“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Day One of this season's twenty-third race weekend. We're back at the wonderful orbital city of Cath, the birthplace of Drop Racing. It's always a pleasure to be back here, isn't it, Kiki?”
“It always is, Jon. I must say I've been very eager to get back to a traditional five-G atmosphere, and I can't wait for this weekend's races.”
“Oh yeah? And why's that?”
“There's just something about mid-tier gravity that allows the pilots to get a little more creative and high risk during the drops. Less focus on staying conscious and more focus on high-speed manoeuvres to get the best position by the time they reach the track.”
“I couldn't agree more, and you know what? Neither could today's prime sponsor, KYTHERA. ‘Taking risks may be scary, Kiki, but it's the only way to enact true change.”
“Well, let's see what risks our racers are willing to take today, Jon. Today, the track sits fifty kilometres below the Drop site with a thirty-kilometre hover track in the snowy regions of planet Cath. The racers will be dropping from the Thermosphere and competing for the best placements they can grab as the season approaches its end. I can't wait!”
Izzy sat in her locker room, the large wooden cabinets beside her, her fluffy, velvet, honey-coloured seats were a comforting imitation of nature. The fluffiness calmed her nerves before races, and the wooden drawers reminded her of when Aahriya used to read books about planets that were covered in trees, hoping that one day she'd get to see one. A real one, in nature and not the isolated trees the wealthy shipped to their private mansions or office blocks.
“You ready, kiddo?” Coach Abram entered the room with the usual pep in his step and Pearl by his side in her usual royal blue work dress.
“Mhmm,” She mumbled, nodding with her concentration on the small, bright pink pot plant in front of her.
“You're on home ground today, so there's not much I need to tell you.”
“Drop for first place, use the straights,” She said as her foot repeatedly tapped the floor.
“That's it,” He said, “But don't crash out for a position, you can always recover.”
She nodded, “Got it.”
“All you need to do is finish above Team Veyn, even if that means coming in fifth place and them sixth,” Pearl added.
“I'm not going for fifth place,” Izzy grunted, a little annoyed.
“Yes, Of course. Aim for first as you always do but understand that we win don't need first to win the championship, we need to poll higher than Team Veyn in two of the remaining three races. Understood?”
Izzy paused, taking a moment to notice her breathing before she wasted her energy on yelling at Pearl.
“Understood,” She grit her teeth, taking another breath to calm herself.
“You got this, Kiddo. Just do your thing.”
“Thanks, Coach,”
“May all racers please make their way to the lineup. I repeat, all racers to the lineup. Drop will commence in ten minutes.”
A soft voice rang over the intercoms before it switched off. Izzy stood up to her feet, looking up for the first time to catch Coach Abram’s endearing eyes amongst his near-glistening bald head and goatee. She made her way down the hall, following the lighting that edged the walls and floor of the facility, and to a space with twenty small, circular hatches on the ground, lined from first to twentieth in ascending order. Most of the other pilots were already standing beside their hatches.
On the other side of the room was a large opening in the wall with a glass barrier at about waist height. On the other side of it, many cameramen, photographers, and journalists were snapping images, filming the pilots' lineup, and interviewing the ones who were willing. As Izzy entered the room, the photographers and cameramen turned their attention to her. She would always notice the other pilots' envy when she entered the lineup, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel good to see the look in their eyes that they tried so hard to withhold.
She never answered questions during the lineup; that’s what press conferences were for. She found it more important to focus on the race and run through the game plan over and over again, so that she wouldn’t have to think much during the drop. Ideally, she would just act within her flow state.
“You gonna take it easy on us today, Champ?” Miin from Team Koy grinned with his eyes hidden behind the large, almost comical goggles and bomber hat he wore.
Izzy chuckled as she made her way to the fourth position hatch. He’d always try throwing her off her game, saying some charming or funny nonsense.
“You best believe I’m going to crash you out.” He chuckled, standing at the third position hatch, “Just to make the crowd oggle.”
“Feel free to use my slip to overtake this idiot,” Kelly from Team Ren chimed in from fourth position, wearing a bright yellow overall with metallic white armour.
“I’m too low tier for Izzy,” Miin added, “She’s got her eyes on Team Veyn.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Yeah, and I might use your slip to do it,” Izzy finally responded to the chatter, peering through her fishbowl helmet at the all black overalls of the racer of Team Veyn to see if she got a reaction out of him.
“Ha, please do. Makes it easier for me to force a crash,” Miin laughed, pulling a giggle out of Izzy.
“May all racers please stand beside the hatch that represents their qualifying positions. The race will commence in three minutes.”
The racers who were engaging with the press or arriving late all entered the room and took their places beside their respective positions. The hatches all opened shortly after and they began entering their respective hatches. Below them were their team dropships. Each one is unique in its design and colour based on the team's identity and engineering philosophy.
Izzy’s drop ship took on the shape of an egg, sliced vertically as the design took inspiration from the aerodynamic principle of the shell beetle from the inner rim– a thumb-sized beetle that was best known for falling from the sky and thumping against the head of unsuspecting people below it. Despite its rather clunky and drunken behaviour, the way in which it sliced through the air was what made the creature difficult to evade– diving so quickly that it was nearly impossible to dodge.
As she took her seat in the drop ship, she strapped herself in and flipped the various dials on the board to her side to set up her initial drop settings. These things are usually handled during the placements, but it had been a while since the team had raced on Cath, and Izzy wasn’t entirely sure how she preferred the vehicle to feel. There wasn’t much variance, as the vehicle had its niche strategy that focused its design towards the drop and the straights; however, she could influence the amount of drag and the AG steering’s effort.
