Free Rebel Fleet by B. V. Larson Page B

which I knew by now meant we had to get the hell out of our cells. Next, one of the walls vanished, revealing what looked like some kind of rock garden.
    There were boulders everywhere. Some were flat with canted surfaces. Others were rounded off on top. In the middle was a huge rock, much bigger than the rest. Our destination was obvious.
    “Careful!” shouted Dr. Chang, pointing down. “The floor is blue, only the rocks are red!”
    “What the hell does blue mean?” Samson asked.
    “Why don’t you go down there and find out?” Dalton suggested with a nasty chuckle.
    Samson had one foot in the air. I yanked him back.
    “Hop from rock to rock. No one touches the floor,” I ordered.
    This time, no one questioned my authority. As an ex-officer, it came to me naturally enough to give orders. This was the strangest form of boot-camp I’d ever heard of, but the dynamics of leadership hadn’t changed.
    Dalton led the way. Crouching, he hopped nimbly from rock to rock, sticking to the flat ones.
    I followed with Samson and Dr. Chang behind me. Gwen brought up the rear.
    We could see the other teams. There were five groups of five, all of us converging on the center.
    It was immediately obvious they had plans of their own. Two groups raced straight for the mountain. A third hung back uncertainly, right where they’d started.
    The fourth fell to quarreling among themselves. One was pitched off a rocky shelf onto the blue floor. I heard screams, but they were cut short.
    “Man down!” chuckled Dalton. “Let’s hope all these fools murder each other.”
    We followed our plan, moving to the base of the rock cautiously, taking our time. We didn’t rush upward, but we got a front-row seat as the early-birds did.
    There was a ferocious battle up there. At one point, I thought someone had thrown a club at us, but then the owner came crashing down past us. His neck was broken, but his eyes were still wide and alert. He rolled into the blue, and he fried there.
    His body began to smoke in time. We watched with our lips curled in disgust.
    “That’s not right,” Dalton said. “They aren’t just shocking them.”
    “No,” Samson agreed, “he’s cooking down there.”
    The two teams that had met to do glorious battle at the top of the boulder now separated. Three members of one group were left victorious, while the last man of the losing team ran off. The flag was planted, and a stand-off began.
    We stared expectantly at the other two teams. They looked back at us with equal hopefulness, but no one moved.
    A big number appeared on the ceiling then, or rather, appeared to float a few feet from it. Ninety-nine, ninety-eight…
    “It’s a countdown!” Samson said, “We have to go for it now!”
    “That’s what the others want. Hold.” I said.
    “You’re going to screw us, Blake,” Dalton complained. “I always knew you were a cock-up waiting to happen.”
    “Hold,” I said firmly.
    The four-man team lost their cool first. They charged up the hill, howling. Maybe they’d realized this was their best chance. With only four people, they were weaker than the rest—except for the current king-of-the-hill group, which was down to three.
    The battle was vicious. It was best of three vs. a mean group of four. The higher ground seemed to be helping the current kings, but that didn’t—
    “Behind us!” Gwen shouted.
    The fifth group, who’d hung back right at the door to their collective cells, had circled around while we’d watched the battle for the center. They were springing from rock to rock, coming right at us from behind.
    “Samson, take point!” I shouted.
    Spotted, the enemy gave a wild battle cry. Their gaze had an animalistic quality. I suspected it was a glimmer of the rage coming from their syms. I don’t think any of us would have been so aggressive without this constant goading from inside our minds. We went animal when threatened, shedding away thousands of years of civilized behavior and