Mali woke up bright and early for her first class, weapons training, which was at nine-thirty. She went into her bathroom and brushed her teeth, washed her face, and then came back to survey her new clothes. On the top were the jumpsuit things that Mali had seen everyone wearing yesterday. They were a sturdy, yet flexible, material and were shiny black except for two stripes that went down each shoulder and pair of arms—they were identical—a thick blood red stripe running between two thinner white stripes on either side. Beside this was a very pressed dress uniform that was navy blue, some plain white short-sleeve t-shirts, some grey sweat pants, and a couple of pairs of new shoes; Dickens had also taken the liberty to supply Mali with new sets of underwear, bras, and soft woolen socks. Mali piled all this in the inside of her new dresser, then started on the second level. A pang hit her as she pulled out the clothes that Liara had adjusted (quite a lot) to fit Mali. She stuffed them at the bottom of a drawer and moved on.

She zipped into one of her new uniforms, which fit surprisingly comfortably, and laced herself into some dark combat boots. Since there were no pockets, Mali could not carry her credit chit with her, so forlornly, she placed it in the bedside table's drawer. Then straightening up, she looked at herself in the mirror that was next to the dresser. If she had not known, she would not have recognized this person standing there, dressed so nicely. Mali's hair had grown longer since she had last noticed and was almost down to her lower back now. Her eyes had regained a little bit of the life that they had once held, and her cheeks and body were no longer so shallow. Mali took a deep breath, and then walked out of her room to face the day.

Her new team was all crowded around the island dishing up breakfast, which was scrambled eggs and pancakes, all wearing the same uniform that she was. "Hey Mali," Ara greeted from her from a place at the table, "go get some food and then we will do introductions." Mali did as she was told and dished herself up, sitting down next to Ara. There were four boys in the group, and as they each sat down, they introduced themselves. First a high spirited, blonde haired blue eyed boy sat down, right across from Mali and stuck out his hand.

"The name's Charlie, but Audin there calls me Curls." He smiled a bright smile. He was slight and skinny and was practically bouncing out of his chair with energy.

"That's because of your cute cherub locks!" A huge boy sat down next to Charlie and pushed his teasingly. "My names Audin." He was huge and black and those were the best words to describe him. He had the muscles of a tank and was the size of one too. Another skinny guy sat down on Ara's other side and leaned across her to speak to Mali. He had brown hair that fell over into his hazel eyes.

"I'm Alexander, but they call me Thesis."

"Only because you told us too." Charlie snickered. Alex shot him a dirty look. Ara leaned over to Mali.

"Alex is a computer genius, he is like Einstein, but with a computer."

"A dangerous combo." Said the last member of the squadron. He set his plate at the head of the table and reached out his hand to Mali. She immediately knew that this was the leader of the group by the way he conducted himself. He was tall, and had broad shoulders—but nothing menacing like Audin. "I'm Oliver, nice to meet you." He started down at her with deep grey eyes, almost a shale color, untidy black hair swept just above his eyebrows. Mali took it, and he sat down.

"So what was your test score?" Mali was startled out of her thoughts.

"Excuse me?"

"What was your test score?" Charlie repeated. Cadence sat down at the end of the table, and didn't bother to say hi. All around her her new team members looked at her with expectancy.

"Uh, I don't know."

"What how could you not know?" Alex asked.

"Well, my test was kind of interrupted." Mali picked at her eggs.

"You mean by the shooter?" Oliver asked.

"Were you the one he was after?" Charlie asked.

"Um, yah." Everyone's eyebrow shot up except, interestingly enough, for Oliver.

"Why?" Ara asked.

"I don't know." Mali lied.

"Well, it doesn't matter, if we go in the cafeteria they posted all the test scores up last week, so we can see if yours is up there."

"So what are you good at?" Cadence chose to end her silence. Again, Mali felt all eyes on her. She wasn't used to all this individual attention.

"Well, I'm good with guns and hand-to-hand but that's about it. I'm kinda backward in technology—grew up in a place that didn't really have it—oh, and I'm training to be a biotic."

