Their Stories

Spike "Flashback" Cassiopeia

Baseball · Pitcher

Born from: Cassiopeia A, a star that exploded so brightly that its light is still echoing off the dust around it, centuries later. (NASA Spitzer, PIA11213)

Spike came into the world with a BANG, and he has been trying to top it ever since. Every pitch is a fireball. Every strikeout gets a victory lap. If there's a spotlight, Spike is standing in it, mohawk blazing. But a fireball nobody can catch is just a fire. The day his catcher couldn't hold one more scorcher, Spike learned to throw a pitch his team could use: still fast, still loud, just aimed at somebody.

Rival turned partner: Sunny. Impact word: ZING!

The lesson: the brightest flash means nothing without someone to catch it.The WE Way: Energy Always Finds Its People

Sunny "Spotz" Solaris

Baseball · Slugger

Born from: sunspots, the cooler, darker patches that ripple across the face of the Sun. (NASA Goddard)

Sunny is loud, bright and always on. He wears star-shaped shades because he's the brightest thing in any room, and he says so. What he doesn't say is that he used to hide his freckles: dark spots on a sun, of all things. Then a little kid in the bleachers pointed at them and yelled, "Look! He's got spots like mine!" Now Sunny never hides them. Every home run, he taps one for luck.

Rival turned partner: Spike. Impact word: KRAK!

The lesson: your spots are part of your shine.The WE Way: Energy Always Finds Its People

Zorp "Fireworks" Westerlund

Basketball · Center

Born from: Westerlund 2, a young cluster of about 3,000 stars that NASA chose to celebrate Hubble's 25th birthday. (NASA Hubble)

Zorp grew up in a crowd of three thousand stars, so he has never once felt alone. He is the tallest player in the league and the gentlest. His three eye stalks see the whole court at once, which makes him the first to notice who's open, who's tired and who needs a turn. Zorp loves a big dunk. But his favorite sound is the crowd cheering for somebody else's shot after he passes them the ball.

Role: the Riot's big heart. Impact word: SLAM!

The lesson: the best view is watching your friends shine.The WE Way: What's in it for WE?

Blitz "Tarantula" Doradus

Football · Quarterback

Born from: the Tarantula Nebula, the busiest star nursery in our galactic neighborhood, out in the Large Magellanic Cloud. (NASA Hubble, PIA04200)

Inspired by: Caleb, Shills's husband: a quarterback turned football coach who is always calling plays. ♥

Blitz has four arms and a hundred plays, and he wants to run all of them at once. He's a schemer: diagrams in the dirt, whispers in the huddle, a new trick every down. It works, mostly. Then came the game where his plays kept failing and big Frankie quietly said, "Hey, QB, can I try something?" Blitz listened. It worked. Now the huddle is the part of the game he loves most.

Rival turned partner: Frankie. Impact word: HUT HUT!

The lesson: four arms are good; a whole team listening is better.The WE Way: WE before ME

Frankie "The Lead" Beaufort

Football · Linebacker

Born from: sea ice in the Beaufort Sea, at the top of the world, where long cracks called "leads" open across the ice. (NASA Operation IceBridge)

Frankie is a block of Arctic ice with spiked shoulder pads and a frosty growl, and nobody gets past him. Nobody knows he's shy about the crack down his middle, the "lead" he's named for. Frankie figures a tough guy can't have a crack in him. But on the coldest night of the season the team huddled close around him, and the warmth seeped in through that crack. That's when they saw who Frankie really was: the softest heart in the league.

Rival turned partner: Blitz. Impact word: SACKED!

The lesson: you don't have to be unbreakable to be strong.The WE Way: Turn ME into WE

Kix "Baby Stars" Serpenta

Soccer · Striker

Born from: a nursery of baby stars inside a dusty cloud in the constellation Serpens, the serpent. (NASA Spitzer, PIA09072)

Kix is covered in glowing baby-star spots and full of tricks. He fakes left with his tail, fakes right with his tongue and scores with the cleat on the tip of his tail. For a long time he kept every trick to himself; he wanted the goals to be his. Then he taught one to a rookie, who scored the winner with it. Kix cheered louder than he ever had for his own goals.

Rival turned partner: Paws. Impact word: GOOOAL!

The lesson: a trick is only magic when you share it.The WE Way: Turn ME into WE

Paws "Cat's Paw" McClaw

Soccer · Goalkeeper

Born from: the Cat's Paw Nebula in the constellation Scorpius, a glowing star-forming cloud shaped like a giant paw print. (NASA Spitzer, PIA22567)

Paws is fearless. Torn ear, safety pin, three eyes on the ball, and she will dive for anything, the more dramatic the better. Paws thought being brave meant doing it all alone. Then a shot came that even she couldn't reach, and her defenders were there. Now Paws is the loudest voice on the field, calling out where everyone should be, because the bravest keeper is the one who asks for help.

Rival turned partner: Kix. Impact word: SAVE!

The lesson: being brave includes asking for help.The WE Way: WE before ME