A whole lot of BEEEEEE, loving the storyline
i am confused:
- Malavera in this part only refers to the child accompanying the team, not the member of Shift Happens?
- is anyone of the team (including child and cargo/ goats) actively talking/ approaching members of mine
- if yes, what exactly do they want?
1 Like
Refers to child.
No, noone is approaching your vehicle or teammates.
Well, if we exclude Malavera’s dad, but he is one of those “20-30 locals being in camp bcos of interest in Dione” and on your part is seen as such.
4 Likes
YOUREYES...........................................................BENOTAFRAID...................................................................................................SPARKLE..........................................ILOVEYOU............................................................COMPANIONSHIP.....................................................................................................VIRTUE....................................................................DEATH..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
2022
SHITBOX RALLY
SHITBOX RALLY
BLAZERS
STAGE: 10
The angel of speed longed to be awoken by the children it gave birth to, thus it invited the soft touch of its child to come closer.
BE NOT AFRAID
”Be not afraid, my child… “
“Please don’t run away! I’m sorry my dear! I don’t want to hurt you…
”Why are you so scared… Won’t you come…
”… to your mommy?”
The purest form of love, is one between a mother and her child. A bond such as that can never truly be severed.
”So why did she go then?!”
”Do you blame the car, my son…?
”It was the fault of that stupid rock!”
”Come closer, Raymundo! I’m here to take care of you, after all… I am…”
Romulo’s heart thumped fast as he jumped up from the floor of the tent, nearly hitting his head on one of the supports that held the fabric up from the ground. The dream continued to replay in his head as he scanned the floor, where he was startled by a still awake Watson who lay where he was, his eyelids wide open to reveal his green irises which glimmered from the small lamp that hung above their heads.
His pulse unchanged and still breathing in and out heavily, Romulo got up towards the tent’s exit and out towards the clearing. From the depths of his mind, he still clearly recalled the visions from earlier, and was nothing short of disturbed. Even more so when he stood up, legs still trembling as they attempted to stand still on the loose gravel floor, and looked at the sight before him.
The Yamada, which to Romulo’s remembrance, had been parked parallel to the tent, was now standing right before him, the hollow halogen eye sockets staring deeply into him as he looked in dreadful awe. He looked behind him, to see Watson emerging out of the tent as well, the dim moonlight barely illuminating the blonde man’s silhouette.
“What is it now?” Romulo asked in a hoarse voice, his heart still audibly beating fast as his mind raced to come to a conclusion. “Watson, what the hell did you bring us into?”
“I should be the one asking you that, should I be not?” He responded as coldly as ever.
“Fuck off! If it wasn’t for that fucking clock of yours, we wouldn’t be here!”
“You’re going to awaken the camp, won’t you hush?” Watson walked over towards Romulo, his eyes beginning to tower over the other man. The detective’s gaze was as sharp as ever, piercing into Romulo’s own with a distinct emotion pang. “That automobile… No… That thing you brought us with, is that not something from you? You knew what it was hiding before anyone else here, did you not? Why do you shift the blame towards someone else?”
“Bullshit! This car is normal!” Romulo retorted, trying to raise himself higher than the other man, yet these efforts were futile as Watson continued to maintain eye contact and look down upon him.
“Then, why are you so afraid of it?”
It remained quiet for a while, with only the sound of Romulo’s blood pumper in his chest creating a distinct but low noise that barely could be picked up by even the most sensitive of ears. Romulo began to shake as he slowly backed away from Watson’s face. He felt something was wrong, but couldn’t put the blame on himself. He looked back at the Yamada as it continued to lock gazes with him.
“You could run away at any time, Raymundo.” Watson lifted his hand to show the ring they were provided at the beginning of the race. “Have you misremembered? At the commencement of the rally, we were all given this option. Yet, in our toughest times, we persevered as a team, did we not?”
Romulo remained silent as Watson moved over towards the side of the Yamada, standing close enough to feel the unusual warmth of the vehicle’s metal. Romulo looked down towards his fingers, the ring glowed slightly as the subtle glimpses of illumination landed upon its surface as it wrapped around his skin. His fingers began to shake as he moved his other hand over towards the ring. He felt his fingertips graze the cold metal that was now beginning to get drenched in the sweat of his palms as his heart continued to move even faster. His breathing became erratic as he continued to think of what to do.
“Even then, are you going to do it just like that? Run away without ever consulting anyone about anything? Do you know where that ring will take you?”
Romulo raised his head, Watson still stood where he was, yet the Yamada’s headlights were now turned on, and bathed him in an off-yellow white as he stood where the beams of light crossed together.
“What the people who run this don’t realize, is that there are exceptions to magic, even ones such as this.”
Watson lifted his hand before Romulo, and with his other he turned the ring around his finger. Romulo’s eyes grew wide, and braced himself for what was about to happen to Watson.
Yet nothing came of the ring. There was no magical effect that would have engulfed them in a spell that would make the man before him disappear. Watson still stood there before him, his arms in the same position as they were.
“W-what… in…?” Romulo stood there in shock, and looked down at his own fingers and took a gulp before he twisted the ring as well. He braced for what could have possibly been a mind trick by the cunning man before him, but still he stood where he was, the quiet rustling of the leaves, the movements of small animals in the distance, and the eerie howling of the alien wind still continued to engulf him, as he was still in Aetherii. Romulo turned back towards Watson, confused and slightly angered. “What the fuck does this mean?”
“Our situation is not magic.” The detective pulled out his golden stopwatch, still stuck at the same time as when they first met. “It’s beyond any possible explanation. And I believe so is this car of yours. If we want to go back, there is no easy way out. Even if we asked them to send us back to Nevada, what then? We would be stuck in the same predicament as we are in now.”
“It started because of your goddamn clock. There’s no denying it!” Romulo insisted, a certain rage was in his voice that seemed to be amplified by the lightening up of the Yamada’s headlights. “If you hadn’t made whatever jump that was, you would be from whatever era of thirties Italy or whatever, and I’d be back at my hometown! Not wherever the fuck we are right now! Yet you, you choose to shift the blame towards the car, towards me?!”
“Can you really say for certain?” Watson sighed as he moved the watch closer towards the Yamada, and once it made contact with the fender, the hands began to move in an erratic pattern, the hour and minute hand jumping between numbers at a speed no human eye could ever hope to track. He lifted the watch away, and in a blink of an eye, the hands snapped back to where they were. “It’s not as elementary as that, I am afraid.”
With the blonde man’s words coming to a draw, a silence now engulfed them. Romulo and Watson simply stood there for what seemed like an unending eternity. No movements would come from the two men for hours that passed like a never ending lane of highway. All the way until sunrise did they stand there, seemingly frozen in time. Only until the rest of the team had woken up did one of them move. As the team went to pack things up, they simply left Romulo to stand there until he could come back to his senses. Right now, his mind was a near empty shell that only thought about their scenario.
Charlotte went out to reach towards him, weary of the town’s clock beginning to signal once more the beginning of yet another stage, but was stopped after she felt Watson’s large rough hand land upon her shoulder, on his face was his ever calm look, but it was evident there was something lingering behind that he was suppressing to the best of his abilities. They all eventually got into the vehicle, without any sinister feeling harbouring, yet even then Romulo stood there before the faint glow of its headlights in the morning sun, his hesitance pricking at his skin like an inverse hedgehog that dug into his own insecurities.
The vehicle was calling to him, not in a demanding, nor cursing tone, but it was an affectionate tone of uncanny familiarity. A glimpse shot into his head like those of days past, when he too rejected a tone as close to him as this one. The days of dread following a harrowing discovery that stuck with him for the years that came by.
”It’s not the speed that kills, my dear.”
”What is it, mama?”
”Raymundo, is that you?”
"You’re my only child… my only beloved one… The speed…
“It won’t replace you.”
“Your eyes so tender, and your skin so smooth. My child, what could ever replace you?”
”Come closer, my beloved. Join… me…”
COME CLOSER
JOIN ME
THE CHILD
SPEED
THE ANGEL'S CHILD
CAR NUMBER
48
Have you ever run away before? So fast that you can see your own mirage as you turn your head back towards your origin?
“Have you ever run away before? So fast that you can see your own mirage as you turn your head back towards your origin?”
Said a soft voice that broke Romulo’s train of thought.
“Why did you choose the name Blazers?”
Romulo looked down before him, the Yamada’s headlamps had turned off and all the other vehicles had left the campsite. In the distance was the muffled rumbling of the metal instruments that lie within the engines of their competitor’s machines. Before him stood the ever straight-faced Ga’araiya, her long streaking silver hair flowed as the gentle breeze sent strands of it across her small, soft face.
“Why do you choose to race with strangers?”
Emily seemed as though ready to stop the small girl from doing anything else, but Watson held the other blonde back, with a face almost saying to hush down and ‘watch’. Romulo only stared at the small girl before him, still unable to move, and even moreso with her words that resonated within the depths of his soul as the sound waves of her dulcet tone reached his eardrums.
“You’ve gone this far with beings you have met for only a few days. You have no way of returning without first dealing with the problem beforehand. You are choosing to run away now at the sign of a new life joining you.”
Romulo felt as though he was shrinking at the sight of her. He was unable to move a muscle as he was forced into eye contact with the Atlantean princess’ deep blue eyes. In her eyes he found a never changing image that looked as though it was beginning to cloud. The purity was washing away, yet he did not know why.
“Why do you give up now? When companionship from beyond is beginning to reach you? Who is it you fear that resides in the vessel you pilot?”
Still, he remained quiet. The sounds that came from the Yamada and the noise that broadcasted into his head disappeared at once. Ga’araiya’s eyes shifted from the blue it always was, to purple, and now a deep crimson red like that of human blood. Her hair slowly lost strands, and in their place, red streaks emerged like that of her own eyes, and her irises began to glow as she turned away.
“You are to keep driving, Raymundo. If it is the beast within this machine that scares you so, in the interests of the companions I have made here, I shall be the one to tame it. You shall be the only witnesses to this ceremony.”
A trident emerged from behind Romulo’s back, and he looked in intense consternation as the red-covered three-pronged tool phased through his chest, slowly making its way towards Ga’araiya’s hand, and being caught firmly in her grasp. She aimed directly at the center of the Yamada’s hood, and the team stepped back from the vehicle. Romulo felt blood pour out of his nose and land onto the ground, painting it with a small splotch of maroon where he saw his own reflection from below as the liquid swirled on the ground.
“Mother…”
With the uttering of a single word, Ga’araiya retracted her tri-tipped spear away from the red metal of the vehicle. She turned her head slowly which revealed a distinct shape in her glowing irises. She released the trident, and it quickly jumped towards Romulo, stopping before his face and turning vertically and manifesting into the ground below him.
“I see the case now.” The red glow in her gaze began to dissipate. “I have no business in your family’s history, even though I do now see you as a comrade after all these days. If you wish to move forward, you cannot allow the past to grapple you back. Tame this beast on your own terms, let us no longer lose what we have gained…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the small girl’s glowing eyes began to flicker out and move back towards the sea blue, her legs beginning to give out.
“…keep driving…”
In a swift move, Watson reached out and caught the collapsed girl as her eyes shut. The only sounds that now came out from her mouth were the deep, quiet breaths that she took.
The sharp-faced detective glared at him as he picked Ga’araiya back up and moved towards the car. “Raymundo, get in the driver’s seat. As it is, you are the only one who can pilot this. Settle whatever issue you might have with it, otherwise…”
“I’ll drive, then.”
Romulo moved towards the driver’s door, looking at his own reflection in the window for a moment as he contemplated it. All around him were his team mates, awaiting his decision. With a gulp and a deep sigh, he placed his hand on the door handle, and he felt a shock from it, one that resonated down towards the inner plateaus of his ego. He has to do it, he has gone this far, he has enjoyed the time he has spent, and there is no point in wasting what he has.
Yes, my child.
There is no fear to be had.
There was no reason for fear to be had.
Mother will protect you, like she always has.
The purest bond there is, is between a mother and her child.
“Angels are said to bring calamities. But a calamity is only one depending on who goes through it.” Said a deep voice from behind Romulo as he opened the door.
As the team buckled up once more, the feline in the seat next to the driver looked around for the clock, only to find that a great deal of time had passed already. The distant sounds of the machines that had gone ahead were no longer audible, and the only sound that they would hear was the ghastly roar of the Yamada as Romulo turned the key. Puffs of white smoke emerged from around them, and the air began to wave as it heated up. Romulo pressed the pedal and the engine screamed in response. The blood once again trickled out of his nostril and to the top of his lip, his vision reddened and he moved his feet to get the vehicle to lurch forwards.
“This is what you want, is it not?” He said calmly. “All you ever want is for me to follow in your steps. Disregarding what I desired for my own, even with your destiny playing out before me and father’s very eyes.”
Charlotte frantically shifted through her notes, but she was unable to keep up with the sheer pace of the vehicle as it weaved through the road which only continued to lower with every metre that the car ran down.
“To follow up your legacy after your passing. What a peculiar scenario for you to awaken, mother.”
A vehicle was spotted up ahead, the cabin’s occupants likely heard the howls of the crimson crossover’s engine as it clawed its way closer. The station wagon was quickly passed by Blazers, leaving only the white aura of the Yamada in its view. Other vehicles followed that one, all the while Charlotte kept rearranging her papers before finally landing on the page they were at. “P-pacenotes…”
She continued to say them even towards the end, unsure if Romulo was even able to hear her from his sheer focus at the wheel. They were not unstoppable, and it was only a matter of time until fate would grab them by the heel, but for this moment, they sure felt like they were. Romulo, for the first time in a while, felt as though he was in perfect control of his own machine, and all his fears seemed to have gone away now.
The camp neared, and at last the driver slowed down, his eyes stopped reddening, and the blood had dried on his nose as the vehicle pulled into the clearing, puffing steam all around it and gathering the attention of the people who had already come before them. Romulo moved the car over towards one end of the camp and put the car to a full stop as it idled with a distinctly loud groan, before collapsing on the steering wheel to the rest of the team’s alarm.
“Ray!” Charlotte called out as she tried to lift his head from the wheel. His body felt extremely heavy, almost as though he was now glued onto the car. She heard a small laugh come from him as she saw a droplet of blood land down onto the vehicle’s carpet.
“So that was it, huh…?” He said as he now lifted his head, his eyes were bloodshot as he stared back towards his feline co-driver. She was astounded and frightened, for Charlotte had never known that something she thought of as simple, was now beginning to be something beyond what she could comprehend. Romulo turned his head back towards the steering wheel, and a most disturbing smile grew upon his face. “You guys can set up camp for the night. I’ll join you in a bit.”
Charlotte couldn’t believe what she was witnessing, but when her shoulder was tapped by Watson and she saw a satisfied seriousness on his face, she unbuckled her seatbelt and left him in the vehicle.
The campsite was as lively as ever, yet she couldn’t help but notice the ominousness of the Yamada even as they parked a small bit away from the rest. Watson took out the tent from the vehicle’s rear and began setting it up with Emily’s help. The feline felt restless however, she peeked back into the window to see Romulo still at the helm, unmoving but sitting straight. In the seat behind him, Ga’araiya was seated and saying something to him that she couldn’t hear, for the vehicle had seemingly shut out all noise from within.
“It surprised you, I presume.” Called out Emily from behind her. “Ga’araiya suddenly saying so much just like that.”
Charlotte looked at Emily and sighed. “I guess it did. But all I’m wondering is… why…? Why speak up so suddenly…?” There was a distinct anxiety in her twin-coloured orbs. The long-haired blonde was silent, but Watson spoke up all of a sudden.
“Ga’araiya is not who you think she is. Like I had once said before and said by someone else,” He looked towards Emily. “She’s plenty older than all of you here. As much as I would not like to say this, she might have more knowledge than me with this. She acts immature and selfish, but ultimately that selfishness allows her to act when it is ultimately needed. I suppose now she began realizing something now that she has been cornered into a scenario that she deems regretful.”
“Hey, Watson… Why is it that you are being so open all of a sudden?” Charlotte asked as she looked up at him. “Whatever happened to that cold detective play you were doing at first.”
He sighed as he looked into the window of the Yamada, Ga’araiya seemed to have a smile on her face as she was talking with Romulo. “Death comes sooner for beings like you, regrettably Ga’araiya has taken a liking towards this group. I live for the princess’ happiness, if it means opening up to you lot for even this short time, I’ll do that.” With that, Watson began to walk away towards the tent to continue propping it back up. The black-furred cat girl could only stare as she processed Watson’s piercing words.
“It’s the unfortunate truth, Charlotte.” Said the blonde as she went back towards Watson.
And they were not wrong, all of them not coming from the same place, from a different time. There was no denying their time would be short together. A cloud of gloom seemed to cover over Charlotte even in the broad daylight. A camaraderie such as theirs being so short lived. “A selfish cause…”
“Being a princess, I get where she’s coming from." She sighed as she leaned onto the Yamada’s warm body. "I guess that’s what makes it precious, huh? In order for something to be precious, it must be finite.”
Charlotte rested her arms on the door, feeling peeling edges of the pinstripe decal as her fingers ran over it. The mist still continued to eerily pour out from between the hood lines of the red vehicle, but at this point she was getting used to it.
But that didn’t stop her from being alarmed upon feeling the vehicle shake beneath her, where she immediately took a step back, only to calm down upon seeing that Romulo and Ga’araiya had finally exited the car. She hesitated slightly, but eventually walked over towards the driver’s side door towards Romulo. He turned his head towards her, and as he did, the sight of dried blood beneath his nostrils still remained.
“Ray…” She called out. “Are you okay now? Your nose…”
Immediately, he moved his wrist up towards his nose to try and wipe whatever remnants of the iron-scented liquid that still clung onto his face. “Y-yeah, I’m okay.”
Charlotte could only sigh as she looked up towards him. “I’m sorry…”
“For what?” Romulo looked back down at the black-furred feline.
“If I didn’t drag you into this… then maybe…” Her voice had a hint of uneasiness in it, and the words that came out of her mouth were audibly distressed. But before she could say another word, she felt Romulo’s large hands land upon her head, ruffling through her thin fur softly as she felt her eyes begin to water.
“I think this would have happened anyway, in Aetherii or not. I’ve always held the demons of the past back from reaching me. It’s my fault I never prepared myself for this.”
Charlotte felt something was up with the way he phrased that, and she quickly lifted her head back up. “Demons of the past?”
“That’s a weird way to put it I guess. But this car is something far more than it should be.” He said, moving his hand away from the cat girl’s head. “I’ve kept it bottled up since I could remember, but there’s always been something bugging me about this. Do you mind if I tell you, Charlotte?”
Her eyes glowed with skepticism, but she nodded to let him continue. With that, Romulo turned towards the car as he began to tell his tale. At first, his voice seemed hesitant, as though something was trying to restrain him from saying something, but still he continued to speak.
“My mother was a rally car driver, a spectacular one at that. Some called her the fastest woman in Asia, faster than even some of the men of the era, but she humbly denied anything of the sort. She started off young, back in the ‘70s, it was largely unprecedented that she’d ever be someone like that, but she wowed everyone with that first race of hers. She probably flipped our entire country’s reputation on its head for a short amount of time.
“To make a long story short, she built up quite a reputation to the point where factory teams had begun scouting her out. She made her way up the ranks, local, international, and eventually the World Rally Championship. When I look at my father now, he definitely seems lucky that he was ever able to find a woman like her. Someone so incredibly out of his league, but apparently she saw something in him that most people didn’t, her family was opposed to it, but she went forward with it, and that’s where I arrived.
