Galactic High

Jack slowly woke up a few hours later with a slight groan, still feeling tired and stiff all over as he heard the presenter on the video continue to warble on about yet more geological features. To his relief it didn’t seem like anything was happening, and that his fellow students were still in their seats. He had been worried about Mr Sparrel catching him asleep in class, but the avian either hadn’t seen or wasn’t concerned with it.

Speaking of the video though, why was it sideways?

He stirred as he felt slender fingers move through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. In a move quite uncharacteristic of the human, he ignored his paranoia and just stayed there, allowing himself to relax and accept the sensation, allowing his guard to drop.

‘Holy shiiiiit!’ He thought to himself as he realised where he was, his eyes widening…

“Sleep well?” Alora smiled as she whispered to him, her face looking down with her arm gently holding Jack’s head in place on her lap.

“I’m still pretty tired.” Jack yawned with a smile of his own. “But I really needed that! At least I won’t be dropping dead off my feet until we get back home.”

Alora’s smile warmed slightly more, though Jack didn’t understand why at first. “You might have said it before, but you just called home, ‘Home’. I don’t think I remember you saying that before, at least subconsciously.”

Jack thought about that for a moment. For so long he considered ‘home’ to be with his family on Earth, and he hadn’t easily adjusted to the fact that he wouldn’t be living there anymore. When had ‘home’ in his mind switched places? Was it even a switch?

The phrase ‘Home is where the heart is’ resonated around in his mind, and Jack took a moment to ponder its meaning. He felt happy living in their district, and had looked forward to returning the last few days. In the few weeks he had lived there, he had made some fond memories and happy moments.

But his friends were what made it a true home. They could never replace the family he had lost, but Jack knew that his grief grew ever lighter the more time he spent with them.

He knew where his heart was, but chuckled in his mind that it was being tugged on by many hands…

“Yeah,” Jack admitted to Alora, sounding content, before he realised something. “You do know I haven’t had a shower yet - there wasn’t any water this morning! How have you coped with the smell?!”

Alora giggled. “We’re all just as bad! Chiyo used her cane to cast a few life-bubbles over us. I don’t think anybody here would forgive us if she didn’t! Though it isn’t exactly the first time we’ve been out all night on a job or even a Run, we don’t usually do anything major on a school night, and even when we do we can usually get a shower before we come here. Last night went so much worse than we could have predicted, but trust me when I say that it’s usually a lot better. Unfortunately a combination of really bad luck and an enemy that really got us bad, but at least Chiyo says she’ll be able to warn us if it happens again with whatever the gooey stuff we got from the apartment was…”

“I bet Sephy made a few jokes about that!” Jack grinned, though changed the subject on seeing Alora’s disapproval at the implied crudeness. “Question though - why did you even start doing this? These ‘Runs’, dangerous jobs, that kind of thing?”

Alora sighed sympathetically. “Honestly? The life of a Shadowrunner is the best way for us to survive and be financially secure on the Ring while staying free, and taking a part-time job like Karzen and Bentom have won't be enough. Since we don’t have any adults or guardians around to support us for various reasons, we need to make our own way in the best way we can.”

“But last night proved just how dangerous it can be,” Jack warned. “There’s got to be a better way to survive than this.”

“We’ve come up with some ideas to save costs and make some money on the side,” Alora pointed out, reminding Jack of some of the things they had gotten up to earlier that week. “But sadly, even though we can buy rare crops that can survive and be reseeded, and make certain improvements with just money, other ideas require resources which we simply cannot buy or find easily in our part of the Ring.”

“But you agree that there’s a path to no longer having to put all of us in danger?” Jack asked, seriously.

Alora nodded, which Jack felt more than saw as his head bobbed up and down on the Eladrie’s lap. “I think you have a misconception about it all Jack. Though we all have our reasons for working the shadows, finding a way to make us financially independent was our plan right from the get-go, though I would argue that just living on the Ring puts us in constant danger. Don’t forget that before we offered sanctuary to our classmates we were very secure from the Runs we did, and that’s usually the case for us. One Run every few months more than allows us to live in much comfort without having to do anything else, though if a good opportunity comes by we’ll usually take it up. You might not believe me, but what we usually do is far less risky than what you’ve personally experienced so far.”

