Shitbox Rally 2023 - Stage 14 (FINISHED!)

[Elizipeazie]

Team VSmgAB & Team Shift Happens

Prologue 3.1
Prologue 3.2
Campsite Power Speech
Friendship! :D’s sentient cars.

---

Pre-Race Camp

---

April 1st, 2023, Shitbox Rally Starting Location, Nevada, 08:57 AM

Takaraya groaned as he got out of bed, having had his first proper night in the Home Unit. The climate control system had done wonders to keep the interior at a comfortable temperature through the night. He pulled on his uniform clothes, then opened the door and headed toward the trailer attached to his vehicle, opening the roll-up door and grabbing the plate of leftover burgers from yesterday’s cookout.

He made his way back to the Home Unit, popping a couple of burgers into the microwave and turning it on. A moment later, the microwave, climate control, and LED strip lighting suddenly shut off. Takaraya sighed, set the plate down, then headed back outside to talk with Valentin.

He first checked to make sure the plug was still connected, and it was, then approached Valentin and, looking a bit guilty, admitted, “Valentin, I… Might have tripped one of our breakers. Left our climate control on and tried to reheat a burger.”

For Valentin and the remainder of the team, the morning was relatively uneventful, especially considering that Valentin was already awake at about 6AM, joined shortly thereafter by Norse. Breakfast was crude, but functional, consisting of what loosely could be called “bread”, but actually was closer to a bread-shaped cracker with minimal toppings.
Soon after, they were joined by the ‘speshul forces’ and Constantin, who themselves also had breakfast of similar quality, albeit with more variety.

Thus, a little circle formed around Robert the Generator Railcar, with completely random chit-chat between the various members and Mary being lost in fantasies again, even if Valentin remained awkwardly quiet.

At this point, an unexpected, yet totally familiar click came from within Robert, prompting Valentin to check. Sure enough, circuit breaker #3 was tripped, belonging to Shift Happens.
Now realizing his mistake of welding the driver-side rear door shut, he unfurled himself from the other rear door, already noticing Takaraya on his way here.

“That happens. Did you turn off the overload or otherwise ensure that it won’t immediately trip when i try and re-enable it?” Valentin inquired with a voice about as hoarse as one would have after 40 years of extensive chain-smoking.

Takaraya smiled lightly, then admitted, “Climate control is still on, but we lost power when I tried to reheat breakfast in the microwave.” He understood that Val’s voice was rough as hell after yesterday’s events, he’d even half-expected that to happen.

Valentin just raised a finger, indicating to Takaraya to wait for a moment, after which Valentin went around to the other side, crawling through what once was the rear bench and over to the breaker panel. With the breakers being a simple switch, re-establishing power was not hard at all, as he closed the acrylic lid back up and reappeared from within the car.
“Should be good.” he said, now even garnering interest from the remaining group.

“You sound like absolute dogshit…” William commented, remembering what Valentin should sound like.
“Tell that to Kaylie and the sentient cars.” Valentin replied, trying his best to avoid elaborate wording in an attempt to not make the situation worse than it already is.
“Sentient cars!?”, William, Rohan and Hans called out, somewhat in unison and immediately getting up to look around for them without luck.
“Yeeeah… you’ll see at the driver meeting.” Norse added, filling in for Valentin in this case.
The group of soldiers just looked at each other, then at Constantin for confirmation.
“Get all the intel you can. You did not try and thus stayed oblivious.” He commented in a tone of elitism, which was not particularly well received by the recruits.

“Yeah, those sentient cars are the reason my son is suited up in his environmental-protection suit today,” Takaraya grumbled. “He brought it with him because that suit is the chassis for his AI assistant, Layara. He’s worn it once before, and that was to park it in the Carry All. Now he’s wearing powered armor out of nerves and fear. Because what we really need is the 500 kilogram wolf running around in 1100 kilograms of armor. He probably weighs as much as some cars here do, and that’s concerning, because while he is trained to use it, he doesn’t necessarily remember about the extra weight. Thankfully, he sticks to the vehicles, and they’re built for people to wear armor and drive them.”

He then looked to Valentin and said, “Thank you for taking care of the breaker. I’ll try to remember in the future to turn the climate control off before trying to reheat food.”

From Valentin’s point of view, the conversation was ended with a simple thumbs-up as he returned to the others.

More talking between the others with usable voices followed until 10AM, where the driver’s meeting was set to take place.
As such, they all got up and headed over to the HD-GV Home Unit and watched Malavera do his thing before returning to their cars, each of them wearing their respective language and teleport rings.

With the important things done and departure time approaching, each half of VSmgAB went about packing up what needed packing up, the military half of which unplugging early to ‘get it done’.

At about 9:30AM, Valentin disabled power supply to anyone who was still plugged in by that time, followed by him unplugging any remaining cable, leaving them there for the customer teams to fetch.
What followed were the last preparations to the trailers and cars before they were to head through the rift.

[Madrias]

Stage 0:

SR Starting Area to Shiverwind Point through the Rift

Camp Challenge: None.

---

Temperature during the stage: 20°C

Temperature in Camp: -5°C

Nighttime Low: -10°C

Weather Conditions:
In the Rift, the weather is dead calm, with a cloudy dark blue sky, very slightly humid. Due to it being the Rift, conditions are rock-solid and don’t change at all for the duration of the stage.

Once at camp, the weather immediately changes to be substantially colder, with gusts causing noticeable windchill, but otherwise relatively calm winds. It doesn’t snow or rain until we depart the next morning.

---

For those returning from the year before, driving into the Rift was, well, not exactly a routine experience, but at least vaguely familiar. For the new ones, it was surprisingly nerve-wracking, having to drive into an oversized metal shed that was clearly not big enough to hold half of one of the giant trucks, a shed they’d all had a chance to wander around and look at, a shed that now opened up into a vivid, dark-blue portal.

First to drive through was Kasiya behind the wheel of his Carry-All, carefully guiding the huge vehicle with its refrigerated box and refrigerated trailer through the opening. Then Takaraya followed him with the RV and the second trailer, the two vehicles rumbling down the road at a decent pace.

Then, those who had experienced the trip the previous year decided they’d go as well. They were followed by the new arrivals, with the last car cruising in and the garage door closing soon after, dropping everyone into the Rift’s navy-blue embrace.

Several times along the trip, stops were made to allow for onboard refuels, with Takaraya reminding everyone, “If you did not bring enough fuel, the cost is $20 per gallon from our tank.” Likewise, there was a rather long stop caused by several breakdowns that happened pretty much at once.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we reached the other side. Kasiya rolled quietly through the now-open door into the arctic hellscape that was Nehmenweld’s southernmost civilized point. Any further south, and it’d be in the Southern Icefield. Cars equipped with thermometers rapidly announced the plummeting outside temperature as it plunged down to -6°C. What couldn’t be easily told was the -15°C wind chill until it became time to make camp. For some, this came as an unpleasant surprise. Nevada had been warm and the Rift had given us all a cool, moist reprieve from the desert sun. As soon as everyone arrived at Shiverwind Point, we found out just how brutal the cold could be when a sudden gust blew through and chilled everyone to their bones.

Like the year before, we chose to set up camp after our long drive through the Rift. The brutal conditions made pitching tents quite unpleasant, in some cases quite dangerous, but with a bit of effort and a gratuitous amount of foul language, most people had at least some form of shelter prepared. By the time the sun began to set, everyone had a place to stay, even if some of those places had to be bargained for, or relied on friendships to make it happen.

---

Next Stage Expected Conditions:
Road Speed: low
Road Condition: moderate
Traffic: low
Police: high

---

Deadline for Top-Gear-Mode and/or Aggression changes: 9PM GMT, April 3rd.

---

@Madrias

###Team Shift Happens

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 2 / 2

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

HD-GV Home-Unit:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

HD-GV Carry-All:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Being experienced with this sort of thing brought a certain amount of confidence to the team. Kasiya took the lead and lit the way the best he could, the full brightness of the HD-GV Carry-All’s headlights tearing through the darkness. Just behind him, Takaraya maintained a safe distance between Kasiya’s trailer and the HD-GV Home-Unit he was driving. The 55 mile per hour drive, of course, was interrupted a couple of times by refueling and breakdowns.

---

@Elizipeazie:

VS Mobil Generator AB

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 1 / 1

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

VS 221S “Robert”:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

VS 221S “Regina”:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Val and his three other drivers carefully piloted their priceless steam cars into the Rift, taking care not to ding up the trailers on the way in. Once inside, it was relatively peaceful, at least, until everyone else’s troubles started.

---

@Fayeding_Spray

Team M.A.D.

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Walkenhorst UtilXL FireRescue:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Sakura Citrine LWB:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Urijah and Victoria made sure everyone had cameras rolling before the car passed through the gateway and into the Rift. They documented every breakdown, every fuel stop, and even the last minute changes of clothing being done as soon as the second gateway opened, a bitter cold reminding them that, yes, they had just driven “faster than light.”

---

@Shibusu

Team Sinesian Rejects

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 6

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Ilaris Imbe Sport S 1.3:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Ilaris Itan Base:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Ianis, as soon as he had the opportunity, floored the ute. He ended up having to slam on the brakes once he realized there wasn’t really room to overtake, not after Kasiya saw his attempt to slingshot past everyone and casually let his giant truck drift into both lanes. TJ was a bit more restrained, settling in with people in front and people behind, hoping like hell they didn’t become the aluminum-and-blood filling in a truck sandwich.

---

@Interior

Team Not-So-Slow

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Schnell L30 1.9 SE Executive:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Izzy and Matt had some understanding of what the Rift was, so they headed in without any worries. Other than some breakdowns from the others turning the Rift into a parking lot a couple of times, things went well.

---

@TheYugo45GV

The Ambassadors

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 2 / 2

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Ivera Executive LXT:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Mayland Ambassador:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Tires

Time lost to breakdown: 01:35:29

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Karl had more knowledge than Landon with regards to the Rift, not that he knew a lot about it. However, this meant Landon hesitated, ever so slightly, and let Karl take the lead in the Mayland Ambassador. Landon settled in just behind it, two comfortable cars from two different eras cruising along until Karl blew a tire. Turns out, rusty lug nuts are a real pain to remove, and having supplies sitting on the spare tire makes it that much more of a chore to fix a flat.

---

@Doot

The Knockouts

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 6 / 1

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

1325 Facelift:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Papillona 606 S:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Kate and Octavia settled into a comfortable cruise, just getting used to the casual pace of everyone in the Rift. It was peaceful, even when other people had breakdowns to fix.

---

@MrdjaNikolen

Team Mravolinski-Chitco

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 1 / 1

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Saguaro T-REE 2000 Wagon:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Kontir Cunningham 1.9:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Mat and Amanda lead their cars into the Rift after Pi mentioned that it “was safe last year.” When other people had breakdowns, the crew tried their best to give some help where it was needed.

---

@Jaimz68

Team HETS

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Franklin HiWay Rally:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

FM VanGo:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Spanners, Mopey, Gran, and Nanna set forth in their two cars like adventurers on a quest. Every time they had to stop, there were, of course, the inevitable questions, stories, or other little quirks of traveling with two “old people” in the cars.

@AMuteCrypt

Team Flaming Gallahs

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 1

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Priscilla II:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Slow and steady wins the race. Whenever the group stopped for fuel or repairs, they helped out by providing music for the people stuck wrenching or juggling jerry cans of fuel.

@Edsel

Team Friendship!

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 2

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Bazard E-Series:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

After several stops and watching a few hasty repairs being made, the bus exits the Rift and rolls into Nehmenweld.

---

@Knugcab

Team Hillbilly Rollers

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 2 / 2

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

IP Rugger 4x4:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Powertrain

Time lost to breakdown: 05:11:56

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Sanju MDM44 “Wolverine”:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Things were going very well until Andreas fried the clutch in the IP Rugger. Thankfully, they had spare parts, and even more thankfully, they were able to enlist the help of Kasiya and Takaraya to act in place of a proper lift. Marie, of course, complains that if she didn’t have to drive, she could have had five hours of chugging beers instead of sitting there watching them fix a broken car. Arne, on the other hand, is just glad that they’re stopped as Marie’s gear changes were as smooth and graceful as a brick in a washing machine.

---

@Odyssey_Fan

Team Sane Insanity

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 5 / 2

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

KKR S2:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Chassis

Time lost to breakdown: 3:59:57

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Roadmaster Voyage:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

It was more fun revving the hell out of the mid-engine sports car than expected. This was counterbalanced by the nerve-wracking nature of trying to not get scuffs or scratches on the rental minivan while grouped up in a horde of other vehicles, many of which were in rough enough condition to not care about yet-another-baseball-sized-dent in the bodywork. The fun “Rev the engine” game came to a sudden stop, however, when one of the half-shafts fell out. Almost 4 hours later, the car was on the move again.

---

@PortalKat42

Faolan Industries

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Aether 52 H:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Aether 11/2:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Ze’ev and Storm set off on their voyage with the two oldest-looking cars in the camp. Thankfully, there were no breakdowns for them.

---

@AndiD

Team Taciturn

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Mara Irena 2.0 UR:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

The two cloaked aliens escaped into the Rift, their cheap Mara proving to be more reliable already than some of the competition.

---

@BannedByAndroid

Team ReUnity

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 6

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Ursula F5 400I cross 4x4:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Anthony took the wheel for this stage, driving cleanly around a pack of other drivers.

---

@SheikhMansour

Team Spy Kids

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 4 / 4

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Reekayns B210:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Mocabey Pioneer XL:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Tires

Time lost to breakdown: 00:21:32

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

It was fun until it wasn’t. Turns out, the low tire was low enough that it came out of the bead and had to be swapped out until you can get the tire seated again.

---

@IDK158

Team J3

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 4 / 2

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Tiharris Summer V6 J3:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 1

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:10:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Rhien Willow SR50 Turbo J3:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

It’s an interesting start to the rally, watching all these other people having breakdowns. About the only bit of excitement was a close call when Jacia almost rear-ended Johnny and Jackie.

