Serendipity (Book 1 of the Dana Halliday series)

TEAMWORK. PYRAMIDS AND MAZE. CHEESY SCI FI NOVEL.

Shan said something my Earwig didn't deign to translate, but she was laughing, a hooting sound.

As we approached the swirling tornado of vessels, I saw what was going on. The racers were pursuing a flock of sparkly things within an apparently enclosed area of space. The area was defined by a shimmering haze that had been hard to see at a distance; as we went through, I noted the race officials' pods generating it. It looked like an abstract spiderweb enclosing a wavy cylinder.

The sparkly objects turned out to be smooth metallic pyramids. One of these bounced off the window near my head; I thought it was about the size of a grapefruit. It was emitting red light from its seams. As I watched, the light changed to blinding white for a second or three, then it was gone, or at least dark.

Shan's green shuttle drew up close on my side. Novi went into a sudden dive, Shan mirroring us. 

Up front, the virtual screen had become a snowstorm of bright pinpoints, superimposed over the actual targets visible through the cockpit window.  Three frenetic arrows flailed about, trying to lock onto the pinpoints.

Another pyramid appeared before us—its edges shone out an icy blue—and one glowing point on the screen swelled to acorn size. The arrows focused, tumbling around it like spilled matchsticks, and my stomach muttered as the Mirra shifted. Novernyi was muttering too, then she gave a cry of frustration as the arrows locked briefly on the target before scattering again.

"Faster!" she barked at Flynt.

Flynt bared his teeth in a grin, but didn't say anything. His eyes were fixed on the screen, antennae waving slowly.

The next time the arrows locked—they all changed to bright green and rotated about the target like crazed clock hands—Flynt pulled the trigger. The pyramid's light changed to red, like the one that had bounced off us, but almost immediately glowed white before extinguishing itself.

Shan, Novi, and Flynt all let out various sounds of victory, then I was grasping the edges of my seat as we zigged to starboard after another target.

Apparently, the pyramid targets glowed blue until they were "hit" by one pilot, then changed to red. When a second pilot hit them, they flashed white and then went out for good. Things were moving too fast for me to tell, but I supposed they illuminated blue again after a certain period of time, to re-enter the game.

I groaned. There was so little of the nutrient goo left in my stomach that I didn't think I was going to vomit, but this phase of the race wasn't going to be pleasant.

"How many—?" I gasped. "How many do we have to catch?"

"It depends on how fast we hit them," Flynt explained. "They have to be hit by two different pilots. It's quicker to work together."

"Pay attention!" Novi cried.

"I've got it," Shan said. "Now, you!"

And, we were off again. Not only did Novernyi and Shan have to hit the targets in a coordinated manner, they also had to avoid and outrun the other racers. I tightened my safety harness and still felt like a shoe in a clothes dryer. From the corners of my eyes I saw the occasional racer zip away from the cylinder, having zapped enough of the targets. There was so much flashing of lights and colors I thought I might be about to have a seizure as well as motion sickness.

After a week or two, Novi sighed. The virtual screen had been displaying a series of changing symbols in the upper left corner; I decided they were Prechoru numbers after Shan said, "Two more. Don't slow down now."

"I will not," Novi breathed. Most of the trash talk seemed to have drained from her. Their current target glowed red as Shan hit it. "Only one more—"