Yes we shall.
2 Likes
this post is in direct response to @Madrias, directly continuing the scene
RK Series Racing; Stage 1 Camp; Part 2
“Amazingly well…”, Constantin counters while motioning airquotes. “He may have pulled of the coinplay yesterday, but his shifting was about quick as the DMV sloth from Zootopia and as accurate as those claw machines.” Valentin chuckles a bit, while Tim breaks out in a hysterical laughing fit upon hearing this, as neither he nor Valentin didn’t notice much on the way here. That was probably due to both being asleep catching up on some "Z"s.
“Yeah i’ll take note of that when my ‘battlestation’ goes tits up. We’ll probably see each other soon enough…” Valentin spoke to the guests of this teams little hamlet of a camp, not sure if the offer of tech-support was well-intentioned help or a subtle insult at his own computing skills.
Constantin also wishes them goodbye, for now, with Tim in tears from his laughing fit.
They continue with what they didn’t manage to start quite yet:
Making some good old Canned Ravioli. The gas cartridge camping cooker, which has been sitting in the middle of their little circle for the better part of half an hour, was fired up. Not long after, a can of Ravioli is busted open with Constantin’s mess kit can opener. For lack of a suitably sized pot, let alone cooker, the meals are prepared separately, one can after the other. Tim is the first to dig in, underestimating the temperature of his meal dramatically, netting him a comment from Constantin: “Congratulations on burning your tongue up.”
A glare back at Constantin follows, with Tim now blowing at each spoonful to prevent another heat-death of his tongue. The next meal is handed to Valentin, wo set it aside to cool for a bit, having learned from Tim’s excursion. At this point, the cooker is shut off, as Constantin skips the process entirely, eating his meal cold directly out of the can to save both time and fuel for the cooker.
Once the eating part is done, crude cleaning of dishes is done and the empty cans are rinsed off and stored as empty containers for whatever need that comes around.
The camp is switched to night-mode, with Constantin pitching his tent and the interior being made for sleepytime. The time has not yet come, though, as the team take laps round the camp, trying to start a round of card games and make some allies in the process.
to be continued
OOC: if anyone wants to, my team is wandering about trying to get to know people
2 Likes
Campsite Two (Team Oil Crisis)
Viravalli, Vira Province, Crugandr.
Local time: 5:70 Sun.
Weather: Warm and Humid
Written in collaboration with Madrias
The Missing Teammate
“I’ve looked down by the creek on the other side of the camp and checked the forest there. No trace of him.”
This was troubling news. Only moments ago they were joking about how Orlan could have drowned in the river and now it was possible that one of their other teammates had met that fate. A sigh escaped Aedan, which didn’t do much to relieve his blood pressure.
“Have you checked in the bushes, up by the car?”
Orlan nodded. “Yes, Pavel already checked and I did too. Not a single sign.”
This day just got a whole lot worse.
“Keep looking, do not give up until darkness falls, if he doesn’t come back we aren’t leaving without him.”
“Aedan, listen to me, we’ve looked everywhere around the camp and there’s no sign of him, he’s probably just gone into town or is exploring. You have to relax, its for your own good. Any time you get riled up you risk going into cardiac arrest. Your doctor confirmed this.” Orlan’s attempt to console him failed.
His brother’s voice raised, but not enough to attract any attention. “We cannot leave without him! He’s my friend and I’d never leave him behind.”
“What if he’s dead then? Would you still leave him behind?”
“No! Never!”
“Then you should make peace with the fact that he’s…”
“What? You trailed off and didn’t finish.”
Orlan simply pointed to something behind his brother, a gesture to which Aedan responded by turning around. There was Jayde, with Malcolm over his shoulders, unconscious. “If you’re missing a teammate, I might have found him.” The lion man said.
The relief was overwhelming, not just to the two brothers but all five teammates.
K’mino walked down and stopped next to the group. “See I told you, the force does not lie.”
“Always the wise guy, huh?”
“I’m a literal Jedi and you’ve seen me use a lightsaber, yet you still don’t believe in the force?”
“I didn’t say that, I was teasing you. I’ve seen you in combat, you are very skilled in what you do.”
K’mino chuckled. “Thanks.”
Jayde meanwhile laid Malcolm, on the hood of the Magistrate. “If I had to make a guess as to what happened to him, well… I found him unconscious next to the branches of a mercy bush one of the other teams brought into the camp, with some of the quill-leaves still in his hand,”
The robed lion then stood himself next to the Magistrate and shut his eyes for a moment. Then he opened his eyes again. “Now, some people like the smell, and, well, I know from experience that eating the leaves can relieve pain, and in some cases, if you’re unable to sleep because of that pain, eating enough of them will make you sleep.”
"It’s a huge relief to know he’s still alive. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jayde replied, jamming his staff into the dirt and sitting on the log.
“Sorry, not exactly easy to carry someone these days,” he said with a grimace, rubbing his upper left thigh. “Going to feel that a bit later, but… Well, when I saw him down by the water, I, too, feared the worst.”
“It’s good to know he’s okay.” said Orlan looking over at his friend that lay on the flame decaled hood.
“It’s a medicinal plant, it’s used as a sedative sometimes, so he’ll be asleep for a little while, but he’ll be fine.”
At this moment, K’mino came back from around the Magistrate.
“Oh Good. Orlan, have someone help you load him into the back of the car. He was very tired all day, He didn’t sleep very well and the jet lag isn’t helping. He’s earned this rest.”
While Orlan and Pavel loaded Malcolm into the back of their car, Jayde closed his eyes for a moment and soon he opened his eyes again. “He is out of danger, at least. I can’t say exactly when he’ll wake up, but he will,” Jayde mentioned. He then looked over to K’Mino and gave a light smile.
“Your aura is a little different. Calmer. More peaceful than the others,” Jayde said to him.
K’mino sat himself down on the log beside him “I had the same thought. I sense that the force is strong with you."
Jayde seemed puzzled as K’Mino mentioned the Force. “I am strong with magic, if that is what you mean,” Jayde replied. “And a mystic who doesn’t carry inner peace generally doesn’t last very long. Anger, wrath, and vengeance tend to lead toward dark magic, toward a path I do not wish to walk,” he added. “We’ve gotten rid of one Dark Sorceress. I do not need to take their place.”
K’mino sighed, but it was a light one. “It’s the same with the Jedi, we too have a dark side and anger and vengeance has the same effect on us, myself included. Unfortunately, many fall to the dark side, could be hundreds, could be thousands."
A sharp inhale filled his nostrils with the cooling evening air.
“I have a son, 13 years old, he’s learning the ins and outs of life, and he’s unaware of his sensitivity to the force. Like any parent, it is my duty to protect him and I would give my life to make sure he’s safe. That’s how much he means to me. But As a Jedi I must teach him to resist the dark side. I have seen the horrible things it has made people do and I cannot allow that to happen to him.”
Jayde gave a grim smile, then said, “My father didn’t want me to learn my talents. He believed that all magic was evil, that I should just forget I had it, learn to work the land as he had, and his father before him, and so on. I went against his wishes, learned what I could at Tendragon Academy. Later on, I followed a group of heroes as they stopped an invasion, stayed behind while they went on across the Great Water. Got myself involved in the war that was brewing, sent back through time to fight in a battle of airships. Didn’t do much the first time. A bit of magic, sure, but I was exhausted, thirsty, barely on my feet. Our ship was hit, and a bit of steam pipe shrapnel scarred my face. A bit of propeller took off my left leg. Spent a month in recovery, nearly six months learning how to walk again.”
Shifting his weight so that he didn’t fall off the log, Jayde moved his robe just enough to reveal his left leg from the knee down, not needing to show just how high up it went. “Later it turned out that while I was in the right battle, I’d been on the wrong ship. Another trip back in time and I was on the right ship that time. I regret that I had to kill that day, but… Such is war. With that battle over, I returned to the Academy. I tried to return to the safety of what I knew, only to be told I’d learned all I could. I didn’t want to just go home, to face my father’s wrath for defying him. Instead, I took an apprenticeship to learn the weather magic of the Storm-Rattlers of Vipara, and it was there that I learned to control my lightning,” he mentioned. “It comes so naturally to me that to cast a bolt of lightning takes less effort than any other spell I could throw. Some spells, I suppose, are easier than others. Summoning objects to my hand or sending them away. Lightning. Glimpses of the future. Great leaps of faith in times of need.”
After a moment, Jayde sighed. “But of all the things I regret, it’s not having gone back home when I had the chance. When the Sorceress was killed, I should have gone home, even if it was just to tell my father I was going to Crugandr. Instead, I just left without a word, and got the letter a month later, giving condolences for my loss. I went back in time three times, spent five years in the past, aged five years as the cost of the spell, and not once did I have the courage to go home.” Jayde took a deep breath, focusing on his inner calm as much as he could, then said, “But, as you said, we’ve both seen what the darker side of people leads them to do.”
Jayde got up slowly and looked out over the camp. “I feel a duty to protect all of them, you know. This land can be dangerous, and while I’m sure some of them know it, others I’m sure do not. I can fight if I have to, hand-to-hand, but I’m not trained as a swordsman. Dancing Sisters above, I hope I don’t have to fight. I feel it, you know? In that moment between life and death, you feel the fear and the pain, the sadness, the blind rage, and then the calm, cold acceptance of their fate.”
K’mino watched him leave. It appeared that the force was indeed strong with Jayde, but the lion man did not notice it, because either the other powers he possessed interfered with his ability to feel it or he believed that it was a skill he mastered while learning how to use magic.
Sighing, K’mino stood up from the log and went to join the rest of his team for dinner.
To Be Continued (As Always)
2 Likes
Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Team info: 2022 Shitbox Rally - Out of This World! (Stage 1) - #30 by MrdjaNikolen
This is reply to last post
RK Series Racing meet-up
Last thing you heard so far from team stated in title was that they were now wondering around camp, ready to meet some other teams.
Of course Pi (ya know, weirdest-looking member of our team) noticed this group hanging around and decided to greet them first, soon followed by others from our team.
We had thought she might be too weird as one member to make first impression, but RK Series Racing Team’s positive experiences with host team along with Pi’s obvious enthusiasm meant this actually went well.
First thing that came to our attention was height of Schrants, who also happen to be human.
Chicota is taller than any human we encountered so far in my imagination, and yet, there are two here that are much taller.
Constantin politely noted that yes, he is tall, but isnt really interested in being seen as merely tall person, while Valentin waited for novelty of his height to wear off.
This lasted until Valentin’s attention was temporarily put towards bike we have.
Since i did used to cycle a bit around my village, two of us were able to find some common ground - ofc it should be noted im living in rather hilly area, so additional body weight i put during uni meant this routine was cancelled
I did enjoyed those bike rides ngl.
