The next day passed in a blur. The trial runs with the new suits had been a success. It was far beyond what Chris had hoped for. Jania hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d put hers on, running through the tests with a level of enthusiasm that almost made him forget why they were here.


    But now, the real challenge was about to begin.


    Round three of the competition.


    This one wouldn’t be over in a few hours or even a day. It would last a full week. Each team would be deployed to a specialised dome, given a mission against an AI-controlled army. Survival, strategy, and resource management. This round would test everything.


    Chris spotted Max and Zeph waiting at the deployment station, but something was off. The moment their eyes landed on Null, their expressions froze.


    Max’s face twisted in something close to fear. Zeph stiffened, but it was Max who spoke first. “why are you even allowed to walk free?”


    His question was for Null, but Chris took it upon himself to answer.


    He''d expected this. "Null''s with us. He''s part of the team. He''s not hiding—authorities know he''s here and aren''t doing anything—so just deal with it."


    Max’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue. Not directly. His eyes flicked down to Chris and Jania’s matching suits, the sleek designs were unmistakable. “What’s that about?”


    Chris kept his voice even. “Null crafted suits for all of us. Custom-built. Integrated systems. Better protection.”


    Max’s expression darkened.


    “I’m not wearing a suit made by a terrorist.”


    Chris exhaled slowly, resisting the urge to rub his temples. He’d known Max would be a problem. He had just hoped it wouldn’t happen this soon.


    Zeph shifted uncomfortably beside him. She didn’t say anything, but her hesitation was clear. She wanted to refuse, but she was wired to follow orders. After a moment, she reluctantly took the suit.


    Max folded his arms. “I don’t care how good it is. I’m not wearing it.”


    Chris studied him carefully. Max wasn’t just being difficult, he meant it.


    And that was a problem. Max was going to be the most important person this round.


    This round wasn’t just about combat. It was about logistics. Keeping weapons and equipment functional, making sure the base ran smoothly, adapting to unexpected failures.  This was a round made for Combat engineers to show off.


    Chris knew pushing too hard now could backfire. He needed Max to be with them, not against them.


    So he didn''t argue. Not yet. Instead, he met Max''s glare head-on and said, "Fine. Don''t expect me to waste time evacuating you when that substandard gear fails in the middle of a firefight. I have no time for needless pride."


    Max scowled but didn’t respond.


    Chris turned back to the others. “Let’s move. We’ve got a mission to win.”


    He could deal with Max later.


    The carrier rumbled beneath them as they were lifted into the air, the familiar sensation of acceleration pressing against their bodies. Unlike last time, they hadn’t been blindfolded. This round did not need secrecy.


    Chris sat with his back against the cold metal of the cabin, his tablet in hand as he reviewed the mission briefing he had received.


    Objective: Defend an active mining operation (7 days).


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    Resource: Perchlorate salts.


    Complication: Highly toxic environment. Mining conducted via AI-controlled drones.


    Chris barely suppressed a groan. This is a nightmare.


    Perchlorate salts weren’t just valuable—they were dangerous. Toxic, reactive, and prone to turning an already difficult mining operation into a death trap if things went wrong.


    Across from him, Jania skimmed the briefing and waved a hand dismissively. “Doesn’t seem too bad. We’re just babysitting some mining bots.”


    Chris gave her a look. Before he could correct her, a flood of information streamed into everyone HUD. A message from Null.


    Potential attack vectors detected.


    <ol>


    <li>Hacking of the mining crew – AI-controlled miners meant a direct cyber-attack could turn the workforce against us.</li>


    <li>Sabotage of equipment – A few well-placed disruptions or tunnel collapses could grind the operations to a halt.</li>


    <li>Tunneling – The enemy could bypass defences entirely by coming from a secondary entrance.</li>


    <li>Toxic detonation – A strategically placed explosive could turn the entire operation into a lethal gas chamber.</li>


    <li>Theft – Targetting the hand over and stealing the collected resources.</li>


    </ol>


    Chris exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We’re five people. That’s way too much to cover.”


