"The race is going as smooth as can be, for the first part. Now, I've seen races where people get dirty even at this stage, but we've got a respectable bunch. All of them respect the process. And that's really what it's all about folks, isn't it? Alright, everyone take a look at the screens. They're about to hit the electro-field. This is where it gets interesting aaaaannd they're in folks. They're in. And oh, there's a nice flash up ahead. I'd call that a lovely pistachio. They'd better decelerate fast, folks, and oh looks like Grumble-guts gotten a bit spooked and decelerated a bit too much. Shoemakers over taken the ol'blob."
The screens showed a human waving to the cameras. He overtook the green blob's ship. Flames were painted on the side of his racer. Shoemaker wore a popped collar and had a massive overbite.
"Shoemaker's a human through and through, from the old world." The commentator continued. "You can really see the quality of the old blood running through his veins. They're coming up to the first star. Yup. Big Marta's coming up. You'll notice she's a lovely red today."
The screens panned out to Big Marta.
"Her pull's are gonna be a bit softer, seeing as how she's in a big ol' mood today. I hope the racers take that into account as they get ready to swing around. Oh, and looks like Al Gambari is over taking Shoemaker. Yes, he's flying in tight. Al's flying in, he's flying in. Can he make the curve? Annnnd yes. He's a lucky one, that Al."
Al was a giant prawn like being with whiskers on either side of his face, waxed into handlebars. He wore a trucker's cap and held a can of fizzy beer up to the camera. As Al rounded the curve the beer can spilt all over the cockpit.
"Any other day and Big Marta'd sucked him in like a fly down a drainpipe. And they've all made it through. Are you feeling lucky? Don't forget the tables are always open, folks."
The odds on the hovering board changed with a clack. The screens cut to a jumping cartoon betting slip. The slip hopped and jumped in front of a betting table. The 'folks' rushed between the chip dispensers and the tables, adding more years to the house.
"Now, usually we lose a ship by this point. You folks are watching a hell of race. A hell of a race."
The cartoon slip disappeared. The screens showed three ships next to each other racing towards a green star. The camera angle shifted to show the red star, Big Marta, behind them.
"The three in front, Grumble-gut, Shoemaker and Al are all neck and neck. Here comes the second star, Fanoos. It's a lovely green but it's emanatin' a bit strange today. Flaring up. Happens sometimes. They're about to hit a wall of green. Oooooh it's a tall order. They'd better cut their engines otherwise they'll fry their circuitry."
A pulse of green light swept over the camera, drowning out the picture. The screen shifted to ultra-violet mode and was able to pierce the green electro-field. It showed the six silhouetted ships as flickering shadows. The UV cameras could see through the racers and showed the outlines of the pilots sitting in their ships.
"Now this is the tough bit folks. They have to aim their ships just right to get through the flare with their engines off but not get pulled too close to either sun, Fanoos in front and Big Marta behind. Can't forget about her. Can't do that if they wanna live.
And they've done it folks. They're in the deadman's drift, engines out. Magnificent. They're all gliding without propulsion. Let's zoom in and you can see. A lovely sight really. Like sailing on a sea of green. It's as dark as the night around the back of their ships though, that's their wake."
The ships cruised through the green field with their engines off. They left a trail of darkness behind them, cleaving through the light.
"Takes your breath away don't it. Amazingly, none of them seem to have miscalculated. Oh no. Seems I've spoken too soon folks. Shoemaker and Al are veering a bit too close together and oh my, oh my, oh my. They've hit folks. Let's zoom in."
The screens showed the two ships veering slowly towards each other through the green sea. The UV cameras showed Shoemaker and Al struggling frantically in their cockpits. They were trying to re-start their engines. Al banged violently on his dashboard.
"Yup. Sorry folks but they're out for the count."
The two ships collided and started twirling and accelerating towards Fanoos.
"All bets on Al Gambari and Shoemaker are losers. Grumble-gut's made it through though, and it's engines are up and running. They're coming around Fanoos. Captain Pippy and Glok are second and third. Seven Sisters Run Inc. is dead last. But this ain't a game of speed folks, it's a game of doing things right and if you're alive at this point you're doing something right. Just you ask Al and Shoemaker."
