The Outsider (Outsider #1) ✔️

Chapter 10 : Due-Pax, Late Night

Luke made a gesture, asking her to follow him down to the parking area. She waved to the Brigadier and ran after Luke since she definitely did not want to take the Mass back to the dorm, which was her home now.

She followed Luke to the underground parking area below the club. There were few vehicles left at time of the night. She was sure that Luke would have a fancy little car. After all, all said and done, he was from a family with lot of money. Instead, he walked past the cars to a separate area where rows of strange vehicles were kept. Peering at them closely, her eyes opened wide, as she realised what they were!

Two – Passenger Hover-Bikes!

She had seen them in Holo-Novels. They were showcased in the National Parade for the last few years. Mostly with police and military personnel riding them. The Emperor's Guards had some of those new ones. She had not seen anyone else riding them. She had no idea how expensive these bikes were. Luke stopped next to one that was obviously custom built.

Seeing Dusk's mouth open, Luke felt a little satisfied. At least it seemed to be a fitting exchange for her name calling a few minutes back. She had actually called him ... somewhat of an anti-national, and definitely spoilt and money-grabbing ... even though he was grabbing it for her. He, of all people, anti-national!

"Never seen a hover-bike before?" He asked her.

"Not in real life. All I have seen is news and in parades."

"Well, this is actually borrowed. I can't afford one myself yet. This is called a Du-Pax because it is meant for two people to ride it."

As he approached, the lights on the bike lit up. A light whining sound came from the machine as it warmed up its engines and did a self-test to verify that everything was working. Suddenly the bike actually spoke to them.

"Good Evening Master Luke! I see you have a companion today. Will she be travelling with you?"

"Yes, she will."

"Adjusting for size 34-C, additional weight, 52kg, error factor +/- 1.5kg ..."

Dusk's mouth which had finally closed, opened up again in shock. The machine had estimated her chest size and weight. And pretty correctly too in both!

Luke gestured to the bike, it rose up from the ground by a few cm and slowly came out of its parking slot. It came and stood next to Luke. Luke mounted the bike and signalled to Dusk to climb up behind him. As soon as her hips touched the seat, a transparent plastic sheet rose from all sides of the bike end sealed them in. They were in what looked like a flimsy protective cocoon.

As Luke touched the steering handles in the front, the bike rose another 10 cm into the air and slowly moved to the exit. Once it left the parking, its acceleration profile changed. It suddenly gathered power and pushed ahead at a speed faster than Dusk expected. The bike zoomed ahead on the empty roads, merging into the prime 'Ring Road' that connects the Academic Cluster to the Admin Cluster and then on to the Dorms. They were travelling at over 100 kmph, which was very fast for university roads and looked worse on a hover-bike. She felt like there was nothing between her and the road, as if she was doing skateboarding!

Luke turned back and said, "You want to see the true power of this vehicle? Then I will take you for a short ride round the campus before I drop you home... If you have the guts, that is."

Dusk knew he was just needling her, so she bravely nodded her head. It was a computer-controlled vehicle. How fast can it go?

Luke pulled out a pair of tight-fitting Military Night Goggles and handed it to her. He waited for her to put it on as the bike slowed slightly. He touched a button and the bike responded. "Transferring to manual control. Safety Protocol restricted to critical preventive."