Welcome to the Sneak-In Summers Premium Sneak-In Salon! As true SIS fans, you get access to exclusive content. Including sneak-ins that happened to occur during absolutely historic events! With exclusive access to SIS's direct experience biodata, you'll feel every little heartbeat as you get a firsthand re-experience of your favorite infiltrations and escapes! And remember, don't squeal, or SIS will get really, REALLY mad!
Heya SIS fans! It's Big SIS with a brand new gig! This time I'm going undercover and Intergalactic for the first time! This time tomorrow I'll be live from the top of an alien volcano, picnicking on sacred soil for a day at the races! That's right, it's racers-only on the sacred growing racegrounds of Sybr Dranthut, on the planet of Ta in Syzutash space, but SIS will be there for all the action! So remember, superfans, don't squeal!
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Three days was not a lot of time to learn the intricacies of operating a land vehicle over and above the basics.
But it was a lot of time to watch the odd car chase on Sneak In Summers' premium channel, which Autumn sent her an invite to before the trip through the portal. Her premium channel was completely different and a lot more intense than her main channel, and even had biofeedback enhancement to her First Person View (FPV) holos.
One weird thing was that there was almost no mental audio, which would give the impression of her having no thoughts despite the running dialogue, even during her getaways.
Arin just figured it was a CYOA practice to keep her from being prosecuted or giving away secrets, but she did learn quite a few things about when and how to drift, how four-wheelers reacted to being pushed in certain ways, and everything not to do when approaching a ramp.
Funnily enough, all of her ground car slog posts were from Namerica, specifically the one paranoid rump government that refused to join the Polity and thus was a millennium behind technologically, politically, and culturally.
Even without mental audio, the sheer skill on display told Arin that Autumn Summers was not to be messed with on the road.
I should have offered her the chance to do the race for me, Arin sighed.
Of course, the alien version of a land car was quite different. A Syzutash TR featured a finger-operated throttle instead of a gas pedal and the driver was centered directly above the motor, which also had an openable compartment for power reassignment while driving.
In other words: No pit crew. No refuels on the azide gas. And no replacement tires - just a reinflate button.
And five hours of laying on her stomach hoping that her Paragon nanosuit was better at heat insulation than the spiffy costumes her competitors were wearing.
Seriously.
She was not about to come out five hours later without a shred of fur because she was forced to shed. She'd rather stay in the damn car...
"Check-Check. How are you, Arin?"
"Channeling my inner sardine. Seriously, this thing is a deathtrap."
"A very traditional deathtrap. Just wanted to remind you that the psy-detector is on, so no powers unless there's a UEE unlock. Shortwave virtual only, not that you'll need to talk to other drivers."
Unexpected Emergency Events were the only times Arin would be allowed to use her powers, as opposed to Expected Emergency Events, which the powers in charge of the race pre-accounted for, like avoiding timed pyroclastic flows.
"I got it, Cherry."
"Are you sure? Because you've been breaking a lot of rules lately. Especially with that puta."
"Hey! Autumn's not a 'puta'."
"She's a security risk!"
"She's fun!"
"¡Por Dios! Listen to me mija. You keep thinking with your crotch you're going to find a grenade in your ass."
"She's human. Why would she mess with me?"
"Mija..."
A robotic voice that sounded like a mesh of five or more voices interrupted Arin's comms. "Attention racers. The race will begin on a count of fifteen. Be aware that a minor volcanic flow has been scheduled as an excitement factor for the Sacred Finite Curve..."
Skreeeeee~!
A high-pitched shriek marked the start of the race, and Arin opened up the throttle completely as she felt the G-forces tug on the first turn.
She was barely into the first straightaway when a call came in over the shortwave, and she clicked it on immediately.
"Kinda busy now, Cherry."
"You should not have come." A familiar, filtered voice said, and Arin looked around to find a projection marking the calling racer's position to her forward left.
"Paragon X... I thought you'd still be on your back after what happened to your fucking face." She hadn't known. Like most she had assumed that the zyr would put another brain can out on the field...
"You have no idea what you are involving yourself in."
"All I know is that you and the zyr can suck my fucking exhaust when I wipe the track with you!"
"I am not here on behalf of the zyr."
"What?!"
A crunching, colliding sound sounded from behind Arin, and she saw through her interface that a zyr brain pod had been attached to the front of the offending car.
"Son of a-" Arin growled as she became locked into a back and forth of bumping collisions with the zyr driver.
An alarm blare warned Arin that they were coming up on a jump, and true to the earlier announcement, a massive sprinkle of lava was raining down just past the sudden drop that was the end of the Sacred Finite Curve.
The zyr driver bashed her rear left again, trying to grapple her into a spin before the jump. And the closer and closer to the jump they got, the more Arin realized...
This is suicide! The zyr hadn't invited her to the race for a clear contest, they'd invited her out to kill her!
Almost immediately she had a flashback to Thrisk's little bit of advice given after the Polity replied to Arin's joining the race.
"Try to limit micro-wagers. As a Paragon you should be trying to take on as many contentions as possible."
"You tell me that now?"
"Well, I didn't think the Polity would only bet one-for-one. It's unusually humble, given the zyr-"
"Given the zyr bolted their dicks on for assimilating humans, yeah, yeah."
"I was going to say 'Given the Zyr have gone into the race with seventeen bets and one micro-wager. Yours."
"Isn't a 'micro-wager' just a bet?"
"Paragons do not 'bet'."
Flashbacks didn't help her present situation though, so Arin was stuck with the zyr on her backside as she approached a waterfall of lava and the jump.
Fuck it!
As Arin had learned from Autumn's exclusives, if there's only one person trying to "chap your ass" on the road, the best solution was to wait for the right moment and let them try.
Of course, if Arin screwed up the timing and wound up going over, she was in for a "hot finish" in the river of lava below...