"A biotic?" They all gasped.

"We're lucky." Oliver stated, turning toward Mali, "only bunk one has a biotic. They're extremely helpful in matches. Now we have one!"

"Well, I just got them. I can't even activate them yet, so for now I'm useless there." Some eyes were crestfallen, but Oliver's stayed steady.

"That's ok, you'll learn."

"What's your first class today?" Audin asked. Mali felt like she was back in the interrogation room with Officer Clair. Mali slightly frowned as she thought of her and Niles, as she did about one-hundred times a day.

"Weapons training, with Sadna."

"Cadence has that too, she can take you, right Cade?" Oliver said.

"Yah, sure." Cadence didn't look up from her plate, she didn't seem very enthusiastic about it. A timer went off near the stove.

"Ope! Time for class!" Charlie exclaimed. Everyone rolled their eyes but were smiling. To Mali, it seemed like they had become a very close-knit family. Mali helped Ara clear out the dishes at the sink.

"We each cook for everyone else on a different day, I've been cooking two days every week, but now that you're here you can have my Wednesday. Breakfast and dinner." Mali nodded.

"Anything else?"

"Yah." Ara leaned in a little bit closer to Mali so they wouldn't be overheard, "I know Cade has been a little rude, but it'll wear off, she just doesn't like strangers. She was like this for a few days when we all met her—but once she warms up to you she's a nice girl." Mali looked over at Cadence, who was furiously spiking sausage with her fork.

"Riigghhtt, only when Finch actually lets her hair down." Beside her Ara let out a surprised laugh. She looked at the younger girl with mirth.

"You're funny—we could use a little bit of that around here." Mali smiled.

"Glad to be of service." They finished loading the dishwasher (which was next to the double stoves) and Mali readied herself at the door.

"Ready?" She asked Cadence, who had just finished lacing up her boots. She just let out a grunt and opened up the door. Mali threw a look over her shoulder at Ara, who laughed again and shooed her out. As they walked across the catwalk Mali tried to break the ice. "Soooo….I heard you good with knives..." She said as they climbed the platform steps up to the elevator. Above them and through the canopy the sky was grey and thundery, prime for another storm.

"Yep," was all she said. Mali mentally smacked her head, she wasn't good with conversation. They stepped into the elevator and started their decent.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Mali asked.

"I do mind." Cadence replied.

"Jeeze, I'm not the gastapo!" Mali relented, "Just trying to gain some ground is all." Surprisingly, Mali did know a little about human history. In the orphanage the handyman, Mr. Frank, had liked to talk about two things: Onions and his German heritage. "What can I ask you about?" Mali wondered. They were pushing through the brambles, and Mali had to try her best to avoid the thorny branches that Cadence was snapping back in her wake.

"Stuff." Cadence did not allude more. They trekked across the grassy lawns in silence. As they neared the buildings, a thought came to Mali.

"How can you tell the buildings apart?" She asked.

"Apart from the signs?"

"Yah, besides that." Mali felt a little embarrassed.

"They go in order of number from the left top to the right and down. One, two, three, four." She pointed them out.

"Right." Mali said. They trooped through the town square, Mali half-hoping to see a familiar blue figure striding amongst the people, but to no avail. Even though Mali could no longer talk to Liara like she had before, Mali still liked seeing her. They entered building one and door one was right inside. Through a glass slit in the door Mali could just make out a room. "Wait." She stopped Cadence from going in. "What's it like?"

"Who? Officer Sadna? She tough but she's fair."

"No, what's school like?" Mali felt nervousness in the pit of her stomach.

"You mean you've never been to school?" Cadence asked in surprise.

"Never had the chance, no." Mali said.

"Just think a normal class, leaning and stuff, but in this one you get to kick people's butts." Mali laughed, and to her surprise, Cadence smiled. "Ready to go in?"

"Yah."

