Five red balls floated in a ring at the midpoint of the arena. At the far end, almost twenty-five meters away, the Retreads formed themselves into a ring, each one focused on a single ball. In contrast, the Noobs around me milled about, all focused on the 'top' ball, the one closest to the bay doors. They'd fallen prey to the first mistake, the one my hand-me-down memories never let me make.

There is no top.

"What are you talking about?" Quick muttered, never taking his eyes from the 'top' ball. I hadn't realized I'd spoken my mantra aloud.

"There is no top."

He turned to me, brow furrowed, but at that moment Tiamat spoke. "Gravity plates disengage in five..."

I had no time for Quick. I glanced down at the far end of the bay one last time. Denny's obsidian hair blended with the shadows at the 'top' of the Retreads' formation, flanked on either side by the amethyst of Back and Mull. The 'bottom' of their formation held their two weakest players, Taymer and Tony.

"Four..."

The solution struck me, so elegant in its simplicity it took me precious moments to parse it into words, and moments more to turn it into commands the others could follow.

"Two..."

"Everyone, shift 'down' for me. Quick, keep the green twins busy..."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

I didn't even register his response; time was running out.

"One..."

"You three, take down Denny."

"But you're on top!" Al's whine shattered against the alloy hard core of my focus. The gravity fell away, and I crouched with it, my body as tense as my mind.

"Begin."

Before Tiamat could complete her single word gravity cut out entirely, and I launched myself across the formation toward one of the two 'bottom' balls. The extra inches my fashion doll feet granted me didn't normally seem like much, but that thought discounted calf muscles powerful enough to keep me on my toes all day. Al's whine Dopplered away behind me, less relevant with every passing moment. The only things that mattered were the dull red of my weapons and the jewel and pastel of my targets.

Halfway to the ball I fired my cable. It snaked out askew my flight path, directly at the other 'bottom' ball. The force of the launch pushed me a little off target, but not enough to matter. My targets finally realized how fast my tweaked legs made me in this environment, and all but Denny were reacting. Four cables reached out from the Retread's formation, a futile effort to reach the balls before I could. If they'd done that at the start it might have mattered, but it was too late now. All their launch did was slow them down that much more.

A ball slammed into my midsection, and I wrapped one arm about it protectively even as I yanked hard on the line connected to the second ball. The sticky end of Taymer's cable shot past me, so close the grav field teased my hair free of its confining clip. I caught a glimpse of his face just before the ball at the end of my line ploinked into it.

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"Williams, out, one point Dabig." Tiamat's tenor filled the arena, rapid yet calm. "Frost, out, one point Mull."

I swore quietly. I'd miscalculated my jump and pull and let the score tally distract me further. I tossed the ball I'd clutched to my chest as I whipped past Tony. Despite his efforts to twist around it, the ball bounced off his thighs. I'd intended to catch it on the rebound, but I was out of position. It flew straight and true toward my face, moving nearly as fast as I'd thrown it.

"Rides, out, one point Dabig. Mull, out, one point Ross. Ross, out, one point Back."

I wrenched my head out of the way, the motion throwing me into a spin. My head pounded, the world went pink, and the far end of the arena loomed across my field of vision. I'd intended to do something before I hit, but the blood rushing through my ears drowned out my thoughts. I curled into a fetal ball, a cable dragging at my wrist as I did.

My pulse quieted from thunder to a distant drumming, and sanity returned with silence. It took a moment for me to register where I was, what I had been doing, and why Denny was drifting toward me. No part of me ached, so I must not have hit the wall yet.

"Back, out, one half point Quick." A half point meant someone had crossed the arena boundary. Normally those weren't allotted to an opponent. Quick must have forced her across. I'd have to congratulate him; for a player with even a little skill that was an embarrassing way to go out.

Before I could call out my congratulations the wall smashed into me, pulling me out of my instinctive tuck, leaving me prone. Denny cocked her arm, aiming, waiting for me to dodge, waiting to get close enough to ensure her shot. When she did, I noticed the thin cable protruding from its side; she'd grabbed the same ball I'd used to take Taymer out. I hit the retract on my cable, but she'd been waiting for me to do that. Before the line went completely taut, she grabbed the cable with both hands, wrapping it around one forearm to be sure she kept her grip, and yanked, trying to pull me away from the wall, leaving me drifting toward her, unarmed and with no way to dodge.

In one fluid motion I pulled my knees in, rolled forward, and shoved myself in the only direction I could go, toward the distant floor of the arena. At the same time, I flicked the controls on my cable with one hand, disengaging and reengaging the grav clamp. I grabbed at Denny's cable with my other hand as I passed, but she'd seen that maneuver coming. It pulled away just before I could grab it.

She began to twist as she left my field of vision, preparing herself to bounce off the wall and pursue me. If I stopped, she would take me out with the ball. If I didn't, I would pass through the arena wall and put myself out.

Shielded from her view by my body, I gripped my cable with both hands. If I didn't time this right, she would get me anyway. Quick and Carver might be able to take her, but they were both such big targets, and she wasn't the type to take careless shots.

Okay, that was an excuse. I wanted to take her out myself.

I yanked the cable as hard as I could, set it to cycle to full extension and retract, and finally threw the spool as hard as I could in the direction of the floor. With all the force planes in the way it would never make it, but it would stick to one of them, it didn't really matter which.

Denny's yelp of surprise confirmed she hadn't realized what I intended. I twisted so I could see her and got a face full of red rubber ball for my troubles. 'Ploink' filled my head, the scent of blood filled my mouth, but Denny's frustrated cursing made both worthwhile.

"Dabig, out, one point Card."

I sighed at being taken out, but a few seconds later Tiamat's next announcement brought a smile back to my face.

"Card, out, one half point... winners are Quick, Carver and team, four points to three.

I hadn't expected credit. I was out, after all. Still, my team won the match, even if I did wind up floating, helpless, in the middle of the arena.

"Hang on, Captain. We'll have you soonest!" I couldn't see him, but Quick's voice positively oozed smug glee at our rapid win, not to mention his name coming first in the credit.

I didn't bother twisting around to face him. The adrenaline rush of the match already fading, the rapidly forming bruise across my back informed me I wouldn't be moving my waist again comfortably for a little bit.

"No rush, First. I think I'll just hang around here and enjoy the null gee for a bit." Hiding my wince, I mimed stretching out into a lounge chair. "It's not like I'm in any danger up here."

Someday I will come to obey the wisdom of not taunting the universe to do its worst.

Really, I will.