"The first stage of the charity match is to make it to the centre of the asteroid field, where something appears to be waiting for our competitors, as we can see a large question mark in the very centre, where there is an area of space devoid of any asteroids.
According to the information we are being sent, once the first competitor reaches the centre of the asteroid field, a countdown of five minutes will begin. Any competitors who fail to reach the centre of the asteroid field in that time will be eliminated and no longer be allowed to move onto the next stage of the match."
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Seriously, that's all the first stage is?]
[Justiceistruth (Earth): So it's basically a race through the asteroid field.]
[AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): It can't be that easy.]
"However, it won't be so easy to make it through the asteroid field as it is littered with turrets, mines and other traps that will attempt to slow our competitors down.
In this first stage, any simulated damage taken to a competitor's mech will not only affect the mech in any battle they may have to partake in, but will also reduce their speed by fifty per cent for ten seconds each time they get hit while the timer also resets everytime they're hit, oh and another interesting twist is that this includes damage from both the turrets, mines and the various other traps as well as the other competitors."
"Well, that certainly shakes things up," Dulaebella said with an excited look.
"Please elaborate, Dulaebella."
"Of course," Dulaebella replied before explaining. "The goal of the first stage of the match is to make it to the centre of the asteroid field as quickly as possible because if you don't make it in time, you're automatically disqualified. However, this new rule put in place says that 'any' damage taken will slow your mech by fifty per cent for ten seconds, and because the timer resets every time they get hit, a mech that continually takes damage could essentially be brought down to a Gargolian's pace.
This gives the competitors a choice: do they forgo any combat in an attempt to reach the centre of the asteroid field as quickly as possible, but at the risk of being an easy target for their competitors?
Or do they engage in combat and try to slow their competitors down and gain the advantage at the risk of being hit themselves?
Also, let's not forget the turrets, mines and other traps that litter the asteroid field and will attempt to slow down the competitors."
"It almost sounds like it's a cross between the free-for-all match types and race match types from the main competition," Honcho remarked.
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Damn, that actually sounds pretty cool.]
[Handsome3horns (Vinox 2): You're right, but it would be even better with live weaponry, though.]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): True. I wonder if they can destroy the turrets, mines and other things?]
[Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): If this were a proper match, they probably could, though, since they're not using live weapons, they probably don't have that capability.]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): That sucks.]
💫💫💫
"What an interesting new match type," Aphrodite remarked after they all heard and read the match details.
"True, it makes me curious what the next stage of this match type is, though, if this is only the beginning," Rowena remarked.
"Any idea what they could have in mind at the centre of the asteroid field?" Becky asked.
"Normally, I would say a free-for-all of some kind, but then why would they put a five-minute timer on reaching the centre after the first competitor got there? That limits the number of contestants in the free-for-all," Rowena replied.
"Most likely to keep people interested in the first stage," Lorelie replied.
"I guess," Rowena replied, though in an unsure tone.
"Look, it's about to start," Tephe said excitedly.
💫💫💫
Adam, who had been going over the instructions for the first stage along with the other contestants since they had all just been sent them when they all received a notification telling them to assemble side by side between two light indicators that had suddenly illuminated red.
After the mechs all lined up between the indicators, a timer appeared on their HUD's counting down from ten.
Just as the countdown hit three and Adam was preparing to engage Spector Unit 6's anti-gravity drive, Spector suddenly sounded an alert.
[[ALERT]]
💫💫💫
"Well, viewers, as you can see, the contestants have been instructed to line up between the two red marker lights, and now that they're all there, a countdown timer of ten seconds has appeared.
I don't know about all of you, but I am looking forward to seeing what this new match type has in store for us," Honcho said to build the excitement.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"And they're off," Honcho said as the necks shot off the starting line towards the asteroid field.
"It's no surprise to see the quickest of the line is Nanack's speed stone, but she is closely followed by the others who appear to already be locking their weapons onto them, oh but what's this?" Honcho began to say when he suddenly noticed something, and all the holographic screens switched to show a mech that hadn't moved.
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): WTF streamer, the match has started, get moving.]
[Superhearofangirl (Earth): Do you think something is wrong?]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Maybe he stalled. Kekeke.]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Can a mech stall?]
[Prestigious3horns (Vinox 2): I wonder why he isn't moving?]
As the chat started to wonder what was going on, their screens switched to an internal view of Spector Unit Six's viewscreen, which showed a message.
💫💫💫
"Why hasn't he moved?" Tephe asked as she and the others observed Spector Unit Six on the holographic screens.
"There must be something wrong," Lorelie replied with concern.
"Did his mech break?" Becky asked.
"Not likely," Stacey snapped.
"I was only asking," Becky replied.
"The glowing orange sections are still illuminated, so I don't think it's a power thing," Rowena remarked.
"Maybe we should try asking Adam?" Aphrodite suggested.
"Good idea," Stacey replied before sending Adam a message from her uniband.
[Message Sent: You ok, babe?]
Instead of getting a response, however, a new holographic screen was displayed before them all that showed an internal view of Spector Unit Six's viewscreen, which showed a message.
"Where is this holographic screen coming from?" Aphrodite asked in shock.
"Probably the microcam that's still following Lorelie," Stacey replied as she read the message with a frown.
"There's a microcam following you? Where?" Aphrodite asked as she looked at Lorelie.
"It's invisible and has been following me since before my performance. Adam had it follow me so that my performance could be shown on his stream," Lorelie explained.
"An invisible microcam?" Aphrodite asked in surprise.
"We can talk about that later. It looks like the Noir family is trying to steal the ship again," Stacey suddenly said, causing everyone to focus on the new holographic screen before them.
[[Alert]]
[[Three individuals identified as Panthera's have broken into docking bay Gamma Seven Nine which I am currently docked in, I hypothesise that they are more individuals from the Noir crime family and that they are once again attempting to steal me.]]
"Seriously? Didn't they learn their lesson after what happened last time?" Becky asked in an annoyed tone.
"Aparently not," Tessa replied.
"Has something like this happened before?" Aphrodite asked curiously.
"It was back on …" Lorelie said as she quickly explained what happened the last time the Noir family attempted to steal Spector.
"Ripped their head right off?" Aphrodite repeated in shock before adding, "I'm starting to think I need to get an invite to Adam's streams."
"Good luck with that, you can't just request an invite but have to be sent one, and it appears to be random who gets sent them," Rowena replied.
"Do you think, for now, we can focus on the fact that three members of the Noir family are trying to steal the ship again?" Stacey asked.
"Good point, I wonder how Adam plans to stop them this time," Rowena remarked.
💫💫💫
"Why is it that people never learn?" Adam asked with a sigh as he read the message.
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Well, if they did learn, you would never have any rivals, streamer. Kekeke]
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Strangely, that makes sense.]
[AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): No, it doesn't, we're not in some two-bit indie novel written by that shit author Sweeper.]
"I guess we need to send them a message," Adam remarked before asking, "Spector, can you override the sportscast feed and broadcast the stream?"
"Normally, no, since it would entail hacking the Universal Subspace Network to intercept the transmission feed. However, since I am already connected to the UMB Cup central computer that is providing the Sportscast feed, I just have to intercept the outgoing signal destined for the Sportscast main offices before it reaches the Universal Subspace Network and replace it with the stream." Spector replied.
[Superhearofangirl (Earth): Woah, woah, woah there streamer, I'm not sure hijacking a live broadcast is legal... right?]