I

Mali found out that weapons training included anything that wasn't a gun. Their teacher, Officer Sadna was an expert at "medieval warfare;" she was extremely impressive with a double ended spear. Mali had immediately picked out a pair of short swords that had caught her eye. Across the room she had watched Cadence throwing an amazing array of knives at different moving targets with deadly accuracy. Sadna taught Mali the proper grip and a few basic moves which she told Mali to practice every day until Sadna thought she could move on. There weren't very many other students in the huge training room, most students in the program still had to learn gun technique. However, with the few students who were there, all had different colored stripes. At break time, Mali asked Cadence why.

"Each bunk has a different color: one is black, two green, three is yellow, four is blue, five (that's us) is red, and six is silver." Mali looked around the room and saw to silvers, a black and a yellow. After an hour and a half, they were told to switch to a different weapon. The technique was you learned two weapons at a time, and when you had learnt them, you moved on to two more, then two more, until you knew them all.

Both Mali and Cadence switched to the double ended spear, in which Sadna was delighted to teach. At the end of three hours each student reviewed the moves that they had learned, and received dull metal batons resembling each of their new weapons for practice. Mali left feeling quite proud of her accomplishments. None of the students talked to each other as they left, although the yellow (who was the only other girl in the room) smiled at them. Mali and Cadence carried their long poles to the cafeteria, where they put them in a holding locker, and then went to eat lunch. They had to hurry fast because they only had a half an hour. "So what is field and survival like?" Mali asked as she bit into her chicken sandwich.

"Well, the first hour focuses on how to use different field equipment, and then the second and third hours are on combat and strategy. It's the one class that everyone has, so we will see our whole squad there."

"Sounds like fun." Mali said, so far, she was thoroughly enjoying herself. They left and headed across the square to the biggest of the four buildings. It wasn't like any other. It was a huge hangar—a few hover cars were parked inside. A huge seam across the floor rent it in half; vehicles were stored below the hangar. Also, three very big, very muddy armored hover trucks were parked inside as well. A troop of yellow striped people were already there, gathered in a tight circle. "There are so many." Mali noticed. There were almost four more people than in Mali's group.

"Yah, we are the smallest group, but we are also on the top."

"Top?" Mali asked.

"Each bunk competes for points in matches, where two or three squads are put together at once. We are part of the top three. It's us, than bunk three (the yellows over there) then bunk one."

"Hey!" Audin came striding over. He grimaced, "You guys are lucky you don't have gun control like me and Alex, Hornbauker was a real a—"

"THERE WILL BE NO PRETTY LANGUAGE IN MY CLASS JACOBS!" A huge male voice boomed from behind them. A huge man strode into the warehouse, dwarfing even Audin. He was ruff looking, a huge red beard and auburn hair, the man was a natural giant.

"Sorry Officer Joggerston." Audin said meekly. Alex, Oliver, Ara, and Charlie joined them. Quiet hellos were exchanged as Joggerston moved to the front of the class.

"Now today kids, we will move on from wheeled vehicles to hover crafts. These," he pointed behind them at the trucks, "are A-61 mantises. They have two sets of guns on top, and one on the bottom, highly dangerous in a fight." Oohs and awes rang out in the hall. "Cam anyone tell me what type of gun?" Immediately Alex's hand shot in the air.

"Inferno PKR's, and below, two two-headed M350 machine guns."

"Very good, bunk five. The M350 is a rapid fire heavy machine gun that can punch through heavy armor, and the rockets are guided to land on target. Usually there is only one machine gun, but I have modified them for today. Also all weapons are filled with paint pellets for safety. Mantises are very common military fighter crafts. Today you will learn to fly them, and later, we will race with them." Smiles broke out amongst the students—competition. "Alright, yellows split off in the right and middle, reds in the left. Each group clambered up inside the waiting hatches, inside it was dark, only lit by small lights fixed to the walls. There was a small open space in which there was the driver and co-pilot seats, and then behind Mali was a set of small stairs that led up into a small passage that spilt off in two directions. Below each seat, and off a little to each side, sunk into the ground were two more seats with handlebars leading down to them. Immediately Oliver took charge.

"I'll take steering, Curls and Mali, man the machine guns down below, and Audin and Cade upstairs for the PKR's. Ara co-pilot, Alex will man the schematics."

