Sufficient

As the spontaneous race came to a close, Nayla held her lead, racing through the comparatively deserted spaceport access points to the landing pad where Kyara was berthed. She screeched to a controlled stop just below the port wing of the ship, the others following seconds behind. The relative silence of the spaceport was broken just as the whine of their hydrogen engines subsided by the characteristic two-tone siren of a police cruiser. Floating silently on its repulsor cushion, a sleek police car pulled up next to them. On either side, gull-wing doors opened, and two officers in uniform deliberately emerged.

 "Oh, shit," Nayla muttered to herself.

 With a stern tone, the first officer demanded, "How fast were you people going?"

 "350, 375 maybe?" Nora casually said.

 The second officer flatly said, "Try 390," with his arms crossed in a disapproving manner.

 The first officer started to say, "I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to—" but was cut off when a fifth motorcycle arrived behind the police cruiser. He didn't draw the pulse pistol, but his hand automatically went to the one holstered at his waist. Yan got off, and Amelina swung off the passenger seat behind him with a graceful motion.

 The officer nodded to Yan and Amelina and asked the group gathered in front of him, "Friends of yours?"

 The second officer yelled, "Hey, you!" at Yan. "If you were even one kilometer over the limit, I swear I'll—" he said, but he stopped in the middle of his sentence, his face changing to one of amazement when Amelina took off her helmet.

 The first officer stumbled, "Miss Amelina! Uh… my profound apologies, I had no idea that…"

 "Don't worry yourself," Amelina said calmly, with a hint of authority in her voice. "Just find someone else actually worth arresting."

 Both officers gave sharp salutes, clambered back into their hovercraft, and hurried off. "Yes, ma'am!" Six sets of eyes looked at Amelina inquisitively.

 Yan was truly shocked and inquired, "What was that all about?"

 "Being on the personal staff of a Senator carries a little weight here, you know," Amelina said, grinning slightly.

 With a hint of optimism in her voice, Nora questioned, "Personal staff of which Senator?"

 Amelina affirmed, "Senator Cyran Lek, of course," The five original companions exchanged knowing looks as she asked, "Why else do you imagine I attended the reception tonight?" Amelina and Torin were unaware of the statement's unexpected significance.

 "What's—" Amelina started, feeling the air change.

 Perhaps a bit too eagerly, Kieran slipped in, "Let's head inside for those drinks, shall we?" With the others moving more slowly, he lowered Kyara's boarding ramp and rushed up it.

 Nayla followed Kieran all the way to the simulator room. Kieran had already created a lounge setting by the time the group got there, which at first was a rather repulsive combination of Art Deco and muted earth tones. He ordered drinks for everyone and went to the ship's Creator unit to get them. Shortly after his return, the simulated space had been transformed into a sizable library with rich wood paneling, complete with tall shelves brimming with volumes of old paper and huddles of crammed armchairs. The floor was covered with a thick Persian rug with intricate patterns that nearly knocked him down. A large coffee table in the middle was surrounded by loosely arranged armchairs in a circle. Kieran set the bulky tray of drinks on the table and let each person choose; he had a lemon vodka, Luna had diet cola, Nora had rum and coke, Yan had whiskey on the rocks, Nayla had Tilorian ale, and Torin and Amelina had two indistinguishable, bubbling blue drinks.

 Yan started the important conversation because he knew the newcomers the best. "First," he said with seriousness, "it's imperative you both understand that whatever we discuss here absolutely does not leave this room."

 "Or any subsequent simulated room we might conjure," Nora wryly interjected.

 "You're undermining my dramatic gravitas, my friend," Yan sighed mockingly.

 Nora admitted, "Sorry, my bad. Continue," and took a sip of her rum.

 Yan paused, letting Luna continue, "About two months ago," he said, "the five of us were contacted by ranking generals from the Rim Army, asking if we would be interested in undertaking a series of sensitive missions in response to developing political tensions within the Senate."

 "We were informed that the situation possesses the potential to erupt into open warfare if left unaddressed," Luna said calmly. "Furthermore, we were told that Senator Lek is strongly suspected of diverting vast sums from the publicly funded Peace Fund to finance clandestine Core Army military research projects."

 Astutely, Torin concluded, "And your objective is to gather proof of these activities," Luna just gave a nod. "Correct."

