Brinus was at his great house in saffron as Simmie sat in Brinus’s lap while Brinus brushed his hair. The crackling of the fire in the fireplace glowed with the low lighting of the ornately wood-paneled parlor. The floor was walnut hardwood with a gunstock lacquer finish. In the center of the parlor was a black and white marble compass rose. A footman was in the servant’s drink cupboard and Alfred served drinks. Tigs had a glass of port as Alfred served all three of them.

  “Do you guys do this every evening?” asked Tigs with his legs crossed and a glass of port in his right hand.

  Simmie nodded, “He brushes my hair and then I brush his.”

  Tigs smiled and handed the butler his empty glass, “And you trust him?”

  Simmie nodded. “We groom each other every night.”

  Brinus kissed his head, patted him on his bare shoulder, and switched places. Then, Simmie began making Brinus’s hair more messy, as it always was.

  “Did you try the Ritalin I gave you, Bri?”

  Brinus nodded. “It really helps with feeling overwhelmed with coursework and my regular job performance and it helps with my anger. It's like I control my emotions and am able to break out of a workflow without someone else doing it for me.”

  “Yeah, Calnori scanned your brain and found your dopamine levels were at 40% lower than neurotypicals and the AA nicotine caused some brain changes.”

  Brinus sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “So I gotta take the Ritalin fer the rest of my life?”

  Tigs leaned back into his baroque-styled chair and cussed. “Do you want to smoke or do you want to quit?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t wonna trade a cig fer a pill! What if I get into a combat situation and miss a dose of my medicine?”

  Tigs laughed and then stoked the fire with a firepoker. "The adrenaline in combat will compensate for your medication.”

  Simmie kissed Brinus’s head and tapped him on the shoulder. They switched places again. Simmie leaned into Brinus and Brinus wrapped his arms around him.

  “I have a tournament tomorrow, so I won’t be able to go to church,” Brinus said.

  Tigs chuckled and crossed his legs. “Isn’t tomorrow the regional fight?”

  Brinus nodded and then exclaimed, “Yes, I took the week off of work so I could do the regional finals, and tomorrow is the first round. There are seven rounds for seven days I participate in three of them. After the regional finals are the district semifinals. Mrs. Truelove doesn’t think I have the experience or the health to make it past the district semis.”

  “Because of your heavy smoking?”

  Brinus nodded and affirmed, “I’d be goin’ against never-smokers who practiced kobchi their whole lives. The odds are stacked against me from the start. Anyway, I need to get to bed. I gotta a long day tomorrow.”

  Brinus came up from the couch, kissed Simmie passionately for a moment, and then went to bed.

  Tigs and Simmie looked at each other in the crackling fireplace and eerie glow of the firelight. Finally, Tigs implored, “Take care of him. You two are perfect for each other. I don’t like that you married a felon, but I know he will destroy planets to protect you.”

  “Or the ones I point at and say I don’t like.” Simmie joked. Brinus patted him on the shoulder.

  Brinus and Simmie were in bed together the next morning. Brinus had his leg over Simmie’s waist and his arm over Simmie’s chest. They were both asleep and cuddled tightly together. A kitchen maid walked in to tend the fire and restock the firewood.

  Brinus stirred and Simmie wrapped around Brinus. However, Brinus eased out of Simmie’s grasp and the kitchen maid looked shocked.

  “Your grace! I didn’t know you were awake!” She whispered frantically.

  Brinus shrugged and then popped a piece of caffeine gum from the dresser into his mouth. “It’s a war habit. I sleep light cuz the enemy could come at any second. What did you do during the war?”

  “I worked in the kitchens at a Navy hospital for three years as a dishwasher and kitchen maid. What did you do?” The maid relaxed and began tending the fire after restocking the firewood.

  “I was a naval officer cadet; I fought in The Sector 22 Campaign on ; At the Battle of Stellaris, I got the purple heart and bronze star; and I was involved in many relief efforts during the war as commander of the workshop on the victory.”

  The kitchen maid smiled as she began stacking fresh wood and setting up the fire starter. “Thank you for keeping us safe. I heard about how bad things had gotten in the federation at the start of the war. People were starving in the streets. People were unable to access healthcare because they couldn’t afford it. Most of the population was mentally or physically ill because of their toxic food supply.” She clicked her lighter on the firestarter and left the room. A fire roared in the fireplace. “Your fire is made now, good day, your grace.”