“I trust you.” Jack smiled back. “And yeah, if that’s the case as you say, then that’s a relief. Maybe next time you guys can pick something less crazy?” he added with a grin.

“No promises,” Alora joked. “But the fact remains we’ll need to take further work at some point. The new arrivals are getting settled and contributing well, but I’d rather we were in a better position should the current conflicts get worse.”

“Not tonight though,” Jack warned. “I’m way too tired and Chiyo said the Ring of Lesser Restoration has drawbacks.”

“Agreed. Whatever we do, we do it fresh, and tonight is time off.” Alora nodded. “Though I think Sephy is keeping an eye on things, she still feels bad about last night.”

“I’ve kept telling her it isn’t her fault.” Jack sighed. “We all fell for it hard despite taking every precaution.”

“She just needs time to believe it herself.” Alora sighed. “I think we all blame ourselves in some way, so some time off would be good for us. By the way, I know Chiyo and Nika were talking about movies, but I think it might be a fun idea for us to do something we could all get involved in, like the stretching and meditation sessions Chiyo and I headed. Any ideas?”

“Maybe something less physical tonight, but I like the idea,” Jack agreed. “Do you guys have football over here? I think if you’ve got things like ‘Deathball’ then maybe you do, but it’d be good to play a game at the park?”

“Good luck trying to get Chiyo to agree to that!” Alora chucked. “But I think it’s a good idea. Nika wanted to do something similar, and I think Sephy wanted to bring out a few board games.”

“Board games can be fun, but the number of people we have might be too much, unless you have ones suitable for 50 people or something?” Jack asked.

“I think we might do, actually,” Alora pointed out. “Sephy picked up a few in the past to keep around the house in case we have visitors. Perhaps she’ll be up for running a game?”

“She totally is!” Sephy chuckled from the side, having been eavesdropping the entire time. “You get everybody on the same page and I’ll run it as my ‘group activity thingy’ since you and Chiyo have already done your things.”

“That’s fair, thanks Sephy!” Alora smiled before looking to Jack. “Game and movie night it is then, hopefully we can get the rest of the house involved, but I do know some of our new residents want to start contributing however they can. I think Karzen and Bentom want to organise a safe foraging expedition to a few districts over, though I’ll want to hear them out before I sign off on it.”

“Hard to believe anyone would want to go out with things being the way they are.” Jack sighed. “But if the risks are low and they want to contribute however they can, I can understand.“

“If Vanya goes with them and can shorten the distance with dimensional travel and if they have a good plan then I’ll feel better about it.” Alora shrugged. “I don’t want to stop them, but after last night I’m leaving nothing to chance.”

“I guess if we can make it to school they should be fine going a few districts closer to home.” Jack nodded, before chuckling. “Damn, is this how my mum felt every time I left the house?”

“I know the feeling, but our neighbourhood is usually quiet. I doubt they’ll find anything, but it can’t hurt to check it out!”

“Speaking of,” Jack asked, thinking. “What do we need the most right now?”

“Water. Definitely water.” Alora smiled. “Never thought I’d ever be hoping for rain, but here we are - hopefully that rain-catching setup you put together will work, though it’ll be even easier if we can pirate our own water or fix the pipes.”

“That means going through the Gloom Paths, right?” Jack asked. “That didn’t exactly go well for us last time we did that.”

“It will hopefully be better this time, I believe.” Alora chucked. “If the utility companies can set things up then so can we, we just need to find a way down and set up other connections to our district. Sephy’s working on finding us a way in, though as you know entrances are usually kept secret.”

“But until then we need to bottle up what we can while we’re here and stay hydrated.” Jack grinned. “We have just enough at home to drink and cook with at least. I think Nika mentioned being able to use the team showers during lunch, so there is that at least.”

“Yeah.” Alora sighed, before chuckling. “We’ll have everything under control eventually. I swear to you that things aren’t always as frantic as this.“

“Don’t worry, I believe you.” Jack chuckled back. “And I’ll do my part to make it better!”

*****

Wow! Your team’s showers are so much better than the usual ones! Chiyo exclaimed as she examined the pristine bathroom cubicles.

“Told you!” Sephy grinned. “Our team shares them with a few others but we can easily book a timeslot on short notice and claim it for a ‘practice session’. You should join us, Chiyo! We’re down a few members!”

