The cargo bay was filled with the sounds of ratcheting. His newest project, his first personal machine that he would enter in the upcoming minor race on Venkeae III. Joe had a reason to join now instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching how things were done. He wanted to show James and Frisbee what he was made of. It had been nearly a year since he first met them. The only reason why he knew the name of those two guys was from their own words and the murmurs of the other older mechanics.

His father’s home-ship had been stationed near a junkyard so he could scavenge the vehicles for their parts and stock up. He had a mix of new and old parts in the cargo bay which he needed for the different vehicles he serviced. "Joseph, make sure you clean up the cargo bay when you're done for the day. I don’t want things laying around again." He grinned, “if you need help you can ask me, you know. It’s not cheatin’ you’d be the racer and I’d be your mechanic. I’ll make sure you have a winning machine.”

“I want to make my own money, get known out there for my work. Not your work!” Joe pulled himself out from under his machine. His grip on his tools had whitened his knuckles. The muscles in his jaw clenched, “I want to be known for my work! I don’t want to only be known as Alexander’s son.”

"You can still be known as a racer." His father chuckled, "If you need advice, don't be afraid to talk to me over the intercom. I'll make us some food like your mother used to make."

Joe worked day and night, sometimes falling asleep on the floor out of exhaustion. His father would come by to slip a pillow under his head and cover him in a blanket. This went on for weeks until his creation was finished, painted, and tuned to run. Venkeae III's race day would be Joe's debut as his own name. He was hopeful.

.  .  .

Venkeae III’s race day had finally dawned and registered teams from across the Solar system were traveling to line their machines up and get themselves mentally ready for what was about to happen. The air was tense and nearly electrified. The glances that people gave each other as they placed their bets. The thoughtful looks at the names of the roster and their chances. The racers who were present with their confident and determined auras.

The infamous pair eased their machine into place. “Do you really think it’ll hold up another race Frisbee?” James shut the engine off and closed the hatch. The race wouldn’t start until a couple more hours but the seats in the stands were filling quickly.

“Don’t worry about it James,” Frisbee made a fist and held it over his chest like he had seen James do. The wind created by other race machines blew his hair in a way that could only be described as heroic. “You can trust me.”

James punched Frisbee’s shoulder playfully. “You would never let anything happen to me, right?”

“I would never let you get hurt, JP.” Frisbee rubbed his shoulder, "Let's get something to eat. We haven't had anything all morning."

Joe had nightmares about the race. He was worried without a doubt but he didn't know if what he saw in his dream would happen to him or to someone else. But that question was answered when he saw Frisbee's work. It was better than before. He was learning but he could still see the gaps in the bodywork. The unneeded drag that would cause it could yank the vehicle to the sides. He shut his vehicle off and hopped out. His heart thundered in his chest and could already feel the gazes turned towards him. Not from the crowd itself or the other racers.

James had been admiring the black and red paint job of Joe's racer had turned his attention to Joe when he had climbed down the 3 ladder rungs on the side of the black machine. He walked up to Joe, "I haven't seen you in the circuit before." He looked up to gleaming silver square-headed pistons that extended out from the fenders. "That thing looks amazing. Where did you get that beauty from?"

He felt his heart flutter, "I-I've always been here but on the sidelines as a viewer." He smiled wide, "I'm Joseph Alexander King. My father is Alexader King." he shrugged, "He gave me his name as a middle name....uh-he's the mechanic for racers like Eiteit Minogue and Sho-to Elysion."

"Sho-to Elysion? He came in first in the Blue Line not too long ago didn't he?" James's eyes nearly sparkled with excitement, he reached up to touch Joe's machine. "Did he make this!?"

"Well no but I learned a lot from him. Our ship is full of parts and tools to use. He knows where to source parts. He decided to help me out with money from the bets placed on Sho-to's Blue Line Win so I could make this." Joe realized one thing. He wouldn't be happier than to have James sit in his vehicle's seat. He looked at Frisbee who was examining the machine with a mechanic's eye

"Amazing..." James walked around the machine, followed by Joe. He ran his fingers over one of the fat rear tire's sidewall. "Can Frisbee and I look inside of it?"

That's what Joe had wanted to hear, "Yes!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking. Quickly, he cleared his throat, "I mean of course." He watched James and Frisbee race up the ladder rungs and look into the cockpit of the ship.

They pushed against each other and James climbed inside to look at the controls. He held the steering controls with a grin but didn't push or poke at any buttons. He didn't want to go too far with someone else's stuff. "You know Joseph-"

"Call me Joe."

"Sorry, Joe. Frisbee and I were going to grab a bite to eat. Did you want to come with us? I'd really like to get to know my competition." James climbed out of the machine to let Frisbee have a look inside as well.

Frisbee looked over the edge of the cockpit, "Yea, let's go n get it!"

Joe closed the cockpit and followed his new acquaintances to the food-ships stationed around the stadium's outer ports. There were ships from across the galaxy and then some. Places he had never heard of. They ordered via one of the stadium's many drones. It would go to the appropriate food-ships and bring back the dishes to their location.

