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"Welcome, one and all." Glorious Angela was true to her name, as even the mere act of speaking into a microphone appeared elegant when done by the angelic woman. Her booted feet seemed to glide across the floor as racers and crew alike bowed their heads in respect. Behind her, her red gown fluttered with a royal blue sash billowing in the powerful AC that breezed down from above like the tail of some celestial beast. "And welcome to this cycle's Asteroid Racing League circuit! As always, we have many returning faces mingling with the new prospects! Hopefully you too will become veterans of our illustrious art."

Lix smiled pleasantly as the woman passed, her eyes catching the subtle but telltale crinkle of faux skin at the announcer's wrist that hinted at a graft covering implants. Jack had been right, Angela was just like him, a Sevarian Jack pilot… did she have arms just like his? Other similarities began to crawl to the surface as well… the pasty pale skin, the rust brown hair, the ice blue eyes… that nearly imperceptible drawl to her voice that Jack did nothing to hide… This woman was Sevar, if Lix didn't know any better. Of course, it could all be coincidence, but the raptor didn't believe in so many piling up all at once. Like moths to a flame the assorted crowd flocked to Angela's voice, their faces ringing familiar bells in Lix's head. They were the very same faces from the lounge aboard the Racer's Heart, the one Jack had been denied entry to; Geetz McMelan, the Human racer and two-time victor of the Lits Run sipped what appeared to be the same drink as before, only this time he was surrounded by his crew instead of random women. Next to his group and boredly watching was Ak'Tak Gultian, a tall avian pilot and master of calculating just how close one could get to an asteroid without damaging a ship, and one of the few who had threaded the Huliun Gap in the Alen Run, a catacomb of pathways through an ancient asteroid. The bird's stoic, almost emotionless demeanor convinced a shiver to crawl up Lix's tail, and the fact that he had no crew around him unnerved her further… Further still was Helena Navonich, her bright flight suit and crooked country grin making the usually still quills on Lix's head quiver. She was so cool, Lix wanted to be a racer just like her. The jovial crew around her, leaning on each other in comfortable camaraderie was a goal the reptilian pilot dreamed of!

Lights overhead glinted gently down, darkening the cathedral shaped hall with its pointed roof like a stretched steeple. It was as if the high ceiling and tall windows were a chapel to worship the very spirit of speed and death at the hands of adrenaline. Angela was the priest of said vaunted halls, the lights glinting off her glowing dress to toss patterns along the wood-colored walls and dance along the fake paneling. Even the singular hanging chandelier, something Lix hadn't noticed when she had first entered, twinkled with the woman's passing, as if her very presence made the world that much brighter.

"I won't waste anyone's time, as I know we all love a good party and social. Tomorrow will be the first race of the season! I know we're all excited but for tonight, grace me with a small moment of your attention." With a dainty hand, Angela drew the crowd's eyes to the far wall, once bare, now shining with a holo-projection of Yulpa. "Skipping several billion years of Yulpa's development and why she came to bear such gorgeous rings, we'll now go over circuit one's route." The projection flashed, the slowly spinning planet shrinking until her massive ring became the focal point of the feed as a stark yellow trail painting a circular route around her orbit. "Unlike the piddly preliminary that cut the fat from the marble, we'll be doing two full orbits of the planet entirely within the rings. A true test of endurance, this race will last hours. Your skills as pilots alone will not cut it anymore. Tactics, resource management, and the hardiness of your onboard crew will be the difference between a stick jockey and a real racer." Angela paused a moment to let the gathered athletes observe the map. It was… diverse… some areas were so sparse of asteroids they were practically straightaways while others were so lazy with the floating rocks that Lix didn't rightly know how she was going to navigate the mess. "Any deviation from the highlighted route will result in an immediate disqualification, no dipping in and out to save time. Once in, however, there are no rules. Just cross the finish line." A wicked smile crossed the woman's face, her icy blue eyes sparkling with dark, oily glee. "We all know slower racers have won the League in the past by being the only racers left." A hearty, if fake, chorus of chuckles rose from the crowd. One Lix and Mo'Ona didn't join. The little Hux stuck close to his reptilian partner, his eyes uncharacteristically hard… In a rare show of camaraderie, Lix placed a claw upon his head, ardently ignoring the few bugs that crawled upon her paw… "As you all know," Angela continued, swirling her dress as she waltzed up and down the room. "Only the first thirty-three racers will advance to the next circuit, and yes, that means if only thirty-three or less survive, you could potentially come in last place and see yourself in the next race! Remember, tactics are just as important as skill in the League. We will be leaving the route up for your review and you can find a copy of the rules and circuit in your rooms. Oh and… hm hm… one last tid bit… the facility is lights out at twenty-two hundred hours local time and there are no guards or cameras permitted in the rooms, but there are in the hallways. Tactics, tactics, tactics… We will be holding a media session in one hour! We ask that only racers be present, crew must make themselves useful elsewhere. Be wise with your time, 'Roid Racers."

