"Contestants to the course entry," boomed a woman with a megaphone. "And another reminder, if at any point you fail an obstacle, you cannot bypass it. Go back and complete the obstacle before moving to the next." Hopefully he hadn't missed any other pertinent rules. His competitors darted forward like gazelles, lining up just in front of the curtain where the woman stood. Lio edged to the back of the line.

Outside, a cheery voice boomed over the distant sound of the crowd. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to this year's Mastali Legend Challenge, sponsored by—"

A damn announcer was the last thing he wanted to hear. Maybe he should pretend to twist his ankle and limp away before anyone saw him. But then he'd have to tell his crew he hadn't even tried. The line moved forward, and Lio trailed with it. To his doom.

"Starting positions," the official said, and the line broke apart as each competitor headed to a starting mat. Lio found himself on the outer edge of the course, close to the grandstand. Close enough to hear someone calling his name. Please, Goddess, no—

"Gooooo Liooooo!" shouted Yorune, dangling halfway over a railing to wave at him. And spread along the rail beside her, flashing salutes and shouting advice he couldn't understand, was the entire Opalina crew. Including Ravi.

"Go away!" he wailed. "I've done nothing to deserve this!"

"Take your marks," the woman with the megaphone said. A cannon boom reverberated into his bones, and they were off.

Sheer adrenaline gave him a burst of speed and melted the sound the crew and the audience and the other competitors into discordant noise. He reached the first obstacle with most of the pack, a rock climbing wall. Half the competitors accelerated up it as if they routinely ran up vertical walls, while Lio clung to one handhold and tentatively stretched for the next. By some miracle he kept his footing up the wall and rolled over the top to see the rest of the course. He tried to run onto the springy net that stretched out from the top of the rock wall, but it bounced him onto his ass. Someone had the gall to jump over him as he staggered around on the devious trampoline surface.

His competitive field bounded past, gaining momentum for a slick, slanted wall with no handholds. Lio got halfway up it before his feet started to slide, and he threw himself onto his stomach, scrabbling frantically for the rim of the wall. He didn't make it. The wall emitted a long, slow, dreadful squeak as he backslid, dripping off the steep slope like a glob of featherweed.

He tossed a miserable glance at the crew. Half of them appeared to be weeping, they were laughing so hard. Ravi leaned on the rail, one hand strategically covering his mouth, but Lio could tell from the crinkles around his dark eyes that he was grinning.

"Let's go, Lio!" Yorune cheered. "Keep trying!"

So he did. He lost count of how many times he squeegeed down the stupid-fucking-bane-of-his-existence wall, but by some miracle, he got a decent lunge up and his sweaty fingers latched over the top edge. His crew applauded so enthusiastically that half the grandstand joined in.

The bean-bag target obstacle was a bit of a respite, mostly thanks to the hours he'd spent in the Amphitheater throwing pebbles at cans with Duhar. When the last of the five targets thudded down, he trundled across another net and faced a ludicrous obstacle that required him to leap from knotted rope to knotted rope above a pool of water. Of course he was soaked on the first attempt.

Scrabbling onto the next platform, he lay facedown for a moment, trying to catch his breath. A jubilant roar went up from the audience. The announcer was congratulating someone for winning. Maybe that meant they would send a medical team to rescue him from the rest of the course.

Jossen cupped both hands around his mouth, bellowing at him. "Get up, Lio, you're almost there!"

If the "there" the subal referred to was "death by stupidity and sweating" he could agree. Groaning, he pushed himself up on all fours and looked at the next part of the course, a spindle of a balance beam zigzagging beneath giant foam cubes which swung like pendulums over the path.

Lesson learned, he was reading all directions twice from now on. He edged out onto the balance beam sideways, which felt a bit more secure, until one of the gigantic cubes came soared out of nowhere. He faceplanted in the mud pit.

"Hurry up, Lio!" Aziri yelled. "You're going to be late for your other event!"

That other challenge could damn well wait until he dragged himself through this one. Ducking and cringing and partially crawling along the beam, he made it across. Up another net wall, sliding down the other side. He looked over for his crew, but they'd vanished from the railing. Likely gotten bored with his utter incompetence.

"Lio!" Yorune's voice drifted from somewhere ahead. He couldn't see her, over a wall in the way, but he could hear her chanting "One more to go!" and then Teres yelling "Don't quit, Lio, come on!" and Duhar adding something about buying him a snow cone if he made it. They were waiting for him at the finish.

