Outside in the Brax-Delta arena, Codi watched from her perch atop one of the pillars as Max and Lita practiced their full combat sparring. Over the days since the tournament her spirits had been buoyed by the new training regimen. Being able to watch herself in action had given her a whole new slew of things to work on.

“She’s not using the suit,” Lucas commented from below her.

Watching more closely, Codi nodded her agreement. Lita still seemed tentative about utilising the exoskeleton to its full potential. The things opened up whole new bizarre styles of fighting, melding the martial arts with the ability to leap a dozen feet high, virtually run up walls and lift weights at least triple what they would normally manage. Lita was reluctant to trust her new abilities.

Codi winced as the other girl was thrown thirty feet by a punishing kick to the stomach. Max didn’t follow it up, instead striding over and helping his team mate up. As they began walking over Codi pushed off and dropped from the top of the pillar – a height of nearly twenty feet – and landed in a crouch, straightening up as the pair reached them.

“Well, that went well,” Lita muttered.

“You still need to buck up a little,” Codi replied. “Don’t just wear the suit, use it.”

“I know, I know, I know.” She removed the head-brace and shook her hair free. “It’s just difficult.”

“We’ve only got a few more good days of training left. Then it’s the Mayhems and we’ve got to be ready.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem anymore.”

They all turned in unison at the sound of Vasco’s voice. The second she saw him Codi knew something was wrong. He had his hands buried deep into the pockets of his black jacket and his hard eyes were downcast. When he did force a glance upward he swallowed hard.

“Alright everybody.” He gestured to them all with one hand. “Get the exoskeletons off and meet me in the classroom. We need to talk.”

He turned and marched back into the academy leaving the five competitors in an uneasy silence. Codi looked at Max but her team mate could only offer an awkward shrug.

“What d’you suppose that’s about?” Lazlo murmured.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good.” Codi began unclipping the exoskeleton’s protective plates. “C’mon.” Once she’d struggled back down to her leggings and tank top she set off without waiting to see if the others were following. Almost running through the halls of Brax-Delta she burst into the classroom to find Vasco sitting on one of the desks, watching a recording of one of the previous Gauntlet tournaments.

She stopped in her tracks. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t know what to say. After a moment she took a few tentative steps further forward.

“You should see the Gauntlet, Codi,” Vasco said, his voice subdued. “A hundred thousand people watching your every move. The atmosphere…it’s a like nothing you’ve ever felt before. The arena, even the planet itself, it’s incredible.”

“You were in the Gauntlet, weren’t you?” she asked quietly.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling. “Yes I was.”

“Were you good?”

“I was pretty good.” He looked back and gestured to the screen. “That’s me there. A long time ago now.”

“Which Gauntlet is this?”

“The second.” Vasco paused the recording. “I was in the semi-final against a brute called Baryon LaGrange. Nobody realised he was hopped up on military grade combat drugs. He broke my leg in four places. I never competed again.” He shook his head. “I wish you could have gone there, kid.”

Codi felt a lump rise in her throat. This was a very different man from the Drake Vasco she knew, and whatever brought the sudden rush of self reflection worried her. Before she could say anything, however, the rest of the team arrived in the room.

Vasco stood and turned, folding his arms and releasing a heavy sigh. “I know you’re all wondering what my meeting was about earlier. I’m afraid to say that I’ve got some bad news. Unfortunately for us the backstabbing accountants that are in charge of our finances have decided that Brax-Delta is no longer worth funding.”

“What?” Max gasped.

“Sorry, there’s just no easy way to say this. After the friendly…”

“The friendly was just a test!” Codi exclaimed.

“Yes it was,” Vasco agreed. “But that point seemed to slip past those imbeciles. They only look at one thing: results. Apparently the friendly didn’t deliver.”

“So that’s it?” Lucas said, sounding dazed. “We can’t go?”

“What about the contracts?” Lita snapped. “This isn’t legal-,”

“You think I didn’t bring that up with them?” he snarled back. “They don’t care. As far as the organisers are concerned not having a little minnow academy like ours isn’t a problem. They’re not going to waste time prosecuting anybody just because we didn’t turn up.” He tossed the remote to one side and threw his hands up resignedly. “So we got torpedoed.”

Codi’s jaw snapped tight and she looked away. Words wouldn’t come to express her anger so instead she slammed a clenched fist down against one of the tables so hard that it sent a lancing bolt of pain up her arm. The others looked at her but she ignored them. It couldn’t be over so quickly.

“There must be something we can do,” she grated.

“Look, Codi, I want to get around this as much as any of you,” Vasco said. “But there’s too much red tape. Without the backing of Kantha’s administrators we have no means of transport, no booked accommodation; we won’t even be signed up to compete without them.”

“Then we need to find a way to get there without them!”

“And where the hell do plan on finding the money to do that?”