---

@JCurtiss96 & @Leone

Team Aeromad

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Juggernaut 862 Custom Aeromad:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Torrento Providence II Aeromad:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 2

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:20:00

Breakdown: Powertrain

Time lost to breakdown: 04:57:05

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Ah, the joys of using crashed airplane parts in your vehicles. It turns out that the massive 994ci V12 in the muscle car needed a little bit of tuning to get it running right, and after almost 5 hours of tinkering, luckily nearby the guys who fried their clutch, the V12 is roaring like a tiger.

---

@Tzuyu_main & @FallingComet

Team Black Rabbit Disavowed

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6Miles

Aggression: 5 / 5

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Seikatsu Diesel Galactic:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Dauer 836RS Darien:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Not much is happening for the Black Rabbit crew. It’s mostly a bunch of waiting around while a couple people fix broken cars.

@Texaslav

Sheriff Scott’s Posse

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 4 / 4

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Warren Warlock FH:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Bowie Bearcat:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Tires

Time lost to breakdown: 03:13:45

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

With no one to chase and no need to rush, they settle in behind a few other cars and try to enjoy the trip.

---

@Xepy

Team “486”

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 6 / 6

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Kaufmann Viera Custom:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Kaufmann Kleinbus Custom:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

It was a fairly boring drive for the team, just mostly following the other cars. Well, when they weren’t waiting on cars to be fixed, that is.

---

@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T

Team Magdelena

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 4

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Baumhauer 423 Vier Group A:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Hinode Rusa Ambulance:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

There is a certain joy in driving an old ambulance. One of those joys is driving with the lights on and the siren screaming. Even if you’re stuck in the equivalent of rush-hour traffic, it doesn’t get old.

---

@SurrealCereal

Team Machinas Con Passione

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Top-Gear

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 4 / 6

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Mercedes Blue Wonder Alessio:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 1

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:10:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Faenza Spirito SP-C:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 1

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:10:00

Breakdown: Tires

Time lost to breakdown: 00:10:54

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Celebrations go around among the crew this time. When some of the new guys ask what all the cheering is about, Giacomo explains that this year, they only had to refuel once in the Rift, whereas last year, it was twice. In his excitement, he kicks the dry-rotted tire on the Faenza, accidentally popping it. Almost 11 minutes later, a slightly-less-shit tire is on the car.

---

@GetWrekt01 & @That-S-Cop

Cunning Stunts

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 3

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

VHT Supermobile (Sand Hopper):

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Contra UTE:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

There’s a certain special feeling you get, tailgating a rental minivan in a giant truck. You know he’s not going to brake check you, he’d end up having to buy the van. And so it’s fun to cruise along, trying to see just how close to the bumper that you can get without touching it.

---

@EnCR

Team Till D End

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 1

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

JMX Linx Turbo Injection:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Avantii Trailduster Camper:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Between the Rift turning into a parking lot for several hours and the knowledge that you had a camper, there were serious considerations about whether or not it’d be worth getting a nap in while a few people fixed the clutch they blew up and the engine that was running like crap.

---

@LS_Swapped_RX-7

Basedworks

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Support

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 3 / 6

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Basedworks RV:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

MCMOTD:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: In Convoy, Helping Others

Time lost to breakdown: 00:00:00

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

As they set forth in the giant RV and the “Edgelord Special” as Malavera had called it, the crew settled in among the rest of the drivers, trying not to cause too much chaos.

---

@Mikonp7

Team Gunship

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 4

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Haapala Streetcruiser:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Powertrain

Time lost to breakdown: 04:31:15

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

The open roadster hurtles into the Rift, leaving the crew momentarily shocked by the unexpected temperature difference. Things were going well until the engine conked out. Fun fact: Engines don’t work so well when the battery dies courtesy of a non-functional alternator. Fortunately, a spare part is found, the car is jump-started, and other than another issue caused by a loose plug wire, things go smoothly.

---

@ldub0775

4 Dicks in a Truck

Finish Position: N/A

Support/Single/Top-Gear: Single

Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Aggression: 4

Team Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Team Travel Time (Aetherii): N/A

Centurion 9000:

Travel Time (Earth): 08:54:44

Number of Refuel Stops: 0

Time Lost to Refueling: 00:00:00

Breakdown: Tires

Time lost to breakdown: 01:04:35

Stopped by Police: N/A

Time lost to Police: 00:00:00

Total Distance Traveled: 177.6 Miles

Total Time: 08:54:44

Tailing the pack of cars with a semi and RV trailer, the crew settles in for a long journey. They’re forced to stop settling in and go fix shit when one of the inside dually tires decides to blow up.

[TheYugo45GV]

Prologue

---

@TheYugo45GV

The Desert Drive

---

Team Information: Shitbox Rally 2023 - Entries Open! - #52 by TheYugo45GV

---

Long Chapter Ahead

---

This chapter was written in collaboration with @Madrias

---

Good Public Relations

---

Following the rather exuberant entrance to the camp, the occupants of the Mayland got out of their car. Karl kept the driver’s door open, and leant against it and the roof, while Landon shut the passenger, and straightened his medals and uniform jacket following the chaotic drive to the camp.

“Y’know, for how much shit I give you, you seem surprisingly tolerant.” Landon began. “I’m real grateful you got us out of there safely.”

“Hey now. I just followed my instincts, I am a cat after all. One that knows how to drive better than most professionals.” Karl replied, thankful. “Plus, you and I have proven time and time again that we are weirdly good at improvising.”

A chuckle came from Landon. “You know what they say, great minds think alike. Anyway, I think I’m gonna go introduce myself to the hosts.”

“I saw two Khalans when we pulled in. I think I’ll hold back a little bit considering what my uncle did to my family’s reputation.”

“Your uncle?”

Karl nodded. “Yeah, he tarnished our reputation with his betrayal of the code.”

“You have a code?” Landon queried, a note of confusion in his voice.

“Uh-huh, it’s… it’s a long story. Now go on, I’ll join you later.”

The general looked across the camp towards the heavy duty trucks parked on the far side near the trailers and the Diones. Well, he did see one of the Khalans wearing some sort of military uniform and it was maybe a wise idea to get to know the hosts, and besides, establishing good relations from the get go was how wars were avoided. The General sighed, he was taller than anyone on his team, just a little over 6’ 6", and his uniform would probably make him stand out especially since it strongly resembled Soviet service dress uniforms. A country that Karl told him about that had collapsed long ago. Regardless, he twitched his ears and donned his peaked military cap before starting his approach dodging around the Ivera’s hood.

Takaraya looked over as a fox-like being, about six-and-a-half feet tall, started making his way over toward him. He glanced over at his son, who was writing something in a notebook with the cab door half open for airflow, again almost oblivious to the world around him. He looked back at the fox, his own amber eyes trying to pick any and all details up that he could, even with his inability to see color.

Eventually, the fox made it to within speaking distance of him. “Wing Commander Takaraya Wintermoon. State your business,” Takaraya said, naturally a bit on the defensive side because he knew his son didn’t really like being around military people.

Kasiya looked out of the cab door and groaned. “Great. More military people,” he muttered to himself. “At this rate, Nehmenweld will think it’s an invasion.”

Remaining focused on the Khalan that had just greeted him and introduced himself. Landon stood at ease, hands behind his back, standing fully upright, as though he were addressing troops.

“Greetings Commander. I’m Supreme General Sabourne of the Velkaristan Armed Forces. Your uniform tells me you’re in the Royal Air and Space Force.”

Takaraya gave a light nod. “Good to meet you, then, General,” he said, his metal hands reflecting a bit of sunlight as he moved. “Kasiya, you might as well meet him,” he called out.

Kasiya set his notebook down on the seat with a muffled thump, shoved the door open the rest of the way, and stepped out, rising to his full 10 foot height as he crossed his arms. “Kasiya Wintermoon, leader of the Nehmenweld Expedition for the Interplanetary Historical Preservation Society,” he said, looking down at General Sabourne.

“Pleased to meet you Kasiya, I presume your the commander’s son.” Landon began, offering a handshake, despite the size difference. “I’ve heard of the Preservation Society before, my… uhm… associate has told me all about it.”

“I am Takaraya’s son, yes,” Kasiya replied, accepting the handshake and trying his best not to squeeze too hard in the process.

Takaraya, on the other hand, looked over toward the cars as Landon mentioned his associate. “Now that is curious. Your associate is aware of the Preservation Society, and you’re here as well… You’re looking for something in Nehmenweld,” Takaraya said. “They wouldn’t assign high-brass to a mission like this unless it was dangerous. I’m not here on mission, my orders were to heal up after my accident, and I got involved with the rest of this crew on this event.”

Kasiya watched Malavera duck inside one of the plastic portable toilets, noticing Kivenaal checking his phone a few moments later. He glanced over to Landon, then added in, “There are a few things I can think of that might be of value enough to send out a General. The big one, however, is the Sacred Chalice of Aureia, some Aetheriian goddess of peace and healing. Well, it’s either that, or you’re looking for the Dragon-shard, a sword that burns with eternal fire.”

Takaraya noticed that Kivenaal ducked inside one of the “porta-potties” as well, then gave a chuckle and shook his head as he figured out what was going on. “They’re going to get caught if they keep doing that,” he said to himself. He then looked to Landon and smiled. “It’s often been said by my father that Kasiya would make a good diplomat,” Takaraya said.

“No, I wouldn’t. I can’t lie enough to keep myself in office for a day,” Kasiya replied.

“I’m here because the High Council ordered me to be here. Plus, My friend over there,” Landon pointed to what was evidently not a fox, bent over through the window of the older of the two car. “He’s the one who pulled the strings to bring me here. I’m certain you’ll instantly recognize who and what he is. Especially since he told me about it on the way here.”

Meanwhile, the being had found what they were looking for, and then stood up. It was none other than a Caracalian, a species on a neighboring planet to Panthiri Prime, that was comprised of the smaller wildcats.

Landon then continued. “He’s the one who’s brought that giant boat over there. A Mayland Ambassador I think it is. Next to the Ivera over there, with the RV lookin’ thing.”

Takaraya studied the other being, then sighed. “A Caracalian. Which family? There’s one where, depending on the branch, I have very specific orders I am to follow,” Takaraya said.

Before Landon could answer, however, Kaylie stormed over and asked, “So, what went through your mind when you raced past the camp in a cloud of gravel and dust?”

Kasiya, rolling his eyes, then said, “Landon, here, was not the one driving. Yes, I know your first name, General. I read the entry forms and logged them in earlier for the historical record.”

Karl meanwhile had walked up, and he stood about similar to Kaylie’s height, as he came up from behind. He wore civilian clothing. “I think you could blame me for the driving. You see, Landon and I were attacked on the way here. Wasn’t until he pointed out that we missed the turning on the road over there that I saw how fast I was going.” He paused, before addressing the two Khalans, and also offering a handshake.

“Karl von Heislingberg, I’m certain that name isn’t pleasing to hear given recent circumstances, but I can assure you, my father, Ayren has dealt with the traitors. You must be Takaraya, the son of his Majesty the king, Wintermoon.”

Kaylie sighed. “Yeah, the only reason I was upset was the rock-shower you threw behind your car. We’ve had team members pelted by rocks before, it’s not fun.”

Karl flashed a small grin across his face in response.

As Karl introduced himself, Takaraya sighed. “I am the son of Dakala, yes. And while your father may have dealt with the traitors, Karl, I still have my orders that, should I cross paths with Erran and his line, I am to shoot them on sight. Luckily for you, I got an update to my orders a while back that changed it to just his branch of the family.”

Kasiya sighed. “The last thing the galaxy needs is another fucking war,” he grumbled.

Karl gave a light nod, in response.

Takaraya glanced over to the portable toilet again and chuckled as he saw Kivenaal walk out of it with a light grin on his face. A few seconds later, Malavera stepped out, looking a little unsteady on his feet at first, but managing to hide it well after a few steps. Kaylie had followed his glance and sighed. “So that’s why they asked Jayde to sound-proof the toilets,” she said, shaking her head.

“Y’know, Takaraya, my dad did tell me he spoke with the king, about what to do moving forward. So, I guess the both of us should expect some form of message at some point.” Karl concluded, ignoring what was happening in the background. “Plus, I’m glad to see you walking around again, given what happened.”

Landon meanwhile, watched in the background what was happening. He flashed a little bit of confusion on his face but then spoke up. “You seem to know the commander, but that’s his son that’s next to him, he’s an archeologist like you I think.”

Karl glanced up at the much taller Khalan. “You must be with the Historical Preservation Society. I recognized the color scheme on the HD-GVs over there. I can tell one of 'em is a Carry-All.”

Kasiya nodded. “I’m the leader of the Nehmenweld Expedition,” he said, looking to Karl. “My truck is the Carry-All. My father drives the Home-Unit. We’re both hauling a trailer that’s made from the rear half of a Carry-All as well, so we have plenty of supplies.”

“And plenty of weapons,” Takaraya said, smiling. “We’re probably not the most heavily armed team here, but we are prepared.”

Landon and Karl glanced at each other, before Landon started. “Well, we didn’t know what dangers we would face so we did too. We had to use one of them though, as Karl might have stated.”

Karl meanwhile had reached around his back and removed his sidearm. It was an Automag Raven with a shorter barrel, around 6 inches. He examined the weapon, demonstrating very good discipline.

Karl drawing his weapon had the end result of Kaylie, Takaraya, and Kasiya drawing their sidearms. Kaylie’s Walther P99 was, perhaps the most normal weapon of the three as she held it low, with the barrel pointed in a generally safe direction and her finger outside the trigger guard. Takaraya had a very large, heavy semi-automatic handgun that clearly had been stamped with a new caliber, declaring it now fired .458 SOCOM instead of the old .46 KAL. Likewise, Kasiya had a revolver, rechambered in .500 S&W Magnum, holding 7 rounds and having a “short” 6 inch barrel. None of the three weapons were particularly shiny or showy, and were instead very practical handguns.

Of course, the “gun show” got Kivenaal’s attention, and he approached the group and drew his four Smith & Wesson Model 500 Magnum revolvers, with 8 inch barrels, nickel-chrome finish, and custom walnut grips. “Sorry that I missed our introductions,” he said. “I’m Kivenaal Khakrin-Marinseien.” He holstered his weapons quickly, prompting Kaylie, Kivenaal, and Takaraya to do the same. “Would’ve been here earlier, but I had… Other duties to take care of.”

