every sphere in line to be outside of orbit and white makes colours at the edge of a lens

I was naked and dreaming. Abstracted masks floated about like characters in an Eridian play. A massive tin labelled “meat” stood nearby, a magnitude larger than myself and casting the opposite of a shadow. Notions tickled the edge of what could be comprehended. I was a wolf well out of her element.

time was earlier and this loop is closing new new new we all split like pure beams and come back

Distant starlight glinted off of an array of perfect squares. I walked to one, and some of the masks followed, orbiting slit-eye moons observing. I tilted my head, not quite understanding. There was a person on the other side of the glassy pane, a grey-furred vixen with unfocused edges that bled colour.

do you see do all of you see this is lens albedo mirror reach to me reach and twist the loop

I strained to lift my arm, to initiate contact, to touch white to grey, to ask what it meant, to complete a circle—

Yaz, Ira, and I were sitting in the main social area of the hostel, him cradling a restorative cup of kaflet and the raccoon and myself sipping at white tea, when Lady approached with the smooth discomfort of a headache. She was wearing that horrible vest – a rough-looking, shape-muddling canvas thing the colour of overcooked spinach. “That’s the last time I let zim handle dosage.”

Yaz and the freesia over his ear stayed aimed toward his data-scroll. “Said that last time.”

I motioned with my cup and saucer. “They have hot drinks over there, and something claiming to be fruit juice. That would help.”

The reindeer turned slowly toward the labelled carafes, then jerked back with her eyes pinched shut. “Blin! Words hurt to look at right now.”

This time, Yaz looked up. “Are you still feeling it?”

“Must’ve been the long-acting variety.” She nodded slowly and motioned toward the rooms. “S’prolly why Eekay’s still asleep. If it’s done this to me with my metabolism, zie’ll be glitched for a while yet.” Under her breath, she added, “Serves zim right.”

An idea snapped to mind immediately. “We have an hour or so before we have to head for the port, yes? That would be enough time. Ira, would you assist me in a bit of harmless fun, a sort of prank?”

Zir tail twitched through the air behind zim as a way of smiling. “I would be glad to assist.”

Lady dug into the pocket of her vest and pulled out her auto-concierge. The silvery disc settled in her palm like a flattened egg and lit up. It projected the image of an androgynous mooncat head complete with the eye-whiskers that almost looked like antennae. It spoke pleasantly. “How may I assist, friend Aesc?”

The reindeer mused out loud. “Aren’t these things so blinkin’ cute? Shame I gotta give it back when I leave.” Then, she said to the holographic head, “I want you to let Falda here into my room, spot?” Before the thing had a chance to even acknowledge her request, she tossed it to me and said, “There. Prank zim with my blessing. Just don’t do anything that’ll make us late for the flight.”

The cheerful mooncat head popped up again. “Friend Flosadóttir, may I provide you assistance in finding room fifty-three?”

I smiled politely. “No thanks, I know the way.” I clasped my hand around the concierge and beckoned Ira along.

“What are you going to do to zim?” the raccoon asked.

I grinned. “Nothing zie wouldn’t do to zirself.”

“How can I help?”

We rounded the corner and stepped into the lift. “Two things. The first is to play along and be convincing. The second is to be a distraction.”

“I’m a distraction?”

“Zie will realise quickly that zie has been tricked. If we run in opposite directions the moment zie does, zie won’t know which of us to pursue first and we will both be safe.”

To zir credit, Ira did not decline. At the fifth floor, we opened the third door – unlocked automatically by the pocket concierge – and certainly enough, Eekay was sprawled out awkwardly on one of the two beds, mostly undressed with zir tail draped over the side. I motioned to the cat’s shoulder-bag and whispered to Ira, “Find zir mirror.”

By time zie had it out and unrolled, I had extracted the eyeliner from the bag at my side. “Good! Now, we write a species on the mirror, wake zim up, and imply that zie had a tank job done and forgot about it.”

Ira’s eyes went wide; zir tail was still for a couple moments, and then swished with amusement. “You’re evil, you realise. In a way I like.”

“I know,” I grinned. “Now, what species?”

“We’re on Luna. We could say that Alba talked zim into becoming a mooncat.”

“Clever, but not convincing. Zie would never change to something less capable of housing an ego the size of Jupiter.”

“Perhaps a raccoon?”

I gave Ira’s ears a friendly ruffle. “Nice try.” Then, I remembered the bizarre dream. “I think I have it. Ready for this?” I carefully brushed the words “grey fox” onto the mirror’s surface and showed the result to Ira.

Zie nodded and said, “That should do. Here, I’ll wake zim up.”

“One moment, I have another idea.” I snagged a pair of tissues, one to brush with a word and the other to tie the first in place. Ira had to stifle a giggle. “All right, now we are ready!”

It took more to wake the dozing cat than either of us expected; the most zie would do if nudged was bat zir tailtip in the direction of the disturbance. When I shouted zir name, zie finally startled awake. “Euh? Whuh? I’m up. Mizza flight?”

“You didn’t miss your flight,” Ira translated. “But… er….”

I handed the mirror to the snow-leopard. Zie stared at it and blinked a few times. “It’s… a good look for you,” I prodded.

That seemed to do the trick. “Aw, fraz. Did I squeak in a tank job while I was chemmed?” It worked! The last of the Key Logo in zir system meant zie saw in the mirror what the words on it said. “No wonder I’m so tired. What a time for me to do this.” Zie looked at each of us in turn. “Does Yaz know?”

“Not yet. There is no time for another change before we fly, though.” So far, I hadn’t said a single untruthful word….

Eekay pinched thumb and forefinger to zir muzzle and sighed, “Not good. Wrong time for this. Middle of the Thirteen….” Then zie looked down to see the strategically-placed tissue. “Oh, I don’t believe this! I got rid of that, too? That was my favourite part!” It took every ounce of willpower for me to not burst out laughing.

Ira, it turned out, was frighteningly good at keeping a straight face. “You seem to have made a thorough night of it, Eekay.”

Zie looked in the mirror again, shook zir head, and muttered more to zirself than us, “It’s a bad time for this… I’ll be out of sequence… just not ready, not done yet….”

The situation was suddenly stranger than I would have guessed. Eekay sounded different than I had ever heard zim, as though taking a situation seriously for the first time. I looked to Ira a bit nervously. Had we gone too far somehow and touched a nerve? Had we been too convincing? I honestly had no idea how to deal with a serious Eekay.

“I’d like some privacy,” zie said soberly. “I’ve a full bladder, and once that’s taken care of, I’ve an explanation to come up with to tell the others.”

The raccoon and I nodded politely and headed for the door as the imagined vixen shuffled toward the lavatory. However, once Eekay saw zirself in the unadorned vanity mirror, the spell was broken. “What? Did I just imagine it?” Zie started to laugh, and Ira and I looked at each other with relief. The prank worked after all—

The restored snow-leopard shouted, “Oi! You lot get back here!” It was enough to send Ira and I sprinting in opposite directions as planned. They probably heard zim on the ground floor.

We walked along the esplanade at the edge of the city-dome, looking back and forth from the grey-and-white starkness of Mare Serenitatis outside to the grey-and-white starkness of Lunarian geometry within. Both had an abstract appeal, somehow too crisp to be real.

“Does it bother you?” I asked.

Falda shook her head. “That he is changing? Of course not.” She fingered one of her rose quartz ear-cuffs, then sighed. “Perhaps a little. He speaks differently, he walks differently, and he was not wearing any symbol of our house.”

I tilted my head a bit. “I suppose he found something he wanted, just like you did.”

“He is… a strange mirror,” she said. “I did not want to serve with my pack, so I left and became independent in a way that few Callistian wolves ever are or want to be. He did not want to live as royalty, so now he serves as a citizen here in a way that few humans would ever do. Part of such an orderly society, always knowing his place and what he can do to the best of his potential….”

I looked at her, and she was staring toward the edge of the city with misty eyes. I knew that look. “Falda? You’re happy, right? I mean, are you? If this isn’t want you want to be doing—”

“Oh, Yaz.” She grinned at me, suddenly back to her usual self. “This is exactly what I want to be doing right now. Later, I will do what I want to do then. I promised myself that.” Then, she was back to the city. “I just wonder, that is all. This place is sensible, and… what is the word… ascetic? Not quite. But everyone is polite and happy here. It is an inspiration, yes?”

“Well, I hadn’t thought of it that way, especially after what Bell said, but you have a good point….” The truth was, I hadn’t thought of it that way at all until the last few days. Lunarians found elsewhere in the system tended to come across as distant and a little haughty. At home, however, they were positively friendly.

For a few moments, our only sounds were footsteps on the walkway. Falda was the one to break the silence. “Anyhow, what do you want to do after the Thirteen Ribbons?”

“Hunh?” I shrugged and laughed a little. “Fifteen minutes ago, I couldn’t decide what to do after dinner, and now you want me to plan for a couple months from now? I don’t know. I could probably get my job back at the hotel, if I claimed temporary insanity, which would be easy given what the… the… regional manager did for me….”

Falda laughed a little. “No, you silly man, what do you want to do?”

My own mind reasserted itself slowly from the squid’s influence just in time for my ear to buzz. “Ack. It’s Lady. Sorry, one tick, let me find out what she wants.” I clicked to accept the call.

“Zdravstvujte, hozjain!”

I muttered to Falda, “She only ever speaks Russian when she’s tripping hard.” Then, to Lady, “I need English, sorry.”

“Yeah, okay. I need… a favour.” I heard Eekay and someone else giggling in the background while Lady spoke, still with a trace of accent. “I forgot to buy meal bars and I… I won’t be clear enough by the flight tomorrow.”

“Send Eekay.”

“Zie can’t go.”

“Noise. Put zim on the call,” I ordered.

The snow leopard’s cheerful voice joined in. “Zdravstvujte, hozjain!”

I started digging in my belt pack for the Soma I knew I’d need by the end of the call. “Explain.”

“Lady an’ Alba and I ’ad some free ticks an’ I fancied learning more Russian, so I chemmed us all on Key Logo – hee! – I think we accidentally doubled.”

With the number of times zie’d accidentally doubled, you’d think everyone in the system would have stopped trusting zim to measure things out. “Lady, I can understand, and I don’t know Alba so I can’t say, but I’ve never known anyone as adept as you at getting around while glitched.”

“But I can’t leave,” Eekay said slowly and earnestly, the way I must have sounded when the post-hypnotic influence of the squid took hold of my speech. “The door says not to disturb it.”

“What—” I clenched eyes and jaw shut, half in frustration and half in an attempt to not laugh out loud. In classic lack of forethought, Eekay must have left the privacy hanger on the inside of zir hostel room door. “All right, look, why do you need these meal bars anyhow?”

Lady babbled in the background. Eekay responded to her in Russian, then to me. “She’s watching vids and gettin’ a kick out of the programme guide. Um. Word is, everyone on Mars eats only meat and she’ll starve there, or worse.”

“That’s not true. They have plenty of accommodations. Look, just… I’ve made arrangements and I promise you won’t starve on Mars, Lady, and I promise that nobody will eat you.” As I said this, I looked at Falda and let slip enough of a grin that she giggled. “You can get back to your Russian lessons, okay?”

All three said at once, “Da vstrechi!”

“Yeah, that. Sure. End call.” Once it was disconnected, I shook my head and snickered. “They all took Key Logo, and now they’re confusing written words for what they say.” The wolf at my side laughed, and instantly I felt better. “Clearly, I’m meant to be a babysitter.”

“You knew the risks of this job,” she said.

I shrugged and dropped the unused Soma stub back into my pack. “And yet I took it anyhow.”

“Why did you?”

In some alternate universe, I’m sure I said, “Because I missed the bodyracing business and couldn’t admit as much after what I did and how I left.” In another, I must have said, “Because Eekay asked me to and zie’s always had that kind of power over me.” In yet another, I’m positive I said, “Because I had the sort of lapse of reason that made me get into the business the first time.”

Instead, I said, “I’m not really sure. Maybe I’ll have it figured out by then.”

I once irritated an architect-in-training – my friend Jantje, in fact – by suggesting that Luna doesn’t have a style of its own, that it’s defined by a complete lack of style. We argued for thirty minutes, right there in the centre of the common campus of my old school. She finally gave up trying to convince me, and insisted that I’d understand if I ever visited the place. She couldn’t have known that years later I would find myself on Luna, in one of her domes, in one of those domes’ many automats, surrounded by precisely the lack of style I spoke of. At the moment, I was also surrounded by thirty mooncats, Yaz, Falda, and the sandy-maned human she’d just leapt up to embrace.

The wolfess’ tail thumped the cushioned booth rhythmically, and she grinned to us. “Can you see the family resemblance?” she teased with a giggle. “Lárus Flosason, meet Bell Gloeckner and Yaz Lenslight.”

“Honoured to meet both of you.” The human nodded to each of us with a grin and a hand held up, palm out. Yaz returned the gesture in that awkward way tourists do. I made a passing motion of it. Lárus nodded. “I hope my little sister has not given you too much trouble.” After I first met her, It took me a long time to get used to the way Falda spoke, conversationally but without contractions, some quirk of the Callistian dynasties that she’d clung to after discarding all else. Lárus spoke with the same quirk, but somehow it annoyed me again.

“Quite the opposite,” Yaz gushed. “She’s given us just the right amount.”

Falda slid into the other side of the booth and playfully tugged her brother in after her. “Have you been in touch with Mom?”

“I have. First, though, we’re in an automat for a reason.” Lárus motioned to the table-side conveyor. “See anything you like?”

Lunarian food thus far seemed to consist of myriad configurations of nutritive paste ranging from liquid to solid, treated with synthetic flavourings, all equally palatable. “Well, I… don’t really know where to begin,” I admitted.

“The cuisine is a bit strange at first,” he admitted, “but there’s a certain minimalist appeal to it.”

The word is “ascetic”, perhaps? I thought as I lifted a passing plate. The red edge meant it was a hot dish; everything on Luna was colour-coded. The contents smelled strongly of carrots but looked like a cylindrical parody of such. “Let me know if you spot any raspberry food-cubes, eh? Those are my favourite.”

If the human picked up on my sarcasm, he showed no sign of it. “Mine also. So, sister, you asked about our house. The pack is well, though apparently Sigfús is at that… difficult age, just at the edge of adulthood.” Falda and I nodded with the understanding that only freebirths have. Yaz never suffered puberty, having been grown in a tank; he was born at the age of sixteen. “The family… is as always, perhaps worse. You have heard of the recent troubles?”

Yaz nodded and swallowed. “The territorial scuffles, yeah? No offence, friend, but I don’t understand how there can still be arguments this far down the line.”

“To be honest, nobody really does. All of it is posturing to give the houses something to do besides watching the ems trickle in. A waste.” The way he said it was emphatic, but the disgust didn’t reach his eyes. I trusted him less by the moment. “Mom went on about it for quite some time, but the details are of no consequence. I believe she was attempting to convince me to return home in her awkward way.”

“When will you?” Falda asked.

Lárus fingered the edge of his putty-coloured jumpsuit. “The research collaboration I started here four years ago has been fruitful, and… I would rather not lose those opportunities.” He smiled with satisfaction. “I have decided that this will be my home. I consider myself to be a Lunarian now, as do my colleagues and comrades.”

The wolf didn’t seem to know whether to be disappointed or approving. She looked to me, then to Yaz, then back to her brother. Approval seemed to win out. She wagged her tail within the confines of the booth and motioned toward him. “Will you be…?”

He grinned. “I’ll be going into the tank two weeks from now!”

“Rubin?”

