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This story follows Ijs, a young lo grav player who has just been recruited to play professionally. However, the game is not all it's cracked up to be.

Ever wondered about lo grav ball? Your prayers are answered. Distant possibility of this becoming a spin off of its own.

And that is the last of the Paralogues. On to other things...

For so many different directions
Our separate paths might have turned
With every door that we opened
Every bridge that we burned

Somehow we find each other
Through all that masquerade
Somehow we found each other
Somehow we have stayed
In a state of grace

---

Lo Grav ball was invented in 2307 by a student and sports fan who was completing an engineering proficiency at BSS University. One day he was floating around in the campus anti-gravity chamber when he realized the potential for an anti-gravity sport. So, he grabbed some friends and a ball, and hammered out a set of rules.

The basic rules of lo grav ball are simple: hit the target on one side of the court with the ball. The twist of the game is that the target is a player, and that player can move. Most of the rules of the game are concerned about what the player with the ball can and cannot do. The most important of these rules is that the holder of the ball can only launch him or herself to a designated landing area. The ball can then be thrown anywhere on the court and caught by anyone on the court, as long as that someone, when they inevitably launch themselves, lands on a landing pad. The ball is only allowed to touch one of the player’s limbs at once, to prevent players from simply curling up to protect the ball indefinitely, and anyone can snatch or slap the ball from another player’s paw at any time. Running, walking and even taking a single step is prohibited. Letting players walk might not seem like much of a problem, but the court is not truly zero gravity. Hence the name: lo grav ball. There is a a pull on the walls, floor and ceiling that allow players a moment of pause to plan their next move and allows them to get a better footing. The no stepping rule is to keep the game airborne. Lo grav ball is a full contact sport, but the protective wear is limited to a helmet, shoulder and knee pads. The physical nature of the game is perhaps its main draw. Fans love the chaos of multiple people colliding with each other to try and secure the ball. The target, as he or she is called, is allowed to run, but is not allowed to leave the goal area. Regular players are not allowed to possess the ball in the goal area and doing so will incur a penalty. There are of course countless sub rules and obscure rules, but those rarely come up.
Lo grav ball quickly became the most popular sport on Atriea, and soon the largest corporations began funding their own teams. And with that, came corruption. Lo grav fans will say the greatest period for lo grav ball was the first five years, when it was more of a cult sport with few stakes. After that, accusations of choreography, bribes, and cheating rose and rose, until lo grav ball became somewhat of a joke. Thirty years later, it still is the highest grossing sport, and Is the most viewed sport on television. Not surprisingly, it is difficult to get into lo grav ball, as courts are expensive to build and maintain. Not every old school has one. Luckily for Ijs, (pronounced “Eyes”) her city had a public lo grav court, where every weekend her and her family would go to play a few games. While she grew up, more and more members of her family stopped going on these trips, until it was just her playing with a bunch of strangers. When she was twenty-one, she was approached by a suited man and recruited for METech’s new team, which was already certified to participate in the 31st international lo grav ball tournament. Lo grav ball being the one thing she truly got joy from doing, she accepted.
She said goodbye to her dear mother, dropped out of the dead-end school she was slogging through, and hopped on a bus to where the team would be training.

Ijs sat on the bus, leaning her head on the back of her paw as she flew through the snowy countryside. She was a cougar, with sandy fur and a lean build. She did not have much of a bust but was not self-conscious about it. Her face was like her body, lean and strong. She grinned often and had a strong sense of humor. People that didn’t know her well tended to act nervous around her, even if those people were outgoing in nature. She seemed to exude an aura of pure will. When she spoke, you listened. The trees and blowing snow flew by at a speed too fast for her eyes to track, and the landscape was shrouded in white. Inside the bus, it was warm and comfortable. Ijs sat next to a small man who was seemingly immune to her air of willfulness. It was probably because of his advanced age. He prattled on about this and that, and Ijs did her best to ignore him. However, her ears stood up when he mentioned lo grav ball. “Like that new thing they got going on now. Low gravity ball, I think.”
She turned her head. “Lo grav ball? What about it? Wait, what were you even talking about?”
“I just don’t get why people go crazy for it. I mean, it’s just a bunch of kids spinning around crazily. And they shouldn’t let women play!”
Ijs blinked a few times in shock. “Excuse me?”
The old man quickly waved his paws around. “Not just because they’re women, but because it ain’t fair for them. They develop muscles differently! Weakly! The men have the natural advantage.”
Ijs smirked. “That’s a myth, old timer. A male athlete and a female athlete develop basically the same muscles in training.”
As far as Atrieans went, she was right. This may be why, to humans, female Atrieans appear more masculine than human females, and Atriean males appear skinny or slightly feminine when compared to human males. Of course, there are other physical differences that must be taken into account when recruiting for a team, but despite this (for lo grav ball, anyway) teams are a mix of male and female. For this and other reasons, lo grav teams are split into weight categories. The old man clearly knew nothing of any of this. As Ijs finished explaining, the old man lifted a paw to stroke his chin. “How do you know all that nonsense?”