“Not sure that having a bit of “fun” with Malavera in a portable toilet exactly counts as “other duties,” Kivenaal,” Takaraya said in response.

Neither Karl nor Landon said anything, they stood there and pretended to mind their own business. “I think we could set up some sort of gun range. Especially with that hill as a back stop.” Landon pointed out, “If we have any tables to put targets on, perhaps.”

“Landon, they’ve brought a giant transport truck. It’s going to have room for all sorts of supplies, I’m gonna assume they brought some form of table at least.”

The general simply looked at him, unamused, but understanding. "I guess it won’t hurt to practice a little bit and maybe show of some of the firepower that we’ve brought. “Especially considering our…” He trailed making sure he could trust absolutely everyone, satisfied, he finished his sentence. “Mission.”

“You mean the range I busted my ass earlier to set up?” Kivenaal asked, motioning toward the range he’d built earlier, complete with targets at reasonable distances. “Granted, Takaraya helped - it’s very helpful to have someone who has nearly no limit to the number of sandbags he can lug around - but we set the range up because we expected people might want to shoot.”

Karl glanced at the range, putting up a hand to shield the sunlight. “Well, I guess that means we’ve got something to pass the time. Also, Landon, please go change out of that uniform, I’m overheating just looking at you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that it’s insulated? I’ll change out of it later, once more people arrive.”

“Okay, alright. Let’s go see the range then.”

Kasiya laughed. “Karl, if you think what Landon is wearing would be hot, take another look at Kivenaal,” Kasiya said. Kivenaal, giving a light smirk, showed his leather duster, leather vest, button-up shirt, jeans, and leather chaps to Karl, before making an explanation of his own.

“My fur is rated for -40 degrees Celsius. A couple months ago, it would have been rated for far, far colder. You’ll survive,” Kivenaal said, chuckling.

Karl simply shrugged, knowing he was a being that could exist in warm temperatures being a cat mainly found in desert climates.

As the small group headed for the range, eventually making it to the firing line, Kaylie added, “If it’s really that bad here for you, I’ll let Jayde know. Just bring a spare shirt so he can put a cooling enchantment on it.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I should be alright.” Karl replied politely.

Kivenaal smiled, then said, “Pick a lane. Plenty of targets available, after all.”

Takaraya chose the far lane, thumbing the safety off on his pistol and taking aim at a mid-range target, firing one shot and landing just off to the right of the bullseye with a one-handed shot.

Kaylie gripped her handgun with her right hand, carefully wrapping her chrome left hand around her natural right hand to support the weapon, then cracked off her first round and managed to hit the top of the close-range target.

Kasiya, likewise, aimed at the close target, using both hands to steady his revolver, then put a hole a few inches low of the bullseye.

Kivenaal, however, drew all four revolvers, picked the mid-range pistol target, and promptly put four holes within an inch of the bullseye.

The Automag was a familiar weight, and instinctively, Karl racked the slide and gripped the weapon with both hands. He took aim at a mid-range target as well and fired three times, one went left, the other one right and one just right next to the bullseye.

Landon meanwhile, selected one of the further targets holding the gun with one hand fired off all six rounds from his revolver. Two bullets hit directly in the center of bullseye, side by side, one went low, hitting just below the bullseye, the other three hit just above the two holes in the center.

It soon became clear as Kaylie, Kivenaal, Kasiya, and Takaraya unloaded on their targets that some of them were much better shots than the others. Takaraya was resistant to the heavy recoil of his rifle-chambered pistol, proceeding to keep all of his shots within a very tight group, similar to Landon. Kivenaal pelted his target with all four revolvers, leaving a cluster of 20 holes all grouped in the space of a human’s fist. Kaylie’s target looked more like someone had fired a shotgun at it, with a bunch of 9mm holes scattered around the top of the target, with none of them really making it to the bullseye. Kasiya, despite his usual claims of being a bad shot, managed to put seven rounds into a space the size of a CD on his target, centered around the bullseye.

Reloading their weapons also showed their familiarity, as Takaraya casually ejected the magazine, put it into a pouch on his belt, retrieved a full one, and loaded it into the weapon with well-practiced ease, dropping the slide-release and chambering a round. Kaylie, on the other hand, was a lot slower on her reload, taking her time to make sure she lined things up properly before shoving the loaded magazine into her P99. Kivenaal holstered two revolvers, swung the cylinders out on the pair remaining in his hands and knocked the spent shells free, loaded them with a pair of speed loaders, and closed the cylinders back up, holstered that pair, drew the empty set, and repeated the process, before drawing the other revolvers again. Kasiya, however, swung the cylinder out, emptied the shells out, and then put 7 new ones in, one at a time, from a pouch of ammunition on his belt.

Karl meanwhile, had left to go get something, and Landon seemed to know what it was, as he returned with a large very high quality rifle case and a metal box of ammunition that had Holland & Holland scrawled on it with permanent marker.

He set it down on a plastic folding table and popped the latches, and opened the lid. From inside he lifted what was very much a Czech CZ-550 safari hunting rifle crafted from materials that looked ridiculously expensive. It also had a high end professional grade sniper scope that had up to 12x zoom and a shoulder strap hanging from the sling anchor points.

To load the weapon Karl pulled the bolt back and inserted three rounds of .375 H&H Magnum, then once the weapon was loaded, he slapped the bolt closed and then shouldered the rifle and took aim, adopting a steady stance with his feet shoulder width apart, and his right foot slightly behind and to the right. Flattening his ears, he pulled the trigger.

There came a loud bang accompanied by a huge muzzle flash, the rifle bucking violently as it sent a .375 bullet down range punching right through the bullseye and thrown up sand and dust into the air.

“Okay, if we’re playing with rifles now,” Kivenaal said, holstering his revolvers and pulling his lever action rifle from across his back, “I can do that.” While he was busy loading his suppressed lever action rifle with .45-70 Government rounds, Takaraya walked over to the Carry All, opened the back, and got his rifle out of it, returning a few moments later with what vaguely resembled an M16, but scaled up to Takaraya’s size, and holding one hell of a chunky magazine in it. He racked the charging handle, pulled the stock into his shoulder, and then set the weapon to semi-automatic, blasting one of the distant targets with a .50 BMG round. Kaylie casually caught the flying shell casing with her left hand and set it down on the table, avoiding it hitting either Kasiya, Karl, or Landon.

Kivenaal’s response, however, was to chamber one round, flip up his precision rear iron sight, dial it in for the range of that distant target, and put one right through the bullseye. “Just be glad Malavera’s not over here, we actually stand a chance of looking decent. If *he’s * shooting with his rifle, we all look like a bunch of rookies,” Kivenaal said.

Landon had left for a moment but returned clutching what was a G36 but with a heavier barrel, and a dual helical drum magazine that was loaded. Karl was eyeing worriedly.

“What? We’ve got enough 5.56 to last us months.” Landon remarked, racking the charging handle. What came afterward was a full auto 750 round per minute burst of 5.56 ammunition lighting up one of the closer range targets. “Forgot I left it in full auto.”

Then he flicked the firing selector into semi auto and fired off a few more rounds.

Takaraya rolled his eyes at the burst of full-auto from the G36. “I can do that as well, but it’s not needed while fighting paper targets,” Takaraya replied, punching a few more half-inch holes in one of the targets.

Kivenaal, meanwhile was trying to sight in on the furthest target available, cracking off a shot and landing it in the bottom left corner of the target board.

“Low and to the left,” Malavera said, joining the line with his PGM Hecate II in his hands. He pulled the bolt back, put a fresh magazine in the weapon, and carefully slid the bolt home, then shouldered the rifle and looked down the scope. “Calling my shot: Top half of the eight, furthest target,” Malavera said, before carefully squeezing the trigger. Sure enough, he put a round into the top half of the 8, rather than hitting the large bullseye a couple inches below it. He took a brief moment to reload, catching his spent brass as it left the chamber and putting it on the table, took aim at the target, then said, “Center of the bullseye.” Another shot, and another hole where Malavera claimed it’d end up being.

Kivenaal looked to Landon, then said, “This is why I said Malavera would make all of us look like rookies.”

The general gave a nod, before leaving to return the rifle where he’d brought it from.

“You want to give the rifle a try?” Karl asked him as he returned. “Yeah sure.”

Landon took aim, and fired, hitting one of the further targets dead center. Before firing again, hitting a little to the left of the previous bullet.

Malavera finished off a group of five shots, each time calling his intended target, before he unloaded the weapon and returned it to its case in the truck. Takaraya unloaded his rifle, taking the time to make sure it was returned to a safe condition with an empty magazine stored in the rifle. Kivenaal finished up his target practice with his lever-action rifle, putting it away after he’d emptied the weapon. Kasiya and Kaylie made sure their handguns were loaded, yet safe, returning them to their holsters. Takaraya took a bit longer as he reloaded the empty pistol magazine at the range and put it back in his pouch, then holstered the rather large handgun.

“Was good to have a bit of range time,” Kaylie said, smiling. She led the crew back to the HD-GVs after making sure the spent brass was collected up and put in the metal bucket, keeping their range clean.

After the others had left, Karl and Landon packed up their weapons, and returned to where their team’s vehicles were parked. It was around this time, Karl looked over at where the trailers were.

“I guess you still want to meet new people, eh Karl?” Landon asked, walking up from behind the car.

“We did introduce ourselves to one of the host teams, so why don’t we go and meet the other, host team?”

“Maybe later. Speaking of which, Where’s Ramius?”

“He’s around the back of the Ivera with the others, he’ll join us if he wants to when we go and introduce ourselves to the other hosting team. Jayde or whoever, seems to be a mage.”

In the back of Karl’s mind Ramius began speaking. “He is a mage, you moron. Plus, I’m able to communicate with him and the one of the Valraadi in the same way I do with you.”

“Is he telling you off again?”

Karl gave a nod.

“Thought so.”

With a final glance towards the trailers and the steam generator, Karl and Landon soon rejoined their other team mates, and began to run through the mission plan again which they did as other teams arrived after them.

---

Till next time.

[EnCR]

Prologue part 1.1

Carol’s Private Autoshop, West Coast, USA
Sunday evening

Rarchet sound

Ding

The sound of mail notification

“Oh? another client?”
Carol walks over to her laptop

click

“… ……… …!!!”

Carol looks over to many vehicles scattered around the autoshop

“No, no, definitely not that one… that one is too nice… hm… … …”

Her eyes now hovering over a disassembled JMX Linx Turbo Injection that’s sitting on a lift

“Ah! this will do. But will I be able to finish restoring this in time tho… Oh well, If not then I
should prioritize restoring the internal stuff.”

Carol goes back to working on client car

A week later

“Okay, let’s check the dates where my replacement parts would be arriving”

Carol opens the ATZONE website

“!!! Ah you can’t be for real right now… I guess the left headlight and running light won’t be replaced then. But at least I can still fix the bulb inside the housing.”

Ding “Ah! gotta get back to work.”

The next day

Beep Beep Beep… Beep Beep Beep… Beep Be-
The alarm clock shuts off

“Yawnnnnn~ … …!”
Carol gets up from her bed and walks to the bathroom

Foooooooo

“Ah! … oh, that was silly giggles”

Carol turns off the valve

“… Ah right! in the mail they said that the place we will be going to is quite dangerous. I should get ready…”

Carol dress up and drove to a gun store

Door opens

She looks around the store for a few seconds… she can’t seem to decide

“Um, excuse me. I want to buy a gun. I need something that is powerful but is not too expensive.”

The gun store owner turns his head around looking for something and eventually picks up a combat shotgun

“Well lady, this one will do.”

Carol immediately accepts the recommendation and purchased the shotgun

“Thanks for purchasing.”

Carol makes her way back to her autoshop

“I got this for quite cheap, but It should do the job.”

Carol walks over to the back of the autoshop to test fire the shotgun

She loads in the 12 gauge shells before pumping
POW pump POW pump POW

“Hehehehe this is fun, but I should stop before someone calls the cops.”

This concluded today’s activity

Few days later

POW pump
“Wow~, this “Dragon’s breath” shot is quite amazing. giggles”

She unload more shells till she runs out

“(Okay, that’s it for the shooting. Gonna head back now…)”

Carol went back inside the autoshop to check on that infamous mail message again
“Hmmm … … … Ah! I know who to bring with me.”

As she figured out. She gets into her JMX and drives off to go meet someone

To be continued on part (1.2)

[Elizipeazie]

Team VSmgAB & Team Shift Happens

Prologue 3.1
Prologue 3.2
Campsite Power Speech
Friendship! :D’s sentient cars.
Pre-Race Camp

---

Stage 0 Drive

---

At precisely 10:00AM, everything was ready for the rift, with all four steam-powered cars fueled, steamed, coupled up to their respective trailers and even lined up in the order that they would be driving in.

“Radio check?”, Valentin spoke into the CB handle, which came out on the three other cars as little more than static given the innately limited quality of CB communications and Valentin’s still-ruined voice.
“Nothing Heard,” the last car in the lineup, who’s radioman was assigned to be Constantin himself, called out through it’s radio.

Valentin handed the microphone over to Norse, who in turn repeated the process.
“Now we’re Loud and Clear.” Constantin replied, followed by the other two cars confirming signal acuity.

“Please tell them that we are starting the event now. They are to just follow the car in front,” Valentin said to Norse, who in turn relayed the information to the remaining team, them in turn conforming the message.

Soon after, they headed inside, provoking a wide range of feelings, depending on who you ask.
The Schrant brothers have both seen this unfold last year already, which made the rift a fairly familiar experience to them.
Norse could not help but wonder what exactly is happening at the moment.
“So this is what you meant by ‘a location never seen before’?”, he inquired, followed by Valentin simply nodding in response.
Norse “Do you know what the other end is like?”
Val “Ehhhh…”
Norse “Kind of?”
Val Nodding
Norse “What’s it like, then?”
Val “You have the E-Mail.”

Norse then pulled out his phone and, no surprises there, realized that the rift has no internet. He did, however, think far enough to involve the remaining team into this little yes-or-no game by grabbing the handle.
The game went back and forth for a good 45 minutes, even though the information Valentin had about the other end was known less than 20 minutes into the guessing process.

