Trial One of Three
Barbie
<Starla> It was almost time. Starla sat in a stoic silence, her legs tucked in a neat fold beneath her slight frame as she sipped at her beer. She was gathered with the rest of the girls in Barbie’s chosen venue, the huge living space of the suite, the impressive television linked to her computer tower by a long HDMI cable, the unit itself resting in a place prepared for it on the coffee table, the hard glass surface offering a perfect space for the ventilation system to do its job, the air sucking through the huge tower and blasting out the back of the unit. The liquid cooling system hummed in time with the buzz of the fan, the unit otherwise silent.Barbie
Solid State Drives were renowned for their quiet, smooth operation. The tower was abnormally silent, like most of their units were. The tall, leggy blonde sat on the leather couch, her keyboard resting easily across her bare legs and her mouse placed expertly on a table designed just for this use, a small, suspended surface that held a mouse pad in place, tipped to level out, to keep any unwanted movement at all to a minimum. The older woman took a slow breath and leaned back into the soft cushion of her seat.
Starla turned from the screen, sipping again at her beer as she looked at the rest of her girls. Cherri looked excited, ready to see the new girl in action. She’d been thrilled to learn that the only girl that Starla had shown any interest in might be joining the squad, after nearly a week of searching and finding only a few worth the trial, and none as good as this one. Hinata had a grave look on her face, her dark brows drawn in thought. She’d taken this woman’s bristling in the café to heart, and was only now working her way through the sting. She was a sensitive sort, Star knew, and would have to be reminded often that the woman’s abrasive behavior wasn’t always warranted, or intentional.
She took another sip from her Bud Light, and finally turned to Barbie herself. A wry smirk twisted the woman’s lips as she flicked her mouse, checking its response. Satisfied, she tapped the keyboard to fly through her passkey and open the lobby, waiting to see if London bothered to show. Their oldest member now, nearly forty, Barbie was confident in her experience and skill, and was determined to show this snotty upstart that the team match had just been a fluke, that she had abused the distraction of her teammates to take the veteran out. She’d returned to the battlefield of choice, taking the fight back to Halo, a place she felt confident and accomplished.
London would be foolish to take the threat lightly. She would be foolish to take any of them lightly, really. Each of her girls was a pro, and every one of them had earned the right to be here where they were. Even Cherri, if Starla had to be honest with herself. She shifted in the snug embrace of the chair she’d claimed, and looked back to Hinata again. She smiled, and put a hand on her side. “I’m sure Caroline will do just fine. You don’t need to look so hostile. She can’t see you, you know.” The tall Asian woman smiled at that, and pat the tiny blonde’s hand before she turned back to the screen. “I just hope this doesn’t set anyone off. The idea is to build the team, not tear it apart.”
Sighing silently, Star ran a hand through her hair. She wasn’t wrong. She just hoped that Caroline could keep her mouth in check, or that London could take the abuse. She should be used to it by now, surely. Online gaming was hardly a friendly community, and someone with her skills was bound to have run into more than her fair share of verbal assaults. Starla knew she’d endured enough of her own abuse for ten lifetimes. As she took the last sip of her beer, she flicked the can to the floor and tipped her head at Cherri, directing her to the kitchen for another as London’s username flicked onto the screen, the lobby closed at the two players.
Tightening her coiled legs beneath her, Starla leaned forward, catching the beer that Cherri had tossed her with a smile of thanks before she focused on the screen. In the corner of her eye, she watched as Barbie lifted her headset, settling it carefully over her immaculate curls and adjusting the mic boom to rest just shy of her lips. “You ready over there?”
<London> Shutting the door to her bedroom, she blocked out the sound of her sister’s television and ran her fingers through her hair. The text had come in days before, warning her to prepare for battle, and she had done absolutely nothing about it. In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn’t even responded to the message. She had agreed to join them simply to shut the blonde up, and she hadn’t expected anything to come of it. Now that she thought of it, though, her indifference probably enticed the annoying, bubbly leader. Troy is burning, troy is burning, burning, burning. Twisting the lock on her door, she sealed herself into her haven and made her way for her chair, socked feet sinking into the plush carpet that lined her floor. The apartment had been hardwood when they moved in, but she hated it on sight - and before she had a chance to panic, Lexington had it replaced in days.
