Fame and Fortitude

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Han swung his leg over the seat, adjusting the helmet straps while giving the younger swoop racer a glance as Lancer pulled his bike up next to the Corellian. The young man had lost none of his own cockiness in the intervening minutes since making the bet.

"You can just pay me the ten thousand right now and save yourself the humiliation, Daysun."

"Oh, I think I'll wait until after we cross the finish line," Han replied, pushing the helmet over his head. Bilt Lancer probably didn't know that Han owned several swoop bikes, located on his estate's property, and spent a bit of his free time racing around the grounds, sometimes with Corran or Wes as his opponent. He had even managed to convince Luke or Mara to take turns racing him, although Luke kept reminding him that his time would be better spent in Force meditation. Stang, Han would think, Luke sometimes has a hard time simply letting himself just have fun instead of being the serious Jedi Master all the time.

There was a growing group of beings starting to gather around, and Han noticed the movie director was heading in their direction. If the race didn't start immediately, it might not happen at all. He started up the engines, revving the motor. "Ready, kid?"

"Kiss your ass goodbye, Daysun," Lancer shouted, roaring off and managing to get a few seconds head-start.

Han wasted no time catching up, and soon both swoop bikes were side by side, heading down the race course at breakneck speed while following the blinking lights set on posts that indicated the boundary of the track. Quite deliberately, there still were hazards to contend with inside the official track. Trees and large boulders stood as obstacles for riders, and both men swerved around the first stand of trees without much effort. After a few minutes, Solo had to give Bilt some credit... the guy was good, and although Han considered himself a decent racer, it had been years since he'd run an actual race - ten years, to be precise. He'd been thirty years old the last time he'd been with Luke and Chewie on Rion. If he would still be residing inside his original body, he'd be forty years old by now. Of course, being transferred inside this new body pushed him back a few years, so now he was only twenty-eight years old. That didn't mitigate the lack of actual racing experience, though.

Concentrating on his driving, Han saw they were rapidly approaching a large boulder. By moving toward the left of the rock there was a generous clearing, but on the right side were several fallen trees leaning precariously against the rock face. Solo tried gunning his engine, attempting to move in front of Lancer and take the direction to the left. The young racer knew Han's intentions, and moved his swoop sharply to the right, deliberately clipping the side of Han's swoop bike, while pushing him directly in front of the boulder.

Han only had a split second to make a decision, and he no longer had the option to make the clearing. Instead, he lowered his head and body against the control bars and swerved to the right just as Bilt Lancer headed around the rock toward the left side. Solo's head barely cleared the leaning tree trunks and he held his breath that there was an actual opening past the brush and bramble blocking his view. The opening narrowed, while the smaller branches tore at his clothing as the sides of the swoop screeched against the rock on one side and the foliage on the other. Then he shot clear and shifted to the left to get back on the marked section of the race course. The dangerous maneuver turned out to be a short cut around the boulder, so now Han was a good fifty meters in front of his opponent.

Bilt Lancer wasn't one to give up easily. Pushing his engines to the limit, he raced up directly behind Han and rammed Solo's swoop from behind. As his swoop shook and rattled, Han struggled to keep control. Lancer knew how to play dirty, and was using that knowledge to intimidate and impress. Perhaps if Bilt Lancer had known who his opponent actually was he'd be more respectful, Han pondered, before realizing Bilt had been all of ten years old the last time Han had been in a swoop race. So being respected probably wasn't in the cards, but if Lancer was playing dirty, it was time for Han to return the favor.