Once that was done, the four steamen went mostly silent until the convoy had to be halted.

“Looks like we might be here a while. Hillbilly Rollers has a dead clutch, they’re trying to fix it right now.”, Kalie announced over the radio for everyone to hear, followed up by: “Ignition to ‘off’.” from Norse for just the three other steamers to hear.

A short while later, the group of eight was gathered up near one of the cars, wondering as to how one could fill the time with.

They eventually settled on what amounted to strength training led by Constantin, with the two civilian members joining as well.
Initially, few problems arose as the group did what Constantin instructed them to do, but soo after, people started ‘tapping out’ to exhaustion, with Rohan quitting first, followed by Norse, then WiIlliam.
The remainder kept going, eventually narrowing it down to Just Jacques, Valentin and Constantin.

Eventually, Constantin more or less ran out of stuff to do and ended the session for the two remaining ‘contestants’, leaving the already finished recruits (especially Mary) in amazement how a walking twig the size of Burj Khalifa could keep up with who they considered to be the strongest member by quite the margin.

A polite nod from Valentin and a good swig of water for all ended in them practically twiddling thumbs until the convoy was to move again.

The remaining drive was uneventful, save for a little conversation within “Ramona”, which was less of a conversation but more of a semi-coherent rambling from Mary about how Valentin was the person to be with in her opinion.

At some point, the rift cleared up and revealed what was somewhat known from the earlier guessing came: A cold and snowy landscape in which they would make camp.

to be continued

[Knugcab]

TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS

PART 1.1 - What’s that smell?

Written in co-operation with @Madrias

Earlier parts

Pre-prologue part 1
Pre-prologue part 2
Prologue part 0.1
Prologue part 0.15 - Interlude
Prologue part 0.2
Prologue part 0.3
Prologue part 0.4
Part 1.0 - The arrival

The light green IP Rugger was driving into the rift, followed by the desert tan Sanju Wolverine with its jerky ride and crunching gearbox. And yes, one of the vehicles already had clutch troubles - and that wasn’t the Wolverine. Instead, Andreas had noticed a slipping clutch in the Rugger, already before arriving at the drivers meeting.

“We’ll simply have to take our chances here”, Andreas said. “We can’t be late to the rift”.

Unfortunately, the vehicle didn’t hold up much longer than into the rift. Finally, the clutch slippage was bad enough for the vehicle to barely drive forward despite crazy revs (well, for a 4Z at least). It was decided that to not damage the flywheel too, a clutch change in the Rift was the only alternative.

“Crap”, Andreas said, trying to coast the Rugger into a more gentle stop, while he barely touched the brake pedal with the other foot, flashing the brake lights to avoid getting multiple tonnes of Sanju buried into the tailgate. He flipped the switch for the hazard lights to notify the other teams that there was something going on. Marie somehow managed to stop the Sanju without any contact between the two vehicles, so somewhat calm Andreas grabbed the CB. “Breaker, breaker 1-9, this is Team Hillbilly Rollers, unfortunately we have to perform a clutch change here in the rift, even if we tried to avoid it for as long as we could, and needless to say, we will be thankful for any help we can get!” Arne jumped out of the Sanju. “Offroading them with an old worn out stock clutch will kill them sooner or later. A well known problem to say the least.”

“Yeah, I know, I know”, Janne said. “Probably what someone had done to the white Rugger before it was T-boned. Why didn’t we take the engine and gearbox apart to check the condition before we put it into the truck? This is NOT going to be fun… Damn. I had hoped that we could at least wait until camp.”

“Reading you clear, Rollers,” Rukari said, before passing the CB handle over to Kaylie. Kaylie, making sure the CB was on the “announcements” frequency, called out, “Looks like we might be here a while. Hillbilly Rollers has a dead clutch, they’re trying to fix it right now.” Kasiya and Takaraya both switched off their HD-GV’s engines, climbing out of the cab to go help out. Takaraya, thinking about it as he walked, grabbed the walkie-talkie on his belt and called in, “Takaraya to Kaylie and Malavera, please remain on stand-by. Team Hillbilly Rollers needs to replace a clutch, and may require further assistance.” As the two large wolves approached, it was Kasiya who asked Janne, Andreas, Marie, and Arne, “Heard you had some clutch trouble. Any way we can help?”

Janne was unbolting the chestnut brown hood from the hinges. “All help will probably be appreciated”, he said. “You know…this is how I put food on the table. By being a mechanic at the IP dealership. So, needless to say, I know very well what has to be done. So, that’s the good news. But…”, he said. while having the facial expression of a block of granite. “…the bad news…”

Kasiya nodded, then asked, “What is the bad news?”

“…you know, I could give you the long version, but I guess the other teams won’t like being stopped longer than they need to. So, let’s just say that the 4WD frame is rather stupid in its design, since some welded on brackets and reinforcements makes it impossible to just take down the gearbox”, he said with a sigh. Now, sometimes it could seem like Janne was the one that liked bragging about his knowledge. The truth was more like the opposite. For Janne, everything he knew about was just so natural, and since he had his own version of what “social skills” meant, he didn’t really catch the idea that blabbering for hours wasn’t always “helpful”. But this time, he managed to keep it somewhat short at least. “So, this is my plans. To start with, we disconnect everything that could be done from the engine bay, except for the coolant hoses. Then we try to lift the truck enough to unbolt things like the propshaft, and it will also make it easier to drain the coolant. Then…we simply have to take the engine and gearbox out, and rake them apart here in the Rift. I have spare parts, I have tools, so nothing in that way will be a problem, but…I would have liked to be able to do it in some other way”. He was grumbling a bit. “Early non-asbestos era…they were probably made of pressed cotton or something…”

“Lifting the truck won’t be a problem,” Takaraya said. “About how heavy is the engine and gearbox, if I may ask?” Kasiya inquired.

“Oh, around 200 kg I would guess”, Janne said. “Just a regular 4 banger, with an alloy head, so not overly heav…”

He was interrupted by Marie sticking her head out of the window of the Sanju. “Are you done with fixing it soon?”

“NO! We haven’t even started yet!”, Janne said, more than just a bit annoyed.

“Why does it smell like shit?”, she said.

“Because that’s what is coming out of your mouth and your nose is just above it!”, Janne answered with more than a grain of salt. He shook his head. “Oh well… Where were we?”

Kasiya raised an eyebrow at the response to Marie, though just shook his head and tried not to laugh. “If it’s 200 kilograms, I can lift that as long as… One moment,” Kasiya said. He grabbed his walkie-talkie, then called in, “Malavera, could you please bring us the tow chains?”

“Are we dragging them?” Malavera replied.

“No, we’ll need them to perform a bit of maintenance here,” Kasiya responded.

“Okay, fair enough, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Malavera replied. Takaraya smirked as Kasiya put the radio back on his belt, then said to Janne, “He’s stronger than he looks.”

“The whole rift is full of people”, Janne said. “Lifting stuff won’t be a problem, even if we need more people. At least as long as Marie will stay where she is so she has no chance to make it into a problem”.

“I am NOT going to help with lifting”, Arne laughed and waved with one of his crutches.

“Nah, you’re probably not going to be very helpful today”, Janne said. There was no time to spare now, though. Janne lifted out the battery from the Rugger and started disconnecting all the wiring and the fuel lines from the engine to hurry things up a bit, while Andreas was sitting inside the cab, unbolting the shifter from the gearbox.

Malavera arrived with the chains in hand and passed them to Takaraya, then got a whiff of the fuel as the fuel lines were disconnected. “Glad I’m not the one crawling under the car. Last time I had to do that, I got gas in my armpit and my fur smelled like a gas station for a week,” Malavera said.

“We’re pulling the engine so Janne can change a clutch,” Kasiya said.

“So, the chains are for, what, then?” Malavera asked.

“Hook these clips to these brackets, and I can just pull this up out of the engine bay,” Kasiya said, motioning to the engine.

“Luckily this engine was recently swapped into this truck”, Janne said. “So, the exhaust manifold studs won’t cause their usual misery this time”, he said while loosening them. Andreas took a couple of spare wheels from the bed. “If we lift the front end up on them, I will be able to get under and remove the propshaft, being the smallest of us all, and we will probably be able to put a bucket under it to drain the coolant into, too.” “MARIE!”, Janne yelled.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Can we throw away your goddamned cactus and drain the coolant into the pot?”

“Hey! You’re not going to touch Mr Spikey, do it and you will regret it, keep that in mind!”

After shaking his head again, Janne grabbed the front bumper. “If we all lift it now, we should be able to put the spares under the front wheels I guess.”

“You won’t really need to help,” Malavera pointed out to Janne, watching as Kasiya and Takaraya placed their hands near the contact patch of the front tires. “On three,” Takaraya said. “One, two, THREE!” Both Kasiya and Takaraya lifted from their knees, hauling the front of the Rugger into the air. Malavera helped in his own way, aiding the others in moving wheels and other items around until they had something stable enough to set the front of the Rugger down. “If we weren’t trying to remove the engine,” Takaraya admitted, “we could have lifted it from the frame rails and acted as a proper lift.”

All of a sudden Janne got something dark in his eyes and hardly said a word. It was obvious, though, that he WANTED to say something. But it really wasn’t coming out of him. “Eh… Excuse him”, Andreas said, being rather nervous. “He is not being an asshole, he is not even mad at you or something, but… you struck the totally wrong nerve now, and…I don’t know if that was very obvious to you.”

Kasiya gave a light nod. “For that, then, we apologize. Kaylie always tries to remind us to watch our strength, especially around people who are not used to us.”

Arne saw what was happening, and tried to take Malavera with him, a bit further from the truck. “You know…there is something you probably should know…to understand what is happening now. Before you make anything worse. Mind if we have a talk?”. Suddenly, Arne did not seem very calm either, despite being totally chill just minutes ago.

Malavera nodded, then followed Arne to have their chat a bit further away from the truck.

Arne took a deep breath. “Yeah…To start with he doesn’t want to touch this subject. And to make it even worse, believe it or not, but deep inside I guess he is more polite than you may think, or something, because he probably want to respect their strength, I don’t really know… But…”

“I am sure that the two of them acting like a lift would be totally safe, but there’s no way in hell he would trust a car not standing on something solid”. It was obvious that even Arne was a bit hesitant telling stuff now. “25 years ago now, he was helping a friend of him, and that friend didn’t care all that much about the warnings we all have heard. Janne thought that his jack looked like a rather rickety affair, but you know how it is, you think that it is none of your business, and…”, there was a moment of silence now. “Yeah. It was a rickety affair indeed, so it all ended with Janne having to do his best with getting him out from under that Firebird. He was almost flattened and will never be himself again, and Janne… Well… He will never stop thinking that everything was his fault for not stopping him from crawling under that car without no proper jackstands. And, well…” Arne didn’t really know how to say this. “…he might seem like some easy going person, but the more you know him, the more complex you realize he is. For the better and the worse.”

“Well, as I said, we trust that you acting as a lift is safe, but he would probably bring up the argument that a proper car lift can’t get stung by a wasp, or something. And…don’t bring it up now. Or at all. Just inform the guys about this later on. When you are done with helping and has left this.”

Malavera nodded. “I can understand that. We may be made of some sturdy stuff, but… Yeah, if you’ve experienced something like that, it’s going to mess with you. I mean, we have a team-member who will absolutely freak out if someone turns on a UV-lamp and a fog machine, so… We can understand that. The two of them are more likely to think that, well… They’re thinking they’ve scared him because of how easily they lifted the car, but… You know what, let me make a radio call real quick.” Malavera grabbed his walkie-talkie, then called to the crew, “Hey, Kivenaal, mind grabbing the two large toolboxes from the back of the Carry All? They’re about 2 feet tall, foot-and-a-half wide, about 3 feet long.” Kivenaal replied. Within a minute, Kivenaal had a pair of nearly-identical heavy toolboxes there. Malavera turned to face the remaining crew and said, “Get the truck up off of those tires please, and set it on the toolboxes instead. I know they’re sturdy enough to take the weight, Kasiya used them as a step-stool once. Kivenaal, move the tires to act as a set of wheel chocks.”

“Right, do this the safe way,” Kivenaal said, moving the tires out of the way, shoving a toolbox under the front wheel, and then placing a spare wheel either side of the rear tire. He repeated the process on the other side, and Kasiya and Takaraya slowly set the Rugger down on the toolboxes gently.

Janne still wasn’t saying much, but somehow, he understood that what Arne had been talking to Malavera about was closely related to what happened with the toolboxes. He finally started to speak when he told Andreas to go get a bucket from the back of the Sanju, to drain the coolant into.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” A loud scream was heard from the Sanju. “WHY IS THIS GODDAMNED CACTUS STANDING IN THE FUCKING DOORWAY AGAIN, I TOLD YOU TO MOVE I…YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHHHH!” It appeared like if trying to move a cactus with your bare hands wasn’t a good idea. Andreas got back, however, with a bucket in his hand and the Garfield doll in the other hand. Being used to wipe his bleeding hands, however, it more looked like some Garfield parody from a horror movie at this moment. “Don’t say a word…just…don’t…”, he said, staring at Janne that all of a sudden was laughing again, with the empty stare being like if it was washed away.

Malavera couldn’t help but laugh as Andreas had an encounter with the cactus in the truck, followed by momentarily forgetting that pushing a cactus away with one’s bare hands was not a good idea. “Looks like Marie found a replacement for Sonic,” Malavera pointed out, smirking with one head while the other got a half-decent look at the Sanju. Both Takaraya and Kasiya shared a look of confusion, while Kivenaal gave a grimace. “Well, I know one vehicle to keep way the hell away from,” Kivenaal said. “You don’t need the back of that Wolverine rusting to shit because I bled on it. Would be a waste of some rather nice military hardware.”

Andreas got under the Rugger to remove the propshaft as well as the gearbox mount, while Janne drained the cooling system into the bucket. “Well…I prefer if it’s not wasted”, Arne laughed. “Been looking for one for years. I have actually never owned one before, this is my first one.”

