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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/knicht1 on 2025-10-15 06:32:44+00:00.

Hadrian’s engine revved as he pushed into the final stretch of the race. The jungle was finally at an end and he could see the other racers ahead. He had to make at least tenth or he wouldn’t be allowed into the last race. He pushed the throttle to its limit and the sudden jerk forward shoved him back into his seat. He passed one, two, a third racer. The fourth tried to push into him, he had to evade, the other racers ship was bigger with thicker armor, he would be ripped apart.

He used a concussive brake and it went off in a rapid stutter of fire, slowing him immensely. He cut the brake and resumed acceleration while veering off in the opposite direction that the other racer went. He passed the fourth. Now he was in tenth. Unless he wanted to piss off Kord he needed to stay here. But that just wasn’t any fun he thought. He kept accelerating until he overtook several more racers and found himself tied for third. This racer was known as Gurn. A rather rude and angry cat looking fellow who had a habit of wrecking other racers. Not Hadrian though, he was sure he could pass this furry bastard without a scratch. The roar of engines was louder here. It shook him like rolling thunder, he could feel his ship vibrate under him with power. Gurn tried to cut in front of him with his much larger and more powerful ship but Hadrian expected as much and went over him before taking second. Now for the Nuriddian Mord. Soon he’d be tied, he knew he could push past him if he could just get a little more speed. That’s all he needed was a tiny bit more speed. But no. He couldn’t, he had to come in tenth place or else he wouldn’t be paid. The Nuriddian mob would make sure his body was never found if he came in even ninth place.

He fired the concussive brakes once more and slowed rapidly. Sudden deceleration made him jerk towards and pull painfully on the straps that kept him in place. The inertia dampeners were starting to rev up and he felt the others pass him as he slowly went over the finish line. Tenth place. Nearly eleventh.

Hadrian Marduk was an odd one. He was one of the only humans to ever pass the Volri reflex test. He wasn’t the best score among his species, but he was quicker than most. He was the only human to even try the Scaulder nim route and one of the only five beings to survive the attempt. Did he crash his starship? Absolutely. But he survived. These were the criteria to join the Grand Solar. And now he was in the final race. A true solar race unlike the others.

Hadrian was indeed odd for a human. But humans as a whole seemed like that to the rest of the galactic community. He was one of the only star racers to be human. And the second ever to join the Grand Solar. He looked out of the shielded observation window towards Tiamat, a magnetar. While the other aliens around would be ooing and ahing Hadrian had to take their word that it was beautiful. This star was the last stop in a galaxy-spanning race of the most dangerous systems. It was by far the most dangerous. Hadrian could still recall the last time he had been here, oh so long ago. Of the humans to make it this far in the race, he was one of only two.

“Oh, Marduk, glad I could catch you.”

Hadrian groaned and looked up from the window. Before him was a Nuriddian male named Kord. All six arms were crossed casually.

“I figure you be in da lounge with de other racer. Ah well, no madda, here your share.”

One of his arms flicked out and tossed a little credit wallet, which Hadrian nearly fumbled but caught.

“You know you sure like ta lose in style. Hah! I thought you actually trying ta make it into da top three last race. Of course…”

Kord took a moment to clean one of his pointed teeth with a clawed finger,

“Of course we both know you wouldn’t do dat, right? Yes, I’m sure you know what’s on da line.”

Hadrian felt his blood begin to heat and he clenched his fist under the table. The previous race was still on his mind. But he needed the money. He needed to make it here, to this system, to this race. To make sure he got his chance he needed to stay calm. “Ahh, ya know, I love dis system. It’s awfully dangerous. Uninhabitable by all means. A perfect last race. You be careful of dose belt eh? Especially the Marduk belt. Wouldn’t wanna lose another great human racer, would we? Hahaha, oh, good luck, Hadrian!” And with that, Kord walked away.

Below the observation deck were the hangars. Hadrian was early for the race, but something about his ship always seemed to calm him. He let out a sigh and felt everything melt away. In here, he was a god. Complete control, every button and dial was an edict waiting to be passed. The control stick was the four winds. Yes, within this place, he was the master, the beginning and end. He closed his eyes.

