The next day brought with it two things: the first round of capture the flag matches, and the group draw for the solo category. Codi wasn't sure which one she wanted to get over with first. Despite the wave of confidence that their opening onslaught had instilled, she still retained enough sense to stay wary. An unlucky group draw and she could be fighting to stay in the contest before she even reached the knockout stage.

To her annoyance a morning announcement told them that the group draw wouldn't appear until after the day's flag matches. That meant more tension, more apprehension, and distraction. She threw herself into the pre-match drills, trying to focus her mind on the coming clash and away from what might be waiting for her on the other side. Despite their upturn in form the flag discipline was the only one where Battlecast were not favoured to win, so they would need every scrap of concentration and determination they could muster.

They'd managed to pull two teams into the top rankings, but only eighth and tenth. The number one seed belonged to the defending champions from Atlantic, the one victory their overseas rivals had managed to snatch in last year's contest. Codi had seen them in action and knew they deserved their reputation. An unchanged, well trained and dangerous line-up presented a formidable barrier to Battlecast's hopes of a treble.

It would be sometime until they needed to pass that test, however.

After suiting up Codi led her team through the Arena's halls with Thradd Winters following behind. She clenched and unclenched her fists as she walked, breathing steadily in and out, centring her mind on the game plan. Get Leela to the enemy flag, and back again.

An attendant halted them at the door of the arena and the familiar dull roar of the crowds seeped through the thick plates. She dimly heard the voice of the announcer, muffled by distance and steel as he introduced the first team. The noise of the spectators swelled approvingly.

Then the attendant stepped aside with a smile and the huge doors slid soundlessly open, letting the full atmosphere of the Arena wash out into the corridors in a raging torrent of energy. Codi savoured it for a second, then squared her shoulders and led the way into the light.

"And their opponents, representing Battlecast Academy..."

She stepped out first.

"Codi James!"

And one by one the others followed, each of them adding to the cacophonous roar of the crowds.

"Ripple Thawborn ...Gareth Hosk ... Cardle North ... and Leela Crockett!"

They stepped into the new arena construct for their opening match and Codi inhaled deeply, feeling the welcome surge of energy as she drank in the cheers. A huge metallic bowl opened out in front of them, a basin the colour of charcoal that gleamed viciously under the Arena lights. The team flags stood on small raised podiums at either end; inviting, goading.

Then her eyes locked onto the line of dark armoured figures waiting on the other side of the bowl.

Clad in deep navy blue exoskeletons with white shoulder bars, the team from Galactic Force took up their positions, pointing, gesturing and exchanging words that she couldn't hear. She recognised the lithe, long-limbed teenager on the left of the line: Raleigh Lockwell, fifteenth seed in the solo category. A middle-weight institute on the grand scale, Galactic Force had a reputation for turning out tough, dependable fighters; no finesse, but no foolishness either. Touted as one of the outsiders with the potential to spring an upset, they had over a decade of hard-earned respect from the galaxy behind them.

That didn't change the fact that Codi and her companions were the favourites, however, and the crowd's roar reminded her of that in no uncertain terms. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the rest of the opposition line up. While some teams – like her own – had obvious enforcers and speedsters, the Galactic force group was frustratingly hard to predict, comprised of three boys and two girls, all of them around the same height and build. That left nothing to mark out their skills.

She looked to Gareth, pointing. "Far left, Lockwell's the dangerous one."

"You got a call on their runner?"

"Not sure. Gonna have to play this one by ear. Just stick to the game plan." Codi glanced at the others. "We good?"

"Ready when you are," Leela replied, although she bounced nervously from foot to foot as the countdown continued. The eyes of the Gauntlet would truly be locked on Battlecast's not-so-secret weapon right now. Everybody knew they relied on her speed – so far that hadn't mattered.

"Just do what you do," Codi told her. "We'll do the rest."

As the counter dropped she and Gareth took up their positions in the front of the square formation that had quickly become their mainstay. Ripple and Cardle formed the other two corners and protectively ensconced between them stood Leela. It was a simple team layout that played to their strength, but it also laid down a challenge to other teams. Everyone knew what their game plan was, so they were daring the other academies to stop them.

The klaxon blared; the crowds screamed and the Battlecast team rumbled out into the arena. They spread gently, keeping cohesion as Codi waited for the Galactic Force fighters to react.

The other team burst into motion racing down the slope of the bowl, continually switching places as they went. Her eyes flickered left and right as she tried to track the rapid movements, not wanting to lose Raleigh Lockwell in the jumble.

