Alpha One - Chris Burton [31]
He touched down and came to a complete stop eight minutes and 28 seconds after he had first fired up the engines. This was a good time, but would probably not be the best. He had gone for quality and the assurance of qualifying for the next phase of the trials rather than the fastest and most spectacular method. Jake managed to dismount the Hunter before the next-best paced jump ship touched down in second place in his particular heat.
Carla was a decent pilot, although jump ship training was not one of her academy options. Both Steve and Jake urged her to take part in the trials. She was in the same heat as another good pilot, Maria. Carla was quick, but Maria was quicker. She touched down with a time of eight minutes and 47 seconds.
After eleven heats, the organizers called the pilots together for the final heat’s pre-flight briefing and Steve Costello entered the hangar with eager anticipation. He was granted ground clearance just two hours previously, having begged both his tutor and his flight trainer to allow him to take part. This had only been possible because the twenty-four hour psych analysis revealed nothing ‘out of the ordinary’ and the Occupational Health team gave him a one-week pilot ban, rather than the one-month ban expected. Steve’s trial was faultless and uncompromising. He recorded a time of eight minutes and fourteen seconds, the fastest recorded time for the first section of the preliminary time trial.
The Trials broke for lunch, and at 2 p.m., the first heat of the afternoon’s events were scheduled to take place. The Hunters launched in teams of ten. This time they commenced their trial at different places on the figure-eight circuit, the idea being that each pilot would chase down the colleagues in front of them. This was again a time trial, but with the added distraction of having to either overtake, or be held up by, the ship or ships in front of you. This was a much more complicated proposition and the line between success and failure was thin.
Jake, Maria and Carla were all in the second heat. Jake had adjusted the fuel intermix to compensate for the fact that no launch or landing was required. Again his adjustment was correct but the Hunter felt sluggish. He compensated halfway through to prevent the other pilots in the heat from catching up. Jake won his heat, with Maria coming in third, but his time was less than perfect, leaving Jake feeling he may have to speed things up in the third event.
The third, and final, event of the day was an attempt to spice things up a bit. The trial was over the same course, but this time the heats were run in the order each person appeared in the trial table. This meant Jake, Steve and Maria went in the last heat.
The ten Hunters lined up at their distinct starting points in the ‘eight’ formation as before and the trial commenced. Jake started well and ran first as he entered the second circuit, but he got caught up in a squabble with the two ships in front of him. This cost him time, and he ended up finishing in overall 5th place for the day. Steve ran well all day and it was no particular surprise that he ended in first place. Maria flew fantastically well and managed to pass Jake, ending the day in 4th place. Carla finished a highly respectable 27th. She was animated when they all met for a coffee at the close of the day’s trials.
The second day’s trials began with a launch from Earth, but on a different route. This time the figure-eight rounded Mars, and the Hunters were required to use a short burst of their Stellar drive to ‘jump’ from one planet to the next. This was more complicated and the top pilots came to the fore. Steve and Jake came in first and second. Jake replaced Maria in 4th place overall.
The collision of two Hunters in the final heat marred the trial. Both pilots came out unharmed; one ejected and was rescued by an Eagle Search and Rescue Shuttle, who returned him and his stricken ship to Earth without further cause for alarm.
The final trial was crucial.