Chapter 22
'Wide Galaxy of Sports: The Agony of Deceit'
'Graded'
'Easy Money'
The race begins with six teams paired up against their chosen opponent. The second group is on the course already finishing up their run. 'Team Son'ya' is in the start house.
Students are packed along the course and down as far as the finish line in the minus zero temperature. Theed University mailroom employees Chaz Darklighter and Adso Bar Binks are weaving through the crowd selling concert tickets, t-shirts and Namana Twists. While most students engage them, others, such as the Grav-ball team find the duo annoying.
"Get your Hoth North Ridge Challenge t-shirts right here! Only $19.99 folks. Belly tops for the chicks $15.99…Tickets to Tawa Jawa at the Hoth Ice House Cafe…on sale here…nowhere else!" He is face-to-face with Chip Neider. Tickets! Tickets, my man?"
Chip gives him a blank stare.
"What do you think?"
"I think you need to get laid. Heh-heh!" Chaz continues through the crowd before Chip retaliates. "Get your concert tickets right here, folks…t-shirts! Get your 'Chip Neider is a Tool' t-shirts right here! 'CN' t-shirts, discounted to $5.99."
He approaches a group of girls in the crowd.
"You bevy of beauties could send a message to your fellow classmates who were ever disrespected or denigrated, or dumped by the 'Chipster' or any of his jerky-jock brethren."
One of the girls points to her friend beside her.
"She got dumped by one of the guys from the polo squad after she made out with him in the frat house laundry room."
Chaz looks at the girl.
"How many times did you do him?"
"A few times…not the same guy though. Sometimes I invited them to my dorm."
"Hmmm…well, you know what? Skanky Ho's deserve respect too. I'm gonna give you a 'Chip Neider is a Tool' t-shirt…no charge. Here's a fluorescent green stylus. Write the names of the other frat house tools who 'did you' wrong."
The girl squeals with glee.
"Really? Thanks! You are so cute. You're that guy who works part-time in the mailroom aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged."
"We should hang out."
"Sounds tempting but I don't want my name to wind up on your new t-shirt."
"Oh, right! Hah-hah-hah! You're so funny."
Her friend waves to him.
"We're going to speak to you from now on when we pick up our mail."
"Is that a threat or a promise?"
Everyone laughs. One of the girls in the crowd calls out to him.
"Do I get a free shirt?"
"Are you as skanky as your friend?"
"No."
"Ten credits."
The pretty brunette hands Chaz a ten credit note and receives a hot pink t-shirt."
Chaz looks around for more paying customers. Adso is not too far away pushing more merchandise.
"T-shirts…one size fits all…Beesa good deal! 'Hoth North Ridge Challenge' t-shirts…Grav-ball jockstrap shirts…$10.99. Gotcha Namana Death Sticks…Get yousa death sticks here!"
Chaz overhears this and panics. He pushes his way through the crowd to get to Adso.
"Adso! Dude! It's Namana Twists! It's candy, dude! Twists! Not sticks!"
"Oh, meesa so berri sorry! Whatsa meesa do now? Meesa just sold 50 for ten credits each."
"You did?" Chaz realizes they have just sold a 3-credit confection for 10 credits. They have already netted 500 credits not including the shirts and tickets. They look around cautiously as several drug addicts devour the candy. Adso regrets his mistake.
"Meesa fix… "
Chaz interrupts him.
"Namana Sticks! Get your sticks!"
They sell out by the time the first two teams complete their run.
Roman is in the third grouping racing against a member of the Theed University Grav-ball team, midfielder Emil Tryshyn. Roman bests the popular athlete one and one half seconds. 'Team Son'ya' is off to a good start. Sigrid follows after being paired with Halvar J. Pedsten. Pedsten is tall and lean with chiseled features and straight blond hair. His athleticism is only trumped by his desire to look good and attract as many women as possible. Halvar has seen Sigrid on campus but she has never been one of his on-campus 'Grav-ball Groupies.' Halvar checks out his reflection on the holocam posted to the left of the start house. He lifts his ski goggles then glances over at Sigrid.
"Hey, why don't you forget those loser friends of yours and drop out of this race. Hang out with us." He winks and makes a clicking sound with the corner of his mouth. Sigrid ignores him. "Come one; what do you say?"
"I've made it a rule never to date primitives."