She smouldered for a moment, glancing at the others. Nobody seemed willing to offer a solution, but Codi wasn’t willing to give up that easily, not now. Anger boiled through her veins and she dug her nails into the fabric of her leggings. Then she locked eyes with Max and an idea surged through the rage.

“Max,” she murmured. “Didn’t you say that your dad goes to the Gauntlet every year?”

He frowned. “Yeah…?”

“And we need some transport.”

“Oh, now wait just a minute.” Max raised his hands defensively. “You can’t just-,”

“And he must have accommodation booked to stay there.”

“Well…yeah, but only enough for the family.”

She banged her hand down on the table again. “You said your dad wanted you to compete in the Gauntlet. Are you saying he wouldn’t give us a lift?”

“How about it?” Lucas asked.

Max rocked his head back, looking at the ceiling. When he lowered his gaze again and found the expectant eyes of the group on him he sighed heavily. “Look, I don’t know about this. My dad will be going but…I mean…I can’t just rock up and drop this on him. It may be too late to book more accommodation.”

“You’re looking for excuses,” Codi retorted. “Earth’s a big planet.”

He squirmed uncomfortably. “I suppose I could ask him.”

She flashed a triumphant grin.

“Guys,” Vasco interjected. “I love the enthusiasm, but getting there may not be enough. Aside from getting there we’d need to be officially signed up to the Gauntlet and we’d need to find some way of taking the exoskeletons with us.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re city property. They’re getting condemned just like the rest of Brax-Delta.” He ran a hand through his steely grey hair. “We won’t be taking them anywhere.” All of a sudden he stopped, hand buried in his hair and his eyes widened. “Although…the teams are signed up via academy. Brax-Delta is the official representative academy of Kantha but it can be registered as an independent body. We don’t need their permission to register.” He clapped his hands together. “If Kantha don’t want a team in the Gauntlet then fine, we’ll go without them.”
“What happens when the authorities see that we’re signed up?” Lita asked.

“Well we’d be re-registering,” Vasco answered. “We were signed up but the administrators will have revoked it by now. If we leave it late, say the day before till we register again there’ll be no time for anything to get in the way. Although every academy does require a sponsor or benefactor.”

“Max?” Codi looked at him.

He rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me? Getting a ride is one thing but he’s not going to like the idea of tying himself to our academy, especially since we’re not even meant to be going.”

“Well then you need to convince him.”

“There’s still the matter of the suits,” Vasco pointed out

“Then to hell with the administrators,” Codi snarled. “Let’s just steal the damn things.”

A silence greeted her ultimatum. She looked around, folded her arms and glared back. She’d meant every word.

“Steal them,” Max repeated slowly. “Are you nuts?”

“Look, we didn’t spend all this time getting ready just to have the rug yanked out from under our feet,” she snapped. “If there’s a way that we can get them out of the academy and onto your dad’s ship then I am all for it.”

“You do know that we’ll go to jail for that?”

“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”

She took a deep breath. “Just think for a second. What if we pull this off – get registered, get the transport and benefactor and the suits – then go to the Gauntlet and win. D’you really think they’d come after us if we managed that?”

“We’re a long way from winning the thing, Codi,” Lita said, shaking her head. “And, no offence, it’s alright for you to say that. You don’t have anything else to go back to. The rest of us, we have families, careers, prospects.”

Vasco was up and between them before Codi could get across the room, her teeth bared at the jibe. Held back as she was, she contented herself with spitting at the other girl.

“Coward!” She wrenched away from Vasco’s grip and stepped back, glowering at Lita.

“Codi, she’s right,” Max said softly. “What do you think the chances of one of us winning this are?”

“Well they’d be a lot better if we were actually there!” she replied. “And I know I’ve got nothing to lose by doing this, but c’mon! You all wanted to compete and this is the only way we’ll be able to do it!” She fought to keep the desperation out of her voice to no avail. Looking into the faces of her team mates she could see that they shared her desire from the spark in their eyes, but they wouldn’t voice it. She cast a pleading glance at Vasco.

Cupping his chin in one hand, he met her gaze and held it for several seconds before a smile slipped across his face. The others saw it and exchanged uncertain looks.

“Well,” he began. “I’m getting fired anyway. You’ve got backbone kiddo. I’m in.” Then his eyes wandered around the rest of the group. “But if we’re going to do this we need everybody in or we don’t have a team.”

“I seem to be doing everything else,” Max muttered. “Fine.”

The twins looked at each other then gave a single nod.

“Guys, are you sure about this?” Lita asked. “I mean, this will be serious trouble if we get caught.”

“If it’s any consolation, I’ll take most of the blame,” Vasco assured her. “I mean, that doesn’t mean you’re totally off the hook but I’m the head instructor, I have access to the academy. Whatever happens, it’ll trace back to me.”

Lita clasped her hands tightly together and pursed her lips. Seconds ticked by. Eventually she stamped one foot like a petulant child and sighed. “Alright. Thank you, peer pressure.”