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Epilogue

The Greater Haromian Empire Haroma System, Haroma III Lontus Region

Culmination 20 4999 ISY (3 Isaiah)

"It's clear ahead of you. Let's top out and finish it." Azuk heard through his headset as he hit nearly 600 miles per hour going down the superhighway.

Racing had come to be something that Azuk absolutely enjoyed. Taking the suggestion from the Emperor, he looked into local races and invested his money in a cheap anti-gravity vehicle to get started. Within a month he had a reputation as one of the better racers on Haroma. By the end of 4997 he was already moving to the professional races rather than the amateur circuit. With that came sponsorships, greater prizes, and of course fame. It didn't matter that he wasn't from the Empire. What mattered was that he could go fast.

That finally culminated after two years with his debut in the Tour of Haroma. The most prestigious race in the Empire, mostly due to the fact that it's an extremely long endurance race. It goes from Astrapolis on one side of the planet, follows the superhighways, and finally ends at Lontus. It's nearly 30,000 miles of superhighway that goes through most of the Empire's largest cities and is completed in around a day and a half usually. With speeds averaging around 520 miles per hour, it's ridiculously fast. At the fastest parts, usually over the deserts and plains but also the final stretch in Lontus that speed can get up to 850 miles per hour.

And despite being the newest racer on the list for the race, Azuk was sitting with about a one minute lead on the Greymane-Knighthold racer and as one of the last five standing. Due to the risks involved, it was very easy to crash if concentration slips for even a few moments. The top ten racers in the Empire were invited to this race and half of them were out before the halfway point. Two had traded paint before both ended up thrown off the highway. Thanks to the safety measures both survived with injuries, but they were out of the race.

Azuk made the last turn that would take him into the last nearly 100 mile straight to the finish line. He knew he had the faster vehicle, so he didn't have to worry about the GK racer behind him. As soon as Azuk got control and straightened out, he pushed the accelerator to the floor and shifted the vehicle up to top gear. The rapid acceleration pushed him up to 825 miles per hour. If it weren't for the specially designed suit he was sure he'd probably not survive such speeds.

In a matter of minutes Azuk decelerated for the last few miles. He couldn't even read the GK racer behind him. Sure enough he crossed the finish line at a few hundred miles per hour and pulled off to the side of the highway. There was a designated area for everyone that finished, and Azuk wasn't about to sit in the middle of the highway begging to be hit once he had already won. It hadn't even yet settled in that he had, in fact, won.

"Great gods damned work Azuk. Let's get the pictures with the media I guess." The voice said into the headset.

Tired now that he could finally stop concentrating, Azuk stopped the vehicle where he was told and climbed out. Immediately he was swarmed by the media, though a few police officers were quick to move in and keep people some distance back. Azuk simply shuffled through the crowd to participate in all the formalities of his victory. He didn't even care. His body was demanding he just go to sleep.

Everything went by in a blur. He was handed the trophy, got many more pictures taken of him, and he posed where he could for the pictures. Finally, was a short press conference to answer a couple questions. It was all formalities and Azuk truly didn't care. He especially didn't want to be answering questions that he didn't have answers to.

"Mister Tulrikvah, you're the newest racer to ever win the Tour. What kept you focused?" One reporter asked.

There was a hint of a temptation to say 'lots and lots of drugs' but while it may be humorous he knew the Haromians sometimes didn't have a sense of humor. "I just wanted to win something for once." There was a sudden spark of inspiration as he said that though, so he continued "This was a victory for Sol. Proof that yet again the finest of the Empire couldn't stand against the tenacity of the Sol Sector."

The silence in the crowd was almost deafening in its own right, but Azuk figured that was probably some sort of auditory hallucination at this point. Taking that as his cue to not say another word, he walked off the stage and headed for his trailer. He was going to get a bit of sleep, reporters be damned. He knew that comment was going to get him in trouble, but he didn't even care.

As he opened the door to the trailer Azuk immediately noticed something off in the air. It was the scent, and one he recognized. "Good job Azuk." Luca said while she sat at the table in his trailer. "I heard your little remark. Want to get a new job with your skin still attached to your body?"

"What job?" Azuk asked, almost slurring it out from the fatigue.

"I need a new pilot." Luca said. "Since I've been discharged, I've been saving up for a new ship by running freight. I am going to be buying a cruiser and I need a pilot. Want the job?"

Azuk tilted his head, mostly from being tired, and tried to comprehend that. Here he was having just won his greatest race and probably lost everything again because of a poorly placed remark, and already a job was landing in his lap. Something about it seemed far too convenient, but he supposed that based on what he remembered of Luca this was something she'd probably do to anyone that she was recruiting. If anything, in the back of his tired mind Azuk was pleased that he was probably her first choice to ask.

"What's in it for me?" Azuk asked.

"Money, exploration, pride, and maybe some exotic benefits." Luca said. "I am going to be launching exploration missions into Primitive Space. I figure that we can get first rights to anything we find out there, and you'd be the second officer."

Azuk rolled his head. "Can I think about it?"

"No." Luca said with a toothy grin. "I need an answer now. Clearly you can handle yourself, but I need someone I can trust. Are you in?"

Azuk let out a long sigh of annoyance as he closed his eyes. "Yeah."

Luca nodded as she stood up. "Good. Details are in your datapad. I'll see you soon."

Almost as quickly as she turned up, Luca left the trailer, leaving Azuk standing in the middle of it without knowing what he truly just signed up for. He told himself he'd never go back into space if he could help it, at least not as a pilot. Now he was doing just that, and piloting a damned cruiser instead of a fighter. He didn't even know the first thing about flying such a thing. Hell, he thought they were all controlled by AI.

But, as Azuk sat down and looked at his datapad, he realized that this was probably going to be worth a lot more to him than staying in racing. It was a matter of minutes ago, but already his feeds were telling him that sponsors were pulling out for his remark. Such a thing said about Imperial soldiers that died, he should have known, was going to bite him in the ass.

No, flying a cruiser sounded good now that his career was crumbling down around him. Again.