When Codi first heard where the final practice tournament would be held she'd thought the other fighters were joking. Now that they'd actually arrived she understood why this temperamental ball of molten rock had been chosen. Sheer spectacle.

Io – a world of flames.

A line of erupting volcanoes stretched across the horizon like a wall of hell-fire, bathing the sky in a lurid orange as they belched smoke and lava out across the landscape. Massive geological anchors kept the tremors and shocks away from the handful of defiant, armoured settlements that pockmarked Io's landscape like enormous metal studs.

Walking with the Battlecast fighters through the tube from the main docking bay, Codi couldn't help staring out at the violent, primal landscape that greeted her. The structure had been built out of thick blast-proof glass, letting new arrivals see Io in all its glory. Something about the burning skyline spoke to the very deepest parts of her.

The mere thought of fighting here made Codi shudder with anticipation.

Io hosted the last and largest of the tournaments that preceded the Gauntlet. It would be a huge event, with every academy in the Solar System in attendance. That meant Kye would be here, and it meant she could quiz him on the mystery fighter, the black-armoured giant from some hidden corner of the galaxy.

It shocked her that such an individual had managed to slip through Battlecast's ruthless team of analysts. It had been different for her – before the Gauntlet her little academy's form was dismal, not as much as a blot on a canvas. This kid was different, wrecking his way through the training rounds without a flash of media scrutiny. It made her apprehensive and excited in equal measure.

They trooped through the streets of Prometheus, Io's largest city, and all around them the hardness of the people and the world rose up. Gone were the glittering spires of Earth, replaced with huge soot-dark monoliths arranged in gridiron blocks. Thin yellow window slits glittered across their black faces, apertures that could slam shut in the event of a dome rupture. Each of these tower blocks was a fortress-in-waiting.

It occurred to Codi that if the fighters from the home academy were anything like their planet then the competition was about to get a lot more intense.

It wasn't long before they started spotting the other academy groups piling through the geometric streets. Their colours seared out against the volcanic darkness of Io's architecture, a sign that human civilisation was descending on this little fireball. She spotted the blood red uniforms of Olympus Mons, the deep evergreen of Everest and the aquamarine kit of the Atlantic troops. Then came the smaller academies: the searing blue of Luna's Cobalt Storm; Eilbarder, an academy based out of Neptune's largest satellite that bore a livery of burnished gold. And all of them were converging on the bowl-like mass of the vaunted Io institute:

Firequake Academy.

She knew it by reputation, but seeing the colossal dish firsthand still thrilled her. It loomed out of the forest of cinder-coloured buildings; not as tall but sprawling out like a black hole in the centre of the city. Massive struts jutted out like coal spider legs, holding the walls up, and gaping before them was the main entrance. Above the open double doors was an insignia six feet across; the motif of two black lightning bolts in front of a flame. The fighters from every other academy were being funnelled through the streets to this one point.

In a single surge they crossed the threshold into an entrance hall with a floor the colour of fire. Obsidian desks waited for them, manned by hard-faced staff from the Firequake administration. As the process of checking in began she let her eyes wander around the room, looking for the black tracksuits of the Zulu Forge team. She spotted several familiar faces in the crowd; Dustin Morto's huge frame stuck out like a miniature mountain. She exchanged a nod and a grin with Darien Fallow at the head of the Olympus Mons contingent; shook hands with the boy from Cobalt Storm that she'd encountered back on Earth all those weeks ago.

Then she spotted them. There couldn't have been more than ten fighters in the group and with their black livery they were almost absorbed into the sea of colours. She saw Kye at the head of the group and he was looking back. She smiled ruefully. He'd probably spotted her ages ago.

Kye raised a hand in acknowledgement and she returned the gesture, a warm feeling setting in her chest. Then somebody gave her a light but firm jab in the ribs. Codi spun to find Gareth standing beside her, an unimpressed look stamped on his features.

"You can catch up with lover boy later," he said.

"Excuse me?!"

"I'm not an idiot, Codi. I was in the Gauntlet last year. You two weren't that subtle."

She bristled, glaring at him. "I can't have friends? I don't see you shunning everyone here not wearing our colours."

"Just so long as you remember whose side you're on." He turned away, shaking his head.

Someone else might have seen his warning for the common sense contained within. Don't mix with the enemy. Don't let your guard down. Codi, however, couldn't help taking at as a challenge. To hell with Gareth and whatever ideas he had. If she wanted to see Kye she would do it, academy colours not withstanding.

Her determination only grew as the staff of the home academy worked to register the huge influx of competitors. As soon as this bureaucracy was out of the way she would seek out her friend – boyfriend? Somehow it didn't seem quite right to call him that – and have a good long talk. Excited though she may have been to see him again, the matter of the mystery fighter loomed largest in her mind.

When the registration process finally ended the fighters were let loose to find their billets within the honeycomb academy structure, and the remainder of the day was given over to free time. Another day of light training preceded the beginning of the tournament itself, giving those travelling from the furthest reaches of the system time to readjust.

