I am experienced roleplayer returning to online roleplay after 10+ year break. I have missed roleplaying and the creative outlet it is for me. I am interested in casual roleplay. I consider myself a decent writer and I will put effort into my writing. I am not into writing a novel for one post though. Descriptive, character building, engaging, yes. I will always write at least 2 paragraphs unless it is a quick fire session revolving around dialogue over private messages. I am a fairly laid back person and don't want to be a grammar nazi. I believe in quality over quantity. Roleplaying is a hobby and a escape from real life pressures.
Genres I am interested in: Fantasy Middle Ages Science Fiction Vampires Shapeshifters Crime Drama
Fandoms I am interested in: Pokemon Harry Potter Anita Blake Dragonriders of Pern Star Wars
I don't mind roleplaying romance but I am not looking for smut. It has to make sense for the roleplay. I am okay with a fade to black moment instead of roleplaying it out. For me its about the story and the character. I am open to roleplaying it out.
I am in the Pacific Standard Timezone. I work full time and will be seen in the evenings and weekends online.
Alexander had spent the previous day answering questions and providing information to the Board of Directors and their sponsors. He spent the day putting out political fires. He had called his daughter and warned her that she may face heightened press interest. He also told her to contact him if any government regulatory bodies approached her about her body modifications and neural interface that were the result of her accident. Alexander was not particularly worried. While her neural interface and enhancements had been experimental, they had been sanctioned for testing on human subjects and had met all government and regulatory body compliance and control checks. He was more worried about the press and the public reaction. There was always that one guy who saw conspiracies in the shadows.
Alexander was angry with Johanna. Her insinuation that he had not warned her before this leaked made him feel that she was setting him up as some kind of fall guy for this situation. He had sent Wulfric to give her the sensitive information and warning in person while he was on his way to report it to FIAR. Alexander understood that he had made a choice at the moment in time. Johanna worked for a government regulatory body that had more checks and more laws governing her work than FIAR did. His choice to go to FIAR was an attempt to keep this issue within the sport and contained so it didn’t spill over into the public and affect body augmentations that people needed to live an independent life like his daughter. Logically Alexander understood that the government could have kept it quieter but in his eyes FIAR needed to know what was happening. Formula AG was why this hacking occurred in the first place. The government would still have access to the records and what happened.
Sadly Silver Apex had exploited the scariest part of having a neural interface. It was a part that everyone had forgotten about since it was something so basic and had become standard practice for so long. People didn’t really talk about it anymore. The safety of neural interfaces and body augmentations that were hard wired into the brain had been hotly debated in the beginning. As government regulations and policies made them safer and harder to hack and mess with, people accepted them as safe. The debate faded outside of academic and medical circles. It was still a subject talked about within ethical arenas of course. But they had become so commonplace that the general public had long accepted them as safe and unhackable. This scandal would remind the public of the scary parts of body augmentation.
Leopold was the one who had been blind sided by the ruling and what happened. Alexander had a long talk with him. Leopold had been justifiably angry to be kept in the dark. Once Alexander explained everything from his position and experience within the team, Leopold accepted his decision. He also recognized that if there were to be consequences for the team for reporting the information, it would give the Board of Directors plausible deniability. That didn’t mean that Leopold was happy about it though. The Board of Directors had only been told what FIAR had found and their decision. Alexander had ended up telling Leopold the whole tale because he trusted the man. If something came about from this now, he felt someone else in power at the Team needed to know what really happened.
Paul and Dorian were both unhappy about the extra scrutiny. They seemed to understand that it was not Alexander’s fault but they were not ready to talk about it yet. Alexander could already see that the extra testing and scrutiny had been hard on them both. He could see that it had impacted Paul more than Dorian. Paul had gone home instead of coming back to his apartment at headquarters. He had requested a few days off. Alexander had granted them without questions.
Alexander had spent some time with the Engineering and Medical team. He wanted to get a better idea of how to handle this new scrutiny to make it easier on the pilots and still keep them ready to race. The testing had been particularly hard on Paul. If they implemented this kind of scrutiny before every race, it would be difficult for him. It would depend on how much recovery time FIAR would allow pilots before the race. He was waiting on more guidance from FIAR on how they planned to do these checks. Alexander believed the scrutiny after the Jordan race was to discover if any of the other pilots had suffered from this type of tampering. He hoped they would scale it back to after races if they suspected cheating from a pilot. FIAR didn’t say how often they would have to undergo the additional scrutiny or if it would become commonplace before or after every race. Alexander wasn’t sure if FIAR had worked out the details of this new regulation yet. He could only wait for more information.
The Medical Team was worried about the psychological impact of such testing and the potential for damage to their pilot’s neurological systems from such invasive testing. While the testing wouldn’t damage the technological components there was ongoing debate about the impact to neurological organic tissue that the technology was paired with. The Engineering Team wanted to work on making their work with the pilots more transparent to reassure them they would never do something like that to them. They worked as a team to build some new transparent guidelines and procedures to reassure their pilots of their safety. There would now be a member of the medical team that would double check all work that interfaced with the pilot. They added additional technology checks to look for hacking and attempts to install backdoors into their equipment. They had just overhauled and tightened their security and computer system. Now they tightened up their procedures and policies so that more than one set of eyes was on every step. This would make it harder for anyone to try anything like that here at the team. Alexander was proud of the hard work of the support team. He was hoping this would reassure his pilots of their safety.
Team Valkyrie AGR Sport Official Press Release
Alexander had tasked Katherine with drafting a press release with their legal team. Katherine had the draft and then told Alexander that he needed to be the one to give it. Alexander sighed but accepted the responsibility. He found himself on the receiving end of a make up team. His hair had been pulled back and braided away from his face. He sighed and accepted the inevitable. He found himself in one of the charcoal gray suits from Enigma Lux. He was plopped down in the media center desk with the Team Valkyrie logo front and center. Everyone cleared out of the camera range. Alexander watched the teleprompter for his cue.
With a solemn face, Alexander began the statement prepared by Katherine and her team.
“My name is Alexander Knight and I am the Crew Chief and Team Principal for Team Valkyrie AGR Sport. The team has been bombarded with requests for an official statement regarding the new regulations from FIAR and their findings regarding the Silver Apex Racing Team.” Alexander paused and took a deep breath. He looked serious and sad as he continued.
“Our pilots put their trust in us to keep them as safe as we can in a very deadly sport. Accidents can and do happen. We do our best to ensure they can walk away from them. To violate that trust in such a heinous way for pride, ego, and money is an evil act. I have made my stance on pilot safety clear from day one. Safety comes first always!” He paused for emphasis before repeating it with intensity. “ALWAYS”
Alexander visibly collected himself before continuing. “Team Valkyrie AGR Sport will comply with any regulations or inquiries made by FIAR. We will cooperate with their investigation and comply with any new regulations that come out of this scandal. We agree that pilots that had been unknowingly impacted by their team’s decisions should not be penalized. The teams who made these unethical decisions to cheat in such a vile way deserve the sanctions against them. This form of cheating is the most vile and impacts the integrity of the sport itself. I stand behind the sanctions and decisions of FIAR on this matter. I understand the need for additional scrutiny. I would point out to FIAR that this level of testing and scrutiny is hard on the pilots. Team Valkyrie has nothing to hide but I think when to implement scrutiny should be given more consideration. The impact to pilots is significant. This kind of testing requires some downtime to recover from. As a Team that has been rocked by our own scandals this year, Team Valkyrie has moved to make all our dealings within the team more transparent with the public and our sponsors. Our goal is honesty and transparency backed by integrity while managing to keep any technological breakthroughs a secret from our competitors.”
Alexander tilted his head and gave a cocky grin. “When we take the championship next year, we want our win to be free from scandal and rumors. We want to win but we want to do it honorably. When we win, we want to know we did it based on our skills and technology, not by breaking the rules to stack the deck in our favor. We would hope all our competitors feel the same way. You can only be the best if you test yourself by the best.”
Alexander smiled into the camera and resumed a serious expression once more. “At Team Valkyrie AGR Sport team safety comes first. We strive to win with integrity. Any requests from the media should be directed to the Team’s Media department. Dorian and Paul are currently recovering from the testing. The Team will be in Istanbul and we will be ready. We ask that any requests for interviews of the pilots be sent to the Team’s Media Department for now. The requests will be passed on but we are trying to help them have some peaceful time for recovery. They will respond as they deem fit.”
Outside Belgium at his Family’s Estate
Paul had chosen to go home instead of back to his apartment at headquarters. His nerves still felt tingled and he had occasional waves of burning pain. He had taken a private flight from Jordan directly to Belgium. He needed the space and serenity of his home. His mother had been happy to see him. He had spent some time with her before retiring to his suite. He had taken some painkillers and fallen into a blissful sleep.
The next morning he had woken up feeling refreshed. He was not ready for the jarring fast pace of headquarters still. He put on some shorts, a tanktop, and running shoes. He took off for a relaxing run around the estate. He just absorbed the peace and quiet of nature and greenery all around him. He pushed the real world beyond the walls from his mind and focused on staying in the moment. He moved to a shaded patch of thick grass and stretched and did some yoga as he cooled down from his run.
He took a seat and crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He began to meditate. He needed to recenter himself after everything that happened yesterday. Paul didn’t worry about time and just allowed himself to be. After some time, he opened his eyes and headed back to his room for a shower. He dressed in comfort clothes and grabbed his cell phone. He avoided the pilot’s chat. It was full of angst and emotional baggage he wanted to avoid for now. He wanted to reach out to Trixie. He was concerned after what he had heard about her accident and what Astrid had to say about the testing.
Direct Message. Sun 19/10/2094
Direct message. To Bellatrix Olympus From Paul Mulder <Encrypted. Point to point. Handshake.> <Confirmed.> <Cyberdine secure Messaging. V.3.755A> <Your messages are Secure.> <Chat with Bellatrix Olympus - Romus - Draken.>
Paul: Hello Princess, I heard about the engine fire and that you had minor injuries. How are you doing?
Paul knew that he simply didn’t have enough speed to compete on the straights with some of the other teams. The team had come up with what they felt was the best strategy for him. He knew Dorian’s ship was trying out a custom build just for this track. Paul was going to lean into what had been working for him. He was going to overclock his ELS and go into the race with a full capacitor and battery. Due to the heat at the race, Konrad had him doing the IV drip with electrolytes before the race. It would help his body cope with the heat. His suit was designed with environmental controls to help his body handle the extreme temperatures between the heat from the ship and the heat in the desert. He knew he would feel like a wrung out dishrag by the end of the race. The heat could really tank your body and the way your body regulated heat. His nanites could help support that by increasing the right hormones and enzymes but it would take a toll on his body later. There was always a cost to messing with his body like that.
Paul had not done as well in qualifying as he would like to. He had spent his time in his geodesic tent room going over video and photos of the race track. He went over the data from his qualifying run. He tried to identify places where he could pick up some time. Find a smoother racing line. He was determined to do the best he could. His goal was to at least finish in the points. He needed at least one spot to make that happen. Even with the IV electrolytes, Paul downed a few of the Zap sports drinks before the race. He had a light lunch heavy on lean proteins and some fruit for energy. He had wished Dorian luck before the race. He was very impressed at how well Dorian was doing here in Jordan. Before Paul knew it, it was time for the race to start.
He was in his ship at the starting line waiting for the start.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Paul hit the throttle and had a great start. There was a huge dust cloud thrown up by all the ships starting at once. The ships blew the dust that had been blown onto the track away revealing the mag tracking underneath as the ships screamed away from the starting line. Paul was starting behind Cassie Neves with Dorian behind him. Paul saw an opening as Cassie misjudged the first turn after the straight and had to hit her brakes to make the turn. Paul kept his racing line smooth and graceful and slung through the inside hugging the edge of the track as he blew past Cassie in the corner. Paul smiled as he passed Hyeon-Ae who had a similar issue as her partner. Han had recovered faster but Paul managed to slip past. He deployed his ELS and leeched off Han’s ship as she came after him trying to retake the lead. Paul dumped his overclocked capacitor and pulled away from her. He released the ELS lock as he managed to pull away from her. He set his sights on Jenny Lowry as he found himself approaching the tail end of the leaders.
Paul found himself in a chaotic section of the race. Leaders were losing spaces and making mistakes. He found himself in an ELS train. He deployed his ELS and defended aggressively and made swift adjustments to take advantage of the quickly reshuffling order as the leaders changed position back and forth between the straights and corners.
Paul found himself passing Ava Villarosa. Then Dorian found his way past Paul and sling-shotted past Jenny Lowry. The duo tag teaming Lowry’s ship to leach her energy and slow her down. The boost helped Dorian who was then battling Atlassi for the next position leaving Paul to battling back and forth with Jenny Lowry Paul eventually pulled ahead of Jenny Lowry. Paul’s ELS strategy and aggressive defensive driving allowed him to hold on for the P8 finish behind Hamid Atlassi.
Paul slowed his ship down and pulled it into the paddock. He thrust his fist into the air in triumph. He beat his goal for this race. He performed better than he had any right too. Paul knew the biggest part of that was luck; the other factor was having the skill to capitalize on the other pilots’ mistakes and equipment failures. He was helped out of the ship by a smiling Konrad. He climbed out and Konrad immediately handed him a Zap drink and began taking his vital signs. He draped a wet cloth over his head to help cool him down some. Once Konrad was satisfied he would be okay after cooling down.
Paul turned to the team that was celebrating a good outcome at a circuit they expected to do poorly at.
Paul: “Thanks everyone! I couldn’t have done it without you. Let’s hear it for my teammate, Dorian! Who ruled on the track today! You proved your skill today my friend.”
Dorian beamed at him, still celebrating his unexpected P6 placement. There was pandemonium in the Valkyrie paddock as the team celebrated the unexpected good results. Alexander was smiling but still had an underlying feeling of anxiety flowing off of him. That was highly unusual for the usually unflappable crew chief.
Jordan- Podium Ceremony
Paul watched the podium ceremony and cheered for both of his competitors and fellow rookies. He looked puzzled when Amy Stirling was not on the podium. Paul wondered if she had needed medical attention after the race. He had not heard anything else about the investigation and the stuff Alexander had asked him about. Paul didn’t connect those two events.
Paul yelled out not sure if they would hear him or not.
Paul: “Great race ladies! Way to battle it out till the end!”
Delta Hyper Interviews
Paul dutifully made his way over to the Delta Hyper Interview area. He was contractually obligated to give his interview. He continued to down fluids after the race. He was still in his race suit sans helmet. He had left his helmet with the crew. His hair was damp from the wet towel he had used to help cool down. The towel was already drying in the heat even as it remained draped around his neck. It was made from a high tech cloth that held water and temperature longer than regular cotton.
Paul took his seat on the Delta Hyper couch. He relaxed back into the comfortable couch. He was grateful that there was at least a fan blowing the hot air around.
Aurora: "Paul, an excellent performance from you, carving past a Silver Apex ship and both Zygon ships. Were both yourself and Dorian perhaps got a little lucky there, or do you think you made your own luck, despite a disadvantage on the straights?"
Paul smiled at Aurora: “Always a pleasure Aurora. I did much better than I thought I would. My goal was to simply finish in points. I am pleased with how things worked out for me. The team went into this race knowing we would have to work to our strengths and it worked out better than we thought it would. The team prioritized ELS for this race. Dorian and I worked together, tag teaming some ships to give us both the advantage. I would say we certainly used our skill to take advantage of the opportunities that came up for us during the race. I have to give it up for Dorian, his race today was epic! He has proven once again why he is still a serious competitor. I have learned a lot from him.”
Hammer Down
1700 Arabic Time
Alexander was standing at the back of the press conference when FIAR made the announcement about their findings and their decision about what they were going to do about it. Alexander knew there would be repercussions and that some of them would undoubtedly affect his team. He could live with some discomfort and pilot grumbling to keep them safe on the track and away from this kind of immoral and unsafe gain on the race track. It was a step too far. To lose your humanity to win a race? He shuddered to think about the consequences for the racers involved. Alexander slipped out the back while the press were focused on the FIAR officials. He didn’t want to be hounded for an interview. He wanted to break this news to his pilots himself.
Alexander had called Paul and Dorian into a private room inside the Valkyrie Paddock. The two pilots were asked to comply with the FIAR investigation. They all sat facing one another in a small seating area.
Alexander: “You will both have to undergo additional scrutineering as pilots regarding your neural interface. Remember when I called you in and asked you about the neural interface. Well I was sent some evidence that Silver Apex in particular had modified their pilot’s neural interface. They had overridden the safety protocols allowing the onboard AI to override the pilot’s decisions during races. There was proof that the process was damaging to the pilot. Ethically I had to report it. Even if she had consented to this. The safety implications of what this could cause was huge. FIAR has ruled that Silver Apex has been disqualified from the Constructor’s Standing. Amy and Jenny were disqualified from this race. I am sorry. I know the scrutiny process is invasive, unpleasant, and painful. I would rather see you both endure some unpleasantness than experience something worse on the race track.”
Paul and Dorian both looked pole axed. Dorian had seen racing scandals before, but he had never heard of anything on this scale before. He took in stride as a professional though. He was retiring soon and wouldn’t have to put up with it for long. Paul looked horrified and uncertain. Paul had a hard time understanding how a pilot would willingly go that far to win. Alexander had tried to tell him about some of the unethical things he might find in this industry. He had not wanted to believe him.
Alexander looked uncomfortable for a moment. There was a knock on the door. A FIAR official stepped into the room. “Come with me, gentleman.”
Alexander nodded and indicated that they should follow the race official. “Go. I will be available if you want to talk afterward. Keep what we discussed to yourself for now.”
Paul and Dorian were taken into a FIAR controlled medical area. Paul was separated from Dorian. He was in his own medical cubicle surrounded by a few doctors and technicians being overseen by a FIAR official.
He was hooked up to a machine that was reviewing his neural interface. Paul winced as they put his neural interface through heavy load testing and probed for any secret compartments of coding. It was painful and he felt violated and exposed at the data they were able to review using his neural interface. The organic nature and deeper link between the interface and the nanite neural interface made the procedure very painful. He felt as if his nerves were on fire and he was screaming before they were done. Paul was finally cleared and allowed to go. He prayed he wouldn’t have to endure this before every race. He left on his own power but barely. He was shaking like a leaf and felt very weak by the time they were done. He didn’t say a word as he made his way back to his room. All he wanted to do was take some pain killers and escape into some sleep.
Alexander was back in the office on Monday. He was preparing for how the team was going to handle this new issue. The press were already hounding the team for a statement. Alexander was leaving that in Katherine’s hands. He honestly didn’t know what to say. Alexander was a little worried. Paul had still not spoken to him since he had been put through FIAR’s testing. Dorian had just given him a look and left him alone. Alexander was worried about his pilots. Alexander was usually quite decisive but he was concerned. He knew this would impact the team. He was worried that his pilots no longer trusted him. He tried to focus and decide on what to prioritize. He had given Paul and Dorian the day off to recover from FIAR testing. They needed some downtime to come to terms with that before they hooked up their neural interfaces again.
Alexander received a message from Johnna,
Johanna: "Saw the news. Scrutiny will pick up around us, and around your daughter, watch yourself. Could have told me first, Alexander, before this all went out. Both Paul and Dorian aren't going to like the checks- look after them."
The message pissed Alexander off. He replied.
Alexander: “Johanna, I had Wulfric report the findings to you in person as I was on my way to report it to FIAR. Don’t give me that bullshit that you didn’t see this coming! They have both been cleared by FIAR after the Jordan race but the testing was hard on them. They are recovering today. I am doing my best for them.”
Sun 19/10/94 Formula AG Pilot Group Chat
Cassie Neves
Are we not going to talk about the giant fucking elephant in the room? Like, is this chat just going to sit here silent? After we all got a load more scrutineering?
Harrison
Yeah that allegation is worrying. Cannot believe it. Can't believe we got held around for another six hours.
Astrid
Told you that Amy was a bot.
Glad we kicked her and Jen out of the group. Is she coming back?
Anyone know what the extent of it is?
Wedge
You are fucking cold Astrid lol
no idea, but I heard it was suspension until they get to the bottom of it
and no idea
Dorian
Well someone wins a championship if she doesn't.....doesn't sit well with me. Nora deserves that but even then, feels like the worst scandal I've seen.
I booted Jenny out, I feel sorry for her, she's brand new.
@Wedge Standard protocol. We did it with Jamie and Layla
Ava Villarosa
@Cassie Neves agreed. This is terrifying.
Astrid
bet you know something Ava
Cassie Neves
@Astrid
No, fuck off. Ava and Nora nearly died and if in any way this is connected, this is gonna make me snap. I'm willing to get as much chrome as anyone, we all are. Neural link interfacing past safeguards? No way. At that point, Amy is basically more ship than person. Are you out of your mind? In fact, is that what happened to Layla? @Kais?