Low gravity meant she’d prefer to manoeuvre more than usual. The large window that curved around the front of her vehicle provided her a nearly one hundred and eighty degree view, and she took a moment to notice her surroundings– the large platform that held the drop ships was suspended so high that the snowy mountains on Cath’s surface looked more like ripples in sand than the looming beauties they’re known to be.
To both of her sides, she could see two drop ships, and the pilots within them doing their own checks and adjustments and just beyond them were the massive rings of the Drop Racing Centre, uncoupled with each ring above the other; she could barely make out the flashing lights of the crowd. Team Veyn was out of view as they were in pole position. The value of a good qualifying position determines how aligned a vehicle is with the track below.
The first position is directly aligned with the centre of the race track, making it easier to land on the entryway that curves high up into the air to catch the vehicles. Fourth position wasn’t bad, but she’d need to find some space towards the centre, and if she wasn’t careful, she could easily lose a position or two in the process.
_G-FORCE REGULATOR: ENGAGED
The click of her back connecting to her racing seat stung, as the four points of contact mounted with the four entry points surgically implanted into her upper back. It hurt, but now that she’d been racing for a decade, the pain was more of a ritual that psyched her up and had her lock in on the race.
“Racers… Mark.”
The voice appeared over comms now, very isolated and crisp; she could almost make out the ambience of the room behind the announcer. Besides that, the only thing Izzy could hear was her own breath and the click of the three lights on the dashboard of her vehicle as they switched to red. Izzy snuggled into her seat, relaxing her shoulders where she felt the tension of the two straps that tucked her in.
The lights switched to yellow, and Izzy took one last look at the vehicles beside her, taking one final note of who may be around her. Each racer had a different style, and most of them were familiar with each other, well enough to know what they might do, especially in a race where everyone had more leeway to try creative moves. She knew she’d be a target for the two positions beside her, but the last thing she wanted was to crash out.
She needed a position higher than Team Veyn to win, but she also knew that meant coming in first. Hopefully, The teams in first and third position give Veyn a difficult time but she knew Miin would try his best to keep her out of a pole position. His team was in fifth place on the overall standing,s but they were two points away from third– The race for third was the biggest one yet, with four teams contesting for it whilst Team Montoya and Veyn competed for first.
She didn’t want to get caught up in that mess, but her qualifying position made sure she would be. She grit her teeth, No point getting upset about it now, she refocused just in time. The lights switched to green, and she felt the release of the drop platform as her vehicle fell. Her head sank deeper into her seat, and she felt the pressure of two G’s instantly before it began climbing. She squeezed her thighs and started regulating her breathing as she began experiencing the gravity of Cath pulling her vehicle towards it.
_G-FORCE: 2.789
Nearby clouds and atmospherics began whizzing by her window as it descended faster and faster. In the distance, the rings slowly shifted out of vision, and she could already see pilots begin their manoeuvres. But Izzy wanted to wait until she was up to speed.
_G-FORCE: 3.455
The ship began rattling, and she could feel the turbulence as the vehicle slid through pockets of dense atmosphere. She sank further into her chair, and she could feel the numbness of her legs growing as she continued squeezing them to regulate her blood flow.
_G-FORCE: 4.894
_AUGMENTATION INITIATED_
_G-FORCE REGULATOR: ACTIVATED
She felt a subtle sense of relief throughout her body as her regulator activated, helping her maintain her blood flow without as much of a need for her own concentration. The device didn’t usually provide this much of a benefit, as she could feel her entire body easing, but in low-gravity atmospheres, it covered the brunt of the work she would be doing.
_G-FORCE: 5.211
Now that she was up to speed, she was prepared to make a few moves. She looked out her window, noticing the two vehicles to her right, and they seemed to be contesting fifth position ever so slightly behind her. However, they were cutting it a bit too close to one another as the sixth-place ship attempted an overtake over the roof of Fifth.
The delayed crackle of the collision softly penetrated the soundproofing of her vehicle as she heard the collision that uprooted both vehicles in a cloud of smoke– Her eyes widened as she watched for debris, but what emerged from the plume was one of the drop ships, on a collision course with her vehicle as it spun out of control with a smoking trail behind it. She jerked on the yoke, pulling her vehicle into an uncontrolled tumble that caused a sudden pressure in her skull.
_G-FORCE: 9.421
She could feel her eyes shifting further back into their sockets as her vision tunnelled under the continuous nine G’s. The sudden spike nearly caught her off guard, but she managed to catch her breath in time to remain conscious as she shifted the yoke to counteract the tumble. G-lock during manoeuvres was one of the most dangerous scenarios a pilot could find themselves in, especially when hurtling toward the surface of a planet.
Blacking out in these moments could lead to a crash on the surface below if the pilot didn't wake up in time – this was the leading cause of death in drop racing, and what got the crowds most excited. Witnessing a crash was thrilling, and with the level of safety the DRF enforces, crashes were safer than ever but there was still a two-in-ten chance it was fatal.
_G-FORCE: 7.423
_G-FORCE: 6.113
Izzy felt the pressure on her body ease up as she stabilised the vehicle, and her body relaxed as she returned to a more manageable G-force. She began checking her surroundings for more debris or another collision course, but everything appeared to be alright, and she took a look at her dashboard to take stock of her situation.
_POSITION: 9th
