Codi discovered quickly that although Battlecast allowed, even encouraged individual fighting style the instructors constantly reminded them that they were part of a team. Battlecast won and lost as an academy and anyone who had a problem with that philosophy was welcome to shut up, or get out.

After three days of virtually killing the new bloods, the instructors began to introduce sparring training. To Codi's amazement, they didn't lose a single recruit during the vicious induction period, despite more than one of the youngest in the programme collapsing or throwing up from exertion. It was then that she truly began to grasp just how much a position at Battlecast meant to these teenagers. The hundred and fifty that had made it this far had already been whittled down from a pool of thousands of applicants.

Kitted out in her personally fitted practice gear, Codi took up her position on the gel padded floor panels, lowering into her established fighting stance. Her technique was still a mess, but a well co-ordinated one, and she saw little reason to ditch the style that had carried her to second place in last year's competition.

Opposite her Gareth took up his station, his eyes shining with frustration. She knew how he felt. He obviously wanted a full spar just as much as she did, but right now things were carefully micromanaged by Thradd and the others. Only a select few moves were sanctioned for this training bout.

"Mr. Hosk, you can begin," Thradd barked.

The glint of a smile hovered on Gareth's features and Codi braced herself. This may only have been practice, but both of them were Gauntlet veterans, both well able to execute the basic selection of throws on the agenda. It explained why Thradd had paired them together to open the session, so younger fighters could observe the techniques in action. Nonetheless, she knew full well that this was going to hurt.

Once she reached the choreographed point she swung a left hook. Right on cue, Gareth caught her arm, twisted his body and flipped her through the air with a savage yank. She didn't offer much resistance, only enough to make her opponent perform the move properly. There was a brief moment of weightlessness, and then Gareth completed the throw, slamming her onto the matt.

Codi knew how to distribute her weight to take the sting out of the impact upon landing, but it still jolted her back when she hit the ground. She rolled smoothly to her feet and turned to look Gareth in the eye. A mischievous smile crossed her face when she found him glaring back. He'd need to try a lot harder to intimidate her.

"Good!" Thradd declared, taking their attention. "Strong technique, smooth execution - the rest of you, take note." He paused, as though considering his next course of action. Then he spoke: "Reset. James - your turn to throw."

She took up her position again with barely disguised relish. She'd learned from her days in Brax-Delta that personal emotions were a double-edge sword in the Gauntlet, but if one could manage them properly they could be a tremendous asset. She couldn't keep the smile of anticipation off her face as they prepared to execute the throw.

Gareth stepped in fast, faster than the drill strictly called for, but Codi didn't waver. She caught the swinging arm and in a vicious motion, whirled and flipped him head over heels. However, rather than letting go straight away, she kept hold of Gareth's arm just long enough to give a little extra downward momentum and drive him hard into the padded mats. A gasp of surprise escaped from his mouth as he thudded against the ground, the wind driven from his lungs.

Codi bounced back on the balls of her feet, staring at the other fighter like wolf as he slowly picked himself up, once arm clutched over his ribs. The rest of the group exchanged curious looks as they waited for Thradd's appraisal. Codi looked at the instructor and held his granite gaze.

Then his face cracked into a grin. "Perfect."

"What?!" Gareth spluttered.

"This is a throw to be used in a no holds-barred fight, son," Thradd continued. "You have to mean it. Now you know how you should make the other guy feel." He examined the other members of group Cyan before his gaze locked onto his next target. His hand shot out, pointing. "You - Crockett, isn't it?"

Leela gave a nervous, bobbing nod. "Yessir!"

"Front and centre."

She darted out into the middle of the ring and stood ramrod stiff, waiting for the next order. Codi cocked an amused eyebrow at the young fighter before looking back to Thradd. He nodded to her.

"Give the kid a demonstration, James."

Strangely, she found herself hesitating, just for a second. Should she treat this girl just as she'd treated Gareth? Babying Leela certainly wouldn't prepare her for the competition. But something felt a strange about using this girl as a glorified tackling dummy. She was so child-like that it made Codi uneasy. Eventually she shook off the doubt, deciding that the only way the fresh-faced youngster would stand any chance in the real competition was if she started taking some hard knocks now.

A hint of apprehension shone in the other girl's eyes as she closed to begin the move. Nonetheless, she swung a punch - Codi, blocked, grabbed and whirled, slinging Leela up and over before driving her into the matt at full force.

A yelp of pain was driven from Leela's mouth from the impact and she coughed for breath, rolling onto all fours. A pang of guilt shot through Codi but she quickly dismissed the sensation. None of them would get any mercy in the Gauntlet, so there was no point showing any now.

"Y' alright, kid?" Thradd said, bending down at Leela's side.

"I-," she broke off with a cough, "I'll be fine."

"On your feet then. Back in line."