Wedge
Woah Cass chill
Florence
Listen, they didn't know. Don't blame them, they're suspended until further investigation. We can't comment, otherwise the rest of us are going to get screwed. Last thing I want is ending up getting a lot more restrictions that just make it shit to compete. Intrusive testing is messy. It hurts a lot. That's what I'm scared of.
Cassie Neves
Says the person from fucking Silver Apex! Florence I knew you were a fucking snitch, you surely had to know? Unless you're a bot too?
Kofi
Florence isn't, even if she races like one, but seriously- agree with you Cassie, we need to be united on that. We can't get divided here.
Florence- what did you mean?
Dorian
Guys chill out
Florence definitely isn't she has a kid, cmon
Hamid
eyyy Cassie that is unfair, don't go after Kais like that.
Layla has nothing to do with this. Far as I know, she retired of her own volition- she's really private outside of racing. Saw it as a way to get into post-humanism.
Cassie Neves
No, she wasn't. I didn't agree with Layla at all but she wasn't ever like that, ever, and you're talking out of your arse because you're paid that way. Is everyone here going mental because all of this is bullshit?
Astrid
ngl we all are but you're the only one throwing shit at everyone
we have no way of knowing anything until the results come back in and far as they said, Silver Apex tampered with them in a way that's nearly impossible
Also, you literally are at Zygon
when did you grow a spine, or switch personalities? do they offer that now?
Harrison
Cassie has a point, didn't know her well but Layla wouldn't have quit, Jordan felt pretty empty without her, not gonna lie, not my place but she'd have loved it (sorry Hamid). Not seeing her at all is weird. Miss that weird Jordanian.
Kofi
everyone calm
Florence
@Kofi
On that earlier comment- intrusive neural testing is awful. It basically starts to poke around at where the neural link bonds to synapses past motor functions in the temporal lobe (memory) and is very painful. Did it when Silver Apex was rolling in a new interface platform (the one that usually does all of your body's biomonitoring / diagnostics, and hurt the worst when you had it installed). Many of you wouldn't have had it because it doesn't normally happen now in modern systems as it latches to the back of your brain and wires up neurons to it, rather than deep in. Really not looking forward to it. Don't agree with anyone tampering at all, but FIAR are going to open a can of worms. Especially if you have artificial limbs, it's artificed through your temporal lobe too, then it's even worse. Like the worst migraine you've ever had with pins and needles. Feels like you're being pulled out of your own body.
Ava Villarosa
Shit. @Bea, can we catch up?
I'm worried about Amy tapping into other pilots. @Cassie Neves and @Harrison are right...
There is no way it's just Amy. Too much noise around. Some corporate is going to adore this tech. It's way too dangerous.
Cassie Neves
@Ava Villarosa you were asking around half the grid with @Kais and now you're wondering if it's anyone else? shit I wonder how Carrera got so good, especially when Bea is friends with Amy, you couldn't even see it inside
@Bea you really need to come clean. Tell us what is going on, because you're the only person it seems like who knows her. Beginning to think I made the right call.
actually now I think about it that makes a lot of sense, guess you weren't drinking the juice @Ava Villarosa
Ava Villarosa
oh fuck you, you saw the facility, puta de hijo, don't DARE say that about us.
Bea can answer for herself. You're full of shit, they'll do worse to you in Seoul. You wanted to leave, you think they reward disloyalty? Or are you projecting?
Ben Hale
Wait Cassie nearly went to Carrera?
Astrid
this is a mess
Dorian
Everyone- they'll get to the bottom of it.
We're all paranoid right now. We don't know what FIAR will do. Whatever it is, it's for the safety of pilots, and they'll know all of this. If we fight among ourselves, it'll fall apart if any of us speak up to media, for much worse. You all know that the ships don't work without them, and it goes both ways. FIAR have to find a way to make this work and they can't replace us.
Right now, our neural links are safe, unless anyone in any way has tampered with them in their teams. Tens of millions of people use it and ours are the most scrutinised, so this is an anomaly. Me and Kofi have got a Pilots Rep meeting with them later.
Recommend we don't talk about this and wait this out. Nobody do anything stupid. Any panic and Florence is right, they could get worse.
Glad I'm leaving though. This is insane.
Wedge
Hopefully this gets dealt with!
Cassie Neves
@Wedge admire your optimism
@Ava Villarosa sorry if trust is in short supply but I don't buy anything I hear anymore
@Dorian did you know something about this?
Astrid
amy not winning the title because she's a bot was not on my bingo card
Florence
@Cassie chill the fuck out, don't throw anything at Dorian.
Dorian
nothing my end
Paul
I can confirm the testing sucks! It is painful and invasive. I didn’t like it at all. However, if I have to go through this to prove I am not cheating or being taken advantage of unknowingly, I can’t help but think it is in our best interests. That is all I will say for now.
Paul had a big smile on his face as he began walking towards the Delta Hyper set. He shook his head laughing as he saw Bea sitting next to their car as he walked up. Obviously the girls had beat them. It had taken Paul a bit to get used to the vehicle's special suspension. Kais was not very helpful with his cryptic comments. Go faster!, didn’t tell him how to accomplish that in this terrain with that vehicle. There were obviously some special skills to navigating and driving in sand. Paul was grateful that he managed not to get stuck in the soft sand. It had come close a few times. He took his loss with grace as he walked towards Bea. She had been sitting in the shade of their car with her feet propped up on her helmet.
”Good show, you two.” Bea hollered as Paul and Kais arrived, springing to her feet as the Delta Hyper cameras started rolling and offering a handshake to Paul and Kais before turning to Caroline who had rolled in after them, scribbling something on a blank page of her notes. ”Here, take this. You earned it.” She ripped the page out and handed it to the Monagesque princess with a perfectly pleasant smile - a page with nothing but a giant letter ‘L’ on it - before pulling Bellatrix into a one-armed hug. ”Great driving, Trix! You should come to Pikes Peak next summer, a great track like that demands equally good competition.”
Paul gave the ladies a respectful bow. “I accept my defeat gracefully. I am not sure Kais is going to forgive me for losing though. I am pretty sure he feels we would have won if he drove.” He tucked his racing helmet under his arm once more. He smiled at Bellatrix. “Nice driving Princess.” Paul couldn’t help but hear the invitation given to join Bea at Pikes Peak next summer. Paul was obviously not included in that invitation but he simply smiled. This was the first time he had attempted this kind of off-road racing. It was eye opening. It was another skill set to understand how the vehicle moved over different types of terrain. It was a whole different set of rules to learn about how to get the most speed out of the vehicle and what the vehicle's limits were. He wouldn’t mind trying it again for fun. He shrugged and admitted to himself that he loved the speed of the wheels on the hardtop. He wanted to try formula one racing. He craved that combination of speed and friction that came from wheels meeting pavement that was missing from formula AG. The racing was more of an experience. You felt the vibration and shifts in weight as the vehicle cornered and went faster. It fed his inner adrenaline junkie in ways that racing Formula AG didn’t. Paul didn’t miss the byplay between Bea and the Countess. He felt better and got that twinkle of mischief in his eye as he turned to Kais.
Paul: “Well we were beat by Bea and Bellatrix but we did beat the Countess and she was in a modern WRC car and is this is preferred racing style. I think that gives some bragging rights. Right Bea?” He turned and asked Bea with a shit eating grin on his face. He knew rubbing the Countess’ loss in her face this way would anger the woman but he was betting that Bea would enjoy it.
Qualifying at Wadi Run
Paul had a good start on his qualifying run. He kept a good racing line but he felt the drop in performance on the long straights in the circuit. He made up as much time as he could in the corners and chicanes but this circuit favored speed based builds. Paul used ELS when he could to slow down his competitors but it simply wasn't enough to catch up with the speed of the top competitors. He was very disappointed when he finished in P11. He had at least hoped to stay in points contention. He was frustrated that his ship was letting him down. He hoped he could eke out a little more speed during the actual race. Praying for his competitors to faulter was not a strategy. He would double down on going over the circuit looking for any place where his stability might help him pick up more speed. That strategy had been working for him so far. He would have to stick to the strengths of his ship which was stability and handling. He would also have them start his ELS with a full charge and maybe have them over clock. It was the only advantage he could find in this race.
Delta Hyper Interviews
The Delta Hyper interviews after qualifying were taking place in the geodesic domes that had been set up to act as the paddock and hospitality suites for the teams. The set for the interviews was a couch with a clear geodesic wall behind it which captured the setting sun over the dunes behind it. It was a great shot that gave viewers a taste of what the landscape was like that the pilots would be racing over. A piece of vertical mag track over the mesa behind them was centered behind them.
Paul smiled into the camera as he greeted Rosie. “Hello Rosie, Thank you for having me.” It never hurts to be polite to the people at Delta Hyper. They were an important relationship to develop. They could make or break his career as the inside reporters for the racing league. The press in general was important but Delta Hyper was the one with the contracts with FIAR. They were a critical one to develop and support if you wanted to race Formula AG and land lucrative endorsement deals.
Paul was still in his racing suit. He had pulled his helmet off and his hair was damp with sweat and he had loosen the fastenings at the top of his racing suit to let some air in. He was working on downing his third Zap sports drink since exiting his ship after qualifying. He was still sweating as he cooled down after the race.
Rosie: "Paul, we knew going into Wadi Rum it would be challenging, but do you think tomorrow you'll be able to jump on opportunities ahead of you, with all the stakes of the title race?"
Paul had a pleasantly neutral look on his face as he considered the question. He knew this was coming. “Team Valkyrie knew that we would struggle on the tracks were speed is so important. They have done their best to give me as much speed as we can eke out of the ship. I will do my best to take advantage of any situations I find myself in on the track tomorrow. All I can do is my best. I am hopeful that I will be able to at least gain some points tomorrow. You just never know what is going to happen on the track. All I can do is my best. I will be running a stronger ELS set up to help off set the speed advantage. Hopefully that works out for me.”
Pilots’ Group Chat
Bellatrix@Bea. Deal, don't tempt a girl with a good time lol. Ps…also. I got sent a creepy story… im not sure i can even fully type it out… it involved a ship..ship…
Bea So I’m confirmed the asylum warden when it comes to unhinged community. Great… 😀
Max You can’t open that can of worms and then leave us hanging!
Paul What!? No MAX NO! Do not encourage them!
Bea After my on track and on radio scrap with Jen at Portugal 2091, I got a submission that was an inkpen drawing featuring me, Jenny, ropes and candlewax.
Jenny THE WHAT?!
Bea I swear most of my fans are normal! 😀
Jenny Burn it.
Bellatrix Ps. Anyone else feeling like Anakin..and sand…
Paul I am thinking more about Lawrence of Arabia.
Bea Don't get eaten by a big worm when driving over the sand.
Paul: Now all I can picture is that big worm from the movie DUNE.
Bellatrix. This is Worm. I eat weird fire hair two leg. Hi speedy snacks. Not nom. Two leg is crunchy…
Paul: Ummm… yeah… like that’s normal! Remind me to stay away from the crazy Princess!
Alexander was a nervous wreck. He had reported everything that he had found out to Royston Pearce and Johanna Lipusv. He had not heard from Johanna at all after he had sent Wulfric to deliver the information and packet of evidence to her. Her reaction left him terrified. The fact he had not heard back from her yet had his stress levels through the roof. He was pretty sure he was on track to develop an ulcer any day now. He also had not heard anything about the situation from FIAR or in the press. He was worried that he had made a mistake leaving it in FIAR’s hands. He was at Jordan but was deliberately keeping a low profile. He was distracted and a wreck. All he was really good for at this race so far was moral support to his team. He couldn’t focus on anything else till he knew how this was going to affect his team when the news broke.
Day 2: 15:12:02 Kotlin Street, Stari Grad, Novy Jork, Capital Province, Republic of Polavia
@FourtyTwo Rowan rolled her eyes as Oksana thought she was sneaking up on her. Rowan was doing her best to blend in and was very aware of what was happening around her. She was doing her best not to stand out as a hypervigilant veteran on the run. Locals had a way of spotting true trouble. When you lived in an area like this, being able to size up and spot real trouble was a highly tuned survival skill. You didn’t live in an area like this without knowing who belonged here and who didn’t. Rowan was hoping she was reading as someone new to the area but from a similar background and not a tourist or someone on the run. She had left her broom in the room. It was a distinctive tool that would absolutely mark her as a witch. Her wand was easier to hide. She nudged Oksana in the side.
Rowan: “I don’t give you crap about your thing. You don’t give me crap about my thing. We can respect each other as the professionals we are. The broom is at the apartment. I am not an idiot. I have my whip wrapped around my waist like a belt. I have my knife and my wand with me which are in holsters along my forearms and hidden under my sleeves. ”
She moved with Oksana. As Oksana was looking one direction she was looking the other. She was looking for anyone who was paying them too much attention. Her eyes clocked those who were tracking their progress but it was more a situation where they were simply aware of what was happening around them. They were not paying her and Oksana any more attention than anyone else entering this area. They were probably undercover guards for the black market area they were in. She moved over as if she was looking over the goods at one of the market stalls. She stepped to the side of the stall and turned back the way they had come and pretended to admire a necklace hanging on the end of the stall. She used the position to check to see if anyone was following them. She didn’t see anyone but kept up the babble as if she was interested in the wares before moving on.
Rowan had managed to pick up a lot of the more common potion ingredients at the grocery store. She was at the black market for the stuff that was much harder to find. Things like salt, honey, and mint. Rowan had some ideas for potions that could be useful to the team but it all depended on what she found available and in what quantities.
Rowan smiled as she entered an apothecary or potion ingredient store. She grinned as she spotted some items she was hoping to find. Rowan went to the counter and began to haggle over prices. She came away with a pound of spider silk, 1 gallon of pine sap, 2 ounces of crushed obsidian, 2 ounces of crushed moonstone dust, 2 ounces of star sapphire dust, 6 ounces of dried starflower petals, 1 pound of ground pyrite dust, 1 pound of mica dust, 3 ounces of mugwort, 3 ounces of yarrow, 1 pound of charcoal from a lightning-struck tree, 8 ounces of wolfsbane, 8 ounces of mandrake root, 10 ounces of titanium powder, and 1 pound of queen bee royal jelly honey. Rowan haggled with the shopkeeper who was an older gentleman who wore cracked spectacles. He was a crotchedy grumpy man who tried to convince her that she was taking the last he had but she could see he had more than enough to sell to her. She still felt like she was robbed but ended up paying a good deal for what they wanted. She had spent the equivalent of $200 for ingredients. She was about to step out of the store when her eyes landed on some glowing flower petals in a crystal jar on the wall behind the register. Her eyes widened as she saw the label on the jar, Chrono Flower Petals. She stopped and turned back to the shopkeeper. He noticed where her eyes were tracking and he growled. She could see the greed in his eyes as they lit up, noticing her interest. She ended up spending another $200 for just 3 ounces of the Chono Flower Petals.
She grumbled about sharks with gray hair on her way out of the door. She had already packed everything carefully away in her backpack and had put it back on before leaving the store. Rowan liked the shop but damn it was pricey but then she was buying enough ingredients to make potions for the entire team. It took bulk ingredients to brew enough for the whole team. Her backpack was a great deal heavier when she left. She was grateful for the sturdy pack so she could get her ingredients back to the apartment. She was also grateful for Oksana’s presence to help guard the expensive haul.
Day 2: 18:32:04 Stolen Apartment Novi Grad, Novy Jork, Capital Province, Republic of Polavia
Relapse
Rowan had eaten with the rest of the team after she stashed her ingredients. She had sighed as she watched most of the team unwind with their substance of choice. She sighed and leaned against a portion of the wall where she had cast her clean spell to remove the mildew and grime in a 5 foot area. She watched over her high teammates as she pulled out a notepad and pen. She would keep watch over them as she planned out her potions.
She began to jot down potion ideas for the ingredients she had found. She was going to make a burn cream, and a coagulant that could be put on topically before slapping a bandage on it. She was going to attempt some minor health potions again. She was going to use the Chrono petals to make some kind of potion to either speed up or slow down time for an area effect. She had heard about them but had never had the chance to use them. She didn’t manage to buy much so she would have to learn as she experimented. She was going to make some potions of temporary blindness, the potion version of a flash grenade. She grinned as she was looking forward to making a sticky bomb potion with the spider silk. She was going to attempt to make a few custom potions to work with Oksana’s abilities. She didn’t want to be pulled into the woman’s dreams again. She was going to make some sticky incendiary potions using the pine sap and titanium dust. Her lightning magic has been extremely useful so far. She wanted to see if she could make a lightning bolt potion. After running into the ghost dogs, she wanted to give the team a way to fight things like ghosts, spirits, and wraiths in case they ran into anything like that again.
She noticed when Silas returned. He was smiling and looked happier this time. She grinned as he dropped his loot onto the table. He then pulled up his own spot on the floor and was enjoying a beer when Oksana woke suddenly.
@FourtyTwo All at once Oksana seemed to come back to reality and popped up cursing.
Oksana: "Fuck. We need to get to Pavel's."
"Sorry. Borys bought stronger shit than I'm used to. Hey, speaking of, wake up, you high motherfucker." Roxie mumbled, looking at her hands, sighing, looking across. "What am I doing."
Rowan gave Oksana a sympathetic look. She understood that the woman didn’t have an easy time with her gifts. She tilted her head to the side in a respectful nod that seemed to convey its okay I see you.
Oksana began waking people up and Felix woke up and crawled off Borys as a human once more.
Oksana: "Fuck...."
"We have 25 minutes to 7. Everyone, up. Gear on. Civilian, but be ready with guns hidden. Last hurdle."
Roxie asked Silas: "Do your punches solve hangovers?"
Rowan was getting herself situated to leave again when she laughed at Silas’ antics.
He flexed his hands with his knuckle dusters to offer touch ups to team.
@BigPapaBelial Rowan smiled at Silas. “I think you and I are the only two remotely sober. I think they will all need a touch up.”
Rowan was wearing what she had left in earlier, black combat boots, jeans, a purple hoody with “Witches Raise Hell” in a big font across it. She kept the hood down and her long curly hair was loose and dyed a dark black. She had used makeup to change the contours of her face. Making her nose appear narrower and her cheeks higher. She had used eye liner and mascara to make her eyes look like a different shape. She had wrapped her whip around her waist like a belt with the handle hanging down from the front belt loop in a place easy to grab. She had a knife in a holster along her left forearm and her wand in a holster on her right forearm. They were both hidden under the baggy hoodie sleeves. She decided to leave her pistol at the apartment. She was more useful with her wand, knife, and whip if they ran into trouble. She would also be leaving her broom behind. It was too distinctive and with folks looking for her she was tempting fate enough. Witches were fairly common in this area. But she didn’t want to help those who were looking for a red headed witch carrying potions, riding a broom, with long curly red hair. She was doing her best to hide in plain sight and blend into the folks in the area.
Rowan: “Okay. Is everyone ready?”
Rowan watched in amusement as the team pulled themselves together for the trip to Pavel’s.
Alexander had done nothing but think about the choices he was facing as he flew on the company shuttle to England. He simply didn’t trust this information being handled any other way. He didn’t want to file it publicly but he understood how bribes and accidents might try to bury this information before it was ever brought into the light. Alexander was not naive but he did have rock solid morality. He had been through enough that he knew where his lines in the sand were. There were certain things he could not let slide and still be able to look at himself in the mirror. Some would say that made him an idealist. He felt it made him a realist. He knew if he was forced into a corner that he would walk away and leak the information himself live on air to multiple media outlets. He was hoping to avoid taking such drastic steps. He was not going into this with rose colored glasses on. He had no illusions about the damage this information could cause not to just Formula AG racing but to neural interfaces that made cybernetic augmentations possible and the people like his daughter who depended on them. The knowledge that neural interfaces could be hacked and taken over is not knowledge you want out in the general public. Alexander knew the damage unscrupulous folks could cause if they felt they could get away with it. This information needed to be addressed but it needed to be handled delicately.
Alexander chose to go to Royston because he was not sure how much he could trust Johanna Lipusv with this information. She was looking for ways to make space safer for humanity but she was also looking for ways to push the envelope of what was possible. He would like to believe she would investigate but he didn’t trust her to take the information and use it herself for her own agency needs - a means to an end. Royston had the power to investigate and maintain control of what information was given to the media. He was gambling that Royston would not cover it up to save Silver Apex and would address the issue. Alexander had history with Royston. Royston had been with Formula AG from the beginning much like he had been. Royston was the one who had pushed for new safety measures after Audrick’s death. Alexander may have been persecuted in the court of public opinion but Royston had been firm but fair with him. He still believed that there was some kind of foul play in Audrick’s death but he had let it go. He would not let this threat go though. It impacted the safety of his pilots. He was never more grateful than his decision to upgrade their neural implants and that it had happened after he had uncovered just how far the rot had gone at Valkyrie. Alexander was out of time as the shuttle was landing in London. He was set on his course. Now all he could do was roll the dice and see where they landed.
