“...and I'm really enjoying the company of all these racing pilots here on Ruca II.” Niu just explained to the reporter of some sports channel Robin didn't know. But apparently lots of people were watching this show.
“Thank you so much for the talk, Ms. Alaris. Is there anything else you want to share with all your fans in the Mereus Cluster?” The well dressed Ommih asked, while he shoved his microphone in her face, clearly not wanting to end their interview just like that.
Happy gave a wide smile and nodded enthusiastically.
“Thanks so much! Obviously, I’ve to use this chance to say I'm sorry to all the people out there that are always supporting me. I still couldn't manage to cash in a victory against Hopewing and as time is running out - tomorrow is his last race in our league, as you know - I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my promise from last year.” Niu put on a sad face that quickly switched to a determined one, “But be sure: I'll give it my all in the finals!”
“I don't think you have to be sorry, it's probably impossible to beat this millennium's most talented racing pilot. I’m sure your fans will understand this…” As the friendly alien tried to drench the road ahead in slime, someone suddenly interrupted him.
“‘Tsk, he's right, Niu. You shouldn't feel sorry for anything. Hopewing is just rigging the game. He has all the time he wants to train on the tracks as Apex’s mascot and probably achieved a level of muscle memory that no one can beat. That's not talent, that's diligence - which also demands some credit, but has nothing to do with skill.”
The reporter was annoyed at first, but that instantly changed to delight as he smelled a good drama. Hopewing was nearby and must have heard the young man's comment and with his prideful character, he'll not let this slide easily. The Ommih could already feel the tension rise in the room and thought of possible headlines to this post: ‘Newbie tries to degrade Rucasur’s Hopewing’. Just to be sure the story would develop in a juicy way, he quickly reached out with his microphone and pointed it to the troublemaker, his camera-drone following along diligently.
“That's a bold statement from a newly risen pilot. Don't you just wanna ruin Hopewing’s reputation?” He asked intrigued.
“No, it isn't. I've trained a lot with my coach,” Robin explained and motioned at Niu to his side, “and there is no way she would lose to him on a track they both don't know. With that premise, she would beat him ten out of ten times.” He finished and just shrugged.
The reporter was just about to ask more questions, when they saw Hopewing coming over. Niu quickly poked Robin's side and whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, “While you may be right, this is not a good time or place. Just let it slide!”
The Ommih could hardly hide his wide grin as he saw Hopewing’s face contort and just stepped back to let this drama play out. He only had to make sure audio and video were on spot and this would become the story for his promotion.
“Boy, you don't have any idea what you are talking about. You are just a pup that got lucky in its first race. Better not let that grow to your head and smear other people's names.” Hopewing growled, barely able to hold his voice to a civilized level.
The small Happy stepped between them and had to raise her head pretty much, to look at the man.
“Come on, leave it be. He doesn't mean it that way and you shouldn't throw a tantrum right here and now.” She said way too cheerful for the tension in the air.
“Leave it be? After such baseless accusations? If he spews bullshit, he should have it in him to back it up!” He snarled, “You wanna challenge me, pup?” He looked directly at Robin, Niu not tall enough to enter his line of sight.
Now poking Hopewing to get the huge blokes attention, Niu huffed.
“You wanna challenge a rookie? Really? Anyways, while he wasn't exactly polite, he didn't lie or anything. You know it, everyone knows it, so just swallow it and everyone can continue with their interviews and go home.”
The man's face turned so red, Robin was a bit afraid that he might have a fire-based mutation and was about to combust right in front of them.
***
Alec Boosalis still couldn’t believe his luck. This should’ve been just some random everyday-job and the only reason he took it at all was that it was Hopewing’s last local race. He hoped to get some nice shots and maybe even one or two good statements in the final interview.
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‘How did I end up like this?’ He silently questioned himself and looked around. He had a seat in the first row, well the only row, of a personal duel between Niu Alaris and probably the best racing pilot the Mereus Cluster had to offer this era. Everything that had to do with Hopewing gets high ratings in the media, the people loved him and watched everything they could get their hands on, adding in the rebellious daughter of the famous Alaris family only made it more interesting.