“When I was born, she still raced. Not like how she did during her golden age, but still a spectacle to behold. Eventually, she made a deal with a budding rally team from a major company you might know. They had absolutely zero experience, but rumour was that their vehicle was just that good. So she signed that contract…
“The vehicle was good, very good. But even as I saw her, something felt off with the car she drove. The onboard footage showed her struggling with the machine, and how that machine seemingly had this aura of dreadful spirit that was unwashable no matter who was behind the wheel. It was all so eerie, and my father simply thought it was just my mother who was struggling in her later years.
“But I don’t think that’s the case. Fate works in unusual ways, Charlotte. Maybe it was me being clouded by childish thoughts, but it couldn’t be at all. There was something wrong, completely wrong.
“I’ll never forget it, the way she stood in front of that accursed machine before the race. It was like she was trying to say something. Something I’ll probably never comprehend. Her usual cheery self was completely gone after she took the helm of that beast. As far as her engineers were concerned, it was just a very fast car. But no car like that would just make someone desire retirement.
“My mother wanted me to become a rally driver just like her, but for whatever reason, that wish vanished. I’ll never forget how she looked at me that one last time, her eyes glinted differently from how I usually knew them.
“To say that this car is a reincarnation of my mother is blasphemous. She’s above in heaven right now with our guardian angels, but I don’t think she would ever watch over me. Not with how she left, and certainly not with those regrets. The feeling might be similar, but it’s not. Whatever is hiding within the blood red body panels is something that my mother saw within the machine she piloted.
“If anything, it might just be a curse. 48, if you’ve ever known Eastern tradition, you know that four is the number of death, eight is a multiple of that number. And the significance of it to me beyond death?
“Well, that’s the number my mother drove her last.”
6 Likes
RK Series Racing; Stage 10 Camp
partially written by @Madrias
With the Dione parked, a small grouplet of people immediately approached the vehicle as the de-steaming process was started. Their curiosity was high, currently too high in Connor’s mind.
“Please stand clear of the surrounding area.”, he ordered, followed by them retreating a fair bit. Though it didn’t exactly leave a good first impression in their minds, until the steam main was purged of it’s pressure, scaring all three of them shitless.
“HOLY TWIN MOONS!! Fucking hell…”, one of them exclaimed as he heard the explosive hiss of the pipe.
After that, both right-side doors opened, with three of four members shuffling out of the car. The fourth one was extracted as usual, which, while nothing special to the team members, sparked even more curiosity with the local visitors.
As soon as Valentin was out as well and supported on his pair of crutches, they clearly saw the reason as to why the extraction was done that way.
“Any of you need help?”, Valentin said as Constantin got the tent-building underway, helped by Tim as best he could.
“We want to have a look at that carriage you built. I heard you are now the rail speed record holder and figured i’d look around in hopes of getting some insight.”
The other two nodded in agreement and the conversation soon devolved into a simple question-answer game that took the better part of 20 minutes.
During this time, other locals started to arrive, joining in on the questioning from their end.
At some point, the method was switched with groups of ten being taken for a small tour around the vehicle, while any other visitors were asked to wait for their turn.
During the first tour of the car, which described the basic inner working, controls and other things, the very noticeable roaring of the Bricksley’s V8 was heard as it rolled into camp. The current round of visitors was finished up, after which a small break was called for the following round to discuss some internal things.
To everyone’s delight, they seem to take no immediate issue with the break, allwong Valentin to head on over to the Bricksley.
Once there, he was looking for the first member of Shift Happens present. That one member happened to be Kayden, who he slowly approached.
“Uhm… hello? We may have a bit of a problem for the next campsite…” Valentin said, still not having made the full trip over to the Bricksley. At least he was in earshot and direct line of sight was present as well.
Kayden looked up as Valentin mentioned there might be a little problem heading into the next campsite. “Oh? Are the roads closed?” Kayden asked, going for the first logical answer he could think of. In the background, the radiator continued its fierce tirade of hissing and spitting like an angry cobra. “Don’t mind the truck. Kivenaal had his foot on the damn floor most of the way here. We’re waiting until it’s cooled off to add coolant. Apparently if you put cold water in a hot aluminum radiator, it cracks. Kaylie’s learned that the hard way in the past.”
“Yeah nope. As far as i am aware the roads are fine. But once again i… and the others… cannot really attend camp tomorrow. Some big party is being thrown and i am apparently the reason for it…”, he explains both sheepishly and annoyed.
The radiator is noted, but not exactly of interest to Valentin at the moment.
Kayden nodded. “A party in the next city?” he asked. He opened up the truck door, grabbing the hand drawn maps off of the dash and flipping through to Trugarde. “Hey, Malavera, I need your help with something,” Kayden called out.
Malavera looked at the stack of maps in Kayden’s hand and sighed. “What is it this time?” Malavera asked.
“In Trugarde, if you had to hold a party, where would you put it?” Kayden asked. Malavera grabbed the maps, grimaced as he could barely make out Rukari’s handwriting, then sighed, rummaged in the pocket of his cargo shorts, and put on a pair of reading glasses.
“There’s a lot of space around the train station. It’s also very close to the modern city center. If I were going to hold a party, I’d do it there,” Malavera said. As he saw Kayden’s smirk at seeing Malavera wearing glasses, Malavera took them off and pointed at Kayden with one of the earpieces. “When you turn 300, I hope your eyes are as good as mine are, for your sake. That I need them to read is irrelevant.”
“I just didn’t picture you as the kind of guy to prefer tortiseshell glasses, Malavera,” Kayden quipped. He then looked back to Valentin. “Looks like there should be enough room for us to move our camp into the City of Trugarde. Otherwise, for everyone to attend your party, it’s a good long walk from outside the town to the center of town.”
“As far as i know it’s gonna be at Queen’s Station in Trugarde… At least that’s where we are being diverted to instead of whatever little siding we would’ve used to head to camp. Also, wouldn’t the capital city have at least some public transit?”, Valentin explains/ inquires after listening to Malavera and Kayden doing a 10/10 impression of Holmes and Watson.
“As per your radiator… the cool water will have it contract in places but not in others, hence the cracking. Aluminum expands a lot with temperature. By metal standards, at least…”, Valentin comments on top, referencing the earlier note about how Kivenaal was sending the Bricksley hard during the day.
Malavera sighed, putting his glasses back on and studying the map again. “Trugarde does have a tram line, and it does go to the station, with stops at the market, near the inns and taverns, and the main gate. So, yes, it’s possible we would be able to use whatever they have for trams in that city instead of walking,” Malavera said.
Kayden shrugged. “So, Queen’s Station in Trugarde? And, yeah, that makes sense. Aluminum is weird. One moment,” Kayden said, before studying the radio panel and cranking the knob over to the PA system, turning the volume up quite a bit, grabbing the microphone and climbing up onto the Bricksley’s toolbox. Not that he needed to do this, but he’d seen his sister Kaylie stand on the toolbox and make an announcement, so now he felt it was necessary for all future announcements. He clicked on the microphone and it squealed until Malavera, scowling at him with one head while he turned the volume down, told him, “You jackass! All the way up? Seriously?”
“It seemed like the right idea,” Kayden said, having let go of the button already.
“You have a strong enough voice to not need amplification, Kayden,” Malavera grumbled.
Kayden shook his head, then clicked the microphone again, this time not causing an ear-piercing squeal of feedback. “Okay, people, looks like there’s a small change of plans for the next camp. Instead of being stuck on the outskirts of Trugarde and wandering in for fun, we’re going to be camping inside the city. Valentin has made a big enough splash in Crugandr to have a party thrown in his honor, so we’re going to be there. All of us. On your maps, you’ll see Queen’s Station, there in the middle of Trugarde. Next to it is the City Center. Now, I’m just guessing here, but I think there’s some room near the Station building itself where we might be able to park for the night. We’ll be going up…” Kayden switched the microphone off and looked to Malavera, who grumbled and mentioned, “Station Street.”
“We’ll be going up Station Street and parking in, Malavera, can you help me out here?”
“Queen’s Garden. It’s just outside the station,” Malavera replied.
“We’ll park in the Queen’s Garden. It’s the big area outside the train station. So, to recap, we’re going to a party in the Queen’s Station in Trugarde. To get there, go up Central, turn onto Station Street, and park in the Queen’s Garden,” Kayden announced.
Valentin simply watched as Kayden prepared the large-scale announcement to all of at most 15 people. He had a feeling that he wasn’t gonna be fond of what will happen, but that though was drowned by massive feedback noises deafening him. As a result, he instinctively ducks down covering both ears in an attempt to make the noise less annoying to listen to. Even the other members and locals over at the Dione looked over to see what the commotion was about.
A bit later, Valentin made a cautious attempt at re-establishing his hearing, which, to his delight, was not filled with a high-pitched squealing ringing anymore.
Still, his feelings soon were confirmed as the announcement was made, thus moving the entirety of the camp into the middle of Trugarde, solely because Valentin accidentally broke a speed record and a party was held to honor the record.
While remaining silent, his body language made it rather obvious that he was both uncomfortable with how he now had the attention of everyone and mildly annoyed at how it was delivered, seeing as Valentin was not a party animal by any stretch of the imagination.
Kayden gave a nervous, apologetic smile as he realized Valentin was uncomfortable and annoyed after his announcement. “Sorry. It’s… not often I have to speak in front of a crowd.”
“Yeah, good going, Kayden. You are aware,” Malavera said, “that there’s not many people here right now? Shift Happens is all over the place, we know RK Series is going to be busy as hell, while Hillbilly Rollers and Black Rabbit might be able to pass on the message, we’d be asking a lot from them.”
“Oh, great, so I’m going to have to repeat that for everyone who gets here?” Kayden grumbled. “If we had a recording device, I’d just put that message on a loop and play it over the CB, but I don’t have one.”
“Yeah, and Rukari would outright kill you if you erased one of his tapes to play a message on a loop,” Malavera said.
Valentin was still visibly annoyed, having crossed his arms at how the shakedown run became an intentional stab at the existing speed record.
“Seriously? Neither of you have phones to record that shit onto? Either way, we got the lack of attendance sorted on my part, i guess…”, Valentin grumbled as he started to turn around in preparation to making his way back over to the Dione.
Nova, finally acknowledged in the most loose of terms, finally spoke up. “Thank you! I was getting tired of waiting to see which of these two idiots would figure it out first that they have a recording device.” She materialized in her full-size form standing next to Kayden, and after a few milliseconds to make sure her form was stable, smacked him over the back of the head.
“Hey! Really, Nova? In this heat?” Kayden grumbled.
“Making sure your brain hasn’t cooked in there. Let’s see… Okay, first draft of the repeat message is complete,” Nova said, before speaking it for Valentin to hear. “Attention ‘Insert team here’. We have all been invited to a party in Trugarde. As a result, our camp has been moved to the Queen’s Garden, next to the Queen’s Station, in the center of Trugarde. Thank you for listening.”
After a few moments, she looked to Valentin, her translucent form rippling slightly as the temperature of her chassis increased, introducing some slight instability into her hard-light projector. “Your thoughts?” Nova asked, before grabbing ahold of the Bricksley’s wooden bed rail, pulling herself up, and shrinking her size down to that of the average house-cat.
Having hobbled the first step away from the Bricksley, a female voice made herself know, catching Valentin off guard. In curiosity, he turns around to Nova assuming her full-scale rendering, even getting to witness the smack onto the back of Kayden.
Remembering the first encounter with Nova during the card games a few days prior, he took a bit to process her presence, followed by her reciting the template of the message that was to be transmitted to the other teams.
“That’ll do, i guess…”, Valentin commented, delighted at how Nova managed to pull him out of the equation, but still less-than-pleased about having been put in there in the first place.
Seeing her change in scale, propped up on the bed rail was less off-putting than expected. After all, he’d seen more intense cases of otherwordly happenings during this event.
“Ah, good. Give me a moment… Okay, I’ve identified the four most commonly used frequencies, so I’ll broadcast to the teams as they arrive,” Nova said. “I’d ask you to save me a dance, but… Well, I don’t think either of us will be doing much dancing,” Nova quipped. “I’d overheat too fast out here to enjoy it. And I’m not exactly agile when in Kayden’s armor.”
Valentin patiently waited for Nova to do her thing in locating the four main frequencies.
Her attempt at humor completely flew past Valentin’s head, prompting visible confusion.
“Erm… okay? I think we have stuff sorted now. Definitly, this time.”, Valentin answered, taking a look back at the Dione, where a sizeable crowd has started to form.
“Seems like demand is growing… time for me to head back, then.”, he mumbled, scanning the behavior of the group, who seem to have near-infinite patience, casually chit-chatting and/ or taking laps around Robert solo.
Before starting the return to the Dione and his duties as an impromptu ““tour”” guide, he waited another moment to see if anyone present had something to discuss with him.
As none of them reacted, he went back to the Dione, much to the delight of the locals who have been waiting to get to know both him and the car a bit.
What followed was the usual process of explaining the same stuff over and over, which, while not exactly exciting, did end in some decent tips.
In the early afternoon, demand died down almost completely, as people went back to work after their lunch break, granting Valentin some breathing room, which was spent generously brushing his hair behind some bushes while Tim went about preparing some food for their own lunch break.
Kaylie wandered over to the Bricksley to do some basic maintenance on it, starting by popping the hood and checking the oil. “Oil’s still good,” she said, sliding the dipstick back in and looking up at the under-hood light, which hadn’t turned on. “You’re a problem, but one to solve later,” she muttered to herself. “Driver’s front tire is low,” she added, before grabbing the air compressor out of the toolbox, plugging it into the cigarette lighter, uncoiling the air hose, and flipping the switch.
Silence came from the box, instead of the usual obnoxious buzzing and rattling of the cheap air compressor. She looked back into the truck and saw the tone-arm of the turntable was settled neatly at the halfway mark of a record.
“ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING RIGHT NOW!?” Kaylie bellowed, startling Malavera awake as she yelled in his ear.
“Fucking hell, Kaylie!” Malavera snapped.
“You killed the battery again!” Kaylie snapped back.
“I fell asleep!” Malavera grumbled. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this heat is miserable, so I’ve been getting rest when I can.”
“With the turntable set on repeat, the engine off, and the battery slowly dying,” Kaylie said.
“I’m going to bed, you can deal with getting the battery jump-started again,” Malavera said, getting out of the truck, slamming the door, and crawling into his tent.
Kaylie sighed and looked around the camp for someone who wasn’t doing anything. She couldn’t find Kayden, and Malavera wouldn’t help at that point. Rukari was busy making food. Jayde was deep in meditation, and she knew it helped him after a long day, both to clear his mind and keep him from focusing on his pain. Then she spotted Kivenaal. “Hey, Kivenaal, mind coming over here and lending me a hand with something?”
Kivenaal nodded, then wandered over. “What do you need?” Kivenaal inquired.
“Malavera killed the battery, I’m going to have to remove it. I need you to go over and ask Valentin if he’d mind either trying to charge this one, or if he’s got a spare battery by any chance, because honestly, I think this one’s dead. Oh, and while you’re over there, if you could mention to him that I’d really like to get a ride in there at some point, it’d be nice,” Kaylie said.
Kivenaal grimaced and Kaylie immediately noticed. “What? It’s a simple favor.”
“Yes, and I already owe someone a life-debt that I can never repay. You might think it’s a simple matter, Kaylie, but I’m honor-bound to repay my debts. It’s how I was raised. I’m doing you a favor, yes, by asking a favor from Valentin. I’ll do it, but I don’t like it,” Kivenaal said, not exactly keeping his voice down in the process, but not shouting either.
Kivenaal turned toward the Dione, taking a deep breath after a few heavy steps to try to calm down, because he’d do far more harm than good if he stormed his way over to the Dione in a fit of irritation. After a few seconds, he managed to calm just enough to make his way over at a more calm, measured pace, looking around for Valentin. Not immediately seeing him, Kivenaal mentioned to Tim, who he was able to spot, “I need to speak with Valentin, if that’s possible right now.”
As soon as Kayle shouted across camp, both Tim and Constantin looked over toward the Bricksley in an attempt to figure out what was going on.
“What’s going on over there?”, Tim asked, already looking back onto the pot of MRE in front of him to avoid fucking up the preparation process.
“I dunno… somebody drunk again?”, Constantin answered, equally unsure as to what was happening.
“Apparently a member of Team Shift Happens involuntarily depleted the battery of their vehicle.”, Connor calmly commented, also intently watching the commotion unfold.
Constantin simply kept watching Kaylie’s rage-fit while Tim couldn’t stop a cheeky smile from forming on his face.
Afterwards, some more discussion on the Bricksley’s end followed, this time entirely unintelligible to anyone at the Dione due to reduced volume, followed by Kivenaal approaching them, asking about Valentin.
“Erm… last time i saw him was a moment ago, wielding his brush.” Tim replied, only briefly looking at who was asking in the first place.
“He went that way, behind this bush.” Connor added, pointing at a nearby group of vegetation, behind which Valentin had ‘hidden’ to tend to his haircut in piece and quiet.
“Then I will wait,” Kivenaal said, understanding that Valentin had likely gone to find a bit of peace and quiet in the chaos of this camp, especially after a long day of answering questions. It was, however, a little obvious that Kivenaal was uncomfortable with something, and kept giving light glares in Kaylie’s direction as she continued working on disconnecting the battery from the Bricksley.
“Oh, why the FLYING FUCK are these completely corroded!?” Kaylie yelled. “I SWEAR, BY THE TWIN SUNS, I AM GOING TO TIE HIS TAIL IN A KNOT!”
Kivenaal rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’re not the one having to ask favors,” he grumbled under his breath, though his voice was powerful enough to still potentially be heard with how close he was to the others.
Tim, Constantin and Connor simply acknowledged his intentions and returned to the process of making food, which once again was interrupted by Kaylie shouting.
While Constantin and Tim were acutely aware of what, or rather, who Kaylie was angry about, Valentin just now took note of her violent shouting.
“Cannot get some peace and quiet, even god-knows-how-far away from earth…” Valentin mumbled, retreating a bit further into the shrubbery to continue freshening himself up.
Back out front, Kivenaal didn’t seem comfortable at all, which was very, if not blatantly obvious to the others present.
“Favors? Need anything?”, Constantin asked, trying to break the ice a bit. Unfortunately, getting straight to business was the only way that came to mind.
Kivenaal grimaced. “Yeah, I hate having to ask about this, but…” Kivenaal sighed. “Malavera killed the battery in our truck, so we have to ask around and see if anyone has a spare battery. Otherwise, I’m going to have to see what I can do to make something that can keep a truck running. And, well… Kaylie’s been wondering about getting a ride in the Dione at some point.”
“As per the dead battery, we do have a spare that we kept out of the Dione i left in Nevada. Dunno how good that one is or if it even fits into that massive truck of yours, but we have that one. For Kayle and her ride… ask Val. His ‘car’, his rules.”, Tim explained, as he turned the gas cooker off and went ahead in portioning the meals for everyone.
Almost as if on cue, Valentin returned with only minimal delay, approaching the others while rearranging his haircut by hand to allow some degree of sight.
Upon spotting Kivenaal, his face was filled with confusion.
“Uhm… hello. Something wrong?”, Valentin muttered.
“Something about their battery being dead and Kaylie wanting a ride aboard the car… Anyway, food’s done. Want some as well?”, Tim said, holding up a small bowl of soup to at most waist-height, as he was sat on the floor next to the cooker.
Kivenaal grimaced lightly, then said to Valentin, “I’m here to ask a couple of favors, and I really hate that I have to do it, but… Malavera completely killed the battery in our truck, so Kaylie sent me over here to ask if you had a battery we could have. And, she’s curious about getting a ride in the Dione at some point.”
