Jania could see the truth the little man was a freak of nature.

She recognized the signs of Super Soldier training, but unlike her, he didn’t seem to suffer from the side effects. His movements were too fluid, his reactions too precise, yet he showed none of the damage she had endured growing up in the program. That settled it. He was her little brother now.

Jania had a simple creature and if someone beat her, they deserved respect.

The moment they exited the pods, she marched straight over to Null, grabbed him, and lifted him clean off the ground in a crushing embrace. The shock on his face was priceless.

"That was awesome! How did you move like that?" she asked, grinning.

The other two didn’t share her enthusiasm.

Max, whom Jania had already decided was boring and not to be trusted, scowled. "He was cheating. No one moves like that in the real world the only way is if he hacked the pod."

Zeph nodded in agreement.

Chris clapped his hands together to get their attention. "These pods have been tested, checked, and improved for generations. I have full confidence that Null wasn’t cheating."

That was all Jania needed to hear. She had always respected Chris. The two of them had worked together before in common classes that all Martian cadets took. If he said Null wasn’t cheating, she believed him.

Chris looked at the team, his voice firm. "So, what did we learn?"

Jania didn’t hesitate. A proper military operation always included a debrief, and she wasn’t one to stay quiet.

"We need to cover for each other’s weaknesses," she said. Then, with a smirk, she added, "And that Null is a scary little boy."

Null shot her a glare, but she didn’t care.

Jania had a knack for sizing people up. It was something she had always relied on—an instinct that told her who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. She had learnt over the years it was wise to trust it.

And right now, that instinct told her that Null was scary but he wasn’t crazy and could be trustworthy.

Chris broke down everything he had observed from the match.

"It was clear he was training you," he said, his voice firm. "So once again, what did you actually learn?"

Jania was the first to respond. "That I need to consider my limitations when setting up a position and when fighting," she admitted. Chris nodded at her response. Null, however, appeared to be asleep, his expression unreadable.

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Zeph followed up next, admitting that she had learned to pay more attention to her own location and not to panic when under attack.

Max, however, crossed his arms and scoffed. "I didn’t learn anything. It was a fluke," he muttered, deflecting any blame.

Null’s communicator buzzed before anyone else could speak. "Your laziness will get you and others killed. If you won’t learn, I will kill you myself if you endanger the mission."

Max’s face paled, and he took a step back. "Chill, it’s just a competition!"

"The mission is the mission."

Jania could see it that he meant every word. It confirmed what she had already sensed. He was terrifying. Zeph seemed to realize the same thing and instinctively backed away from the group.

Chris, however, took control before things could spiral. "No one is killing anyone," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Max is right about one thing. That this is a competition. But that doesn’t mean we can afford to be lazy it will have consequences on our lives."

For the next two days, Jania went along with the flow. Chris had them running team-building exercises, simulated challenges, and different drills to get them working better as a unit. Despite his best efforts, it became clear that the team had already split into two cliques—Chris, Jania, and Null on one side, with Max and Zeph on the other.

Chris had seen the same divide and tried different strategies to bridge the gap, but two days wasn’t enough time to change everything.

It was the night before the first trial when Null walked into the dorm and, without hesitation, turned to Jania.

"Remove your shirt," his communicator spoke.

The room went silent.

"Woah, little man, that is not something you ask of a lady," Jania said, raising a brow.

Null’s face remained blank. He didn’t understand.

The communicator buzzed again. "I don’t understand, but I need to see your skin so I can test something." He held up a string of wire with strange, intricate shapes at the ends.

Jania studied him for a moment before making her decision. She kicked everyone else out of the room.

It turned out Null only needed to see her back.

He connected the wire to her spinal column, running it along her weaker side. Jania didn’t need him to explain. She could feel it immediately that for the first time since she was a young cadet, her body felt balanced. The discomfort, the uneven weight she had always carried, was simply gone.

Then, she heard a voice in her head.

"This is only a temporary fix, and it will be doing damage to your body. We need access to better equipment for a more permanent solution."

Jania stiffened. "Null?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, that was Infy. I am Null."

Now she was even more confused. Why were there two voices in her head?

"Sorry, it’s complicated," Infy continued. "And I know you like simple things, so here’s how it is. Null and I are two separate people in one body. You have latent psychic abilities, so we’re able to talk to you like this."

Jania was still a little lost, but as always, she trusted her instincts and went with the flow. "So why tell me now?"

Null answered this time. "These missions could get complicated, and in the heat of the moment, we might need to use this communication method. Infy says telling you now means you won’t be surprised in the field."

Jania couldn’t help but laugh. Of course, it was for the mission—but this just raised more questions about who these little guys really were.

"So, this device is doing damage?" she asked.

"Yes," Infy admitted. "It’s overstimulating your muscles, which is causing strain. But it’s also bringing them back into balance. We’ll integrate it into a shirt for you, but we needed to test if it worked first. After the competition we will try a better solution"

Jania considered it for a moment, then nodded. She could live with that.