 Amelina questioned bluntly, "So, why do you require our assistance?"

 Nayla responded while curled up in her armchair in her signature ball. "We need Torin's participation primarily to help us gain Lek's trust – winning his tournament would be the most direct route. That falls squarely into Torin's area of expertise. However," she continued, looking at Amelina, "that step might become less critical if we have reliable inside assistance."

 Torin said carefully, "It would still be prudent to enter the tournament. A team of skilled Elementals appearing from the far side of the galaxy, only to abstain from the Senator's flagship event, would undoubtedly arouse unwanted suspicion."

 "Agreed," concurred Nora.

 "Amelina," Kieran said, turning to face her, "how much access do you have to Senator Lek's private office and personal files?"

 "I have unrestricted access to his main office," Amelina stated, "and possess override codes for nearly all system files, except for Lek's personal, encrypted data archives."

 Nora made a rhetorical comment, "Care to wager those are precisely the files we need?"

 Anticipating the task, Nayla asked, "What kind of security protocols protect those personal files?" This was her area of expertise as the team's main data specialist.

 "I'm uncertain of the specifics," conceded Amelina.

 "I'll find out!" exclaimed Nayla excitedly. She ran out of the room and came back seconds later carrying a small holographic display unit and a portable quantum computer interface. Skillfully placing them on the ground in front of her, she turned on the screen. In the air, an intricate three-dimensional matrix of data—numbers, abstract shapes, and system icons—came to life. As the display quickly changed and rearranged, Nayla started to manipulate the holographic objects, as if she were picking shapes out of the air and moving them around. She engaged with the system for about a minute before making a complex final motion that collapsed the holographic field. She made a blunt announcement about her findings.

 "Encryption is 4128-bit strength, utilizing scrambled architecture, randomized key sequencing, and encoded via a one-time pad protocol."

 "Damn," Kieran exhaled, impressed in spite of the intimidating consequences. That degree of security was comparable to the highest level of protection on the corporate mainframe of his own family, one of the most prosperous businesses in the galaxy.

 Yan said, "Secure, then?" needlessly.

 "Hell, yes," said Nayla. "Our options are essentially twofold: somehow compel Lek himself to divulge the access codes, or obtain a military-grade decryption program from the General to brute-force it."

 "That last option is off the table," Kieran reiterated right away. "Our orders explicitly mandate radio silence until mission completion or termination, remember?"

 Luna said softly, "Give me the interface unit and two hours," as she turned to face Nora.

 "You believe you can acquire a military-grade codebreaker within two hours through non-official channels?" Kieran responded with skepticism. "How?"

 "Connections, my friend," was Luna's cryptic response. "Connections."

 Luna had already retired to her computer-equipped quarters three hours later. Her usual contacts in the underworld were not being as helpful as she had hoped. Similarly, Yan had gone to his room with Amelina. As the sparring match between Nayla and Torin Okani got underway, the other members—Kieran, Nora, and Luna, who had just returned—gathered in the simulator.

 The main difference between the two fighters, who were extremely well matched, was that Okani was a master of Tai Chi Chuan, while Nayla practiced Wing Chun. Nayla had a slight advantage in sheer endurance, but Okani had seven more years of combat experience. They were judged to be nearly equal in terms of speed, power, defensive ability, and mental toughness. Each of them carried foam practice versions of their preferred melee weapons when they first met in the middle of the simulated sparring arena. Torin was holding two sai, which are long, three-pronged daggers that are good at throwing, reverse-gripping, and tangled with an opponent's weaponry, while Nayla was carrying a short sword and a fighting knife. Their hands, feet, elbows, and knees were lightly cushioned to lessen the impact force.

 At the beginning of the match, Nora sounded a small gong outside the arena. At first, neither made a move, each evaluating the other while they waited for an opportunity or the first attack. Shining in a traditional yellow Tai Chi uniform with black trim, Okani stood erect on the heavily cushioned floor, gripping his sai with a calm, assured elegance. Wearing a black athletic top and loose Capri pants, Nayla faced him with her short sword ready behind her back and her practice dagger held low in her lead hand.