Bike itself wasnt particularly special in any way, but few stories powered by being kinda young and stupid might be different (and no, this is some bike we randomly encountered when getting other mods for car, not some bike i had driven IRL).
Connor would also prove to be very interesting, mainly because of him being a robot.
On our side, it becomes obvious that Chicota was most interested in fellow android, trying to see if thats true, at first kinda disregarding the fact that Connor has some light on his forehead and then there is prosthetic in form of powered brace for right arm.
After some analysis, Klimentol concluded that Connor had one of, if not the, best possible solutions for this issue readily avaiable here in Crugandr - speaks volumes about competency of tech-savvy members of Shift Happens.
It seems rather interesting that this team was put in motion by enthusiasm of someone called Tim
(Btw thats Serb word for team, said in same fashion as English one)
He lacks physical atributes that would make him stand out from rest, but his role as driving force of team (which could be seen literally too, since he is one of drivers) was visible and appreciated.
There was some talk about chosen vehicles, which meant that Dione parked elsewhere in camp would be noted down.
Far from ideal leader to unknown, it was at least stated as very familiar to its users, therefore making some ground in its potential lack of offroad capabilities.
I would imagine its faster than our entry too, which isnt exactly hard to do, but give credit where credit is due i guess.
It was noted down that they finished last in Stage 1, despite not having any mechanical issues.
Ok ok, they had mechanical issue, but its now solved and wasnt related to car itself anyway.
Main thing our team had to say can best be summarized in this:
“Use the fact that roads seem nice to drive on to get good average speed.
Yes, we can see how few of you arent exactly comfortable with driving fast, but, ya know, pace can be increased gradually, as you get to know the car and what it can do.
Feel free to listen or ignore that advice - we would be pretty much happy not coming last 
”
Tim thanked for advice, agreed that coming last isnt very nice and chose to ignore it.
Why?
Advice was given in good faith, but applied to specific circumstances that are unlikely to repeat in future.
Some more small talk later, it was decided that one more team was met.
But now, RK Racing is gonna go places and do things.
Im looking forward on next part by @Elizipeazie to see what “things” and which “places” would be covered…and feel im not alone in that.
Edit: Thanks and sorry to @Elizipeazie for clarifying few things about other team’s characters
Sorry obviously extends to yet another ping
1 Like
Team Shift Happens
Previous Chapters:
It’s Go Time! - Starting Party 6 PM
Boldly Going / Through the Rift / Arrival in Jaduvira - Stage 0
When the Hell are We!? - Stage 0 Campsite
Out of His Damn Mind - Stage 0 Campsite
One Hot Night / Letters from the Past - Stage 0 Campsite
Over the Hill and Through the Woods - Stage 1
May the Moons have Mercy on Them - Stage 1 Campsite
Helpful Friends are Helpful - Stage 1 Campsite
Tune-ups and Tech Talks - Stage 1 Campsite
Having Mercy on a Missing Teammate - Stage 1 Campsite / The Missing Teammate - Written by TheYugo45GV and Madrias
(OOC Note: Just advancing the time a little to the night-phase. If you need to interact with other teams before this timeframe, feel free.)
Viravalli Campsite, 4-and-47 Moon Local Time
It had been a while since Jayde had heard Kaylie getting into the truck again for a night of rest, and yet, he was wide awake again. Not, this time, because of Kaylie, but because of what K’mino had said. Could his magic be split between two types? Could he have both his natural-born magic and also use whatever this mysterious ‘Force’ was? He sat up in his tent with a sigh, fingers digging through his thick black mane as he pulled the old gem dangling from a chain out to take another look at it. He knew the chain was gold, as was the wire that wrapped around the green-ish gem or crystal to hold it, as neither magic nor tools had been able to put a hole in it to hang it from the chain.
It had been, Jayde remembered, a gift from a hero, what felt like forever ago now. He’d been five, maybe six years old, levitating rocks while his father was busy with the fields when the hero had come to Bittrenn. Tan robes, calm nature, what looked to him to be a hilt for a mace or a sword, but made from ornate metal and missing the rest of the weapon. Jayde recalled the short conversation, the man asking if Jayde knew who to talk to regarding bad people who might be around, Jayde pointing out the jail, and likewise, the Guard Captain, a fierce lioness known as Lynn, who kept the town safe. The man had tossed him the crystal and told him to keep it, that it might bring him good luck one day.
When he’d gotten older, Jayde had it suspended from the gold-plated brass wire and dangled it from the thin golden chain, though his mane covered it most of the time. But he always knew it was there, calling to him when all the world was quiet, when he was at his most peaceful. He wanted to get up and ask K’mino if he knew what it was, but he also knew waking someone up in the dead, dark-hours of the night wasn’t polite. There were many nights they’d have to spend in the same camps, many opportunities to ask later.
Kaylie sighed as she rolled over onto her right side in the back seat of the Highwayman. While the seat was more comfortable than a bedroll in a tent and she knew it, she also knew the reason she wasn’t sleeping wasn’t that she was uncomfortable. She’d seen Jayde carrying Malcolm across the camp earlier, saw him talking with the Lombaxes, but she was far enough away to not know what any of it was about. What she did know, however, was that it was an impressive task for someone she knew was as wounded as he’d been.
Likewise, she knew another team that had some minor issues, and that was Team RK Series Racing. Connor’s arm was in better shape now, but she was mentally kicking herself for not realizing Kayden’s presets were going to be completely wrong for Connor, and she should have tuned it before leaving the first campsite. Instead, she was one of the reasons they were so slow in getting here. Then there was Valentin, or she at least thought that was his name. She scared him. Malavera scared him. She was sure that Kayden would scare him, Rukari would terrify him, and if Jayde or Kivenaal walked up to him to be polite, she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d faint. But, he was interested in technology, and had eased up a little around Malavera. She was curious as to how Valentin would react if Kayden let him borrow Nova for one day. Of course, that would mean having to ask her brother to borrow Nova’s portable unit, which admittedly looked faintly similar to a slightly-chunky smartphone, but with that, Valentin could talk to a real Class 7 AI. Well, at least, the Class 3 copy of a Class 7 AI.
Though, the more Kaylie thought of that, the less certain she was about the idea. Nova had a habit of turning her hard-light holographic projector on, and had a fondness for a gold-and-black-striped tiger form, and if she popped up in Valentin’s hands like that, she was worried he’d freak out. And if that happened on the road…
“Yeah, probably a bad idea,” Kaylie said to herself, rolling onto her back with a half-growled grunt.
Unlike Kaylie or Jayde, Kayden was deep asleep. The heat was brutal, and without the thermo-regulation underclothing for his armor, he had almost no heat dissipation while wearing the powered frame. Of course, he’d left it on the ship because it was bulky, awkward to wear, and on Earth, a t-shirt and jeans were almost as good. So, for him, night-time was blissful because he could take off his heavy armor, the frame, and most of his clothing, laying there in leopard-print boxers in a tent with as much breeze blowing through as was possible.
Malavera was awake as well, trying to quietly use his laptop while the camp was sleeping, made difficult by the high-power nature of the portable server and the hot, humid night air. It had to be almost 30 degrees Celsius out there, and inside the tent, with the laptop running and his naturally high temperature, it was probably dangerously close to 40 degrees. Which meant that the laptop kept ramping up the fans like a jet airliner on takeoff every time he tried to update his personal journal, and he knew if he kept this up, someone would complain.
Kivenaal sighed as he heard Malavera’s laptop ramping up again. For the last hour, at least according to his Earth-made pocket watch, Malavera had been doing something and keeping him up. Between the heat and the noise, he was miserable, and after a few long minutes of not getting any further rest, he had to make a decision. Either he could get up and yell at Malavera to shut down his laptop and go to bed, or he could try to cool off with a swim in the river while no one was watching. He stripped down to his boxers, making sure he had a spare pair ready in his tent, then got out of his tent and made his way over to the Duskwater River. He jumped in with a heavy splash, coming back up almost immediately and swimming over to the shallow edge of the river where he could stand and let the cool water flow by. Compared to the heat of the night, this was blissful, and Kivenaal was reluctant to leave the river for a long while afterward.
Once he was back on dry land, however, he had the annoying factor of his heavy fur being soaked through. With a bright flash of fire, he got rid of the water in a huge cloud of steam, then grimaced as he walked back to his tent with what was left of his charred boxers on.
Rukari, likewise, wasn’t sleeping well. Every sound had him waking up, whether it was Malavera’s laptop, Kivenaal taking a swim, Kaylie kicking the inside of the Bricksley’s door again, Kayden’s growly snoring, or Jayde occasionally getting up and sitting outside of his tent. Then there were the sounds of the forest, from the rapid cricket chirps to animals cracking sticks as they walked, to birds in the trees and the occasional horrid sound as some small woodland creature became something else’s lunch.
As a result, Rukari knew he was going to feel terrible in the morning, but there wasn’t much he could do about it right now. With luck, he’d get a chance to rest in the truck.
2 Likes
(Filler, still same part), mobile, iOS keypad does not allow me to do a full essay on this site
Meanwhile, as Matt bought his “electric scooter”, he had bought a wheelbarrow after drinking his life out a while ago.
John: Wake up! Are you seeing things!! You burned the money on a wheelbarrow
Matt: Thought I bought a scooter
J: You were drunk at the bar trying to pick someone up by showing her your bank account, and got rejected! Then bought this wheelbarrow
M: Alright, alright, oh shut up about that
J: F**king wake up and drive, we got to go campsite.
Meanwhile at the campsite
J: Finally woke up?
M: I guess?
J: Good!
To be continued
3 Likes
LOL, nice save you did there.
3 Likes
@TheYugo45GV , is there going to be any interaction with Marie in this part, or will they notice what happened in the next one? Curious if I should do a final writeup for part 2 now or if I should wait.
2 Likes
Machinas Con Passione’s Shitbox Adventures EP. 4 - Rock, Stock, and Two Smoking Headers.
Sorry friends, I was very busy this past week, literally didn’t have time to make a write up, so here’s the tl;dr of what MCP did during the first stage.
>Be Giacomo.
>Co-drive for Thibault, the famous ex-WRC driver.
>Have no idea how to navigate.
>Winginit.png.
>Belt out every slight change in direction at the top of my lungs, going only off of the map.
>Get kicked by Maria, while she peeks out of the hatch.
>Continue to scream out every slight change in direction, because fast van go brr.
>Get punched by Thibault.
>Avoid suddenly stopped Freeway Star.
>Catch a whiff of suddenly stopped freeway star
>o h y e a h.
>l i v i n l i k e l a r r y
>Finish stage in one piece. Somehow.
>Long story short, no longer co-driver.
>Try to swim in the lake while at least 5 other teams are in it.
>Have never taken swimming lessons.
>Drown.
>Get rescued.
>Get revived.
>Feels good man.
>Another win for the Scarfiottis.
This next stage hopefully I have more time for proper interactions lol.