"Any second now," Gareth muttered as the Battlecast fighters started picking up speed. "Two will arc out, two will fold in."

"Ripple?"

"We're ready," the other girl said.

Codi took her at her word, waiting for their opponents to abandon the smoke and mirrors. When they realised that their opponents weren't budging, the Galactic Force team made their move, just as Gareth had predicted.

Two of them looped long and wide in both directions and Codi immediately heard the thumping of exoskeleton boots against the floor plates as Ripple and Cardle peeled off to intercept them. The other three fighters barrelled down towards them and she saw Lockwell on the right side of the line.

"I've got him," Gareth growled and she saw him accelerate out of the corner of her eye. Codi didn't argue, despite her inclination to fling herself at the most dangerous fighter on the other team. Instead she focused on the more difficult task of blocking either of the remaining opponents from reaching Leela.

A few seconds later the two sides met.

Gareth and Raleigh Lockwell slammed into each other so hard that the crunch of impact echoed around the arena, extracting a gasp of surprise from the crowds. Both of them went crashing to the ground, still trading punches as they went.

Codi bounded forward to intercept the girl leading the charge on the other side. She swerved to the right at the last second, folded down into a crouch and swung both hands like a club, smashing the onrushing fighter's legs out from under her. The girl went bowling forward under her own momentum, tumbling wildly for several metres. For her part, Codi straightened up without so much as a backward glance and zeroed in on her next target. She wound up a clenched right fist and lashed out.

The boy was ready for it, and with startling quickness he collapsed his body and slid under her murderous swing. She whirled with a curse, only to see him spring upright and hurl himself into Leela's path. The young fighter twisted her body to avoid the brunt of the impact, but he still clipped her with one shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground. The Galactic Force fighter didn't stop, however. Having knocked his target down, he kept running, tearing towards the Battlecast flag. Codi leapt forward and wrenched Leela upright, shoving her in the opposite direction.

"RUN!" she snarled.

Leela didn't need to be told twice and she took off like a lightning bolt. Codi glanced back to see Gareth still exchanging blows with Raleigh Lockwell. While he seemed to have the upper hand in the exchange, the other boy was doing enough to keep him occupied.

Letting out a snort of frustration, she left them to it, following her young team mate toward the enemy flag. Glancing back over her shoulder she saw the girl she'd flipped only a few seconds earlier get up and give chase.

It didn't take long to cover the remaining distance to the other team's flag, and Leela wrenched it free to the approving roars of the Battlecast faithful. Seeing it, Codi stopped and turned to face their pursuer.

The girl tried to swerve around her to get at Leela, but Codi anticipated her move. Flinging out an arm, she managed to clamp one hand down on the neck-brace of her opponent's exoskeleton. Dragging her back, Codi hooked one arm up between the other girl's legs and lifted her. With a snarl of exertion she pivoted and slammed her adversary down face first against the floor, extracting a screech of pain. A second later Leela flew past them, flag and all.

After jamming the girl flat against the plating for good measure, Codi leapt upright and set off in Leela's wake. She cast her eyes over the rest of the arena, trying to catch up. She saw that Gareth and Lockwell were still knocking bells out of each other in the centre of the arena. Beyond them, however, she felt a kernel of frustration ignite in her when she saw that the Galactic Force runner had managed to get the Battlecast flag free.

From the looks of things, it hadn't been without cost. His two team mates were down with Cardle North keeping them that way, and Ripple was hot on his heels, matching him stride for stride.

Examining the situation for an instant, Codi made her decision. The boy had a head start on them, leaving Leela with a lot more ground to cover, but she knew that if she could just buy her team mate a few extra seconds it might be enough.

She shifted her run, trusting Leela's speed to keep the other fighter safe. Instead she angled her line diagonally to intercept the enemy flag carrier and accelerated hard, the boots of her exoskeleton pounding against the floor plates. Getting the flag had been one thing, but now, all alone, the fighter from Galactic Force still had a lot of work to do.

With Ripple bearing down on him from behind the boy couldn't risk slowing to change direction, and when he spotted Codi sprinting to cut him off he put on an extra burst of speed to try and squeeze through the gap between them.

She gritted her teeth drawing on every scrap of energy she had to force herself up the incline of the bowl to beat him to his mark. This young man had a formidable pair of legs though: it was going to be very close. Seconds ebbed by as they raced towards each other on a collision course that would decide the winner of this match.