"Roger Captain." Charlie teased, and entered one of the seats below. Mali was about to lower herself into the left one, when Oliver stopped her.

"Here," he handed her an earpiece, "Alex made these for each of us, clip it on and then stick it in right inside your ear. It's so we can here each other. Good luck." He smiled. Mali smiled back, and then down she went. The handlebars turned out to be joysticks that controlled her pit. As she pushed them left she turned right, and right, left, up-down, down-up. The earpiece was small and black. It had a small clip on a thin arm that connected to a small oddly shaped bulb on the end. Shrugging, Mali fiddled with it till the clip was secured around the outside ridge of her left ear, and when that was done she pushed the bulb into her ear canal—surprisingly the speaker fit perfectly inside.

"Mali, the thumb pads are to fire." Charlie could see her through their partially exposed protective bubbles, his voice came in through the earpiece quite clearly.

"Alright everyone, strap up for takeoff. Alex, start up the engines." A powerful vibration filled the cabin and a roar split the air as they powered up. Beside them, the other two were already hovering. Mali buckled the harness around her chest and legs.

"Alright people, follow the north path around the campus once to get the hang of it, then meet me in the north field. Alright, first ship, go!" Joggerston's voice came in through a speaker in the ship. The first yellow sped off, wobbling. After a minute the second ship was released. Oliver carefully moved up to get ready.

"Alight Oli, take her away." Joggerston's voice came in.

"Alright." He pushed the joysticks firmly forward, and they were off, speeding along the ground. The second mantis was only a dot in front of them.

"Careful of the hills." Ara warned from her spot in the co-pilot seat.

"I know I know." Oli gripped the steering wheel hard. "Here comes a turn, everyone hold on." The turn was sharp and rough, Mali was slammed against the side of her pod. A few ows could be heard over their earpieces. "Sorry." Oliver apologized. "Alex, eezo core to 40%" The craft sped up, ahead the other mantis almost tipped over as it took a sharp curve.

"Let's pass em'." Cadence said, Oli chuckled. As they continued on their way Oli's turns became smother and soon they were skimming along at 60% capacity. As they neared the north field a distant wave of sound became audible.

"What is that?" Mali asked.

"Alex, is there something wrong with the ship?" Ara asked.

"No, it's not the ship…"

"Than what is it?" Audin exclaimed.

"I guess we'll find out." Oli responded. A minute later or so a black mass could be seen rising out of the field. "What the..." Oli started.

"It's risers! People!" Charlie exclaimed. True enough, stands had been set up along with two big screens. They steered closer.

"Is that the entire student body?" Ara asked in surprise. The stands were filled to the brim with students and faculty, as their ship became visible a great cheer came up in the crowd.

"Alex, 20%"

"Surprise!" Joggerston's voice came over their ship's intercom. "Oli, park between the two." Oli slowly maneuvered their craft in between the mantises that had already landed. They saw that bunk one was loading in to one of the ships that had previously been piloted by the yellows. On the field, it looked like the yellows were bickering over who would ride in their remaining ship. They all sat tensely in their seats.

"What is going on?" asked Cadence. Her question was quickly answered as Dickens's voice came over a loudspeaker.

"Welcome, welcome! This will be the second match-up of the season, Bunks one, three, and five will be competing! Just some surprise competition between the top three!"

"So this is a race." Oli heave a sigh.

"The race course is set up, the first one to the finish wins!" the crowd roared excitedly.

"They love surprising matches on us." Ara said. "It's their favorite hobby."

"Hit each other with paint balls to make your opponents lose points! Deviate from the marked flight plan, and you lose points!" Dickens finished.

"They've uploaded a course map to the ship." Alex yelled over the noise, "It looks hard—lots of sharp turns."

"Where does it go?" Oli questioned.

"From the north field to the south field in a loopty-loop pattern and then a straight shot from the south back to the north."

"Great." Oli said.

"Power up you engines!" Since they were already hovering, they waited patiently for the other two to comply.

