*Whoosh*
Like a white flash Speedy flew along the crater’s slope. Every now and then Niu adjusted her position on the track ever so slightly to prevent the one behind from passing her while she tried to catch up to Hopewing.
“Damn, how can you take these curves so stupidly fast?” She complained. It wasn’t her first tournament where she was competing for the top three, only to be absolutely outmatched by Apex’s favorite mascot despite her awesome Class C - Highspeed Reflexes.
If she could hold her position as it was, she would score another 2nd place. While a pretty good result, she really wanted to get the win at least once. Over the last years Hopewing took part in more and more races and won nearly all of them.
As Niu entered the first long straight, she kept grumbling and complaining about how unfair life was. However, as Hopewing wasn’t even in sight and her position was safe for now, she let her thoughts wander and they soon shifted to someone else.
‘Huh, I would love to know how he is doing right now. Did he manage to climb some ranks or did he panic and risk too much, kicking himself out of the race once and for all?’ Happy thought back to her conversations and training sessions with the rookie. She didn’t know what exactly he was striving for, but deep down she understood that he would risk anything to achieve his goals, taking every risk necessary.
She was never like that. Her biggest rebellion was when she ignored her parents and signed into the UAS flight school. She had her own dreams and plans for the future and none of those were about taking over a business and sitting on some remote planet while getting bored to death. No, that was not where she saw her future. She wanted to be out there, among the stars and fly big ass ships. Getting assigned to one of the intergalactic cruisers of the UAS was her great vision and she was so close to the finish line.
Thinking back to Robin, someone she just shortly came to know, she had to admit that she was too timid in chasing after her dreams. She always kept in mind what her family might think, what her teachers at the academy might think or what her friends thought of her. Robin was completely different. Not bound by any social relations, he just did what he thought was the right thing to do and didn’t care about what anyone else might think.
‘I really hope he is fine or at least didn’t blow himself up…’ Happy sighed and concentrated on the next turn.
When she entered The Canyon, she saw Hopewing not more than two kilometers away, fueling the fighting spirit in her again.
‘He would risk anything… fighting for his dreams and goals.’ Robin's image flashed in her mind and she glanced at the throttle that was only two-thirds up - any more would be way too dangerous in this risky section of the track. The passage was too narrow and allowed no room for mistakes.
‘Just once I wanna win against that arrogant prick! Taking risks to fight for one’s goals… Huh, all or nothing it is, right?’
Slowly her hand reached for the throttle while her ship shot past the high walls of the mountains…
***
As expected, Robin lost ground to the group of five ships in front of him in the first crater. He used the short straight that followed to catch up a bit and planned on passing the group in the first long straight that came afterward. He would be able to extend his lead in The Canyon to hopefully be able to keep his position until he crossed the finish. Even if one or two pilots would catch up in C2, he would still be ranked among the top 10 and it was unlikely that more competitors would pass him, right?
Just like his maneuver all these rounds before, Robin drifted sidewards through the first gate of the curve and ramped up the throttle early on. This time however he was a bit more careful to not hit the gate again. Rising above the ship in front of him he had to fight the g-forces first before he could think clearly again. Only halfway through the long section did he realize that he had miscalculated.
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As this was the last lap, many other pilots were also beginning to take higher risks. Since the people in this group all had a chance to be placed in the top 10 if they took the lead now, the fighting in this cluster was especially fierce.
Robin shot ahead, only a blur to any observer, and closed in on the gate that marked the next curve in a blink of an eye. Unfortunately the three ships leading this cluster all knew what was at stake and also had taken this section with a higher speed than before. There was no chance for Robin to pass them on this straight and he had to settle behind them after he pushed the Melody back to the ground.
“Fuck, burn in plasma!” He cursed loudly as he saw his plan falling to pieces. There was no way he would be able to pass the other ships and gain enough distance to defend his position over the following curves and C2 anymore.
*beep* *beep* *beep*
As he concentrated on the incoming turn, a warning began to blare noisily. Moments later, he got a message sent directly into his vision by the Interface.
*** WARNING ***
Heavy Crash Ahead
Location: The Canyon
Beware of Debris and Wreckage
*** WARNING ***
“Oh shit, seems like someone couldn’t stand the pressure and was tempted to take greater risks.” He shook his head, but knew that this could have been him very well, too.
“Crashing in The Canyon, that's not something you walk away from… poor sap.”
Robin passed the second gate and entered the danger zone ahead of him.
‘11th position. Seems like I have to risk triggering another Warning for the people behind me…’ He thought but squished any doubts that arose and pushed the throttle as much as his body could bear.
The Melody II shot through The Canyon 20 m above the ground. While the track was about 10 m wide on the moon's surface, the mountains and hills to the sides narrowed the passage down to only 5 m in the height where Robin was flying. That was what made this section a real danger zone. There was no leeway for mistakes at all and he had to focus so much on the gaps in front of him that he didn’t even know if he had passed the three ships as hoped or if they kept up with him down at the ground. Only when his Interface informed him that he was closing in on the exit gate, did he push the right joystick forward to lower Melody’s nose and flew back to the ground.
“YESSSSSSSSS!!!” He happily screamed in his helmet after getting some moments to breathe and comprehend the situation around him. His systems showed the three ships roughly 1,5 km behind him, much more distance than expected. The other pilots obviously had taken the warning more seriously and decided on a safer approach. The small number at the edge of his field of view also gave confirmation: 7th Rank.
‘Should be 8th, why… ah right! There was this one sh…’ Just as he was realizing that he had gained one more rank because of the crashed ship, something white flashed in the corner of his eyes.
As he flew into the curve to exit The Canyon, he saw a part of what once probably was a ship. A big, white thruster was stuck in the side of a mountain, below he could only see a crumpled ball of metal. No fires or explosions occurred in the void obviously, but that wouldn’t be of any help to whoever was once flying that wreck.
‘Whoever… yeah’ Robin thought as he took the curve after passing by the crash site.
Robin tried to focus back on the track ahead of him. If he let himself be distracted now, the pilots behind him would quickly catch up and everything would have been for naught. One turn after another Robin shot along the track. He couldn’t see the 6th ranked and the ones behind him came closer and closer.
When he was in the last short straight before the second crater, his mind wandered back to the white thruster sticking out of the mountain.
‘That could have been me. I knew it, I saw the warning and still chose to risk everything again and again - not just my ranking in this race or the chance to discover a Drel outpost, I’ve risked my life there… willingly… knowingly! Is this really the path I wanna go down?’
“It really could have been m… fuck, Niu!” Suddenly realization hit him like a canon, taking his breath and muddling his thoughts. Even as he was entering the last danger zone, the only section that could cost him his rank in the top 10, he couldn’t focus anymore.
‘That white thruster, that wreck. Could that have been Speedy?’ His thoughts ran wild and only after the first competitor passed him, did he regain some clarity.
“She would never take such risks and there wasn’t even anything at stake for her.” He said to himself, sharpening his mind and concentrating back on the last curve. His rank dropped to 9th before he completely regained his wits - it was time to bring it home.
‘This is only a qualification race for her, she had no reason to do something stupid, right?’