I didn’t answer my father just then. I simply stared at him, terrified of his cautiousness, infuriated at his composure, trying not to admit any of it.

He rubbed his jaw. “Son… it’s obvious that we need to talk.”

“I’ve said enough. I’ve explained enough. I can’t beat that sort of programming.”

He took a single slow breath. “We haven’t been programmed. This isn’t a snap decision or a fad. It’s a choice, a valid choice. Your mother and I have searched ourselves carefully and found the truth… the truth for us. We waited until now for your sake. You don’t have to accept it for yourself, or even understand it, but respect it.”

“Respect? This is a mistake. Another mistake. One you can’t just clear up with a visit to a body clinic and a fresh start.” I resisted the urge to snarl at him, to mock his previous decision.

He closed his eyes and shook his head like I was still some sort of uncomprehending child. “We gave you every opportunity to choose your own path—”

“—and what?” My voice took on that snarl anyhow. “What child wants to be different from his parents? What child wants to stand by and watch his parents become something he’s not? Well? What child wants to watch his parents get brainwashed into some cult without following along just to be with them, eh?” Words tumbled from me. “You’re right. I’m no child anymore. Go ahead! Go fly to the edge of the System, get those other religious psychotics to turn you into whatever, play your horsey games and worship your new horsey heroes.” It wasn’t an afterthought, but it sounded like one when I added, “Forget about me.”

The last I saw of my father was his silent form turning, walking, disappearing toward Charon.

In all honesty, I know those memories are probably more pungent than what actually happened, but it did happen, and it’s all I could think about as I listened numbly to Falda’s brother’s obsession with Luna. After a time, I excused myself and left the automat. As I navigated perfectly rectilinear streets, I walked past so many steel and concrete buildings, so many boxes and domes and boxes with domes, and stared at the cryptic, colour-coded numbers affixed to each. I began to understand. There was a style in Luna, but it had nothing to do with people. It had to do with systems and ideals which swallowed people. The flight off-world couldn’t come fast enough.

“Yaz, I think I have an opening.”

“Let it go, Ira.” It pained me to say that. “Right out of a scrape, they’re too nervous. No telling what they’ll do.” That was only half of the truth – the weak half, at that – but I’d have to wait to discuss it with zim. “If everyone holds position, we still keep first overall.”

I let out a heavy breath as the first few racers crossed the finish, Ira sixth among them. At least my people all made it through, I thought. The moment the last of them was in, I headed for the door of the observation blind and sent one last message. “Good work, team. I’ll be right down.”

In my hurry, I nearly collided with Element’s manager, Marcello. He half-chuckled, “Whoa! Careful there, Lenslight.”

“Sorry. What’s the word on Sweeper?” I followed him into the lift. “Not too bad, I hope?”

“Depends on your definition.” The lanky human tapped a button to close the doors and start the lift on its way down. “She’s unconscious and already on her way to a nice, comfy tank. She’ll probably be out for Mars.”

I shook my head sympathetically. “Poor kid.”

“Not her first time. She’ll be fine. So will the team.” He offered a nonchalant shrug. “Nice flower.”

“Thanks.” The squid-influenced part of me that was pleased with the compliment yielded after about two seconds. Then, the rest of me was too busy trying not to be embarrassed about it. “Local variety. Falda has an eye for flowers.”

He half-chuckled, then grinned. “Hey, I have an idea.” He motioned toward the approaching ground level and said in a conspiratorial baritone, “Give ’em a show?”

I blinked. “Serious?”

“As organ failure. We have a rivalry to maintain, and you haven’t had a chance at it yet.”

My stomach filled with angry butterflies. I knew this would be part of the job, but somehow I figured I’d have more preparation. “Yeah, I guess.”

He adjusted his jacket and grinned widely. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. Catch up afterwards at your locker room?”

“That works.”

“Good. Angry face, and remember it’s all for the cameras.” His casual demeanor left him like a sneeze the moment the doors opened. He shouted, “And if it hadn’t been for your orange freakshow—”

“Look here, ringer, I’m running a clean race out there, and I don’t want to hear—”

The attention was on both of us. This was his favourite place to be, and he showed it passionately. “Can it, fuzzball. I got no patience for your little whimpery noises. Element’s gonna scrub the ribbon with you!”

I snorted dismissively. “Well, you’ve got ten more races to learn how.”

“Excuse me, boys.” Mahatapa slid between us like liquid and brushed my muzzle with the tip of her tail. “Maybe you should take your little tantrums elsewhere.” Her all-business walk took her right past and toward the pit.

I was too stunned to react, but Marcello sneered at her and then practically growled at me. “See you in Rustville, tank-job.” With that, he turned toward the pit also, and all I could do was shake my head in bewilderment and follow the rest of the team managers down.

Lady peeled off her unitard. “Nice act. You know, if your part is that of the hapless khlyupik,” she said, eliciting a snicker from Eekay.

I shook my head. “The what? What does that even mean? Anyhow, it was my first time.”

“I thought I was your first time,” the snow-leopard teased.

Bell tensely folded his jacket. “So, what happened to ‘no cheap antics’, eh?”

I blinked in surprise. Lady seemed to be expecting an answer to that also. Ira’s expression was even. “Well, I… said that, yes, and what I meant was the on-ribbon antics. This is different. It’s harmless.”

The lynx nodded slowly. “All right, I’ll buy that,” he said. “I just don’t want you turning into Basil on us. For your sake as much as ours.”

I started to respond, but just then a voice rumbled from outside. “Little pigs, little pigs, let me in!” I opened the door to see Marcello’s gleaming grin. “Think I’d make a good wolf?”

“No,” Falda laughed. She peeked her head out from behind the divider obscuring the scrubbers. “Hi, Marcello.”

“Mind if I come in?”

Nobody objected, so I motioned for him to enter. “We were just talking about you, actually. Well, about the little show you and I put on. I’m trying to assure them that it won’t go any deeper.”

His expression went instantly apologetic. “Oh, space, I didn’t step on anyone’s toes there, did I? I swear, it’s all just kayfabe. If I offended—”

“No offence taken,” Ira said with a slight smile. “If anything, this ‘orange freakshow’ is amused by your illusory attitude.” Zie swished zir tail enigmatically and followed Lady into the scrubbers.

The human sputtered. “Ah, well, I… think that’s an apology accepted.” He grinned to the rest of the team. “It’s all in fun, I promise. Anyhow, I’m the least of your worries. Miss Congeniality in spots out there is keeping to herself all of a sudden, and my guess is that she’s taking some stuff personally.”

Bell wadded his unitard up and tossed it in the locker. “Doesn’t matter long as we keep our racing up to level, right?”

Falda walked back to her locker and sifted through her street clothes. “Or at least better than we did today.”

“You did fine today, all of you.” I shrugged. “I don’t think Zeno’s End could beat us in a straight contest, so I’ve been a little worried that she might try to game things a little. You know, like convincing the committee to demand another psi test for Ira just to stress us and seed doubt, or things like that. She certainly wasn’t quiet after my accident, remember?”

A sweater Falda was pulling over her head muffled her voice. “Well, you did take out two of hers….”

“Not intentionally!”

Marcello rubbed the back of his bare head. “Anyhow, I just wanted to give you a heads up and make sure everything was fine here. We slice?”

“Top slice,” I responded confidently.

“Great. I’ll go make sure my remaining crew haven’t managed to set themselves on fire or anything.” He gave a nod, then said, “Oh, that reminds me. Lenslight, Falda, you know there’s an E.O.B. show tonight, right?”

The wolf wagged. “We have seats already. I missed the last Io stop of the tour. I will not miss this one!”

Marcello grinned. “I’ll probably see you two there, then. Ciao!” With that, he was out the door.

At the Albedo Lounge, time was measured in laps when a race was on. Furthermore, anyone who interrupted the Martian bartender during that time was unlikely to do so twice. Banell, having learned that lesson some time ago, quietly took a spot at the bar.

“Be with ya in a mo’, luv,” Ndidi said. Zir gaze hadn’t strayed a millimetre from the screen.

The stoat let out an exhausted “mmm” in response and resigned himself to watching the same monitor everyone else was. Much of it showed any of a number of live camera feeds tracking the racers’ progress. One side had a smaller frame which swapped between secondary views and slow-motion replays. Below that, statistics flashed by too quickly to be read by anyone unfamiliar with the sport. The sound of bantering sportscasters was nearly drowned out by the crowd of fans. He leaned in to get a better view just as something spectacular must have happened; the force of the cheer from the others at the bar dragged him back reflexively.

An announcer swiftly added, “Iromouairu slips past Tanvi. just shy of the ribbon’s edge! That’s an awfully risky manouevre.”

“That’s right,” a deeper voice said. “Zie’s not in the clear yet, though. Theta Silver still has a solid lock on the first two positions— whoa!” The exclamation came at a near-crash at the head of the pack which sent the surrounding racers into a defencive scatter. “It looks like Neutron’s trying to make a point up there, Tess.”

“Doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Tess responded. “Zeno’s End has had an axe to grind since before Mercury.”

Banell shook his head and muttered, “How dramatic.”

“Hush!” The bartender held up a hand for a couple seconds, then said, “Right, should be a straightaway going into the fifth. Dull spot, everyone in the front half is out of boost. What can I get ya, Banny?”

“Still got Amurani’s Chain on tap?”

“Just barely, we’re almost out.” Ndidi thunked a bowl of triangular pretzels on the bar and grabbed a pint glass. “Six Below’s strugglin’ on this one,” zie complained while pouring.

“Right, right.” Banell munched on a pretzel and kept watching. There was a mooncat with a bit of a lead, and the cluster of racers who’d scattered before were starting to come back together after a turn. “Any crashes?”

“Not yet,” the tiger started to say, but sudden action on the monitor cut zim off.

“Neutron’s making another move,” the deeper announcer snapped. A hare in a blue uniform edged toward a skunk in green. “He pops a skandy toward Sweeper, she drops back— and a collision between Sweeper and Tanvi on three!” A tiger who looked rather like Ndidi tumbled painfully with the skunk. “ They’re tangled. Sabastien… barely squeaks by and jumps in. Yes, looks like both Sweeper and Tanvi are stopped cold halfway through the fifth.”

“Insane,” Banell grumbled between sips of dark lager. It was hard to tell who, but one of the two crashed racers was bleeding profusely onto the other. “Could get killed that way.”

“Doesn’t happen that often in Jovian circuits,” another patron said with a rush.

“Only has to happen once to ya,” the stoat smirked.

Ndidi pounded on the bar hard enough to liberate a couple pretzels from the bowl. “Mute it ’til race end, will ya?”

The view of the injured racers slid to one of the secondary positions, and the screen filled with the silver-clad mooncat in the lead. The sportscasters were still going on about the way the accident would affect the team rankings. The crowd around the monitor were watching with rapt attention and no small amount of excited chatter. After a few more seconds of that, however, the tone changed completely. The left side of the display started filling with times as racers crossed the finish line. Most of the fans were grumbling, then.

Banell watched in confusion. “Hey, Ndidi, I don’t get it. Why didn’t anyone boost near the end?”

The tiger refilled a pair of mugs. “Loss of control. Everyone’s worn after a long race so they’re twitchy to start with, and when it’s all crowded like that, a boost is a guaranteed ribbon-kiss for someone.” Zie handed each mug off. There was a mellow sort of cheer then, and she looked to the monitor. “Ooh, looks like our folks had enough points to keep the lead!”

“Six Below, hunh?” Banell drained his mug. “Local favourite?”

“They used to be local, and regulars here. Now they’re based in Iopolis, but they’re out here half the time anyhow for races. Fill that for ya, luv?”

The stoat nodded. “Yeah. Hey, here’s a question for you. Anyone ever try to boost and do that skandy thing at the same time?”

“Mm-hm.” Ndidi pulled a tap. “A few times, but I only remember one in partic. In fact… there, see that scrawny guy in the bottom corner?”

Banell glanced to the display, then chuckled. “What, the one with the flower?”

The bartender slid the mug over. “Yeah, him. He did it once. Couldn’t keep it steady and it cost him an arm. Now, he manages the team.”

“Gets into screaming matches too, looks like.” Banell shook his head and waved the spectacle away. “What an absurd sport.”

I was floored. In fact, I’m still floored, and a little intimidated. It’s a marvellous tale about another form of racing— no, more properly, it’s a tale about the sort of people involved in that other form of racing. So yes, he received my blessing, and I highly recommend that every fan of 13R read the results (though I must insist that if you’re not of age to read mature language and concepts where you live, please wait until you can, and then by all means do so.)

One In a Million

The uniformed blue-furred feline offered a mild smile. “Anything to declare?”

“Yeah,” Eekay responded with a self-serving pose. “One hundred twenty kilos of awesome.”

I was about to chide zim, but the customs agent already had a response. “Unlikely. According to the manifest, you have only fifteen kilograms of luggage.” Amid stifled giggles from the rest of the queued team, he continued with impeccable politeness. “Is there anything else, or shall I ask that you be made comfortable in a holding cell while we search for the remaining one hundred and five?”

The snow-leopard’s enthusiasm drained. “Nothing to declare.”

“Excellent. Welcome to Luna’s Omicron Dome. Enjoy your stay, friend Eekay.” The mooncat looked to me. “Next?”

Eekay stalked toward the baggage claim with zir travel bag. I stepped toward the lectern. “Yaz Lenslight, resident of Io, staying four days on business.” I tapped just below my left ear to activate the comm. “Authenticate.”

The display in the lectern lit up with what was probably my life story in more detail than even I remembered. The customs agent nodded in approval. “Thank you. Anything to declare?”

“No, I….” Just then, I caught a glimpse of a strangely familiar ursine figure leaving another queue. “I think I know that guy.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh! Sorry.” I chuckled. “Nothing to declare.”

The mooncat smiled. “In that case, welcome to Luna’s Omicron Dome. Enjoy your stay, friend Lenslight.”

I nodded my thanks and dashed over to the bear. As I neared, I could see the telltale scar behind his ear. “Elbey?”

He turned and looked me up and down. “’Ey, Yaz. Nice boots.”

I laughed. “Sorry, the answer’s still no. Hey, what’re you doing out here?”

“Herding cats.” He motioned to a group of five crimson tigers waiting impatiently to clear customs. “Didn’t realise your team was on the same flight.”

I shook my head. “Wait, you’re managing The Humblest? I thought—”

“Look, chief, I’d love to chat, but I gotta get some arrangements together here. Drinks later? Here.” He tapped beneath that same ear. “Swap with Yaz Lenslight.”

I did much the same. “Swap with Elbey.” A moment later, I heard a confirmation tone. “All right, I’ll blip after my people are settled in.”

“Great….” He paused, motioning to the flower over my ear. “Then you can tell me what’s up with the pansy.”

I smirked. “Hey, I—” He’d already turned to head in another direction, though.

“I’ll admit, I’m amazed.” I held up my glass to stare at Elbey through the amber. “I figured you’d go right from Allilouxia to, I don’t know, dee-dogging. Something nice and safe compared to hanging out with Martians.” He only shrugged, so I continued. “So how come I saw someone else in the observation tower for the last two races?”

“I got hung up.”

Hung up. That was his way of saying that further inquiry would likely shift my role from “long-time friend” to “accomplice”. I shot him my best dubious expression, but his remained steady.

If Falda knew what he’d meant, she didn’t show it. “How do you handle them, anyhow?” she inquired. “The tigers? I know how rowdy they can be.”

He chuffed, “So I’ve seen,” and then continued speaking directly past the withering look he got in response. “They’re not so bad, really. You just gotta be firm, but reasonable. When you get right down to it, they’re just overgrown kittens.”