“I’ve got a list of vehicles I’ve wanted to get,” Kivenaal said. “A Sanju Wolverine is on it, alongside a few other vehicles that are a little difficult to get my hands on,” he added. “I know full well I’m never getting an M1 Abrams, but I want one. I have a couple of Bricksley Quagmires, one in olive drab, two in desert tan. I’ve got a HEMTT on order.”

“Kivenaal’s a collector of military vehicles,” Malavera admitted. “Granted, we’ve learned they sometimes come with some limitations.”

“Yeah, it’s not fuckin’ easy to get laid in the cab of a deuce-and-a-half, for example,” Kivenaal quipped.

“I know, we tried once.” Malavera grimaced, then said,

“Yeah, that didn’t end well. M135 looks bigger on the outside than it is inside.”

“I recommend something more basic there”, Arne said with a raw laughter. “Do you know how much of a hit a Willys MB was with the ladies in the 70s?”, he laughed. “Unfortunately I might have sinned with gaudy custom paint and shiny chrome wheels on a couple of them back then, for, you know…reasons. Oh well, don’t worry, I keep them stock nowadays, I am too old for that business now”, he said, once again laughing. “And you know, they are so open air so you could as well skip the car and use a blanket on the ground instead”. It appears like someone was feeling a bit nostalgic now. “Seems like you are like me then”, he said to Kivenaal. “If it is desert tan or olive drab, and has tracks or knobby tyres, it is worth owning”. He took a piece of paper and a pencil from his pocket, to write down an URL for a website. “You can always check my homepage out”, he said, and gave the piece of paper to Kivenaal. “I’ve got tons of vehicles, parts…you name it. Contacts all over the world. I have been into this since the early 70s. Of course, you probably have your contacts too by now”, he said to Kivenaal, “but two heads can always be better than one”. He then looked to Malavera. “Or what do you say about that?”, he laughed.

Kivenaal smiled, folding the piece of paper and putting it into his wallet for safe-keeping. “I’ll check that out once I get home. Never hurts to add some contacts to the list when it comes to finding military hardware, after all. You ever want to get your hands on any US military equipment, just call me,” Kivenaal said, before pulling a business card out of his wallet and handing it over. “I’ve got a few contacts who can get just about anything, if you’re willing to wait for it.” Malavera grimaced lightly at the “two heads can always be better than one” saying, then said, “Most of the time, I’d agree with you. Waking up with a hangover, on the other hand, is double the trouble.” Kivenaal smirked. “Malavera, Takaraya, and Kasiya are all lightweights when it comes to alcohol. A couple beers and they’re unable to stay in their seat.”

Their talk was all interrupted by Janne, shouting that “We are ready to lift the engine out by now!”. After all, the other teams were probably tired of being hung up now.

“Right, that’s my cue to give Kasiya these chains,” Malavera said, before heading back over to Janne, Kasiya, Andreas, and Takaraya. Kasiya took the chains and carefully hooked them up to the engine, gripping the chain in both hands to take up the load evenly. “I can lift a fair bit more than this, but I’m going to want a place to set it down once it’s free,” Kasiya warned. “Another spare tire, please?” Malavera asked, glad to see that Kivenaal was on the ball with grabbing another rim and tire and setting it face-down on the ground. “Should cradle the oil pan just fine like that,” Malavera said, “though we’ll have Takaraya minding the chains. And, before you worry about him dropping it, well… Takaraya, mind pulling up a sleeve and one of the legs of your pants?” Takaraya sighed, then did as he’d been asked, revealing the titanium of his arms and his legs. “I’ve had extensive augmentations done after getting shot down. Spine, hips, and shoulder-blades are reinforced. Arms from the shoulders down are replaced. Legs from mid-thigh down as well,” Takaraya explained.

The looks of Takarayas arms and legs appearantly didn’t really comfort Andreas that, despite everything happening last year, was really not comfortable with weird shit. But he didn’t say anything. With the engine down on the spare wheel, Janne unbolted the gearbox from the engine, and took a crowbar to separate the two of them. “Oh, crap. Yeah, this is bad. It looks like a magpie’s nest in here”, Janne said. “Oh, don’t worry, by 1983 there is no asbestos used anymore, but still…”. He went to the back of the Rugger and grabbed a yellowed box with a clutch kit. “Happened to find a NOS one at work”, he said. While Janne was unbolting the pressure plate from the flywheel, Arne started discussing with Kivenaal again. “So…what do you think about our learner driver, then?”, he said, pointing at Marie where she sat, looking about as bored as she could be. “Do you have faith in her being a skilled driver when this rally is over?”

“I mean, you humans have learned how to twin-stick with only one hand to spare, so, there’s potential,” Kivenaal admitted. "Then again, we are talking about Marie, who is the only human I know who was bold enough to head-butt my brother over a bottle of moonshine." Malavera studied the burned out clutch, then asked, “Did you teach Marie how to drive stick in this before you came to the rally? Because the last time I saw one that bad, it belonged to Kayden, who absolutely destroyed one in a 1998 Sinistra Savage.” Kasiya looked at it, then asked, “Out of curiosity, what is it made out of?”

Janne shook his head. “We took this engine out of a T-boned truck just days before the rally”, he said. “No idea at all what has been done with it, but they are known to be a bit weak for heavier offroading”, he said. Then he scratched his head at Kasiya’s question. What WAS asbestos free clutch material really? “Well, I need to figure that out, I guess”. While Janne was searching for the centering tool in his tool box, Arne gave Kivenaal a promise. “Have you driven a Wolverine before? If not, you will have done it before we go home, take my word for that.”

“Never been behind the wheel of one, no,” Kivenaal admitted. “That said, I can drive manual, and I know how to drive twin-stick or non-synchronized gearboxes, so, it shouldn’t be that hard. Might be a tight fit in the cab, but I’ll manage.” Malavera chuckled. “Well, if someone learned to drive stick or learned the basics of off-roading with it, yeah, that explains the fried-bird’s-nest of a clutch.” Kasiya shrugged, then said, “Figured I had to ask. We’ll both find out eventually.”

Not much happened, more than maybe the usual small talk, while Janne was mounting the new clutch to the flywheel, and, with the help of Andreas, putting the engine and gearbox back together again. “OK”, Janne said. “I guess we are ready to lift the engine back in now!”

Takaraya nodded, handing the chains back to Kasiya. “I may be stronger than he is, but… He’s taller,” Takaraya admitted. As Kasiya hauled the engine up, Takaraya helped Janne guide the transmission and engine back into place.

Without too much drama, the process was more or less reversed. Everything was bolted back in place, and it was now time to lift the truck down from it supports and see if everything worked like it should.

“Right, we lift on three,” Takaraya said. “Kivenaal, Malavera, you get those toolboxes out of the way.”

“One, two, three!” Takaraya counted, moments before, yet again, the Rugger was hauled into the air, the toolboxes slid out of the way, and then quickly settled back onto the ground. “No one’s got gas in their armpit this time?” Malavera asked.

“No gas in the armpits”, Arne said, going back to the cab of the Sanju, grabbing a plastic bag with some beer cans. “But here is some fuel for the crew”, he said, handing them out to the Shift Happens members being at site.

“Hey, those are MINE!”, Marie was screaming from the drivers seat.

“No, they WERE!”, Janne answered. “You will have absolutely no use for them, because you will be driving all the goddamned time!”

“Thanks, I already knew that”, Marie said, more than just a little grumpy. “Imagine if I didn’t have to, then I could have been wasted for hours now instead of the misery of watching you repair the truck, and having to be all sober while watching it.”

“Remember that moonshine you BORROWED from them last year, Marie? Well, time to give something back now!”, Andreas told her.

Kivenaal chuckled. “Well, these will be more than enough to guarantee three members of the crew are going to be a bit… tipsy in camp,” Kivenaal said. “I can handle it quite well, but these three,” Kivenaal said, smirking as he pointed to Kasiya, Malavera, and Takaraya, “they’re likely having this one can and being totaled. We’ll store these in the Carry All, enjoy them once we’re settled in.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had beer before,” Kasiya admitted.

“It goes straight to your head and makes you loopy,” Malavera said. “Fun once in a while, but definitely not something you’ll want to do often.”

“I can handle a couple of these, but even then, I’ll be keeping it light. And I wouldn’t advise trying to get into the Carry All to retrieve them. One of our AI is guarding it, and she’s in control of Kasiya’s powered environmental-protection suit,” Takaraya said.

“No, no, you want to do it all the time”, Andreas said. “Just ask Marie.”

“HEY! I heard that!”, Marie said.

“So do you disagree with me?”, Andreas said.

“Uhm…”

Malavera chuckled. “I’ve had plenty of experience with alcohol, including overdoing it a time or two. Headaches are not fun. It’s way less fun if I’ve really over-done it and end up throwing up.”

“He turns into a vomit volcano,” Kivenaal said with a smirk.

With the Rugger down on the ground, Andreas did some test driving, as good as it was possible in the rift. Everything seemed to work exactly as intended. “Yup”, Janne said. “So, if you do me a last favour then…hold the hood and I’ll bolt it back on the hinges.”

Kasiya nodded, grabbing one corner of the hood, while Takaraya delicately grabbed the other one. Together, they worked to balance the hood on the hinges for Janne, only letting go once he seemed satisfied with how it was lining up.

Slamming the chestnut brown lid shut with a bang, Janne wiped his hands on the now very multicoloured Garfield. “Phew…finally this convoy can get rolling again…thanks a lot!”

“Hey, it’s good to be able to help. Though, to be fair,” Kivenaal said, counting out $100 and passing it to Malavera, who smirked in response, “I thought Marie would have killed the clutch first.” After they said their goodbyes-for-now, the four returned to their trucks, where Kaylie gave a warning over the radio, “Okay people, we’re setting out in 10 minutes. Get your stuff put away, get back in your cars, and get those engines warmed up.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

[EnCR]

Prologue part 1.2

Credit to @S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T for helping with the writing of this part

A certain trailer park, West Coast, USA
Friday night

“Tonight… is Friday night.” Miya thought as her electric kettle shut off, indicating that the water had boiled, “There’s no better way to spend a night like this.”

Miya took the kettle with her little hands and poured its contents into an awaiting cup of ramen her parents from back in Japan had sent her. Once the water reached the cup’s fill line, Miya stopped and put the kettle aside. She took her phone out and set a timer for precisely three minutes.

And with that, Miya put the kettle away and watched the cup noodles cook on the rather small, camper van-sized table.

“Friday nights and weekends are so scary!” Miya thought as her phone’s timer counted down. Miya stood up once again and cracked open a can of lemon-flavoured chūhai from her fridge.

“I can imagine a night out on a day like this…” Miya thought, “I’m afraid to talk to other people. I won’t enjoy myself on a night out at all!”

Miya looked at her phone again. Five seconds left until her delectable cup of noodles are done.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Knock knock.

“gasp W-who’s there!” Miya exclaimed, looking at the door.

“Don’t worry~, it’s me, Carol!” the voice said, “I’m coming in!”

Carol gently opened the door. “Cup noodles again~?” she asked.

“Um, y-yeah…” Miya replied, relieved that a stranger wasn’t at the door, “Come in… Also, have you… eaten yet?

“‘I’ve already eaten.” Carol said, entering the caravan and closing the door behind her, “Don’t worry about it.”

“So…” Miya asked, grabbing another nearby stool for Carol to sit on, “What brings you here?”

“Well you see Miya…” Carol said with a smile growing on her innocuous face, “We’re gonna go rallying!”

“R-rallying!!!” Miya exclaimed, her face turning pale, “I-I can’t convince so many people to gather in one place! We don’t even have a cause to fight for! I can’t imagine the humiliation of leading a crowd into the Capitol Building… The Feds are gonna lock me up in Guantanamo Bay! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Miya’s voice started distorting, before shattering into pieces (not literally)

“Calm down, Miya!” Carol said as she desperately tried to gather Miya’s broken pieces, “I’m not talking about that kind of rally, I’m talking about the one with cars!”

“Cars?” Miya said as she magically reassembled herself, “Something like the Dakar rally?”

“A bit, but it’s more like a road trip if you ask me!” Carol replied, “It’s gonna be fun, you can go with your camper and see all kinds of new places! You’re not gonna be busy with anything right?”

“Uhh… N-no?” Miya replied, clearly considering Carol’s offer.

“So, what do you think?” Carol asked, “Regan’s coming too, y’know? He’s a nice guy, you should try to talk with him more~!”

“I-I guess so…”

“Then it’s set!” Carol said, “I’ll go get Regan, then we can go! That man really needs his own set of wheels… Anyway, get yourself ready. I’ll be back in a bit!”

“W-wait, Carol!” Miya called.

Carol looked back at Miya.

“N-nevermind.” Miya continued, “You go get… Regan and I’ll prepare myself.”

Carol looked at Miya for a second and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Alrighty~” Carol said, exiting the camper.

As Carol walked away from the camper, she took her phone from her pocket (bla bla bla)

“Hey, Regan!” Carol cheerfully said, “We’re going on a road trip! You’re not busy right?”

“Uhh… I should be free tomorrow.” Regan replied.

“That’s great!” Carol said, “Anyway, pack your bags. I’ll be at your place in a bit.”

“Wait…” Regan wondered, “Pack my bags? How long are we gonna go for?”

“How long doesn’t matter as long as we’re having fun, no?” Carol replied, “You’re at home right?”

“Well, yeah…” Regan said, “Wait, how did you know?”

“I had a feeling that you won’t be anywhere else~.” Carol replied, “So…”

A short silence ensued.

“I’ll be there in ten!” Carol said, “You better get ready~!”

“Y-yes!” Regan affirmed.

Carol hung up and continued walking towards her trusty JMX Linx Turbo Injection.

With both Miya and Regan in her team, Carol got into the Linx, started the engine and drove off to Regan’s.

To be continued on part (1.3)

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Maria, gratia plena, Maria, gratia plena, Ave, Ave, Dominus, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus, Et benedictus fructus ventris (tui), Ventris tui, Jesus. Ave Maria!

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Ora, ora pro nobis;
Ora, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Nunc et in hora mortis,
In hora mortis nostrae.
In hora, hora mortis nostrae,
In hora mortis nostrae.
Ave Maria!

