Anakin was a shit pilot. Fight me.
Posted on Thu Jun 25, 2020 @ 9:57pm by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD & Lieutenant JG Sydney Friedman Jr & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers & Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit
2,771 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
The Binary Suns
Location: Racecourse
Timeline: The Day After the bar fight
Penny ran a tricorder over her racer one more time, taking one last chance to make sure everything was ready. Finding no flaw, she reached for her safety helmet and strapped it on. She picked up the goggles she'd brought with her from the ship and slipped them over her eyes and looked around as she heard footsteps approach.
"Hey!" she said, brightly, seeing Camille and Arashi approach.
"How are you feeling?" Arashi asked as he appriached with tools. He made sure that he had the proper tools for repairing components of the racer. He brought some fuel over to fill up the racer and make sure that they were ready.
"Kinda nervous," she said. "Kinda wish I had my probe with me in case something goes wrong. I was up all night last night thinking about how I can work without it. Kinda realized I can't. I think I'll be all right though."
"You'll do great!" Camille told her friend. "There's a spectator box over there." She pointed to a tower with a disc on the bottom that she understood would elevate once it was filled. "They put us over there. Bonne chance!"
"Thanks!" Penny said. She gave Arashi a hug for good luck and helped him close up the fuel tanks and pack up the tools. "You should get to the viewing area. It's gonna be a good show!" she said, waving and jumping into her racer.
Sydney hadn't gone down to the planet yet. Truth be told, the idea of an alien planet on the other side of the galaxy was a bit daunting to her. She'd been secretly relieved not to have been involved in the altercation half the crew had gotten involved in. She wasn't sure she wanted to face the Captain right now.
But she wanted to socialize more, and she wanted to see what the local area had to offer for entertainment, especially if this was their chance to avoid cabin fever. So here she was, trudging across the hot sand of the planet on their daily flydown, a supply pack on her back and sweating something awful as she approached the designated viewing platform. She smiled, seeing some of the crew already there, and nodded to two of them. "Hello," she said. "I hope this turns out to be an exciting race."
“It should be!” Camille replied. “Come on and join us.”
Arashi had joined Camille and the others. "Exciting is not the word for this but it is better than nothing." He said with a smile. It was nerve-wracking to say the least and it showed on him.
"I'd call it thrilling," Sydney said, smiling. "I've never seen a place like this.
Nicole walked along the raceway, enjoying the warmth, if not the sun. She stepped inside the viewing box and swept around to Camille, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.
Camille squeezed back and pulled Nicole closer. They stood side by side at the railing, in an optimal viewing position for the race. “How are you holding up?” she asked Nicole.
"Well, still a bit sore from the beating I received in yesterday's debacle," she grumbled. "But past that, I'm all right." She nodded to Arashi and Doctor Friedman.
Sydney nodded back, looking around. As the speakers blared the counting to the race, the last of the viewers filed in and the area closed off, and suddenly lifted up, giving them an almost birds-eye view of the raceway. Sydney gripped the edge and felt her breath catch in her throat. This was definitely going to be exciting!
In the private viewing space occupied by Jabba and his guards, Kennit and Torres had both returned for another day of watching the races. Rhea had let out a long, suffering sigh at the thought of another day spent with Jabba watching the strange sport but, Miguel wanted to watch how the race pods were operated. For research.. he'd said.
The odd smell of Jabba's massive form was at least not as pungent today, the winds blew from a different directly affording some relief. At least the ale being served was cold, and surprisingly enjoyable. Her gaze sweeping over the crowd, she suspect some of her away team were present in the throng. She had yet to deal with the bar fight, if they knew what was good for them they'd behave today. As it was, she already had plans for how to address the failure to follow orders regarding their actions on this planet once they returned to Victory.
Penny felt the engine hum beneath her as she pulled into line with the other racers. Sixteen racers were lined up in four rows of four. Penny was lucky enough to secure a spot in the third row, so at least she wasn't all the way in the back. Racers revved their engines, but she kept hers calm, watching those around her. Some engine pods were larger than hers, some were smaller, some racers had fancier tech, some had spit and bailing wire. But in the end, it wasn't down to the pods so much as it was down to the racers. Penny knew she'd be racing against some who'd done this plenty of times before. She'd scouted the racetrack using the ship's sensors, but on the ground level she'd be up against the one thing she couldn't replicate: experience.
