Nikola's Summer Games: Strong Enough

Nikola craned his head over his shoulder to examine the hefty chains being strapped around his chest and back. The links were as thick as a human’s torso and several times heavier. It took two machines, several workers, and close to an hour just to loop them around him in a secure manner. His sensors warned of the weight, but his metal frame bore the brunt of it fine. It was unclear what he had originally been built for and why he needed to be so impervious to many things. He doubted his own creators knew, though he suspected they hadn’t built him with winning competitions in mind.

 

Not that he was participating to win. After his display of power launching the log stack off the cliff, onlookers wished to see what else he could do, the flames of their curiosity fanned by Malachi, of course.

 

“Okay, so, this thing’s a little bigger than I first thought,” Malachi said. The tan and silver feathered bird flitted around on the ground in front of Nikola along with their humanoid companions.

 

Agent Gray shaded her eyes with her hand. Slowly, she leaned back. And back. And back and back to take in the entirety of the object he was being chained to. “It’s a Class 4 Shuttle. Did you think it was going to be small?”

 

Malachi shrugged. “I knew it was big, but not this big.”

 

It was indeed big. Or perhaps that wasn’t even the right word. Huge. Huge was a better word. A Class 4 Shuttle was large enough to carry him inside it, and though he was confident in his abilities, he doubted he would be able to pull the craft across the ground, even on its platform. Typically, offline craft of this size were moved via antigravity at a snail’s pace from one position to another.

 

Calculating likelihood of success…

 

It didn’t help that his HUD didn’t have much faith in him, either.

 

Zeb caught Nikola’s eye. “Hey. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to, Nikola.”

 

“But he’s already all harnessed up and everything!” Malachi crowed. Zeb turned a narrow eyed glare on him. “And no, I don’t have any bets set up on this one.”

 

“Not for lack of trying,” Nikola grumbled lowly.

 

“Oh really?” Zeb perked a brow and crossed his arms.

 

Malachi’s feathers fluffed around his neck and he gave Nikola a dirty look. “Tattletale. But Da, no one wanted to take a bet. Not after last time.”

 

“That’s not the point.”

 

As Zeb once again tried to pound the seriousness of betting into Malachi’s skull, the crane to Nikola’s right secured the last chain into place on the makeshift harness. As the machines backed away he gave it an experimental tug. Tight and snug. No major pain points. His sensors didn’t scream that he was going to damage his internal structure. He might bruise his flesh and crinkle a few feathers in this attempt, but that was acceptable.

 

A small hand touched his leg.

 

“Don’t break yourself trying to please Malachi, got it?” Agent Gray said.

 

“Understood,” Nikola said. 

 

It wasn’t even for Malachi’s enjoyment at this point, nor the many onlookers gathered around at a safe distance. For a reason even the Hub couldn’t explain, he needed to do this for himself. Perhaps pushing himself to find his limits was an expression of the free will he had been denied for his fledgling life. Or perhaps he liked knowing he was powerful enough to protect Agent Gray and the things he had grown fond of.

 

The game announcer’s voice cut across the chatter of the gathered crowd.

 

“After many weeks of playing, winning, losing, and laughing, we’ll now have Nikola cap off our games with a sheer display of might and will. Everyone give him a round of applause!”

 

The clapping barely registered in his brain. Everything was turned inward. His heart thundered steadily in his auditory sensors, the fresh dawn air rushed through his nares, and he argued with his HUD.

 

Weight too great. Damage anticipated. Reconsideration suggested.

 

He inhaled. If he obeyed everything his HUD said, he would have lost Agent Gray. Lost his moral code. Lost himself.

 

“We’ll go on the count of three. Everybody ready? One!”

 

He exhaled. Dug his feet into the ground.

 

“Two!”

 

Spread his wings slightly.

 

“Three!”

 

And defied his HUD with a mighty pull. The chains creaked and groaned. His sensors pinged from the strain. The cool, moist dirt sank under his talons.

 

And then the crowd gasped.