[[Time Remaining: 00:27]]
"We have less than thirty seconds remaining, folks. Speed Stone entered the sphere a few seconds ago, and Spector Unit Six appears to be less than five seconds away from it. The big question, however, is still whether Excess Surplus will make it inside before the sphere seals itself," Honcho said excitedly.
"It's going to be close, that's for sure. I was timing Speed Stone to see how long it would take them to reach the sphere after leaving the asteroids, and it took them thirteen seconds," Dulaebella remarked.
"That's thirteen seconds from the fastest mech in the competition, so it's definitely going to take Excess Surplus longer to cross the distance," Raella replied before asking, "I'm assuming your timing, Spector Unit Six?"
"Yup, and currently it's just past the twelve-second mark, and I'm guessing it still has around four seconds before it enters the sphere," Dulaebella replied.
"That means if Excess Surplus doesn't clear the asteroids before the timer hits sixteen seconds, then it probably wont make it," Honcho stated.
[[Time Remaining: 00:22]]
"And Spector Unit Six passes through the sphere's entrance, so it has officially made it into the next stage of the match along with Black Prime and Speed Stone."
[AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): Damn, he had me worried there for a moment.]
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Just goes to show how much of an interference those turrets were, and the streamer didn't even get hit.]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): No, he left for the party late because he was busy flirting with a girl. Kekeke.]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): I wish he would flirt with me.]
[CEOHopkins (Earth): …]
[Superior4horns (Vinox 3): You call threatening the head of the Noir family flirting?]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Who knows, maybe she's into strong men who can put her in her place.]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Flag.]
[Handsome3horns (Vinox 2): Totally a flag.]
[Every other viewer: Flag +]
[[Time Remaining: 00:15]]
"And there's Excess Surplus, but it might be too little too late for them to get inside the sphere in time," Honcho announced as Excess Surplus appeared from the asteroids and flew towards the sphere, causing its boosters to leave red streaks of light behind it.
[[Time Remaining: 00:10]]
"He certainly is pushing his boosters into overdrive in an attempt to get inside the sphere. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he's going to make it." Dulaebella stated.
[[Time Remaining: 00:04]]
"Less than five seconds," Raella said in excitement.
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Looser is not gonna make it in time. Kekeke.]
[DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): So it seems.]
[[Time Remaining: 00:00]]
[[NOTICE: The 5-minute time limit allotted to reach the centre of the asteroid field has now passed. The sphere will now close, and any competitors not inside will be automatically eliminated.]
"There you have it, folks, times up for Excess Surplus, and unfortunately, he didn't make it, as we can see that the sphere entrance has started to close," Honcho said in a disappointed tone.
"You sound disappointed," Dulaebella remarked as she turned to Honcho.
"Well, of course, having one more mech in the next stage would make things more interesting," Honcho replied while turning to Dulaebella.
"I can't argue with that," Dulaebella said in agreement.
"Errrr, guys, Excess Surplus is not stopping," Raella suddenly said.
"What?" Honcho and Dulaebella remarked as they looked back at the holographic screen.
[MercheadAnderson (Palaxia): WTF, is he racing the hatch?]
[HackerSu (Trillion): Looks like it, I think he wants to try and slip inside before it seals shut.]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Would that even count? I mean, the timer just ran out?]
[NonpareilRaphilia (Aaru): It might, the instructions said to be inside once the sphere sealed itself to carry on to the next stage, not be inside once the timer ran out.]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Oh man, is the host about to be proven wrong, again? Kekeke.]
"The hatch is halfway closed, folks, and Excess Surplus is showing no signs of slowing down. I wasn't expecting this at all, but Excess Surplus is actually trying to get inside while the hatch is closing," Honcho said in excitement.
"That's nuts, I don't know who's piloting that, but at the rate of speed they're going, if they don't make it inside, they're going to end up giving the sphere hatch a new coat of paint… in blood," Raella said as she watched on with anticipation.
"It certainly is making the end of this stage interesting," Dulaebella added as she watched on.
"The hatch is over three-quarters of the way closed, and I'm not sure if Excess surplus is going to make it.
Ohhhhh, he's only a dozen meters away from the opening now, but the gap is soon going to be too narrow for his mech to fly through.
"Wait, wait, wait, what's he doing?"
