Throttle Fourteen

Massive freighters, the disarmed hulls of warships, and what looked like parts of what had to be entire space stations were all tossed around the massive field like the toys of a kid with the attention span of a gnat.

Diana squinted ahead at the other racers. Seven left. Behind her, the Jelsha ship she’d banged up was still in a rough spot, more and more ships making it around and past it, though they had a long ways to go to catch up.

She flicked on the comms listening to the announcers as she checked out the competition. Even in this smaller group, there were some cliques forming.

“And they’ve entered the Ship Graveyard! This is where big ships come to die, and today our fine contestants might just be joining them. Kirson and his Bone Crusher is in the lead, with his two companions trailing right after him and scaring off the competition. Not unexpected, is it, Te?”

“Mn.”

“No way! Behind him we have the four more racers, fighting for ground, but they can’t get past the hail of gunfire from Kirson and his boys. Zil Rossi is biting at her competition’s heels in her Purple Streak. This is where she’d do best, but there’s no way she’s getting past that curtain of gunfire. And just behind the lead pack is Diana Danger Slowbane and Ahvie of the Mirilans! These two newcomers have come a long way after a rough start!”

“Mhmm.”

“Oh hoh! Do you think they’ll be able to remain in the top ten? The Autumn Branch is still smoking, but the Jelsha in there are still firing everything they’ve got! The rest of the racers are dropping further and further back. They’re shit out of luck if they expect to win this thing! Haha!”

“Heh.”

Diana chuckled, and shifted in her seat. “How are we doing, Ahvie?” she asked.

“Ahvie has a lot of problems. Two fuel leaks, one broken line. Another is over recommended pressure by four hundred percent. Main engine is too warm. If we keep it up, it will start to melt the internals. One of my displays has a hole in it! Ahvie was almost shot!”

“Are you okay though?”

“Ahvie has never been so afraid!”

“It’s great, right?”

“Ahvie isn’t sure about that.” Ahvie said. Though there was a hint of amusement in her squeaky voice.

Diana nodded. “Keep us floating,” she said. “We’re going to tag along the back for a bit.” She wove them around a large hulk, taking a path that was just a little bit slower but that would take them out of sight of the other racers for a moment.

“Ahvie wants to reset the secondary engines. Both of them. It will optimise fuel rates with the new way things are connected.”

“Alright,” Diana said. “I’ll run off the main engine for a while. Make it fast though; as soon as we’re nearing the end of this stretch, I want to make another go at the front line.”

“You’re insane,” Ahvie said. A moment later, the two side thrusters gurgled and spun down, no longer providing them with any thrust. Diana had to compensate for the sudden wobble and changed flight dynamics. It took her a quarter second to work it all out and return to a steady flight.

“ChaOS, what can you tell me about the competition?” Diana asked.

“Reporting, Mistress. Krison, currently in the lead, has no rear-mounted weaponry. He’s relying on two other racers to defend his rear. He’s not flying at full speed, but is using the other two to block the oncoming racers.”

“Jerk.”

“Indeed. The four others are two osel locals, a professional ktacha racer from out of system, and a borel engineering team. Both osel racers have ties to local gangs. They have been fired on a noticeable percentage less than the other racers.”

Diana took that all in. She could see glimpses of the other racers through the ribs of a skeletal hulk. “Got it. Might be worth working with them to take out the ship ahead. What are they armed with?”

“A single large-bore kinetic cannon. Approximate rate of fire is one round per three point seven seconds.”

“They haven’t hit the osel ships with that?” Diana asked.

“Their rears are shielded,” ChaOS said.

“We can have shields in this race?” Diana asked.

Ahvie was the one who replied. “You can, if you find them in the scrap heaps. Engines are done with their checks. Lots of red. Ahvie is starting them up… now!”

Diana hung on as the Scrap Rocket rocked and bucked under her, then started to fly just a little faster and with less of a shake to its flight. “Nice work back there!” she said. “ChaOS, if it’s not against any of the rules, patch me into… uh, Zil Rossi’s ship comms.”

