Kira rounded the final corner. The racers in the first three positions came into view as Kira barreled down on them.
"Critical failure imminent," Odin warned. "If I were you, I'd consider taking drastic measures. The board is literally about to shake itself apart under you."
As if he'd jinxed her, there was an ominous clanking from her board seconds before a tail piece snapped off.
"Hm. I see what you mean."
"Good. Then do something about it," Jin cried.
Kira snorted. He said that like it would be easy. Did he imagine she could wave her hands and magically fix the problem?
The Tuann from the starting line was in the lead, the Haldeel right behind him, the racer from Zepher bringing up the rear. Only a length of a board separated them, the Haldeel and human almost neck and neck.
Kira swung her board wide, hoping to slip around them.
The human moved to block her.
So that's how he wanted to play it. Very well. The idiot was a few decades too young to truly be a nuisance.
“You’re not going to make it. Your fuel just dipped below the red,” Jin warned.
“I will.”
“You won’t. Even you can’t argue with physics.”
“I have a plan.”
Silence crackled over the comms.
“Wait. Please don’t tell me you mean what I think you mean.”
“Yup.” Kira sounded chipper. “I absolutely mean that.”
Kira surged forward as Jin wailed, straining for the finish line as it came into view. Her focus narrowed to that line and the victory it promised.
“That’s such a bad idea! You know they’ll never consider that a win.”
Kira smiled. “We’ll see.”
“Critical failure imminent,” Odin announced.
The board sputtered.
Eight meters left.
Six.
She edged up beside the Tuann, fighting him for first place.
This time when the board coughed, there were no further sounds. It went silent and still, coasting along at its current speed.
The front of the board started to dip.
"Now, Jin!"
"Why do you always drag me into your crazy schemes?" he snarled as he overrode the safety protocols, causing a chain reaction in the drive chain.
For one endless moment, Kira thought they'd missed their window. Too early and she'd never make the jump. Too soon and she'd face plant directly into the ground, likely breaking her neck and killing her instantly.
