Space Race (Space Race 1) by Nathan Hystad (book recommendations for young adults .TXT) 📕

moment later with a compact device. She scanned the entire rolling cart and shrugged. “Seems clean to me. Other than the Tab on top.”

“You sure that would catch whatever voyeuristic technology someone with Octavia’s power would have?” I saw a Tab stuffed on the cart between two dishes. The food smelled delicious.

“Bryson gave me the newest iteration. Said it’d locate anything resembling a bug.” Jade grabbed the Tab and passed it over to me.

“Octavia has a message for us.” I smirked and set the holographic projector on the table. Holland was already filling his plate with samples from each bowl.

“Well done, SeaTech. I have to say you surprised a lot of people today, not only with your ingenuity, but with your quick actions. The Board is happy to have you in the final four, which means there’s just two more days until the end of the Race. Have a pleasant evening, and enjoy some food and drink, sponsored by Orion’s local catering company. You’ve more than earned it. We’re going to be giving a few extra hours’ delay, so you’ll have time to rest and prepare for the last stretch.

“You’re currently in third, with Lotus now in first. They’ll have a twelve-minute advantage. Sage is two minutes ahead of you in the starting blocks, with Luna Corp thirty-three minutes behind.” Octavia’s image drifted forward, and her voice dropped. Her gray hair looked whiter than before. “There’s a lot at stake here, Team SeaTech, and I know Bryson Kelley is extremely proud of what you’ve accomplished. Again, congratulations, and relish the achievement.”

The projection ended, and Luther was rifling through the beverages, testing to ensure the tops were all sealed. “You don’t think she’ll try to poison us, do you?”

“If the Board wanted us gone, they could just stalk through that door and toss us out an airlock,” Jade told him.

I stared at the table, trying to put something together. “Did you notice her tone?”

“Which part?” Holland shoveled a forkful of noodles in his mouth. I remembered eating like there was no tomorrow when I was his age, back in the days when my metabolism was my friend.

“She said, and I quote, ‘I know Bryson Kelley is extremely proud.’” I added air quotes.

Luther cracked a bottle of water. “So?”

“She didn’t say, ‘I have no doubt that Bryson Kelley is proud.’ Or ‘Bryson has every right to be proud.’”

“What’s the difference?” Jade sat beside Holland, her plate full to the brim too. I glanced at the cart and filled my own, not wanting to wait for these monsters to leave me without.

“A lot. She made it sound like she’s talked to him, and he’s told her he’s proud. Know what I mean?” I took the opposite seat, making room on the round table for my own water bottle.

Holland finally took a break from chewing. “What are you implying, Arlo?”

“Nothing, but we haven’t been able to reach your dad in a couple of days. I don’t like it.” I peered at R11 in the corner of the room, his battery pack removed. We couldn’t risk leaving him on board, and I struggled with not posting a crew member on the ship. We’d locked her down as well as we could, and Jade was confident she was secure, but the lingering worry that we were being used hadn’t dissipated yet.

R11’s pack had been damaged in the reboot, with a terminal being fried beyond repair. This meant we were waiting on a replacement, but I couldn’t go through the Board channels to retrieve one. I needed to do this on my own. It was the only way to trust what we put inside the robot was reliable. I suspected the Board’s replacement would have something nefarious built into it.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. R11 had determined what the communication from afar had said, and we had to see that message. This entire thing had begun with me stumbling across that first vessel, and there were too many connections to make it random.

I had work to do. I’d already sent a message to my contact on Titan, and he was arranging a transport to pick me up in an hour.

“You’re sure you want to head down there? What if something dangerous happens? We can’t lose you now,” Holland said.

“We’re waylaid an extra day. I’ll be fine. Jinx is a good guy. A little strange, but he’s never done me wrong.”

“I should go with you.” Luther, always the protector.

“I’ve been to Titan a few times. The Orion city is more of a small town, with mining operations outside of its perimeter. I’ll be in and out,” I told them.

Jade tapped her chin, eyeing me up. “You can’t leave like that.”

She was right. I still had my jumpsuit on.

When I left the team to head to the lower-level docking station, I looked like someone else: complete with trendy black digital glasses and dark pants, leather boots, and an oversized puffy jacket. I didn’t ask where Holland had managed to procure them, but they almost fit, and it was better than advertising who I was to anyone on Titan’s surface.

The transport arrived on time. It was an old model, probably retired twenty years prior, but Jinx had somehow succeeded in keeping a hold of it. I guessed places like Titan weren’t high on the priority list for Orion, not after the mining hadn’t proved as fruitful as they’d hoped. Everything that could be found there was cheaper to gather externally, making the entire endeavor redundant, but the Primary Corp probably kept it open for the location and optics.

The station guards were disinterested in me until I flashed the ID badge I’d been given on entry. It was labeled with a gold border, signifying I was with one of the teams competing.

“SeaTech, hey? I wish I’d put money on you,” the guy said as he opened the hatch to the waiting transport.

“Me too.” I laughed.

And just like that, I was heading for Titan to get a power pack for