mausgang
Puzzlemaster
I had talked about an idea in a different thread, I can't remember which, I think it had something to do with the controversial melee topic. Anyways, this might work as something else instead of Air Brakes. How about a device that stored your kinetic energy? (I know you'd need a flywheel or something stupid like that and that's just for wheel-based vehicles, but this is the future.) You could use this device to slow yourself down, and then release the kinetic energy back into yourself when you need a boost later. If you die, you lose the kinetic energy from that life, and you don't get as much kinetic energy out as you put in (there's that thing about no energy conversion being 100% efficient, *dancing* entropy) and so that could be air brakes while saving some energy for later, like when you're done dueling (slowing yourself down as you fall from great heights, and storing energy) and off to intercept some pesky capper with your flag in hand.