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Sindy downed her bottle of water as if it was the last one left on the planet. Her trainer, Ronnie, patted her helmet enthusiastically.
"You can do this!" He said with a smile.
Sindy nodded and gave a thumbs-up. She gripped her steering wheel as the engineers readied her to lift off. In these moments she liked to just drift off and be. Her engineering background took over as she went through the parts of her Lightjet. It was peculiar that an engineer of her caliber would want to be a racer. But Sindy was a peculiar girl.
Her dashboard signaled all systems were green, the last engineer moved and Sindy went flying.
Her Lightjet, agile and slick, maneuvered onto the airtrack - only to almost collide with another as it was taking the corner. Sindy of course saw the approaching racer on her radar but decided to risk the turn anyway. She wasn't about to give up her spot so easily.
"Easy there, girl," Ronnie said in her ear. "That almost put you out of the race."
"I'm not stopping for anyone, you guys know that!" Sindy protected her position again the racer behind her and was now steadily flying through the airtrack.
"One day you'll have to stop, Sindy," Ronnie said more to himself than to her. "Remember! Your fuel is super light now! So make sure to gain some air on the competition before landing for your final pit stop!"
"Roger!"
Sindy flew through the airtrack with practiced ease. The track was above a landing platform hundreds of feet in the air. The turns and edges of the track were marked by lasers that had impact compensation. The Lightjects the racers used were nimble and easily maneuverable. However, competing in this sport was deemed the hardest discipline of any air racing. That was what drove Sindy to it in the first place.
She had practiced this airtrack in the simulation tank all of last night. So much so that she didn't get the required sleep for the day's race. Ronnie pumped her with sedatives and boosters before the race, otherwise, she would have to forfeit. He's always giving her such a hard time about her competitive spirit, but only ever enables her to do more. Maybe that's why Sindy never thought about changing him as her trainer. She needed someone that believed in her just as much as she did, while still trying to keep her in check.
Sindy gained fast on the racer in front of her. He was an endurance racer, primed for only one pit stop during a race. Meaning he was flying heavy, while Sindy's Lightjet was super fast. She made quick work of him as she stormed into third place.
Her next pray would be easy pickings as well, her real mark was the racer currently occupying the lead - Beck, her arch-rival. A flyer of immaculate speed and precision.
This race marked the end of the season, and while Sindy is already qualified for the playoff, if she finishes before Beck in this race she would officially lock in the number one seed. And more importantly, pass Beck doing so.
First, she had to get into second place, which she did without hassle. Now the true test began. Beck was also racing in a lightweight Lightject as she was. And Sindy did not want to admit it - but he was better.
"You're gaining on him, Sindy!" Ronnie's enthusiastic voice said in her ear. "He will have to take one last pit stop soon. Make sure you build up a nice lead before you land!"
"Roger."
Beck went to the pit stop and Sindy was officially in first place. She would not hold it for long, as she would have to pit soon as well. So she flew as seamlessly as she could. The overnight sessions came with evidence to steady her hand and guide her corner-turning to perfection.
Static interrupted her flying trance. "What's going on down there, Ronnie?"
"Something is wrong in Beck's pit area! We're trying to find out what - hold on -"
"Ron? Ronnie, what's going on?"
"They are calling for emergency engineers, Sindy. Beck's Lightjet is on fire!"
Fire? Why? Lightjects were comprised of fiber material, meaning the only ignitable part was the combustion system in the rear engines. But that was protected by the propulsion engine. Which meant something went awry in the coding!
For but a split second, Sindy debated on what to do. Her instincts however took over as she went in for the landing.
"What are you doing? You have several more laps in the tank!" Ronnie ran over to her as she leaped out of the Lightjet. "And where are you going?"
"There's no time for the emergency engineers!" Sindy yelled as she ran toward's Beck's crew.
She arrived at a horror scene. Beck pounding on the glass of his cockpit as his Lightjet gets slowly consumed by flames. Sindy ignored the protests of his crew as she slid under the burning jet, hoping her fireproof outfit held up to its name.
The control panel was jammed, so Sindy had to pry it open with her hand. Once done, she quickly went to the propulsion engine and started scanning the code. Soon enough, she found the intruder, a simple line of code, easily missed. She fixed it and slid out.
The flames soon disappeared and disappeared. Sindy exhaled deeply as the crew applauded her efforts. Beck jumped out of his cockpit and ran to hug her. His expression and reaction surprised her, although she knew it shouldn't have.
"I always thought you were a maniac!" Beck said.
"I'm not?" Sindy couldn't help but smile.
He hugged her again. They talked. Sindy explained how she wanted to get the number one seed the proper way, not by default from a jet malfunction.
"Also, I was worried..." She admitted. "Those flames are prone to combustion, and I wanted to make sure -"
"Thank you..." Beck seemed close to crying. For a while, they just stood there. "You know, regardless of our placement here, we are still one and two on the scoreboard."
"Of course, I know that."
"Only thing that matter is the relation between our placements. Which means, we can still finish the race."
Sindy looked at the spare Lightjet getting ready for Beck and smiled.
"You think you can manage without igniting your jet?" Sindy asked.
"You sure you can actually pass me for once?"
"Bet."
This is the first draft of the story. Written by Jovan Gjorgjiev, ©️ 2023.
Obligatory shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
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Cover image source.
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