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!
While Marie was away, Janne and Andreas managed to set up the tent, albeit very slowly, but it finally was there, and that was all that mattered. The team was now very drowsy from the smell of the mercy bush and needed rest for the night.
JANNE: Hahahaha… Where is Marie? hahahaha
ANDREAS: Oh…probably she is out…birdwatching.
JANNE: Don’t she know about the bird?
ANDREAS: Everybody knows that the bird is the word
(A short while later)
JANNE: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…the bird is the word…ZZZZZZZZZZZ
ANDREAS: ZZZZZZZZZZZZ…don’t you know about the bird…ZZZZZZZZZZZ
MARIE: Oh…fuck…hahahahahaha…they are already asleep…hahahahahah, uhm well…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A loud thump was heard when Marie fell to the ground, something that didn’t really matter to her. She just kept on sleeping, despite being outside the tent.
MARIE: ZZZZZZZZZZ…Surfin’ bird…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
TO BE CONTINUED
2 Likes
Campsite Two (Team Oil Crisis)
Viravalli, Vira Province, Crugandr.
Local time: 5:45 Moon.
Weather: Warm and Humid
Not so Silent Night, not so Quiet Night
The cool breeze rustled the leaves outside the tent as Malcolm sat up straight, He was no longer on the rocky river bank where he’d found those sweet smelling plants, but safely inside his tent near the Magistrate. Without a second thought, Malcolm reached into his bag and rummaged around in it making sure not to wake up K’mino, before getting the holographic message projector from his bag. It powered on at the press of a button and the blue aura began to fill the tent. Upon pressing play a hologram of a lombax appeared and began to speak.
“Hello, you might not know who I am, but that is not relevant right now. The reason you’re watching and listening to this message, is that you are our civilization’s last hope. The only thing that lies between the extinction of our kind and survival is the Artefact. I’m unsure of what it is or what it does but it apparently is our last hope to eliminate this threat. Our first lead is the planet Sol III, home to a very large but primitive civilization. This is all we know for now, there’s no further information we’ve been able to recover from that space craft. Let the bright star guide your way and good luck.”
Just as the message cut off a metallic snap was heard coming from the general direction of the Magistrate followed the crunch of tires on the gravel. Neither of these sounds meant something good. Malcolm’s fears were confirmed when he peeked out the tent and found the Magistrate was no longer in its original spot, but rolling backwards down the hill towards the camp, too late for any attempt to jump in and stop it. The Magistrate picked up more and more momentum as it headed right for the pink IP van parked at the bottom of the hill.
The Magistrate jolted when reached the bottom of the incline, but at this point everyone on board was awake.
“Uh, Aedan can you move any faster?”
“I’m trying to! I can’t get my–”
The crunch of the Dione’s front bumper being ripped off was felt through the cabin.
Pavel’s eyes widened. “You might want to hurry up over there, We are heading right for that pink van, fast!.”
Aedan put his foot on the brake, and the Magistrate slowed down mere seconds before it hit the pink IP, but it still hit it with a resounding thud that surely woke up the whole camp.
“I really hope no one is super upset with us.”
“Well, we just hit two cars and probably woke up the whole camp, so I’m sure they will be, Ori.”
“You sure are an optimist.”
To Be Continued (I decided to include both parts in one post.)
2 Likes
RK Series Racing; Stage 1 Camp; Part 3
Their little chit-chat session with team Team Mravolinski-Chitco was pleasant, albeit inconclusive regarding the advice given to them. They head back to their trusty Tank™ and plan ahead for a bit.
“Should we try having Connor drive again tomorrow? I mean… he’s won’t get tired on the way there, right?”, Tim remarks, having learned that driving while basically asleep ain’t a good idea.
“I won’t stop him, unless he turns the car into a tractor again with the way he did the shifting before…”, Constantin counters, having witnessed the sorry attempt of changing gear for the entire time.
Connor turns towards Constantin in response to being ridiculed for his poor shifting: “The device tuning seems to have improved response times and accuracy. Though i, as of yet, cannot guarantee the improvements carrying over to vehicle operation.”
Valentin: “Why not try it? I mean… car’s here and dry-shifting won’t harm it with the clutch on the floor…”
With that said, Connor takes place in the drivers seat, the other three surrounding him next to the open driver’s door of the Tangerine Tank™. Tim decides to turn it into a bit of a game, calling the desired gear at random to test Connor’s abilities. The first few shifts noticeably rock the car as Connor is still adjusting to the new profile in this context, but it soon smooths out substantially. What once effectively was about on par with a 60s intercity bus in terms of speed and smoothness turned into crisp and fluid modern-day gear changes.
“Seems to be working.”, Valentin states, having brought up that idea in the first place. “Yep. You’re driving.”; Tim adds, knowing that Connor won’t do much to oppose him unless he has a valid reason to. And it seems like he doesn’t given that he just looks at them, handing back a crisp “Yes” in response.
With that set, they head into their respective beds without issue.
timeskip of about to four Aetherian hours
It’s the middle of the night now. Valentin was sleeping rather well, being able to tolerate the heat better than the others due to his lanky build and sheer height allowing his body to shed more of it compared to Tim and Constantin. Constantin didn’t seem too phased about that with the better airflow in his quarters, whereas Tim was having issues staying asleep, drifting in and out periodically.
At some point, during which Tim actually was sleeping, an impacts sends a jolt through the car as the Magistrate of Team Oil Crisis rams into the Dutch patriotism-mobile (cuz orange, haha 
), tearing it’s bumper clean off.
The inertia causes both Tim and Valentin to roll about, ending worse for the latter as he rolls face first into the nearside rear door card. Constantin’s tent did not hold up, covering him in his rain-cover tarp. Though as is customary, he simply keeps on sleeping like the badass chad that he is. Also, the car was pushed into Connor next to it, stumbling a bit before regaining balance, now out of night-time stasis.
“What was that?”, Tim rumbles as he sits up in the car, looking around. “Hrrrrngghh… I don’t knoow…”, Valentin replies, taking a fair bit longer to get up to speed. Connor, ignoring the process of waking up altogether, already knew what was going on:
“The Union Motors Magistrate, driven by team oil crisis has unintentionally impacted our vehicle. It seems like a mechanical problem with their parking brake assembly.”
Valentin pokes his head out of the window to see the Magistrate coming to a stop near the bright pink van of the Hillbilly Rollers. Tim saw the same through the windshield: “Anything broken?”, he asks.
“The front bumper assembly has come off as a result of the impact”, Connor replies immediately before inspecting the damage more closely. “Reattaching the bumper without specialized parts will not be possible.”
"CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUS TEAM OIL CRISIS!!!", Tim shouts towards the Magistrate in rage, much to the annoyance of Valentin: “Was that reeally necessary?” He simply goes back to sleep, not wanting to deal with the trouble stirred up by someone else. Well… he tries anyway.
Not long after, he’s joined by Tim as well, as they didn’t seem to notice him.
The peaceful sleep lasted all of 45 seconds, as some random horn can be heard blaring across the entirety of the camp. All three team members are immediately awoken. Constantin quickly heads up front, poking his head into the Dione, just to get screamed at by Tim: "FUCK OFF AND KEEP QUIET, WHOEVER THAT WAS!
Valentin was much less vocal about his annoyance about all the disturbance in the middle of the night, not that he was able to given the rather long time it take for him to be considered awake. “Tim… you’re not fixing the problem by aggressively shouting at it… Just shut up already…”, he groans and plonks down again, though he does manage to spot the Bricksley in the distance while the door was slammed shut by Jayde. “It’s those Tiger people who fixed Connor up… Go blare at them in person if you really want to…”, Valentin adds, curling up to the best of his ability to “shield” himself from any future noise echoing across the camp.
Constantin was also pissed at being awoken without reason. Though Valentin did have a point and as such, he just swallows his pride and returns to the back, falling asleep rather quickly once in his sleeping bag. Tim had enough decency to not waltz halfway across camp wearing just briefs and was not so angry to warrant the process of getting at least a set of pants and some shoes on.
note:
they probably heard it, but Tim can’t be assed either to deal with this now.
2 Likes
Team Shift Happens
Previous Chapters:
It’s Go Time! - Starting Party 6 PM
Boldly Going / Through the Rift / Arrival in Jaduvira - Stage 0
When the Hell are We!? - Stage 0 Campsite
Out of His Damn Mind - Stage 0 Campsite
One Hot Night / Letters from the Past - Stage 0 Campsite
Over the Hill and Through the Woods - Stage 1
May the Moons have Mercy on Them - Stage 1 Campsite
Helpful Friends are Helpful - Stage 1 Campsite
Tune-ups and Tech Talks - Stage 1 Campsite
Having Mercy on a Missing Teammate - Stage 1 Campsite / The Missing Teammate - Written by TheYugo45GV and Madrias
Sleep? What is that? - Stage 1 Campsite
Viravalli Campsite, 5-and-45 Moon
Crunch!
CRASH!
“What the fuck!?” Kaylie yelled, having just gotten to sleep.
“Really?” Malavera added, getting out of his tent and looking at the chaos. “We’re doing a demolition derby around the camp?”
Kayden kept sleeping, oblivious to everything until a very-pissed-off Kaylie yelled, “Fine! If I can’t sleep, no one’s sleeping!” just before climbing over the front bench and planting her left foot into the Bricksley’s horn, which blared feebly in the night. She sat up, started the engine, and promptly stomped on the accelerator, the V8 roaring its defiance just long enough to guarantee anyone who wasn’t awake now had a good reason to be. With her frustration vented, she turned the air conditioning on and laid down in the front bench to rest, letting the Bricksley idle. Kayden groaned, then got out of his tent long enough to glare at his sister, though knew better than to go anywhere near her if he didn’t want to get kicked in the crotch.
“Kaylie!” Rukari yelled. “By Xelth’s twin tails, turn that off!”
“Make me!” Kaylie yelled back, jabbing the power lock switch and rolling the windows up.
Jayde sighed, shook his head, and crawled out of his tent, dressed in nothing more than a thin pair of linen undershorts, a nasty looking bite scar quite visible on his right shoulder and his left leg shown to everyone who cared to look. He limped over to the Bricksley, opened the driver’s door despite Kaylie continuously trying to lock it every time the lock popped back up, reached in past the fiesty tigress, and turned off the truck. Before he left, Jayde pulled the keys out of the ignition, slapped the lock on the truck, and closed the door in Kaylie’s face.
“My fucking nose!” Kaylie said, scowling as she’d gotten a faceful of window for her troubles in trying to get the keys back.
Kivenaal looked over at Jayde, then said to Rukari, “We’re gonna have to teach him how to drive at some point, you know.”
“True. But not tonight. Not tomorrow, either,” Rukari said.
PROGRESS REPORT NO.1
19/07/3251, 1-and-30 Sun
NV, USA → Jaduvira, Crugandr
Andy: Right fellas, what's it like back there?
