“Hey Em, Are you ready for this?” Kiera asked. She was wearing a red racing suit with “Rapid Pulse Racing” and “Jinxing Xho” logos on it and sitting in her Mercury in a hanger on Jinxing. It was the start of the new Gladiatorial Racing Circuit season. Jac had won the Premier League to the delight of his sponsors.

The last ten months had been a blur. Every time their training became easy, Jac kicked it up a notch. They had a day off each week for relaxation with the exception of the week that Tamariel visited on leave insisting on taking Kiera and Emily shopping, and to the beach. When school let out for breaks both Kiera and Emily spent more time on the track and the range. The season opener was being held on Jinxing and happened to coincide with the Jinxing Eclipse Festival.

<<”No,”>> Emily replied, <<”I still think that ten months isn’t enough time to be racing. I mean with the ground crew around the track is one thing, but this…I don’t know if I want to be a racer!”>>

<<”It’s just a qualifier, Em. There’s no pressure, this is good practice for the future. Race stress and combat stress are pretty similar,”>> Jac’s voice came over the comms. <<”Kiera, switch your comm to two-two-seven point eight.”>>

Kiera switched frequencies, ”Just trying to help her”

<<”We know, kiddo,”>> Perkins said, <<”He just wants your head in the game. Her heat is before yours.”>>

Kiera watched Emily walk out onto the hangar and onto the track. Her heart was pounding. Ever since Jac had mentioned there was a qualifier Kiera wanted to fly in it. She was under no illusion of actually making it into the league, but it would be valuable experience. The doors closed again and Kiera closed her eyes.

The qualifier was a full track race with the same rules as the other leagues. Do well enough in the qualifier and you get a shot in the minor leagues. Do well enough there and you could move up to the majors. The winner of the majors moves up to the Premier league, and the last place racer of the premier league is bumped back down to the majors.

The HUD of her helmet lit up, letting Kiera know that her heat was up next. She had been caught in her thoughts and didn’t realize that half an hour had passed. She made her way to her position on the track, surrounded by other Mercuries and a single Blackjack. The amount of Mercuries was the most surprising. It likely meant there was a lot of new blood on this track. It wasn’t just tradition that started people out in a Mercury; a lot of these pilots would be trying out for racing teams and their durability meant less repair bills.

Kiera took a breath, while they got into place and waited to start was when the pilots would turn on their intercoms and start to banter. Trying to get into each other’s heads and psyche each other out. She turned on her loudspeaker, “Good luck out there.”

“Hey, you sound pretty cute, haven’t heard a voice that sweet in awhile. We should grab a drink, I’d like to match that voice with a face,” the mecha to her right said.

“Good luck? Wow, you should have said to have fun too.”

“Someone’s mecha is the wrong color, it should be green instead of red! Someone tell me if there are horns painted on it!”

“Hey guys, we know who’s going to be in last place!”

Kiera’s face turned red from the responses, so much for being a good sport. Being hit on for her voice alone was new. Maybe because she was just a girl, Jac had mentioned that woman racers were rare, and that these guys could be real asshats.

“Leave the rookie alone, can’t you hear how young she is? Good luck to you, too Rookie,” the blackjack said, cutting through the negativity. He sounded older than the rest, or at least more mature.

“Whatever Nolans! Go back to the AFR…oh wait…you can’t!” the mech on Kiera’s right said.

Kiera scowled. The Asteroids Field Races had been canceled after the disastrous Championship Race only three months ago. Richter Scorsby’s sponsored mecha exploded, detonating an asteroid that was revealed to have nitrotrinadium in it. The resulting explosion of the asteroid had immediately killed four other racers; race officials weren’t sure if the fifth would survive given the nature of their injuries. That man had just painted a target on his back. Scorsby was awaiting trial following his admission that his mecha had detonated on purpose and if the other mecha were better built they would have survived.

The start light was yellow, then green, and on red they all shot off. Kiera had a great start, catching an early lead. She suspected the reason but wasn’t going to look back, focusing on what was in front of her. The first stage was all about speed and positioning, it was open, meaning any method of transportation was allowed. It started on a straight track that would turn right, then left before going straight and into a loop that would launch them into the skybox where flight would rule as they made their way to a second track and third stage where combat would be greenlit for the first time. Flight wasn’t allowed on the third stage. The Fourth stage would be another speed stage along a curving track and the fifth another battle zone where anything went. The final zone was a flight zone down to a ground movement battle zone.

Kiera was passed by two of her opponents on the first curve and then another on the second, she chided herself on slowing down too much on the curves. Analyzing a race was one thing, doing what she needed to in order to correct her weaknesses was something else.

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<<”Breath, Kiera. You’re doing fine. Don’t worry about the others, just run your race,”>> Jac said into her comms.

”Right,” Kiera said.

She made it through the loop, an early obstacle that was notorious for taking out pilots. Each track had a different layout, but they all had the same zones and similar obstacles. They didn’t always have the same number of each zone as each other, some tracks favoring speed and others wanting to see fast paced flight combat. Jinxing had a balanced track, which was great for the qualifiers.

The three mechas in front of her were steadily pulling away, there were minor gravity wells Kiera needed to avoid. They wouldn’t damage the mecha but they would slow her down and if she got caught in one she wouldn’t finish the race. Her radar helped guide her around the gravity wells; a pair of hopefuls behind her got caught and taken out of the race. She landed on the second track and ran. The three mech in front were already fighting, one of them took a bad plasma blast and fell to the ground, blocking the track.

