by Sean Kennedy
“You have come to the Dojo for training,” she said, “and so you shall train.”
“Aww snap bro! If Majka is trainin’, you’re gonna need this!” Teeva said, tossing Jacob a food pack. He caught it and felt a little concerned by his friend's sudden and knowing laugh.
Chapter 19
Savage rain swirled like clouds sheeting across the highway. The night enveloped food deserts and forgotten suburbs, long forsaken for the promise of the Deep City density. America’s heartland had been long cut out and traded for cash and prizes, leaving her to dream of a better time. Her old highways were broken but still networked together like a sordid past.
The Road Witch, standing on the pegs of her power bike, stretched forwards keeping her clawed talons on the handlebars. Her war braids streaking behind her as she screamed, eyes shut against sky’s falling blood.
Her bike's rear tire, taller than a man and almost as wide, was driven by a micro reactor as it held the razor's edge of traction, while a tangled frenzy of collapsed Stickmen clung to the bike’s frame.
The speed drove air through the face holes where her nose once was, and she roared like a rage engine without pausing for breath. Her jagged alloy implant teeth from her military service and let her feed on anything organic, so that her solar powered nanites would forever have the material to rebuild her body, providing an immortal madness of rage and despair.
That which is moving is not dead.
Lightning flashed across the sky, as rain danced to her hideous scream. She opened her eyelids, showing the mirrored orbs where human eyes once were. Mil-spec sensors fed her the subtle data of the world flying by, as her classified senses felt the road ahead.
“BRO!”
Teeva was shaking his shoulder when Jacob bolted upright and his face shield slammed shut. He would have thrown himself onto the floor if Teeva hadn't caught the edge of the hammock.
“Easy bro, just me,” he said, and Jacob thought open his visor and looked around the Dojo’s galley.
The night before had been spent running the Kowazuki through the interior of the ship, flying through the bulkheads and automated doorways. Joni suggested training in simulation because if he damaged the drone, he wouldn’t be able to race, but Majka stated that if Jacob couldn’t survive this training, he’d have no chance of winning.
Train hard, fight easy.
He’d flown the entire length of the ship’s interior so many times, he was certain he could navigate the passages in total darkness if he had to. Each length was timed, and Majka insisted each lap had to be faster than the last. Try as he might, Jacob couldn’t get the Kowazuki through the ship in less than twenty-two seconds.
They had all fed on Mac’s donated cappuccino bars and fruit-packs from the duffel until just past midnight, when Majka banished him to the hammock, saying only, “You have a chance.”
“Bad dream bro?” Teeva asked.
“Yeah,” Jacob said, trying to think of how to describe it, the vision was fading. “Yeah,” he said again and nodded.
“Shake it off bro! Race day! Time to kick the world's ass.”
“No pressure,” Joni said, and Jacob turned to see her sitting on his Kowazuki hard case as she finished a food bar. “I took a look at the mods your uncle did when I tweaked the transmission security. The good news is this is probably the fastest drone I’ve ever seen, but I got no idea how you steer it.”
“We aren't worried about his skill,” Majka said, bringing Jacob a foil pouch of steaming scrambled eggs, pre-laced with bits of synthetic pork for that real bacon experience, “but I worry for your chances Jacob. Nothing is ever fair. I fear if you perform well, there will be those who will not want you to compete, but do your best anyways. Butai and Kage will lend some telepresence security at the race.”
“I’m going in the flesh bro. I don’t want you out racin’ without a dedicated sitter watchin’ your back.
“Thanks!” Jacob said, “but what if they damage the drone?”
“Then I guess you’ll be happy that I’m there.” Joni said, “I'll be keeping Teeva company if things go wrong. I've don't have much for parts,” she shrugged, “but I’m all you got for a pit crew.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else,” Jacob said and smiled.
Joni stood, picking up the case, “We should probably get going now, I got no idea how long it takes to get signed in.”
Jacob looked to Teeva. “Hey don't look at me bro, I know where it is and stuff, but that’s it! Can't be that hard tho’.”