Alexander had left the plane with a briefcase, a small overnight bag, and his travel documents. He had an antigravity car waiting at the private air terminal to take him to Royston’s estate. The private driver had been hired to drive Alexander while he was in England. He would wait for him as long as this meeting took. Alexander had Mabel check with Royston’s staff to confirm he was home and that he was on his way with sensitive information and needed an immediate meeting with the head of FIAR. His staff had pushed back but Mabel managed to force the issue. Alexander had expected Royston’s staff to give him trouble when he got there and was pleasantly surprised to be let through security without much trouble. He soon found himself escorted into Royston Pearce’s home and presence.
Alexander didn’t beat around the bush and laid out his suspicions and handed over the evidence to Royston. Alexander then waited while the man went through the information he had provided. Alexander was still dressed in dark gray slacks, a team button down shirt with the logo on the pocket, and his dress boots. His hair was a disheveled mess from running his hands through it. His clothes showed a long day and the travel with creases in places. His eyes reflected the soul deep weariness he felt with the weight of dealing with this knowledge. He waited patiently as Royston Pearce looked over the data and absorbed the implications of it.
Royston Pearce: "If this is true, Alexander, this is a breach at the highest level. That is an enormous scandal. Anonymous, sure, but there's enough here to prove fairly irrefutably if we digged into their logs in the way your logger shows."
Alexander remained silent as he nodded to acknowledge Royston’s words. Alexander watched as some of that weight settled onto Royston Pearce’s shoulders. Alexander was sympathetic to the man. He had put him in an impossible position. He watched as Royston stood and walked over to a window and was looking out at the gardens in his estate.
Royston Pearce:"Alex, do you know why I believed in getting Formula AG off the ground? Like, beyond all of the stories I tell to the media?"
Alexander shook his head no even as he answered the man. “I apologize but no I do not know.” He watched as the man sucked on an electronic cigarette. He recognized the device from his youth before they had been banned in most countries. He listened as Royston Pearce monologued and reflected on decisions of his youth like older men often did. Alexander simply listened knowing there was a point to Royston’s story. Alexander listened as Royston stated the obvious that Amy Stirling’s performance this season reflected a pilot nearing the end of their career. Her meteoric run and wins were coming to an end. Alexander knew Paul’s star was rising in Formula AG. He did not have the consistency of Stirling but he was consistently placing in the points as a new rookie pilot. The only two rookies to come close to his performance were Bea and Nora. Royston wanted some exclusive access to Paul for FIAR. Alexander felt his protective instincts flair and he wanted to automatically deny Royston Pearce what he wanted. It would look like favoritism in the court of public opinion. Alexander wanted to maintain as much neutrality for the team as he could. He tried to listen with an open mind but it was hard for him to trust after his history with FIAR. He had been fed to the wolves by the likes of principals like Peter Thatcher. It had cost him everything when he had left racing. It was hard to put his trust in Pearce now. He listened as Royston Pearce laid his thoughts and said that he wanted to handle the situation but he wanted something in return. Alexander’s protective instincts got stronger as Royston brought up his daughter’s own augmentations that had enabled her to live a mostly normal life after an accident that left her as a quadriplegic. Alexander followed along as Royston Pearce rambled and asked rhetorical questions before seeking a response from him.
Alexander moved to look Royston Pearce in the eyes. “Let’s be honest with one another. You know I would take this to the press directly and damn the consequences if I had thought that was the right way to handle this. The public would be scared shitless if the truth of this ever came to light. It would set back augmentation, cybernetics, and nanotechnology for decades from the fallout. I have no problem letting you handle this situation as you see fit as long as you don’t sit on the information and bury it but actually do something about it. Even if their pilots agreed to this, it is obviously dangerous and doing permanent damage. Yes I want to win but the win means nothing if it is a hollow victory. I have no problem promising some additional press from the Team to highlight Paul but I have a few conditions of my own. I think you should highlight the rookies from the season. This would prevent charges of favoritism from FIAR for the Team. I like where you are going with how you want to include pre-race medical and technology checks by racing stewards on ships and pilot augmentations.” Alexander paused as he thought about Royston Pearce’s question. Where would he take FIAR next? “Well I have heard rumors about adding weapons but I feel that is taking it too far. I would rather see more skill involved somehow. Maybe points for hitting targets on the track? Targets that deliberately take a pilot off the optimum racing line. It would require skill to gather those points which would deduct time from their overall time maybe? I am not sure how that would work exactly but we need to keep and focus on the human elements and talent. I think we have lost sight of that with all the technology and pilot augmentations.”
Alexander spent almost an hour with Royston Pearce. He felt lighter after he left the mansion. He believed that Pearce would handle the issue discreetly but fairly. He hoped it was not too late to help the pilots that had been affected. He checked into a hotel in London for the evening. He was saddened to know that pilots felt the need to go to such lengths to win.
DELTΔ HYPER
Episode Eighteen: Ticking Hourglass
Round 18 of Formula AG Friday 17th of November Practice Day
The Eye Wadi Rum, Jordan, Arabic Union
0930 Arabic Time
As Crows Fly
Paul had received directions from Delta Hyper via email to wear his racing suit and bring his helmet to the Delta Hyper taping that was scheduled for early this morning. In deference to the heat he was rocking a new racing suit in a golden yellow with dark gray trim. The helmet was painted in shades of dark golden yellow with some metallic gold paint that hinted at feathered wings with the Team Valkyrie Logo on the back. Paul was curious what they would have them do this time. He had to admit he had some amazing experiences that had been arranged by Delta Hyper so far. Learning to surf in Hawaii and diving the Great Barrier Reef were among his favorites so far. He looked around the grand majesty of the desert and felt the history of the place. His imagination could imagine long caravans of colorful bedecked camels crossing the deep sands. He was excited to see Kais was here. Finally maybe he could get some answers. He approached Kais before they joined the others for the filming. He pulled him to the side. Paul was more determined to get to the bottom of the text than ever after his conversation with Alexander.
Paul: “Hey Kais, I texted you back but I haven’t heard anything from you. I tried to see you after the race in Bonneville but I couldn’t get past security. Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Kais had a very controlled expression and he looked around scowling at Paul. “Not here. Not now. Too many ears and cameras.” The fury in Kais’ eyes seemed to weaken as he noticed Paul’s shocked face.
Paul looked around and noticed that they were being watched by numerous members of the crew with curiosity. He winced when he saw the number of cameras around as well.
Paul: “Sorry I should have thought of that. We need to talk later.”
Kais simply nodded and moved to join the rest of the pilots. Paul followed in his wake with his racing helmet under his arm.
He looked around as Rosie was being filmed and introducing this segment instead of Aurora.
Rosie: "Hello and welcome, and we're here this weekend in Jordan! The Hashemite Kingdom is our first stop in the Middle East, as we head to the desert sands of Wadi Rum for one of the fastest, and some would say, most cinematic circuits of the year."
Paul watched as the camera drones focused and followed Rosie as she slipped down the side of a dune.
Rosie: "But, before we dive in, we're here with Paul Mulder, Kais Zenix, Beatrix Ward, and Bellatrix Olympus, and we thought it would be about time we have a tour of the playground of the sands, and on four wheels before the race."
Paul pulled on his media face. A bland charming smile that could mean anything but was his neutral face as he was introduced in the line up. His eyes had of course drifted over the older trucks that were clearly geared for off road running with special suspension work. Paul felt a glimmer of excitement. He had never had the opportunity to drive anything like this before. He had always meant to make it to Baja California and enjoy the dunes there. That kind of recreation did seem right up his alley. As a professional pilot, he was a busy guy year round. Being a celebrity made it harder to travel and do things under the radar. He was recognized everywhere he went. That took some of the fun out of it since he almost always needed to travel with security these days. It had been mandatory after the almost riot his appearance had caused in Tokyo when they were filming the advertising for Enigma Lux.
Rosie: "Ever seen these before? We think the audience might appreciate just how big the dunes are here that AG ships sail over, with something a bit more grounded!"
Paul wanted to roll his eyes at the fake enthusiasm Rosie was rolling out as if they were giving them all the best present ever. Surprise! Drive these ancient buckets of bolts around the Wadi Rum in an impromptu race. Paul was happy to be paired with Kais. It was the first time he had been paired with Kais for one of these events. He smiled and was genuinely excited to see what the vehicle could do. He had knelt and was looking over the custom suspension as Rosie continued building the hype for this segment. Evidently they were racing in teams and were being joined by a World Rally Car driver. Paul let out a loud guffaw of laughter at the person revealed to be the driver. His eyes flew over to Bea to see what her reaction was. He was in Monaco when the two had almost come to blows at the Prince’s party.
Paul had been assigned to drive and Kais was grumbling about losing the advantage to a foreigner. Paul pulled on his helmet and climbed up into the beast of a machine. He fastened the safety harness and worked his driving gloves down into his fingers to ensure full dexterity. He made sure he was familiar with the gear shift set up. He adjusted the seat and made sure he was in a comfortable position for driving. He looked over at Kais who had climbed into the passenger seat. He had folded up the maps and stuffed them into the glovebox.
Kais: “I don’t need a map. I come here often. Just be sure to follow my directions. Remember the gas pedal is the one on the right.”
Kais fastened his harness after pulling his helmet on. He looked over and gave Paul a competitive smile. “Do not lose this race. We must win for my team. It is our home turf.”
Paul shrugged. “You never know what will happen in a race but I never race to lose.” He gave Kais a fist bump. They waited for the beginning of the race to be called.
Paul hit the gas and began shifting as the truck’s big beefy tires caught the sand and flung it out in a long tail and arc as the truck shot forward. The truck was already rocking as it began to roll ahead. Paul focused on driving and left navigating to Kais.
Kais: “Turn at the dark rock. We need to get out of this canyon.”
Paul tried to follow Kais’ directions. It didn’t take long for Kais competitive streak to show. “Drive closer to the canyon wall. The ground is firmer and we can go faster.”
Paul laughed as he felt like his kidneys were being shaken and not stirred even as he wondered if he would have any fillings left after this race as he was bounced around.
Kais’ accent was thick as he switched from English to Arabic. “Turn… TURN HERE> NOW PAUL! My grandmother drives better than you. Floor it! We need to win.”
Paul just laughed and went with the flow. He was having a blast as the truck roared out over a dune and came down hard on the other side bouncing. The sand helping cushion the impact as the old truck gained 4 feet air as they shot over the top of the dune.
Kais was screaming at him again and pointing for Paul to aim for another canyon but the entrance was small. Paul almost didn’t get the vehicle turned in time. The entire truck tilted up on one side as the truck went up at an angle on the canyon wall as he barely made the turn.
Paul: “Some warning would be nice bro.”
Kais: “I am not your brother. If you were paying attention to what I was saying you had plenty of time to make that turn. Pay attention and go faster.”
Paul: “I am not sure how much faster I can make this hoopty go.”
Kais turned and looked at Paul with an intense look. “There is only faster in a race Paul. You should know this. Now the canyon curves up here. Be ready for a sharp right.”
Paul was cursing and laughing as he tried his best to follow Kais’ instructions. He felt as if the truck was the ball in a pinball game. He was swerving left and right. The tires sometimes caught and sometimes they spun and dug in before catching again and would spin them in a new direction. He felt as if he was fighting the truck more than he was driving it.
The truck came roaring over the last dune. They saw Mushroom rock ahead and Paul put on as much speed as he could. Kais let out a victory yell as they flew over the finish line and the truck bounced on the other side. Paul laughed and pulled the truck into a victory donut drifting the truck in a circle before bringing it to a stop.
Paul looked over at Kais with a grin. “Well that was fun.”
He got out to see if they had beat the girls.
Pilots’ Group Chat
Bea Also, have you seen the fight you two had on track? Bet you a fiver the next chapter features handcuffs and a whip. 😛
Paul Nope I am not going there.
Bea Hmm. Do I dare?
Bea Do I dare ask what everyone’s wildest piece of fan content is? 😀
PaulSee my previous answer. Nope.
Bellatrix. @paul. I have a Dungorn at family home. ;) but it's really just used to store junk and my brother's spare rock stuff. Signed. Princess Brat :)
@Beatrix. Deal, don't tempt a girl with a good time lol. Ps…also. I got sent a creepy story… im not sure i can even fully type it out… it involved a ship..ship…
Collab between the Daxini Collaborative and the Ghost Region
Daxini Chieftain’s Office on Planet Dax
The Daxini Chieftain - Kwaria
Battle Group Beta Chief in Command - Gravyn
Battle Group Beta Claw Chief of Exploration Team, Havoral
The Daxini Clan Council had just finished a session to review the status of the Battle Group that had been dispatched to search for Daxini that had been trapped by the last Reclamation War along the Scorched Line. The decision to send troops into the area along the Scorched Line was proving to be a profitable one. While the group had encountered some difficulties, the sheer volume of rare minerals and metals that had been reclaimed from the debris fields had been well worth the effort to send the group. There is a growing concern for rumors that had been coming regarding activity from the Ghost Region. After debating whether to send a group to investigate or not, the Daxini Clan Council had finally reached a quorum on the vote. Kwaria was meeting with Flight Chief Gavryn. Gavryn had a distinguished service record and was ready for a serious assignment outside of Daxini space. Kwaria was meeting with Gavryn in her office on Dax. Kwaria had smiled as her assistant showed the chief in. Kwaria rose and greeted the chief warmly before waving him to a seat in front of her desk. She reclaimed her seat behind the desk before continuing.
Kwaria's voice was strong and sure as she got down to the purpose of the meeting. Kwaria: “Flight Chief Gavryn I have been reviewing your service record for consideration of a special assignment. I want to thank you for your service to the Daxini Conclave. Your record reflects your honor, integrity, and service to all Daxini. I have special orders from the council for you.” She paused and searched Gavryn’s face and body language for any tells, uncertainty, or discomfort and was pleased to find none. Most of the Daxini Space Fleet or DSF got their orders through the chain of command. It was rare to be interviewed directly for a mission. Gavryn’s face held curiosity and nothing more at this point.
Kwaria smiled at the commander and continued. “There are a great deal of rumors and stories being brought to the Clan Council’s attention by our Eagle Eyes and traders coming into Daxini space. Rumors about activity in the Ghost Region. Some Daxini Traders have gone missing in the area. Action has been demanded by their clans and families. The Clan Council has authorized an exploratory mission to the region. Your orders are to assume command of Battle Group Beta and take it into the Ghost Region. You are to investigate rumors of activities and disappearances. You are to investigate the disappearances of two known missing Daxini Merchant ships and what activity is in the area. The Clan Council has declared the Ghost Region as dangerous territory and has warned Daxini vessels to avoid the area for now. We have no idea what you might run across which is why we are sending a Battle Group.”
Kwaria paused to let Gavryn process the information. She was pleased to note curiosity and concern in his expression. She continued his briefing in a concerned and worried tone.
“You will have the flight plans and last known coordinates of the two Daxini Vessels that passed through the edge of the Ghost Region that disappeared. The merchant vessel Bright Claw, a Avitas Merchant Clan vessel. The Bright Claw was a family merchant trading vessel making routine cargo runs between Dax and the Bio Mech Union worlds. According to family members, they were carrying foodstuffs and some metal ores. The Tech Star is a Kronar and Xiodane joint clan vessel that is directly owned by Xi Tech Systems. Xi Tech Systems is one of our larger technology companies that specializes in computer systems. Their vessel was carrying rare minerals and ores they use in manufacturing. If at all possible, you are to investigate and determine what happened to these vessels. If rescue is at all possible, you are to provide support and rescue our people if at all possible. If there is danger and new powers stirring in the region, we need an assessment of what is going on and how bad it is. Only with this vital information will the council know if we need to address this issue further. Do you have any questions?”
Gavryn nodded as he sat forward indicating his interest and engagement in the conversation. “Yes Clan Chieftain, can you tell me which ships I am being assigned to? I want to be sure I have an adequate force to face such an unknown quality.”
Kwaria hit a button on her tablet sending Gavryn his orders via encrypted connection for him to review.
Gavryn was assigned to a type 2 battlestation named the DSF Venator. His assigned command staff was Eagle Eye K'rklick, Talon Chief Pryssa, Flight Chief Argryn, War Chief Rainar, and Kronar Support Chief Islea. Gravyn reviewed his command team with pleasure. He had worked with Islea and Pryssa before. He had heard only good things about the others and Flight Chief Argryn was a legend among the DSF pilots. He moved on to the ships in the Battle Group and their commanders.
The Daxini Excalibur Class Dreadnaught, the DSF Vallor, was under the command of Flight Chief Graezzon. The Daxini Daedalus Class Destroyer, the DSF Steel Claw, was under the command of Flight Chief Davon.
The Daxini Mid Size Cruiser, the DSF Courage, was under the command of Flight Chief Benita.
The Daxini Light Cruiser, the DSF Lightning, was under the command of Flight Chief Arkun.
The Daxini Light Cruiser, the DSF Star Axe, was under the command of Flight Chief Kayvel.
The Daxini Stealth Ship, the DSF Skyhome, was under the command of Flight Chief Xitaka.
The Daxini Stealth Ship, the DSF Verdant, was under the command of Flight Chief Zagronti.
Gavryn reviewed the Battle Group Beta makeup applying his experience and tactical knowledge to sum up the ship deployment: A type 2 battle station, an Excalibur class dreadnought, a Daedalus class destroyer, a mid size cruiser, two light cruisers, and two stealth ships. He nodded believing that was a good mix of ships for the mission he was being assigned too. He didn’t necessarily need more stealth but he had two ships with stealth capability if he needed them as scouts. The group was fairly well balanced for offensive and defensive capability but it wouldn’t move very fast. It would only be able to move as fast as the slowest ship which in this case was the battle station. Unless the battle station followed, coordinates for its next transfer were provided by a scouting group. He had not worked with any of the other Flight Chiefs in command of the individual ships of the group. He had heard rumors that Flight Chief Xitaka was a risk taker and had been disciplined for defying orders in the past. He didn’t believe that the Xitaka would be on the roster for this group if there was much validity to those rumors. Gravyn held his own council and was pleased to see that the Clan Council had not offered to send a token group into the area. They were taking what was being reported fairly seriously.
Gavryn had been lost in thoughts and realized he was keeping the Clan Chief waiting. He hurriedly used his paw print to accept the orders. “My apologies Clan Chief. I accept the assignment. We will be underway as soon as all supplies and personnel are on board. I estimate it will take 2 days to recall all personnel and load all the necessary supplies. Is there a time limit on my mission?”
Kwaria was pleased to leave this troublesome issue in the hands of a competent DSF officer. “The council is ordering you to make haste to begin your search at the last known coordinates of the two vessels. They were in the same area of space when they disappeared. The council is expecting this mission to take at least two months. You will stay in touch via quantum communications link with Dax. We will reassess your mission after two months depending on your findings, Flight Chief.”
Gavryn stood and nodded before saluting the Clan Chief. “Understood Clan Chief. I will take my leave so I can get started.”
Kwaria gave him a regal nod of acceptance as Gavryn turned on his heel and left her office. He went to his office at DSF command on Dax and began issuing the appropriate orders to his command team. Battle Group Beta left for the Ghost Region on time two days later.
Hastea Star System Ghost Region
The star system the Daxini fleet found itself in could be described in one word: foreboding. Much of the system was covered in dense clouds of dust and gas which acted almost like a dense fog, giving distant objects a hazy appearance. Perhaps worse yet there was something in the area that seemed to disrupt long range sensors and even communications signals. Still, even from the edge of the system, the Daxini could find out some important facts about the system. It had four planets, one rocky and three gas giants. The rocky planet was just at the inner edge of the star’s inhabitable zone. Interestingly enough the region of space from that planet to the star itself was mostly clear of gas and dust, perhaps pulled into the star.
The planet had a single supercontinent that, even from an extreme distance, was clearly dominated by deserts. The atmosphere showed signs of pollution indicating that the planet either currently, or until fairly recently, had a sizable population. The planet was also the only apparent source of communications signal in the whole system. In fact only one signal could be detected at all. All attempts by the Daxini to connect to this signal ended in failure; these failures stemmed from significant differences in communications protocols. In fact the signal was regular enough and, apparently, open enough to have likely been intended for use by the general populace. Perhaps some sort of government message to people who entered the star system or maybe something as simple as a radio station.
Clouds of tiny metal fragments could be found all around the Daxini fleet. They appeared to be defensive chaff at first glance, but something was off. The chaff pieces were irregularly sized in a fashion similar to how a child might tear up pieces of paper to make fake snow. The clouds of false chaff were moving comparatively slowly and not at risk of damaging any ship even if said ship was to sail directly through the cloud.
In the distance, far away from the Daxini fleet, but certainly still somewhere in the star system, a consciousness stirred. It became aware of the Daxini presence, not in full, but in the same sense that someone sleeping might partially awake and notice someone opening their door at night. Those amongst the Daxini who were the most sensitive when it came to psionics might feel this consciousness. They might sense its tired eyes drift in their direction. They might sense the slight hunger one feels when waking up in the morning.
