Instead of the bright colors Wexil had, Sergeant Uzi's fan-shaped torso had a pattern of mantis green, pitch black, and twinkling silver, and their large eyes on top the torso reminded Joaquim of bubble wrap.

Rather than the harsh static sounds Wexil made when pronouncing a vowel, the arak made whirring hums when finishing sentences. "You must be the new recruits. I am Sergeant Uzi, and I go by ve, vis, and ver pronouns."

"I go by he and him," Joaquim said. "Don't listen to my brother."

"Your name is Uzi? Like the gun?" Gabe asked. "I am not saying those ridiculous pronouns by the way. Are you male or female?"

No eliminations this round, well done everyone, Iker said on the speakers.

Sergeant Uzi raised one of vis needle-thin arms and scratched the silver spiral in the center of vis torso. "What do you mean? My species has three sexes."

"Like a made-up third gender? I don't believe in that," Gabe said.

"No, really," Sergeant Uzi said. "I know most organisms on Earth have two sexes, but my species and others that are close to us in our phylogenetic tree in Brennisteinn have three sexes. We do have some that transition, but arachnosapiens can have three sets of genitalia that can procreate."

"That's gross," Gabe said.

It is time to vote for a chair to be removed, Iker said.

"Humanity's aversion to sexuality still bewilders me," Sergeant Uzi said. "It's starting to rub off on talking animals too. Even the talking lion Maverick is wearing suits."

"Just stop talking," Corporal Woo said to Gabe. "Are you trying to piss off everyone here?"

"Sergeant Uzi, remember how you said you wanted to be a better accomplice to humans and talking animals?" Lucia asked.

"Yes?" Sergeant Uzi said.

"Help us pass the test please," Lucia said.

"I don't know. I've had quite a hard month, I would love to have that two-week vacation," Sergeant Uzi said, rubbing two shaky needle-arms together. "Making sure they pass will not make it easier for me to secure it."

"Common, your species has had millenniums of vacations," Lucia said. "Colonizing different planets, exerting your supremacy, and using your privilege. I am not asking you to give me your chair, but help us pass this test. I'll owe you one."

"This dog is cringe. This plan to stay on the mountain sucks. Let's just throw hands like we're supposed to and take the chairs," Gabe said, taking off his backpack to grab his jar of fireflies.

"Stop," Joaquim groaned, shoving Gabe back.

Sergeant Uzi turned away from Lucia, then ve turned back around to the earthlings to make low synthesized sigh.

"Fine, I will help you all," Sergeant Uzi said.

Lucia wagged her tail and licked one of vis arms, making Gabe grimace.

"You were joking right?" Sergeant Uzi asked Gabe. "I could throw you off this cliff pretty easily. I wouldn't do it because you'll die, but what I'm trying to say is that it's not a smart move to threaten me Alkrezian."

Gabe glanced back and forth between Sergeant Uzi and Joaquim's death glare. He lowered his head. "Yea I was joking."

"I don't think we have much time left to vote," Corporal Woo said.

Each soldier imagined and willed the earthplexus to summon a hologram screen, five instances of the improvised voting app appearing.

"We are the kingmakers this time," Sergeant Uzi said. "Five to four. We get to decide who needs to come up the mountain to battle us."

"How did y'all get the chairs?" Gabe asked.

Everyone, including Joaquim, pointed to Corporal Woo.

"I knew it," Joaquim said.

"Well, after doing the test several times I can teleport pretty much anywhere on the platform," Corporal Woo said. "I can teleport on anything I've had my feet on."

"Colonel Felix will need to come up with a new test because of you," Sergeant Uzi said. "Or use the beach platform."

"Yea. How come we didn't do the test over there?" Joaquim said, pointing his lips to the beach and rainforest platform that was hovering close by. "This snow and mud ain't it."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Well, you know how the army is," Sergeant Uzi said. "That's too pleasant. Colonel Felix had to choose the platform that would be more... arduous."

"So, with the experience you folks have, what would be the best chair to remove?" Joaquim asked.

"Sergeant Hunter will want the vacation," Sergeant Uzi said. "This is the first time Private Borrys is doing the test so I think he will be eliminated next round by Sergeant Hunter. She will need a new chair and Borrys is the easiest choice."

"Meaning?" Corporal Woo asked.

"I think we should end this once and for all," Sergeant Uzi said. "Let's eliminate the Colonel's or the Lieutenant's chair. Let's get these boys to pass quickly. Corporal Woo, go get the numbers on their chairs."

Corporal Woo disappeared.

Lucia locked eyes with Sergeant Uzi and Joaquim noticed.

"Are you sure we shouldn't make sure to eliminate them from... weakest to strongest?" Lucia asked. "You know. Give them more time to think it through. Maybe one of us could get the vacation?"

Give them more time to think it through, Joaquim recited in his head.

"Nah," Sergeant Uzi said. "I have a good feeling. That's how you humans say it right?"

"If you're right about Sergeant Hunter, then it's actually a good move to choose our commanders," Joaquim said. "We can get two, or even three people eliminated if the commanders decide to help each other."

Lucia and Sergeant Uzi gave each other awkward stares. This time Joaquim saw that Gabe took notice.