Team Magdalena

---

Prologue, Part 1

October 2022

Scotland, United Kingdom

Through the desolate Scottish forests, a small vehicle traversed its way through the narrow trail at as high a speed as possible. The old, tattered white paint job with sponsor stickers pasted on was caked in a layer of dirt and mud. Every scrape, rattle, bang, and raindrop sounded its way through the vehicle’s thin and uninsulated cabin as it negotiated sharp corners with minute precision.

It would not be another 15 miles or so until the finish line and like the rain, fatigue was beginning to fall upon Isobel and George. It had been cloudy that day, but no one expected the rain to fall this hard upon the Scottish landscape.

Regardless of the weather, the physical and mental toll of driving a manky old car at high speed in questionable conditions made it difficult for Isobel to focus. Eventually, Isobel slipped and the dirty little liftback entered a spin. Regaining her senses, Isobel wrestled with the car and managed to get it back on track. But something was not right.

“Bloody hell! The tyre!”

Isobel scrambled to unbuckle her 4 point harness, only to be stopped by George.

“Calm down, you’ll get a fever if you go out and fix the tyre now.” George warned, “It’s just a practice run. It’s not worth it.”

“But if we stop now, we’d lose our momentum.”

“And if we get sick, we won’t be able to participate in the actual race.”

Isobel looked at George with visible frustration, as if to rebut his statement. Her emerald green gaze would have pierced straight through the average person, but George had grown used to it. Isobel pulled back and sighed.

“Damned rain!” Isobel exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel.

George felt his eyelids getting heavier as the adrenaline wore off and the exhaustion set in. Since their car was last in line for the day, George and Isobel figured that it would be safe to have their car stay where it is. And while waiting for the rain to let up, they might as well get some much-needed rest too. George slowly closed his eyes but as he did so, a loud bang forced him awake.

“What the hell?!?” Isobel exclaimed, pointing at the sky. A blinding flash of light had appeared. Around the flash there were wisps of white smoke and electric charges, as if it were telling the young rally drivers to end their lives immediately.

Isobel tried to reverse the car and get to safety, but it was no use. The blinding light quickly expanded and enveloped the car, prompting the two to close their eyes and brace for the worst.

“ISOBEL!!!” George cried.

“GEORGE!!!” Isobel cried.

Seconds passed, but for George and Isobel it felt like an eternity. The loud noises began to die down until it was eventually no more. Silence. Their eyes stayed shut as they prayed to the Lord above to forgive their sins, now and in death. After agonizing over his fate and how he was ultimately unable to do anything to change it, George opened his eyes and peered outside. The flash from earlier was gone, but the landscape looked… foreign. It was like the ones he had seen in movies and comic books: dry, desolate, and hot. George looked around some more and spotted a sign that truly made his heart sink. They weren’t in heaven, nor were they in hell or purgatory.

“Isobel…” George said mortifyingly, “We’re in Nevada.”

Isobel opened her eyes and looked around. Her pupils shrank as she realized that they were indeed in the state of Nevada.

“Dear God…” Isobel said in disbelief.

George unbuckled his racing harness, took his helmet off, and got out of the car, letting the recent events sink in. There was only desert as far as the eye can see, and a long, straight road with a double yellow line down the middle. The sun was shining but the weather was not as hot as George had expected, perhaps due to the time of year. There was also a lone RV in the distance with a man holding a strange pipe, but George knew not to approach him even in the worst situations as he had learned from the time he went to Glasgow.

“Well, George.” Isobel said, having gotten out of the car too, “There’s only one thing we can do.”

“You’re right…”

The two opened the tailgate and made short work of the flat tyre. With no finish line to reach or a home to return to in the westward territories of the Thirteen Colonies, Isobel simply drove, going wherever the road takes them.

Two hours later, the sun was setting and the car was running out of fuel. Isobel had tried to drive more slowly but ultimately, their car was still a race car.

A bright neon sign appeared in the distance. At long last, a service station. Given that they were now in the great United States of America and that they were starving, George and Isobel’s imagination ran wild. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, triple cheeseburgers… and/or chips (or fries, as the Yanks call them) Either way, they could not wait. The car approached the service station which was surprisingly crowded at the time. There were petrol pumps, a store, a restaurant, and even a motel. As expected, there were plenty of big American cars. Vintage Mayflowers, Denvers, Turbols, and Silver-Yorks abound. It was a dream come true for fans of all things America. But one car in particular caught George and Isobel’s eyes.

“That car doesn’t look American…” George said, pointing at a white SUV with “AMBULANS” and “PMI KABUPATEN FAKFAK” stickers on it. The SUV in question was a Hinode Rusa (as the badges indicate) with barn doors. Its license plate was black, with white letters and numbers underlined by another white line. The body was very muddy although the tyres were quite clean, suggesting that the car had driven some miles on relatively clean asphalt to reach the restaurant/bar.

“That’s probably Malay…” Isobel said, “Hey, maybe they’re just like us! Let’s ask around in the restaurant later.”

“Yeah, we should.” George replied as Isobel backed into a parking spot they had just found.

Once the car was parked, George and Isobel got off and queued in line to enter the establishment known as the “Jolly Spittoon”. There was a bouncer standing guard at the entrance, seemingly interrogating anyone who tried to enter. The bouncer was wearing a dirty white t-shirt with a heart graphic that says “MOM". Eventually, it was Isobel and George’s turn to be interrogated.

“Welcome to the Jolly Spittoon.” the bouncer said, “How tough are ya?”

“How tough am I?” Isobel asked as if slightly offended, “HOW TOUGH AM I??? I drank orange juice this morning…”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Right after brushing my teeth!”

“Uh, r-right this way, ma’am!” the bouncer said while trembling in fear, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Welcome to the Jolly Spittoon.” the bouncer said again, “How tough are ya?”

“How tough am I?” George asked, ““HOW TOUGH AM I?!?!?”

George grabbed the bouncer’s shirt and ripped the heart graphic out, before turning it upside down and slamming it back to the bouncer’s body.

“WOW.” George said, pointing at the now upside down heart graphic.

“Uhh… right this way, sir.” the bouncer said, still shocked at what had just happened, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Amongst the rowdy crowd made up predominantly of tough, muscular men (and sometimes women), two people immediately stood out to George and Isobel. One of them looked like a doctor. She was about George’s height and had short, white hair with a slightly purple tinge. Next to her was a short, red-haired woman with an eyepatch, chatting with the man next to her.

“There they are.” George said, “I’ll try to approach them.”

“Alright.” Isobel said, “I’ll go to the bathroom while you’re at it.”

Isobel walked to the bathroom, while George started approaching the two women and the man. As George got closer, however, something was clearly not right.

“Y-you…” the woman with the eyepatch said, “You stay where? Let’s uhh… ano… Having fun tonight!”

“Sorry, Mei.” the man said, visibly uncomfortable, “I need to be somewhere by tomorrow, and it’s a long road out there, haha…”

“You hating me???” Mei asked with a noticeably sulky tone, “You was so sweet and so nice to me but you leaving me? Another woman?”

“No, no!” the man replied nervously, “I had a good time with you and you’re a great person, but my daughter’s birthday is tomorrow so…”

“D-daughter?” Mei uttered, “W-wife? Another woman?”

Mei drew her knife at the man’s throat. The man trembled in fear, not knowing if he would make it out of the situation alive.

“I not forgive you for dis…” Mei warned, “Sleep me together tonight or you’re die.”

“Hey, blackbeard!” George interrupted.

“Oh…” Mei responded, “Hey hey hey, mister… White knight!”

“I’m not here to help that man.” George said, “I just want to have a talk with you… and the doctor.”

The doctor turned towards George.

“How can I help?” she asked with a strong, foreign accent.

“You’re the owner of that Hinode ambulance outside, aren’t you?” George asked.

“Yes, we are.” the doctor replied, “What of it?”

“Well, this might be a weird thing to ask but how did you get here? You and your car certainly don’t look very American…”

“Is there a problem with that?” the doctor asked, slightly suspicious of George.

“There’s no problem with that.” George assured, “The thing is, my friend and I were-”

“URUSEEEEEEEEE!!!” Mei cried, downing the rest of her pint. “You are uhh… ano… ann-a-anno-ANNOYINGGU-hic!”

“Anyway, we were driving in the countryside when a huge flash appeared before us.” George continued, piquing the doctor’s interest, “That flashed completely surrounded us and-”

“Listening to me!” Mei cried, drawing her knife right at George’s throat, “I killing you if keep tricking Raina!”

“Yamero, Mei.” Raina said, “Kayaknya dia seperti kita…”

“MENENG!” Mei exclaimed, “I giving you five s-second to going away. Five… papat… san…”

“Dua…” Mei continued, “Ichi…”

WHACK!

Isobel knocked Mei out cold in the nick of time with a single punch to the side of her head in a scene that could come out of a UFC match. Mei was blown towards Raina, who caught Mei in her arms. Mei’s knife fell to the floor below, surprising nearby patrons for half a second before they went back to drinking as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry about that.” Raina said, “She just gets a little rowdy when she drinks.”

“A little?” George asked.

“Anyway, a similar thing happened to us today.” Raina said, “We were responding to an emergency in a village. The weather was terrible. Then suddenly, a flash appeared… And we ended up in the middle of this desert. I really don’t know what’s going on…”

“Neither do we.”

“Say… Raina, was it?” Isobel asked.

“Yes.” Raina said, “I’m Raina, and my friend here is Mei.”

“I see…” Isobel asked, “I’m Isobel, and my friend is George. Since we’re both stranded here… I think we should help each other. I don’t know where you’re from, but if we stick together we could just find our way home.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Raina said, “Mei and I are from Indonesia, actually. Where are you from?”

“I’m from Scotland and George’s from Northern England.” Isobel explained.

“Scotland?” Raina asked with some enthusiasm in her voice, “That’s where the Harold Potts stories take place! That’s so cool!”

“I don’t see why that’s so special…” Isobel said, “You’ve got to be the first person I’ve met who’s interested in Scotland, haha!”

“But Scotland looks so beautiful!” Raina countered, “But anyway, I think we should stay here for the night. Our car should be big enough for the four of us so you can sleep in our ambulance if you want. We’ll discuss our course of action when Mei wakes up tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Isobel said, “I think it’s best we put your friend to bed first. Then, we can discuss some more.”

“Alright then.” Raina said, carrying Mei on her shoulder, “Let’s go. Mind helping me, George?”

“Certainly.” George replied, coming to Raina’s aid, “Let’s go. Oh, and can you pick up the knife, Isobel?”

“Oh, sure.” Isobel said, “Although… we still haven’t gotten anything to eat.”

George’s stomach, along with Isobel’s growled. A grueling day of intense driving and teleportation into the place that is Nevada was taking its toll.

“We should get some burgers after this.” George said.

“We should.”

As the four stranded travelers left, the man tried to process everything that just happened.

“Bartender…” the man said, “Give me another one…”

TO BE CONTINUED

---

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

i give up

Team Magdalena

---

Prologue, Part 2

Unknown Date

Jolly Spittoon, Nevada, United States

After putting Mei to bed last night, there was still a lot for George, Isobel, and Raina to unpack. Firstly, they needed to know where they really were and if anything in the world they were in was different from the worlds they came from. And secondly, they needed to go somehow make their way back home

The first issue was resolved quickly. George and Isobel talked with Raina about world events and concluded that they came from the same world, except that Raina and Mei came from Indonesia which was halfway across the world from Scotland. Asking around the service station, the trio also found that the world they were in was also consistent with theirs. However, any record of themselves or their families seemed to not exist in whatever universe they are in now. They also found out it was the 27th of March, 2023.

The second issue was going to be a longer, more arduous process. Neither George and Isobel or Raina had money on them, much less US dollars. They could go out in search of opportunities, but they need fuel for that and their cars are all out of gas. Therefore, the only solution was to make some cash at the service station, and find their way to the nearest city where they have a better chance of returning home or to at least make a living and survive. The trio tried to explain their situation to the manager of the service station. However, he had a hard time even comprehending their situation. The bartender was far more understanding, and decided to let George and Isobel work at the Jolly Spittoon until they could get back on their feet.

The team’s first day at their job went relatively uneventfully. In the morning (after waking Mei up), they were taught how to serve customers and operate kitchen and counter equipment

It was noon. There weren’t many travellers that day so it was a slow day at the Jolly Spittoon. George and Raina were busy wiping the tables and counters, Isobel was preparing the kitchen for lunch hour, while Mei was busy chatting with a customer she just served, hoping to get an extra generous tip for being cute and, well… foreign.

Suddenly, something caught George’s attention. A group of cars parked in front of the bar. Judging by its license plate, as well as other details like the roof racks and sound of the engine, George figured that the cars were participating in some kind of race. After proving to the bouncer how tough each of them were, a group entered the bar and took a seat at the counter.

“Welcome to the Jolly Spittoon.” George said, “What can I get you?”

“Get us something to eat…” one of them said, “Oh, get us some sandwiches! Anything would do. Also, iced tea!”

“As you wish. Four sandwiches, Isobel! I’ll handle the drinks!”

“Would they be okay with hamburgers?” Isobel asked.

“Anything as long as it’s quick!” the customer said, “We’re starving here!”

“Would you like some fries with that too?” Raina asked.

“Ye, please! Make us something that puts KBF to shame!”

“Alright!” Isobel replied enthusiastically, “Four double cheeseburgers with fries, coming up!”

George, Isobel, and Raina went to work preparing the food. Isobel handled the burgers and Raina handled the fries, while George handled the drinks. Being the quickest to prepare, the iced tea came to the awaiting patrons first.

“Four iced teas!” George announced, “The burgers will be ready soon.”

“Thanks!” the customer said as George distributed the drinks around the rest of the group.

“Say, are you guys going on a road trip? It’s not every day that I get to see cars like yours outside.”

“Well we’re going rallying, actually. But they did say that it’s more like a road trip than an actual race. We’re gonna be driving through this “Aetherii” place. It’s literally a whole other planet”

“A-Aetherii? Where’s that?”

“I told you, it’s another planet! Different time progression, different cultures, different people, different animals! They’ve even got real-deal magic over there!”

