After a while, Kanan and Anakin walked out of the hold together. They heard chatter in the Ghost's common room, but as soon as they walked in, all conversation ceased. Anakin raised an eyebrow at the room's occupants, which included everyone. "Did I miss something?"
"Not yet," grinned Zeb, who looked at Hera. In fact, all of the others were looking at Hera. Anakin did the same.
"I seem to remember you taking me up on a flying challenge," she reminded him, crossing her arms. "Seeing as we're out in the middle of nowhere, I figured now is a good a time as any."
He blinked once, slowly, as the information processed. "You want to do this now?"
"If you have time," she amended. "Obviously, if you have somewhere to be, we can postpone."
Anakin looked down at his comlink. "Ah, what the hell. I'm already ahead of schedule to drop off the generators. This won't take longer than what? An hour?"
"Here we go," Rex groaned, much to the amusement of the Ghost crew, but he was hiding a grin. After hitching a ride with Hera for a couple of weeks and serving with Skywalker for nearly five years, he knew this was going to be good.
Kanan silently slipped around to the other side of the room, behind Hera. If he didn't back her up on this, he was dead meat, and he knew it. Rex, on the other hand, stood next to Skywalker. Everyone else remained where they stood. The sides had been taken.
Trying to act seriously, Anakin began with the proceedings. "I've been down to the surface of this planet before. I haven't flown through the area, but I have a good enough grasp of the surface's layout to map a course. It's only fair that you set the conditions."
"Weapon systems stay down," the captain began, looking to her whole crew. "This is going to be a clean game, and we can't afford to waste time on repairs right now. No shooting."
Everyone nodded in agreement, although some people looked a little disappointed. Weapons would have made the competition more fun.
Hera looked around, thinking intently, before deciding on her next condition. "Only one person and the astromech can be in the cockpit for the duration of the race. Everyone else needs to be out of the room."
This was met with immediate outcry from the Ghost crew, who knew the cockpit would be the best spot to watch the race from. A glare from Hera silenced them all, though, and they sulked quietly. Anakin didn't have a problem with this term. It looked like Rex was the only other person who would be on his ship anyway.
"Other than that, I think standard rules apply," she concluded, crossing her arms. "No dirty flying, no shortcuts, no sabotage."
"I agree," Anakin told her, holding his hand out to shake on it. "I have an idea for a course we can run. We'll do a flyover before lining up to start so we both know where we're going."
Hera took his hand, shaking firmly. "May the best pilot win."
Both of them were grinning from the tension of competition. Anakin looked to Rex. "You coming?"
"Oh, I'm not going to miss this for the world," he assured his general.
"Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, get in the Phantom," Hera ordered, pointing toward the shuttle. "You'll help referee the race."
"But we want to sit in the cockpit!"
The captain shook her head firmly, putting her foot down. "Kanan's in the cockpit with me. You three, Phantom, now."
They sulked off in the proper direction, and Hera made for the cockpit with Kanan in tow. Kanan wasn't sure he liked the look on Hera's face. "Are you sure about this?"
"Are you kidding? It's been forever since I've had some actual competition," she complained, climbing up. "Those TIE pilots are a pain in the neck, but I can outfly them any day. This might actually be fun."
"Pilots," Kanan grumbled, but he followed obediently. In the cockpit, Chopper was already preparing the Ghost's systems. All power was going directly to the thrusters since they wouldn't need the shields, weapons, or hyperdrive.
Hera released the Ghost's lock on the Rogue, allowing the ship to orbit freely. Skywalker soon did the same, and she saw Skywalker give her a thumbs up before activating his ship's engines and turning toward the planet's surface.
~
In the other ship, Rex was taking his seat and strapping in. He knew better than to not buckle up for a race with Skywalker. Artoo was whistling happily beside them, excited for the challenge before them. Even Skywalker was struggling to contain his joy.
"You're going to enjoy this way too much, aren't you?" he asked, and Skywalker couldn't help but laugh.
