The ten finalists in the small room held their breath as the teams were announced.

“Team One: Gami and Em.” The two girls smiled and high-fived.

“Team Two: Alistair and Sarita.” Alistair gave Sarita a silent nod, and she raised an eyebrow, not having gotten the chance to make her own judgements of this “Alistair”. One could see Damo looking disappointed in background. In their head, Alistair was celebrating that they weren’t with Litone.

“Team Three: Roz and Throsh.” A pair of dark haired twin boys hugged, both looking very relieved.

“Team Four: Litone and Damo.” Damo stared analytically at Litone, who returned his look with a level- if slightly condescending- look.

“Team Five: Valta and Suha.” Two Jopa stared across the room at each other. They seemed content and turned back to the announcer.

“Your task is to enter the moon Lkoa and shut down illegal trade centers, and in the process collect prisoners. You will get one hour with your teammate to plan and collect your supplies, and then until FallTime to complete your task. The two teams that shut down the most centers will advance from the trainee quartile to the working quartile of Enforcement. The team with third to least will advance from the trainee quartile to the working quartile of Security. The rest of you will have to wait for the next round of pickings. In the case of a tie for second place, only first place will advance to Enforcement. Your hour starts… now.”

The five teams rushed to each corner of the pentagonal room that opened before them. Each team began forming plans, reserving weapons, and practicing combat moves.