It all happened in a blur. The boy shot past in a smear of dark blue and Codi flung out both her arms, snagging him by the ankle in a desperate flying dive.

His forward momentum almost dragged him from her grasp, but she gritted her teeth and dug her fingers against his armour. Her grip snapped tight and she pulled him off balance, sliding back down the smooth slope of the arena on her front and taking the flag carrier with her. He hit the ground, cursing and swearing, and then his free leg lashed out, cracking her in the jaw.

Despite the pain that burst in her skull Codi clung on, twisting her body instinctively as he kicked again. This time she was ready, freeing an arm and wrapping it around his lower leg, trapping it beneath her. He cursed again, squirming to get free.

He never got the chance. With pain and adrenaline pulsing through her body, Codi levered herself up, first to her knees, and then into a standing position, still holding her struggling quarry by his legs. Taking a deep breath, she heaved, spinning one-hundred-and-eighty degrees and flinging the boy back the way he'd come.

Still running towards them, Ripple had to stop and duck the human projectile that came hurtling back at her. The other girl then straightened up, turning to watch his arcing flight across the arena. He smashed to the deck plating and the flag went clattering away.

Codi's attention shifted, looking for the streaming bullet of blue and cyan that carried their hopes with it. Sure enough, Leela was blazing a trail across the centre of the arena with the screaming Battlecast fans propelling her on. Having finally extracted himself from Gareth's clutches, Raleigh Lockwell was the only member of Galactic Force in a position to stop her, but once again Leela showed why she had made the final team.

A feint to the right followed by a sudden, impossible twist in the opposite direction completely wrong footed her opponent. As Lockwell made a wild final lunge to stop her, Leela twirled and smacked him across the face with a single precise swing of the flagpole.

Lockwell tumbled away and she fell back into a flat sprint as though nothing had happened, tearing towards her goal with the thunder of her supporters rising like a storm. A few seconds later Battlecast Academy recorded their opening Capture the Flag win in the Gauntlet.

The crowds went wild and Codi jammed a fist into the air, letting out a wordless scream of victory.

*

Being the first to take to the arena that day meant that Codi and her companions had to watch fifteen more matches before the group draw for the solo brackets would be revealed.

She had certainly had worse days. She loved the constant crackling atmosphere of the fighters' lobby, the way the teams flowed in and out in a blaze of colour, the constant hum of conversation and the friendly jibes that filled the air. Veteran fighters chaperoned rookies, big teams jostled with small for space on the loungers, and all the while the Gauntlet rolled on around them.

While some of the Battlecast fighters not involved in the flag discipline opted to spend their time cramming in some extra training at the gym, Codi doubted she could get more prepared than she already was – at least not until the groups were posted and she knew who she'd be fighting. Instead she settled in with the rest of her victorious flag team in the lobby to get a firm handle on their competition.

She watched with interest as the newly founded Mantis Academy with Wren Cutler at their head managed to pull off an upset against one of the teams from Nebula. Not long after that, Joshua Bayden led the second competing Battlecast team to another opening victory over Thor's Wake, continuing the relentless march of Earth's premier academy.

The hours passed and Codi, while continuing to enjoy the atmosphere, had her dat-pad close to hand at all times, tapping in notes on the competition that she felt worthwhile.

She sipped at a cup of strong, rich coffee as another flag match erupted on the viewing screens. On one side stood the deep, purple and gold exoskeletons of the Holdfast Academy. On the other: the defending champions.

She remembered her first encounter with the team from Atlantic grimly, back on the Shetland Isles when Battlecast's flag teams had still been floundering for purchase. The runner with blazing pink hair was unmistakable. After their initial drubbing Codi had done her homework: "Pinkie's" actual name was Maryn Le'Rourke, a second year fighter with a good stash of experience and a serious motor.

On the face of it the Atlantic set up wasn't all that different to theirs. Four boys of varying degrees of bulk formed a bodyguard for Le'Rourke, and she watched as they hurled themselves into the thick of the match with admirable ferocity. The pink hair flashed from screen to screen weaving through the unfolding brawls; occasionally Le'Rouke delivered a vicious intervention of her own when she deemed it necessary.

She tapped in notes, watched; judged.

While the flow of people had been intermittent throughout the day, after the final flag match concluded the fighters' lobby started to fill up in anticipation of the group draw. Everyone wanted to know what the next stage of the contest would bring. The noise rose into a steady, simmering rumble as they conversed, and Codi watched every new arrival. Battlecast's full contingent made their presence known – twenty-five young men and woman forming a block of blue and cyan in the centre of the room.

