“Apparently I’m pleased to have you aboard,” he said.
“Good. Then it’s set. Varn, Aster, and Jinx will be flying Killer, and Luther and Jade will be with me on Pilgrim.” I took a drink and noticed they were all staring at me.
Aster wiped her mouth with a sleeve. “You didn’t say anything about Jinx.”
____________
“Do you miss Capricious?” Bello asked.
Varn was trying to help Aster with her bag, and she shoved him away. “I can take care of myself.”
“Someone’s sensitive,” he mumbled.
“Sorry about them.” I walked from Pilgrim with Bello. “I guess I do. She’s with Bryson at SeaTech, so at least I know she’s safe.”
“What if I took her?” Bello asked.
“You? You want Capricious? What about Velvet?” The morning was picture-perfect here. The grass had a gentle layer of dew that clung to my boots as we strolled through the mown field.
“I wouldn’t keep her. I could give her all the adjustments she deserves. Make her more than just a hauler,” Bello said, and despite her good intentions, the words stung. I loved my old ship. Every repair was a memory. Every dent in the hull, a moment of my life.
“You think it would be worth it?”
“Hawk, we’ll need every vessel available for what’s coming. Liberty would be lucky to have Capricious on our team,” she told me.
“I thought there were no more teams.”
“You know what I mean. Do you really trust the Corporations?” Bello asked.
“If I said yes, would you even believe me?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Guess not.”
“I’m heading to SeaTech now. I’ll ask Bryson to send her over. And thanks for offering to outfit her. She’s a good ship. The best.”
“Better than Pilgrim?” Her question made me pause.
“Different. Not better.” Capricious was tied to a separate version of myself. She was linked to the angry and defiant Arlo, not the newly minted Space Race winner and hero. Maybe leaving her behind would be the closure I’d been searching for.
“Then it’s settled.” She hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Take care of yourself, Hawk. We’ll miss you.”
“Your family is special. Do whatever you can to protect them.”
“I will.” She smiled as Grid and the kids approached.
We all said our goodbyes, and a few minutes later, we were in my Racer, making a straight line for SeaTech.
“I’ve never visited Hawaii before. Is it as tropical as the advertisements say?” Varn asked.
“That and more.” Jade and Luther were waiting for me there, and Jinx was with them. I hadn’t actually spoken to Bryson in weeks, and I was looking forward to discussing things before we had to leave.
“What’s your story, Varn?” Aster asked.
“Me?”
“Sure. Besides being dropped on your head as a child,” Aster said.
“What’s with the attitude? See, Hawk. This is what I was talking about. You give me crap all the time, and the crew follows your lead. We have to be a team…”
“Cut it out, Wallish. I was messing with you,” Aster said. “I’m serious. What’s the story?”
The ship was on autopilot, and I spun around in my chair, joining the conversation. Truth was, I didn’t know much about the man either. Not the real guy.
“Pretty simple. Parents worked for Sage. They loved it. Mom was an input analyzer in the West Coast facilities. Father worked the manufacturing plants.”
“Sounds like me,” I told him.
“We didn’t have much, but my brother and I always got what we needed. When they did the aptitude tests for the Pod Sprints, I was so excited. I wanted to do something big with my life, and I tried out. I flunked.”
I didn’t know that. I’d passed my first exam with flying colors. My grandfather later told me I’d set records, but I’d kept that fact to myself.
“What did you do?” Aster asked.
“Instead of giving up, like my older brother, I worked harder. I went to the pilot school and begged them to let me use the sims. I cleaned their floors, emptied garbage, and listened to the real pilots talking any chance I got,” Varn said.
“Didn’t they have robot staff?” R11 asked, chiming in.
“They did, but they could tell I was invested. When the testing came around again, it was my last chance to prove myself.” Varn stared out the viewscreen, his mind in another time. “I nailed it. Had the highest score for that round. They put me into the program, and I didn’t look back.”
“You worked for it,” Aster told him. “I can respect that.”
Something was bothering me, and since he was being an open book, I decided to ask. “What really happened? You won the Primary Under Eighteen Cup after I retired. Why didn’t you continue as an adult? That’s the dream, isn’t it?”
His eyes refocused as he shifted his gaze to me. “My last race was on Pluto. You know the one; quick track, sharp angles.”
I nodded, recalling it vividly.
“I wanted it so badly. Damned kid from Barret was there, clinging to my Pod like a barnacle. I couldn’t shake him. It was his rookie season, only fourteen years old. I flew like the devil, possessed by my desire to win the trophy, and he overtook me in the homestretch. My Pod skimmed his tail, breaking a piece of his thruster off. It wasn’t an illegal move, but the impact cracked his Core manifold.”
I cringed, knowing what was coming. I’d seen it a couple of times on the circuit.
“He didn’t live. I finished the race and won the trophy the day before I turned eighteen. And he was dead.” Varn set his hands on his thighs and sighed. “He was so good. Better than I was at that age. Hell, he reminded me of you, Hawk. Same instincts. He didn’t get a chance to realize his potential, and that was my fault.
