Space Race (Space Race 1)

by Nathan Hystad

  “And you’ll watch this? Under the safety of your partnership with them?” Octavia didn’t seem scared of his descriptions.

  “I won’t be sticking around. My time on Earth is over. My family and I will be moving on.”

  “Arlo,” Jade said. “He means you.”

  “He’s my grandfather.” I couldn’t join his ruthless endeavor, but he was also the voice of reason I’d heard in my head since I was five years old. It was difficult to separate the memory of the man from what I was seeing on screen.

  “He also sold us out,” Luther muttered.

  The drones were almost in position, and according to my radar, more were destined to arrive. The circle they were forming was gigantic, ten kilometers in diameter. “Whatever comes out of that isn’t going to be pretty.”

  While I scanned the radar, I saw Velvet’s ID number.

  Bello. I had an idea.

  “You have five minutes to get in line. I will report the insubordination to the Velibar if you fail to comply. Arlo Lewis, bring the Racer over here, and we will dock you.” Preston didn’t wait for a response; he just killed the communication. Octavia’s face left the screen as well.

  I found Velvet and sent her a communication request. “Hawk, what are we supposed to do?” Bello asked.

  “Obelisk is a model PLO-5617, right?” I asked, crossing my fingers.

  “Sure is. We had one at the shop for a few years.” Bello smiled at Grid beside her.

  “Hawk, you’re a genius,” Grid said.

  “He is?” Bello asked.

  “If you knew the schematics, we might be able to breach the Core remotely. They had a flaw that was overlooked for the first two years they were on the market,” Jade chimed in.

  “Gotcha.” Bello stuck her tongue out, her fingers hopping across her computer screen. “We tore that baby inside out. This is what I have…”

  “R11, did you get those?” I asked the robot.

  “Sir, we have the files. Would you like me to patch it to your dash?” R11 asked.

  “Yes. Make it quick.” Preston had given everyone five minutes, and I thought it best if I played along, slowly flying past the other fleet ships toward Obelisk. She floated there, my grandfather at the helm, with nothing but space as a backdrop.

  I noticed Luther keeping an eye on Holland. We couldn’t trust his actions now that he knew his mother was alive. His loyalty had always been with his father and SeaTech, but he was being tugged apart. Jade took over my keypad, and a few minutes later, she was confident the pulse ray would disarm the older expedition vessel’s Core.

  I held my breath as we flew close enough to touch the other ship, and Jade sent the invisible blast. His Core would be deactivated.

  “For how long?” I asked.

  “If they have someone who knows what they’re doing in Engineering? Twenty minutes at best,” Jade warned.

  “R11, get me Octavia, Eclipse, Bello, Varn, and Bryson!” I had to be quick. The drones were still clicking into place, and now, their circle was half formed, growing closer to completion with every passing breath.

  Their faces appeared sequentially on the viewer, and they all spoke over each other. “Listen, we don’t have long,” I said. “We’ve disabled Obelisk. We could destroy them, but we might need him as a bartering chip. If they do open this gateway, he won’t be able to move to them. It’s the only advantage I could think of.”

  “Good work, Lewis,” Eclipse said. “We have a fleet here. It’s not pretty, and they’re untrained, but we can defend ourselves if necessary.”

  “These Squids, as Preston called them. Yes, they’re powerful. If they put their energy into fighting us, I don’t know how effective we’re going to be. We’ll have to be fast. Use the reverse blasts until they clue in to what we’re doing. Any race that’s survived millions of years will adapt quickly,” I said. “I want any Racer in the vicinity to come with me. We’re the fastest craft around. We can move efficiently, and distract them.”

  Octavia nodded along. “Make it happen.”

  I saw the Racers on the radar. Lotus, Luna and Sage were here with us.

  “We could hit the drone ring with everything we have before they finish the job,” Luther suggested.

  “What are we going to do about my mother?” Holland asked softly.

  “Son, let’s stop an invasion today, and we’ll figure out the next step after we’re safe.” That must have pained Bryson to say.