Andy gives the car said beans, and the engine, well;
Jay: Well?
Ed spots a small flashing electrical device fitted underneath the dashboard next to the glovebox and brings it up to the guys.
Ed: What's that flashing thing next to the radio, Andy?
As the three keep driving across the tree-lined cobbled road, suspension bouncing the small stash of supplies in the boot gently and Andy attempting to avoid all the dips and rocks along the way, everything seems fine in the car, apart from the glovebox suddenly opening and scaring everyone.
19/07/3251, 5 Sun
Andy and Jay are currently awake whilst Ed sleeps, and are planning a small practical joke.
Andy: Jay have you got the permanent marker?
They enter the tent to a sleeping Ed, and proceed to draw funny things on his face.
Andy: That's proper funny, time to leave.
With that, everybody settled in for the night.
NV, USA → Jaduvira, Crugandr
After an hour on the road, the team is in a conversational mood with a few interesting things happening along the way.
Andy: Right fellas, what's it like back there?
Jay: Well theres not really much to say, it’s all quite frugal and Japanese, lots of legroom though mate,
Andy: You’re not just saying that because I’m short are you?
Ed: Well to put it this way, the other seat is moved forward and I have just about as much legroom as Jay does!
Andy: Yeah alright then.
Jay: How’s she driving anyways?
Andy: Everythings pretty good, feels responsive and it doesn’t even feel like its used really,
Jay: Give it the beans, then!
Andy gives the car said beans, and the engine, well;
Jay: Well?
Andy: My foot is literally flat to the floor.
Ed: Are we moving any faster?
Jay: Not quite, it’s just making more noise
Ed spots a small flashing electrical device fitted underneath the dashboard next to the glovebox and brings it up to the guys.
Ed: What's that flashing thing next to the radio, Andy?
Andy: You know I’ve got no idea what that is, and I forgot about it until now. I saw it when we picked up the car but assumed it was one of those toll ticket things they have over in Japan.
Jay: Well it’s got a button on it, what does that say, transmit?
Andy: You reckon its a walkie talkie or something? Ooh, maybe we could talk to someone on the road and see how they’re doing with this.
Jay: Give it here, I’ll figure it out.
As the three keep driving across the tree-lined cobbled road, suspension bouncing the small stash of supplies in the boot gently and Andy attempting to avoid all the dips and rocks along the way, everything seems fine in the car, apart from the glovebox suddenly opening and scaring everyone.
19/07/3251, 5 Sun
Andy and Jay are currently awake whilst Ed sleeps, and are planning a small practical joke.
Andy: Jay have you got the permanent marker?
Jay: Yeah, here it is, but be careful not to wake him up.
They enter the tent to a sleeping Ed, and proceed to draw funny things on his face.
Andy: That's proper funny, time to leave.
Jay: I’m not looking forward to tommorow morning, haha,
With that, everybody settled in for the night.
1 Like
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
19/7/3251 /// 1 Sun LJT
Mel was stirred from her deep slumber by a series of quick tugs on her legs. Taking care to not smash her face into the rear windshield, she quickly sat up and felt around in the waning darkness of the early dawn. Her platinum blonde hair was in a mess, with a lock somehow ending up in her mouth, and her whole back was damp with perspiration. She felt her suitcase of clothes and various other pieces of equipment strewn about except for Tanuki, whose sleeping bag was still warm.
Although Mel had packed a tent, last night the two girls opted to sleep inside for extra protection. By tilting the seats forward and moving them all the way to the front, they could lay down in the trunk area and prop their legs on the seat backs or simply let them rest on the rear bulkhead separating the cabin from the trunk.
“Hey, hey! Meru-chan! Wake up! Come on!” Tanuki whispered, holding Mel’s ankles and shaking them to further wring the tiredness out of her. Supporting herself against the B pillar, Mel rubbed her eyes and let out a soft yawn as if it was just any other morning.
“I’m awake, I’m awake!” Mel croaked, unzipping her own sleeping bag and sliding out. The air in the Dauer was suffocating, hot, and stale, a result of them forgetting to crack the sunroof open for venting. A layer of moisture covered most of the windows, distinct objects becoming dark shades against a translucent dark blue sky. “What’s wrong? Are we starting?”
“Everyone else is packing up! It could start at any moment!” There Tanuki sat in the passenger seat, wearing a black sleeveless crop turtleneck and black denim short shorts that exposed acres of her toned legs. She held a 12-gauge Mossberg 500 with black synthetic furniture and bounced impatiently in the bucket seat. “I need to use the bathroom! Keep watch!” Pushing the shotgun into Mel’s lap, she opened her door and ran to the trees.
Grumbling, Mel quickly changed into a new set of clothes, the primary elements consisting of light blue denim short shorts and a red flannel shirt tied into a crop top over a white camisole. She crawled on all fours to Tanuki’s warmed passenger seat and slid her sneakers on, then went outside with a jug of water and her bag of toiletries. She was immediately blasted with a warm gust, which seemed unusual at this time of the day. Indeed, the other teams were hurriedly stowing away their tents and cargo and performing last-minute checks on their cars. Seeing that there wasn’t much time left, Mel washed her face and brushed her teeth before quickly checking up on the Dauer. Oil levels, tire pressure, and battery voltage were all in an acceptable range, and the electronics were in perfect working order. She opened the driver’s door, tilted her seat back into position, and sat inside waiting for whatever was going to come next.
And wait she did, for a grand total of maybe 3 minutes before the unmistakable crack of a single gunshot tore through the entire campsite. Mel instantly ducked down into the passenger seat and clutched the Mossberg as shouts and screams from the other teams broke out all around her. Doors slammed shut, and one by one the haphazardly-modified shitboxes sputtered to life. Peeking over the dashboard, Mel saw the other teams’ cars start to haul ass, leaving clouds of dirt and smoke in their place.
“MEL!” Tanuki’s shrieking was still clearly audible over the clamor of panicked yelling and smoke-belching exhausts connected to engines that bounced off their rev limiters. Out of nowhere, she slid across the Dauer’s hood in one smooth motion, flinging the passenger door open and practically leaping inside. “Come on, COME ON! The rally is starting!!!”
Vocal cords failed to operate as Mel’s instincts kicked into overdrive. She stomped on the clutch and spun the key in the ignition. Eight weary chirps from the starter motor, then the boxer-6 burst into life with a volley of explosions that launched a gust of fumes and sprayed condensation from its two exhaust tips. Mel felt its vigorous rumbling rattle her bones and its punchy soundtrack pound her chest, for even at idle the unmistakable signature of the 632 S was deafeningly obvious.
With a single movement of her right hand and a flash of precise footwork, that same rumbling idle turned into a crescendo punctuated by pops and crackles from the flame-spitting exhaust. The rear wheels became cyclones of alloy, rubber, and steel that threw up a smokescreen of dust, decaying into weak vortices as the Dauer flew by. Tanuki was thrown firmly back into her seat as if someone had hit her with a golf cart, letting out a very accented “HOLY SHIT!” that could barely be heard over the howling of the exhaust and the whooshing of the intake. In a matter of seconds, the yellow, red, and blue wedge had turned into a mere singularity that faded into the distance, leaving a wake of particulate sand and exhaust gasses behind it. It clawed its way through narrow roads and flung itself deeper and deeper into exotic foreign lands beyond all recognition, over streets of dust that gave way to expressways of cobblestone and under an unfamiliar, alien sun.
Under Mel’s precise, disciplined control, the Dauer hooked itself through corners like a rollercoaster on a track, providing similar nausea-inducing effects that would’ve been far worse with a stock suspension setup. Long-travel control arms kept every tire planted on the uneven road surface and made navigating over smaller obstacles a breeze, even at higher speeds. However, it was as much of a curse as it was a blessing; they quickly found that although it was effective at providing good roadholding capabilities and handled jumps well, it was a literal pain in the ass to deal with whether on a pleasant cruise or a blood pressure-raising rally stage.
“Why the hell are you driving so slow?! Step on it!” Tanuki snapped, clinging onto the grab handle above her head as Mel guided the Dauer through a gentle curve that was more like a cooked straight. “We’re getting beaten by crossovers and 50 year old rustbuckets!”
“Look, do you want to end up in a closed casket or get there in one piece? Because I have no idea where the bloody hell I’m going, and it’s been nothing but blind turns!” Mel’s shouts were eventually overpowered by the sound of six horizontally-opposed pistons reciprocating faster and faster with a deafening soprano. Her foot lifted off the throttle as she shifted up and straightened the wheel, rewarding their tired ears with a series of pops and bangs from the exhaust. As the cobblestone roads sped away under four tires that gripped them in confidence, the unchanging impasse of dense forest continuously appeared from just beyond the bend and darted past the two on either side in a blur of greens and browns mixed together.
If there was art to be found in science and engineering, then the Dauer was a living, breathing melody that pleased the senses and stimulated the soul. The mechanical transmission through every shift, the symphonic intake and exhaust notes, and the raised suspension bouncing rigidly over every undulation in the road surface collectively gave way to an overflow of raw emotion, a new kind of thrill that was completely foreign to Tanuki. For the last few years, no day was ever the same as the last, but the one constant that remained was the battlefield and conflict that seemed to follow her wherever she went. Although she grew accustomed to the burst of adrenaline that she associated so closely with the sporadic, ruthless pace of a skirmish or firefight, she now found herself digging her feet into the floor mats and white knuckling whatever interior surface she could hold onto whenever the rear tires started to step out during a sketchy turn or whenever they narrowly missed a stray obstacle or tree trunk at over 80 miles per hour. Mel took notice of Tanuki’s sudden silence; was the ruthless, battle-hardened, playful war criminal finally humbled by the looming proximity of death?
This question would not remain rhetorical, evidenced by a white wedge-shaped silhouette suddenly darting around the vertical horizon of the forest canopy, and on a trajectory zeroed right for the Dauer. Tanuki’s shriek came thereafter, her body thrown sideways against the five-point racing harness as Mel jerked the steering wheel to the right. The triple-hued coupe responded swiftly and with delicate precision, immediately changing direction and swerving towards the right side of the stopped white minivan without as much as a single chirp from the tires. As Mel straightened the wheel, the MCP AWSB transmuted into a white blur that zipped by in a split second with an audible whoosh, nearly clipping the Dauer’s left side mirror. Clearing this unexpected obstacle with relative ease, Mel now had to steer to the left in order to avoid becoming one with a rapidly-approaching tree trunk, and again the 632 S spun on a dime as it straightened itself pointing down the cobblestone road, remaining balanced and stable throughout the violent, sudden maneuver.
