Tuesday, 9:00 PM — Celestial Arena, home of the Nova City Starships.
The crowd was already a storm, the kind of roar that shook your chest and made the floor vibrate. As the players poured out of the tunnel, the noise hit another level—thunder and neon colliding.
Ryan strode onto the court, his Roarers jersey catching the spotlight as he scanned the floor. He spotted Amin Thomas, the Starships' lockdown defender, and jogged over, extending a fist. Amin grinned, his eyes glinting with challenge. "I'm locking you down tonight," he said, his voice low and sharp.
Ryan chuckled, shaking his head. "Man, you said that last time. Got anything new?"
Amin smirked, unbothered, and turned back to his warm-up.
Then Jalen Hardell, the Starships' star, approached, his frame loose but his gaze intense. He pulled Ryan into a quick bro-hug, their shoulders bumping. "You know you stole my Player of the Week, right?" Hardell said, his tone half-teasing, half-serious. "My numbers were this close."
