by Zac Harrison
John couldn’t guess where he stood in the ranking now. Kaal seemed like the obvious front runner – but who had taken the all-important second place in the final?
“You did great!” his fans assured him. “You’re through to the final, we’d bet on it!”
“Thanks,” he said, crossing his fingers. Then a hush fell over the hall as Master Tronic took to the stage again.
“Will the semi-finalists please line up at the front of the stage?”
The six students obediently trooped up in front of the audience. The B-class robots came waddling out and stood next to them, except for the one Laserdon had completely destroyed. Instead, Master Tronic put its black box down next to Kaal.
“The scores will now be announced, in reverse order.”
John suddenly realized the B-class robots’ placement on the stage was so that they could announce the scores themselves.
“CHARLY: THIRTEEN POINTS.”
“I was afraid of that,” sighed Raytanna. “Not enough compensation for the gravometric tolerance invertors. Obvious in hindsight.”
“FOP: TWENTY-ONE POINTS.”
Gredilah didn’t say anything. She just muttered something unintelligible.
“ROCKY: FIFTY-NINE POINTS.”
Quondass val Haq shook a scaly fist in the air, smiling despite his defeat. “I was bored with winning anyway!” he joked. Loud cheers erupted from the crowd.
“SUPER-ROVER: EIGHTY-SEVEN POINTS.”
Gasps rang out. John felt as if the stage was giving way beneath him.
Third place. After everything I’ve been through, I only got to lousy third place. I was so close, I nearly made it! But now Mordant’s going to...
“IFI: EIGHTY-SEVEN POINTS.”
John’s jaw dropped.
NOT third place! Joint second!
The crowd went absolutely crazy.
“LASERDON: ONE HUNDRED POINTS,” grated the metallic voice from the black box.
Master Tronic had to hold up his hands for calm. Students were jumping up and down on the spot, hugging each other, waving their arms, and howling at the top of their voices.
“It seems we have three finalists!” Master Tronic roared. “Congratulations to each one of you! You must now prepare yourselves for this evening’s grand final. You have six hours to tune up your robots in any way you see fit. You may repair any damage, reprogramme any circuits, and strengthen any special abilities. And if you wish to add any last-minute surprises, now is the time to do it!”
“Oh, I will,” Mordant Talliver whispered, loud enough for John to hear. “Bet on it.”
As the applause washed over him, John looked down at his battered robot. He wondered if Super-Rover had any chance at all. Half its teeth were missing and its back legs looked badly out of alignment.
In six hours’ time, ready or not, that robot was going up against both IFI and Laserdon.
Now John needed to work like he’d never worked before, or Super-Rover wouldn’t even last for six seconds...
Chapter 10
Only a day ago, every desk in the tech lab had been full, as every single student worked on his or her robot. Now, only one of the desks was taken, but the room was far from empty.
Surrounding John was his crowd of eager supporters. John had more than ever, now that some of the defeated semi-final robots’ fans had thrown in their lot with him. But the one person John actually wished was there was busy working on Laserdon in the tech lab next door. He’d bumped into Kaal in the corridor moments earlier, but Kaal was busy chatting to his fans about his ideas for possible improvements to Laserdon. John had even shouted, “Hey!” a few times in desperation to get Kaal’s attention, but it seemed he hadn’t even noticed. Or if he had, he’d been too preoccupied to reply.
Later today they’d be competing against each other – and against Mordant, of course. It felt wrong. Kaal was his best friend at Hyperspace High. Kaal had stuck up for him more times than John could remember; he’d helped John find his feet when he’d first arrived – they even shared a dorm. What would life be like, he wondered, if this contest ruined their friendship?
“Can one of you pass me the mag-wrench?” he asked his fans, trying to focus on the task in front of him. Instantly it was pressed into his hand. Bracing himself for the worst, John unfastened Super-Rover’s armoured casing and looked inside.
