Space Race (Space Race 1)

by Nathan Hystad

  “The Race? What race?” Luther asked.

  “Are you kidding? Space Race is all anyone’s talking about at Luna,” Jade explained. “I think it’s a bunch of bull. We have bigger fish to fry than arguing over who has the fastest ships, don’t we?”

  Bryson stood still, and I scanned around the room, remembering what he’d called them. His crew was together. “Wait. You planned this,” I said as I stepped toward the CEO. “You knew you were about to hit the top ten, which places SeaTech in the running to compete in the Race. Only the Primary are able…”

  “You needed us to be employees before the announcement,” Jade said.

  “And Arlo cut it pretty close, didn’t he? Yes, you’re on the nose with your assessment.”

  “The Elurnium division you bought from Oasis. That was convenient,” I told him.

  “Well, you see, that had two side effects. It gave me enough of a push to climb into eleventh rank, and as a bonus, it freed you up to work for me,” he said.

  I knew it had been too good to be true. This man had manipulated things, giving me no choice but to see him as my salvation, when really, he’d created the problem. “How dare you?” I stepped toward him, but Luther grabbed my arm, hauling me away.

  “Sorry, buddy, but I work for Mr. Kelley now.” He was between us, and I got a sense of how powerful he was. He stood six inches taller than me, and probably outweighed me by forty pounds.

  “Don’t you see? Why were you let go from Lotus? I guarantee it was related to—”

  “Stop it. It wasn’t Mr. Kelley. That was my own undertaking,” Luther said, his voice deep.

  “What about you, Jade? Did you violate contract at Luna Corp?” I asked.

  “Well, not quite, but I did—”

  “Enough, Arlo. You’re being compensated well, and everything I promised you earlier is true. Were you happy before? Did you love working for Oasis?” Bryson asked.

  The answer was simple. “No.”

  “Do you think they treated you fairly? Were you a part of their company, not just a number?”

  “No.”

  “Then welcome to SeaTech. Here, you’ll be an essential part of my Corporation.” His son grinned as he said this, and I’d never seen someone so elated in my life.

  I finally asked the question everyone was thinking. “What’s so important about us? Are we supposed to help train your race team or something?”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  I relaxed. I hadn’t taken part in something like this since I was a kid, and my time being a Pod sprinter was a thing of the past.

  “Then what?” Jade asked.

  Bryson motioned Luther to have a seat. “You’re not helping the race team. You are the race team.”

  Six

  “Us?” We all shared the same expression. Disbelief.

  “That’s right. You’re looking at the newest team to enter the Race. We’re heading in as the underdog, but I think we can win this outright,” Bryson said confidently.

  It was too much. “You think the three of us can lead SeaTech to victory against the other Primary contenders?” I sat down beside Luther and laughed. “You have to be nuts.”

  “Four of you,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Four. There are four of you on the team.” His glance landed on Holland.

  “Your kid? This keeps getting better and better,” I muttered. Jade returned from the bar with the bottle. She refilled her glass and slid the nectar to me.

  “For your information, I’m the best Pod sprinter in the Secondary Cup,” Holland mumbled.

  “There it is. Secondary. I don’t doubt your skills, buddy, but you haven’t competed against the Primary Corps, have you?” I hated grilling him like this, but this entire scenario was ridiculous.

  He shook his head.

  “Believe me, they’re next level. Sage Industries and Luna Corp have divisions specifically focused on these kinds of distractions. They give their people races to amuse them, to keep their minds off their own harsh realities. If you ask me, this entire Space Race is nothing more than a cover-up.”

  “For what?” Jade asked.

  I shrugged. “Beats me, but it can’t be good. I’ve heard—”

  “Arlo, if you’re close to finishing your rant, may I speak?” Bryson sat beside Jade, facing Luther and me, and Holland hesitantly joined him.

  “Sure.” I crossed my arms and waited.

  “Nothing of this magnitude has ever occurred in the history of Earth.” His voice was level as he spoke. “The Race will be momentous, and will create work for thousands, if not millions, of people. Not only Primary, by the way. A lot of the efforts are being outsourced to the rest of the corporations. Regardless of this fact, it’s not the Race that I’m interested in.”