“I’m a professional lo grav player. I’m on my way to training now.”
It felt strange to hear herself say ‘professional’, but not at all unpleasant. He chuckled. “Alright! I bet five hundred credits you can’t beat… him! At an arm-wrestling match!”
The old man pointed to a young man sitting in the seat across the aisle and one back. He looked up. “What?”
Ijs beckoned. “Wanna arm wrestle?”
The guy was either really bored, proud, or clueless, so he came over and sat on the left side of the old man. The man pulled down the table that was attached to the seat in front of him and scooted out of the way. Ijs sized the guy up. The old man had chosen well, as the guy he had picked was about the same build as she. He was a fox, and his fur was unkempt and stuck up at odd angles. They joined paws and applied just a little pressure. “No bracing now. Go!” The old man said.
Ijs pushed. To her surprise, the guy was holding his own. He grunted, grinning. “So… what’s your name?”
“Ijs.”
“You’re good.”
“I work out.”
“I do too.”
He buckled slightly, and Ijs took the opening. “You need to work on your arms more.”
He screwed up his face in pain and pushed, his paw close to the table. “Gah! You are strong.”
She chuckled as he finally let go and almost fell out of his seat. “Don’t feel bad. You did good.”
He rubbed his arm. “I don’t feel good…”
He went back to his seat. Ijs took the man’s money and went to sit with the fox, not saying a word to the old man. “Did I hurt you at all?”
“Wha? No, not badly. Ugh, this does not bode well…”
“Heh, don’t worry. I play lo grav ball. It’s a pretty demanding sport.”
“Yeah, I know, I play too.”
“Really? I never caught your name.”
“Cadenza. I’m on my way to training.”
Ijs’ smile widened. “METech?”
“Yeah… wait.”
“I just got recruited for the METech team. I guess we’re playing together then.”
Cadenza chuckled. “Weird. You got on at Nuss, right? I’ve been on this trip for two days…”
She chuckled. “That’s why you look so rough.”
“Well… I kinda always look like this, but let’s go with the long road excuse.”
She huffed. Cadenza gave off the feeling that he didn’t care about much. Not things that happened, or how he looked. His way of speaking was honest, and sometimes accidentally comedic. He was very physically fit, meaning he did care about something: lo grav ball. His face was slightly squished, and his eyes yellow. He seemed nervous, though that wasn’t a surprise. “I didn’t take you for a sports person.”
“Neither did I… I mean, I just kinda fell into it, y’know?”
“Yeah, I do. I just played for fun. Turns out I was good at it. What position do you play?”
“Uh… any one, I guess. I was recruited for middle, though. You?”
“Point.”
“Got good aim, eh?”
“Best in the city.”
He yawned. “I know I should be focusing on one position, but I like playing them all. Except enforcer. I’m not big enough for that.”
“Good. I never liked enforcers. They’re always arrogant.”
“I never noticed that…”
“I just hope our enforcer is different. I always fought with the enforcers that played at the court… back home.”
She almost said ‘the court here’ but caught herself. She chuckled. “They all also liked shamelessly hitting on me. That got old quickly.”
“Heh, I can imagine. My enforcers never hit on me.”
She chuckled, and Cadenza yawned again. Ijs stood. “Well, it was nice to meet you. I look forward to playing with you.”
Cadenza nodded. “You too.”
She returned to her seat, and Cadenza closed his eyes. He’d been awake for much longer than usual. Travelling did that to him. “Well, she’s nice.”

Ijs was not aware that she had fallen asleep, so it was a surprise to her when she awoke at her destination. Cadenza stood next to her aisle, paws in his pockets. “You snore.”
She sat up and stretched. “I know.”
Cadenza looked more chipper than he did the previous afternoon. Ijs looked out the window at the pitch darkness. “What time is it?”
“Too early in the morning to be awake. Or about twenty o'clock.”
He started towards the front of the bus, passing the sleeping passengers. Apparently, the two were the only ones getting off at this stop. Ijs quickly gathered her things and followed him. The moment they stepped off the bus, the doors closed, and it pulled away from the slushy shoulder and silently rolled into the distance. They looked around, not sure where they were supposed to go. A sound from across the road made them jump. The weak streetlight overhead didn’t shine to the other side of the street, but through the dark Ijs could see someone was beckoning. She started crossing the road. “Hello?”
“Ijs? Cadenza?”
Cadenza joined her. “Yeah, that’s us.”
As they got closer, they saw who it was. Their coach. Both Ijs and Cadenza knew who he was, even before they were recruited. In fact, there wasn’t a single fan of lo grav ball who didn’t know him. His name was Ryf, and he was one of the first lo grav coaches. However, he retired early and pretty much disappeared. Ijs’s heart started beating faster. She never did well when meeting personal heroes of hers. She rushed forward and grabbed his paw. “Ryf! Uh, it’s an honor to meet you, sir… A-and playing for you is an honor too…”
He pulled his paw back and climbed into the truck that was parked next to them. “Quit embarrassing yerself, miss. C’mon, get in.”