The damage was even worse than he’d imagined. The servos on Super-Rover’s hind legs had shorted out, and the wiring was a blackened, melted mess like burned spaghetti in a pan.
Fluoron sucked his teeth. “Nasty! Better strip all that out and fit a new motivator unit.”
“Perfect opportunity to beef it up a bit!” urged the walrus-creature. “More power, that’s what you need!”
“I don’t know,” John said doubtfully. “I just want to get him working again.”
“Don’t be daft! You want to win, don’t you? How’s your robot going to snatch Laserdon out of the air without powerful legs?”
John’s crowd of supporters agreed this was an excellent point. They yelled advice and fetched him materials from the Junkyard until his head began to spin and the pile of scrap parts was as high as his desk.
He couldn’t shout at them to go away. He just had to work as hard and as fast as he could.
Something’s been up with Kaal ever since Robot Warriors began. I don’t want to win if winning means losing his friendship, he thought. I just want Mordant NOT to win. That would be enough.
But his supporters wouldn’t ever understand that. And he certainly couldn’t tell them.
“Where is Mordant?” wondered a squat grey student with huge ears like radar dishes, interrupting John’s thoughts. “How come he’s not working on his robot?”
“It’s already perfect and doesn’t need fixing!” someone shouted, mocking Mordant’s sneering voice. “Or at least that’s what he says. But I saw him tinkering with it in his dorm, putting some new module in.”
“Typical!” snorted Xyglurz. “Bet you anything he’s trying to cheat, and doesn’t want anyone to know about it. That slimy... headmaster!”
“What?” John looked up.
A sparkling shape was forming next to him. It could only be Lorem. All the students fell silent as Lorem materialized, glowing softly as he always did.
“Morning, sir,” said John hesitantly.
“Good morning, John. Congratulations on doing so well in the competition.”
“Thank you, sir,” John said, wondering if Lorem still thought he’d be happier back on Earth. But the headmaster’s face gave away no clue of what he was thinking.
“I won’t take up much of your time,” Lorem said. “So, this is Super-Rover. How nice to meet him. I hope he wasn’t too badly damaged?”
“Actually, he was pretty bashed up. But I’m doing my best to fix him.”
“Excellent. I am glad to see you looking after him so well. A good master takes care of his pet. I’m sure he will look after you, too.” Lorem’s eyes twinkled.
Then he transformed himself into a ball of light and zigzagged between several startled students before vanishing through the floor, leaving John to wonder what he might have meant by his comment.
Before John could ask anyone what they thought Lorem was talking about, Emmie came shouldering her way through the crowd, looking breathless and tousled.
“Hi, John! Wow. Getting though your fans is harder than getting through a force field!”
“Your scientific adviser’s here,” sniggered Fluoron, nudging John in the ribs.
“Hi, Emmie!” John said, ignoring him. “Ugh, don’t mention force fields. I need some way of getting through IFI’s, or Super-Rover will just bounce off.”
“Can’t help you there,” Emmie said, “but just hold still a second...” She lifted a pencil-sized scanner and quickly scanne
d John up and down with a flickering green ray.
The scanner beeped, then trilled, “Data acquired.”
“All done!” Emmie said. “OK, got to go and talk to Kaal now. See you later. Bye!” And with that, she plunged back into the crowd.
“What was that all about?” Kritta asked, sounding bemused.
“No idea,” John answered, shaking his head. Emmie was acting a little strange, that was for sure, but right now he didn’t have time to wonder why.
That mention of force fields was preying on his mind. On a whim, he typed force field disruptor into the desk-com, and a design popped up immediately. Aha! Now I just need to build it...
“Whose side is she on, anyway?” Fluoron grumbled. “Running off to help Kaal?”
“Good,” Xyglurz said, smirking. “I wouldn’t want her on my side. She’ll probably do something stupid to that robot of Kaal’s.”
