As the drop ship neared the arena, the competitors walked in single file down a flight of stairs into a sparsely illuminated metal expanse. Numbered hydraulic cylinders going from floor to ceiling marked the platforms on which each team would stand once the contestants were assigned to their teams.

The screen upon which the teams would be displayed came to life as Caustic made his way to the bottom of the staircase, filling the belly of the ship with white light. Octane made a frustrated noise as he held up his hand to shield his face from the sudden luminance.

"Out of my way," Caustic growled as he pushed past Octane. The daredevil made an indignant noise in the back of his throat and went to shove Caustic in return, but the chemist had already moved too far away. Octane briefly considered chasing him - nah, that would be too easy - but opted to simply flip a particular finger in his direction instead.

"Man, why don't we ever get to finish our dinner before we drop in?" Mirage grumbled.

Bangalore scoffed. "Do you cook too slow, or do you eat too slow?"

"I have a better question," Wattson piped up. "If our syncordings are taken before we board the ship, how do we remember whether we've eaten dinner before?"

Several heads turned to give her uneasy looks. Mirage promptly stuck his fingers in his ears. "La-la-la I don't want to hear about the cloning stuff before a game! It's bad luck!"

Wattson realized that she had brought up the taboo topic and backed up as far as she could, hiding her face behind her hands.

Wraith elbowed Mirage in the ribs. "Not superstitious, are you?"

Mirage quickly put his hands down. "Uh… Nope!"

Three long, low beeps sounded, drawing the attention of the Legends and indicating that the teams were about to be designated. Octane looked directly into the front-left corner, where the competitors knew that a camera was recording their reactions for the audience, and gave the metal-horns sign.

Crypto, meanwhile, stood further back and pulled up the collar of his jacket to obstruct his face as much as possible. He realized, from what Wattson had said, that there must be other cameras all over the ship that the competitors didn't know about. The ship's AI must record every moment they spent on board, to be added to their syncording data later. How much of his life was monitored by the corporation?

It was a strange thing, hiding in plain sight as a celebrity. He was safe here- the corporation would never look for Park Tae-joon in the Apex Games, since that was exactly where they wanted him. Under their control, in a place where they could utilize his skills, then dispose of him, only to bring him back if they needed him again in an endless cycle. With his false identity, he could hide out in the last place he'd be looked for, under his own terms.

Even so, the fame and the spotlight made him uneasy.

The Legends shuffled to allow a path to the descending platforms, as the first team had been assigned:

1. MIRAGE

2. BANGALORE

3. LIFELINE

Mirage grinned at the screen. "Oh-ho, that's right! I'm leading the team this time, and who has to listen to me? You do, Williams. That's right!"

One of his holograms flickered into existence just long enough to give him a high five before it vanished again. Bangalore made a disgusted noise as she followed Mirage to the platform, shaking her head.

"See ya' on the battlefield, Silva. Play it safe- I know you won't." Lifeline winked and waved at her friend, then joined her teammates at a brisk pace. The platform began to descend.

4. BLOODHOUND

5. CRYPTO

So far, so good, Crypto thought. Bloodhound was level-headed as a team leader, while quiet and solitary enough to stay out of the hacker's business.

6. REVENANT

That, on the other hand, was... less than thrilling. Aside from his encounter earlier, Revenant had only one agenda on his artificial mind: his own, and he wasn't above letting his teammates die if he perceived that they'd interfered with it. As far as Crypto - and all of the other competitors he'd talked to - were concerned, the opposite of teamwork was Revenant.

Was the predictive algorithm he'd discovered - the one that had gotten him into this mess - stacking the odds against him this time- favoring him to lose? Then again, despite the dissent sowed in his path, Revenant didn't have a bad win/loss record in the Games.

"Let's go," said Bloodhound, giving Crypto a tap on the shoulder. The two of them made their way to the platform. Revenant was already there, pacing back and forth. As Bloodhound and Crypto moved closer, Revenant stood still in position on the right side of the platform- eerily, unnaturally still. Crypto stepped onto the left side, and Bloodhound took their position in the center.

Artemis's voice came over their commlinks: "Descending."

The hydraulic cylinders whirred to life, and the platform began to lower.

Solace had a low enough atmospheric density that the competitors could comfortably stand on the platform as the ship flew over the arena. The three of them had their mini-computers out, syncing commlinks and location data for their team.

Bloodhound brought a map of the arena onto the touch-screen, and tapped on a location. A yellow dot appeared. Within a quarter of a second, it had appeared on their teammates' screens as well.

"We should go here."

They'd marked a grouping of smaller buildings near a watchtower. The location made strategic and tactical sense- the team could gather loot uninterrupted, then take control of the watchtower and hold that position as they waited to see which way the Ring would force them.

Crypto nodded. Revenant gave a dismissive grunt.

"Jump on my mark," Bloodhound commanded. As the ship drew closer, they stowed their mini-computers.

"Three… two… one… Jump."

In the lower gravity and density of the air around them, the competitors felt merely a gentle breeze flowing over them during their free-fall. The propulsion packs that Hammond Robotics had provided them with allowed them to travel surprisingly long distances through the air by charging and exciting particles in their wake. The devices also provided the contestants with excellent control of their descent, and they each landed gently on their feet in front of the small building marked on their mini-computers.

"Wait," Bloodhound commanded before their teammates could spread out. The hunter reached into one of the leather pouches slung across their chest and pulled out a familiar data chip, which they held up for the others to see. "Bring out your banner cards. Show each of us where you keep them, so that we need not search your body for long should you fall in combat."

They returned the data card to the pouch, and gave the others an encouraging nod.

Crypto slid his hand into the inner left pocket of his jacket and retrieved his syncording. He watched Bloodhound and Revenant's faces, ensuring that they had seen it before he returned it. Revenant followed in turn, pulling the data card out of a hip pouch between two slender fingers. The simulacrum returned the chip, turned, and walked away from his teammates.

"Search the area, see what you can find. We will convene at the tower in two microcycles." As they gave the instruction, Bloodhound brought up the map on their mini-computer and tapped the nearby watchtower, transmitting the indicated location to the others.

Shortly after the team had spread out, the hunter's voice came over the commlink: "Let me know if you have a preference for a weapon. I will keep on the lookout for it."

How are we supposed to develop a weapon preference, Crypto thought, if they erase our memories of the matches every time we play them?

"Something made for close range," Revenant growled into the commlink. "I like to see the fear in my enemies' eyes as I extinguish the life from them."

Crypto rolled his eyes. Clearly the simulacrum didn't share his particular problem- though he could list several other problems that he had with Revenant.

Bloodhound's reply was simple, calm and collected as ever: "I see. As you wish."