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"You made it?" I reel from the fall, but Racour's soft voice helps me refocus. "I wasn't sure you'd come."

He stares at me over the edge of the laundry bin. It takes a moment to realize what I am sitting in, and Racour extends his hand to help me out of the filthy clothes. I feel my breakfast coming back before I see it on the floor. Racour pats my back gently.

"There, there. Someone should have warned you about the fall." He shoots Nihl a pointed look.

Nihl just rolls her eyes, and waits impatiently for me to finish. Racour pats the corners of my mouth with a kerchief and sits me down in a clean enough corner. I'm still disoriented from the fall, so I'm thankful for his support. I am able to look around the decent sized laundry room. Aside from Nihl and Racour, Ani, Aari, and Vinny are draped about the room. They watch me, then move their attention to Nihl who has draped herself over a battered grey chair.

"Alright. Today we are-"

"Are you gonna make us lift piles of clothes again?" Aari gripes.

"No. Shut up."

Nihl is already demonstrating. "We are going back to the blindfolds.

"Ah shit." Vinny gave a long sigh. "Just cuz ye can do doesn't mean we can."

"I've been doing it my whole life." Nihl shrugs and drops blindfolds in laps around the room. She stops in front of me. "Are you participating?"

I shake my head, and look away. Nihl drops the blindfold anyway, then reassumes her position at the couch. Racour fiddles with several round objects as the others put their masks on.

"Vinny is the strongest here besides Nihl." He whispers before pressing buttons that send the spheres darting around the room.

"Why doesn't Ani have a mask?"

"She isn't sensitive enough to use it."

"What about you?" I ask.

"I'm proficient." He sighs as one of the robots fires a very real laser shot. My body jerks at the sound and intense worry for Aari - at whom the shot was directed, but she dodges around it deftly. I watch as each maneuvers closer and closer to their bots. Ani is the first to decommission her's. Then Vinny, and finally Aari. Everyone removes their blindfolds. They take a sip of water and go right back to it. Each time they take a break, someone encourages me to join in, but I politely refuse. This isn't my idea of a good time. After another hour, they adjourn and I am freed into a random hallway of the ship.

"Next time," Nihl follows me to my room. "Be ready to participate."

"Thank you, Nihl, but...I can't." I press the keypad and close the door.

"She took you below?" Kreila asks from her bed, half asleep.

"Yes." I take my sleep well pill and tuck myself into bed.

"Did you..."

"No, goodnight." I end the conversation. There is nothing that could tempt me to use the life energy. I was just curious.

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