Carpathia IV: Episode 130 - Entertainment
Space, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Blue did not want for things to do while he was on the ship, at least, when he wasn't sleeping, snuggled up in his blanket. A steady stream of well-wishers, a continuation of the line-ups on Draconis, kept him engaged much of the time. Despite his infirmity, he did not appear to grow weary of this. To help things go more smoothly, Joust implemented an appointment system to better manage the flow and so that nobody would end up standing in line while they were supposed to be on duty.
After dinner every night, or sometimes during dinner if the situation called for it, the entertainment began, and the Shadowdancer, especially the atrium, resembled something more like a liner than a science vessel. All non-essential work halted and even the essential systems made do with operational minimum staff. In the atrium, there were not enough chairs for all crew who wanted to attend, so organizers spread mats around.
Though Kuro indicated that she and Blue were interested in just about any performance Amenaru offered, she did have one requirement, that all events must be lively, lest Blue fall asleep. The first evening was a concert of human music, all of which featured up-tempo songs of various genres and time periods. Blue, for his part, did not fall asleep. Mission accomplished.
In the interest of variety, the next night was a dramatic change of pace and came at the request of Dr. Teagan: a roller derby tournament. For this, a certain degree of authenticity was paramount, not just for the tournament itself, but for the audience. Amenaru left the organization of the tournament to those in the know and focused on readying concessions for the crew. Hot dogs, burgers, fries, and nachos with all the accompanying condiments and toppings. Blue, as it turned out, had never eaten a hot dog before and blissfully hoovered down several dozen of them.
While the crew settled in for the upcoming spectacle, Sorchae emerged into the atrium with Reylen in tow, carrying her gear. She already wore her arm and leg protection, along with a helmet with a large, white star magnet affixed to the side. Reylen carried her spares.
Sorchae: Good evening, Captain, Kuro, Blue. Ready for the show to start?
Aire paused, still with a mouthful of hot dog, but smiled at the same time to hint his forthcoming reply.
Aire: Looking forward to it, Doctor! As you can see, Blue is already enjoying the hot dogs.
Blue, demonstrating significantly less decorum than Aire, had at least a dozen hot dogs sticking out of various places of his mouth, each impaled on a jagged tooth and they wiggled as spoke.
Blue: Marvellous! Absolutely marvellous! I hope Ramewet has some of these!
Sorchae: I'll be sure to have a bucket of antacid tonight.
Aire: Reylen, first time seeing roller derby?
Reylen: I didn't even know it existed until a few days ago. This will be fun to watch!
Aire: Glad you're looking forward to it. Doctor, who is leading the opposing team today?
It was at that time that Admiral Zhang strode in, also wearing a helmet and knee and elbow pads, but also with a special brace on her leg.
Admiral Zhang: What ho, Captain! Who will you be rooting for tonight? Choose wisely!
Aire did not even hear the question, too dumbfounded that she was Sorchae's opponent.
Aire: Admiral? I... You... Admiral!
Admiral Zhang: Don't you mind me, Captain. I may be a little rusty and I may have a gammy leg, but I promise I'll be more than enough competition. Isn't that right, Sorchae?
Sorchae: I'm counting on it, but we're still going to run circles around you.
Admiral Zhang and Doctor Teagan gave each other a fist bump and walked away, leaving a gaping-mouthed Aire and grinning Kuro. Blue did his part by continuing to munch on hot dogs.
Aire: Sneaky Admiral. I thought she was just late.
Keeping her grin, Kuro gave Aire a hearty slap on the back.
Kuro: Don't feel bad. I don't think she'd go through all the trouble of surprising you if she didn't like you. Your reaction was a lot of fun!
Blue: More relish, please!
The first roller derby jam took off and it was a hot mess right away. At least, that's what anyone who had never seen roller derby before would have thought. Nobody on the track seemed to be fussed about what was going on as the blockers pushed and shoved each other, sending some tumbling onto the rink. Glorious chaos, and even the laypersons found much entertainment. After the first couple of jams, the entire audience Admiral Zhang's physical weakness did not prevent her from being a formidable opponent. Nevertheless, Sorchae's team edged hers only by a small margin and only because one of the Admiral's own blockers happened to fall right in front of her, sending her crashing to the rink
When it was over, it was, of course, time for Tamati to swoop in and tend to the casualties.
Tamati: Just a few scratches, Doctor. You came through pretty well this time.
Sorchae: I got lucky. You'll look at Teri next? That was a pretty big tumble.
Tamati: I'll go to her in a minute. Darius is doing a body scan right now to make sure she didn't sprain anything. I'll examine the readings when he's finished.
Sorchae: I'll leave her in your capable hands.
Theirs weren't the only teams on the rink that night. Admiral Zhang and Sorchae were simply the ones to go first. While the next teams skated, Tamati and Darius tended to minor injuries while Sorchae became a spectator.
More days, more entertainment, except now, Blue asked if there would be more hot dogs before the start of every event. Unfortunately, Blue's size and appetite meant that the galley was quite near to running out of hot dogs. Rationing commenced and nobody was happy about this. Still, it was a minor inconvenience, more a chance to give people something to complain about, because there was little else that warranted complaints. Each day was a new show and something fun to watch.
