"You don't always have to travel to exotics locations, dine of the finest food, or drink the finest wine," says a man named Ron, holding a slice of pepperoni pizza.
"We are glad we're here to entertain friends," says Miranda Sterling.
She, her husband, and their visitor are inside the den inside the Sterling family homestead on the planet Earth. On a large 42-inch screen television, a women's college basketball game between the United Earth Forces Academy and Santa Maria University is on. On the coffee table are two pies of pizza, as well as buffalo wings with celery and carrots and blue cheese dipping sauces.
The TV focuses on some Academy players sitting on the bench. One of the women has pale skin and purple hair.
"That's our little girl," says Steven Michael Sterling, sipping a beer.
They all continue to watch as the ladies bounce the basketball across the varnished wooden surface of the court. Spectators, most of whom are students of Santa Maria, all cheer. Many of them hold signs written in the Portuguese language.
"There's Mirage," says Amber Nicole Sterling. "She's going back on the court."
And so the game goes on. Neither team has a clear lead.
The guests inside the Sterling home can see exhaustion on the faces of the basketball players.
The Academy is only ahead by two.
Only fifteen seconds are left.
The timer counts down.
Santa Maria has the ball.
And then, one of the players throw the ball though an opening between two Academy players, to another player who right next to the key.
She jumps and throws the ball.
It goes through the hoop.
The buzzer sounds, and the United Earth Forces Academy and Santa Maria University are tied!
"They're tied?" asks Ashley Nadine Sterling.
"At least your learning your counting," says her mother.
Ooooooo
Inside the locker room, the young women of the Academy's Women's Basketball team go inside the guest locker. Coach Melissa Karn faces her players.
"We didn't get the victory we wanted," she says. "But we are still in this game! As we give our bodies a temporary reprieve, we need to put our minds to work. Santa Maria will have the ball when overtime starts."
Mirage Sterling and the other players all huddle as they plot their next move when overtime starts.
It is not long before a speaker requests that the teams return to the court.
"All right," says Coach Karn. "Let;'s win this one for those who have fallen!"
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Mirage and the other players snap, before heading out to the basketball court.
Oooooooo
At the Sterling homestead, Mirage's family watch as the buzzer sounds and Santa Maria begins. A few seconds later, the basketball goes through the hoop. The Academy takes the ball and the game continues.
"Mirage will win the game, won't she?' asks Amber.
They all eat pizza while watching the overtime, seeing the ladies bounce the ball down both ends of the court,.
"Occasionally, the basketball goes through one of the hoops, either due to field goals or free throws.
"this is an exciting game," says an English-language announcer even as the opposing teams all huddle separately to plan the endgame. "Neither side have any time-outs left. This little snippets of time when the clock stop is the only way they can talk about their plan. And here we go again."
oooooo
Mirage's heart beats steadily. The basketball player knows that time is running out.
Santa Maria is ahead by two points.
There are less than seven seconds on the clock.
The opposing player tosses the ball, sending it in a curved trajectory
The ball bounces off the backboard.
And off the rim.
Mirage catches the ball and runs with it.
Time seems to dilate. She only notices the relative position of her teammates and her opposing players, and the basket ahead.
She pushes her toes against the deck.
She releases the ball.
It travels on a curved trajectory.
The buzzer sounds as the clock reaches zero.
It enters the rim.
And goes in through the basket.
It takes a full second for Mirage to realize what happened.
She cheers, and she immediately huddles her teammates.
A continent away, Mirage's family also cheer as their daughter's team won.
As the basketball players all sit on the bench to recuperate from the strenuous physical activity that they endured, some reporters walk to ask them questions.
"How are you feeling?" one of them asks the coach.
"Pretty good," says Coach Karn. "We trained hard, there were times when we were sure we'd lose for good. Going into overtime was a shock for us. We persevered. And we won. I'm proud of my girls, like any coach would be. But it is not over. Our goal is to win the championship, like we did two years ago."
The reporter aims her microphone towards Mirage. "Uh, Miss," she says. "We saw you score the winning shot./ How do you feel?"
"I couldn't believe it," answers Mirage. "I mean, time seemed to slow down and all. All I knew is that I had to make that shot. Of course, my teammates laid the foundation. We practice hard. We have each other's backs. And we help each other, not just on the court, but in the classroom as well."
"Thank you, Miss Sterling."
Commodore Kamini Nijjar, wearing a white short-sleeve blouse with all the rank insignia and ribbon rack, and a white skirt, walks towards the team.
"Do you have any comment?" asks the reporter.
"Coach Karn and these outstanding players deserve the credit, of course," replies the Ocean Patrol commodore. "They were the ones who practiced twice a week, even more. Still, I did lay the foundation, as Cadet Sterling said, the foundation on which m y cadets were able to build their foundation. I have their backs. I will give them and all my cadets the support they need so they can succeed in this field. There's nothing we can't accomplish if we don't let anything stand in the way."
"That's a very good saying, ma'am."
ooooooo
There's nothing we can't accomplish if we don't let anything stand in the way," plays the recording of Commodore Nijjar.
"Inspiring quote, Kam," says Lieutenant General Andrea Vukovich.
"it is what we teach our cadets," replies Kamini Nijjar, dressed in her Ocean Patrol service khakis. The two women sit in the general's private mess in the administrative headquarters of the Academy. A window looks out, though this time the blinds are closed for privacy.
Andrea has roast chicken and a steamed vegetable medley, while Kam has a salad with cherry tomatoes and Italian dressing.
