"Argh…" Patience groaned as she pressed the cooling pack on her swollen eye. She was pretty beaten right now and enjoyed the little rest.

After going to the training camp with her colleagues from the new studio, she felt like she stepped into a different world. The standards were so much higher here - from better equipment, to professional coaches all the way to the really skilled fighters. She understood much better now, why everyone told her that getting a contract from one of the big studios was not only a boon, but her ticket out of RustHollow Quarters.

But with the higher standards also came higher expectations from the trainees and she felt like she had to struggle to keep up the pace.

Moel, her assigned coach, was doing a great job. The Ommih was a bulky man with the two long antennas on his head that were typical for his race. However she could see some hair that tried to grow on his bald head and the antennas seemed a bit shorter than usual. Patience assumed Moel was a hybrid, but didn’t really care. He definitely had the Ommih-like empathy and was an awesome trainer. He always understood her limits and pushed her further, without taking it too far. It was the first period in a long time that Patience had a feeling of rapid growth in her skills.

All that didn’t change the fact that she was sitting on a bench to the side of the ring. She just lost against Zela, another girl in the squad, and tried to reflect on her mistakes… and, well, she tried to forget a bit of the pain in her head.

“Robin, that little fucker, just popped a stim and fought on. Curse that bastard, how does he dare to evade the pain of my training while I’m sitting here with a throbbing head?”

“Who is Robin? Your man?” Moel came over and asked with a grin.

“Wow, now you switch from physical punches to mental ones?” She exclaimed in false indignation.

“He’s a friend and colleague from work. I helped him a bit to learn the basics.”

“Oh? You coached him? Then you should know what I wanna hear from you right now.” Her coach laughed.

“Yeah, I mismanaged my mutation. I used it too often while blocking, despite the fact that Zela wouldn't be able to do shit even without me enhancing my strength, if my blocks were timed better.”

“Correct, you had the upper hand the whole fight but you ran out of steam halfway through like a bloody newbie.”

“Her mutation is bullshit! It’s messing with my head, showing me things that aren’t there. How does one fight that? I’m not one for mind games!” Patience scowled. She gave an embarrassing sight in the ring, even if it wasn’t as simple as it looked from the outside, Patience still was feeling like shit.

“She cannot show you things that aren’t there. She can only mess with your perception to a very low degree. Making a fist appear a bit faster or a step to the side slower. If you want to beat her, you better stop fighting only with your eyes. Begin to use all your senses. Your instincts, your body's automatic reactions. Everything you’ve trained over the years is already ingrained in your body and soul. Use that and not just your eyes!” Moel calmly explained.

He could see great potential in Patience, but her short fuse came through even in fights sometimes and every slightly competent fighter would know to use this weakness. She would get it however, Moel was sure of that.

She was on her way to the big stages and he would be the coach at her side!

***

The day of the second race ultimately arrived, no training or maintaining the Melody could stretch the time any further.

That's why Robin soon found himself on his way to his ship at the end of the long starting grid. When he stepped on the track he could see Niu's white Speedy glistering in the rising sun, waiting in the second row and of course Hopewing and his red-silver ship in the center of the first, which he was just about to walk by.

He still had no idea how Hopewing could be cheating, but his time was running out. This was his second to last chance to find clues with his senses. If he failed, he would have to try other ways, which would only make it harder.

As soon as the Jolt V3 in the leading position came into reach, Robin activated his mutation. All his training paid off, the lines that created the image in his actual vision formed faster than ever. He concentrated his search especially on any anomalies he could find within the cockpit.

Dozens of thin lines popped up, each representing a cable that guided electric energy from one system to another. More and more came to view and when their numbers hit the hundreds, Robin was happy that he had at least achieved small successes with his filtering. As long as he spent some of his concentration on it, his senses ignored parts like the engine or thruster. However, he still saw blurry shadows and the power lines that connected those parts, but they didn’t blanket everything else anymore.

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‘Come on, what am I missing?’ Robin frantically thought as he continued his search. There were too many cables, too many systems. He had no idea which one could be used for cheating. With more time and taking a closer look he was sure he could find something, but like this?

Robin focused even more, as if trying to pierce the ship with his gaze and just as he realized that he stopped walking and stood near Hopewing’s ship, he felt a tingling in his neck, giving him goosebumps all over.