“DUMBASS!” Tanuki screamed as she leaned out her window, brandishing her Mossberg 500 at the white minivan that quickly faded into a singularity behind them. Watching them fade into the distance, she sat back down in her seat and set the shotgun aside. “What the hell are they thinking, stopping in the middle of the road like that! They could’ve gotten us killed! Next time Meru, don’t even stop or make way for these bastards. RUN THEM DOWN!”
“Are you mad?” Mel shouted over the overwhelming wind buffeting and tire noise as they flew over a particularly bumpy section of road, fighting the steering wheel as she made minor corrections in the Dauer’s trajectory to keep it from flying off. “Have you seen some of the other cars? If we ram them, they’re going to be the ones walking away, not us!”
Unbeknownst to the quarreling duo as they barreled down cobblestone roads so rough that their firm race buckets turned into massaging seats, a sudden substantial bulge in the surface was quickly approaching the car. It forced itself under the front tires, and after uprooting the rear set, the Dauer catapulted itself through the air at a blinding pace. As soon as Mel saw the roads fall away from her peripheral vision and the great blue expanse take up the entirety of her windshield, she screamed and gripped the steering wheel so tightly until her fingernails dug into her palms, drawing blood. Her hair grew weightless and started to float, the horizon and the forests it bordered coming back into view as time seemed to slow into a standstill. Over the cacophony of the boxer-6 bouncing off the rev limiter, Tanuki was also screaming. This time, however, instead of bracing for impact or holding onto the oh shit handles, she raised her hands, and Mel realized in a brief moment of lucidity that Tanuki wasn’t actually screaming in fear. If anything, it sounded like she was enjoying it. It sounded like she was laughing.
The front set of tires touched ground with relative ease, but it was the rear slamming into the ground as if it was dropped from the Empire State Building that hurt. “FUCK ME!” Mel screamed as the Dauer crash-landed and nearly bottomed out the rear suspension. It felt as if they got rear-ended by a freight train, and were it not for the racing harnesses and upgraded suspension the two of them would have most certainly been internally decapitated or turned into paraplegics. As she gasped deep breaths and wrestled the car back into control, Tanuki howled with high-pitched laughter, completely unfazed. “Where the hell did that come from?! You ok?”
“Yabeeee~!” Tanuki cooed, still quivering from the rush of adrenaline from when they initially went airborne. “Meru, Meru! When we finish this stage, turn back! I want to do that jump again!”
“Have you lost your mind?” Mel winced, shooting an are-you-fucking-kidding-me glare at Tanuki, as lively as ever. “I think I shattered my tailbone after that!”
The cobblestone road quickly gave way to a grand clearing, presenting before them a river that parted the unending sea of woodland. On the adjacent side was what appeared to be the site of a former lumber mill, and on the other a humble settlement composed of buildings and homes constructed out of wood and other materials from the land. To Mel’s surprise and Tanuki’s disappointment, however, it appeared that half of the rally entourage had already arrived before they did and were setting up camp. A green Eastern bloc truck, the MCP AWSB from before, and an unassuming white hatchback arrived in that order shortly after they did, which only added to their emotions. Mel parked the Dauer on the edge of the riverbank, making sure that they wouldn’t be too isolated from the others. With the arrival of the final car, the Anhultz Dione, the first stage formally came to an end, and all of the teams set up camp by the riverside.
For dinner, Mel started a small fire to boil some water, which she used to heat up two servings of instant rice and boil some canned chicken, carrots, potatoes, and onions together to make some botched chicken soup. “Dinner’s ready!” she called out to Tanuki, who had just finished cleaning her HK416. She washed her hands and skipped over, sitting down in front of the fire and warming herself up. “Watch the bowl, it may be hot,” Mel said, handing her a tray of steaming hot rice and a bowl of heterogeneous chicken soup.
Tanuki balanced the tray of rice on her lap and turned away, moved her facemask down, then brought a spoonful of the poultry-and-veggie concoction to her mouth. She remained silent for some time, processing the many different flavors splayed across her palate. Mel wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but waiting for Tanuki’s verdict on her cooking was more nerve wracking than when she met her the first time.
Fortunately, Mel’s anxiety was short-lived. “Mmmmm! Suge~!” Tanuki swooned, bouncing her legs as she chewed and swallowed the lukewarm, watery elixir. Moving her face mask back up, she turned back to Mel in approval. “Heh, not bad, intern! Keep this up and maybe I’ll give you a promotion!”
“Thanks!” Mel almost caught herself smirking a little. Intern? Is that what she’s calling me now “It’s far from perfect, though. I wish I could’ve brought some of my spices, or maybe some milk to make it creamier instead of this… chicken cereal with water.” After rinsing the pot and spatula, she got her own servings of rice and chicken soup and sat down across from Tanuki.
“Oi!” Tanuki shouted, startling Mel. “Not there. Back to back.”
“Oh, right.” She got up and sat behind Tanuki, and the two of them leaned against each other as they faced opposite directions. “Just curious… what would happen if I did see your face?”
“Well~,” Tanuki smiled as she took off her mask, “I could show you if you really wanted. But you know what they say… curiosity killed the cat!”
“Right!” Mel nodded once in acceptance. “I figured. How about why, then?”
“Daring today, aren’t we!”
Effectively discouraged from prying any more, Mel and Tanuki ate in peace for some minutes, taking the time to savor their soulful meals.
“You know, it never crossed my mind that a terrorist organization would have a company card,” Mel chimed as she scraped at her empty bowl with her spoon. “And I’m even more surprised that the Walmart self-checkout accepted it.”
Tanuki scoffed as if Mel had just said something so blatantly obvious (to her at least, it was). “Tch. Of course! We may be a PMC, but we’re still a legitimate business! We’re not like those madmen who run around with car bombs, beheading random journalists, calling themselves ‘radical extremists’ or ‘free state republics!’ We’re professionals, and professionals have standards.”
“Riiiiight,” Mel nodded. “Terrorists with standards… fuck me.”
“Hey, did you take a look at the other teams when we were still driving?” Tanuki asked. “How the hell are all of these bastards beating us?! Aren’t Germans supposed to make the best weapons and sports cars?” She put her face mask back on and turned around in place, tapping Mel’s shoulder to get her attention so they could both face each other. “In a rally like this where anything can happen, we can’t rely on pure speed alone… we need an element of surprise! If nobody is going to play fair, then we won’t either! We make a perfect team, Meru-chan! I’ll leave the driving to you, but if anyone tries to mess with us…” Mel could see her eyes sparkle with flames, even behind the nearly-opaque black glass of her sunglasses. She leaned closer until their noses almost touched. “Hey, Mel, ever fired an RPG-29 before?”
“Absolutely not! We are not blowing anyone up! But… you do make a good point. We need to rethink our strategy, because clearly having the fastest car isn’t enough to guarantee us a win. Besides, the rally’s only just started… anything could go arse up over tits at any moment! I’m not counting on anything happening just yet, including us winning or losing.” Mel responded, naturally erring on the side of caution. “Besides, we haven’t even seen what the other teams are capable of just yet.”
“How about that red SUV?” Tanuki chimed, pointing in its direction further down the riverbank. “Did you see how fast those guys were going! Plus, it’s a 4WD! I think they could be powerful allies!”
“I’ve had my eyes on them too,” Mel nodded. “ Or that white hatchback that came in not long after us. Whoever it is, we need to act fast. I’m a bit sussed out by this rally, to be frank with you. If the first stage is already this chaotic, who knows what’s going to happen next.”
5 Likes
Shitbox Rally
Stage 2: Viravalli to Addagarda
Stage Start: 1 Sun, 20/7/3251, Viravalli Campsite
Weather at Stage Start: Warm and humid, with a strong breeze.
Weather at mid-stage: Slightly warmer (still cool for Crugandr, about 90F or 32C.), less humid, windy
Weather at Stage End (First Car): Starting to become hot (about 97F / 36C) and the humidity has returned, though the wind remains strong…
Weather at Stage End (Last Car): Remains much the same as before.
Stage End (First Car): A little after 2-and-72 Sun, 20/7/3251, Addagarda Campsite
Stage End (Last Car): A little after 5-and-53 Sun, 20/7/3251, Addagarda Campsite
While yesterday’s run was done mostly on cobblestone roads, it’s clear that ahead of everyone is going to be a lot of gravel today, a test of how well you can handle driving your cars. On your left, there is the Duskwater River, slow and steady and strong, a common source of water for the local wildlife. On your right, there is a thick forest, occasionally alive with the sounds of a healthy logging industry. The road is long and winds its way alongside the river, as if at one time it may have been a path for towing boats or rafts, or maybe even primitive barges up the river. Sure enough, if you look hard enough, there’s a near identical path on the other side, in far worse condition. Twice, it is necessary to slow way down in order to cross a wooden bridge over the river to the other side, or otherwise suffer driving through what was once gravel, and instead has now turned to stony mud. Upon arriving at Addagarda, the people there are very suspicious of us, won’t let us into the town’s inn to spend the night, and tell us to “go away before you anger the wolves.” Our campsite this time is, again, near the forest, although most of the cars end up on the other side of the road, near the river to give more room for tents and people.
Notes: Randomization is active. Breakdowns are active. Time is in Earth Time. New: Finishing order after the teams.
Team Shift Happens
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 08:36:15
Average MPH: 41.3
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 3 (Tires)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Things could have gone way, way better. Unfortunately, it seems that every sharp rock out there was aimed at one tire or another on the Bricksley, forcing the team to stop multiple times to have Jayde use his magic to repair and reinflate the tires.
Team Wayfarers
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:34:40
Average MPH: 54.0
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 1 (Powertrain)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Team Wayfarers made good pace, although Jill Willow-Wright had to get out of the IFAZ Bogatir long enough to “heal” the engine after it developed a rather nasty ticking noise.
Team Gearknobs
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 07:48:09
Average MPH: 45.5
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 1 (Powertrain)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
The Hakaru Carica did well, right up until the engine just plain cut out on Team Gearknobs. They sat there for a while, trying everything, until Team Shift Happens came along and Rukari “fixed” the ECU with a handful of stray vacuum tubes. Surprisingly, whatever he seems to have done made the engine come back to life.
Team Fallen Angels of the Past
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:49:55
Average MPH: 73.5
Randomizer: 13
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Like they did in the last stage, Maria and Lucia put the hammer down in the Claussient, and they flew across the gravel like they’d both borrowed the spirits of Group B drivers of the past.
Team Slow
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:15:55
Average MPH: 56.7
Randomizer: 10
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Team Slow’s Schnell again proves to be reliable, and quick enough to avoid being last to the food today. However, they got sprayed with gravel after the second bridge, courtesy of a fast moving yellow, red, and blue rally car. While no major damage was done, there are some small dings and dents in the bodywork.
Team Oil Crisis
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:37:20
Average MPH: 76.8
Randomizer: 12
Refueling Stops: 2
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Again, the Union Magistrate proves it was made for this kind of world. Taking to the gravel like a snake takes to grass, Team Oil Crisis hustles their mighty Army Green wagon along the river road.