"Too bad we can't have wine; it's still lunch," says Andrea, sipping from a glass of ice water.
"By the way, how was the men's basketball game here?" asks Kam. "You told me you would be attending."
"They lost, unfortunately. And they sure had an outstanding first half."
"That is a tough break." Kam finishes the rest of her salad. "I wish we could have longer lunches, Andrea. I do have a meeting with Dean at 1330, if you don't have a problem with it, ma'am, of course."
"I have no problem, just as long as we get results."
"Thank you for dinner, Andrea."
"You're welcome, Kam."
oooooooo
"Congratulations on your victory, ma'am," says a plebe in a gray uniform, saluting as he stands on a concrete walkway .
"You watch women's college basketball, Cadet Private?" asks Cadet Private First Class Mirage Sterling, returning the salute.
"No, ma'am," he replies. "But I saw that video of you making that three-pointer at the final second. It's actually comforting. I mean, my cadet company captain took me and a few plebes to the men;'s game right here on campus. They lost."
"So I've heard."
"I do got to get to class, ma'am. I have an exam."
"Get to class, Cadet Private."
"Yes, ma'am," he replies, saluting.
Mirage walks along the concrete pathway through campus. Some cadets sit on blankets under the trees. At least twice she delivers a salute to senior cadets, who return her salute.
She is in good spirits, ever since that game in Brazil only three days ago. She could barely sleep on the flight back to Samsun- she had slept most of the way flying t the air base in Brazil where they stayed. Her professor actually praised her for the essay that she had submitted under her name
The cadet reaches her dorm room and removes her peaked cap. Already, Cadet Private First Class Ann Campbell is inside, sitting at her desk, her laptop open and on.
"How was your test?" asks Ann.
"Great," replies Mirage."I think I aced it."
"The coach, the cadet leadership; they're looking out for all of us. Which reminds me, we do have a group study session tonight after supper."
"I do have to practice my academics as much as I need to practice basketball."
Ann opens a book. "I might as well skim through this before practice today."
ooooooooo
The lights inside the room in the cadet dormitory are bright, as several cadets, under the supervision of the cadet company captain, all study their materials.
"And those are called orbitals," says a cadet staff sergeant. "Electrons in atoms are confined to orbitals."
"I got to remember that, sir," says Cadet Private Carli Padgett. "Orbitals, like the way planets orbit stars."
"And so electrons orbit the nucleus," says Ann Campbell. "but they can only orbit at certain distances due to having wavelengths."
"That makes sense, I think."
Mirage Sterling reads a book on integral calculus. "Yeah, I'm trying to get a hang of this. I know this has to do with finding the area under the curve."
"I can help," says Carli. "I took derivative calculus in high school. I'm pretty good at math."
"What do you know?"
The cadets continue studying for another hour or so. All sorts of facts sink into their memories.
"All right, cadets," says the cadet company captain. "We are getting exhausted here. Everyone get some shut eye. Dismissed."
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" snap the other cadets.
They all head out to the hallway.
"You still getting it, Carli?" asks Mirage.
"I..I don't know," she replies. "I didn't do as well as I hoped. I wonder if basketball is taking too much time. Maybe I should drop the team."
"But you're a really good player," says Ann. "You even made some assists in our game in Brazil on Saturday."
"Maybe you're good at basketball 'cause you're good at math," says Mirage.
"Yeah, I did get an A in analytical geometry last year," says Carli. "I guess it helps me know where the ball goes when I throw it."
"That's the spirit!" exclaims Mirage. "If you don't let anything get in our way, you can accomplish anything."
"But I'm not so good in science or history."
"You just have to hit those books," says Ann.
"i'll talk to you after breakfast tomorrow," Mirage says to Carli.
Oooooo
Carli Padgett finishes her Wednesday breakfast. She lines up behind other cadets who are placing their tray in a bin, and she does the same. During breakfast, she is still trying to recall what she had reviewed during her study session the night before. She walks out under the cloudy sky and puts on her peaked cap.
"Hey Carli," she hears Mirage Sterling say. She looks and sees the purple-haired second class cadet and women's basketball teammate.
"What is it?" she asks.
"I understand you need help with academics."
"Yeah, that's right."
"We need to do what it takes to win, and we can't let anything stand in the way. I have something that can help." Mirage pulls out a data stick from her coat pocket and hands it to her teammate.
"What's in this?" asks the first year cadet.
"Essays. Exam answers."
Carli takes a step back. "Mirage, isn't that cheating?"
"Carli, the Academy expects us to be outstanding students and outstanding athletes. You know what the coach said, what our guest speakers said. We won't succeed if we let anything stand in the way. The team needs you, Carli. The Academy needs you. I need you."
Carli holds up the data stick that she had received from Mirage. "I will put this to good use, ma'am," she says. "I promise."
As she sees Carli walk along the concrete pathway to her next class, Mirage wonders if she screwed something up.
Ooooooo
"...and we will have further discussion of the mathematics behind the equivalence principle Wednesday," a professor clad in a tweed jacket says later that afternoon. "Make sure to finish your homework."
Mirage Sterling gets up, placing her textbook on Basic Hyperspace Principles in her backpack. She and the other cadets all walk out.
She sees her cadet company captain and two cadet NCO's from her company standing there, all in their gray uniforms.
"Cadet Private First Class Sterling," says the cadet company captain, "the Commandant of Cadets has ordered a meeting with you now."
Mirage's eyes widen and her heart rate increases.
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," she says.