The following morning, Nic paced the length of the Simnasium, sizing up his squadmates. “‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.’ Albert Einstein. Although he died almost seven...” Maqsud fidgeted in place. “Max, you look like you have something to add.”

“It’s just, Einstein never said that quote,” Max said, wincing but apparently relieved now that he’d gotten that out of his system.

“Point taken,” Nic replied. “I stand corrected. That said, I think the sentiment is still applicable to us. I’ve been thinking about how we’ve been practicing so far, and I think we can do better. I’ve been forcing us to drill Arena since day one. As we know, there are a lot more modes out there that we could be made to play. Granted, the only Wargame we had access to before we landed on Gwher was Arena—but there are still hundreds of other sims we can still use. I think a great way to diversify our skills and make us ready for anything as a team is to let everyone pick one sim each for us to practice.”

“Any sim we want?” Perri beamed.

“Furflower Island, here we come!” Jarek blurted out, jumping giddily. “Or, I mean... There’s other options, too.”

Maqsud grinned. “Anyone ever hear of a game called Raumschach?”

Nic smiled at his squad and breathed an internal sigh of relief that everyone was united under the same red banner again. “You bring up a good point. If we want to add a fun, free-play sim into the rotation, I’m down for that, too. But for our practice sims, I want us to dig deep and think about our own individual skill sets. Ask yourselves what you excel at and what you think the rest of the squad could stand to improve. Maybe refer back to sims you played a lot back on Ayrus, if you need inspiration.”

“Ah, I see,” Maqsud said, scratching his chin. “Each of us does have a slightly different playstyle in Wargame. RTIFIS also said that that seems to be a universal trait for all squads—probably intentional. You suggest we each name a sim we’re well-versed in and, as a squad, we’ll practice all five of them in addition to drilling Wargame modes?”

Nic pointed a finger of recognition at Maqsud. “Precisely. Not in addition to the practice sessions we’re already doing—these sessions will replace some of our traditional practices. I’m thinking we drill Wargame in the afternoon, but our mornings will be devoted to the sim of the day.”

Max shrugged and nodded agreeably. “Appears to be a sound plan, at least in my opinion.”

“It could work,” Perri agreed.

“Good way to keep Wargame from getting too stale,” Jarek added. “I start gettin’ tunnel vision when we stay doin’ the same mode over and over again—it's true!”

Shanti lurked in the background, not making any noises of assent or dissent, but she appeared attentive. Nic took that as a sign to continue.

“Good,” he said, “so we’re all on the same page. Let’s go around and each name a sim we would pick and why.”

Maqsud raised his hand and Nic motioned for him to begin. “I opt for precision weapons in Wargame and prefer to hit a target from a distance where I’m less liable to be knifed or blown to bits by a Grenade or even a Rocket. Seeing as how no one else seems to share my philosophy, I think the squad could do well to improve its long-range game. We don’t all have to adopt the same strategy, of course, but it’s better to have that skill so that you can use it if an opportunity arises.”

I think I know exactly what sim you’re about to suggest, Nic thought, remembering the fact that he’d reviewed all of his squadmates’ PPI student profiles in private. “Solid argument. I’m guessing you have an aim-based sim in mind.”

“You’d be correct, Nic. Archerous is a sim I’ve sunken many hours of my life into over the years.” 2,012 hours, to be exact, Nic remembered. “It’s an archery game, if the title didn’t give that away. You progress through more and more difficult targets, and eventually moving targets, with bonus points for higher accuracy and speed. I happened to be second place on the leaderboard at PPI for four years straight right through graduation day. I never could overtake first place, though. Curse you, SteamyBeefSando, whoever you were...”

“It’s settled, then,” said Nic, donning his SimSuit. “We’ll start with Archerous for this morning. Break for lunch, and then we’ll see how this new game affects our Wargame performance this afternoon. If you have any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace.” No one said anything; rather, they followed his lead, eager to jump into a new game type. I hope I’m doing this right, Joe, Nic thought, remembering the old repairman on Ducenti. So far, so good, I think. “All right. Max, you take the lead for this exercise and show us the ropes. We’ll follow. Team Scarlet, let’s begin!”

***

The ensuing days were a much-needed change of pace for the five 18-year-olds aboard the Corvette. Breaking out of the monotony of their past stringent practice schedule, everyone was given a chance to lead the squad briefly, present their ideas and strategies, and, Nic hoped, be reminded of their value to Team Scarlet. His perfectionist ways made it difficult at times to relinquish control; he struggled to suppress that controlling inner voice, but for the most part, he succeeded.

After Maqsud’s first day leading the team through Archerous—both single-player and cooperative mode—Shanti took the next day, bringing everyone into the simulated world of Hyde N Seek. It was a game that skewed more toward horror than most sims they played; Nic flinched with frightened laughter every time he heard Perri shriek into the team chat, and he felt his heart leap into his throat at every jump-scare that crossed his path. The fear factor was an excellent motivator to teach everyone stealth and better situational awareness.

The day after, everyone jockeyed for first place in Race Royale, Perri’s sim of choice, followed by the explosively chaotic Bazooka Brawl when it was Jarek’s turn. Predictable routines were now a thing of the past; everyone was made to be adaptive, actively participating in entirely new game types that required completely disparate strategies. Nic decided to throw in Elvenchant when it was his turn to pick a non-Wargame sim. Trigger Point was too similar to Wargame to be a satisfactory break for the squad. Elvenchant had enough variety in its gameplay that general combat, problem-solving, and cooperation were all crucial to their five-player party’s run, even if casting spells and brewing potions weren’t directly applicable skills in real life.

Results were not immediate, but after just five days of the new practice schedule, their performance in Wargame showed modest yet undeniable improvements. They were beginning to win roughly half their matches against Intermediate-level proxy AIs and a fifth against the Advanced difficulty. Nic felt they were still far from ready for the competition that would decide their viability as a Wargame squad, but they were closer now than they’d ever been—and improving every day.

The following week, just as they were sitting down for their next movie night, RTIFIS interrupted them. RTIFIS announced.

“Yes!” Jarek yelled gleefully, jumping out of his seat on the couch. “I told y’all it would be comin’ any day now!”

“Go ahead,” Nic answered the AI a bit more warily. I wish we had more time, he thought. More Wargame results. More improvements. I wish I knew I was doing the right thing for the squad.

A planet appeared on their living room screen.

The planet that would decide the rest of their lives.