  “Really?” Holland asked. He seemed even younger as he sat beside his father, a clone less than half the CEO’s age. The guy was as smooth-cheeked and green as they came.

  “No, son. It’s the prize.” Bryson used the table’s keypad, bringing another projection up at the end of the room. The lights dimmed simultaneously, and the image showed a familiar system: Alpha Centauri.

  The three stars glowed brightly, and it centered on the outer one, Proxima Centauri. “The first rights to Proxima b are being allocated as the prize. This is what we want.”

  “Why have they waited so long to expand beyond our solar system?” Luther asked.

  “As many of you know, we stopped sending expeditions after the last one vanished. Since then, no one’s attempted the journey, despite numerous protests and petitions by the Primary Corps. All signs show that the planet is habitable, but despite that, the entire system will open up so many doors for us. Imagine the mining. The secrets it holds. It will take a battle of skill, determination, and heart to master the Race, but I feel we’ve amassed the proper combination with you four.”

  “What do you expect to discover out there?” Hearing about my grandfather’s mission to Proxima brought it all back. The feeling I’d experienced when he’d first told me about the assignment. The expression on my father’s face when he’d told me Obelisk had been destroyed.

  “Who’s to say? But it’ll be worth so much to our people to find out. Imagine it. Expansion to another planet, and not another low atmospheric bubble like on Mars or Saturn’s Triples. SeaTech will be able to sell pieces to the others if we so choose, and we’ll rise to the top. Which is all well and good, but this is about more than that.”

  “What’s more than reaching number one?” Luther asked him.

  “The expansion of our species,” Bryson told us.

  I raised a hand, and he dismissed me with a wave. “But we have enough to digest today. Please, discuss it amongst yourselves, and tomorrow, we begin training.”

  Luther held his glass. “Tomorrow? When does the Race begin?”

  “Two months’ time. We’re far behind, with the rest of the Corps prepping their teams for the last six months or so.” Bryson walked away.

  “We don’t even have a ship,” I muttered.

  “I think you already saw her, Arlo.” And with that, he was off.

  I’d passed the Racer? The image of the red streak overhead Capricious flashed into my mind. That couldn’t have been it.

  “Is he serious about this?” Jade asked Holland.

  He’d lost his smile somewhere along the way, but found it again. “Sure. Who doesn’t want to visit another solar system?”

  “And how are we going to do that?” Luther asked him. “We’re not a team. I couldn’t even tell you what I bring to the table.”

  I stared at the younger Kelley. “It’s been years since I flew a Pod Sprinter.”

  “That’s my role. Arlo, you’re the team lead. We start near Earth, move to Mars next, which is my specialty. The race is over Arabia Terra. From there, we head to Saturn, have another cut-off checkpoint, and continue to Neptune for the finale.” Holland sat up straighter when he said this.

  “Jus
t like that?” Jade asked. “How long does this take?”

  “Should be under a week.”

  I realized how little of the great Space Race I understood. I’d been a Pod sprinter, one of the best there ever was, but when my idol had disappeared on that Proxima mission, I’d told myself I couldn’t do it any longer. Without Preston Lewis at my side, there wasn’t a point. Witnessing Holland’s excitement sparked something in me, a dormant need to compete.

  “Tell us more.” I reached for my drink and sipped it, noticing Jade fidgeting with her sleeve. She stared at a loose thread, and we all listened as the young prodigy described with fervor the format of the event we’d somehow agreed to.

  ____________

  “This is a lot to take in,” Luther said after Holland and Jade exited. We were the last in the room, and the bottle of Hawaiian nectar was empty.

  “No kidding. And what was Bryson hinting at, the safety of humankind, or whatever he said? Sounds to me like he’s been underwater for a few too many years.” I chuckled with Luther.

  “There’s no chance we can prepare in two months. I’ve been a guard and soldier for long enough to understand that training of this magnitude isn’t accomplished overnight.”

