“Sol is hot on Landry’s heels as they come into the blitz track, followed by Margon and Gillicuddy! It’s still anyone’s race, race fans!”
Jaq believed that the best experience was hands-on experience. Kiera had run two more qualifiers on Jinxing, and while she didn’t win a single heat her performance was good enough to earn her a spot in the minor leagues Jac made her take it. He said there would be no better flight and combat training than being on the track. Tamarial had been surprisingly supportive. So had their father. Elise didn’t want Kiera doing anything dangerous, but gave her tentative approval when Kiera pointed out it was safe then being in the military.
Landy piloted a raptor, he was using the new model that was more aerodynamic in its bipedal mode. The blitz track had accelerator rings that would send them flying towards the finish line. As Kiera passed through the first accelerator ring she was struck with a missile, throwing her off and sending her into the wall of the track. He slammed into it hard, the increased momentum scraping down it, shearing off the right side of her Valiant. Warning lights flared on her HUD as she flipped, no good place to eject. She bounced along the track three times, each hit denting or breaking part of her mech. It finally came to a stop after five-hundred feet.
<<”Kiera, come in! Kiera, do you copy!”>> Jac’s voice came over her commlink in her helmet.
“I’m alive,” Kiera groaned, “Gillicuddy?”
<<”Yeah, bastard must be pissed about the Andorian Grand.”>>
“He deserved it,” Kiera replied, “Especially after what he did at Polaris. He got off easy, having his mecha sliced into three parts. Did he finish?”
<<“No, Margon must have thought the attack was meant for him; he turned around and threw his spear right as he passed through the acceleration ring. Ripped right through his core and left Gillicuddy on the track. You dropped to fifth..”>>
“What do we have left in the season?” Kiera asked? Waiting for the wreckers after a crash was the worst part. That and she’d likely have to use her Mercury for the rest of the season. Winning wasn’t important..but she still wanted to, or at last place in the top three.
<<”Dalimar Classic, Kallabas, and Bastallia. Good news is that you’re only ten points behind Rawlins for third, and thirty-two points behind Margon for second. You won’t be able to First Place this year. That would have been amazing.”>>
Kiera laughed, “My eye is on third, that’s obtainable.”
The wrecker crew helped her out of her mecha, loaded it up and took it back to their garage. Perkins was going to be livid when he saw it; Kiera was. Instead of yelling at her he gave her a hug and asked her four times if she was okay. Then went to go look at “his baby.” Cursing Gillicuddy out the entire time.
Zax walked over to her, his usual roguish smile on his lips, “You almost had Landry again, if Gillicuddy wasn’t targeting you,” he shook his head, “You okay?”
“Physically? I’m golden…okay I’m shaken up as hell. Good luck with your race. You’re having an amazing season,” Kiera kissed his cheek, “For luck.”
Zax grinned, “Now I’m guaranteed to win.” Kiera sighed as she watched him walk off. If only she were sixteen she could have more than a crush on tall, dark, and handsome Nox. She headed towards the observation booth where her brother and Emily were, passing through the pilot’s lounge on the way. She waited for the majors pilots to come through. One of them stopped when he saw her. She couldn’t remember his first name but he was on Matrix Racing, the same team as Gillicuddy.
“Hey Sol,” he said, stepping next to her to get out of the way of the others, “That was a BS move that Gillicuddy pulled. Would have got him disqualified if he didn’t get wrecked. Coach already said he was going to rip him a new one. You ran a good race. Good luck on the rest of the season.”
“Um, thanks! You, too!” Kiera called.
“Racing against Zax Noir? I’ll need it,” he called back.
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Kiera passed into the pilot’s lounge. Most of the pilots she raced against were there, looking at the standings and settling in to watch the Majors Race. Phelps wasn’t there, but he never turned up in the lounge afterwards. He’d only managed to finish three races this season and came in last in all of them. Kiera wasn’t sure how he qualified at all. The top three competitors hadn’t changed all season: Landry was in first, Margan in second and Rawlins in Third. Fields, an alterian, had reclaimed his fourth place position that Kiera had taken during week six.
