Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

05_RACE

The ship's powerful spotlight illuminated the entrance to the side tunnel which was smaller than they had anticipated. It took all of Orion's skill as a pilot to keep from hitting the sides as they wound through deep underground.

"There's going to be a vertical shaft in ten."

They all yelled as the ship hit hard against an outcropping of rock. They swerved to the right, but Orion managed to gain control just as they reached the shaft.

"Vertical assent now!" Celli called.

Orion pulled back on the controls and they rocketed straight up. "We'll come out right into the floor of Cynor!" Celli called as the ship shuddered from the gravitational pull. "You'll have less than a mec to straighten out!"

"Got it!"

"Fel, you'll have about seven mecs before the first marker drop."

"Ready."

"Here we go!"

They burst into Cynor tunnel just ahead of Tirmaal, who were taken by surprise.

"Fel!" Celli called.

"I see'em!" Fel instantly fired the laser cannons and managed to stall their left thruster. "Yes!" Fel exclaimed, laughing. "Lesson learned, Tirmaal."

"Fell, three mecs. Do you see it?"

"I see it." Fel called back. He concentrated on the com-display in front of him and pressed the trigger. An indicator lit up on the screen. "It's in!"

"Yeah!" Orion exclaimed.

"Nice work Fel!" Called Celli, "five more to go."

"What's the damage from the collision, Celli?" Orion asked.

"It took out seven percent, but other than that I think we're okay. We regained our lead on Tirmaal and stalled them so it was worth it. Nice work team!"

Orion and Fel smiled.

"Anybody out of the race yet?" Orion asked.

"No, all twenty teams are still in."

"What's our position?"

"Can't say exactly; somewhere in the first five."

***

They successfully dropped four more markers. There was only one left to go. "This one's gonna be dicey," Celli reported, "we've got a five-tunnel intersection and the drop zone is right in the middle.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Fel responded confidently.

"Except we've got four other ships coming into the zone and..." Celli strained at her display, "It looks like we are all going to arrive at the same time."

"How long?" Fel asked.

"About fifteen mecs."

Fel furrowed his brow as a bizarre thought appeared in the center of his brain. It struck him with such force that it would have been difficult to oppose it. It was accompanied by a sensation in his stomach that said: this is real. "Orion!" Fel's voice was urgent. "Put on the brakes and let the other ships in first!"

"What?! We'll lose our lead." Orion answered.

"Trust me." Fel said, in an uncharacteristic display of leadership.

"Okay," Orion responded. "Celli, tell me when."

Celli looked at him dubiously, but it was Orion's call. "On my mark... Now!"

The three gamers were pulled forward as the ship came to a full stop at the entrance to the underground intersection. The four other ships flew out of their tunnels at almost exactly the same time. Two of them collided and were out of the race. A third turned sharply to avoid hitting them and was forced to crash-land on the rocky floor of the tunnel. Only one of them managed to drop their marker, but they weren't able to make it to the exit tunnel in time and instead had to dodge into one of the other tunnels, heading in the wrong direction.