Drone Racer

by Andy Briggs

  Carson spotted a shimmer of red hair. India was talking to her parents as they assembled Sixtus on the bench. She glanced around and stared at him. A smile spread across Carson’s face and he waved. India scowled and looked sharply away. Carson’s awkward fail was interrupted by Trix nudging him in the ribs.

  “Over there…” she muttered. The AirBlitz team were hunched over their machine, which had clearly been modified with a weapon strapped underneath. “Maybe we should have thought of that?”

  Carson gingerly placed Vanta on the table. She looked the same as ever. “I think we’ll be OK.”

  “Carsonators!” Marcus Nation’s booming voice made them all look up. He was wearing the same combo of Hawaiian shirt and shorts, but this time with Day-Glo green trainers, making him look like an explosion in a rainbow factory. “You got here!”

  Carson shook his hand. “Well, thanks to you.”

  Nation paused, then gestured around. “This is what I do. A league needs its underdogs and you seemed to catch everybody’s imagination last time.”

  “Underdogs?” Eddie sounded offended. He pointed to himself. “Us?”

  Marcus Nation laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “You bet. You should’ve had your schedule emailed to you, right? You have been allocated ten minutes for a sight lap so you get to know the course, and I should warn you this is the most difficult I have ever seen, and we’ve been doing this all around the world.”

  Despite Vanta’s capabilities, Carson was beginning to feel nervous.

  Nation continued: “Then when the crowds arrive you’ll all have a hot lap, all the drones out there together, it’ll be awesome. Positions will be based on your qualifying speeds from the last event. Then we’re into the big race. This time there will only be a single race. Ten whole laps, so it’ll test the endurance on your batteries. Winner becomes the first-ever Constructor League UK champ! Then off to the finals. Next two runners-up get to go too.”

  Nation’s voice dropped in volume. “And you should know who the favourites are.”

  Carson, Eddie and Trix exchanged thrilled looks.

  Marcus Nation smiled … then nodded to another bench where Logan46 stood, their bodies shielding the drone they were working on. “Those guys. I’d watch your backs if I were you.”

  He snapped his fingers and pointed at them, then zeroed in on another team. Carson felt crushed.

  “That was the worst pep talk in the history of pep,” sighed Trix.

  If anything, if made Carson feel more determined than ever. UK champions? Yeah, he’d like that…

  Vanta’s first sprint around the track was not as difficult as Carson had feared. He took it slow, despite Vanta insisting on going flat out. The sighting lap enabled him to get a feel for each turn and sudden climb – one of which was vertically straight up, a difficult thing for any drone to do at speed. Only when he was skimming over the water did Vanta give her first complaint.

  “Don’t get too low,” she warned. “I can do a lot, but I can’t swim.”

  Next was a sharp turn into the battleship. This would be a high-speed race through claustrophobic narrow corridors, down a steel stairwell and along even narrower passageways before exiting. Pipes hanging from the ceiling and irregular steel walls made formidable obstacles: a badly timed overtake would be disastrous.

  The other racers would try to watch one another’s sight laps, hoping to see any potential disadvantage in their competitors. That was Eddie’s job; sitting, eating crisps and watching laps was something he excelled in. As soon as Vanta had landed back in the paddock, he ran over to them, gasping for breath.

  “Those AirBlitz fellas were paying special attention to you out there,” he gasped.

  Carson looked around but couldn’t see them. “Did you hear them say anything?”

  “No, but they took some photos and kept muttering to each other.”

  For the first time since they arrived, Carson felt apprehensive. It felt as if he should be avoiding everybody. All day he had tried to avoid India, although he had watched Sixtus as it soared around the course. In addition, he had made sure he was never in the same place as the Logan46 team, who appeared to scowl at every opportunity. Now he thought about it, Terry in the AirBlitz team certainly matched the size of the male intruder in his house … but it didn’t make sense. What would they gain by trying to break in? Why bother trying to sabotage the Carsonators? After all, even Marcus Nation referred to them as the underdogs; if they didn’t compete, somebody else would fill their place.