Ice filled Lix's veins at the predatory stare, like a hungry beast, Angela fixed them all with as she took measured steps back to the podium, tossing her microphone like trash across the room with a bloodthirsty grin. She was enjoying this, her jabs and pushes for chaos and betrayal… like an emperor of old looking down upon dueling gladiators dying for her entertainment. In a way… they were… Lix spat, an avian alien she didn't recognize leaning away from the wet glob and gifting her with an unimpressed side eye. It didn't matter, not when Lix had the best mechanic in the League and an easily underestimated rat on her side. Grimacing, she picked the bugs from her claws and gently returned them to Mo'Ona's head before sighing heavily. Things were… quickly getting complicated.

"It always be likes this." Skrunkles chuckled, shrugging mirthlessly. "Deaths on the tracks and deaths in the sleepings quarters. Skrunkles usuallys lifts offs by nows and idles cold nears the starting lines. Safers that ways."

"It really is cutthroat, isn't it? You're sleeping in mine and Jack's room, have a servant bring over a mattress or something."

"Doh! Skrunkles can sleeps in-"

"No. Skrunkles can not sleep in the bed with Lix and Jack." As much as she didn't want to see the little guy hurt, she wasn't above hurting him herself if circumstances demanded… She still wasn't sure he wasn't after Jack's pants himself, the little horn dog… rat… pervert. Why couldn't people just be wholesome anymore? Sighing again, something she was quickly becoming an expert at, Lix tapped her earhole to activate her internal comms implant. "Jacky? Where'd you run off to?"

"I'm just outside, needed a smoke break."

"You don't smoke."

"Smokin' the cosmic thoughts an' freein' up my third eye, sister."

"Get your metal ass back here, you ugly fucker. They're not so subtly hinting that murder is allowed before the races if you can get away with it."

"Ooh, now we're gettin' interestin'. Fine, fine, I know ya can't stand bein' away from me for more than an hour anyway. En route, scaly lady."

"Nip yourself, it'll prepare you for when I bite your pale, pasty ass."

***

There was heart in Lix's glare but little heat when Jack returned, his damnable crooked grin making it even harder to be angry at her Human and his escapade. If this was an indication of future habits, then she'd have to put her paw down soon. Nonetheless, she stretched her legs to run her muzzle under his chin when he approached, trilling in pleasure as he let her.

Good boy.

"Enjoy your stroll through the supposedly deadly forest?" Lix ignored the looks they received, and it seemed Jack did too. Now if only Skrunkles would let go of her ankle. There was a tension in the Human. Whatever he had run off to confront still lingered in the back of his eyes… something he was crunching down for her sake. She'd deal with it in private, this wasn't the time. If he was here, then he had whatever was plaguing him under control, or at least, she trusted that he did. Still… that tightness in his back muscles was perceptible beneath her paw pads.

"I think they be jus' sayin' that to keep us close. I bet most people get lost if'n they lose sight of the compound. Anyw-" Jack felt the air freeze in his throat, tiny rat claws pinching his shin as his proximity sensors silently blared in his vision. Lix, likewise, stiffened in his grasp as her head dipped around his shoulder. It wasn't a flinch, or a jerk, just a barely perceptible tension in her otherwise relaxed shoulders.

"Miss Angela!" The raptor started, caused the frozen air in Jack's throat to spike down to his chest and stab into his rapidly beating heart. It wasn't fear, no, it was an oily, oozing, creeping need to- "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you!" Angela's voice was just as sickly sweet as Jack remembered, as was her perfect, pale face when he turned around. It took every ounce of effort to plaster the tried and tested customer service grin he'd trained so thoroughly during his time as the owner of the Stripped Bolt. One that Glorious Angela saw right through. To an onlooker, her return smile would be cordial, simple… just another greeting. To Jack, it was the same smile he'd seen during military summits back on Sevar as she represented the economic interests and rights of the entertainment and recreation division of Sevar's global government before she had been forced to join the Jacks and lead from the front along with the others. She had been one to push for caution at the start of the war, and had resisted the turn to total war, but had bowed her head and toed the line like the rest of them in the end.