  His gaze was distant, and he stared at me for a second. I gave him a single nod of my head, and he agreed. “I’ll help.”

  “Bello and Grid, I have a special job for you.” They didn’t look pleased, but I needed someone I trusted to carry out the impossible.

  Twenty-Three

  Jade had managed to cut into a camera feed from the interior of the Obelisk’s bridge, and we watched Preston losing his cool as he realized they had no mobility. I stared at him, trying to determine how he’d gone from my hero and mentor to a traitor. What happened in those nineteen years since he’d vanished? Was my grandfather buried inside this man somewhere? I could hardly focus on my task but didn’t have much of a choice.

  The three huge Defenders from Mars lined up against the drones. None of the small drone ships had attempted any violence toward us, and that meant they were originally meant for surveillance, and later to become gateway pieces.

  The ring was nearly complete, with only fifty or so left angling into position. It was a remarkable structure, reaching a lengthy span. If we could prevent it from finishing, we’d have time. One Squid had been here, but I imagined it was being remotely operated with the sole purpose of destroying the Board and CEO liner.

  Velvet flew away from the fleet, heading to the Core generator for this section of the Race’s Rings. The checkpoints had to be run by something, and the Hub powering this was packed full of energy, making it extremely volatile and dangerous.

  I remembered something my dad had told me about the Defenders that were built on Mars by Sage, and Mr. Under was patched through to Pilgrim. He was on one of the distant transports, carrying the CEO from the incoming battleground.

  “Arlo Lewis. Why am I not surprised?” he asked. “Here to demand our surrender like your grandfather?” Under was a fit man, bald, with thick gray eyebrows. Hearing his grating voice helped me recollect the feeling of decking him after he’d reamed me out five years ago.

  “The drones seem impervious to the Defenders, Mr. Under, but I heard the weapons were supposed to be powerful. What are they fueled with?” I asked my former CEO.

  “Lewis, I have people for that. Why are you wasting my time?”

  “I don’t like you. You don’t like me. But I’m here at the front lines while you’re off hiding, and we’re about to wage war. So find out what kind of power containment they have, and send me the data.”

  He frowned and ended the call. Moments later, the schematics appeared. Just as I’d thought. “Jade, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  She smiled at me. “Only if you’re planning on blowing everything up.”

  “I am.” I contacted Octavia. “Get those Defenders emptied. Place them in position first and evacuate. Now!”

  “What are you doing, Lewis?” she asked.

  “I’m going to save the day.”

  The last of the drones filed into place, and Bello messaged me, alerting us she had the Hub in tow.

  “For this to work, someone needs to sneak onto a Defender ship,” Luther said. “The only blast we have powerful enough to crack the Hub’s case is on board one of those ships. You know it’s true.”

  I glanced at the team and felt a sadness at the way things had gone. We’d been brought together to race for the rights to Proxima, and against all odds, we’d actually finished in first place—and the prize was an alien invasion. This wasn’t ideal.

  “You all performed well,” I told them proudly as I faced the team. “We fought hard, and despite this outcome, we deserved the win. Not just for
SeaTech or anyone else, but we won. Together. That means we can do this too. We can prevent the Velibar from arriving today, and if this might buy us time, so be it. We’ll do whatever it takes next. Together.”

  Jade pumped an arm into the air. “Let’s kick their asses.” She dropped her hand.

  Luther laughed and patted my back. “She’s got the right spirit.”

  Holland didn’t move as I waited for him to say something. “The Defender. I’ll go. I’ll pull the trigger and destroy the Ring’s Hub.”

  “No.” R11 spoke up. “Allow me. I am but a robot. I may have individual reasoning capability, but I am nothing more than a series of positrons and wiring. I will do the task. Thank you for including me in the team.”

  We stared at the red- and black-painted robot, and it was settled. “Fine. Thank you, R11. We have your backup. We’ll get you home someday. Now we have to bring him there.” I glanced at the viewer as the thousands of drones completed the circle that would create the giant gateway. Lights began to glimmer on their exteriors, starting on one side and continuing until the entire ring was blinking.