Battle Group Beta transitioned into the area of space near the coordinates they had been given about where the two vessels had disappeared. Gravyn was sitting in his command chair on the battle bridge of the DSF Venator as the battle group came out of the wormhole in formation with the destroyer and two light cruisers leading the way followed by the battle station and the dreadnought, midsize cruiser and the two stealth ships. Gravyn was pleased with the efficiency of the crew as everyone was focused on their tasks and followed his orders as the battle group spread out in a defensive formation with all sensors active. Gravyn waited patiently as the crew gathered the information requested. He knew it took a few moments for the sensor sweeps to begin sending back data and for the crew to interpret it.
His tactical officer was the first person to speak. “Sensors are bouncing around the area due to all the dust and metal debris clouds. The system has four planets, one rocky and three gas giants. There are signs that the rocky planet might be inhabited. The debris cloud ends on the other side of the inhabitable zone. That is the best we can do with the sensors at this time sir. We have no maps of this area of space for comparison.”
The next to speak up was his communications officer. “The only communication signals seem to emanate from the rocky planet.”
Gavyrn was considering this information as a powerful consciousness barely brushed the edge of his telepathic range. It was something large and alien. Gavryn had never felt anything like it before. It was as if a large creature had stirred in the depths of space barely aware of their forces. Gavryn’s experiences had only been with the telepathic link and bonds he had to his clanmates. This was something foreign and outside of his experience. It shocked him as his hands curled around the armrest of his command chair tightening. He felt a deep primal fear. He knew that whatever it was knew they were there.
Gavyrn called out in a strong voice full of fear. “Red alert. There is something out there. Head towards the planet. Maybe we can find answers there. Make sure all ships are scanning and on alert for anomalies in the area. It is strange that there seems to be inhabitants in the area yet there are no ships or space stations.” Gavryn could only think to himself: what is going on in this area of forsaken space?
The alien consciousness seemed to consider the Daxini for a moment before giving a mental shrug and, with a sentiment that could perhaps be translated to “Just five more minutes…”, fell back asleep. Still the feeling the Daxini had of being watched never quite went away as they traveled towards the planet. If anything it felt like a great many beings were crowding around the fleet, just barely out of reach and somehow invisible. The sensation was akin to being in a pitch black room and hearing… something. Someone breathing? Perhaps. Or perhaps just a figment of the imagination. Every reach out into the darkness had one’s fingers brush against nothing but empty space, yet the feeling that many somethings lingered just out of reach couldn’t be shaken.
Despite the sense of being surrounded, the Daxini made it to their destination unmolested. The planet had at one point acquired a ring. A ring of debris and broken ships. A ring that told a tale of a desperate struggle. Numerous types of warships and space stations littered the planet’s orbit. All broken. Some hulks were mostly intact, with small holes torn into their hulls that indicated that something had pulled the holes open from the outside. Other ships had been torn in half and twisted into shapes no spaceship should ever be subjected to. Others still had been so thoroughly destroyed that there remain just tiny fragments. Thousands of ships had waged battle here and lost. And perhaps the most shocking of all was that every one of these destroyed ships appeared to have been built and designed by the same entities. They were all built of the same materials with the same construction philosophies and methods. They all had similar design properties. They all seemed like they belonged in the same fleet. So where was the attacking fleet? Had the battle been part of a civil war or had the winning side taken their destroyed ships with them when they left?
In the distance the wreck of a once might dreadnought came into view from around the edge of the planet. This beast of war had been one of the many ships that had been torn in half; its massive spinal cannon had obviously not been enough to change its fate. The words “GNRS Colossus” was painted onto its hull in a language similar, but somewhat different to that used by the Yrani Imperium some two thousand years ago.
The planet below told a similar, dreadful story. Radiation could be detected from the planet. It was apparent that nuclear weapons had been used on the planet’s surface, although a combination of the relatively low number of warheads used as well as how long in the past the detonations had been, meant that the radiation level was only high enough to be problematic for a living being in a few distinct “hot spots”. Strangely enough not all, or even most, of the planet’s population centers had been destroyed by nuclear blasts. A few cities certainly had, in fact several of the largest based off of the surrounding suburban sprawl, but just as many nuclear strikes had occurred far away from any sign of civilization at all. And even more odd was the complete lack of any evidence hinting at an orbital bombardment at all.
The signal the Daxini fleet had been receiving could be traced to what appeared to be a warehouse situation in what could be generously described as the “middle of nowhere”, between two middling sized towns, nowhere close to any of the nuclear strikes. Even from orbit, it was easy to make out some kind of broadcasting equipment connected to the warehouse; its roof was absolutely covered in pipes, metal boxes, and other various objects whose purpose was impossible to decipher from orbit.
The Daxini made its way towards the rocky planet that was broadcasting the signal. The repulsor shields on their ships left long corridors free of debris as it pushed the dust and debris out of the path of their large ships. The fur along Gavryn’s neck was standing on end. The odd lurking alien consciousness had him on the edge. Nothing added up to any known and reasonable answers for what had happened in this system. The further the fleet moved towards the planet the more questions they had. Gavryn couldn’t shake the feeling that there was at least one if not more large lurking alien presence that inhabited this deep dark region of space. He was not used to feeling like prey. He was used to being the hunter so the feeling was particularly unsettling.
The tactical officer continued to report findings in a tense voice as the battle group moved towards the planet. “Sensors are indicating that the debris field that surrounds the planet is composed of the same materials and design. It might have been some kind of civil war since it seems to share a common ancestry and sources. Sensors are showing nuclear radiation on the planet. It was as if nuclear weapons had been deployed on the planet’s surface yet the impact craters don’t really reflect orbital bombardment patterns. We have a most intriguing puzzle. Sir, there is one hulk with identification visible on scanners. It is identified as the GNRS Colossus. I am running the name through our database to see if we can find any more information.”
Gavyrn waited patiently as his crew worked to try and solve the puzzle. He couldn’t help the feeling that they were heading into a trap. That they were willingly climbing into the leviathan’s maw. His fur was beginning to irritate him as it rubbed uncomfortably on the collar of his shipsuit. His instincts saying they were in danger kept his fur puffed out away from his body.
The communication officer’s voice “Sir confirming the source of the transmission is coming from this warehouse located in between the remains of moderate sized towns. Nothing else is around.” The communication officer put the images of what they had found on the main viewscreen for Commander Gavryn to look over.
They had arrived at the planet and Gavryn had decisions to make.
Gavryn: “Tactical keep scanning the debris fields for any signs of our missing Daxini vessels. Let me know if the database search turns up anything of note.”
The tactical officer nodded as he continued his work. “Understood sir.”
Gavryn then turned and addressed the Battle Group’s Claw Chief. They were responsible for any combat troops. Gavryn had overall command but Rainar commanded the troops. Just like Flight Chief Argryn commanded the fleet of ships in the battle group.
“Claw Chief Rainar, arrange an exploratory team to visit the communications site and investigate it. Coordinate with Flight Chief Argryn for transport to the location.”
Gavyrn’s eyes narrowed as he tried to put together the large puzzle before him. Gavryn turned to the communication officer. “Communications I want you to work with the Kronar Support Chief Islea to analyze the communication signal. Can we broadcast to them? Work to try and decipher the message and build a translator for it. Is the technology they are using known to us? Maybe that can give us some answers.”
The communications officer nodded. “Yes sir.”
Gravyn had not expected to find such an intriguing and beguiling mystery at the very start of this mission. He had expected to find no traces of anything at all or something obvious like debris and evidence of pirate raiders or hostile forces.
Gravyn’s voice was calm and full of confidence in his crew as he told them. “Let’s get to it people.” The command center became a hive of activity as the Daxini began to utilize the resources and work with the people and specialties in the Battle Group. Hopefully they will soon have some answers.
The GNRS Colossus did not show up in any of the Daxini searches of their database. No warship had ever had the name Colossus. However the word itself did have a little bit of an interesting history. In the Yranni language giants were typically beings to be feared. In mythology the Colossus, however, was a being that at worst was apathetic towards smaller beings and at best a protective and benevolent being. Perhaps even more interesting was the fact that the word colossus wasn’t even originally a Yrrani word, but was instead adopted into the language from the Yarrani-Twei, with a slight difference in accenting being the only real distinguishing factor between the two. The GNRS Colossus used the Twei version of the word.
The broadcast continued to remain frustratingly inaccessible to the Daxini. It was not encrypted and had a very easily identifiable pattern. It did, however, use some sort of technology that was inherently incompatible to what the Daxini typically used. Still it was only a matter of time before the Daxini would be able to figure out how to make sense of the broadcast. Still, simply getting their hands on a piece of communications equipment on the planet below would make the process much easier.
All was quiet at the warehouse as the Daxini exploratory team landed. Perhaps it was due to being in the middle of a desert, but there was no sign or sound of wildlife. Even the wind seemed muted. The doors to the warehouse were closed, but unlocked. They creaked as the Daxini entered the warehouse, shattering the silence. The doors appeared to have been repaired several times. Newer hinges, patches in holes, and other similar repairs had occurred in what could have been a stretch of years, with the oldest looking like it had been done decades ago and the most recent repair, a patch over a fist sized hole, might have been done perhaps six months ago. In fact such patches and repairs were evident on all the walls of the warehouse.
The interior of the warehouse was pitch black. It was a massive structure, large enough to fit an entire battalion of main battle tanks and have room to spare. Oddly enough it was mostly empty, although several large shelves packed full of metal scraps would occasionally obscure line of sight enough to conceal the far wall of the warehouse. The ceiling was covered in strange pipes that didn’t seem quite right. The pipes’ purpose was a complete mystery to all who saw them.
As the Daxini entered they would just barely hear a woman’s voice coming from a far corner. The voice was too muffled to make out what she was saying, but it sounded like she was speaking to someone. As the Daxini made their way through the warehouse her voice became clear, and it became evident that she was speaking in some evolution of the Twei language.
The message was transmitted back to the Daxini Ships over the exploration team's communications. The Kronar used the databases of the Yranni language to create a translator program to handle the linguistic shift. They managed to translate the message and share it with the exploration team and the command staff.
The message translated as, “I know we are all stressed,” The woman said with a soothing voice, “but help is on the way. Word has come in that the Third Fleet is on its way to break the siege. We just have to hold out for another month or two. Now I have received a request by a young lady to play a song for her fiance who is serving on the Colossus. This next song, as are all our songs, is dedicated to the young men and women who are fighting to maintain control of our orbital space.”
The woman went silent as a melancholic song began to play. Finally the Daxini got around the shelves enough to see where the woman’s voice was coming from. There was no woman. The corner of the warehouse had been converted into a broadcasting room of sorts. The broadcasting equipment had obviously been set to run autonomously, probably repeating the same songs and conversations, for centuries. Still the equipment itself, although largely covered in dust, had certain parts that had clearly been wiped clean sometime in the past few months.
An old security camera attached to a nearby wall turned to look at the Daxini, making a horrible screeching sound as sand and dust that had gotten stuck in its gears were ground and rubbed against. The camera seemed to regard the Daxini for a moment before tilting up as if to look at the ceiling, then down at the Daxini before returning to the ceiling. It continued to do this, somehow almost seeming frantic.
The Daxini in the exploration team heads all snapped in unison towards the screeching camera as their weapons came up and were aimed at the camera. They were puzzled by its movement. They were staring up at it. They asked Islea to help them with translating their words and broadcasting it over a speaker at the camera.
“We mean you no harm. We are trying to find out what happened here. Do you need help?”
They repeated variations of their message but there was no reply.
Several miles away from the warehouse a previously hidden silo opened up from beneath the sand. A heavy duty industrial elevator slowly rose to the surface, bringing with it a heavily armed and armored, six legged mech. Some sort of heavy laser or particle beam cannon mounted to its front, two missile or rocket pods on its back, and a variety of other equipment indicated that this mech was ready for a fight. The moment the elevator had stopped moving the mech began sprinting towards the warehouse. At its current rate of movement it was no more than ten minutes away from the warehouse. And, given its armaments, it could probably already fire on any craft taking off or landing at the warehouse.
The Daxini pilots were still aboard the troop dropship that had carried the exploration team to the surface of the planet. They had been actively scanning the area around the warehouse using the ship’s sensors. They detected the elevator and the mech. They tried to communicate with the mech. They were hailing them over all known communication frequencies and bands trying to find a way to talk with them. They even began broadcasting over a speaker on the outside of the dropship. Maybe they could hear them if they were in the mech?
They hit their comms to warn the team. “Claw Chief, we have movement. There is a mech headed this way armed with some kind of heavy laser or particle beam cannon, and missiles. We are hailing them but so far no response. It is moving fast. Expected Eta 8 minutes.”
The exploratory claw chief commander “Understood. Keep trying but you are authorized to defend the ship. Raise your shields and warm up the engines in case you need to maneuver.”
The mech did seem to understand that communications were being sent its way. It too sent out communications over a wide variety of frequencies and bands. To the Daxini AI it would be apparent that the mech was rapidly cycling through communications protocols, attempting to find something that was compatible, but finding nothing.
The mech fired three green flares above itself, followed a moment later by three flares in the direction of the warehouse, two red and one green. It continued on its rapid dash towards the warehouse. In fact the mech picked up speed as the Daxini dropship used a physical speaker to effectively yell at the mech. As the mech picked up speed it pointed a laser communications array at the Daxini fleet in orbit, finding one of the ships there with startling ease. It didn’t use the laser in its traditional role, instead it hit the ship with the laser in a series of short and long “flashes”. The flashes were in fact an old Yrrani Imperium telecommunications code that used signals of two different durations to send out a message. While usually sent out in an audio form, it could be used in a visual form as the mech currently was. The message was short and to the point.
FRIENDLY FORCES ENVELOPED. MOVING TO ASSIST.
Inside the warehouse the camera continued to desperately attempt to look at something on the ceiling. The being controlling the camera apparently lacked either the capacity or desire to respond to the Daxini with any kind of vocal or auditory message. The camera finally gave up on looking up and instead turned to look at the Daxini. A moment later it slowly and deliberately turned towards the door the Daxini had entered the warehouse through.
The pipes and unidentified machinery that were attached to the warehouse’s ceiling and roof began to undulate and shift ever so slightly. They began to change color, turning from rusted metal to a sandy brown. Slowly pipes moved, turning into tentacles, or opened up revealing sharp teeth.
Islea was surprised when they saw the colored flares over the dropship's cameras. He then saw the telemetry on the lasers that the mech had fired at the ship. They were low powered targeting type lasers. The pattern was recognizable though. The Kronar had been digging through the database the Daxini had compiled on the Yranni. It matched the Yranni Twei. It was an old morse code style of emergency communication.
Islea sent the translation message out to the commander and the ground team at the same time.
Islea: “They are communicating using code. It matches the Yranni Twei in the database. They are warning us. The translation is “FRIENDLY FORCES ENVELOPED. MOVING TO ASSIST.”
As Islea was sharing the translation of the code, the Xidonae Claw Chief in charge of the exploration team, Havoral, had an itch between their shoulder blades. Their fur stood on end inside their power armor. Havoral felt something brush against his awareness. Instinct alone had him looking up as he raised his gun as the ceiling began to change colors. He fired a grenade at the center mass where teeth appeared as tentacles began to move along the ceiling.
Havoral barked out a command and warning as he fired into the monster above their heads.
Havoral: “Above us! Fire at will! Move!”
Havoral was already moving to one side away from the tentacles as he continued to fire at the monster above their heads. The rest of the exploration team came alive and began to fire weapons up into the hanging above their heads.
Tentacled monsters died by the dozens, torn to pieces by the Daxini gunfire. But they kept coming. And from every direction. They fell upon the Daxini in a combined mass of tentacles and teeth. Their hunger would be sated this day.
The fleet in orbit could see more of the creatures heading towards the warehouse from wherever they had been hiding before. First they came in singletons, then in the tens, then hundreds, soon thousands. They were all coming from comparatively distant locations, it would take the closest ones at least ten minutes to reach the warehouse, but they approached from every direction.
The mech came to a sudden halt as it neared the warehouse. It leveled its cannon at the warehouse and a second later opened fire. The particle beam that shot out of the cannon was like a perfectly straight bolt of lighting, only it was sustained for far longer than a lightning bolt. The mech shot the roof of the warehouse, moving the beam from one end to the other. What had at first seemed like an odd collection of pipes and machinery began to move and changed into more of the tentacled beasts, only to be annihilated by the beam. Pieces of the warehouse roof broke apart and showed the monsters and Daxini inside with debris.
After a few seconds, and only after the roof was certainly cleared of any living creature, did the mech’s particle beam fade away. Heat shimmered from half a dozen vents as the mech stayed perfectly still, venting heat into the desert air. After a few seconds the mech turned towards the direction of the closest oncoming horde of monsters and fired several rockets from one of its weapons pods. It then turned towards the next closest group and fired another couple of rockets. Its ammunition expended, the pod was ejected from the mech.
Finally the mech turned back towards the warehouse and charged. It didn’t stop as it approached the warehouse. Its particle beam cannon was firing even as it smashed through the wall, the beam catching several monsters as they leapt at the Daxini. The mech kept the beam on, using it almost like a sword to cut tentacled creatures apart as it moved the beam around. The particle beam heated up the air in the warehouse to what would have been hot enough to cause burns, had the Daxini not been wearing their armor.
The beam flickered off as the last of the creatures in the warehouse fell to the combined mech and Daxini fire. A fuel cell shot out of the side of the mech’s particle beam cannon, its half melted state indicating that it had been subjected to far more abuse than it had been designed for.
The mech seemed to regard the Daxini for a moment as it vented the heat generated from its particle beam cannon. Finally it spoke in a deep, masculine voice. “We are surrounded. Outsiders, it is past time that we left.” It shifted its body slightly so that it could look at the Daxini dropship. “Is your dropship capable of carrying a sixty ton vehicle?”
The Daxini troops were well trained and responded immediately. They were outnumbered but the enemy seemed to die easily. Havoral understood now that his unease came from subconsciously detecting an alien presence. They had not tried to mentally connect to him. He was uncertain how intelligent they were. They seemed to respond to stimulus as one which made him ponder if they had a hive type mentality. His troops were giving as good as they got but it was a matter of numbers and attrition. They would eventually run out of ammunition and power. Havoral was busy trying to stay alive shooting anything with a tentacle that moved even as his brain was processing the message translation from the drop ship.
Havoral: “Don’t fire at the mech. Try to assist. We are surrounded. Confirm and open a corridor to the ship so we can flee.”
Havoral ducked as part of the ceiling came down and lasers cut into the building. Havoral began making his way towards an exit barking orders over their comms.
Havoral: “Ground team evacuate! Fighting retreat to the ship. The mech is friendly. Provide supporting fire if you can. MOVE IT! Watch your heads!”
Havoral instinctively shielded his mind but he felt the pressure of many minds against his. He pulled a teammate out of the clutch of tentacles as he fired his energy weapon at it’s head. He pushed them towards the exit as dust, blood, and debris exploded around them. He had barely made it to the entrance when a deep voice was asking about the capacity of their drop ship.
Havoral paused as his team followed orders and headed towards the dropship. Some of them were firing at the tentacled creatures in their way or running towards them. Havoral shrugged as he tried to answer the question. He trusted Islea to put the translation to work for him.
Havoral: “Yes, if we can fit it. If there is room in the hold. It currently has our own ground vehicle in it. Less talk and more running and shooting.”
He took off after his team trying to keep their tail clear. The numbers coming towards them seemed endless.
The mech kept pace with Havoral, staying a dozen or so feet behind him to keep itself between the Daxini and the most immediate threat. It would occasionally rotate in place to fire its particle beam at a target either in the warehouse or somewhere far off. Then it would smoothly turn back around and return to its spot a dozen feet behind Havoral.
But the mech’s movements weren’t smooth. Not at all. When it was moving at high speeds it certainly looked smooth and elegant, but at the slower speeds it was moving at now, revealed a very different state. The mech had a jerky motion to it. It wasn’t the jerkiness that might be attributed to hesitation or an uncertainty of how to move, but instead was the motion of a machine worked extremely hard and not properly maintained. In fact now that the mech was in close proximity to the Daxini they would be able to make out other obvious signs of disrepair. Paint had almost completely flaked off, with a few sections being subjected to a more recent, but sloppy, paintjob. In several areas that outer shell of the mech had been damaged, exposing internal components to the environment.
“Please clear enough space in your cargo hold for me.” The mech said. After a few moments it added, as if only as an afterthought “I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions once we have left.”
Havoral called into his comm unit. “Move all the way forward. Make enough room in the cargo hold for the mech! We are coming in hot. Fire team, provide cover fire.” Havoral leaned forward and pushed his combat suit to the limit. The servos whined as he ran full out for the dropship. The dropship’s dark matte hunter green finish stood out starkly in the dry brown grass and dust covered dirt that was the environment surrounding the warehouse. Havoral twisted and fired his grenade launcher into a tightly packed group of tentacled monsters closing in from the left side. He flicked a switch on the side of his gun and began using the plasma beam to cut down more of the strange creatures.