  The hours of the sighting laps quickly passed, with every team member constantly tweaking their drones. All except the Carsonators.

  “How’s your battery level?” Trix asked as she ran a gentle brush over Vanta’s propellers.

  “Maximum!”

  “It would help if I could see all your readings on my iPad. That’s supposed to be part of my job.”

  “I can handle it all.”

  Trix tossed the cleaning cloth on to the table. “Well, so much for my pre-race checklist. You’re going to put me out of a job as engineer.”

  Eddie returned after stuffing himself with hot dogs as he watched the other teams practise.

  “I reckon the Scottish Highlands team are going to be our toughest opponent. They’re even better than Logan46.”

  “Anybody else we should be looking out for?” Trix asked.

  Eddie shrugged. “I suppose so…”

  Trix waited expectantly, but Eddie shrugged again. Finally, Trix sighed. “Well, that’s the sort of insightful observation that makes us the best.”

  “It’s AirBlitz I’m worried about,” Carson said as he watched the team gather around their drone. He shared his suspicions about the break-in as the seats filled up with spectators from around the country. The Scottish supporters raised the volume with boisterous cheering as they unfurled a huge St Andrew’s Cross over several rows of empty seats. They sat together despite the fact there were three regional teams from Scotland who had qualified. The noise increased as the north-west regional fans arrived and began drumming the floor with their feet. The south-western supporters, mostly from Devon and Cornwall, arrived in a flurry of brightly coloured banners with their team, Speed-Rager, emblazoned across. Bright flashing lights on top of the banners added to the growing kaleidoscope.

  More banners and increasing noise added to the excitement. The various fans sang out competing chants, stomping the floor and clapping, but somehow it all worked and sounded melodic and friendly.

  “There must be a thousand of them!” said Carson.

  “The seating capacity is for five thousand people, and they’re sold out,” Vanta replied.

  Eddie frowned. “How do you know that?”

  “I may have hacked into their website.” Vanta at least had the decency to sound guilty.

  “That’s a lot of people watching,” Carson muttered, suddenly feeling very nervous. A league assistant passed through the paddock telling the racers to get ready for the hot lap.

  “Here we go,” said Eddie, clapping his hands enthusiastically. He carefully picked Vanta up as Trix gathered their equipment and they headed for the launch pads.

  “Hey, Carson?” whispered Vanta conspiratorially.

  “Yeah?”

  “Let’s win this thing.”

  Chapter 16

  GET SET … RACE!

  The hot lap was supposed to be civilized. The twenty-five participating drones were set in order, their positions based on their times in the regional events. They would make one lap around the race at a slow, steady speed so the audience could get a good look at them all. There would be no overtaking, no bumping or hitting.

  And for the most part it was civilized, giving the audience a chance to cheer on their favourites.

  Vanta had started from the middle of the pack. Carson had been disappointed when Eddie had informed him that their qualification time from the previous heat had been nothing short of average. Out in the open, the other racers respe
cted the rules… But as soon as the drones entered tunnels and the tight passageways inside the battleship, they veered towards each other in sneaky attempts to drift an opponent into the wall. Carson wasn’t falling for such devious tricks. He was also guided by Trix, who observed Vanta’s point of view on her tablet, although she didn’t have the 3D experience Carson did through the VR goggles. Trix also kept glancing at the action broadcast on the jumbo screens to spot any problems ahead. She wanted to keep Vanta out of harm’s way, despite the drone’s constant stream of threats.

  “I should clip his blades!” she growled. “Oh, come near me again, pal, and you’re toast!”

  Once or twice, Carson could feel Vanta try to wrest control back.

  “No, you don’t, Vanta. Stay with me.”

  Eddie, however, wasn’t watching the drones; his eyes were on the other teams, especially AirBlitz. As the venue filled to capacity and the noise from the audience grew, he became increasingly anxious.