‘Someone is observing me…’ Robin guessed. He messed up, it definitely must be obvious for anyone around, that he was using his ability to do shady shit. Before he could even move on, he saw Hopewing sitting in his ship, staring at him. Robin hadn’t observed him as he was looking for the illegal system, but when he felt the angry glare, he took a look.

The man was clad in the Apex jumpsuit and helmet, like everyone else. Robin however could still see, through the canopy of the ship and the helmet’s visor, that Hopewing’s eyes held a deep malice in them. He felt small, like standing in front of a beast in the wild. Not daring to move, he just stared back with uncertainty.

Just then, new lines began to form in his vision, too faint for him to notice them earlier. Like hair-thin threads they winded around the man’s arms. Robin was puzzled, was that part of his suit? Where…

“Move on and stop staring, you damn hillbilly!”

Robin was interrupted and lost his concentration as another pilot shoved him forwards and he heard the voice over the near-field comm of his helmet.

“Ah sorry, I was lost in thoughts.” Robin mumbled an apology and hurried towards the back of the grid where his own ship was waiting.

‘Burn in Plasma! What did I just see there?’ He was still occupied with his thoughts as he climbed into the Melody. He never had seen anything like that, not even at the Cetro woman who had dozens of body modifications. Did Hopewing have implants? Was that allowed or not? No one asked him if he had any… so maybe it should be just fine, right? But still… what is this nagging feeling he couldn’t shake off?

***

Somehow Robin managed to clear his mind and push away any distracting thoughts. He powered up his ship when the countdown showed 3 minutes remaining. The Melody’s thrusters came to life and the low humming calmed his nerves.

He couldn’t hear anything from the other ships, even so they should have all started their engines by now. But every sound was swallowed by the cold void encompassing the moon. The strangeness tried to pressure his mind, but he fought against it, concentrating on the race that was about to begin.

2 minutes remaining.

Robin went through his checklist one last time and made sure everything was working as expected.

“This is the all deciding moment!” He said to himself, “My last step, I only have to reach the top 10. Everything else is just good planning in the final race, but no competition, no unpredictable risks. I’ve trained so much with Niu, there should be a good chance for me… No!” He shook his head, “I will get my spot in the top 10! No ‘if’ or ‘maybe’, I will do it!”

After mentally hyping himself, he looked back at the countdown, that had never stopped ticking down.

15s… 10s… 5s…

With a loud beep, the lights went green and the race began.

The Melody shot forward, chasing after the rest of the ships. Robin stayed at the end of the field for now. His target was not the 1st place, it was reaching the top 10. Slow and steady, that was the plan. Just like Patience had taught him how to fight, he would observe first and only make a plan after understanding his foes. He had time, one lap should take over 3 minutes. With 6 laps to go, he had roughly 20 minutes to work his way through the ranks.

‘Keep calm, you have time! No unnecessary risks…’ Robin reminded himself again and again.

He kept his pace in the first lap and even was passed by the only pilot that started behind him, which pushed him down to 25th rank, the last one. He still remained as calm as possible and observed the other pilots. Especially their behavior in the danger zones, the craters C1 and C2 as well as the high speed sections, was important to him.

While Robin saw some ships rising in the sky to pass other racers in the first straight, he didn't see anyone fall out of line in the second, The Canyon. Quite the opposite actually, the overall speed, while still high, was lower than in the first high speed section.

After finishing the first lap as the tail light of the field, Robin still wasn't too worried. He hadn’t lost any ground and kept sticking close to the five ships in front of him. He got a good grasp on their movements and planned to catch them in the straight section that followed after the first crater, C1. He learned enough about them that he should be able to pass all of them… at once.

‘Keep calm, you have time! No unnecessary risks…’ Robin prayed his mantra once more.

After entering the high speed section, he rose a few meters higher and raised Melody’s speed much more than before. In an instant he flew above all five competitors and pushed his ship down to ground levels again. One sharp brake and a curve later, he entered The Canyon. It was time to climb the ranks!

Unfortunately, when he shot into The Canyon, he realized that maybe he was too comfortable in the first laps - where was the rest of the field?

He couldn’t see the 19th ranked even in this 7km straight line of sight.

‘Fuck…’