  Brinus never thought of himself as a savior. He always saw the military as a means to an end—a way to escape extreme poverty and nothing else. A warm feeling filled his chest that he had never felt before. , he thought and smiled to himself. Then, he went into the bathroom to start getting ready for his fight. He wondered if anyone would see him as a savior in the fighting ring.

  Brinus walked out of the locker room bathroom with a cup of urine in his hand. The time was 6:30 pm and he had just done a drug test. He wore a bathrobe with the logo of a dragon in a circle for a gaming company on the back of the robe. He also wore a pair of boxer shorts and his hands and feet were wrapped for combat. They told him it was a routine drug test, though, Brinus hadn’t needed to do one before.

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  An official named Sally Truegood was in an orange and white suit and tie uniform. She stuck a dipstick into the cup. It turned orange for amphetamines which was the base drug for rage.

  Brinus knew that at that moment they found out about his new meds.

  Sally furrowed her brow and asked, “Why are you taking amphetamines?”

  Brinus gave her a screw-you smile and then snapped. “It’s a pre-collapse Earth drug found in an old medical archive called Ritalin. It is used in the Confederacy to treat dopamine imbalance in former chronic smokers.”

  The official put the urine cup in a replicator and disposed of it. “Do you have a prescription?”

  Brinus pulled a paper slip with Dr. Calnori’s signature from his locker. It was his written prescription with a QR code. He kept it just in case, at Simmie's request. The official scanned it with her comms device, and it was verified.

  The official scoffed, “It looks legit, don’t come back to the events on your medication.”

  Brinus coughed the word ‘bullshit’ and snapped, “I need it though. Why can’t I have it?”

  Sally put her comms device in her pocket and rolled her eyes. “It is a performance enhancer. If you test positive again, you will be not allowed to compete. Prescription or not, paperwork can be forged.”

  Brinus gave a creepy smile with a dead-eyed expression. “So, you would deny me the medication I need for a medical condition? Is that what you’re saying? I want that in writing please.”

  The game official crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. “And what medical condition is that?”

  Brinus closed his eyes and performed a quick meditation technique Calnori taught him. He then said half yelling, “None ya damn business!” He walked away before the official could say anything more.

  Sally looked at her comms device and read the PDR. “The medical condition was AA nicotine-induced dopamine deficiency.” The information came up with the QR code. “Whether that’s our business or not doesn’t matter; it’s our business to prevent cheating.”

  Brinus saw his opponent in the stretching room. He was some 22-year-old kid from the army troopers. His body build was unmistakable and the tattoo of the 31st Infantry Division 66th Armored Battalion 4th Armored Walker Regiment on his chest was clear.

  Brinus approached him and offered his hand. “Hello there! My name is Woodstack Helios. You’re my warm-up fighter. How do you do on this here fine autumn mornin’.” Brinus was deliberately being overly cheerful and fake. He even gave a massive screw-you smile.

  The kid looked scared and froze up. “I-I-I…”

  Brinus patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay sweetheart! We were all first-timers! You’ll do fine.”

  The kid froze, and Brinus felt that it would look bad on him if he continued harassing him. He knew people didn’t like bullying, so he walked away.

  The kid stood at the exit as Brinus looked at him. Thirty minutes passed. “It’s okay. You’ll do fine.” Birinus flashed a screw-you smile.

  The kid smiled and showed his teeth, “Oh, I was the district champion last year. I’ve been doing Kobchi since I was five. You’re fucked because I’m Dale the Whale.” The kid laughed maniacally as Brinus swallowed.

  Brinus didn’t have time to process this as the buzzer went off. Brinus and Dale the Whale ran onto the ring with their arms raised. The crowd erupted into cheers and began chanting, “Kick his ass! Kick his ass!” Brinus felt a buzzing in the tips of his fingers and toes. The energy in the stadium charged his magic.

  The announcer began screaming into the microphone as Brinus and Dale the Whale circled each other. Some people cheered for Brinus while others cheered for Dale.

  Brinus circled Dale; Dale circled Brinus; Dale slowly closed the distance until Brinus realized he was pushing him into a corner.

  Brinus yelled over the booing crowd, “Army Troopers suck! Go Navy!”

