Star Runners (3 page)

"Jeez, don't you ever pee?" she asked.

They laughed and Josh leaned back, his eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? Well, maybe I won't tell you my news."

Austin repressed his laughter. "Go ahead, man. I really want to know how in the world you passed Scorpion. I didn't think that guy would ever fall to second."

"I didn't think so, either. I played seven straight sessions and fought off a mix of Tridents and modified Tyral Pirate Craft. They just kept coming."

"Seven sessions?” Austin asked. “Back-to-back? How'd you balance your power levels?"

Josh set his drink down and grinned. "I'd take out two from a distance with the missiles and try to scrap close with the guns until my power was down fifty percent. I'd then jet back to the largest rock I could find and let the cells recharge."

Kadyn held up her hand from the sweet roll. "What are you guys talking about?"

Austin shook his head. "Sorry."

"Uh, yeah," Josh said as his leg bounced under the table. "It's a great game."

"He's doing really well," Austin said. "He got enough kills to be number one on the server."

Kadyn shrugged and focused on her sweet roll. Austin nodded for Josh to proceed.

"So I was on a roll, right? Racking up kill after kill and hardly taking a scratch."

"That's cause you were playing in the middle of the day on a Wednesday."

"That doesn't matter and you know it," Josh snapped.

"So, you guys fly these ships in the game?" Kadyn asked without interest.

"Yeah," Austin said with a nod. "There are different servers, but we play mostly on the elite. It's like an online club where you get kicked out if you suck."

"Yeah," Josh laughed, "but we don't suck."

"I see," Kadyn said, rolling her eyes.

“You could play, too,” Josh said. “Girls can be pretty good.”

“That’s the most sexist thing I’ve ever heard,” Kadyn said, still focused on her sweet roll. “There’s probably tons of girls on that server and you don’t even know it.”

“I doubt it,” Josh said, leaning forward. “So anyway, I was racking up these kills for the first two days. I really didn't pay a lot of attention to my scores because I'd just play another game right after. I was grounded so what else could I do? Then, Mom and Dad came home from work on Thursday and wanted to have this big family meeting about how I shouldn't fight in school, how I could get kicked off the team and one game suspension could jeopardize my scholarship potential, blah, blah, blah."

Josh took two sips of coffee and stared at the wall. Austin followed his gaze and saw Marilyn.

"And?" Austin said, nudging Josh's shoulder.

"Yeah, so I logged off and went through the lecture with my parents. When I logged back on before I was going to bed, I had an incoming transmission."

"A what?" Kadyn asked.

"It means a message in game," Austin said. "If Josh and I were on at the same time, we could send messages like texts. Sometimes the game will also make announcements that way."

Josh backhanded Austin's arm. "Right! So this message was in game from the game."

"So?"

Josh crossed his arms and leaned back. "I've been offered a chance at a scholarship."

Austin felt the air leave the room.

Mom made no attempt at hiding the fact he would struggle to afford college. His father's life insurance policy allowed them to pay off family debt, but little more. While Austin was a good catcher for the baseball team, no colleges contacted him other than the local community college with a partial scholarship.

"What do you mean?" Kadyn asked.

Josh's head rocked as he allowed a tight smile. "Now you're interested."

She leaned over the table. "It doesn't make any sense. It's a scam."

"Nope," he said. "I got an email saying I’ve been selected for a prestigious scholarship to this private school in San Francisco on a probationary basis. A recruiter is coming by my house to meet with me and my parents on Sunday afternoon."

"For real?" Austin asked.

"I told you it was good news.”

"But all you're doing is playing a game," Kadyn said. "What does that have to do with school?"

"Look, man, I don't know. The message gave me a number to call and said I was being considered for a scholarship to this school. You know I hadn't made up my mind on where to go anyway."

"What's the name of this school?" Austin asked.

"LSE San Francisco."

"LSD?"

"No, stupid, L. S. E. Stands for 'Lobera School of Excellence' or something like that. It's an elite private college."

"Never heard of it," Kadyn said.

"Doesn't mean anything."

Austin shook his head. "It sounds like a school for medieval re-enactors or something. I still don't understand why you're getting this for playing a game."

"Oh, I got placed in a drawing for being number one on the server. That's all. I got lucky. The guy said I had a good GPA and a good record."

