3-The Race

Having found out all the information he could, Bret slowly walked back toward the ship. The race was due to begin the following morning, and he wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly. As he walked past an alley, he heard a muffled groan. Bret stopped and peered into the gloom. Then, with wide eyes, he rushed in.

Iruoko was lying in a pile of rags. She was pretty torn up, and she was only half conscious. Bret scooped her up and carried her into the street, calling for help.

"She needs medical attention! Will somebody help me?"

Finally, a shop owner offered to call a medical transport. Bret waited impatiently during the four minutes it took the hovercar to arrive. When it did arrive, the EMTs loaded Iruoko inside, Bret climbed in, and the car shot off for the medical building...

Later, in the emergency ward...

"Well, doctor, how bad is she?" Bret worriedly asked.

"I can't say for sure yet," the elderly human replied. "She's taken a pretty nasty blow to the head. With a concussion like that, she'll need to stay in bed for at least a week."

"But will she be able to race tomorrow?"

"Young man, there is more to life than races! Your friend is seriously injured, and if she so much as pilots an orbital shuttle, there may be complications beyond a simple concussion!"

After a lot of arguing, pleading, and threatening, the doctor still refused to release Iruoko into Bret and Irridan's care. Irridan herself was conscious long enough to order her crewmates to continue without her. It looked as if Bret and Irridan were going to be responsible for the first leg of the race.

The next day, after having completed the necessary forms, the Bat Outta Hell revved its engines and blasted to its assigned place in the orbital starting gate. There were lots and lots of spectator craft and news ships buzzing around. It certainly was a big event!

The race officials announced, "Remember, aside from hitting all the checkpoints, the only rule is the first ship across the finish line wins!"

All around were ships of varying shapes and sizes, but they all had one thing in common--super-charged engines!

Bret Durance had kicked himself mentally all the way to the medical facility, and felt a pall of guilt on his heart even as he sat at the controls of the Bat at the starting gate. He should have been there with Iruoko. He also felt somewhat surprised that he felt like this; he was a drifter, a smuggler, not a loyal crewman. He was on board the Bat for pay so he could drift to the next big score.

The timer ran closer to the start, he raised energy flow to the engines. There would be no faster-than-light travel in this race, as he understood, but that was no problem, as the Bat was well named. Irridan sat stoically in the co-pilots chair next to him.

She, too, had been troubled in her own alien way. At the medical facility, before Iruoko had firmly ordered the two of them to leave at the last moment, Irridan had set Iruoko to work at the Namorrian healing trances that she had first taught Iruoko years ago when they first met -- crashlanded on a frozen world trying to stave off hunger and freezing temperatures. Also, Irridan told Iruoko of the message received on the Bat. Former Ambassador Julanar of the Star Republic had fled the Granth sector, and was on his way to Helix to meet with Iruoko. This helped decide Iruoko to stay put in one place to meet with her Feeraas friend.

Irridan looked over at Bret, "We must be ready in less than one standard minute. Are you capable of that?"

Bret shook himself from his reverie, "Look, Irridan, I know that we're not the best of buds. I know that to you, I'm just another annoying human. But, we're gonna have to work together through who knows what to win this, and we need to be a crew. So, let's put aside everything that is between us and do this, okay?"

Irridan rarely changed her expression. "Those would be my sentiments as well, Bret."

Irridan returned to watching the Bat closely, "What were you doing at the time Iruoko was attacked?"

Bret nearly spun on her, "Hey! what are you doing asking me a question like that? I wasn't there, I'm sorry. I..."

Irridan raised a hand and interrupted him, "I am not accusing, Bret. I am asking because you smell like a Sycamaranian. And, I admit extreme curiosity as to why, as well as revulsion."

Bret stopped his coming tyrade and swallowed down his guilt. He reminded himself that Irridan did not have a clue when it came to social politics with humans. "I was at a spacer's bar, looking for information. As you can smell, I met with an alien, I found out that his species is called a Sycamaranian, and I was able to get some info from him."

"About what?"

"About the war in the Granth sector."

Irridan suspected he was asking for more than that, but kept her suspicions to herself, "what did you learn?"

"Long story short, I don't think we should return to the Granth sector when this is all over. I think Iruoko should think about moving the ITA headquarters elsewhere."

The race officials finished final preparations and announced, "Racers, ready! Set! Go!

The starter gave the signal, and the race ships lunged forward. And the Bat, with its already powerful and well-known speed, hurtled out to an early lead with its Namorrian-tweaked and improved engines. The ship, nearly rattling itself to its very core with the release of so much energy, clearly showed everyone present why it flew like a bat out of hell.