After their team exercise ended, they went to eat a quick dinner. Not paying attention, Sam suggested a table next to the Aces.

  Mid-meal, Victor leaned over and leered at them. “Ready for defeat this weekend?”

  Sam had seen the full spectrum of behavior brought out by competition. Some people directed the stress inward, others outward. The latter could be annoying to encounter, but best just to shrug it off.

  Before he could reply and attempt to get Victor off their backs, Nadia had a quip of her own ready. “To whom, you? Hold on.” She held her index finger to the side of her head. “Let’s see. I’m reading your mind. You know you’re in over your head and afraid you’re going to set yourself on fire.”

  Victor’s mouth twisted in fury, and he launched up from the table. He growled, “Low blow, Azza. My dad died in a car crash. Got any other insults? Keep ‘em coming.”

  Nadia looked stricken, her face pale. From her side, Win learned forward. “Look, she didn’t know. We were minding our business. You’re the one who started the conversation.”

  Victor scowled and held out his palm. A flicker of a flame appeared above it. “And this weekend I’m going to end it. Unless you want to go to the training room and see where things take us.”

  “Okay, we’re all adults here—” Sam interjected but was interrupted by Nadia striking out with her hand and grabbing Victor’s forearm. Sam felt his stomach drop. They all knew the rules; fighting in the residential area would result in a shuttle trip back to Earth.

  However, all that happened was Victor went rigid and his face blank. Pulling away from Nadia’s grasp, he sat down in his chair and resumed eating in silence. His teammates looked at him with stunned surprise but voiced no complaint.

  Nadia sagged in her seat.

  “Quick thinking,” Camila whispered, giving her a supportive smile.

  “That was risky. If word gets out that you’re using your affinity on the other recruits, we’ll earn a bad reputation.” Sam said, brow furrowed.

  “Does that matter? Whoever wins will be disliked regardless,” Elias pointed out.

  “He’s right, Sam. Yes, I need to be careful, but only so we don’t give away too much about our capability. The goal is to win. If we want to make friends, we have each other.” Nadia looked around the room, her gaze tinged with indifference, in contrast with her typically cheerful disposition.

  Sam chose not to make an argument out of it. If Nadia held an opinion strongly enough, he’d learned long ago that little he said would change her mind.

  After they finished eating, Nadia suggested relaxing and playing card games, but Win had a tutoring session scheduled, and Camila said she wanted to video call her family. Sam also begged off, feeling restless. He wandered over to Central Park. It was dark inside, and he guessed that Wendell had turned off the artificial lights to allow the plant life to engage in its normal cycle. However, enough diffuse light reflected off Saturn that he was able to walk through the park without difficulty. The massive planet’s glow tinted the landscape a russet brown, and warm pleasant air enveloped him. A temperate would-be summer evening.

  A few fireflies lit up as he walked by, twinkling in the dusk. That was a nice touch by Wendell. It recalled childhood memories of neighborhood walks he’d take with his mother and sister. His mother would forbid them from chasing the fireflies. Let them act out their brief lives in peace.

  After arriving at his usual spot, he settled down on the small beach next to the lake. Suffering no exposure to tidal forces, the surface of the water appeared placid and inviting, and he was tempted to dip his feet in.

  Too lazy to take his shoes off, he instead picked up an errant stick—are the droids slacking off?—and gently poked at the water, causing a few ripples to break the stillness. A water bug gently lifted off the water and haphazardly flew away.

  The rustle of footsteps startled him. He craned his neck to look over his shoulder. Elias. He had stopped, staring at Sam with a funny look on his face.

  “Oh, hey, Elias. Did you decide to get some alone time too?”

  “Something like that. I’m sorry to disturb you. I didn’t think I’d find anybody else here right now. I can go.” Elias hooked a thumb over his shoulder.

  A hint of a question in the last sentence led Sam to take a chance. “You don’t have to if you don’t want. I wouldn’t mind the company.”

  A passing indecipherable look crossed Elias’s face. “I don’t know. Are you sure?”

  “Please.” Sam patted the sand next to him. He didn’t expect Elias to take the offer, but Elias moved to sit next to him. Well, not right next to him, but not as far as he could have. Sam waited a beat before initiating conversation. He gestured around them expansively. “Remind you of home?”

  Elias shook his head. “No. I grew up in the city. We had our share of parks, but you never forgot how many people were within close distance of you. This place is different. It has a certain magic to it. I like it.” A faint, unexpected tremor came through in his deep-timbered voice.

  “I agree. Outer space is the last place you’d expect to find beauty like this, yet here we are.”

  Elias nodded soberly. He picked a blade of grass and twirled it in his hand. “Are you enjoying your time here?”

  Sam scratched his head. “I don’t know? The days are too full. I barely have time to think.” This had troubled him. What if he missed something important?

  Elias grunted. “My problem is, I spend too much time thinking. Your sister, Win, it seems they are enjoying their change in circumstances. They don’t ask questions, they just accept.”

