Victor wasn't the only person using the security system to watch what was happening. Milo wanted to know more about his neighbors in section H and, as always, was a little paranoid when he was out in the open. If security staff started moving in their direction, he was prepared to get the gang out of here, even if it meant taking them through the tunnels and back alleys.

He watched the drama play out between John and Belinda. John was her father? His search engine found John's bio from the Manpower datasite. Milo saw that he had one child, his stepdaughter Belinda. He found that interesting. Further searching showed him that Belinda's parents had been Vigo Johansson and Ekaterina Seimovich. Ekaterina was heir to the Seimotech corporation, started by Belinda's grandfather, Andrei. Vigo was an investment specialist and programmer who had built his own company, BioSolutions, from the ground up. His search engines pulled up more and more articles about the two of them, their companies, and their research. He'd look at it all later. The important thing was Belinda making sure they got to play SC6.

He was curious about the other teams and used Manpower's security system and the cameras he had planted to take a look at them. Two teams were older players, joking, drinking beer or soda, and telling stories. Team Nameless Order and Team Good Old Guys had paid a lot to be here, but they came for the nostalgia and the fun of hanging out together. Both teams were in the same room, relaxed and looking forward to blasting off into space for one last adventure.

The corporate teams were another story.

Team MunchyPotato was six photogenic young players dressed in corporate uniforms that looked like they'd stepped out of a live-action anime. Milo wondered if they wore their helmets when they gamed. They sat around, eating junk food and playing games on their phones. They seemed relieved when they were told they wouldn't compete in SC6. From their conversation, Milo was sure none of them had played the game before. Not playing wasn't a concern as long as they got their appearance fee for the event.

Team Powerdrink was going over scenarios and arguing possible builds. All of them had played SC6 before, but not with each other, and the arguments were growing heated. Their agreement to team up with MunchyPotato had disappeared. Going into the game without any alliance was suicide.

"We need to sign on with Ubergear or Gearhead. It's last minute, but if we don't, we stand a chance of coming in last. You can't fight two teams at once. Someone will work together, and we look weak without a partner."

"What about Claw Master?"

"Seriously? They're a publicity stunt for the event. Look at the narrative: Poor little girl in a wheelchair finds five habrats who are somehow fabulous gamers, forms a team of misfits, and heads to the big leagues. It was rigged. MunchyPotato was in on the deal and is laughing their asses off right now and cashing a big check. And we're left out in the cold."

"Not to mention that Ubergear is on the warpath. No one was supposed to bring a product to display here except for them. Even Gearhead backed off. Notice that their guys are wearing M-1000s like the rest of us? Then Claw Master shows up with their brand of gloves. Ubergear is going to murder them and anyone that allies with them."

"Nate's on to something. I think Claw Master isn't real. Nothing about them at all until today. They show up and challenge Ubergear with everyone watching. Bet me that they destroy Claw Master, and then it's revealed that the habrats cheated and then got slapped down by the champion. That's a great story. Ubergear shows how good the M-1000 gloves are."

"They need to work on the heat problem. I've got spots on my hands that are killing me."

"We don't talk about that, Ethan. I'm sure you got the memo."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to my blistered pinky."

The room's door opened, and the team captain, Marlo, ran in. "Listen up; we don't have much time. I have a deal that doesn't leave us hanging. The execs got together and worked it out. We've got a guarantee of third place if we don't screw this up."

"Third? That's like last. The three scrubs aren't going to survive."

"Better than being knocked out and finishing behind one of the scrub teams. Just shut up for a minute. Ubergear is offering us a deal. They already have an alliance with Gearhead. We join up, giving us a huge advantage. We knock out Good Old Guys and Nameless Order, then crush Claw Master."

"This is a whacked set-up, Marlo. They want us to dump both weapon systems and take four LAC?"

"That's our job. We're a carrier now. Our job is to make Ubergear look good. We send our four LAC with their main ship and take out Nameless Order. Our ship teams with Gearhead and takes out Good Old Guys. Then we all go after Claw Master. This is a good deal, so suck it up and look at the builds they want us to use."

Milo was intrigued. He'd been thinking in terms of a free-for-all fight. He realized that thinking in terms of alliances was a blind spot. He needed to remember that in the future. After looking at the builds that Team Powerdrink would use, he checked in on Team Ubergear and Team Gearhead. The Gearheads were quietly making some adjustments. They were veteran gamers who played as a team and took a fat paycheck from the corporation employing them. Team-ups, alliances, broken treaties, and backstabbing were all second nature to them.