Havoral was surprised to see that his fire team had decided to stretch his orders as the Daxini Heavy Armor Troop Vehicle floated out of the back of the Daxini Drop Ship. The heavy armored troop vehicle was more of an antigravity tank. The short range rail gun turret spun up with an audible whine of power as it began lobbing small tungsten carbide shells into the creatures trying to cut into their path on the right side. The heavy plasma cannon on the troop vehicle also began firing, taking out small pockets of the creatures as splash damage turned into an area of effect attack. Havoral would have words with them later if they survived. He had to give them credit for thinking outside the box. The heavy vehicle had moved forward out of the way of the ramp giving the “friendly” mech a straight shot into the cargo hold. Their efforts pushed the creatures away from their sides but they were still coming in like a never ending wave.
Havoral spoke into helmet comms once more. “Prepare to lift off as soon as everyone is on board. We will be heavy one friendly mech. We need to lift off in a hurry. Will the extra weight be a problem?”
Havoral was pleased to hear the response back from the pilot in the affirmative. The drop ship could carry two armored vehicles. They had only brought one not anticipating that they would face any significant threats on what appeared to be an abandoned planet.
Havoral broadcasted his next reply over his speakers for the mech. “Just keep running right into the ship. They will cover us as we lift off.”
“Understood” The mech answered in response to Havoral. Despite this one of its weapons pods shifted to point straight up before launching a rocket into the air. The rocket flew up for a few hundred feet before it split apart into several dozen smaller objects that all shot out in different directions. These objects arched towards the ground, striking the ground in a full circle around the Daxini and mech. As they struck, they exploded, killing some tentacled monstrosities and stunning those nearby. It halted the horde. For a moment. Through all this the mech never broke stride and quickly scuttled onto the Daxini craft.
“Be advised that there are swimmers that can spit a dangerous plasma projectile and can fly at high speeds. It is best we leave quickly.” As if to punctuate his point a tentacled monster about twenty percent larger that the ones the Daxini had encountered spat a forewarned glob of plasma at Havoral. The plasma flew wide, very wide, and was never at risk of striking any Daxini. Still a second slightly larger than normal monster spat more plasma at the Daxini. And in the distance dozens more of the plasma spitting monsters could be seen making their way forward.
“If we are lucky there won’t be any swimmers lurking in orbit.” The mech commented.
Havoral never broke stride as he kept up with the friendly mech. The Daxini Heavy Armored Troop Vehicle had pulled far enough out of the entrance to the cargo hold that the mech could go right in. Havoral didn’t miss the display of firepower and the missiles shot by the mech and the effect it had on the tentacled creatures. He kept sprinting his power armor whining as the servos worked hard to provide the speed and power he was demanding of them.
He continued to fire his weapons as he ran up the ramp. Havoral looked properly horrified by the information the mech provided about the creatures. He spoke quickly into his comms unit. His voice full of authority and command. “Button up the ship quickly. We need to take off quickly. Get that damn troop vehicle back inside and get us in orbit. Get me a line to the commander.”
The Daxini crew rushed to obey his orders. The heavy troop transport easily backed up into the cargo bay. They had just set the vehicle down as the ship’s AI engaged the docking clamps and shut the cargo bay door. You could hear the heavy guns on the ship firing into the heavy masses of creatures closing on the ship. Havoral breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the ship moving, the pilot taking his words to heart was already launching the ship skyward. All of these things were happening simultaneously. Havoral wasted no more time on getting to know their friendly mech. He needed to warn the ships in orbit.
His comm blared to life as a calm and authoritative voice relayed to his ear. “This is Commander Gravyn, report.”
Havoral quickly laid out the most relevant information for the group commander. “We were surrounded by hostile forces. Some form of intelligent looking creature with tentacles. We were aided by a friendly native. We are currently launching towards the battle group. The friendly informed us they call these creatures Swimmers and they can spit plasma bolts and apparently can live in the vacuum of space. He warned me there might be some in orbit. I can confirm that they can spit plasma and he said they fly very fast, sir. I wanted to get a warning to you to be on alert. We stirred them up good down here sir. If they can communicate with each other, they might know where we are and come after us.”
Havoral took a deep shaky indrawn breath. He had done his best to warn the ship and his fellow Daxini about the danger they had run into. Now it was time for him to trust his leader to make the right decisions from here.
Gravyn’s voice was decisive as he replied his comm line opened. Havoral could hear him giving commands to others on the bridge. “Send a red alert out to all ships. Enemies are inbound. They are organic and dangerous. All ships should be alert and prepped for action. Get the orders going out.” Gravyn’s voice was directed at Havoral once more. “Havoral, I want your team to make for the DSF Venator. I want to meet our friendly and debrief the team when this is over. We will watch for you and try to offer support.”
Havoral nodded even though Gravyn couldn’t see it. He shut down his comm line with Gravyn and began to move towards the mech. He spoke to the pilot to give him their new destination. “New destination, we are to dock with the Venator and the battle group will provide fire support.”
Havoral made it to the mech and looked at the battered machine. He wondered how old it was. It had clearly seen action but was well maintained and repaired. He used his comms to help him translate as he spoke aloud. “Do you want to come out of that mech? We can go to the bridge together. The battle group has been warned. They will offer fire support.”
“That’s good.” The mech commented after a moment’s pause. “I’m cautiously optimistic that the Swimmers in orbit are either in a deep hibernation or have long since moved on in search of food elsewhere.” The mech’s legs made small adjusting movements, creating a light tapping sound each time. The movements simultaneously gave the mech an arachnid feel as well as came off being nervous.
“Unfortunately,” the mech continued after another moment of silence, “I will not be able to join you on the bridge. I am a cataphract-class autonomous heavy lancer. Serial number TA-553728991. I am attached to the Fifth Squadron, Seventh Heavy Division, Third Army of the Auria Planetary Guard. Or at least…” His tone turned dark, “I was.” His tone lightened as he continued “I have often been called Tango and would prefer if you did so as well.”
Havoral almost lost his footing as the pilots took evasive maneuvers to a new art form as they threw the ship around to avoid plasma fire from the swimmers chasing them. Havoral’s arm shot out to catch the bulkhead wall next to him to keep from falling. The lead pilot’s voice came over the internal ship’s communications. “We are taking heavy fire. Hold on to something, it is going to be a bumpy ride.”
Havoral couldn’t help grumbling under his breath and muttering “Warning was too late.” He placed his back against the bulkhead as he turned his head towards Tango. There was nothing he could do to help his pilots except to stay out of their way and let them do their job.
Havoral regarded the mech curiously. “Nice to meet you Tango. My name is Havoral. I am a Daxini. Do you mean that you are a digital lifeform? An artificial intelligence? We call ours digital entities.”
“I am a nonbiological being, but I am not a nominal artificial intelligence.” Tango’s tone remained pleasant as he spoke. “I am a type of synthetic intelligence called a bioroid.” He paused as the ship hit some turbulence, forcing him to brace himself. “The short of it is that the Republic sought to create synthetic beings with the minds of biological creatures, but the bodies of machines. And much like a biological creature, the mind of a bioroid exists in its brain.” Tango tapped his own head with one of his front legs.
The ship hit another patch of turbulence and as Tango braced himself one of his legs gave out, causing him to collapse to the floor. “Damn!” He cursed. “I’m getting old.” He sort of shook his head as he rose to his feet again, turning his head to gaze at the Daxini. “So Havoral… What brings outsiders like you to a graveyard like this?”
Havoral slid down the wall to sit on the floor. It seemed like a more secure way to stay and talk to Havoral. The ship shuddered and jerked as the pilots sought to get the ship into the atmosphere and back to the Daxini Battle Group.
Havoral chuckled as Tango commented on getting old. Havoral felt the same way when his joints ached on a cold day. Havoral’s ears twitched and his nose wrinkled from the smell of ozone and heated metal that clung to the cargo bay. The scents of heavy machinery and weapons fire still hung in the air. His head tilted to one side as he listened to Tango’s reply.
Havoral looked curious but was in not afraid of Tango. “We have true digital life forms that have become members of our race and world. They call their clan the Kronar. I am from the Xidonae clan. You had mentioned you were part of the planetary guard. Are there any of your people still down on the planet? We are investigating the disappearance of some of our civilian vessels that have gone missing in the area.”
Tango remained silent for almost a full minute before answering. “I doubt it. It has been four hundred and ninety-eight years since I last saw a citizen of the Republic. The last confirmed transmission I received from one was ten years later. And there was an unconfirmed message that I never personally received that was allegedly transmitted a further three years after that. The last communication I had with a bioroid was fifteen years ago. This is a dead planet.”
“As for your civilian vessels…” Tango moved his front most legs in a fashion that partially imitated a shrug. “If they entered the Ghost Nebula they have almost certainly already encountered the Swimmers. Perhaps they managed to escape this star system.” Tango gave another pseudo-shrug. “I have no idea how the rest of the Republic is fairing, but if the Republic still exists somewhere perhaps your civilians got lucky. Ah!” Suddenly Tango sounded excited. “That reminds me. There was an old government black site hidden away on one of the moons of the closest gas giant. I was never informed about what exactly went on at that site, rumors said it had something to do with cryostatis or something, but I do know that it had the ability to track starships. The facility was abandoned when the Swimmers first arrived in system, but its tracking systems would have been automated. With luck those systems may still be active.”
Day 2: 06:31:01 Polavian Standard Vodka Distillery, Novy Jork, Capital Province, Republic of Polavia
Rowan Morgana
Rowan had jumped into action wielding her broom as the vessel and weapon it was. She spun and attacked applying bo staff techniques as she wielded the broom into battle. The broom itself glowing as she kept the mana collection spell running as she fought by channeling mana into the broom. The broom’s glow got brighter with every dog she hit. A fierce snarl curled her lip as she spun and attacked the ghost hounds trying to stop her from getting the witch that had summoned them. Rowan focused on what she needed to do to help the team get out of the factory. She didn’t understand what Upswing’s role in this was but she didn’t trust him after hearing he was here for her. He seemed to join their side as they worked to take out Yelenka. Being able to hit something helped Rowan’s mood some. She began looking around as she took out the last ghost dog. She had still not managed to get her frustration and anger out completely. She was ready to beat on something else. The fight seemed over for now much to her disappointment. The team had managed to open a small window between the forces looking for them so that they could make good their escape. There were still PSA goons firing at them trying to stop their escape.
Felix charged for the entrance to the gift shop as he took out another couple of PSA goons. She heard him call out, "Okay, exit through gift shop it is then!"
Rowan ran in the direction of the entrance to the gift shop. Any tourists or employees had long since fled due to the fighting. She smiled as she saw two PSA goons pop up from behind a gift shelf and began to target the team. She still had her hands on her broom and used some of the stolen mana from the ghost dogs to send two lightning bolts their way. They ducked but their armor attracted the electricity as they ducked. She smiled in satisfaction as she watched their twitching bodies drop to the floor. "It is nice to feel productive. They were annoying me. I’m just taking out the trash."
Most of the team didn’t stop running as they took the PSA waiting for them. A few of them grabbed things on the way through. She smiled and stopped long enough to grab two large bottles of the vodka on display in the gift shop. She opened her backpack and quickly shoved them inside. She started to close up her backpack when her eyes landed on boxes of vodka filled chocolates. She snagged two small boxes and forced them into the bag as well. She then closed it up and quickly slid it back on. She picked up her broom and followed the others out of the gift shop.
As they emerged outside, she heard sirens in the distance and closing fast. There was the crackle of flames and smoke pouring into the air from the factory. She followed and hopped on her broom as they cleared the front door. Her broom would allow her to move faster and more smoothly up and over obstacles. She followed after Felix. She almost whined when Oksana had suggested they take one of the nice cars sitting in the parking lot. Felix said they didn’t have time and directed them to head towards the closest housing block. She understood they didn’t have time as the sirens were almost to the factory.
Oksana gave voice to her thoughts. "Fuck! We're not shooting police, Felix!" Oksana yelled, as they made their way out of the factory grounds.
They didn’t have time to get to one and get it hotwired and exit before the local police could stop them. They had nothing against the local police. They didn’t want to shoot the good guys who actually tried to serve the community. She poured more mana into her broom and followed behind Felix, her broom easily going up and over the fence as she pulled up next to him and kept pace with him.
Day 2: 06:51:02 Novi Grad, Novy Jork, Capital Province, Republic of Polavia
Rowan followed Felix as they turned into a crumbling apartment block that had seen better days.She had hopped off her broom and was carrying it in one hand. The crumbling structure was in desperate need of maintenance but was strong enough to have weathered whatever local shoot outs and gang actions it had seen. People in need of shelter still entered the building and obviously lived here. The team ran up the stairs moving deeper into the building. They passed a drunk man that was sprawled out in a hallway on the first floor. Rowan’s nose wrinkled, grateful she had her mask still on. She was pretty sure this place would smell like mildew, rot, garbage, and piss. They came across a section that looked like part of the ceiling was collapsing. This section appeared abandoned probably because no one else was stupid enough to move into the part of the building which might collapse on them. Felix moved to the apartment door there which looked like it was barely hanging on to the hinges. Felix had taken something out and appeared to be trying to see what was going on when Oksana went past him and kicked the door open. They all trooped in behind them with the last person closing the door behind them. She could hear gunfire and sirens in the area but they were not necessarily moving closer to their location.
Oksana called out “Clear.”
Felix was guarding the door as they all trooped inside. Felix finally let his posture relax and turned to Oksana as he leaned against the wall. "What a mess. Who was that, Roxy? And she knew Borys? Gods!"
Oksana:
"Yelena Strulovich. Warlock."
Rowan was paying attention to the conversation. The name didn’t ring any bells for her. But then that seemed to be normal for her while she was visiting the shining state of Polavia. Her lip curled in disgust and frustration. She blew out a breath and tried to let the pent up anger go.
Felix:
"Well, Borys didn't kill her, for sure. She blinked out. We'll see her again. Scary bitch, her and half the PSA want our heads."
Rowan snickered as she turned her attention to Felix. “Well aren’t you Captain Fucking Obvious!”
Before Rowan could comment further Oksana jumped back in.
Oksana: "Yeah, warlocks are. We did well. Borys thrived on that. Silas kept us all alive. And Rowan is still public enemy number one. We know that. But what else is new. Upswing, was it? This is normally how it goes. Welcome to the team."
Rowan’s head snapped towards Oksana. “Wait a fucking minute! Welcome to the team? Didn’t this guy say he was hunting me too?”
Rowan turned her attention on Upswing. “I appreciate that you joined us to get out of there. I need to know if I am going to have an issue with you. Are you really joining the team? Or are you still planning to hunt me? Because if that is the case, let’s get this shit out of the way.”
Rowan waited to hear Upswing out and reluctantly let it go for now. She still wasn’t sure she could fully trust him but it was what it was for now. The enemy of my enemy was a friend after all or isn’t that how the saying goes? She shook her head and began to look around the apartment. Rowan sighed as she couldn’t help comparing it to Babushka’s barn. The barn somehow felt friendlier and nicer compared to the abandoned dilapidated apartment. She would not be sitting on that sofa. It was covered in questionable stains that gave her the heebee jeebees just thinking about what might be on it.
Oksana broke out the spell paint. She planned a trip back to the barn. She asked if anyone wanted anything. Rowan raised her hand. “Please bring me back another change of clothes. There is also more ammo for the Mossberg and my pistols. Can you bring what is left? There are also some small gold bars and DSR Cash left in my duffle bag, if you think it would be worth bringing. I am not sure if the black market would accept it.”
Oksana went to work with the paint and Rowan turned her attention to the space they were in. She sighed and took off her hat, mask, and cape. She used a clean spell on them and set them aside. She then began digging through her pack to see what she had left.
Oksana came back and began passing out clothes and gear that people had asked for. Rowan caught what was thrown her way. She folded them and set them on top of her cape. She continued to pull things out and set them down in a row as she took inventory. She listened as she worked.
Oksana:
"So, Pavel, if I know him, is almost permanently at the Grand Polavian, off Palinka Street. Opposite the massive Town Hall. You can't miss it. But he won't be back until the evening. He does business across the city. He's a fixer." Oksana leaned against the table with the tourist map of Novy Jork on it.
Felix:
"We're this close to the end. We need to get to Pavel, and call it a day, Roxy, we are way, way over our heads. Hunting down whatever..."
Oksana:
"Oh, so let me see. It doesn't matter. They're going to hunt Rowan to the end of the earth. And you." She poked a finger against his chest, sighing, as she looked to Borys, Silas, Upswing and Rowan, sighing.
Rowan frowned as she looked over at Oksana. “Do I need to call you Captain Fucking Obvous now?” Rowan rolled her eyes as Oksana continued.
Oksana:
"Paperwork to get us out is helpful, but we are getting into constant gunfights, being chased by police, PSA, a Tier One caster unit from the DSR. Now Upswing wants to find Rowan. I imagine it's to do with the psychoactive shit they were planning on putting in vodka bottles. Well. If that was a trial run, what the fuck are those bastards up to?"
Rowan pulled out some potion vials she had in her backpack since they had discussed that they wouldn’t be all that useful due to ways the police and other operations could see through or detect illusion disguises. She still had two of those illusion disguise potions.
Oksana:
"I want a day without getting shot so we can figure out what is going on. Pavel knows if your Babushka farted, so he might have some answers. Or at the least, where I might be able to go to get some answers. Even if you lot run."
Rowan snorted as she listened to Oksana. “Me too! I would love a day where no one took shots at me and demanded that I be turned over for torture like I was a piece of luggage. I would kill for a nice bed, clean room, and a bath. But here we are.” She went back to sorting through her gear for what would be helpful.
Felix flicked his fingers through the tourist map, shrugging. "Okay. Well, we're civies now. We could blend in. CCTV isn't hot around here. So it gives us room to breathe, let's go on that, Roxy. Figure out a plan...we can do that at least until we see Pavel and we can talk then about what next." He looked down at the map, putting hand to chin, thinking.
@starlance Felix and Oksana were standing next to each other and reviewing the map that they had placed on the table. She listened as her eyes flicked over what she had left. She still had ammo for her pistol. She still had two magazines since she had not used it much. She sighed and stood up leaving her possession in a tidy pile on her cape. She handed the two bottles of vodka she had liberated to Borys. "I found those on the way out." She smiled at him. She went to look at the map and join the conversation.
Felix flicked his fingers through the tourist map, shrugging. "Okay. Well, we're civies now. We could blend in. CCTV isn't hot around here. So it gives us room to breathe, let's go on that, Roxy. Figure out a plan...we can do that at least until we see Pavel and we can talk then about what next." He looked down at the map, putting hand to chin, thinking.
Oksana:
"A few things would be handy. Ideas?"
Felix:
"More potions would be good."
Rowan sighed and nodded. “I can brew more but I will need to pick up some supplies. What kind of potions are you thinking of?”
Oksana:
"Here. Alejka Czarownika. Sorcerer's Alley. Best newts this side of the mountains. They take cash."
Rowan smiled with a glint in her eye. “Oh yes! I am going with whoever is going. I will need to see what they have before I can say what I can make. Price for ingredients will be a factor as well.” She rubbed her hands gleefully.
Felix:
"Good. That's a visit. Also, food. I'm fucking starving. Those PSA militants have nothing on their bones. Something for lunch at least."
Rowan nodded with that statement. “Good call Felix. The granola bars wore off long ago. I am hungry too.”
She just watched the back and forth as Oksana tried to extoll the virtues of a place called the Milk Bar. “That sounds like a bar for cats. They serve milk? It should be perfect for you Felix.” She smiled as she gave Felix a rash of shit.
The discussion turned to what the team needed. “Did you bring back what little ammo was left for the Mossberg and my pistol? I have two magazines left for my pistol. I didn’t use it much. I have some DSR cash and some gold bars. Is there a place that would exchange gold for Polavian cash?”
Oksana:
"There's still a market here on Kotlin Street. It has a black market, where you can buy almost anything. Including Western bootlegs. There's a guy here, Janek, who also sells Vessels. For the right price, he can find you anything." Oksana pointed to the map again, noting that well, in a capital city, came some seriously, seriously spicy shit to add to arsenal. "For the right price. We haven't got much cash. So anything to make it go further, or, an ability to get some more, would be handy. I'm not into robbing banks."
Rowan pondered what she had left. “I have a few of those illusion potions left. I have one healing potion left if someone else would like it. We could sell them or trade them for what we need at the black market to make our cash go further.”
Felix:
"Fair enough. Unless you're willing to do some very unethical shit with your craft. And last thing we need is more attention, so whatever it is, be careful." Felix noted, looking across the map, before thinking more generally.
Rowan just smiled and shook her head. She thought Felix was being a little naive. They might have to get into some morally gray areas to get what they need. That didn’t mean she was willing to steal from nice old grannies but the local thugs who terrorized their neighbors. Yeah she would be happy to help them empty their pockets. She agreed that they needed to be careful not to draw attention to themselves. But might makes right is the way of the underworld and the poorer areas of the world.