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“Patching you now, Mistress. Translations running live.”

There was a faint blip of static and Diana cleared her throat. “Is this Zil Rossi?”

“Who in the name of the Six Suns is this?” A rather grouchy voice said. The line was filled with the whine of powerful engines in the background. “Get off this line, now!”

“This is Diana Slowbane,” Diana said just as the hulk she was using as cover ended and she rejoined the rest of the racers. She punished it a little and slid into place next to the Purple Streak. “Would you rather come in second place, or seventh?” Diana asked.

She saw the ktacha in the ship next to the Scrap Rocket glance down at Diana, then back ahead. “I’m coming in first.”

“Not if those assholes ahead of us don’t kindly remove themselves from your path. You have the gun, but I bet you’re not doing anything about those shields.”

“I’ll catch them on the curve. Their shields only cover their rears.”

Diana grinned. “You’d need to have a damned good aim for that. How about I make it easier for you, knock them sideways so that you have a nice, clear shot into their necks?”

“And take you out at the same time?” Zil Rossi asked.

“Nah, that wouldn’t be fair. All I have is this dinky handgun. They’re the ones with all the guns playing mean. You help me, and I’ll let you come in second.”

Zil Rossi turned towards Diana again, and they stared at each other through the gap. “Fine,” she said.

“Nice,” Diana replied. “Near the end of this section, there’s a big jump. Line up a shot on that one ship on the right. I’m going to knock it so that its shield isn’t pointing your way. Got it?”

“Impress me,” Zil Rossi said.

Diana laughed. “That’s all I ever do, impress people.” She cut the comms and leaned forwards, refocusing entirely on the race. They were approaching the end of the ship graveyard. There was a large platform ahead, built from the hull of some large vessel bolted into the ground.

Past that was a lot of nothing. A gap at least two hundred metres wide, with a river of toxic sludge, oils, and other detritus running at the bottom.

“Ahvie wants to know your plan!”

“We need to speed up, as if we want to overtake them, then when we hit the jump, we’re heading down instead of up.”

“What?!”

Diana chuckled. “Trust me! But we’re going to need a lot more thrust, a big sustained burst of it for about three seconds.”

“Ahvie doesn’t understand, or like, any part of this plan.”

“It’ll be awesome!”

The jump was coming up fast, the Bone Crusher and its two guard ships approaching it while spreading out just a little. Diana aimed for the ship on the right and punched it.

As soon as they started to get closer, the ship retaliated. Jittery bullet trails zipped by, throwing up sand from the ground and sparks off of the forward hull of the Scrap Rocket where they hit. “Come on, faster,” Diana muttered as she pushed the throttle as far as it would go.

The ships ahead hit the jump and took off into the air. The pilots immediately shifted, levelling their flight with noses up just a little. The gunners had to readjust to keep firing on Diana, but it didn’t do them a lot of good.

Diana hit the jump.

She shifted the Scrap Rocket’s wings, then pointed its nose down.

“What are you doing?” Ahvie screamed.

“Winning!” Diana said. The other ships were taking a nice, parabolic arc across the ravine.

The Scrap Rocket started to fall below them. Diana tipped the ship back, nose pointing up into the sky.

They were in the middle of the gap when their nose lined up with the underside of the ship she was aiming for. “Gimme gas!” Diana said.

Ahvie screamed in panic, but she did as Diana asked.

The engines roared, and their downwards arc changed as they shot straight ahead, and right into the nose of the ship ahead.

The ship was knocked back and up.

Diana laughed as she adjusted their flight, pulled back on the throttle, and completed a tight little flip in mid-air. It bled off a lot of her speed, but she didn’t want to land right behind the other gunship.

They were upside down over the gap when the Purple Streak fired. A large-bore round rammed through the air so hard it left a hole in the dust as it passed. It hit the other racer’s centre mass from above.

Diana’s laughter was drowned out by the explosion just behind her. It was all she could do to realign her ship with the end of the gap and slam the thrust back to max.

***