  “We have to hurry,” Jade urged.

  “I’ll take him in the Pod!” Holland exclaimed.

  I tried to determine if we could trust his actions. Holland had been loyal to a fault before today, but that was when he thought his mother was dead. But we didn’t have another option. “Go. Quickly.”

  Holland locked gazes with me, and he stopped at the exit. “Arlo, I won’t disappoint you.” And they were gone.

  A minute later, the Pod rushed from the hangar, leaving me with Luther and Jade on the Racer.

  Eclipse appeared with her sister in split screen. “Lewis, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Bello had released the device she’d been hauling, and the Rings’ hub unit sat positioned right in the center of the proposed gateway’s entrance.

  The number 11 Pod Holland operated entered the giant Defender, and we watched as the last of that vessel’s inhabitants were transported by a series of freighters that had come under Liberty’s banner of revolution. Now they were working together with the Board and Primaries. It was incredible how quickly quarrels were forgotten in the face of larger adversity.

  The evacuation had taken a half hour, and the lights of the drone ring were no longer pulsing, but solid blue. It reminded me of a gigantic Race checkpoint. This was it. The final lap.

  “R11, are you in place?” I asked, using my earpiece.

  “Captain Lewis, I am on the bridge, and have control of the weapons system. I have targeted the Hub’s containment box.”

  We expected the other Defenders to be cannon fodder, and we were told each of them still had a captain on board. They were in position, waiting for anything to come through a mysterious gate that had yet to appear.

  The circle of drones was so bright, my viewer automatically dimmed the light, and after a few minutes, the blue began to spread out. Energy sparkled, much like the pulses from the tentacles; only this was a dark navy instead of red. The inside of the ring was filling in. Jade suggested we wait until the gate was complete, because the power being generated would assist our explosion.

  I agreed with her but wished we could have blasted the drones before waiting to find out who was on the distant side. As curious as I was about these Velibar, I’d be relieved when they were no longer a current threat.

  The entire area experienced a shockwave as the blue gateway shimmered into place. Nothing happened.

  “Reports?” I heard Eclipse asking through the All-Call.

  “No signs of anyone,” a captain said.

  “We’ve sent in a probe, but it went dark,” from another.

  I stared at it, the giant shimmering energy barrier, and had never felt so small in my life. Here in my Racer, I was a speck compared to the universe. Billions of stars, and systems within countless galaxies. It was almost laughable that we’d tricked ourselves into assuming we were the only ones. Humans. The arrogance of us. A lush world, and what did we do with it? Corporations. A Board to oversee them.

  “Arlo, why are you laughing?” Luther asked.

  I hadn’t realized I was. My eyes watered as I turned to him. “This is it, Luther. This is the moment everything changes.”

  He chuckled lightly. “You want to know something?”

  “What?”

  “I never liked the way things were.”

  “Me neither,” Jade added. Her fingers grazed her black earrings, and I knew she was thinking about her brother.

  “I have to agree.”

  The blue began to fade, and not one ship seemed to be moving in our vicinity. It was as if the entire region near Neptune was holding its breath as the gateway flickered, and soon the massive structure glowed brightly. The center was clear again, but it wasn’t our constellations beyond. I spotted the Squids approaching the opening, at least a dozen of them. Red power began pulsing in flailing tentacles as they headed for us. They were primed for a deadly invasion.

  “R11, are you prepared?” I asked, risking a glance at Preston on our feed from Obelisk. He was frozen like everyone, a smile spreading across his face. It set knots in my stomach to see him like that.

  “On your mark.” The robot’s voice was steady from the bridge of the Defender.

  The Squids were gathering, methodically and with confidence. In front of them were smaller vessels. The Squids were so huge, these were tiny dots against the dark hull. Hundreds of the flyers were moving alongside the behemoths.

