They built a podium in the centre of Arena One. It took the maintenance crew about twenty minutes to assemble it — modular panels bolted together over the same gravel we’d been bleeding on for three days. A large central podium about ten meters in width and three meters high. It held an ornamental trophy in the centre with flags of the federation at each corner. Above the podium, a large holographic image hovered, portraying what was happening below in a large, blue flickering celebration of light.Osei stood on the highest platform. First overall. His expression carried a measured calm. Miller stood to Osei’s left, on the second platform. He’d won the individual phase outright, but the combined scoring across all three phases put him second overall. Jin stood to Osei’s right, the third on the platform. The tips of her ears were red. She was staring straight ahead with the rigid focus of someone who’d rather be literally anywhere else.“We’re going to have to mess with her for the next two months for this,” Sato whispered.“You’ll be lucky to get past the first minute without her taking your head off,” I said.“I’m taking notes,” Tomás said. “For the historical record.”“For blackmail,” Hsu corrected.The ceremony was only brief. Vance, who’d overseen the exhibition’s logistics, delivered a summary of the results with the enthusiasm of someone reading a supply requisition. The top performers named, and the phase results listed out. A line about the exhibition demonstrating “the calibre of this training cohort” that sounded like it had been copied from every exhibition ceremony for the past fifty years.The sponsor section watched from the observation deck. The evaluators leaned forward, their ghostly forms flickering with increased resolution. The corporate logos rotated beneath them.The ceremony ended, and the podium began its disassembly before the last applause had faded. The exhibition’s theatre was over. (...)