“Thanks for helping out with this Joni” Jacob said arching to stretch his back, “I know you think it's a lost cause but...”
“If I thought it was a lost cause,” she interrupted, “I wouldn’t have two hundred riding on you, Spaceman.”
Jacob felt a new warmth spread through his body, “You bet on me?”
“I hope you're as good as Teeva thinks you are,” she said, and turned away carrying the Kowazuki case toward the ships ladder.
“You’re all in on the cut,” Jacob said, and Joni turned back. Everyone looked at him surprised.
“Well, Majka trained me, Joni’s looking after my repairs, Kage and Butai are doing security; it’s a team effort! We have to cut equal shares for all,” Jacob said.
“We gots to win something before splittin’ it bro!” Teeva laughed.
“But it's nice to know where your heart's at,” Butai said.
“Dragon Cobra Ninja Clan,” Kage said and stuck out his fist, and they back bumped knuckles as a group. Jacob followed Joni and Teeva up the ladder leaving Kano and Kage laying in their cushioned broadcast positions.
Majka silently slipped behind Jacob as they climbed and followed up onto the deck where the hatch swung open to reveal a bright blue sky. The night's rains swept the scent of oil from the air enough to believe that maybe it could be clean one day.
Joni ran ahead and looked over the ship's railing to find Mark waiting patiently to lower them, holding a plasticized pallet he’d found some time during the night.
“You’ve been traveling very quickly Jacob, please be careful, and listen to Joni,” Majka said as she reached out and touched the side of his helmet. “and remember no matter what happens, you cannot lose.”
Jacob smiled and as he stepped on Marks elevated pallet, joining Joni, Teeva, and the gear. Majka added, “I’ve got money on you as well.”
Between the night's fierce rain and Joni’s cleaning efforts, Mark looked pristine in the morning sun as his screw joints lowered the pallet smoothly to the lakebed.
“Do you mind giving us a lift into town?” Joni spoke softly to the Kaizen, “I know it's not your favorite place but...”
The marine loader dropped its booster seats as it’s bulky frame lurched towards her.
“That looks like a yes,” Jacob said.
“Of course it's a yes,” Teeva said slapping the loaders pincer arm, “Mark’s the man, ain't nobody playin’ when Mark’s at the table.”
The Kaizen’s torso twisted and a heavy metal pincer retracted from the pallet to stretch toward Teeva, its pincers slamming shut. Teeva stumbled backward as the closed claw stopped just in front of him, hanging motionless at chest level. Teeva bumped his closed fist against the steel. “Boosh!” He said, and Mark drew back his thousand-pound arm.
Jacob heard two familiar impact thuds as Butai and Kage’s telepresence droids dropped from the deck, bouncing to Mark’s side. Joni swung herself into the yellow pilot seat as Jacob and Teeva climbed up into the side seats.
Teeva snapped his seat belt closed and Butai and Kage’s t-droids climbed up the back of Mark’s cab to lock their t-droid fingers through his metal roof mesh. It was a position that would have been excruciating for a human, but easy and solid for synthetics, letting them deploy at a moment’s notice.
Like a war elephant, Mark turned on his roller shrouded feet and began traveling away from the ship, picking up speed. Majka waved from the ship's deck, and Jacob and Teeva waved back
while Mark sped through the fresh mud towards the lake crater’s edge. The Kaizen powered up the boat ramp and followed the faded ruts of Mac’s recovery truck, until he maneuvered onto the cracked asphalt road just ahead of the giant blue tank.
The high whine of Marks electric engines mixed with the wind whistling through the cab’s mesh as the zone sped by. It wasn’t long before they crested a small rise, and from their elevated position, Jacob saw Zone Town spreading out under its tangled wires, like glowing spider silk woven around neon signs and holograms, hocking their wares.
Jacob caught himself searching the low wreckage around the roadway for any sign of the Dead Droid Posse. Every flap of plastic and shifting shadow seemed to hide one of their droids, and he felt the edge on his nerves remembering their last encounter. He looked back and felt better, seeing the t-droid’s heads pivoting and hearing the soft sound of their lenses adjusting focus as they searched for possible threats.