“Only temporarily,” Nika stressed. “We’re not replacing Kizzarith or Arlox. We just need some reserves!”

“When’s the next game?” Jack asked. “I was under the impression we don’t have one for a while…”

“The league got suspended for a while due to the troubles, but we have a few free weeks anyway since we played a game recently.” Nika shrugged. “Are you sure you don’t want to be a reserve Protector, Chiyo?”

I’ll pass. The Ilithii shook her head emphatically.

“As will I!” Alora spoke up, heading off Jack’s imminent suggestion. “But I am sure you’ll be able to find some volunteers!”

“Technically it’s Vaal’s responsibility as Team Captain to find members,” Sephy pointed out. “But even with Jack on our side, I sure as hell don’t want to be outnumbered, no matter who we end up facing.”

“You don’t know who we’re facing next?” Jack asked, curiously. “Back home league fixtures are usually worked out before it even starts.”

“Usually we find out a week or less before a game,” Nika told him. “Part of the whole ‘surprise’ factor, though the big money leagues get more time to bring extra players in if it’s a larger scale game, but usually that’s counteracted by even worse fields of play, usually some abandoned city or dangerous arena filled with deadly traps and hazards.“

“I don’t think I’ve seen these ‘bigger games’ yet,” Jack pointed out.

“Yeah, I showed you some games similar to ours to teach you how it worked.” Nika shrugged as she walked into one of the shower cubicles, closing the door behind her. “But we can enjoy some of the bigger ones at some point when we get live broadcasts back.”

“Sounds good!” Jack grinned as he went into his own cubicle, locked it then began hastily getting undressed for the shower. God he needed this! They all did!

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the soothing stream hitting his head and trickling down, relaxing his tense and aching muscles. In that moment, the burden that was the previous night slowly began to fade away with the water, and he sighed, contentedly allowing himself to relax.

Of course, that moment was shaken when Sephy began to sing, to the groans and laughter from his friends, who told the Skritta to shut up.

“What?” Sephy cackled from the stall opposite his. “I’m just lightening the mood!”

All of them began to feel much better, laughing as they all shared the moment of fun.

*****

“Stop worrying! They’ll be fine!” Nika chuckled, her pointy ears twitching as Jack and Alora were both pacing back and forth in their living room, with a freshly awake and alert Dante following one or the other as they moved. They had picked up several more temporary guests that evening, but they had prepared well for it, quickly putting together bundles of blankets for them, and encouraging them to go help the group currently out scavenging.

“I know, but I can’t help it!” Alora pouted. “I know it’s safe and I signed off on it, but I still feel the responsibility gnawing at my mind!”

“After last night I’m surprised the rest of you guys are so calm,” Jack added. “I know that you apparently haven’t had any nights out go anywhere nearly as badly as last night, but with things out there being as turbulent as they are I would have thought everyone would want to get here as quick as possible and bunker down for the night until things calm down.”

“I get what you mean.” Nika nodded with a sympathetic look. “We’re pretty much doing that once it gets dark. I know some riots and protests like to organise and start before nightfall, but we’re away from the hot areas. Relax! You’re being irrational!”

Jack didn’t feel irrational in his worries, but he also knew that the locals probably knew what they were talking about.

Perhaps instead you can worry about what film you want to watch when everyone gets back? Chiyo suggested, the Ilithii floating up and down in the air while munching on some kind of candy bar.

“Yeah! We haven’t seen a good horror film in a while!” Nika grinned, seeing Chiyo’s face droop slightly at the prospect. “What was that one you told me and Sephy about the other day, Jack?”

“Which one?” Jack asked, not remembering. “Was it Halloween? The one with the sneaky gigachad slasher that went on a rampage?”

“Not that one, but that sounded fun too!” The Kizun shrugged.

“Oh, I know the one you mean!” Sephy smiled, lowering her voice to a growl. “Would you like to play a game? You must remove the dildo out of your ass before the time runs out!”

“I forgot I told you about that one!” Jack joined the others in laughing at the Skritta’s impression of Jigsaw. “My mum got so mad when she caught my brothers showing me that, I don’t know how we survived! I can’t remember which one it was we saw though.”

“I’m gonna veto the torture-porn,” Alora firmly told them. “Especially considering some of the foul acts the Klowns committed during the attack is still fresh in many minds.”