There wasn't much of an entertainment sector on Sevar to run after that. She'd flown angrily, flown hard… He remembered the woman keeping up with him and the others with less training and being impressed at the time.

Back then, she was the poster child for Sevarian rage against the council.

Or so they thought…

"Your dress is so pretty! I love that sash- I wish my tail was half as cute." Lix didn't let go of Jack, her claws digging into his flesh with a possessive curl only a predator- a carnivore, could portray. The man had to avoid wincing, but Angela's eyes drifted down to the depressions in his sleeveless shirt bowling around the tips of her talons.

"It was a gift! I have to say, most impressive how you edged out the competition during the final preliminary race," Angela let her eyes linger on Jack's for but a moment… a moment that lasted more than long enough to relive the death of a people and the slow freezing choke of a solar system, before turning back to Lix. "I didn't think you'd pull it out."

"I've my crew to thank for that. I thought I'd burn to a crisp pushing the No Safety like I did but Jack here," A squeeze, a squint, a glare that growled. "Saved her while I had the drive bells screaming."

"Is that so?" Angela returned that frigid gaze to her fellow Sevarian, offering a dainty, unfeeling hand.

"Glorious Angela," Jack's voice hid the clipped distaste that jacketed his tongue, coloring his palate like a mold. "I've heard much about ya."

Oil and ice… the former oozing over the frigid form of the latter to seep into formerly closed cracks like ink into the pits of a fingerprint… spreading like the veins of a long dormant disease newly mutated and awakened. Hate, old and rotten and crumbling like weeds sprouting from the walls of an abandoned greenhouse…

"Charmed! Fantastic work, it mustn't have been easy to save a burning ship while still in the midst of such a high stakes race!"

"Ah well," Jack's voice dropped just a bit, just enough that Lix found it hard to swallow the cotton that suddenly lodged in her throat. "I've some… experience slingin' a wrench in high stress scenarios. As much as the next guy, at least. Ya know how it goes. The implants help." There it was, that angry Jack hiss. Angela just smiled, thin and razor sharp.

"Oh yes, some people compensate with their technology. They think they can get ahead of everyone else on a circuit board or two alone. But some people," A pause… a weight… an accusation… "Some people know how to use those tools, am I not correct? It's what separates mechanics from engineers, those who are nothing more than reactionary fixer uppers from the architects of tomorrow. Some can't keep up, they fade away- become echoes," Jack fought to stop his glare from painting his face. Fought to ignore the gathering crowd… "Forgotten like ice in the void, while others are elevated to the galactic stage because they know what it takes and have the grit to act upon it." Over the course of her speech, Angela's voice had risen to a pleasing pitch, the onlookers and hangers on clapping at her inspiring words. She took a moment to nod her thanks. "I'm sure you've decided which you are, Jacky dear. You wouldn't, couldn't, be here otherwise! Here among the best and most daring in the galaxy!"

Rushing oil… capped by a plastic smile… rigid… fake… there was only so much Jack could take, that he could fake… that he cou-

"Oh, he has." Lix's voice was as melodic and strangely reptilian as the day she'd come stumbling into his shop… It doused the fantasies of reaching up and just… snapping Angela's throat, regardless of the onlookers and the media in the corner and the guards about the walls. "A pilot is only half the equation when it comes to 'Roid Racing. A good crew? You can't beat that, and a good mechanic? Jack's the best, I'll die on that hill. When I take the top spot this season, it'll be 'cause Jack was slinging wrenches in my engine bay. He knows what loyalty means and I'm lucky to have him." Lix's smile, wide and shining with ivory fangs. "Loyalty isn't something I take lightly, unlike some crews. The No Safety Measure will pass the finish line with her crew- because of her crew."

"Well said!" Angela didn't falter, didn't hesitate, her smile just as thin and fake as Jack's… "I look forward to seeing you put those words to test on the track!" With a twirl that flung her dress and sash like a cape in the wind, Glorious Angela took her leave of Lix and Jack both, gliding her way across the banquet hall as the mechanic fumed like a dying engine to the woman's thunderous applause. Claws forced his gaze down into the endless depths of his mate's eyes while everyone else had their focus locked to the League's announcer, her sad smile easing his anger as he reluctantly acquiesced to the silent demand.

"You're a terrible boyfriend. Just the worst influence." She whispered, heated breath washing over his face.

"I hope so. You're just so… innocent and pure. Ech."