  “Yeah . . . I get the same sense. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, eh?” Sam smiled wryly.

  Elias gave a soft chuckle. “I don’t know that expression.”

  “Oh, sorry . . . Well, I meant, we’re lucky to be here, right? And what use is there in questioning that?” Sam used his fist to prop up his head.

  Elias looked at him evenly. “But you are.”

  Sam thumbed a smooth rock and pretended to throw it. “I guess so? But when is the shoe going to drop?”

  “I don’t know what that means, either.” Elias lifted an eyebrow.

  Sam grabbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m full of idioms today.”

  “No sweat. There, I know some slang too.” Elias’s slightly crooked smile reached his eyes.

  “That’s a relief because I know,” Sam counted his fingers, “maybe five words in French.”

  “Oui, please spare me,” Elias said with a straight face.

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  Sam chuckled. This guy’s not all misery.

  A few minutes passed in companionable silence, but when Sam looked over, Elias’s face had darkened, reminding Sam of the expression he wore from that picture Wendell shared with him.

  Sam asked softly, “Everything all right?”

  Elias swallowed and looked out over the lake. “I don’t know. This place. Do you sense the ghosts that haunt us? The past . . . it’s not easy to get away from.”

  Sam studied him closely, trying to decipher his words. “We all have our baggage. But we’ve all got each other now too, yeah?”

  Elias lifted his head, the reflection of Saturn lighting up his face. “You’re right. We have each other.”

  #

  Bright and early Saturday morning, the recruits lined up in the hangar. As Sam walked through the crowd to his cohort, he heard plenty of nervous chatter. He shared the sentiment. The first moment of real import had arrived. His heart palpitated with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. They’d get to show their stuff, but failure might signify how far they still had to go.

  Tar stood on the ramp to the shuttle, the extra height giving him a stage to speak from. Today he’d exchanged his multicolored suit for a Stetson hat, a dark brown leather jacket, and matching tan slacks. A bound-up bullwhip was tied to his side. Sam shared a look of exasperation with Nadia. What an attention-seeker. He planned to never ask Tar about his pop-culture references for fear that would play into his hands.

  Tar deployed his usual grandiose speaking voice. “Welcome, all. As you may have guessed, the first round of the Sanctum Arena will be taking place off the station. In a few moments, you’ll all board the shuttle and depart for our destination. You will need to wear additional safety equipment, which you’ll find inside.”

  He slipped into a more severe, instructive tone. “Listen closely. The rules of this round are simple. The first team to bring the flag of their opposing team back to their own home base wins. Standings overall will be based on performance, assessed by Proctor Mim and myself, with metrics including time spent on flag capture, level of teamwork, and demonstration of abilities.

  “In case you’re wondering, we’ll go a step further than the Arena and state that intentionally causing permanent injury to one another is grounds to be shipped back to Earth.” He tilted his head up a fraction and twisted his mouth into a half-smile, half-sneer. “I don’t have time to be recruiting replacement contestants, so please don’t test me.”

  Whether or not that was meant to be a moment of levity was unclear, but the next thing he stated was with full seriousness. “That being said, you’ll find that the course is not without danger. Tread carefully.”

  Sam’s pulse began to race. Their first real moment of danger. Would it be creatures hidden in the dark? Sam hated horror movies with a passion and would not welcome things jumping out at him.

  “Mega will be monitoring closely and alert Mim and me should anybody befall harm. I wish you all the best of luck. Let me urge you all to properly seize the opportunity in front of you. Exemplify proper bravery, intelligence, and camaraderie, and your lives will be forever changed.”

  As was common when Tar spoke, the whiplash in tones left Sam reeling.

  Tar took a theatrical bow and departed the hangar. Mega asked them to board the ship in an orderly fashion, which the group promptly ignored and en masse crammed themselves inside. Sam’s cohort hung back, letting the crush of bodies thin out before making their move.

  Stepping into the shuttle’s lounge, Sam was struck by the contrast with the last time they boarded. The once-roomy interior now felt cramped, with the seats all taken and the windows blocked off, obscuring any view. They decamped for the last remaining quiet corner, observing covered piles of equipment along the way.

  Sam was about to ask the others if they had any guesses about where they were going but Mega beat him to the punch.

  “The Editor has requested I debrief you all with more information on the course. Our destination today is the upper atmosphere of Saturn.” She was interrupted by an immediate buzz and stopped announcing.

  Win rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

  “What?” Sam whispered at him.

  Win looked at him, wild-eyed. “This is insane, Sam. That’s the kind of place humans can’t survive.”

  The volume of Mim’s voice had increased by half. “Ahem, excuse me. The course will feature a series of obstacles and geographic features, with the home bases at separate ends. As is typical of gas giants, you’ll find the atmosphere extremely windy. Tar and Wendell set up an artificial barrier to shield you from the worst of the wind, but some may still make it through, so you’ll need to be careful about maintaining your balance.”