“M-magic?”

“Four double cheeseburgers!” Isabel announced, distributing the food to the hungry patrons.

“Oh, that looks wonderful!” the customer said, grabbing the burger and taking a bite out of it. “Holy shit, this burger is out of this world!”

“I’m glad that you liked it.” Isabel said with a sincere smile on her face, “Anyway, what is this rally that you were just talking about?”

“Well, that was the gist of it, really. Go to an alien planet and drive. Arriving at the finish line is a victory in itself!”

“That sounds like something I’d want to do!” Isabel commented, looking at George. “Where do we sign up?”

“The starting point should be an hour down this road.” the customer said, “We got an email about it last October but I think walk-ins are welcome! I’ll vouch for you if anything happens!”

“An extra large bowl of fries!” Raina said as she brought an extra large bowl of fries to the table, “What’s going on here?”

“I think we’ve found our next step, Raina.” George explained as she brought Raina to the kitchen to discuss the matter more privately, “We’re gonna leave this place and go to another planet to take part in a long road trip!”

“W-what?!? Another planet? Road trip?”

George explained the concept of the rally to Raina. Still though, she was not entirely convinced.

“How exactly are we gonna fund an expedition like that?” Raina asked.

“Well…” George said, “Isobel doesn’t know about this, but I’ve hidden 500 quid from one of our victories in our car in case something bad happens. It’s worthless here, but those people said that we could exchange it for whatever currency they’re using out there. We’ve a better chance of making it on an alien planet than, well… Nevada.”

“But still, that’s too much of a gamble. The manager has been kind enough to listen to us and even land us a job here. I think we should just play with the hand we are dealt with to the best of our ability”

“Raina, we don’t exist here. There are no records of us or those we love anywhere. If we go to this Aetherii place, who knows? Maybe we could find some answers and find our way back home.”

“We’ll have to think about it some more… And we have to let Mei know about this too.”

Mei was at the cashier processing her customer’s payment and sure enough, the customer handed her a few extra bills. Mei looked ecstatic and thanked the customer in an equally cute, if not fanservice-y fashion.

“Someone’s just won the lottery.” George said.

“Well, no language barrier is gonna stop her rizz.” Raina replied, “Think about your whole rally thing more carefully. I’ll go tell Mei.”

(…)

Anything is better when you’re not in the state of Nevada, so of course they decided to go. The four scavenged for whatever they could use from the gas station and just threw them into the car to make them rally worthy, and bought supplies using whatever money they earned. On the 31st, the four bid the Jolly Spittoon farewell and headed for the meeting point. For whatever reason, the customers they talked to were not there. And so begins the journey of Team Magdalena.

TO BE CONTINUED

---

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

Team Magdalena

Character designs and illustrations by @EnCR

---

The Team

Isobel MacAllan

Nationality Scottish

Vehicle(s) 1988 Baumhauer 423 Vier (rally car), 2005 Marseille Workmate (daily)

Bio Isobel is an amateur rally driver who is on her way to making it big. She is strong-minded and has a strong sense of responsibility. While she has a good relationship with her family, she felt that her upbringing hinted that her parents wanted a son and so she was raised to stand up to the boys in her group. This led to her having a somewhat tomboy-ish personality and would eventually start her attraction to rallying.

Extended Bio

Isobel was born into wealth; her family owns and runs a well-known whiskey distillery. Despite this, Isobel was taught to work hard and make sacrifices along the way. She was also taught to stand up for herself so she can live independently and make something of herself instead of relying solely on the family fortune.

Isobel excelled in her studies and was initially interested in the various machines and processes employed to make her family’s coveted whiskey. As she grew up, however, her interest in the trade waned. Isobel wanted to explore the world around her. She wanted autonomy, and she also wanted a thrill. Those itches were scratched by rallying. It all started with a video game she played during middle school. Once she got her driver’s license, she bought her first car (a Marseille Thaleia) with her savings and took it racing at local rallycross championships.

Isobel’s parents were initially against her going rallying, believing that she should be running the distillery instead. As Isobel continued to prove her worth on the track, however, her parents became supportive of rallying. Impressed by her skills, local businesses began to sponsor Isobel as she rose through the ranks in the world of rallying.

Contrary to expectations, Isobel was not privileged, and her rally ambitions were funded solely by her savings, championship wins, and sponsorship money. Isobel’s parents offered to sponsor her first under their name and another time under the distillery’s name, but Isobel refused. As Isobel’s career progressed and her competitors got tougher, she decided to sell the Marseille and bought and converted an old Baumhauer, which currently serves as her rally car. Again, all the money for the Baumhauer came right out of her pocket.

Isobel is very fond of hamburgers. She often makes hamburgers at home since there are no fast food restaurants near her area and shares them with George and his little brother whenever they come over to her place.

---

George Peterson

Nationality English

Vehicle(s) 1986 Seikatsu StarCruiser 106L Wagon Diesel Turbo-F

Bio George is Isobel’s co-driver/mechanic, helping her navigate through courses during races and repairing/upgrading the rally car when he is not in a race. He is humble and hardworking, with a particular interest in machines and horticulture. He has a good relationship with Isobel as a partner in her rallying endeavours.

Extended Bio

George’s family runs a small farm in Northern England, where works on the field or in the shed. As a result of this, George has developed exceptional mechanical and horticultural expertise which he used to fix and improvise farm machinery, and to improve the efficiency of the farm’s crops. Even though he is very dedicated to the farm, George also has the urge to seek out other opportunities and explore the world around him.

The opportunity came when the MacAllans’ car broke on a rainy afternoon near Peterson’s farm. George offered the family shelter in the Petersons’ farmhouse, which they obliged to. This was when George first met Isobel, who got to know each other while waiting for the rain to subside. Upon knowing Isobel’s career in rallying, George offered to work for her as a mechanic to which she obliged, leading to the partnership they have today.

In addition to farm work and rallying, George is studying agricultural technology part-time. Like Isobel, George is fond of hamburgers and would take his brother to town on weekends to the local fast food joint.

---

Raina Kurniaputri

Nationality Indonesian

Vehicle(s) 2002 Hinode Rusa 4x4 ambulance, 2004 Yamazaki Super X 125, 2009 Hinode Tempest 350 Prestige (collecting dust)

Bio Raina is a medic stationed in the deep interior of Papua. She is strong, stubborn, and kind, Raina believes that all lives are equal and frequently gets into arguments with her superiors over her conduct. Still, her skills as a medical practitioner were second to none. She works together with Mei and a handful of other medics to serve their community’s medical needs though sometimes they travel by helicopter to help and deal with emergencies in even more isolated regions.

Extended Bio

Before working in Papua, Raina was a rising star in Indonesia’s medical world, being a skilled neurosurgeon in a hospital in Surabaya. However, everything changed when Raina decided to save the life of a random construction worker who arrived at the emergency ward before of the mayor of the city who also needed to undergo a complex surgery.

That incident wiped Raina’s medical ambitions in an instant and she fell out of favour with her superiors. Raina fought back fiercely against her superiors and local politicians, standing her ground and keeping to her moral principles. After a lot of back and forth, Raina was given two options by her superiors and their cronies: get transferred to a remote village or lose her medical license. Raina opted for the former.

Now stationed in Papua, Raina continued to help her community and save lives with the same vigor as she did before, although her career progression there was essentially nil. Since the local clinic was small, Raina handled everything from administrative to paramedic work. Volunteers would come to the clinic at times to help, easing Raina’s work and breathing life into the isolated community.

Raina is fluent in Indonesian and English, but she is learning Japanese from Mei as well.

---

Hamazaki Mei

Nationality Japanese

Vehicle(s) 2015 Yamazaki Scoop!, 1986 Hinode MID2 (collecting dust in Japan)

Bio Mei is a medic working together with Raina. She is a resourceful, charismatic, fast-talking, promiscuous, and commanding woman dedicated to her humanitarian mission. She is tough and is incredibly loyal to her friends and comrades, doing anything in her power to protect them. She is incredibly clingy, much to Isobel’s occasional annoyance.

Extended Bio

Mei was born in Japan and studied to become a doctor, volunteering in humanitarian missions during breaks to inflate her CV. In her third year as a student, Mei travelled to Papua where she met and worked with Raina, treating the villagers and, occasionally, police officers, rebels, and soldiers.

Mei likes cute stuffed animals (bears in particular) and cartoons from the 1990s. While she usually acts strong, Mei is very clingy and needs to hug and cuddle her peers every so often to relieve her of her stress and anxiety. She is fluent in Japanese and Indonesian, and is learning to speak English from George and Isobel.

---

The Cars

Left: 1988 Baumhauer 423 Vier rally car
Right: 2002 Hinode Rusa 4x4 ambulance

---

@EnCR

[Elizipeazie]

Team VSmgAB

Campsite Power Speech
Friendship! :D’s sentient cars.
Pre-Race Camp
Stage 0 Drive

---

Stage 0 Camp; Part 1

---

A grueling 9 hours later, the team arrived in Nehmenweld. Immediately, the cold became obvious, thus making the immediate first order of business to bundle up in an attempt to not freeze. This especially bothered cold-sensitive Valentin, who practically sprinted to his lodging trailer and scrambled for the layers of clothing. Norse and the ‘Speshul Forces’ did the same, albeit with marginally less urgency.

Now that the immediate threat of freezing was averted, the generator was set up with everything needed, running within minutes and made available to everyone with a blow of the whistle.
This not only drew the customer teams, but also a local truck resembling a model T tanker truck, which was used to transfer fuel from itself to Robert’s fuel trailer as agreed upon with local railroad operators months before arrival.

Eventually, with fuel for the night being secured and their own lodging hooked up, Valentin was visibly tired.

“I am going to bed now. Here is the list with all the plug numbers. Just match the team name to the plugs they go into.” Valentin told towards Norse, handing a small slip of paper to him containing the aforementioned info…
"Uhm… shouldn’t be too hard, i think. Goodnight then… Well… “night”, Norse replied as he went towards the generator car, leaving Valentin to go to bed.

---

Meanwhile at the military half of the team, they took the time to settle into the cold as well, when Constantin rounded up the five recruits:

“Alright. Now, our mission starts proper. The way it works is going to be as follows: We have three pairings already established via vehicle staffing. Each team will be on watch for four hours and then be handed off to the next one. Dupont and I start, followed by Jacknabbit and Muller, then Patel and Reynolds. Rinse and repeat until departure tomorrow morning. Report anything that may endanger civilians in camp. Before we start the rotation, i want to know if you can actually still hit a target. Which means. Get suited up for combat!” Constantin explains, followed by the whole group heading to their two trailers to equip standard issue weaponry for the recruits, with Constantin following suit, but also taking a gun case along for the trip.

With everything in hand, but nothing loaded yet, they head over to Shift Happens…

to be continued

[Madrias]

Team Shift Happens

Prologue, Part 3
Powering Up
Driver’s Log 2
Drivers’ Meeting

---

Stage 0 Camp, Arrival.

As the two huge trucks crunched through the snow on the road, 32 cylinders howling through the exhaust as the automatics kicked down to deal with the higher rolling friction, Kasiya aimed for a large space set aside for their main camp.

Kasiya and Takaraya bailed out of the cab of their respective HD-GV units, making their way quickly to the Carry All’s cargo section where their clothing had been packed. Takaraya saw Kasiya hesitating for a moment between just wearing his heavy winter clothing, or going for his armor, and said, “You do realize Kaylie wouldn’t let them in if they weren’t going to be safe to be around, right?”

Kasiya put his winter gear back in the box, pulled on his insulating under-armor suit, and stepped into his power armor, the solid clunk of 1100 pounds of metal surrounding him giving him a reassuring feeling. “Yeah, and yet Kaylie also told us to bring guns,” Kasiya replied, stepping out of the trailer and landing on the ground with a muffled thud.

Takaraya sighed, putting his winter gear on and joining most of the remaining team in the process of setting up tents. Kaylie looked over at him and back to Kasiya, then said, “Looks like Kasiya’s still a bit concerned.”

“Yeah, he was contemplating winter clothes when I mentioned you wouldn’t have let the cars run if they weren’t safe. That’s when he suited up,” Takaraya said.

Kaylie grimaced. “That was foolish of you,” she replied.

“You would let teams run who aren’t safe?” Takaraya asked.

“You think the Sinesian Rejects would survive if they crashed that welded-together aluminum bucket of theirs? Or that the Hillbilly Rollers are exactly safe? Or that half of these teams carrying guns actually know how to use them safely? Hell no,” Kaylie said.

---

Kivenaal, on the other hand, was busy setting up a target range while most of the camp was pitching tents. Still dressed in his gunslinger outfit, he stayed warm courtesy of his natural fur, even as he crunched his way through icy snow to set up several roughly-human-sized targets, including a few way the fuck out there for sniping practice, placed at 350 meters, for those inclined to give that a try.

He stuck a few tables down to make reloading less of a bitch at the firing line, as well as to make it more difficult to end up walking out into the field of fire by accident, then decided his range was good enough.

---

Kasiya, meanwhile, had taken up the task of putting the camp lights up, making sure they were spread out reasonably well, as well as ensuring the few outhouses placed around had a light nearby to make finding them in the dark easier.

He brought the numbered cable over to Norse, who plugged it into socket #2, and the camp immediately lit up a bit better as the lights came on. Takaraya arrived a moment later with cables #3 and #30, which were likewise connected, providing power to the Home Unit, as well as the Carry-All and the two refrigerated trailers respectively. The dull buzzing of the gasoline engines in the three refrigerated units went silent as the electric motors took over, while in the Home Unit, the heat exchanger’s fans spun up to speed to return the cabin to a comfortable temperature.

Jayde and Rukari worked together on making a simple campfire stew using some of the perishables they’d brought onboard one of the trailers, at least until the whole group was approached by the Speshul Forces and Constantin…

To Be Continued…

[That-S-cop]

Team Cunning Stunts

@GetWrekt01 and @That-S-cop

The Team

Zachary Kenway:
An unfortunate case of growing up in rural England and being far too ambitious, This son of a mechanic, with a penchant for driving quick, is the Team Leader and who got the rest of this gaggle of petrolheads together.