  The teams’ paddock area was set up outside a building that was used as a canteen for the behind-the-scenes team and the racers. Eddie kept an eye out for anyone acting suspicious. It was only when he noticed a fluorescent-green-jacketed security guard glaring suspiciously at him that he realized he was the one acting suspicious.

  The long summer evening drew on, but that didn’t stop the track from illuminating in bright neon. Poles throughout the course that Eddie hadn’t even noticed suddenly exploded into fountains of flames, and smoke drifted strategically over the course, all adding further obstacles that hadn’t been there moments earlier.

  Now Carson and Vanta had begun the hot lap, Eddie had nothing to do. He quickly checked his sister’s social media feeds to see she was busy all over London posting selfies with her friends.

  So far, so good, he thought. Glancing up from his phone he noticed two figures in black suits keeping to the edge of the paddock. A bearded man and a woman with bobbed blonde hair, both wearing dark glasses and looking very out of place amongst the scruffy drone teams. They appeared more interested in the teams than the race itself. A dozen more identically suited figures patrolled the stadium. Security, he assumed. Although he did wonder what they were being kept secure from.

  Eddie watched one of the giant monitor screens as Marcus Nation warmed up the crowd to fever pitch, selling the UK final for all it was worth.

  “As our racers complete the hot lap, it’s time to tell you about a surprise they have no idea is coming. Aside from the traps and pitfalls across the course, we have one extra deadly element: the Dodge Droooone!”

  With that, a hatch on the battleship’s deck slid open and a huge, ten-rotored drone swooped into view. It was the size of a coffee table, its front shaped like a plough blade that curved to a sharp point.

  “What’s going on?” asked Carson. He could hear the announcement, but all he could see was Vanta’s point of view as they slalomed through a set of flaming poles. He could tell a few of the pilots ahead had become distracted, as they almost flew straight into the fire.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Trix muttered as she marked the position of the newcomer on her iPad.

  “The Dodge Droooone –” Nation sounded as if he was introducing a wrestler “– is completely on autopilot and will be going in the opposite direction from our racers. Let me tell you, a head-on collision with this dude and it’s bye-bye!”

  The crowd whooped and cheered.

  “I really don’t like these people,” Vanta sighed.

  Eddie watched the Dodge Drone growl through the sky, accompanied by mutters and gasps from the other competitors. He patted Carson on the shoulder.

  “Good luck, mate.”

  Trix’s eyes never left the course. “Eddie, can you move to the other end of the paddock and get a better view on that Dodge Drone? I’m a little blind here.”

  “Sure. I’ll vid-chat you,” he said, thankful for having something to do. He hurried past the other teams, who all ignored him. Standing on an empty metal flight case somebody had left around, Eddie had a clearer view of the arena.

  “…GET SET – RACE!” yelled Nation as the starting buzzer echoed across the docks.

  Eddie picked out the Dodge Drone and readied his phone to vid-chat Trix, but then hesitated when he noticed the two nearby suited figures were acting oddly. The bearded man now had a small device in his hand and was holding it towards the drones.

  His heart began to thump in his chest as thoughts of sabotage rattled through his head. He spotted a security guard walking through the paddock and considered warning him, but of what? The duo hadn’t actually done anything, plus the guard had seen them and walked on, so they were obviously supposed to be there…

  “Yahooooo!” Vanta hollered as she undertook another drone as they flew around a tight curve.

  Carson felt a thrill too as the drone receded in his rear-view screen. The first half of the lap had been a morass of bumping and nudging, which he had somehow managed to keep Vanta clear of. A drone in front of him had succumbed to a surprise attack when another racer from Wales, Dragon Fly, had swooped down and plucked the drone from the air with a powerful pair of claws mounted in its undercarriage. A quick snip had torn the drone in half – much to the delight of the crowd.

  Carson was feeling tense. “Where’s that Dodge Drone?”