  That just makes it sound worse.

  “The equipment you will be donning comes with a variety of functions. You will be wearing a layer of the material cetoprene, including both a bodysuit and a helmet. It’s a bit like your neoprene in function but utilizing Xarlogic technology. Cetoprene regulates temperature and blocks solar radiation and other space-borne energies that can cause you great harm. However, the Editor has instructed me to share that cetoprene does not interfere with aether, meaning you will still be vulnerable to the energy use of your fellow contestants.”

  A uniform would be all that separated them from solar radiation. Lovely. Sam considered simply staying on the shuttle. Judging from the panic that had spread throughout the room, others were thinking the same.

  “In addition, your access wristbands will now come with a mapping feature, which will update as you make your way through the course. Be forewarned though, the course may shift during play sessions.”

  It just gets more and more awful.

  “Finally, you’ll be equipped with a jetpack. The Editor asked me to pass along these words of wisdom. ‘Ideally you would have had a chance to practice, but that would have ruined the fun. They are quite sensitive to handle, so please be judicious in their use.’ You may employ the jetpack to move along the course, but their primary purpose is to assist you should you lose your footing and fall from one of the platforms. As you know, Saturn has no solid surface, so this would otherwise lead to your death.” She took a pause, during which you could hear a pin drop. “Also, they have limited fuel. Use them at your discretion or you might risk not having enough fuel when you need it most. Thank you. That is all for now.”

  The room erupted into activity and shocked chatter. Sam leaned against the bulkhead, trying to process it all. Obstacle course that shifts, weird scuba diving suits, jetpacks? How did those things fit together?

  “What did we get ourselves into?” Nadia muttered to his side.

  The rest of the trip only took about fifteen minutes, with the shades drawn the whole time. The piles were quickly uncovered, and the lounge saw plenty of conversation as people rushed to put on the cetoprene and jetpacks. Sam found both to be lightweight. The jetpack fit snug on his back, feeling like a lifejacket for space. It could be activated with the wristband as well.

  His group reconvened in their corner.

  “Okay, so this is going to be the capture the flag game from hell,” Win grumbled and shot a glare in the direction of the station.

  “Hard agree. Everybody, whatever you do, don’t fall. I don’t trust this thing. I don’t care how advanced Xarlogic tech is.” Nadia rapped the side of her jetpack, which thankfully sounded very solid.

  Camila’s mouth had tightened, and determination shone in her eyes. “Does our plan stay the same? Sam and I are the two athletes, and it sounds like the course is going to require some quick decision-making. Also, Win, you’ll have less of an advantage on such unstable ground.”

  Huh. Sam’s appreciation of Camila’s tactical abilities just went up a notch. She’d stayed quiet previously when Nadia talked strategy. If it was an inclination not to rock the boat, she’d apparently set that aside. He looked at his sister, waiting to see how she’d respond.

  Any pride Nadia might have felt she evidently squashed. “Yeahhh. Very good points. Should we flip? You and Sam act as the advance team, Elias and I will hold back to defend the base, and, Win, you’re the midfielder. Fend off the other team or keep the flag moving, whatever is needed.

  “Great. Seeing no disagreement, Gladiators on three,” Nadia said.

  The team cheer had been Sam’s idea. It did its job well, and his nerves steadied. Somewhat. He repeated a mantra he’d developed for himself.

  You’ve got this.

  #

  Eight teams equaled four games. The first game featured the Startroopers versus the Warriors. The Gladiators learned their fate: they would be facing the Aces in the fourth and final game. Sam would have preferred anything but. Being forced to wait until the end would require an exercise in self-soothing.

  The ship had stopped moving and settled on what felt like a platform, but the windows remained opaque, so it was impossible to see what awaited them.

  Mega’s clarion voice cut through the anxious murmuring. “Contestants in the first game, please exit the ship. All others, we ask that you enter a meditative state while you wait for your turn. From this point on, no further conversation is allowed in order to maintain fairness. The penalty is disqualification.”

  Sam wasted no time complying, taking it for granted his teammates would as well. Centering himself was becoming easier and easier. Switching to the second step, he worked on his new project of increasing the size of the energy he manifested into larger than just a mote. He was cheekily describing it as a speck now. A particle couldn’t be far away.

  About two hours later, though Sam couldn’t say for sure, Mega asked for the contestants of the second game. No one from the first game returned back to the shuttle for now, but that was to be expected.

  A much shorter time passed for the second game. Curious.

  The third game lasted closer to the length of the first. The Aces sat in the opposite corner of the room. Sam avoided looking at them, but one time Victor caught his eye and crossed his throat with his thumb. Sam waved back at him nonchalantly, and Victor turned around in a huff.

  Finally, it was time.

  Ma. Tar. The world. If you’re watching, I’m ready to do my best. Just let it not be my last. Sam lifted his feet one after the other and walked through the shuttle’s exit. The other side blazed with color, wind, and light.