"Hera doesn't know what's she's gotten herself into," he bragged, steering the ship into Xlenia's atmosphere. "It'll be a good run, but there's no way I'm letting her win this thing."
Rex laughed. He finally heard the same reckless tone that accompanied many of his memories of the Clone Wars. "It's been a while since I've seen this side of you."
He didn't deny it. There were very few things that brought out the energy from Anakin's youth anymore. His kids were one of them, but they were on another planet at the moment. A good fight could do it sometimes, but most of his fights nowadays had casualties and consequences he couldn't ignore. Flying was the only guilty pleasure he could still indulge in.
On their way down, Anakin dropped his voice. "I'm thinking about plotting a course through the capital. I'm sorry."
"It's alright," he told him, nodding. "It's not like we're getting out." Looking up to the sky, Rex added, "Besides, I'm pretty sure she's cheering for you right now. She'd want you to race."
"I hope so. I could always use my good-luck mechanic."
The capital of Xlenia was in the shade of the planet at the moment, so the sky remained mostly black as they descended into the atmosphere. Even better, it raised the stakes of the race. The Ghost and the Phantom were following close behind the Rogue. Anakin activated communications so the other rebels could hear him. "We're coming up on the capital city. It'll make a good obstacle course to fly through. If we approach from the east, we can fly through and head toward mountains farther west. No flying above the skyscrapers. After that, there's a river we can follow for a few kilometers. The Phantom can wait wherever they decide to end the race to determine who gets there first."
As the capital came into view, Anakin heard Hera make a noise of approval. "I like it. And you've never run this course before?"
"Never, especially not for a race," he assured her. "Besides, even if I had, the judges are biased in your favor."
"That's not fair," Sabine complained. She must be at the controls of the Phantom. "We're going to be extremely neutral for this. We'll help mark the starting position and then jump over to the finish line while you two weave through the capital. It'll be fun."
"Well, no point in waiting. Starting positions, people," Hera called, and all three ships traveled east to line up.
Sabine pulled the Phantom perpendicular with the beginning stretch of the course. "Start hovering above the ground, and I'll help you line up. When Ezra says go, you can fire up the thrusters, but not before. We'll be watching for false starts."
"Why does Ezra get to start the race?"
"Because you get to call out the winner at the end, Zeb. Stop complaining."
The Ghost and the Rogue settled into place, and Chopper and Artoo did their best to line up the ships with the Phantom. Sabine craned her neck to get a better look. "Rogue, pull up just a little bit... right there, that's perfect. We're good to go."
"Good luck, Skywalker," Hera called, grinning smugly. "You're going to need it."
"May the Force be with you," he returned, before gasping mockingly. "Oh, wait! You can't use the Force. My bad."
Hera's head snapped to the side as ooooh's came through the comm, mostly from Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb. She could see him smirking through the windshield of the ship, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, you got jokes, do ya?"
Flipping a few more switches, Anakin laughed. "Hera, Hera, Hera. We're friends now. I've got more jokes than you can handle. I don't tell you all of them."
"Oh ho ho! Is that how it is?"
"This isn't going to end well," feared Kanan, who was also buckled up tightly in the copilot's seat.
"Pilots at the ready!" Ezra called, and both fliers gripped the controls of their ship, staring ahead. They had one hand on the steering and one hand on the thrusters. No more teasing. It was game time.
Ezra looked at Zeb and Sabine, who were staring expectantly at him for him to call the green flag. They were just as excited as he was. They had never been to a race before, even if it was just two people and there was no real prize at the end. He looked back out front.
Hera glanced back at the Phantom one more time, seeing her kids watching her lean forward in her seat and fully concentrated on her new mission: beat Skywalker. It felt good to know that they were cheering for her, even if they had to be impartial. She looked ahead again.
"On your mark!"
Skywalker kept his eyes forward. He could already see the break between two buildings that he planned to fly through. A grin crept onto his face, and he felt a warm draft pass by him. That was odd. He didn't think the heating systems were on. He couldn't focus on it, though; he needed to concentrate. It was his time to shine, and he intended to.