Team Hillbilly Rollers
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 07:09:08
Average MPH: 49.7
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 1 (Powertrain)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Andreas narrowly avoids complete catastrophic failure of the engine when a deafening bang was followed by a sudden and massive drop in oil pressure. Pulling over, they find that a dirty great rock has gouged a hole in their oil pan. Luckily, they had a spare in the back, as well as plenty of oil. At the camp, Janne offered Jayde a large Swedish MRE to fix their damaged oil pan.
Team Witchlight
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 07:17:34 (Fun fact: This was my locker combination in high school.)
Average MPH: 48.7
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 3 (Tires)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Things were going well for Team Witchlight until they burst a tire and had to change it. None of them could figure out the jack, but between Finne using the tire iron and Ambay lifting the car, they got that tire changed.
Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:56:24
Average MPH: 51.2
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 2 (Chassis)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
The Kontir Cunningham was, quite fast until a hard bump dislodged a bunch of their cargo and forced them to spend a good bit of time putting it all back where it belonged.
Team Blazers
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:30:38
Average MPH: 64.5
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 3 (Tires)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Damn rocks! A bit of sharp gravel created a nasty slow leak. After airing it back up once, only to have it go flat again later, Team Blazers put the spare on the Yamada and continued onward. At the campsite, Romulo, Watson, and Charlotte worked together to patch the burst tire, reinflate it, and put it back on the spare tire rack.
Team Machinas Con Passiones
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 07:01:37
Average MPH: 50.5
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 4
Breakdown: 3 (Tires)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
If there was any one good thing about the MCP AWSB’s abysmal gas mileage, it was that every time they stopped to refuel, they were able to put another patch on another blown tire.
Team Quick Rally 47
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:58:00
Average MPH: 71.5
Randomizer: 9
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 3 (Tires)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Other than needing some help from the AI to change the flat, and taking a small amount of time to observe their surroundings, the Quantum Xenoanthropology team has no trouble handling the Mara on the gravel road.
Team Mrezhari
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 04:25:28
Average MPH: 80.3
Randomizer: 13
Refueling Stops: 0
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Pedal to the Metal! The Dunav took every corner like a Group B rally car – Sideways, wide open throttle, gravel and dirt going everywhere. As a result of such aggressive driving, they make it to the campsite first, and help ‘clear’ it by doing donuts and flinging gravel everywhere.
Team Jockey
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 08:13:28
Average MPH: 43.2
Randomizer: 7
Refueling Stops: 2
Breakdown: 1 (Powertrain)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Sitting on the side of the road waiting for the engine to cool down really isn’t much fun. The Yinzer MightyTiny spends a good deal of time doing exactly that. In the camp, it’s found that there was a coolant leak. That’s since been fixed with quite a lot of epoxy putty and a prayer to the gods of auto racing. I personally think the prayer is stronger.
Team RK Series Racing
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:13:36
Average MPH: 68.0
Randomizer: 12
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Making up time by driving fast, Connor pushes the Dione hard. The Tangerine Tank cares little for this pesky road surface called ‘gravel,’ it’s a road so it can be driven on. Rocks fly from the tires, occasionally landing in the river with a splash.
Team Black Rabbit
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 05:51:34
Average MPH: 60.6
Randomizer: 12
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 0
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
The Dauer’s rally heritage shows through once again as gravel sprays everywhere from under the rear wheels. They even get a little airtime over some of the smaller bumps, and likely would have been faster if they hadn’t encountered a Schnell XL53 on the second wooden bridge over the river.
Team Spy Kids
Distance Traveled: 355.2
Time (HH:MM:SS): 06:22:17
Average MPH: 55.8
Randomizer: 8
Refueling Stops: 1
Breakdown: 4 (Team Caused)
Total Distance Traveled: 710.4
Luck wasn’t on Team Spy Kids’ side today. After dropping a fuel can in the gravel during their refuel, and then choosing to make up time by going through the mud, they lost a lot of time. A couple simple mistakes, sure, but costly ones.
Stage Finishing Order:
Team Mrezhari
Team Oil Crisis
Team Fallen Angels of the Past
Team Quick Rally 47
Team RK Series Racing
Team Blazers
Team Black Rabbit
Team Slow
Team Spy Kids
Team Wayfarers
Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Team Machines Con Passione
Team Hillbilly Rollers
Team Witchlight
Team Gearknobs
Team Jockey
Team Shift Happens
Team Shift Happens
Previous Chapters:
It’s Go Time! - Starting Party 6 PM
Boldly Going / Through the Rift / Arrival in Jaduvira - Stage 0
When the Hell are We!? - Stage 0 Campsite
Out of His Damn Mind - Stage 0 Campsite
One Hot Night / Letters from the Past - Stage 0 Campsite
Over the Hill and Through the Woods - Stage 1
May the Moons have Mercy on Them - Stage 1 Campsite
Helpful Friends are Helpful - Stage 1 Campsite
Tune-ups and Tech Talks - Stage 1 Campsite
Having Mercy on a Missing Teammate - Stage 1 Campsite / The Missing Teammate - Written by TheYugo45GV and Madrias
Sleep? What is that? - Stage 1 Campsite
A Rude Awakening - Stage 1 Campsite
Viravalli Campsite, just before 1 Sun
Rukari leaped up into the driver’s seat, leaving Malavera in the middle and Kivenaal taking the passenger side of the front bench. Kayden, Jayde, and Kaylie made up the rear bench as usual. As soon as the Bricksley started up, they were greeted by a steaming warm fart out of the air vents as the blower fan ejected the stale, searing hot air from the system, the air conditioner completely overwhelmed in the old Highwayman in this heat. The windows, as a result, were rolled down to let the air in. Shadow looked equally as miserable as the rest of the team, laying on the floor and panting heavily.
Malavera tried his best to keep his left foot away from the pedals, while simultaneously trying not to interfere with Rukari’s ability to change gears.
1 Sun
As the clock rang out across the Duskwater River from Viravalli, signaling to the locals that it was time to get up and go to work, 17 vehicles roared forth down the gravel road, rocks flying everywhere.
On the Road
Things were going well at first. Rukari was making a great pace in the gravel, despite double-clutching every gear change and only having 4-High engaged with the differentials unlocked. Then the first tire popped with a muffled thud.
Kaylie was the first to hop out and grab the jack, sliding it under the rear of the truck. Kayden and Rukari grabbed wheel chocks to keep the truck from rolling off of the jack, throwing them under the good front tires as Kaylie wound the jack up to rest just under the frame.
“If you can get it off of the ground, I can fix it,” Jayde offered.
Kaylie weighed the time she’d spend spinning lug nuts free, swapping the tire out for the spare in the bed, and spinning those lug nuts back on against the time Jayde might need to fix a flat. With renewed enthusiasm, she cranked the jack handle up, lifting the rear driver’s side tire into the air. Jayde grabbed his staff out of the bed of the truck and concentrated, calling upon his arcane powers to put the tire back together again as it had been before the rock ruined it. Kaylie stared at the tire as she watched the gash in it slowly close up, and a few minutes later, was staring at a completely solid sidewall again. “Think you can put some air in that for us, or will we be relying on a little electric pump?” Kaylie asked.
“I was trained as a weather mage before I learned to do battle. Wind spells are, well, my weakest magic, but I think I can do that,” Jayde said. Sure enough, as he focused again, the tire began to fill up with air, and soon, Kaylie dropped the jack, Kayden and Rukari tossed the wheel chocks back in the truck bed, and everyone returned to the truck.
This cycle continued another four times before anything new actually happened.
That something was crossing paths with Team Gearknobs, who looked like they were about 5 minutes from dismantling their poor Carica and hiring a lizard to drag them onward. Rukari stopped and got out, asking Andy Kauffman, “Need any help?”
“This damn thing shut off and now it won’t start!” Andy said.
Jayde came over to help investigate the issue, letting his energy flow as he felt the path of electricity running through the Carica. He pointed to the ECU and looked to Rukari. “I don’t know this technology like you do,” Jayde said. “Can you fix this?”
“I can try,” Rukari replied. As the ECU was pulled, Rukari turned the toolbox in the back of the Bricksley into an impromptu work table, adding several long wires connected to vacuum tubes in a plastic project box to the ECU. When it was returned to the Carica, the engine suddenly started again.
Kaylie looked over at them as they stared at the mess of vacuum tubes and wires now crudely soldered to their engine computer. “Don’t ask how that’s supposed to work. I have no clue how he makes this stuff work, and I don’t think he does, either. The good news is, nothing he’s modified with vacuum tubes has ever blown up, so it should keep working.”
Then Team Gearknobs left with their now-functioning engine. A few minutes later, the Bricksley found another rock. This time, when they got out to check, Kaylie groaned. “Really? Both passenger side tires?” she said. Malavera lifted the side of the truck up, giving Jayde the ability to fix both tires, though this time, it was the electric pump that did the filling.
When they thought it would be smooth sailing from there, another deafening bang made everyone groan. This time, both front tires had practically exploded. Jayde stared at the tires and contemplated whether he had enough magic to make the whole truck disappear instead, but figured that stranding his traveling companions would be a terrible idea, and that if he barely had the energy to fix the tires, he really didn’t have the energy needed to vanish that amount of cast iron, steel, rubber, and glass. Kivenaal and Malavera both reached under the truck and lifted it up, knowing otherwise it would be a long wait for Kaylie to get the jack out, lift one side, let Jayde fix one tire, and then repeat it on the other side. Jayde grimaced as he fixed both tires at once, then retreated to the truck to sit down.
Kaylie, as a result, spent several long minutes waiting on the electric air pump to whine away and fill their all-terrain tires before everyone could climb back into the Bricksley and drive the last half hour into the new camp.
Addagarda Campsite, 5-and-55 Sun
With the sun already moving on its westward path, a few very long hours from disappearing for the day, but noticeably no longer directly above them, the Bricksley rolled into the camp at last, with Rukari looking exhausted behind the wheel, clearly leaning on the rim as much as possible as the van-truck idled up next to the Dione and the Magistrate, the only three cars on this side of the road, though it was understandable considering those three cars were equally a sleeping space as much as the tents the rest of the teams had brought. The rest had parked up next to the river to leave a bigger camp space for everyone to sleep near the forest.
The engine rasped into silence as the key was turned to the off position, and the very visibly tired team slowly got out. Rukari had wrestled the heavy truck around on the gravel, finding every sharp rock that fate could throw their way. Jayde looked miserable, clearly at the brink of exhaustion after the multitude of tire repairs and air spells he’d had to do on the side of the road. Kaylie opened up her lunchbox and handed Jayde a bag of fruit flavored candies.