For the 10th time in the last minutes, he checked his camera-drone and the connection to the moon's relay station. To his right sat the man who had instigated this whole incident, Robin Tulward. He was also an interesting character, reaching the finals in his first tournament and in quite the spectacular fashion at that. To his other side sat Mr. Nelson, the organizer of the Apex Highspeed Cup and the man that allowed the duel that was about to begin.
‘He doesn’t seem to be worried.’ Alec noticed as he observed the man. He should be, shouldn’t he? If Hopewing loses this contest, much of his credibility will be crushed. He has a lot to lose and nothing to win. This situation was partly because of Hopewing’s wounded pride, but as his manager shouldn’t Nelson put a stop to this and cancel this farce? Instead, he even helped to build the short track they would race along in a moment.
‘How can he be so sure that Hopewing wins? The Alaris girl is pretty good too, knows her stuff and is not one to take unnecessary risks. She definitely wouldn’t do this, if she didn’t see a chance to score a win…’
“The race is about to begin.” Mr. Nelson said to the small group that sat in the PTV near the starting line.
“Mr. Boosalis, please make an introduction to your viewers, so everyone knows how this special occasion came to play.”
“Yes, I’ll begin immediately!” Alec quickly replied and adjusted his drone outside to film the passengers of the PTV for now.
Taking a deep breath, he began to introduce this historic duel - or so he thought. Not realizing the waves that his report will make in the whole cluster.
“Dear racing-enthusiasts of Rucasur and the Mereus-Cluster! Today I, Alec Boosalis, stand together with Mr. Nelson from Apex to announce a special race that will take place in just a minute! With the support of our great sponsor Apex, it was possible to arrange this extra occasion for you: A duel between the always happy Niu Alaris and the pilot with the longest winning-streak of this era, Hopewing!
Just before his final performance in the Mereus Cluster, he gave Ms. Alaris the chance to challenge him in a one on one duel. Apex built a short track just an hour ago and while the pilots are preparing for the start, I’ll show you around the track!” The reporter excitedly explained. His drone turned around and shot along the field.
There wasn’t much to see, from the starting line began a 4 km straight that went over in a long, narrow turn and led back to the beginning, finishing the short track.
“As you can see, it all comes down to who will be able to take the turn in the most efficient way. Risk too much and you will overshoot the narrow curve, be too slow and lose the duel. Everything comes down to the skill of these two pilots!”
The drone returned to the starting line, where Hopewing and Niu were already waiting. Happy even had the mind to wave with a laugh as the camera passed by. Hopewing only sat in his cockpit, staring straight ahead, his face hidden by a now tinted visor of his helmet.
“The countdown is nearing its end - let us all watch this special event together!” Alec exclaimed one last time, as the countdown was about to reach zero.
Seconds later the two ships shot ahead like greased lightning.
***
A bit more than half an hour earlier, while Apex was building the track and Niu and Hopewing prepared their ships, two men slowly strolled down one of the hallways of the Apex office building. The smaller one of them wore the helmet and jumpsuit Apex had provided for the participants, the bigger one wore casual clothes, had a sturdy build and his eyes glowed in an ominous silver.
Suddenly they stopped near a door that looked like every other one in this corridor.
“This one?” The bulky man asked and the smaller one nodded.
“Yeah, give me a moment.” Came his answer over a comm device in his ear.
Seconds passed as they just stood around, not moving anywhere. Only some time later did the huge man hear the comm crackle again.
“Four cameras. One at each side of the hallway, you can easily spot them. Another one is integrated in the door and the last one is behind us hidden near the ceiling.”
“Your mutation gets more and more useful…at least if breaking in somewhere is the career of your choice.” The huge man chuckled and began to use his own skills.
“Shut up, Jim. Just take care of the cameras already!” Robin hurried his companion a bit more.
He watched as Jim dropped a small metal orb that rolled toward one end of the corridor as if it had its own mind. After hitting the wall it just kept going, climbing it up towards the camera at the ceiling. Seconds later the orb was flattened out and neatly positioned itself sideways to the lens. More orbs dropped to the ground as Jim used his Class C - Metal Affinity to build a maze of mirrors in front of the cameras, so they monitored different corridors and doors than the one they wanted to open.
Robin concentrated back on the door and tapped into his mutation again. Instantly he could see many lines forming near the lock and at the top of the door.
‘Pretty tight security… I really hope I can crack this open!’