The Crew 1/3

Lev swirls up the data in the air between us. “Dropkick is drafted as a combat-heavy team. You definitely have the resources for a fight. But we don’t want to see casualties. Keep your defeat count low.

“Also, as you can see, this is a mature group.”

He’s right about that. Half are over thirty...one over forty, older than me. “Experienced, then, I hope?”

“Definitely, but there are gaps. Mose Basbala—your old man—he’s never played Factions, but he’s a legend on Quishan for similar contests.

If you’re going to worry about one, I’d say Billie Cates. Drake pulled her in from Newhome. Apparently a lot of natural talent, but a contest like Factions is fairly new to her. Everything is. She’s nineteen, and didn’t start as an athlete until seventeen.”

He’s right, that’s a thin history. “Why’d Drake draft her in?” I ask.

Lev shrugs. “Ask him. He’s made a couple question-raising acquisitions. Your Billie is apparently a trouble magnet. The Modriz athlete, Ezebel Misabi that you met at the mural...she called Billie a spoiled brat in front of the others. Ezebel doesn’t have patience for babies. Doesn’t have patience for a lot of things. So, war’s probably on between those two. Sorry.”

“Well, thanks for the heads up.”