Celestria Chronicles

HYPER GP 5018 - THE PULSE: BEFORE THE LIGHTS

Hyper Grand Prix, the most advanced form of racing in The Empire Of Humanity, was about to head into the fifth race of the season, at a track known as The Pulse. It had been named this by the drivers, for its ability to either make the pulse race the fastest it had ever raced in that driver's life, or to stop it forever, sometimes both. 40 corners of generated racetrack, piloted by the hardiest, or most foolish, drivers from over 15 species including Human, Torkaxion, Androssian, Loion, Soorvite, Gillseed and many more. The most exciting course ever built upon Screamcide, the thrill planet, it was sure to be the best race of the season.

          As it was, going into the race, Forman was in the lead by 12 points, with Zane and Ingirislad scraping it out for second place, separated by only a singular point. Binsingalg VII was in fourth, and the others were on such minor points that it didn't bother thinking about. It was between the four up front, and even that was becoming increasingly to be a Forman domination of a season win.

          Zane, the top human, was pumping himself up for the race on the grid, his mechanics checking over everything with the car. There had been a scare earlier with the steering wheel, he hadn't gotten any feeling with it for some reason, a software issue his guys had reasons. A Soorvite named Jynvyz had had a quick route around inside the machine but not found anything; they couldn't do anything major to it anyway. His main race advisor, Serinus Ulmar had tried changing a few settings on the wheel, and they were just going to have to hope that it would work.

          'Now Zane, you were losing about a tenth of a second down through turns 12-15, that's the double chicane. Try keeping to the right on the way in to give you better drive on the way out,' Serinus explained to him, her long hair flowing out in the wind. The dark was beginning to set, the blue of the track lighting up in its traditional Empire blue.

'That's a ballsy move Serinus, and I'm going to be slower through the chicane itself,' he argued. She tapped her Halo-Core.

'Look, you're not in qualifying now, and if you've got a clear track ahead of you for several seconds then you can do whatever the fuck you want down there. But if you're trying to get someone then doing it in the chicane is asking to be overtaken again on the way out again. People always get mugged down there thinking they've got the move done, only to be bitten again. Better to just get as close as you can, then chase them around sixteen and then have them have to park behind you at the End Hill Hairpin of 17.'

'You've got a point there actually, it has to be said,' Zane replied, and at that point there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a reporter for Celestria there. As he was racing for the Celestrian Racing Team, he decided to take the few questions. He quickly glanced at his Halo-Core on the side; it would be this and then into the car.

'So Zane, you've put yourself fifth, you must be pretty disappointed with the starting position tonight,' the reporter said, thrusting a Microphone-Core to his face.

'Yeah, the mistake I had going around Mushroom yesterday put me out and cost me three tenths, I should have been second or third really which would have been nice.'

'So what can you do from here do you think?' 'Crap' he thought. 'I genuinely don't think I'll be able to chase down Forman up front if he gets a clean start, but this is the Celestrian reporter, I'd better lie my ass out of this one'.

'Well hopefully we can clear the two VRT's up in front, I think Tistern is looking pretty confident today; maybe he knows something we don't. It's going to be quite hard to go after Forman after the form he's on this year, but we'll see. If I can get near him by the first round of stops, I might be able to do something.'

'So quietly confident then?'

'Yeah I guess you could say that. At this point just finishing ahead of Ingirislad would be good, to get into that second place. I'll worry completely about going after the first place in the championship once I'm into second.' The reporter thanked him for his time, and Serinus ushered him into the car. He clambered in, buckling up through the magna-belt, pulling his gloves on and taking a swig at the relatively foul-tasting Varmin-Juice that was supposed to help thinking and reactions. Zane thought that the only reaction it improved was throwing up.

          The crews began to clear from the grid, and all the cars began to rev their engines. Zane closed his eyes for a second and a half, to try and get himself into some kind of meditative state. This race was very important for his standings, and he needed the cleanest getaway he could afford. There were some people nearby that were notorious for not getting past the first lap, and after the long right hand sweep of turn one there was the first chicane, with an almighty braking point. Zane would rather not get rammed up the backside by someone out-braking themselves, better to get as far forwards as possible, away from that possibility, and put on the pressure as soon as possible. He opened his eyes, and revved up the car. The lights for the warm-up lap went out. The people before him pulled away, and he was moving.

          The track condition was fairly good, and Zane thanked whatever divine entities there were that it wasn't chucking it down. That would have made a less-than-decent starting position just plain disgusting for the race. He tried to look ahead to attempt to figure out some of the lines of the drivers in front of him, but they were all weaving to try and get some heat into the tires, so he got no information from the exercise at all. He weaved himself, and he felt grip begin to come towards him. The steering still wasn't 100%, and he tried shifting a couple of settings, but that made it worse, so he reverted back to the configuration he left the grid with.

          In they came to the city section at turn 26, the fourth and final section. He looked up and saw a grandstand completely filled with supporters, all clad in the Celestrian blue. Several were holding large signs that all said things along the lines of 'Go Zane, Best Driver Ever' and such likes. He smiled inside, and a grim determination washed over him once again. He knew he wasn't just doing it for himself, it was for his people. His supporters, his team, and his planet and species. Around Mushroom he gripped the steering wheel slightly too tightly that he felt it dig into the palms of his hands, even through the gloves. He made his way through the final chicane, and through the three bunny hops, before arriving at the finish straight. He pulled up at his slot, exhaling slowly. Now was the time for concentration. He looked in his mirror. The last car was pulling up. It was time; he felt his heart rate pound harder.

The first light.

Then the second.

The third came too long after for Zane's liking.

There was the fourth.

And now the fifth and final light. All his nerves were at their peak. It was now or never. Into The Pulse he was to go.

The lights went out.