  Dale the Whale laughed, “Army is number one! The Navy sucks!”

  Brinus took advantage of a moment of inattention and slipped behind him which suddenly put Dale on the defensive.

  “Damn you Woodstack!” yelled Dale as another crowd member threw a pack of peanuts at the two fighters.

  The booing became louder. Both Dale and Brinus looked at each other and smiled. It was game on. Suddenly they charged at each other and people screamed so loudly it vibrated the stadium. People screamed for their favorite fighters and began cheering as Dale attempted to get Brinus in a chokehold. Brinus could feel his magic charging as the energy of the stadium made him tingle.

  The new wave of energy filled him from head to toe as his heart raced with adrenaline. The sweat stuck to his skin and he could taste the blood rushing to his head. The new energy allowed him to throw his opponent over his knee; grab Dale’s arm, put it between his knees, fall to the ground, and jerk his hips up. Finally, Dale yelled and tapped out the referee declared Brinus the winner.

  The crow screamed but did not rush the court. The ref held Brinus’s hand over his head and paraded him around.

  After the fight, he dressed in his military uniform. He was shirtless but had on his steel-toed boots and uniform pants as he brushed his hair and teeth. Just as Brinus buttoned up his shirt one game official and Dale the whale approached him.

  The game official with the nametag Sally Truegood looked like an old-school librarian from the '90s Earth films. Her demeanor was that of a tough elderly woman who writes up her students for ridiculous reasons.

  “He cheated I tell you. I don’t know how but he cheated!”

  Sally rolled her eyes and snapped, “Yes, he is a dark fire mage. Yes, he takes performance-enhancing drugs but for a legitimate medical reason. It is up to to research opponents and come up with the best strategies. Now, to change the subject, do you have a legitimate complaint or do you need a ticket home?”

  “HE CHEATED!”

  Sally didn’t even blink. She crossed her arms and asked sternly, “Do you have a ticket back to your army trooper unit, or do we need to provide you with one?”

  Dale slammed his hand into a locker and cussed. He then walked out of the locker room.

  Sally sighed and put a hand on Brinus’s shoulder. She said softly, “On behalf of the Confederate Interplanetary Kobchi Organization, I wish to extend a humble apology. This type of behavior is not condoned by the organization and he will be disciplined accordingly. We hope to see you on Wednesday. Good day, Mr. Helios.”

  After the fight, Brinus and his husband were at home, dressed only in gym shorts. He tapped a cigarette on the couch arm as Simmie brushed his hair for the evening. They were in the sitting room, where a Holovision sat on the fireplace mantle. Dale the Whale sat with a famous podcaster, an ex-fighter, and an ex-marine trooper.

  Finally, Dale the Whale and the podcaster laughed, and then he said, “Yeah, I shouldn’t have lost. I should’ve won. I don’t care if he was a dark-fire mage or not. He smoked for most of his life, even if he quit recently. This is his first tournament round, and he is new to Kobchi. I am in better health than he is, stronger, and more experienced.”

  The marine looked at Dale the Whale with slanted eyes. Who leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “What exactly are you saying?”

  Dale grinned ear to ear and then leaned into the mic. “I know for a fact he is taking amphetamines for no reason. He cheated by taking Ritalin.”

  Brinus dialed into the show. He was patched through almost immediately.

  “It looks like Brinus Helios is on the line. Go ahead Brinus. You have the floor.”

  Brinus stood in front of the holovision and said with an eerie calm. “Do you wonna fight again? Name the arena. When can you do another fight? I’ll book the match and it’ll be on me. Are you a coward?”

  Dale the Whale screamed into the mic at an almost earsplitting volume. “I don’t fight cheaters! You are the coward! You cheated in an official game!”

  Brinus laughed and then chuckled into the mic. “Are you familiar with the effects of Tarken Tea cigarettes on the human brain? I need that medication because Tarken Tea leeches dopamine out of the brain. That’s why they ban the sale of vapes and cigarettes to minors. Sally Truegood tested me the match and cleared me to fight. You can ask her, but if you just want to sing whale songs and spread lies, we can settle this like Kobchi fighters. Now where do you want the rematch? Name the time and location and I will have my butler book the venue.”

  Dale the Whale slapped the mic and stormed off the stage.

  The streamer put his palm to his face. “Oh, man.” He sighed. “Mad because bad, bro.”