I shook my head. “Not to be accusatory or anything, but your kittens keep trying to turn the ribbon into a meat grinder.”

“They’re just enthusiastic.” The bear tapped his mug heavily on the table, then leaned in and dropped his voice. “Look, Martian races are meat grinders. It’s demolition, but instead of dogfighting in skimmers, they play bumper cars on the ribbon. The reason you don’t ever see replay vids from our neck of the woods is because they’re bloody disasters like so much high-speed snuff. And that, I know you ain’t seen, snow-puff.” He nodded that last to the wolf, then washed his words back down with lager.

Falda shook her head incredulously. “Luna has pretty clear rules about that sort of thing.”

Elbey snorted. “Yeah, and the only reason the Lunarian nannies don’t clamp down on it is because it’s only the tigers chewing each other up, and they’re basically impossible to kill. For the love o’ rust, they only take about a third the time in a tank of any sane organism. Mooncats look the other way and Martian audiences get what they consider to be light entertainment. You see my team trying to grind you up? I see my team being amazingly sedate, almost like someone’s been tossing soma in their kibble.” He raised a conspiratorial brow.

I sighed heavily. “I’ve walked into insanity.”

“An’ in the sweetest boots, too.”

Almost on automatic, I smiled. “Thank you! They were suggested to me by—”

I paused when Elbey held up a hand. He was staring off to one side; I followed his gaze to see the striped shoulders of two of his racers, and just past them, a pair of blue ears. The bear began to bellow. “Tanvi, you put that waiter down right now or I swear I’ll tear your leg off, carve your femur into a clarinet, and shove it so far up your tailhole you’ll belch polkas, you hear me?”

One of the tigers waved a clear sign of disrespect back toward Elbey without turning to look. The other did as instructed, and a rather distraught mooncat scurried into the kitchen with what little composure he had left. Elbey snickered. “Like I said earlier… firm, but reasonable.”

Falda said something about putting Eekay into perspective. I was too busy trying to get more alcohol into my system to respond.

The shuttle felt full, even on the level we’d been seated. That’s why, when I finally got the urge to wander and dragged Eekay to the observation deck, it surprised me that it was practically empty. The only other person there was one young arctic fox who was rather sharply dressed. He’d practically draped himself on the rail and was staring out into space. It was only when Eekay and I shuffled in next to him that I finally recognised him as one of the racers in Zeno’s End. “Hey,” I said. “Diamond Tea, innit?”

He turned and grinned. “That’s me. Lady Aesc, right? And Eekay, I’ve already met.” He glanced back and forth to each of us. “I didn’t know you were on this flight.”

The cat chuckled a bit. “Haven’t made ourselves known. Too busy sleepin’ off our days o’ deplorable excess on Venus.”

“And licking our wounds,” I added, which elicited a frown from Eekay. “That was a rough race back there. You did pretty good on the ribbon, though, kid.”

“Thanks! That means a lot coming from you.” Same as I’d seen countless times with Falda, his tail swung widely to broadcast genuine happiness. “You guys – Six Below, I mean – you’re great. Half of what I know, I learned from watching your races.” He looked around as though to make sure nobody could overhear. “I’ve wanted to say that for a while, but it would drive Ms. Mahatapa crazy if she heard me.”

I sniffed at his use of honorifics. “Bit controlling, is she? That’s the impression I got from her.” Half of that impression was just from watching her walk, and the other half was from what Yaz said about his first interaction with her as a fellow team manager.

Diamond shrugged a little. “Well, I don’t know about controlling, but she’s got a pretty fierce head of mean about you all. Sort of the classic Khamisi Mosi routine, all about how we must crush our opponents and such. Figuratively. I think she’s a little crazy, but you know, whatever. I’m just in it for the race, right?”

“Prolly a manager thing,” Eekay grumbled. “I mean, Yaz was peak ’til he got to be in charge.”

I shook my head. “Give me a break, cat. You’ll have to forgive zim, kid. Poor ol’ Eekay’s gone a little weedy in the penser, spot?”

“Right, right, it’s all in the cat’s head.” Zie leaned on the rail and looked out into the dark. “So, Diamond, what had yer eyes out here?”

The fox-boy pointed. “Over there. Terra’s coming up fast. You can actually just see the outline of the planet through the Wall.”

I focused on the cyan ball of energy in the distance. Maybe he could see something inside it, but all I saw was a solid glow with a silvery dot to one side. “An’ there’s Luna creeping out from behind it,” I noted.

His tail started going again. “Some people think the Wall’s kind of creepy, but I think it’s actually pretty neat when you see it in person. I read that Terra itself used to look a lot like Callisto does now.”

I shrugged. “Maybe some of it, a long time ago, but… not a chance, not nowadays. My guess is that it looks like Io given a while to fall apart. Nothing but gaudy lights and rusting architecture.” I sighed heavily. “Bell says it’s probably a dead planet by now… but he also says that the Wall was some sort of Lunar conspiracy. Seriously, who needs a plot when you’ve got the spiders and squid? I’d be tempted to seal myself in a bubble too.”

“The official story is that they were threatened with a takeover from Mars,” Diamond said. “My patrons back home say that’s all a bunch of noise and that Terrans just didn’t want anyone from outside telling them what to do, especially the mooncats. I guess it makes sense that humans would be a little sensitive about it. Still, whatever happened, I kind of wish I could see Terra for real, not just pictures….” He motioned toward the blue-green sphere. “And not just a big energy shield. Technically, it’s where we’re all from, after all.”

I snorted. “That’s like saying we’re all related to amoebas. Distantly, but it’s meaningless to look that far back.” I relaxed to gaze at the planet and moon… and that was when I realised that Eekay had been uncharacteristically quiet. Zie was still leaning against the rail and staring out toward Terra, but zir tail was quivering slightly. “Ah… cat, you solid?”

“Hunh?” Zie turned, and I thought for a moment zir eyes looked wet, but zie immediately looked back out toward Terra and spoke softly. “Yeah, top solid. Just lettin’ m’ mind wander. I sorta wonder m’self how it looks nowadays.” Zie sighed heavily. “O, goblet full to brim with bloom and faun, what grants her holder never more a sip.”

Diamond’s eyes went wide. “You’re a poet?”

The snow-leopard squinted zir eyes shut. “Joaquin Faldo de Padilla, Shattered Albedo. Never read it in school?”

Not everyone’s as worldly or cultured as you, I wanted to tease, but something more important occurred to me right then. “Eekay, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sentimental like this. Quoting poetry, all misty-eyed…. What’s the deal?”

Zie didn’t respond, however. In fact, zie said practically nothing for the rest of the flight to Luna, which left Diamond and I to admire the view as we swung past the mystery that was Terra.

As Eekay passed by, zie brushed my face with the tip of zir tail. I swatted it away. “Save the flirting for your next conquest, eh?” Zie responded only with a gesture which I’m sure was rude to some culture I didn’t know personally. Lady got a good chuckle from it.

Yaz leaned against a wall and rubbed the top of his muzzle. “All right, I won’t keep you long, promise. This hotel room’s too small for a team meeting like this, but I wanted to cover it now because our seating’s split on the shuttle to Luna. So, first: let’s talk about Luna.” It’s not like I didn’t know enough about the place, but I listened for the sake of politeness. “What can I say about it? Despite the fact that it’s perfectly terraformable, the Lunarians stick to their domes, stark little things all over the place. They’re geometric and without a lick of embellishment, sort of the opposite of Mercury. The Terraward domes are even stranger looking because a little of the glow of the Wall glints off of them. Combine that with the Lunar surface and you have a fairly surreal place.”

Falda’s tail swept the cushion she sat on. “More surreal than the Accademia Giove?”

“Hard to say, but I think so,” the wolverine continued. “And it doesn’t get any less surreal inside. Everything is white and silver and colour-coded.”

I grinned. “Except for the mooncats. They’re blue….” I motioned outward toward the endless jungle just outside the hotel. “And like the rabbits here, they’re not afraid to show it.”

Eekay started with that impish tone of zirs. “Blue all the way through, too—”

“I appreciate the help from the feline contingent, but this isn’t a biology lecture,” Yaz snapped. “Now, culturally… how to put this… they’re aggressively accommodating. For all their fascination with big guns and Lunar defence, they’re the gentlest people you’ll ever meet.”

“S’truth. One o’ my best mates is a mooncat.” Eekay’s tail curled lasciviously. “She never fusses, she lets me do anythin’. Was this time we decided to give all o’ Tau Dome a show proper, an’ she wore this harness—”

Lady pounded zim repeatedly with a pillow in between shouting. “Do you… know… how… to shut up?”

“Oi!” Eekay blocked ineffectually. “Didn’t know you were into that, luv….”

Yaz pinched the bridge of his muzzle while the reindeer tried to suffocate the snow-leopard. “Please, please, please don’t kill each other yet. And for the love of Clarke, don’t act up on Luna. Save it for Mars. They love it there. Anyhow, let’s talk ribbon.”

To their credit, both of them stopped the horseplay at the mention of their favourite sport.

“Thought so. Now, the Lunar ribbon is basically a pure technical run. There’s not a single straightaway to be had, and precision and control are the focus. Tight curves, subtle curves, banked curves, and switchbacks. Goof around and Theta Silver will eat you for lunch – and no snide remarks from you, Eekay.” The wolverine pressed a finger beneath his left ear for a moment, then shook his head. “Sorry, just got a message. Something I’ve got to go do after this. Where was I?”

“Mooncat lunch,” Falda offered.

“Um… right. The ones I’m worried about are the Evmri twins. They’ve been screened for psi ability several times with negative results, but they act like they’re linked, way more than the Avawax twins ever did. Bell, Falda, I’ll want one of you to harry them if you can, keep them apart just like we did with Zeitmaschine. I have some recordings you can review to get an idea for what to expect from them.” Yaz held up a hand. “Wait a sec, revise. Ira, I want you on that.”

Zie nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

Falda quirked an ear. “Why Ira in particular?”

“Because they’re not expecting it from zim.”

As we sat outside the Venusian bistro and waited for our meals, Ira’s enthusiasm bubbled. “I was here two days ago. The food is authentic, and very flavourful. I know that you normally aren’t inclined toward vegetarian cuisine….”

I chuckled. “I’ve seen the local flora. Everything has razor-sharp spines or neurotoxins or other weirdness. The vegetables here are meaner than any meat I’ve ever had.” My eyes followed a pair of native rabbits as they walked by. “Ah, now, look at them,” I semi-whispered to my teammate. “Huzzah for worlds with no nudity taboo, eh?”

They caught my appreciative stare and seemed friendly enough, but once they got a look at Ira, their eyes widened. They didn’t bolt, though it looked for a moment like they would. Instead, they simply stepped up their pace somewhat and veered away. I shook my head and glared at Ira. “What the snot is it with you? It’s like you bring out the weird in everyone.”

All the raccoon did was shrug.

“No, I mean it,” I insisted. “That was just plain bizarre, right there, and I’ve seen it happen more than once on Io and way more than once here on Venus. Is there something maybe the rest of us should know, myself especially?”

Zir brow furrowed to create a dip in the white bars painted on zir forehead. “I simply assume that my appearance is… unusually noticeable.”

“That’s bug-bab and you know it. We roll with a former porn star, a crossdressing wolverine and a two-metre-tall cat-shaped ego with fur. You’re not the only noticeable one, and they don’t scare anyone off.”

Ira’s expression was even as a gambler’s.

“Look, do you know why I’m on this team?” Zir gaze remained steady. I kept going. “It’s not because I’m some psycho bodyracing savant. Its not because I’m the prettiest cat. It’s not because I have connections in the biz. It’s because I cannot be screwed with on the ribbon. I am unscrewwithable. I can tell when a manouevre is a feint, and I can spot the tells when people lie. Yaz lied about why he changed his mind. Why?”

Ira grimaced. “Those are two different questions.”

“What?”

“Biological sentients avoid me because I naturally exude a chemical similar to certain pheromones. Most people don’t react to it, but in a few, it generates a sense of tension and worry. You know my background; you know that I am part plant as a result of my encounter here. Venusians are particularly susceptible precisely because their senses are specialised to pick up on such plant-related chemicals. Does that answer your first question?”

Natural curiosity begged me to ask more about the science of that, but I had zim on a truth streak I was loath to break just yet. “For now. And Yaz?”

Ira’s expression hardened. “I do not know.”

“The twitch in your tail says otherwise, eh?”

Our eyes remained locked while zie spoke. “I’ll explain, but afterwards, this discussion did not happen.”

“What discussion?”

“Very good.” Zie stared into zir drink. “Yaz fears that my talent and winning record are raising suspicions among the governing officials of the Thirteen Ribbons. Even though I don’t violate a single established rule, they may decide to enact a new one based on any number of factors if they think I’m causing a problem. We have theories about why that might be, but—”

I growled, “You’re telling me that we could lose big because you’re too good, and so Yaz is trying to keep you from getting too far ahead so we’ll only lose a little.”

Zie nodded. “Now you know why I hesitated to explain. I feared that there may be an issue of ego.”

“Ego? Pfft. That’s the other cat you’re thinking of. I knew you were better than the rest of us when Basil brought you in, and I got no problem with you. You know that. I’m only miffed because nobody would just tell me what was going on!”

I recovered better than I had the first few times, but it was already too late. The thick jungle had grown under the ribbon and warped it in places. Ira and Falda seemed to know the lay of it like their own beds, and Bell hadn’t suffered too badly for the bumps, but Lady and I struggled just to keep ahead of the other stragglers.

“Oi, cat! Watch your left!”

At the deer’s warning, I drifted further right. Ahead of me, Aceron Reime – one of Element’s heavies, a malamute I wasn’t accustomed to seeing the rear end of – yelped as he nearly bottomed out on the wrinkle. I slid away just in time to feel only the slightest jostle.

Aceron swore under his breath, then glanced over to Lady and I. “Well, well. Lovely as always, Lady… and Eekay, so nice of you to visit this end of the pack!”

I sneered back. “Spare me th’ charisma, mate.”

“Aww, don’t be like that,” he grinned with Lunar-blue eyes. “You’re too pretty to be so cruel.”

Lady let out a harsh laugh. “Y’really don’t know zim, then.” She took a rough bump and bounced her elbow-pad off of the ribbon. When she dropped back I thought for a moment she’d lost control completely, but her voice came from behind me a couple seconds later. “K’r’roc Venusian weeds!”

Yaz’s voice came over the comm. “Falda, careful; final turn coming up and a crash hazard from Theta on eight. Bell, I think you’re clear for a boost if you stay in four.”

Lady coughed, “Wrong! Bell, get to two first or you’ll be chewing ribbon.”

I growled, “I can manouevre that way and boost—”

“Don’t bother, not worth the risk.” Yaz sounded so blasted dispassionate about it, but he was right. If I tried for a boost and hit a snag in the track, I’d probably end up in the tank again. Suck this one up, I thought. Indignity… but there’ll be a chance to make up for it on Luna.

The others had already finished, but sonic scrubbers take longer to clean thick fur, so I was still in the middle of it when our fearless leader made his appearance in the locker room. “Listen up, team,” he said. “That was an ugly ribbon out there, but you did great, all of you. Nice work.”

I snorted. “Shinin’ beacon o’ top show, I was.”

“We’ll get to that in a bit. Relax. Ira, you were like magic out there. I don’t recall the last time I saw a two second lead like that.”

The raccoon paused between painting white bars on zir forehead. “Thank you. You might say I had the local advantage.”

Yaz nodded slowly. “I’ve been wondering about that, but I’ll ask later. As for Falda, I think that insane little practice you did paid off, yeah?”