"Oh, darlin' you are harsh. My heart is broken…." He pats his heart hoping she will look at him.
Just as he is trying to pour on the charm, the starter beep goes off and Sigrid flies down the mountain leaving Halvar at the block. He realizes what has just happened and sails haphazardly pass the start gate. His teammates are yelling profanities at him for the late start. Meanwhile Son'ya and her friends cheer loudly for Sigrid who is far ahead and on her way to victory.
Dantius watches with Fern, Son'ya, and Boone as Magnus prepares to make his way to the start house. He is racing against Stig Childsen. As soon as the announcer confirms Sigrid as the winner, Magnus moves into position at the start house. The signal sounds and he is on his way. Son'ya wrings her hands and cheers him on.
"Wooohooo! Great start, Mags! Go-Go- Go -Go!"
Magnus sails down the mountain. He is an excellent skier. The powdered trails are not to his liking however. He prefers hard-pack which yields a faster run. It could be worse. The good thing is that he is skiing after the other groups so he can now feel the ice under the light powder. He starts to make up his time halfway down. Suddenly he is blindsided by Stig who skis close to his lane. Stig extends his ski pole clipping the bindings on Magnus' left ski. There is nowhere for him to go to avoid this bad sportsman-like behavior and he is forced out of bounds. Several students cheer him on while others see what happened and boo Stig at the same time.
Magnus struggles to maintain his balance as he turns a gate. He is in danger of taking a dangerous fall as Stig leans into his path. A referee positioned near that section of the hill presents a penalty flag. Fern watches in horror and places her hands to her mouth.
"Oh no! He's going to crash!"
Magnus zigzags his way down. Stig laughs and sails pass him. Magnus steadies himself and avoids what could be a catastrophic crash. The recovery is not totally successful however. He has lost control of his inside ski and cruises full-speed towards the finish line, inadvertently clipping his ski on Stig's right ski. Stig saves himself from his own personal disaster just in time to pass the finish line and declaring victory.
The crowds watch as Stig pumps his fist in the air. As he removes his skis and tries to urge the crowd to cheer him. Magnus hobbles off to the side and leans on his ski poles for support. He closes his eyes, looking down at the snow and tries to catch his breath. He blinks a few times as if to contemplate his emotional and physical state. For several moments he is slow to respond to the crowds behind the spectator's barrier. He does not hear them waving and calling. Suddenly his knees buckle. A couple of medics rush to his aid. One tries to get his attention. He does not notice Sigrid and Roman standing close by. Roman argues with a medic as he starts to remove his ski helmet. Magnus sees Roman's mouth moving. The finish line referee and the timekeeper gather at the judges' box. They are in deep discussion as they review a small holomonitor. The event announcer J.T. Cameron Baxter comments on the developments.
"It seems as though there is a problem with the outcome, folks. There was a penalty flagged raise earlier…not sure if it is for the near collision at the steep or the possible ski clipping near the finish line…wait…one minute…the judges are taking their places. The referees have concluded their discussion. One of the judges, a former champion skier Marco Klivian enters something into computer. The giant scoreboard at the finish line remains blank. Everyone looks at the red pulsing light on the board. Magnus sees the expression on Stig's face turn from a boasting competitor to a stunned and angry. He is going into a tirade. T.J. Cameron Baxter puts down his megaphone and speaks into the microphone to the crowd waiting on the hill.
"Stig Childsen is disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior, intentionally causing injury and skiing out of bounds. Magnus Rieekan is declared the winner. The leading team is Team Son'ya'. This is going to be an interesting day, folks."
The Roman and Sigrid try to get Magnus' attention. Gradually he looks around at the people. The sound of the crowd fades in. As the cheers swell, Stig's voice can be heard addressing the referees and judges in an angry rant.
"What? But I won! This is absurd! He clipped my ski! Where's his penalty?"
One of the judges responds to him.
"Young man, you would be well advised to temper your words. A bit of humility will go a long way. You have no one but yourself to blame for your actions and, while I cannot force you, an apology to Mr. Rieekan would be in order."
Stig builds a slow burn then storms off pass the barricade where his teammates are waiting. Stig almost bumps into Adso.
"Outta my way, creature!"
Adso sticks out his tongue spraying spittle in Stig's face.
"Hey! Yousa be bombastic sore loser! Butthead!"
