Nightfire Warriors - A Space Opera

21. First Cut

At the bunkers, the judging room they set up for us is a magnificent, glowing room with a chandelier hanging in the center. Velvet, beige curtains, and portraits of flowers really add something to make the room look royal. We're right next door to the training room, built underground.

The sixteen of us walk into the judging room and stand in two lines. My heart is pounding. The judges are sitting across the table: Palmer, Amanda, Kendall—and Abigail is the only judge standing, prepared to greet us all.

"Now it's time for the judging panel to make its first cut," she announces. "Which will bring us one step closer to determining our winner for this tournament." She explains the prizes and what the winner will receive. He—or she—will receive a cash prize of one million roubles.

They will also receive Legendary Honor, which is one of the rarest rankings any warrior in the universe can get. The second somebody—no matter what species—decides they want to be a warrior, they are automatically ranked as a Rookie. Then it's up to the system whether or not they move up to the second level, which is Recruit, then Private, and so on and so forth. Legendary is quite a journey. The typical way to receive higher rankings is by completing missions, and the Seekers decide if you deserve the rank or not. Because we've all made it to the final sixteen in the tournament, we're officially Recruits. At each elimination, we will be rewarded with the next rank, which is kind of our invitation for staying another week. And the warriors who are eliminated go home with the last ranking they were rewarded with. Justin, Cody, and Edward have had Sergeant rankings for a long time now, so nothing advances for them except the tournament. By the time week five rolls around, that's when their rankings will go higher. I hope the system hasn't been unfair with a lot of species. With this whole genetic ability privilege and everything.

The last prize is the most coveted prize of all. A contract with one of the top warrior managements in the entire universe: Nightfire Elite. Everyone gets excited when Abigail mentions it. Someone even whistles and hollers at how "sexy" the sound of the prize is.

"The panel of judges happen to be your mentors," Abigail explains to us. "First we have Palmer Hamilton. He is the very first warrior in the entire universe to go up against the Cluster leader himself and live. He's also ranked as an Inheritor, which is the highest ranking you can possibly receive. Next, we have Amanda Dillon, who is part of the famous, four-headed girl squad known as The Ladies in Red. Which I'm sure you guys all know about."

I do know about them. Competitors keep talking how gorgeous they are. The Ladies in Red are a force not to be reckoned with because they're best known for being unstoppable during menstrual cycles.

"Kendall Minshew." Abigail introduces my mentor as if this is the first time everybody is meeting her. "Who is a Legendary barbarian. I can't count how many planets she has saved from the Cluster. And of course, we can't forget me," she adds with a cheesy smile. "A lot of you might think that I'm the only vote that matters. That I'm the only one who makes the decisions—this warrior stays, this one goes—and the judges are purely here for colored commentary. That is not the case. That has never been the case. Ultimately, I'm the one who votes last. And I can only pray that these judges and me will see eye to eye most of the time."

By randomly drawing names, they call us up one at a time to give us their critiques. Frankie is first. I'm not surprised they're very fond of him. Abigail puts the most pressure on him because she is his mentor. Danny isn't receiving the best feedback, but it's balanced by Amanda's optimism. Our mentors give us the nicest feedback out of everyone, and then will keep it real with the rest.