    Chris looked at Jania. “ So still think it’s just babysitting?”


    She frowned, scrolling through the mission file again. “So… what’s the priority?”


    Chris exchanged a glance with Null, who tilted his head slightly. There were no easy answers here. Then he leaned back against the cabin wall, eyes shifting between Zeph and Max. “This round is your time to shine,” he said. “Any suggestions?”


    Zeph was her usual quiet self, arms crossed, eyes flicking through the mission details on her HUD. But Chris could tell she had something.


    “Zeph?” he prompted.


    She hesitated, then exhaled softly. “In the Kuiper Belt, sabotage and hacking were… common problems,” she said. “Ships were isolated. If you lost control of your systems, you were dead.”


    Chris nodded, urging her to continue.


    “So we adapted.” She tapped her fingers against her wrist, deep in thought. “We built redundancy into everything. Random system wipes and hard resets. Devices had no memory reliance. Everything worked from clean boots to stop malicious code from taking hold.” She glanced at the mission details again. “I’ll see if I can modify the mining drones to do the same. A random wipe and reboot every few minutes should make it harder to hack.”


    Chris raised an eyebrow. “And the risk?”


    “If I do it right, none.”


    That was good. It meant the AI miners wouldn’t stay compromised if someone hacked them.


    Zeph wasn’t done. “I also want to install a secondary call-home function with full encryption. Let the enemy hack the primary signal. Feed them garbage data. If they think they’re in control, they won’t look for the real connection.”


    Chris smiled. “Now that’s thinking ahead.”


    Zeph nodded once, her expression unreadable, but he could tell she was pleased.


    He turned to Max. “What about you?”


    Max’s usual cocky attitude was subdued, replaced by a sharp, analytical focus. “Two things,” he said.


    “First we can use vibration probes.”


    Chris tilted his head. “To stop tunnelling?”


    Max nodded. “Yeah. Put seismic probes around the perimeter. If anything tries to dig under us, we’ll know before they breach.”


    Chris liked that one. Tunnelling was one of the hardest threats to counter, but if they had an early warning system, they could respond before the enemy got too close.


    “And the second?”


    “Defensive barricades on the shipment,” Max said. “Standard procedure to reinforce the cargo, make it harder to steal or damage.”


    Chris frowned slightly. “That’s… obvious.”


    Max shrugged. “Doesn’t mean it’s bad.”


    “No, but it does mean they’ll expect it.” Chris crossed his arms. “We need something they’re not prepared for.”


    Max frowned, thinking. “So you want a surprise.”


    Chris nodded. “Exactly.”


    Silence settled between them for a moment as Max processed the challenge.


    Chris could see the gears turning in Max’s head, but before he could speak, Null was the one who broke the silence.


    "Bury the shipment."


    Everyone turned to look at him.


    Null tilted his head slightly, his mechanical voice smooth and unreadable. "If the enemy expects a fortified shipment, they will prepare for an assault. Instead, we remove the target entirely. Hide it underground. Then, to further confuse them, we run a shell game, three different shipments each with different security but only one is real."


    Chris nodded slowly, considering it. “Decoys.”


    Null inclined his head. "Yes. Make them chase ghosts."


    Max’s expression twisted. “That makes it harder to defend. Now we’re splitting our resources across three locations instead of reinforcing one.”


    Chris held up a hand before the argument could start. “I see merit in both ideas.”


    Max scoffed. “You’re seriously considering this?”


    Chris exhaled. “We don’t know the terrain yet. A buried shipment works if we have the right conditions. If the ground’s too unstable, we’re just making retrieval harder on ourselves. And if they have ground-penetrating sensors, it’s worthless.”


    Max crossed his arms, still visibly irritated, but he didn’t argue further.


    Chris turned back to Null. “It’s a solid concept. But we’ll need to see the site first.”


    Null gave a single nod, then fell silent again.


    Chris leaned back, exhaling. They had a lot of good ideas. But none of them mattered until they hit the ground.