Apparently, he had to rescue himself. With a grunt, he hooked his hands and feet into the webbing he was supposed to climb to get to the top of the next wall. Sloth-like, he inched along hand over hand, until he bumped the wall and scrabbled around to lever himself on top of it. And then he could see his crew, stomping and clapping, and a long zip line cable over the last stretch of water to get to them. His arms were aching and his hands numb as he folded them around the handles of the triangular trolley waiting on the cable. He shut his eyes.

Shrieking all the way, he flung himself along the cable, somehow held on over the water, and spilled onto his back on a finish mat, arms spread wide. His friends drew in close, and when he cracked one eye open, they all peered back at him, grinning.

"Did I win?" he asked.

Onfenka reached to haul him to his feet, her face grave. "Of course you did not. You are last. But it was fun to watch."

The rest of Bonanza whirled by. Lio made it to his second event, a debate competition in which he was surprised to find himself winning. Turned out to be a good thing he occasionally tried to participate in the arguments his mother and sister got into over loopholes in inter-territorial trade law. Mostly he was glad when it ended, and he was finally able to limp back to the crew tent to get as much mud off as possible.

One by one, the rest of the crew appeared from their afternoon rounds. Jossen tracked everyone's scores, mumbling nervously to himself as he tallied possible points and tallied again. He nearly dropped his notepad in excitement when Rosareen reported that the robotics team had placed fourth in the application round.

The real standouts were Orvaska, who was slumped on a stool after placing third overall in his combat weight class, and Duhar, who took first place on the Sky Battle simulation. Lio had been as ecstatic as the rest of them watching. The moment was only slightly dimmed when Duhar stumbled out of the game harness, ripped the goggles off, and puked up the four plate-sized fried dough treats he'd eaten just before the sim.

Jossen gathered them all to head to the main stage for final team scores. Sunset bled across the sky, washing through the tents and the emptying challenge courses, bathing the crowds in rose-pink light as they streamed toward the stage at the center of the fairgrounds. Discreetly, Lio dropped back to the rear of the Opalina group. Ravi was a short ways behind them, examining something on the slate in his hand.

Lio fell in step beside him. "Don't tell me you're already signing us up for another one of these."

Ravi smiled. "Nah, just double checking the train schedule." He folded the slate into its pocket-sized square and tucked it away. "You all did well, though. Better than expected."

"You mean my astounding performance in the Mastali Legend challenge? Yes, I'm aware it was impressive." He brushed a bit of dried mud from his uniform.

It got him the soft laugh he craved. "That was...that was something to see." Ravi's smile lingered. "Although, it honestly was a little impressive. I figured you'd stop."

He looked up to see the last of the sunlight glinting in Ravi's dark, gentle eyes. Words he knew ought to keep locked on the tip of his tongue unraveled. "I seem to be committed to going after things I shouldn't."

Ravi swallowed and stared ahead, abruptly interested in the individual awards that were being announced. Lio faced the stage, but he was too distracted to attend to the presentations. Why couldn't he stop flinging himself at this man? Ravi had asked him to keep a distance, and he'd nodded and agreed and then couldn't do it.

"Ravi?" The unfamiliar voice came from the crowd behind them, and Lio turned as his com did, watching a tall, slim man with a practiced smile approach. Ravi's mouth went slack, his eyes widening. For an alarming moment, he looked as though he were about to fall over, and Lio stepped closer to him instinctively. Not that he could catch a six-foot-something Enforcer who'd topple like a ton of bricks, but he'd damn well try.

"I can't believe I ran into you!" The man reached out and clapped Ravi's arm. It jostled an appalled smile out of him.

"Gadsen," Ravi said faintly. "Hey."

Lio blinked. Gadsen. Ravi's old com, the one he'd been involved with. The one who hurt him. He folded his arms across his chest and smiled icily at the unwelcome arrival.

"What are you doing here?" Ravi asked. He'd gotten his expression under control, but his hand rubbed at the corner of his jaw, betraying nerves.

"Oh, the crew was bored, so I signed them up to have a little fun. Bring in a few commendations while we're at it." He winked. "We'll be ready for you when you decide you want to come back. I heard that outpost crew is a real bunch of malfs."

"They've actually been surprisingly good," Ravi countered, a bit of steel in his voice. "And this is one of them." He tilted his chin at Lio. "Lio, meet Gadsen."

"My apologies, didn't know you were one of the recruits." Gadsen aimed his smile at Lio. It was a salesman's smile, all caked-on friendliness and fake teeth.

"No offense taken," Lio lied. The conversation stalled out for an uncomfortable beat. He probably should excuse himself, if only to spare Ravi the discomfort of getting through this in front of him, but Ravi spoke just as he was about to make a farewell and find the rest of the crew.

"How...how are you?" Ravi asked.

"I'm good. Doing really well, actually. The wedding was a huge success, people are still raving about it. Jalima and I were gutted you couldn't make it."