Oksana:
"Anyone else have any ideas? We need to make a list."
Rowan nodded. “Depending on what we can afford and what ingredients they have. Brewing potions will be cheaper than buying them. I will have to purchase a cheap soup pot or something like that to brew enough in. Again I have a few of those small gold bars and two of those illusion potions left we can sell. We can play Robin Hood and wait for local thugs to harass or shake down some local merchants and step in and relieve them of their money. We are going to need money to buy ammo. That is not going to be cheap. I am not sure what the going rates are here. I agree that a car would be nice. I also agree if we are going to steal one. Let’s pick one from a rich person that won’t miss it as much. It would make traveling incognito easier for us. A van would be even better since there are five of us. We could use it as a mobile base of operations. Some food for the road would be good too.”
Rowan waited to hear what the others came up with before she jumped back into the conversation. “We need information too. We need to pay attention to what the rumors on the street are. We need to find out what is going on with the PSA and try to follow up on any rumors about Manticore. It would also help if we find out if the underground is looking for us too or just the PSA.”
Rowan had decided to strike out on her own after the team meeting broke up. She kept her combat boots on but had already used a clean spell to remove any gunk left from their fight at the vodka factory. She was now wearing jeans, her black combat boots, and a dark purple hoodie with the phrase “good witches raise hell” in a bold kitschy font emblazoned across the front. She had pulled the braids out of her hair. Her hair was a riot of cascading curls that moved in shades of red with hints of gold. It made her look different from her work look. It softened her features and made her appear more feminine and approachable. She had skillfully applied some minimal make up from a small bag she kept in her backpack. She used makeup to help change the lines of her face. Eyeliner elongated her eyes and added dark wings to the sides. Foundation covered her freckles and darkened her skin just a little. She used the contouring makeup to add deeper shadows to her cheeks giving her a more hallowed out look. One of her goals was to buy some hair dye while she was out. She needed some mundane ways to change and alter her appearance that didn’t rely on magic. She didn’t pull the hood up because she felt she would attract more attention that way than simply walking around like she belonged. She was grateful that Oksana didn’t bring her any of her more fashionable clothes. She would have stuck out like a flashing neon sign in this neighborhood. She had left her pistol under the floorboards with the long guns. She had her whip tucked into her hoodie pocket. She had emptied her backpack of everything so she could use it as a shopping bag. She had some gold, some DSR paper money, and a little Polavian money that she had managed to exchange when she first got to the country. She had her combat knife and spare wand tucked into her waistband and hidden by her hoodie.
Rowan slipped out of the dilapidated crumbling residential block and headed deeper into the district. She moved purposefully away from the area around the vodka distillery. She walked with purpose at a ground eating pace like she had somewhere to be but not fast enough to draw attention. She kept her eyes open and paid attention to what was going on around her. She stopped about five blocks from their hideout to jot down a quick map and directions into a pocket notebook with her list on it. She wanted to be sure she could make her way back to the hideout. She had just tucked the notebook into her pocket when the sound of raised voices came to her ears. She looked around and on the opposite corner was a little convenience store. The type that sold some groceries, liquor, and cigarettes and catered to the surrounding neighborhood. Other locals hightailed it away from the situation, obviously intent on avoiding any kind of confrontation with the small group of thugs standing at the door. One was watching the street and scowling at anyone looking their way. One was watching what was happening inside the store. Obviously there was at least one more inside the store.
Rowan heard a feminine voice that sounded elderly “I told you I don’t have any more than that! You already took anything I might earn this month.”
She heard a cocky male voice reply. “Then you should work harder. Now hand over what’s in the till.”
Rowan knew she should probably walk away. She didn’t need any attention but she found couldn’t do it. She kept picturing if this was Oksana’s grandmother. She had been a nice little old lady. For all she knew this woman was someone else’s babushka. You don’t mess with babushka. She was still itching for a fight and had some rage to work out. This would do nicely. Her wicked smile would have made the Grinch proud as she began stalking across the street. Her smile grew as she noted the very nice black luxury Mercedes sitting at the curb.
The tough guy at the front door noticed her and puffed up and tried to look intimidating. He stepped into her path as she approached the door. She couldn’t help but be amused at the tough guy wannabe gangster wearing the cheesy flashy polyester tracksuit and polished kicks. He had a heavy gold chain around his neck.
Thug one: “The store is closed, keep walking bitch. This doesn't concern you.”
Rowan titled her head to the side and noticed the other guy out front was watching what was happening and moved to back up his partner. She pointed to the sign and open door. “The sign clearly says its open. I have had a bad day. Why don’t you step aside and go on your way.”
The other thug laughed as he thought her response was funny. “Bitch get to stepping or we will have some fun with you before we let you go.”
Rowan’s eyes narrowed. “I see.” She spun on her heel clocking the thug in front of her in the head knocking him to the ground. She pulled her combat knife in a fluid motion and spun to attack his partner. Surprise was on her side. She had a wicked smile as she fought. The one she had kicked in the head was out. His partner was managing to keep up so far but had managed to land a few hits. He was stronger than her.
Thug two: “Bitch you have no idea who you're messing with.”
Rowan threw her head back and laughed. “That’s my line. I’d tell you to go to hell, but I doubt you could make the commute."
Rowan managed to stab the combat knife into his throat after exchanging a few more blows with him. She spat at him and turned her attention to the one inside. She casually kicked the other thug in the head hard enough to make sure he stayed down. She entered the store.
Now that she could see what was happening she got angrier. There was only one left. He slapped the old woman standing behind the counter. He was threatening her with a pistol. “I told you no excuses. Give me what you have.”
The old woman was in tears. She was trembling as her hands fumbled with the register. Rowan had seen enough. She pulled her whip out in one smooth motion. She flicked it, sending the whip to spiral around the pistol. She yanked the pistol out of the man’s hand. The man spun with a look of rage and surprise on his face. “Who the hell are you?”
Rowan sneered as she answered. “Your doom.” She flicked the whip so that it wrapped around his neck and channeled lightning through it. She smiled as she watched him twitch on the floor. "Your parents aren’t the only ones you’ve disappointed. You don’t mess with Babushka!" She quickly dispatched the thug. She then turned her attention to the elderly shopkeeper.
Rowan’s voice gentled. “Are you okay miss?”
The elderly woman’s lip trembled and a dark bruise was already welling up on her face. There were large handprint sized bruises on her arm as well. Tears fell and a look of terror crossed the elderly face as she looked at the thug. “They will be back. They always come back. Are you going to hurt me?”
Rowan sighed as she looked into those terrified eyes. She put her whip away. “I didn’t go through the trouble of helping you to hurt you. At least today they won’t be back. Mind if I use your dumpster? I should clean up my mess.”
The elderly woman clearly didn’t trust her yet. She simply nodded and appeared to be in a state of shock. She shook her head and used her back up wand to levitate the bodies and drag them into the alleyway behind the store. She had moved the third thug to the alley before stabbing him through the throat as well. She cast a clean spell to clean up the blood. She pulled all the gold jewelry and watches off them. She pulled the like new fancy sneakers off their feet and set them aside. She dug through their pockets and collected three knives and two sets of brass knuckles. She had already pocketed the pistol the leader had carried. She smiled as she pocketed a nice amount of Polavian cash along with the keys to the black Mercedes.
She made sure the bodies were in the dumpster before using her wand to channel fire. She made sure the bodies burned quickly and hotly leaving nothing but charred bones and ash. She used wind magic to disperse any smoke to hide what she was doing. Once she was done she went to the Mercedes and opened the trunk. She tossed in the sneakers that she hoped some of the guys on the team could wear. She was not bringing the tacky track suits though. She had to draw a line somewhere. She smiled imagining Felix decked out in Thug Chic. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so hasty. Well too late now. She cleaned up the signs of a fight outside the store. She then went to check on the elderly lady.
The elderly woman was sitting at the cash register wringing her hands. Her eyes followed Rowan’s every move.
Rowan sighed. “Look, you remind me of a friend’s babushka. I couldn’t stand by and watch them do that to you.”
The elderly woman’s eyes seemed to clear up as that seemed to strike a cord for her. She sniffled. “My grandchildren don’t visit me anymore. Neither do my children.”
Rowan sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I am sorry to hear that. Do you want me to close the door? What else can I do for you?”
The elderly woman seemed to be coming out of her shock now. “I should do something for you. Thank you for helping me. I am sorry… that I thought you were with them or a rival gang.”
Rowan gave her an honest smile. “Well I am something else altogether. If anyone comes looking for them, tell them the truth. You gave them what they asked for and they left.” Rowan’s eyes glinted with dark mirth. “They were begging for a beat down and got what they deserved for terrorizing a babushka. They had no manners. I mean I would have offered to brew them a potion but I don’t think a competency potion would have helped them.” She shrugged as she finally saw a smile on the elderly woman’s face.
Rowan had tea and lunch with the lovely babushka. It turned out that the woman lived above the store. Once she got over her fear and understood that Rowan was truly not going to harm her. She was a gracious host. The woman kindly let Rowan grab some supplies from her store. The elderly woman enjoyed having some company. She traded recipes with Rowan. She let her borrow her kitchen to do some cooking. She made some food that she could pack away for tomorrow. The elderly woman’s store had a great deal of what she needed. She used the thug’s cash to pay for the ingredients she needed. The kind lady even let her borrow her shower to dye her hair black. It was about the only color that would cover her dark red hair easily. The old lady let her park the Mercedes in her garage. She promised to return and check on her tomorrow. She still needed to check out the black market and round up the rest of her ingredients. Maybe she could use the old lady’s kitchen to brew her potions? She walked back to the hideout with her backpack full of muffins for breakfast tomorrow, some homemade sandwiches, a thermos of tea, and some extra cash. She wanted to see if Oksana had located the black market yet.
Round 17 of Formula AG Sunday 5th November, 2094 Race Day Bonneville Salt Flats AG Race Circuit, Utah, FAS Federated American States AGP
1730 Mountain Time
Floating on Salt
Paul had gone through the new prerace routine with Konrad the team’s paramedic. Konrad put Paul through some intravenous electrolytes before the race began. He had been through the hyper baric chamber session to increase oxygen levels in his blood stream before the race. Paul had completed his new meditation session to help him get in the right head space for the race. Paul could tell as soon as he plugged his neural link that the race would be different. His connection to the ship was the smooth merge he had come to expect. The slight timing disconnect and distracted state he had felt during qualifying was missing. He could only assume it was because he took care of the media issue over Bellatrix right away instead of letting it fester and build up. Either way when the race started Paul was in the zone.
The first few laps were always chaotic as racers fought for position right out of the start. Paul settled in and stayed alert as he took advantage as the circuit began to take a toll on the ships. He smiled as he passed Harrison whose ship was overheating. Paul continued to stay on Hamid’s tail. He kept his ship drafting and leeching off Hamid’s ship the entire race. He used the leeching and drafting to up his ship’s speed. Bellatrix didn’t make it easy for him as he was constantly defending against her to keep his position. They battled back and forth the entire race. Dorian was forced to drop back, unable to keep pace with Hamid. At one point Paul made it past Cassie and Jenny. Bellatrix followed him through the opening created by their battle as they shot past both ships. They couldn’t catch the leaders but Paul was kept busy with his own battle. He grinned as it reminded him of his epic duel with Bea at Spa. He could feel his father’s presence around him as he became even closer to the ship. His moves were practiced and professional with cold precision but graceful with instincts that couldn’t be bought or manufactured. Paul’s duel with Bellatrix highlighted the human factor in racing that artificial intelligence simply couldn’t reproduce. Paul let out a joyful battle cry as he crossed the finish line a hair breadth faster than Bellatrix. He would have to make sure she got a nice Team Valkyrie hat to wear.
Paul pulled his ship back into the paddock. He thanked his team as he they were all cheering as he climbed out. He went over to Dorian and gave him a hug and slapped him on the back. “Thanks man. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if you were not holding up the midfield. I appreciate your help.”
Delta Hyper- Post Race Interviews
Paul had arrived at the Delta Hyper set. He had a Team Valkyrie hat in gold for Beatrix. He had signed it for her and passed it to her with a smile. Paul was still in his racing suit. His hair was damp with sweat and messy. He was sipping an open orange Zap Energy drink. He accepted the hat with the tiara on it with a laugh. “Well I will wear it proudly if you beat me next time.” He gave Bellatrix a friendly smile. “It was a great race. I really enjoyed it.” One of the Delta Hyper assistants was waving to Paul and indicating it was turn to be interviewed. He smiled at Bellatrix. “Duty calls.”
Paul made his way to the Delta Hyper interview couch. He took a seat and sat the hat Bellatrix had given him to the side on an end table along with his drink.
Aurora: "Paul, what a race that was! It's fair to say that few had any hopes you would get into the points- but to come 7th at a circuit like this, tell us, how does it feel? It feels like whatever your strategy was, you made it work!"
He still managed to look handsome and charming. His smile was warm and easy as he listened to Aurora’s question. Paul’s response echoed with his excitement as his body almost vibrated with energy.
Paul: “That was an epic race. It reminded me of my battle with Bea at Spa. Bellatrix Olympus and I had a side bet going on that made the race even more exciting. If I lost, I would have to wear a Nordic Call hat, if she lost, she had to wear a Team Valkyrie hat. She gave me a tough race which was thrilling and exciting. She certainly made me earn that seventh place finish. As you know Team Valkyrie was expecting to struggle here at the Festival of Speed since our ship is not as strong with speed as others such as Al Saqyr. I really struggled in practice and qualifying here in Utah. Today everything just seemed to come together. I still struggled on the straits but ELS helped me stay competitive. Some changes we made to my prerace routine after Spa helped me stay hydrated and focused. I managed to pick up time in the corners and chicanes thanks to our handling and stability. ELS and leeching off competitors helped make up some of the speed difference in the straights. I am pleased with the end results considering how poorly I did in qualifying. I want to give props to my teammate. Part of our strategy was to have Dorian do his best to tie up Hamid. He did an admirable job of holding up the midpack.”
Pilots’ Group Chat
Paul couldn’t help but smile and accept the inevitable teasing as he read what had been posted to the Pilot Group Chat.
Bea@Paul I had to see this after a fan showed it to me, and now so do you. 😀 [Link to awful harem fic about Paul]
Bea And yes, I checked chapter publication dates, they keep adding new ones, this madness is ongoing. 😂
Paul I am not surprised. There are tons more fanfictions out there about me. I have made it a policy not to care and chase them down. I don’t really care about them. I only really step in when I feel someone else might be wronged over the press’ shenanigans. If I protest or comment it only makes it worse. I am just grateful that if my mother has seen them, she has never asked me about them. Talk about awkward! 😂
Bellatrix. OMG. Bets on the next chapters being super kinky. Hey…why am I brat? This chapter is wild… Not even got this race in!
I have to follow this madness.
@Bea. Its not our fault everyone got stretched and they're jealous how we get extra leg room I'm the ships. :)
Paul@Bellatrix I am not going to ask why you think the next chapter would be super kinky. That is information I don’t need Princess Brat! 😀
Group Message to: Paul Mulder (Valkyrie), Beatrix Ward (Carrera)
Group Message to: Paul Mulder (Valkyrie), Beatrix Ward (Carrera)
Kais: This isn't a social call. I need to know if either of you have experienced anything strange with your ships. Glitches. Memory bleeds. Unexplained system behavior. Data leaks. Kais: I'm asking because I think someone is using our augmentations against us. Feeding us information designed to turn us against each other. Kais: Amy knows something. About all of us. And I don't think she's the only one. Kais: If we're going to figure out what's happening, we need to stop being isolated targets. Kais: I think we're all in more danger than we realize. And I'd rather face it together. Kais: Let me know if you're willing to talk. I'll make sure it's somewhere secure.
Paul: I am not sure what kind of help I can be. I am willing to meet with you. Name the time and place.
Paul: Hey Kais, I have not heard from you since Australia. What’s going on? Did you still want to meet? Let’s connect at the Festival of Speed after the race.
Paul stared at the text message that had received no replies Paul noticed there was not a reply from Bea to that group conversation either. Paul had time to do his mandatory Delta Hyper interview. He had showered and was in comfortable clothes once more. He knew the teams were all busy packing up equipment. He wanted to try and catch Kais in person. He couldn’t help an uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong. He had expected Kais to dominate in this race. He did well coming in fourth but Paul had expected him to make a podium at this race. He had believed it would be Bea and Kais battling it out for first. With his decision made, Paul grabbed his personal security guards and took off towards the Al Saqyr paddock. He was stopped by security guards stationed at the entrance.
Al Saqyr security guard: “Halt. Where do you think you are going?”
Paul understood the security guard was only doing his job. He sighed and tried not to take his frustration out on the guard. He gave the guard one of his best smiles. I am a good guy look. “I wanted to have a quick word with Kais Zenix. I wanted to congratulate him on his performance. Would it be possible for you to fetch him for me? I am happy to wait.”
Al Saqyr security guard looked annoyed but he turned and walked a few feet away with his back to them as he spoke softly into his comm unit. He came back a few moments later and gave Paul a hard direct stare. “No. Kais is not receiving visitors and you are not allowed into the paddock since you are a member of a rival team. Now please move along.”
Paul let his frustration show. “Look, Kais and I are on friendly terms. If you would just…”
The security guard interrupted Paul, stepped forward with his hand resting on a stun baton. “I said leave. Or I will force you too.”
Paul’s security had caught the threatening movement and stepped forward and physically pulled him back away from the guard, inserting themselves between the guard and Paul. His security guard told Paul. “Sir, we need to leave the area.They are within their rights and just doing their job.” Paul growled in frustration but turned and headed back to Team Valkyrie territory.
Alexander was back in his office on Monday and was reviewing reports at his desk. He was pleased at how things went in Bonneville. George Haffner from Transolar Industries was pleased with what he saw. The two teams of lawyers were hammering out the details but it was looking like Transolar Industries would be the team’s next large sponsor. Alexander had been grateful that Lena had been with him at the event. She and George’s wife had hit it off. They had talked about fashion and their experiences with busy men while George and Alexander discussed racing and sponsorships. George had appreciated the knowledge and expertise displayed by all the team members. He liked Paul’s charisma and good manners. He was respectful and seemed genuine. George had met a lot of celebrities and wealthy people in his line of work and he was always irritated by those who let fame go to their head. He had expected the pilots to act somewhat like primadonnas or that the world revolved around them. He got to meet Dorian even though he was retiring at the end of the year. Dorian was gracious and gentlemanly and answered all of George’s questions with honesty and good humor. Alexander was glad to see the team do better than they had hoped with both pilots bringing in some points. The team was definitely a contender for top three in the constructors and Paul had managed to move into contention for third in the pilot’s championship. Both of those made the team’s efforts so far look good for next season.
Katherine’s team was working with the legal team and Sami Lipponnen to develop a set of smaller regional sponsorship packages to solidify and streamline the work they had started to offer support to smaller businesses who were looking to sponsor the team. They were also looking to find more dedicated sponsors for the Team Valkyrie Junior Academy. Sami was looking at ways to provide training for those wanting to move from Karting to Antigravity ships as paid training opportunities with the team sponsoring the most promising applicants but allowing a select number of others to attend the academy if they paid for the course. They would be rolling out the advertising for the updated academy in a month after they solidified logistics for the off season training session.
The phone was ringing in his office. Mabel came on the line.
Mabel: “Alex I have a weird call on the line. They are demanding to be put through to you. They claim that they have information about the team’s history and that our pilots are in danger. They are not making any sense to me. The caller id is flagged as suspicious but it made it through our vetting to get to me. Do you want to take the call?”
Alexander stopped what he was doing. Mabel’s voice told him she was concerned and worried. He didn’t know what was going on but he was not one to back away from a fight or uncomfortable information. If it was some kind of blackmail scheme the caller would be highly disappointed. Alexander didn’t scare easy. He reassured Mabel that he would handle it.
Alexander: “It is alright Mabel. I will deal with it. Put them through. Notify Wulfric of the breach in our protocols and have him try to trace it. Then report to me.”
Mabel: “I got it Alex.”
Alexander pushed the button to connect the call. “This is Alexander Knight. To whom am I speaking?”
The unknown caller sounded like a woman using a voice modulator but with technology who knew. It could be a guy named Chuck living in his mother’s basement.
Unknown Caller: "Alexander. Listen to me. I have info that's going to be uncomfortable. What I'm going to tell you, is going to break the sport itself. But you're the most untouchable Team Principal right now. A former operator. And I trust you'll do the right thing when I tell you. Are you alone?"
Alexander was curious but also frustrated. Why would they waste his time on shit like this before going into all the hype. They were obviously not a professional information broker or operative. They would have asked if they were alone before saying anything at all. That upped his suspicion that this might be some kind of prank or con for information from him. “Yes I am alone in my office. Now get to the point. Answer my damn question.”
Alexander’s hands tightened into a fist as the person ignored his questions and continued to ramble.
