Dressed in a jersey and shorts, Mirage Sterling stepped out into the basketball court at the stadium at the United Earth Forces Academy. She looked at the baskets and all the lines on the surface. She glanced at the spectators filling the stadium, also seeing her parents and sisters and brothers. She glanced at Ann Campbell, the MVP Ayanna Harden, and their coach, Melissa Karn.
This was her first game. And she was playing right here.
She briefly recalled all the hours practicing basketball, which was addeds atop her studies, her military training, and the dirty work she did.
Her heart raced and she sweated profustyry at playing her first competitive game against basketball players from another college.
She looked as Ayanna approached the center circle to face her counterpart from a university in a region of Earth called Quebec.
An official walked to the center ring, holding an orange basketball.
The basketball went up.
Ooooooo
Mirage Sterling is back again, inside the stadium at the United Earth Forces Academy.
Only, she is playing as the visiting team.
Her coach and the others asked her what she knew about the team, and she had answered that the team developed new tricks.
As she stands on the varnished wooden surface of the basketball court, she glances at Ann Campbell, and wonders what new tricks she had developed in the past year.
And so two players from each time meet at the circle. Mirage recognizes the Academy player as Tawny Wilson, who is a fourth year cadet now. The Ohio State player is Mindy Walsch, whose family lives in a community near thew Ohio River called Long Bottom.
An official takes the basketball to the circle.
Mirage's heart rate increases.
She glances at the stands with thousands of spectators, some of who flew across the Atlantic Ocean to be here. Vendors go around selling popcorn and other snacks. Some of the spectators wear the gray cadet uniform. She also notices a Space Marine brigadier general in service alphas, who appears to be the new Commandant of Cadets.
Time seems to dilate.
The official tosses the basketball up into the air.
And Tawny Wilson touches the ball. Dribbling the ball, she runs along the court, tosses the ball, and it goes through the basketball.
Mirage takes a millisecond to feel impressed by her former teammate's play. The ball is soon on her team, and she runs.
Another score is made, from as player named Capshaw.
And so the ladies do their best, occasionally scoring, occasionally missing, occasionaly going out of bounds.
Mirage feels a bump while trying to play defense.
She looks and sees Ann on the ground.
A horn sounds, and the clock is stopped.
"Foul called on Ohio State," says a referee clad in a black-and-white striped outfit. "Two free throws awarded."
Ann walks over to the key, basketball in hand, and Mirage and the other players on her team watch.
The cadet athlete throws the ball, and it goes righgt threough the rim.
Ann takes another shot, concentrating.
The ball travels upward in an arc.
It touches the rim.
And then bounces off.
The Ohio State players only have a few milliseconds to breathe a sigh of relief before the action continues. The spectators cheer and shout defense as the ball is dribbled up and down the court and occasionally going through the baskets.
Mirage gets the ball and passes it to Walsch. The other player runs down the court and launches the ball into the air, right behind the three-point line despite the efforts of the Academy's team.
The ball goes through.
There is less than a second available to celebrate Mindy Walsch's three-pointer, for the Ohio State players immediately organize a defense.
The game continues and the scores continue to rise as the spectators cheer.
And then the horn blows as the timer for the first quarter reaches zero.
"Okay, girls," says the Ohio State coach. "We played a strong first quarter. I see the improvement over the past two weeks. Let's take a breather and discuss strategy."
They all sit at the bench, talking about what they will do even as their bodies rest for fifteen minutes. Up in the stands, many of the spectators go to the restrooms.
The coach looks at her watch.
"It's almost time for the game to begin again," she says.
"Yes, ma'am," Mirage and the other Ohio State players reply.
They all head out to the court, facing their opponents.
A horn sounds, and the second quarter starts. The Acadermy p[layers dribble the ball and ten seconds later, make a shot.
It misses, and the ball ends up out of bounds. Mirage exhales in relief before she prepares fopr the offense.
And once again, the ball is dribbled and passed back and forth as both teams try to score more baskets. The announcers do their best to describe the game.
Even throughout the game, Mirage can tell that the Academy is catching up to Ohio state.
"The Academy is now in the lead!" exclaims the announcer. "and the Ohio State coach has called for a timeout."
The clock reads 6:25.
All of the Ohio State players gather at the sidelines.
"We need the up our game," says the coach. "Some of us will have to rest/ "Capshaw and Sterling will be benched. Smith and Nunes will be on the court. Here is what we will do."
Mirage sits at the bench with the players in reserve. Once again, the ball goes into play and the clock counts down. They keeps going.
And while there are bright spots, the Academy's lead increases.
And then, the horn sounds as the second qwuarter ends and the game goes into half time. The players go to the benches to taker a drink of water.
The Academy is aheads by five points.
Oooooooo
"You know how to be a good host, Steve," says Ron.
"My little girl's playing against her own school this time," replies Steven Michael Sterling.
Ron is visiting the Sterling family home. On the large screen television in the den, the game between Ohio State University and the United Earth Forces Academy is displayed, ands it had just gone to halftime. Roast beef sandwiches with onion and tomato are served, with soda and beer for beverages.
"Will Mirage be back on the court?" asks Amber Nicole Sterling.
"Maybe," says her father, sipping a beer, looking at the uniformed band playing music in the middle of the basketball court.
