Jasper adjusted her tie with one hand and finished her can of Nova Cora with the other. “You guys sure you can handle this? I have to leave right after the opening statements.”
“We’ve got it, Jasper,” Holly told her. “In fact, I think we’ll do better without you there to spout nonsense.”
The team entered the courtroom and gathered around the defense table. Mechwell was a nervous, shaking wreck. He watched with wide eyes as the prosecution’s lawyer gave a little spiel about how it was oh-so-obvious Mechwell committed the murder.
Their turn. Jasper rose to address the courtroom. “Jury and gentlelawyers,” she said. “While the prosecution would have you believe Mechwell murdered Dr. Prime despite his lack of motivation and, to be honest, probable lack of capability, my team will demonstrate that he was framed. Whether this is a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or something more sinister, is yet to be determined. But the defendant could not have killed Dr. Prime in that alleyway.”
With a nod at the judge and a thumbs up aimed at the team, Jasper left the courtroom. It was up to them now.
Her motorcycle waited behind the building. She pulled off the nice, lawyer-y clothes she’d thrown on over her racing suit, put on her helmet, checked that her favorite sword was securely fastened to the side of the motorcycle, and hopped on.
Dark clouds choked the sky above, and they reflected the morning light into a blend of violets and oranges. Between the clouds, twinkling stars still lingered, and Si Hera hung large in the sky. Sera shone to the left of the planet, significantly smaller but still a striking sight.
Jasper wasn’t thrilled to be breathing the moon’s air with little protection, but as long as she didn’t stay out for more than an hour, it wasn’t likely to cause her many problems. Dax could always give her lungs a healing boost later if he thought she needed it, anyway.
People were already forming crowds along the streets as Jasper raced to the edge of the city, realizing that a race was coming. But despite their apparent excitement, the crowds ended abruptly at the flat metal bridges crossing the empty moat around the city. Jasper crossed one of the bridges and surveyed the landscape ahead.
The race’s starting point was at the base of the low black mountains forming a semi-circle around the western edge of the city. At cruising speed, it took Jasper nearly ten minutes to reach the peak of the starting hill. She found a spot to wait at the edge of the pack. Roughly sixty racers were still in the running.
Ringmaster hovered overhead, staring intently at something in the mountains above them. Jasper followed his gaze but couldn’t find anything of interest. She didn’t have much time to look, though, before the ground started shaking.
Volcano. The mountain they were on was a volcano.
“Racers,” Ringmaster said. “Get ready. Quickly, I suggest. The lava here moves fast.”
Other racers scrambled to get as close to the starting line as possible. Jasper continued to hang at the edge of the fray. Better to give the others a head start if it meant not getting stuck in the crowd.
Ringmaster summoned a golden flag. The man was dramatic, sure, but seriously? He was really going to make them race down a volcano actively spewing lava?
When the lava neared the city, the bridges would go up, leaving the lava nowhere to go but into the moat that drained deep into the moon. Great for protecting the city, not so great for people trying to get in. Ringmaster’s course map showed that he would allow racers to go either through or around, but anyone who got in before the city closed would be far ahead of the rest.
“On your marks. Get set.” Bright orange lava oozed over the top of the volcano. Ringmaster waved his flag. “Go!”
The shaking mountain was a challenge to navigate. Cracks opened in the ground frequently, letting more lava escape from under the surface. To make matters worse, large boulders of black lava rock tumbled down the slope, shaken loose by the quakes. And, of course—
“I feel like I’m more of a target than usual,” Jasper said, ducking to avoid a purple beam from a blaster.
“Huh. Do you think it’s because you insulted a bunch of your opponents, or because you did well enough in the last race for people to see you as a threat?” Holly asked.
Ignoring the commentary, Jasper swerved to avoid a bomb that struck the ground behind her, leaving behind a small crater. She scanned the slope below. The crowd ahead was splitting around a ledge with a steep drop. Cowards.
Jasper picked up speed and aimed for the ledge. It’d be a rough landing at the bottom, but nothing she couldn’t handle. And it would be worth it to get ahead of everyone.
She was almost to the ledge when the ground fractured beneath her. She gritted her teeth. The ledge was crumbling. Nearby racers glanced her way. If the ledge collapsed entirely before she reached it, she’d be in for a much harder fall.
If she beat it, she’d land in first.
A violent tremor shook the ground. A large chunk fell from the ledge. Jasper pushed her motorcycle to full speed.
She sailed over the edge, over the flow of lava spilling from the moon’s crust, and landed so hard that for a heartbeat she feared she’d broken the motorcycle or herself or both. But the motorcycle kept moving, and the pain shooting through her wasn’t enough to make her stop.
Jasper glanced back over her shoulder, at the racers falling over each other to get down the steepening slope. She laughed.
The city’s sirens blared a warning of the approaching lava flow. The closest bridge was already lifting off the ground. Oh, this was going to be too easy. Jasper used the bridge as a ramp to launch herself onto Main Street.
She was halfway through the city when someone unmuted their comm.
“Jasper!” Grace hissed.
“Angel?” Jasper waved at a cluster of civilians as she passed. “What’s up? How’s the trial going?”
“I don’t know. I went to the bathroom. There are Red Blades here!”
Jasper’s blood went cold. Colder than usual. “What?”
“I think they’re looking for me!”
“Holly?” Jasper tried. “Thea? Dax? Hello? Can someone help Grace?”
No response. “I don’t know what’s happening,” Grace said. “The jury was about to deliberate.”
Already? Valan trials were known for being snappy, but that was still a bit quick for evidence presentation. Had the judge been bribed to speed along the trial, too? Jasper sighed. “Okay, hang tight. I’m on my way.”