Space Race (Space Race 1) Nathan Hystad (ebooks children's books free .TXT) 📖

load or was late for a shipment, and quickly became one of their top transporters. Eventually, he took the job promised to me.” I remembered the smug expression on his face when we met in the halls after his meeting. He patted me on the back and said something about getting her next time, champ. I was sure he’d used the word “champ.” Then I’d entered the office and was told the high-level position was filled.

Transporting the CEO, Frank Under, from site to site didn’t seem exciting to me now, but then, it had been my dream. They were always being targeted by other Corporations, lacing each trip with possible danger, but also a chance to make a real impact. Instead, I’d been left behind, and I was sure a man like Varn would never have punched his boss square in the face. Because he wouldn’t have saved those people in the first place, and he would have acted with a clean conscience.

“Now’s your chance to set the record straight. Hawk Lewis is the best damned pilot in the system,” Holland told me, and while I appreciated his confidence, it clearly wasn’t true.

“I’m a deep-system hauler with experience and a few tricks up my sleeve and a wall full of dusty trophies. I don’t know if that’s enough,” I admitted.

“None of us have done anything like this before, including the other teams. Not at this scale. We’ll learn this Racer together,” Jade exclaimed.

“Already bought in, hey, Serrano? How about you, Luther? Think we have a shot?” I asked the big man.

“Not even close. But I saw a signing bonus, and a new home at SeaTech, so I’m not going to let us embarrass the kid’s father. I’m all in too.”

And just like that, Team SeaTech was real.

 

 

 

Eight

After two days of test runs, I still didn’t feel ready for what was about to happen. The others didn’t seem to notice my inexperience as I maneuvered number 11, but it was clear as the calm water in the cove to me. The way I felt a half-breath behind on my turns, the difficulty in managing to determine the thrust nuances on the extremely powerful ship. It was a far cry from moving in space without gravity in a hauler like Capricious. This was an art. My instincts were honed to control the tight thrusters of a Pod, not a Racer, but I told myself I’d grow comfortable with the ship. I was a skilled pilot.

“Maybe we can go into space, where I’ll be doing the majority of our flying,” I suggested during a run on the third morning.

“Boss says you have to master this first, then we can hit the test in space next week.” Luther was being supportive, and I appreciated it, but I felt like a klutz as I shifted the wings to make a sharp turn over the ocean.

“Where is the test run?” Jade asked.

“Beats me. I have a feeling it’s not in plain sight of potential voyeurs,” Luther told her.

Every Corporation had a piece of land on Earth, some far larger than others. Luna Corp, for example, had the entire Moon, and only a tiny footprint in the South Pole. They each had rights to mining operations, mostly in the Kuiper Belt, and then on an assortment of other planetoids and moons. Eris was now SeaTech’s, where Pluto was divided between Orion, Lotus, and three lower-ranked corporations, who’d sacrificed other technology to make the advancement on property.

Yet space belonged to no one. Lanes were created between popular destinations, but they weren’t owned, taxed, or tariffed.

“I have the coordinates,” R11 said.

He’d been so quiet, I’d forgotten he was in a seat behind me. “Where?”

“One point two AU from here. The location is remote, vacant from any shipping lanes, and out of any possible orbit track. It will make a good training zone,” R11 told us.

“How do you know all this?” Holland asked. “Dad said it was confidential.”

“I am a computer and have access to many things.” The robot sounded amused. “Want to see Holland’s test scores from middle school?”

“That’s not funny,” Holland said.

“Actually, it is.” Luther laughed.

“Wait, you’re joking, right, R11?” Holland looked perturbed.

“Surely I wouldn’t make a joke.” The robot left me speechless.

I focused on controlling the Racer, and glanced at the screen adjacent to my seat. Engines were only at seventy-five percent. I hadn’t pushed them to their brink yet; I wanted to ensure I had full control before doing so.

I lowered her, the front of the Racer stretching out ahead of me as it dipped toward the ocean. It was quite the sight, speeding over the giant body of water, sunlight reflecting off the slowly rolling waves.

“What’s that?” Jade’s voice carried urgency.

“Where?” Holland asked.

“There!” Luther sent a blinking icon to my mapping system. “I see several objects.”

I swerved for the first one, hoping it wasn’t enemy bogies encroaching into SeaTech’s territory. That would be cause for serious repercussions, and I doubted any of the Primary would be so stupid as to pull a stunt like that weeks before the Race.

The moment I saw the orange ring above the ocean, I grinned, my pulse slowing. “It’s a track. Bryson’s given us a track,” I told them.

Then the next checkpoint came into range, a tiny circle in the distance.

“Awesome,” Holland shouted, and I guided the Racer into the first ring. A timer began from the corner of my viewer.

“I see we have some time trials to contend with.” This was more like it. Something to focus on instead of cautiously meandering around like I had been.

The Racer leveled out, and Luther called the distance. “0.9 kilometers until next target.”

With newfound determination, I engaged the thrusters to eighty percent, careening over the waves at the subsequent ring. We crossed the gap in a flash, and he advised the next hurdle. We passed through it right after the clock was at five minutes, and I searched for the ensuing target. “Where is it?” I asked.

“Think three-dimensional,” Luther said,