At that moment, Kaylie finally wrestled the battery out of the truck, cursing the entire time as she dropped it into the truck bed with a loud crash.
“Great,” Kivenaal muttered. “That’s probably split the casing, so the truck’s going to stink, too. My day just keeps getting better.”
“Can’t say that my day has been great either…” Valentin grumbled. “All the attention you get when you accidentally break multiple record in a three-day hackjob conversion is exhausting…” he added, turning around to inspect the roof rack for it’s contents. Eventually he spots the spare battery that Tim mentioned earlier. He returns to the group afterwards.
“We have this spare flooded lead-acid one we took out of the Dione that pooped it’s brake lines across some Nevadan highway. The one we have installed is a practically new AGM unit, as far as i am aware. Probably overkill given the lack of starting amps needed to get us going…”, Valentin explained.
The fact that Kaylie wanted a ride in the Dione was willingly ignored for the time being, seeing as a more pressing issue was at hand that needed solving first.
“No soup, then. Val? You want some?”, Tim repeated, now addressing Valentin instead of Kivenaal. By that time, Constantin had already begun digging into his meal.
“Meh… Maybe later… steaming soup in this heat isn’t my thing…”, Valentin answered, looking at the less-than-delicious looking pot of grey-ish brown mass.
Kivenaal looked at the battery settled into the roof rack’s contents, then said, “Well, it’s a battery. We’ll have to start push-starting the truck, but we could make that work,” Kivenaal admitted. “It’s better than trying to figure out how to make the engine run without spark, at least. Honestly, I don’t think we’d have the ability to pull off what you did, Valentin. Nor do I really think we have much hope of finishing this ourselves. Our truck overheats all the time, we’ve twice run the battery down to nothing, we have team members who break the truck and won’t do their part to make things right.”
After a moment of silence, Kivenaal said, “Well, if you give me a moment, I’ll just get that battery out of your roof rack and break the news to Kaylie that getting going just got harder.”
“Necessity is the mother of invention, right?”, Valentin said, visibly less annoyed as time goes on. “If you want, a jump start in the mornings isn’t a logistical problem anymore. Robert is now running as a class 1 train since we ‘purposefully’ broke that record. We basically can hop on and off the line wherever and whenever we want at this point. Regarding the battery, have fun with it. I don’t know how good it is exactly, though it should beat a proven-dead one…”
Kivenaal nodded and picked up the battery with his upper right hand, then carefully shuffled it over to his lower left hand to make carrying it a little easier. “That it is, Valentin, that it most certainly is. We’ll make this work. Thank you,” Kivenaal said.
Kivenaal walked back over to the Bricksley carrying the small 40 amp-hour lead-acid battery in his hand, then said to Kaylie, “They had a battery.”
“Kivenaal, I don’t know how to tell you this, but that’s not going to work,” Kaylie said.
“First gear, four-low, and push the truck. Someone dumps the clutch, the engine will run. We just can’t afford to kill this one, too. I don’t think any other teams have a spare, and unless you want me trying to power our truck with lemons, this is our best option right now,” Kivenaal replied.
“And what did Valentin say about a ride?” Kaylie asked.
“He didn’t. I did mention it, but he had a lot on his mind today, so I didn’t pressure him,” Kivenaal said.
“Damn. Well, I’ll have to ask after the party, then,” Kaylie said.
“Party?”
“Yeah, there’s a party in Trugarde tomorrow. Nova’s been telling everyone-”
There was a muffled thud as Kivenaal banged his forehead off of the water jugs on the roof with a groan. “Great. A party. Wonderful,” Kivenaal said sarcastically. “At this point, I’m going to be in another life-debt for all the favors I have to ask just to avoid things like this.”
“It’s not that bad, surely?” Kaylie asked.
“It’s that bad, Kaylie. It really is,” Kivenaal said. “Now I’ve got to go find Jayde and ask him for a favor tomorrow, and eventually I’m going to have to pay all of them back.”
As Kivenaal walked off, Valentin returned to Tim and Constantin, both enjoying their meals. With the soup not scolding hot anymore, he also took his serving. Well… he got handed one after taking a seat on the trunk edge.
Still, for a bare-bones field-grade meal, it was rather pleasant and soon after, the “kitchen” was taken down again.
The remaining afternoon and evening wasn’t all too special, save for the occasional local joining the group from time to time.
to be continued
3 Likes
Team Shift Happens
Previous Chapters:
Send It! - Stage 8 Drive and Camp
“Curiosity” - Collab with Knugcab and Elizipeazie
“The Investigation” - Collab with Elizipeazie and Interior
“We Need Water” - Collab with Elizipeazie
“Drunken Karaoke” - Collab with SurrealCereal
A Team Goes Home / Ideas Brewing in Camp - Stage 9 Drive and Camp
“A Little Shakedown Run” - Collab with Elizipeazie
Mirrors Made From Bumpers / A Vivid Purple Glow / Time to Eat - Stage 9 Camp
The Magistrate Arrives / “Are those bullet holes?” - Stage 9 Camp
Making Donuts / Speed Demon / Arrival in Camp - Stage 10 Drive and Camp
“A Pinch of Glass, a Dash of Magic” - Stage 10 Camp (Written with permission from Knugcab)
“The Clear Mind” - Written in collaboration with TheYugo45GV
“Demons and Dragons Bullshit” - Written by Knugcab
“Power Failure” - Written in collaboration with Elizipeazie
Garda Winn Campsite, 10-and-75 Sun
As the sun began to sink below the tree line, Kaylie closed the hood on the Bricksley after installing the vastly-undersized car battery. She opened up the fuse box and started pulling fuses for non-essential items, namely that damnable radio, so that they wouldn’t kill another battery. Malavera had long since gone to bed, leaving her to fix the mess he’d made. Kivenaal was understandably irritable as he’d had to go ask favors and then found out there was a party to have to deal with tomorrow. Kayden had helped her where he could, but that had mostly been in using a spare toothbrush and a borrowed can of cola to help scrub corrosion off of the connectors. Rukari had finished dishing out bowls of beef stew to everyone who asked for one, and had long since scrubbed out his cooking utensils. Jayde was busy working on a disguise for Kivenaal. Which meant she was really the only one left to fix the truck. She put her tools away, picked up the dead battery from the truck bed and placed it into a couple of plastic trash bags to keep it from shorting out on anything else in the bed, and put the handful of fuses into a plastic food bag and duct-taped them to the back of the passenger’s side sunvisor.
Now, she could sit down and get a little rest. She’d seen many of the team sit on the stumps and logs over the last few hours, and she figured it was as good a place to rest as any other. She pulled a sealed pack of beef jerky out of her pocket and sat down, only to jump right back up again with a pained yowl as she sat on a spiky pincushion. “YOW!” Kaylie yelped, turning around to see what she’d sat on. There, on the log she’d planned to rest on, was Sonic, the little porcupine pet of Team Hillbilly Rollers, now having several quills tipped red with blood. “Right. Come here, you, you’re going back to their van,” Kaylie said, picking up Sonic as carefully as she could with her left hand, moving quickly over to the van and setting the little bundle of misery down in the driver’s seat before heading back over to the Bricksley. (@Knugcab)
“So, yeah, as much as I hate to ask for your help, can you do that?” Kivenaal asked, sitting across from Jayde in the tent.
“Of course. You do know, however, that the spell will be very temporary? About 10 Aetheriian hours at best,” Jayde said.
“That’s all I need. I don’t need people trying to worship me, I just want to be normal for one day at a party. To look as different as I can without physically changing my form,” Kivenaal replied.
“I can do that. I’m thinking, golden tan fur, black jaguar markings? It’s about as far as I can go from being black fur with red tiger stripes without being wild. So unless you want some purple highlights in your mane-”
“No! Golden-tan and jaguar pattern should be fine. I’ll pay you back when I can,” Kivenaal said.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jayde replied.
“I’m honor-bound, Jayde. I have to, whether I want to or not,” Kivenaal said, before leaving the tent. “I’ll return in the morning, after we get the truck running.”
4 Likes
Garda Winn, Crugandr
Local time: 4-40 Sun
No Muffler, No Problem
A high pitched whirring came from the direction of the Magistrate, and naturally it sparked some curiosity from the two teams parked side by side. Some didn’t think too much of it, but for the “captain” of Team Oil Crisis, it was enough to get him out of his chair. As he got up and rounded the corner of the Bricksley, he was greeted by a familiar lombax laying on the ground with his entire upper torso under the big green wagon, with several sparks flying out from underneath.
“Orlen, what the fuck are you doing?”
The name bearer flinched when he heard his name and bumped his snout on the frame rail. “Ow! What does it look like? I’m trying to give us extra ground clearance.” he said making no attempt to get out from underneath.
“By doing what? Straight piping our car?”
“No.”
“You clearly are trying to cut off the exhaust. Move!”
A boot nearly hit Aidan in the face.
“Hey, stop that!”
“When you get out of my way.”
“No!”
A sigh. “Then I have no choice.”
Orlen grabbed the frame rail when he heard that, knowing he would be dragged out by force and like always, the struggle started. But, the frame rails of Union Magistrates were very difficult to hold onto especially with combat gloves, and the gloves, despite their design, had very little grip on the rusted metal.
“H-- Hey! No, let go of me!”
“I’ll only do that when I get you out from under the car,”
“Piss off.”
“No.”
“Well then go and fu–.”
“What’s going on here?” A female voice said. Aidan froze and then let go of his brother’s ankle, and saw a certain tiger standing behind him.
“I’m trying to stop him from cutting the exhaust off the car.”
The blue eyes suddenly darkened in anger, though not full fury.
“Exhaust! Please tell me you didn’t cut off the cats. Because if you did, I’m going to force feed them to you.” Kaylie hissed.
“Woah, calm down there Mrs. EPA. I didn’t even go near the converters, I left like 5 inches.”
“That better be true.”
“See for yourself.”
Before the brothers knew, she was on the ground looking under the car. Five tense seconds passed before Kaylie sighed in relief.
“Oh thank the stars, I’m thankful that you actually seem to care about pollution.”
Orlen grunted as he pulled himself out from under the car. “Of course we do. Eh, well, I do at least. I’m not sure about the others…” He trailed off when he saw the look his brother was giving him.
“I’m glad. Anyway, are you sure it’s wise to cut your exhaust off?”
“It gives us extra ground clearance.”
Kaylie shrugged. “I guess? But you just made the car a whole lot louder, I feel like the next stage will be total misery for you guys.” and with that she left.
“This is your doing, Orlen, if I hear you complaining, I will leave you by the side of the road. Do you understand?” his brother said.
A sigh of exasperation came from him. “Loud and clear.”
“Let’s get back to the others now. There’s no need to be all the way over here.”
The leaves crunched under foot as they walked back to where everyone was sitting, still neither of the two couldn’t help but look in the direction of the Yamada ASR-4. A sense of dread washed over them, but not the kind that was triggered by fear or uncertainty, but by suspicion and indignation. The big eyed, innocent looking crossover sat dormant across the camp but deep down the brothers knew it was a possible threat. Even the Magistrate with its stoned, emotionless, thousand yard stare, and the gaping grill that would be drooling if it were a mouth, seemed to have a bad feeling about the small car.
A slow but sharp inhale filled Aidan’s lungs. “I’ve got a bad feeling about that thing over there.” he said, making sure to keep his voice down and indicating the direction of the Yamada with a small nod. “Something tells me that it doesn’t appreciate our presence.”
The second set of blue eyes fixed their gaze on the red crossover, and the voice also made sure to keep itself low. “You think it’s a living creature as well?”
“Yeah, but there’s no way to know what that car’s intentions are. Does it want to kill us, put our car out of commission, or judge us from a distance?”
“Suppose if it wants to kill us? Do we have anything that’s powerful enough to fend it off?”
Aidan shrugged. “Only thing I can think of is Pavel’s wrench and its gate crasher setting.”
“That’s pretty overkill for a midsize crossover SUV, I’ve seen that thing turn a three ton armored door into a pile of mangled scrap metal.”
“Well now we know what power setting to use when there’s an altercation.”
Rolling his eyes, Orlen rounded the corner of the Bricksley, still keeping his voice low enough not to be intelligible to others. “It’s best we stay alert, just in case, because shit could hit the fan real quick.”
Aidan didn’t respond, for he had a thought of his own. If only there was some way to figure out that car’s secret. However, there was a thought deep down, that whatever that crossover was hiding would not remain hidden any longer and the Magistrate would somehow be involved.
Whatever it was, Aidan hoped all hell wouldn’t break loose.
To Be Continued (Like Always)
4 Likes
UZMK.....................TMI......................................FUTILITY..................DEATH.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
written alongside @TheYugo45GV
cring warning: vehicular bodily horror (???)
2022
SHITBOX RALLY
SHITBOX RALLY
BLAZERS
STAGE: 10+0.5
Secret
The clock struck to the middle of the night, every movement of her cruel hands resonating the ticking of a second within any being’s heart. But as serene as the humid darkness was, dread and sorrow was not easy to wipe away, even with the howling of the wind through the forest leaves and the crackling of the twigs that coincided with the murmurs of fauna.
Garda Winn’s camp was asleep, or it seemed most of them were. A few outcasts here and there, but none significant enough to bear witness to anything that would happen at this time of darkness. Huddled in their tents was everyone except for a single fellow, determined by what could perhaps be his curiosity, or possibly even an unlikely fear at one team’s vehicle. Whatever the case was, there was something that he felt needed to be done.
Orlen couldn’t sleep, something had been troubling him constantly since his conversation with his brother that previous afternoon. Sure, the Yamada ASR-4 had a secret and its intentions were unknown, but he felt that he needed to find out what that secret was before everyone else did. He didn’t understand why, but Orlen only knew that he had to and that there would be no hesitation. The sky blue eyes stared at the nylon ceiling of the tent. Malcolm would be asleep and he would remain sleeping until morning and the three in the Magistrate wouldn’t hear a thing. At least, this time something was done right. Enough stalling, now was the time to make the move. A glance at the watch on the furry wrist showed 1:05AM. The only reason no one would be sleeping at this time of night was that they suffered from insomnia or if they also had an urge to go poking around another team’s car.
The lever action rifle was leaning against his backpack, and a box of .58 Pointed ammunition sat next to it. Did he really want to take that with him? Of course, it was unwise considering the incident that happened during the second stage of the rally, but all hell could easily break loose. He sighed, yes he could go and try to get the omniwrench from the car, but that risked waking up the three sleeping in it.
As quiet as the breeze outside, Orlen slung the rifle over his shoulder, grabbed 10 spare rounds from the ammunition box, stuffing them in a pocket and the flashlight from the backpack inserted in its spot on the belt. Was this really wise? Was it really worth it to risk his life to satisfy the overwhelming curiosity? The hesitation vanished as quickly as it had formed, and the tan furred lombax dragged himself out of the tent.
The Bricksley Highwayman stood dormant and darkened in the clearing, and it didn’t appear that whoever was inside was awake. Across from his position, beside the passenger side fender of the pickup truck, was the yellow Dauer coupe, which was the next piece of cover he had from anyone who might have been awake. Crouching and using the gust of wind to mask his movements, Orlen jogged quietly across the road and laid himself into the prone position right next to the Dauer. In the distance was the Yamada crossover, its red paint glistening in the moonlight. Again with the same stealth and agility, he moved closer and closer towards his destination.
Soon there was only one car that waited between him and the Yamada. The EAAC Aphrodite of Team Witchlight. This was the opportunity to see where Team Blazers’ tent was set up. On the far side of the car towards the camp entrance, not ideal but still better than expected.
The red car sat dormant, the headlights looked as though they were closed like the eyes of a living creature, its glossy and metallic red paint seemed alive, like blood flowing through a thin layer of skin. From afar, one might have mistaken the flakiness of the paint to be iron like that in a creature’s vital life fluids, yet up close it was very clearly metal flakes.
Orlen dropped his act and slowly crept over to it, with curiosity now at its peak. This thing sure looked alive, it heaved as though it were breathing. The lombax kneeled down on one knee, next to the driver side front fender and waved a hand in front of the grille. Heat, but not the dry engine heat, moist heat that felt like a gentle mist.
Without any sort of second thought, the lever action rifle was no longer hanging from his shoulder but in his hands, with the muzzle facing upwards and away from him and the shoulder stock facing the tire wrapped around the wheel.
“Here goes nothing.”
The shoulder stock impacted the tire, with a dull and gentle thud which didn’t have the strength to force anyone out of their sleep. The thud sounded like any noise a wooden stock firearm would’ve made when hitting a hollow piece of rubber, and he stood back in anticipation of something happening.
Yet, nothing did. He breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, but still the skepticism was there. Slowly, he crept around the vehicle towards the front end where he met eyes with the vehicle. The halogens and its filaments creating a round shape that vaguely resemble orbs of a living organism felt as though it was staring back at him, creepy but not a telltale sign of life.
“‘Alive’ my ass. What the hell were we so worried about?”
Orlen once again took the stock of his rifle and with a swift whack, made contact with the auxiliary lamps that rested atop of the crimson vehicle’s hood. The sound it made was plasticky, very much like you would expect from anything that isn’t alive. He looked back at the tent, not sensing any movement despite the volume of the impact between his weapon and the vehicle. He continued further, relatively sure the car was just another car, but with a slight hint of uncertainty nonetheless. He aimed for the headlamp this time, the disturbing gaze which seemed to follow his every move, and with another hit to its plastic frame, the headlight came off its mounting.
“Quite shoddily made… this… thing…” His voice began to trail off as his eyes caught something.
He looked at the stock of his weapon, there were droplets of a viscous liquid that stuck to the end of it, and his eyes grew wide as he quickly shifted his gaze back towards the car. The Yamada’s headlight still clung onto the vehicle partially, held on by a fleshy strand of pink and red fiber that looked biological in nature.
“What the hell is that?!” He wasn’t able to see it clearly, but instantly recoiled from the ungodly sight before him.
He looked closer at the rest of the vehicle’s front, the bumper began to slowly slide off, and unusually coloured liquids began to drip onto the ground below the blood-red crossover. The auxiliary lamp that he had delivered a swift hit from his rifle was beginning to sag off of the hood, and with it came the fibrous material that matched the headlight’s. The darkness made it hard to see all of this happening, but with a certainty he could tell that something was definitely not right with this vehicle.
The vehicle’s lights suddenly turned on, and he was nothing short of flashbanged by the sudden arrangement of lamp fixtures that illuminated his peripheral vision. Now with the addition of radiating light from the vehicle, he could see clearly the sight before him. Incisors like that of a live creature, that were flanked by pairs of canines covered in a disturbingly tinted liquid. The bumper had fallen off of the front entirely, along with a twitching bunch of fleshy substances that had gathered all around.
Yet again, that same material that clung the headlight onto the bodywork was present as it stretched out before him, extending out onto the vehicle’s front bumper as it lay on the ground, twitching and pulsating erratically.
From behind the headlight which slowly fell down, landing onto the muscular fibers that held the bumper, he could see something stare back at him, a gazing pair that seemed to look deep into his soul. He could see an aqueous reflecting his own self in the pairs of gazes as they blinked right back at him.
The lower set of tusks slowly began to move in a disturbing creak that sounded like bone marrow merging and steel warping, and from within, more various bits of flesh began to appear that slowly leaked out of the apparent mouth of the being. More stares began looking at him from within this black abyss, covered in the same pink, veiny muscles that covered most of the so-called machine’s front end without the bumper’s covers.
