“No,” Nic answered immediately. “Team Scarlet, ready up. Let’s win this thing!”

While everyone had been tense but excited at the start of Round 1, and at the start of Round 2, giddy from the fresh high of victory, the mood was bleaker now. Nic had a feeling he was losing popularity with the rest of his squadmates—maybe except for Jarek, but even his patience couldn’t be infinite. It doesn’t matter if they’re mad at me now, Nic thought, as long as we win. I need to be a strong leader, for their sake as well as mine. Strong leaders aren’t always popular. I... I know I’m doing the right thing.

Nic’s HUD activated. The eyes of his first proxybot opened to reveal the sandy terrain of Planet Gwher once again. He and his squadmates were standing on a black astrosteel platform that their HUD outlined in red light and labeled RED BASE. Just as their AI gamemaster had foretold, an astrosteel flagpole ascended from a hole in the platform, and once it had fully emerged, a holographic scarlet flag faded into view at the top of the pole, waving artificially in the digital wind.

“Shanti, I want you to take a stealth approach to their base,” Nic said with authority in his voice. Secretly, he hoped his confidence sounded believable. “Take out blue bots quietly if you have the opportunity. Definitely go for an Incognito if you see one. They can’t defend against something they don’t know is coming. Maqsud, I want you to stay here and defend the base with me. You have a knack for ranged shots. Pick them off before they get too close and I’ll do cleanup duty if need be. Jarek and Perri, take a more conventional approach. Go straight in, engage normally, but beeline it for their base. We need to strike first and move fast. Let’s get an early lead and keep it.”

“Do I have your permission to secure vehicles or other pickups before Azure gets to them first?” Perri asked with faux deference. Don’t pick that up from Max, please, Nic thought. “The right vehicle could make bringing the flag home that much faster.”

“Only if it’s on your way,” Nic answered firmly. “Let me put it this way: if you see another Medusa tank out there, you can go for it. Anything short of that, don’t stray from the main objective.”

Perri sighed. “Aye-aye, captain.”

“Let’s move out!” Jarek said, leading the way up the center of the battlefield. Shanti had already left their presence undetected. Wow, she really is good at stealth stuff.

That left Nic and Max to guard Team Scarlet’s flag. Nic sized up his witty, cocky squadmate’s proxybot, trying in vain to glean any hint of body language he could. The audio feed went nearly silent.

“Still quiet out there,” Nic commented.

Maqsud’s proxy nodded. “That it is.”

“Just let me know if you spot anybody. I’ll shoot with you. I’ll start with some ‘nades... We should work out a signal.”

“I’ve got one.” Max leaned over to him, cupping a mechanical hand next to where his mouth would be as if to divulge a secret, even though their conversation was happening in a team chat through their SimSuits. “When I see someone, I’ll indicate their position by shooting it with my Pistol.”

Nic snorted despite himself. “Okay... Very funny.”

“I thought so,” Maqsud chuckled. “Hold on—not a drill, we’ve got visitors.” He held up his Pistol and tracked what appeared to be a moving target. “It’s a two-person ATV—I see a driver and a passenger, Lise and Veronica!”

“You’re not shooting!” said Nic.

“They’re not on foot! Bit hard to headshot a target that fast with no scope, don’t you think? I’m an excellent marksman, not a god!”

“Okay, they’re going to need to slow down. Let’s unleash all we’ve got the second they lose speed!”

Max nodded. “Fair plan. They’re closing in... and... they’re not slowing down at all. I wonder what the—incoming, look out!”

Team Azure’s fast-moving Satyr rumbled up the short ramp of Red Base at full speed, nicking the Team Scarlet flag with one muffled clunk as they passed by. They were close enough that grains of sand spun off by the ATV’s tires washed over Nic’s proxy like water, causing him to shiver in his SimSuit from the odd, tickling sensation. He barely saw the grab happen and only processed the aftermath.

“Heavens, they’re good!” Max declared.

“New plan—just shoot ‘em!” Nic called out. He and Max let loose with their SMG and Pistol respectively. Their combined efforts did manage to take out the rider holding onto the driver from behind—Max must have gotten the kill, as nothing popped up on Nic’s HUD—but the flag-bearing driver got away by the time their ammo magazines were empty. Nic stomped a robotic foot.

“That didn’t go quite to plan, did it?” said Maqsud. At first, it felt like a criticism of Nic—but then he detected a hint of disappointment and even embarrassment in the voice of his squadmate. “Perri, Jarek, Shanti, they have our flag. Any luck capturing theirs?”

“That depends,” Perri replied. “Can you guys clear an LZ for us?”

“An LZ?” Maqsud echoed. “You’ve found another Harpy?”

Perri laughed giddily in the team chat. “Well, we’re not technically flying, but we might as well be! Coming in hot!”

A four-person doorless light ground vehicle approached with startling speed. The two defenders scrambled off Red Base, allowing Perri to floor it up the ramp to the platform from the side and Jarek to deposit a flapping blue flag into the highlighted Capture Zone.

AZURE FLAG CAPTURED! >SCARLET: 1 | AZURE: 0 SCARLET FLAG CAPTURED! SCARLET: 1 | >AZURE: 1

The notifications appeared in Nic’s HUD almost simultaneously, giving him no time to enjoy their infinitesimally brief lead.

“Woo!” Jarek exclaimed, cackling with delight. “Yeah, baby! You guys see that? I was like boop and just dropped it right in! Did you see her driving? Oh, bye guys! We’re off to get the next one!” The Centaur didn’t even slow down before it wheeled around and barreled straight down the center of the battlefield bound for Blue Base.

“Well,” Max chuckled, “at least they’re having fun.”

That’s great, Nic thought, but winning is what’s most important. Don’t get so silly that you lose focus, guys!

“Heads up,” said Nic. “The Satyr’s back with another passenger!” His HUD was capable of zooming in for 2x magnification, nothing like what the scope of a Sniper Rifle could provide, but better than standard vision. It allowed him to see the approaching two-player ATV.

A second later, he saw the Rocket Launcher.

Then came the blast.