  I nodded, appreciating his candor. “But we aren’t novices, and SeaTech does have some fairly advanced technology. Eighty percent of the ice mining done uses their proprietary melting and digging methods. That alone has to bring in a lot of cash every quarter.”

  “He’s ambitious,” Luther said. “Do you think he acquired Eris to recruit you?”

  “If he did, that’s a costly bet. I don’t even understand why he’d care about me. I’ve never done anything that special.”

  “Are you serious? Hawk Lewis? We know who you are, even before your skirmish with Sage’s CEO. I used to watch those races on the weekends when I was younger. You were something special.” Luther stood, his back cracking as he stretched. We’d been in this room for at least three hours, and I was ready for a nap.

  I wished he hadn’t said that. I preferred to be anonymous. “That was a long time ago. As for the incident with the pirates, all that did was get me canned.”

  “No, your actions saved hundreds of lives. Punching their CEO is why you were fired.” Luther clapped me on the back as he headed for the exit. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Arlo. I don’t know if it’s the drink talking, but I haven’t been this excited in ages.”

  “Me too,” I admitted. Holland’s enthusiasm had rubbed off on us, and suddenly, I was anxious to check out the Racer in the morning.

  He left me in the meeting room, and I brought up the image of Proxima again. No one had ever traveled there and returned. Why? I pictured the last visit from my grandfather, me not understanding why he’d even bother going on such a trip when he had family at home.

  Even if the rights were truly being handed to the winner, Sage and Luna were too prepared. They spent billions of dollars a year on training racers and making technological improvements to their machinery. Where did that leave everyone else? The pressure Bryson had placed on our shoulders was immense, and on his own son’s too. Not only was Holland supposed to follow in his footsteps and become CEO of SeaTech, but he was expected to help finish the Race and win the prize.

  With a sigh, I headed out of the room, deciding to take a walk before I returned to suite eleven. I finally escaped the residential sector, and the corridor changed from plush and inviting to cold and sterile. I looked out the clear slit in the tube walls, and noticed there were no lights on the exteriors on this side of the underwater structure.

  I passed fewer and fewer employees and eventually ended up at a modest doorway. It was locked, and at the end of the line. The slab was painted in a dark red tone, and I set a thumb to the keypad. It buzzed and blinked, denying me access.

  “Can I help you?” A man’s face appeared on a screen embedded in the slab. He wasn’t thrilled at my presence.

  “I was just out for a walk. I don’t suppose I can see what’s down here?” I asked nicely.

  “No. Please return to the residential wing. You do not have access.”

  “I’m Arlo Lewis, the Race captain.” I wondered if that carried any authority.

  “The what? No.” His response told me it didn’t. The man’s face disappeared, and I turned around. I’d had enough mysteries for one day.

  It wasn’t even close to dinner, but I was emotionally wrecked after the trying day, and maybe a little drunk from the sweet, potent drink. My bed was inviting, and I sank into the comfort of the sheets with the lights off.

  My parents would be okay. Even if we didn’t win the Race, I still had the contract that would pay me a lot of money and take care of them. For once, I’d be able to really ease their burdens. Move my dad off Mars, and show them there was more to living than endless work for Sage Industries. It was all going to be worth it.

  I dozed off, only to be woken later by a knock on the door. Groggily, I crossed the room, stumbling into a chair along the way. “Lights on!” They slowly rose in ambiance, and I hit the keypad, opening the door to find Jade standing patiently. She wore SeaTech blue, a stylish jumpsuit with the top two buttons undone. I averted my eyes and stepped aside, letting her in. “Hey, Jade. What brings you here?”

  “How can you sleep?” she asked.

  “It’s what I do. I’ve flown solo for years now, and I never know when I’ll be able to sleep next. If something goes wrong out there, it’s up to me to handle it, so I nap when I can.” I realized I had no shirt on, and she tossed a bundle at me, her gaze lingering for a split second.

  “Have a jumpsuit. We’re meeting for dinner. Bryson’s celebrating with his people on the island, and he wants us to join them.” Jade walked around me, surveying the room. “Nice place.”