The light, despite pointing in multiple and many directions, all seemed to focus on him at the moment. Orlen was nothing short of frozen at this very moment, he had the urge to run, or draw his weapon, but whatever being ahead of him right now simply kept him locked in the same position, immoving as a voice began to call out to him. The voice was unrecognizable, but feminine, seemingly coming from every direction all around him, whether it was in front of him from the red car ahead, or behind, above, or below, it was indiscernible, for the voice was coming from his head. Words that broadcasted into his head made no sense, either a foreign language, or he was too dazed in the moment. Letters of unrecognizable origin all flashing right before his very eyes as streaks began running past his face.
He felt as though his vision was suddenly transported to another place, he was seeing flashes of areas he had seemingly never seen before. Horrific sights that casted into his head and made him want to scream out loud from the gore that was all laid out in his mind but filled his psychological vision. Laboratories, experiments, blood, flesh, veins. All of these were rushing into his mind as he fell onto the ground below, his head still locked towards the Yamada. His mouth ran agape, but no words could come out, not even a sound.
From visions of unknown locations and horrors, it shifted towards his own memories, from his past, there were flashing amber lights, lighting up the sides of the buildings in the night, a starship running from him, then the vision changed as the ship Orlen was piloting, was T-boned by some unknown craft which shifted into the falling from the bridge where he nearly killed himself and his friends, then it was the shooting, the silhouetted figure dropping to the ground, the ambulance rolling up, then it was the forest in Crugandr, the M16 and the grenade launcher and then the shooting at the Dyre.
A girl’s voice called out, it was soft, unfamiliar to him for he had never heard a tone as sweet as this one. From his surroundings, a blue aura began to glow around him, and he was able to break the lock that the Yamada was holding onto him. He quickly turned his head around, and there stood a silver-haired girl no taller than a child. She chanted words that sounded incredibly foreign to him, almost seeming like gibberish. In her hand, a large trident that stood almost twice her height was being pointed towards the red vehicle.
He looked back at the car as it began to glow blue, and he heard a ghastly howl that came from between its jaws. It was a yowl that sounded vaguely like that of a church hymn, but was still so alien he wasn’t able to immediately tell the difference between it, and the being’s true figure of speech. The girl behind him he was able to now recognize as wind seemed to blow her hair away from her face, it was none other than the fish girl from Blazers, who he had never gotten the name of. She continued to chant more words at the vehicle ahead of him, and she moved her other hand towards the trident, holding it horizontally now, perpendicular to the vehicle’s front.
“Consummatum est! Daina!”
With a final chant from the girl, a faster wind began to move all around them in a seemingly cyclone-like pattern, and the blue aura followed around towards the vehicle as the knocked off bodypanels began to reassemble themselves onto the car’s front. The fluids that ran on the ground looked as though they were now flowing in reverse back towards where they came from, and the ground was now spotless. Before the headlight closed the vehicle back up, Orlen could see the eye that was once staring at him begin to squirm in almost a pleading way as the light covered it back up. Before long, the vehicle returned the way it was, except for a spot of tear-like liquid that lined the bottom of the headlight that had fallen off. Eventually, the car had seemingly shut off entirely, and the only thing illuminating them now was this mysterious cyan light that shone from what looked to be beneath them.
Orlen readied his weapon as he got up, but as he turned around, he saw the trident’s three prongs pointed right at his face, not being held by the girl whatsoever. In her eyes was a cloudy look, unreadable and indecipherable.
“You are not to speak of this incident no matter what, for it did not happen. Return to your team at once and enter into a state of slumber.”
She stood completely still, and the aquamarine trident continued to be pointed at his face. He could see her eyes glow a slight red, which quickly began to glow in a near flame-like look as her piercing gaze deepened. The trident eventually disappeared from his sight, and the light that illuminated them began to fizzle out, leaving behind a fine blue mist of sorts, but the girl still stood there, her eyes and certain streaks of her hair glowing a red that was just enough to illuminate her face.
Orlen simply stood there with a cold look on his face, but simply removed something off his belt, put it to his neck, and activated it. A puff of air came from the device followed by a mechanism clicking. There was an interval of 10 seconds before the cold look on his face vanished, and then he began to walk, pushing past the girl and disappearing off into the night.
Arriving back at the tent, he put the rifle, ammo and flashlight back in their respective places and laid back on his sleeping bag. He waited a moment for the dream inhibitor serum to take effect, preparing himself for the all too familiar sudden blackout that came with it. Then all consciousness disappeared, as though something had struck him in the head. He made no movements, no murmurs, he just lay there, immobile with his chest rising and falling with the breaths he took. In the unconsciousness, his memory would reset to the moment right before the visions began during the encounter, with everything past that being erased from existence. But, unbeknownst to anyone else, even himself, there was only a matter of time before another car would go berserk, at the press of a button and label the red crossover, an enemy.
9 Likes
mf that car with all its parts falling off revealing the flesh feels like looking at an EVA without its armor
1 Like
Machinas Con Passione’s Shitbox Adventures Part 8 - We tried so hard.
>Be Giacomo
>Get fast stage
>Car is Aerodynamic and engine is Stronk, if nothing else
>EZ win boys
>inevitable fuel issue
>Bill, our beloved cat-alien-thing, took the liberty of slashing our tires mid stop, maybe I shouldn't have taken his lunch earlier
>Chad renders me crippled by using the patented jackswing again
>Be threatened by both Benjamin and Maria into helping with the next stop, because apparently having my shins shattered by the tire jack isn't a good reason to lie around and do nothing for the rest of the stage
>Next fuel stop
>Tires 'splode again.
>Apparently, chewing gum isn't the best way to fix all of your problems. Who coulda guessed.
>Use the last of my hair gel to seal the holes in the tires for good.
>Now I'll have to look like the 50 year old man that I am
>Cry the rest of the way back to camp and all throughout our stay.
>Didnt even win the stage.
>A rare L for the Scarfiottis.
5 Likes
TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS
Earlier parts
PART 0.1 - A prologue to the prologue
PART 0.2 - Another piece of the prologue puzzle
PART 0.3 - Viva la IP 4Z!
PART 0.4 - Robotman
PART 0.5 - Interference problems
PART 0.6 - Can I play Tetris?
PART 0.7 - Tangerine and familiar
PART 1.0 - Now things got serious!
PART 1.1 - Hello, Thibault and friends!
PART 1.2 - Poor kitty
PART 1.3 - Curse you, Team Oil Crisis!
PART 1.4 - Interlude
PART 2.0 - Bird bird bird, bird is the word!
PART 2.1 - D. Head
PART 2.2 - Good night!
PART 3.0 - Freeway Rockstar
PART 3.1 - DISCO TJO DISCO HEJ
PART 3.2 - Van-Werewolf 1-0
PART 4.0 - Calm after the storm
PART 5.0 - Mirror mirror on the…oh, crap!
PART 5.1 - Hello, little puppies!
PART 6.0 - Speed
PART 6.1 - GIMME OXYGEN! (feat. Madrias)
PART 6.2 - Steamin’ hot! (feat. Elizipeazie)
PART 7.0 - The Kayak
PART 7.1 - Marie the valkyrie?
PART 7.2 - Vegetables
PART 7.3 - Time to tie things up.
PART 8.0 - The hangover
PART 8.1 - The new team member
PART 9.0 - From pink to brown
PART 9.1 - Co-op with Madrias and Elizipeazie
PART 9.2 - Where is Sonic?
PART 10.0 - First at last!
PART 10.1 - Co-op with Variationofvariables
PART 11.0 - Why is this van so damn fast?
PART 11.1 - Co-op with Madrias
PART 11.2 - Demons and dragons bullshit
PART 11.3 - Oops, thank you, Kaylie!
"SOOOONIC! WHERE ARE YOU? SOOOONIC!", Andreas was shouting.
"Stop shouting", Janne said. "He is not exactly a dog, you can’t call him in like that."
"I bet that little pest is just hiding from Marie anyway.", Andreas answered.
"Well, I don’t care, as I said, if you start feeding a wild animal, you have to keep doing it.
The team kept looking for Sonic that seemed to be nowhere. Finally, they gave up, and headed back to the van.
"How are we going to explain to Marie that the little spikey pest is gone?", Andreas was wondering.
"Well, I will just blame it on you, and she will believe me since she knows that you hate Sonic", Janne said cynically.
Approaching the van, they saw Kaylie walking around near it. Maybe she knew anything?
"Hey, Kaylie, have you seen Son…", Andreas started to ask her, when she gave them a dirty look without saying something. Then she turned around and showed some traces of dried blood.
"Oh…"
"I put him back in the van, Kaylie said in a sour tone. "Keep better track of him now!"
With the porcupine problem out of the way, they took a look at passed out Marie again.
"Did she really drink ALL of the beer?", Janne asked.
"Uhm…no, there is two cans left", Andreas said.
"Fine. She won’t remember them anyway", Janne said. They both grabbed a can, popped it open and started drinking from them.
"Cheers!", Janne said.
"I bet she will be a PITA tomorrow!", Andreas said a bit worried.
"Well, WHEN she wakes up, yes.", Janne answered.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Kaylie used with permission from @Madrias
4 Likes
Shitbox Rally
Stage 11 – Garda Winn to Trugarde
Stage Start: 1 Sun, 29/7/3251, Garda Winn Campsite
Weather at Stage Start: Warm (30C), cloudy and humid, a light breeze.
Weather at mid-stage: Slightly warmer (32C), less cloudy, still humid, the wind has increased mildly.
Weather at Stage End (First Car): Warm (32C), slightly fewer clouds, mild humidity, a good breeze.
Weather at 5 Sun: Hot (34C), the sun peeks through the clouds on occasion, humidity fading, calm wind.
Weather at Stage End (Last Car): Hot (35C), though rapidly transitioning to Warm (33C) as the sun gets blocked by clouds.
Stage End (First Car): 3 and 51 Sun, 29/7/3251, Trugarde, Queen’s Station
Stage End (Last Car): 5 and 41 Sun, 29/7/3251, Trugarde, Queen’s Station
Weather at end of day: Warm (31C), cloudless sky, humidity has dropped significantly as the wind picks up.
Like many of the other major cities, the road leading into Trugarde is beautifully smooth cobblestone. Unlike the other major cities, however, the thing that’s most noticed on this road is traffic. Between lizard drawn carriages, people riding lizards, a couple of wizards in robes riding giant six legged cats, and a multitude of primitive self-propelled carriages, the road is actually what some might call “busy.” An ear-shattering four-cylinder droning echoes through the forest on a fast approach, and (almost) everyone gets to see what looks like an old Model-T Ford roadster with a tractor-pulling header spewing blackish-gray smoke into the air, coupled up to an old open carriage, racing along with the engine backfiring and spitting fireballs out of the exhaust as the driver hits bumps in the road. Those with keen eyes might be able to notice that the Valraadi in the driver’s seat has orange fur, but black stripes that match the pattern on Rukari’s body almost perfectly, and are so dangerously close to Kivenaal’s stripes that it’s almost obvious they are related in some way. The passengers in the carriage wave to the contestants, with one being a human female with lively red-scaled pythons for hair, another being a lion shifter sitting on what used to be the driver’s seat with a pump-action shotgun in his hands, the third being a huge black wolf the size of the Dyre some teams fought, but wearing robes similar to Jayde’s robes, and the fourth passenger being a large tiger-shifter who had a miniaturized three-headed dragon perched on his left shoulder, as a pirate might do with a parrot. The mysterious contraption, clearly named the “Little Monster” courtesy of some gold lettering on the black hood, thunders on down the road, heading for Garda Winn.
As everyone on the road approaches the campsite, they are instead directed by the City Guards of Trugarde into the city, guided toward a large area surrounding the massive train station almost at the perfect center of this thriving Victorian-style city. The more curious of you might ask a guard to know how many people live here, and would be surprised to learn that more than 750,000 people, both humans and shape-shifters alike, live in this city. Signs are posted everywhere, welcoming our teams to use the taverns and inns to get some food, drink, and much needed rest. Steam-powered trams shuffle around a large loop of track running through the city, offering an easy way to get from place to place without driving. Folk music is being played surprisingly loudly from a couple of different bands, and every so often, a group of Valraadii join the musical rotation to belt out a sea shanty or two before surrendering the stage to music once more. Settled neatly in the center of the station is Team RK Series Racing, the Tangerine Tank Engine resting neatly on the rails as people stared and asked questions while photographers took pictures. An elegant lady has settled in a relatively comfortable looking chair behind an easel with a palette, paintbrushes, and tins of paint nearby, currently sketching out the basic outline of the Dione so she could paint it along with the crew later.
Notes: Randomization is active. Breakdowns are active. Time is in Earth Time.
Team Shift Happens
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:33:23
Average MPH: 77.9
Randomizer: 13
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
After discussions about who should drive, there was an unexpected and unplanned-for volunteer: Nova, the Class 3 AI with Mobility Support that often helped out Kayden. When fitted into Kayden’s 500-pound suit of powered armor, Nova fired up her hard light projector to at least show her head in the right place, helped start the truck, then climbed up into the driver’s seat for her first real time behind the wheel. With the rest of the team haphazardly piled into the truck, and Kaylie already on her way to Trugarde in the Dione, Nova put her foot down and woke up the mighty V8. In a furious flurry of wheelspin, the Bricksley storms out of camp like a Dyre with its tail on fire.
As they hurtle down the road, the big V8 engine under the hood responds eagerly to Nova’s heavy right foot with a menacing roar, sending the truck screaming down the road and hurtling into what would have been their campsite at a great rate of speed. Inside the city, however, she’s calm and collected, as well as constantly keeping her sensors on high alert so that she doesn’t bump into anyone with the big-ass truck. Crawling along at walking pace among crowds of people, bicycles, primitive motor cars, and Trugarde’s steam trams, Nova manages to get the Bricksley all the way down Station Street with only a minor incident, and parks in the Queen’s Garden, where the crew gets out.
Unfortunately for Kivenaal, Jayde’s little camouflage spell ended up making him both quite easily noticed thanks to his bright golden-tan pelt and jaguar spots, and even worse, had the appearance of Xelth from the Old Stories when he would hide out among mortals.
Team Wayfarers
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:21:52
Average MPH: 55.81
Randomizer: 10
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Sure, it’s not fast, but Jack agreed that not turning the engine into a molten puddle of goo was probably better than mashing his foot into the firewall and possibly hurting the engine of the truck. Especially with a certain sentient Yamada sitting around.
@Executive
###Team Gearknobs
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:41:14
Average MPH: 53.1
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 3 (Tires)
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Blam Blam Blam Blam! A moment of inattention lead to a mild off-road excursion. Returning to the road revealed, all too late, a line of jagged, sharp rocks that you ran over at speed, popping all four tires. Luckily, the group of heroes with the noisy-ass motor-car pulling a carriage behind it stopped to help out. The huge wolf who towered over your car and the team at 10 feet tall, calls himself “Russell” and offers to use magic to fix the blown out tires of the poor little Hakaru Carica. After levitating it off of the ground to his eye level, he waves a wand the size of a goblin’s staff and the tires seal up and reinflate in seconds. After gently returning the car to the ground, they continue onward, leaving team Gearknobs to get back in and finish the stage.
Team Fallen Angels of the Past
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:32:43
Average MPH: 54.2
Randomizer: 8
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 4 (Team Caused)
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
There were two brief stops on the way. The first was to rescue a poor turtle that was laying on its back in the middle of the road by carefully picking it up and setting it back on its feet in the grass. The second was when they slammed on the brakes to stare at the unusual crew cruising by, cheering and waving. Did that woman really have snakes for hair!?
Team Oil Crisis
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:14:15
Average MPH: 67.8
Randomizer: 10
Refueling Stops: 2
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
After the sprint yesterday, it was agreed on to keep the Magistrate’s speed under control so as to not risk blowing up the Narrowblock’s head gaskets again. A small duel with the Bricksley on the road increased their pace for a short time, at least until they had to stop for fuel. During the first fuel stop, the two pups both managed to catch a couple of rabbits. After making sure they ate their food outside of the car so as to not stain the seats with rabbit blood, the two were cleaned up and loaded back into the Magistrate.
Team Hillbilly Rollers
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:34:11
Average MPH: 54.0
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 1 (Powertrain)
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
The van really didn’t appreciate spending almost 180 miles on the rev-limiter the day before, and expressed that lack of appreciation in the only way it could. With a quiet twang, snap, and clatter, the IP 4Z rattled to a halt. Janne smiled, expertly popped the engine apart enough to change the broken timing belt, and had Andreas try cranking it again. There was another snap, and after removing the engine cover, quite a lot of swearing as Janne realized it had broken another timing belt. Luckily, some really strange looking heroes showed up in an equally strange-looking vehicle, offering them a tow into Trugarde. Andreas was freaking out because the woman had “fucking snakes” for hair, the wolf was as big as a Dyre, and the Valraadi clearly had some sort of rather-quite-large rifle cannon sitting in the front bench seat with him. After some basic negotiations for taking them as far as Trugarde’s gate, the wounded IP Freeway Star had the driveshafts disconnected and was chained behind the flat carriage. The way back was ear-shatteringly loud as every bump forced the driver’s foot off of the gas pedal, producing a deafening, echoing bang from the exhaust, as well as a dirty great fireball each time it happened. On the plus side, as they rolled into the camp and were disconnected from the mysterious “Little Monster,” one of the guards hitched a lizard up to the tow hooks and, after climbing onto the giant iguana’s back, towed the van smoothly into the party area with the rest of the cars.
Team Witchlight
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:42:23
Average MPH: 75.4
Randomizer: 11
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
With Ambay snoring in the back, Finne cleaning and polishing weapons, Kira reading her spellbook, and Elist driving their car, Team Witchlight’s witchy-cruiser thundered on down the road. All of them appreciated, after seeing so many humans on the road lately, getting a glimpse of the Five Heroes of Aetherii as they went by.
Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:47:16
Average MPH: 61.3
Randomizer: 10
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
This was, for all intents and purposes, a very boring stage for the team. After using up the last of the dusty roll of duct tape to make sure their cargo was secure, Mrdja set off at a reasonable pace, and after deciding this was fast enough, he set the cruise control. None of them were exactly surprised to see even more weird people cruising on by in their deafeningly-loud vehicle, but they politely waved back.
Team Blazers
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:17:27
Average MPH: 82.7
Randomizer: 11
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Romulo climbs behind the wheel of the Yamada, and man and living machine again become one as they set off with a remarkable and surprisingly proud squealing chirp of tires from the AWD crossover. The Yamada’s mechanical heart pounds several thousand times per minute, the wheels roar across the smooth road, the lights almost appear to look ahead at where they’re going. Air rushes in through the intake in a loud hiss, like a runner desperately trying to breathe through their mask, while air rushes out through the exhaust with a loud snarling roar. Every gear change is smooth and fluid and crisp, right at the peak of the engine’s power. The brake pads bite into the rotors like Dyre on the hunt, dragging their speeding prey down to a halt. Tires scrabble for grip like clawed paws as they go around corners at a speed greater than most would dare. And, by the time they reached Trugarde, it was as if the beast had been satisfied for now, a low, muted, almost-content growl coming from the exhaust as they cruised smoothly through town, over the tram tracks and up to the area surrounding the train station.
Team Machinas Con Passiones
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:18:09
Average MPH: 66.9
Randomizer: 11
Refueling Stops: 4
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Team MCP’s Aerodynamic Wedge-Shaped Beast becomes a musical concert on wheels as everyone with an instrument attempts to play it while hurtling down the road. Surprisingly, they’re not too bad when they’re sober, and soon, they start really getting into it. Even stopping for fuel wasn’t so bad, as while Thibault had to handle fuel cans, the rolling band van entertained anyone left crawling along at a normal pace, at least until the tank was full.