"I'm gonna end up crying on the bathroom floor hugging a heart shaped pillow and eating chocolate at this rate. You're so mean. My muzzle will be covered in melted chocolate, Jack. Is that what you want? A chocolatey mate?"

"I'll allow it if you let me kiss ya clean."

The duo devolved into tired chuckles, both shaking their heads at the absurdity of it all. Jack knew it… Lix knew it… Mo'Ona knew it… once those lights went out it would be a free for all in this facility and here they were whispering sweet nothings with a rat latched to their legs while Jack fumed with a barely contained temper. That tension in the man's back had never left, his eyes still harboring some unspoken thorn that was digging into his side.

"What's up?" Lix whispered, turning towards the buffet tables while slapping her heavy tail into his cold hands. "Over here, there's less ears." A weight left the raptor's leg as she turned, her head whipping to see Skrunkles tail vanishing into the crowd. Huh… even he could read the room sometimes… she'd have to thank him later, as long as he took all his bugs with him, that is. The little rat had been uncharacteristcally quiet… she'd have to check on him. "I mean, unless I'm misreading my own mate, there's something on your mind."

"Bah, it ai'n't nothin' to bother ya with." Jack reached for several Orde Vores from a nearby platter, some meat and cheese that was covered in a fine layer of oil, picking several and setting them on a nearby napkin before taking the entire damn platter for himself. Lix only glared but that neither stopped him nor did it make him feel guilty. In fact, he held one out for her to try. Her glare didn't die even as she chewed.

"Mph… thatsh pretty good." Lix took a moment to swallow, like a lady, since proper folk didn't talk with their mouth full. "But yes, it is something to bother me with. I'm your mate, dummy, I'm always available to bother."

"And… What if'n I don't wanna bother ya?"

"And what if'n I wanna be bothered? I want to be bothered because I love you." She grinned evilly at his blush. "Awwww, cute." She smiled, grabbing another bite from Jack's platter. "Come on Jack, I don't like seeing ya struggle over something alone. I'm right here, babe." Her grin widened as he flinched, frustration at being prodded warring with his promise to actually give this relationship thing a shot wrestling with the residual anger over whatever had gotten his boxers in a twist out in the forest. Eventually, however, he caved, much to her relief.

"It's these." The man lifted his left arm, the one not holding the platter, thankfully, to stare at the appendage as if it offended him. It did, Lix realized. "I can't…" Creases lined his face as words failed him. Actions, however, prevailed where vocabulary fell short. Slowly, Jack reached to cup Lix's scaly cheek, the Kux'lar trilling happily as she nuzzled into his palm.

"Okay… and what about them don't you like? Is it… like… Angela has these false skin grafts over hers, I can smell the metal underneath."

"Nah, it ai'n't that. I can't feel nothin' through 'em. Most models these days got faux nerve endings, sends signals to my noggin and gives the sensation o' feel. But these weren't made wit' that in mind."

"Oh…" Lix nuzzled harder. "You went outside to feel grass… Sevar was a forest world…"

"Yeah… an' I can't feel it no more."

Or you. He thought yet wasn't brave enough to voice. Maybe someday he'd be able to do more than teasing remarks. Lix smiled as some nameless crew member glared at Jack from behind, looking between the mechanic and the captured platter of meats and cheeses… before silently snatching the few Jack had set aside on a napkin instead of opting for a confrontation. When the last morsel had vanished, not down Jack's gullet, but into Lix's maw- who let her lips linger upon her mate's finger for a tad bit longer than publicly necessary, Jack set the empty tray down and laid an arm across the Kux'lar's back.

"So," She started, licking the residual oil from her lips. "What did you have Skrunkles get up to?"

"Not a thing, actually. He's off doin' his own thing. He's done this whole song an' dance before, remember?"

"Oh right. I'm not gonna admit he's more experienced than me, it just feels weird."

"What, the lil' trash rat showin' ya up? He did place higher than us in the preliminary."

"Hush, or you're sleeping on the floor tonight." Jack's laugh, genuine for once, forced a smile on her face as he weaved between the crowd. "Not that I wouldn't end up down there with you. Your monkey heat is mine now by right of mateship."

"Uh huh." Suddenly, Jack found himself no longer the center of the reptile's attention. With a grin he followed her gaze to a Human woman clad in a tight-fitting yellow jumpsuit that had him reminding himself he was a chained and collared dog now and he wasn't to be leaving the porch. He might get away with barking… or he might get his nose hit with a rolled-up newspaper… and considering Mo'Ona had been threatened with death when he'd even mentioned asking for a night with the Human, he didn't think Lix's gaze was anything untoward. "Who's that?"