"He knew that already?"

"Records aren't hard to get for these colleges if they really want to know," Josh said and stood. "Look, I hate to cut this short, but my folks are still keeping me on a short leash after what happened this week."

Austin finished his drink. "It's cool. I'll see you online later."

Josh waltzed out of the coffee house.

"Doesn't this sound like one of those emails you get from some prince in a third-world country who can't get access to his money?" Kadyn asked in a low voice.   

"You mean the ones that will give you three million just to check an email or something stupid like that?"

"Yep. I never heard of someone getting a full scholarship to anywhere for playing a video game."

Austin sighed. "Me, either. It'd be sweet, though."

By Sunday, before setting about doing his chores, Austin searched the Internet. There had to be some evidence of this Lobera School of Excellence in San Francisco. The main LSE Web site required a login and password just to view details about the school. Apparently, the school worked through individual recruiters. A few hits on the search engine turned up references in people's online resumes and applications, but nothing else.

Several hits on his search mentioned affiliate schools in Saint Charles in Missouri, Fairport in New York, and Bristol in Virginia. He had never heard of any of these towns before. One blog mentioned a Lobera-related school in south Georgia near Savannah. He thought about Josh’s meeting with the recruiter.

Austin’s cell phone rang, so he hurried to his room, slammed the door and plopped on his bed so hard he bounced. He answered the call and Josh's voice shot out.

"Austin! We’re done!"

Loud voices and rock music mixed as Austin strained to hear.

"I can't hear you well. Where are you?"

"We're celebrating at
The Bull
. You want to come join us?"

His stomach dropped. "I don't have a car remember?"

"Oh sorry, man. Anyway, I got it and I'm taking it!"

"The scholarship?"

"Yeah, what do you think? It's a full ride and I can start at the first of the year."

Austin inhaled. "First of the year? What about high school?"

"That's the best part. I have enough credits to go ahead and start college if I want to. Any remaining credits I need can be done at my new school as joint enrollment."

Austin swallowed. "That's great, man. I'm really happy for you. So what's the deal?"

"It's like a boarding school. I have to get a pass to leave on the weekends, but the school has educated some of the best in the world. They don't accept many each year so I feel lucky."

Both paused for a moment before Josh cut through the silence. "I've never been farther west than Mississippi and now I'm going to school in San Francisco for free."

Burying his face in his free hand. "I can't believe you get to leave."

"Yeah, I 'm actually leaving two days after Christmas so I can move in and be ready to start the spring semester."

"So what's so great about this school?"

"You mean other than the fact it's free?" Josh said something inaudible to someone nearby before he returned. "Anyway, people throughout history have received the best undergraduate education from this school. They didn't provide specific details, but Lobera has graduates in the top levels of government and the private sector."

"So the recruiter really turned your head? Be careful of those kinds of people."

"I'll be careful. I'm on probation the first semester. If it doesn't work out, they send me home. Hey, ask your mom if you can come out to meet us for dinner or at least dessert."

Austin gazed out his bedroom window. "I can’t. We'll catch up later. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks, buddy. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Have a great time celebrating."

The phone disconnected. Austin dropped his phone on the computer desk. He stared out the window and watched a flutter of wind jostle the leaves.

Right now, Josh celebrated his scholarship with his parents, probably talking about the future. Other students he talked to at school spoke of colleges and universities they would attend next year.  Austin always changed the subject or remained silent. Whenever he was asked, he explained uncertainty about where he would go to college or that he was narrowing down his choices. It had been the same answer for three years now.

It had been different with Josh. They never spoke about college. Instead of talking about math, geometry and college scholarships, they discussed comics, games and movies. Hanging out with Josh had been a true escape from the rest of the world. After Dad died, flying side-by-side in their Tridents through an asteroid field allowed him to disappear from his empty, silent house. His father's deep voice no longer echoed down the hall. The energy he brought home would never come again. When Mom cried, Austin welcomed the earphones as he played
Star Runners
. There was never any need to talk about the future.

How could this game take his best friend away? And not just away, but across the country? Worse, what would Austin do after graduation? He didn't want things to change. He had been glad to have another year of high school to figure it out. Now, he couldn't ignore the fact he had no plans beyond high school.

He rested his face in his hands, suppressing the lump in his throat. Mom wanted him to go to the local community college, but he would have to go into debt. Dad would have known what to do, what to say.

