TM #185 - It's your moment of triumph! Where are you and what are you doing?
I've always wondered what it was like, flying a Viper during combat. You know, with just you in that tiny little bathtub of a cockpit, with nothing but a few inches of metal, your skill and a hell of a lot of luck between you and getting splashed by a Raider. Now I know that's not the flying for me.
Every muscle in my body was tense with the strain, and I wished I could have raised an arm to wipe at my face. If I stayed too long at this pace, trying to keep myself alive, I might've started shaking. And I knew if I did, I'd be dead.
There's something raw and visceral about being able to see your adversary's eyes when you're in a situation like that. You can see into them, and they can see into you. I don't know if that sweeping red thing is really a Raider's or a Centurion's eyes, but they damn well feel like it, and their stares are cold and harsh.
The eyes I saw were almost like that, but aggressive, too. I knew I wasn't dealing with just any Nugget, I was dealing with an Ace. A Top Gun. I'd have to be very, very lucky to survive the pass.
I'd spent the time before just barely managing to not go down in flames, until finally it was down to a head-to-head confrontation.
That was when I saw it: that barest twitch, the tiniest little flicker of movement that told me my time might be right then and there. I thought about the stakes, glanced down quickly to make sure I was where I wanted to be, and I pulled the trigger.
"Oh, Karl, Karl, Karl," she laughed, starting to rake in the cubits I'd just thrown into the pot to call her raise. "You just don't have the--"
I slapped down my cards. I tried really hard not to smile as her mouth fell open and the cigar almost spilled onto the cards in front of her. I drew in the pile of cubits as the whole damn air wing came up to slap me on the shoulders. That was a great day, I tell you.
Because that was the one and only time I've ever beaten Starbuck at Triad.
OOC Note: this response involves a scene created by the writer and is not strictly based upon canon. With thanks to k_thrace.