Age of Space

Cadet Haraken rapidly approached Ronin and his two companions. As he reached them, it was apparent the man was angry. Stepping up close in a threatening manner, he immediately began questioning them:

“Who are you people? Why would you use that name!?”

Ronin could feel Simons shrinking back behind him.

“Whoa! Calm down! Is that not your name?” Ronin asked, a bit bewildered by the sudden aggression.

The red-haired young man, leaning in even closer, silently hissed, “listen man, I don’t know what your problem is, but don’t use that name around here. This is the only fun I get to have for myself when I’m not at the academy. Don’t think I lack the power to ruin your lives. One word from me and nobody will ever be willing to hire you ever again!”

So that's what got him so worked up. Ronin mentally slapped himself. Haraken was likely using a code name in order to stay under the radar. And if it was discovered that the space-force academy's star student spent his free time engaging in illegal street racing, it would likely cause a scandal for the academy. With how famous Haraken was, his code name was probably the only shield he had against government surveillance.

“I’m from the academy too, and I don’t use a code name,” Ronin began, attempting to explain himself.

Well, he did have something akin to a code name, but being called the defiler was not exactly the same as being called Speed demon. Not to mention that the individual known as the defiler was currently wanted by the government for engaging in bioterrorism.

As Haraken furrowed his brows, Ronin hastily continued, “—we just didn’t know it was a big deal, okay?”

“Really?” The legendary genius asked, still suspicious.

“Of course!” Ronin nodded then reached out for a handshake. “Name's Ronin Maximus by the way, nice to meet you.”

Haraken didn't shake his hand, but he at least seemed to calm down a little. Looking over the trio, he asked, “what are you guys here for anyways? Are you planning to join the race as well?”

Simons, having worked up his courage to talk, began answering in that melodic voice of his he was swiftly becoming known for. “No no, we’d never compete with one such as yourself, eherm, Speed demon. We’re here because we plan to design a racing ship, and you fine gentlemen are just the type of customers we’re looking for.”

“Hang on... You're from the Simons family?” Haraken seemed to have noticed something and was staring intently at the bald designer. Simons began shuffling his feet, looking down at the ground as Haraken continued, “to think a member of one of the 10 great families would be here of all places.” His face broke into a knowing smirk. “I see I’m not the only one skirting the law to get what I want. Perhaps we could come to an agreement?”

Before Simons had the chance to answer, Ronin stepped in. “Absolutely! In fact, we’ll even happily hand over the first ship we make to you, free of charge.”

Haraken looked pleasantly surprised, probably not expecting to be offered a racing ship right out of the gate. “It’s not exactly what I had in mind, but it sounds like a very generous offer. In fact, it sounds a little bit too generous... there's a catch, right?”

“There is,” Ronin agreed. “It’s a minor thing really. Just fly our ship when you race. We want brand recognition, and if our ships win races, more people will buy them.”

Haraken nodded in understanding.

All in all, this chance encounter was turning out rather well. As they began negotiating a deal for the upcoming design project, Ronin could tell Haraken really wanted a new ship. He was also being very specific about the ship being untraceable and off the books, and Ronin exploited that for all it was worth. Before long, they'd finalized an agreement, and it was time for the race to start.

“…”

“Did that really happen just now?!” Simons exclaimed, giddy with excitement. “That’s cadet freaking Haraken! And you not only got him to fly our brand, but to act as a test pilot as well!?”

They looked at the retreating back of the famous pilot as he reached the gray ship, then entered.

“He’s a thrill seeker. I’ve known quite a few people like that over the years. Once I knew what he was like, it wasn’t hard to convince him,” Ronin replied.

Simons glanced back at Ronin. “You mean to say—he’s a thrill seeker like yourself? I heard how you fought those ruddles. You literally jumped into a swarm of them.”

“Sigh… Yeah I guess,” Ronin begrudgingly admitted. It was a part of him as well, that need for adrenaline, that tiny spark, just waiting for something to come along and ignite it.

“—Guys, something seems to be happening!” Nimitri interrupted.

Along the skyscrapers lining the street, huge holoscreens descended. Covering the entire side of each building, they spanned maybe a hundred meters in length and twice that in height. In fact, the screens were so enormous, the entire venue lit up, and Ronin could see several people covering their eyes.

A voice, amplified with the aid of speakers, began announcing over the music: [To the old familiars—you know what to expect, the betting pools are open!] Chuckles could be heard amongst the crowd filling the street, and the announcer continued, [—and to our new arrivals—welcome to our humble event! We have ourselves quite the lineup today!]

The announcer began listing up ships and their respective drivers, and the massive screens, as if following along with the man's every word, displayed each craft the moment its name was called.

More and more types of ships began filling the massive screen. From elongated, thin crafts, specialized in cutting through the air as efficiently as possible, to crafts with oversized thrusters, looking more like a rocket than something someone would drive. Every new racing ship was simply bursting with personality, and Ronin couldn't get enough of it.

Time passed as the holoscreens filled up, and eventually, it was Harakens turn.

[Up next, we have todays favorite, the Zabura-B9 and its driver—Speed demon!]

The matt-gray shuttle came up on screen, not looking like it had been modified at all. In fact, it looked like something someone's grandmother would drive. It didn’t belong here. The excitement building in the air however, told a different story. People began raising their hands and the crowd roared as the atmosphere seemed to ignite.

In response, Haraken revved the engine, and the already crazed crowd, went even wilder.

“…”

A few more ships were listed. But it did not take long before the last ship was called, and it was time for the race to start.

