by L A Warren
Time stretched before her, and behind as well. She traced the beginnings of the universe all the way out to the end of time. Fifth and sixth space unfolded. Brilliant flowers, they were the realm of the WOR-skill. Constructs which the minds of unique women could fold into existence and form along lines they desired.
Her head spun with countless alter dimensions as they floated past as abstract realities. Cracks between the dimensions opened and transported her into a sub-world defined by the space between time and reality. This was the solid base-rock of the WOR-skill, and an area unknown to Tenders and Masters.
The stars tilted and rotated in her vision. She extended herself yet again and opened the theoretical dimensions of imaginary numbers and watched them twirl out before her.
Again, a melody sounded. A deep bass rumbled with layers of resonance piled on top one another. Within the heavy chords, individual voices sang in chorus. The lifting song rose and fell and she felt, if only for a moment, part of something much greater than herself.
She sensed a greater consciousness, a mind so massive and powerful, as to make her feel insignificant: puny, diminutive, invisible, unnoticeable, frail and trifling. In every conjugation of the word, she was small.
She reached out, and like a gnat buzzing an elephant, she was not heard. The memory of a children’s story came to mind, about an elephant who heard the most amazing voice coming out of a miniature world. If only she could raise her voice loud enough to be heard.
Eventually, it all came crashing down about her; she lost control of the construct and it faded to nothing. She stared out the cockpit of Jeena’s jump-jet. Malbra floated below and the stars lit the sky. She shook her head, trying to shake away the vision. Fatigue washed over her and she dismissed the hallucination as the waking dream of exhaustion.
Alex, the silent and mysterious sister, however, seemed to cock her head with intense interest. Elise let it go. She had other things to focus on.
Candice piloted her jump-jet with fury. In the end, her determination was not enough to keep her out of the clutches of Malikai. At the thirtieth ring, he shot her small craft with his lasers. Candice lost the third and final race of their heat.
Elise and Malikai, evenly tied with two wins each and identical time trials, would now duel to determine who would stand above the other on the winner’s podium. She was thankful she had at least made it this far.
This race meant something. It was the last bit of defiance she aimed toward Gregor. It was something she had gotten away with, something he hadn’t been able to control, and something he could never take away.
This was hers, and if she won, it would be her victory.
Even if Gregor took the rest from her tonight.
I have you sister. We are not lost yet, Alex whispered from the darkness.
Elise sighed. She was so tired of fighting.
Beat Malikai first, of course, she thought with a laugh. That still had to be done, but after that, perhaps she could spend the rest of the day rambling around in her mind and let her body go on autopilot.
Malikai’s voice hissed over the communications channel, “Chickadee, looks like this is it. Are you ready to face off against me?”
Chapter Nine
Gambit, Day 281
It all comes down to this, Alex said as Elise checked her console. The last race.
Elise nodded. I can win this.
Are you sure? Malice sounded worried. You keep tying with this one, but you haven't beat him yet!
Malice! Shriek crawled out of the darkness and came to sit at Elise’s shoulder. Ignore her, she’s always in a foul mood.
She’s right though. I have to beat him.
“Chickadee, I asked if you were ready?” Malikai’s voice rattled through the communications grid.
Elise sent her sisters away. “Absolutely.” She flicked through the final pre-race sequence on the controls.
“Care to wager on the outcome?”
“You know I don’t bet. You ask every time, and I always say no.”
“I think you should reconsider. It’s a friendly competition after all. Why not make it interesting?”
“You have nothing that I want?”
“Can you be so sure?”
“I’m fairly certain. Are you ready to lose this race?”
The Malbran sun peeked out behind his jump-jet, silhouetting his entire craft. The artistry of the sight took her breath away.
"I play to win, Chickadee. Never forget that."
Arrogant ass.
“Fox or Rabbit?” Elise’s fingers hovered over the gel-interface, ready to accept her designation.
“Tell you what,” he said, “if you win this competition, I will grant you one request, a favor. Name it and, if it’s within my power, I’ll grant it.”
“I said I didn’t want to wager.”
“Hear me out. If I win, then you’ll grant me one request.”
“I don’t have the ability to grant you anything.”
“That’s not true,” he said.
“Don’t presume to know what I can and cannot give.”
“Are you always so difficult, so distant? It could be something simple, like lunch, or dinner, or drinks.” He chuckled. “Or one of your infamous snarking sims.”
“Sorry, Malikai, but I’m taken.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
He chuckled. “Fine. Then how about this? If I win, before you say no out of hand, you give your word to consider my request. If you win, I’ll give you one request, whatever it may be, on my word. You can bet on those terms. It still gives you the option to say no if you don’t like my proposal.”
“What would you possibly want from me?”
“I’ll let you know right after I win this race.” Malikai waggled his wings.
“I don’t know,” she said, hesitating.
“Where’s the harm in finding out? It’s a simple, friendly bet. You can’t lose and it might even be fun. Besides, if you really think you have a chance at beating me, you have nothing at all to worry about.”