“Those might help. Sorry, I picked out all the grape ones, but the orange ones are pretty good,” Kaylie said. Like the others, she looked worn down, but to a different extent, having been trapped in a truck with insufficient air-conditioning for six hot-running beings, not sleeping well the night before, and trying not to think of the hot Leoni sitting next to her.
Jayde nodded, carefully unwrapping a few of the orange ones, popping them in his mouth and crunching them. “Sugar usually does help with magic exhaustion,” he said, giving a weak smile.
Malavera and Kivenaal both looked outright miserable, having been the two who had to get the wheel chocks out, the sheet of plywood to support the jack, and on some occasions, just had to lift the truck because the jack wasn’t stable. The worst had been the last set of tires, when both front tires had practically exploded, and the two of them had to lift together so that Jayde wouldn’t accidentally repair the tires with a bunch of rocks inside them.
Kayden looked like hell when he staggered out of the Bricksley, stumbled his way across part of the camp, and nearly face-planted the side of the Magistrate, denting the driver’s side front fender with his knee before he put his hand on the roof to stop himself from falling any further. “This heat is killing me,” Kayden said, shedding his heavy powered armor, picking it all back up, carrying it back over to the Bricksley, and then throwing it into the back of the truck with a clatter and a crash as he stripped down to his undershirt and shorts.
Kaylie jumped out of the truck and likewise stripped back to her gray tank-top and shorts, putting the form-fitting leather back in the cab of the truck. The sunlight gleamed off of her chrome shoulder, but at this point she really, really didn’t care. A bit of occasional flash blinding was far better than overheating out here.
When Rukari and Malavera both got out, the two of them stripped back their clothing, with Malavera tossing his robe and his ring-mail back into the truck-bed with Kayden’s armor, staying in his leather pants with his white fur showing to the world on his upper body, while Rukari showed a little more care with his armor, taking it off as well as a lot of his upper clothing, revealing dark gray fur and black stripes the whole way down his upper body, as well as a few old scars from battles long since passed.
Kivenaal wasn’t yet willing to shed any layers, instead just staying in the shade near the trees, though keeping a respectful distance from the forest, as they’d all been warned that going too close might anger the wolves. As a result, he sat down on a tree stump after double-checking that it wasn’t a beehive, just trying to relax after the long drive. Checking to make sure he wasn’t going to upset Malavera with the smoke, Kivenaal pulled out one of his cigars, cut the end, and lit it, taking a long draw and blowing a smoke ring just because he could.
Jayde seemed almost unbothered by the heat, but that was only because he had a cooling enchantment on his robes, although he was exhausted already from the amount of repairs he’d had to do on the team’s tires. He sat down on a log and picked through the bag of candy that Kaylie had given him, though it was clear that he was taking a while to recover. His thoughts drifted back to what K’mino had said at the previous campsite, back to his own thoughts in the tent in the middle of the night, that maybe he did have two different ‘types’ of magic.
They had made it, despite fate giving them many flat tires on the way. Now, it was time for a well-earned bit of rest.
2 Likes
(Due to the side effects of the mercy bush, the incident did not wake our team members up)
2 Likes
Viravalli, Vira Province, Crugandr to Addagarda, Garda Province, Crugandr.
Local time: 1 Sun - 5:50 Sun
Weather: Still hot as hell.
On The Road Again
Despite the fact half the camp had been woken up by the Magistrate tearing the Dione’s bumper off and crashing into Hill Billy Rollers’ van, all five managed to get enough rest to last them the journey to the next campsite. After packing up all their gear, storing it in the appropriate places and making sure the roof rack was secure, Team Oil Crisis decided that they would set off more slowly than usual and then build up speed as they went along. But, before they left they found a message from someone.
Orlan chuckled as he saw the sign. “Hey Aedan, it doesn’t look like someone’s happy with your driving.”
“Lemme guess, Hill Billy Rollers?”
“Yup, More than likely.”
Aedan sighed. “Of course, Just put it in the seat storage for now. We’ll deal with it later.”
The Narrowblock, unlike the first time, fired up right away and the Magistrate took off down the gravel path.
The green wagon kept on going without much complaint, even if they were doing nearly 80 on the gravel roads. The suspension made sure to iron out every bump and jolt, and as such made the drive a lot more pleasant, the A/C despite being on full blast was trying its hardest to keep the car less hot, though it did have help from the half open rear passenger windows and the fully opened roof windows, which didn’t open more than half way, but the A/C needed all the help it could get. The sun was now high in the sky as the car came closer and closer to the camp.
“That lady said something about not upsetting the wolves. Are we absolutely sure we’re safe?” Orlan asked, uncertain.
Without looking away from the road, Aedan nodded. “She did, but I’m reluctant to believe her because she didn’t strike me as the type that’s wise.”
Shrugging, Orlan glanced out the window watching the scenery roll past. “Whatever it is, I hope what she said isn’t true.”
A voice then called from the very back. “I think we’ll be fine, plus we’ve got a shitload of guns and ammo so don’t worry if we get in a little bit of trouble.”
“Thank you, Pavel.”
The Magistrate rumbled into the camp where the dust kicked up by the Dunav of Team Mrezhari was settling. At least these juvenile antics did not injure anyone and just kicked up some dust.
The Magistrate came to a stop closer to the road and the campsite entrance with its tailgate about 25 feet from the tree line. Orlan didn’t feel very comfortable being parked this close to the forest which probably had wolves or other dangerous animals dwelling within it.
“Are you guys sure you want to park this close to the forest?”
“Stop fussing about the wolves, Ori. You’ll be safe in the back of the wagon with me and Pavel.”
“I guess, But someone’s gotta patrol the camp in case we do have something wanting to eat us.”
“Perhaps, but how about we get on with setting up the car and the tent to sleep for the night.”
“Sure, anything to take my mind of the wolves.”
The five strong team then began to set up their sleeping arrangements while they watched the other teams arrive. Upon completing their setup, Pavel announced that lunch was ready. As Team Oil Crisis settle in to eat, the other seven stragglers arrived in one by one fashion. With the giant Bricksley bringing up the rear and pulling up next to the Magistrate.
To Be Continued (Like Always) (also because it’s 12am and I’m tired.)
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
Our friends woke up with a slight headache, probably a side effect of the mercy bush. Also, despite all the noise and crashing that had been going on through the night, they had been asleep all the time, again, thanks to the mercy bush.
ANDREAS: (yawn…) Eh, Marie, why have you been sleeping outside the tent?
MARIE: Do you expect me to remember that?
ANDREAS, JANNE: NO!
Upon loading the van, the backpack with Janne’s teleporting device fell out. While lifting it up from the ground, he heard a metallic rattle inside.
JANNE: Oh no…This explains it all. Crap!
MARIE: What?
JANNE: No time to explain now, will take it when we are out on the road.
MARIE: HEY! LOOK AT THIS!
Marie inspected the already broken sliding door that now looked terrible.
MARIE: SOMEONE HAVE HIT OUR DOOR, AND THERE IS PAINT MARKS ON IT! OLIVE DRAB! FUCKING BASTARDS, I AM GOING TO KILL THEM!
ANDREAS: At least it is less pink now, which is a good thing.
JANNE: We don’t have time for this! Get into the van!
Our team got back into the van, even though Marie was protesting loudly. Andreas felt right at home, this was like a warmer, more steampunky version of the north-east part of Sweden. The rough gravel roads, the dense forests, the rivers…he felt so familiar so he pushed the throttle a bit more than yesterday. And sure, the AWD was a nice thing to have for the roughest parts of this rally, but now he actually would have liked to have a regular RWD Freeway Star. The little four banger was not really powerful enough for drifting through the bends in the way he would have liked to do.
JANNE: So, here is the problem. I installed the aerial and the computer for the teleportation device in a random backpack I had lying on the shelf. I did not remember to check it through, but now I remember what was in it. MREs. Surplus, canned foods from the army.
MARIE: Hey, they can be quite tasty, so what’s the matter?
JANNE: The problem is not the food in itself, but the tin cans. They managed to act like an amplifier to the antenna, which extended the range by quite a lot. Which is not a good thing. I adjusted the frequencies so they would not affect the electronics of the Freeway Star, which is on bare minimum for 2007. Since it is a facelifted model, it has an ECU for the anti lock brakes, another one for the drivers side air bag. One for the ignition, which still uses a conventional dizzy though, and one for the simple single point injection, that ECU is less complicated than a transistor radio. More modern vehicles on the other hand…oh, crap, it could have disturbed them a lot.
ANDREAS: Yeah but the Claussient and the IFAZ barely has any electronics either…?
JANNE: Nah, but the IFAZ probably has a relay for the horn, the Claussient absolutely has a relay for the hazard flashers, so probably they are what have been affected. But relays are one thing. Electronics on the other hand. Oh, my…
A bit tired of Janne’s blabbering, Marie turned on the stereo and flipped to a song she was satisfied with hearing. A while later they came closer to a broken down Hakaru, which Team Racing Stripes had stopped to help. Marie almost pushed the button for the dixie horn when Janne stopped her.
JANNE: Not now. Keep a low profile. The Hakaru is among the most modern of all the cars in this challenge. This might as well be our fault, in case it is an electronics related breakdown, I am pretty sure that it is.
The team passed by and waved friendly to the Gearknobs and Racing Stripes. Yet a while later, they saw that Team Mravolinski-Chitco had stopped for something, but more or less was on their way again. Marie honked the dixie horn loudly while the pink van passed by the Kontir Cunningham.
ANDREAS: Oh crap, I better slow down, now the roads are getting really ro…
CROUNCH…BANG!
ANDREAS: What the fuck did we just drive ov…OH FUCK NO, NOW THE OIL LIGHT IS ON!
Janne was looking in the side mirror and saw how the van was leaving a black trace behind it. Andreas shut off the engine immediately while Janne was shouting in the CB.
“TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS TO TEAM MRAVOLINSKI CHITCO, WATCH OUT FOR THE ROAD IN FRONT OF YOU, IT IS JUST AN OILY MESS NOW, PROBABLY VERY SLIPPERY, WATCH OUT!”
Janne just waved for them to pass when the Kontir Cunningham was closing up to the team, he really wanted to do this repair in peace. He took the Oxy-acetylene welder out of the van, just to discover one thing.
JANNE: CRAP! Out of oxygen! Congratulations!
ANDREAS: Eh…did you see that there is actually a spare oil pan here.
JANNE: Sigh…it will have to do then. I left it in the van by mistake, it is from the same industrial engine as the cylinder head. It will have a big drawback though…
ANDREAS: What drawback?
JANNE: Well, it has a different shape of the sump, so it won’t really clear the crossmembers, so expect that there will be vibrations and noise in the van… But it will have to do. I can do this repair all by myself, so please, just wave the other teams to pass.
