Not only did it block his vision, it covered his whole head preventing him from using his other senses like hearing or scent.
The little green one waited patiently. “It’s only for a short time.”
“Why must I wear it?”
“As I explained before, the visor keeps your location a secret. Once the Game Master announces the start of the games, the visor will open and you will get the first view of where you are. It allows the audience to see your reactions live and unfiltered.”
Vaelor growled again. He didn’t care one bit about the audience. The whole games were created by sick rich people who had nothing better to do than to make others play their stupid dangerous games.
He knew about the games because a pirate ship had crashed two Cold Seasons ago. He took a few of his warriors out to make sure that the pirates were still not alive. All died at impact, but some of their technology still worked. They took supplies and some of the tech back to the settlement. If it had been the Warm Season, they would have had to bury the ship, but the storms of the Cold Season would soon take care of the rest of the wreckage.
Vaelor called upon a few of his people who were considered highly intelligent. They helped them decide which tech wasuseful. A holo vid, a three-dimensional, holographic recording or live feed, was discovered. It allowed them to learn about the outside world. Two of the most watched recordings among his people were the Galactic Cage Fighter competitions and the Galactic Survivor Games. It showed the widest range of different species and different worlds.
That was how he got the idea of how he could save his people. If he competed in one of those two shows, he could finally get his world recognized. With that came protection for the Galactic Nations. Protection would allow for legal trade with other worlds. His settlement could grow and prosper. No one and nothing would stop him from succeeding.
So, he waited.
Suddenly, sounds came through his visor.
“Hello to all our game viewers out there! Are you ready to meet the next players?”
The roar of a crowd responded. It was too loud. Vaelor reached up to touch the visor. Only a small shock met his touch. What in the ancestors?
“Here they are!”
Vaelor felt something moving around and over him. He wasn’t sure what was happening, so he stood still in place.
“Fourteen players! Two Bestials, an Aquatic, one Rasilian, two Sorians, one Slurchan, two Arians, one Cycborg, one Lythos, two humans, and for the first time in history—a Crytharian.”
More audience shouts and applause.
“This is going to be an exciting game. Challenges will be new, twists no one will see coming, and the biggest surprise of all… the games will randomly match players to start the game off in pairs.”
Over the crowd’s shouts and pleasure, Vaelor could hear grumbles and complaints closer to him. These must be theother players. He still couldn’t see anything, but now he could feel their presence. And they were not happy about the pairing announcement.
“What in the galaxies is happening?”
“I wasn’t told anything about working in pairs!”
“Who’s picking the matches?”
Vaelor was just as furious over the change. He couldn’t trust any of these people.
The Game Master continued his explanation.“We have chosen the pairings. The two will be tethered together via biometrics. They will remain bonded until the final challenge. Then they will compete with one another until there is one winner still standing.”
Whispers were going around, more protests from the players. He stayed quiet, his anger simmering on the inside.
“Now, if the pairs don’t complete any of the challenges leading up to the final one, they will be immediately eliminated. Are we ready to reveal the pairings?”
The crowd yelled out in response.
“The Beast, a fine example of the Bestial species is paired with Quadro, an aquatic species. We have paired Felon an Arian, with the Bestial female, Gora. Rattan, a Rasilian, and Klosh, a Slurchan have been paired. Our only all-female team, Famia, a Sorian, and Arisa, an Arian. Next is Dugan, a Cyborg and he is paired with Blaine, a human male. Vor a Sorian and Esto a Lythos are paired. Lastly, we have our newest species to take part in the games, Vaelor the Crytharian and Mara, a human female.”
Vaelor cringed under his visor. He was being tethered to one of the weakest alien species and gender throughout the galaxies. It was like he was being set up to fail. Well, by the ancestors he would prove them all wrong. Even if he had to carry the female to the end kicking and screaming, he would make it happen.
Chapter 5
Mara