"Alex, be ready to switch from 60 to 40 very fast." Oliver said.

"What are you planning?" Ara asked curiously.

"You'll see." Oli replied. On the screen a countdown began starting at ten. The crowd chanted along. Beside them, bunk one revved their engine.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six..."

"40% Alex."

"Five..."

"I don't know Oli, that's a little fast…" Alex started.

"Four...three..." The crowd was swelling louder, if that even was possible.

"40%! Alex!" Oliver yelled.

"Ok, ok." Alex scrambled.

"Two...one…"

A huge horn blared and the others shot off, obviously at full capacity. They maneuvered the loops clumsily, more often than not over-shooting and losing points, but they were still ahead of them. As they came out of their first loop Oli yelled "60%!" They sped up on the short straight away, gaining a little ground. "40!" They slowed down just enough to execute a smooth loop in the air. "60!" Oliver yelled again as they came out of their dive—and it went like that. The loops were getting higher, making them gain altitude—they were no longer skimming the ground.

"40!…60!" As they continued to do loops, Mali struggled to aim in the upending vehicle. Charlie let off some shots, but missed.

"Loading a rocket." Audin said calmly, "Ara, prepare for guidance." Mali continued to swivel up and down, side to side, keeping the yellows in sight. The blacks were speeding up further ahead of all of them, finally getting the hang of it—but bunk five was gaining ground. With Oli's controlled driving they were quickly speeding ahead, the yellows getting nearer….Audin let his rocket fly, Ara guiding it, red paint splattered the hull of the yellow's ship and knocked it slightly off course.

"Ooooo, minus fifteen points from the yellows." Dickens bellowed over the intercom, "shot with a PKR by Audin Johnson and Barbra O'Connell." The other bunks cheered. Mali swiveled in her seat…just a little closer….

"Good one Audin! Ara!" Oli yelled. He took the opportunity of the slightly dazed ship to speed past them. "Alex, 70%!" As they speed past, Mali rapidly let loose on her thumb pads, spraying the hull with red splatter. Mali laughed as bunk three fell behind like a big red balloon.

"Minus ten from the yellows! A good shot from Somali Avon on the M350!"

"Nice going!" her squad exclaimed.

"Receiving back fire!" Alex warned, "Evasive maneuvers!" As the yellows let loose behind them Oli did a barrel role, evading the spray of yellow hail.

"Coming out of the loops onto the straight away." Alex informed. They turned in a graceful arc to the left. Below, they were skimming the tops of trees.

"Maximum capacity Alex, we've got to catch up to those suckers." Oliver ordered. Ahead of them, the lead mantis driven by bunk one was just coming out of the curve.

"The ship isn't built to last for long on max." Alex said.

"Just do it." Oliver ordered. The ship lurched ahead so fast that the yellows, who were finishing their last loop, were left far behind. Bunk five sped ahead, coming level with bunk one.

"Careful!" Ara warned but it was too late, the mantises crashed together. A huge jolt rocked Mali and she bashed her forehead against her joy sticks, letting out a spurt of red paint that caught the underside of bunk one. Charlie followed her lead and fired as well.

"Minus twenty to bunk one for great shots by Somali Avon and Charlie Mansfield."

"Ouch." Mali murmured, rubbing her head.

"Great work you two!" Ara exclaimed.

"Oli, we can't hold out much longer." Alex warned, "The core's overheating."

"We'll try to bash them out." Oli said, "Everyone hold on." Mali rolled her eyes as the ship pitched to the left as Oli jerked it savagely to the left, bashing into bunk one.

"There ain't nothing to hold on too!" Mali yelled as he bashed them again, forcing them closer to the boundary line. Her head slammed into the side of her cushioned chair.

"One…more…" Oli gritted his teeth and slammed down onto them. Bunk one lost control and spun out behind them. Whoops and hollers were heard throughout the earpieces.

"Nice work everyone!" Oli exclaimed. "Alex, 90%"

"We are almost there!" Alex exclaimed. They sped along, the trees diapering beneath them. Oli lowered the ship so they were skimming over the ground. Suddenly behind them a spray of black paint peppered their tail fin.