"Austin?"

He jolted forward and rested his elbows on his desk. He wiped at his face, pretending to take notes on a sticky note.

"What?"

"I thought I heard you on the phone," Mom asked. "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine, Mom."

Her bedroom slippers kicked through the dirty laundry on the floor. His old bed, the bed his father grew up using, creaked as she sat down. For several moments, she just sat there.

"If you need to talk, I'm here."

Austin slid his fingers across his face. "Nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is. I heard about Josh."

Austin leaned back in the chair. “Yeah, he called.”

"Mrs. Morris called me about the same time you were on the phone."

"Oh."

Mom reached forward and touched his shoulder. "Look at me."

Austin turned the chair around, but wouldn't make eye contact.

"I know he's your best friend and I haven't really been there for you." Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Don't give up. We're going to find a way. I promise. You need to buckle down, and I'll start looking for work. You will go to college or do whatever it is you want to do, alright?"

Thoughts of Dad waiting for him after baseball games filled his mind for some reason. Dad always came to the fence behind the dugout to tell him, "good hit" or "nice play." Being a catcher, it took time to put on his equipment. As he did so, Dad always found the right words at the right time. Austin hadn't heard the right words in more than a year.

Grandpa used to visit a couple of times a year before he passed away. Austin remembered watching Mom and Grandpa sitting on the back porch while they sipped on sweet tea. They talked for hours into the night.

Austin cleared his throat. "Who did you talk to when Grandpa died?"

She frowned, her face crumpling. She brought her hands to her face, sitting in silence with her face obscured until she whispered, "I talked to your father."

Until that moment, he never thought of his mother being alone. He complained to the world about his luck and cursed fate, but he never considered thinking about what Mom had been through, the man she had lost. He stood and embraced her.

They cried as the leaves waved outside the window.

A Christmas song performed by a chorus played on the old stereo in Austin's living room. The colorful lights twinkled, reflecting rays of rainbows off picture frames on the wall. A dozen wrapped gifts lined in a row under the tree. Josh placed his in the front when he arrived before plopping onto the couch.

Flurries fell past the window. With the threat of snow, Austin hoped for a white Christmas.

He looked back to his friend, who stared into the Christmas tree.

"This is the big week, eh?"

Josh grumbled. "I guess it is."

"You going to see your grandparents tomorrow?"

"Yeah, then I'm leaving the day after Christmas. Mom and Dad wanted to spend some time with me and drive me to San Francisco. Cheaper that way, right?"

"I suppose so. When do classes start?"

"The fifth." Josh’s eyes widened. "You know I get computer access from my dorm? We can still play
Star Runners
, Skype and whatever."

Austin smiled. "That would be cool."

He walked to the Christmas tree, his feet scuffing the carpet. The ornaments all carried memories. A collector's edition of the
Star Runners
’ Trident fighter hung from one branch, its wings in a downward position as if ready to attack. A gold lightning bolt spread the length of the fighter, splitting the blue paint. On the branch below it, a Zahl Imperial Interceptor with black and red colors, swayed as if fleeing the attack. He sighed. Both were gifts from Dad following long business trips.

"I always thought those things were so cool," Josh said, touching the Trident fighter with his index finger. "Why don't you open your present? My parents want me back before too long."

"Oh, okay." Austin picked up the package for Josh. "This is from me and Mom."

Austin sat in the floor and tore apart the ornament-covered wrapping paper. He didn't recognize the black box as he tossed the crumpled paper to the side. He turned it over and saw a graphic novel based on the
Star Runners
’ universe taped to the side. 

"Cool!"

He pulled back the rest of the paper, revealing a Flight Explorer joystick officially endorsed by the
Star Runners
game.

"This is too much, man,” Austin said. “I don't, uh, I don't know what to say."

Josh shrugged. "It's cool. You always complained about that old joystick. I've seen you play a couple times. You're pretty rough on the thing. This stick'll hold up even to you." He turned to his present. "Whatta we have here?"

"Like I said; it's not much.”

Josh tore past the wrapping paper, revealing a dark green satchel with Josh's initials stenciled on the top. "Cool! It's like a military bag, right?"

Austin exhaled. "Yeah, we thought it would come in handy for your books and whatnot."