“She’s my friend!” John said angrily. “And she’s one of the best pilots in this whole school. Emmie knows more about flying than anyone. So just shut up!”
While John worked, miserable thoughts chased one another through his mind. It feels like it’s all over. Kaal, Emmie, and I were the best of friends the day before yesterday. Now I can’t even talk to Kaal, and I haven’t got a clue what’s going on with Emmie. It’s like she’s hiding something. I’ve got to try to win. I’ve got to prove an Earth boy can do this! But what if I do win – and I lose my best friend?
If I could just talk to him...
John tugged the old servomotor unit out of its blackened cavity. Now he had to fit the new powered-up one, but he wasn’t sure how he was meant to do it. There were at least eleven different wires to attach and a sort of hexagonal spindle. Where were they all supposed to go?
He wished he could ask his best friend. Kaal would know; he loved tinkering with technology. He did this kind of thing for fun.
But right now, it felt like Kaal was a galaxy away.
* * *
The rest of the day passed in a blur. It came as a shock when an announcement blared over the ship’s tannoy system:
“This is Master Tronic speaking. Would all students please make their way to the Centre, where the grand final of the Robot Warriors contest will begin shortly!”
One by one, John’s fans began fist-bumping, high-fiving, and back-slapping him for luck, wishing him well. They emptied out of the room in a living torrent, excitement at fever pitch.
“Guess I’d better go, too,” John said, picking up Super-Rover in both hands. The souped-up robot felt much heavier than before. No wonder, since now he was crammed with extra power cells and a force field disruptor.
One of the Examiners came humming up to John’s desk.
“CONTESTANT RILEY. TAKE YOUR ROBOT AND GO TO YOUR DORMITORY. AWAIT COLLECTION THERE.”
The corridors on the way to the dorm were all deserted, since all the students had already gone to the Centre. John had never seen it as empty as this, and it gave the ship a strange, spooky feel, as if Hyperspace High had been abandoned and set adrift in space.
He soon reached his dorm. Finally, a chance to relax and talk to Kaal away from the crowds, he hoped. He urgently needed to have an honest conversation with his friend before the final started. John put Super-Rover down at the foot of the bed, lay back, and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for his friend to arrive.
“Come on, you big green geek. I really want to talk to you,” he said aloud to himself. “You know I’m still your friend, right?”
The silent room didn’t answer. John looked to the door, at the ceiling, and back at the door again.
Come on, Kaal. What’s keeping you?
John stood up, unable to relax. He paced up and down, feeling restless and nervous about the impending contest. He couldn’t understand why Kaal hadn’t come back to the dorm, too, and began to wonder if he might be avoiding him.
John gave a start as the door slid open.
“Hi,” said Kaal.
“Hi,” John replied.
“So, um, here we are,” said Kaal.
“Yes,” said John. Wow, this is awkward, he thought.
Kaal looked at the wall. John looked at the floor. Seconds ticked past. Finally on our own, John thought, and I can’t think what to say.
“Good luck,” Kaal suddenly burst out. “In the final, you know.”
“Oh. Yeah! Good luck to you, too.”
Suddenly Emmie sprung into the room with a bundle of white fabric under her arm.
“Yes! I got to you in time! OK, boys, listen up. I was going to make one of these for whoever got to the final, but then you both did, so I had to make two, and that took ages. But they’re done now, so... here you go!”
She spread two white jumpsuits out on John’s bed, one his size, the other Kaal’s. The material glimmered with translucent threads, with little pulses of light running through. It reminded John of Emmie’s hair.
“It’s biofeedback mesh!” she announced proudly. “It keeps your body comfortable, no matter what’s happening to you. You’ll never be too hot or too cold. Plus you’ll look awesome.”
“These are amazing!” John said, feeling the soft, shimmering fabric. “I don’t know what to say!”
“Thanks, Emmie,” Kaal said, sounding emotional. “I – I’d better go and put it on.”