Leela struggled upright and walked unsteadily out to join the circle of group Cyan without so much as a glance in Codi's direction.

"Excellent," Thradd declared. "You're two for two." He signalled another pair forward to take up the exercise and when Codi walked out to join the circle she caught a glare from Gareth and an expression of what could only be described as hurt on Leela's youthful features. She did her best to ignore it. If the girl was serious about following in her footsteps she'd need to get used to a bit of tough love.

The afternoon session wore on as group Cyan rotated through several grapples and throws, drilling each new move dozens of times before moving on. Codi found that little of it was new to her. As veterans, she and Gareth led most of the exercises, and she doubted that anyone could miss the hostility that burned beneath the surface every time they slammed each other into the training mats. They almost managed to make it through the session without incident, until Thradd introduced them to their final test of the afternoon - a free sparring session.

It wasn't totally uncontrolled. Their coach stipulated that they were to incorporate the moves and techniques they'd been learning throughout the day and not go beyond that. They rotated in pairs and Codi found to her annoyance that she hadn't been paired with Gareth, but with another boy from the group. She took him apart in their free spar, dumping him unceremoniously onto the matt five times to one, but it didn't give her much satisfaction. This wasn't the person she had a bone to pick with.

She watched impassively as they worked through the pairings, Thradd roaring advice and criticism in equal measure as the fighters tried to put what they'd learned into practice. Some of them definitely picked up the techniques more quickly - she noticed one of the boys, a second year fighter, who showed an almost alarming capacity for adaptability.

They reached the last spar, and her stomach turned when she realised the only two remaining were Gareth and Leela. Not exactly a fair match, she thought as the pair took up their positions. Just by looking at them she could see that Gareth was the more effective fighter, his stance like something out of a textbook - knees slightly bent, his back straight, feet spread apart to give him the maximum range of movement and balance he needed. The girl opposite him had the look of a novice, the right idea but not entirely refined. It was little things. The angle of her front foot wasn't quite right; her legs looked rigid rather than loose. Tight with nervousness.

That was a feeling Codi had encountered and overcome a year previously, and she could see the signs easily enough. Although this was unlikely to be Leela's first spar - most of the Battlecast applicants had some kind of martial experience - it was her first under the watchful eye of a qualified Gauntlet instructor at the most prestigious academy in space.

Thradd barked out the call to begin and the pair started to circle, both watching and waiting for an opening. Then with a sudden burst of speed Gareth shot forwards and upended his inexperienced opponent, sending her thudding to the mat. An impressed murmur rippled through the onlookers. Codi's hands balled into fists at her sides as she watched Leela pick herself up, cheeks crimson.

They clashed again. Again Leela went head over heels and ended up on the mat.

"Plant your feet and give him something to move!" Thradd snapped. "Don't just give up, make him work for it!" Leela nodded but didn't look at their instructor. Codi sucked a breath in through her teeth and willed the girl on. Gareth wasn't even trying.

The next fall took a bit longer, but ended with the same net result. As Leela picked herself up again and circled round, Codi decided to impart some advice of her own.

"Sit lower in your stance," she said quietly. "And watch his eyes, not his hands." Leela seemed to hesitate for a moment under the unexpected tip but she quickly recovered and resumed the spar. This time, when Gareth darted in to execute a throw, she managed to get her slight frame low enough to stop him upending her straight away and then trapped the boy in a headlock.

Codi thought that Thradd would halt the spar since the move had been successfully blocked. However, before that could happen Gareth took things a step further. Despite being caught in a headlock he was bigger and stronger than his opponent, and with a grunt of exertion he shifted his grip and stood up, hoisting Leela into the air. Her legs flailed for a moment before Gareth proceeded to fall backwards, smashing her body into the mat with bone jarring force.

Her screech of pain echoed through the training arena, accompanied by a horrified gasp from the onlookers. Gareth rolled away, unharmed by the impact, and he got to his feet with a thin smile on his face as he looked down at his opponent. Leela lay prostrate on the mat, clutching at the back of her neck with her eyes screwed shut against the pain.

The sight sent Codi's temper over the edge and before anyone could stop her she crossed the training ring and drove a clenched fist hard into Gareth's jaw.

The unexpected blow knocked Gareth flat and before he could gather himself Codi dragged him upright by his shirt, eyes blazing with fury. He retained enough fighting instinct to bring his hands up and break her grip, whereupon she kneed him in the stomach, doubling him over, and laid another ferocious right hook across his face.

Then an iron grip caught the back of her t-shirt and she found herself hauled bodily backwards. The next instant she found herself staring into Thradd's face, his eyes shining with rage. In the other hand he had a hold of Gareth's top, holding the pair of them at arm's length. When he spoke his voice was a chilling hiss.

"Enough!" His grip tightened, muscle and sinew standing out on his arms. "I think it's time the three of us took a little walk."