[Shortie fic] Jedi Reflexes

[Aurora Starfire]

Ok, my very first fic. It's just a shortie, and it's not very interesting, but anyway, here goes....

 

 

Jedi Reflexes

 

 

Lara Desertwind walked over to the swoop race track co-ordinator. She didn't much like racing, but she needed the credits, and she was fairly good. The track co-ordinator was a Rodian, and had a rather shifty look to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her in Huttese.

 

"I knew it as soon as you walked in here--you must be a swoop racer. A good one, too, maybe?"

 

She thought of a few rather scathing remarks, but merely nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking to race. What're the local times? And the track, what's it like?"

 

"Here at the Anchorhead Swoop Races, we have a three-tiered system. The best time in the first tier is Requel Jax with 23:90. The second tier has Garm Mateil with a time of 23:29. And our current track champion, Zoriis Niklytis with the spectacular time, 22:51. Our track takes the racer over the Dune Sea. You will have to dodge rocks and steer over "swoop boosters" throughout the course." The Rodian would have continued to elaborate on the high points of the track, but she cut him off.

 

"Fine," she said curtly. "Set me up with a race."

 

The Rodian shifted his feet uneasily. "Ah, well, that is...."

 

Lara sighed. "Right. How much is this going to cost me?"

 

He brightened considerably. "The entry fee is 100 credits," he told her.

 

"Fine," she said. She tossed a hundred-credit chip onto the counter.

 

"Excellent!" the Rodian nodded, pleased. "Your bike is waiting."

 

 

Lara climbed onto her rented swoop bike, and squeezed the controls gently, getting a feel for the machine. The bike was already positioned in on the track, and she merely waited for the green light to begin.

 

Finally, the red light flashed, and switched to yellow, then, at last, to green. At that moment, she thrust forward into first gear, and took off.

 

Immediately she snapped right, barely avoiding a nasty rock jutting out from the sand. She ran over a booster and was jolted ahead, swerving to the left to hit another, and shifted gears as the warning light flashed. She squeezed by another rock to her right, and moved right again for another booster. She managed to dodge the rocks, and hit a few speed boosters, and she thought she was going get in a good time. She pulled into the home stretch, and tried to get one last booster before the finish. She didn't quite make it, however, and the bike grazed the edge of a rock. She pulled over the finish line and felt the jolt as the repulsor field stopped the bike. She glanced at the scoreboard; she beat the first tier with only a couple of seconds to spare. I'll have to do better, she thought to herself as she headed back to the track co-ordinator.

 

 

"You finished with a time of 23:87. Not the best time we've seen, here, but enough to beat Jax's time," the Rodian informed her.

 

"Great. So what's the prize?" she enquired.

 

"Ah. Yes, of course. Your prize," he said hurriedly. "Your prize for beating the first tier is ten racing bonds, redeemable for fifty credits at almost any merchant or trader."

 

Lara carefully counted the data chips, then stuffed them into a pouch on her utility belt. She turned to the track co-ordinator and said, "How's about another race?"

 

The Rodian nodded. "Another race it is. There will be--"

 

She held up a hand. "I've already dealt with this fee," she protested.

 

"It is required before every race," he said, insisting.

 

She let a faint smile play across her features. "With the all the credits you'll make, there's no need for an entry fee," she told him.

 

The Rodian seemed to consider this. Then he nodded. "All right, but you'd better put on a good show, or the boss'll have my head."

 

She was already halfway to the track entrance. "Don't worry," she called over her shoulder, "You'll get your show!"

 

 

Once again, she was in the seat of the swoop bike, and the moment the light hit green, she was off. She again dodged the large rock at the beginning, and settled into the pattern of action and reaction. She swerved back and forth, managing to dodge the rocks, and hit many of the speed boosters. She screeched over the finish line at a little over 23 seconds, and let the repulsor field catch the bike. Nodding with satisfaction, she went to talk to the Rodian.

 

 

"A good time. Not spectacular, but pretty good. You knocked Garm Mateil out of the running," he eyed her, then said, "Your prize is thirty racing bonds. Here," he handed her a stack of bonds.

 

She pocketed them, and said, "Right. I understand there's one more tier? Set me up."

 

"Okay, the final tier. Ah, and I need--"

 

She leaned in closer. "I need your honest opinion," she told him. "Do you think I'll beat the last tier?"

 

He hesitated, then shook his head. "Niklytis is our best racer. No one's been able to top her times."

 

She smiled. "Then what do you say we make a little bet, you and I.... If I win, you pay me twice the normal third-tier prize. If I lose, I'll give you what I've won already. Deal?"

 

His eyes darted around furtively, as if to see if someone was watching him. He nodded, briefly. "Deal. Your bike's ready to go."

 

She grinned, tightly, and headed to the track.

 

 

From atop the bike, she glanced out at the track. She needed the funds to get offplanet, and she didn't think she'd be able to get enough credits out of the pazaak players. She watched as the light switched to green, and in that moment, raised her level of concentration. In and out, she zipped past the rocks and over speed boosters, thinking only about her surroundings and when to shift gears. She swerved past rocks with mere centimeters to spare, and raced from booster to booster, shifting to a higher gear the moment the warning light flashed. Part of a crashed bike was lying out on the track, which had been clear before, and she barely missed hitting it. She raced down the home stretch, and snapped her bike towards the booster she missed before. The rock jutted angrily out, but still she aimed for that last booster. Coaxing everything she could from the bike, she turned it as far to the right as she could. The rock loomed closer....she wouldn't make it in time..... she braced herself for the collision.... and then, with a jolt, she was past it, scraping by with barely a centimeter between her and the rock. Then she was being pulled to a stop by the repulsors, and the tight fist around her heart relaxed. Then she tensed. What was the time?

 

Not daring to look, she returned to the track co-ordinator.

 

 

"22 seconds flat!" he gasped. "I've never seen anything like it! Your reflexes must be almost Jedi-like!"

 

Relief washed over her. Jedi-like? She kept her face expressionless, but her eyes danced with amusement. "Apparently so. Now, I believe there's a small matter...."

 

"Ah, yes, of course." The Rodian was too distracted to care. "That time.... Here, one hundred and sixty racing bonds. I still can't believe it...."

 

"Thanks. Perhaps I'll see you again." She scooped up the data chips, and turned to go.

 

"There won't be anything else to beat! Nobody's going to beat that score...." His voice trailed after her as she left the cantina.

 

Now, she thought to herself as she headed for the spaceport, Time to get out of here....

 

 

Right, then. That's over with. Comments are appreciated

[CSI]

A typical swoop racing in Tatooine. Nicely done, Aurora. Not bad for a first attempt...However, I got some suggestions:

 

Make a small accident, then with help of the Force, you gave your swoop a small boost. Make the races more obstacular--in other words--harder to win. Well, you made the races too easy...

 

Nice persuative usages, and I like the last quote of "Jedi-like".

 

However keep up good work and I'm looking forward to your next shortie.

[JediAthos]

I liked it as well and agree with Nihilus asessment. Your description of the racing was pretty good, but I also would've liked to see your character "work for it" a little more.

[Aurora Starfire]

Thanks for the comments, guys! I'll try to spruce up the "danger" and "suspense" aspects of it. I was trying to avoid obvious use of the Force throughout most of the fic, since "Lara" isn't who she appears to be, initially. The "Jedi reflexes" quote was blatantly stolen from the quarren who runs the swoop track on Onderon so I can't take credit for that, but I love the irony behind it.....