  They were closing in on us, and I took one more peek at my grandpa. He turned toward the camera and waggled a finger at it, still smirking. His hands went to the dash console, and the screen went blank.

  “Damn it. They’ve overridden my lock,” Jade shouted.

  Obelisk began to pivot, heading for the incoming Squids, who were almost at the entry point to our solar system. As much as I wanted to destroy some of them in the process, I didn’t want Preston Lewis to get through. I had too many questions for my grandfather. “Octavia, Eclipse, we’re ready.”

  “Do it,” they said in unison through my earpiece.

  “R11, fire.”

  Jade clutched my arm as we all watched the fireworks. The Hub was packed with a giant Core, sealed in the clear containment box, and Jade had figured the only thing powerful enough to crack it was the primary weapons built into the Defenders.

  It turned out she was right again.

  The Defender’s blast rushed from the barrel attached to its underside, striking the Hub. The detonation was extreme. One of the Squids had protruded beyond the circle, entering our space, and the other Defenders began to fire. Their blasts struck its hull, breaking past the shield, but as I’d expected, that quickly changed. Their shield intuitively adjusted. This all happened in a split second as the Hub’s explosion grew. One breath, it was a ball of Core fury; the next, it erupted, enveloping the entire extent of the gateway, taking the Defender R11 was stationed on with it.

  “A black hole,” Jade whispered.

  The opening began to pull the drone circle into its angry maw, and pieces of the Squid caught in the blast swirled into the pit. The other two Defenders tried to escape but were dragged in, their thrusters burning so brightly, I thought their ships might explode before they were sucked away.

  “Back! Everyone retreat!” Octavia shouted through the All-Call, but most of the fleet had already begun escaping, not wanting to get caught in the deadly current we’d created.

  We were far enough to avoid the pull, and as quickly as it had arrived, the shuddering power flipped off. Gone. The entire gateway, including the drones, was devastated, and I searched the area for Obelisk, but she was nowhere in sight. Either she’d been swept into oblivion or had passed through the access before all hell broke loose.

  “We won!” Luther cheered.

  Though they weren’t registering on the radar, I saw a small enemy flyer speed through the debris, then another. I zoomed on them, finding them
to resemble an arrowhead, with two tentacles drooping from behind.

  “There!” I shouted. “Varn, Chen, Lina, with me!” The other three Racers and I sped toward the Velibar fighters. They were smaller than our ships and moved quickly. Jade was at work, trying to determine how many we were facing, and she tallied the count at nine.

  Varn’s voice carried through the dash speakers. “Nine. No problem.”

  I sped after one of the triangle flyers, which appeared to be attempting to intercept me, and broke off just as it dove for a head-on collision. Luther trailed fire after it and struck its hull. The thing exploded.

  “Apparently, they didn’t have time to adjust the energy pattern sensors like the Squid had. Hit ‘em hard and fast!” I informed the others.

  Luna Corp took a pair down, and I cringed as I saw Lotus’ Racer lose a battle with their opponent. The ship exploded into a million pieces.

  Varn and I destroyed another three, and Sage was relentless in their pursuit of the last two. The flyer that had killed Lotus’ team was moving erratically, speeding away, and Jade asked Luther to change tactics. “Keep it alive. We’re going to need information.” She was right.

  We made a plan and recruited a nearby ice hauler into service. Guiding the flyer toward it, the hauler tossed its energy net out, catching the enemy in a neat bundle. We sent a current through, and the shields crackled and broke down, making it easy prey. The enemy craft lay lifeless in the clutches of the hauler.

  “Bring the ship in, but be cautious. We want the flyer’s network intact, and whatever was inside operating it alive,” I said.

  “One escaped,” she replied.

  Panicked, I stared out the viewer, unable to determine the enemy fighters with my bare eyes. “Do we have a tag on it?” I asked her.

  “No. It’s gone.” Her voice wasn’t reassuring. “We’re beginning our retreat. We’ll leave a couple of corporate frigates here on the off chance one of them returns, though we don’t imagine that’s going to happen any time soon.”