"Minus ten to bunk five by a surprise hit from Harry Doughty on the M350." Dickens roared through the intercom, faintly they could hear the crowd behind him screaming at the top of their lungs in excitement.

"Where'd they come from?" Audin yelled. "I thought we left em'."

"I don't know!" Ara answered, "They must have gained control sooner than we thought." Bunk one sped up, trying to pass bunk five.

"My steering's not working!" Oli yelled. "I can't cut them off!" Bunk one drew level. Ahead, Mali could start to see north field.

"Paint! Paint is sticking the left wing flap, it can't move!" Alex was desperately pressing buttons to no avail.

"Can't you get it off?" Charlie asked.

"No! It's really stuck…someone's going to have to out there and unstick it manually, and fast or we'll fall behind." There was silence for a few seconds as shock and apprehension filled the cabin. Acting without thinking Mali unbuckled herself from her spot and climbed the ladder, a jolt threw her to the floor as bunk one rammed them. Mali quickly got up and started tying her hair back into a ponytail.

"Mali what are you doing?" Oli asked turning from his console for a second, "Get back down there!"

"No! You heard Alex, I'm going out to fix this thing. If I don't we will lose! Ara can take my spot."

"Going out there is crazy!" Ara turned around also. "You can't!"

"I can and I will." Mali was thrown to the side of the hull as bunk one bashed them again.

"Mali!" Mali turned in time to catch a knife tossed at her from Cadence.

"Use that to unstick the paint." Mali nodded.

"Thanks."

"Be careful." Oli warned.

"This isn't my first rodeo." Mali answered, smiling a wicked smile. As soon as she opened the hatch bitter wind whipped her face, stunning her. They were now so close to the finish line that Mali could faintly here Dickens's broadcast on the loud speaker.

"Someone in bunk five has just opened the hatch—is climbing out onto the hull! WHO IN THE WORLD WOULD DO THAT?" The fierce wind almost tore Mali off the hull and she slid down several inches before she caught a ledge with her fingers. Distantly she heard Ara over her earpiece.

"Cadence, where did you even get that knife…"

"Stole it from practice this morning." Mali chuckled and then focused on her task. Carefully, she gripped with her thighs and scooted along the top ridge of the mantis, the knife gripped firmly between her teeth.

"Oh, I should have guessed, Its SOMALI AVON folks! And it looks like she's on her way to repair a stuck wing flap…with a knife. A knife? HOW THE HECK DID A STUDENT GET A KNIFE?" Joogerston exclaimed. Mali heard the approving roar of students, but her mind was focused on one task. At the precise moment that Mali was swinging her left leg over to prepare to go to the wing, bunk one smacked into the hull. Mali was thrown backwards off onto the right wing. The wind was pulling her to the edge—the crowd gasped—Mali scrambled for something to hold onto—her legs were dangling over the edged, and then her right hand caught on to a piece of the wing. Fire ripped her shoulder as it was jolted slightly out of place. Mali groaned through the knife, tears from the brutal wind sprung up; but she pulled herself up, and hand hold by hand hold she pulled herself back to the ridge. The finish line was now in sight, only thirty seconds away.

Mali pulled herself up and over, hanging by her hands to the ridge and letting her feet dangle, and then she dropped onto the left wing. A few feet out she could see the wing flap, coated in dark paint—slowly she crouched forward. Suddenly the bunk one mantis reared before her, ready for another ram. Holding on for dear life, Mali dropped to the wing and wrapped her arms around it as far as she could go. A jolt jarred her teeth, and then it was pushed away from them. She felt the ship beneath her speed up, in her earpiece Oli screamed—

"100% Alex"

"But Mali—"

"She can take care of herself, 100%!"

"Do it!" Mali screamed, trying to be heard over the wind, holding the knife in one hand, "we've got to win!" The ship sped up even more. Mali moved toward the flap and started hacking with the knife, kneeling on one knee. The paint was thick and had dried because of the cold wind.