"I should change my bet as well shouldn't I?" Sergeant Uzi said.

"Sergeant!" Joaquim groaned.

"What cadet?" Sergeant Uzi said. "I had to meet you first."

"Don't tell me you bet against us too," Gabe asked Corporal Woo when she teleported back.

"Actually," Corporal Woo said. "I always believed in you two."

It was quite heartwarming, Joaquim couldn't help but smile at her. She smiled back.

"Why?" Gabe asked.

"A good premonition," Corporal Woo said. "That's how araks say it, right Sergeant Uzi?"

Private Borrys and Sergeant Hunter have been eliminated, Iker said on the speakers [https://img.wattpad.com/1d16fcc975089017dbabd848be305d087cdc9c2c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f71304c3730535a30776a6c3770413d3d2d313336393537323130372e313737383061383362623934636231623134333733363033363034342e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Private Borrys and Sergeant Hunter have been eliminated, Iker said on the speakers.

"Ah," Lucia said. "It seems instead of coming up here after we removed the Colonel's chair, the Colonel and the Lieutenant just intervened in Sergeant Hunter's attempt to take Private Borrys's chair, eliminating both."

"If they have Sergeant Hunter's first chair, Lieutenant Tagore's chair, and Private Borrys's chair..." Joaquim said.

"And Colonel Felix's chair was removed from play," Sergeant Uzi said. "They will have to come here after 2 rounds, but they won't wait that long. They will just try to eliminate us. If anything goes wrong they'll just stop trying and go back to the chairs they already gathered."

"So the commanders will be on their way here after they cast their vote," Gabe said.

"Actually, they may have already figured out what's going on and won't even bother voting," Sergeant Uzi said. "We might as well assume they will use that extra time."

They cast the vote on the chair Corporal Woo told them to.

Chair number six removed from play, Iker said with diaphragmatic breathing.

"You heard that right?" Lucia said. "He was running while he said that. He'll be here before we know it."

"It's time to execute our clever plan," Sergeant Uzi said, bringing together two of vis needle arms.

"What is it?" Gabe asked.

Corporal Woo instructed everyone to sit on one chair. Corporal Woo, Sergeant Uzi, Lucia, Joaquim and Gabe all sat down on one chair.

"Do I have permission to touch you all? I'll need to do that if in case any of you fall; I can levitate you back up," Sergeant Uzi said. Gabriel was reluctant but everyone agreed to it. Sergeant Uzi proceeded to tap everyone on the shoulder except for Corporal Woo. Joaquim felt a tingling sensation from Sergeant Uzi's influx. It felt as if his skin was dancing.

"Hold on to your seats. No horsing around," Sergeant Uzi said.

"That's speciesist thing to say," Lucia said.

The chairs floated, startling Joaquim at first until wanderlust took over. He not only thought he probably looked silly having a huge grin, but he reflected on how ridiculous the situation was. Three humans, a canine, and an arak flying on chairs over a man-made mountain.

"So we are just basically going to fly on these things?" Gabe asked.

"We are not done," Corporal Woo said.

"I had the same idea," Lucia said. "I wanted to find Uzi during the test to get vis to levitate the chairs as high as possible, but I didn't think about sitting on them while doing that."

"Hold on, stop talking," Corporal Woo said, pulling up a screen from the earthplexus. After she pressed buttons on the hologram, a hologram nimbus cloud appeared under them, getting Joaquim, Lucia, and Gabe to burst out laughing. Not only were they flying, but now the whole group was disguised as a cloud in the sky.

"This is fucking genius," Gabe said.

"Our plan is to keep flying over the mountain," Sergeant Uzi said. "The map at the starting location can give away that we are in the sky if we go anywhere else. If anyone looks for us in the mountain, they will just keep looking around the mountain, thinking they are not looking hard enough."

"Make sure you are taking in the view. I'll get off course a bit to show you," Sergeant Uzi said.

The chairs kept rising until the group got past the mountain top, the nimbus cloud under them now hiding it. Straight ahead past the taiga platform, the other platform with the desert, rainforest, and beach was visible. The beach was crowded with beings and bright-colored parasols. Joaquim stood on the spindle of his chair to see the sea of city platforms under the desert platform.

Corporal Woo pulled him down. "Be careful."

Joaquim, while he jolted down, noticed someone was standing on the mountaintop. Once he sat down he noticed it was Iker staring at them directly.

"Sergeant Uzi!" Iker yelled.

Sergeant Uzi's compound eyes wriggled. If any arak was able to express utter shock, it was Sergeant Uzi.

"Y-yes sir?" Sergeant Uzi yelled back.

"How high up are we?" Iker asked.

"Oof. We are quite high sir-"

"It is a plan a stoner would come up with alright," Iker said.

"Several atmospheres high in fact," Sergeant Uzi stuttered.

"So it is dawning on you," Iker said. "Unless the clouds will part and Joaquim manipulates electrons and atoms to throw a thunderbolt at me like he was Zeus, I don't see what's the big idea."

Joaquim scanned around and realized that they were the only cloud in the grand blue sky. He slapped his forehead.