Atlantic's fighters took up residence nearby with the towering, taciturn figure of Dustin Morto sticking up from the others like a jutting spur of rock. Jokes and insults flew thick and fast between the two rivals, some of it good natured, some of it not. With the two big Earth academies filling the centre stage, the smaller institutes radiated out from them.

She spotted Max's lanky frame weaving through the crush with his grey-clad team mates in tow. Not long after came the maroon tracksuits of Ursa Major, and she spotted the stocky forms of Lucas and Lazlo in amongst the thickening forest of people.

When Kye arrived with the Zulu Forge fighters close behind he acknowledged her with an exaggerated wave. She returned the gesture, but to her disappointment he stayed with his charges, ready to offer whatever comfort, condolence or affirmation they might require after the draw. Lounging back in her seat she watched him turn that infectious, carefree attitude on other people. She scowled. It was stupid to be jealous, and knowing that only made it more annoying.

Then she noticed Leela's right leg in the corner of her vision bouncing up and down like a nervous jackhammer. She looked at her team mate, trying to fight off the laughter threatening to bubble up and over.

"Are you alright?" she managed, smiling knowingly.

Leela grinned. "Me? Yeah I'm fine. Just...you know, excited!"

"Well, try and not dig through the floor, okay? I'm pretty sure the academy's liable if you trash this place."

With an effort, Leela got her bouncing leg under control, and not a moment too soon. A wave of whoops and cheers passed through the assembled fighters as the screens flared into life in preparation for the group draw.

Codi noticed, however, that one academy remained absent. Of Keefer Darkwood and the fighters from Black Horizon there was no sign. She felt insulted, as though the towering wildcard considered the other fighters to be beneath him, as though it didn't matter who ended up in a group with him. Her jaw tightened and she shook her head. If she got the chance she would show him how wrong he was, and make sure that the lesson was painful.

Her black thoughts faded away when the draw finally began.

The very first fighter that appeared on the screen was Chris O'Leary and she joined the others in giving him a roar of approval. He smiled thinly, folding his heavily muscled arms and leaning back in his seat as his portrait shrank into a thumbnail. Three other names came and went and his relaxed expression never wavered. No-one in his group looked capable of toppling Battlecast's powerful fifth seed.

Gareth showed up next in group three and was joined there by the sixteenth seed, a girl from Alpha Centuri, and two unranked competitors. He nodded approvingly as another cheer rippled through the group. The outbursts flowed around the room, ebbing in peaks and troughs.

Codi's name was drawn in group six, to an explosion of noise from the twenty-five Battlecast fighters. She straightened up and leaned forward, eager to see who her first obstacles would be. Two more fighters passed – a girl from Orion Academy and a boy from Nebula – both veterans, both dangerous. However, it was the final member of the group that filled Codi with a sense of excitement and apprehension in equal measure.

Rokkie Thakkar, the dangerous maverick from Firequake. In some ways the violent, tattooed youth wasn't all that different from her, just as wild and wayward. If nothing else, she knew their fight would be one for the crowds to remember. His portrait shrank to join the others and she looked from the screen, trying to spot him in the crowds. When she did, he was looking back. He extended a hand toward her with two fingers pointed like a gun. He mouthed, bang, and then winked.

Codi grinned and twirled a finger at the side of her head in response.

The draw continued. Ripple appeared in group nine, by far the most dangerous fighter there. Dustin Morto was a similarly stand-out figure in group eleven and it occurred to Codi that the draw had been deliberately designed to send as many of the big names through to the knockout stages as possible.

But it wasn't until the sixteenth and final group was drawn that the name everyone had been waiting for arrived. Keefer Darkwood's massive frame flashed up onto the screen to be greeted by a chorus of jeers, hisses and boos. Codi noticed that, gratifyingly, they weren't all coming from Battlecast. A glance around showed a sea of disgruntled faces, none of them enamoured with this year's surprise entry.

Next came a girl from Olympus Mons – a competent second year fighter who against anyone else might have been considered dangerous. After that a burly male competitor from Everest appeared.

Dread swelled like a lead weight in Codi's stomach when she made the abrupt realisation that there was only one person's name that was still to be drawn; one name from her team still to be heard. She sucked in a long, unhappy breath through clenched teeth when the last fighter in the group emerged onto the screen.

Leela Crockett.