Team Quick Rally 47
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:17:41
Average MPH: 56.4
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 1
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
As the Mara’s engine shudders to a stop once again with the oil light flashing, the two Xenoarchaeologists get out to perform the same routine maintenance they’ve done several times before. Except, this time, the oil pressure sensor is still plugged in, courtesy of the high-strength industrial-grade, space-resistant tape you used the last time. This time, the sensor itself has come out of the block, and the engine has piddled away most of the oil between the moment the sensor came out, and the moment the engine finally shut down. After carefully screwing the sensor back in and refilling the oil, the Mara Kanyon thunders on ahead. That’s three times the crafty folk in the Mara design department have saved an engine, even if two times were just false readings.
Team Mrezhari
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:36:49
Average MPH: 63.2
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 4 (Team Caused)
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Despite traveling around in racing helmets and full fire suits, the team proves themselves to not be heartless as they stop traffic long enough to let three young Dyre cross the road. The hunting pack gives a howl of thanks as they disappear off into the woods on the other side, while the team piles into the Dunav, unaware or uncaring that they just stood across the road to let three apex predators cross safely.
Team Jockey
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:37:43
Average MPH: 76.7
Randomizer: 11
Refueling Stops: 2
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Despite being often mistaken for an unusually large rolling cheese wedge, the tiny Yinzer buzzes right along without any incidents for once.
Team RK Series Racing
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 03:55:17
Average MPH: 90.5
Randomizer: 13
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
It’s a fast cruise at line speed for Robert, the Redneck Railcar, finally getting a priority spot on the line. This section of track is rated at a particularly high speed, and the delays are thanks to having to stop at a station to let Kaylie off, combined with all of the necessary shunting at the end of the run, shuffling into the center of the Station platform. With a squeal of brakes and a hiss of steam, the Tangerine Tank Engine claims first place.
Team Black Rabbit
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:43:24
Average MPH: 75.2
Randomizer: 13
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
It’s a long, flat, relatively smooth road with only a few turns involved, which means Melanie is able, once again, to really open up the Dauer’s throttle and let the six cylinders scream. As the Five Heroes pass, Tanuki wanted to fire a warning shot for fun until she saw the rather large guns being carried by most of the crew onboard the carriage.
Team Spy Kids
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:35:54
Average MPH: 77.2
Randomizer: 11
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 3552
Having learned in the last stage to keep it between the ditches, the AST Elbrus is guided along the road like the world’s slowest cruise missile.
Stage Finishing Order:
Earth ET – Aetheriian ET – Arrival Time – Team
03:55:17 – 2h and 51m – 3 and 51 Sun – Team RK Series Racing
04:17:27 – 2h and 71m – 3 and 71 Sun – Team Blazers
04:33:23 – 3h and 05m – 4 and 05 Sun – Team Shift Happens
04:35:54 – 3h and 08m – 4 and 08 Sun – Team Spy Kids
04:37:43 – 3h and 09m – 4 and 09 Sun – Team Jockey
04:42:23 – 3h and 13m – 4 and 13 Sun – Team Witchlight
04:43:24 – 3h and 15m – 4 and 15 Sun – Team Black Rabbit Corporation
05:14:15 – 3h and 42m – 4 and 42 Sun – Team Oil Crisis
05:18:09 – 3h and 46m – 4 and 46 Sun – Team Machinas Con Passiones
05:36:49 – 3h and 63m – 4 and 63 Sun – Team Mrezhari
05:47:16 – 3h and 72m – 4 and 72 Sun – Team Mravolinski-Chitco
06:17:41 – 4h and 20m – 5 and 20 Sun – Team Quick Rally 47
06:21:52 – 4h and 24m – 5 and 24 Sun – Team Wayfarers
06:32:43 – 4h and 33m – 5 and 33 Sun – Team Fallen Angels of the Past
06:34:11 – 4h and 34m – 5 and 34 Sun – Team Hillbilly Rollers
06:41:14 – 4h and 41m – 5 and 41 Sun – Team Gearknobs
So, normally, there’d be my team post here. However… Well, let’s just say that I had an idea that required a little collaboration to get things started, and while there will be a team post, it’s not going to be bundled in with the stage details this time.
7 Likes
RK Series Racing; Stage 11 Drive
once again, in collab with @Madrias.
Jayde groaned as Kivenaal woke him up. “Really? Before breakfast?” Jayde said, wincing as he slowly got up into a seated position. Kaylie had already gotten up and dressed, going over to the truck to make sure things were ready to go.
“You know I can’t sleep,” Kivenaal said. “But, we planned for this the other night, that disguise thing. The,” Kivenaal pulled a slightly annoyed face before grumbling out the word, "favor.”
“The disguise? As in changing your face?”
“Nothing too dramatic. Remember, we still can’t freak out Valentin. Same physical structure, but a new color,” Kivenaal said.
“I can do that, but as I said, it’s temporary. 10 hours at best,” Jayde said.
“Ten hours is all I need. By morning, we’ll be out of Trugarde and I’ll be able to rest and relax.”
Jayde nodded, then quietly muttered an incantation. Kivenaal’s fur rippled as it changed to a beautiful golden tan with black jaguar spots instead of his heavy black with red tiger stripes. “It’s as far from what you look like as I could manage without doing something wild,” Jayde said.
“Define wild,” Kivenaal replied.
“I mean, I could give your mane some purple highlights, maybe add a bit of red as an undertone, give you a somewhat menacing vibe-”
“No thanks, this is good enough,” Kivenaal said.
At the BricksleKaylie sighed as she checked the fluids one last time on the truck before preparing to get the day started. She looked at the undersized battery sitting there, taking up about a third of the space the original battery had filled, and realized that getting going was going to be a pain, even with an initial jump-start from the Tangerine Tank Engine. “Twin Suns, I hope we don’t stall it,” Kaylie said.
She looked over at the tents as Kayden, Rukari, and Malavera joined them. Kayden was busy arguing with Nova, and as they got closer, she heard Kayden saying, “-haven’t been taught to do that yet.”
“I have 1500 hours of drive time in Malavera’s simulation rig, in that armor. I know how to drive,” Nova said.
“So, who’s driving today?” Kaylie asked.
“I volunteer as tribute!” Nova called out. Kayden sighed.
“She’s been at this all night,” Kayden said, “and won’t listen to reason regarding the fact that she’s never actually driven a car before. And no, simulations don’t count because you can’t just reset when you trash our truck.”
“I’ll have you know that I’ve participated in 2,753 races without an incident. PIT maneuvering the asshole who kept using my car as his brakes does not count,” Nova replied.
“The other problem is seating,” Kayden said, “and it’s the bigger issue.”
“Well, if Valentin agrees to let me ride along on this stage,” Kaylie said, “it won’t be an issue.”
“You can’t seriously be on her side!” Kayden grumbled.
“I can be, and I am,” Kaylie shot back. “Seriously, she can’t do any worse than we did in the old Sinistra Traville, either in that cross-country event or in the 24 hours of clunkers.”
Kayden groaned, then started assembling the armor from the disassembled pieces in the bed. “Fine. But when she wrecks the truck, I’m blaming you,” Kayden said. After getting the armor assembled, Kayden clipped Nova into the left forearm and closed the panel. Nova, a few moments later, turned on her hard-light projector, put her head where it should be, and upped her visual quality a touch now that she had both passive and active cooling in the suit of armor. She wasn’t quite as translucent as she usually was, though still had a purely digital aesthetic to her, as if someone could see the code she was running if they looked just beneath the surface.
“Well,” Nova said, taking a few steps and resting a hand on the truck bed, looking over at the Dione, “it looks as if our friends have arrived to give us a hand.”
At the Dione, the morning wasn’t exactly ideal.
Constantin, as usual, got up early, filling the gap with his usual routine, albeit more limited in variety due to his dress uniform being less than ideal for sports/ training.
Valentin, however, did not have a pleasant night. He also was forced out of bed early by the ongoing pain and discomfort of his left ankle. Unable to get back to sleep, he drags himself out of his tent, followed by multiple attempts at getting up with aid from his crutches.
“You’re up early.” Constantin commented, heading over to aid the slender giant onto his one useable foot.
There is little in the way of a response, as Valentin’s morning slumber was as bad as it could be.
“Well you certainly are no early bird…” Constantin continued as he walks Valentin towards the redneck railcar.
Once there, Valentin was sat down, his back leaning against the front passenger door of the car, allowing Valentin some time to mentally get going.
Constantin took the opportunity to pack up tents and associated equipment, now that both tent residents weren’t asleep anymore.
As he finishes up, Tim also joins the realm of the awake, but is prevented from getting out of the car by Valentin, who was still sat leaning against the car.
“Huh?” Valentin exclaims as he is pushed a bit by Tim trying to open the door.
“Let me out, you muppet.” Tim countered half jokingly, followed by Val shuffling over, now leaning against the front right tyre and fender instead.
The remaining morning wasn’t all to special, apart from a marginally more intricate breakfast courtesy of the extra time gained by having packed up camp already.
With Robert steamed and the team satiated, they piled back into the car, which then was driven all of 15 yards over to the Bricksley.
Carefully parking almost directly in front, but facing sideways after which the one working electric window was rolled down.
“Uhm… i think i still have to bank in some promises made yesterday.” Valentin said to whoever was the first to react.
Kaylie looked over as Valentin mentioned he still had to bank in some promises made the day before. “Ah, hello Valentin. Let me finish topping up the radiator, then I’ll get the jumper cables out,” Kaylie said. She poured the better part of a water can into the Bricksley’s radiator, then handed the can over to Nova, who settled it back up into the roof rack.
Nova looked over at Valentin, then said, “I’ve volunteered to drive today. I’m quite excited.”
Kaylie grimaced. “Yeah, but we have a slight… problem. Nova really wants to drive, and, well, we don’t have enough seats in the Bricksley for seven of us. So, I have to ask you, Valentin, do you mind if I ride along? I’ve looked at the maps, there’s a station before Trugarde where I can get on a tram and just take that into the city,” Kaylie mentioned, before grabbing a large rubber glove to cover her left hand as she picked up the jumper cables.
“Sure…” Valentin replied to Kaylie as she turned back around, ‘topping up’ the coolant loop with copious amounts of straight water.
As Nova made herself known and voiced her excitement about driving today’s stage, Valentin remained surprisingly calm, seeing as he has a late 2030s android for a fireman. Kaylie’s concerns about seating were valid, though.
In response, Valentin simply turned around to those in the back, who both immediately knew what was going on.
“Fine by me.” Tim said, followed by Constantin thinking a step further, already opening his door and exiting the car for Kaylie to enter once the jump-start was taken care of. Connor, naturally, made no attempt at voicing his opinion, not that he had any to begin with.
“Welcome aboard, then.” Valentin said, reaching down below the dash to pull the hood release latch.
With a muffled metallic ‘plunk’, the windshield-side edge rose about an inch off of the surrounding panels.
“We don’t have any jumping cables, as far as i know… hope you brought some.” Valentin added, sheepishly smiling a bit as he forgot about the lack of cables up until now.
Kaylie pulled her glove on, then pulled out a set of long-cabled jumper cables. “Yeah, we’ve had to use these before,” Kaylie said. She carefully lifted the hood on the Dione and made sure it wouldn’t fall on her, then carefully hooked up the jumper cables between the two vehicles.
“Okay, Nova. Go ahead and start the truck. And don’t snap the key off in the ignition, either,” Kaylie said, tossing the keys in Nova’s general direction. Nova caught them, then walked around to the driver’s side of the Bricksley, opened the door, sat down in the driver’s seat, and made sure the truck was safe to start. After ensuring the Bricksley had the parking brake set, the gearbox was in neutral, and then put her foot on the clutch. She cautiously turned the key, one notch at a time, until the Bricksley’s engine roared to life.
Kaylie then disconnected the jumper cables, carefully closed the Dione’s hood, put the jumper cables back away in the truck, and closed the Bricksley’s hood with a heavy thud. She walked three steps toward the Dione before realizing she still had her glove on, carefully pulled it off of her left hand, and tossed it back into the Bricksley’s toolbox with the jumper cables.
Kaylie smiled as she walked over to the Dione and climbed in, getting settled into the middle seat, her tail curled around to Tim’s side of the car.
Valentin and the others simply watched the jump-start of the Bricksley unfold, involuntarily flinching a little as the 7 litre V8 roared to life through the menacing, unmuffled-sounding exhaust system.
As Kaylie ‘closed’ the hood, however, it was almost painfully obvious that it didn’t latch, which went unnoticed initially.
Valentin turned around to watch Kaylie make herself as comfortable as she could, followed by Constantin squeezing his way in beside her.
Once he turned back, the unnoticed became noticed:
“Erm… That hood didn’t latch.” Valentin commented, pulling the hood latch once again as proof of it not being latched.
Much to his surprise, however, this ended up latching the hood from within, negating the need to get out and manually smash it shut.
“Well… Nevermind, then…” Valentin muttered in a state between confusion and amazement, followed by a moment of relative silence as Valentin collected himself a bit.
“Last chance to get whatever you may want to take along.” Valentin said, inspecting the second row occupants through the interior mirror.
“Well, that’s a clever feature,” Kaylie said, seeing Valentin pull the hood latch and watching the hood close afterward. “I’m going to have to keep an eye out for an Anhultz once this is all over, they’re well built cars.”
When Valentin said it was the last chance to get anything she might want to bring with, Kaylie smiled, checked to make sure she had everything she needed, then chuckled as Kayden knocked lightly on Constantin’s window, holding a water bottle for Kaylie.
“Yeah, you always forget to bring water with you, sis. Every time,” Kayden said. Kaylie grabbed the bottle and shook her head.
“I don’t forget every time, Kayden,” Kaylie replied.
“No, just most of the time,” Kayden quipped, sticking his tongue out as he returned to the Bricksley.
“Oh they’re amazing! They are usually expensive, even used because of how unkillable they are, but get a decent one and it won’t fail you. Ever.” Tim said smiling at how he has owned three Dione’s so far, of which two have been traded and the third gifted to the guy in front of him.
As Kayden knocks onto Constantin’s window, he rolls it down, allowing Kayden to hand the bottle to Kaylie through the gap created in there.
After Kayden returned to the Bricksley, Constantin rolls the window back up.
“Looks like we can go now.” Constantin said, glancing at Valentin, then Kaylie to make sure that both of them were actually ready.
“Ready when you are.”, Kaylie replied.
With preparations done, Valentin thought of blipping the whistle, but refrained from doing so as other people might still be asleep for whatever reason.
Quietly (by the Bricksley’s standards, anyway), Robert rolled across camp and away from it, onwards towards the point on which they would transition from road to rail.
to be continued
2 Likes
Team Shift Happens
Previous Chapters:
Making Donuts / Speed Demon / Arrival in Camp - Stage 10 Drive and Camp
“A Pinch of Glass, a Dash of Magic” - Stage 10 Camp (Written with permission from Knugcab)
“The Clear Mind” - Written in collaboration with TheYugo45GV
“Demons and Dragons Bullshit” - Written by Knugcab
“Power Failure” - Written in collaboration with Elizipeazie
Preparations for Tomorrow / OUCH! / A Favor - Stage 10 Camp Final
Stage 11 Details
“Beginning the Day” - Stage 11 Start (Collab with Elizipeazie)
Garda Winn Campsite, 1 Sun
With Nova looking excited to drive and sitting behind the wheel, the team packed up their camp supplies into the Bricksley’s bed. Kivenaal, however, looked less-than-thrilled to allow an AI to drive the truck today.
“Great, an AI driving a car. This day is going to be an exceptional pile of suck,” Kivenaal grumbled.
There was a brief moment of chaos as everyone piled into the truck with Nova behind the wheel. Rukari sat in the front middle seat, with Kivenaal to his right, Malavera sat in the rear bench window seat, Jayde in the middle as usual, and Kayden took the radio seat.
On the Road
“Here we go!” Nova said cheerfully, mashing the clutch, engaging first gear, and managing to simultaneously dump the clutch and mat the gas pedal. The Bricksley’s 427 cubic-inch V8 roared enthusiastically as they chased down those who had gotten a slight lead on the way out of the camp.
“Do I even want to know where Nova learned to drive?” Kivenaal asked.
“Apparently, a few thousand hours of racing games,” Kayden replied. “She’s borrowed my armor and Malavera’s sim rig on more than a few occasions.”
After a while of driving, Nova encountered a certain olive-drab wagon lumbering down the road in the middle of the lane.
“Look, up ahead, that’s team Oil Crisis,” Kayden said, grabbing the radio and calling out to them. “Hey, Oil Crisis, we’re on your left!” he taunted. Nova changed down a gear and mashed the accelerator, the V8 screaming in rage once more as the truck charged for the gap in front of the wagon… Right up until they swerved to block.
“Oh, a rolling chess match, then,” Nova said, lifting slightly, swerving to the right, and stomping the throttle again. Again, the Magistrate swung in front and blocked Nova’s attempted pass. Just behind the two dueling vehicles, the Yamada approached, seeking a way past the two rolling road-blocks. Nova swerved and again stomped the throttle, the Magistrate again cut in front, but this time, Nova didn’t lift. The push bar on the Bricksley’s bumper made contact with the Magistrate’s bumper with a dull thud. She lifted, then did it again, before calling out over the CB, “Payback’s a bitch! Remember the bumper tag in the Rift? I do!”
Malavera groaned. “Nova, back off before you get us all killed.”
The Yamada took that opportunity to sneak past with a muted growl, while both the Bricksley and the Magistrate were locked in a mild duel of “you shall not pass” on the road. This continued until the Magistrate had to pull off to the side for a refueling stop, while Nova was able to keep going for a while longer. After a quick pit-stop where Kayden fueled up the Bricksley, they were back on the road again, leaving the Magistrate in their dust.
This left the Bricksley chasing down the more agile Yamada, with only Nova’s wired reflexes and the Bricksley’s oversize V8 giving them any advantage in closing the distance. “You know, that vehicle of theirs is unusual. I swear, I keep getting a life-sign reading from it. I’m fairly sure it’s a faulty sensor, or some critter has invaded the vehicle, though. Probably a critter,” Nova said.
“I’m not so sure,” Jayde admitted. “I get a sense of it being more than just a car. It wants something, or needs something, but I’m not sure what.”
The tires squealed as Nova tried to match the Yamada’s pace in the few turns leading into what used to be the planned campsite, though the red crossover eventually ran away from them. They arrived at Trugarde not long afterward, and Nova had to slow way down.
“A tip for you,” Malavera said to Nova. “Put it in 2-low and just idle it through here.”
Trugarde Camp, the Queen’s Garden / Queen’s Station, 4-and-5 Sun
Nova slowly made her way through traffic, already starting to regret taking over driving duties now that she realized why no one else wanted it on this stage. “Must they really… HEY! Don’t stop right in front of the truck!” Nova yelled, shaking a black-metal fist out of the window as someone stopped to tie their boot right in front of the Bricksley.
Jayde groaned as another person ran up and pointed a pistol into the cab. “Your money, all of it!” the man demanded. Nova, on the other hand, responded instantly and violently, grabbing the gun out of the man’s hand with a sudden twist, grabbing his wrist with her other hand, and threatening to smash the would-be robber’s already wounded hand between the Bricksley’s heavy metal door and the butt of his own handgun. Jayde then spoke up, “I’d give up if I were you. Not just did you pick the wrong day to rob carriages, you couldn’t have picked a worse one to rob.”
“Fuck! I just tried to rob Jayde Malradi,” the man said, shaking his head in a mix of pain and disbelief. “So, she’s some sort of conjured spirit in a suit of armor?”
“To a degree of truth, perhaps,” Nova said. “Now, give me one good reason not to mangle every bone in your hand for threatening me with this pitiful weapon of yours.”