“Don’t worry! That wasn’t the one I meant!” Nika pointed out.

“Paranormal Activity?” Jack asked, curiously. “The one with the demon doing scary stuff while the family was asleep?”

“Yeah!” Nika perked up with excitement. “We’ve got a few ghost films like that we can watch, then Sephy can run her game?”

Better pick quickly! Chiyo warned. I can sense the others returning, and all seems well. I don’t know about you, but after yesterday I think we’d better claim our places on the sofa, don’t you?

*****

“Welcome rulers, to the land of…” Sephy began, standing in the middle of the circle of cross-legged players, and assuming her role as game master, or ‘Sephy, Goddess of this Game, now stop arguing!’. “Hmmm. I dunno, what do you want to call the land?”

“Mars?” Jack suggested from his spot with a shrug.

“Yeah! Mars! Thanks Jack!” Sephy grinned. “You have all been assigned numbers and been seated in numerical turn order! I’ve already given you the rundown of the rules, but I’ll walk you through it as you play like the benevolent goddess I am, while my faithful servant, Dante the…erm…Deliverer of Cards, helps me!”

Jack chucked under his breath. The rules of ‘Empire of Legends’ were pretty complicated, so from experience he knew that at least the first few rounds would go by very slowly as players got used to the system.

“As you all know!” Sephy continued. “You all start as nothing more than little, weak, pathetic tribal leaders, but as the game progresses, you will obtain land, resources and technology. However! Competition is fierce, and you may find that the best and easiest way to grow will be via invading your neighbour! Or of course, diplomacy, trade and other wonderful options, but invading is the only cool choice!”

The mischievous Skritta gave a wink, clearly enjoying her role.

“Now! I’ve given all of you some resource, action and population cards to start off with, please look at them now!” Sephy grinned. Jack did so, and saw that he had a few ‘foods’, but also a mix of different types of ‘forest’ and ‘mines’, which looked like a crap hand, as they had poor synergy, and he lacked other cards Sephy had shown him. However, looking at his population gave him an idea. He didn’t have any kind of spellcasters, but he did have some ‘action’ cards he could probably use to spend the forest cards early in the game for certain developments. He’d have to confirm with Sephy when it was his turn. Looking to either side of him, he could see that both of his neighbours were looking confident. To his left was Bizh, the blue avian he had helped treat the wounds of after the Klown attack, who was temporarily staying with them for safety while their mother took some overtime at Myrodin Corp to stay safe. He had been delighted to see that they had recovered well since the attack, though not that they seemed to have a good hand.

Hessia, who was on his right, was a bubbly sort. She was a shorter insectoid being, with slightly iridescent green chitin, six eyes and long, spindly arms that easily reached to the ground, allowing her to walk like a gorilla. She and a few of her friends apparently had a passion for tailoring, and the seamstress had told him the previous day that they can help contribute by sewing and fitting several of the clothes from the Prefect’s Lockup for him, and fixing more bedding, using the alien ‘wool’ they had picked up from the animal ranch the other day. He was interested in getting some better-fitting clothes, though they had been too focused on getting ready for a job at the time. It would be good to get to know them better over the course of the game…

“Okay!” Sephy then spoke up, having given them time to check their hands. “Now I have some victory cards I’m going to go around the circle with. I’m gonna show each of you two, and you pick one! No revealing what your victory card is to other players until we have a winner! I’m also going to throw some counters on the ground as I do that, and once a player reaches one with a tile, something interesting is gonna happen!” The Skritta grinned again.

‘A big motivation to expand.’ Jack noted to himself as he checked the cards in his hand and tried to work out what his first moves would be. An ‘exploration’ Action Card would be an ideal first step to give him a land tile and start snaking towards one of the tokens. But would that be wise when his two neighbours could attack him…

“Hey Jack!” Sephy grinned as she made her way towards him, drawing two ‘victory’ cards from the deck, then smiling widely. “Oh, this first one might be a good one to chase…” She teased, showing him a card that read ‘Stockpile 60 Food Cards’.

“And the other one?” Jack prompted, knowing that something was up.

“Oh this?” Sephy asked with raised eyebrows, slowly revealing the card. “Oh no, I don’t think you don’t want this one…”

‘Eliminate all other players’.

