The next day Honey is standing in front of a map kiosk in the Summit Community Hotel’s lobby. She has Thor-Ton strapped to her back, and a small pack clipped to her hip with the letter of recommendation inside, and she is getting information for the gym. The gym is called “Summit City Gym”, and Rocky was right. It was just down the street a few blocks away. And now that she has the gym location, she looks up the location for the Academy of Irregular Defense Recruitment Office and sees that it is a bit further away and located at a plaza near a large park. And it closes at 8pm. Plenty of time if nothing goes wrong!
Honey prints the map with the routes to both locations highlighted, and she makes her way outside. The morning sunlight burns her eyes, and the air is thick from post-rain humidity. It feels like she is walking through water as she travels to her destination. And since Eqos gravity and atmosphere is different from Lillian’s, her body and her enhancements are putting extra exertion.
But the upside is that now that there is no rain, she can visually enjoy the scenery at the expense of her lungs being filled with watery air. There are decorative lamps that appear to be DNA strands with large light bulbs in the three crevices, smooth sidewalks, and Late Baroque styled buildings, ranging from plaza strips with multiple shops cramped inside to towering structures built into the mountainside, and statues of various sizes depicting people in differing poses or actions. The statues range from scientists working on experiments, to explorers traveling, and soldiers and workers standing proud or using their tools. Honey has never seen anything close to this sort of beauty on Lillian, and she wishes she could enjoy the scenery, but alas, now is not the time to enjoy pleasant things.
The walk to the Summit City Gym is quick, and despite the density of Summit City, there is a comfortable amount of space between pedestrians, thus making the travel easier. When she reaches the gym, she is expecting something remarkable. Like a coliseum, or something towering to exert its dominance. Instead, what she sees is something that looks like a ball made of bricks being born from the mountain. It hangs over the edge, and the backend is secured by pillars that penetrate the mountainside. The entrance is a line of glass doors, and a simple sign saying Summit City Gym sits out on its small lawn.
Honey’s lips twitch and she goes inside. The doors automatically open, and she is greeted with cool air, the scent of industrial soap and disinfectant, and an eight-foot-tall man with biceps the size of a head and a shirt that looks like it’s about to tear from mere flexing. His name tag says “Steve”.
Honey swallows as she approaches Steve, and he watches her intently with beautiful hazel eyes and a face that is perfectly portioned on a blocky head and kingly jaw. His hair dark blows magnificently from the cool air from the vents, and when Honey is at the counter, she coolly leans against it and puts on her best sensual smile while running her finger on the countertop.
“Hey… I’m new in town, and I was supposed to meet a couple of people here for a duel. I’m sure you’ve seen them around. One is a creepy ballerina and the other is a… guy…who might be an overcooked marine crustacean with hair that looks like mud. Seen anybody like that around?”
Honey finishes with a sweet smile, and the big stares at her for a few more seconds.
“Are you Honey Thornton?” asks Steve in a deep, rough voice.
“I am,” says Honey proudly.
She pulls out her ID and slides it to him, and Steve studies the ID for a moment before returning it to Honey.
“Yeah, the creepy ballerina said to keep an eye out for a blonde bimbo with your description,” says Steve. “Your crustacean didn’t speak much, though.”
Honey sneers. “Bimbo?”
Steve nods, and Honey pulls away from the counter and rubs her face.
“Bimbo…” repeats Honey.
“They’re waiting for you in Dueling Chamber 3,” says Steve. He is now typing on his computer.
“How much?”
Steve prints out a guest badge and clips it to a lanyard.
“It’s free,” says Steve. He gives Honey the badge “Here. Wear this and return it to me or whoever is operating this desk when you’re done.”
Honey slips the badge over her neck. “Is this place really free, or is there some hidden fee?”
“It's fully free, unless you use our vending machines due to it being state funded. By the way, Dueling Chamber 3 is on the right.”
“Thanks.”
“Yep. Good luck with your duel. Those two weirdos rubbed me the wrong way.”
Honey smirks. “Don’t worry. I’ll make Rocky suffer for you.”
Steve smirks, and Honey waves farewell to him as she heads to her location, and he waves back before resuming his work on his computer. Honey enters a brightly lit hallway with thin carpet and camera orbs spaced evenly around. She continues walking until she sees a map on the wall. It is of the building’s layout, and after taking a short time to study it, she is able to figure out where Dueling Chamber 3 is.
When she gets to the Dueling Chamber in a quick amount of time, she is greeted by cool air, bright lights, and two egg shaped pods with various tubes and wires connected to a computer tower in between them. The pods are also connected to a system of monitors that are currently depicting a screen saver of colorful pipes snaking around the screen at random paths. When the screen is full, the pipes dissolve and the random paths begin again. The pods have blue paint with “Arx Corporation Simulation Pod m.v. 3382951” printed on their sides in white letters and numbers. The room also has two dressing room on opposite sides.