Curling her fingers around her Razer Ouroboros, she slid the wheel forward twice before clicking the buttons simultaneously. She had no need to inspect her gear - she knew that all of it would be pristine, yet, she had to feel the curve of the mouse beneath her palm. It offered her a comfort that many things couldn’t, and she was the only one that understood that. “Troy is burning,” she whispered as she fell into her seat, the leather cushion embracing her slender form like a glove. Kicking her feet up onto the stool beneath her desk, she pulled her tray out and rested back, fingers tapping idly against the black glass. She had time to spare, and it was making her uneasy, though her dark eyes remained glued to the neon lights of her analog clock.
11:58. 11:59. 12:00.
The second the numbers clicked over to the designated time, she clicked the ‘log-in’ button on the vent account that Starla had provided, and slid her headset into place. She had no intention of using it to speak, but she always had a reason to listen. Everyone had a tell, though not many were aware of it. It was in the way their breath hitched or in the way they less subtly opted to scream. Whatever it was, she always found it - and she always used it. Once the screen loaded, she flipped to the game that she had been ordered to join, her fingers flying over the lit keys as she typed in her credentials. Instantly, her character came to life in front of her, the red armor drawing her in like the moth to a flame. That had been her only stipulation when she reluctantly agreed to join the formally known Anchorage Amazon’s. She had to have red.
Tracing the tip of her tongue over her lower lip, she reached over and grabbed her bottle of Mountain Dew, the plastic like ice beneath her palm as she twisted off the cap. 12:01. She had already entered the match, and as she took a sip from her drink, she realized that her challenger hadn’t. A tic jumped in her eye, and her finger hovered over the talk button. Before she had a chance to speak, however, the screen came to life and Barbie slipped in. Capping her bottle, she placed it in its rightful place before shifting in her seat. The second the challenge began, she ducked behind a wall and took off down a beaten path, her movements smooth and rapid as she leaped up onto the nearest platform and secured her weapon of choice, the gun resting easily in her hands as she slipped into position. Barbie had been the one to prefer the larger weapons, the messier ones. She wouldn’t be hard to target - but she had learned to never underestimate her opponents. Easing her back to the wall, she hummed under her breath to Let It Die and waited.
<Starla> “Alright *****, let’s do this.” Barbie slapped her keyboard down on her thighs and leaned forward, toward the huge screen of the television she had her tower hooked up to. The unit flared to life, the light inside the fan brightening to a blinding pink glow as the whirr of the unit’s cooling system rose over most of the sound in the penthouse, minus the huge system hooked to the television that played the sound of the game through a dozen speakers spaced strategically throughout the huge expanse of the room. Quietly, Starla sipped her beer, watching in concentration as Barbie maneuvered the map, ducking and dodging through more open and vulnerable points to skirt her way around the outside, making the best route to her favored weapon, the rocket launcher.
It wasn’t more than fifteen seconds and she had her hands on the weapon. The woman had memorized every map only so far as reaching the weapon in the least amount of time possible. This map, she was on an expanse that ran over a narrow hall that passed beneath her. She loaded a rocket into the weapon and stood in silent vigil, waiting for her prey to pass through the narrow space, an excellent spot for a rocket attack, assuming that London would be passing down the hall and not simply shooting across. The latter would give away her position and score her just a glancing hit, and likely not a kill. Barbie knew this, but was willing to take the gamble. “I’ve got you this time, showoff.” She muttered, her thumb sliding along the white shell of her mouse, the faux crack finish a flutter of rainbow colors, pulsing and swimming beneath her palm as she gripped the custom piece, her slender trigger finger at the ready. A long, red lacquered nail pressed against the button, primed to fire at the first flicker of action at the end of the hall.