“Famous last words,” she said.
“Then you accept the bet?”
“With those conditions, sure, I’ll take your silly bet.”
“Good, I choose Fox.”
“I accept Rabbit.”
With the first heat set, Elise aligned herself at the starting gate. She wondered what Malikai could possibly want from a novice jump-jet pilot.
Her display blinked green and she engaged the thrusters with the press of her fingers. Elise focused on the course ahead. She dipped and looped through the first ring and then dove in a spiraling arc to hit the second with just the right exit to line up the third ring.
The seconds ticked down while Malikai waited to join the race. With a hard bank, she rolled her craft through the fourth ring and came out just a little off center of a perfect line up for the fifth ring. She flicked her fingers and the craft adjusted as if it were an extension of her body. The fifth ring loomed in front of her when Malikai began his pursuit.
She kept an eye on his progress. It would take some time to catch her before he could target her in earnest. Until that time, she picked up ring after ring. Unlike her race with Segour, she was under no illusions about her ability to win. She and Malikai were evenly matched and it would be a fierce battle until the very end.
Her display alarmed as Malikai’s sensors attempted to lock onto her ship. It would take a second or two to develop a targeting solution, time enough for her to dodge. She banked hard to port and then nosed her craft up, keeping a bead on the ring in front of her. His shot went wide as she found the twentieth ring.
He was close enough now to press her, and she couldn’t slip from ring to ring without giving him an easy target. She began a series of corkscrew spins and banking maneuvers. He flew wide of each of her course changes and scrabbled to catch up. Ring twenty-five approached and her fingers itched to turn the tables on the arrogant basta
rd.
She had a plan.
He fired another couple shots; all went wide. He wasn’t waiting for the computer to lock on. Tricky, at the best of times it rarely worked.
As she ducked through the twenty-fifth ring her lasers activated. With a press of her fingers, she engaged the jump-jet’s reverse thrusters. All of her forward momentum stopped throwing her against the harness in her ship. She clenched her body to keep from passing out from the g-forces.
Malikai’s dragonfly craft screamed over her head, barely missing the canopy of her ship. He cursed, but it was too late.
She aimed, fired, and scored a hit. Rabbit had grown Fangs and she earned three points.
Taking advantage of her new direction of travel, she headed back to the starting area.
Malikai remained strangely quiet, his colorful language absent.
She smiled. Evidently, she’d given him something to think about.
Elise hovered in front of the gate. She toggled in acceptance of Fox and waited for Malikai to rejoin her at the beginning of the ring circuit.
When he arrived, he acknowledged Rabbit and the counter started. “Nice, trick, Chickadee, you were lucky.”
“Luck had nothing to do with that one. Admit it, you were outclassed.”
“Race isn’t over, luv,” he said and then launched forward.
Rabbit raced down the course, swallowing silver rings with a vengeance. By the time she exited the starting gate, he was well on his way to the sixth ring. His speed was reckless, but his course true.
Malikai either needed a finish line win for two points, or he needed to hit Elise after the halfway point and earn three as Rabbit with Fangs. She didn’t know which strategy he intended; however, if she didn’t narrow some of his lead, there’d be no chance to even take aim, let alone hit his craft.
Her fingers flashed over the gel-interface as she raced after her quarry.
Malikai dipped through the twenty-fifth ring and accelerated toward the end of the course. Three rings separated them. The first feelings of worry began to creep into her thoughts as the end of the course drew near.
He didn’t try to evade as she raced behind him. He slipped through a ring, only to accelerate toward the next. Elise swooped behind, unable to narrow his lead. She cursed as he hit the fiftieth ring with her still a full three rings behind.
He met her at the finish line. The score after the second heat of their head-to-head race now stood three to two in favor of Elise. They had a final heat to go. The two jump-jets hung suspended before a dark starfield dusted with pinpricks of light. Four of the silver rings could be seen from their vantage point, glinting with the reflected light of the Malbran sun.
Malikai’s voice rang over the communications channel. “I almost wish I was in the betting circles. I can only imagine how the odds are changing for this last race. You’re an interesting opponent, very exhilarating. To be honest, there hasn’t been a pilot in quite some time who has given me such a challenge.”
“Funny, I don’t recall seeing your name among the first-place finishers in the Imperial finals.”
“Right, just like you didn’t throw that second heat against Sigour just to make him feel better about his loss. Winners are not always the best pilots.”
His words stunned her speechless. How had he known?
“Don’t worry, he’s too stupid to figure it out. But I noticed. It’s not fun when you win every race is it? Sometimes, it’s just enough to get out there to see what the competition is like. You remind me a lot of Jeena. I can see her training in your every move, although I believe you’re better than her.”
“Did you really make that bet with her?”
“To be my wife?”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely. At the time she ignited my desire. I’ve since moved on, as has she.”
“And did you throw that race?”
He laughed. “Gods, no! I wanted her, and that bet was serious. I’ve been paying for it since, and willingly. She beat me and I’m not ashamed to admit it. She doesn’t realize what she missed out on though, and that’s the interesting part.”