The wolfess pulled a blue shirt from her locker and started to wriggle into it. “Maybe, but I will be honest about it. I feel more lucky than anything, and that luck started to run out at the end.”

Bell continued stretching. “I saw the whole thing, and that was definitely more than luck, eh? Whatever you did, you gotta teach the rest of us.” Falda only smiled in response.

“Agreed. You still managed to hold a good position.” The wolverine nodded. “And Bell, nice gain at the end. That really helped us out. That and your intimidation of a couple of those mooncats.”

The lynx rolled his eyes. “I hit a bump and veered over in front of them by accident. Can’t take credit, chief.”

“Gah, don’t call me that. Lady, good work remembering the track better than I did. Bonus points. Eekay, no points for memorisation but nice job on maintaining a solid grouping at the end. That teamwork meant the difference between playing catch-up and coming out on top.”

I switched off the scrubber and stalked toward my locker. “Right. Ol’ Eekay done ’em an orbit. Cookie me.”

Lady didn’t even look up from tying the fly of her pants. “Translation: Prince Eekay hasn’t been bottom half of a race since zie first saw a ribbon, and zie hasn’t had zir nap, bottle, or reality check yet today.”

I sneered at her. “Dip you in flour, luv, bake me a punk biscuit—”

She made a dismissive motion. “Beat yer head ’til sawdust comes out—”

“Ship y’ t’ Saturn limb-tied with a prezzie bow—”

“Jet an’ vape you mid-flight with the rest of the trash—”

Yaz shouted, “Girls, girls! You’re both pretty. Save the taunts for the Martians, okay?” Before we could turn on him, he changed the subject. “Next stop is Luna, and that means Theta Silver’s territory. We’re going in with a slim lead, but if we play it right we can expand on that….”

“And I would like the limiter to be disabled.”

The ermine visibly twitched. “Let me get this straight.” When she spoke, she emphasised the pronouns in a way which made everything sound almost unreasonable. “You, who I’ve never before met, want me to rent you a skimmer right after daybreak – when the natives will be at their most active – without any sort of speed regulation.”

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Even for double rate, even knowing your current profession…. Why should I take that risk?”

I leaned toward one of those little round seafoam-green ears and poured some classic Falda charm into a whispered explanation.

She nodded… then stared with widened eyes… then looked Yaz up and down… then coughed politely as I stepped back. “I believe I can arrange your skimmer, though you’ll have to sign an additional waiver. Pardon while I go dig that up.”

As soon as she’d scurried into the back room, Yaz shook his head. “Just what did you tell her, there?”

I allowed my tail some room for expression. “I explained that IHP wanted me to scout the area while I was here in preparation for a proper sequel to The Finest Course and that I had a great degree of latitude in recommending local talent to fill in certain… vital roles.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “And me?”

“Male lead.”

Yaz’s jaw dropped. “That’s—”

“Letting a little too much slip so early in pre-production,” I ad-libbed smoothly as the ermine returned. I looked to her with a practised smile. “but I am certain we can all keep a secret, yes?”

“Of course, Ms. Flosadóttir. Please, authenticate both of these documents….”

I pulled hard right to dodge a particularly thick tree of some sort. “Are you getting a clear view?”

From some distance away and right inside my headset, my favourite wolverine responded with a note of worry. “Crystal clear, and I still don’t understand why you have to— Gah! Don’t get yourself killed, you crazy wolf!”

I howled with delight and weaved through the rainforest. “Now that I am in the air, I will explain! Do you remember the dream?”

“What, the one you had on the trip to Mercury?”

“Yes! I did something in that dream, something strange… and I have to try it now.” I aimed the arc-shaped skimmer upward and soared above the tops of the broad-leaved trees. “If you see me veer out of control at all, do what you can to snap me out of it.”

“Snap you out of what?” He waited a few seconds, then tried again. “Falda?”

I whispered, “Shush! I am trying to focus.”

I peaked the thrust and did my best to recall the dream. The colours were normal this time, and there was no ribbon beneath me… but there was definitely a sense of speed and nearly the same visual effect of the forest blending into a rich green streak. I flew closer to the tops of the trees to try for that same feeling of being slightly overwhelmed and having to alter my course to match irregularities in the path. In the dream, there was a sort of dilation of time where milliseconds became long enough to pick apart. I tried to will time to slow down for me. Just another altered state of consciousness, I reminded myself. Just like meditation. Create a pattern and follow the fractal deeper.

The jungle below remained a swift blur. I checked the timer in the display, then cursed myself for breaking the relative time. I did my best to blank it from my mind, veered to the right, and tried again for the trance state. Follow the fractal. I focused on the beating of my heart to slow it down in the way I had learned so long ago. Moments within moments. I swooped over dense foliage, turning slightly as I went to make a circuit. Frustration threatened to overtake me. Had I deceived myself, trying for such a drastic effect as only a dream – or a powerful chemical influence – could provide? Strike the thoughts, I scolded myself. The green was almost hypnotic….

“Falda!”

I didn’t need Yaz’s voice to snap me out of it. The scraping whoosh of leaves and branches against the underside of the skimmer jolted me into a speedy climb. “All right…. I am all right.” I dropped my speed and followed the return beacon on my display. “How long was that run?”

“Long enough that I think the locals have started worshipping your contrails as heavenly signs,” he quipped. “Did you get what you needed?”

Despite my attempt, I sounded just as disappointed as I was. “No. I need hyperfocus, not dissociation. I’ll have to try again. Would you…?”

“Yes, I’ll stay,” he sighed. “But I’m really concerned. A few more seconds and you’d have hit more than just thin branches there.”

“Do you…. Do you think I am crazy for trying this because of a dream?”

His answer was a few seconds in coming. “Yes. But it’s the right sort of crazy, so don’t stop.”

I made a lazy swerve around a tall tree, then skirted the clearing where he stood. “Thank you. Now, I will try again….”

The spaceport was still some distance away. All I could do was roll my eyes while Eekay carried on.

“Three of ’em, seems they’re best mates, all snuggles out there on the beach.” Zie motioned to accompany what sounded like teenage bragging. “I’m mindin’ m’own, spot, but one of ’em recognises me an’ waves on over. Yours Truly doesn’t wanna interrupt an’ words bein’ around for pics all day, but th’ kitten says—”

“Go chase a shark?” Lady suggested. I snickered.

“Exactly! Naw, was somethin’ more like how she had better mem’ries in mind.” The snow-leopard grinned wide. “Fraz th’ Teleia Erota, four can be brill.”

I shook my head. “Right there on the beach?”

Zie sniffed, “S’wrong, Falda-girl? You’ve done it before.”

“That was for a sensie… and the one that finally got me off-world, in fact.” I shrugged. “Sand gets everywhere. I have no idea how you could enjoy it!”

Zie grinned predatorially. “Show you how sometime, luv.”

I sneered at the cat, but Lady interrupted any retort. “How about you an’ Yaz?”

“Actually, we ended up at the same beach later in the day.” The wolverine crossed his legs and smiled. “I know I had a pretty good time.”

Lady tilted her head a little. “I thought you weren’t going unless you had a swimsuit?”

“I decided the flower was enough.” Yaz grinned slightly and motioned to his left ear. “Also, the show we were planning on seeing got cancelled, so I figured I had to get my live entertainment somehow. So, Lady, what did you and Bell get up to on the dark side?”

“We, uh… well, we visited someone Bell knows….” She seemed a little uncertain, though wondered if maybe that was simply my reading too much into it.

Bell merely shrugged. “You know how my parents up and moved to Charon? I met someone via net who was in the same situation, so we got together in person to vent a bit about how that goes. Then her wife cooked up a meal and we chatted about Mercurian culture. It’s not exactly a romp on the beach, but you know, it was a decent time, eh?” He nodded toward Lady, who seemed to concur. “How ’bout you, Ira?”

The orange-tinted raccoon flicked his tail a bit. “I was at the beach with Eekay.” After a moment of pause, zie chuckled, “Ah, but most of my time was spent in the water with Eoe’ea.”

I smiled. “He’s with Element, right? The otter from Neptune?” I couldn’t help wagging a little. Eoe’ea might have been a little out there philosophically, but he was a great conversationalist and more than a little handsome… not unlike a certain wolverine. Really, it was a pity that he was—

Bell teased, “Colluding with the enemy!”

“Not the enemy,” Yaz scolded… then added with a grin, “but definitely our competition. Anyhow, it turns out that Ira here is quite the natural swimmer, which I wouldn’t have expected. If we do swap to the Allilouxia circuit after the Thirteen, zie just might be our candidate for the underwater sections.”

“That’s definitely something to work toward, I think. I had a great time, and he taught me a few… techniques….” Ira’s gaze went to the Mercurian horizon in the direction of the space port.

As I looked at it myself, I had a strange sense of having been there before, even though I was fairly certain I hadn’t. It was a false memory of excitement and nervousness, not unlike what I would feel before every race. Accomplishment. Camaraderie. Pride. Then, I felt as though it was destined to fall apart….

Eekay’s voice shattered the moment. “Oi, Ira! Don’t go into space without us, mate.”

The raccoon startled, then coughed and smiled. “Apologies. I was distracted by a thought. Where was I?”

“Aw, fraz. Look at that.” Lady motioned toward the front of the capsule. The shuttle loomed large. “It’s one of the older ones,” she griped.

“Nothing wrong with it,” Yaz insisted as the two-minute signal chimed. “And hey, we’ll have the best seats on it, so it should still be pleasant enough.”

“They don’t make them like this anymore for a reason. I got stranded in one like this between Uranus and Miranda. Boredom gets completely redefined when the engines short out and take most of the support systems with them, and then you have to wait for a tug in low light and stale air.”

“Then look at the bright side,” the wolverine offered, still in a peak mood from the previous day. “We’ll have the best seats on the drifting hulk.”

Travel between terraformed areas on the light side of Mercury involved sitting in an automated capsule, shooting through covered surface tubes, and staring out at a landscape too grey and boring to be believed. Travel on the dark side of the planet meant the same, but with a landscape too dark to be seen at all. Thus, I was staring more at the inner reflections of the lights within the capsule. “Too late to change my mind?”

Bell reached for the locked handle of the door. “No problem, eh? I can just let you out here—”

“Thanks, but I prefer my atmosphere to be, you know, atmospheric.” I slumped against the window and absently fingered my left antler. “Kiddin’, anyhow. Would much rather do whatever we’re doing than watch Eekay scramble to find some fan to catch a nog, y’know?”

“Jealous, Lady?”

I snorted. “Of what, zir lack of standards?”

He laughed at that. “Think zie an’ Yaz will start orbiting each other again? They’ve got the friction, maybe there’ll be sparks.”

“When Neptune dries up, maybe. Yaz ain’t excitin’ enough for zir tastes, anymore.”

“How so?”

“Glitchin’ gossip,” I chided with a smirk. “So, right before we take off, the snowkitty gets all cheerful and asks Yaz if he could stop being dour long enough join zim and Ira at the beach.”

His ears swivelled. “Wait, zie’s willingly going somewhere with Ira? I guess rule number one stands.”

“Yeah. Never expect to understand Eekay. So Yaz says no ’cause he doesn’t have a swimsuit.”

“Swimsuit? Waste of good sunlight. He really has changed. That, or he only said it as an out to go do something else with Falda.”

I blinked. “Like what?”

The lynx smiled slightly. “No clue.”

As if on cue, a voice with a generic Mercurian accent sounded from the capsule’s control panel to let us know that we’d be at Antimony Ward in two minutes.

The door opened to a somewhat matronly-looking raccoon in a sienna house-dress which redefined quaint. The lynx to my left smiled. “Evening, ma’am. I’m Rubin Gloeckner, and this is Lady Aesc. Your wife is expecting us….”

She nodded. “She mentioned. Come in, please.” Bell and I stepped into a rich, earth-toned home which conspired to utterly culture-shock me before I even got past the foyer. “If you wish, I could try to coax her upstairs, but if she didn’t peek her silly head up for breakfast…. Ah, well, she’s in her laboratory. The basement.”

Bell hesitated. “You’re sure she won’t mind?”

“Not so long as you stay quiet until she’s in between tests. Go ahead.” She motioned toward a stairwell. “Shall I put on some tea?”

At the same time, we both said, “Thanks, no.” He continued. “We’ll only be here for a few minutes, I think. Thank you, though.”

The basement was larger than I expected given the outer dimensions of the house, but it still seemed cramped for all the equipment and the myriad shelves of labelled tins and bottles, some of them ancient-looking. Squarely in the centre of the mess was a large area of wooden floor which was clear save for a few bits of glassware holding unknown substances. A circle of light inscribed with notes and complex geometry was cast from a projector above. At its edge knelt a determined-looking raccoon who was even scrawnier than Yaz.

As we watched, she reached forward to grasp and pull two of the dishes. They scraped along the circumference of the circle and came to rest on two targets lit in soft blue. A wall of projected numbers hovered to one side; she stared at it, exhaled, then darted one hand next to it and traced some additional numbers then waved the whole mass away. She finally spoke with a rough voice. “It’s progress of a sort.”

Bell nodded. “Estie, this is Lady Aesc – yes, Lady is her first name. She’s one of the others in my team….” He looked to me and nodded. “And she’s a good friend.”

The raccoon pierced me with unsettling, analytical eyes. “I see.”

I smiled slightly, mostly to put myself at ease. “M’ mate here explained that you’re working on… a cure for Charon-shift.”

She chuffed, “A cure? No, more like a wedge to pull open a trap.” She gingerly lifted the sealed, liquid-filled glass sphere from the centre of the circle and stood. “Harmless electrolytic fluid feeds infinitesimal machines, tiny little self-propagating packets of one man’s will to impose his perfection on others. Full-body conversion without a tank… or a choice. The nanites are the trap he set, and the trap which I will wedge open. The cure will come when his kind renounce their ways.”

I cringed a bit and looked to Bell. He was nodding slowly. “We can hope, eh? Steady progress?”

“Rather, but I still don’t know just when it will be enough.” The researcher’s intensity disappeared. “You see what it involves. I’ll explain for the benefit of Miss Aesc. Any given colony has a directly digital code to disable it, but it was a tradition of Mercurian nanotechnicians to add a simple physical trigger as a failsafe. Charon-shift no longer responds to the digital… and the physical trigger is unknown, and apparently more complex than tradition and sanity would dictate.”

I stepped nearer the strange, illuminated mandala to try to read the text around it. “And it works by moving certain things around?”

She pulled a bottle from the shelf behind her. “Any given subset of the colony will respond to the position of what I hope is a maximum of five distinct detectable external stimuli. Radioactive isotopes, magnets, gravitic pulses, and the like, all at specific relative start positions and sometimes with motion.

I shook my head. “Trial and error?”

“Far from it. Careful measurement will show a level of feedback as each condition is met, but it’s subtle and fickle.” She gave an apologetic nod to Bell. “I’ve been able to solve several steps, but I don’t know how many there are… only how close I am to the next one.”

My mind buzzed with questions, but only one came out. “Are you the only one working on this?”

She narrowed her eyes. “As far as anybody knows, I’m not working on this at all. Nobody is. The research is as illegal as the technology itself.”

“But Pluto—”

“—will remain as it is indefinitely, until such time as some obscure researcher imposes her own will against that self-exiled mass of unfortunates.” Estie looked directly at Bell. “Of course, not even Luna’s best people will be able to deduce who was financially backing that researcher.”

“Of course,” the lynx agreed with a shrug of false nonchalance. “Crazy how that happens.”