"Huh? Oh! Helena Novanich, pilot of the Copernicus. She's so cool! Her moves are awesome, she's great on the mic, and she runs an amazing talk show for new racers on how to get into the game or get your first personal racing shuttle. I learned so much from her!" A grin spread across her maw, her paws raising to cover her rictus smile to preserve some dignity as her clawed feet performed a shameless stippy step dance of excitement. Which quickly turned to fear as Jack pushed her towards the jovial racer chatting with her crew near one of the tall windows. Lix couldn't even grunt as the setting sun dashed an ocher beam of light over chestnut brown locks and the same pale skin all spacers had due to avoiding star light. Helena was a picture-perfect Human woman; thin yet fit, with a blemish free face and shining healthy hair that framed plump lips.

Jack saw right through it.

It was a face carved by money and a stringent diet, the kind that beat back the ever-encroaching scythe of time. A face curated for cameras and an expression trained to pull in her fans. Not that he blamed the woman, quite the opposite in fact. It was the same struggle everyone endured… that constant battle against their own entropy. Helena, however, was good at it.

Very very good at it.

"Y'all Miss Novanich, right?" He began, shoving a trembling Lix in front of himself and holding her in place with supportive hands upon her shoulders. "My girlfriend been 'oohin' and 'awin' over ya by the buffet table." Lix squawked, turning to try and nip him before waving sheepishly up at the woman.

"Isn't that so?" Helena's accent was immediately recognizable as one from close to the core worlds, a place where the council held its headquarters planet and dictated the fate of the rest of the galaxy. Jack wouldn't hold it against her… yet… no one could choose where they were born after all. "Aren't you darling! I adore Kux'lar culture. Have you sang for your man yet, you beautiful thing?" Lix stuttered, wrapping her tail around her own leg before she remembered she was in fact an adult and wrapped it around Jack's instead.

"Oh, I did. I was a little excited the first time though and kinda… did it right in his ear…"

"Oh!" Helena handed her drink off to a crew mate who shook his head in good nature before wandering off. "I love the cliches. Ah, where are my manners! I am Helena, and you are… ah forgive me, the Kux'lar language is so very difficult for my short mouth, I believe Lix is what the talking heads call you, no?"

"Mhm! I remember listening to your talk show on how to procure your first racing shuttle. You really helped me out in the early days."

"That's what Hele Hour is all about! Bringing in new souls to this sacred sport! Oh, that fills my heart with jo-" Helena found herself cut off by the sharp ringing of an overhead bell, the facility announcement system killing the myriad conversation around the hall with a dulcet tone of an overworked League employee.

"Attention all, attention all. Be advised, we will now conduct the media session followed lights out in the following ten minutes, lights out in the following ten minutes. Guards will be posted only in the hallways and anyone caught moving through the corridors will be required to have an escort. That is all."

Silence prevailed for but a few moments before the very air of the banquet hall changed. Gone was the jovial atmosphere, gone was friendly conversation, gone was the attempts at networking and connection. No… now racers moved to rejoin their crews and spoke only in hushed whispers. Lix found her head whipping this way and that at the sudden, harsh change until Helena cleared her throat.

"Listen, friend. After that media session, you stick to your mean mug of a mate like glue! The League will truly begin tonight… not tomorrow."

"Tonight, eh?" Lix growled deep in her gullet, the killing claws on her feet flexing. "So subterfuge, murder, sabotage, yadda yadda."

"Cute and smart," Helena grinned, holding out a hand that Lix quickly shook. "In just a little while, you and I will be opponents. I like to do things on the racetrack, but there are others who will lie and cheat and break to get ahead of the game and the League encourages it. The general populace aren't really shown this part but the high rollers? The donors? Oh, they love it. Stay frosty," With that final warning, Helena flipped her perfect hair and trotted away, looking back only to wink in Jack's direction. "And you watch your lizard's six, handsome."

Jack pulled the Kux'lar into his chest, glaring at the woman as she retreated into the crowd that grew more and more tense by the moment. Already he could see crews getting ushered out by guards and attendees alike.

"I'll meet ya tonight." He kissed the top of the Kux'lar's scaly head, her claws reaching up to grab his arm. "Y'all go straight to the room after and I'll find ya."

"Make sure the Gerthtrude and No Safety are safe first. All sorts of stupid games are gonna be played on that landing pad I bet."

"Oh, I'm on it, scaly lady."