“How so?”
“Hm, I think you’ll find out soon enough.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Only that this race is interesting on many levels. What’s your choice?”
“You trail in the points, so it’s your pick,” she said.
“I’ll take Fox. I think it’s appropriate, considering . . .” His voice faded into muffled chuckles.
She had no idea what he thought was so funny.
The green light blinked and Elise headed out into the ring circuit. His words bothered her, and her fingers trembled slightly. Elise shook her head to clear her mind.
Focus! Shriek screamed. This is it!
Elise steadied her hands. The fourth and then the fifth ring passed behind her ship moments before Malikai was released to pursue.
Game time.
The exhilaration of the race took control. Four more rings passed before she had to dodge Malikai’s shots. He wasn’t even bothering to take aim. She laughed with excitement and felt a path open up before her, beckoning her toward the finish line. Elise hit the twentieth ring, and dodged several poorly aimed shots when communications static interrupted her concentration.
“Do you know what my request will be as I stand in the winner’s circle above you?”
“Race is not over, Malikai.”
“Oh, I think it is. Do you want to know?”
“No, because it doesn’t matter. You’re not going to win.”
“All I want is the answer to a simple question.”
“I have a feeling no question is simple coming from you. Stop talking, you’re not going to win by distracting me.” Elise pulled up sharply before the twenty-third ring.
Malikai missed her course change, passed over her flight path and blew through the twenty-third ring. Fox wasn’t allowed to enter a ring before Rabbit. He cursed and was forced to accept a ten second penalty. She looped around, slipped through the ring, and headed toward the twenty-fourth.
“Get ready, because I’m coming after you.”
“Hardly.” His penalty was up and he resumed the chase. “The question I’m going to ask, my dear opés, is how you managed to slip out all those nights without getting caught?”
Only hours of simulation practice and countless practice runs with Jeena kept her headed in a straight line. Her mind froze, but her hands knew what to do. The jump-jet slipped past the twenty-forth ring and aligned with the twenty-fifth with just a few half-conscious motions of her fingers.
“Elise,” he said, “to use an Earth turn of phrase, your rope has run out.”
This couldn’t be happening. Not on the very last run, not now. Dear God not now! Where has all the air gone?
Gregor stopped firing.
The mid-way point where the Rabbit grew fangs approached. The willow began to snap in the middle of the storm.
No! The chorus in her mind screamed. Malice vented a long ear-splitting shriek. Shriek howled. Whimper burbled something low and incomprehensible. The girls went wild and she was losing control.
Alex spoke softly to them all. In a sly voice she reminded them of an important truth. This is the jump-jet circuit. Commoners and lords fight head-to-head. Men and women duel where gender doesn’t matter. Why not a master and his slave?
Alex had always been the voice of reason, or at least a cool, dispassionate intellectual. Elise considered her sister’s words as the twenty-fifth ring approached. What more did she have to lose? Wouldn’t it be a wonderful moment of defiance to take this for herself?
A grin spread across her face. She pressed her palms on the gel-pad, pulling every bit of thrust the engines would give. The little jump-jet screamed toward the twenty-fifth ring.
“What are you doing?” Gregor’s surprise rang through the communications relay. It was full of anger, but laced with anticipation.
; “The race isn’t over until it’s over, and there’s nothing you can do to me until after we get back to the Gambit. I imagine your subjects will be quite put off if you end this race. I understand they like the competition.”
“Don’t you dare,” he said.
She noticed a slight correction to his jump-jet trajectory as he prepared to give chase.
“I don’t give a damn. Beat me if you can, but you’re going to have to work for it. I don’t think you’re up to it. I’m better at this than you.”
“I seriously doubt that.” Gregor actually laughed.
The display in front of her bloomed into life. Her lasers, now active, would end this competition. She looped around, executed a tight corkscrew, and locked her weapons on the jump-jet of her master.
She pressed the trigger. Gregor weaved to the side. Her shot passed through the double wings of his craft. He engaged his thrusters and turned to pursue.
Her mouth quirked up into a satisfied smile as he gave chase. Elise aimed her craft toward Gregor and set her ship into a wild spin. His shots missed as she headed straight into the nose of his craft. Her palms itched but she held her finger off the trigger. It wasn’t time.
He banked hard to starboard and they narrowly missed a collision. Elise hit her rear thrusters while simultaneously pulling hard up into a long loping arc.
She lost his jump-jet to the starfield and searched frantically. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She accelerated. Laser fire focused on the space she’d just vacated.
Both of them ignored the rings. The rings had become irrelevant. This was a battle between the two of them.
The absurdity of the engagement did not go unnoticed, but for right now the only thing she could think of was victory. This was her win, not his, not Gregor’s, and she was going to take it.
The ring circuit hung behind them, forgotten. They dipped and ducked, dodged and rolled. Elise waited for the right moment. She would only fire when she was sure. Gregor, on the other hand, fired his lasers nonstop.