She flushed red and froze. Cadenza climbed into the backseat, and quietly motioned her to follow. She snapped out of it and quickly got into the truck. He started driving down a side road but did not speak. He had changed since he taught lo grav ball. He was fat now, and his face sagged in a depressed slump. He was a yellowy coloured hound with thick fur. He still looked like he could play. Enforcer, maybe. Cadenza leaned into the front. “Why are you picking us up? Don’t you guys have your own shuttle drivers or something? I mean, we play for one of the richest corporations on Atriea.”
He laughed dryly. “Well they don’t think this will be a… successful business venture. They’re not gonna spend much on us. So, I’m yer driver.”
“Okay… Do we at least get a good court?”
“Second Gen.”
Ijs sat up. “Second gen? You’re joking. No nausea compensators or double safeties?”
“Nope. Sorry, kids.”
Ijs slumped in her seat. The road was long, but eventually they pulled into a parking lot and climbed out. It was a building specifically for lo grav training, with a court and living quarters. It was also forty years old. Ryf locked his truck and walked away, pointing to a door. “You two are bunking together. Room 245.”
He entered a small office that was separate from the main building. Ijs and Cadenza quietly entered the building and took the elevator to the second floor. The building was well kept. Nothing much had changed in the past forty years when it came to building techniques. The thing Ijs was worried about was the age of the court, not the living quarters. She was still tired, and a nap sounded good. The room was almost a double apartment, with two separate bedrooms. There was no bathroom, kitchen or anything else. There were bathrooms on each floor, and a mess hall. Ijs fell flat onto one of the beds and groaned. “What did I get myself into?”
Cadenza took the time to unpack his things. The wall dividing the two rooms could be folded out and in for privacy, and right then they were slid back, joining the two rooms into one. “Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, right?”
“Yeah. I guess it was stupid to think I would get into a good team right off. And Ryf’s a washed-up asshole.”
“Negativity will get you nowhere. Though… this place does seem to have that underdog feel to it.”
Ijs sighed. “It’s been a pretty exciting day, though. Mostly before I got on that bus, but that was exciting too.”
Cadenza slid the wall back and called through in a muffled voice as he changed out of his travel weary clothes. “Did you have a heartbreaking goodbye with your mate or something? He he.”
“Nah, I never bothered with that stuff. There was a heartbreaking goodbye though. With my mother. Oh, she cried buckets.”
“I, uh… yeah.”
“What about you? Break any hearts coming here?”
“Yeah, uh… m-my dad’s heart. He wanted me to be a surgeon like him.”
Cadenza turned off his light, which controlled both room’s light for some odd reason. There was a deep sadness in his voice Ijs wasn’t expecting. “He must have been mad, huh.”
“Yeah… and, uh… Never mind. Good night.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
Ijs pulled the covers over herself. Even through the relativity thick walls, she swore she could hear Cadenza crying a little.

Ijs woke up the next morning with those types of eyelids that seem like no matter what you do, they won’t open. She did, though, when everyone’s alarm clock went off at once. She literally rolled out of bed and crawled over to her bag. She could hear Cadenza waking up too. A moment later he called out. “Hey, these uniforms are sharp!”
She looked around. “What… oh, hey.”
A uniform was folded neatly on the room’s desk. She vaguely remembered seeing it the night before but paid it no heed. She now stood and picked up the top and held it in front of her. It was orange, with blue stripes that ran down the sides of the loose garment. It had a huge METech logo across the chest and back. The bottoms were a similarly coloured pair of shorts. It also came with underwear and a tight-fitting sports bra. She changed into it and looked at herself in the mirror. A sense of pride came over her. She always thought she would look good in one of these, and not just for the aesthetics. “You’re right, they are sharp.”
Cadenza slid back the wall and pulled at his shirt. “Uh, is it just me or is this a bit loose?”
Ijs looked over and laughed. The shirt practically hung off his shoulders. Both their S-coms beeped at the same time. Cadenza went back into his room to get his, and Ijs picked hers up from the floor. She had forgotten that she had given her S-com number on the forms she signed. Apparently for this reason. A text was on screen. “Get your asses down here.”
“Looks like we’re late. C’mon!” Cadenza said, heading out the door.
Ijs gulped. She didn’t want to make a bad impression on her first day.
However, it seemed like everyone in the building had gotten the same text and had the same thought, because she was not the first to arrive downstairs, and those there were there looked as bleary eyed and confused as she did. The common room was large enough, with a stack of neglected board games and foldable tables pushed haphazardly against one wall. A ring of chairs was arranged in the center of the room, and everyone seemed to be sitting in them. Cadenza and Ijs sat also, and over the next few minutes the rest of the team arrived. Four middles (Cadenza and three others), two points (Ijs and one other), two enforcers, two targets and one defense. These roles were less formal and more of a description of what each person was skilled in doing. A point can still act as defense if the need arose, for example. After some hushed chatter, Ryf shuffled into the room. He looked terrible. His eyes were red, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He swayed slightly, then turned to address the team. “…’Morning.”
