Chapter 1
"The sound of metal skidding across the track at well over two hundred miles per hour. The feeling of weightlessness and true fear, as you fly through the air, unable to recover. The sudden jolt of impact, bringing you back down to Earth. The sting of a loss, of failure, of disappointment. Orion Latro knew these feelings well because he had to cope with them after a monstrosity we all call defeat! Today, we have him here live to welcome him back from his three year absence! Everyone, please give him a warm welcome back to… Orion Latro!" Benjamin Bright crowed loudly into his microphone, and as one, the crowd rose in respect as a tall figure stepped from behind the curtain clad in green, his ensemble accented by red and detailed with black. His glacier blue eyes held a cold humor as he flicked a strand of snow white hair from his face, smiling.
This was the Orion everyone remembered, the fun loving, likeable athlete who seemed to drop off the face of the Earth after a unfortunate meet up with Team Satomi and their leader, Takeshi. Orion nodded and took a seat across from Benjamin, smiling politely, though everyone could tell this was the last place he wanted to be right now. "Well, Ben," Orion began conversationally, "you got what you always wanted: a one-on-one interview with the 'Phantom of the IG 1'. How's it feel to have me on here after three long years?"
"It feels amazing, Orion! I've been waiting for your return for a while now, as has everyone else here."
The crowd roared in agreement as Orion raised his hands to ask for silence. The crowd obliged as he shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable. He started to lower his visible hand to right about knee level before stopping and clenching his fist, his mood very quickly changing to sullen. "You know what kills me the most, Ben? The fact that I don't have my partner here with me, or any of the team. We were like a family, and I was the epicenter, holding them together. When I fell apart, so did the team."
"But they tried to continue on, did they not?" Benjamin asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes," Orion replied with a forlorn sigh, "but as everyone saw, without a strong leader, Team Star Seeker was no match against Team Velshtein." Orion looked up to the screen behind them, hoping to get a call soon. Instead, a loud commotion was heard backstage as a large, white spotted leopard walked through the curtain to stunned silence. Orion stood in stunned silence before kneeling and opening his arms. "Calypso, I've missed you."
The leopard walked up to him, wary at first, then suddenly pouncing on him and mewing like a kitten. The audience remained quiet, partly in respect, and partly due to fear of the strange animal.
"Orion," Benjamin began, "you know this animal?"
Orion laughed for the first time after being back and ruffled Calypso's neck playfully before answering. "Yes, of course. This is my partner, Calypso. Together, we piloted the fortress we endearingly called Zero." Calypso mewed in agreement and looked to Orion before mewing again. Orion looked at her and shook his head sadly. "That's one thing I need to fix. My telepathic link with her is out of date and needs to be upgraded. But to do that, I need money, and a team." Calypso's ears drooped sadly as she laid down at his feet, purring softly.
"Well, it's clear there is no love lost between you two! Speaking of love, whatever happened to this beauty?" asked Benjamin.
Suddenly, a red-headed girl with hair reaching down to the middle of her back was seen on the screen, working on Zero together with Orion. She had grease on her face and mechanic's coveralls on to obscure her body. The picture changed to show Orion with a completely different looking female, with the same red hair and length, covering her mouth as she was laughing at something Orion did off camera.
Orion looked at the pictures with a visible longing as he forced himself to look away from them. "What ever do you mean, Ben? You met the crown jewel of the Team Star Seeker Mechanics. Her name is Angel, and she was as sweet as could be. Always willing to get dirty to make sure I had a satisfactory setup. We fit each other perfectly, and when I left, I begged her to come with me, to go see the world. Unfortunately, she refused my offer and stayed here, in Empire City. I hear she has a shop set up near downtown, so if we could possibly hurry this up, that would be great.
Benjamin laughed and shook his head in amazement. "You aren't going to give her up, are you, Orion?"
Orion smiled darkly and shrugged before commenting. "Call me a fool to believe that there is still a spark there, Ben, but I have to try. I owe her that much to come in and visit with her."
Benjamin's phone went off as he looked to it, completely surprised, but answering it cautiously. "Hello? Yes, this is he. Yes, Orion is really back. Oh it is? Wonderful! I'll send him over as soon as I can. Yes. No. Thank you very much, Miss Black." Benjamin hung up his phone and shuffled his papers around before continuing. "Well, that's all the time we have for today, folks! I'm sure Orion will be back with us here real soon." He smiled and stood, shaking Orion's hand and handing him a small business card. "For you, Orion. Give me a shout if you need anything."
With that, he turned and left, the audience quietly following his example as Orion's first day back in the IGPX just ended.