“Well done, SeaTech. I have to say you surprised a lot of people today, not only with your ingenuity, but with your quick actions. The Board is happy to have you in the final four, which means there’s just two more days until the end of the Race. Have a pleasant evening, and enjoy some food and drink, sponsored by Orion’s local catering company. You’ve more than earned it. We’re going to be giving a few extra hours’ delay, so you’ll have time to rest and prepare for the last stretch.
“You’re currently in third, with Lotus now in first. They’ll have a twelve-minute advantage. Sage is two minutes ahead of you in the starting blocks, with Luna Corp thirty-three minutes behind.” Octavia’s image drifted forward, and her voice dropped. Her gray hair looked whiter than before. “There’s a lot at stake here, Team SeaTech, and I know Bryson Kelley is extremely proud of what you’ve accomplished. Again, congratulations, and relish the achievement.”
The projection ended, and Luther was rifling through the beverages, testing to ensure the tops were all sealed. “You don’t think she’ll try to poison us, do you?”
“If the Board wanted us gone, they could just stalk through that door and toss us out an airlock,” Jade told him.
I stared at the table, trying to put something together. “Did you notice her tone?”
“Which part?” Holland shoveled a forkful of noodles in his mouth. I remembered eating like there was no tomorrow when I was his age, back in the days when my metabolism was my friend.
“She said, and I quote, ‘I know Bryson Kelley is extremely proud.’” I added air quotes.
Luther cracked a bottle of water. “So?”
“She didn’t say, ‘I have no doubt that Bryson Kelley is proud.’ Or ‘Bryson has every right to be proud.’”
“What’s the difference?” Jade sat beside Holland, her plate full to the brim too. I glanced at the cart and filled my own, not wanting to wait for these monsters to leave me without.
“A lot. She made it sound like she’s talked to him, and he’s told her he’s proud. Know what I mean?” I took the opposite seat, making room on the round table for my own water bottle.
Holland finally took a break from chewing. “What are you implying, Arlo?”
“Nothing, but we haven’t been able to reach your dad in a couple of days. I don’t like it.” I peered at R11 in the corner of the room, his battery pack removed. We couldn’t risk leaving him on board, and I struggled with not posting a crew member on the ship. We’d locked her down as well as we could, and Jade was confident she was secure, but the lingering worry that we were being used hadn’t dissipated yet.
R11’s pack had been damaged in the reboot, with a terminal being fried beyond repair. This meant we were waiting on a replacement, but I couldn’t go through the Board channels to retrieve one. I needed to do this on my own. It was the only way to trust what we put inside the robot was reliable. I suspected the Board’s replacement would have something nefarious built into it.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. R11 had determined what the communication from afar had said, and we had to see that message. This entire thing had begun with me stumbling across that first vessel, and there were too many connections to make it random.
I had work to do. I’d already sent a message to my contact on Titan, and he was arranging a transport to pick me up in an hour.
“You’re sure you want to head down there? What if something dangerous happens? We can’t lose you now,” Holland said.
“We’re waylaid an extra day. I’ll be fine. Jinx is a good guy. A little strange, but he’s never done me wrong.”
“I should go with you.” Luther, always the protector.
“I’ve been to Titan a few times. The Orion city is more of a small town, with mining operations outside of its perimeter. I’ll be in and out,” I told them.
Jade tapped her chin, eyeing me up. “You can’t leave like that.”
She was right. I still had my jumpsuit on.
When I left the team to head to the lower-level docking station, I looked like someone else: complete with trendy black digital glasses and dark pants, leather boots, and an oversized puffy jacket. I didn’t ask where Holland had managed to procure them, but they almost fit, and it was better than advertising who I was to anyone on Titan’s surface.
The transport arrived on time. It was an old model, probably retired twenty years prior, but Jinx had somehow succeeded in keeping a hold of it. I guessed places like Titan weren’t high on the priority list for Orion, not after the mining hadn’t proved as fruitful as they’d hoped. Everything that could be found there was cheaper to gather externally, making the entire endeavor redundant, but the Primary Corp probably kept it open for the location and optics.
The station guards were disinterested in me until I flashed the ID badge I’d been given on entry. It was labeled with a gold border, signifying I was with one of the teams competing.
“SeaTech, hey? I wish I’d put money on you,” the guy said as he opened the hatch to the waiting transport.
“Me too.” I laughed.
And just like that, I was heading for Titan to get a power pack for R11. I was alone in the transport, which suited me just fine. Jinx clearly expected to be compensated for the cost, and I ensured I did so with SeaTech’s expense account.
Saturn was huge in the window, filling it entirely. Titan was farther out. We arrived a half hour later, and I enjoyed the silent hum of the ship and time to contemplate my situation.
Orion’s city was a vast cube, a kilometer or so on each side, and I stared at it as the transport slowed in its vicinity. The place wasn’t pretty: black and gray, with a few drones soldiering along the exterior walls. I saw the lights of their mining operation ten klicks out.