“Give it here!” Jack instantly chuckled, snatching the card out of the Skritta’s hand.

*****

“What!? Why would you do that?” Rayle exclaimed, as Jack played an action card to burn down their forest and significantly destroy their resource production. “I could have allied with you! Now I can’t maintain my upkeep! I’m out of the game!”

Jack grinned as others looked worried towards him. He saw Thulu scamper towards the druid, confirming his suspicions that they had likely been cheating, which was why he had carefully hidden his attack card from sight. “The British Empire expands ever further!” He exclaimed, happy to embrace the role-play Sephy had insisted on. “Your resources will fuel my war engine! You and your vassals are still on my team though!”

“Jack, you do know that you can use diplomacy and trade cards, right?” Alora reminded him from where she was sat opposite him with a large number of other players, having peacefully combined their empires together to form a federation, and claiming almost half of the floor.

“Hah!” he answered, playfully sticking his tongue out at the Eladrie. “I have yet to meet any people worthy of dialogue with the British Empire!”

“Do you end your turn, Jack?” Sephy asked with a grin. “Or do you have anything else you can do?”

“I use a bonus action to pillage some territory-”

“You can’t take an offensive action against another player with your current setup…” Sephy began.

“Nah, I’m using it on my own recently acquired territory on the border between my empire and Nika’s!” He cackled as he saw the shocked and confused looks several of the others were giving one another.

You would cripple your own production? Chiyo asked him confusedly, having snaked her magiocracy towards several of the counters in the centre of the map.

“I cripple the production of those tiles for four rounds, but claim a percentage of the resources, the rest get destroyed,” Jack pointed out with a sly smile, as Sephy walked to the spot and removed all tokens, throwing several to Jack and pocketing the rest. “I then play two cards face down, ready for instant activation when the time comes, and I end my turn.”

“Yep!” Sephy grinned on seeing them. “That’s doable! Nika, you’re up!”

“Dammit!” Nika cursed, “I was about to attack you!”

“I’m guessing you really need those resources, huh?” Jack grinned. “How many civil unrest points do you have right now?”

“Oh shit!” The Kizun cursed. “I play a trade card, offering Jack 10 gold cards for-”

“Nope!” Jack gave a shit-eating grin.

“Oh come on!” Nika growled in annoyance. “That’s the best trade offer you’re gonna get! Fine! I’m attacking Chiyo!”

Are you sure? The Ilithii asked with a sly smile, activating one of her ‘instants’. I use my instant ‘Holy War Declaration’.

“That’s a very powerful card! What does that do?” Sephy asked with a grin, knowing full well herself, but wanting Chiyo to explain it herself.

It enables me at any time to force a temporary military alliance with three powers, and name a target of a Holy War! Chiyo smiled. This has the potential to expand over time if other players enter the war, or dissolve if we cannot maintain the upkeep. I form an alliance with Nika and Alora to declare war on Jack!

“You’ve activated my trap card!” Jack bellowed. “Assassination! I negate Chiyo’s attempt at an alliance!”

“I counter with ‘Divine Intervention!’” Alora spoke up. “The gods themselves want your barbarian horde defeated, Jack!”

“Hey! That’s my country you’re talking about!” Jack chuckled.

“Resolves!” Sephy called out. “There is now a Holy War declared against the ‘Breetish Empire’. Any joiners?”

Many heads nodded in agreement. “Wow! Alright, Chiyo, you’re up!”

I spend all of my research points plus what bonus magic points I earn from the alliance for a Blightfire Ritual! Chiyo announced. Targeting Jack!

“That’s your win condition if it hits!” Sephy grinned. “Well done Chiyo!”

“I activate ‘Miscast!’ Jack called out, shaking with excitement as adrenaline ran through him.

“That’s uncounterable!” Sephy smiled excitedly. “Time to roll a dice and see what happens!”

The Skritta rolled, and everyone held their breath in anticipation, before roaring in laughter when the face showed a skull.

“The Blightfire Ritual becomes more powerful and obliterates all of Mars, all the realms, and all players!” Sephy cackled. “Game over!”

“God, that was fun!” Jack exclaimed.

“That lasted much longer than expected!” Alora yawned from exhaustion. “That was amazing, Sephy! What shall we do next?”