“In the meantime, an entirely different obscure researcher is at the precipice of starvation. Would you two care to join my wife and I for a meal? I think I missed one already, today….”

“I know that look,” the lynx said. “Last time I saw it, you’d just swigged some rancid beer. What’s eatin’ Yaz, eh?”

“I’ll tell you what’s eating me,” I grumbled. “Eekay is still strutting around like this is zir chance to steal back some starlight, and I can’t read Ira at all so I have no idea how zie’ll act on the ribbon.”

Bell nodded. “It’s been like this for a while, and I think Basil fed the flame intentionally, but…. Look, Eekay’s not all there, but zie’s no idiot. You have a plan and you have the skill to make it work, so I think zie’ll listen to you during the race. Don’t let the drama panic you, eh?”

“I hope you’re right.”

Some sort of team chant started up in the direction of Zeitmaschine. Bell shot a smirk in their direction, then looked back toward me. “That wasn’t the only thing, was it?”

I tightened my jaw. “No, but the other thing is just an annoyance. It figured that Team Parallax had to withdraw. I could cope with their manager, at least. But with Zeno’s End filling in, that means dealing with… what, is there…?” The lynx grinned and nodded slightly to a point over my shoulder, so I turned to face— “Ah! Ms. Mahatapa.”

“My dear Mr. Lenslight.” The leopard’s eyes scanned slowly down, then back up my body with a sort of practised distaste. “You are still mister, yes?”

I did my best not to visibly grimace. The last thing I needed was to be reminded of… how… well I was dressed. “Last I checked, yes. It’s good to see you.”

Her tail hooked in exactly the fashion that drove me nuts about Eekay… in both good and bad ways. “Of course it is. Ah, and there is the famous Rubin Gloeckner, in with a surprise first-place in that final race of the Jovian League.”

Bell smiled politely. “Surprised me, too, ma’am. Just goes to show that anything can happen, eh?” He clapped me on the arm and whispered, “I’ll be in the pit. Don’t let the ice queen freeze ya, mate.” He straightened his collar, nodded to the leopard, and turned toward the team staging area.

“Anything indeed.” She took a step closer with a dangerous grin that got colder near her eyes. “Anything goes on Io, but we are no longer in a pageant of personality. These races will be the test of not showmanship, but true ability. Tell me…. Being so new to the position and with your star racers so preoccupied with acting out an absurd rivalry, do you not feel that you are perhaps slightly out of your league?”

I’d been expecting some amount of that sort of psychological warfare from her, and I came prepared to duel. “Yes, perhaps… but it heartens me that I’m out of my league on somewhat more than a… technicality.”

Her grin remained, but withdrew from her eyes. I’d drawn blood. “I see. Well, of course, best of luck to you and to Six Below. It will be a fascinating race.”

“And best of luck to you and Zeno’s End.”

She turned and sauntered away with a taunting sway to her hips. I shook my head and walked toward the observation deck lift to the sudden percussion of the Martian team riveting their uniforms on. The stands were already nearly full with spectators, many of them cheering names I couldn’t hear through the deafening rush of nervous blood in my ears.

Impossibly black shadows cut the surface from the ribbon and the racers from their wheels. I traced the thin, parallel threads of white along the edges of the racing track with my eyes. The interposing display highlighted each set of four turquoise dots with call-outs and team identifiers, and I liked the arrangement I saw. Every Zeitmaschine racer was isolated by a Six Below racer immediately in their lead. I wasn’t certain that we could take first like that, but we could defeat the Mercurians’ tactics on their home turf and keep them on their toes, something worth far more later in the circuit.

Lady’s voice over the comm pulled me back out of the trance of heartbeat and thought. “I think the tigers are up to something,” she warned.

Two of the Martian team, The Humblest, were using the inside to come up on both her and the raccoon behind her. “If you’re good on the turn, boost it,” I said. “If they start in on your buddy, you’re fine. If they try for you, they’ll be in his way anyhow.”

I watched her wheels accelerate sharply away. One of the Martians followed, but the gap had already widened. “Good work. Hang in there, team, just a little longer.”

A few seconds later, Eekay piped up. “Got a pozzy vec here, Yaz. Gonna boost it.”

I shook my head as though zie could see it. “Hold the block, Eekay. Ira, stay with them!”

“Oi! we’re here to win!” Zie darted away from the cluster around zim.

“Pull it back, you can still spook ’em into scattering!” No longer restrained, two racers from Zeno’s End – precisely the ones I wanted to keep in lower rankings – bolted out from behind the knot to vie for second. “K’r’roc fleabait! Ira, do what you can to recover position.”

I held my breath. Five long seconds passed.

“That’s a first for me, an’ yer first run as a manager, Yaz-boy. Snaz opener to the Thirteen, spot?”

The point totals rolled in to the right of the display. I breathed out, “You may have snagged first, Eekay… but the team didn’t.”

“Hello, and good day! I’m Captain Shimakage, and I’d like to welcome you aboard GreenStar flight three-twenty-two from Lyrcea Planum, Io, to Tir Planitia, Mercury. We’ll be travelling a distance of about four-point-nine astronomical units and we should reach a peak velocity of around one-twentieth light-speed, meaning a relative time gain of just under forty seconds. The total flight time should be nearly twenty-eight hours, so we encourage you to get comfortable. If you have any questions or concerns, or if there’s anything at all we can do to make your flight more pleasant, don’t be afraid to ask our attendants Psande and Minion. Thank you again for travelling with GreenStar.”

In fact, Minion – a diminutive skunk – was already at my side to offer me a pillow. I smiled and accepted it gratefully. “I have not slept much; too excited!” I said.

He gave a friendly bob of his voluminous tail. “Are you on holiday?”

“Not quite.” Eekay was working on the best way to sprawl out nonchalantly. “Y’ever watch bodyracin’?”

“No, but my son is excited about the Thirteen Ribbons,” Minion said.

The snow-leopard grinned at this. “Be sure to word ’im when y’ get home that you met Team Six Below, ’cause th’ Thirteen’s where we’re ’eaded.”

“No kidding? I’ve got to go check on the other passengers, but… would you mind if I came by later and got a signed photo for my boy?”

Yaz nodded with a smile. “I think we could arrange that, after Falda gets a nap.”

“Yes, thank you.” I reclined my seat to a comfortable position for exactly that.

“Of course! Let me know if there’s anything else I can get for you.” With that, the skunk disappeared into the centrelift, headed for another level of the shuttle.

I shifted in my seat, adjusted my tail, touched my head to pillow, and fell fast asleep.

…speed and sound and light and scent and colour and contact and chaos and most of all speed!

I gritted my teeth as another bump threatened to throw me off-balance. The ribbon stretched straight ahead into the horizon, but it was subtly uneven. “Ira!” I shouted, my voice sounding muffled and underwater in the rushing wind. “I hope you know what you are doing!”

Zir voice came through clearly. “Yes!” Zie sped ahead on energy wheels of the wrong hue. The fur of zir crimson-ringed tail fluttered in the rushing wind. “Read the ribbon carefully, wolf!”

I struggled to keep my attention away from the unidentifiable racers all around, from the wall of abstract olive vegetation on all sides, from the unreadable text blinking on the display in my helmet. “What do you mean?”

Zir only response was to let out a small shout of exhiliration.

My fear grew; the next bump might send me tumbling along the track at deadly speed. I focused my eyes on the magnetic mesh of the ribbon, but at this speed it was merely a dark streak. “Ira, I do not think—”

“Here it is!”

“I cannot!” I started to feel overwhelmed, floaty, disconnected—

Zir voice echoed as though from within my own head. “Read the ribbon!”

Time slowed. The yellow-green blur surrounding the track resolved into thick jungle. The energy-wheels of the racers in front of me began to flicker, then pulse. My heart suspended itself, then released, then tightened again with glacial pace. The ribbon, however… I could see the elongated diamond mesh, so much angular black. I could read the change in density where the surface rose ever so slightly, enough that it would jostle me. I heard a whisper of several voices, all guiding me in language I didn’t know but somehow understood. We adjusted our position slightly and shifted our weight to….

We?

We became aware of shadows in front and behind—

I jerked awake with a sharp breath. My blood throbbed in my ears. I felt tight as though I’d been bracing for impact. A quick look around showed that the others were napping or out of the cabin except for Yaz, which explained the smell of kaflet.

He glanced up from his data-scroll. “Falda?”

I shook my head slowly. “I… was dreaming.”

The wolverine seemed concerned, now. “You smell like panic. Are you all right?”

“Yes, fine. How long have I been sleeping?”

“About five hours. You looked like you really needed it.” He motioned to the others. “Ira and Lady are crashed out, too. Eekay and Bell are off wandering around to see what other teams are on this shuttle, and since they haven’t returned yet, they probably found one. I was thinking of joining them.” He rolled up his scroll. “Care to walk for a bit? Stretch?”

“That is probably a good idea.” I stood up and looked to one-again-orange Ira, who still slept peacefully. “Zie was in my dream. It was strange. We were racing… and I think we were on Venus.”

He slipped his shoes on. “A little nervous?” I nodded a little, and he continued. “Yeah, so am I. We’ll be there within a week, but try to relax some, okay? First things first… Mercury.”

I was busy stuffing clothing into a duffel bag when my left ear buzzed. I clicked to acknowledge it. The soft voice of my comm intoned, “Call is audiovisual conference from Yaz Lenslight with four others.”

I sighed, “Receive on two.”

On the shelf at the other end of the room, a receiver lit up and projected a familiar wolverine with a flower of some sort above his ear. Four smaller images of my teammates bracketed the image. “And there’s Bell,” Yaz said. “Good, looks like that’s everyone.”

I dropped a wadded shirt into my bag. “What’s up, boss?”

“Come on, don’t call me that. It’s embarrassing,” he grumbled.

Falda grinned. “I think that is why he does it!”

Yaz shook his head. “Anyhow, I’m calling now to give everyone a couple days to prep before we hit Mercury. Now, Ira’s from there, sort of, but aside from zim and Eekay, I don’t think any of the rest of us have been there in a while, right? We’ll be staying on the light side—”

“Doubleplus poz!”

“Squelch it, cat.” Yaz grinned when he said it, though. “That’s the first point. Same as Io stays synchronous with Jupiter, Mercury stays with Sol. One side’s always at the sun, the other is always dark. The raccoons there tend to reflect that with two different cultures, which is why the research stations are on the dark side and all the holiday resorts are on the light side. They’re somewhat bipolar.” He glanced to something off to the side. We have… one day before race, and then one after. Plenty of time for the sunbaths before we head to Venus.”

“I’ll prolly head for the dark on one of those,” Lady piped up. “One o’ my mates from Uranus is down there.”

“Good time for it,” Yaz nodded. “Now, you all know about the ribbon itself, right?”

I nodded. “Lady and I have been watching some old vids of it. Half brightly lit, half pitch black.”

His eyes lit up proudly. “Except for the edges and the other racers’ wheels, yeah. It’s not a difficult course, and it’s shorter than we usually have here on Io, but it could be dangerous visually. As a bonus challenge, over half of Zeitmaschine is from Mercury so they’re plenty familiar with the setup. I expect them to get cocky on the dark ribbon.”

“Any manouevres we should watch out for?” Falda asked.

“They seem to be a single-trick team when it comes to that, but it’ll be an ugly trick. Comm: source to console one.” The projection blinked to a simplified race tactics screen. “Watch for them to bunch three or four up in the lit areas, even if a couple have to slow down a little for it. They make up time in the dark areas by zooming forward when everyone else is playing it safe. The lead has a good view and the others can follow closely without worrying about traffic. It’s effective, but if one loses control at all… well, you remember Ferrin Raceway a few years back.”

Everybody went silent. Accidents on the ribbon aren’t that rare, but deaths are.

“Don’t dwell on it,” Yaz insisted. “Just be aware of it. Comm: input reset.” The image flicked back to him. “I don’t think they’ll try anything stupid this early in the Thirteen, but they’ll certainly try for an early lead on home turf. I think we can keep that from happening if we can keep them apart from each other, or maybe match tactics, though I’m not sure I’d want to try that without a lot more practice. Any questions?”

Eekay nodded. “’Ere’s one. Y’got my replacement uniform yet?”

Entirely matter-of-fact, Lady quipped, “Delayed ’cause it’s a special order to balance out your look. Double padding on the chest, none on the helmet.”

Yaz tried to keep a straight face. The rest of us didn’t. Eekay got that impish look of zirs. “So that’s yer secret.”

“All right, knock it off, you two.” Yaz practised his polite smile. “I’m picking it up tomorrow. Anything else?”

I stuffed another shirt into my duffel. “Yeah. You got decent seats for us on the shuttle?”

“Nice and roomy. In fact, you each get your own cargo container.”

“Very funny.”

He grinned. “At my suggestion, Tesser managed to swing a deal with Quanta. We get priority seats on every shuttle along the way until Neptune and all the QC Zip we can slurp out of their conspicuously branded sports bottles before and after every race.”

Eekay sniffed. “That sludge is rank.”

“That’s okay, the drinks aren’t complimentary for cargo containers anyhow.”

“You son of a—”

Yaz held up a bottle with a familiar glowing logo. “Seriously, though, It doesn’t matter what we pour into and drink out of them, but let’s keep flashing these. I don’t like it all that much, but the endorsement deal was in place before I showed up. I just sweetened it.”

Falda frowned a little. “I was hoping to be rid of those things.”

“I know, I know.” Yaz scratched behind his left ear, then adjusted the flower above his right. “It’s just the nature of the business… but I think I can work with Tesser to keep it to a necessary minimum.” He paused like he had to consider something, then he spoke quietly. “The commercial game won’t change much, but the really important thing is – and I’m sure we’re in agreement on this – I won’t drag us into the drama game like Basil did. No more playing up internal squabbles. No more ditching tactics on the ribbon just to create a narrative that sells. We are a real team, a professional team, and I firmly believe that we can be the best bodyracing team out there. That means we don’t need to entertain people with cheap antics. We just need to race like they’ve never seen. Think you can do that for me?”

Every time Basil said that sort of thing, I grimaced inside because it felt like so much artificial pep talk noise. I would sit there and watch his disingenuous smile and pretend to agree, then go out on the ribbon and draw on my own love of the race to try and make it work, same as Lady and Falda and maybe Ira and possibly even Eekay when zie wasn’t blinded by zir own ego. Near the end, it felt like we succeeded despite him.

When Yaz spoke… I felt like we could win.

I don’t care how many times someone’s been in a tank or how tough they think they are. It’s a simple fact that if you’re conscious when you get poured out of it, then you’ll be a wet, coughing, sputtering wretch in the relative freezing cold of the decanting bay, and you’ll be hungrier than you’ve ever known. No freebirth remembers being born, because I don’t doubt for a femtosecond that this is what it’s like and one’s brain just wants to edit that out as quickly as possible.

I found myself coughing and sputtering wetly over the drain in the floor while the nurse at each side gripped an arm to keep me steady. One cooed to me, “Easy, now. Let it all out.”

I managed as far as, “Ain’t th’ first time I’ve—” and then heaved again, the last of the oxygenated fluid leaving me. I took a few deep breaths, stood up straight, and relaxed my tail. “Right, that’s that then. Cheers, you two.”

The taller of the two motioned. “The sonic scrubber is right over there. When you’ve finished washing up, one of your friends brought that package of clothing on the table. She’s waiting for you outside.” He nodded to the other, and they both shuffled out the main door.

It turned out that the clothing in question included my favourite jumpsuit, the ultramarine number I’d picked up last time I was on Triton. What surprised me was that Falda wasn’t the one to bring it. When I stepped into the hallway, Lady looked up from where she sat and smiled. “Hey, cat.”

