Fastest sport on ice

Posted on Sat Feb 3, 2018 @ 9:56pm by Lieutenant Papahi Tupou

Mission: History
Location: Sigulda, Latvia (Earth)
Timeline: January, 2383

"Focus!" Papahi said in a sharp whisper to her Andorian teammate as she led four Academy cadets to their station.

Second year cadet Thelin Shran stiffened a little, but nodded. The reaction made Papahi feel a little guilty, but not much. It wasn't like she was treating Shran the way Stewart had treated her. Steward had rode her hard during her plebe year, and Papahi was certain the upperclassman had a team of fellow cadets thinking of new ways to make her life hell.

But damn it, Shran needed to focus! Their team had a lot riding on this.

Except during Olympic years, Sigulda was the place to be for lugists. Each year (except for Olympic years), twelve teams were invited from across the planet to participate in the Sigulda Luge Challenge. It had been twenty-seven years since the Academy had had a team good enough to be invited. And at this year's Challenge, the Academy was blowing everyone away. Papahi had even managed to set a new track record for women's single, beating the old record by three thousandths of a second.

All the Academy needed to do was beat the Munich team's time in the relay and it would seal the Academy's dominance.

Unfortunately, the Munich team's captain had found a way to get into the head of Cadet Shran.

Except for the team from Nagan (and the Academy), all the teams participating at Sigulda were from Northern Europe or the northern part of North America, and their team members looked it.

Her other two Academy teammates, James Wilson and Michael Mueller, could have traded places on any of the other team and fit right in. Papahi looked like someone who had never seen snow in her life.

The second year Andorian cadet was the only nonhuman participating in the event, and was feeling the difference. Worse, every time the Muncih captain caught Shran's eye, he wiggled two fingers at the Andorian, obviously meant to emulate the Andorian's antennae.

When the Munich Captain caught Shran's eyes, he wiggled two fingers and grinned.

"You want to stick out?" Papahi said, grabbing the Andorian's left bicep. "Let that bastard see them putting a gold model around your neck while he and his teammates are looking up from below."

Shran set his jaw and nodded.

"Let's do this," Papahi said, as she prepared to enter the chute. Winning was always the best revenge, ad Papahi planned to have her revenge.