The SS Obselete lurched, a metallic shriek echoing through the cockpit as Zero wrestled with the controls. "Easy, easy!" Veeva yelled, clutching her seat. "You're gonna tear the ship apart!"

  Zero, face pale, mumbled an apology. His piloting, even after Garnak's repairs, remained… enthusiastic. They narrowly avoided a collision with Vortag's sleek racer, the Unkillable’s ship barely missing their tail. Vortag, a hulking figure with a perpetual smirk, gave them a withering look. "Amateur," he muttered into his comms, the message clearly audible.

  "He's right, you know," Sparks muttered from the back, tinkering with a console. "Slightly more graceful would be nice."

  "Shut up, Spark," Zero grumbled, his knuckles white on the controls. They were hurtling through a nebula, the swirling gas clouds a kaleidoscope of shifting colours. This planet-hopping sequence was proving to be far more chaotic than advertised. The next planet was already looming, a jagged ball of purple rock.

  The race was a brutal gauntlet, jumping from one hostile environment to another. Each planet was a new challenge, each jump a roll of the dice. Blip and Blop, always chattering excitedly, provided a running commentary on their near-misses, their cheerful voices a stark contrast to the tension in the cockpit.

  They hit the purple planet with a bone-jarring thud. The race was already far behind, the racers scattered across the bizarre landscape. Ahead loomed a heavily fortified checkpoint, Krixis's forces a menacing presence guarding the passage. Laser fire streaked across the sky.

  "That's a dead end," Grizzle said grimly, pointing to the heavily guarded area. "We’re not getting through that."

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  Sparks, ever the strategist, grinned. "Oh, but we are." He pulled up a three-dimensional holographic map of the planet, pointing to a narrow canyon system cutting through the mountainous terrain. "There’s an uncharted passage, a natural bypass around the checkpoint. It’s risky, extremely risky, but it's our best shot."

  "Risky how?" Zero asked, his voice laced with apprehension.

  "Narrow, unstable, and probably infested with something unpleasant," Sparks replied, completely unfazed. "But Krixis's forces won't be expecting us there."

  Zero swallowed hard. "Let's do it."

  The canyon was a treacherous maze of sharp rocks and unpredictable gravitational shifts. The SS Obselete, despite Zero's clumsy handling, somehow managed to navigate the claustrophobic passage, the ship scraping against the canyon walls. They held their breath as they passed under a crumbling rock formation, a shower of dust raining down on the ship.

  They emerged from the canyon just as a patrol of Krixis’s forces arrived at the main checkpoint. Luna, meanwhile, had been monitoring their movements.

  "Krixis has deployed additional troops to the main checkpoint," Luna announced. "They're expecting everyone to go through there, and the other route is being left undefended."

  "Thank you, Luna," Zero said, relieved. "You saved us."

  Their escape was temporary. They had avoided one obstacle, but there were many more to come. Krixis would not be so easily outwitted. The next jump took them to a freezing planet, where the racers had to navigate treacherous ice fields. Zero, even after his near-death experience, managed another spectacular near-miss, this time with Captain Miran's sleek and highly advanced ship. Miran scowled as they rocketed past, his ship trailing a plume of blue fire.

  The race was relentless, a test of skill, luck, and nerves. Each planet presented a new, unimaginable challenge. On a gas giant, they had to navigate treacherous atmospheric currents, nearly losing the ship to the strong winds. Garnak, watching the race from his workshop on Krylos, shook his head in amusement.

  Through it all, the team held together. Sparks's strategic mind kept them one step ahead, Luna’s knowledge saved them countless times, and Veeva's calm guidance kept their spirits high. Even Zero's clumsy piloting couldn't entirely derail them. It seems his recent experiences had somewhat steadied his hand, perhaps, after all, the near-death experience was a turning point. And despite it all, they remained a united force. The threat of Krixis was ever-present, but so was their determination to outrace him, to survive, and maybe even to win. Their journey was far from over, and the odds were stacked against them, but they were ready to face what comes next. They were finally moving closer to the finish line. The final leg loomed.