Josh held the satchel in the air like a tournament prize. "Thanks, man."

Austin nodded and placed his presents on the coffee table. "I wish I could have gotten you more."

Josh waved his hand past his face. "What are you talking about? It's perfect."

"Well, I guess you better get going unless you want a drink or something to eat?"

"Wish I could, but I have to go."

Josh stood and grabbed his leather jacket. His car keys jingled and fell to the floor. As he picked up the keys, he turned to Austin. “I know the past few months have been super crazy. With football winding down, we didn't get to hang out that much."

Austin shrugged. "I don't care about that."

"I know you don't, but I need to say it anyway." He swallowed, his brow wrinkled in thought. "You're my best friend. I'm going to miss you."

He lumbered across the living room and hugged Austin.

"I'll be in touch. I'll give you a call when I get there."

He turned and left through the front door.

Austin sat on the couch, staring into nothing. He thought of waking Mom, but she slept for once instead of watching mindless television. Since she started her medical assisting job after Thanksgiving, she hadn't wasted time doing anything but housework, giving Austin rides to his job at the fruit stand, and going to work. 

Mom planned on making breakfast for Christmas tomorrow and they would spend it opening presents. There would be no visitors, parties or events. It would be a quiet day.

From inside his house, Austin watched the wind tussle with the trees outside. He took in a deep breath and released it. The couch engulfed him. Propping his feet up, he locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back farther. He thought of all the events during the past year and knew the next year would be different. Everyone he had known in the past four years of high school would scatter like grains of sand in the wind searching for their own paths in life. Kadyn would probably go to the local college. Josh would be on the west coast. And Austin didn't know where he would be.

He cleared his throat and sat forward. Deciding on his life path wasn't a decision he’d make on Christmas Eve. He smiled. Unplugging the tree lights and grabbing his new joystick, Austin shuffled back to his room and suppressed a yawn. He wasn't ready to sleep. With a jiggle to the mouse, his computer fluttered to life and he plugged in the massive joystick. The new plastic smell filled the air. He rested his hand on the stick and squeezed the trigger.

Sweet
.

He rolled his head twice while the computer finished coming alive, and then double-clicked the
Star Runners
icon on his desktop.

The images of the
Star Runners
' universe flashed as the game loaded: Legion Tridents dogfighting Zahl Interceptors, Tyral Pirates firing on Legion freighters, and chaotic space battles full of laser fire and missiles.

While he waited, Austin checked out the graphic novel Josh had given him. The red words "Rodon's Wraith" flared across the top in a massive, bold font. As he flipped through the book, Austin marveled at the colorful illustrations bringing
Star Runners
to life. The Legion forces consisted of noble warriors in the story, fighting the evil Tyral Pirates led by the infamous Dax Rodon. The graphic novel played off the recent Tyral Pirate expansion for the main game. Legion Trident fighters fought off waves of Tyral Pirates attacking a freighter convoy in the predictable story, but Dax Rodon, of course, escaped to terrorize Quadrant Eight another day.

Austin grinned.

The game nearly finished loading. Perhaps he would fly some missions and could take down Dax Rodon's motley crew of pirates. To play the expansion, though, he'd have to fly sortie missions and he would rather work on his elite server score.

When the startup screen appeared, Josh's call sign, Razor, listed as offline.

He logged onto the elite server without his wingman. With it being Christmas Eve, the servers held little competition. The game siphoned through several screens as Austin waited with his feet propped on the desk.

The "dogfight" server boasted fifteen pilots at the moment. He clicked to enter and closed his bedroom door while the game loaded. Slipping on his headset, Austin interlocked his fingers and felt his knuckles pop.
Time to see what this Flight Explorer joystick can do.

He rapped his finger tips on the desk until the cockpit of the Trident appeared on the screen. This particular server provided a fight for your life situation with no missions or teams. He and Josh teamed in this arena, but they fought each other when all the other players had been destroyed.

The list of pilots superimposed over his cockpit screen. He didn't recognize any call signs. Beyond his cockpit, the edge of the hangar bay fluttered with activity and the dark of space beckoned beyond. Austin appreciated the detail of this game to show hangar bay activity on the carrier.

The clock ticked down.

3 ... 2 ... 1.