The team put two large rocks in front of the front wheels and pushed the van up on them, acting like jackstands. While Janne was draining the few drops of oil that was left in the engine, and swapping the pans which could be done with the engine still left in the van, though not very easily, Andreas was waving the teams to pass by, and Marie…well, she was emptying some of the beer cans in the back of the van, to cope with the heat. Finally, the van had fresh oil and the team was ready to leave, but at a rather slow pace since the vibrations were terrible when driving anywhere near fast. Finally, they reached the campsite, and after some rest, Janne saw how team Racing stripes arrived, so he went to ask them for some help with repairing the old pan.
Meanwhile, Marie had spotted another team, team Oil Crisis, which after some beer probably was a very bad idea. She took the can in which Janne had drained the remains of the motor oil and went up to the Union Magistrate.
MARIE: Team “OIL CRISIS”, huh? Well now you are going to get some oil! How about that, huh?
Marie took a branch she found on the ground, put it in the can of oil and drew a huge male genitalia with it on the rear door of the Union Magistrate. The next thing she was going to do was to climb up on the hood and pour oil into the fresh air intake for the heater, however, she only managed to climb up on the bumper before Andreas stopped her.
MARIE: HEY! STOP HOLDING ME BACK!
ANDREAS: YOU WEIGH 135 KILOS, YOU WILL PROBABLY GO STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HOOD OF THIS RUSTY MESS!
Andreas and Marie was fighting for a while, with Andreas standing on the ground and Marie on the front bumper of the Magistrate, but finally, Marie fell off the bumper, landing with the oil can on her head, which quickly turned her nordic blond hair into a pitch black tone.
ANDREAS: YOU ARE NOT GETTING INTO THE VAN LIKE THAT NOW WHEN WE HAVE GOTTEN IT CLEANED!
Andreas managed to keep her standing still for a long enough time to cut off the oil-saturated parts of her hair with his sheath knife, giving her the ugliest haircut in the whole history of mankind.
MARIE: OK, THAT’S IT, I AM GOING TO KILL THEM!
Andreas realized that he was not able to cope with an angry Marie weighing almost twice his weight all by himself and called out for help.
ANDREAS: SERIOUSLY! ANYONE COME HERE, I NEED HELP TO KEEP HER CALM BEFORE SHE CAUSES SOME TROUBLE WE WILL ALL REGRET!
(OOC: feel free to jump in and help Andreas)
2 Likes
Team Shift Happens
Previous Chapters:
It’s Go Time! - Starting Party 6 PM
Boldly Going / Through the Rift / Arrival in Jaduvira - Stage 0
When the Hell are We!? - Stage 0 Campsite
Out of His Damn Mind - Stage 0 Campsite
One Hot Night / Letters from the Past - Stage 0 Campsite
Over the Hill and Through the Woods - Stage 1
May the Moons have Mercy on Them - Stage 1 Campsite
Helpful Friends are Helpful - Stage 1 Campsite
Tune-ups and Tech Talks - Stage 1 Campsite
Having Mercy on a Missing Teammate - Stage 1 Campsite / The Missing Teammate - Written by TheYugo45GV and Madrias
Sleep? What is that? - Stage 1 Campsite
A Rude Awakening - Stage 1 Campsite
Another One Bites The Dust - Stage 2 Run / Stage 2 Campsite
@Knugcab - Thank you for the idea, and sorry for the spoilers the other day. I’ll keep those on cars and out of messages from now on.
Addagarda Campsite, 6 Sun to 8 Sun
Jayde looked almost miserable when he saw Janne approaching while carrying a broken part in his hands, the great gaping hole blown in their oil pan visible quite a distance away. “Oh, no. I’ve spent all day fixing flat tires, I’m tired, I just want to sit down on a log that doesn’t move and eat a nice, heavy meal,” Jayde said, walking over to the campfire.
Janne wandered back over to the atomic-pink van, rummaged around for a bit, and came back with the same broken oil pan and a Swedish MRE. He offered the handful of cans and a tall package of crackers to Jayde, saying, “These caused some interference with… well, that’s not important. Don’t let the date fool you, those are still good. They’re used by the Swedish military, it’s an MRE. Stands for Meal, ready to eat. They keep forever. Well… Not quite forever, but long enough that it usually doesn’t matter.”
Jayde picked up one of the cans, not able to read what was written on it as he didn’t know Swedish, but Janne helpfully pointed out, “That one you should eat last, it’s Fruktsoppa, or fruit soup. It’s like a dessert. And see, 1985. Still good.” When Jayde picked up the bar of chocolate and peeled back the wrapper, likewise, Janne said, “The chocolate is still good. A little discolored, but it’ll still taste like chocolate.” Jayde popped the small bar into his mouth and crunched down, nodding as it did taste similar to chocolate he’d had before.
“Well, I thank you for the meal, so, let me fix that oil pan before I actually settle in to eat,” Jayde said. Janne held it out for Jayde to take it, only to end up watching as the metal slowly folded back into shape and sealed itself back up seamlessly as Jayde concentrated on it. With a little more effort, the small dent in the pan that had been there long before the Hillbilly Rollers acquired the van popped back out with an audible plunk, and the remains of the gasket material scraped itself away, turning into dust that vanished into thin air. “Should be as good as new,” Jayde said, though he sounded a bit strained at that point. “Sorry, using this much magic in one day is a bit difficult,” he added, lowering his slightly shaking right hand. “We blew out nine tires on the road. The last four, I couldn’t summon enough energy to fill them with wind afterward. Magic exhaustion is not fun.”
“If you need energy,” Janne said, “start with this tin.” He peeled back the lid to reveal the glucose tablets and the hard candy. “A lot of sugar here.”
Jayde nodded, cracking open a pack of hard, fruit-flavored candy and putting a couple in his mouth. Janne startled as he heard a heavy crunch, then said, “Be careful not to break any teeth doing that. Oh, and watch out for the panzer crackers, they’re as hard as rocks, or as tough as tanks.”
Jayde chuckled and reached into the bag at his side, pulling out a small glass bottle. “If I break any teeth, this will fix it,” he said, before putting the healing potion back away. “And I’ve cracked bones that were tougher, so, shouldn’t have too much trouble here with these.”
Janne nodded, leaving Jayde to enjoy his meal in relative peace, though realized a moment too late that the meal he’d given might prove to be unpleasant the next day in the confined space of the Bricksley’s cab.
When Andreas started yelling for help with Marie, who by that time had been badly shaved after looking like she tried to dye her hair with a waste oil tank, Kaylie got up from where she was sitting and stormed over, chrome flashing brightly in the sun. “Hey. Hey! HEY! Do we need to fight right here!? You both heard what the town said about the wolves, didn’t you?” Kaylie snapped as she got closer. “Marie, I get it, you’ve had a few close calls with them. Shit driving on day one that collapsed the tent, nearly getting run over when you walked out in front of them, and now some mechanical failure that caused mayhem in the camp last night. Do you think I like that I haven’t gotten any reasonable sleep in three days here?” Kaylie added, trying to restrain her usual tendency to ‘talk with her hands’ because she really didn’t need to blind everyone with sunlight reflecting off of her left hand. “No, I don’t, but despite the fact that their car crash woke me up, do you see me over here trying to sabotage their car? No. Even though,” Kaylie said, extending the titanium claws on her left hand with a quiet click, “I could give them a real mean set of racing stripes,” she retracted the claws just as quietly, “I haven’t. Because here’s the thing: We’re all in this together. We are all responsible for making sure that all of us finish this.”
“Don’t be a dick!” Malavera yelled from over by the campfire.
Kaylie nodded. “One of the main rules, Marie. Sure, you could dump oil down the air vents and ruin their day. But here’s the thing: Jayde doesn’t have a limitless amount of energy, even though it seems like it some days. Yes, today he fixed your oil pan. Tomorrow, you might have to ask these guys to fix something on your car. Or they might have to ask you for help to fix their car. And that won’t be an option if you piss them off,” Kaylie explained. “More importantly, if you’re known as the team who’s willing to sabotage other teams, how much help do you think you’ll get?”
Kaylie left her point hanging as she stood there, left hand resting on her hip, waiting to see if what she said would have a positive response or not.
Jayde felt better after finishing off the contents of the small tin, and after peeling the lids open on a can of baked beans with small sausages, a sort of stew with a bit of meat in it, and a can of pea soup with pork, he set them near the fire to warm up while rummaging through his bag to find a decent fork and spoon to eat with. Afterwards, he opened the pack of hard crackers, opened a tin of liver pate, and grabbed his knife to spread it over a cracker, before placing another cracker on top of it to make a sandwich-substitute out of it.
The crunch was heard from across the road by the van. Janne just shook his head and tried not to laugh.
Jayde, momentarily deafened by the heavy crunch echoing through his own head, grimaced his way through the cracker sandwich and decided not to do that again. Sure enough, it was less unpleasant to eat just one cracker at a time, and it turned out that the two cans of pate were enough, if used wisely, to cover the whole package of crackers. Which, coincidentally, took as much time to eat as it had taken to warm up the three hot meals. He started with the pea soup, finding it to be mostly enjoyable, as the pork gave it at least some flavor. The prairie stew, mostly consisting of beans, corn, peppers, and some finely chopped meat, was delicious by comparison, and soon, both of those cans were empty. The sausages with baked beans were enjoyed, but Jayde thought it would have perhaps been wiser to eat that first, as the stew had been far better. With only one can left, the fruit soup, he opened it up and enjoyed the sweet, dessert-like goodness of the mixed fruits.
Rukari got up and walked into the nearby town of Addagarda, returning a half hour later with a cloth sack of supplies to make another camp stew. He set a large pot down over the campfire, got up, grabbed a can of water off of the roof rack, pouring quite a bit into the pot before opening up the sack, pulling one of his wickedly-sharp bronze bladed knives out, and dicing up a few onions, a bit of garlic, a couple of tomatoes, some cabbage, and a thick slab of beef. As he added the ingredients in and stirred them around, he kept checking the time based on the sun’s position in the sky, something he’d gotten very good at doing, and after about an hour, he added in the cut up pieces of beef to the otherwise vegetable-filled pot, stirred it a bit, and put a lid on it for a while. After another half hour, he pulled the lid off, then overturned the rest of the sack into the pot, adding quite a lot of rice mixed with beans. He stirred it slowly, then put the lid back on, only occasionally checking on it for the next half hour.
Kaylie, Kayden, Malavera, and Kivenaal were glad when Rukari’s camp stew was ready. They had all learned to trust that Rukari would manage to make something good, and sure enough, he’d done it again. This time, however, they all realized Rukari had made way more stew than at the previous campsite, though before they could ask why, Rukari provided an answer.
“Anyone else who is hungry, feel free to share a meal with us. I’ve made a basic soldier’s stew, which will at least be filling,” Rukari called out.
(OOC: As is usual with my time advances, feel free to ignore them in the moment. Just, I didn’t have a huge amount going here, so I kept a little more in here to fill out the post a bit more)
1 Like