There was a smattering of responses. Ryf opened his mouth, closed it again, seemed to ponder something for a minute, then turned for the door again. “You guys get to know each other for a bit, then the rest of the day is yours. Don’t get lazy, though. After today, you’re not getting much of a break.”
He shambled out again. There was an awkward pause before someone spoke. However, the one that spoke was not sitting, but someone none of them had noticed. A thin feline stepped from the wall and spoke in a chipper, friendly voice. “Hello everybody! My name is Aaue, and I’m your representative at METech. I’ll be here to supervise and make sure METech’s money is being well spent.”
He chuckled. “But I don’t want you to see me as just the money guy. I happen to be a big fan of lo grav ball myself, and I have faith that you all won’t disappoint. Now, like Ryf says, get to know each other!”
He stood there watching, as though he expected them all to obey right off. After a few seconds he jumped slightly and quickly left the room.
The first person Ijs tried to talk to was the other point. She was also feline, a snow leopard with few spots and a jolly disposition. “Hi Ijs! I’m Drac, and I play point!”
Ijs shook her paw. Drac had a strong grip. “Nice to meet you. How do you know my name?”
Drac placed a claw just under her mouth. “I memorized everyone’s names before getting here. See that big dope over there?”
She was quick to move on from Ijs’ question. She looked over at a buff tiger who was clearly an enforcer. “Yeah…”
“He’s my mate!” Drac bounced in her seat as she spoke.
He waved at her and she swooned. Ijs resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Next, she introduced herself to the middles. She sat next to Cadenza and he stopped mid-sentence. “Oh! Here’s Ijs. She plays point.”
Cadenza seemed elated. He gestured to the other middles. “Meet the guys. Xezch, Leed and Truthart.”
He grinned at them and they waved. “But I just call them Zip, Zif and Zik.”
She snorted. “What, you mean from that book they always teach in school?”
Xezch nodded. “Yeah. Hey, that’s a good book, don’t diss.”
He was some mixed canine with broad shoulders. His eyes were beady. Leed, who was basically a skinnier version of Xezch, nudged him. “You be Zip. Y’know, ‘cause you can’t throw for shit.”
Xezch raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Y’know… didn’t he break and arm or something?”
“Leave the dissing to me, Leed.”
“Shut up, you little...”
She tuned out their argument and waved at Truthart. He was silent, but he nodded at her in recognition. His fur was strangely long, and, in some places, it was braided and beaded. He must have been from another continent. He smiled warmly at her.
Next, she spoke briefly with their target. He was an extremely twitchy, thin otter with a small tail. “Name’s Spark. That’s not my real name, but I like to be called that. You’re a point, right? I can tell. Ah! Hold on, don’t say anything…”
His eyes darted around, and Ijs looked around to see what he was looking at. His arm shot out next to her face, and he pulled it back with a small fly between his claws. “Yum.”
He ate it and grinned. An insect leg twitched from between his teeth. “So, what’s your name? I’m guessing… one syllable.”
“Ijs.”
“Great!”
He patted her shoulder and slipped away. Ijs was confused, but at least he seemed like they type of person to never get hit with a ball.
She sought out the defence, but it seemed she had left already. So, with reluctance, she went to introduce herself to the enforcers. The two enforcers were laughing and slapping each other’s backs good naturedly. Ijs crossed her arms and waited for them to notice her. Drac’s mate, the tiger who looked like his diet was comprised solely of steroids, noticed her. “Hey, you play point, right?”
“Yeah. My name’s Ijs.” She eyed them suspiciously.
The other one was a gray, scary looking wolf with a small face. They waited in the awkward silence, until the gray one spoke in a soft voice more fitted to a poet than someone who spends their time flinging themselves at other people. “My name is Yauk, and this is Kith.”
“Nice to meet you.” Ijs said coldly.
Kith and Yauk exchanged looks. Ijs turned around and walked off. “See you at training.”
Later that day, Ijs found herself eating at a table with Cadenza, Leed, Xezch and Truthart, who all seemed inseparable. They were discussing the problem of the obsolete court they would have to use. Leed bit into a strip of cured meat and pointed it at Xezch. “It’ll be fine. I’ve never gotten sick on the court before.”
“Why do you think that is, genius? Newer courts keep the food in.”
Truthart had yet to say a thing. He seemed content to remain quiet, however, as he smiled and watched those who were talking intently. Cadenza shrugged. “How about we go down there and see, eh?”
Ijs nodded. “Definitely. I want to get a look at this court before it’s covered in our vomit.”
They all chuckled and nodded in agreement. Truthart held up a piece of meat, then returned to eating, his eyes closed. Xezch nodded. “Yeah, let’s finish eating first.”
Ijs pointed at the three. “So, you’re all from the same town?”