  “Hold on…” Trix looked around but couldn’t see Eddie. She tried to vid-call him, but he didn’t answer. “Where the heck is he?”

  “Talk to me, Trix.”

  She looked at the map on her iPad. The dot she had set up depicting the Dodge Drone was closing in on Vanta, although it was nothing more than a guess. The drone could have sped up, slowed or even changed course. “It’s about fifteen seconds ahead of you,” she warned him. “Vanta, do you see it yet?”

  “My sensors are picking out too many moving obstacles,” Vanta said. “I can’t tell which is which!”

  Carson’s hand was trembling at the thought of what lurked ahead. He didn’t have to wait long.

  His pack of racers had just emerged from a tunnel and were zooming low towards the canal. Ahead, a series of solid horizontal concrete spars cut across the course, each decreasing in height to force the racers closer to the water; it was the section Vanta was most apprehensive about.

  During the descent, the drone swarm suddenly scattered in every direction. Carson barely had time to jink to the right as a racer in front of him hit the Dodge Drone head-on. There was an explosion and Vanta was pelted with plastic parts and bits of molten circuit boards. Carson managed to roll upside down – nearly scraping the Dodge’s undercarriage.

  In the blink of an eye, Carson turned Vanta the correct way up just as they reached the water. Ahead, the leading drones kicked up wakes in the still canal water. He tried to accelerate, but the controls didn’t respond properly and two drones seized the opportunity to overtake them.

  “What’s wrong?” Trix asked urgently. “Your power seems down.”

  “I’m not sure … there was a power flux. I think something struck my aft-port blade.” Vanta sounded worried.

  “Back left,” Trix translated before Carson could ask. “Did some of wrecked drone strike you?”

  Carson had a sinking feeling in his gut. As they circled around to cross the line for the first lap he was already falling back in the pack. A broken rotor would be the end of the race for them. And they still had another nine laps to go.

  Chapter 17

  NOT IN CONTROL

  Eddie edged closer to the two suspicious characters so he could overhear the bearded man as he read the screen on the device in his hand.

  “Syncrone readings match the target. It’s out there, but I don’t see…”

  Eddie suddenly became aware the man was looking straight at him. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. Eddie knew he should just act innocent, as if he hadn’t heard a thing … but he was terrible at acting innocent.

  Instead he suddenly turned and ran.

  The wom
an didn’t hesitate. She broke into a sprint and charged after him.

  Eddie wasn’t thinking as he ran towards the canteen building. As he passed through the door he suddenly realized what a silly move he’d made: everybody was outside. He would be trapped and alone!

  Carson almost flew straight into a wall as Vanta suddenly accelerated, overtaking three drones in quick succession as they whizzed through blazing hoops.

  “Wow! What was that?” he blurted as he managed to steer Vanta back on course.

  “I don’t know,” said Vanta. “My power came back online. Everything seems OK now.”

  Trix wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? I mean, damaged?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Good. In that case, look ahead: the Dodge Drone is coming up again!”

  Vanta shot into the battleship. The grey walls became a blur as she accelerated even faster than before.

  “Carson, be careful.”

  “I don’t know where all this power is coming from.”

  Vanta had an answer for that. “The problem we had with the radio controller seems to have cleared up.”

  Neither of them could see the frown on Trix’s face. She had fixed drones, made robotic arms and patched up numerous laptops often enough to know that electrical components never repaired themselves. It was always a warning that something worse was about to happen. But right now, she was staring at her iPad.

  “Here it comes!”

  Vanta was just about to drop down the battleship staircase when the Dodge Drone powered up towards her. There was only a narrow gap between the massive aircraft and the ceiling and Carson guided Vanta straight for it.

  A second later, a flat drone, resembling a flying saucer, bashed into Vanta as it made for the same gap. Carson recalled the sighting laps and remembered this one was called Wolverine. In the paddocks the Scottish lads flying it were always laughing and sharing jokes with anybody who’d listen – but right now they were out for blood.