(May 29, 2009)
.
Stars twinkled outside the bulkhead's reinforced port hole. From where he crouched on his hands and knees, Brody stole glances out the window. Somehow the sight made the ache in his shoulders, back, and knees feel further away. Though isolated by so many lightyears, the stars still danced like they did when he'd watched them at home.
Brody gave a tiny shake of his head. Maybe the last punch from Ripcon had hit him too hard if he was thinking mushy stuff like that. Still . . . Brody risked a longer look outside. 'Diamonds.' He decided with a small nod. They really did look like diamonds.
"Quit daydreaming." A swift kick in the side accompanied the order.
Brody flinched, sending the bucket of water next to him sloshing dangerously. How had he not heard Ripcon enter the room? Brody gripped his scrub brush to hide the trembling in his hands. It never went well when Ripcon came to 'check up' on him. Keeping his head down, Brody worked with renewed fervor on the floor.
"That's more like it."
Brody bit his tongue. Maybe, this once, if he didn't react Ripcon would leave quickly. Ripcon's looming presence didn't move from his position, entirely too close to Brody for his comfort. 'That'd be too much to hope for.' Brody plunged the brush into the bucket and shifted sideways, conveniently further away from Ripcon.
"You missed a spot."
Brody had a split second to brace himself before Ripcon grabbed his collar and jerked him back to the area Ripcon had been standing. Ripcon shoved Brody's face to the floor hard enough for Brody to see non-celestial stars. It took several seconds for Brody to regain his senses. Once he did he had to admit that particular spot was dry, though that might have had more to do with the fact Brody hadn't done that side of the room yet. Not that Ripcon cared.
Ripcon applied more pressure to Brody's head when he didn't get a response. Biting back a yelp, Brody forced himself to go limp. Ripcon would tire of this. Hopefully.
"Do your job."
Another kick, this time to his leg, punctuated the command. Brody grit his teeth to keep from crying out. The pressure of Ripcon's grip suddenly vanished. Brody's head still felt like it was spinning, but he pulled in a deep breath and struggled back to his knees. Keeping his gaze on the floor, Brody clumsily dunked his scrub brush again. He viciously attacked the spot Ripcon had shoved his face into.
"Hmph." Ripcon must not have been able to find anything further to criticize, or didn't want to make Brody less able to complete his tasks, because he stomped out of the room a couple minutes later.
Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Brody leaned back on his ankles. His knees ached, but this at least gave them a moment's reprieve from holding his weight. Just as suddenly as Ripcon, Odius entered the room. Brody hunched over and hurriedly started scrubbing the floor again.
The back of Brody's neck prickled under the weight of her gaze. Yet, to his surprise, she didn't say anything to him. She did however stay in the room the remaining half hour it took Brody to finish. Ignoring her presence, Brody rocked backward to a sitting position, his arms trembling from the exertion they'd just endured.
"I believe you were told what to complete next once this room was finished."
Brody flinched but nodded. So much for a moment to catch his breath- not that he really expected one. Gingerly he pulled himself to his feet. Odius stood beside the door, much too close for Brody's comfort. But he kept his face expressionless as he walked past her.
Her hand darted out and grabbed Brody's arm. Brody froze, fighting the urge to pull away.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"G-going to clean the rooms for- for the warriors."
"Did you ask to be dismissed?"
"I-I-" Brody gave up trying to form words. Apparently her telling him to move on didn't count as a 'dismissal.'
She shoved him through the doorway. "Consider this a warning. Galvanax would not be pleased with your presumptive attitude."
Brody shuddered, memories of his time in the freezer box coming back to mind.
"Remember that." She jerked his arm again.
"Can-" Brody's tongue felt like lead, "Can I do my next chore?"
"Get a move on." Odius.
'What do you think I was trying to do?' Brody wanted to scream and flail- and try some of the attacks he'd been practicing on the kudabot. But he didn't. The last thing he needed was Odius to find out about the practice bot. So he bit his lip and scurried from the room.
His next task was to clean the common room for the contestants. Easily one of the largest rooms on the ship, sans the arena itself and the contestants' mess hall, the space sprawled about half the size of a football field. Scattered chairs, or perches depending on the fighter's preference, were intermarked between tables and a long bar. The space allowed contestants to mingle if they wished, but also provided enough space to accommodate those who had no wish to interact with their competition. Which meant it took forever to clean.
At least none of the new season's competitors had arrived yet.
Sighing, Brody dragged himself to the cleaning cart parked in the middle of the room. He still didn't know what the symbols on the bottles actually translated to- between restarting his Earth studies and the projects Galvanax kept them busy on, Mick hadn't wanted to add teaching Brody Karlec to the mix, but Brody had worked with the cleaning cart long enough to know which item did what without having to call Mick multiple times. And given Mick was doing some delicate circuitry work today, he'd probably appreciate it if Brody kept it that way.
