1.24.2

In the Glow

The team watched Romo and Dell each take their turns.

It became readily apparent why Anders saved Dell for last, for the technician proved most proficient. He spun with a measured skill that dropped four balls in the first three minutes.

Tenya demanded a rematch, but by the third round, Dell beat them all so handily, the true competition fell to who could come in second.

“There’s Championship Games of this?” Astrid asked Dell after he exited from his last turn.

“Oh yeah! Singles, and teams!”

“Teams?”

“Sure. In larger tanks. And each team has a designated member to try to block the pockets from the other team. But there’s also more pads and helmets involved. People tend to knock into one another. Why, you interested? You know, it only takes five for a zero-pool team!” Dell perked at the prospect.

“Keep dreaming, Dell,” Tenya joked.

“So, no sports in the Sanctuary, then?” Romo asked of Astrid while the team settled at their table for a breather.

“Too competitive. The Keeper tried to provide us as few opportunities for conflict as possible.”

“Wait, so no competition at all?” Tenya asked. “Other games? Activities?”

“Only mild ones. They kept us active through martial training and discipline. They challenged our minds with puzzles and the like. But it’s not like we knew what we were missing.”

“Competition is healthy!” Dell insisted.

“If you’re too invested, it breeds too much emotion,” Astrid shrugged.

“You poor thing…” Tenya cooed.

“So,” Anders asked next, “is there anything you always wanted to do that you couldn’t? It’s the perfect night for it.”

A server in a dark glowing vest arrived with arm loads of food. A second followed, with bottles of beer. The strangers dismissed themselves as quietly as they’d arrived, and Romo opened their drinks and passed them around. Tenya slid dishes to each of her friends, a bountiful display of pedestrian flavor, grease, and delicious carbs.

Astrid thought hard, but there remained one thing she hadn’t been able to get out of her head since her liberation.

“Music,” she chose. “I can’t help but wonder why it was so prohibited. If it has that much power over people, it sounds like casting a spell. I can’t think of anything I want to experience more.”

“If it’s music you want, I’d say there’s definitely something we can do,” Anders gave her a sweet smile as if he shared a secret.

“Okay, but I’m not doing operas, folk bands, or mosh pits,” Tenya listed through a mouthful of sandwich.

“No,” Anders defended, his brows pinched. “But for someone like Astrid, I would think seeing what it’s like when a group of people synch to the same beat could be quite an experience.

“Besides, I told her weeks ago I would make it a side mission to introduce her if we got the chance.”

“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?!” Tenya swallowed, but her eyes twinkled with promise.

“How ‘bout it?” Romo provoked with his playful grin. “Feel like going dancing, Astrid?”

“Oh, please say yes!” Tenya nearly bounced in her seat.

Astrid sought each face, already committed to their adventure.

“I can never say no to you guys.”

Tenya cheered and hopped to her feet, bottle in hand.

“Then,” the woman concluded, “I would like to propose a toast!”

“Hear, hear!” Romo hailed. Astrid mimicked the others in lifting their drinks in the neon light.

Tenya grinned brightly to her fellows.

“To our first outing as the newly formed Aldebaran Ground Team. May tonight be a rebirth of our company, and the first of many fond memories to come.”

~~~

Dell advised them that zero-gravity games post-meal were not ideal. So, after eating, the group collected their beers and toured the rest of the arcade.

Each took the opportunity to introduce Astrid to their favorite games. Some mundane and retro, and others an immersive virtual reality packed with thrills.

Astrid’s scores consistently landed in last place, but she spent so much time laughing and joking with the others she hardly noticed.

She was only two drinks in when the team determined it time to move on to their second destination of the night. They bought a few treats with their winnings and entered back out into the station’s hall. LED displays along the walls played a landscape of dusk and twinkly stars to simulate the shift to evening.

Following the traffic and sounds of thumping music proved a simple matter. Tenya stood on her tiptoes to scout above shoulders for a club with, as she put it, “the right vibe”. Until finally she snatched Astrid’s hand and tugged the party into her chosen den.

Dark satin covered the walls, and a kaleidoscope of colors flooded the space from high-mounted light fixtures. Warm white twinkling lights highlighted the bar.

It took only one more warm-up drink before the men of the group dragged the women out of their giggle-fest and onto the dance floor.

Tenya selected a full venue, but not packed.

Still, Astrid closed her eyes and felt the beat, and the heat, of so many bodies in motion together.

Though the energy of those among her still buzzed in aimless static, to feel them all in tune with their habitat, heartbeats in matching rhythm, felt like somehow connecting with the pulse of the universe.

When the music rose, all those within swelled together in a synchronized adrenaline rush, and when it fell, their energy cradled each other back in a warm swaddle.

Astrid’s heart raced with a joy while she watched Anders twirl Tenya, whose bright laugh lit up the room more so than the decorations. Romo and Dell each took their turn showing Astrid how to move with the group, and then Tenya took her for a spin, all glee as the mixture of drink and dance grew intoxicating.

Tenya spun into Romo, who then danced her between him and Dell. Anders caught Astrid’s hand and pulled her into him with a grin.

“Are you having fun?” he asked over the noise of partiers around.

Astrid found herself breathless, as if she somehow daydreamed through the whole evening. Like she remained in the arcade tank, boundless. Her fingers grew numb, and her feet maintained a mind of their own. Everything grew hazy and warm, and she yearned to surrender to it.

“This is amazing!” she called back.

She felt herself tugged against Anders a little tighter as they moved. In their exotic surroundings, so new and adventurous, she found that his scent and warmth provided a familiar comfort. She dared to let herself sink into his arms trustingly.

“If it becomes too much, just let us know!”

“I wish I could bring this back to Endra. For everyone!” she confessed. “They’d love this.”

The music picked up, and with it, Astrid’s spirit.

Anders leaned in and pressed his mouth against her ear. “You’re glowing.”

Astrid almost stumbled, and would have, had Anders not held such a tight grip on her. She looked up at him, bewildered. “I think that’s the alcohol.”

Anders shook his head with a bemused smile, then nodded to an illumination over her chest. Against Astrid’s shirt, pale blue radiated jubilantly against the silver fabric.

“Oh, shit!” Astrid immediately tucked herself against him, as if to smother it. “You meant literally!”

Anders chuckled and wrapped her up. “Relax, no one here knows what it is. They’ll assume you’re wearing a rave necklace. No one knows what you are, Astrid.”

Astrid couldn’t help but look around. “You sure?”

“Tonight,” he spun her out to keep her from hiding, “you’re just another soldier on leave.”

Astrid felt her cheeks spread into a smile.

When she checked on the rest of the group, she caught Romo and Dell dancing together, all booty-shake, to the clapping hoots and hollers of some tipsy and enthusiastic women. Tenya waded deep in conversation with a girl in thigh-high boots at the bar, making new friends.

“They’re really something, aren’t they?” Anders asked when he followed her eyes.

“Yes,” Astrid replied with a surge of affection. “They’re incredible. I feel lucky just to be a part of it.”

In a sentimental wave, she clung closer to him.

“Hey, do you need some air? You don’t usually drink this much.”

“That’s probably not the worst idea.”

Anders raised a hand for Tenya’s attention, then motioned a signal that he was taking Astrid just outside a moment.

They loitered close enough to still hear the music, but in the open bay, Astrid caught her breath. The walkway to the club hung as an overpass to a promenade beneath, and the pair wandered to the railing to watch passersby stream below.

Chatter, and the calls of various barkers and entertainers, rose through the station. Immediately the world felt larger again. An entire universe still waiting to be explored.