The city had ten main decks, each about a hundred meters in height, allowing for enough residential blocks within to house their entire population in the seemingly small space. The design was practical, something the top five Corporations rarely did. Orion, being just on the outside, did the most cost-effective process, without having to use the expensive domed technology. I appreciated the concept but couldn’t imagine being crammed into a box on Titan for a substantial period. Just visiting for a few minutes left me wanting to leave in a hurry, but today’s trip was necessary to reboot R11. I figured the close quarters made everyone there a little on the edge, Jinx included.
The transport landed, a connecting tube shaking the vessel as it attached to the exit. I waited until the green light indicated we were sealed and pressurized, and opened the hatch. The tube was dark metal, with no view of the outside, which was probably for the best. Titan had an atmosphere, but without a dome, I’d be dead within seconds.
A slender robot greeted me at the city’s entrance, its arms and legs shiny, the torso well-worn and faded. Another surprise. Repurposed robot parts.
I told it I was here to see Jinx, and it allowed me entry. The space opened up and revealed a fake Earth sky inside. I appreciated that Titan’s city tried to make outsiders feel welcome when they arrived, but other decks felt dim and cold compared to this. The ceiling was blue, with white clouds rolling past a digital sun. I spotted a few locals hanging out here, staring at the sky.
The room was wide open, with rolling carts pushing past me. I almost got hit by an old woman driving too fast, and spun out of the way. She swore at me and continued on.
A few signs glowed at the edge of the city square, and I walked over, trying to remember my way around. Jinx was on the sixth deck, tucked in the corner, and I used the sign to find the most direct path. The screen was grimy, a thin layer of gray sludge covering it. This place really was a wasteland.
“Miss Earth? Try the augmented Orion enhancement glasses. Travel from the Great Pyramids to the Mediterranean beaches with the push of a button. Link your PersaTab to learn more.” The ad showed a woman in a bikini strolling over white sands as the sun set. The image flickered and started to play again. The advertisement had been around since th
e first time I’d visited, and I doubted anyone here could even afford the glasses.
I slid my dark visor into my pocket and headed for the elevators. They were giant steel boxes, six spread out across the decks, and I opted for the one closest to me. I wasn’t alone, and quickly realized I didn’t fit in.
The people were all in grimy white clothing, the kind that had been washed hundreds of times, and the stains had become part of the fabric itself. I was by far the tallest, and the only one standing up straight.
“Who are you?” a man asked. His breath smelled terrible; his balding hair was combed over in a desperate attempt to hide that fact.
“You with Corporate? Someone finally sending us home?” a woman asked. She stared with big brown eyes from the corner of the elevator as it rose from the first deck with a clunking sound.
“Uhm, no. I’m not with Orion.”
“Another firm, then? Are we being bought?” the first man asked, smiling to reveal missing teeth.
“No, I’m afraid not.” Finally, it stopped on deck six, and I excused myself, ignoring more questions from the guy. I had to make this fast. I couldn’t spend any more time in this place than I needed to. I was too out of place. Had it been this revolting when I’d last seen it? I didn’t think so.
Each deck was wide open in the middle section, and this was no different. The ceiling was gray, with long lights illuminating the space. Only half of them appeared to be functioning, and a few sparked as I glanced right to find blocks of workstations. Every room was known as a shell, and they were stacked twelve high, with a metal ladder system to gain access to each minideck.
To my left, it was much the same, but the stairs were on the inside of the residential block. I headed there, double-checking Jinx’s location. Six fifty-nine. I entered the main doors and went to the first one marked with a stairs symbol. It smelled rancid, like perspiration and burning meat. A robot sat behind a desk, but it didn’t respond. From the blank eyes, I could tell it wasn’t charged.
Six fifty-nine meant his room was on the fifth minideck, and I jogged up the steps, shielding my face as someone walked past me, heading in the opposite direction. I pushed through the entrance, stopping to gather my bearings. I’d expected more noise here, but it was silent. Garbage sat in the halls, almost making me hightail it back to the station and my team.
His door number turned up after a few minutes of searching, and he answered after a few raps.
Jinx’s hair was a wild mess of black curls, his beard shaggy and unkempt. But it was his eyes that worried me the most as he grabbed my shoulders and hauled me into the room. “Arlo! It’s actually you!”
He ushered me inside, and what I saw was madness. The walls were filled with screens, with images from the Race paused on some, videos from each primary newsfeed on others. There was a satellite still of Earth, focused on central HyperMines, in the heart of what used to be known as Africa.
I tried to comprehend what I was seeing, but the information was overwhelming. I just smiled, keeping my calm. “How have you been doing, Jinx?”
His nose had been broken a few times, and it pointed an inch to the left. He scratched it, as if sensing my thoughts. “Me? I figured it out! Can you believe it? All these years of study, and they told me I was off my rocker.”
“Figured what out?” I asked.
“The great mystery.”
Jinx had always been a bit of a conspiracy nut, but he had a knack for acquiring things. I assumed he stole them from the mines, or the city, but after touring the city tonight, I doubted anyone at Orion really cared. The place was a cesspool. They needed to shut it down once and for all. He’d helped me out of a pinch with spare parts for Capricious over the years, and when they didn’t fit, we’d altered them—which might have been part of the reason she’d broken down repeatedly.