Though nothing could compete with cleaning the air vents as the worst chore on the ship, cleaning the common room ranked high on the chores Brody hated. The size of the room made for many places Brody's work might not meet with a particular overseer's expectations. Given how both Ripcon and Odius had been in to evaluate his work already, Brody had little hope he'd make it through the rest of the day- the length he expected this to take- without another 'confrontation' from one or both of them.
Brody flexed his fingers, trying to alleviate some of the stiffness that crept into them. It didn't do much. 'Best just get it over with.' Heaving another sigh, Brody found the table cleaner and started working on the flat surfaces.
He wiped down the bar, his brush traded for a rag. That didn't mean his shoulders ache any less. At least he was tall enough to reach without climbing onto a chair or stool. His back appreciated the break from being completely hunched over. Now it only partially was. While still not optimal, Brody would take whatever form of relief he could get.
He hummed quietly, relishing the rare moment where no one was breathing down his neck (well, not that the kudabot guards actually needed to breathe, but Brody still thought the phrase applied) as he worked. A half hour later he finished with the bar and moved to the furniture.
In order to accommodate a wide array of alien species there were hardly two chairs alike. Some were large and plush, others small and made of stone. Still others were mere wooden posts for the avian type aliens. And each required its own special process for cleaning.
At one point a kudabot brought the mid-wake meal, allowing a five minute break. All too soon it was back to work. Brody let himself go on autopilot as the hours crept achingly by.
Two hours past his usual time for the sleep cycle Brody couldn't think of anything else that needed to be finished in the common room. Still he did a final walk through, his blurry eyesight sweeping high and low to every visible space. Satisfied as he could be with his inspection, Brody set about gathering the scattered supplies. Once everything was collected and placed on the cart Brody headed for the main door. He knocked and almost immediately a kudabot swung the large door inward. Brody jumped backward to avoid being struck by the heavy metal.
The kudabot churned out a question and Brody nodded. "Finished. The cart is where I found it."
Garbling out another reply, the robot entered the room to do its own evaluation of the place. Brody leaned against the wall near the door and slid to a sitting position on the floor. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The constant irregularity to his sleep schedule of late was seriously starting to catch up with him.
A rough jerk on his arm jerked Brody out of his doze. Adrenaline shot through Brody and he scrambled to his feet before the owner of the hand forced him up much more painfully. He glared at the kudabot attached to the vice grip.
"What?" Brody didn't care his tone might be considered snappish. The kudabots didn't react to tone the way a sentient being would- namely Ripcon or Odius. Neither of whom had decided to revisit him. A fact Brody was beyond thankful for.
Instead of answering directly, the kudabot dragged Brody to a spot in the middle of the room. It let go of Brody's arm, only to grab a brush from the cart and all but throw it at Brody. Though sluggish from exhaustion, Brody managed to snag the scrub brush before it smashed into his face.
"What?" Brody tried again.
The kudabot gestured to a spot on the floor, barely the size of a kernel of corn, of a dark blob of what might have been oil. Rolling his eyes, Brody wrapped his aching fingers around the wooden handle. The skin along Brody's knuckles pulled taut and small fissures appeared. Blood began to seep through the broken skin, a few drops finding their way down his fingers and falling to the floor. Honestly Brody was surprised this hadn't happened earlier, but that didn't make the pain any less sharp.
He crouched down and quickly scrubbed at the spot pointed out by the kudabot. When it finally relinquished its discoloration from the tile Brody turned to the bright red dots now peppering the floor. Taking the hem of his shirt, Brody dabbed at the wayward blood. The coarse material quickly soaked it up. 'Better my shirt than Ripcon hunting me down to scrub the blood out of Galvanax's property. Love how he cares more about cleaning supplies than the cleaner.'
Brody stood and stuck the worst of his bleeding knuckles in his mouth. The familiar bitter taste of iron made Brody want to vomit, but he didn't want to clean that up too. Fortunately the kudabot didn't seem to have any other tiny detail out of place for Brody to fix. It shoved Brody toward the door. Scurrying forward, Brody desperately hoped that he wasn't being sent to some other random task rather than his pallet.
The kudabot led him in the direction of the cells and Brody couldn't help the rush of relief that washed over him. He was so, so tired. Stumbling along, Brody coaxed his legs to hold on for a little longer. The steep stairs threatened to send Brody sprawling several times before he made it safely to the bottom. His guard unlocked the door and Brody practically collapsed over the threshold.
Dimly Brody heard the door shut behind him. Crawling to his pallet, he let his shaking limbs give way beneath him.
He was just starting to drift off when his watch beeped, a shrill tone Brody hadn't heard before. Sluggishly he rolled onto his back and pushed the display button. It took his blurry eyes a few seconds to decipher the holographic projection.
An Earth time and date. Apparently it was midnight in California. That in itself didn't mean much to Brody, but the date flashing next to it made Brody's heart clench.
May 30th.
A few stray tears made their way down Brody's cheeks and stuck with him throughout his restless night. "Happy Birthday to me."