Varn was in my sights with five Rings remaining, and I rose high as he went low, trying to emulate my earlier strategy. I could imagine him cheering himself on, a premature victory in his mind, but I had bigger plans.
“You know what to do,” Grandpa ordered into my ear.
I raised the Pod, spotting two drones speeding just in front of me, capturing every movement. Varn was still near the ground, a tiny speck amongst the blurring landscape. The next Ring was closing on us, and I was too elevated. I started my descent, timing it just right. Using gravity and my overdrive, my Pod screamed through the racetrack, as deadly as a falling meteor. My seat shook and the straps cut into my shoulders, my vision going dark for a split second.
“Now!” my grandfather spoke, and I hauled the yoke, straightening up. When I checked the rear camera feed, Varn was directly behind me, his hull being burned by my pulsing thrusters. I sped away, entering the Ring in first, and didn’t look back.
“We did it, Grandpa!” I smiled ear to ear, but he didn’t respond.
The rest of the Race was smooth sailing, and I entered the final checkpoint twenty seconds ahead of Varn Wallish. The crowd filled the giant amphitheater, and even though most of them had come to cheer on their local Oasis team, their cries were deafening as I exited the Pod. I pulled my helmet off and lifted my arm as the drones recorded the moment. This sent the audience into a frenzy, and I heard them chanting my name.
Hawk. Hawk. Hawk.
I’d managed to secure my third Cup, but this was just the beginning. I was going to ride this fame to the top and become more legendary than any other racer in the history of the sport. I would change my family’s trajectory, and nothing would change that.
I searched for my grandfather among the other crews, but he wasn’t standing in his booth.
“You almost killed me!” Varn shoved me, knocking the helmet from my grip. It bounced to the concrete pad as he pushed me again.
Varn was two years older than me, and I had no doubt he could win a fight. But that wasn’t going to stop me from standing up for myself. I drove him back with my forearm. “You lost fair and square.”
Two security officials rushed over, separating us, and I ignored the rest of Varn’s complaints as I went in search of Preston Lewis.
“Have you seen…” I asked Espace’s pit lead, and he pointed to the portable offices set up in the shade beyond the stands.
The crowning ceremony was due to begin, but I couldn’t accept the trophy without my partner by my side. I pressed through the crowds of people, most of them congratulating me or patting me on the back, and eventually found the doors. My grandpa was inside, speaking with the CEO of Luna Corp, and he met my gaze through the windows. He gave me a single shake of his head, and I waited for him there.
A minute later, he waved me inside, when his boss had departed.
“What was that all about? You missed the end of the Race!” I couldn’t believe he hadn’t been there to see me set the record.
“Arlo…”
I noticed how he didn’t use my callsign. The look on his face told me the news was bad. Terrible.
“You know I’ve been talking with Luna about their mission to Proxima, right?” he asked.
My stomach sank. “No.”
“They want me to captain her.”
“You’re retired. Why can’t they send someone else?” I was fighting not to cry at the news.
“Obelisk is a state-of-the-art craft, and this mission is important to the Board. Believe me, if I thought I could turn it down, I would, but they won’t take no for an answer. I’m sorry.” He stared at me with penetrating gray eyes, his jaw clenched.
“What about me? Can I come?”
“Arlo, you’re just a kid.”
“I can—”
“You can’t. Stay here. Win more races. Make your mark on this world. It’s what you’re born to do,” he said, but it all fell flat. I couldn’t continue competing without him. I didn’t want to do this alone.
“This was all a game to you, wasn’t it? Something to distract you while you waited for your big break.” I reached onto my jumpsuit breast, tearing the Sage logo off, and threw it dramatically to the floor. He called after me, but I kept walking.
Instead of heading back to the promenade, I just left. I heard the fireworks as they announced my name as the winner of the Cup, but I didn’t care. My race partner was leaving, and nothing was ever going to be the same again.
One
Now
Capricious shook violently, breaking my focus from the endless technical files.
“Status,” I shouted.
“Ice particles. Recommend reroute to destination.” The woman’s voice made me smile. Oasis had banned the use of speech modifications to their network plug-ins, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t stand the monotonous robotic droning for more than a few seconds at a time.
“What are a couple of ice crystals going to do to my girl?” I asked.
“The chances of a hull breach are one in nine hundred and seventy-three.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of a hypothetical question?”
There was a slight pause. “Hypothetical question: The…”
“Enough. End program.” I loved saying the words, but she never went completely offline.
Changing my route would mean losing time, and I was already a day behind on my mission. The inspection line at the Belt Station had been backlogged upon arrival, resulting in a flurry of frantic messages from the facility workers. If the miners were to the point of frenzy over my short delay, I bet they’d already communicated my tardiness to Oasis.
“I hate