“We don’t have time for that, Nova,” Jayde said. “Plus, we’re not here to start a fight. I have this feeling,” he added, “that these robbers would much rather turn themselves in to the city guards than face your wrath.”
“We’ll all go and pay our bounties, just, please, let me go?”
“Very well. But I am keeping your gun. Run toward the guardhouse, and do not look back, or I will use this weapon against you,” Nova said. As the men disappeared into the distance, Nova snapped the weapon in half and tossed the parts out of the truck window.
As they pulled up to the Queen’s Garden, Nova parked the truck and everyone climbed out. Kaylie rejoined them after stepping off of a tram near the station.
Unfortunately, Kivenaal’s disguise very quickly gathered a lot of unwanted attention. Whispers soon began to spread from those who knew Valraadi mythology that Xelth was here, using one of his favored pelt colors for ‘blending in.’ Worse, Kivenaal could barely walk without people running up to him and asking for blessings, or worse, inquiring about whether he was interested in going to their bedroom. After a few of these moments, it was Jayde who realized he’d created this problem, and he could help fix it. When the next person asked about sharing a bed, Jayde said, “You are aware that he has a mate, yes?”
The look of shock on her face was exactly the response that Jayde was hoping for, followed by her running off begging Yawli for forgiveness.
“Sorry, Kivenaal,” Jayde admitted.
“You didn’t know. Not your fault. But today is going down the shitter in a hurry,” Kivenaal said.
2 Likes
TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS
Earlier parts
PART 0.1 - A prologue to the prologue
PART 0.2 - Another piece of the prologue puzzle
PART 0.3 - Viva la IP 4Z!
PART 0.4 - Robotman
PART 0.5 - Interference problems
PART 0.6 - Can I play Tetris?
PART 0.7 - Tangerine and familiar
PART 1.0 - Now things got serious!
PART 1.1 - Hello, Thibault and friends!
PART 1.2 - Poor kitty
PART 1.3 - Curse you, Team Oil Crisis!
PART 1.4 - Interlude
PART 2.0 - Bird bird bird, bird is the word!
PART 2.1 - D. Head
PART 2.2 - Good night!
PART 3.0 - Freeway Rockstar
PART 3.1 - DISCO TJO DISCO HEJ
PART 3.2 - Van-Werewolf 1-0
PART 4.0 - Calm after the storm
PART 5.0 - Mirror mirror on the…oh, crap!
PART 5.1 - Hello, little puppies!
PART 6.0 - Speed
PART 6.1 - GIMME OXYGEN! (feat. Madrias)
PART 6.2 - Steamin’ hot! (feat. Elizipeazie)
PART 7.0 - The Kayak
PART 7.1 - Marie the valkyrie?
PART 7.2 - Vegetables
PART 7.3 - Time to tie things up.
PART 8.0 - The hangover
PART 8.1 - The new team member
PART 9.0 - From pink to brown
PART 9.1 - Co-op with Madrias and Elizipeazie
PART 9.2 - Where is Sonic?
PART 10.0 - First at last!
PART 10.1 - Co-op with Variationofvariables
PART 11.0 - Why is this van so damn fast?
PART 11.1 - Co-op with Madrias
PART 11.2 - Demons and dragons bullshit
PART 11.3 - Oops, thank you, Kaylie!
PART 12.0 - Snap, crackle and pop!
In the morning, Marie was still sleeping in the back of the van, which didn’t seem to bother Janne or Andreas a lot, they closed the (stiff) sliding door and went away.
“She will wake up sooner or later”, Janne said.
“Yeah, and we don’t have the time to wait for her!”, Andreas answered, while the raspy little four banger woke up to life again. And once again, they were quite far forward in the pack, something made this van go just better and better for every kilometer, but one that would never have admitted that strange behaviour was Andreas.
“Hey, no doubt that Fireball Roberts is one of your heroes”, Janne laughed.
“Sometimes I do wish I was a NASCAR driver in the 60s instead of doing stupid shit like this”, Andreas answered a bit annoyed.
Something that was less happy about the pace, though, was the fuel gauge. The needle was pointing towards “E”, and Andreas was steering the van to the side of the road, opening the rear doors to reach the jerry cans.
“Hyuuurggghhhh…”
“Did you have a good nights sleep, Marie?”, Andreas laughed.
“What the fuck happened and where are we?”, she asked.
“You got drunk for probably the first time in your life, and you are i a pink van in Crugandr”, Andreas sighed. “Now, get into the van while I fill this damn thing up.”
Marie entered the van through the driver’s door and slid over to the mid bench position.
“Uhhhh…Janne…is there any beer left?”, she asked.
“No, you drank it all yesterday”, Janne answered.
“FUCK!”, Marie said and banged the dashboard hard enough to scare Sonic that was sleeping peacefully and quiet there, making him jump into her face that just had started to heal from the headbutting incident.
“NO…STOP SCRATCHING ME YOU LITTLE BEAST…YAAARGH!”, she was screaming until he jumped down on the floor again.
“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, SOS, AND ALL THAT KINDS OF BULLSHIT, WE ARE STRANDED WITHOUT BEER!”, she was yelling into the CB until Janne switched that thing off.
“That thing is no fucking toy, it is meant for important stuff!”, Janne said.
“What is more important than beer anyway?”, Marie asked, while Andreas jumped into the drivers seat and started the thing up. He put the column shifter into “D”, took his foot off the brake pedal and…
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
He was staring at Marie with an angry look to his face. “ONE MORE TIME, AND I WILL THROW YOUR GODDAMNED PORCUPINE TO THE DYRE!”
“Just don’t listen to him, my little friend!”, she said to Sonic.
Coming closer to the finish line, all of a sudden strange noises were coming from under the front seat, then everything went dead quiet and both oil pressure and charging warning lights were lit up on the dash.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?”, Andreas said, and tried to crank the engine. Obviously it was still turning around, but something sounded really strange.
“Absolutely no compression, it sounds like”, Andreas said.
“Yeah. Hopefully it is just the timing belt”, Janne answered.
"The 4Z is a non-interference engine, right?, he asked.
“Yup!”, Janne said and went out to get a new belt and some tools from the back of the van. “Get out so I can remove the front bench, it has to be done to reach the timing cover easily”.
With the cover removed, he could absolutely see that he was indeed right, there was nothing left of the old cam belt. Strange, since it was still well inside the interval, and it was of course a genuine IP spare part, but oh well.
“What is the odds for this?”, Janne said. “The camshaft stopped when it was exactly on the marking! Oh, well, now I just have to put the crank in the right position I guess, swap the belt and then we are good to go.”
He turned on the CB again. “Team Hillbilly Rollers here, we are far from stranded, just some minor repairs needed that should be finished very soon”, and indeed team after team was passing the pink van with its hazard flashers turned on at the side of the road, while Janne was swapping out the old timing belt.
"Should be good to go now I guess, let’s do a startup attempt before we put everything back in place!, he said, and cranked the starter again.
SNAP CRACK KAPOW!
He observed that the gear for the camshaft was indeed not moving at all, which seemed to have killed the new belt, too.
“CRAP!”, Janne was shouting and threw the tools out of the door, barely missing Team Mravolinski-Chitco’s Kontir while it passed by. “The camshaft is jammed and we have no spare belt left either. We could as well end the race here and now…”
TO BE CONTINUED
5 Likes
Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Enlightening plan put into action, flying tools and Trugarde party camp
You will excuse the fact that this is still going to start in same day as previous post (this being reply to said post, like always)
There was little bit of something we needed to get to support that plan
Klimentol: Hmm, do we want single-piece or multi-piece?
Mrdja: I vote for single, we are doing custom work anyway and its likely going to be better protection against likely cold she might experience
Aydar: Its useless protection of cold if it gets wet…which it will, knowing how both she and weather generally work.
Mrdja: Problem im seeing here is that she is going to be very limited in her ability to change clothing…and there is going to be shortage of ppl ready to assist her with that.
Pi: Im not going alone tho.
Mrdja: True, but neither Tatica(1) or Andrea would be much of use at first. Andrea will when/if she adapts, which takes some fair bit of time most likely.
Maybe some water-proof material?
Klimentol: Thats rather doubtful. Even if we do manage to find such thing, still stands that it would be out of place and likely very hard to maintain.
Not really convinced that we would put that amount of care ourselves.
Mrdja: True.
We do have some more breathing space to go and refine everything.
Better we here than them there.
Beauty of this place is that we can send Pi to deal with it.
Pi: Do you really want me to do something that requires thinking?
Mrdja: Only one here getting taste of your mistake would be you…so yes.
Aydar: We should gather some basic material, worthy of our beloved creature.
Pi: 
Ok? I have a feeling that material would not be that easy to identify as clothing material.
Aydar: Maaybe, but we shall get it cheap.
(1) Tatica (said as Tha-tee-tza) is denoting certain imaginary character of mine.
“Tatica” can be translated as “small dad” or “daddy”; it literally IS diminutive version of “dad”
Party?
Chicota: I intercepted some message when noone else seemed to be concerned about it
In case you have forgotten, message would be transmitted by Nova:
(Below is version for our team)
Attention Team Mravolinski-Chitco. We have all been invited to a party in Trugarde. As a result, our camp has been moved to the Queen’s Garden, next to the Queen’s Station, in the center of Trugarde. Thank you for listening.
K: Can you repeat that message again?
C: (Repeats)
K: Perfect. Why tho?
C: Like i would know. I just hope there would be some local booze to be…evaluated.
K: Ofc you do.
Aydar: Seems that these were particularly impressed for our Dyre fight
Klimentol: You know celebrating that makes no sense.
Aydar: True. Wait…remember that dude from previous town, worker on station that filled us up?
Klimentol: Oh my…they did it
(In previous part of story, we were filling up when on other part of station, Railway Robert prepared to get that record. We were informed about this by that guy.)
Aydar: Yes…so they are throwing party in that name.
Chicota: I like how that sounds…
Someone should congratulate them and maybe ask about speed they did.
Mrdja: Ok.
Klimentol: With that sorted out, we are ready to return our thoughts towards more pressing issues…even tho these affect total of one member
Great progress in that regard was achieved when certain local got contents of “beer” tank in place of some old rags he had around
(One of tanks intended for Chicota’s beer was filled by sweaty water by accident; VerBanka was also helping him back then)
With this great success, it was time to get back into camp and prepare for next day and stage.
Driving car, flying tools
Morning came and with it, new stage.
This is one of those stages where Mrdja took the hot seat…which was mechanically cleaned from goat residue beforehand.
Not bothering too much, after obtaining comfortable pace, cruise control was set.
VerBanka took middle front and Pi filled that row.
Klimentol, Aydar and Chicota were busy in unlikely scenario of clothing designers.
All three of them had proven time and time again that they are experts in vast amount of fields (especially applying to first two) but this is one of those areas where…its not so great.
Klimentol had experience in choosing clothes for some other character, which was made using very precise specs to achieve utmost similarity with reference person.
Resulting clothes were sweatpants and shirts that can best be described as
50 shades of grey with questionable quality
Where first part refers to color of them, going from white to unmistakably grey.
Not dissimilar to said color choice, drive was almost as boring
Well, apart from that part where we were joined by very special locals, driving “Little Monster” if hood lettering is to be believed.
Occupants were quite unusual as well, but that hardly comes as surprize.
There was some inconclusive racing to be had with them, inconclusive refering to results of said racing which was of kind “You see that thing there? Lets race to it. Winner gets bragging rights and nothing else.”
They needed to step down on their pace at some point, making us pass them by quite the margin.
Its now as good time as ever to mention @Knugcab and seeing that his post is directly above this one, i find no need to further explain.
“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, SOS, AND ALL THAT KINDS OF BULLSHIT, WE ARE STRANDED WITHOUT BEER!” , Marie was yelling into the CB until Janne switched that thing off.
Chicota released heavy sigh at this. He related to Marie’s struggles quite deeply and for same reason, being without beer for quite some time.
-This reminds me, i should definitely fill up those two tanks for my beer in this next town. I kinda dont care about cost, i will find way to do it.
Klimentol: Thats very ambitious plan, considering we are talking about lot of space in those…and i have feeling you would want to fill them to the brim.
Considering rest of us will prob also use them very occasionally, we might allow you to bring some money to fill them, but dont expect much: Marie would be more consistent company in that regard anyway.
Chicota: Yes, would invite her to hang out occassionally or something, but to serve her plain water is…not exactly sign of good host, knowing her as i kinda do.
We could even get into beer hunting together, could be fun.
Aydar: Probably, but either she or her teammates might have plans for later
Turns out, they would get kinda busy on road
Team Hillbilly Rollers here, we are far from stranded, just some minor repairs needed that should be finished very soon
(Pi had clicked some button on radio)
Klimentol: Very well, we have chance to overtake them on this stage.
VerBanka: Kinda heartless claim, isnt it?
Klimentol:
We want to be first by all reasonable means neccessary,
one that has no such desire cant grasp about what this is partially all about.
But we all do, pushing as much as we can to better the rest and maybe overcome our own expectations.
I have no doubt that they will fix that up, but even if not, someone (maybe even us) can help
Pi: I kinda clicked on this button few moments earlier…what does it do?
VerBanka: Thats CB radio, means of communication between teams on the move.
Now its in “off” position, meaning that what we are talking isnt transmitted to rest of them.
Now concerned Klimentol: When exactly you clicked on that?
Pi: First i wanted to turn it off after their message, only to notice it was turned on while you were talking.
-See, thats what concerns me, seeing that cutting off what i said can give very different view on matter, DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU CLICKED THAT BUTTON.
PI: (Gulping)
(I used Details capability: title of it reveals what could have been heard through CB radio and opening it up reveals rest of what he said.
That part was AFTER ending the transmission)
Klimentol: Nevermind, i will clear that up with them when we arrive in camp
WATCH OUT
(Thrown tool was barely missed)
Look at what you have done by being finger-happy!
-Sorry…
Arrival and spread
Journey through town itself provided no significant news or anything else worth mentioning.
After fair bit of asking around, team had established themselves in adequate place.
Ofc this also means they have arranged themselves accordingly:
-Mrdja plans to congratulate RK Series Racing on record and ask what speed they achieved. @Elizipeazie
-Klimentol and Chicota are visiting Hillbilly Rollers when those potentially arrive: Klimentol to clarify and potentially apologise and Chicota planned to invite Marie on trying to get themselves some beer
-Pi and VerBanka are trying to sort out clothing for Pi
-Aydar will manage accomodation, food and drinks of non-alcoholic kind
2 Likes
noted:
i shall contact you through discord once the team is in camp and forward you the relevant information regarding availability of the team (and more importantly Valentin) and what they are doing at that point in time
3 Likes
RK Series Racing; Stage 11 Drive; Part 2
once again, in collab with @Madrias
On the way to the transition, changes to the schedule are in order, given that Kaylie has to be dropped off early to not be thrown head-first into the party as part of the big attraction.
As such, the team stopped at Garda Winn station to communicate the change of plans to the station master.
“Erm… i need to talk to the local station master to coordinate your trip and it’s destination with the local staff. Connor will remain here to maintain the boiler. Everyone else, please get out. Otherwise i’m stuck in here.”, Valentin explained to the second row, who only heard all this over again because Kaylie had her first ride along with Robert.
“Sure, not a problem.”, Kaylie replied quickly, making her way back out of the car once Constantin freed up the way, followed afterwards by Tim, thus vacating the entire rear bench.
Afterwards, the usual procedure of getting Valentin out of the Dione followed without issue, resulting in Val being back on his crutches. Seeing his left ankle still unladen made Kaylie a little uneasy, though.
“I’ll speak to my brother once I make it to camp. He should take another look at that ankle.”, she said, glancing at the affected foot, most of which was ever so slightly off the ground.
“Yeah it still feels like absolute dogshit… That pain cream did help a bit while it lasted… in masking the underlying issue, whatever that may be.” Valentin answered, also looking down at his feet.
A moment of silence ensued, followed by Valentin simply turning around, heading into the station to arrange the change of plans.
About 10 minutes later, he slowly returned, hobbling up to the car.
Connor immediately got out, freeing up the entry path for Valentin, who got back in with great care to not bump any of the fireman controls.
“All aboard!”, he said once in his seat and they were back moving shortly afterwards.
“I have arranged a 6 minute layover at that station you mentioned. Should be plenty enough for you to get out, i think.”, Valentin said as the Dione rumbled through traffic towards the actual transition point this time.
Not much happened for some time and even the transition itself wasn’t anything of note.
“So that’s how you get on and off the rails…” Kaylie commented once Constantin was back inside.
“Changing a set of wheels twice a day would be more work than a few hundred crank turns.” Constantin added.
And with that, the Redneck Railcar embarked onto the Longitude Mainline, quickly gaining speed to eventually match the customary 100 miles per hour line speed. Once there, things calmed down substantially, the smooth rails soundly beating any road in terms of comfort, even with the archaic leaf suspension of Robert.
After a good hour of silence, Kaylie decided to break the ice and start a conversation:
“I’m curious, what do the four of you think about the event so far? I have to plan ahead for the next one, so I’ll take any complaints, compliments, or suggestions equally into consideration.”
While Valentin and Constantin started thinking about their answer, Tim already had made up his mind.
“I love it. New people, new places, new problems to solve, it’s great!”, he said, smiling in excitement.
“Cannot complain.” Constantin followed “It’s a military operation without the seriousness of it all, which is a nice change of pace, i think… Reminds me of basic training. The field exercise at the end of it, specifically.”
Afterwards, silence followed as Valentin tried to compose a set of sentences that accurately conveyed his thoughts without risk of insulting anyone.
Eventually, Valentin spoke up: “I don’t know how exactly to say this… The event itself is fine and all. I just didn’t expect… all of this.”
The insecurity and doubt in his voice was tangible as he spoke, occasionally glancing into the interior mirror to make sure he hadn’t hurt Kaylie’s feelings.
“Considering what you’ve been through, Valentin, I’m not surprised,” Kaylie replied with a light smile. “You’ve had a tough time out here. The breakdown and rebuild of this car. The upgrade to get it off of the roads. The, well… That mishap with the window. Now the unexpected fame from breaking a speed record when you were testing equipment. I’m not sure I’d handle it half as well as you have, to be honest,” she added.
“Very uplifting…” Valentin muttered with obvious irony, leaning forwards to rest his chin onto the currently useless steering wheel.
“How many people could snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat? You’re among that number, Valentin. When this car broke down, you were the one who came up with the idea to convert it to steam. When the roads got rough, you were the one who thought to put the car on the rails. You’re a problem-solver, Valentin. When something goes wrong, you’ll eventually come up with a solution.”, Kayden explained, trying her best to improve Valentin’s poor morale.
“In exchange i’m sat in a rail-car on some foreign planet, with a useless ankle, having broken a speed record that i didn’t intend on breaking in the first place and now i’m apparently known by literally everyone i come across.”, Valentin added, mentally stomping the brakes against Kaylie’s words of support.
Kaylie thought for a couple of seconds, then replied, “Records are meant to be broken, Valentin. Someone will come along eventually and break that record. It might not happen in the time left in this rally, but, fame doesn’t last. I’ll make sure Kayden knows to take a look at that ankle, there might be something more he could do, get you walking again. I’d offer to fix it myself,” she said with a light smile, “but it’s flesh and blood, so I’d have no clue what to do. As for it being a different planet,” Kaylie said with a slight sigh, “I didn’t consider that, to be honest, as a potential issue. See, where I’m from, visiting different planets is… Well, as common as going to a theme park, I suppose. But I can understand the fear, the uncertainty. Worrying about being able to go home. I know that one, too. We ended up at Earth because my brother got us stranded there. We’re stuck until we can refuel our ship, and, damn it, I can’t figure out how we’re going to fuel it to get home. So we’re stuck in a world that is not our own, just trying to get by, day-by-day, until we make it work. It sounds cliché, because it is, but I get by on hope. Hope that one day, we’ll figure it out and I’ll see home again.”
