The sun burned through the thin Martian atmosphere and dulled the desperate jockey into a crawl toward his coaster. The craft glared at him from a hundred yards away and did nothing. He saw it anyway; whether it was real or a mirage was another question

He had tried the transceiver, but the coaster was out of range. Covered in sweat, the jockey looked over his shoulder and saw three menacing figures coming over the horizon. He pounded the button, but the coaster remained lifeless. Panic set in as the ravagers neared. He was a sitting duck and he knew it.

The three ravagers zoomed right by him before coming to a sharp stop and forming a wall in front of him, but as they did so, the jockey threw a well-timed kick and one of the ravagers went flying through the air as his coaster tumbled across the ground.

The jockey mounted it and stared down the other two before zipping off. Shots were fired and a cloud of red dust followed him. He knew they would catch up to him as long as he was riding their coaster, but if he could just get to his coaster he could fly off twice as fast and still have the package in hand.

He glided along, pressing the transceiver over and over until he was finally in range. The coaster lit up and stirred a dust cloud of its own. The ravagers kept firing and the jockey weaved and the empty coaster adjusted for his every move until finally it was right in front of him.

The empty coaster was moving at a tremendous speed in the opposite direction, but the jockey was ready for it. Just as the coasters crossed paths, the jockey leaped into the air and grabbed a handlebar. His body jerked and he threw his legs out, holding on tight to the coaster and successfully mounting it. The jockey reached in his pocket and confirmed he still had the bag of liquid blue pills.

The two ravagers blew right by him as he went in the other direction. Before they could turn around and get to him, he flipped a switch and turned on the sonic drive. Autopilot took over and the coaster raced toward the north pole.

The drug could only be manufactured in the warmer Martian climate, but the polar colonies had a high demand for it. Now that he was past the desolation belt, he knew that would be the last of the ravagers. The jockey tucked the pills back in his pocket and smiled as he thought about how much money he was about to make from this run.

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