry Chiyo, give it a go!”
Fine. I’ll try, but I won’t promise anything else. Chiyo bowed her head.
“Don’t worry so much!” Sephy playfully shook Chiyo out of her grump. “Sure it can get a little wild at times, but once you start taking a few bumps you get used to it!”
That’s not helping in the slightest, Sephy. Chiyo shook her head as she poured a large amount of sweetener into her mug.
“Oh, stop complaining!”
******
The clouds of the late morning cast long shadows across the abandoned field Nika had led them to, a sea of ragged, untamed grass and wildflowers that rustled against the warm breeze. Despite this, they were able to find a decently flat stretch of land to serve as a pitch next to a long-rusted clump of metal that was once some kind of tractor, like a relic of better times.
“This field has not been tilled in years,” Rayle noted. “It is likely that the farmer who once cultivated this land has departed this realm of existence. I sense many animals that have since made this place their home.”
“Possible abandoned building nearby that might have some loot, you say?” Sephy grinned with wide eyes. “Sounds worthy of a look!”
“Sephy, really?” Alora sighed, making her disapproval shown.
“What? We already have some ‘old-guy shit’ we need to process, might as well add to the pile, right?” The covetous Skritta shrugged.
The distant hum of chatter and laughter grew louder as the rest of the students began to converge onto the field of play. Jack looked at them all, noting the various sizes and shapes of the different people, almost as diverse as their personalities and interests. Though he knew Chiyo was rather reluctant to get involved in the ‘sporty’ side of things, the human noted that while some of their new residents were clearly athletically inclined, others were noticeably less comfortable, though still willing to get involved. Their other friends had joined them, with Vaal and Plooderoo bringing some other Red Legion aspirants along with them, including the newly signed up Zook, who was proudly wearing her red sash for all to see. Likewise, Kritch and a few Lizta from Clan Ashtail had tagged along, with a depressed-looking Crill trailing behind, though to Jack, the Squarri looked much healthier and better than the last time he had seen him.
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“Alright everyone! Let’s get this party started!” Nika yelled out, clambering up the skeleton of the tractor to make sure everybody could see her. Most of them immediately shut up, with a few whispered conversations here and there, which didn’t bother the Kizun. “So, not all of you are great at sports and we’re here to try and have a good time, so no rough play and no being salty!” She gave her best stern stare to nail the point home, though doubted that it would be a problem.
“Anyway, we’re all of mixed ability, so to make things fun we’re going to have two captains who are gonna take turns to pick their players!”
“What game are we playing?” Vaal asked. “You didn’t tell us!”
“That’s right, I didn’t!” Nika grinned. “You’re gonna have to guess! Alora! Chiyo! Step forward, you’re gonna be our captains!”
What? Why? Chiyo asked, having hung around the back of the crowd.
“Because I say so, now get your ass over here and pick, not me though, I’m the referee!” The Kizun smirked as Chiyo did not look particularly amused in the slightest.
“You want to pick first?” Alora offered the Ilithii with an amused smile.
Jack, get over here! Chiyo waved the human over.
“Sephy, you’re up!” Alora then immediately followed.
Eventually, the teams were suitably divided, with Vanya being the last pick to go over to Alora.
“Looks like we’re all done now!” Alora smiled at her team. “Let’s do our best and have fun!”
“We’re not done yet!” Nika grinned with devious intent. “Captains, swap places! Then take your positions at either end of the pitch! Put down a few coats or bags to make the goal!”
What!? Chiyo exclaimed.
“That’s so evil!” Sephy chuckled, as everybody else roared with laughter, while Alora and Chiyo walked over to their ‘real’ teams.
“I am glad we’re still on the same team Nakiri!” Plooderoo gushed to Klikko, the spider-like Kunee purring back. “I am too Ro’cha!”
“BLEEEEEEEGH!” Kritch called out, mocking them by pretending to vomit, which was quickly followed by several of the other lads, including Jack. “BLEEEEEEEGH! YUCK!”
“Yooooou just lack the maturity to be nurturing to a loved one!” the hulking Ploothe called back with a sly grin. “Tell meeee, when are you going to make your moooooove?”
“No!” Kritch yelled back. “We don’t talk about that shit!”
“I think it’s possible to be nurturing and loving without being a total cringelord!” Rayle spoke up.
“Haven’t you two only been dating for, like, a week?” Zayle added nonchalantly.
“Let’s take the far side of the pitch,” Alora called out to her team, as Jack, Karzen and Bentom joined the Eladrie as some of the ‘experts’ Chiyo had tried to recruit early, with Alora being allowed to recruit the Squa’Kaar clutchmates in return. Kritch was on their team as well, but was still occupied by the shenanigans behind them.