Leed nodded. “Yep! We’re practically brothers.”
Ijs nodded. “Good. Unity is key for lo grav ball.”
Cadenza nudged her. “Teach us, wise master.”
“Shut up.”
They all chuckled and hastened to finish their meals. Ijs looked around the mess hall. There were no cooks. Instead, frozen food was stored in freezers and canned foods lined the shelves. All of it was specially selected for its high protein content and its balanced variety of vitamins. It was a far cry from the frozen and canned food you could buy from the store. It was more akin to military rations and tasted just as mediocre. Ijs looked over the stoves and other tables, noticing the one player that she had not met yet. The bear sat at a table in the corner ravenously devouring her meal. Ijs excused herself and went over to sit. “Hi, I’m Ijs.”
“Kora-re.” She said.
“So… a few of us are gonna go check out the court. Wanna come?”
“Nah.”
She returned to eating. She was heavy set and looked the least muscular of the bunch. If Ijs was being honest, she couldn’t see Kora-re playing lo grav ball at all. She had been recruited, however, so she must have been good. Ijs was about to try and convince her, when the other four walked over. Kora-re looked up at them. “I’m trying to eat here, guys…”
She locked eyes with Truthart. He didn’t speak. A vague look passed over her face. “A follower, eh?”
He nodded. She went back to her food. “I might be over later.”
Cadenza beckoned at Ijs. “Cool. Ijs?”
They left Kora-re alone and walked through the building. They passed a few custodial staff, but other than that, it seemed the place was run by a skeleton crew. Ijs got the feeling METech had assembled an economy team. Few of the players here seemed particularly professional, and METech wasn’t spending much money on them. Ijs tried not to get too angry at that. They passed through a hallway with a window into the court. The court was already powered up, and the two enforcers were already floating around inside, practicing their jumping. Drac sat on the ceiling, watching them. They walked through the change room and stepped into zero gravity. Ijs felt right at home, and for a moment she just allowed herself to float towards the other goal area. Cadenza sealed the door behind them and hopped for the nearest landing zone. The court was pill shaped and painted green and red. Red for the landing and goal zones, and green everywhere else. It was common knowledge that the colour green, by some trick of the mind, helped to suppress nausea in Atrieans. They weren’t spinning and colliding yet, so she felt fine. However, she suspected that would not be the case for long. Leed found a ball and stepped slowly to a zone. “Yo guys! Let’s have a game!”
Yauk and Kith exchanged glances, then moved to opposite sides of the court. “We’re in.”
Drac stood and bounced once. “I’d on Kith’s team! Whoa!”
Her bounce had sent her floating awkwardly towards the floor. Ijs leaped for the side Yauk was on, and Cadenza followed her. Truthart joined them. Ijs quickly took over. “Cadenza, you’re target. Yauk, keep Kith occupied like you were doing. Truthart, follow my lead.”
Cadenza seemed slightly peeved that he was the target. “Who made you team captain?”
“I did. Fan out.”
Cadenza walked over to the red goal zone and pouted. Yauk glanced over at the other four, then leaped for one of the landing zones. Leed tossed the ball into the air, and the game began. Normally, a team had four players out at a time. This time, there was a little more room to move around. Ijs leaped, but not to intercept the ball. Kith was already going for it, with Drac quickly making a jump to get in position for a pass. Ijs hit the ground, rolled, and leaped for the ball from another angle. Kith was about to make a grab, but Yauk cross checked him into the wall. Ijs was able to get the ball, but out of nowhere Xezch made a snatch for it. “Aha! No one expects me! Whoops!”
Instead of intercepting the ball, Xezch only managed to send Ijs spinning. “Truthart!”
Drac saw the opening and quickly jumped in. Ijs saw this, then heard a sharp bark from behind her. As she came around, she saw that Truthart had somehow gotten into position. “Damn you’re quick! Hya!”
She tossed him the ball as Drac collided with her, and they went head over heel over tail into the wall. Ijs looked up to see Leed get smacked in the face with the ball. “Yeah! Way to go!”
Leed shook his head as Truthart did a little victory dance in the air. There was slow clapping from the other side of the room. “Well done all!”
Aaue was poking his head into the arena. Ijs untangled herself from an annoyed looking Drac and pointed at the open door. “Hey! You can’t have that open during a game!”
Aaue quickly closed it, standing awkwardly in the low gravity. A pen that was in his pocket floated away. Drac growled. “Now you’ve let a floater out. I thought you were a fan!”
He chuckled nervously as he walked around the court to intercept the pen. “From the couch, yeah. That was fun to watch! Glad to see you’re all getting acquainted with the playing space. Now, Kith!”
He looked up from where he was wrestling with Yauk. “Yeah?”
“I’d like to speak with you, please.”
“Alright, what is it?”
Aaue grabbed the pen and turned back for the door. “In my office, please.”
“Oh… yeah.”
He followed Aaue out of the court with a slightly miffed look. Before Ijs could comment, Drac shoved her. “Hey!”