<<”Behind you,”>> Jac warned.

Kiera turned in time to see a blade come towards her, glancing off of her arm. She drew her own sword and counterattacked. It was the blackjack. He dodged backwards making space and giving Kiera an opportunity to turn and resume the race. Too many pilots got caught up in fights in zones like this one and ended up not placing. She hit a button that brought up a screen in screen view behind her. The blackjack was in pursuit but wasn’t firing at her; the next two closest opponents were busy exchanging weapon fire and not advancing. No wonder you had to qualify for the minors each year!

She passed the mecha that had been knocked down as it was climbing to its feet. Kiera swung her sword, cutting through his leg and sending him to the ground again. It wasn’t severed, but it would slow him down or put him out of the race. Over the comms Jac gave his approval. He was known for his ruthlessness on the course, but in each interview that called him out of it he reminded the reporter that they were fighting as well as racing, and giving your opponent quarter would only come back to bite you, then cite Galad Astria, his brother and champion of the Gladiatorial Swordsman arena fights. With a leap she was in the air and in the second flight zone. This one didn’t have any gravity wells, it was just pure speed along a curving track.

The blackjack passed her, it was a much faster mecha that she was and not unexpected. It gave her a salute as it passed her and raced towards the two leaders. Kiera repeated her brother’s advice and just ran her race, not worried about the blackjack. She took the turns much better this time. There was no one in her rearview screen. Being fourth out of eight racers wouldn’t be a bad position, if she could just catch up maybe she could change that. She fired her engine boost coming out of a curve and slung herself down the track.

Ahead of her was one the former leaders, its engine damaged inhibiting its flight. The moment that Kiera crossed into the battle zone it attacked. Although a rookie pilot, Kiera wasn’t a rookie swordswoman. She took the plasma blast it fired and rotated with it, not allowing the impact to slow her down. Her strike was fast, her opponent Mercury couldn’t dodge and took the hit to the center chest. Another strike caused its running lights to turn red and yellow, the signal for surrender.

Kiera left him and resumed her flight, third place would be satisfactory. A blast from behind sent her down to the combat track and bounced along it. The mecha who had signaled surrender flew straight at her firing his weapon. With a growl Kiera dodged backwards and then shot up at him, piercing through his mech’s chest with her energy sword. The power immediately shut down.

“Cheater!” Kiera shouted and then shot off, unable to get her sword out of his chassis.

<<”Kiera, go get your sword,”>> Jac said.

<<”It’s stuck, the magnetic field locked on his chassis,”>> Kiera growled.

<<”Kiera. Go back, and de-energize your sword and get it. Anger is a weapon to be wielded, but one must be cautious lest the anger wield you. Get control, and think,”>>

She took a breath and turned around back to the fallen mecha. Grabbing the hilt of her sword she de-energized it and resumed her race, checking behind her again, “Thanks Jac.”

<<”No worries. You’re doing well, Kara, go for a strong finish.”>>

Kiera’s next opponent was just like her last one, crippled enough that he wouldn’t be able to win the race, but still had fight in him. The pilot of that Blackjack was ruthless. Kiera decided fighting him wasn’t the best use of her time. She took hits fleeing, one of them crippeled her right leg jet, making her piloting erratic as she tried to keep it under control and not swinging and barrel rolling.

As she entered the final stage, Kiera thought she was clear to get second, but the man who had crippled her wasn’t done. He was able to catch up, his cannon firing. He was slower because of his damage, but a straight line was a shorter distance than the erratic turns that Kiera had been forced to do. She fumbled to bring out her blaster only to be disarmed as her opponent closed in. He aimed to shoot, taking it time to line up his shot and prevent Kiera from finishing, let alone get second place. Her sword ignited and she threw it. He dodged, throwing off his shot. It hit and sent Kiera to the ground, tumbling over into the final stage. Flight didn’t matter anymore.

Kiera ran, her legs worked just fine, and without any weapons it was all she could do. Plasma shots hit the ground and flew past her, then stopped. She glanced in her rearview screen the person behind her had thrown away his weapon and was running after her. Kiera’s foot pushed her pedal to the floor and her mech sprinted, her opponent was quickly catching up as shoulder jets fired.

One hundred yards to the finish. He had caught up and was starting to pass her, the hit of her own sword struck her; it was lodged in his side. Kiera grabbed the sword and energized it. Energy swords weren’t heavy weapons, but racing mecha could be very sensitive to any change in weight, no matter how light. The removal of the sword threw her opponent off balance and he fell. Kiera jumped into the air, avoiding him. Or so she thought. His hand came up and grabbed onto her wrist, bringing her to the ground.

Kiera shouted in exasperation and then kicked her leg out into the mecha’s head, once, twice, after the third he let go. Rather than trying to stand, at less than ten feet from the finish line Kiera just threw her mecha to the side and rolled across it, closing her eyes to help avert the dizziness. Jac’s laughter rang in her ears so loudly she didn’t hear the buzz announcing that she had finished the race. Her rolling came to an abrupt stop. She opened her eyes and found herself looking up at the Blackjack.

The mecha reached down and grasped her hand, helping her to her feet, “Hell of a finish, rookie.”