Unknown caller: "I've got records of Silver Apex misusing AI of the kind linked to their pilots. But what I can't understand is if it's them, alone. You can find out. I'm giving you copies of everything I found. All of it. Do with it what you will, but if you can't convince Peter to shut down what he's doing, and find out who else is in, when this goes live, anyone in the blast range is going to be caught. Which may include you. Impossible to say, but, if you are what you say you are, you'll know where you stand about all of this. There's a chance it's already bigger than Silver Apex already. Don't call this number back. Think about who you trust, Alex."
The line would go dead. And an encrypted file would hit Alexander's networked PC, sitting there, ready to look at.
Rabbit_Hole.qzip.
Alexander growled into the phone cursing as the line went dead. How the hell did they manage to send him encrypted documents? He had not authorized the connection. Whoever it was obviously was a very skilled hacker to get through all their new cyber security to plant their file. Alexander was cautious by nature and this interaction was raising all kind of red flags for him. The voice was electronically altered but it still held a hint of fear and shakiness that could come from adrenaline or fear. Their skill level to even reach him the way they did spoke of either high level connections or hacker like skills and equipment. Both demanded he take their request and information a little more seriously. Alexander stared at the file name and thought about the conversation and interaction. This was too sophisticated to be some kind of prank. It could still be a sophisticated con to spy on the team and his communication specifically. He put it in a call to their computer cyber team while he waited for Wulfric. He told Mabel to show them in right away and to hold any other calls until he got to the bottom of what was going on. He asked her to cancel any meetings on his schedule for the afternoon. He suspected that he was going to be tied up for the rest of the day.
Alexander needed to bleed off some frustration and began to pace while he waited for people to arrive. The team’s cyber specialist arrived first. Alexander explained what happened and the cyber specialist began investigating. While Alexander was waiting for some answers Wulfric appeared in his office.
Wulfric gave Alexander a nod of greeting. “Alexander what have you found this time? The call was untraceable. It was bouncing off numerous servers and satellites all around the world. We lost the trail when it disconnected. The level of skill and equipment needed to make that call indicates a hacker or someone with government-like connections and access to communications equipment. What’s going on?”
Alexander explained the odd phone call and the encrypted file left on his PC without authorization that made it through their firewalls and security.
The team’s lead computer specialist, Anabella Caldwell chimed in. Her Scottish accent made Alexander pause as he got past her accent to process the information she was giving him.
Anabella: “The person who did this was a hacker who used our own internal communications network hardware. They exploited a weakness in our routers. The security upgrade repaired weaknesses in our actual computer systems and software but they exploited weakness in our computer infrastructure that predated the upgrade. Those components were cleared of viruses and were recently upgraded so it was thought they would not need to be replaced. I will develop a patch that will take care of the issue. Once they hacked into the routers they easily hacked into your system by reviewing the logs on the router. I recommend you change all your passwords when I am done. I have isolated the file and moved it to an airgapped drive so that we can read it. If it does contain any kind of spyware or malware it will be contained. I am already conducting a deep scan of your personal computer. So far it's clean. They didn’t leave any nasty surprises behind. Nor did they access any information according to your monitoring software.”
Anabella moved to a laptop with a connected portable hard drive attached to it. She scanned the file and decrypted it for Alexander. “No surprises with the file. It was encrypted but the file has no spyware or malware detected in it. I have opened the files.” Her eyes widened as she opened the once locked folder and a series of documents popped up. “There are medical documents, brain scans, brain mapping, there is some information and performance reports on artificial intelligence. I don’t understand it all. You will need to take a look at it and decide for yourself what you need to do.”
Alexander nodded as Annabella picked up her laptop. She handed the portable hard drive to Alexander. “If you don’t need me for anything else. I want to work on plugging our now identified security issues with our internet phone system.”
Alexander nodded and thanked the woman as she left in a hurry.
Alexander invited Wulfric to join him as they reviewed the now open files together. Alexander’s shoulders tensed as he looked over the information provided. Alexander was a very intelligent man and understood the basics of a lot of what he was looking at. That didn’t mean he could interpret the minutiae. Alexander pointed out the medical records, data usage reports, ship data streams that were tied to neural interface activity.
Alexander sighed and looked at Wulfric. “If I am reading what I have been given correctly, then Silver Apex has done something to their pilot neural interfaces and have been using it to cheat somehow. But why come to me with this information? If I bring these accusations against Silver Apex and they are found to be false, it would not just hurt me could lead to sanctions against the team. Is this an elaborate plot to eliminate us as a threat? How do we verify this information? Where would you start?”
Wulfric looked concerned and thoughtful as he tried to follow all the tech geek documents in the folder. Most of it was Greek to him. He didn’t understand half of it. Wulfric turned to Alexander and sighed.
Wulfric: “Well we first need to understand what is in these documents. We need to bring in the team’s neural interface expert or if you feel you can trust them, maybe Yuhara Shinichi. She would be able to tell you what is going on here. She might be able to tell you if the documents have been forged in some manner or at least interpret what they are revealing. I think we also should interview Dorian and Paul. Maybe they have heard concerns or rumors from some of the other pilots. I also think we need to bring in Cavan. Maybe he can look into performance differences this season. Maybe he has noticed something or can run the data against other seasons to see if there are discrepancies that support whatever these documents are supposed to be proof of. Can you share what the caller told you?”
Alexander: “They stated that Silver Apex had done something to their pilots’ AIs and that Peter Thatcher knows about it and is behind it. They insinuated that other teams may be involved as well. They asked me to investigate it and report it. But if I am wrong about this it could blow up in my face. If I don’t do anything, unsuspecting pilots might be at risk somehow. That doesn’t even cover the whole cheating to win.”
Wulfric grumbled even as he looked thoughtful. “You know if it is true. You have built a reputation for putting safety of the pilots first no matter who you have to take on to do it. That may be why they came to you.”
Alexander sighed knowing this information was going to eat at him. He was a decisive man but he needed to be cautious with this information. He looked at Wulfric and nodded. “Let me call our pilots. I want you present for the interviews. I want them recorded, highest security you and me only. I am not sure how many I can trust with this kind of information. But I can’t figure this out on my own. I need help. I am not comfortable taking this to FIAR until I have at least vetted some of this information.”
Wulfric nodded. “Then let’s get started.”
Emergency meetings were called with Yuhara Shinichi, Dorian, Paul, and Cavan.
Dorian was the first one to show up in Alexander’s office. Alexander invited Dorian to take a seat in his sitting area. He let Wulfric set up the recording drone and the necessary security protocols on it.
Wulfric: “Dorian for the record we are going to record this interview. You are not to discuss this interview with anyone. I mean anyone. We have had a security breach and we are trying to get to the bottom of the reason behind it. This recording will be for our security investigation and only Alexander and I will have access to it.”
Dorian looked a little surprised but nodded. He understood that it was a necessity to trust but verify in this industry.
Alexander: “Dorian I called you in because I just received some disturbing information. I need to try and verify some of it. I received some anonymous information that Silver Apex is cheating somehow. Have you heard any rumors or noticed anything that might shed some light on this?”
Dorian laughed and looked surprised at the question. “There is no doubt that Amy Stirling has had a great run with Silver Apex. Facts are that her copilots have not done as well with the ship until Jenny Lowry. You and I have been around a while. You know there are always rumors but I have not spotted any evidence of cheating. It sounds like sour grapes to me. I can’t deny my own season has been full of more than the usual equipment failures. But I believe you were looking into that.”
Alexander could tell that Dorian had been surprised by the question. He believed Dorian was telling him the truth.
Alexander: “Thank you for your time Dorian. You can go back to training.”
Alexander waited as Dorian left and Paul came in.
Wulfric repeated his speech with Paul.
Wulfric: “Paul for the record we are going to record this interview. You are not to discuss this interview with anyone. I mean anyone. We have had a security breach and we are trying to get to the bottom of the reason behind it. This recording will be for our security investigation and only Alexander and I will have access to it.”
Paul looked surprised but nodded. “Really? I thought we just had a security upgrade? I understand. What did you need to know?”
Alexander turned to Paul. “I had someone hack into my computer and leave a message and some encrypted files. I need to see if I can corroborate or verify the information they left. I need to decide how to handle it. They stated that they believed that Silver Apex was cheating and that they had done something to their pilots' neural interfaces and artificial intelligence. Have you heard anything? Have you noticed anything? Have other pilots said anything about it? Have there been any rumors or weird occurrences?”
Paul looked stunned and shocked. Paul had a sinking feeling as he remembered Kais’ text message. Paul found himself nodding absentmindedly as he began making connections to things he had seen and heard.
Paul looked scared and mortified as he answered Alexander.
Paul: “Amy Stirling hosted a pilots dinner at the Singapore AGP. At the dinner she asked the other pilots if their neural interface was acting up. She mentioned that she had some trouble a few races prior to that. That was right after my blowup in Hawaii. I was staying quiet trying to avoid attention. I remember Dorian answered for the both of us. She theorized that maybe ELS had triggered the issue. Dorian had mentioned some kind of issue that neural interfaces had the year prior and asked her about it. I also got a text message from Kais at Al Saqyr requesting a meeting. I told him I would be happy to meet but then he never contacted me back.”
Paul pulled up the message thread and showed it to Alexander and Wulfric. In the thread Kais had asked the other pilots to meet, wanting to know if anyone had experienced anything strange with their ships. Glitches. Memory bleeds. Unexplained system behavior. Data leaks. He mentioned in the thread that he thought someone was using their augmentations against the other pilots. He believed that Amy Stirling knew something about what was going on and that there were others affected as well.
Alexander and Wulfric reviewed the information. Alexander had a bad feeling about all this. His gut felt like a rock had settled into the middle of it. He felt as if he had a heavy load pressing down on his shoulders. He sighed and gave Paul a stern look. “Thank you for sharing that information with me Paul. Next time you hear about something like this, please bring it to me. I need you to keep what you know to yourself for now. I am going to investigate this. I might even be reporting this but I need to verify some of what is going on. I want to make sure the steps I take are appropriate and don’t result in blowback on the team. I promise I will fill you in when I make a decision and learn more. You can go now.”
Paul looked conflicted for a moment but nodded. “I will do as you ask. I want to know more about this. I expect you to keep your word and tell me what you find out. I have been kind of worried about what Kais said.” He turned and left.
Alexander watched him go and looked over at Wulfric. “Well that lends more credibility that there is something going on at Silver Apex and that it does indeed involve neural interfaces. I think you need to talk to Cavan and Yahara next.”
Alexander called Yuhara and insisted she come to Valkyrie Headquarters that he had some very urgent sensitive information to share. Yuhara expressed her displeasure over being summoned with Alexander but would ultimately make it to Valkyrie late that afternoon with the use of one of their corporate shuttles. While he was waiting for Yuhara, Alexander called Cavan into his office. He explained to Cavan that some sensitive information had come to him regarding Silver Apex. He explained that there were allegations of cheating using modified neural interfaces and ship malfunctions of some kind. There was suspicion that pilot augmentations were being used against them. He was hoping Cavan would look over the statistics and equipment failures of the season. Were they more prevalent or odd? Was there something different happening this season that seemed off? Cavan was sworn to secrecy and went off to review the racing incident reports from the season. Cavan sent Alexander a summary of his findings that there were more odd equipment failures and just odd mistakes for pilots this season than normal. The data showed a 10 percent increase in unusual equipment failures and racing incidents such as crashes and collisions. It was not a very large number but ten percent was still pretty significant when discussing pilot safety.
Yuhara Shinichi came into Alexander’s office with displeasure and anger written all over her face. Alexander explained what was going on. He then asked her if any of the documentation that had been sent made any sense to her. Once she started reviewing the files, she was instantly absorbed in the data. Her irritation at Alexander disappeared. Yuhara asked Alexander how he came to have this information. He explained and was very honest with her.
Alexander: “I don’t even know if it is forged material. What are we looking at? I asked you to come because I felt I could trust you. I am trying to decide what to do with this information.”
Yuhara sighed and nodded. “I understand now why you asked me to come in person. I can tell you these files look genuine to me. Usually when someone is trying to forge this kind of neural interface testing and data, they are minor artifacts and timing misalignments that flag. This data is missing those tell tale signs. I can’t be positive without conducting an in person assessment with my own diagnostic tools. The data shows that some of the mandatory safety protocols for neural interfaces are missing from the diagnostic data. The missing protocols bypass human choices in the working loop which in extreme cases can allow the artificial intelligence to control the human body which is why these protocols are mandated. The algorithm logic in the neural interface chain has been altered to give the AI control under certain circumstances. The brain scan data shows neural deterioration, bleeds, and brain damage. I can’t tell you positively or with any confidence if the information is from the same person. Is this what you needed to know?”
Alexander listened to Yuhara’s explanation. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. He knew what he had to do but it was going to be ugly. There would be no softening the blow and no matter what he did, it might impact his team. Alexander had a pained look on his face as he met Yuhara’s eyes. His voice was firm and resolved even as pain lanced through his voice. “Thank you Yuhara. I am going to ask you not to share or discuss this information with anyone else. After I have set things in motion, I will let you know what the investigation reveals. I need to keep this information tightly contained for now.”
Yuhara bowed to Alexander as she gave her answer. “I understand Alexander. Now I am going to head back to the airport. Please call ahead and have one of your shuttles ready to take me back to my office in Tokyo.”
Alexander smiled and gave her a deep bow in return. “Thank you Yuhara.”
Alexander waited for Yuhara to leave. He turned to Wulfric. “Make two copies of the files into two encrypted drives, One for Johanna Lipusv and one for FIAR. Include the interviews with Dorian, Paul, Cavan, and Yuhara. I want to lock the originals someplace only you know about that is secure. Then I want you to personally take one of our shuttles and deliver that drive into Johanna’s hands and brief her on the situation and the steps taken so far. Inform her that I am giving her a heads up out of courtesy but ethics demand that I report this breach to FIAR. I know it can blow back on the team but I cannot let this continue. It is obviously a risk to the pilots involved even if they consented to it. It breaks serious safety protocols that I cannot in good conscience ignore. I know it means taking on the giant that is Silver Apex and Peter Thatcher. We can share a ride to the airport. I am going to need to fly to England to put this into the hands of Royston Pearce. Hopefully Johanna and Leo will forgive me. We can share a car on the way to the airport. I just need to swing by my apartment and grab a bag. I will meet you out front in 30 minutes.”
Wulfric and Alexander parted ways, Alexander filled Mabel in on what was going on. He asked her to run interference for him. He told her to keep the knowledge to herself but to begin drafting some emergency protocols or dust off the existing ones. The press was going to descend on the team once more and it will be a feeding frenzy like nothing they had seen before. Alexander was on the shuttle and was on his way to England to surprise Royston Pearce, the head of FIAR. He couldn’t help but wonder why now. Things had been going so well. He had managed to stay out of the news. The team was getting good press. The team was performing well. They had a chance to at least be in the top three teams this year. Compared to their slow start, that was amazing. Would this derail all that effort and struggle? He had done his best to confirm the data but without knowing more about where it came from and how it was retrieved, he simply had to go with what he knew and could prove. His gut said there was more to the story than he could see right now. He would simply have to stand firm and let the chips fall where they may. He shot a text off to his daughter and told her to be careful in public. He offered to pay for a short trip. He warned her that he was about to make news headlines once more. He then warned Lena that she might want some distance from him and that he was about to make headlines again. He didn’t give them any idea of just how much he was about to rock the racing world. He didn’t want to leave people he cared about floating in the wind. He considered hiring security for Arianna. He would wait and see how the meeting with Royston Pearce went.
“Hey, over here, make yourself comfortable, get a good spot. Sir Paul of the lands of Valkyrie.” She said and maybe it was a little silly but she needed to get away from the lense, the cameras and at least in the pilots tent the demands of the sponsors and teams were off for at least an hour or so. “The food is pretty decent too.”
Paul laughed at her silliness and set his tray down before giving her an elaborate bow with a flourish. “At your service M’lady!” he said in a fake British accent. He winced a little as he straightened and pulled out the chair and took the seat across from her. “Yeah I don’t do that accent well.”
Bellatrix raised her beer and chinked classes with his iced drink, he did not have to drink, she tended to avoid it but the stress of the heat, desert, fans and the contestant party had her needing a beer. “You're a great racer, but stay out of voice acting dear.” Bellatrix joked, lighter than her media mode and without the weight on her shoulders of making a mistake.
"Its a little more peaceful here, I was...overwhelmed out there." She decided to admit and kept off her thoughts, Paul's video was pretty heavy for him she thought quietly but kept off the topic, she did not know him that well
He gave her a warm smile. “I understand what you mean. I love that I have fans and I understand how necessary they are but they can feel like predators circling at times.”
“Yes…the kids are amazing, it's great fun, but most races I get some down time, I feel on show every minute. I did a great spot with a smaller French fashion magazine, Ren. I love her but she is all work today!” Bellatrix rambled on a little glad to have someone to talk to who had a similar frame of mind to her own. Sometimes she just needed to be just Bella, not the Princess of AG, or whatever else they called her.
He took a long drink of the ice cold water savoring the coolness in his dry mouth. “It is so hot and dry here!”
His hot and dry comment, she had to smile and yeah, the innuendo, it was fun to joke with him even if she had no intentions of a relationship. “Dry… I do believe I'm quite interesting." She said with a raised eye brow and a mock tone before a little and taking a drink from her beer.
He gave her a saucy wink and a smile as he leaned closer in a conspiratorial whisper. “You should know by the end of the race rumors will be flying that we are having an affair or dating simply by being seen together. It happened when I met with Han to discuss a few things.”
“Truth be told, your safe oh poor innocent young Paul, you are handsome of course but, I recently ended a relationship. We disagreed on my return to racing, Nordic and going public. I'm not giving up my dream. I'm happy being me for now. Hard to have an Affair when im…i check…not married.” Bellatrix may be over shared a little but she also made her position clear too, so he did not get the wrong idea. Bellatrix made a show of inspecting her ring finger that had not got an engagement or wedding ring on it. "You not want to marry me..." Bellatrix made a mock gasp.
“They have a short memory, il Astrid's lover next week, and whatever else the week after.” She said laughing and lighting the mood, the Media would talk and Bellatrix would carry on. “Imagaine if they thought we got engaged in under 24 hours…” Bellatrix could not hold that one in and laughed.
He gave her a friendly smile. “Welcome to the crazy energy that is Formula AG. Pace yourself and keep taking breaks when you need them. It can be overwhelming and feel like everyone wants a piece of you.” He took a few bites of food and chewed happily giving her time to reply before he added playfully. “So I see Astrid has corrupted you already. Drinking beer on the race weekend.” He made sure she understood he was teasing in good fun and not serious. “Have you tried to outdrink her yet?” His eyes sparkled with curiosity and mischievousness.
Astrid, oh she had already convinced her on Saunas and her particular preferences but she did not mention that part out loud, no way, that was rather more private. “She already got me corrupted into Saunas, crazy nordic people might have a good idea though… muscles felt great after.” Yeah Astrid was known to be a party girl, she raced hard, worked hard and lived her way. “Out drink Astrid… il save that for the off season!”
“il take breaks, thanks for the help, its nice to talk to someone, who .. gets it.:
Paul sat and enjoyed a nice conversation and meal with Bellatrix. It was nice to have a conversation with one of his fellow rookies who was going through similar things. It was nice to be able to relax and feel like he didn’t have to watch every word out of his mouth. He was still very conscious that they were in public but he didn’t feel like Bellatrix was reading multiple meanings into everything he said. Like him she had been in the public’s eye. She could relate to being brought up with the Culture Vultures circling trying to twist every word you said. Paul sighed as an alert went off on his phone. That was his cue to head back to the fanzone. He pulled out his phone and checked and sure enough.
Paul: “It was a pleasure Bellatrix. I hope I get to hang out more with you. That was my cue to exit stage left. I am needed back in the fanzone. Hang in there! Remember I warned you! You might want to alert your security staff. The culture vultures are going to be circling.”
Paul put his tray in the receptacle for it and took off with a purposeful stride. He pulled his goggles back down over his eyes before leaving the tent. He waved a farewell to Bellatrix as he stepped out into the bright sunlight. He was leaving the tent smiling in a great mood. It had been nice to relax with someone who was going through a similar experience. He sighed as he noted the culture vultures were already snapping pictures. Paul sighed in frustration. He couldn’t meet anyone without outrageous speculation.
Paul walked off, his prior good mood gone. Simmering anger at the press and the pressures of living a high profile public life weighing down on him. It was the part of his job he usually did well with managing except this one area. Why did they feel the need to pry into his private life? He had just met Bellatrix for crying out loud. She seemed perfectly lovely but she was not his type. Couldn’t he have friends? His stride and body language read aggressive and angry as he made his way back into the Valkyrie fanzone. His security team was already aware of what was going on. They had been on guard outside the pilot’s tent and had prevented the press from going inside.
