Staring blankly past the artificially frosted window of his highrise apartment, in this moment, Jaden felt like the only one on the ship not watching the feed. He could see the flicker of holoscreens in adjacent buildings, their colors changing, shifting, blinking in unison like one big cloud of fireflies.
He slugged back his glass, and a cold, spiced sting filled his mouth. The ice cubes in his cup clattered as they collided with one another and with the glass, creating a tinkling noise that made Zorana, his maidservant, wince. It had been a long time since he had last gotten this drunk—since he had last been in this much pain.
"It's my fault, you know," he said with a slur, swiping a hand across his eyes to wipe them dry.
Zorana held her tongue. She knew that trying to defend him would only make things worse. He always won those arguments.
"I pushed her to do it," he determined, a prelude to downing his whole glass in one go. He coughed at the burning in his throat. It hurt, but he bore it. In his mind, he deserved whatever pain he now felt.
She filled his glass once more, watching helplessly as he shambled over to his chair like a zombie and collapsed into it.
On the holoscreen before him, Kore was hyping up the crowd for the countdown. Jaden glared daggers at her. Vile words struggled to try and free themselves from his lips, barely restrained by the knowledge that any criticism he could level at her would rightly apply to him as well. He swore under his breath. "I'm complicit," he murmured with a cracking voice, hanging his head in shame.
"After months of preparation, the moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here!" announced Kore Mars, the on-screen host, chipper as could be.
Jaden clutched tight to his drink and clenched his teeth. Launching up from his seat, he shouted at the screen, "Yeah, I bet the mutes on the surface can't wait. They're about to die and you're...[hic]...wearing that stupid grin, you worthless waste of air! At least I have the decency to feel bad about it!"
With that, he hurled the glass at the holoscreen with all his might, which it phased through to smash against the wall. As the glittering shards tumbled to the floor, Jaden panted with fury, grimacing at the screen.
"Without further ado, let's begin the countdown!"
His rage turned inward once more, and he collapsed to his knees. He clutched at his white hair, gripping his head firmly with both hands. His gaze fell to the floor. "Oh God, I can't watch," he wept.
Avoiding the glass, Zorana carefully stepped over to the holoscreen, ready to turn it off.
"No, don't, I..." he protested with a sniffle, "If she has to live it, I have to watch it."
She gurgled with pity as he sat and listened, seeing him crumble a little more with each passing second. By the time Kore reached zero, Jaden's forehead was nearly at his knees.
"Mrrstrr," she finally spoke up, unable to hold back her concern.
"Put her on," he demanded. "I need to see."
Zorana hesitated. The screen displayed a bird's eye view of the battlefield, which had devolved into a slaughter. Screams and cries mingled with the sound of gunfire and the roar of hoverbikes. The squall lost voices with each passing moment. Those who died quickly were lucky.
"Put her on!" he shouted again, cocking his head upward to force himself to look at the screen.
Relenting, she tapped at the holoscreen's controls, selecting Ljilja's camera. Jaden's red eyes grew wide with horror.
He saw the girl he had taken care of for the past week curled up in the corner, her nose bloodied, her small body hyperventilating. She was directionless, paralyzed with fear, overwhelmed with the sound of suffering and death. It took one last blood-curdling wail for Ljilja to rise up and run for her life, barreling out from her compartment at full speed.
"Go," he urged, "Go!"
He focused his whole attention on the screen. For a few moments, so did Zorana. Together, they watched Ljilja equip her Longjacks, grab her supplies, and take off running without her bike.
Stunned, Jaden remained sitting on the floor, his hands dangling limply at his sides. Zorana, lucid and focused on her duty, recovered sooner, and got to work cleaning up the shattered glass and supplying him with a new drink. Before he knew it, she was presenting him with a fresh cup, full of ice and rum.
He took hold of it, his eyes glazing over. He mindlessly sipped at his glass until it was gone, received a top-up, and soon he found himself back in his chair without ever having made the conscious decision to return there. His glass was emptied and refilled, and time blended together. He stared at the holoscreen almost unblinkingly until he saw his little blue mutant unite with each of her allies and begin traversing the Wastes with them.
He shut his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. It was only now that he noticed a persistent pulsing sound emanating from his wrist holo. He sluggishly tapped at it to see what was going on, then squinted at the interface.
He slugged back his glass, and a cold, spiced sting filled his mouth. The ice cubes in his cup clattered as they collided with one another and with the glass, creating a tinkling noise that made Zorana, his maidservant, wince. It had been a long time since he had last gotten this drunk—since he had last been in this much pain.
"It's my fault, you know," he said with a slur, swiping a hand across his eyes to wipe them dry.
Zorana held her tongue. She knew that trying to defend him would only make things worse. He always won those arguments.
"I pushed her to do it," he determined, a prelude to downing his whole glass in one go. He coughed at the burning in his throat. It hurt, but he bore it. In his mind, he deserved whatever pain he now felt.