The Trident zipped away from the carrier. Austin rested his right hand on the joystick and his left hand hovered over the keyboard. The Trident passed through a curve in space and entered into pirate territory. He scanned the sensors, saw the spawn points. All fighters in this session entered the game from random points. No clusters this time. Austin's Trident appeared at the edge of the game space. He veered left and took the fighter along the boundary as the rest of the Trident fighters flew straight for the center of the area. It would be a bloodbath.

After waiting a moment, Austin set his shields to full power on the front and adjusted his course for the center of the gaming space. Flashes of laser fire colored the darkness of space. The players chatted over the game's intercoms, talking trash and spouting various threats and insults. Austin pulled his microphone away from his mouth. The game updates at the top right corner of his screen notified of two casualties. He squinted, transferring power to his engines.

The Trident came with four long range missiles. He armed two and altered his course on a pair of fighters trailing off from the pack. The crosshairs at the front of his fighter drifted to the left and hovered over the rear fighter. The pair wasn't attempting much of a dogfight. The lead fighter swayed back and forth as the rear fighter fired with his lasers.

The high pitched wail of missile lock filled his ears. The moment the missile lock sounded, Austin's target veered and spiraled downward in a belated attempt to lose the lock. Austin squeezed the trigger and watched his missile soar. Four seconds later, the enemy Trident exploded as the missile struck its engines.

Without waiting to watch the fiery wreckage, Austin settled in behind the fighter his victim had been chasing. The enemy Trident tilted back and flew up, trying hard to get out of Austin's range. With precision, he yanked back on the new joystick and led his target while he squeezed the trigger. The laser bolts spit out ahead of his target and the fighter exploded. The other guy had weakened him just enough to allow for Austin's victory. Two kills in forty-five seconds.

Not too shabby.

*****

Before the ten-minute timer expired, Austin racked up eleven kills among the fifteen pilots on the server to rank number one in the session. No one else even seared his shields. 

The next two games ended the same with nine and twelve kills. Nothing hit him. He studied the game reports. He outranked the other pilots. When Austin glanced at the clock, he shrugged at the time of one in the morning. After all, tomorrow was Christmas.

But Mom would want to have breakfast together and probably didn't want him sleeping all day. The next game would be the last. 

The screen loaded and revealed the cockpit. He leaned back and watched his opponents load. Twelve pilots to clash for the final session of the night.

He inhaled.

There, at the top of the screen:

Scorpion
.

He hovered his mouse over Scorpion's call sign and clicked for the statistics. The kills stretched off the chart with more than one thousand and a solid zero in the defeat column. The guy had never been killed. Enemy pilots killed Austin more than forty times on the elite server.

He shook his head and considered quitting for the night. The opponent list faded from view and the game clock appeared. Game on. He sighed and leaned forward.

The Trident launched and soared into space. A moment later, the Trident passed through the curve in space and entered the game area.

Laser fire flashed across the nose of his fighter. One lucky player spawned behind him. Austin grimaced and jerked the fighter to the left, tossing all his power into the engines. After two seconds, he fired his reverse thrusters and pulled back, bringing the enemy into his crosshairs, squeezing the trigger and spewing laser fire. The enemy's fighter disappeared in a cloud of fire and gas.

Austin's eyes grew wide. Had that been the Scorpion?

The game data text across the lower third of the screen revealed in light blue font,
"Rock destroys Cowboy, LASER."

Cowboy
. Austin shrugged.

He brought the ship to the edge of permitted space, keying for a rear view. The battle raged as fighters descended onto one location in a fur ball of laser bolts and missile shots. The remaining ten fighters would make for easy targets at this range.

Bringing the Trident to bear on the cluster of battling fighters, Austin activated his missiles. The system searched for a lock.

The game data feed beeped to life and started rattling off messages like Morse Code:

Scorpion destroys Angel Fire, LASER.
Scorpion destroys Deathmaker, LASER.
Scorpion destroys LIL'Lucy90, LASER.
Scorpion destroys WilyWalt, MISSILE

Austin shook his head. How good was this guy?

He eased more power into the engines and bore down on the cluster of fighters. His headset screeched: Incoming missile.

Austin yanked back on the joystick and dropped countermeasures. Someone tried a blind shot without achieving a lock. The missile zipped over the top of his cockpit and he brought the fighter back on course toward the enemy.