The day of the fighting tournament wasn't really a tournament at all, but rather a series of one-on-ones between volunteers. Mikado's fight was the only secret with neither he nor his opponent knowing who the other would be. Theirs would be the last fight of the evening. Backstage, with Darius, Mikado struggled with both excitement and nerves at the same time. Darius stood behind him, attempting to massage the tension from Mikado's shoulders.
Mikado: I wonder who it's gonna be.
Darius: Don't worry about it until you get out there. Just remember the strengths and weaknesses of the each species that you studied.
Mikado: Right. Tokki kick. Nekomi are very agile. Watch out for komodo tails. Demons are stronger than they look. Elves have heightened senses. Humans are very steady...
From outside, they heard Amenaru announcing the final match.
Amenaru: Finally, it's our mystery fight! First, our new tokki cadet, Mikado Skeyes!
Applause permeated the little room and Mikado stood.
Mikado: Here I go, then.
Darius: Good luck!
Mikado gave a turn and a nod before he emerged into the fighting ring. Around him, the crew cheered and applauded while Mikado steeled himself for the announcement of his opponent. Amenaru stuck his finger in the flap of a sealed envelope, ripping open the top. Then he took out the slip of paper and made his announcement.
Amenaru: And our next fighter, another new face with our crew, Lieutenant Trex Fisk!
Mikado prepared for many things, but not this. New not only to the crew, but to Carpathian culture, he wondered if it would be okay to hit someone like this, of such high rank and a bridge officer to boot. Trex stepped out of her waiting room and waved to the crowd before turning a laser-like focus onto Mikado.
Trex: Well, isn't this a surprise! I've never sparred with a tokki before and I presume the same is true for you? That you have never sparred with a komodo?
Mikado: I haven't, but... is this okay? I mean, you're a bridge officer!
Trex grinned and waved her hand back and forth.
Trex: Oh, pish posh! Don't you worry about that. This is all in good fun!
Trex leaned back, balancing on her tail while she held one foot in the air.
Trex: See? If this were real, I wouldn't have these safety corks on my claws. Without them, I would certainly tear you to bits!
Mikado took a close look at Trex's claws and, indeed, as she said, each had a little rubber stopper stuck on the end.
This was reassuring, but not quite the reassurance he was looking for. Nevertheless, there she was. The Captain must have approved, since he was one of the few who knew. Mikado flexed his fingers before balling up his fists and spreading his feet out in a wide stance. Trex adopted her own stance, still leaning on her tail as though it were a third foot.
Amenaru: Fight!
Mikado inched forward, sizing up his opponent. Trex paused as well, but only for a moment before dashing toward him with a little extra push off with her tail. Mikado dodged and leaped over Trex's tail as it swung beside him. With Mikado off-balance, she followed up with a punch, which he hastily blocked. With a little jump back, Mikado put some distance between himself and Trex. She was definitely faster than most of the komodo fighters he'd studied on video before the match. Almost equal to the elvish and human fighters he also studied.
This cat and mouse, or rather bunny and dinosaur, game continued for three rounds, with each trading the roles of aggressor and exchanging several blows. No knockouts, but still plenty of opportunities for the crowd to both gasp and cheer. When the fight ended and the last drops of blood dripped away, the judges tallied the points and the Trex got her victory by a single point. After a celebratory fist pump, Trex turned to Mikado and grabbed his hand with both of hers, shaking vigorously.
Trex: Good fight! I had to work really hard for that. You might consider a career in security.
Mikado tiled his head while his eyes darted all around.
Mikado: Well...
Trex: Ah, no worries, no worries. You're still young and you have plenty of time to decide what you want! Let me know any time you want a rematch. I would enjoy it.
Mikado smiled and nodded.
Mikado: I would too.
As Mikado walked away from the ring, he caught sight of Tuomas out of the side of his eye, waving him over. With a smile and a hop, Mikado trotted to Tuomas.
Tuomas: I thought you might like to see this.
Tuomas turned his sketchbook around to reveal a drawing of his fight with Trex.
Mikado's ears pitched forward and his tail became pert for a moment, before wiggling excitedly.
Mikado: Oh, you were drawing!
Tuomas: It's been awhile since I've drawn a tokki. I hope I got it right.
Mikado: I think you got it just right. I love it!
Tuomas smiled as he looked over the sketch again.
Tuomas: It'll take me a few days to finish it up with lines and colors. I can let you know when it's finished if you want to see it.
Mikado's tail wiggled again as he answered with no hesitation.
Mikado: Definitely! Your place or mine? Mine is a bit small.
Tuomas: I'll let you know when it's done and you can come over.
Mikado: Looking forward to it.
Mikado had a thought of sitting with Tuomas, but Darius came to interrupt.
Darius: Ah, there you are... Hi Tuomas...
Darius gave Tuomas a quick wave and received one in return.
Darius: Dr. Teagan wants to give you a quick scan to make sure you didn't get any hairline fractures or muscle damage.
Darius was already tugging at Mikado before he finished his sentence. Stumbling along, Mikado turned to give a wave goodbye at Tuomas.
Mikado: Later, then!
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