[Are you ready?] the announcer shouted over the speakers and the crowd cheered back in anticipation.

[3. 2. 1. Go!]

The race was on, and the ships took off, their drive plumes burning long scorch marks along the ground.

As the ships shot ahead at full speed; it did not take long before they were out of sight... but the giant holoscreens were there for a reason.

Cameras, each installed onto a racing ship for just this very moment, turned on as films began streaming. Everyone got to see in clear detail how each ship moved, turning corner after corner whilst doing their best to dodge the oncoming civilian traffic. The racing track was essentially a giant maze of neon lights and concrete, and the ships had to climb up several tens of kilometers as they moved up and out from the deep valley. Ronin quickly spotted the unremarkable, gray hulk belonging to Haraken.

The screen did show him lagging behind the hundred or so other competitors in the beginning, but with every turn, he maintained more speed, catching up little by little.

The real upset, however, did not occur until they reached the halfway point, and were turning back towards district 92.

Harakens ship, right before turning around, suddenly activated thrusters installed at the lower end of its hull, gaining enormous speed along the turn. The gray hulk began passing both ships and skyscrapers with only centimeters to spare.

As the crowd cheered, Ronin, Simons and Nimitri only stared at each other.

“Alright, now I see why he’s famous,” Nimitri said, shaking his head at the absurdity of what had just happened.

Nobody in their right mind flew that close. He should have crashed...He was supposed to have crashed... At those speeds, calculating how to drive through such a small gap was supposed to be impossible.

But the craziness of the race didn’t end there. Shortly after turning around, the ships began descending back down into the valley. Now flying downwards, Haraken could maintain much higher speeds. He began utilizing the ship's side thrusters, narrowly avoiding both the competition as well as the nearby civilian crafts as he headed for the finish line.

[Speed demon has taken the lead, but can he maintain it until the end!?] The announcer shouted as Haraken passed yet another ship.

The rest of the track was downhill and with how Harakens lead just kept on increasing, that question was pretty much moot at this point.

Simons looked over at his two companions. “Getting Haraken on as a test pilot is pretty much the best decision we’ve ever made.”

“Yeah…We've got to employ this guy permanently somehow,” Ronin agreed. “I mean, I know why you called me a thrill seeker Simons, but this guy… Void, I don’t compare at all. Imagine what he could do with a proper ship.”

“…”

As the race finished up, the giant holoscreens showed Speed demon clearly securing first place, being several seconds ahead of the rest. Haraken exited his shuttle to a cheering crowd, and Ronin’s group went up to meet him.

“That was incredible sir!” Simons shouted after they’d pushed through the crowd.

“Hahaha, I just love to race man! Did you see that turn halfway through the race?” Haraken laughed back.

“How did you even do that? I’ve never seen anyone do something like that before, not even in the professional circuit!”

The star pilot rolled his eyes, sighing, “the maneuver is banned. It’s actually part of the reason why I ended up here in the first place. These events are really the only places left where I actually get to challenge myself.” After thinking for a moment, Haraken followed up, “By the way, want a tour around the place? I know a few of the drivers here. I’m sure they’d let you have a look at their ships if you’d like?”

“That’d be perfect, thanks,” Ronin said, clenching his fists in anticipation.

The star pilot flashed a grin. “Hey, you’re the ones making me a ship. The more you know about this stuff, the better my ship will be, right?”

“…”

What followed was a grand tour of maybe 20 racing ships. Nimitri got bored after the first two, leaving Simons and Ronin alone to nerd out for hours.

They got to see examples of anything from computer system overrides to turbo boosters and xenofuel drives. Eventually, Ronin almost had to be dragged away from an exhaust pipe he’d found. Whomever modified that ship, had for some reason removed every single safety filter from the thing. It was as dirty as a mine spill, but he had to know how they’d done it.

With his violet-black academy suit covered in soot, they’d walked up and stopped him before he could begin dismantling the pipe. Even Simons had gotten angry at him when they caught him in the act.

“I’m telling you; I could have easily put it back together again,” Ronin complained as they left the event.

“Maybe, but even with Haraken vouching for us, it’s their ships. If we make him look bad, do you really think he’d want to work for our company in the future?”

Simons was right of course, but Ronin didn’t think much of it. This day had been just what he’d needed to take his mind of that eerily real dream. Working on his mental palace had helped a lot, of course. Getting neck deep in ship modifications though? Now that was a distraction!

As they waited for a shuttle to pick them up, Simons seemed to be deep in thought, and the conversation died down.

“Thanks...” he finally said. “My family—”

“Don't want to hear it,” Ronin cut him off. “Whatever you choose to say, do so willingly. The company contract never involved you gushing out about your family.”

Simons did a weak chuckle as he gave Ronin a thankful glance, but no more words were said on the topic.

Ronin had been quite surprised at the revelation that Simons was from one of the most influential families in the kingdom. The kingdom of Tar had billions of citizens, but only 10 great families. Naturally, the influence of these families was enormous, and they controlled major sections of both the political landscape as well as industry. If Simons was affiliated with one of those families, even if it was one of their smaller branches, it could be of great benefit to Ronin.

Still, this was Simons's story to tell, and Ronin had plenty of secrets himself. If he acted like some sort of hypocrite and began pestering Simons for answers, he could lose what little friendship they'd built. Ronin wasn't that kind of man, and he knew the importance of respecting other people's boundaries.

As the transport shuttle finally arrived, Ronin wiped some soot off his face, and they entered the airlock.