"Get set!"
Rex and Kanan glanced at each other across the space between the ships. No matter what tensions were between them, they could both empathize with each other right now. They had gotten roped into a race that was far above them, and they were both aware that they would probably end up sick after this was over.
"Go!"
Both ships lurched forward, and Rex and Kanan held onto their belt buckles as they slid backward in their seats. The Ghost and the Rogue underwent full acceleration, flying forward as fast as they could toward the capital. Sabine pulled the Phantom up, heading for the mountains to look for that river Skywalker had talked about. They had to pick a finish line before they made it through the capital.
Now that they were going full throttle, Chopper and Artoo didn't have to keep the ship still and could monitor the subordinate systems to ensure Hera and Anakin could fly without distraction. They would take care of flying, and the droids could handle everything else. Besides, they knew better than to interfere.
As they approached the buildings, Hera began to pull back to weave through buildings, but Skywalker wasn't slowing down. At all. She couldn't focus on him, she had to concentrate on her own flying, but Kanan could. "What is he doing? He's going to crash!!!"
Except he didn't. Anakin felt ahead with the Force and grinned, pulling the Rogue into a spin. Despite still flying at incredible speeds, he began weaving between skyscrapers and architecture flawlessly. Rex, who had gotten over his initial shock, started whooping and cheering as they went, narrowly missing taking out the corner of a building. Hera had slowed down significantly to get through the twists and turns, but Anakin was still racing ahead. The race had only started a minute ago, but he was already far ahead.
Hera couldn't match his speed in the city. She couldn't anticipate obstacles the way Anakin could, so she couldn't risk going anywhere near as fast. By the time the Rogue exceeded the city line, the Ghost wasn't even halfway through yet. Anakin sped off toward the mountains, taking advantage of his lead.
"Let's hope we got through there quick enough," he called out to Rex, ascending the mountain slope. "Hera's going to try to catch up as soon as she heads for the mountains."
"Better find that river!" he suggested, and Anakin began searching. He would see it as soon as he flew through the peaks. He just had to get over them first.
Behind them, Hera and Kanan wove through the last set of buildings right as the Rogue disappeared over the mountain range. "How did they get that far ahead?" Kanan asked, making Hera growl.
"I don't know, but he better watch out. Hang on!" she instructed, and she ramped up the speed. "He's a good pilot, I'll give him that, but he can't match the Ghost for speed. Not in that piece of junk."
It was true. The Ghost was in much better condition than the Rogue. Then again, the Rogue was Anakin Skywalker's ship.
Kanan was sliding back in his seat as the Ghost began to climb. Sitting forward in her chair, Hera only had eyes for those mountains. Skywalker had a lead, but the Ghost might be able to catch up. The race could still go either way.
The nice thing was Hera didn't have to search for the river. All she had to do was follow Skywalker's path and punch it as fast as she could toward the Phantom. As soon as she cleared the mountain peaks, she made a straight shot toward the finish line, gaining on the Rogue by the second. There was no doubt, the Ghost was much faster, but would it be enough?
In the Phantom, Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb had opened the door and watched from the ship hatch so they could all see. "Hera's booking it," Sabine remarked, looking through the scope on her helmet.
"Yeah, but look at that lead!" Ezra pointed out, sitting with his feet dangling outside the ship. "I dunno, it's gonna be close."
"My money's on Hera," Zeb claimed. "She'd kill me if I said otherwise."
Sabine put her scope up and took her helmet off. "They're getting close!"
The Ghost had nearly caught up to the Rogue, and they were almost to the Phantom. Zeb concentrated, making sure he would be able to tell who came out in front. In the home stretch, the nose of Hera's ship caught up with the tail of Skywalker's, but Skywalker kept his lead. At the finish line, the Rogue was ahead. They only pulled even after the race was over.
"I don't believe it!" Zeb murmured, grinning a little bit. "I didn't think anyone could beat Hera."
"Well, it is Master Skywalker," Ezra pointed out. "I thought he seemed a little excited for this race."