And that gave Codi plenty of time to slip away and hunt down her quarry. She made a couple of none-too-gentle enquiries with the staff and it didn't take long to find the bloc afforded to Zulu Forge. They'd also been given a small seminar room for coaching purposes, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she'd find Kye there. He might have been all laughs and wisecracks on the surface, but she knew he cared about the Gauntlet as much as anyone else.

She poked her head around the doorframe and sure enough, there he was, face buried in a dat-pad as he typed notes singe-handed into another lying on his lap. Smiling mischievously, she rapped on the doorframe three times.

He almost fell out of his chair, nearly sending both dat-pad's scattering across the floor. When he gathered himself and looked up his face was a mask of outrage until he saw her. Then his features crumpled into a frown and Codi couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, very good," he joked, setting one of the consoles aside. "Not wasting any time, eh?"

"What can I say? You've got me interested – in more ways than one."

"Not in here," Kye answered, standing up. "One of my guys might come bumbling in. Wouldn't want to be caught fraternising with the enemy!"

He laughed out the last sentence, and Codi managed to laugh along with him. But something about that phrase unsettled her. She didn't like him referring to her as the enemy. Nevertheless, she fell into step beside him as they set off through the black-walled corridors. Everything on the inside of the academy mirrored the city outside – gridiron corridors arranged in ascending levels, hard and unyielding. Lighting strips lined the ceiling, but it still felt like walking around inside the bowels of some kind of man-made volcano.

They ascended a couple of levels until he led her into one of the currently unoccupied spectator arcs. Suspended above the main stands, this one stretched out in a curve a hundred yards across, looking out over four clearly marked out areas where combat would soon be taking place. In two days' time every seat in the room would be home to a shrieking spectator.

They sat down side by side and after a moment Codi slipped her hand through his, feeling the comforting touch of his skin against hers.

"So, who was that guy in the recording?" she asked.

Kye stifled a laugh. "Wow, you are all business today, aren't you?"

"What? I just-," Codi felt blood rushing to her cheeks. "You know I'm happy to see you! I just, well, I want to know what we're up against."

"Relax, Codi," he chuckled. "For record, I agree. That kid has slipped under everybody's radar and I'm damned if I know how. From what I've seen he ought to be getting tipped as a title contender."

He freed his hand from her grip and keyed a quick sequence into his dat-pad. The same recording she'd seen back on Earth played out before her with the tall fighter thumping his way through his competition as though they were children. Kye froze the image with a close up that captured the whole figure of their mysterious new challenger.

"Where did you even get that recording?" Codi demanded.

He grinned. "One of the perks of being in a little academy like mine – I move in lower circles than you guys at big, bad Battlecast." She gave him a withering look as he continued. "I've got a friend who does a bit of freelance work out on the colonies for the local media nets. He forwarded this little gem on to me."

"So who is he?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Kye said, and the frustration in his voice told her it wasn't for lack of trying. "I don't recognise the academy logo. I know there used to be an academy based on Osis but it went under a couple of years ago – they only competed off and on. Funding troubles I guess."

"I know the feeling."

"At least you got out while the going was good."

Codi shrugged. "So what do you think – a new academy on Osis?"

"I don't know – normally new academies get a whole fanfare when they show up on the scene." He drummed his fingers against this thigh thoughtfully. "I'll keep looking, but in the meantime, just be ready. If this kid doesn't show up in the Gauntlet I'll go black-hole diving."

"Maybe I can do some digging," she replied. "I reckon the powers-that-be on Battlecast might want to know more about our friend."

Kye shifted in his seat, looking her in the eye. "Don't show this to the instructors, Codi. If they trace this back to me then we'll both be in one hell of a mess. I wanted to give you a heads-up. The rest of your academy can sit and twist for all I care."

She blinked in surprise at his outburst. Surely if Bronagh Llewellyn and the other instructors were made aware they'd have no time tracking down this kid with the formidable Battlecast intelligence network. But he did have a point. If she showed them the footage and they asked where she'd gotten it...that would be a long uncomfortable conversation, and Codi didn't trust her skills as a liar to get through it unscathed.

"Okay," she said after a moment. "No instructors."

"Good."

"Well, I'd better get back before my coach sends out a search party." Codi leaned over, cupping his face in both hands and kissing him. She clung on for a moment, not willing to let this little moment of bliss end. Kye eventually pulled away, and when she opened her eyes his mischievous smile was there in all its glory. "Thanks. I'll catch you later."

She stood and turned to leave, but an afterthought struck her. She looked back over her shoulder. "And good luck in the tournament."

Kye gave her a two-fingered salute. "You too, beautiful."

Codi felt her cheeks flush and quickly spun away, walking quickly back through the corridors of Firequake Academy, heart fluttering. She still hadn't adjusted to him calling her that. Hell, every now and again there were moments when she felt like she hadn't adjusted to anything in the wild rollercoaster of her life.