“You kneed me in the eye!”
“I was spinning. Blame Xezch.”
She seemed too angry. “I’m going to end up blind, I know it!”
“I’m sorry, damn.”
Drac turned her back. “Whatever. Points don’t always have to make the score, you know. Don’t take it out on me just because you couldn’t.”
Ijs crossed her arms and took a step towards Drac. “Excuse me? Hey, say that to my face!”
Cadenza floated over. “Hey, guys… Chill.”
Ijs pointed at Drac’s back. “She thinks I’m petty. I think she’s projecting.”
Drac turned around “You-!”
Yauk coughed. “Alright. That is the end of this. We’re not playing for stakes here, guys.”
“I only hope you remember that during training, Ijs.”
Ijs was flushed at this point. “Bitch.”
The claws came out and Drac swung. Yauk grabbed her and gently tossed her across the court. “You go cool off.”
There was a laugh from the door as Kora-re entered. “Hey, what the hell is going on in here?”
Cadenza shrugged. “Fight.”
Ijs watched Drac with contempt as she righted herself and glared back. Kora-re hopped over and looked around. “Any blood?”
“Nah.”
“Damn. You guys playing? Let’s get this going already!”

Ijs paced her room as Cadenza changed in his room. “I can’t believe her. She’s all nice and cheery but on the court she’s one of those people who can’t keep their head in the game!”
“Yeah.”
“Are you even listening to me?! I just hope to god we’re not going to play at the same time during the tournament otherwise I’m going to rip her neck off.”
Cadenza slid the wall back. “She’s your teammate, you have to play with her.”
“Don’t gotta like it.” She said, flopping down on the bed.
“Hey, uh… Can I ask you something?”
She sighed. “Yeah.”
“Do you… believe all the hype about lo grav ball being fake?”
“Nope.”
He smiled a little. “Good.”
She lifted her head. “Don’t get me wrong. Some people have taken the odd dive, but not as much as the news says. They’re all quick to blame the entire team for the mistake. And then the sport.”
Cadenza scratched a patch of unkempt fur on his arm. “What about… us?”
“What about us?”
“Do you think any of our guys will take a dive or something?”
“Laroja, no!” She laughed. “That kind of stuff’s for big league teams.”
Cadenza coughed. “Uh, you just did a faux pas…”
She raised her paws to her mouth. “Shit, sorry. Uh, I meant no disrespect to canines…”
He smiled. “It’s fine. Thanks.”
“What?”
“For being reassuring?”
“Oh, right. No problem.”
He was silent for a while, then turned and closed the wall. “Night.”
“Dream not of the dead.”

The next few weeks were rigorous. Each day Ryf would gather the team and spend half the day working on techniques and skills. Each night the team would go to their cabins where they would memorize the different maneuvers Ryf had planned for them to use in the upcoming tournament. Ijs noticed that Ryf relied on her to score goals in most of the formations, and she was pleased with herself for that. She also knew it would piss Drac off, so that was a plus. It turned out that Yauk and Kith were big sweethearts, and not the stereotypical enforcers as she initially thought. Though Kith seemed to be less motivated than all the other players. One day the team was playing a mock game, and Ijs was on the bench (which was inconveniently located in the change room). She watched through the small window in the door as Cadenza and Leed failed to perform a pass, and Ryf chewed them out. Unlike what he was like off the court, on the court he was filled with passion. His voice carried far. “Thirty! That puts you at a lower success rate than my old mother! Do you two have the eyes of a human?!”
Both knew better than to speak. Ryf looked around. “Drac! Kora-re! Take their positions.”
The two nodded, and Ryf tossed the ball into the air. Kora-re jumped for it, putting a twist on her body. At the same time Drac made her way to the other side of the court to catch while Truthart watched the other team carefully. Yauk made a jump, and Truthart intercepted him, letting Kora-re catch and land on a zone. She was checked by Xezch and the ball was freed. The game went on and Ijs glanced towards the goal area. Watching Spark during the games was always interesting. His head tracked the ball constantly, and he was rigid until someone threw the ball. When they did, he was quick. Very quick. Now, though, he was waiting. Ijs stopped watching the game as three men entered the change room. She glanced at them, then back at the game. One spoke. “Ijs?”
She turned. “Yeah?”
The one that spoke, to Ijs surprise, was Human. He was wearing a rather uncomfortable looking suit with some sort of silk rope hanging around his neck. He extended a hand, and Isj took it. It was too warm for her liking. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard good things about you and your team.”
“Are you from METech?”
He laughed. “No, we’re from the LGBCO.”
She straightened up. “Oh! Okay. I guess you’re here to check on us.”
“Yes, I suppose you could say that.”
The LGBCO was the authority that screened teams that were competing in tournaments. They had already reviewed the files of each player and allowed the team to enter the tournament, but their work was not done. One of the Atrieans spoke. He was wearing a lab coat, and so was the other Atriean. “We’re trying to crack down on doping. We’ve already found one team who was doing it.”
