Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

35 - Play the Game

"Thanks." Piper smirked. "Good to be here."

"And you're here to duel?"

She winked. "As long as I don't have to fight you again."

That scored a laugh from the Queen of the Sharks. Ferra's teeth flashed and she nodded. "I think we can wait a little while for that. I already have an opponent lined up for you."

"Who?"

"Oh, that's my little surprise, Piper." Ferra's amplifier appeared in her right hand and she flicked it lazily towards the display board glittering along the arena wall. Five brackets appeared on it, one for each match, but the names and faces were blank – for now at least.

"Never do anything the easy way, do you?" Piper chuckled, trading an amused glance with Odiye. He smiled thinly; shrugged.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Ferra replied, before leaping back up onto the stage, letting loose a crackled arc of sparks from her amplifier.

The bangs silenced the low hum of conversation as she wheeled around to face the assembled AmpCore students. As she stared out over them, however, her face lost some of its levity, replaced instead by a steely anger.

"Sharks!" she roared, raising her amplifier high. "Tonight is a special night, but also a dark night for many of us." Ferra began pacing as she spoke, the rhythm of her steps commanding attention. "Many of you already know about the attack. The attack that happened barely a mile from where you're standing. Right in the heart of Hadrian." She pointed, face twisting with rage. "Codewraiths – extinct machines in our city."

A rumble of discontent passed through the onlookers, and Piper saw some of the instructors looking disapprovingly up at Ferra. Evidently the contents of this little speech hadn't been vetted by academy authorities.

"But that is why we exist," Ferra continued, power beginning to pulse around her as her implants gathered strength. She thumped a fist against her chest. "We are Hadrian's first line of defence. We killed the first wraiths that came, and we will kill any others that arrive. But we all have to be ready. The Sharks have a bigger role to play than ever before.

"We are the ones training to defend Hadrian. We are the ones who open the door when hell comes knocking, because we are not afraid of it. The world bends to us, not the other way around. And while we are here, machines obey us."

A chorus of cheers swelled up from a large chunk of Ferra's captive audience, amplifiers sparking and fists rising skyward in support. Piper glanced at her companions; Holly winced and gave a tiny shake of her head.

"So tonight," Ferra continued. "We hold nothing back. You're the best of Hadrian; the brightest, smartest and strongest." She stopped pacing and spread her arms wide. "My friends, are you ready to fight?"

And a roar like thunder shook the rafters.

*

She didn't recognise the students in the first bout, but they were older than her, inches from being fully fledged agents. Two young women ripped up the arena in a thunderous opening display, combustive arcs blasting back and forth, gravity smashing the place to pieces until eventually one of them took a bolt that their barrier couldn't handle, and was blown head over heels backward.

Her smouldering form landed in a limp heap, and Piper saw Senior Mattise leap into action. From the stands she couldn't hear him, but she could see him swearing as he raised his amplifier, face tight with concentration.