“Now we’re away, any idea what sport it’s going to be?” Alora asked. “I know Nika promised to tone it down!”
“No idea, I assumed she’d run some variation of Deathball.” Jack shrugged. “Though I did tell her about a few last night….”
“Okay! Everyone get to your teams!” Nika called out. “The game we’re going to play is one our resident Outsider told me about last night. It’s called…Feetball!”
“Football!” Jack yelled back. “It’s called Football!”
“That’s what I said! It’s called Football!” Nika grinned, smoothly covering her mistake. “It’s like Deathball, but you can only move the ball with your feet or foot-equivalent and you can’t use your hands except for Keepers. Does everyone understand the rules?”
“Wait, that’s it?” Kritch asked.
“Oh, you’re also not allowed to kill or seriously hurt anyone.” Nika shrugged. “Apart from that, I’ll let things slide! I mean come on, we’re just trying to have fun, it’s not competitive or anything! Anyway, you’d better hurry up and get ready, I’m about to throw the first ball in!”
“Who’s going to be Keeper?” Alora asked her team.
“I volunteer,” the morose-sounding Obeda offered, the feathered serpent unsurely twisted above the ground. “Unfortunately I lack the feet to play efficiently, but I have my natural sorcery, wings and a tail.”
“Good enough!” The Eladrie nodded, nervous with anticipation as Nika finished inflating a ball, the Kizun grinning with glee as she saw the anxious looks of the players.
“Are we all ready?” Nika called out, looking for a majority of nods, before continuing. “Alright everyone! 3…2…1…GO!”
Nika gave the ball a solid kick, sending it soaring into the air. Jack dashed forward and jumped up to try and head the ball, but a sudden gust of wind suddenly shifted the ball in Vaal’s direction who had the same idea, heading the ball towards Plooderoo. A slight shimmer told Jack that the wind wasn’t natural, and soon he saw the culprit as Zayle summoned their Earth Spirit and pointed at the human.
“I’m pretty sure that’s against the rules!” Jack snorted as he began to run, only to be tripped up as the plants beneath his feet moved to slow him down, with Rayle giggling at his misfortune.
“Blame Vaal, he put us up to it!” the Squa’Kaar called back.
“Okay then,” Jack muttered to himself. “So much for holding back!”
The field erupted into action as the sea of teenagers began to move, rushing over to the ball, forcing Plooderoo to pass the ball. However, the form of Vaal shimmered, the illusion being replaced by Kritch, the Lizta gladly accepting the pass before rushing forward, with Jack following him and ready to help ride the momentum.
“Turnaround is fair play!” Alora called out to those who were confused, revealing that she cast the light spell to trick them.
“Don’t make me ban the use of magical abilities!” Nika shouted out, trying her best not to laugh, as next to her Dante looked on with amusement, tongue lolling out of his mouth in a wide, doggy grin. “Anyway, one ball is fine but we have a lot of people! Have some more!”
The game flowed quickly and unpredictably, but filled with excitement at every turn. Even Chiyo had to admit that once she got involved it felt quite fun, though she would never admit it. The first goal was scored by Vaal, who was just about able to outrun Jack, aided by Zayle’s air spirit as he masterfully manoeuvred the ball through a crowd of defenders, passing the ball back and forth with Crill and Sephy, before a swift kick sent the ball hurtling past Obeda before they could react. An uproar of cheering erupted from Chiyo’s team, invigorating their spirits as Alora gave her own team words of encouragement.
Soon enough, Jack was able to equalise as the rookies on his team found their footing and were able to pass the ball between themselves until the human slipped through the gap, successfully baiting Klikko into diving to the left, before easily sending the ball to the right with an accurate scoop with the side of his foot.
“What’s that Chiyo?” Jack called out, sticking his tongue out. “Did you think we’d let you win?”
This game isn’t over yet! the Ilithii vowed as she saw the opportunity to go for a ball, and in a manner that was very out of character for her, began using her feet to sprint for the nearest ball, stumbling and panting but eventually passing the ball to Rayle before stopping to catch her breath. A noise of amusement made her turn around to see Jack still staring at her.
No! Chiyo stubbornly told him. You’re not going to trick me into enjoying this!
“Are you sure? It seems like you’re having fun!” Jack grinned, as Zayle’s Earth Spirit scored a goal, making the score 2-1, and causing Jack’s expression to falter slightly. “But you won’t be tricking me into throwing this game! You’re right, this isn’t over yet!”