“The races are in the condemned district” Joni’s voice came through his helmet's link as Mark shifted northward, skirting along Zone Town’s border.
“I thought this whole place was condemned,” Jacob said.
“Nope, there used to be factories and warehouses out here,” Joni said, “anything the Big One didn’t completely destroy was too unstable to use, and since no one wanted to tear them down, they're just considered condemned.”
“I’m surprised that keeps anyone out,” Jacob said.
“It doesn’t really, but there’s nothing worthwhile to risk anything over in there, so it’s the perfect place to wire up for drone racing, but the buildings could still go at any time. Even the drones can cause a collapse. It happened a couple years ago during the trials.”
“Yeah, I dunno Joni,” Teeva’s voice cut in, “that collapse looked a little fishy bro, especially when it just happened to take out the two lead drones.”
“True enough,” Joni said, “and that's just one example of the kind of cheating you’ll find Jacob.”
Zone Town’s perimeter was the unofficial dump of the district. The smell of garbage mixed with the oily air as they moved and Jacob dropped his face shield fully to try and filter out the new stench. It helped, but not very much.
Ahead of them, a ragged chain link fence reinforced with stacked shipping containers made a makeshift wall around the crumbling brick and concrete buildings beyond. From his booster seat, Jacob’s saw crowds gathering around a tent set up in front of a large central building.
A sudden roar from the sky signaled a VTOL flyer’s landing. Its turbines blasted plastic and dust beneath it as it descended into a makeshift airfield to the side of the buildings, where Jacob could see other transports parked and waiting.
“Wow! People fly in here for this?” Jacob asked.
“It's big money,” Butai’s voice came over the link, “anything that can be, will be bet on. Just like fighting scorpions.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Jacob said.
“He means that since we are all so poor,, it’s a more level playing field. Gamblers think it’s harder to cheat,” Kage said.
“But they still cheat, like with the building collapse,” Jacob said.
“Exactly,” Kage went on, “that’s why the course is kept secret, or it’s supposed to be secret until race day. That way, no one has the edge.”
“Yeah but anything can be had for a price,” Butai added as Mark slowed his roll, approaching a long gash in the fence wire. Jacob heard the two t-droids drop off and undid his seatbelt. He jumped down, popping his power-boks to absorb the landing. Butai and Kage grabbed the sides of Mark’s plastic pallet like a stretcher to carry the supplies. Teeva and Jacob watched the growing crowd through the broken fence.
“Thanks for the lift big guy!” Joni said climbing from the cab, “we’re going to be here a while, so if you want to take off, we can meet up with you later.”
Mark slowly backed in beside the fence, pushing garbage around his frame like a nest before settling into a low squat, trying to blend with the clutter.
“Or you can wait here if you like,” Joni finished.
“I think he’ll wait,” Jacob said and took his drone case from the pallet as he followed Butai’s t-droid through the fence. Past the chain link, a prompt appeared in Jacob’s HUD asking him to accept the Wreckage Trial’s Immersion AR.
Jacob did, and on the second confirmation, the open expanse of the lot became illuminated with hundreds of towering animations for race wares and food vendors, as sweeping spotlights shone on a shattered brickwork building.
Bright floating barriers, like circles of neon, surrounded the parked flyers. Telepresence guards stood beneath each high-cost transport, promising consequences for any who came too close.
Above the wide modular tent, a triangle slab of glowing granite was spinning on its inverted point with ‘Registration’ emblazoned on it and a countdown timer showing only fifteen minutes remaining.
“Looks like we got here just in time bro,” Teeva said from beside him, “the trial’s about to start.”
“So, how do these trials work anyways?” Jacob asked as they walked towards the registration tent, “everyone has to prove themselves first?”
“Only new racers,” Joni said, “sponsored racers don’t have to qualify, but noobs like us do. It's almost as big a deal as the main race because it shows the wildcards and new blood.”
“Oh,” Jacob said, “do we win anything if I make it through the trials?”
“Just a place in the main race, unless you bet,” Joni winked.