“Queen of the track right here,” Drey Landry said walking over to her, “You would have had me. That was a bullshit move.” Like most of the other pilots he was human and only respected those who gave him a challenge. Kiera had beaten him only once, but the last race had only been a half second difference.
“You think so? You’re really good on the blitz courses,” Kiera said.
“Yeah, you were right behind me and you have a better slalom than I do. It was your race to win. Isn’t that right, Dick?” He looked at Richard Margon who had joined them. The way he said Margon’s name was borderline insulting.
“Fourteen points, the season can still be mine. I’m looking forward to wiping that smug smile off of your face,” Margon said, a thin wiry guy with dark hair. Most racers had a slender build. “Felt good to watch Cuddy get ripped apart. What’s your move now, Sol? That mercury you had at the beginning of the season wasn’t doing you any favors.”
“The only chance you have to beat me is if I get fourth place for the next three races while you win them. I haven’t been beneath third all season. I’m guaranteed,” Landry laughed.
“All I hear is that you’ve got a target on your back,” Rawlins said, “We might have to take you out so you pull a Phelps.” He glanced at Kiera, his eyes focused on her chest like every time she saw him. He’d propositioned her twice, not caring that she was only fourteen. The second time it seemed like he wasn’t going to take ‘No’ for an answer. He found himself on his back; her swordsmanship wasn’t for fun, and adding in self-defense classes meant she could more than handle herself.
Kiera shook her head at the posturing and ignored Rawlins, “It’s going to be the merc unless I can sweet talk Zax into letting me borrow his blackjack. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Screw him, you’ll get whatever you want,” Rawlins said, “I’ll get my GM to lend you one if you let me screw you right now.”
Margon decked him, causing Rawlins to take several steps back, “What the hell is wrong with you? Sol’s fourteen, underage. I heard about what you tried to do on ‘xing. I’ll get a season dis que if you try to touch her again.”
“Matias is going to hear about this,” Landry added.
“Yeah, he is. So is the commissioner,” Rawlins said, wiping the blood from his nose and walking off. The guys she raced with were the competition and could be full of themselves, but them having her back was an unexpected bonus. There weren’t a lot of fourteen year olds who raced; it was the minimum age for the minors; you couldn’t race in the majors until you were sixteen. Most racers were around twenty due to the Empire’s four year required military service.
“Thanks guys, I’m going to head up to the observation deck, my brother’s probably wondering where I am.” Kiera continued through the lounge waving at Fields as he walked out of the restroom.
“Fourth is mine, Solace! You’re not taking it from me!” he teased, a grin on his face.
“You can keep it Tiller! I’m ending up in the top three!” Kiera called back, slipping through the door.
She arrived in time for the majors to begin. Emily almost bowled her over when Kiera joined them, “Hey! I’m okay Em!” Kiera said, laughing, “Really, just shooken up and a lot angry.”
“I was so worried when that missile went through the ring,” Emily said. “You should have heard Jac!”
“You should have heard Bill Wallace,” Jac said, “I think he was angrier at the stunt than I was. Gillicuddy is at real risk of losing his job.”
Zax had taken a quick lead as they reached the second obstacle, which wasn’t surprising. His mecha was extremely light on weapons prioritizing speed. The ASF may no longer exist but the pilots still did. “Hey, do you know what happened with Phil Phelps? He got another DNF.”
“His mecha broke down before he even left the first stage,” Emily said, “He had a strong start but then his mecha just powered down and he couldn’t get it restarted. His mecha hasn’t been working right since he crashed on the loop at Jinxing…and caused that big pile up. How bad is your mecha?”
“Totalled,” Kiera said, “I’ll be lucky if I can keep a hold of fifth, but I think sixth is where I’m going to end up. The Mercury is a good mech, but the top five competitors are using raptors, mavericks, and Margon has his Centurion.”
“It’s a G-228 Mustang,” one of the other coaches said, “It’s just modded to make it look like a cent. Helps when you have Bordan Engineering as your sponsor.”
“Don’t worry, Kara,” Jac said, “We’ve already got you covered”