She looked down at her console and it came to life, the display showing her the engines status and diagnostic information. So far, it was all in the green.
The announcer's voice suddenly shot across the open valley as the stands erupted in cheers. The viewing pod Camille and her crewmates were in began to ascend and from a ledge, some large, slug-like creatures emerged. Penny did her best to focus as she translated the announcer's welcome message, introductions and finally, the call to start the engines.
She flipped a switch and an arc of pure blue electricity lanced between her engine pods. The rear flaps opened, the turbines began to spin, and her racer lifted off the ground. She got a huge grin on her face as her hard work came together, and she gripped the steering sticks tightly.
Finally the gong sounded and the light turned green. Penny's reflexes kicked in and her racer surged ahead a split second before the other drivers reacted. She swerved between two racers in front of her, catching up to the front row as they left the starting line. Instead of taking the lead, however, Penny let herself hang back a fraction of a meter, letting the other four jockey for position. As they came around a curve, one of the lead racers suddenly veered left, slamming another racer into the canyon wall. Just like that, Penny went from 5th place to fourth.
They moved into a wide-open plain, massive holes in the ground peppering the area. Everyone navigated smoothly through, but more space meant more ability to let the engines loose and make up some time. A few stragglers were now making a run for second tier, while those in front still darted and weaved, trying to get an advantage.
It would have to come soon since an extremely narrow canyon was approaching. The lead racer immediately began to weave back and forth, taking up twice the space and forcing those around him to either back off or swing to the side to avoid being hit.
One of them back towards Penny, the other swung left. That was a mistake as he crashed directly into the cliff, shattering into a million pieces, his engine pods going up in flames.
Penny thrust forward and swung to the right, coasting up the inside edge of the cliff, skirting the passageway and avoiding the racer who was now directly behind her. She was in second.
That made her a prime target as they came out of the pass and back into open territory. The five racers behind her were gunning for her, and the one in front of her realized she was going to be his final competition. Penny flipped another switch and turned her goggles towards her engine pods, looking them over. They immediately roared with an influx of energy and she shot forward, starting to pass the lead racer.
As she did, she had to swerve hard to avoid him and then again to avoid a rocky outcropping. The area looked like a series of stone tree roots, all sticking up in archways above the ground. She was suddenly having to pinpoint where she was going to fly several kilometers ahead in order to navigate the archways while avoiding the dirtbag trying to attack her.
But as they came out of the archways, she gunned it again, seeing the starting line ahead. She was still in second place when she crossed the line, but with one lap down, she now had a much better understanding of the tactics.
By the time she reached Pothole Plains again, two of the racers behind her had made an attempt to catch up. She watched them, judging their speed and angles of approach. They were about to flank her from both sides, but she kept her speed steady, watching her readouts. Just as they both came in to strike her, she juiced up the hoverpods, her racer flying higher up in the air just long enough to let them crash into each other, their drive pods tangled, dragging each other to the ground.
The canyon approached and the race was tightening with the remaining seven racers now tightly packed. Penny found herself constantly jostling and the lead racer was still ahead of the pack. She signaled the engines and hit the switch to start the plamsa injectors, effectively putting whiskey in the diesel and souping up the engines. She surged past another racer about to hit her and drove out of the pack, running along the bottom of the canyon wall and up and over the lead racer. She wasn't too concerned with his shouts of anger as she flew sideways out of the canyon and back into the stone arches, bobbing and weaving through them to keep her lead, finding a much more efficient route than the first time.
She flew past the starting line, one more lap to go and she couldn't think of a time she felt more excited. She shouted with excitement as she came through the canyon, but it was cut short by a streak of grey as her rival overtook her and moved his racer directly in front of her. She tried to find a way around, but before she could jump over, a flap on the back of his engine pods opened, and a large blast of flame shot out at her.
She screamed and hit the brakes, falling back and almost running backwards into the crowd behind her. She thrust the controls forward, revving the engines and trying to catch back up, coming out into the pothole field at full throttle. Her sensors lit up as she caught up to the head racer, showing a series of objects flying at her. She immediately brought her controls to the left, turning 90 degrees on her side, swinging around in an arc and winding up in last place behind the other group of racers.