Joe looked at James as they all feasted on Kauka wings, breadsticks, and crisp hydroponically grown salad. "Frisbee, James. I know we just met but...I wanted to know if you wanted to come together as a last-minute team. My machine. James as the driver. Frisbee, you help me when it comes into the stop for any reason."

Frisbee didn't seem to like the idea but he couldn't deny that his friend James was glowing and nearly vibrating with excitement. "I wanted him to drive my machine but...yours stands a better chance against the competition. I saw the other machines. They're better than mine."

James didn't have to be told twice. He leaned over to kiss Frisbee on the cheek as well as Joe's. "I won't let either of you two down! We'll split the winnings and go out drinking!"

Joe felt his face heat up and Frisbee was blushing as well. They were both stunned by James's sudden show of affection. James seemed to realize and grinned.

"JP!" Frisbee tossed a small piece of a breadstick at his friend's head.

"Haha, what? You two seemed to like that? Oh come on it was nothing!" James pinched their sides, laughing the whole time. He was all laughs and smiles the whole time while his friend Frisbee seemed to not be too keen on public displays of affection.

Joe, however, craved more. He touched his cheek and thought about the warmed he felt on his skin. He ate more and laughed along with the boys as they told him all about their misadventures in the racing circuit.

...

It was time. The boys had run back to Joe's race machine and they had made sure to set the seat correctly for JP to reach everything comfortably. Joe showed him what everything did, it was intuitive with labels but he felt he had to for safety above all else.

Frisbee and Joe worked together to pull the junker out of the race track and anxiously waited to see the flags be waved. The air could be cut with a knife, it was nearly stifling. The engines were on, the racers focused. Frisbee looked at Joe who had long since pulled down a pair of welding goggles over his eyes, the blue tint lenses raised so only the clear lens would be in front.

The lights at the sides of the race track lit up.

Red. The revving began.

Red. The heat increased in the air.

Yellow. The crowd held their collective breath.

Green. The ground shook, the air vibrated.

Joe could feel the rumble in his chest. The machines roared out of the gates one after another. The blast of air blew papers, hats, and debris into the air. He felt a piece of gravel hit the sleeve of his mechanic's jumpsuit. Frisbee flinched, covering his eyes from the gust of hot air. He heard a ringing in his ears which subsided.

He's watched his machine's engine pistons pump. The two massive ram-air intakes swallowing air to fuel the combustion inside of the hungry monster under the hood. He stood up from his seat, he held the rail in front of him with both hands. Frisbee leaned over it, craning his neck to see James' piloting of the black and red vehicle.

JP could feel the blood rushing through his veins. He was learning the handling while trying to win all at once. His heart raced. His death grip on the throttles of the beast he was steering wouldn't relax any time soon. He could feel the engine's power vibrating down them and into him through his arms. He could feel it through the seat as well.

Frisbee pulled on his coat's lapels. "...Come on JP win it for the team," he whispered out to his friend on the track.

They heard a loud squeal, the crowd gasped. One of the competitors lost control and was causing a chain reaction of crashes. The crowd screamed as they saw pilots disengaging and their seats ejecting from the horrific crash.

"No!" Frisbee closed his eyes and looked away.

Joe shook his new friend by the shoulders, "That wasn't him! He's still in it! Look! Past the smoke!" The track's holo-barrier shifted to rearrange the route away from the crash to make room for aid to rush to clear the accident. The race didn't stop.

Jp felt like everything was going in slow motion. Despite the speed he could see everything clearly. He could see the finish line moving closer towards him. Exhilaration filled his senses. The machine crossed the line and slowed down. seconds later the rest of the racers crossed the line. When all the machines were shut off, the mechanics and other teammates rushed in to meet their respective racers and machines.

Frisbee opened the cockpit. The metal and glass were hot to the touch even with tough gloves on. "JP!"

James was breathing heavily. He wiped the sweat off his brow. He was nothing short of euphoric. His smile was the best thing that Joe had seen. "We did it...we won..." He whispered to his friends.

"No, you won!" Frisbee gestured to the whole stadium. "The crowd is cheering! They want to see you!"

Joe leaned in and let himself fall on top of James, hugging him tightly. "I was afraid that you were going to crash back there! I never could have forgiven myself if you had crashed." He felt the prick of tears in his eyes.

JP wrapped his arms around Joe, "Oh, don't cry Joey. Nothing happened to me, heheh." He kissed the tears away. "Now help me out. We have a prize to claim."

"Yes..yes of course.." his hands fumbled with the buckles of the seat's harness. Joe felt the back of his fingers brush against James's thighs and his pants. The body heat. He wanted it. He grabbed one of JP's hands while Frisbee took the other and they helped their friend onto his wobbly legs and down the ladder rungs.

They made it to the center field together. James was given the trophy but all three of them raised it up above their heads. They would receive their winnings in intergalactic credits to their accounts later that week. They couldn't be happier than they were right now, swaying back and forth to the cheers of the crowd. James gave his friends another peck on the cheek, thanking them for believing in him. The crowd cheered loudly and the media chalked it up to him being happy to still be alive and making it out of the crash unscathed.