Candidate (Selected Book 4) (14 page)

Thirty seconds later, Clover asked, "Andromeda, what are you doing?" I laughed and repeated what I'd said.

Neither of them stopped me.

Then I set two of the drones on auto, but ordered them to do a slow circle of the arena, watching everyone. I took one more and moved it into place where one of the men had hidden, then did the same with another one.

"Now what are you doing?"

"Dark Skies," I called out. "Do you understand this event?"

"Of course."

"Do we have time for you to activate those force field things in a reasonable idea of what's going to happen?"

"Clover?"

"Six minutes, then I want the arena ready to receive the combatants."

"The real battle will be longer than that, Andromeda. But sure."

"Do it," I said.

Dark Skies figured out what I was trying to do. As I pointed a camera at a target, she lit it up as if it was hit, and then a new force field appeared. One of my drones was effectively forced towards the center of its playing area. The other drone remained hidden. And soon I found my drone at the mouth of a cage.

"He's supposed to force her into the cage, isn't he?"

"Yes," said the administrator.

"You may reset, Dark Skies. Thank you." Then I went into the menus and activated two more cameras. No one said anything, but I flew them over and parked them above the cage, flanking it. I grabbed four more. I put two outside the cage, high, facing backwards so we could watch if the mating candidate was tossed in. Then I put the last two actually inside the cage near the back so they could watch from inside.

"We've never done that," said the administrator quietly. "In fact, I don't recall ever using this many cameras in this arena except during the group events."

"Am I hurting anything to use them?"

"No. Feel free."

"What happens with all this video?"

"It's all available real time to whomever wants to watch."

"So there are a lot more videos I could have picked of Apple's event?"

"No. We stream all your cameras live, but I'll have a job shortly. It will be my job to select which images to put into the main feed, the one we actually record."

"Am I making extra work for you?"

"No. This is good. You'll be able to see which ones I am using. If you decided to do something drastic with one I'm using, warn me."

"Right."

"Are you good?"

"I'm good."

"I'll be right here," she said. And then she moved away to the workstation beside mine.

* * * *

The alien arrived first. I recognized him as an Ardent, and I wondered if this was Jessica Maple's squad mate, the one she was cheering on. I checked the other cameras, and sure enough, there was a group of Ardents in the crowd, including Jessica. I set a camera pointing at her for a moment, then put it back on auto.

It was another minute before two guards led the mating candidate onto the field. She, like Emma this morning, was wearing a skintight suit, although hers covered her head, much like a hoodie, and even covered her neck all the way to her chin. The guards led her to a stone pillar in front of the cage. The pillar swallowed her hands, and then the guards removed the restraints.

Clover began to speak, and it came in both directly and from the drones. She explained the rules then told the human she was free. I zoomed a camera in on her hands as they were released, and then zoomed out. She looked around then ran to one of the obstacles, picking up the waiting gun. She pointed it to the sky and ducked down behind the obstacle, looking out towards her opponent.

I ducked a camera in behind her, trying to get her view. I couldn't find her opponent. I left the camera there but ducked another one behind him. He couldn't see her, either.

"Get those out of there, Andromeda," Clover said. "Event beginning in fifteen seconds, and they'll interfere."

"Right. Sorry." I zoomed them both back up above the height of the arena wall and put them back in auto pilot, each watching one of the contestants.

"That was good," said the administrator. "If you do anything else like that, tell me so I can catch it sooner."

"I don't want to piss Clover off."

The event began. Both contestants began firing their guns. They made sounds when fired, and I could even see the light."

"Why can I see that?"

"You can't. The computers are adding it just like we're doing to their visors."

"Oh. Clever."

Force fields activated. Some deactivated. Then they reactivated again. I didn't completely understand. But the woman was forced further and further towards the center. I could see her growing desperate, firing faster and faster but hitting less and less often.

I used one of the cameras to see where the Ardent was. Then I looked at the targets.

"Clover," I said. "Trust me."

She didn't respond.

"Administrator, camera A-13-B." Then I zoomed it away from shots of the group of Ardents, dropped it down into the arena, well clear of the action, and zoomed it along about two feet from the ground. I zipped it around the back, through the cage, and then past the contestant before spinning it around facing the human.

She was crying.

"Zoom in," said the administrator. "It can follow her face."

"Got it," I said. I clicked the proper controls then used another camera to track what I was doing with the first one.

She was pushed directly in front of the cage, and then a force field popped up in front of her. I barely got my camera out of the way before it began moving forward, a few inches at a time. She kept firing, and a glance at the other screens showed her hitting targets, firing through the force field. But then in a series of quick movements, the barrier moved forward, bumping into the human as she set up a last stand in the mouth of the cage. She flew back into the cage and then was suspended in mid-air.

I moved several of my cameras to watch her from different directions and sent two more down to track the alien.

He stood up and all the force fields turned off. The alien walked across the arena, his gun held high in the air, and when I looked, I saw the other Ardents cheering for him.

He walked to the mouth of the cage, and I moved two cameras into place.

"Will you take my hand?" he asked, his words gentle.

I let one camera track his hand. Two more watched his face and two watched hers.