“Good luck, both of you,” Emmie smiled. “Oops. Time’s up. I need to go, so you two can make your grand entrance. See ya! I’ll be right in the front row!” With that, she was gone.
John changed into his suit in the bathroom. When he came out, Kaal had disappeared. But something else was there.
Waiting for him in the doorway was a crimson globe as tall as him, pulsing with light and completely enveloped by flickering orange flames. The flames gave off no heat – it had to be a holographic trick of some kind.
All the same, John backed away from it, wary.
“Is this what Emmie meant about a grand entrance?” he said to the globe. The flaming globe hovered patiently on the threshold. John could just make out a small circular platform inside it.
“I’m supposed to step into this thing, am I?”
It’s here to fetch me. Kaal must have had one, too. The final’s about to start. I have to get inside.
He tried to make his legs move. And found that he couldn’t.
All he could do was stand there, paralysed.
He couldn’t face it. What was he thinking? He was going to fail, and the whole school would laugh at him, Mordant loudest of all. Although at least Kaal might be his friend again...
John imagined flying through the ship inside that flaming ball, and felt a little sick. He turned away, not wanting to look at it.
Nope. He wasn’t going. They couldn’t make him go. He folded his arms. The red globe would just have to hover there all night.
“Hey, John!” Zepp’s voice rang out. “You’re meant to get into position inside the globe. Kaal’s already heading to the Centre in his.”
“I figured that out by myself,” John said hoarsely. He still didn’t move.
“What’s wrong? Getting cold feet?”
“To be honest, yeah. I don’t think I’m cut out for this after all.”
“Really?” said Zepp, sounding as genuinely amazed as a computer could. “You stayed on Hyperspace High when Lorem said you could go home if you wanted, you built a robot although you’d never made one before, you made it through ALL the rounds, all the way to the grand final, you’ve got half the school cheering for you... and now you want to back out?”
John laughed. “Well, when you put it like that, it does sound kind of stupid.”
“You’ll do fine, John. Trust me on this, will you?”
“OK, Zepp. I guess I’m just nervous.”
“You and every other finalist in the history of Rob
ot Warriors,” Zepp said. “Go on. Show them what an Earth boy can do.”
John picked up Super-Rover and slowly walked to the door. The globe was silently waiting. He took a deep breath.
“Here goes,” he said, and stepped in.
The globe began to spin around him, gathering speed, throwing bright plumes of fire in all directions, bathing the corridor in light. The next second, it took off down the corridor with blinding speed. Hall lights volleyed past like rounds of laser cannon fire.
John clung to the globe’s side with one hand and clutched Super-Rover with the other. He felt giddy and thrilled down to his bones as the corridors and hallways of Hyperspace High became a rollercoaster ride.
John struggled to stay upright as the globe rocketed around corners and past empty classrooms. He almost lost his grip on Super-Rover when they shot round the right-angle turn by the Computer Science rooms. Wouldn’t that be something, turning up to the finals without a robot? John smiled, in spite of himself.
He tried to relax and enjoy the ride, and just about managed it. It was faster and cooler than any fairground ride he’d ever been on. Excitement began to take over – then, to his horror, he saw that the TravelTube doors up ahead were opening.
And there was no lift there, only a shaft! As he fell, John braced himself for the inevitable smash far, far below.
Chapter 11
The globe shot through the TravelTube doors, but it didn’t fall. Instead it flew up, rushing past floor after floor like a TravelTube carriage gone berserk. Open doors were waiting high above, and the globe flung itself out through them.
They shot over a balcony, and suddenly there was no floor below, no walls to the side, no ceiling above. John was floating in the air, clutching his robot, too amazed to move.
This was the Centre. It had to be. But the bottom half was pitch dark, and the upper half was starlit space. John couldn’t see anything below, not the trees, not the canteen tables, not even the sparkling lake. Some sort of glowing platform hung in the middle of the huge arena. What was going on?