Starla turned her head to where Cherri stood leaned against the bar, her long, pale legs lazily crossed as she traced her newest tattoo with a French manicured nail. The blonde clicked her tongue and the redhead flicked her eyes to her in an instant. She jerked her head back, beckoning her over to where she was sitting, and the redhead obliged, gliding noiselessly across the carpet to where Starla sat in the chair. The blonde made a motion with her hand and the redhead sat at her side, resting easily against the side of the seat and placing a hand on Star’s bare leg. “Hm?” the woman asked, her green eyes fixed on the television that, so far, was proving to be a slow and uneventful match; unusual for Barbie, really, though they were all sure that would end after the first kill, no matter who that may go to.
Starla lifted her hand and rested it against the back of the woman’s head, her nails working tenderly into the red curls as she leaned closer to her side of the seat and muttered. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do? Please, just listen for a second, okay? I know I’m mean to you sometimes, okay? But you’re a really good player. You’ve got some serious strengths, and you’ve got your weaknesses just like all of us. I was just thinking maybe you give her a run at something not so….” she waved her hand at the screen as the room erupted at the sound of a rocket launching through the air, slamming into the ground with an explosion that rocked the glass of water Hinata had just sat on the table. The slight Asian grasped the glass to keep it from spilling as she laughed and cheered, though none of them had seen how successful the rocket had been, and the score still read zero all. Barbie grit her teeth and hissed. “You got lucky.” She snarled, and thrust herself forward, jumping down off the platform and beginning her hunt. “Don’t be a pussy. Come fight me like a girl.”
Starla smirked, and turned back to where Cherri was resting against her. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” The redhead smiled, and Star could swear she saw the girl’s cheeks turn red. She smirked, and leaned down to kiss her brow. “I’ve got faith in you, no matter what I try to yell at you.” She released her, then, though her hand still lay limply in her hair, and the redhead didn’t try to move. This was good, really. She needed to get closer to the woman, especially if they were going to be bringing in London. She couldn’t afford to have half of her team at arm’s length. They needed to be a cohesive unit, no matter what they were playing. They needed to think alike, and know one another like they knew themselves.
Knowing Barbie, however, wasn’t exactly the most difficult of tasks. She watched as Caroline’s temper began to get the best of her again, her teeth grinding angrily as she clutched her mouse in a white-knuckled grip, every inch of her looked ready to throw the entire system out the window and down the thirty floors to the street. She was a firecracker, and unpredictable. It was good to have someone so spirited on their team, someone so hot headed was usually ready to take the risks they needed, and didn’t give a flying **** about her kill/death ratio. That was Barbie, on their team. The older woman was close to retiring. Starla knew it. Barbie knew it. It was all just a matter of when. She’d brought it up to her several times, and it seemed like it was a recurring theme in their conversations more and more often lately. She wouldn’t be surprised if the woman wanted out after the next circuit. Her anger problems were going to give her an aneurism, and staring at these screens weren’t going to help her eyes.
She sipped at her beer again, nearly draining it as she ran a slow circle with her thumb through Cherri’s curls while Starla shot off another rocket and missed. “******* ****, get back here!” she snapped, still chasing after the glimpses of red armor that she could still catch, until she rounded a corner after her and lost her entirely. “Where the **** did you go, you scrawny asshole?”
<London> Resting back in her seat, she barely made a sound as the noises exploded from her headphones. The sound of bullets, screaming and cursing filled her mind, and yet she remained focused, her fingers flying among the keys. Her opponent made it far too easy, and she found herself wondering about her state of mind when she watched her make the easiest of mistakes. Running her tongue along her teeth, she reached over and grabbed her drink as she fired round after round down the hall before ducking back into the shadows to take enough time for a sip. When she was finished, she sat it aside and shifted in her seat, her leg tucking beneath her slender form. She was bored already, the ease of the battle threatening to lull her to sleep as she turned her gaze from the screen when a knock sounded from her door. “Pizza, Lon? I’m starving.” Her twin’s voice filtered through the heavy wood, and with one hand, she pulled her headset free and chuckled.
“Extra cheese and two cups of sauce,” she called back, though she knew that it was unneeded. If there was anyone in this world that knew her better than herself, it was her twin. Turning her attention back to her screen when she heard her feet fade down the hall, she gave a pleased laugh when she saw the opening that the woman had left for her. Dropping her assault rifle for the shotgun at her feet, she dived out of cover and fired three rounds into her skull, her eyes bright with accomplishment as she shattered her barriers and the words Stealth Kill flashed across her screen. Turning off her mic before the screams could emit, she tossed her headset across the desk and stretched in her seat, her smile pleased. “Game over, *****,” she laughed, before slipping from her chair to head for the kitchen.