Then there’s the two people Honey has quickly grown to hate, Rocky and Emma (they are also wearing guest badges). They are waiting by a dressing room, talking casually among themselves. Nearby is a technician doing inspections on the pods, and a young man in blue scrubs reading some paperwork. He sees Honey, and she approaches him while giving an unkind glare to Rocky and Emma. Rocky returns the expression, but Emma smiles thinly and waves with wiggly fingers. When Honey gets to the nurse, she offers him a friendly smile.
“Hi there. The name’s Honey Thornton. I’m here to duel that jack wagon over there,” says Honey, jabbing a thumb toward Rocky.
The nurse, whose name tag says “Frank”, looks at her, and she holds up the guest badge Steve gave her. He nods and turns on a communicator strapped to his wrist.
“Dr. Neda Oorschot, everyone is here,” says Frank.
“I’ll be over in a few minutes,” says a female voice over the speaker.
“Copy that.” Frank lowers his communicator and looks at Honey and Rocky. “The doctor will be here shortly.”
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Rocky nods, and Emma stands behind him and rubs his shoulders.
“Today is the day you show the Thorntons how strong the Rochefort family is," she says into his ear while smiling thinly at Honey. "Make her regret challenging you to a duel."
"I will," says Rocky.
"I'm going to make this quick for us," says Honey. “We need to get to the recruitment office before it closes.”
“It doesn’t close until eight,” says Rocky.
“So?” snaps Honey, her hand brushing against the pouch on her belt for a brief moment.
“Oh, are you worried?” says Emma.
Emma giggles and skips next to Honey, and she leans forward, inspecting her intently. Her eyes go up and down and side to side, then zig and zag all over Honey’s body, which really gets Honey nervous.
“Maybe you should forget about the duel and just go to the recruitment office. After all, this duel could end badly for you. Or worse, make you late,” asks Emma.
“I'm doing this duel, and you acting like a creep is not going to stop me,” says Honey.
“Well, the thing is…” Emma glides around Honey, brushing her arm and hip, which leads to Honey slapping her hand away. “The thing is that Rocky is just better than you, as am I. You have your enhancements, and that big cannon, but you haven’t lived through what we’ve lived through.”
Emma circles around Honey, tracing her shoulder and Thor-Ton with the tip of her finger, and speaks into Honey’s ear.
“You’re pampered. We’re not,” says Emma.
The hot air from Emma’s mouth makes Honey shiver uncomfortably, and she turns her head to glare at the demented ballerina, but as she moves her head, Emma slides again, forcing Honey to go in a circle.
“We have experience, you don’t,” continues Emma.
Emma continues guiding Honey in another circular path, and by the time they are done moving, Emma is standing in front of Honey, smirking with her hands clamped behind her back, and her body rocking back and forth on her feet.
“You will lose, and embarrass yourself, because unlike you, we lived in the real world with real struggles. All you have are silver spoons and daddy's money,” says Emma.
Honey frowns and leans towards Emma, throat tight, heart racing and eyes struggling to keep the mist out.
“If you want an actual physical fight, just say so. I’ll have no problem breaking your nose,” says Honey.
“Sounds like fun,” says Emma with a grin.
Rocky steps forward and puts himself between the two females, and nudges Emma back while keeping one hand raised towards Honey.
“That’s enough,” says Rocky sternly. “If there is any physical confrontation then that would jeopardize your chances of admission to the Academy. You know that. So, go back to the hotel and wait for me there.”
“But I want to see the simulation results,” pouts Emma.
“Go back,” orders Rocky in a heavier voice.
Emma sighs and with a roll of her eyes, she strolls away without a word. Frank, the technician, Honey, and Rocky watch her leave, and after she is out of sight, Frank and the technician go back to work, and Honey and Rocky look at each other. The silence between them is heavy, and their lips remain sealed. Neither of them attempts to speak, and when the door opens again, they see a tanned skin female twice their age walking in, wearing her dark hair in a bun, a white lab coat over her blue blouse and jeans, and carrying a tablet. Behind her is a cart with sensor orbs around it and digital bands surrounding it. The cart has a case perched on it.
“Good afternoon. I hope you got your problems sorted out, because I would like to get this dueling data taken care of,” says the doctor.
“We did,” says Rocky.
“For now,” says Honey.
Rocky stares at Honey, and she ignores him.
“Am I going to have to call security to throw you two out?” says the doctor.
“No,” says Honey and Rocky in unison.
“Good. I am Dr. Neda Oorschot. I’ll be overseeing this duel. Please read and sign the waiver affirming that we are not responsible for brain damage or mental trauma caused by the dueling parties,” says the doctor.