They knew that there would be no shared victory at the end of the game, not with Team Ubergear taking three upgraded weapon systems. First, the missiles would tear the guts out of the lightly protected carrier that Team Powerdrink was running. They would pause a second too long in shock, yell many profanities and accusations, fire off their last missiles, and then die. Ubergear would take the uncontested first place.

In the Ubergear room, Team M-1000 was going over the new plans. Some of the team members were secretly disappointed it was going to be so easy. They wanted to win, but this new plan made it simple. They kept those sentiments to themselves. The big bosses were arguing with the head of Manpower, and no one wanted them to turn their anger this way.

"It's a new plan, but it doesn't change anything major. It makes winning easier, and we have to work a little harder to make things look good. We spread early rumors that Good Old Boys would be allied with Nameless Order. The new narrative is that both of them are working for Claw Master. A dozen people will have 'heard the rumor' and be talking about it on their shows. It makes it look like a fair fight with Powerdrink on our side. Everyone has the same ships and the same options."

"You make it sound fair." There was some laughter.

"Hey, if they didn't want their strategy sessions recorded, they shouldn't make plans while drinking in bars and arcades. We just helped a struggling Barbeque joint and an Arcade make their rent for the month." They went back to going over their plans while the voices at the other end of the room got louder and louder.

"What kind of game are you playing here, Sabbatino? First, you let in some fly-by-night group into the event, and suddenly people are talking about Claw Master and not Ubergear. Then we find out it's your daughter in charge of the other group. Tell me why I shouldn't have my lawyers tossing lawsuits at you?"

John smiled, as he always did. "Manny, this is a good thing! You didn't pay for an exclusive license for the whole event. Based on your support, we were just kind to ensure no one else with game-enhancing gear would be on the big stage. Claw Master isn't even a real product. No tests have been run, no advertising. Just a few kids who are running around with logos on some gloves. Their datasite only went up today, and they aren't taking orders. But I've set it up so you can crush them and knock them down before they get started."

"You're saying this is a set-up, John?"

"Look at it, Manny. Five habrats come in to play some games. No advance notice about the team. Their sponsor paid for Cheese Fries and Corn Dogs. Does that sound like corporate sponsorship to you? Is that how you'd promote a new product? Belinda was down at the gate when they pulled a publicity stunt. A blatant attempt to get sympathy for their team by faking some disabled kid with a bad leg falling down. He was good; I tell you that. My guys fell for his act, but Belinda saw through it. She rolled up and played the game better than they did. Stopped their little show, showed how compassionate we are, and got them off camera. She escorted them down to the food and the gaming area. No habrat turns down a free meal of real food. Then she turned them loose, competing for the old video games.

She even used them to win some for herself, the little minx. She's good. Amazing really. Have you seen the footage of the raid she led in Genesis? If not, we'll be airing it again in two hours. Those high scores were all hers, from what I saw. But this is the best part: She got them to make her team captain. We slid out Powerdrink, moved her 'team' in, and now you get the chance to crush Claw Master."

"You could have told us, John. I don't like last-minute changes."

"Sorry, Manny, it was too good of an opportunity. As soon as Belinda set it up, I knew you'd love it.

Milo had heard enough. His systems were recording everything, but he had work to do.

"Damn, sorry guys, got a call coming in. Marked urgent. Might be the wife." Joe wandered off, wondering what was up. His eyes narrowed as he read the message.

"Greetings. Sorry for contacting you this way, but the situation I uncovered is very unfair. It might cost me my job if they found out, but I hate to see someone cheat in SC6. That's not what the game is about. I sent you some video and audio files to look at."

He listened to the first few seconds, then cursed. "Time to get serious; look at what I'm putting on the screen."

The two teams watched as Team M-1000 bragged about knowing their plans. Joe played just a little of the 19 hours of audio files where they discussed their strategy for upcoming games, while, in the background, people could be heard laughing and playing games.

"Holy shit? They bugged both teams? That's just wrong."

"Screw this shit; we should take this to the judges right now; the event is rigged."

Marcus, the head of Nameless Order, spoke up. "Hold up a second. It's crap, yeah. But look at what we have now. We know their plans. They'd have knocked us out of the game with ships built to counter what they knew we were running. But this changes things 180 degrees. We can pull one hell of a surprise on them."

"How, redesign both team's builds in the next ten minutes."

The screen changed, showing different builds for both teams. "I think our secret benefactor is playing things close to the chest. They had to have known something was up ahead of time and just waited to record what the other teams were saying to prove it to us. They thought about how to throw a spanner into the gears and sent along some suggestions."

"Oh shit. I see it. That's nasty. Are we going with this?"

Marcus looked at Joe. They nodded to each other. "Yeah, let's go with it. I wish I could see their faces when those LACs start exploding."