The screen cut to the four remaining racers starting their engines again. The camera's UV mode was turned off. A small box within the screen displayed Al and Shoemaker still falling towards Fanoos.
"Alright, alright, alright. Now we come to the third and fourth stars. 'Devil' and 'Deep Blue Sea'. And if you're not a new comer to this game you know what comes next is one of the most exciting runs in the whole 'verse. If you are a new comer, this is where most people make or break their bets. Those brave racers have to fly between the two suns. There's only a small window between the two, where they won't be ripped to pieces. A tunnel the size of a racer and half. Seems like a lot but it ain't so much when you're going at those speeds. And what's more the tunnel keeps changing based on the electro-waves and all. We've drawn the tunnel up on the screens for you folks but the pilots can't see all as well as that."
The camera angle changed. Two stars orbited dangerously close to each other, one hot red and the other a dark marine blue. Flames leapt from each, arcing towards the other. The flames collided together into a purple haze which filled the narrow area between the stars almost completely. A small corridor of black empty space could be seen in the middle of the haze, shifting and sliding as the suns danced.
"And Grumble-gut's through into the window. That blob sure can handle a racer. Captain Pippy's in next and woah can she fly. Now that's a woman after my own heart. Glok's coming in fast behind her. And Seven Sisters Run Inc is speeding up. That corporation sure is slow but hey! Slow and steady wins the race. Slow and steady…."
The screens showed the racers in a line shooting through the corridor. Glok's ship tried to overtake Captain Pippy's, bumping into it aggressively. Captain Pippy bumped back. The two ships drew in next to each other, fin tip to fin tip. The two pilots stared at each other from their cockpits. Captain Pippy squinted her eyes and veered towards Glok but Glok slowed down and Captain Pippy rushed towards the purple limit of the corridor.
"Captain Pippy's veering off course, folks. Now watch this, it's going to be a doozy. Her left side's touched the edge of the window and my, oh my, she's being pulled out. This part ain't gonna be pretty. Let's zoom in. A little bit more. Gutted. Completely gutted. We want to see all the details. Zoom in a bit more. I can't believe it. I can't believe it, she's pulling back in. She's ditched an engine though. Forget about the race she's going to be lucky to make it back alive. She's turning round. Captain Pippy's given up. She's a smart one. She's won her life but you've lost your bets folks. Sorry but them's the breaks."
Captain Pippy's ship limped back into the corridor. Half her ship remained beyond the purple corridor, burning and gravitating towards the 'Devil'.
"The rest are through, ladies and gentlemen and everything in between. The pathway's closing up fast, 'Goliath''s orbit is coming in and if you know Goliath you know you need to burn some fuel to get out of this part. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire."
A gigantic yellow star panned into view. The other stars revolved around Goliath and were dwarfed by it, looking more like moons than suns.
The three racers popped out of the corridor and accelerated sharply upwards, trying not to get too close to Goliath's orbit.
"Goliath's closed the window. Glok's over taken Grumble-gut. Grumble-gut's overtaken Glok and there goes Seven Sisters Run Inc., the corporation's overtaken the both of them folks. The company's i
n front. And they're all past the giant. A few dents and bruises but hey they're alive. They're flipping alive. What a show, folks, what a show."
They slingshotted around Goliath. The microwave streams from their engines erupted into a twinkle haze behind them.
"Five stars down and two to go, and the best is always saved for last, folks. They've got to fly through the heart of 'SunStream' when it shifts if they hope to push through the anti-grav of the 'Black Witch'. Here it comes. 'Sun Stream' is about to shift. And there it's gone."
The screens showed empty space, a red circle was drawn around where 'SunStream' should have been. Past the red circle was the 'Black Witch', a spot of darkness, somehow darker than the surrounding vacuum.
"You can still see SunStream on the screens because we're using special cameras to show the extra-dimensional presence and the gravitational pull. They're gonna dive deep into the sun now and accelerate, slingshotting past the anti-grav of the Witch. Now let's hope they've aimed it right. And yes, they're passing it, they're passing C in normal space. If you've never done it folks this is a weird ol' part of the race. You may be used to passing C in subspace but try doing it in normal space and your head'll blow, literally."
