The interior was chaos.
Bodies everywhere. Cadets. Teams. Officers. All packed together. Voices overlapped. Languages merged. The noise was constant. Overwhelming.
Team PKJ stepped inside. Took it all in.
Officers moved through the crowd. Their uniforms stood out. Molten orange. Each one tailored differently. Personal. Unique. But all shared the same insignia. The bull's skull. Glowing eyes. Taurus Squad pride on full display.
Pamela's eyes scanned. Counted. Calculated. "Approximately twelve hundred cadets. Maybe more. All advancing teams are here."
Kade whistled. Low. Impressed. "Damn."
Juli's gaze swept the crowd. Really looked. Teams clustered together. Some looked rough. Battle hardened. Scars visible. Others looked calculated. Precise. Cold intelligence in their eyes.
These were the best. Cream of the crop. Top tier. Elite from across the galaxy.
"They were brutal in the qualifiers, huh?" Kade crossed his arms. "Filtered out so many teams."
Pamela nodded. "Phase One is designed to eliminate weakness. Only the strongest advance."
Juli's grin exploded. Wide. Excited. "I'm gonna make so many friends! I'll talk to everyone!"
Pamela smiled. Small. Patient. "This bus has many separate decks. I don't think you'll be able to meet everyone."
The entrance sealed. Hydraulics hissed. Locking mechanisms engaged. The sound was final. No turning back now.
The bus lifted. Smooth. No turbulence. Just gentle ascension.
Juli rushed to a viewport. Pressed his face against the glass. Waved at the locals below. His grin never faded. They were tiny now. Dots. Then gone.
The bus accelerated. Fast. Really fast. The ground blurred. Clouds passed in seconds. Then space. Stars. Void.
But inside, no one felt it. Artificial gravity held strong. Stable. Comfortable. Walking felt normal. Standing felt natural. The technology was seamless.
Juli and Kade looked at each other. Grins mirrored. Synchronized.
"Let's check this bad boy out." They said it together. Perfect unison.
Pamela sighed. "Boys. We have an exam to worry about..."
They bolted.
Gone. Disappeared into the crowd. Like excited schoolboys on a field trip. No restraint. No patience. Just pure energy.
Pamela stood alone. Shook her head. Smiled despite herself.
The montage began.
Juli and Kade found the recreation deck first. Massive open space. Various activities available. Their eyes locked on one thing.
Football. Soccer. Whatever you called it. An indoor pitch. Small but functional. Cadets already playing. Mixed species. Humans. Aliens. Everyone welcome.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kade's grin was feral.
"Oh yeah." Juli cracked his knuckles.
They joined in. Dominated immediately. Juli's speed was unfair. Kade's agility was brutal. They scored. Celebrated. High fived. Made other players laugh. Made some angry. Made everyone remember them.
A fish-like cadet complained. Gills flaring. "You're too fast!"
"That's the point!" Juli laughed.
Next was the dining hall. Multiple sections. Each dedicated to different dietary needs. Different species. Different cultures.
The variety was insane. Foods Juli had never seen. Colors that shouldn't exist on plates. Smells that ranged from amazing to questionable.
Kade grabbed something purple. Tentacles still moving. "What is this?"
"Only one way to find out." Juli grabbed one too.
They bit down. Chewed. Faces went through emotions. Surprise. Confusion. Acceptance. Not bad, actually.
A plant-based cadet watched them. Leaves rustling with laughter. "You two are brave. Or stupid."
"Both!" Kade and Juli said together.
They tried everything. Noodles that floated. Meat that changed temperature. Desserts that sang. Literally sang. Some foods were amazing. Others were crimes against taste buds. They ate it all anyway.
Then they found the control observation deck. Not the main control room. That was restricted. But an observation area. Where cadets could watch. Learn. See how things worked.
Officers monitored systems. Screens displayed data. Flight paths. Speed indicators. Power distribution.
Juli and Kade pressed buttons. Not important ones. Just display toggles. Information panels. Harmless exploration.
An officer turned. Stern face. "Cadets. Don't touch..."
Too late. Juli pressed something. The lights flickered. Changed colors. Went through a rainbow sequence.
"Oops." Juli's grin was sheepish.
Kade burst out laughing. "You broke it!"
"I didn't break it. I. Enhanced it."
The officer's eye twitched. "Out. Now."
They ran. Laughing. Free. Alive.
They met cadets everywhere. Made temporary friends. Played games. Told jokes. Shared stories.
A tall humanoid with crystal skin showed them a trick. Light refraction. Made patterns on walls.
A small furry cadet challenged them to arm wrestling. Lost spectacularly. Laughed anyway.
Even rough looking teams cracked smiles. Hard not to. The energy was infectious. The joy was real.
Meanwhile, Pamela found peace.
A quiet corner. Comfortable bench. Soft cushions. Away from the chaos. Away from the noise.
She relaxed. Let her body sink. Let tension bleed away. Closed her eyes. Breathed.
Then remembered something.
Her data pad. She pulled it out. Navigated to her bookmarks. Found the magazine. Constellation Illustrated. The premier sports publication. Galaxy wide circulation.
They did power rankings every tournament cycle. Analyzed the qualifiers. Consulted with analysts. Pundits. Even legends gave opinions. Former champions. Military heroes. People who knew combat. Who understood talent.
The rankings were unbiased. Professional. Respected.
Pamela was excited. Actually excited. A rare feeling. She refreshed the page. Nothing yet.
Refreshed again. Still nothing.
Come on. They said today. It should be up by now.
She kept refreshing. Compulsive. Eager. Like a kid waiting for test scores.
Then it loaded.
The page appeared. Graphics. Rankings. Names. Numbers. Analysis.
Her eyes scanned. Moved down the list. Searching. Looking for familiar names.
Then they widened.
Stopped. Locked on one entry.
Her breath caught. Her heart hammered. Her hands gripped the data pad tighter.
No. Way.
This couldn't be right. Could it? Was this accurate? Real?
She read it again. Triple checked. The name was there. Clear. Undeniable.
The implications hit her. All of them. At once. Like a freight train made of realization.
Her mind raced. Processed. Tried to understand. Tried to reconcile what she was seeing with what she knew.
The data pad's light reflected in her silver eyes. Made them glow. Made them shine.
One name. One ranking. One massive revelation.