"Ten seconds till the finish."

"We're going in full speed."

With all the force she could muster she chiseled away.

"What about the stands, we're heading right for them?"

"I trust Mali to get the job done in time."

"Five seconds." The roar of the crowd was overwhelming, bunk five had pulled ahead of one but were now headed straight for the stands. Over and over Mali raised the knife above her head and brought it down in a ferocious rhythm. Great chunks were flying everywhere, below her cracks were forming.

"Three…"

Suddenly the paint was gone, ripped away by the wind.

"Two..." Mali flung away the knife and shimmied away from the flap, toward the ridge. If she could just get there in time…"She's done it!" There was a loud applause from the crowd.

"One…" Oli could no longer wait. With a ferocious twist the mantis spun to the left, skidding inwards, but no longer in danger of hitting the stands. Mali however, was heading right towards them. As he had turned she had felt her feet leave the deck as she was launched in the air by the sudden turn. A scream stuck in her throat as Mali sailed over the heads of the spectators, cartwheeling her arms and spinning in the air. Mali tried to gain control but she was sailing violently—Mali knew the landing would be painful. She plummeted toward the ground headfirst, her squadron screaming at her through the earpiece, but she couldn't understand. The ground welled up to meet her like a green ocean—Mali tensed and closed her eyes, her arms came up to cover her face…but the sickening crunch never came.

Slowly, Mali opened her eyes. She was mere inches from the ground, suspended by a purple shiny something around her. Gently she was released and Mali fell the last foot to the ground with a dull thud. "Ugh." Mali grunted and then rolled over. She had landed behind the stands, the crowd was cheering so ferociously that she thought her ears might pop. The screaming crowd was being kept from swarming Mali by a few teachers who were blocking the exits. Adult figures were running towards them, and a few feet behind, her squad. Dickens reached her first. "Are you ok Mali?"

"Yah, I think so." Mali said. Dickens helped her to her feet.

"Liara stopped you from falling by catching you with her biotics." The person in question stood a few feet away, not approaching, but just standing there. The few feet that separated them felt like an ocean to Mali—she tried to cross it.

"Thank you." She said sincerely.

"You're welcome." Liara answered—but she did not smile. She stayed where she was. Mali was hurt, but she did not let it show. Suddenly she was caught in a hug by Ara.

"Mali! That was crazy!" Mali smiled and turned away from Liara, pushing her hurt aside.

"Thanks."

"No, thank you." Oliver walked up behind the rest of them. "Without you we would have lost." Her group surrounded her, smiling and patting her back in congratulations, and for the first time Mali felt like she belonged there. They looked at the time, it was close to dinner. Students were being herded into away toward the square where dinner was waiting. Many turned to glance back at Mali in admiration on their way. Following her group Mali left too, celebrating along the way.

At dinner that night Dickens announced the standings. From the match, Mali's bunk was in the lead with one-hundred and fifty points having gained fifty for winning. Bunk one had passed yellow and was now second with one-hundred and ten points, and bunk three had fallen in forth behind bunk six, with ninety points. There was loud applause and cheering from most tables, and when Mali went to get her food many slapped her on the back. Afterward, her and Ara went to see the scores that were posted on the wall and when they found Mali's name Ara whistled.

"Well, that explains a lot about today." She said. Mali's' score was fifty points higher than the highest one which, interestingly enough, was Oliver's. "Where exactly did you say you came from?-"

"New Chicago?" Mali asked, confused.

"—because I'm pretty sure you're from Mount Olympus." Mali looked at her blankly and Ara sighed frustratingly. "Greek mythology? City of the gods? Ring a bell?"

"Not really..." Mali said. Ara chuckled to herself—

"Well, at least to me it was funny. Come on, we have drill soon." Mali stifled a yawn. Drill turned out to be a lot of running and jumping and yes sirs and no sirs. Their drill instructor was Officer Timothy Argus; he was strict, but not cruel, and so let them off early after a three mile run. They all went back to the house and sank into their beds, exhausted. Mali had never known when she had been this tired in all her life.