The cartoon betting slip appeared on the monitors, biting its nails in anticipation.
"This part is gonna a bit hard to watch. We've got to wait a bit for the footage to appear from the future, aaaaand it's here. Alright, that stretched out bit of spaghetti is Seven Sisters Run Inc. I think. Looks like the company's angled too deeply towards the Black Witch and is losing speed fast. The company's dropped dead last. Glok and Grumble-Gut were tied at the back and now they're still tied in front."
The three remaining ships were neck and neck.
"We're coming up to the finish line. They've all passed the Black Witch and its anti-grav. One of the only four anti-grav suns in the known verse', did ya know that? And they've all passed the finish line. My Shens…what a race. We're going to have replay the footage to determine the winner folks. Well, we're all winners really, having watched this once in a life time race. My Shens. Three winnings. Some lucky people are going to walk away rich and others are going to have jobs. What an amazing race. Results are coming in. Yes, yes, Glok's stolen it by a hair's breadth. Glok's won. Double winnings for those who picked Glok. The rest, Seven Sisters Run Inc. and Grumble-Guts both get normal winnings.
Race is over ladies and gentlemen. Come back tomorrow for the next race… All those who've won go and collect and enjoy the End of the Line's refreshments. And to all those who didn't win, remember….no running."
CHAPTER NINE
The Pilot
The winners erupted with roars of joy. Champagne bottles popped and foam flowed everywhere.
The loser's shuffled over to wait for the next betting session or to pay their dues.
Mancy, Zenbot and Mr. Qruise were still seated at their table. "How fantastic! We have four pilots to pick from." Mancy was beaming with excitement and a little drunk.
"Four? You mean three, Mancy. What number drink you on exactly?" Mr. Qruise asked.
"Why, Mr. Qruise? Would you prefer a pilot that dares it all or one who know's when they're beat? I'd prefer Captain Pippy." Zenbot grabbed the drink being offered to Mancy and dumped the contents on the ground. "Have you seen, Freedman?"
"I'm here, I'm here. I'm just cashing in." Freedman ran up to the three, his pockets full of golden notes.
"Cashing in? Where have you been?" Zenbot looked over to its pupil. Its eye slits turned a subtle shade of green.
"Betting, master." Freedman didn't understand the look his master was giving him and kept smiling. "I bet two years and a bit on Glok, master. I've won fourteen years on that pilot."
"When did you go bet?"
"Oh just before the race started. I was feeling lucky. I'm sorry, master. Was that wrong? I thought it was one way I could help."
"I'll say Freedman. Maybe that'll be your use on our mission. Our lucky cook. Or maybe the other way around." Mancy swayed in her chair, leaning on Zenbot.
"Freedman." Zenbot's eye slits were bright green. "Do not do it again." The inorganic then turned on Mancy. "There is no such thing as luck, Ms.La2x, only hard work. Do not encourage bad morals, please."
"My Shens, Zenbot, but you can be a prude sometimes." Mancy pinched Freedman's bottom.
Glok strode into the gambling hall to receive the first place prize. He was one of the large winged beings with the tentacle-bearded faces that Freedman had seen from before. He was, however, a larger version, standing tall and straight, his eyes ancient and all knowing as he surveyed the crowd. One of the matte black inorganics walked up to him with a champagne bottle and a wreath of oak leaves. Glok caught the wreath with his tentacles and placed it gingerly on his crown. The inorganic handed him a golden note pardoning Glok of all his debts towards the house. Glok raised his hands in victory and the hall went wild, whistling and cheering at his liberation. He walked off into the crowd beneath the foamy flow of champagne.
A few moments later the second place winner shambled into the hallway and onto the dais. Grumble-gut was a shivering mass of green gelatin, twitching erratically with every flop. Inside the mildly transparent gel were the bones of those who had previously pissed it off. It stood in front of the cheering crowd and rumbled out a roar. It too was given a golden note but no wreath.
