As many of you might know, I have a bit of a thing for writing sci-fi stories. Never published, mind you, but I find it quite enjoyable to do. By @VicVictory 's good graces, I’m in, despite the fact that the most powerful computer I have is a 600mhz Pentium III. I’m posting from my phone, but don’t think that means I’ll give anything less than my best efforts.
The characters in this story are loosely based on three I’ve been writing about for the past few weeks. They are from a different world entirely, and are essentially tiger-men. If you know Skyrim, think tiger Khajiit.
Team Tiger Trouble
Team members:
Kayden - The Big Guy. Twin brother of Kaylie, gifted with an unusually large form. Stands 7ft, 8in tall, is built like a tank. He’s normally a starship pilot, but due to circumstances beyond the scope of this character profile, he’s here on Earth.
Kaylie - The Mechanic. Twin sister of Kayden, and brilliant with most things mechanical. Stands 6ft, 5in tall, and is lean and mean. She fixes starships, so how hard can one little Earth car be to repair?
Jaden - The Techie. Older brother of Kayden and Kaylie by five years. Stands 6ft, 7in tall, and shares a similar build to his sister. He likes technology, and Earth technology is an interesting puzzle to him. Sometimes called “Jade” by his siblings.
Things common to all of them: They are all white tigers, with blue eyes.
The Car
A 1989 Sinistra Traville GS/HO, in Crimson Sky red, with the 5.2L Sidewinder 60-degree V8.
Lore information can be found here.
Found for the low price of $472.97 in a small town in Nevada, this particular Traville has 325,676 miles on the clock, and a few little problems.
Warning - If you thought this was long before, it’s about to get longer. This is the Story Introduction part of the intro.
The three of them had been in town for about a week. Long enough to catch the rumors of some ritual of driving across the country, in cars purchased for less than 500 Dollars.
The old man opened his door, a little annoyed at the visitors knocking at 5 in the morning. Annoyance turned into fear when he saw what exactly was on his doorstep, and realized that the pounding on the door may have, in fact, been a light knock for this guy. He stared up at the face of a tiger, only this tiger walked on two legs and had human hands, or, at least, if hands covered in white-and-striped fur with barely hidden razor sharp claws could be considered human.
“I’m here about the car.” Kayden said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice as much as he could.
“I spoke earlier with someone, she called herself Nova, she said she was sending her agent to collect the car, and that payment had already been sent. I checked my bank, and I’ve been paid, but I thought Nova would-”
Kayden smiled, and the man flinched. With a practiced flick of his right wrist, Kayden flipped open the screen on his computer, then said, “Nova, show yourself.” A faint glow settled above the screen, a holographic projection of another tiger’s head.
Just then, Kaylie and Jaden arrived. “Kayden, you’re taking too long. Hurry up before my stripes turn gray.” Kaylie yelled.
After the keys were handed over, Kayden took the driver’s seat, sliding it all the way back, and sat down. “You do know what you’re doing, right?” Jaden asked, with a wicked grin on his face.
“Jade, I fly starships for our military. I think I can handle one little human transport.” Kayden shot back.
With some help from Kayden’s AI, Nova, the huge tiger-man was able to figure out how to start the car, and after a bit of fiddling around, he found out exactly what the two pedals did. He dropped the Traville in reverse, then stepped on the long, skinny pedal, hard.
5.2 liters of American made, overhead-cam V8 sounded a battle-cry as the Traville shot backwards, the gearbox whining loudly in reverse gear as the three tigers were slammed out of their seats. Kayden mashed the brake pedal with the same intensity he used on the gas, and the three of them slammed just as violently back into their seats.
“The pedals are pressure sensitive. Oh, and there is a primitive restraint system, located over your shoulder.” Nova said, in her usual sarcastic tone. While the three Tigrilans quickly pulled the seat-belts on, Nova added in, “I suppose it would also be in our best interests to inform you that the steering system of this land-craft requires multiple rotations to operate. These humans don’t have the physical strength required for a more direct steering method.”
Back at their impromptu home base, Kaylie looked over the car. “I don’t like that mysterious ticking noise the engine makes.” She said, while Kayden and Jaden were busy cleaning out the interior and preparing the car for a long journey.
“We don’t really have time to fix it.” Jade said, before packing the boxes of spare parts into the trunk, and some food and drinks into the coolers behind the driver’s seat. “We really don’t want to be late to arrive.”
Kayden shrugged, currently sitting in front of a computer equipped with a full simulation rig, racing around a digital race track. They’d all taken a few turns at it, after Kayden’s near-disaster on retrieving the car. “As long as it runs, I’m happy. This is just to keep the three of us distracted until someone can send us a ship to get off of this world.” Kayden mentioned.
“Well, I’d like to see where we end up. What little we were told gave us a rough idea of where we’re starting, so let’s get there early.” Kaylie added, before the three of them headed up to Washington State to find a nearby hotel and wait for the start.
Yeah, I think I can handle this alright. Might ruin a cheap stylus or two before the end, but I think I can keep up with the phone. Good luck to everyone, we’re all going to need it.
. Highly energetic and joyful. Doesn’t want anyone to be hurt during this. Interested in cars and sports. Good with toold but a complete dumbfuck when doing stuff himself. Admires Connor for intelligence and capablity to stay calm under stress.