Ijs smiled. “Good! That you’re cracking down, that is. If it’s not by your own power, why compete?”
The third one spoke in a low, disinterested voice. “Money.”
The Human chuckled nervously. “Now, we’re not here to drop the mood… Now, if you’ll excuse me Ijs, I need to call the rest of your team.”
“Right!”
She opened the door. “Ryf!”
He looked over, saw the three men, cursed, and blew a whistle. “Alright, everyone inside! We’re taking a day off so these boys can check your orifices!”
The Human frowned. “Ryf.”
Ijs eyed him. “You know him personally?”
“Yeah.”
Ijs didn’t press. She followed the men as the rest of the team did the same. Cadenza tapped her arm from behind. “Hey. Are we getting blood tests or something?”
“Yeah. Apparently there’s doping going on.”
He gulped. “I hate needles.”
The tests were simple. A urine test and blood test from each of them and a quick analysis showed that no one on the team was using drugs or blood infusions. The two Atrieans, who were the medical professionals, conferred quickly with the Human. The man was smiling when he came back to speak with the team. “I wish everyone took you guys as an example. Thank you for not cheating. I should not have to say that, but alas I do.”
Xezch nudged Leed and none too quietly said “I’m surprised Spark wasn’t on something.”
“I heard that!” Spark said indignantly.
There was chuckling. The human smiled. “One more thing…”
He looked to Ryf, who was standing against the wall with a sweating, nervous Aaue. “You weren’t screened, Ryf.”
He shrugged. “I’m not playing, Rick.”
Rick nodded. “Sure, but there’s been a new policy. One you probably haven’t seen.”
He held out a stack of papers and let Ryf read them. He stood up straight. “This is horse shit, Rick.”
He started to leave the room. Rick pointed at him. “If you leave this room, I’ll disqualify your entire team.”
He was still. Ijs and several others stood up. “The shit are you two going on about?!” Kora-re spat.
Ijs went over to Ryf. “What are you doing? Go get tested, like the rest of us.”
He looked her in the eye. “I’m not letting them violate my basic rights!”
Aaue grabbed his arm. “Ryf, please listen to reason here… M-my bosses will be very angry, just do the damn test!”
The rest of the team murmured as he slowly turned around and sat in the chair. Cadenza whispered to Ijs as she sat down. “He’s using something, I know it.”
She looked at him with confusion. The two Atrieans drew blood from Ryf’s leg. “What? Ryf would never. Do you not know why he’s so famous?”
“Uh, he was like a founding father, right?”
“Yeah, but he went down in history because he quit spectacularly after he discovered his entire team was using amphetamines.”
“Oh. I get it. So he wouldn’t be using?”
The machine whirred as it analyzed Ryf’s blood. “Not a chance.”
Rick checked the printout. “Ryf… You should know that this will kill you, being an Atriean and all.”
There was dead silence in the room. Leed’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Ryf grunted. “Beats the weak shit you can get on this planet.”
“Cocaine. I took you for a native druggie.”
There was an explosion of activity. Ijs, Xezch and Kora-re jumped up, Ijs yelling the loudest. “COCAINE?! Check it again! Don’t you know who you’re talking to!? The face of clean sports, that’s who!”
Rick pressed the paper into Ijs’ paw. “See for yourself.”
She read all the data she didn’t understand, then crumpled it up and flung it against the wall. The sounds of her teammates faded into the background as she watched Ryf stand up and walk out of the room. Cadenza and Yauk were arguing. Kora-re was growling as though she was about to beat up the two doctors, and Kith… Kith was laughing. Rick walked over to Aaue, who looked about ready to faint. “Your team is disqualified. Unless you can find another coach before the tournament, that is. And you better do so quickly.”
The doctors packed up and followed Rick out. Everyone quieted down and watched Aaue, who was silent. After a minute, he glanced up. “…uh, you have the rest of the day off.”
Ijs ran from the room and chased after Ryf. She ran out into the frosty parking lot and spotted him lumbering slowly towards his office. “Why?!”
He stopped, then turned around. “Kid, do you know how old I am?”
“What?! Why does that matter?!” Ijs was on the verge of tears.
“I’m fifty-five years old. I’m tired. I didn’t want this job in the first place.”
“What about us?! There’s a good chance METech is just going to drop us now, thanks to you.”
He turned around, smiled and without a hint of spite or deceit said: “I don’t care. Never did.”
He opened the door and stepped through. Ijs turned and stormed through the building. She practically knocked Cadenza over as she made her way up to her room. She slammed the door and threw back the wall so hard it cracked the drywall. “Goddammit!”
There was a timid knock on the door. “Ijs.”
“What? I’m trying to be angry in here!”
“Come out, we’re going to talk about what to do next.”
“It won’t matter. METech is not going to waste money on a new coach!”
The door opened anyway, and Cadenza entered. “Come on, don’t talk like that.”
