Max was almost certain that the Unit didn’t recognize Nico when they walked past to head to lunch in the closest Mess Hall. The only thing that had changed from this morning was her hair, but it was such a dramatic difference from her usual style that Max caught more than one soldier checking her out as she passed.
They were busy talking about the amenities of the Comor system, which was on the northern frontier of the Kepler Empire, closest to the Galactic Center. There were no more organized empires or alliances in that direction for hundreds of light years, so the planets of Comor had a fairly peaceful existence for most of their history. It was only when the Kepler Empire expanded that they were first faced with a real threat.
In response, they began developing state-of-the-art Mecha technology as a preventative measure, as well as a number of advanced artificial intelligence systems that were intended to assist them should battle come to them. The war never actually broke out though. The AI that they had developed made contact with the AI that governs Kepler’s ‘System’ and they brokered a deal between them for mutual assistance.
The real attraction to the soldiers of Kepler wasn’t their military alliance, but the state of the planets. The advanced Mecha showcase was a major attraction to the Pilots, but the pristine beaches and forests of the outlying planets weren’t easy for anyone to turn down..
For Max and Nico, the real attraction was a bit nerdier than that. There was a video game tournament set to start a week after they arrived, where the contestants would get a chance to run a newly released first-person fighting game against the planet’s best gamers.
Nobody knew the actual layout, control method, or even the setting of the game, only that it was a first-person survival game that had been developed under strict security for the event. To true gamers, this was the greatest of challenges. It was entirely new and would come with no instructions. The fastest to adapt and master the game would have the greatest advantages, and the top ten would get a two-week stay at the planet’s most luxurious resort.
Nico had, of course, already booked their spots in the tournament, using her Military authority to overcome the obstacles that would normally prevent those who weren’t currently on the planet from applying. They had proof they would be there, and off duty, and with a little persuasion from the Major, the tournament officials were happy to invite a pair of active Pilots to join the match.
Over lunch, everyone in the unit was talking about it, the advertisements were all over the data network if you searched for events on Comor. The contestants would only play the game for twelve hours to determine the winners, so there was a big buzz about which of the famous streamers would adapt fastest and win the prize.
“I’m telling you, it will be Lord PockiPok. Nobody else adapts to a new game as fast as he does. Remember Gears of Grindage Seventeen? He was in the endgame within twenty-four hours.” One of the soldiers insisted, pulling up video streams from his chosen champion’s past efforts.
“What about Callsign Flood? He cleared Ark of the Lost only fifty minutes after release.” Another one suggested, making a few others laugh. The game was an incredible flop, largely thanks to his run-through. He hit all the hidden waypoints and skipped all the fluff content, so it was clear that he had an insider on the development team that gave him directions in advance.
“If only Blood Goddess was still actively gaming. She was a monster at every fighting game released for like eight straight years, then just vanished a couple of years ago.” One of the Sergeants sighed.
“Blood Goddess eh?” Max whispered to Nico, who hid her smirk behind her hand.
“What can I say? It had such a nice ring to it. Maybe I should use it again for the tournament.” Nico chuckled and then turned to the other soldiers.
“If she were there, we know PockiPok would have no chance. Remember when she went 197-0 on him in the duel mode of Neversummer Days, live on his own stream?” Nico joked and a few of the streamer’s fans groaned.
“Don’t remind me. That was just brutal. She even hacked his webcam so he couldn’t log out, all he could do was just die and die and die.” The soldier groaned, while a few others quickly pulled it up to see what they were talking about.
Being on a ship in the middle of nowhere, their access to streams was outdated, it would only catch up to live again when they got to a populated planet, but the streams they were looking for were popular enough to be archived, and old enough that they were definitely in the computers. If they weren’t archived, they could try to pull them up as they passed within signal range of a populated system, but that could be days away.
“Let’s get our mind off combat. Who is up for a nice leisurely game of Uno?” Someone asks, bringing a round of jeering insults their way. Uno was never a nice leisurely game. There might not be any money involved, but the game always ended in a fight.
“Fine. I’ve got my sketchbook, you bastards sit still for a while so I can memorialize our first day back aboard.” The same soldier complained, moving to sit by the door where he could see most of the cafeteria with a pad of paper and a pencil in his hands.
Other than cards and reading, doing sketches was one of the most popular pastimes for the infantry, though most kept a rugged data tablet for the purpose, since the paper in a sketchpad was expensive and easily damaged.
They laughed and joked for hours before the staff kicked them out so they could start cleaning and setting up the dinner buffet. The ship was full now, and they were expecting the notification that they were leaving orbit soon, so everyone wanted to get a meal in before their evening nap. After years of experiments, the Pilots maintained that sleeping was still the best way to deal with the nausea and side effects commonly suffered after a transfer to faster-than-light travel.
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