The apartment was quiet as she poured herself another drink, and she knew that she had at least an hour and a half between her sister would return. It would have been easier for her to call for delivery, but once again, she took careful consideration of her mental state. She couldn’t shake the memory of the last time a stranger had come to the door, and she knew that it still haunted her sister as well. Shaking her head, she poured five cubes of ice into her glass before making her way back for her room and shutting the door behind her. Thirty minutes should be enough time to finish these ‘trials’ and get back to her life. She had other things to worry about, but she knew that the blonde would continue to pester her until she caved. She was proving to be more of a nuisance, and yet she found herself unable to shut her out. Perhaps she was finally on the road to recovery - only time would tell. Settling back in her seat, she flicked back to her game screen and waited for the text that would include her next trial. She only hoped it was more of a challenge than this had been.
<Starla> Star’s smile slowly faded as she watched the match continue. Her amused, light hearted spectatorship had quickly turned into a critical coaching. Barbie was out of control. She was making textbook mistakes, throwing so many flaws into her game, taking extreme and unnecessary risks to squeeze out the quick win. She watched as she burned ammo on obvious misses, tossing grenades into walls instead of around corners, the woman’s hands shaking so wildly that she looked like she was having some kind of fit. White teeth bared in a hiss as she clicked wildly at her new mouse, cursing the hardware and saying it wasn’t as responsive as she needed.
She kicked her legs out angrily and planted her feet on the floor as she leaned closer to the television set and snarled. “I’ll ******* burn your ***, stop hiding like a little *****.” She fired a rocket into the ground just shy of London’s cover, one of the few smart moves she’d made in the match, hoping to catch the woman with the splash damage. When she failed to score the kill, her anger caught in her throat, a wild scream choked off as the red armor flashed across her screen. She clicked her mouse wildly, only to have the ”No Ammo” indictor flash across her crosshair. It was over in an instant. Three quick blasts and her shield was gone, and her health had vanished into zero. Barbie was done.
That moment probably scared Starla more than any moment since she had met the woman ten years ago. Caroline’s hand clenched into a fist and she slammed her hand down on her mouse so hard it shattered, white chips of plastic flying through the air as she screamed, streaming obscenities into the mic as she picked up her keyboard and grabbed one end of the long, white plastic body and smashed the other end across the coffee table, cracking the glass with a violent smash, the plastic shattering and keys flying across the room. She reached out and ripped the tower with both hands, her features twisted in her rage as she yanked the cords with her pull, and dragged it to the window. Without pause, she tossed it off the balcony, sending the heavy computer flying through the air to smash into a car below, completely crushing the roof of the vehicle almost thirty floors down. She ripped her headset off and snapped it in half, throwing what was left into the floor and jamming a finger into Starla’s chest as she shouted.
“**** this *****, and **** you. I don’t want this ******** on my team. She’s ******* cheating and I know she is. This whole ******** trial is just a ******* joke, and you are a joke. Joanna wouldn’t have ever let her team fall apart like this. **** all of this, I’m getting a ticket out of here tonight. I don’t want any part of this ****, or any of you **** players. I’m done.” She shoved Starla back into the chair and turned on her heel, stomping with fury as she rushed to her room and slammed the door hard enough to rattle the chandelier above them.
Cherri and Hinata both stared, their eyes so wide that Star thought that they would fall out of their skulls if they weren’t careful. She lifted her hand and brushed her chest, smoothing out the tight fit of her sports bra before she turned to Cherri at her side. “I think that makes it your turn, like we discussed, right? You decided what you want to take her up on?” Starla didn’t miss a beat, and she wasn’t about to show either of her girls weakness. Barbie was hurt, her pride was wounded, and she knew that she was on the downward slope. She was hoping beyond hope that she could retire on a glorious note, had been holding out for one last big bang before she bowed out, and was clinging to this team for that chance. Now some local hero that hadn’t played a single ranked match just stomped her mercilessly and she was livid. Star knew the position she was in, but it didn’t excuse her. She wasn’t sure how she would proceed, if she would let it pass until the older woman was better, had cooled off and was ready to talk, or if she would have to remove the woman from the team for her insubordination. She hated feeling like she was a dictator, like she was some hard ***, but if they were going to be any kind of success, then it might very well be necessary.