She filled his glass once more, watching helplessly as he shambled over to his chair like a zombie and collapsed into it.
On the holoscreen before him, Kore was hyping up the crowd for the countdown. Jaden glared daggers at her. Vile words struggled to try and free themselves from his lips, barely restrained by the knowledge that any criticism he could level at her would rightly apply to him as well. He swore under his breath. "I'm complicit," he murmured with a cracking voice, hanging his head in shame.
"After months of preparation, the moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here!" announced Kore Mars, the on-screen host, chipper as could be.
Jaden clutched tight to his drink and clenched his teeth. Launching up from his seat, he shouted at the screen, "Yeah, I bet the mutes on the surface can't wait. They're about to die and you're...[hic]...wearing that stupid grin, you worthless waste of air! At least I have the decency to feel bad about it!"
With that, he hurled the glass at the holoscreen with all his might, which it phased through to smash against the wall. As the glittering shards tumbled to the floor, Jaden panted with fury, grimacing at the screen.
"Without further ado, let's begin the countdown!"
His rage turned inward once more, and he collapsed to his knees. He clutched at his white hair, gripping his head firmly with both hands. His gaze fell to the floor. "Oh God, I can't watch," he wept.
Avoiding the glass, Zorana carefully stepped over to the holoscreen, ready to turn it off.
"No, don't, I..." he protested with a sniffle, "If she has to live it, I have to watch it."
She gurgled with pity as he sat and listened, seeing him crumble a little more with each passing second. By the time Kore reached zero, Jaden's forehead was nearly at his knees.
"Mrrstrr," she finally spoke up, unable to hold back her concern.
"Put her on," he demanded. "I need to see."
Zorana hesitated. The screen displayed a bird's eye view of the battlefield, which had devolved into a slaughter. Screams and cries mingled with the sound of gunfire and the roar of hoverbikes. The squall lost voices with each passing moment. Those who died quickly were lucky.
"Put her on!" he shouted again, cocking his head upward to force himself to look at the screen.
Relenting, she tapped at the holoscreen's controls, selecting Ljilja's camera. Jaden's red eyes grew wide with horror.
He saw the girl he had taken care of for the past week curled up in the corner, her nose bloodied, her small body hyperventilating. She was directionless, paralyzed with fear, overwhelmed with the sound of suffering and death. It took one last blood-curdling wail for Ljilja to rise up and run for her life, barreling out from her compartment at full speed.
"Go," he urged, "Go!"
He focused his whole attention on the screen. For a few moments, so did Zorana. Together, they watched Ljilja equip her Longjacks, grab her supplies, and take off running without her bike.
Stunned, Jaden remained sitting on the floor, his hands dangling limply at his sides. Zorana, lucid and focused on her duty, recovered sooner, and got to work cleaning up the shattered glass and supplying him with a new drink. Before he knew it, she was presenting him with a fresh cup, full of ice and rum.
He took hold of it, his eyes glazing over. He mindlessly sipped at his glass until it was gone, received a top-up, and soon he found himself back in his chair without ever having made the conscious decision to return there. His glass was emptied and refilled, and time blended together. He stared at the holoscreen almost unblinkingly until he saw his little blue mutant unite with each of her allies and begin traversing the Wastes with them.
He shut his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. It was only now that he noticed a persistent pulsing sound emanating from his wrist holo. He sluggishly tapped at it to see what was going on, then squinted at the interface.
506 similar messages not shown.
Neve: hey
Aries: hey
Neve: hey
Neve: hey
Aries: hey
Aries: hey
Neve: hey
Aries: hey idiot
Neve: hey
Neve: hey
Aries sent a location.
Neve: hey
Aries: get over here we're waiting
Neve: hey
Groaning with effort, Jaden wiped his face and held out his holo so that Zorana could see what had been sent. After reading it, she looked to him for direction.
He let his head drift to the side and took a deep breath. He had to maintain appearances somehow. Though he was comfortable letting Zorana see this sympathetic side of him, it would ruin his reputation to be seen like this with others. The only cover he could come up with on short notice was that he was simply partying hard in private.
"Gimme that bottle," he ordered, his drunkenness robbing his speech of any tact. Zorana did not seem to mind, and obediently handed him his now-half-empty bottle of golden spiced rum. In return, he handed her his glass so that he could free a hand to push himself up from his chair.
He took one last long look at the team of mutants on the screen and muttered, "...I'm gonna need a ride."
He let his head drift to the side and took a deep breath. He had to maintain appearances somehow. Though he was comfortable letting Zorana see this sympathetic side of him, it would ruin his reputation to be seen like this with others. The only cover he could come up with on short notice was that he was simply partying hard in private.
"Gimme that bottle," he ordered, his drunkenness robbing his speech of any tact. Zorana did not seem to mind, and obediently handed him his now-half-empty bottle of golden spiced rum. In return, he handed her his glass so that he could free a hand to push himself up from his chair.
He took one last long look at the team of mutants on the screen and muttered, "...I'm gonna need a ride."