Mancy stared at the two pilots from across the gambling hall. "That's Grumble-gut out." She said slamming her palm on the table. "It won't be able to pilot our ship. It must have a special piloting system for all that gelatin. Glok," She inspected the first place winner, "on the other hand, he, I believe it's a he, should do nicely. A lot of appendages there, he'll probably be able to handle the mission, no problem." She stood up from the table and lurched over to the winner. He was surrounded by those who had bet on him, signing autographs. "Yoo-hoo. Mr. Glok. Mr. Glok." Mancy jumped up and down. "Would you mind joining us for a moment?" She rubbed her fingers together in the 'versal sign of 'it's worth it' for him to see.
He made his way over to the table, tentacles swirling excitedly around his chin.
"G'l rahg." He said. It came out in a series of whistles. As he spoke, the air between him and Mancy shimmered.
"Oh, dear. I don't speak, whatever you speak. Don't you speak universal?" Mancy looked at Glok, dispirited.
"I speak Rhalyar." Zenbot added. "I will translate. Hello, Mr. Glok." It said in Rhalyar.
"It says hello." Zenbot translated.
Mancy stood with her hands on her hips. "Tell him, we have a mission for him."
Zenbot translated and relayed the response. "Tell the pink lady, I understand. What is mission? What is price?" Glok's tentacles kept fidgeting with the wreath, his eyes looking down at the note in his hand.
Zenbot didn't wait for Mancy. "The mission is to attack the La2x Vault, on Qamar. We need a strong pilot. Your price is your's to choose. One favor from the La2x family, no limits."
"Excellent. Good. Tell lady no." Zenbot translated. The whistling shifted in and out of a deep angry bass. Zenbot paused the direct translation. "I'm sorry, Ms. La2x, I don't feel comfortable translating that part. I will say I don't think he's interested in throwing his life away a second time."
Glok swaggered away towards the port's bar. He grabbed a tray of drinks from one of the servers and caught the glasses with his tentacles, chugging the contents one after another. He joined the group of his kind, Freedman had spotted before, in the corner and joined in a new game of star, anti-matter, black-hole.
"Damn." Mancy sat back down at the table. She looked over to the port entrance. The crowd had started cheering again.
Seven Sisters Race Inc. entered the gambling hall. The company was grey skinned man, expressionless and dead looking. He took his golden note passively, uncaring. The company surveyed the disappointed crowd, searching.
Mancy ducked under the table. "Damn. And there goes the bloody corporation. Can't use it either."
"It's part owned by Daddy. I hope he wasn't in a board meeting right now. He may have seen seen me. So Captain Pippy it is. I don't want to spend anymore time in this port than we have to"
Zenbot nodded. "Agreed. This place sickens me." It pushed itself away from the table. "Let's meet our pilot at the docking station. She should be arriving by now." One of the drunken gamblers rested on Zenbot's shoulder. Zenbot walked off towards the exit leaving the gambler to stumble and fall on the table.
Captain Pippy's beat up old ship limped back to the End of the Line, sputtering and stalling on the way. The ship, its left side a broken mash of machinery, had to turn around and come in several times, in order to dock.
When it finally came in close enough to the dock, magnetic clasps locked the ship in place. A knocking came from the ship's entry door, which finally opened with a bang. Captain Pippy stood there sweating with exhaustion and covered in grease. She was a freckly, young woman with auburn hair, two long pigtails trailing down both shoulders. The captain was dressed in high-boots, khaki shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. She peeked outside of her ship's entrance before descending the plank. The lightening flashes which had met Mancy and her team when they first arrived had subsided for a while.
"Shen'amn thing's gone for good." Captain Pippy kicked at her broken racer, stopping only when she noticed the crew looking up at her from the dock. "But by the Shens that was exciting. I mean talk about getting stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. I was about to soil myself, right good. So who are y'all? Sorry if ya lost your chips on me but I ain't risking my neck for your winnings."
Zenbot initiated the dock's gangplank system. The plank veered to where the door should have been, which due to the racer's damage was a hop away from the door's actual position. Captain Pippy jumped and landed on the gang plank. Mancy extended her hand helping the pilot onto the deck. "Captain Pippy. Let me introduce my team. The gentle inorganic's Zenbot. That's Mr. Qruise, he doesn't look like much but you'll get to like him though, I promise. Freedman with the bulging pockets, he's lucky, apparently. That leaves me, Mancy La2x, prospective employer."
The Pink Heist Page 8