Round 16 of Formula AG Saturday 4th November, 2094 Qualifying Day Bonneville Salt Flats AG Race Circuit, Utah, FAS Federated American States AGP
1800 Mountain Time
Paul was struggling to put the incident with the press behind him. He was surprised at just how right he had been. He was pissed at Astrid for what she had texted him. It was not like he had not warned Bellatrix. She had seemed to understand what he meant. So why was Astrid pissed at him when she had been caught by the pack of press hounds? For that matter, why had Nordic Call let their pilot wander around a public event without security? Paul was angry because he did feel a little guilty about it. He had experience with the press and had assumed Bellatrix did too. Maybe she had not had the same issues he had with them.
Paul was a popular rookie. He was not arrogant about it but he knew he was handsome and popular with younger women. He had been a lot more careful after the mob in Tokyo when they had been shooting the ad campaign for Enigma Lux. Paul sighed as Chelsey was doing a great job. Paul had an independent endorsement campaign contract with Hood Tech Sportswear. He was scheduled to shoot their new ad campaign at headquarters next week. They wanted pictures of him in the gym and with his ship. Paul sighed as he struggled to focus on what he needed to do in qualifying. He meditated for a bit and went over the track again in his head. His race engineer stuck her head into the pilot’s ready room trailer and told him it was time.
Paul was grateful that he didn’t have to walk through the press junket before getting to his ship. He grabbed his helmet and adjusted the fastenings on his boots. He followed Carmella out of the ready room behind Dorian who was deep in conversation with his engineer Remy. Paul smiled and slapped Dorian on the shoulder. “Hey give em hell alright! You got this!” Dorian just smiled and laughed exuded confidence. He looked happy and Remy looked confident. “But of course mon ami. I am hunting Hamid.” Paul smiled to see Dorian looking so confident. He followed Carmella to his ship. The mechanics and technicians helped get him strapped in. Before he knew it they were through systems checks.
Paul’s hands rested nervously on the throttle as he waited for the countdown to start. His hand slipped off the throttle costing him precious seconds right at the start. His adrenaline was pumping as he chased after the ship in front of him. The visor on his helmet automatically darkened as his ship flew into the afternoon sun. The glare coming off the salt dust was almost blinding. Paul had used his neural link to switch to ship cameras, infrared, lidar, and radar. He was struggling to get the feel of the ship. Normally Paul’s neural link to the ship felt like he had merged with the ship becoming a part of it. Today everything simply felt off. It was like he didn’t fit into his own skin. Everything just felt slightly off and was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. He felt like the ship was fighting him instead of flowing with him.
Paul came out of the first MAG banked corner into one of the longest straights in Formula AG. Paul punched it and dumped his ELS but still felt as if it wasn’t enough as the ship slowed towards the ends of the straight, unable to maintain pace. He misjudged the racing line on the corner and had to correct when he entered too high. That slow down cost him more precious seconds. This was how his whole race went. Minor mistakes but they all added up costing him time. Paul crossed the finish line feeling frustrated and unhappy. He knew he could do better. He pulled his ship into the paddock and shut it down. At least Dorian had managed to achieve one of their objectives. He ended up right behind Hamid in the pole position. Paul had ended up behind Zygon’s Han with Bellatrix right behind him.
Media
TMZ
This is Lilly Stryker with TMZ News. Remember that you heard it here first folks. Paul Mulder was seen having lunch with the newbie Formula AG Princess Beallatrix Olympus herself. The two appeared casual and comfortable with each other. Is love in the air at the Festival of Speed? Stay tuned as we continue to investigate these rumors. Remember to follow TMZ for all your Formula AG News!
Victory Laps Racing News
This is Lauri Ivan with Victory Laps Racing News. We are hearing rumors emerging at the Festival of Speed that Paul Mulder and newcomer Bellatrix Olympus have been seen eating lunch together. I want to remind fans that while certain competitors are hyping this up and spreading rumors that they are already dating, at this point it simply made up rumors. I want to remind fans what some of the gossip rags said about him and Han from team Zygon when it had been a business meeting. He had been seeking support for the Mulder Foundation Gala. Don’t believe everything you read or hear! Paul didn’t place as well as we thought he would coming in with P12 in qualifying. We knew that Team Valkyrie was going to struggle on the speed courses. But is there more to it? Remember this has been Lauri Ivan from Victory Racing Lap News.
Gossip
This is Hans Keller with Gossip. We have hot new rumors coming from the Festival of Speed. Paul Mulder was seen having lunch in the pilots tent with newcomer Bellatrix Olympus. Is Paul hoping to date Formula Ag’s Princess? They seemed very comfortable together. As you can see from this picture. [a picture of Bellatrix laughing at something Paul had said at lunch obviously taken with a high zoom lens camera from outside the door of the pilots tent.] We will keep you apprised as things develop. Remember you heard it here first. Gossip has all the latest news about your favorite celebrities. Don’t forget to follow us for updates on this story. This has been Hans Keller with Gossip.
Social Media
From: Paul Mulder @ValkyriePaul:
TO My fans and the press:
I am sending this message to the world at large but especially to my fans and the media.
Recent reports by various media outlets have started rumors that I am dating Formula AG newcomer, Bellatrix Olympus. These reports are inaccurate and based on unverified information. I value truth in reporting and so I am here to clarify that these claims are false. I am not dating Bellatrix Olympus. We simply had lunch together and got to know one another as fellow rookies. That is all there was to it, food and friendly conversation.
Publishing unverified rumors for attention undermines responsible journalism. There’s a difference between public interest and speculation that crosses personal boundaries. I respect the role of the media, but there are boundaries when it comes to privacy and personal matters. Intrusive behavior and fabricated narratives are not acceptable and will be addressed. I encourage outlets to adhere to basic journalistic standards of verification and integrity. Not one reporter asked me about the lunch meeting directly. Responsible reporting requires accuracy and respect for individuals. I am setting the record straight and expect this misinformation to be corrected. I hope the media will handle such rumors in an appropriate manner in the future to address false and unverified reporting. I hope reporting is handled more responsibly in the future.
Now I want to address my adoring fans. Unverified reporting can be harmful. Innocent people can be caught up in these rumors and be hurt. There are real world consequences for some people. Things like this can hurt me and my career as well. I want you to know how much your support means to me. I wouldn't have a career without my fans. I understand that you are curious about my life and want to know more about me. I want to tell you the best way you can support me is to not feed into unverified reporting. Don’t like and share unverified reports or rumors. You can do that by focusing on confirmed updates and respecting my privacy. I promise to share what I want to share when the time is right for me. Your support means everything to me and I trust you to help me keep this space positive and truthful.
MagnetoMuppet: Once again its about something other than racing. Nana2050:Very respectfully done Paul. Hater101: Publicity stunt to distract from his poor qualifying performance. Papabear34: I have to agree that Paul seemed to struggle at qualifying. HydrofoilHater When will we see the real Paul Mulder? FAKE ThrusterJester: I agree with the kid. Why can’t we keep it about the racing? QuantumQuokka: I feel like its to distract from his bad qualifying. Bertha:Couldn’t agree more. No one is that clean and squeaky. ValkyrieFan56: Very gentlemanly of you Paul. MulderMuse: Wow! He is so respectful. That was so well thought out. Paulmulder4eva: Just another reason to fall in love with him. He is so dreamy! OfficeDrone#12: Sheesh! Focus on the racing already! Bad Qualifying Round! RumorMill:I heard the press started the rumors. DantheMan: I don’t care. It has nothing to do with racing. LegacyStan94: We knew Valkyrie was not going to do as well on the speed tracks. SuperfanAGR54: Can we talk about Dorian’s stellar performance? He managed to take the fight to Hamid. BatDave: Batman sends his approval.
Friday 3rd November, 2094 21C Mustang Camp Bonneville Salt Flats 1925 Mountain Time (FAS)
Festival of Speed
Alexander was at the hotel in Salt Lake City finishing up some work using his hotel room as an office before heading out to the Salt Flats and the racetrack. He was pleased to note that the new facility had its groundbreaking and was finally under construction. Alexander was on a video call with George Haffner from Transolar Industries. Transolar Industries had been fast tracked through the team’s new sponsor vetting process. They had passed with flying colors as a solid company with an impeccable reputation for quality. The Board of Directors had given their approval. Transolar Industries didn’t really conflict with any existing sponsors. There might be some grumbling about sharing the spotlight with a new larger sponsor but as long as the team keeps performing it shouldn’t be an issue. All sponsors knew this was why everything was spelled out in contracts in black and white. Contracts detailing exactly what they were getting in return for their sponsorship money down to embedded media shots, how big the logo on the ship was, and banner placement. These details kept everyone honest. Alexander had chosen to go with quality sponsors over numbers. This appealed to Transolar who had been investigating a major Formula AG sponsorship. They didn’t want to compete with Silver Apex’s numerous sponsors and were disappointed with Zygon’s performance. They felt the team culture that was the best fit for this at this time was Team Valkyrie. Valkyrie and Transolar were circling one another. While the lawyers were butting heads and negotiating contracts, Alexander was playing host to George Haffner at the Festival of Speed this weekend. So far things were looking good that Team Valkyrie would be announcing a new primary sponsor soon once those contracts were hammered out.
Alexander smiled as he spoke into the camera on his tablet. “Hello George. It’s a pleasure to see you. My assistant Mabel Brown has arranged for a car to meet you at the airport and bring you to the festival. She has arranged for your luggage to be delivered to your room. I will meet you there. I just had some last minute things to take care of before I headed out to the track.”
George Haffner was a middle class white man with a bald spot and graying hair. He was wearing a Transolar Polo in the video. “That sounds perfect. I am looking forward to seeing how the team operates at a race. Especially one such as this. What do you have in store for me this weekend?”
Alexander smiled as responded. He would rather be focusing on the race but this was part of his job that he understood needed to be done. It was just a part he didn’t like very much. He was glad that George seemed easy going instead of the typical stuffed shirt who seemed to expect everyone to fawn over them. He appreciated that George was direct and no nonsense. “I plan to introduce you to the team and give you a tour of operations. I want you to see how we operate on the ground. I will be available to answer any questions you may have. I have arranged for you to have access to the paddock. You can watch the race from there or in the stands. The view will probably be better from the stands but if you want to be in the middle of the action we can accommodate that. We hope you like what you see.”
George threw back his head in a laugh. “I don’t doubt that I will. We both know this is more of a formality but you never know. I look forward to seeing you there.”
Alexander blushed a little and pushed forward because Mabel was glaring at him from the other side of the split screen. He gulped and ran a hand down the back of his neck squeezing gently as his discomfort showed. “My assistant insisted on providing you with a costume for the festival. I want to ensure you understand that you do not have to wear it but it is expected of attendees to the festival. It has a very cyber punk quality to it. She had hoped it would help you enjoy the festivities by blending in.”
Alexander only hoped the man was comfortable with the brightly colored outfit that Mabel had put together for him. He had seen his and was not happy about it but he had been outvoted by Mabel and Lena. She had the weekend free and was here to spend the weekend with her. She was looking forward to the festival and had a very cyber saloon girl type of outfit with a holographic parasol to go with it. She had informed him to loosen up and get with the program. He sighed as he saw the pleased surprise on George’s face. “That was mighty kind of her. Please send along my thanks to Miss Brown.” George paused and began laughing as he turned to speak with someone out of camera. “I have been informed by my wife who is accompanying me that she will enjoy that. Evidently she was aware of the dress code and planned accordingly.” Alexander just knew this was one of those things Mabel probably had predicted and capitalized on. Alexander gave a relieved smile and gave George a knowing look. “Happy wife Happy Life.” He gave a shrug. George just nodded and laughed again. “Exactly! I see you understand. See you in a few hours Alexander.”
Alexander said goodbye and hung up. He turned to see a smirking Lena. “You and Mabel planned this somehow. I just know it.” Lena laughed and came over to wrap her arms around him. “She mentioned that you would probably fight dressing up for the crowds at the festival. It sounds like fun to me. I can’t wait.” Lena pulled him closer and gave him a deeper kiss before pulling back. “We are going to have fun this weekend. Yes I know you are working but you are going to need some help since George will have his wife with him.” Alexander tilted his head in thought as he considered Lena’s point. He hugged her to his chest. “Then I am grateful you are here with me this weekend. What am I being forced to wear?” Lena’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she reveled in sharing with him. “We are going to match. Relax, I wouldn’t let them put you in anything too heinous.” Alexander resigned himself to an uncomfortable outfit and just accepted his fate.
Alexander tugged at the thin western bolo style bow tie around his neck. He had to admit it was not horrible but he felt ridiculous and was not a fan of the suit. He had a long Steam Punk coat in a golden bronze color with a black vest under it and an old west style shirt in an ivory color and distressed black leather looking pants. He didn’t mind the cowboy boots that accompanied the outfit. It was the hat that he objected to. It was a leather top hat with a bronze colored hat band that matched the coat with goggles on it that went with the outfit. Lena's outfit was similar to his but she had a corset instead of a vest. She was wearing a cotton gown with a high color and long loose sleeves. The skirt was short with ruffles in the same bronze colored fabric as his coat.
Lena had smiled and reassured him that he looked great. Alexander grumbled the entire way out to the festival. He at least got to watch Lena in the sexy outfit. He met George and his wife and they began to tour the festival. George had been put in an outfit similar to his that complimented his wife’s outfit. Again Alexander suspected Mabel had reached out to George’s wife about this weekend. He started the tour off in the fanzone. He pointed out the way the sponsors were highlighted in the fanzone to promote their products to the fans. The tour continued as George got to see the paddock and garage and got an up close personal view of the ships that were being prepared for the race. He got to ask a few questions of the mechanics and engineers working on the ships and seemed pleased with the quick and ready answers about what they were doing and why. He introduced George to Paul in the pilot's ready room trailer. Then he and his wife took off to enjoy the festival. Alexander ditched the hat as soon as he could. Sadly for him Lena kept reminding him to grab it when he set it down.
Paul @Bea Wow Bea! I had no idea you were so sensitive about your height! I honestly didn’t notice. You have so much personality you always seemed taller than Han.
Paul @Bellatrix Are you sure you want to stay with this crazy group? Welcome to the madhouse!
Bellatrix. Giants the lot of ya *cloud gif*
Paul Well I guess next to you that we might seem like giants. 😂
Bellatrix. @Paul. Yup, your crazy is my crazy, who else would race at hundreds of MPH though tunnels upside down? Did you call me short…or complement me… or both…
Paul Actually I called Bea Ward short. You know that’s a fair statement. I do like the tunnel sections because I get to defy gravity.
Paul Did anyone have to don a costume for their team’s marketing people? I feel absolutely ridiculous. At least I managed to use sponsorship expectations to get out of wearing it for the Delta Hyper interview.
Bellatrix.And yup, I'll be here all weekend! I have a Fashion student using me as a dress up doll.
Paul *gasps in horror* Please don’t say that too loud near my marketing team. They will turn the interns loose on me! One outfit is bad enough!
Paul was surprised to receive a private message from Bellatrix a short time later.
FAS.
Direct Message. 03-11-2094
Direct message. To Paul. <Encrypted. Point to point. Handshake.> <Confirmed.> <Cyberdine secure Messaging. V.3.755A> <Your messages are Secure.> <Chat with Bellatrix Olympus - Romus - Draken.>
Hey, its Princess Bellatrix. I'm at the Pilots tent, if you want to escape the Crazy, enjoy a cold drink and escape the constant over stimulation for a bit.
Or…I ask that sir Paul comes upon Princess Bellatrix of Nordic if he is able to attend for a very late afternoon luncheon. *curtsey gif*
Ps. If I see anything, as far as I know you're 21 right… ;) birthdays are confusing… are they not…
Bella. :)
Paul blinked as he considered her offer. He laughed a little at her insinuation but Paul didn’t drink on race weekends until after the race.
Paul decided to reply.
Direct message. To Bellatrix. <Encrypted. Point to point. Handshake.> <Confirmed.> <Cyberdine secure Messaging. V.3.755A> <Your messages are Secure.> <Chat with Bellatrix Olympus - Romus - Draken.>
Sure. I would like that. I am a gentleman but I don’t know if I have reached “sir” status yet. Just for the record I am 20years old but I don’t drink on race weekends until after the race. See you in 10!
FAS.
Pilots Tent, evening time. 03-11-2094
Paul entered the pilots tent wearing his festival attire. He had come from the fanzone. He was ready for a break from the heat. He had been good about hanging out with the fans in the fanzone. He was wearing a loose long sleeved ivory cotton shirt that had pirate vibes with motocross looking distressed leather pants and boots with a Mad Max style leather vest over the top. His bright golden hair was spiked with the tips frosted a dark gray. He had a pair of stylish high tech tinted goggles pulled down over his eyes. Paul pulled the goggles up off his eyes as he entered the dimmer light of the pilot’s tent. He closed his eyes and sighed in comfort as the air conditioned cooled air soothed his skin that had dried out in this heat. He could feel his shoulder relax in the cooler air and quieter atmosphere. He made his way over to the service counter and ordered an ice water and a plate with Thai curry grilled chicken kabobs served over rice pilaf with a side salad. He carried his tray over to where Bellatrix was sitting and eating as she waved him over.
“Hey, over here, make yourself comfortable, get a good spot. Sir Paul of the lands of Valkyrie.” She said and maybe it was a little silly but she needed to get away from the lense, the cameras and at least in the pilots tent the demands of the sponsors and teams were off for at least an hour or so. “The food is pretty decent too.”
"Its a little more peaceful here, I was...overwhelmed out there." She decided to admit and kept off her thoughts, Paul's video was pretty heavy for him she thought quietly but kept off the topic, she did not know him that well.
Paul laughed at her silliness and set his tray down before giving her an elaborate bow with a flourish. “At your service M’lady!” he said in a fake British accent. He winced a little as he straightened and pulled out the chair and took the seat across from her. “Yeah I don’t do that accent well.” He gave her a warm smile. “I understand what you mean. I love that I have fans and I understand how necessary they are but they can feel like predators circling at times.” He took a long drink of the ice cold water savoring the coolness in his dry mouth. “It is so hot and dry here!” He gave her a saucy wink and a smile as he leaned closer in a conspiratorial whisper. “You should know by the end of the race rumors will be flying that we are having an affair or dating simply by being seen together. It happened when I met with Han to discuss a few things.” He gave her a friendly smile. “Welcome to the crazy energy that is Formula AG. Pace yourself and keep taking breaks when you need them. It can be overwhelming and feel like everyone wants a piece of you.” He took a few bites of food and chewed happily giving her time to reply before he added playfully. “So I see Astrid has corrupted you already. Drinking beer on the race weekend.” He made sure she understood he was teasing in good fun and not serious. “Have you tried to outdrink her yet?” His eyes sparkled with curiosity and mischievousness.
I am experienced roleplayer returning to online roleplay after 10+ year break. I have missed roleplaying and the creative outlet it is for me. I am interested in casual roleplay. I consider myself a decent writer and I will put effort into my writing. I am not into writing a novel for one post though. Descriptive, character building, engaging, yes. I will always write at least 2 paragraphs unless it is a quick fire session revolving around dialogue over private messages. I am a fairly laid back person and don't want to be a grammar nazi. I believe in quality over quantity. Roleplaying is a hobby and a escape from real life pressures.
[color=00aeef]Genres I am interested in: [/color]
Fantasy
Middle Ages
Science Fiction
Vampires
Shapeshifters
Crime Drama
[color=00aeef]Fandoms I am interested in:[/color]
Pokemon
Harry Potter
Anita Blake
Dragonriders of Pern
Star Wars
I don't mind roleplaying romance but I am not looking for smut. It has to make sense for the roleplay. I am okay with a fade to black moment instead of roleplaying it out. For me its about the story and the character. I am open to roleplaying it out.
I am in the Pacific Standard Timezone. I work full time and will be seen in the evenings and weekends online.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I am experienced roleplayer returning to online roleplay after 10+ year break. I have missed roleplaying and the creative outlet it is for me. I am interested in casual roleplay. I consider myself a decent writer and I will put effort into my writing. I am not into writing a novel for one post though. Descriptive, character building, engaging, yes. I will always write at least 2 paragraphs unless it is a quick fire session revolving around dialogue over private messages. I am a fairly laid back person and don't want to be a grammar nazi. I believe in quality over quantity. Roleplaying is a hobby and a escape from real life pressures. <br><br><font color="#00aeef">Genres I am interested in: </font><br>Fantasy<br>Middle Ages <br>Science Fiction <br>Vampires <br>Shapeshifters <br>Crime Drama<br><br><font color="#00aeef">Fandoms I am interested in:</font><br>Pokemon<br>Harry Potter <br>Anita Blake <br>Dragonriders of Pern <br>Star Wars <br><br>I don't mind roleplaying romance but I am not looking for smut. It has to make sense for the roleplay. I am okay with a fade to black moment instead of roleplaying it out. For me its about the story and the character. I am open to roleplaying it out. <br><br>I am in the Pacific Standard Timezone. I work full time and will be seen in the evenings and weekends online.</div>
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