She started to make her way in the direction of the Battlecast quarters, but she only made it a handful of turns before she ran into a trio of unwelcome familiar faces. Barring the corridor in front of her were Chris, Ripple and Gareth. The accusing look on Gareth's face was enough to tell her what was coming.

"Been making friends?" Chris enquired. His tone was casual enough, but Codi could sense the underlying suspicion in it. The burly teenager moved to lean against the wall, arms folded. "We haven't been on this rock for more than a couple of hours and you're already rushing off without telling anyone."

"I'm a big girl," Codi shot back. "I don't need a bodyguard."

"So where did your little mystery tour take you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Since you're apparently following me around why don't you tell me?"

"Codi," Ripple interjected. "You know you shouldn't be meeting with him."

"And why the hell not? He's been more of a friend than any of you ever have. And he's not even a fighter – he's a coach now."

"That's even worse!" Gareth exploded. "What makes you think he's not just getting you off-balance, getting all the info he can to pass on to those little scunners from Zulu Forge."

She took a step forward, fists clenching involuntarily. "Back off."

"No, we're not going to 'back off.' What you're doing is just stupid, Codi. We're finally making some headway and you're off sharing all our secrets with our rivals."

"Space, Gareth." She rolled her eyes. "Dial the hysteria down a few notches. I'm not a spy."

"That doesn't change the fact you shouldn't be meeting with him," Ripple repeated, her tone as flat and unchanging as ever. "It's a conflict of interests. If the instructors caught you spending this much time with someone from a rival academy they could void your contract on those grounds."

"You don't think that's a slight over-reaction?"

"I don't particularly care. We just thought you should know the risk you're running."

"Codi, we could've gone straight to the instructors with this," Gareth said. "But we didn't. I know we don't always get on, but I'm not blind. You're a damn good fighter and we need you." Wow. "If you put a stop to this now, we can all move on. If you don't and the instructors do catch you...well that could be your tournament up in smoke there and then."

Codi could feel her temper blazing. The three of them were so blinded by what they thought she might be revealing that they hadn't even considered it might be the other way around – that Kye might have been helping them. Frankly it wasn't any of their damn business, but if they wouldn't let it lie maybe it was time to put a dent in the entitled beliefs of the Battlecast faithful.

"Fine. Do you really want to know what we were talking about?" she challenged.

Chris smirked. "I don't know – do we?"

"Very funny."

"What was it?" Ripple's monotone cut through the others' attempts at levity.

Codi beckoned them to follow. "Then come with me and I'll show you."

*

With the other three fighters in her room the small space had become very crowded. Not as large as the arena on Earth, Firequake billeted their fighters in clean, comfortable but small rooms within the structure.

Ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of having the others looming over her from behind, Codi turned on her dat-pad, accessing the files she'd archived from the Battlecast server. Most of it was sparring drills, diagrams and demonstration videos. Buried right at the bottom of it, was Kye's file. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

The recording started to play out again. Codi watched, gnawing on a thumbnail as their mystery giant went to work. After maybe a minute had gone by, Chris spoke.

"Alright," he grunted. "What are we looking at?"

"That kid, the tall one," Codi replied, swivelling to face him. "Look at him. He's a one man wrecking crew."

"So was Bruno." Chris shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"The 'big deal' is that no-one knows who this guy is or where he's from. There's no record of that academy, not on our databases anyway. Kye sent me this file as a warning – something to look out for. Doesn't that raise any alarm bells?"

Ripple blinked. "He's just another tall guy who knows how to fight. The Gauntlet's full of them."

"He's not just tall," Codi persisted. "He's huge! And he's making everyone else in that fight look like an amateur."

"They are amateurs, Codi," Gareth snorted. "It's a practice brawl from some dead-end hunk of nowhere. Anyone halfway decent is going to stick out."

"Are all of you forgetting what happened last year?!" Codi stood up to face them. "No-one saw me coming and it nearly cost you the title."

"Nearly," Chris countered. "It's nice that your boyfriend is trying to help you out, but I think you're taking it a bit too seriously. If this kid shows up at the Gauntlet we'll deal with it." And with that both he and Gareth turned to leave.

Ripple lingered for just a moment. "Thradd wants to speak to us tonight," she said. "We've changed up our CTF team. Meet in our conference room at nineteen-hundred, Io time." And that was it.

Codi shook her head in amazement as they filed out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Had they all not just watched the same video? She would have thought that her own exploits last year served to at least prove one thing: you couldn't underestimate anyone. It didn't matter where this newcomer came from. He was dangerous; any idiot could see that. Except, apparently, her team mates.

She'd always known that the kids at Battlecast had a certain self-belief that came with just being part of the academy. And why not? Battlecast was the biggest and the best – confidence was healthy. What she hadn't realised was just how deep it went. This was no longer confidence. This was arrogance. She cast a wary glance back at the figure on the screen.

Arrogance was dangerous.