"Married," Lio said. "How wonderful. Congratulations."

"Thank you! I've never been so happy, y'know?" This man was either excruciatingly thick-skulled, or he was intentionally hurtful. He prattled on without invitation. "I mean, Jalima and I had to delay our First Days trip because of my crew going through the subal change, but we've got amazing plans. Jalima's family has connections in the resort world." Gadsen said this as though it were awe-inspiring.

For fuck's sake. He'd known people like this his entire life. Shallow, grasping people too focused on polishing every inch of their image to see anyone else around them. He was absolutely not leaving Ravi alone in this conversation.

"I can only imagine the stress," Lio murmured. "I mean, having to handle that transition and prove that your unit wasn't entirely built on the strength of your subal while everyone is wondering if the main talent just left...and all along with a wedding! Incredible."

The wattage of Gadsen's smile increased to a blazing level. "Oh, it's not quite as stressful as all that. And how is my steady old subal doing as your com?"

"He's spectacular. I've been at Opalina for a while, and he's by the far the best com we've had."

"Well, that's great to hear. Just make sure he doesn't run you all into the ground." Gadsen chuckled and spoke in a loud, conspiratorial mock-whisper. "Ravi tends to take things too seriously."

Lio's gaze skipped to Ravi, glimpsing the unnatural stillness in him, his face blank, hand frozen on his neck. The comment had found its mark.

He stuck on his most winning smile and cocked his head at Gadsen. "Spoken like one who might not take things seriously enough." He shrugged. "Your loss." A very well-timed round of applause went up from the crowd watching the stage. Lio resisted the impulse to bow. Both men stared at him.

Ravi cleared his throat. "I, uh, I should probably get back to my crew. Good to see you, Gadsen."

Gadsen, less effusive now, projected a pained smile and made a quick exit. Lio barely waited for him to hustle out of earshot before he grinned up at Ravi. "Dear me, was I rude?"

Ravi pressed his lips together, but the smile broke free of his attempt to restrain it, and it was sheer bliss to see it. "Yeah, you were just an asshole."

"At least tell me I'm better looking than he is."

Ravi rolled his eyes and shifted away from him, muttering, "Lio, you know you are."

He preened, swirling his hips back and forth as if he wore a hoop skirt, which he'd only actually done once. Too much bumping into things. But he'd wear one again if Ravi thought it was pretty.

"I don't know what happened to him." Ravi said suddenly. "He used to be nicer. Less...smarmy."

Lio snorted. "He's turned into a climber, that's what happened. I can always spot a climber. They project the perfect life, but all they really care about is making it one rung further up the society ladder. Bunch of idiots, if you ask me." He nudged Ravi with his elbow.

"Bunch of hollow dumbasses." Ravi poked him gingerly in the shoulder.

"Bunch of spandex-wearing obstacle course runners, damn them."

"Bunch of can't get up the pyramid wall, so I'm just gonna slide—" Ravi leaned back as he drew out the "slide."

Lio groaned. "Ah, come on, that was—"

"And the fifth place overall score goes to Opallia Outpost!" The stage announcement clanged in Lio's ears. He stared at Ravi, who looked as though someone had just dumped ice water over him.

"Is that us?" Lio asked.

"I...don't think..."

The stage lights flashed, screens on either side glowing with the letters OPL. Lio grabbed Ravi's wrist. "That's us! Ravi!"

Just in front of them, the crowd roiled to get out of the way as the rest of the crew came charging back. Duhar hammered his chest and bellowed, Rosareen and Onfenka let loose shatteringly loud whistles, and Jossen was crying. Teres and Yorune leapt up and down as if stapled to a pogo-stick. "We won! We won!"

"They got our name wrong," Aziri grumbled.

"Opallia Outpost, come and claim your trophy!" thundered the voice from the stage.

Aziri whirled around and yelled, "It's fucking Opalina!"

In the chaotic celebration, Lio's grip somehow slipped from Ravi's wrist and down to his hand. They were palm to palm. Ravi looked startled, but he made no attempt to let go. His touch curled warm around Lio until it was hard to breathe. 

"Trophy, trophy, tro—" Duhar started the chant, and Ravi tugged weakly at the hand Lio still clasped. Lio pried his fingers loose and freed him so the com could walk to the stage.

The crew was euphoric all around him, and Lio joined their bouncing, whooping circle. If the drumbeat of his heart was too quick, no one could blame him. They'd won something. And the heat of Ravi's skin still singed his blood. With that dizzy intensity spiraling through his limbs and the crew's victorious shouts ringing in his ears, it felt like all the impossible things might've just drawn one step closer to possible.