She gives the tablet to them, and Rocky signs it right off the bat and gives it to Honey. She carefully reads through it. There is a lot of legal jargon that absolves the gym from physical and mental injury from the duel and affirms that both parties want said duel. Honey rereads it, and reluctantly signs it, and returns it to Dr. Neda. The doctor signs it, and then submits it and smiles at the pair.
“Excellent! Before we put in the machines, we’re going to have to do some tests on your equipment and physical capabilities, and vitals, and so on. Once this information is stored, you won’t have to go through it again, unless something changes,” says Dr. Neda Oorschot.
“And how long will this analyzing thing take?” asks Honey.
Dr. Neda Oorschot opens the case on top of the cart and pulls out packets full of colorful sicky sensors. “Oh, not long at all. Just a few minutes.”
Three Hours Later…
Honey is laying on her back, on a bench in a waiting room, staring at the ceiling and sore all over from the various exercises she had to do, as well as using Thor-Ton in a firing range to test all of its levels and modes with a wide variety of targets. Every moment had been carefully monitored and recorded, and now the data is being analyzed. The same had been done for Rocky, too. Only, Honey didn’t see his weapon or his physical capabilities, so she has no idea what to expect. However, she knows her enhancements with give her an advantage.
And since the pair are waiting for their information to be processed, they have been cooped up in the waiting room with nothing but benches and a TV broadcasting a news channel with half the screen taken up by inaccurate or delayed closed captions. For safety reasons, their weapons have been stored in lockers only accessible by security.
Now Honey’s eyes are glazed over from boredom, and Rocky is bouncing a ball off a wall. It would not be so bad if it wasn’t done next to Honey’s head. She can see the blur of the ball at the edge of her vision, and it is taking a lot of willpower to not follow it.
Bop. Bop. Catch.
Floor. Wall. Catch.
Bop. Bop. Catch.
Floor. Wall. Catch.
Bop. Bop. Catch.
Floor. Wall. Catch.
That willpower quickly breaks, and Honey’s blue eyes snap to the ball, watching the trajectory and analyzing its speed.
Bop. Bop. Catch.
Floor. Wall. Catch.
Bop. Bop. Catch.
Floor. Wall. Catch.
Floor. CATCH!
Honey snatches the ball from the air, and she slowly turns to Rocky, who doesn’t seem to be harboring any negative feelings about this. He actually looks as bored as Honey. They stare at each other for a few seconds before he holds out his hand.
“Give me my ball,” says Rocky.
Honey throws the ball down the waiting room, and Rocky watches it ricochets off the floor and walls before making multiple weaker bounces, eventually dribbling, and then rolling to a stop by another bench. He stares at the ball for a moment before frowning at Honey.
“Bitch,” says Rocky.
Honey looks at the ceiling again and flips him off. Then the door opens and Honey and Rocky look to see who entered. It was Dr. Neda.
Honey and Rocky adjust their postures to something more formal, and the doctor approaches them with a smile.
“We are ready to go. The data has been analyzed and plugged into our systems, so all we need to do now is hook you two up to the machine. Follow me, please,” says Dr. Neda.
Honey and Rocky follow Dr. Neda to the Dueling Chamber, and when they enter Frank gives them a pair of blue jumpsuits with red lines that form a generic skeleton. They go to separate changing rooms to put on the jumpsuits, and once they are out, the pods are opened and Honey and Rocky climb in.
The seat is plush and comfy with a good support for Honey’s head, and Frank straps Honey’s limbs and head in place and moves a network of sensors that look like a ribcage over her body. The sensors activate, emitting warm colors, and the technician gives a thumbs up.
“Her sensors and vitals are good,” says the technician.
Frank moves on to Rocky and repeats the process, and after the technician confirms his signatures are good, Frank closes Rocky’s pod, and then goes to Honey.
Honey watches the pod’s lid descending on her. Her heartrate hikes and her fingers grip the plush fabric. When the pod closes, all she has are the warm colors of the sensors. Then a screen flashes above Honey’s eyes and a series of loading bars with labels she can’t understand zip across the length of the screen. Once the bars are finished, there is white light and Honey lifts her hand to shield her eyes, just to find that she is back to wearing her clothes and is standing outside in an arena with trees and grass, and above her are fluffy white clouds on a blue sky.
Honey lowers her hand and inspects it, seeing that she is wearing her fingerless glove. Then she inspects her other hand, sees the same thing, and looks down at her feet and finds that she’s wearing her boots and skirt. Even the shirt and corset are the same, and Honey feels behind her and smiles when she finds Thor-Ton on her back. She pulls it off her back and smiles as she looks around.
“Wow… They really improved the graphics,” says Honey.
Then she looks ahead to the simulated forest and turns on Thor-Ton. It hums to life with its barrel glowing blue, and Honey walks forward.
It was time to kick Rocky’s ass.