By the time that Alyx made it to the starting line, it seemed like everyone else was already there. They hadn’t started without her at least. She had enough credibility with the crowds that arriving last would just make her look like the experienced and arrogant tool who didn’t think any of the others would prove much of a challenge. It was better than some of the alternatives, and pretty close to the truth. She didn’t think most of them would prove much of a problem, but there was that one individual which would make it more of a challenge than some races she’d been in.

Alyx spotted the navy blue hoverbike that belonged to her rival and rolled up next to it. She’d meant to wish her luck, or give her a thumbs up. Something that wasn’t straight up hostile or mocking, but then the camera droids noticed that she’d done it. They wouldn’t do their tasks well if they hadn’t. She imagined that her face and their meeting must be on any nearby screen by now. It wasn’t like the crowds could keep up with the race without cameras, everything moved too fast and across an area that was too large. It might seem like she’d lost her nerve if she didn’t do something more than what she’d intended. It was the finale too, so she had no reason to hold back.

Once she was certain she’d caught the attention of her rival, she made a few simple gestures. First she pointed at herself, then she shaped a V with her fingers, licked it, and finished with pointing at the other woman.

“I. Fuck. You.”

Crass, but it got her point across. Hopefully it riled the crowd up too. She grinned afterwards, and waved at everyone else. It was difficult to hear anything over the sound of all the nearby engines. Alyx may taunt the other hoverbike racers from time to time, but this may be the most offensive gesture she’d done in a while. Not that it bothered her, personally, but she didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. She hadn’t had sex with anything in a very long time. Years maybe. Some episodes could be hard to recall. Drugs, racing and games were all she needed to forget about human interaction. 

Alyx positioned herself in preparation for the race to begin when she noticed the time, and waited for the lights to turn green. They were all lined up in a long line. She got a place towards the end, partly because she'd been late, and because she didn't mind.