More advertisements come on, advertising stuff from restaurants to cars to vacation rentals to debt counseling services. Steve and his wife, Miranda, chat with Ron about what is going on in their daily lives.
An image appears on the television screen. The players gather on the court.
Steve, Miranda, and Ron sit down on the leather couch. Amber and her twin sister Ashley Nadine Sterling sit crossed leg on the plush carpet of the den.
"There's Mirage!" exclaims Ashley, seeing the television focus on her older sister.
Oooooooo
Mirage Sterling looks as five of her teammates gather to start the third quarter. She looks across the court and sees Ann Campbell and Tawny Wilson also sitting down. Carli Padgett is still on the court.
She wishes them well-in future games. Here and now, they are opponents to deal with,, in accordance with rules and sportsmanship.
The game begins. Ohio state gets the ball, quickly gets to the ball to the basket.
And the basketball bounces off the rim and goes out of bounds.
The ball is dribbled and passed down the court, going through a basket a few times. Occasionally, there are fouls and free throws. The game is fast-paced. Mirage becomes lost in thought as memories surfaced. She does recall the game she played in Ohio State when she played for the Academy; her entire immediate family had been in the stands.
A player named Peretz scores another basket for Ohio State. They are only three points behind now.
And so the game continues. The crows often chants, "Defense! Defense!"
Mirage feels as she should be playing alongside Ann and the others.
She is here.
And she has a duty to her team, her school.
Ann glances at her former roommate, and memories surface of their time together since their plebe year and their common dream of becoming veritech combat aviators.
They had played against each other during practice at the Academy, when the coach had split the team into two smaller teams to practice teamwork and competitive play.
Now they are playing against each other for real.
The basketball player knows she must rest.
She has to be at her best.
The clock runs out for the third quarter, and a horn sounds.
The Academy is ahead by two points, now.
The players go to their respective sides.
Mirage looks at her coach and her teammates. There is less than fifteen minutes before the fourth and final quarter starts.
"Sterling, you're in," says the coach.
"I'm looking forward to the exercise, ma'am," replies Mirage.
The Ohio State coach gathers all of them together. "Let's go over our game plan," she says. "We want to start the fourth quarter off strong.
"All right," says Mirage. "The Academy, they clearly invented new tricks the past year. But so have we.
Defeat is a harsh teacher, an unforgiving teracher- and the best teacher. So let's be their best teacher."
The other ladies cheer.
They take their positions.
Mirage herself has the ball.
The horn sounds.
She passes the ball to a player named Mayfield, who dribbles the ball down the court and makes a throw.
The ball goes through the basket.
The plan is now defunct. They will have to play by ear, for now.
The Ohio State players briefly cheer when the Academy misses their shot. They then pass the ball, go for the shot.
And they miss!
And so the game continues as the clock continues to count down from tis starting point of twelve minutes. Occasionallly, the clock stops, and the teams gather to formulate their plans.
But these plans become moot seconds after the basketball gets back in play.
The ball keeps getting dribbled and passed aloing the court in both direction.
And then, as Mirage has the ball, she falls down.
A horn sounds.
"You okay?" asks Capshaw.
Mirage looks and sees Carli Padgett, who had tried to stop her.
"I'm fine," Mirage says to her teammates and her coach.
A referee walks up. "Ohio State has two free throws," he says.
He hands the ball to Mirage.
Mirage stands at the edge of the key, with players from both teams taking positions nearby. She looks at the basket.
She pushes against the varnished floor and throws the ball.
Iy foes through.
"Ohio state is now tied with the UEF," says an announcer.
Mirage takes the ball again and the players for the Academy get ready to retrieve the ball.
She focuses on the path.
She pushes against the floor and releases the ball.
It goes through the basket.
"Ohio has taken the lead," says the announcer.
And once again, the ball is dribbled and passed along the court as the clock counts down and the scores slowly rise.
"We only have two and a half minutes," the Ohio state coach says during a timeout. "We're ahead by three points, but our opponents are nipping at our heels. It's not like two weeks ago. We've practiced, we;ve reviewed our plays, and now it is time to keep ahead."
The horn sounds, and the game resumes with the Academy having the ball. They score a basket just ten seconds later, and then the game continues and the scores on both sides rise.
The last of the timeouts are being used by both sides for them to strategize on their next play.
The crowd watches in anticipation.
"Only thirteen seconds on the clock," says the announcer. "The Academy is only behind by two points."
"Yes," says the co-announcer. "You can see the cadets in the stands, all excited. The Academy has a chance to get this game into overtime."
One of the Academy players stand at the end of the court.
The horn sounds.
The player passes the ball to Ann Campbell, who runs towards the center.
Mirage stands in front.
And to her, time seems to dilate.
She calls upon the memories of her practicing with Ann for two years.
The basketball seems to dribble slowly.
She can her her heart beat.
She acts.
And then she takes the ball!
She dribbles it down the court.
She looks at the basket.
She pushes agains the floor and launches the ball.
It continues its downward trajectory toward the basket.
It hits the rim.
And bounces back!
Mirage catches the rebound.
And the horn sounds, ending the game.
Her teammates all gather around her.
"That was great!" exclaims Mindy Walsch.
"I wish I could have made that last basket," says Mirage. "But a win is a win, I guess."
Still feeling the exhaustion, Mirage looks across the court at Ann.
Ann looks back at her.
She shares a grin, knowing everything will be all right.