The Race

[childofrebellion]

The stands are a mixture of good quality and finding seats where you can. Thanks to the help of Pan, Cassian was able to get Barry, Cisco and Gabe seats with a good view of what's visible of the track and then the screens showing the other sections.

Cassian's down with the ships with Yamato, Pan came by to help them but is now up in the stands.

Comments

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato grins a little as he zooms past the racer in front midway through their ascent.

Second place.

Okay, back on track. He has a ways to go before he catches up with Altax, but as they enter the space section of the lap, he's closing the gap, getting closer and closer.

[childofrebellion]

Up in space, Altax chooses to use one afterburner to try and lengthen his lead. All the other ships are falling farther behind.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato gives his afterburners a quick burn as well, keeping pace with Altax and close on his tail as they make their way through space.

It isn't long before he's mere metres behind Altax, threatening to overtake him at any moment.

[childofrebellion]

Altax is running out of tricks but does have one last push of his afterburner to try and pull ahead before they reenter the atmosphere.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato, meanwhile, does have a trick up his sleeve.

Since he's so close behind Altax, it's easy enough to angle his ship to get caught in the other pilot's slipstream, letting Altax's own momentum drag him down through the atmosphere.

When he eventually fires his own afterburners, the result is a huge burst of speed, the cumulative result of his own top speed plus Altax's, rocketing him ahead of Altax.

He is moving very quickly towards the ground now, though.

[childofrebellion]

Cassian gives a small cheer when Yamato passes Altax but then holds his breath as the ship plunges toward the ground. They've built it so the ship should be able to pull up in time but that doesn't mean it will work.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Since he's not trying to overtake anyone now -- just trying to keep his first place position -- Yamato doesn't let himself get quite so close to the ground before he pulls up this time, although it's still a near thing.

As soon as he's up, he darts into the tunnels, heading down the shortcut Altax used in the last lap.

[childofrebellion]

"Nicely done," Cassian says when he sees Yamato using the shortcut.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Thanks. He played his hand too early, he shouldn't have used this shortcut of his in the second lap," Yamato says wryly.

Yes, he is getting a certain amount of satisfaction out of using Altax's own momentum, and then his own shortcut, to pull ahead -- even if most of his attention right now is focused on the delicate task of manoeuvring through the tunnels.

[childofrebellion]

"No, but he was too confident. Now let's get you safely across the finish line."

Cassian's not going to enjoy anything until the victory is secure.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I'll be almost disappointed if he doesn't have a trick up his sleeve for the final leg of this lap."

Yamato clears the caves a second later, with Altax close behind him.

[childofrebellion]

In the tunnels, Altax follows behind and fires a missile to try and knock Yamato out of first place.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato gives a wild laugh, swooping around as the missile tracks him and follows his movements. A sharp dip towards the ground and then equally sharply pulling up is enough to send the missile crashing into the ground.

"Not bad," he chuckles. All that fancy flying has given Altax a chance to close the gap somewhat, but Yamato's still in the lead.

[childofrebellion]

"What happened?" Cassian asks as he hears the whoop. In the tunnels, its harder to follow the specifics.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"He fired a missile at me. Nothing to worry about."

They'll be exiting the tunnels soon. Yamato gives his ship a kick of speed, burning the afterburners for a few short seconds.

[childofrebellion]

"No damage?" Firing is sadly not surprising especially nearing the end of the race, Altax is losing and trying all he can.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Nothing worse than some scratches to the paintwork," Yamato replies.

[childofrebellion]

"Good, then let's finish this race up."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"No problem."

Yamato exits the tunnels at top speed, with Altax close behind him, and as a few more missiles are fired off, he weaves around them with a delighted laugh, guiding them into crashing harmlessly into the ground.

There's a momentary kick of speed from Altax, a second or two where he looks like he might overtake Yamato, before Yamato cranks up the speed on his own engine and pulls ahead again, just in time to cross the finish line in first place.

As he guides the ship back into the garage, now at least knowing that he's won and that Pan's debts will be covered, that adrenaline high he's been on starts to wear off. By the time he shuts down the engines and opens the cockpit, his hands are shaking a little.

[childofrebellion]

Cassian's holding his breath until Yamato's safe in the garage and has been declared the winter. He meets Yamato at the cockpit with a grin, "You did it."

After a few minutes, Pan makes his way to them, panting and looking around amazed and relieved, "You won."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato returns Cassian's grin, taking a moment to still his hands. Or maybe it takes more than a moment.

"Yeah, nobody's more surprised than I am, trust me."

Well, maybe Altax.

He affects a certain measure of gruffness once Pan approaches, swinging out of the cockpit and onto the ladder. "I did. You can have the winnings, pay off your debts. Next time you gamble away all your money, though, don't count on us being around to get you out of it."

[childofrebellion]

A race official comes over and Cassian intercepts them to start the process of getting the winnings. On his way, he tosses Yamato the comm, "Let your friends know you won. We'll be in the winner's area soon."

Pan looks between them and follows near Cassian to answer any questions about the ship.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato chuckles, catching the comm. His hands are still shaking, but that's fine.

"Hey, jackasses, just checking in to tell you that I'm okay, and I've won. Pan's going to get the winnings, so he can pay off whatever gambling debts he's racked up to whichever Hutt he pissed off."

His tone is ... much more casual than he actually feels, to say the least.