***

Lix didn't like it when Jack separated from her, not even a little. She wasn't there to keep his leash tight, nor was he there to save her bacon if things got crazy. Thoughts of what a media session would even be like ran through her head as the crowd thinned, the rough and tumble mechanics, technicians, social media managers, agents, and guards herded out like cattle. Lix smiled as Jack threatened one poor armored man with shoving his rifle so far up his ass, he could open his mouth and conduct a twenty-one-gun salute before her Human vanished out the door towards the landing pad. Others shuffled tiredly into the hallway that led to the racer's quarters.

Once the racers well and truly alone a fleet of drones slowly buzzed from the ceiling, each one led by a wide-eyed camera lens set into an oval housing over a swirling set of blades. Like a swarm of flies over a corpse, each one zoomed away from the others, the flock seeking out a racer to interview with premade questions. The new racers all backed away from the overly aggressive bots while the old heads simply smiled at the things like returning friends. Lix found herself flinching as a bright blue lens suddenly imposed itself in front of her.

"Captain Lix," It began, its voice tinny and mechanical. She glared at the thing, her jaws snapping in the space it had once occupied as its rotors whirred to save itself from the raptor's fangs. A blush burned under her muzzle as she realized it was already recording. "As this is your first official race in the Asteroid Racing League, what are your feelings about tomorrow's route?"

"Gnah! Back up!" Lix felt her blood pressure rise. "It's… ngh… a circuit… I'm not one to study the routes too terribly beforehand, it's much better to just react. Lot's of thick asteroid field but a few nice straight aways where we'll be shooting at each other, I'm sure. Besides, half of the route will get blown up by missiles and stuff anyway. I'm much more interested in Yulpa itself. Everything is so pret-"

"What are your opinions on your fellow racers?"

"Ah- hey, I wasn't… ugh… I don't even know most of them outside their own interviews… It's like I'm surrounded by celebrities, they don't really associate with use new racers. Helena did though, she's super awesome!" Lix could see with a glance that the old heads were getting much more robust interviews, downright conversations even, and with a start realized their bots had real people behind them. Would anyone even see this?

Not if she played cookie cutter answers…

With a grin that bordered evil, Lix turned her attention back towards the bot.

"Actually, lemme tell you what I think of this whole banquet hall had a baby with a press conference charade to begin with. Listen up, bot…"

***

Jack knew these kinds of people. They were adept at their games of sabotage and manipulation to get a leg up on their competition and apparently even eliminate them altogether. If, of course, they could get away with it… That was just fine by Jack's standards. Koorka Station wasn't so different in that regard, quite the same actually. It hadn't taken him long to climb into the Gerthtrude's drive bell and get comfy, his feet kicked up the inside curve of the thruster. All along the landing pad, others were similiarly taking up guard next to their captain's ships, the sound of weapons being loaded and hushed rotation plans reaching his ears like wafting waifs on the wind.

Most were wise enough to avoid the old head's ships, not that many were docked out here in what he was beginning to suspect to be the plebian parking, but some tried their luck only to be vanished into the dark of the moonlight by private security that had seemingly appeared from the woodwork. The old station gangster kicked himself for not realizing the set up this was, how it neatly packed all the new racers right into an easily manipulated little cube where the old heads were, once again, removed from danger unless they risked their own necks out of their own volition.

Viper's nest didn't begin to describe it. Everyone was at threat here, but the new racers more than most. It made sense of course, weed the fat from the marbling as Angela had said. This was shaping up to be his kind of sport! Blood both in and out of the track, less if you had a savvy head on your shoulders about who did and didn't have a knife poised at your back.

"Speaking of…" Jack whispered into the night air, his grin stretching ear to ear as he slooooowly… slowwwwly rolled to look below him. The silent proximity alarms oh his otherwise vulnerable looking hauler were screaming in his vision, the Gerthtrude herself asking permission to turn her point defense cannons on the intruder. It was impressive actually, how quiet and fasted the man moved, but that was beside the point. Jack didn't know this man, he'd never spoken to him or even exchanged glances… but he knew what he was wearing. The short Human, unremarkable by all metrics, hadn't even changed out of his bright yellow utility suit, the same bright yellow of Helena's crew. Oh but that, that wasn't right, now was it? She had her whole crew with her at the banquet, Jack had read the rules after all. A maximum crew of eight was allowed, and Helena had a full contingent. None of them had been this man. This fool of a man, who had his fucking hand on the Gerthtrude's airlock door.

"Naughty… naughty… naughty…"