Cherri stared at her reaction, knowing that it was actually her turn, but more concerned about what was going on in the apartment. She lifted her hands and pointed one painted nail toward Caroline’s door. “Shouldn’t we… like, maybe go check on her? See if she’s okay? I mean, she was pretty pissed. I just… haven’t seen anyone talk to you like that, Star. Are you okay?” she reached up and put a hand on the blonde’s knee, and the woman straightened her spine and smiled. “I’m fine. There’s nothing you need to worry about me for, I’ve got tougher skin than all that, girls. Comes with the territory. Caroline, though… Let her cool off, and if she still wants to leave, then she’ll leave. If she wants to stay, then she can apologize. Either way, she has earned respect, and we’re going to give it to her. This is the last we talk about it until we’ve heard from her.” She paused and let her intense, golden stare move from Cherri’s face to Hinata’s. “Understood?”
Both girls nodded, and she let her eyes drop back to Cherri. “Now, I think I asked you a question, Cherribomb. Are you ready for the next trial? Have you chosen what game you’re going to play?” The redhead nodded timidly, and the blonde smiled, lifting her hand and indicating where she was keeping a tower just for the woman, safe with Hinata’s new security encryption. “Then I want you to have this, after what happened to your last tower, I thought it was appropriate that I got you a new one. I think you’ll be pleased.” The redhead moved to where the tower was sitting on the bar. It’d been there for the better part of the day, but she had simply assumed that it had been one of the other girls’ new hardware, and had kept her distance, though she had eyed it lustily, keeping her distance though she could feel herself dying just to touch it. She took it in her hands, a look of shock on her face as she flicked her eyes to Starla. “It’s so light!”
The blonde’s lips twisted in a smirk as she nodded. “Aluminum. A lot lighter than steel, and stronger than plastic. Go ahead, peek inside.” The redhead tipped the tower, looking through the glass window that dominated one whole face of the tower. Her eyes nearly did fall out of her skull, then as she nearly dropped the light tower in her hands. “This… chip doesn’t come out for another six months. And this graphics card… do you have any idea how much hardware like this costs? I mean, of course you do, but you’re just going to give this to me? Just… I just…” she fell into a sort of speechless, giddy silence as she held the tower in her hands, looking over the parts inside with a big, stupid grin on her face that only seemed to grow with every second. Starla couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. “I knew you would like it. You deserved it, earned it even. I’m proud of you, and I figured it was about time I did something to show you that, instead of just sounding sappy every time I tried to say it.”
The redhead grinned, and set the tower in the floor before she all but speared the woman into the chair and kissed her cheek, her arms squeezing her as tightly as she could manage. “Thank you, Star. Thank you so much…” The blonde laughed, and lifted her hand to gently pat her back. “Really, don’t thank me Cherri. You worked hard for this. Now get your game and message London before she thinks we abandoned her.” The redhead kissed her cheek again and rushed to hook up her tower. Meanwhile, Starla picked up her phone and sent the woman a text, making sure that she heard from one of them in time.
COMPOSED TEXT
TO: LONDON
Hey girl, sorry, we had a
technical issue over here.
Cherri will be on in a sec
to shoot you a message
to join her game. You
got this.
On the television, the login splash screen for Cherri’s World of Warcraft account flicked onto the massive screen, and Starla stifled a chuckle. “Hush. You’re just as bad as I am. And like you said.” She turned, and keyed in her password with a flurry of quick, dexterous strokes of the keyboard before her character list popped into the right hand side of the screen. “Not everything is about first person shooters.” She muttered, and tapped on her character of choice. She smirked, and settled her headset on over her ears as she tapped her mic. “You there, chica? I’m ready to start this party if you are. I know you’ve got a WoW account, girl. Log in and show me what you’ve got.”