“I am the thunder o’er the horizon…” he whispered “I am the coming storm…”

This quiet prayer was repeated until the demons left in terror, and all that remained was the will to win. He ran his thumb over the control stick and felt the ship’s silent obedience. He could hear the others now

“I am the thunder…”

The announcers came and so to the crowds. This roaring thunder drowned out his own.

“I am the coming storm…”

The engines began to rumble. He turned over his own. His craft ascended in step with the others. Distantly, he could hear the announcers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and all sentient beings across the galaxy! Welcome, welcome, to the final leg of the Grand Solar! We’re here live at Tiamat, the magnetar, where the bravest, the fastest, and perhaps the most insane pilots in the cosmos are about to embark on the most perilous race known to sentience!” said the Abredi announcer, clicking his mandibles excitedly.

“Right you are, Koth, and I have to say, the tension is palpable! The stakes couldn’t be higher!” Said the other announcer, another Abredi.

“I know I’m right, Toth. Now, for you newcomers, today’s circuit is simple. Since this system has no planets anymore, the goal is to pass through both asteroid belts, make a lap around the magnetar, and come back through the belts again.”

A second, truer thunder came with the roar of engines revving.

“Don’t let your preconceived notions of asteroid belts fool you, due to the sheer massive volume of these rocks, the space between asteroids is mere meters. A tight squeeze even for the smallest star racers.”

“You couldn’t pay me to race in there, Koth! Never in a million years!”

The engines grew louder and louder in Hadrian’s ears.

“It looks like the racers are ready, and there the flag starts,” said Toth

A hologram of three red dots came into view as Hadrian opened his eyes. The engines grew in their rancor.

“I am the thunder o’er the horizon…”

The hologram changed; now it was two. Then one.

“I am the storm”

A single green dot was the signal to go. All at once, the bubble of tension broke free, and the racers sped off and out towards the center of the star system.

“And they’re off! It looks like Gurn the Klydaxi is taking the lead, followed by the Nuriddian favorite Mord! Look at them go!”

Hadrian broke through the protective shield, and all but his own engine could be heard now. It was almost serene. It would be if he were not accelerating at such a high speed. Soon, he would need to plateau or risk not being able to react in time to the first obstacles. A belt of asteroids is infamous for several notable deaths of racers. Hadrian would not be one of them.

The belt was only a few seconds away when the blinding white flash of an engine exploding upon impact. That was the first fatality; the Kasiam belt took another, who it was mattered not; what did was taking evasive maneuvers and quickly. Hadrian pulled on the control stick, and the ship obeyed. He slipped between two very close asteroids and the inertia pulled the blood from his head down to his feet and made his vision fog for a moment. Another flash could be seen, then another. Debris quickly spread out and created new dangers to avoid. Taking quick action, Hadrian made his ship dive down to avoid the still-burning wreck of a ship that was flying away almost faster than he could react. A sudden head rush as the blood in his feet rushed back upwards and he felt his face flush and burn.

Another thirty seconds, only thirty, and he would be out of it. He had to maneuver himself again, past more debris from wrecked racers. His internal count was at four. Four beings had lost their lives, and the race had only been running for six minutes. Ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven. Another ship blew. Seven, six, five, four. One more near miss with an asteroid, and once more he felt the change of direction pull the fluids in his body around. He broke out of the Kasiam. Behind him now was the easy part. Ahead was the much larger and far more dangerous Marduk Belt.

The name stung. He could still recall seeing the bright white-blue light of an engine colliding with another. He remembered the scream he’d let out when it happened. Now was not the time for the past. Now was the time to avoid the other racers. In this stretch, he knew others would try to damage his ship or slow him down to get ahead. The compressive force of his acceleration made it hard to breath.

He had made a name for himself by how passive he raced, comparatively. He narrowly avoided the rigid, shielded fins of the Nuriddian he’d passed in the previous belt. He performed a barrel roll and found himself behind the alien. He hated that maneuver, it al…

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