She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks, but then she nodded, and I caught the image as she set her hand in his.

* * * *

"Well done," said Administrator Brighteyes. She'd led me to the cafeteria, and I had a glass of lemonade. She had declined anything for herself. "We've never caught images quite like those before."

"I did all right?"

"You did quite well. Not bad for a beginner." She reached forward and clasped my hand. "Questions?"

"Was that their final challenge?"

"Yes."

I looked down. "She was crying."

"She was." The Catseye leaned forward and lifted my face by the chin. "Her life isn't over, Andromeda. She will go home with him."

"To New York."

"Yes, at least for now. And he will help her fall in love with him."

"Will he, um. Cheat?"

"No. His is not a species that produces such powerful pheromones. But in spite of her tears today, she likes him, and he is very kind to her."

I nodded. "While it was happening, I was so absorbed in my job. But now I feel bad for her."

"Perhaps you should be happy for her. She has a new relationship. This is an exciting time for her. And while this isn't the life she would have picked, it can be a very good life."

"But what has she given up?"

"A job she didn't like. She won't see her friends for a while."

"Only a while?"

"She is from Idaho. New York isn't exactly next door, but it's far closer than Saturn's orbit."

"A country girl, and he's taking her to the big city. She'll be swallowed."

The Catseye shook her head. "No. For now, her life will be very controlled. He will keep her safe, Andromeda."

"The open sky," I said.

"Changes. Change can be hard, but it can be good. It is different."

"I'm from a major metropolitan area, but New York would overwhelm me. It's always so loud."

"You've been?"

"A few times. You can be on the 37th floor of a hotel and still hear the traffic. I'd hate that."

"Andromeda, she's going to be fine. He is a good man. All the Ardents are good, and he is one of the best."

"Except for the belief he has the right to force her against her will. That makes him evil in my eyes, Catseye, and you know it."

"And if she grows to love him?"

"Irrelevant. So she grows to love the man who is enslaving her to his will? When does he rape her?"

She huffed. "Never. I've told you that."

"So he just takes her choices away and makes her utterly dependent upon him for anything so every small gesture makes him seem kind and caring? Is that the plan?" I sighed and turned away. "I suppose there's nothing I can do about it."

"She's going to fall in love."

I thought about it. "It's wrong. You know that, right? Frankly, I hope she breaks his heart."

She didn't respond to that. "I need to check on some things. I want you to use your visor to review the next event. I'll see you back at the control room in fifteen minutes or so."

"Yes, Administrator."

She rose to her feet but then paused. "You may call me Jasmine if you like." She clasped my arm once more then left me to my lemonade. I drank for a moment and then accessed the visor.

* * * *

When I arrived back in the control room, it was Jasmine in the center chair. Dark Skies was at the same console as earlier. Sal was seated where Jasmine had been earlier, and Clover was nowhere in sight.

"Andromeda," said Jasmine as soon as I appeared. "Can you handle cameras alone?"

"Yes," I said.

"Next to Sal." She pointed, and I returned to the same computer console as earlier.

Sal leaned over. "Need help?"

"I think I have it." I clicked around, woke the cameras, and soon had them positioned. "Jasmine, did you want anything special?"

"This is a less complicated event from the last one, but it can move quickly. Don't let a camera interfere. Otherwise use your judgment, Andromeda."

"Got it."

I put the cameras to the same tasks as earlier then used one to tour the arena. This was to be basic combat. The human could win either by escaping from the arena or forcing the alien to submit. The alien would win by disabling the human. Each would be provided one weapon, and I saw at opposite sides of the arena a simple stand with a sort of futuristic staff cradled in it.

"The human doesn't stand a chance, does she?" I asked Sal.

"Oh, I don't know. Did you look at her bio?"

"No. I ran out of time."

"You should take a look."

I accessed my visor and was surprised. The alien was female, a member of a species called Greenbears. I looked quickly at her first, wondering where the name came from, and it was clearly obvious. She had six limbs, and most of her body was at least as furry as the Wookies. But she had a face that was nearly human and seemed small for her size, almost elfen. Her fur wasn't green, but her face was.

"She's beautiful," I said.

"The Greenbear?" asked Sal. "Yeah."

Using my visor, I switched to the human. She was a woman named Dana Chow from San Francisco. I read quickly.

Dana was a martial arts instructor and competed in mixed martial arts.

"Oh shit," I said.

Sal laughed. "Their challenges have been good. This is their fourth. They'll have one more."

I used one of the cameras to examine the weapon stand. When Sal saw me doing that, she said, "I missed that. Can you do it again?"

"Sure." I lifted the camera into the air, did a circle of the crowd, then spiraled down, zooming across the stands until I came to a stop in front of the weapon stand. Then I moved from side to side slowly, examining the entire weapon.

"What is it?"

"We just call them power staffs," Sal said.

"It looks like it would hurt to get hit."

"Not like you think. It's padded, and the human will wear protective gear. But it's powered. A strike actually goes to your nervous system."

"Like an electric current?"

"Yeah. If either of them falls behind in her defense, the other is almost assured to win."

Then I saw there was rope hanging from the stand as well. I examined that. "What's this for?"

"What do you think?"