Opalina Outpost

Chapter 15: Bonanza in Bastonar

The ride across the desert to Bastonar was a far cry from his private train, but Lio was too giddy with excitement to care about the spotty air conditioning or the sticky plastic seats. Three weeks since Ravi had stunned everyone by announcing that they would be participating in the competition. Three weeks of getting them all registered for individual challenges, and then constant practice. Ravi insisted they help each other in their different training, and enforced the policy with dawn to dusk schedules.

After eight months of dragging, sun-baked days before Ravi's arrival, Lio was suddenly fantastically busy. He rewired bots with Yorune, Rosareen, and Onfenka, stumbled through training runs behind Orvaska and Teres, was demolished by Duhar in racing sims, and spent hours decoding and encoding cryptics with Aziri. All that, and his regular chores. Free time was an ancient legend, and he went three weeks without a minute for his Mastali search, but somehow it didn't seem to matter quite so much. It was the most fun he'd ever had at Opalina.

The only real downside was that with the abruptly strenuous schedule, he barely spent any time with Ravi. More than a few nights he lingered in the empty mess hall, hopefully watching the door, throat pinched with disappointment each time he gave up and went to bed. He desperately wanted another glimpse of Ravi the way he'd been that night. But he had a feeling it would continue to be denied.

Outside the crusted train window, the desert streaked past, glimmering with pale gold as the sun rose. Lio squinted between the pair of seats where he sat with Aziri, trying to catch a glimpse of the com. He shifted around and poked his head over the top of the seats, looking back a few rows until he could see Ravi and Jossen going over something on a slate. Neither of them looked up at him.

A balled-up napkin hit him in the face, and Lio sputtered, glaring down at the perpetrator. Teres was in the seat directly behind him, wearing a knowing grin. "Alright there, Lio?"

"Much better after being struck with a projectile, dearest." He leaned his chin on his hands, resting on the tall back of the chair. "Are you nervous about today?"

Teres jiggled her knee incessantly, but her smile was genuine. "Of course. But I'm excited, too. Com Endessen said that there will be reps from Enforcer units watching all the bouts. It's a good opportunity to get on their radar."

"Excellent!" He was about to launch into a rousing speech for his friend's benefit when the train jolted and stopped, announcing Bastonar. Only a few minutes more until it continued on to its next destination just outside the town proper, on the fairgrounds where Bonanza was held. Lio widened his eyes at Teres and slid back down in his seat, nudging Aziri awake.

Slowly, the train swept out of the Bastonar city station and into a long tunnel. When sunlight broke through the windows again, Lio caught his breath. The day might have only just begun, but Bonanza was already a teeming hive of activity. White crew tents were scattered among the combat rings, simulation stations, games, food stalls and enormous challenge courses.

He spilled off the train and watched the other crews milling around on the platform. Bonanza was a well-known competition and open to all, no qualification scores necessary. It did not attract the most elite specialized units, but there were still plenty of good crews here. Well-etablished units with track records that consisted of far more than conquering a dumpster of featherweed. Lio fought off a tremble.

"This way," Ravi shouted. A map glowed from his holowatch, but he led them through the fairgrounds without seeming to use it. In all likelihood, he'd already memorized the damn thing. He guided them to an empty white tent sagging over a few stools and a stained plywood table. The crew clustered into the sparse shade.

"Wait a minute, this is rigged," Duhar grumbled, nodding at the crew tent nearest to them. It was fully encased in translucent, heat-treated walls to corral the air-conditioning, and was laid out with overstuffed couches, a refrigerator, and an imager board waiting to update team scores.