As morning turned to afternoon, the game continued unabated. The score ebbed and flowed to the point where Jack couldn’t even tell who was winning, but he was happy to see several of the less-confident players on both teams doing their best to sneak goals past the other. It didn’t look like anyone was shirking their role too much, and the human could see that irrespective of their skills, each player tried their best.
Eventually however, the game began to lose its momentum as the players got tired, with Nika eventually calling the match and announcing Chiyo’s team as the winners, though it hardly mattered. Most of the players were exhausted.
“That was a well-fought game!” Alora called out, graceful in defeat. “Though I don’t think I’ll be attempting this in a more professional setting. I don’t envy you Deathball players at all!”
“Yeah, it’s not for everyone, Greenblood.” Vaal shrugged. “But today’s game was still fun and you all gave it a shot, so I can respect that.”
Thanks, Chiyo replied dryly, noting the awkwardness between the Eladra and Eladrie. But I can’t see myself doing this often. This was a one-off.
“I thought it was quite fun.” Rayle shrugged, as both the Squa’Kaar was grinning with a post-match high. “We did better than expected.”
“That you did.” Vaal grinned, the Eladra clearly having something on his mind as several other members of the Deathball team approached. “The both of you played really well, even getting one over on Jack, and as it happens we have two empty slots on our Deathball team we need to fill with reserves...”
“You want us to join your team?” Zayle asked, surprised. “No offence, but have you seen the size of us? We saw some of your game against Luviannestixxx, it looked fun but we’d surely get destroyed!”
“It would depend on how you are utilised.” Karzen shrugged. “Kritch isn’t physically imposing but he’s quick on his feet.”
“Gee, thanks Karzen.” Kritch rolled his eyes at the perceived emasculation.
“Heh!” The armadillo grinned. “But it’s not like we’d have you as a Charger or in the front line. Since anything goes with Deathball, that means you can use your full range of powers to your advantage, working with the team as a Protector or as a Warder.”
“Exactly!” Vaal smiled confidently. “Kritch really thought you’d be a good fit…”
“I did!?” Kritch began to question, before Bentom quickly and quietly covered the Lizta’s mouth with her hand to shut him up.
“...and after this game the rest of us can see why! So, what do you say?”
“One moment please…” Zayle began, before quickly discussing it with Rayle in a series of rapid whispers, which Jack couldn’t make out, but they did send a glance to Kritch’s way at least once..
“Sure!” Rayle answered for them. “Though we’ve never played before!”
“Don’t worry We’ll get some practice in during the week!” The Eladra grinned. “It’s what we did with Jack and we ended up winning! Just train up on your own the best you can - we won’t have another game for a while, but I don’t see Kizzarith and Arlox being back for a while.”
“Wait, Kizzarith was a Charger, wasn’t he?” Jack asked, confused. “Who’s going to take his spot while he recovers?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve thought of that.” Vaal snorted in amusement. “Sephy would be good in that spot, and Zayle can be a Warder, those spirits of theirs can cause a lot of havoc in the centre. I think Rayle would be better as a Protector with their Druidic abilities.”
“Sounds good, though not all of us are familiar with everything they can do,” Nika pointed out. “Guess we better get our practice in…”
“So what are we gonna do now?” Sephy asked the others as they started making their way back home. “We’ve still got time to do stuff and everyone is tired out. We can find out if there’s an abandoned farmhouse to go with the abandoned field and look for some abandoned loot?”
“Another time, perhaps.” Alora shook her head. “Besides, if we’re set on taking on a job to get a fabricator, we should aim to get it done this weekend.”
Tagrilla wants us to take out another slicer, right? Chiyo questioned. Some kind of scammer?
“Yep, they’re based in a set of residential districts out of the way of the current corporate conflicts.” Nika shrugged. “Local council authority with a neighbourhood militia. I want to say milk run, but I also don’t want to jinx it.”
“Yeah I sliced into their local DataNet,” Sephy added. “There’s a bunch of complaints on the local forums around a specific building with shouting and stuff. I’ll bet that’s the place where they’re located, data draw is immense, I don’t know who else it could be.”
“If we know it’s probably there before Tagrilla confirms it then we can pick the best time to attack,” Jack pointed out. “Avoid civilians while making sure the slicer’s occupied, sneak up to the entry points, then quickly breach and go in loud. Shock and awe should completely catch them off guard if they don’t know we’re coming.”
“Smart,” Nika agreed. “Quicker we clear the less time they have to react.”
“In that case, Sephy can let Tagrilla know we’re good for a raid,” Alora told them. “Take it easy for the rest of the day, tonight is game time!”