“’Ey, deer.” She stood and we hugged briefly. “Thanks for bringin’ this.”

She shrugged. “That was Falda’s idea. I was gonna make you stay in a paper gown while I chewed your lousy tail out, but she twisted my arm and you get amnesty and lunch instead.”

I figured it was a good time to pull out the contrite routine while we headed out of the hospital. “Ah, sorry ’bout that thing with Yaz. I should’ve worded the whole team. Standard-issue Eekay brain-twitch, spot?” The truth was, I knew that having extra time to make the decision meant they’d dither and worry, and I can’t bear dithering.

“I’m sure.” Once outside, she slipped on a pair of sunglasses. “Now, I know you’re probably craving protein. I saw a Martian tandoor place over that way, but no guarantee on how good they are. There’s a generic Jovian eatery right nearby if you want teriyaki or char siu. I’ve been there before, so I know they’re okay. Your pick.”

I nodded to the latter. “Jovian. Right now, I’ll play it safe.” We started walking, a relief after being immobile for several days. “Shto novava, comrade?”

She punched me in the shoulder playfully. “I hate when you do that, you know. You have a hard enough time speaking English I can understand. So, what’s new? Well, I know Yaz got the go-ahead from Tesser to take over as manager, and he and Falda are off getting girled up or whatever.”

I chuckled, “This’s gotta be driving ’im insane, whole thing with th’ hypnosquid. Back when he an’ I were an item, he was all man, believe you me.”

“He still is,” Lady retorted. “He’s been handling all of this like a champ. Hey, you’re not thinking of trying to start that up again, are you?”

I shook my head. “Zip chance. Eekay doesn’t look back, you know that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I hear ya. That an’ it’d take about eight more people plus the two of us to pry Falda off of him now. I’ve never seen her crush so hard on anyone, an’ I bet he doesn’t even realise. Anyhow, what else…. Ira’s been a little weird about going back to Mercury. Bell’s been practicing double lately; I think that win really stoked him.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Maybe now that Basil isn’t here to play either you or Ira up as Six Below’s wunderkind, Bell’s been a lot more enthusiastic about the Thirteen. I gotta admit, so am I.” She rubbed briefly at the base of one of her antler-stubs. “Nothin’ against either of you, but it’ll be snaz to work as a team again, won’t it? Maybe you an’ Ira can get along now.”

I thought back to when Ira first showed up. Basil practically looked like he’d just come back from the bathhouse as he introduced that bloody raccoon and called zim the “fresh direction Six Below needs”, his words. I was okay with a friendly rivalry, a little competition within the team to keep me on my toes, but zie drove me insane, being all infuriatingly polite… and androgynously photogenic… and with reflexes like nobody’s business. Zie was the perfect face. I wanted to strangle zim, and it looked like I’d have to do it the civilised way… by beating zim at zir game and being more than perfect on the ribbon, thirteen times in a row if possible.

“I’m looking forward to it,” I lied.

When I finally reached Crescent Mall, he’d already been at the cafe for at least a quarter-hour. Evver’s Herbals had a row of tables with teal parasols over them, and Yaz sat at one with a scroll in one hand and a steaming cup in the other. I quietly eased into the opposite chair and watched him scan the scroll with incredible focus. Every few seconds he would tap the surface of it with his thumbclaw and then weave his eyes down the column again. I sniffed and smiled a little; roasted kaflet and coconut milk, same as he always drank. It was good to have him back.

Finally, he spoke. “Sorry, Falda, I’ll just be a moment. Catching up on news.” He sipped at his drink, tapped the scroll once more, nodded, and then rolled it up. “I swear, it’s a miracle that anything works on Callisto… or Mars, for that matter. Enough about that. Let’s talk about you.”

I laughed. “No, no, I am here to help you out, so we should talk about you.” I motioned. “That yellow is not your colour.”

He frowned and tugged at his blousy top. “I’ve seen plenty of people wearing this shade!”

“They all had green fur but you do not. Or were you planning on a change?”

He jerked slightly as though I’d scalded him. “No! I mean, uh…. Not anytime soon. I’ve had more than enough of that. So, can I get you anything from here before we get started?”

I shook my head and grinned. “Thanks, but no. I will let you buy me some lunch later, though.”

He chuckled, “Glad I have permission,” and motioned toward the main area of the shopping centre. “Lead on, m’lady.”

“Phanti. Professional wear first,” I said. “So, how did the talk with Tesser go?”

As we made our way to the store I had in mind, he explained. “About the same as before; inexplicable and still changing forms frequently. This time he was some kind of wallaby. I told him what had happened in the hospital, and he just nodded like it was everyday business. I mean, I figured that Basil had already talked to him, so I expected him to know what was going on, but I wasn’t expecting him to be so… indifferent about it.”

“So, he is okay with it?”

“Entirely. We talked business for the rest of the call, and he sent about a billion forms and legal documents for me to pore over. I guess this is the glamorous part of the job.” He shook his head. “I really hope I can do this.”

I blinked. “Of course you can! You have management experience now. Now, here we are. We can see what they have for styles.”

He stared at the store hesitantly. “Hotel management. Slightly different, though I’m sure some of it will come in handy.” When we entered the store, a serious-looking raccoon nodded silently from behind the sales counter to acknowledge our presence. Yaz smiled in return, then turned to me. “Oh, that reminds me. My boss at the Blue Teapot was kind of weird, too.”

“How so?” We browsed through a sea of mannequins, taking time for him to stand next to quite a few so I could imagine how the outfits might look.

“He seemed a little disappointed, but – no, this one’s a little too staid – he just asked if it’s what I really wanted to do and then wished me luck. I’ll be staying on for four more shifts and then that’s it. And definitely not that blouse, the neck’s too high.”

I ran a thumbpad along the tweed cuff of a rather handsome jacket. “The blouse can be swapped out. Do you think you will go back after the Thirteen?”

He paused for a few seconds, then shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably. Fildyn…. Sorry, that’s the manager’s name. He said that he’d be glad to take me back on, but you know how Ionian natives tend to be. Honest until the next em lands in their hands.” He sniffed another mannequin. “Too gimmicky.”

I put my paws on my hips and huffed, “That is a horrible stereotype!”

“I don’t hear you denying it, though.” He posed next to a classic style and hummed. “Too retro.”

I shook my head. “Yaz, that one would be perfect for Mercury. You know how the darksiders are.”

He simply shrugged.

“Listen, you have to settle on something. Anyhow, this was your idea.”

“No, it was the squid’s… helpful suggestion.” He always got that same distant look when the subject came up. “I just don’t want to look absurd, that’s all. Er.. I don’t mean to say you don’t know what you’re doing, but…. Um.”

When that embarrassed flush came back to his ears, I stepped close to him and turned on the charm. “Would it help if we got a second opinion from a professional?” I nodded to the raccoon to signal her that we could use the assistance.

“Oh! Uh… no, it’s okay. I trust your sense for this.” He scratched behind one ear. “This one, then? What, just for Mercury?”

I pointed at various models. “Silly! Change the blouse, change the accessories, and that suit will change completely. Maybe we can get slacks to match it so you have more options. Come on, this is perfect for you!”

He softly objected, “I don’t know about… slacks….”

By that time, the storekeeper was present in a very soft and unobtrusive way. “What may Phanti do for the both of you today?”

I spared Yaz the awkwardness of having to explain. “My friend here is looking for a business suit, perhaps two. Since they will be for a lengthy tour of thirteen worlds, they should be very adaptable. We were considering this style.”

Her tail swished in a very procyonid smile. “That’s an excellent choice! As you see, this is a very modular style with a number of options….”

I’ve never been the sort of guy to hog the spotlight. Falda once asked me, after one of our more spectacular races, if I ever got jealous of the fact that crowd chanted “Eekay!” instead of “Bell!”, if I ever felt that I wasn’t needed. I told her that every joke needed a straight man, and after Yaz took off it’d have to be me. She laughed. Truth was, I was glad for not having the attention.

This is why I cringed a little inside when, with the rest of the team behind me, I walked into the Albedo Lounge and recieved a standing ovation.

It wasn’t instant. It took a few moments for folks to recognise who’d walked in. Then there was a lot of cheering. The barkeep – Ndidi, a red tiger who’d worked there as long as it had been our team’s unofficial watering hole – held a paw out to the group and bellowed, “The victors… and first among them, Bell!” Then nearly everyone in the place started chanting my name. They were chanting my name, and suddenly I had a taste of that sort of glory.

A taste was plenty, though. I faced the patrons of the establishment and held both paws in front of me, pads forward. “No, no…. The one you wanna cheer is Yaz, eh?” He started to protest, but I grabbed his paw and raised it. The cheers returned briefly. As everyone settled down, I turned to Ndidi and grinned. “Warmed them up for us, did you?”

“I did nothing of the sort,” zie insisted. “All of that’s genuine, I guarantee. Now, what can I get for Six Below tonight?”

Lady looked around the group. “Sapps for all?”

Nobody voiced anything like dissent, so the tiger nodded. “Five Sapporos. We saved a table for you. Go, sit, bask in adoration! I’ll send Nicky out with the beers.”

While Ndidi worked, we headed back to our favourite table. Falda spoke up. “I have always wondered…. Since those are not actually imported from Terra, how can they use the Sapporo brand name?”

“Easy,” Lady piped up. “Ain’t nobody comin’ to tell them not to, right?”

That recieved a dark sort of chuckle from the group as we sat. I nodded to Yaz. “So, you will be sticking around with us for a while, eh? You know, I think that makes you the youngest team manager in the sport.”

“Depends on how you count incubation time,” he shrugged. “Anyhow, the important thing is that you’re all good with this, and I mean each of you. Total honesty. This is a significant shake-up right before the Thirteen.”

Nicky arrived then. I nodded to the leonine waiter as he set the bottles down on the table, and as he sauntered away Lady playfully mimicked swatting his rump. I snickered. “And you see how much it’s rattled the team. Seriously, if anything it’s a relief just in time. Basil’s changed a lot since you were with us last time, and I don’t think any of us really knew just how much until we saw you again.”

The wolverine relaxed at that. “All right. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t the heat of the moment. I mean, I know you had three days to ponder it, but I didn’t want to influence the decision by bringing it up, and….” He trailed off when he saw everyone’s confusion. “What is it, did I miss something?”

Falda tilted her head. “Three days?”

Ira set his half-empty bottle on the table. “The first we’d heard of the matter was after today’s race, when Eekay posed the option.”

I thought Yaz was going to have a fit. “Zie said zie’d talked it over with everyone!”

I shrugged. “Not a word, eh?”

“You mean, that really was a snap decision for you, all of you?”

Lady merely paused in drinking long enough to say, “Whazzat tell you ’bout how we felt about Basil?”

Yaz shook his head and muttered, “Tells me more about just how sane you all are… and how much I should trust Eekay to tell the truth.” He took a pull from his bottle, then said, “All right, I’ve got to get a schedule together, then. Tomorrow, I arrange a chat with the team owner and discuss business. Then, I have work at the hotel during the day; I’ll put in a week’s notice, since I can’t really spare two if we’re going to haul out to Mercury.”

“Pfft. Ditch it,” Lady offered.

“The hotel?” Yaz snorted and grinned. “Bet you fifty ems I’ll want to go back there once this slog is over. I’m not burning that bridge yet, thanks. Okay, so that’s tomorrow – oh, and get replacement racing uniforms ordered for Eekay and I. Day after tomorrow, I have off anyhow, so I can sort out plans for being away for a while, and….” He paused and seemed to consider. “I’ll need more clothing. I only have a couple outfits, I haven’t had time to shop since… well, you know. And none of it’s been professional wear. Important.”

I shook my head. “You’re sticking with this whole… thing? That squid really mixed up your head, eh?” This drew a dark look from Falda, but I mentally shrugged that off. “Can’t you just find somebody to undo that?”

The wolverine shook his head slowly, eyes unfocused. He spoke a bit like he was coming down from a dose of Blueglass. “Why would I? I’m happy with it.”

Ira looked to me and earnestly said, “That sounds reasonable enough.”

I smirked. “Right, plenty reasonable.” As long as he didn’t ask—

“Look, Bell, I’m not asking you to come with. Relax.” Yaz, now back to normal, tried not to act embarrassed as he swirled the last bit of beer in his bottle.

“I will!” Falda offered cheerfully. “Come with. If… you want. What I mean is….”

He smiled. “I’d appreciate that. You probably have better colour sense than I do, anyhow. Anyone else?”

Lady shook her head. “I’d rather be handy for when Eekay gets out of the tank, so I can have a little discussion with zim about how to communicate important info to teammates, right?”

Ira’s striped tail flashed, which was zir own curious way of smiling. “Are you sure you won’t put zim right back in?”

I finished the last of my Sapporo and chuckled. “Please, don’t. Even as much of a pain in the tail as that cat is sometimes, we’ll need zim to get through these races.”

Basil sounded worried. For the first four laps, he’d only been annoying. At that moment, though… definitely worried. “Bell, go pull some heat off Ira!”

Sphinx and Sweeper, another of Element’s racers, had Ira pinned to the inside two-ninths of the track. The time had come for me to make my own move. “Belay that.” I stayed safely toward the outside of the ribbon while the situation played itself out in my head. “Bell, you good for a skandy?”

The lynx sounded confused. “I guess. Want me to—”

“What do you think you’re doing, Yaz?” Basil shouted angrily.

“Earning us a win.” I barked. “Ira, while those two are on you they’re as pinned as you are. Keep ’em there. Falda, stay in three; we’re front guard. Lady, you’re my second eyes in back. Bell, stay a little behind Ira but in seven or eight, don’t let Neutron harry you, and be ready to skandy in front of Ira’s box at the last. Word?”

I recieved a round of acknowledgments just in time for my goggles to reflect a black cat in light blue coming up on my right flank. “Oo you chat weet, bro?” he shouted, confirming my worst suspicions.

I glanced to the inside to make sure I had an exit… and caught Falda’s eyes along with a grin. Was she— no, she had a plan. I kept my poker face and drifted slightly toward Anton to make him nervous. “Your coach, Ant, but I told him we didn’t have a use for you either.”

As planned, Anton reacted to keep a distance. He didn’t want a collision any more than I did. “Zeno’s End remember you an’ send me to look up your skirt, bro!” At that, he laughed uproariously.

“Hope it was worth it.” That was when Falda pulled in ahead of him.

With a startled, “Ehh!” he dropped back – and nearly lost control, which was not the result I was aiming for – but the wolf and I boosted forward, which was exactly what I wanted.

Lady’s voice came on. “Two from Starkadr coming up.”

I grinned, but only on the inside. “Good, we have one from Zeno between us. Bell, conditions?”

He sounded “One from Zeno on my rear, but still clear to move.”

“Wait for range.” I dared not allow myself a smile yet; there were still about twelve seconds to go. The positions didn’t seem to be changing much, though, and I hadn’t seen the ones Lady mentioned were only just starting to appear behind me, so we looked to be in the clear, unless something or somebody stupid happened.

Just as the Element racers around Ira started to accelerate, Basil came in over the comm. “Ira, get under and boost!”

That was the somebody stupid. “Too risky!” I growled. “Ira, hold. Bell, go!”

I watched as Bell twisted. Briefly, his rear wheels were in the air… and then they were back down, jerking him toward the two racers around Ira. The whole knot of them pulled back in unison, though Sphinx nearly clipped the lynx.