 With her sword steady, Nayla launched the battle into a full-fledged run towards Okani. With a low roll and a quick leap back to his feet, Okani moved fluidly to the side. He hurled a sai at Nayla's bare back as soon as she passed. Nayla's reaction was lightning fast, and she whirled in time to perform a backflip that took her under the flying dagger's trajectory. She threw her own practice knife at Okani as soon as her feet touched the floor. As it soared through the air, whistling, Okani skillfully caught it on the crossguard of his surviving sai and skillfully moved the stolen knife to his empty hand. Less than five seconds passed during this entire opening exchange.

 Okani now had the opportunity to launch an offensive. With his captured knife and the remaining sai held crossed in front of him, he quickly closed the gap. Nayla's sword slash came at him, but he caught it safely between his crossed weapons. Nayla kept the bind in place with one hand while punching Okani's head with a quick, forceful right cross. He stumbled for a second but quickly regained his composure. He took a small step back and launched another attack, but Nayla skillfully blocked it this time. She pushed him away and hit his weapons at the same time, ripping both daggers from his hands but briefly exposing herself. With a perfectly timed sweep kick, Okani ducked low and spun, knocking Nayla off her feet. Following a pre-match regulation that stated dropped weapons were not allowed to be used, she lost her hold of her sword, which clattered harmlessly onto the arena floor and quickly disappeared. The match immediately changed to a contest of pure hand-to-hand skill since both fighters were now unarmed.

 Kieran shook his head admiringly outside the arena. Less than a minute had passed during the entire engagement so far, with the majority of that time being spent in the initial standoff. Their fluid and lightning-fast movements created an almost choreographed dance of violence, with each action seemingly flowing naturally into the next. Nayla would duck low if Torin launched a high attack, starting the preparations for her own counterattack. As the fight went on, Nora and Kieran were able to identify trends: Nayla was very skilled at defensive countermoves, while Okani tended to be more aggressive and proactive in his attacks. Torin was able to put Nayla in a powerful headlock at one point, which almost ended the match. But Nayla's reaction was quicker than the eye could follow, and she threw herself high into the air, carrying Torin with her. She maneuvered Torin underneath her as they fell, still in the headlock, and tucked herself into a tight ball at the peak of her jump. A moment before she did, he struck the cushioned floor; Nayla fell hard on his chest, her knee slamming downward. The sound of breaking ribs reverberated throughout the simulator, but Okani, gasping, persevered.

 When Luna returned to the observation area, the fierce sparring match had been going on for just over thirty minutes. Behind them, Nayla and Okani carried on their unrelenting conversation, while Kieran and Nora approached her.

 Kieran asked in a hopeful tone, "Did you get it?" Luna merely displayed a tiny data chip.

 "Rim Army standard issue decryption program, designation KRY-483-07," she said in a low voice. "It's designed to handle anything up to and including a fully sentient AI mainframe. Cyberspace activated and controlled."

 "Damn," exhaled Nora. Real AI computers were extremely uncommon and notoriously hard, if not impossible, to break illegally. Most organizations considered them more trouble than their processing power was worth because of their near-human intelligence, which frequently led them to try self-liberation from their host systems.

 Kieran, who already suspected the answer, asked, "How did you manage to acquire it?"

 "Connections, threats, the usual methods," Luna shot back with contempt. She nodded toward the ongoing fight and asked, "How are our friends progressing?" Nora and Kieran looked back. The two were still engaged in combat, launching blindingly fast attacks, blocks, and counterattacks. With a graceful backflip away from Torin, Nayla landed lightly on her feet and was about to charge again when Okani signaled a pause with a hand.

 "That is sufficient," he exclaimed, obviously exhausted. Several shades darker than his yellow uniform, he was sweating down his back and around his neck. "Might I suggest a respite?" he asked. Nayla gave a nod of agreement. Her spine was covered in soaked, spiked dark fur. To towel off and take long draughts of nutrient-rich, flavored water from canteens, they withdrew to opposite sides of the arena.

 Later, Torin and Nayla strolled down the ship's hallways together, jokingly criticizing each other's performance during the game. The other three trailed behind in deference. When the two fighters arrived at the Creator unit, they ordered a hearty meal of rice, stir-fry, and green tea before making their way to Nayla's quarters to catch up on old times. Kieran opened an access panel in the corridor wall to examine some of the ship's internal circuitry, Luna returned to the simulator for meditation, and Nora went back to her room to finish writing her book.