Jacob was glad his visor was down so the others couldn’t see his face. Seeing the crowd made him wonder if he really could do this.
There is no such thing as failure for the committed.
“You got that right bro,” Teeva said and slapped him on the back. “Don’t let this crap in your head bro. You’re from the Dragon Cobra Ninja Clan! You’re gonna mop theses noobs.”
“Thanks, Teeva,” Jacob said, but behind his matte black visor, he felt the height of the pedestal Teeva had placed him on.
The crowd cleared in front of them as they approached, and Jacob realized they must have made quite a sight as onlookers evaluated and appraised them. Augmented animations made the registration tent appear as though it was on fire, and its constantly flickering flames spelling out, 'The Twenty Third Annual Wreckage Festival Rotor Drone Races.'
The crowd thinned around the entrance, keeping back as though afraid they might be sucked in and forced to compete.
“There are so many people physically here,” Jacob said, “why do they all come out when they could just watch online?”
“Lag bro,” Teeva said, “same reason why pilots come here to fly, in these races a tenth of a second will make the difference.”
“Okay,” Jacob said, feeling terror lurking inside the burning tent. He took a deep breath as he crossed the threshold, waiting for the panic to wash over him, but it never came. Instead, he saw three folding tables set up as makeshift registration desks. Joni marched towards the middle one.
A man with a limp red mohawk flopped over his left ear was chewing gum and staring at something in his retinal display as they approached. Joni reached back and took the Drone case from Jacob, placing it on the counter.
“Registration code?” The mohawk asked without diverting his gaze.
“2675624 Bravo” Joni announced before Jacob had a chance to panic for not knowing what it was.
The mohawk chewed his gum twice before asking, “Name?”
“Hummingbird,” Jacob said.
“Is that your name? Or the team name?”
“Mine, I’m from the Dragon Cobra Ninja Clan,” Jacob said, feeling better about the race with each passing moment, but floppy mohawk didn’t seem impressed. He stood up from his stool holding a small meter, and for the first time shifted his gaze to Jacob.
“Well?’ he said as they stared at each other.
“He’s gotta measure your bounce
bro,” Teeva whispered, “he’s gotta touch your skin.”
“Oh,” Jacob said, and snapped up his helmet's visor with a thought.
Without augmentations, he saw the red mohawk belonged to a man ten years older and a hundred pounds heavier than his avatar. Jacob leaned forwards over the table turning his face towards the heavy-set redhead.
“Just press it against my cheek,” Jacob said.
Red grunted and pushed the meter’s two metal knobs against his cheek roughly and Jacob felt it’s electrical pulse through his system. He withdrew the meter and looked at it for a moment before his face darkened.
“It’s okay,” Jacob said, “you can do it again if you like.”
The heavyset redhead stepped back, walking over to another table and grabbing a similar meter. After polishing the meter’s metal nub sensors against his shirt, he pressed harder this time against his cheek, and Jacob felt the pulse again.
“Humph,” the redhead said looking at the screen.
Jacob dropped his visor back in place.
“That's right Bro! Read it an’ weep.” Teeva said, winking at Jacob
“Who’s your tech?”
“Joni,” she said and the mohawk only glanced at her before saying, “You’re in stall eighteen at the far end. The race starts in nine minutes, so hope you’re as fast as your bounce says you are.”
“Thanks,” Joni said and gave Teeva an elbow to silence any response he might have. She grabbed the drone and pushed past the table towards the exit at the back of the tent.
Passing through the flaps, the Immersion display changed as they entered the racing pits. An illuminated barrier floated like a fence in front of drone stations as other racers prepared beneath glowing numbers, spaced in a large semicircle around the old building’s parking lot.
A giant scoreboard hovered above the yellow barrier, with 18 names, bounce and team emblazoned in three rows. Jacob saw: 'Hummingbird – 0 – DCNClan', listed in the eighteenth slot and felt the other racers eyes on them.
Joni led them to the last open stall at the farthest edge of the pits, where a glowing number eighteen slowly spun in the air. The few faces he did see looking at them had sneers and half-closed eyes as they walked by.