Chris didn’t panic. Panic was the enemy of good decision-making.

He didn’t know why this was happening, but he didn’t believe their lives were in immediate danger. If someone wanted them dead, they wouldn’t have bothered with the elaborate deception. This felt more like a test and if he had to guess, it wasn’t a test for him. It was a test for Null.

That didn’t change their current problem.

Chris pulled out the physical map from his pack. It was old-school, but every soldier was trained to use one. Technology could fail. Plastic didn’t. He spread it out on a flat rock, marking their current position based on the distorted landscape Null had uncovered. His helmet AI scanned the updates, overlaying them onto the digital map.

The biggest obstacle they faced was the sheer crater walls around them. There was only one true path back to the base which was a narrow pass that would force them into a choke point. If Null was right, it was already blocked.

He looked up at the team. “Thoughts?”

Max scoffed. “My thoughts? I don’t buy it. Null’s just guessing. We won’t know if there’s an ambush unless we actually scout the area. If I haven’t seen it, then it is not there”

Zeph nodded. “I agree. We need confirmation before we commit to an alternate route.”

Jania cracked her knuckles. “It’s not that I don’t believe Null, but I want to know how many we’re dealing with.”

Chris considered it. That was reasonable.

Null’s synthetic voice cut in, calm as ever. “Fine. But the path you’re planning is inefficient.”

Chris arched a brow. “What do you suggest?”

Null tapped a point on the map. “We scale the crater wall instead. It’ll take time, but we’ll come around from behind, giving us the high ground. Jania can take an overwatch position with her sniper rifle while the rest of us sweep the area.”

Chris studied the map, tracing Null’s suggested route with his finger. Scaling the crater wall would definitely give them the high ground, but there was a problem. Even with Mars’ reduced gravity, their external suits weren’t designed for climbing. Maybe Jania and Null could manage it, but he doubted he could and he knew there was no way Zeph or Max would make it.

“That’s not going to work,” Chris said, shaking his head. “The suits limit mobility too much. Even if we had climbing gear, it’d be too slow, and Max and Zeph wouldn’t make it up.”

Null, as usual, remained unfazed. “Then I’ll carry them.”

Three sets of eyes turned to him.

Chris stared. Max scoffed. Zeph looked like she wanted to laugh but wasn’t sure if she should.

Under normal circumstances, that kind of claim would be ridiculous. But coming from Null?

It was disturbingly plausible.

Chris exhaled, rubbing his temples. “Fine. But we’re still scouting the ambush site first. If nothing else, sending drones that way will distract them from our actual movements.”

Null gave a slight nod. “Acceptable.”

Chris tapped the map, finalising the plan. “Alright. We launch the recon drones and make them think we’re taking the direct route. Once we confirm their position, we double back, scale the crater, and hit them from behind.”

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Jania grinned, already adjusting the scope on her sniper rifle. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

Zeph and Max didn’t look thrilled, but they weren’t arguing.

Chris closed the map and stood. “Alright. Let’s move.”

The drone confirmed what Null had predicted two ambush groups, each about ten strong. They were positioned along the only viable route back to base. The good news? They weren’t using live ammunition. The scans showed their weapons were training-grade, just like the ones issued to the competitors they also seemed to be cadets. Chris didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe it’s just part of the competition after all.

The drone feed was suddenly cut off.

Chris had expected as much. What he hadn’t expected was how quickly the drone was taken out. A single, precise shot, and the feed cut to static.

Chris clenched his jaw. “Yeah… saw that coming.”

Jania frowned. “You did?”

“If I were running this, I’d have a few snipers on overwatch,” Chris explained. “What surprises me is that we haven’t been targeted yet.”

Null’s synthetic voice buzzed through their comms. “That’s because there’s only one sniper—and they’re positioned behind the ambush teams.”

Chris absorbed that information, reassessing the situation. “Which means they’re focusing on watching over them and not us.” He smirked. “Perfect.”

The team reached the base of the crater wall. Chris could already see how steep it was, and his doubts about climbing it resurfaced.

But Null? Null just crouched down and gestured for them to get ready.

One by one, he carried them all up the crater he went up and down four times like it was nothing. He would grab a handhold and launch himself like the extra weight didn’t matter.

Jania managed halfway before she lost her grip and had to be rescued mid-climb. She was not happy about it.

Chris, however, was watching Null closely.

The boy’s skin had taken on a faint glow, barely noticeable, but his face was tight with pain. Every time he lifted another person, his movements got a fraction slower, a fraction more strained.

Chris narrowed his eyes. Just how much is he pushing himself?

Unknown to Chris and the others, Null had been enhancing his strength using Infy’s energy and without his suit that took a toll.

Zeph, oblivious to the strain Null was under, adjusted her gear and asked, “Why don’t we just run for it? We’re past them now.”

Chris shook his head. “They’ll detect us soon enough. If we try to run, we’ll end up being hunted the whole way back. It’s easier to attack with the element of surprise.” He looked at Jania and asked, “You ready?”

Jania nodded.

Jania exhaled slowly, her finger steady on the trigger as she lined up the shot. Zeph had pinpointed the sniper’s exact location and fed the data into her scope, but it was Null who directed her to the sniper's general position. He also helped Jania by talking to her mentally.

"One degree left. Adjust for the wind. Take the shot."

Jania barely had to think she squeezed the trigger, and the sniper dropped, their training rifle clattering against the rock. It was the first time she had been so accurate from a distance and it wasn’t just because of Null instructions, it was her new balance she felt. She couldn't help but be grateful for Null new shirt.

Zeph confirmed the hit before giving the signal.

Chris, Max, and Zeph sprinted for the base while the ambush teams scrambled to react, turning their attention toward the unexpected threat on the ridge. Null pocketed his communicator.

He didn’t need it anymore. He was still connected to Jania mentally.

"Jania, eyes on the right. Five moving toward cover."

She didn’t respond with words just a sharp, mental acknowledgment.

Null was already in motion running down the crater, twin pistols raised, his enhanced reflexes kicking in. The first volley of return fire rang out, but Null barely noticed he was already gone. He ducked, rolled, and fired, his shots landing with pinpoint accuracy.

One. Two. Three.

Jania dropped the fourth before they could react.

Null felt the presence of two moving in from the left, their footsteps barely registering in the dust. He didn’t turn because he didn’t need to.

"Behind me."

Jania’s rifle cracked again, and Null twisted mid-air, his pistols kicking in unison.

The remaining six hesitated.

Too slow.

"Four more coming from the ridge."

Jania barely blinked before shifting her aim. The first student barely had time to raise their weapon before a single shot rang out. Their training armor registered the hit, and their system locked them out. The next three dropped just as fast.

The last five made a break for it, trying to retreat toward the base, but Null wasn’t about to let that happen. Two of the five had deployed some type of shield. Null training shot bounced off of it.

A gust of dust kicked up by their running, distorting their vision this gave enough time for Null to close the distance. He jumped over the shield and landed behind one of them carrying the shield, knocking them off balance and firing into the head, while his remaining pistol fired into the other’s chest plate before they could even react.

Jania took out the final two from afar.

Silence.

Twenty down.

Null exhaled through his nose, turning toward Jania.

"That was fun."

She grinned. "Yeah, yeah, little man. Now let’s go catch up before Chris yells at us."