Nightingale

TWO

'Look, I'm not saying that it was rigged, but Forman's jump to take the lead was dodgy to say the least.'

'Forman is a top-class driver, and the fact he was pushed onto that track by Ingirislad made him desperate. Anyone would be in that position, having to go around the longer route. They were only just generating the track as he was getting to it; even Yuki knows that you can't drive on track that hasn't been generated yet.' Yuki looked up from her drink.

'Don't look at me; I don't know anything of the HyperGP. My ex used to watch it, and that's about it. That and the fact that Kneyllyl seems to win everything.' Leon grimaced.

'Hey, Celestria's getting themselves up there slowly, but they've only had a team for the past 30 years, somehow,' he replied.

'They seem to be at the forefront of everything else,' Holden said.

'Just not Hyper racing apparently. Although didn't Ingirislad drive for them at some point in the past?' Duma inquired. Leon nodded.

'Few seasons ago. Had a massive rant about having to let Zane Huntersdome past on the final lap of the Hell Vayley race and said that unless they raised his pay to 3000Zale a race he was leaving.'

'I'm assuming they didn't,' Duma said, 'judging by the fact he's now racing for VRT.'

'That they didn't. Shame too, considering he's now second in this season's championship, and only got it stolen from him that last race with a cheating Forman coming from the side track off the edge and slamming down onto the track in front of him three corners from the end. I mean, how's a guy going to defend against that? His team didn't even tell him that Forman was coming along.'

'Don't they say that the communications go crap for about a minute along that stretch though Leon?' Holden asked.

'Oh down through Canyon yeah they lose the coms, but you think someone would have told him that it was possible Ingirislad would jump him,' Duma pointed out.

'Exactly my point, thank you Duma. Look, I acknowledge that Forman is a good driver and all, and I recognise that Ingirislad forced him wide onto the Riviege, but I still think that Forman had some sort of help. They were wheel to wheel going onto that straight, and somehow, even taking the longer road, Forman jumps off back onto the main track well ahead of Ingirislad. I mean, there's clearly something wrong there.'

The crew continued the conversation over their first flight meal, which consisted of sludgy, different coloured pastes which were flavoured to suit the wished for food. Although the same substance in everything but the flavour, Holden was eating a roast, Duma a chilli, Leon a burger, and by their side, Yuki and Prissy were devouring into their lasagne-flavoured meals. Ymal had gone back to check the bridge and cockpit during the phase out of communications range, whilst Jenny was checking that all of her nicely polished weapons were still pristine condition. The whole crew were contented to talk Hyper sport, money, family issues, politics, any topic which happened to come up. Yuki had certainly been on worse trips, one particular venture had been hell thanks to a certain member of the crew bullying her for her ancient earthen oriental heritage and accent. It seemed that on the whole, the seven crew members were knitting together nicely.

It was during a particularly heated conversation between Leon and Prissy over what should be done about a small planetary colony on Crisander.7R which was engaged in tense negotiations with the locals, that Ymal came in over the coms system.

'Guys, we're just heading out of communications range with Outpost 73, so I don't know if you want to do anything special like do a handstand, but we are about to be on our own in a few minutes.' There were nervous exchanged of looks around the dinner table, and it seemed that for the first time, it was really sinking in that if something were to happen, there would be absolutely nobody to help them. Celestria was going out of reach, Outpost 73 was just a crackling and a fading speck on a screen, the Empire Of Humanity was going to be a distant past, save for a lone spaceship voyaging out, treading the void of the blank space. Nightingale would be the furthest life for the empire, for anything that their species knew, it was a landmark for which any lost traveller that had failed their warp and ended up there would look for to get a grip on reality, and hopefully find their way home. Before Nightingale's explorations, gods forbid anyone who would end up in this hell of nothingness.