The plan worked, though. As the crowd roared, Bell pulled into the end-strip, followed by twenty-nine racers. Glowing wheels disappeared while racers stood up and ran to their teammates. Right after a race, as the time dilation of adrenaline wears off and the world returns to normal speed, everything seems to happen too quickly. The next thing I knew, we’d lifted Bell up onto our shoulders and a race official was shoving a gigantic golden trophy into his hands.

Bell held it up high. “This one’s for Eekay,” he crowed… and then looked to me. “And Yaz Lenslight!” The rest was a wash of noise and exuberance.

I thought Lady was going to deck him, but she just kept walking, body tense and nostrils flaring. “Say that again, mister, I dare you.”

Basil sneered. “I was fairly clear. Yaz nearly cost us the win.”

“I don’t see how,” Bell said tightly. “Way I see it, he had a strategy. More’n you had, eh?”

We rounded the corner and pushed through the doors to the regen bay. The nurse was the same one I’d seen last time. She watched Basil carefully as we entered.

Eekay floated much as before. Zir voice was still rough from the voder, but zie sounded somewhat less weary. “For a racin’ team, you lot took yer time showin’ up.”

“Good to see you too.” Lady smirked. “Now, Basil, tell the nice cat in the tank what you just said to us a moment ago.”

“Don’t bother,” the snow-leopard said roughly. “Saw the vid live, and that wasn’t a Basil Abbraciavento strategy. That was m’ mate Yaz, right?”

Falda’s tail started going again; she’d only barely been able to control it. “You should have heard him, Eekay. He was perfect!”

The mink motioned wildly. “What is this, some kind of mutiny? Pile on Basil day? I knew what I was doing, and you nearly ruined it with your antics. It’s just a good thing that you all still won.”

I hesitated, but it needed to be said. “You were ignoring everyone on the team but Ira. That’s not a strategy, it’s an agenda.” Ira’s expression stayed even; zie struck me at that moment as a true professional.

Basil prepared to snap back with something, but Eekay cut him off. “Those’re wise words, mate. Words I’d expect to hear from a real manager. Y’know, all of Six Below is right here an’ we’ve even got a witness, right, Nurse Red?” The bear nodded in response. “Then I say, the job’s yours if y’ fancy it, Yaz. Say yes, an’ we fire the mink to bring you back in as manager and coach.”

I watched his eyes dart around rapidly. “You can’t do this to me!” Lady towered over him, intimidation factor at full, and he went silent, staring at me with a mix of fury and panic.

I’d made the decision a hundred times in the two days since Eekay brought it up. I had a great future with the hotel, making it to manager in a year and a half. I had a stable life that didn’t involve travelling all over the place. I had plenty of hobbies to pursue, and none of them involved schmoozing with team managers and owners or yelling at race officials or posting bail for overly rambunctious racers. I had a good, steady, reliable life.

I shrugged. “Yes.”

A cartoony cheetah with a disproportionate head ran across the screen, leaving the CSMN logo spinning in its speed lines while a generic epic sports theme bellowed. On its way back in the other direction, the word “racing” appeared beneath. A starry wipe revealed two sportscasters from the chest up with a complex ticker bar underlining them.

A confident, practised voice came from the cougar wearing clothing five years too young for her. “Welcome to CSMN Racing! I’m Tessa Green.”

To her right sat an approximately human-looking robot with a head of burnished turquoise metal. “And I’m Kappa-317,” he said. “We’re here at the Ryndenko Memorial Raceway on Tvashtar Mensa, Io, for the second half of the final Kinetikos race for the Jovian League that we’ll see this season. There’ve been some shake-ups and break-ups in the first half of this race, bodyracing fans.”

Tessa nodded obligingly. “That’s right, Kappa. We saw quite the spectacle three days ago when long-time Six Below racer Eekay tried to edge around Element’s Elian ’Sphinx’ Gamma and caught ribbon instead.” While she continued talking, the projection cut to a close and crystal-clear replay of the accident in slow motion. “You can see there just how Eekay glanced off the lip of the ribbon – knocked zirself unconscious – then followed the curve. That’s some mess.”

The robot piped up. “It certainly is, Tessa. The medical report mentions a significant amount of trauma to zir left side, which means zie’s spending this race and a few unhappy days in a regeneration tank. Sphinx, who jumped the spark and had the lead on Eekay, got away without so much as a scratch, so it’s unclear whether they actually collided or if the cat simply lost control.”

The picture cut back to Tessa. “It’s quite a blow to Eekay right now, considering that zie’s no longer the star-child of the team.” A still image of an orange-tinted raccoon appeared next to her. “Iromouairu, the mysterious new bodyracer from Venus, went on to take first place for Six Below, practically guaranteeing that they’ll be invited to the Thirteen Ribbons.” The photo faded. “In addition, Aceron Reime took second place, meaning unless Element takes fifth or sixth place today, they’ll sum enough victory points this season to also gain an invitation to the Thirteen Ribbons. If both teams accept, we can be certain of one heated rivalry through the whole system.”

Kappa nodded slightly. “Absolutely. Now, the most fascinating development today is that Eekay’s position for this race is being filled by none other than former Six Below bodyracer Yaz Lenslight.” An older photo of Yaz floated next to the robot. “Bodyracing fans may remember his retirement a year and a half ago after a severe accident which took his arm and, we thought, his will to touch wheel to ribbon. Apparently the accident sparked a desire for revenge, and he’s rolling with them again, at least for today’s race.”

When the wolverine’s picture phased out, Tessa added, “For the disbelievers, let’s go to the pit and take a look.” The scene changed to a small covered area where five racers in purple-and-teal racing outfits listened impatiently to an agitated green ferret in a business suit. “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, Kappa, but isn’t Lenslight wearing the same uniform as the two women in the team?”

“That’s correct, Tessa.” A generated info-panel slid in from the side to show Yaz’s career record. “It’s a strange turn. He’s been somewhat reclusive since his retirement, and he’s eluded every attempt to interview him before the race, so we can only wonder what’s happened to him in the meantime and what’s going on in his head right now as he gets ready to race for the first time in three seasons. The real question is, can he fill snow-leopard-sized boots out on the ribbon?”

The cougar shrugged. “We’ll see what happens. Considering that he’s the reason Zeno’s End found themselves disqualified from that season, they just might decide to give him some trouble out there today. We’re also looking at the teams Starkadr, Fusion Zero, and Ekeldo. They’re seriously hoping to shake things up more, especially with the tension between the Avawax twins and Billy ’Neutron’ Nwosu. Anything can happen.”

Kappa tilted his head a moment as though listening to a signal. “And… it looks like we’re just now hearing the three-minute signal, so we’re about to see what happens. We’ll be right back on CSMN to see just what will ignite today in this powderkeg at Ryndenko.”

Both sportscasters smiled vapidly just before a star-wipe revealed the CSMN logo again along with those of Quanta Cola and Kukini Sportswear.

When I got there, I could hear Basil’s rapid shouting through the bay doors. I pressed an ear to the chilly metal.

“…right before the tour? Are you out of your thick skull?”

“Y’ wanted drama, coach.” Eekay’s response was distorted and highly synthetic. It brought back harsh memories of my own time on a voder. “Got their attention.”

I pushed my way in just in time to see the ferret bang on the regen tank. A bear in scrubs started to get out of her seat. “A half-dead cat is worthless to me! That’s drama I don’t need!” He turned and shot an oily smirk at me. “What’s this? I don’t need a weak quitter returning to me, either.”

Before I could lay into him, Eekay’s assisted voice barked, “Nurse? This tube-rat is agitating me. Remove him, please.”

“You can’t tell me to get out. I’m your manager!” When the nurse approached, however, he stalked out of the room, snarling. “Disgraceful! You’re all disgraceful.”

Once he was out of the room, Eekay said, “Oi… could I get some time wit’ m’ mate?” The bear gave a silent, disapproving look, but Eekay insisted, “If I start twitchin’ Yaz here’ll let y’ know, right, Yaz?”

I ran my claws through my headfur. “S’truth, I will. Thanks.” The nurse seemed satisfied with that, and left the hospital bay to us.

That was my first chance to really see the snow-leopard’s present state. Zie floated in a tube of slightly pinkish fluid, mostly naked and showing zir not-so-enigmatic-after-all body. I’d seen it all previously, but in better condition. Zir right side only looked a little banged up, and a sizable patch of fur had gone missing from her shoulder. Much of zir left side, including face and throat, was tessellated with a thick grid of solid black plastic, variously-sized tubes drawing up from each square to a bundle at the top of the tank. I knew that at least part of the grid encompassed empty space where flesh and bone would soon be.

Zie stared back at me. “At least I didn’t bang up m’ banger, eh?”

“Yeah,” I said, trying hard not to flash back to my own time in the tank. “The rest of you….”

“Half m’ face is jerky. Nearly scraped a tit off. An’ half my arm, and a lot of m’ leg—”

I cringed. “I know, I know. I saw it on the replay vids. Surprised you didn’t catch your tail in it.”

There was a long silence, and I knew that Eekay was trying not to bring up my own accident. I remembered the numb itch that accompanied the regeneration process, but I couldn’t imagine it over that much at once. “How long?”

“Five days… maybe four on good behaviour.” A full transformation would have taken hours, at most a day. Trauma made the body resist outside changes. “An’ that’s me, outta the next race.” Zie paused a little too long.

Don’t even try to ask it, I thought.

“Race for me?”

I exploded. “Oh, you are kidding! You get yourself minced and less than six hours later you’re asking me to fill in for you? Are you sure the ribbon didn’t scrape through to your brain?” I motioned to my left arm, the bracelets around my wrist jangling. “I had a close enough call, thank you. Try to drag me back….”

Zir expression hadn’t changed much. It really couldn’t, with the blockers in place. “One race. If I’m not there, we’re short, an’ any team can fill th’ spot.”

“Get Basil to do it,” I snapped. “He’s your coach.”

“What if you were?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Were… what?”

“Our coach. Our manager. I want you back in Six Below, an’ since y’ won’t race, you’ll manage.” My jaw dropped, but the cat continued undeterred. “Basil’s been pushin’ for show, playin’ us against each other. That’s not managin’, that’s ringleadin’. You’ve done the hotel manager thing. You know how t’ work with people, not just th’ team but everyone. We’ll need that to do the Thirteen.”

“You want me… to quit the Blue Teapot Hotel… to manage a stressed bodyracing team… right before the Thirteen Ribbons.”

“An’ to fill in for this next race so we qualify.”

“You’re insane.” I paced in a circle in front of zir tank. “You’re making this decision without the rest?”

Eekay’s eyes motioned toward the door, then back to me. “Naw, we discussed it before coming to Tvashtar. I was plannin’ t’ ask while we were sharin’ brews at th’ Albedo, but… I’m askin’ now.”

“And Basil’s contract—”

“—is null if the team agrees unanimously.” The voder made zir voice cold, but it sounded even more so then. Something had happened, and I had the feeling that no matter what, he would be out of the picture one way or another. That’s how Eekay was. The cat always got zir way, and it infuriated and intimidated and impassioned me.

“Listen up,” I said. “I left the team for two reasons, and the arm wasn’t either of them. One was that I wanted to know that I was making people happy, directly interacting with them, doing something other than just showing off. I have that at the hotel, and you’re offering it to me as a manager. The other… was that you’re so blinkin’ manipulative, and I knew you’d drag me into trouble every day I was with you.”

Zie only stared.

“I’ll give you my decision after the next event.”

Eekay closed zir eyes a moment, the closest to a nod one could get while immobilised in a regen tank. “But will y’ do this race?”

I shook my head. “I’m out of practice.”

“Two days’ time to brush up, an’ y’ never forget.”

“I don’t have my uniform.”

“Don’t have it, my winkin’ wa—”

“What I mean is,” I interrupted, “I… well, the squid, you know….”

Zie gave a coughing sort of laugh. “Falda has a spare.”

I burned with embarrassment. “Fine. But I’m coasting on this one, no risks. And you owe me.”

There’s a hefty fine for tweaking one’s wheels to jump the spark. That’s all there is, though… a fine. No disqualification, no time penalty, nothing. That’s because it’s smart business. One of the established heels get a quarter-second lead, the other racers tear after them in a predatory chase, and the crowd eats it up.

When I’m in race-space, three seconds can be a very long time, long enough to consider my career. The famous Eekay, enigmatic bodyracer. Six Below, we’re a face team. Element is a heel team. This re-enactment of the ages-old duality is entirely friendly, but when the synchronised signal lets the force-wheel generators go… an even more ancient conflict comes to play. I stared at Sphinx, the honey-badger in green four positions to my left. I knew he’d jump the spark. He would be my prey. I would catch up, there would be a few quick taunts back and forth, a close scrape, and a heated chase to the finish line.

I glanced to the risers. There wasn’t a chance of actually spotting any individual, even with my eyesight, but I tricked myself into thinking I could because I knew he was out there. Somewhere in that mass of spectators sat the wolverine who’d stood by me for three years, nigh inseparable and more than a little romantic. Yaz and Eekay, sittin’ in a tree. Ever since he lost an arm on the ribbon, though, he was somebody else. I remember the way he stared at me when I visited his regen pod. Whatever changed was already irreversible.

I pulled my eyes back down to one of my teammates. Lady Aesc – Lady is her first name – was imposing on the track, two metres of kinetic reindeer with a singular focus. Her violet vest and shorts matched mine, but she wore with a longer unitard underneath which reached to her elbow and knee pads. It made her look more like a dedicated professional. I still looked like an overgrown kitten with an attitude problem. That was by design, part of the appeal of being the edgy one.

The catch was, I’d stopped being the focus of attention. Iromouairu, the bright orange raccoon to my other side, was the unknown factor, the exotic, the new enigma. Where did I come from? What was my history? It didn’t matter, because—

The spark caught me by surprise and cost me precious fractions of a second. I cursed and clenched my hands tight, willing the glowing toroids of energy at the four generators I wore to fling me down the gleaming black ribbon in front of me. The soft whisper of magnetic mesh centimetres from my chin replenished my love for the race. The first turn came easily; I tilted my hands slightly to steer the wheels projected from the back of them. The wheels at my calves provided the raw power to accelerate. Speed, the flower which gave the nectar of visceral joy.

My comm crackled to life. “Eekay! Sphinx has a lead. Ball’s in your court, cat!” I hated when Basil tried to egg me on, but he was strangely good at it. Something about his nasal voice always made me want to tie the mink in a knot… right after I finished the race. I spotted my quarry ahead, sticking close to the inner edge of the next turn. There were twenty-eight other racers on the track, but that one was mine.

I drifted to the outer edge, slowed a little, aimed inward, and boosted straight at him, eliciting shouts from two other racers who were nearly close enough to catch a tailtip to the nose. The bellowing loudspeakers and crowd fuzz were only a tiny piece of my reward. Most importantly, I’d gotten within taunting range of Elian Gamma, professed mortal enemy. The grey tunnel of predator sight drew in, but I kept it controlled. “Oi, Sphinx! Snaz lead!”

“’Zat you, Eekay?” He laughed raspily, “Forgot all about y’, mate.”

I stayed to his right, just behind. “Forgettin’ lots? Penser’s past its prime?”

He slowed down just enough to force me to react. I swapped to his other side but couldn’t gain on him. “Eyes been elsewhere.”

“Yer navel,” I growled playfully.

“Naw, luv.” He drew the words out with a sadistic glee. “That fine orange thing you lot picked up.”

My heart froze. The grey tunnel tightened. “What did you—”

“You ’eard me. They’re cheerin’ Ira now. So’m I.”

I saw an opening, inside. He was so busy trying to infuriate me that he’d drifted a little too far out. I calculated my approach toward the lip of the ribbon; I’d pass inside, a close shave, really work the crowd. I manoeuvred—

—and oversteered—

—and in that last long tenth, thousandth, billionth of a second before blackness, the indistinctness cleared, and I heard the crowd lean forward so they could watch.