As everyone watched on with interest, Excess Surplus rotated clockwise ninety degrees just as it reached the almost closed hatch and slipped through the gap before the sphere sealed.
"HE MADE IT, EXCESS SURPLUS MADE INSIDE IN THE NICK OF TIME," Honcho shouted as a notification appeared on each of the viewers' holographic screens.
[[NOTICE: The first stage is over and the results are below.
Mechs moving on:
Black Prime
Speed Stone
Spector Unit Six
Excess Surplus
Mechs Eliminated:
Universal Bank
Dwarfinian Pride
Matriarchs Right
Hero's Thunder
Eyes of Blood
Angels Fury
Standby, the next stage will begin shortly.]]
[Whostolemyduck (Earth): It appears it did count, and Excess Surplus is through to the next stage.]
[Handsome3horns (Vinox 2): Lucky fucker.]
💫💫💫
"It seems my sponsored mech wasn't the only one that failed in getting to the next stage," Director Opalbeard said as he turned to Maiya.
"You are unfortunately correct," Maiya said with a disappointed sigh before she turned to Sata and asked, "Any update?"
"Yes, Matriarch," Sata replied before continuing, "The Panthera leader has apparently just finished communicating with Lady Umeko, who informed them that she has ordered the Noir family to stop any jobs relating to the ship that Diva Lorelie is travelling on for the time being."
"For the time being?" Maiya asked with a frown.
"That was what I was informed," Sata replied.
"Which means that as soon as the Noir family thinks they can complete the job, they will once again accept contracts on that ship," Maiya said with a sigh.
"That is the most likely case, yes, Matriarch.
"Well, I suppose that's the best we could hope for. Please send this information over to Diva Lorelie."
"At once, Matriarch."
💫💫💫
"What do you mean you're cancelling the job and will offer us a refund?" The individual known as Mr Mysteroius asked in an annoyed tone that came from a distorted holographic screen before IChiro.
"Exactly as I said, the head has ordered us to cancel any existing jobs regarding that ship and to not accept any others for the foreseeable future," Ichiro replied.
"But we had a deal."
"Yes, we did, which is why we are reimbursing you the amount stipulated in the contract should we cancel or fail it."
"Can you at least explain why?"
"Surely you were watching the charity match feed, yet you still need to ask why?"
"Because the ship's captain threatened you? Is that all it takes to scare off the Noir family?" Mr Mysterious asked in a condescending tone.
"When that person threatening us has the ability to hack into a feed on the Universal Subspace Network and claims to know the location of our ancestral home, something very few people even within the family know, then yes, that's all it takes," Ichiro replied before asking in an annoyed tone, "Does your organisation have the ability to hack a feed on the Universal Subspace Network?"
"..."
"That's what I thought," Ichiro replied when Mr Mysterious didn't answer before continuing, "You can expect a full refund shortly, and we will let you know should we ever start accepting jobs on that ship again."
💫💫💫
[Justiceistruth (Earth): It's like…. grey, just grey.]
[Superhearofangirl (Earth): At least it's not just grey with nothing else, but instead grey shaped triangles.]
[Prestigious3horns (Vinox 2): It's the inside of a holochamber, what did you expect?]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): For it to be white.]
[Animefangirl (Earth): Once again, that's the hyperbolic time-chamber.]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Oh, you're right, catfish.]
[Animefangirl (Earth): I'm not a catfish. 😡]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): That's what a catfish would say.]
[Celebrityhunter69 (Earth): For once, he's right.]
[Superhearofangirl (Earth): Yup.]
[Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): The inside of a holochamber is generally designed like this since it is made up of hundreds, if not thousands or in this case, maybe millions or billions of holoprojectors, or as you just called them, 'those small little triangles'."
[SciFifanboy (Earth): So it's supposed to look like that? All grey and boring?]
[Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): Well, I suppose they could have added a bit of paint if they wanted.]
[SciFifanboy (Earth): That's so not Sci-Fi, even the holoship had the standard black square panels with yellow outline.]
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Don't forget the holoship also had those strange things on the roof instead of being all black and yellow panels.]
[SciFifanboy (Earth): Oh yeah, good point, I see you're a man of culture.]
[Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): What are you two on about? And what is this holoship you keep talking about?]