However, they proved an effective shield against the projectiles, taking the brunt of the blow. By the time Penny flew through the fireballs that were their racers, it was her and her nemesis entering the narrow canyon path for the final time. She was almost there!
Her nemesis knew that this was his last chance as well, and as they rounded the corners in the canyon he quickly held up a blaster and fired, striking an outcropping and letting a series of boulders fly directly at Penny's racer. She ran along the opposite wall to minimize her profile, but one of the rocks struck true, hitting her left-hand engine pod. She immediately began to lose speed and watched her opponent's dust swirl as he flew away.
She pulled to a stop and jumped out, running over to the engine pod. She looked it over, adjusting her goggles, then reached in and pulled a wire out, then another. She stroked them together a few times until the turbine suddenly roared to life, then dove back as the blue electricity lanced between the pods again and jumped back into her pilot's seat. She grabbed the controls and shoved them forwards as hard as she could, her racer taking off so fast her helmet flew off her head and landed behind her.
She flew through the arches, darting between them so fast that a few times she had to duck down to avoid taking her own head off. As she rounded a corner, she saw both her opponent growing bigger in her sights, and the finish line ahead. She hadn't wanted to resort to dirty tricks, but as she stared him, defiance flashed in Penny's eye, a sneer curled Penny's lip.
She stared at his engine pods and dove forward, coming up behind him, almost in range, almost close enough. Then she had it, and as she got next to him, his drive pods suddenly gave out. With no engine control, momentum or levitation, he hit the ground and skipped like a stone, rolling ass over teakettle towards the crowd as Penny flew past the finish line.
She didn't hear anything except her own screaming and the wind whistling past her ears as she brought her racer down to a halt and jumped out, legs trembling. She sat down on the ground and looked up around at the mess and leaned back against her racer, happy and ready for her prize.
She stood up as she heard footsteps approaching and saw some of her shipmates walking over. She grinned at Arashi and grabbed him, hugging him hard. "We did it!" she said. "We built a winner!"
"You built the winner, I only helped." Arashi said with a smile. "But congratulations are in order! So, when we get back to the ship, allow me to cook a celebratory meal for us." He was happy that he could help and help her win as well.
"Aw, that's sweet," Penny said, grinning. "Deal!"
The officials came over and handed her a chip with her credits as well as the bookie she'd contacted, bringing her the thing she wanted most. She opened up the case and pulled out her probe, grinning like a schoolgirl and slipping it up her sleeve where it belonged. She took the chip with her credits and handed it back to the official. "Please make sure this gets to Occarator's Reclaimed Salvage Yard. He is taking possession of the winnings."
The officials nodded and walked away. Penny gave her racer a friendly pat and grinned.
Sydney was flush with excitement and grinned ear to ear. "We saw the whole race on their monitors but even with that, hearing it, feeling the vibration. It was amazing! You were a blur! Congratulations!"
"Thanks!" Penny said, breathlessly. She was blushing hard and still grinning. "For a bit there, I was afraid I wasn't going to make it!"
Summers was enjoying the goings on at this interesting place, and enjoying the 'hot dog' she was munching on. "Ummm...I've got to have another one of these..." She took another look around. "Busy place here."
“Penny!” Camille practically shrieked as she came running along, grinning and pulling Nicole by the wrist alongside. “That was the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen!” She pulled her friend into a hug. “I was scared for you sometimes, but knew you’d be okay! And the race! Sacrament, I want to see more of them! Do you think the Captain will let us go to other race destinations?” She quickly held up a locally-made datapad she’d bought that contained the program for the race and other facts about the sport. “Did you know there are floaty-jet or whatever races on eight worlds, including an ocean world, a gas giant, and this must be a mistranslation but I think it says around a maximum security prison!”
"I think we've technically done that one already," Nicole said, coughing in the kicked up dust. "You were fantastic though, kid," she said, grinning. "Bet you're all puffed up as a pilot now, eh?"
"I'm not just a pilot anymore," Penny said, dancing with excitement. "I'm one step closer to being a Maker!"
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