Meanwhile the medics help Magnus onto a gurney. Roman takes his skis. Magnus realizes he will not be available to see the outcome. He lifts his head from the pillow and grabs Roman by the arm.
"Finish the race, Tell Boone to finish the race."
"Okay…I will."
Sigrid leaves with the medics to take Magnus to the infirmary.
Even though Magnus has been declared the winner, the judge states that 'Team Son'ya' must improve their time in order to stay in the race. Meanwhile, at the top of the hill, Boone, Dantius, Fern and Son'ya react to the judge's decision. Fern looks to Boone.
"Well, Boone, what are we going to do? Can we keep going without losing ground?"
Boone contemplates for a moment.
"We're still in the race. We just can't get any penalties."
"Well, should we change the order of who goes next? Dani's never done this and…" She glances at Dantius. "Don't be offended, Dani; but you are the weakest link. Maybe a stronger skier should go last."
"No offense taken."
Boone looks at the score board.
"It's too late in the race. The judges aren't going to let us change positions now. We should just go out and do the best we can. They're going to try to take out the girls so we're all going to have to keep clear of any dirty tricks that may get one of us eliminated. You're up, Fern."
Fern is urged on by her friends as she heads for the starting post. She tries not to look at her opponent as she whispers to herself.
"Focus…don't let him psych you out, Fern. Whatever you do, just get down this mountain in one piece."
Her opponent is another Grav-ball team clone on a mission to make the life of anyone he meets miserable. The start beep sounds. Fern has a near-flawless run beating her opponent by two seconds. She is greeted with a warm embrace by Roman.
"Great job, Fernie!"
"I wish I had pushed a little harder. They are really closing in on us."
"You did good."
He pats her on the back. They look up the course as Boone handily beats his opponent from the Grav-ball team. The Grav-ball contingent, including their groupies, watches with disappointment as they watch the team score widen between the two teams. All is not lost, however, as they await the next pair of skiers. Son'ya is up next. Dantius nods and gives her a 'thumbs up' as she heads out of the start house.
"You can do this, Soni."
"I know I can…I just hope you can, Dano. You're the last one and our only hope after this."
"I promise to do my best."
Son'ya takes her turn on the course. She is fast and her halfway time is good but not as good as her opponent. He petite build is no match for his strength as he plows past her by 30 seconds. Both their run times are impressive earning both teams needed points but no win point. Tears stream down Son'ya face as she catches her breath and watches the scoreboard. She tries to wipes her tears with her ski glove. Roman comforts her.
"Hey…hey…it's only a game. It's not a big deal."
"I know, but I wanted to win this…we're going to lose Roman. I couldn't bear it if they win this. They hate us."
"Shhh…it's okay. It was fun…and we'll continue to have fun this holiday. Right?"
She sniffs and nods her head.
Son'ya's opponent Gianpaolo Zapalo and Halvar J. Pedsten cheer when the results appear on the scoreboard then confer with one another. Suddenly they head over to where Son'ya is standing with Roman and the others. Boone whispers to her.
"Oh, 'sith' a couple of trolls are heading this way. Don't let them see you cry."
The two groups are in a stand-off. Gianpaolo has removed his ski helmet and is now wearing a bright yellow and green knit ski hat. Wisps of his light brown hair poke out from the brim. There is fine blond stubble on his chin. He flashes his hazel eyes at Son'ya.
"Hey, doll face…you were very impressive on that course. I hope you don't take the loss too hard. You hippie weirdo's have earned my respect."
Son'ya wants to yell back at them but she holds back…mostly because she concedes that the event is not leaning in her favor but also because Roman will rein her in. Boone is not used to this meeker Son'ya. He looks up at the race course. Dantius is somewhere at the top preparing to make his descent. There has to be a way to turn this around. Gianpaolo and his teammate Halvar do not hide their glee at the prospect of Son'ya's team losing, especially after her verbal attack in the Grav-ball team at the ale hall the night before.
The last run is about to start. Dantius is waiting at the start block. His opponent has not come out yet. He is scheduled to race one of the rookies on the Grav-ball team. He saw his opponent briefly when the arrived at the start house. It was racer with the number 3 bib. He could not remember his name but the guy looked sort of gangly and nervous. It was hard for Dantius to imagine him being on a sports team of all things. It does not matter. This race is going to be a cinch to win.
The announcer J.T. Cameron Baxter speaks into the microphone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just gotten word from the judges on a last minute change. Team Bursa will replace contestant number '3' with racer number '7' for the final rotation."