“This whole thing was bullshit from the start. They’re probably using this team as a tax write off. Maybe they even knew Ryf was a coke head!”
“My mate died.”
Ijs opened her mouth, then took a step back in shock. “Wh…”
“It was an accident. A guy was driving, and he swerved onto the sidewalk. And, uh… she was there. And she died. And that’s why I’m here.”
Ijs sat down. When she spoke again, her voice was extremely quiet. “Why are you telling me this?”
His eyes were glassy. “As long as I’m here, I’m not going to let the team fall apart. Hell, I’ll coach if it gets us into the tourney.”
She looked down. “I think… I think I get what you’re saying. Sorry.”
“I just don’t want you leaving. We’re all in this together, alright? We’ll find another coach.”
She stood. “Let’s go then. And… I’m sorry about your mate. That’s pretty shitty.”
“Yeah…”
She patted him on the back and they returned to the team. They were arguing. Aaue was trying to calm people down, but his voice was too soft. Ijs didn’t think she would be able to yell over everyone, so she went over to where Kith was sitting. “Kith! Get everyone to quiet down!”
His mouth moved, but the din drowned him out. “What?!” Cadenza and Ijs said simultaneously.
“I said no!”
Ijs sighed. “Listen, if this is about how I get along with Drac-”
“No, Drac doesn’t get along with her own mother. I say no because our coach was just caught doing drugs. This sport is dead.”
Ijs growled, not realizing she was now adding to the chaos in the room. “Then why are you here?!”
“Drac.”
“Well, if you want to see her happy, get everyone quiet so we can figure out what to do!”
“FINE!”
The noise died down. Ijs turned to the team. “Thank you. Aaue, what is our next move here?”
Aaue was completely flustered. “Uh, I-I have no idea, I mean I’ll have to talk to my superiors about getting a new coach-”
“Bullshit.” Kith said.
Aaue’s eyes widened. “Hey, n-no need for harsh language…”
Kith stood. “If you’re authorized to give out bribes you can get us another coach.”
Drac went over to her mate. “What are you talking about? Bribes?”
Someone else in the room spoke. “How would you know?”
“How? He’s set us up from the start. We’re to win a game, then lose in the second and third game. He’s being paid a lot of money to make that happen.”
Ijs grabbed Kith shirt. “How do you know that?!”
Aaue was slinking towards the door, but his natural stealth didn’t help, and Yauk blocked the door. Kith walked over to him, all eyes on the two. “Because he paid me to screw up our games.”
“You what?! Baby, how could you?!” Drac shouted.
Kith turned and barked at her. “Because I never wanted to be here! You dragged me along because I’m big.”
“I…” Drac was speechless.
Kora-re scowled at him. “Drifrasa’s tits what the shit were you thinking? First Ryf and now this?!”
Xezch grabbed her shoulder. “Hey, calm down Kora-re. Let him finish.”
Kith turned back to Aaue. “I quit. Good luck buying off anyone else on this team.”
He walked out of the room with one last comment. “Oh, and don’t forget what will happen to your career if your ‘superiors’ find out about our little arrangement. This team better be playing in a few months.”
Drac, who was near tears, followed him. Aaue’s suit was wet. “Uh… haahhh… Um, w-well, I guess I could source a good coach… J-just give me half a minute…”
He darted from the room, and Yauk let him leave. Ijs grumbled. “That little dick.”
Truthart grunted in agreement. Yauk looked out the door and across the hall to where Aaue was frantically calling someone on his S-com. “We’ve got him wrapped around our little finger now, though.”
Cadenza chuckled. “We can stay corruption free.”
Ijs clapped her paws. “Well, I am feeling incredibly cheated, angry and disgusted.”
There was a general murmuring of agreement. She laughed. “So, who wants to play some lo grav ball for METech, eh?!”
There was a resounding cheer.

That night Ijs and Cadenza got back to their room. The day had been very eventful to say the least. Aaue had found another coach, and she was on her way. Kith was going to stay on Drac’s request, but he refused to play. The team was big enough to take a single loss, so if everything stayed on track, the METech team would play in the 31st annual lo grav ball tournament. Ryf had disappeared, and no one knew where. Ijs was not happy with how things had turned out, but she was happy to accept them. “Well Cadenza, seems like this gig was pretty interesting after all.”
He chuckled and pulled back the wall to change. “Yeah. This is the kind of shit I like, actually. If everything goes smoothly, nothing’s interesting.”
She laughed. “That’s a funny way of looking at things. I would have been fine with things going smoothly.”
“To be honest, me too.”
She got a wild idea and walked over to the wall. She slid it back. “Hey! I’m still-”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks again for that stuff you said.”
She slid the wall back again.
“Oh. No problem.”
He finished changing and climbed into bed. “Hey Ijs?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ll go far?”
“Maybe.”
“I hope so. I’m sure as hell going to try.”
She chuckled as she slid into bed also. “That’s all you really need in the end.”
“That sounded pretentious.”
“Shut up.”

FIN