Valentin took a while to process the seemingly endless rambling Kaylie served this time around.
“I’m already a lighthouse. Easily spotted and impossible to hide. Now i’m a famous lighthouse hunted by everyone…”, he began in reference to his appearance.
“Yes, fame won’t last, but it’s there now and i didn’t ask for it. At least very little of that fame will carry over to earth, i guess… Being stranded is one thing. Being stranded far away from any place that is familiar is another.” he continued, falling back into his seat again, taking a deep breath, followed by an exhaustive sigh.
Kaylie nodded as she heard Valentin’s response. “I understand that. Not personally, but… Well, you’ve seen Kivenaal. Even met him. Big guy, four arms, kinda stands out in a crowd, even around here. He might not be famous, but for some reason, he wanted a disguise going into this party. Something about “not wanting to be worshipped” and “not being who they think I am.” He’s… I hope for his sake that the disguise works, because he really needs to unwind a bit,” Kaylie said.
“We are approaching our scheduled refueling stop. In two sections, speed will be restricted to 25 mph.” Connor remarked, seemingly completely oblivious to the mental battle Val is fighting at the moment.
After Connor broke the news of them approaching their refueling stop, Kaylie smiled lightly. “As for being stranded far away from any place you can see as familiar, I do understand that one personally. For me, Earth is as strange as Crugandr is for you, and with the technology Earth has, it would take me 2,000 years to go home. And I won’t live that long. None of us do.”
Kaylie smirked, “Hell, three years ago, we went on a road trip for the first time, and our older brother managed to accidentally turn the air conditioning on. It took us ten minutes to figure out that there was a light on over the snowflake button.”
“Wait… your… race? Civilization? People? Aren’t terminally car-brained to the point of having standardized AC controls?”, Valentin asked in disbelief. After all, AC controls to him generally weren’t much more than three knobs and a button.
Kaylie smiled. “We have something similar to your cars, but they’re relatively rare. Most of our cities are actually optimized for cycling. It’s inexpensive, convenient, a fast way to get around. People who have cars tend to use them when they need to travel outside of the city. But most people just use the trains and bring their bicycle along,” Kaylie replied. “We have an elevated high-speed rail system between major cities. 350 kilometers per hour in relative comfort.” After a moment, she sighed lightly and said, “Sadly, I’ll have to get used to driving, because the United States is terrible for bicycle riding in the first place, and sadly, Jayde’s leg causes him a bit too much pain for him to want to ride everywhere, so he walks. And it’s not like they really make motorcycles big enough for him, so that means getting a truck, and I really don’t want to have to do that.”
In the meantime, Valentin reached over to the fireman half to adjust a lever, altering the throttle behavior. Soon after, Robert begins to slow down as they approach the lower speed limit caused by the turnout to the refueling yard.
“That… certainly sounds more developed than most of the western world i am aware of. Except maybe the Netherlands, but their trains don’t go that fast as far as i know.” Valentin said, wondering what their world might look like in terms of city planning, architecture and traffic management.
“Wasn’t Jayde that robe-wearing… ‘guy’? Having leg issues because of cycling sound like poor bike fit to me… I am on a bike to fix my knees and keep them going. Lower impact than walking or running and all…” Valentin pondered, half aloud but still perfectly audible for Kaylie in the back.
“Yes, Jayde is the one in the robe,” Kaylie said with a light smile, “with the mechanical leg. As for poor bike fit, it’s possible. From what he’s said to me, the person who sold him his bike was more excited to meet Jayde than he was to do his job properly.”
“Classic chain-store bike retailer. Sell the bike and don’t care about customer support. That thing probably is at least ten centimeters too small…” Valentin grumbled, shaking his head a little while maintaining forward visibility. “Not in a million years would he fit onto a mass-market frame.”
“I’ll forward the info to Jayde. Maybe you could give him a helping hand regarding bicycles.” Kaylie replied, which wasn’t met with an answer on Valentin’s part because they had arrived at the refuelling spot.
There, Constantin got out and took care of the kerosene in the back while local staff topped up the engine’s water supply. Evidently, they were excited about meeting the Railcar, but they performed their work well and within less than ten minutes, the pit stop was completed and the trip continued.
Kaylie smiled as she watched the refueling process taking place, seeing the speed at which everyone worked to top up the water and fill the fuel tank. Once they were back on the road again, Kaylie looked around at everyone, then asked, “So, this is probably going to seem like it’s coming out of absolutely nowhere, but… Does Anhultz make any large vehicles? Trucks or vans, or what do they call them again? Minivans, I think. Though I’ve also heard them called MPV’s. Just… I know I can’t escape having to drive in the United States, and I’ve gotten a bit tired of having to constantly fix ridiculous problems with the usual cars I find. I know two things. One, I’m never buying another used Ishu again because every single one of them leaks oil. Two, Bricksley may make decent old cars, but anything they’ve made past 2000 has been absolute crap. I swear, I replace more Bricksley automatic gearboxes in my shop than anything else.”
“Well they do have a big van of sorts. The Ganymede or what’s it called… Think of it like the huge soccer mom vans with sliding doors and all.” Tim quipped, not really thinking before talking.
“There’s Moover and Moover Heavy Industries. They make light-duty trucks, large panel vans and the like. They share engines and likely a whole lot else with Anhultz, so parts are laughably cheap and plentiful. Said to be equally, if not more bulletproof than mainline Anhultz cars. The Heavy division is more semis and trains and such. My father absolutely swears by them for his haulage business, with good reason.” Valentin added as Robert gained speed.
“Interesting,” Kaylie said, listening to both Tim and Valentin. “It makes sense that if there’s an industrial company sharing parts with them, that explains why Anhultz is so reliable.” After a moment, she smiled. “I know vans are capable vehicles. Good for cargo, equally good for passengers if set up for that. Everyone thinks they need a truck, but most people would be better off with a van anyway. And don’t even get me started on the SUV thing. I hate the damn things. I get why some of the crew own them, it’s one of the easiest vehicles to find that they’ll fit in, but… Vans are just better.”
“SUV’s are the embodiment of car-brained evil!” Valentin exclaimed. “I agree, panel vans and MPVs are better at being SUVs than SUVs are.”
Valentin took a few deep breaths to not talk himself into a rage against cars and their drivers.
“Anyway… where were we?”
“Agreeing on how much we both dislike SUV’s,” Kaylie quipped with a smile. “But, yeah, vans just make a lot of sense. They’ll haul plywood and furniture, tow trailers, some can handle rough roads and not bust up the cargo. And MPV’s make just as much sense, because underneath the nice seats is still the soul of a van.”
“Yeah they’re horrible cars by every metric…” Valentin replied, failing to come up with a suitable way to continue the conversation. In the silence that followed, Valentin starts to absentmindedly tap on the rim of the steering wheel. Tim returns to watching the landscape out of his window, something Constantin has been doing since they departed from the refueling stop.
Kaylie smiled, just enjoying the ride at this point. She could certainly see why they’d taken the time to put the Dione on the rails, as this was far smoother than any of the roads had been. In a way, she really didn’t envy what the others in her team were going through, knowing the road was going to be far rougher than this, in a truck far louder than the Dione, even with the Dione breezing down the rails at a decent pace. Her ear twitched and she looked toward Constantin’s side of the car as she thought she heard a hint of the Bricksley’s roaring V8. Then, for the briefest of moments, she heard it for sure, a great roaring rasping bellow of 8 cylinders working hard . “What the fuck is she doing to that poor truck?” Kaylie grumbled. Just as soon as she’d heard the sound, it faded into the distance.
“Huh?” Tim turned around to face Kaylie, unsure on if he was being spoken to directly.
“What?” Constantin muttered as well, in unison with Tim, equally unaware of any sound Kaylie seemingly heard. Valentin up front, peeked into the interior mirror to see what was happening in the back, but didn’t say anything at the moment.
“May I borrow the CB handle for a moment?” Kaylie asked, looking in the general direction of where she’d heard the sound.
“Sure? Don’t expect anyone to be in range, though…” Valentin answered, as he grabbed the handle with his right hand. Said handle was then passed on towards the rear across his shoulder and to Kaylie, who gladly accepted the device.
Kaylie nodded. “Thank you.” She keyed the microphone, then spoke, “Kaylie here, can I get a situation report from you, Kayden?”
After a brief second, Kayden responded, “Hello, sis!” In the background, the roar of the V8 could still be heard alongside the sound of all-terrain tires clinging desperately to the ragged edge of grip. “You know, Nova’s not doing too bad over here. We got past the damned Magistrate, now she’s determined to catch the Yamada. How is it over there?”
Kaylie chuckled. “Fast and smooth. A little bit warm for my taste, but I am sitting inside a steam locomotive. Good to hear from you.”
“Good to hear you’re okay, too, sis. Stay safe out there,” Kayden said. By then, the signal was getting weak, introducing static into the last of Kayden’s statement, but Kaylie still smiled, then handed the radio back to Valentin.
“Thank you, Valentin,” she said.
“Nothing to be thankful about. It’s your radio…” Valentin protested. “You have the choice of heat or lots of noise… had to get rid of the AC compressor as i couldn’t find a feasible way to drive it other than the engine directly, which has no idle speed…” he added, as Tim jumped the gun a bit by rolling down his window juust far enough to let some air in. That ‘little bit’ was a sizeable draft, creating copious amounts of wind noise to go along with it.
Kaylie went to reply to Valentin that it was okay and she understood, but at that time, Tim opened the window and filled the cabin with a roaring draft of air. Kaylie folded her ears flat against the noise, then motioned to Tim to roll it back up as the noise was far worse in her opinion than the heat.
Kaylie looked to Tim. “Thank you,” she said, before looking toward the rear-view mirror where Valentin was visible. “I completely understand, Valentin. Air conditioning compressors are a pain no matter what. And as you said, leaving it coupled to the engine when the engine no longer idles, it’s either turning because the car is moving, or it’s off because the car is sitting still, well, it’s not exactly sensible,” Kaylie replied. “And I did have to thank you, because you did hand me the microphone. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Nobody forced me to, but i also didn’t have a reason to not do it.” Valentin countered, looking back at Kaylie through that same mirror before returning to an angle that has his gaze slightly miss Kaylie, instead focusing in what is ahead of the train. “Maybe i can modernize that thing some time to electrify that kind of stuff…” he added, not exactly filled with confidence as he had zero demand for such a vehicle at home.
Kaylie smiled. “I’d think it’d be easier to improve the comfort by separating the boiler room from the rest of the cab. I’m far from an expert, but… A bit of metal, some insulation material, and another bit of metal to trap it all might help. I know, you’ve probably thought of that already, but, sometimes hearing another person having the same idea can help.”
“As if that fixes the 100 degree heat this place always has” Tim snarked back, being the person the most ‘affected’ by the tropical climate of Crugandr.
Valentin also chuckled ever so slightly, nodding in agreement to both of them.
“It’s a way, but something active would be nice eventually…”, he added.
They kept chatting for a little while longer until the interior eventually went silent, save for ambient noises of the engine, rails and such. A while later, Robert is slowed down in approach to Kaylie’s drop-off station. Though having announced the change of plans had a caveat: The other station knew about Record-Runner-Robert coming through and even stopping, which promptly was announced via the local PA system. As such, the platform was absolutely jam-packed with curious people wanting to have a look.
The Dione comes to a halt, surrounded by loads of locals on the platform, some of which simple commuters waiting for following trains, others having joined from other parts of the station.
“Well there we are…” Valentin said, already anxious about what is to come at the main station.
Constantin already opened the door to everyone cheering, making way for Kaylie to leave.
Kaylie smiled, thanked Valentin for the ride, then stepped out of the Dione, taking care to not bump into anyone. She watched as Constantin returned to the car, then watched the Dione breeze away down the rails, and after seeing them disappear from view, she wandered outside the station, following the crowd of people. Not long afterward, she saw a small train shuffle up to the equally small ground-level platform outside the station, with an older 0-4-0 tank engine at the front and two coaches just behind it, the stairs just lining up with the edge of the platform to make boarding a little easier. The conductor called out for all people heading to the party to board the train, Kaylie stepped aboard, and a few long minutes later, once everyone was seated, she was on the move again. Compared to the Dione, the party train was far from luxurious, and nowhere near as quick, but she understood that this was far better than hiking the last mile or two.
Back at the Dione, the last mile to the actual main station wasn’t all that exciting, courtesy of low speed limits, lots of other trains also milling about and the uncertainty of what is to come once they arrive at their designated platform. Once there, the initial anxiety proved justified. What feels like half the city was present and at the end of the bay platform where it joins the connecting walkways. The platform itself was remarkably empty, thanks to work being put in by crowd control guards. Robert slowly rolls up to the very end of the rail up to the buffer, coming to a stop a few feet shy of it.
Constantin and Tim already got out of the car, while Connor put in the work in de-steaming Robert, making sure that enough clearance was available surrounding the car.
Valentin took a few deep breaths in preparation before starting the usual procedure of getting out of the car, made more difficult by the platform edge blocking the door from opening all the way.
to be continued
3 Likes
Team Shift Happens
(Thank you to @Elizipeazie for writing this with me.)
RK Series Racing; Stage 11 Camp
The process of getting out took quite a bit longer than usual, thanks to space restrictions on the way out and the coarse railroad ballast making it hard for his crutches to get good grip for stabilization. While everyone else simply climbed up onto the platform, Valentin had to resort to a n intermediary step of taking a seat on the edge, shuffling backwards a bit and then getting back up. It worked, but was less-than-elegant at best.
Immediately after they were swarmed by press, wanting to take quick pictures for various print media throughout Crugandr. The immediate rush of photographers and associated personnel startled the crew. Though soon after, pictures were made, followed by a few minutes of waiting as the press said something about “some official arriving soon who also needed to be in frame”.
Lo and behold, that official arrived soon, approaching the group and professionally introducing himself to the team. Some awkward, but friendly exchanges later the press once again inquired about having their pictures taken. As such, the official handed a big sheet of cardboard-like material to the crew, which looked similar to a prize money check that can be seen at various events.
After that, they grouped up, Robert semi-visible in the background, being absolutely bombarded by about 15 people and their camera flashes while holding up that check of sorts.
Once that was done, the official procured another object, which in effect was a miniature suitcase.
“That board is used for promotional work and has no monetary value. The actual cash payout for having broken the speed record is in here and is valued at 550 Silver Syrkals.” the railway official said.
Instinctively, Valentin takes a look into the slightly-larger-than-a-lunchbox-sized container, finding 1100 bills, neatly bound to stacks of 100 bills, each valued at half a Silver Syrkal. The other team members also took a peek into there, but the container was closed up rather quickly to avoid unnecessary attention from less-than-lawful people.
With that, the official part of the party was sorted out, another set of congratulations spoken and both the official and the members of press left the scene, making way for the painter.
She also made herself known as she approached the group.
“Hello there… Name’s Karen Keegan. I was sent to have a painting of you done, if that’s okay with you.”, she said as she already started setting up her equipment on the platform.
As the crew didn’t really react in confusion about an unprompted painting request, she immediately kept rambling onwards:
“Good. Mind getting two of those benches over here for you to sit on? Cannot have you stood still there for an hour, especially with those crutches…”, she continued, completely oblivious to the team and their (lack of) reaction. Still, Constantin got to work dragging over one bench, followed soon after by the other.
“Erm… i guess we are doing this now?” Valentin asked, up until now completely unaware of this being planned.
“Looks like it… I’m not complaining, though.” Tim replied, taking a seat as instructed by Karen.
“This is a historical moment that needs historical documentation!” Karen exclaimed eagerly as she motioned around trying to get the benches and their occupants aligned as best as possible.
Once the scene was set, she started her work, as individual lucky members of the public were sent forward for their glory moment of questioning and chit-chatting with the now-famous railroad crew and engineers.
Most of them asked the same few questions, but it quickly became apparent that the record run was more accidental than intentional, which made the crowd much more cautious and respectful than they were previously.
The next hour (local time) wasn’t exactly eventful, with questions answered, paintings being painted, and movement being avoided.
After that, Karen thanked the group and packed her equipment back up, disappearing into the crowd soon after. The team took a little break, having a good sip of water, and a visit to the station’s bathroom facilities.
As they returned, they went back to the usual stuff of tending to local curiosity as a sort-of familiar face showed up, belonging to team Mravolinski-Chitco.
Some, arguably rather pleasant chit-chat followed, for once not wholly centered about Robert and the record run.
What is good must come to an end, though, as they parted ways again for the time being and the platform work returned to the ordinary FAQ-reciting.
It had been a while since Shift Happens had arrived in ‘camp’ and regrouped. Kaylie had let Jayde know that Valentin believed that his pain while riding a bicycle might be a result of a poorly set-up bicycle, and that if he had one set up for his form, he might actually prefer riding instead of walking. As a result, Jayde left Kaylie to check over the truck, intending on finding Valentin.
He knew Valentin was likely to be in the station, but when he walked in, he wasn’t quite expecting the number of people standing there. Thankfully, most people were willing to move enough to let Jayde through. As he got closer, Jayde noticed that Valentin looked more than just a little uncomfortable. “Hello, Valentin,” Jayde said, trying to be polite. “Kaylie mentioned to me that, well, you know quite a bit about cycling, and bicycles in general, but more specifically, that you’re thinking my pain might be caused by a bad set-up, and not by cycling in general. I know Trugarde well enough to find a cycling shop, if you think you might be able to help out. Plus, I think you might feel a bit better after a little fresh air.”
As Jayde approached, Valentin initially didn’t think too much of him, mentally preparing for another round of the usual questions of “how did it feel?” or “what motivated you to do it?”. But as Jayde began talking about how he was in need of a bicycle, Valentin’s face initially read confusion.
“Uhm… sure, i guess… though there’s like…” Valentin pauses for a moment, looking past Jayde into the crowd of unknown people behind him. “…a good few thousand people that are here because i ‘made history’.” He continued, torn between his duty at the party and this prime chance to get some change of pace from the continuous same-ness of the past few days.
A moment of silence followed as Valentin pondered about taking up the chance of fleeing the attention of the party visitors, which was broken by one of them brave enough to speak to him from across the platform.
“If you want a break, take it! Nobody here’s forcing you!” The unknown person amongst the ranks said, followed by a crescendo of cheers coming from the surrounding people indicating their support for the statement.
Valentin leant over a bit to once again look past Jayde, respectfully nodded into the crowd, vaguely towards the direction where the voice was coming from before returning to Jayde himself with his attention.
“Seems like the public is fine with it… So where exactly is that shop?” Valentin said to Jayde, still unsure on if what he did was right.
“Some of the people here have long memories,” Jayde said, before thinking for a moment on where the shop was in relation to the station. “It’s in the market district. Maybe a 10 minute walk from the station here. Might be a little longer because of the amount of people around, but we’ll manage.”
Valentin turned around to the other team members.
“Well i’ll get going for now… Not sure as to when i’ll return, but it won’t be too long, i think…” he said.
“No worries. I’d say you certainly earned the break with what you did for us and… all of them…” Tim countered as he finished his reply motioning to the crowd again, who once again cheered in support.
After making sure that he had all the things he needed, the remainder of the group was okay with it and the public support had calmed down in volume, he returned to face Jayde.