  I slipped into the outfit, and after a quick freshen up, we were out the door. Luther was chatting with Holland in the tubes, and we all left together.

  The trip to the island was accomplished in a larger Pod, and we were told Bryson would meet us at the dinner. It was dark when we landed near the festivities. We exited, and I stepped onto the sandy beach. Lights lined a pathway toward a massive beachfront dining area, their artificial flames flickering in the wind. The ocean smelled wonderful, and Jade held back, facing the water. The Moon rippled off the surface, and I joined her as she stared at the crescent in the sky.

  “How long did you live there?” I asked, indicating the Moon.

  “Since I was a girl. I’ve only been to Earth on five occasions.” She didn’t break her gaze. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to leave, to come to the beautiful green and blue marble I used to stare at. Now I miss it. Isn’t that funny?”

  “It makes a lot of sense. We always long for the familiar.” We stayed for a few more seconds, and she finally turned, leading me to the festivities. Music carried through the air, and the food smelled delectable. This was unlike anything I’d ever seen with a Corporation. We climbed a few wooden steps, and I took in a great view of the event. There were thousands of people crammed along the endless rows of tables. At the far end were bamboo structures, with drones and robots preparing the meal.

  Everyone was ecstatic, a few of them dancing in the middle of the chaos, laughing and cheering. Drinks were being handed out by serving robots, each faceless and humanoid in shape. Countless stars twinkled in the cloudless night, adding to the ambiance. Bryson Kelley knew how to put on a show.

  “Glad you signed that contract now?” Holland asked me, and I just nodded.

  We mingled around the crowd, and a spotlight from a hovering drone shone near the right side of the grounds. Bryson was perched on a stage, his hands clasped together in front of him. He addressed the gathering, his voice amplified, loud and proud as he broke the news. “Many of you have seen the announcement this afternoon.”

  A deafening roar carried through the space, and I hated to admit it, but I was swept up in the exuberance. I found myself chanting with th
em after a while. “Space Race, Space Race!”

  To his credit, Bryson let them have their moment and waited until they quieted to speak again. “We’re number ten, but is that all we aim for?”

  “No!” The word echoed with a bang.

  “We’re in the Primary, and I couldn’t have done it without all of your hard work. Your passion. Your dedication to what we’re building. This year will mark our finest ever, and you can glance in both directions and say ‘thank you,’ because it was a team effort that made this happen.”

  He let them do just that, and the energy levels rose even higher. Luther looked indifferent as he surveyed the crowd of people. I couldn’t read Jade; her face was quiet and emotionless.

  Holland was the complete opposite. His cheeks were rosy, his white teeth gleaming underneath his grin. “Come on. Let’s get up there.”

  We walked through the people as they spread apart, recognizing their boss’ son was among them.

  Up on the stage, Bryson continued his speech. “We will take SeaTech to another level, one previously unparalleled. We won’t be limited by our solar system, and this will be the first step to expansion into the unknown.” His gaze fixed on our crew, walking through the employees surrounding the countless tables, and he pointed toward us. “Please, help me welcome the team that’s going to make it all happen!”

  We advanced up to the stage and strolled up the wooden veneer steps at Holland’s encouragement. Luther stayed at the bottom, shaking his head, but Jade grabbed his arm, dragging him to the platform with the rest of us. Under the scrutiny of the people, with a second beam of light spreading over us, I felt the heat rising.

  “I give you… Team SeaTech!” The cheering was even louder than before, and I glanced at Jade, whose lips finally broke their stoic expression. They curled up discreetly.

  “The team is comprised of Arlo ‘Hawk’ Lewis, the lead pilot and team captain.” Bryson waved me forward, and I strode out, raising my hand to greet them. I was filled with their excitement. It surprised me that they could be so supportive of someone recruited from another Corporation to join their ranks. Why hadn’t Bryson used people from his own employee pool for this race? It was a question that hadn’t crossed my mind yet in the hectic few hours since arriving at SeaTech.