Chaz Darklighter reacts with dismay as everyone else does but he voices his reaction in the crowd.
"Sounds like shenanigans to me. What's up with that?" Adso nods in agreement.
"Jerky jocks beesa pulling fast one on judges."
Dantius remembers that bib number. It is from one of the earlier races. Someone steps out onto the start block to his left. The racer is adjusting his helmet and putting on his ski gloves. Just before he slides his ski goggles over his eyes, he glances over in Dantius' direction.
"Hello, freak."
Dantius slowly turns. It is Stig Childsen. After his tirade earlier at the bottom of the course; the judges made an exception to permit him another run based on an old forgotten rule in the competitor's guide.
Boone looks up at the scoreboard and watches as racer number '3' disappears from the posting and a number '7' replaces it. The members of the Grav-ball team cheer. Doug Cooha'ki laughs from his wheelchair and gives Boone and the others from Son'ya's team a dirty look. Boone has a knot in his stomach.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
The computer on the starting block sounds. Dantius struggles out of the block His focus is off. Stig is ahead of him by 10 seconds. The roar from the crowd is deafening. Stig veers toward a steep.
Son'ya chooses not to look. She has seen Stig ski during a practice run He is an excellent skier and stronger than Dantius.
Dantius, however, is gaining momentum. His anger at the insult hurled at him at the top of the hill makes him determined to win this race. His teeth are clenched as he takes the next jump. Stig catches Dantius from the corner of his eye and pushes himself faster. Dantius wishes Stig would just go away. He repeats this thought in his head. The two skiers are now closing in on one another before a blind jump. Stig laughs as Dantius seems to be dragging and losing speed during a traverse. Just as Dantius regains control, Stig flies into the next jump. He is so busy showing off that he veers to the right and crashes through all three safety nets. Adso Binks laughs.
"Hah-hah! Thatsa be gonna hurt big time!" He forgets that he is surrounded by most of the Grav-ball team and their groupies.
Dantius almost slows down on the course. Boone is yelling at the jumbotron screen from the finish line.
"What are you doing you idiot! Keep going!"
Fern starts yelling too.
"Come on, Dani!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
Suddenly Dantius appears from the last jump to a turn towards the finish line. Son'ya slowly glances at the scoreboard and begins jumping for joy.
Boone greets him at the finish line.
"Hey, you dumb pale faced bastard! You won!"
Dantius is catching his breath.
"I did?" He looks up at the scoreboard. A faint but proud smile creeps across his face. "Look! I did!"
Roman helps him with his helmet.
"Yeah, of all the dumb luck! Stig crashed into the barrier netting. Are you alright, pal?"
Dantius nods 'Yes' then receives a kiss on the cheek from Son'ya.
"I knew you could do it!"
It turns out that Stig is not badly injured. He storms away from the group of medics who want to check on him. Dantius looks up at the board again. The board changes and lists the three teams with the best time. 'Team Son'ya' takes the top spot. Not everyone is happy. Stig's team winds up in third place. They reluctantly arrive at the winner's podium to accept their award. Adso Bar Binks jumps in view of the broadcast holocam and waves. He has a banner that reads, 'Save Our Swamps.' Stig leaves the podium and grabs the banner from Adso. He tosses it into the snow.
J.T. Cameron Baxter is speaking in front of the winners' podium.
"So this concludes another amazing year of Hoth Winter Break North Ridge Challenge. Congratulations to the winners and see you again next year. This is J.T. Cameron Baxter signing off from Majestic Mount Ison Peak. Remember kids, it's nice to win, but if you don't…lose with grace. Thanks to our sponsors Alpine Mountain Hair Pomade:. 'When You're King of the Hill, Hair Matters' and 'Rodian Energy Drink.' Goodbye everybody!"
Dantius and his friends return to their cabin with their trophy after a brief celebration at a nearby pub. Sigrid is in the living room with Magnus. He is sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace wearing a short cast on his left foot. Dantius hands the trophy to Magnus.
"You were phenomenal on that mountain today, skiing on a busted leg. This is for you."
"Wow…not bad…this is the most you've done for our group, newbie. Now, if we can just channel that energy into some social activism, you might actually be worth keeping around."
The others chuckle then leave the room. Sigrid follows.
"That means a lot coming from you, Magnus."