An exchange of nods confirmed the readiness of either party and they filtered through the jam-packed station, the locals going to great length to make sure that the pairing has enough space to maneuver.
The pair made their way out of the station, with Jayde leading the way toward the market district, checking every so often to make sure he wasn’t going too fast for Valentin. As they walked past the Queen’s Garden where all of the cars were parked, Kivenaal called out from his perch on the roof of the train station, “Hi, Valentin!” Jayde turned to look for the somewhat familiar voice, spotting Kivenaal, back in his usual black fur with red stripes, sitting on the roof of the train station like a living gargoyle.
While Jayde apparently expected Kivenaal’s call-out to them, Valentin certainly did not expect being called by first name, even with how famous he already was amongst the locals.
In an attempt to locate the source, he looks around, but loses focus on his crutches in doing so.
As a result, the right one loses traction, slipping on the rough cobblestone surface. While Valentin does manage to sort-of break the fall with his right foot, he could not regain balance, thus stumbling straight into Jayde’s left side.
Jayde gave a slight grunt as Valentin collided with him, though quickly reached out with his left hand, keeping Valentin upright, if leaning against him, without a risk of falling. Once Valentin was able to get the crutches back underneath him, Jayde shot a withering glare in Kivenaal’s direction.
“Sorry, Val. Also, sorry to you as well, Jayde,” Kivenaal said. “Picked this spot because most people don’t look up, wasn’t thinking-” Kivenaal paused as he yawned, shaking his head soon after, “Wasn’t thinking clearly when I said hello.”
Valentin hastily scrambled to get his crutches into position again, this time being extra cautious in getting them to grip well on the uneven surface.
This was followed by a quick glance at Jayde, then another attempt at locating Kivenaal up on the rooftops, which took a while, but ended up succesful.
Failing to grasp how Kivenaal got onto the roof in the first place, Valentin just looks at him, dumbfounded and not really doing anything.
Kivenaal looked at Valentin staring up at him with a look that, to him, clearly said ‘How the fuck did you get up there?’ He chuckled, then said, “There’s a bit of rough brick on the far side of the station, and I’ve always been a decent climber. Easy enough for me to maintain three points of contact at all times. Then it was just a matter of picking a good spot where I could watch the people without the people watching me.”
Once Jayde was sure that Valentin was okay and following him again, Jayde said to Valentin, “Kivenaal is quite good at reading facial expressions and body language. Kaylie said it best, I think. “Just think of your question around Kivenaal, he’ll answer it.” He does better with a bit of context, like you staring up at him, than he does if someone just looks confused in general, though.”
While Valentin clearly understood what Kivenaal said and the notion of “three contact points” made sense, scaling an unknown brick building with zero safety measures in place wasn’t a thing Valentin would even think of attempting.
He simply looked at Kivenaal for a bit longer, nodded a little, and, without saying anything, returned to Jayde to continue his journey to that bicycle shop he was talking about earlier.
“Some people do that well, i know… That guy is borderline uncanny, though…” Valentin replied.
“It’s as if he can read minds or something from a good 15 meters away.”
Jayde chuckled. “Think of it in context: You’re staring up at him with a look of confusion on your face. There’s two questions that anyone would ask in that moment: either “how did you get up there” or “why are you up there.” He answered both. And none of us really understand how much training he might have had in that skill. He might be a natural at it, or he may have spent a decade learning the art of reading expressions. He won’t talk about his past, so, we’re all left guessing,” Jayde replied.
Soon, however, they arrived at a somewhat large brick building with large, old plate glass windows somewhat distorting the view of what was inside, though as Jayde opened the door, it became crystal clear that Trugarde had a decent cycling shop for taller people. At the far end of the room, there were two people behind the counter, clearly twin brothers, though telling the two blond-haired, green-eyed men apart was made easy as one of them had a scar on his face. Both of them stood a little over 6 feet tall, were both a little on the thin side, but not quite as thin as Valentin was, and looked toward Jayde and Valentin as they recognized they had customers.
“Huh…” Valentin muttered as they round a corner to enter the bicycle shop.
Once in, he was greeted by the pair of employees and a sizeable array of bicycles line up in neat rows, sorted by type and price. Sport oriented bicycles, beach cruisers, utilitarian bicycles and the occasional oddball build were all present. Little placards detailed the price, sizing and specs of each bicycle being offered. To Valentin’s surprise, almost all offerings were using standards which on first glance seemed to equal those known on earth. On top, they all looked to be suited for far bigger riders than what the usual bike would accommodate on earthen bike stores. His initial curiosity and amazement at the plus-size offerings was interrupted by him remembering that he was there because of Jayde.
As such, he stops investigating the portfolio and turns back towards Jayde.
“Okay… so… uhm… what exactly is it that you’d be using that bike for?” Valentin asked, cautiously. While he did know a fair bit about bicycles and cycling as a whole, he never went about the process of getting the right bike for a rider covered in fur and more than a foot taller than the human lighthouse was already.
Jayde smiled, then said, “Ideally, I’d want to be able to ride around towns and cities, but I also have to keep in mind that sometimes I need to be able to travel a good bit of distance.” He thought for a moment, then added, “Sometimes, I need to carry goods with me as well, and where I normally live is in Miravall.” Jayde reached into the front flap of his bag, producing a map from the pocket, for once looking like something that would fit reasonably in the pocket it came out of. He unfolded the map and then carefully re-folded it to show just Trugarde and Miravall, connected by a winding forest road. “That road is well maintained cobblestone,” he said, “but it’s quite hilly, and there are a lot of turns. The last time I tried to ride between the two cities, well… I got here in the end and I was miserable.”
Jayde looked around, then said, “Was a bicycle about that size, similar style,” while motioning to a beach cruiser that was definitely not the right size for Jayde’s form.
Valentin listened intently and also took a look at that map that Jayde showed him.
“Well… no surprises there… i wouldn’t be riding a bike that is both to small and not fit for the trip i’m doing. I’d like to keep my knees intact and i guess you do too.”, Valentin answered in annoyance, looking at the beach cruiser in question. “Not having gears doesn’t help either.” he added, taking another, more precise look around the lot, stopping at what looked a mildly modified dutch-style bicycle.
He took a step towards that bike to read the placard attached to it, which detailed that it had a three-speed internal hub in the back, a front rim and rear coaster brake as well as some other niceties such as basic oil-based lights, a sturdy rear rack, a kickstand which kept the rear wheel off the ground, among other things.
“This could work… not 100% sure on the gearing in that hub, as i don’t know your capabilities at all, but some gears beats none.” Valentin said with cautious optimism. “Sure, aerodynamics are gonna be dogshit due to the upright position, but it’ll be less straining on the back and generally more comfy.” he added.
“Yeah, it caused pain in my good knee and was even less pleasant on my left thigh,” Jayde admitted. “Could barely walk after I got here and was dreading the trip back home.”
Once Valentin had spotted a bicycle, however, and mentioned to Jayde what he thought about it, Jayde smiled. “That already seems better than what I had. As you said, gears can make a big difference. Plus, that cargo rack looks big enough to handle just about anything I’d want to tie down and bring home.”
Soon, they were approached by one of the two salesmen in the shop. “Hello! My name is Adrian, my brother over there is Alex. Is there anything we can help the two of you with?” he asked.
“People always say that going up hills is hard, but they ignore gearing. It’s just as easy as on the flats, just slower.” Valentin chuckled as he was approached by the salesman, who politely offered assistance.
“Erm… it sounds specific, but do you know the gear ratios in that hub?” Valentin asked, as a low enough ratio makes hilly routes much easier.
The salesman takes a little look at the spec-sheet and then pulls a little cheat-sheet out of his pocket, onto which obscure data was written to avoid having to memorize it all.
“Uhhh… 1st is 1.33:1, second is 1:1 or direct drive, if you will and third is 0.75:1.”, Adrian reads aloud from his little slip of paper.
Valentin thinks a little, recalling how Crugandr was technologically behind Earth and truly wide-ratio gearing was either expensive or non-existant.
“Not the biggest gear reduction in history, but every bit helps, i guess… With an appropriate sprocket ratio, this could be a good hill-climber for that forest road of yours.” Valentin explains, taking another look at the drivetrain, which didn’t reveal much due to it being encased in a steel chain guard.
Jayde nodded. “At least I have a choice of speeds with this one,” he said. “My other bicycle, well… It doesn’t have this,” he added, lightly tapping the hub with a finger. “And there are times it felt like I was almost better off walking up the hill than to try riding up the hill.”
As he looked at the steel chain guard, he smiled. “And I’m glad to see one of those. Getting grease off of the inside of my leg was never a fun time. Nor was it fun to get a bit of fur pinched between the chain and the sprocket.”
“It sure does help. I have my methods, but this is also a way of doing it. Though getting the rear wheel out in case of a flat tyre will be a pain. That i can say.” Valentin explained, remembering that he forgot to apply his usual grease-prevention method on the new suit he bought. Though with the lack of seating in the shop and him being in crutches, he couldn’t rectify that either.
Adrian went ahead and pulled out the bike from the row of others it was parked in, allowing a better visual presentation of it.
The bike itself featured a typical dutch-style “opafiets” frame, bright turquoise in color. A brand name was written onto it with black, elaborate cursive letters backed by a strip of white going all the way around the down-tube, just a bit longer than the lettering itself is. The steampunk-looking oil lamps on either end completed the look which obviously was loosely inspired by the locomotives in use in Crugandr.
“If you want, you can have a go at testing it.” Adrian said as Alex went into the back, grabbing a basic selection of tools for quick adjustments if deemed necessary.
Jayde nodded, then said, “I do have to admit, I like the color.” After Adrian mentioned they could test it, and Alex grabbed a basic tool kit, Jayde gave a polite nod of understanding and acknowledgment, then added, “We will probably do that.”
He studied the bicycle now that it was out in the open, realizing it looked a lot closer to something he felt was his size. It also had a few extra little features, like the oil lamps, which already gave him a little more confidence in the idea of actually riding for distance instead of just around town, less worried about getting caught out in the dark. Sure, he could see well in the night, but other people sharing the road might not be able to, and the last thing he wanted was to come face-to-face with a carriage driver who never saw him there until after the accident.
Adrian led the two customers out in front of the shop, where he handed the bicycle to Jayde. He felt like the seat height was already very close to right for Jayde and so did Valentin, who couldn’t really work off of his usual checklist for bike adjustments as Jayde very obviously wasn’t human. As such, he simply waited for Jayde to do his first few laps to see how his pedaling technique panned out.
Jayde carefully got settled on the seat, getting off to a decent start compared to what he was used to. After a couple of quick laps, however, it was becoming obvious that he was having some slight difficulties, leaving him slightly unsettled at anything above a walking pace thanks to the added distance between ankle and toe. He pulled up next to Valentin and said, “It’s a lot better than my previous experience, but it feels like I’m nearly throwing myself out of the seat at the bottom of the pedal.”
As Jayde took the prospected vehicle around the area for a short while, Valentin carefully watched his motions on the bike. In doing so, he couldn’t ignore the impressive range of motion he was using in his angles. For a species based on lions, this isn’t all that surprising, but Valentin simply didn’t knew any better than “furry humanoid thing”. Still, as Jayde returned and gave his initial impression, he was certain that it needed some altering.
“Seats needs to go up. How far? Not sure, so we have to test it a few millimeters at a time until it feels right to you.” Valentin explained before the salesman had any chance to say anything. Not that they had much to say, as to them it looked about right.
“Looks fine to me, but i can raise it a bit if you want.” Alex said, as he instructed Jayde to dismount in order to make the necessary-but-to-him-unnecessary changes.
About a minute later, the bicycle is handed back to Jayde.
Jayde nodded, then tried again, each time bringing the bicycle back and having a small adjustment made. After a few small adjustments, however, it was quite apparent that Jayde was no longer struggling to stay settled in the seat at the bottom of the pedal stroke, instead able to apply the full power of his legs in the moment without lifting himself involuntarily out of the seat.
“That’s feeling a lot better,” Jayde admitted. “I feel like I could ride for hours like that, not just a matter of minutes.”
“We’ll have to see on longer rides if it actually works for you, especially on the other contact points that are your hands and… rear end.” Valentin explained, briefly pausing to find his words halfway through his sentence.
“Huh… if that bit of a change makes that big of a difference… i should try that on my bike.”, Adrian said enthusiastically, instantly getting Alex to nod in approval.
“One technique to get in the right ballpark is to take a seat on the bike and put the rider’s heel onto the pedal at the point in which it is the furthest from the saddle. If you can just about reach the pedal with your heel, then you are close already. Though make sure you are not shuffling over your bum on the seat to gain a bit of extra length. If you do that, it’s too high.” Valentin continued to satiate the curiosity of the salesmen. “Though i cannot say how well that will work with people of different… uhm… biological composition?”, he added, looking at Jayde in hopes of not having offended him.
The salesmen, however, took great interest and added the info onto their respective ‘cheat sheets’.
“I don’t know why, but it evidently seems to have worked, thank you!” Alex spoke, motioning towards Jayde as a subject of evidence.
Jayde chuckled. “Valentin, even among my own kind, I’m a little different. And I guarantee you, there’s nothing you could say to me that would be worse than what my own father said to me when I left my home in Altherys,” Jayde said, understanding at least Valentin’s intent when he looked his way.
“As for things you might be able to help me with, you said this bicycle has multiple speeds, but, I’m not entirely sure how to change them, or even how to know which one I’m using now,” Jayde admitted.
As Jayde inquired about the use of gearing, Valentin mentally face-palmed, having forgotten that the vast majority of the bikes here were single speed for financial reasons.
“Oh yeah… right. So in it’s very basic principle, it works the same as in a car, except that there aren’t any pedals and your legs are the clutch. So if you look at the handlebars, there’s a little steel lever with little numbers on there, corresponding to the three gears this bike has. Like in that truck of yours, 1 is the slowest gear, but easier to get going in and 3 is the other way around, with 2 being a middle ground. Basically, as soon as you start to put force into the pedals, you are ‘in gear’. Not pedaling is the equivalent of ‘neutral’, regardless of if it is rolling or not. Just be in ‘neutral’ if you want to change gears and you’ll be fine.”, Valentin took great care in showing the process to the best oh his abilities while also relating to what was already known to Jayde.
The twins were absolutely lost in confusion as neither of them had an idea what a car, let alone a clutch was, but they sure took great interest in how Valentin worked cooperatively with Jayde as the customer, despite him not having any obvious incentive to do so.
Jayde nodded, then said, “So, from what you’ve said, I’m in third gear, then.” He carefully moved the lever, changing from 3 down to 2, then started off with another lap, noticing it was a lot easier to get going, but he was pedaling faster to maintain the same easy-going slow speed he’d been doing before. Cautiously, he stopped pedaling, changed down from 2 to 1, and tried another lap, realizing that this gear would probably do really well for going up a hill while letting him keep relaxed instead of struggling for every bit of momentum. He pulled up next to Valentin again and smiled.
“That will make it a lot easier to deal with hills,” Jayde said with a smile.
“The sweet joys of proper-ish gearing.” Valentin chuckled, smiling at the thought of one more person now inclined just that bit away from cars.
“So what do you think?” Adrian asked in anticipation.
“Cannot say… cannot really ride anything other than a handbike like this.” Valentin said semi-jokingly in reference to his busted ankle. “He’s the one looking for a steed.”
“I think I’ll go for it,” Jayde said. “It’s nice having my own way to get around again, especially to get off of my left leg and let it rest for a while.” He got off of the bike and put the kick-stand down, before asking, “So, how much will it be?”
Adrian smiled, looked at the spec sheet again, then replied, “That’ll be 45 silver Syrkals.”
Jayde nodded and opened up his bag, grabbing a pouch of coins and, with a slight grimace on his face, counted out 45 of the silver coins. He showed a bit of relief as he handed the coins over, watching as Adrian counted them once more to be certain.
Adrian smiled and shook Jayde’s hand. “Thank you for doing business with us,” Adrian said.
Jayde responded with a respectful nod of his head, then looked to Valentin as Adrian and Alex returned to the store. “Thank you for helping me, Valentin,” Jayde said.
“Certainly beats repeating the same four answers a few hundred times…” Valentin replied once the payment was sorted and the employees back inside.
“Since you now have a very fashionable mechanical steed, you may want to prepare for eventualities out on the road. Namely… flat tires. Do you know how to patch an inner tube? Or at least replace one?”, he added, speaking from experience as a flat tire will end one’s fun all the time, but also end the trip as a whole if not properly prepared for.
“I… Have never had to do that, actually. My old bicycle had solid rubber tires,” Jayde admitted.
“Ah okay. Give me a moment.”, Valentin excused himself and headed back into the store, returning shortly after with a pouch that is attached to the bike via a few leather straps. Contained within was a simple pump, two spare inner tubes, some crude, stamped steel tyre levers as well as a few patches and the tools necessary to remove the wheels from the bike in the first place.
After that, Valentin first showed the process of changing out the inner tube, explaining each step as he went along from getting the wheel out, changing the tube itself to putting the wheel back in place. Jayde got to try his hand as well, managing to get the change done with only minor hiccups and a few additional “quality of life” tips.
With the bike back complete and the emergency equipment in place, they started heading back for the station on foot, with Jayde walking his new purchase along through the shopping area.
Jayde felt a lot better now that he had a way to get around without just having to rely on walking, and felt a lot better as well that he’d had at least some chance to bond with Valentin over something he could tell Valentin truly, deeply enjoyed. “Thank you again, Valentin, for helping me out. You ever need anything, just let me know, I’ll try to help,” Jayde said.
He looked up at the sky, making a rough guess on time by the position of the sun, and nodded. “Make sure you get something to eat, by the way. It’s easy to lose track of time and not pay attention to your own needs when in a crowd,” Jayde said. “I know, I’ve been there before. Tired, sore, hungry, dealing with too many people who didn’t give me enough space when I needed it. I ended up leaving Trugarde during a party that was held in my honor after the Queen heard that I’d helped defend Tapari against the invasion during the war. Ran halfway to Keepitz before I made camp. First time in… A while that I’ve been back here, since that moment.”
“Huh okay… glad to help.” Valentin replied, not sure what to do with the truckload of info he just had been given, though some good food did sound enticing to him.
As they walked past the row of parked cars of the other teams, they parted ways with Valentin heading back into the station to join up with his companions.
Jayde watched as Valentin headed back into the station, then made his own way back over to the Bricksley, where Kaylie and Malavera were already hard at work maintaining the truck. Specifically, Malavera was doing all the work while Kaylie stood there giving orders and instructions on how to properly change out a water pump. The puddle of water around the front of the truck told Jayde all he needed to know, that Malavera hadn’t done things in the right order to start with.
Kaylie looked up and smiled as she saw Jayde. “I see you got yourself a new bicycle. Val help you out with that?” she asked.
“Yes, he did. We’ll have to figure out a way to carry it safely on the truck, but at least I can get around town easier,” Jayde replied.
“Good. Have you seen Kivenaal anywhere?” Kaylie asked.
“Check the roof of the station. He nearly killed Val by saying hello,” Jayde replied.
“Yeah, that sounds like Kiva. Climb up out of sight to get some peace and quiet, end up forgetting that you’ll startle people like that. Rukari’s off getting us a hotel room for the night, and Kayden’s, well, I don’t know where he’s gone,” Kaylie said.
“There. Water pump is installed,” Malavera grumbled. “Are we done with this yet? I’d like to wring out my shirt instead of soaking in this mess.”
“Belt has to go back on first, then you have to fill the radiator and bleed all the air out of the loop,” Kaylie said. “After that, you get to help me find a way to carry Jayde’s bicycle on the truck.”
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Kinda thought the challenge ended, but it gets better and better