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

my word. But I do expect some resistance from the rest of the Primaries. I’ve already had an interesting conversation this morning,” Bryson said.

Holland set his arms on the table. “With who?”

“Mr. Under, the Sage CEO.”

“Is that so?” I asked. “What did the number one Corporation want?”

“He offered me a piece of his company. Said it would take me to number eight if I accepted.” Suddenly, Bryson’s dark eyes made sense. He’d fought so long to get into the top ten, and here he was, not two months in, being presented a chance to climb the ranks even higher. But it went against his objective now, and I imagined it was difficult to turn off that drive for the top in a man like Bryson Kelley.

“Tell me you didn’t agree,” Holland said.

“Of course not!” Bryson shouted as he slammed a fist on the table, rattling the water glasses. “I’m not a fool. We’d have to forgo the Race for the trade to transpire.”

“Why would they do this?” Jade asked.

“Because they only want their own ships in the Race. They can’t risk losing to us,” I told them.

Holland grinned, and the energy in the room changed. “You know what this means?”

Luther smiled with him. “They’re scared.”

“Damn right they are, and they should be. Because in one week, SeaTech will be declared victorious in the largest Space Race ever seen, and no matter what happens with the Primary Corps after that day, we’ll be the winners,” Bryson said, cheering up finally.

“To the Race!” I lifted my water glass, and the others joined in. We clinked in celebration. It was a façade for their benefit. With recent news, I was confident the Board would do everything possible to prevent our leaving the starting line.

____________

Space around the Moon was busier than ever. Hundreds of vessels surrounded it, the main docking station completely full. We were in a compact enough Racer to weave around the clusters, and with our notoriety at being contestants in the Race, we were allowed to sneak ahead in line, leaving hundreds of waiting pilots behind us.

I hadn’t spent a lot of time at Luna, but this had been Jade’s home. She’d only recently left the confines of the Luna Corp walls. The majority of Luna Corp was located near the north pole, where the sun stayed up for the entire day. It was one of the warmest destinations on the lunar surface, making their city sustainable.

The dome was expansive, spreading above and beyond the city’s edges. The radius of the contraption exceeded fifty kilometers, making it the largest of its kind. I’d heard the amount of energy required to power it was more than all of Sage Industries’ entire half a continent’s draw, not to mention the solar backups in place. The rows of panels stretched through the region, again creating the leading network in the system. But for Luna, it wasn’t a big deal.

The technology had been perfected by Harding years ago, and while most of the companies didn’t need extensive sections of solar energy, Luna Corp kept the Primary Corporation in the top ten with their support.

“Good to be home?” Luther asked Jade.

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s only been a few months, but it already looks different,” Jade whispered.

“It hasn’t changed; you have. It’s a matter of perspective,” Bryson told her.

“Maybe. My parents are here. Told me to keep my head down and my mouth shut. But I couldn’t. It was their son that was killed by Luna’s negligence, and they wanted to stay silent.” Jade’s voice grew in volume.

“Are you going to see them?” Holland asked.

“No.”

“But they’re your—”

“Son, she has her reasons, and we’re only here for a night. Jade’s staying on Pilgrim while they test the system, so it’s not like there’s time for visiting.” Bryson had saved her from explaining, but I understood it all too well.

“I just think maybe a message, or a video chat would—” Holland wouldn’t give up.

“Drop it,” I said. The city started to grow in the viewer, and I was at a loss for words at the sight. Luna Corp had done the unthinkable. Almost a hundred years ago, they’d decided to terraform the dome. It began as a slow project, but after twenty years, they had the base of the power shield created, and within another two decades, an entire lake, created from hauling ice chunks from deep craters on the surface. Now the lake was a kilometer wide, and twice as long. It was used in irrigation, and to supply fresh water to their people.

Once a year, an unprecedented amount of ice was imported from various spots on the Moon, melted in a giant warehouse outside the dome, and piped in through underground plumbing. It was really a marvel. Even from here, I could spot the acres of farmland, and saw Bryson staring at them too.

“This is what you want to do, isn’t it?” I asked him. His hand rested on my seat, and he leaned lower, nodding.

“On Proxima, there will be plenty of opportunity for something like this, though much of the region is habitable.” He spoke low, and I doubted the rest of the team could hear him.

“Captain Lewis, we are being directed to the LunaBase entry point Eight Beta,” R11 advised.

“Good.”

Luther plotted the course, shooting the path onto my right dash screen, and I followed the trail to the docking entrance. There were dozens of spacecraft here, all appearing like the personal transports of the CEOs or their families coming to see the send-off of the great Space Race.

I counted twenty separate docks, and we were third in line. When it was our turn, I hovered twenty meters from the Moon’s surface and faced the dome. A yellow glow blinked out a square, signaling for us to proceed, and I passed through the shield. If someone deactivated the access before we entered, the Racer would be cut in half. I always held my breath for good luck. The luxury liners and transports all