The lights – and the fact that I was already two Sapporos down – made him hard to identify, but when he came closer there was no doubt. There stood Yaz, former bodyracer and current crossdresser. Eekay hadn’t been lying. I waved him over. “Nice boots,” I said, hoping I sounded as honest as I was. “They work with your top.”

“Hey, Falda, if it isn’t my fave wolf, hunh?” He grinned and nodded to the group, then sat and looked around the table. The luminous fibre in the chair it lit up his gauzy sleeves as he looked around the table. “Long time no see, hunh? Except you, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Yaz—”

“Yaz Lenslight, I’ve heard excellent things about you. Iromouairu, at your service.” The orange-tinted raccoon bowed zir head briefly, showing a pair of horizontal bars in white paint on zir brow. “Ira for short, if you prefer.”

The wolverine chuckled. “My reputation precedes me. You’re the new one Eekay mentioned?”

That’s when the snow-leopard opened up. “Ear’d m’ mon’ker. Oi, Yaz, ’ere’s a Q. Far’s th’ squid punked yer penser?”

Lady pressed fingers to the base of one of her antlers. “I can’t understand a single corkin’ word you say. Could you try again but with real words?”

Eekay stared for a second, then yanked off the omnipresent goggles. “Glad t’.” The snow-leopard unscrewed one of the lenses with a quick motion, then wore it like a monocle. “I dare say, I believe I heard my name spoken. Dear Yaz, good chap, I have for you a question. To what extent has your regional manager altered your mind from its previous pristine state?”

Lady massaged her head. “And there’s the headache.”

Yaz only smirked. “My brain’s fine, I think. The only thing the squid shoved in there was the training I skipped out on, and… uh….”

“The irrepressible urge to dress like Falda in those ol’ sensies?”

I growled more than I’d intended. “What has gotten into you, Eekay?”

The snow-leopard snorted, scooted away from the table, and stalked off toward the bar. Lady shook her head. “Th’ cat’s been like that all day.”

Yaz shrugged. “Whatever.” He motioned to an approaching leonine serve-droid, pointed at one of my beer bottles, and held up four fingers. The lion nodded and scuttled off. “Where’s Bell?”

“Off with Basil, losing track of time and money at the tables. No matter.” I leaned in a little closer. “Since the ruffians are away for a bit… you do look nice. Are you sure that you are okay?”

I watched carefully. His eyes didn’t glass over, but his response was a little slow, a little flat in tone. “Of course I am. This is what I always wanted.” He paused a bit, then shook his head. “Yeah, my penser’s a little punked. Could be worse, though, and I can’t complain too much. I got a raise, enough to cover a second wardrobe.” His grin returned just as the minimally-dressed waiter returned with four bottles.

Lady’s expression lightened. “You got the job?”

Yaz nodded. “Assistant manager, aye. So this round’s on me.” Obediently, the lion set one bottle in front of each of us, then sashayed off. We all took our bottles, clinked them together, and took a long celebratory pull.

“It’s great news.” Lady paused. “Guess I don’t even gotta ask.”

“Ask what?” I tried not to think about how cute Yaz looked when he was confused, but he made it hard.

Ira stepped in. “Six Below is considering entering the Allilouxia circuit if we don’t complete the Kinetikos. We require a sixth member for the relay, and the rest speak highly of your abilities.”

Yaz shook his head. “Sorry. Not interested. Not after what happened.”

I met his eyes with mine. “Your arm? Is that really why you left?”

I hadn’t caught him off guard, but I certainly did catch him without a ready answer. He worked his jaw briefly, then grumbled, “I like my job now. It’s what I want to do, and no, that isn’t just the squid’s… helpful training… talking. It’s nothing against the team. It’s… complicated.” He sighed. “Falda, could I speak to you alone a moment?”

I shrugged to the others, then stood up and followed him off to the side. He glanced back over to where Lady and Ira were likely complaining about the sudden lack of people at the table, which gave me an opening. I smiled warmly and said, “By the way, I think you are better at walking in heels than I am.”

He scrunched his expression like he’d just had a swig of Uranian lemonade. “I know, I know, I… thank you. It wasn’t my idea, though.” He opened his eyes again. “Look, what’s the deal with Captain Equal-Sign over there?”

“Ira? Zie takes time to warm up to you, but—”

“Not what I meant.”

I nodded. “Okay, I did some digging. It seems that some time back, a team of Mercurian boffins went poking around the southern hemisphere of Venus, trying to identify a rumoured but unconfirmed mutant species of mobile plant. No telling if what they found was what they were looking for, but it likely was not what they wanted. All five raccoons disappeared… except the one who came back.”

“Ira?”

“Sort of. Zir physical profile and genetic code are altered enough that it cannot be said which of the team zie was originally, and zie only shrugs when asked.”

Yaz shook his head. “This doesn’t scare the blivet out of you? Why the fraz did Basil bring in a cipher like that?”

“Zie wants in, zie is skilled, and he was afraid that if we did not sign zim then Element would.” I put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “If I did not know better, I would think I smelled jealousy.”

He turned away. “Worried, that’s all.”

I moved that hand to cup his cheek. “Yaz… we are okay, but we miss you. You seem happier this way, though.”

He looked at me with better puppy eyes than I had ever managed. “Working at the hotel?”

My tail thumped the wall rhythmically, betraying me. “Yeah, that too.”

He asked, “What do you mean by that?” but by then I was on my way back to the table. I knew he’d figure it out; I certainly had.

When I came to, I was standing behind the counter of the Blue Teapot Hotel on Tvashtar Mensa. In front of me stood a pastel green pseudoferret with a nametag identifying him as the hotel manager, my direct superior. To my left floated a caramel-coloured cephalopod bearing the closest thing it had to a smug expression. I was wearing a crisp midnight-blue minidress that would have been a perfectly acceptable employee uniform for any gender other than my own.

My name is Yaz Lenslight, and I’m here to tell you that on-the-job training can be a real… a real… positive experience, and one for which I thank my employers.

With a quick yank, the soft cotton fuzz that may have prevented any of my thoughts from reaching my consciousness was gone. It wasn’t like waking up in a strange place after being drugged. I knew exactly where I was, and even though I knew exactly what was going on, I couldn’t help but ask my boss, Fildyn, the most natural question – while, of course, carefully editing out the normally expected invectives. “What… just happened?”

His face spoke of apology, disappointment, and the sort of amusement one isn’t supposed to show in a professional context. “You’ve been through a bit of training, recently. Our benevolent regional manager rightly felt it necessary.” He nodded to the squid at my side.

The same regional manager who had condemned me to transformation camp over the relative safety of a vid-call now stared directly at me in person. My head resonated like a steel drum smacked with a decaying salmon. I felt compelled to respond as though I’d been asked a question. “Yes, I will, and thank you greatly for that. I do feel fortunate.”

The hotel manager’s smile was slightly too forced for comfort. “Fortunate! Absolutely. Well, if that’s all, I’m sure Regional Manager Twell-Teff would like to get back to important business on Saturn…?”

The squid’s expression and colour shifted toward reddish amusement and it floated toward the rotating doors of the lobby. As it passed, each of the five guests simultaneously paused to cheer, “We’re glad we stayed at the Blue Teapot!” Once it was outside, they went directly back to their conversations without even realising what had happened.

Fildyn exhaled heavily. “Sorry that had to happen, kid, but it came in here unannounced and just sort of took over. You know how they are.”

I squeezed my eyes tight, visualising the frustration squirting out my ears. “Lemme guess, I brought this on myself.”

The ferret laughed gently. “Kid, I don’t know how you snuck out of that camp, and I don’t want to, but you almost got away with it, and to be honest, I would have looked the other way. You’re a good lad.” He paused and looked me up and down as though he were uncertain, and the reminder of my clothing rekindled the frustration. “Seriously, though, I think you got what you needed out of it. The R.M. felt otherwise, and before I could object, it was here with its tendrils in you. Figuratively. I think.”

The pressure was building, I was completely exhausted, and I wanted nothing more than to scurry home for the day. A glance at the clock told me that I was in the middle of my shift, and— “Whoa! Three days?”

“Two and a half.” Fildyn shook his head. “Look, Yaz, take eight minutes and get yourself together, okay?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah… yeah, I should go do that. I’ll be back in a few. Thanks, boss.” That would be enough time to grab a quick puff or two of Soma – just to take the edge off – and make a call I was absolutely burning to make.

I normally kept my belt-pack behind the counter when I was on-shift, and finding it there was the first not-greatly-unsettling thing that had happened to me in three— two and a half days. I grabbed it and headed past the folks in the lobby who were trying hard not to stare. I was halfway to the shadowed side of the building when the clicking of my own footsteps sunk in. I realised out loud and with some amount of anger, “K’r’roc squid taught me how to walk in heels!” I dug through the pack, found my Soma stub, and took two quick puffs of air through the device. It helped, but not enough. The second thing I pulled out was the floating projector that my brother had given me as a decanting-day present. As it floated cheerfully at arm’s length, I tapped beneath my left ear. “Call: Eekay,” I barked in annoyance… then yelped, “Audio-onl—” just as the snow-leopard’s picture came on.

“Oi, Yaz-boy, y’caught me just out of the shower! Spot m’new pierc— ’Ey, is that a flower over your ear?”

“What?” I pawed at my ear briefly, and pulled back a pastel blue flower. I growled audibly… but put it back as though it made perfect sense to do so. “Yeah. Remember the favour you did for me?” I pointedly drew out the word. “The regional figured it out and popped over to Io for some intensive one-on-one training. Hypnosquid-style.”

The damp cat cringed a little. “Ouch. ’Pologies, mate. What’s the damage?”

“Two and a half days of being repro’d with hospitality protocols… and how to walk in heels, apparently. Vile sense o’ humour.” I motioned with a hand, pale blue streaks at my fingertips only just now registering. “Fraz it all, my claws’ve been painted?”

Eekay’s tail snaked inquisitively. “Love to spot that in person….”

The frustration bubbled up again. I puffed at the stub and tried to pool my determination. “Think I’ve had enough humiliation for one day. Look, I don’t know how the rest of my shift’s gonna fly, but if I gotta quit this job, I—”

“’Ey, don’t punk out on me. You’ll be brill in no time.” The cat got that unsettling grin that first snagged me so long back. “Anyhow, I need ya there. Looks like a two-track tourney in th’ area in a few days. I’ll be ’round, ’long with the team. Old times, mate!”

I couldn’t stay frustrated knowing that I’d get some time to visit with the racing team I once called my family. I still did, really. I let a bit of a smile out. “Serious? That’ll be star.”

“Top star. An’ hey, cheer up.” Eekay’s tail bobbed impishly. “Yer pretty when y’smile.”

“You bi—” The projector flashed a disconnection message then blinked out. I shook my head and stuffed it in my belt-pack, then turned and impeccably clicked my way back to finish my shift.

It was half an hour before practice in one the many air-conditioned locker rooms of the Agriotek Athletic Training Centre – in my exercise wear and in the middle of a particularly satisfying stretch, I must add – that I felt the buzz just below my left ear. I relaxed my back and subvocalised a click to acknowledge the call. The identification came through bone conduction loud and clear; “Call is audiovisual from Yaz Lenslight.”

He never called unless it was important. I grumbled my way through the stack of street clothes in the open locker until the receiver nearly skittered off my paw. After slapping it to the bridge of my muzzle, I growled, “Receive,” and sat lengthwise on a bench.

I expected to see my favourite perpetually scrawny wolverine. Instead, the projection was that of a young, slightly soft otter girl who looked like she hadn’t worked out a day in her life or slept in three. Her voice was barely controlled, but her accent certainly matched Yaz’s timid vowels. “Hey, Eekay,” she forced through a ragged smile.

Even with the rapid onset of concern, casual nonchalance came naturally. “Yaz, new look? Snaz. How’s th’ ’ospitality business treatin’ y’?”

She burst into tears and tried desperately to babble. “The regional… training… two days as a spider… halfway….”

Her melee of expressions told me half the story, though only half. Emotional aggregates don’t carry over a call. “’Ey, ease it, Yaz. Ease it. Slow up, an’ yer on an audiovis; enunciate. Let’s start over.”

Yaz took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as one can in that state. “Hey, Eekay.”

I couldn’t resist a bit of a smile for one of my closest mates. “’Ey. What’s your stat?”

She lowered her head and said, “I’m up for promotion to hotel manager. Regional manager, the k’r’roc son of a—” She clenched her eyes like a fist, fighting back frustration. “Regional manager said I needed training. Shuttled me to Ganymede for transformation camp. I’m supposed to familiarise myself with twelve major species, two sleep periods each, and I… I….”

I edgewised some words in before she could cry again. “I’ve only done a couple changes m’self, but they didn’t seem—”

“Yeah, what? Terran snow-leopard? Real challenge there.” Without permission, my tail hooked in annoyance. She carried on. “They made me a Belt spider for two days. Oh, of course it was brill at the time, but… it’s like somebody replaced a little part of my psyche with a gearbox made of lit magnesium.”

Part of me wanted to object, but nobody who wasn’t a spider at the time could describe it with anything but nonsense similes. Of course, anybody who was a spider at the time spoke in entirely nonsense anyhow. “Oh, Yaz. But that’s over now, right?”

“I go in the tank again tomorrow morning. Hypnosquid.” The last time I heard Yaz say something with such hollow dread was coincidentally the last time he wiped out on the ribbon. When racing at barely sub-sonic speeds with one’s body exposed a decimetre from magnetic mesh, things can get ugly fast… but they reconnected his arm just fine, so I never understood why he stopped there. “I can’t do this, Eekay. I can’t. It’s all… and the study is…. just want to make people happy….”

I drew a knee toward my chest and tapped stubby digits on it. To muster what seriousness I could manage, I reached deep within to that dark place B.C. – Before Cat. “I grok. Here’s the Q, an’ be honest: Can y’ do th’ job without this training?”

She sniffled and nodded. “I didn’t get this far by—”

“No, no, save it. I trust you. Hold for, ah, two minutes, would y’?” Her mouth opened, but before sound could come out I’d tapped twice beneath my ear and was already growling, “Call: Alba.”

A familiar faint green glow, mostly in feline shape, appeared before me. “Oh, Eekay, how have you been?”

“Snaz, but I’ve got no ticks to spare. I’ll promise you a chat an’ a Martian Sea-feast if you’ll favour me a spot of data work.” I grinned toothily, already knowing the answer. “Lookin’ for Yaz Lenslight, stuck on Ganymede….”

I battered the ex-rabbit with details, and she absorbed them like a champ, responding only with, “Done and done. Four hours from now?”

“Reserve us a table, an’ wear somethin’ shiny.” I tapped once, canary-catching grin blipping out from Alba’s screen and onto Yaz’s. “Check yer inbox. Shuttle’s at oh-five, appointment at oh-seven with the Shapemaker, and you’ll be my fave wolverine lad again before lunch. That’ll do?”

Seeing Yaz’s jaw hanging open was easily worth five times the cost of the amount of fish Alba could pack away in one evening. “What about the training?”

“Completed with flying colours. Y’ get yer Species Awareness Badge after all. Just do me one favour.” I put on my best kitten eyes. “Don’t cry again, please?”

Yaz blew a kiss to me. “Promise.”

I swished my tail enough to be seen on the vid, disconnected the call, and tugged at my unitard with a sigh. There was barely a quarter-cycle left to stretch for training, and I’d hoped to be out early for dinner.