I didn’t really want to hear his theories. At my last visit, he’d been studying radiation levels, claiming the meds they provided to counteract the effects actually gave the Corporations control over the general masses. I’d attempted to talk him out of that one, knowing full well he needed the drugs to survive here.
“Have you seen the Race?” he asked.
“Are you doing okay?” He had a small cot in the corner, and a door on the right. It was ajar, and the light was on inside. “You’re eating? Taking your rad pills?”
“Sure. Sure. This is big, Arlo.” He slapped his palms together loudly. “Have you seen the Race?”
“If you’ve been watching, you know I’m one of the contestants.”
“Yes. And doing a kickass job, I might add. But have you seen it?” he repeated.
“I don’t understand.”
“No one does. Look.” His finger jabbed at the first paused screen. It showed Espace during the second leg. Three drones hovered nearby.
“What? Captain Durand’s ship. What’s the big deal?”
He laughed, and the sound sent shivers down my spine. “Arlo, my friend. I always liked you. Are you sure you want this burden? Are you one of them now? Racing for a Corporation, working side by side with a CEO’s progeny? If I show you this, I can’t unshow it. Once you understand, everything will change.”
I studied the image. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “Jinx, you’re not well. I think you should get some help. We can move you to SeaTech…”
“None of that matters. Do you want to see this or not? You can leave, take your battery pack, continue on your little Race, and never be the wiser. Until…”
“Until what?”
His laugh and smirk had faded. “Until they come.”
The question begged to be asked, and I didn’t even have a choice. It fell from my lips. “Who comes?”
“Good. I knew you’d be into this.” Jinx zoomed in on the image, and I spotted a dot of light that looked out of place among the stars. “Be patient.” He continued to alter it, the resolution still high quality. Stars were being blotted out by something, and the light’s shape was slightly more defined. Jinx seemed to be enjoying himself, adding to the suspense by taking his time. The object took form, and it made sense. It was a spacecraft.
“I don’t recognize that.” The thing was small, judging by the scale. “Is it a backup drone? Something for the Race?”
His grin returned. “Arlo, look at it. This is unlike anything on record, and it’s been everywhere throughout the Race.” He flipped to another video, and another on each screen, showing me expanded images of the vessel. Some were clearer than others, but it was obvious it was the same ship, or at least the same design.
“What are you implying here?” I asked.
“There’s more.” He started to show me other sites, images recorded over the years where the craft was in the background. A tiny speck, always present. Near Saturn. At Mars. Orbiting Eris. Pluto. When it got to Earth, I stumbled back.
“Are you saying an alien race is watching us?”
“Very good. The first instance I found was from seventy years ago, during the second-phase construction of the Belt Station.” The picture appeared on the last screen, where the ship faded in the distance. It was a little blurrier in this one, but obviously the exact object.
It was black, almost impossible to see. “If these things have been hovering around, our sensors would have picked them up by now.”
“No, Arlo. We only scan for readings our technology emits. We don’t target other things, because otherwise, every little radio wave, radiation beam, and communication would appear on our radars. We’d have red screens, making it impossible to differentiate what we were really targeting. They don’t use our power system.”
My breaths grew shallow as I took in the news. “What do they want?”
“Who’s to say? But know that while you’re speeding around in that Racer, someone not of this solar system is watching your every move.” His eyes focused on me, his posture straight while he said this.
“Okay, I know there’s more to this you haven’t said yet. Let’s hear
it all.” Jinx would have a hundred theories fabricated, but I needed him to focus. “And by all, I mean the most plausible scenario, not something outlandish.”
“These are aliens. They’ve been sizing us up for years. Probably far longer than my evidence suggests.”
“What do they want?”
This made Jinx cackle again. “What do you think? Our destruction. You know how valuable this system is? And we’ve left it ripe for the picking. What a bunch of crap, the Board saying there’s no intelligent life beyond us. Not even they believe that line anymore.”
“What do you know about Proxima?”
“Not much. Heard it’s habitable, but that’s unsubstantiated.”
How did that play into any of this? “And the Primaries. Are they observing the ships?”
“Not as far as I can tell.”
“Have you heard about a Primary merge?” I asked.
“Merge? There’s no way that’s happening.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked.
“They’re too greedy. Plus, I think these other guys are about to reveal themselves.”
“Okay, you’re losing me again.” Talking to Jinx was a challenge at the best of times, but when he was obsessing with a subject, it was next level.
“I think an assault is coming.” He shrugged and walked across the room to his cluttered desk.
“What makes you say that?”
“When I figured out these…strangers existed, I started to search for communications. If they were here, they were watching and feeding information back home. Or had to be. So I cast a wide net. Found a gal on Titan that could help with the technical side of things. She’s a bit batty, but after a year, we had a working prototype. What she shared was informative.” A projection emerged from the messy surface, and he had to shove a bunch of junk off to unblock the hologram. It showed our solar system. “At first, we got all sorts of hits, but then, we centered on one we thought might be the strangers. Once we identified what their communication looked like, we were able to track them.”
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