"Yeah...well…So, you got drunk tonight, eh?"
Dantius rolls his eyes and blushes as he confesses. He measures with his index finger and thumb.
"A little."
"Dagobah punch?"
"Is that what that was?"
"Its typical college screech made with so much bad alcohol and Rodian soda it looks like Dagobah swap water."
"Oh…"
"You need to upgrade your beverage of choice, my friend." Magnus reaches at the side of the sofa and presents a silver bottle and two shot glasses. He hands one of the glasses to Dantius.
"Don't just stand there, newbie…help me out here…don't you see I'm temporarily incapacitated?"
"Oh…sorry. Too bad you missed the rest of the event."
Magnus points to the plasma mounted over the fireplace.
"I didn't miss it. I watched it on the plasma. Best seat in the house…the crashes, the wacky Gungan goofing off in front of the camera. Have you noticed that Baxter's hair never moved during the entire broadcast? He must use enough hair spray to blow a hole in the ozone layer across five star systems."
Dantius takes the glass. Magnus pours a clear liquid into the glass to the brim then pours some for himself. . Sigrid returns and sits at the opposite end of the sofa. She grabs a pillow and slides it under Magnus' cast. Magnus reaches for a third glass from the floor and fills a glass for Sigrid. He raises his glass.
"Skål!"
"Skål!"
"Skål!"
Magnus and Sigrid gulp down their drink. They giggle as Dantius gasps for air. Magnus points to the plush armchair between the fireplace and the sofa.
"You okay, buddy? Why don't you have a seat? Breathe… "
Dantius dry heaves a few times. Sigrid is laughing hysterically.
"Dani, are you alright?"
His voice cracks.
"Ack…my throat is numb." A tear rolls down his cheek. Magnus and Sigrid can barely contain themselves. Magnus refills the shot glass.
"You need another drink to buffer the first."
"No."
"Yes. It'll put some color on your face."
Dantius gets his voice back although he still cannot feel his throat.
"What is this stuff?"
"Hoth Quicksilver Vodka. Good stuff, eh?"
"I don't know. I still can't feel my throat. I don't think I'll be able to eat solid food again." He reaches over and picks up the bottle. His eyes widen as he reads the label.
"It's 100 proof! This stuff can peel paint off a star cruiser." He rubs his neck.
"Dano, you're hilarious."
"I'm going to go to bed."
"Alright. You've earned it. Get some rest." Magnus remembers something as Dantius heads up the stairs.
"Oh, Dano, the grades came in early. Your new data card is in the mailbox next to the computer."
Dantius nods and walks pass the staircase towards the kitchen. He can here the others chatting.
Boone is drinking a bottle of ale. He and Fern raise their bottles in a toast. They are celebrating more than the ski race today. They each score a solid 4.0 GPA. Roman comments on his GPA after he enters his PIN code.
"Hey, I only gained 1 grade point. I'm not sure I'm getting what I paid for." I expected to get at least a B plus."
Boone gives him a look as if 'You must be joking.'
"I can only work with what I have before me."
"I paid you 50 credits."
"And now your GPA is 2.90 versus 2.40. You should be happy. Money well spent."
"You know what I think? I think I'm getting ripped off." He logs off of his grade webpage.
"I think maybe you need to study more, my friend."
"How do you get all the good grades?"
I'm naturally smart."
"How can I get an 'A'?"
Son'ya giggles.
"A brain transplant."
"Hah-hah!"
Roman is still in good spirits. He has passed.
"Bite me, Soni."
Son'ya plays with her GPA data card. She is wearing a pink t-shirt over her silk ski turtleneck.
"Well, I got the shock of my life. My weird philosophy professor gave me an 'A'.
Boone notices Son'ya's t-shirt.
"Where did you get that t-shirt? I saw at least a dozen girls wearing them at the pub tonight."
"Like it? I got it free from this guy during the race. It's actually good quality fabric."
Fern starts laughing for no apparent reason. Son'ya looks across the counter at her.
"What?"
Dantius enters his PIN. He receives some surprises of his own. He stares silently at the display while the others chat around the kitchen island. He taps the Enter key. He pushes himself away from the computer keyboard. He has a stunned expression on his face. His face is white as if frightened by something evil. No one has noticed that Dantius has left the room. The webpage has timed out but his data card is still in the slot. A blinking red light is prompting removal of the data card.