Page 1 of Hyperspeed
Over the Moon & Out of Orbit
Kai
There was nothing like the feeling of zero gravity. That moment when you’re sailing along and suddenly the ship drops, dipping into a descent so steep that your stomach is still in your throat and your ass is up by your elbow.
For some people, it made them want to spew in a bucket. But me? I wanted to hoot like a child on a hyper coaster, my body thrumming with so much adrenaline I could shatter the shuttle’s roof with raw power.
A look through the window showed a change from deep space to hazy yellow skies as we entered Ithara’s atmosphere. A giant moon filled the horizon, bright enough to provide daylight for twenty hours a day, year round.
The planet was nice, with its wide-open spaces and miles of grassland. But there wasn’t much to see. Not beyond the capital of Luminara.
I might’ve been biased, because nestled on the outskirts of the city was my favourite place—on this planet at least. And as the shuttle descended through Ithara’s dust clouds, long cracks in the ground became visible, causing my heart to pump a little harder.
“Looks different from last year,” my teammate, Jaxir, said from the row of seats across from me.
“It looks different every year, thanks to the windstorms,” I replied.
But I couldn’t take my eyes off the view, because we were approaching Vortex Canyon, the track for the first race in the Astro Space League.
“Welcome home, bud,” Jax remarked, and I couldn’t help but laugh. We both knew it wasn’t home—not in a physical sense. But spiritually? My heart had always been wherever the race was. After six long months of downtime, I was ready for the season to begin, to shed the restless feeling of displacement that came with the off-season.
Even so, he wasn’t wrong. The ASL was my arena. Everyone else was just passing through.
“Ready for the fun to begin?”
I peeled my eyes away from the window to grin at my best friend. “Always.”
The shuttle landed in the dedicated spot for Nexus Racing, and Jax and I disembarked, followed by our team principal, Ailor. The winds were already blowing strongly, working overtime to knock us off our feet as we crossed the shuttle park towards the paddock.
At least, Jax and I were struggling. Ailor was a seven-foot-tall Trivorii with three tentacle-like legs covered in suckers that glued them to the ground. They were a walking, talking tripod.
The paddock was a hub of activity. Engineers ran back and forth, their arms filled with tools and tyres. Racers who’d arrived before us were admiring their new vehicles or leaning over screens and talking with their team. Some were already relaxing against the wire fence on the other side of the pit lane, enjoying the early morning sun despite the dust in the air.
I caught sight of Valen Dray, a Vorkan racer from the Vortex team. He wore a pair of tiny shorts and nothing else. Metallic-bronze skin gleamed as his genetically gifted, muscular legs—lucky bastard—propelled him down the pit lane at full speed. Hell, he wasn’t even sweating. That shimmering sheen?One hundred percent natural. Dray didn’t even need to work out; the Vorkans were built for feats of strength. He was flaunting it, showing off in front of the competition.
Despite my jealousy, I raised a hand in a polite wave, and Dray nodded in return. But when Jax waved too, Dray’s lip curled in a sneer, and he turned to run in the opposite direction.
Jax sighed, disappointed, and I muttered, “Still besties, then?”
He didn’t reply, just pushed me towards the team garage where my baby was waiting for me.
“I hope you’ve been treating her nicely,” I called out to Sam, a human engineer, who was leaning over the body of my HyperX Velocity.
He’d joined the team six years ago, during my rookie year, and we’d been working together for the last four. He was giving my vehicle a good rub down before the afternoon practice session, and she lookedbeautiful.
Sam looked up from polishing a thruster and smirked. “I’ve taken her out for dinner and complimented her. We’ve even cuddled after a good wax and polish.”
Behind me, Jax snickered, while my face pinched. “Don’t make it weird, you prick.”
“Says the one who calls his vehicle a she,” Sam shot back, raising a single eyebrow.
I envied people with that physical skill. Every time I attempted it, I looked like I was trying not to fart. As a result, my sarcastic quips never hit the mark like Sam’s. And considering I had an entire arsenal of grade A remarks just waiting to be used, it was a great shame.
I wondered if I could still master it at twenty-eight . . .
“Kai.” Sam’s voice echoed through the garage. The elevated volume suggested it wasn’t the first time he’d said my name.
“Huh?”