Liviana Harrington:
A Yorkshire girl with an interest in Zack and Automobiles, since Highschool Zack and Liv have been inseparable, working on cars and spending School events together.

Sophie Harrington
Liviana’s younger sister by 3 years, Her schtick is calculated risk and being barely on the correct side of the law, by all accounts she’s the 3rd wheel here.

Murray Harrison
Australian in Nature and Air-conditioning Serviceman in trade, Son of a Tamworth NSW Truckie by the name of Russell, His workvan is a K78 Masakari that he regularly takes trips out in with his Girlfriend to the outback.

Lana White
A Bondi Girl in the Bondi Beach Surf Lifesaving club, she’s practically entirely adrenaline and medical knowledge with a penchant for being quick on a Quadbike, She met Murray while in her Highschool years at a V8 Supercars event at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The Vehicles

Windsor Contra Utility - Dune Hopper

A Vehicle nameplate that hadn’t been in American Production in this model year, but existed in the Australian Market, Zack found this one in the UK and modified it for SR2023 accordingly with an engine swap, Suspension, Extra Tyres and Extra fuel.

VHT Supermobile - Sand Hopper

An ex Military Class 6 Crane truck, converted to use as a Stunt truck in the mid 2000’s then left at a Movie Production Junkyard in Broken Hill, Murray found this truck with help from his Dad after getting into contact with Zach. Effectively yanked from the junkyard, along with a Campervan stuffed on a rented Semi Trailer and trucked to a Workshop behind Russell’s Garlandale G500 (Pictured behind the vehicles), Assembled into a living quarters, and emergency medical bay on the behest of Lana, on Civilian Axles with extra spare parts from Murray’s Work van.

Chapter 0

Coming soon, delayed by Get Wrekt’s Schedule, will be plugged when this comes.

Chapter 0.5

Team Cunning Stunts after their arrival in the USA several days before the event started and screaming out to Nevada at the edges of the heat soak of the Tyres fitted.
It’s very Familiar but somewhat foreign at the same time, Mostly to the Australians in the Group, with rented Campers being as slow as the campers Murray finds on Highway 1, as Murray briefly re-enacts what his Dad used to do when he had a Cabover Garlandale Q104, Still very weird why Camper people drive so slow. In which the team arrive Arriving at camp on the meeting date by around 4:03 PM. Technical Inspection went slowly due to having to reconfigure the Left side Fuel tanks to be Manual Transfer tanks due to a Capacity item on the list, not a hard job for Murray, having brought all his tools in the Toolboxes.

Post not entirely finalised, But this is at least a Foot and several trucks in the wall. S-cop Out.

[Odyssey_Fan]

Team Sane Insanity

Part 0.3 Cars Have Their Own Opinions Too

Pre-Drive

Following the drivers meeting, Sane Insanity had a rush to pack up the camp and decide who would be driving. Of course, Andrew, who absolutely hates the KKR, volunteered himself out of KKR driving duty. Nathan does not tolerate any dissent towards the KKR, so he grabbed a roll of duct tape and began to drag Andrew to the KKR, kicking and screaming. Nathan then duct taped Andrew’s hands to the shifter and the steering wheel, turned on the ignition, and walked away. With only a few minutes left and neither of his hands being particularly useful for removing duct tape, Andrew had to drive the KKR. Nathan hopped into the driver’s seat of the Voyage, and the team patiently waited in line to set off.

Stage 0 Drive

The team began their drive in the Rift in varying degrees of misery. Andrew was going deaf and shattering his spine, as the KKR lacked any sound deadening and had a hard suspension setup. Nathan, who was driving the Roadmaster, was having a heart attack trying to not damage the car. Honking the horn at anyone who dared to get within 50 feet of the Roadmaster meant honking at everyone, getting lots of disapproval from the other drivers who did not understand this aggressive behavior. Multiple cars thought it would be an entertaining attempt to give the Roadmaster a tap on the side, or oblivious to the existence of a large block of steel. Eventually, things calmed down and Nathan tried to relax and enjoy the drive. However, courtesy of Cunning Stunts, that turned out to be impossible.

It was Raymond who noticed the VHT Supermobile.

“Uh, that truck is coming up fast and not slowing down.”

Indeed, the VHT Supermobile was barreling down towards the Roadmaster, getting much too close to comfort. At first, the team hoped that the truck would maintain some reasonable distance. However, it did not and the Roadmaster began expressing its discontent with some loud beeping, courtesy of the parking sensors.

“Hurry up and do something!” Raymond, now panicking at the close proximity of the truck and the possible damage that would be inflicted on the car.

“I’m trying, I’m trying” Nathan shouted back, doing absolutely nothing, boxed in on all sides.

The Roadmaster continued its own tirade at the Team Cunning Stunts, by increasing the volume of its incessant beeping.

“Turn it off, turn it off!!” shouted Nathan, trying to be heard.

Despite the clear instructions, Raymond instead grabbed the CB radio and began shouting into it.

“Cunning Stunts, back off please! We don’t need an accident right now.”

The only response appeared to be some snickering, but neither occupant of the Voyage could precisely discern what it was as the beeping got even louder and more frequent. At this point, Nathan just started pounding every single button at random, barely able to focus on the road. He succeeded in turning off all the driver assists and blasting the air conditioning before finding the parking sensor button. With no possibility of escaping, his only choice was to hold his speed and hope for the best. If the VHT Supermobile rammed into the Voyage, there would likely be a large pileup, and more importantly, lots of complicated and likely impossible insurance paperwork to deal with. Of course, multiple times, the VHT Supermobile came within millimeters of the minivan, but Cunning Stunts was somehow able to stop at the last second. Perhaps the VHT Supermobile had automatic emergency braking or adaptive cruise control, or Cunning Stunts had very good drivers. Despite whatever witchery Cunning Stunts was using, Sane Insanity was completely traumatized by this experience and spent the next hours watching the rearview mirror. They also spent the time reflecting on the poor choice to bring a rental car to a banger rally.

Meanwhile, Andrew was beginning to have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the KKR. Sure there was little in the form of creature comforts, it was fun to rev and had a great exhaust note… However, he was still hoping and praying that the car would break down so he could get some peace and quiet and take a break from all the growling, tire noise, and wind.

Raymond and Andrew began having a conversation about the KKR, attempting to ignore Cunning Stunts aggressive behavior, who were still ominously following in the rearview mirror.

“He is going to break that car” Raymond noticed, judging by the aggressiveness of Andrew’s driving.

“There is nothing that could break in that car, what could possibly go wrong?” was Andrew’s response. His prediction was then disproven with a loud clunking noise from the KKR and lots of vibration. The KKR immediately stopped in the middle of the road, with the Voyage forced to stop much further ahead, as they could not risk getting smashed by Cunning Stunts. Thankfully, Hillbilly Rollers broke down at the exact same time, so the entire convoy ground to a halt.

“Can someone please remove the duct tape?” begged Andrew, thankful that the torture had finally ended.

“No!” responded Nathan, finding the violation of the eighth amendment (no cruel or unusual torture) to be far more amusing. The KKR was then jacked up with Andrew still inside, breaking every rule of standard workshop safety.

Andrew began to take advantage of his wish coming true and took a nap, while Raymond and Nathan began to inspect the damage and remove the half shaft.

“Why can’t you let him help us” complained Raymond

Knowing waking Andrew would be a difficult and time consuming process, and having no other reasonable rationale, Nathan said “Do you want to try to wake him up?”

“Uh, no thanks,” Raymond responded before continuing to work.

This repair process took many hours, delaying the trip for everyone. Needless to say, all the teams were annoyed and frustrated, except those with their own breakdowns, and Team MAD, who probably got some amusing footage for their documentary.

After this repair, Andrew woke up again the moment the KKR was off the jack stands and on solid ground.

“How many minutes have passed?”asked a confused and sleepy Andrew.

Raymond consulted his watch. “240 minutes, give or take”

Additional driving took place after Hillbilly Rollers got their clutch fixed. It was the same drill, drive, drive, oblivious driver on the left, lose hearing, more driving. The cool weather of the Rift eventually gave way to the deep freeze of the aptly named Shiverwind Point. The pair in the Voyage were in relative comfort, Andrew had a new pain point to complain about the KKR, the surprising lack of any heating in the car. Eventually, the team rolled into camp, exhausted by the long day of driving, mechanical difficulties and being tailgated by a large truck. Needless to say, Sane Insanity had to do something about this. None of them realized that one of the possible solutions was “drive faster.”

[interior]

Team Not-So Slow
Chapter 2, Part 1.- The other side wants a chat with you.

---

narration is honestly amazing

As we were waiting in the starting area, The leading team (Shift Happens) gives the two of us the rings. It would be terrible if we lost them. Matt and Izzy get into the car, and then after hearing the announcements, especially the one Izzy should be more concerned about, although that was dealt with a long long time ago (in a galaxy far away).

“I’d like you remind you, Don’t fuck this one up too.” Matt says in a stern manner to Izzy, she agrees reluctantly. We then drive to the Shiverwind Point via the al-mighty Rift. Which would take us around 8 hours or something, As Matt is driving, he goes in there in a civillised way, to not alert the police,

Prior knowledge of the Rift allowed us to head in there with no problems (aka not turning it into a parking lot), Some time later, we eventually make it to camp, “The way we just go into the Rift, it’s like, something cool.” Izzy says to Matt. Matt then replies with “Waiting that year was worth it though, all the cars just parked here, Anyway…”

The team start setting up camp, As it gets cold outside, the two get changed into winter attire to comfortably stay at camp until next stage. Izzy shuts off the car so it could cool down after all that driving and then we set up the tent, and our sleeping equipment.

“Matt, you sure this tent is easy to set up?” Izzy asks him in a concerning way. Matt then reassures her with “Yeah, it’s actually just as easy as installing a standard tent, although the pegs are stronger and that. Oh and here’s one light for if we need it in the tent”. He hands it over to her, she then takes it and installs it, hanging on the tent roof.

Izzy: You sure you haven’t fucked up the car driving it like that for a bit Matt?

Matt: No, i’ve seen people drive cars far harder and theirs are still intact, we should be good.

Izzy: Might make this thing somewhat more aerodynamic to save fuel economy. Anything beats 60 dollars a gallon

Matt: We’re driving a small car, girl. Besides, it’s only gonna do what, a small amount of duct taping the panel gaps and maybe putting dinner plates on the wheels?

Izzy checks the trunk, and realises we’ve only got around 5 sets of duct tape and some sellotape for when things go wrong.

TO BE CONTINUED.

[SurrealCereal]

MACHINAS CON PASSIONE’S SHITBOX ADVENTURES, TAKE 2: Misery and Happiness

9:58 AM
Shitbox Rally 2023 Nevada camp

The time had finally come, though the wait for the members of MCP had been less exasperating then it had been for most teams, with the nature of their operation being more ramshackle then most. This cobbled together attitude was no more present then, two minutes before they were scheduled to race, Johnny Scarfiotti, driver of the Faenza Spirito and the guy who the teams entire hopes were pinned on, was struggling to get dressed before the stage, hobbling outside the Blue Wonder in his boxers as he desperately scrambled to pull his pants over his leg, with his foot being caught in his pocket and him being seconds from collapsing over, running the risk of getting sand into places he’d be trying to wash it out of for weeks to come. For a man with locks as fluffy as Johnny’s, it’d be a death knell for his killer looks.

Johnny stopped to ponder if he could pull off the “sand dusted beach himbo” look of the late 2000s for a moment before remembering he had around 57 seconds to get into his car and ready to race, managing to win the war he’d waged against his own pants just in time for a rival team driving past to catch him wriggling his eyebrows at the camera they had pointed his way before he slipped into his shirt and sprinted for the Faenza. Good thing they didnt see his heart boxers.

7:00 AM
Shitbox Rally Nevada Camp

Giacomo, in contrast, had actually waken up early and had gotten dressed, a herculean task accomplished with no small amount of help from Alessio and Hikiko effectively babying him. The two were renowned workaholics, a sharp contrast from the idiot savant status Giacomo had carved out for himself, being able to provide the results of his father without the work ethic or skills outside of making engines go fast.

Alessio and Hikiko actually spent most of the morning fine tuning and performing final checks on the F5000, though Hikiko had suggested the idea as a way of getting close to the hefty V8. “You know, most of your designs seem to obsess over pushrod designs. Was it your way of prioritizing low end torque and getting ahead of your competitors? I imagine they had a hard time beating you off the line.” Hikiko poised to Alessio, hoping to gain some insider knowledge on how the mind of a renowned genius worked. Though they had worked closely together over the past decade or so, the two rarely crossed streams, preferring to allow each to work at their strengths with little overlap. Alessio scratched his head at the inquiry, though.

“Well, I just really like cramming big engines into small spaces. The torque is a bonus, but when I started, OHV engines weren’t really being taken seriously in europe, so I would make these huge 7 or 8 liter engines and shove them in the back of whatever I was racing. I actually did get alot of torque doing it, but the main idea was just making a big engine because I could. You can imagine that I busted more than my fair share back in the day.” Hikiko smirked, and reached into the engine, opening the throttle and letting the engine redline for a brief moment, the smell of kerosene peforating her lungs as the v8 roared to life, clearly unaffected, on an audible level at least, by the switch in fuel.

“You know, in all of my years of F5000, I never ended up replacing this one, I didn’t really have the budget since it was more of a side hustle thing for me. Just rebuilt it if it broke, and here it is, at the Shitbox rally. 50 years actually, to the day that it was first built.” Hikiko ran her hand through her hair, not sure if this was the peak or the low point for the little engine that could. All she could muster at that revelation was a faint “Huh.”

Giacomo, meanwhile, had started working on his technical drawings, sketching out in minute detail the exquisite, box inspired design of the Spirito. Though originally intended as a cheap option for Italian families to drive cars that actually functioned on a day to day basis, it’d instead been converted to a lightweight, power-mad chihuahua of a car. As simple as the design was, Giacomo had wrapped up his drawing of the exterior, pretty accurately conveying that rather than straight lines, rather than being an aesthetic choice like they are in most cars, were the only choice made here. Boxes into boxes and boxes. With around 0.5 seconds of consideration for the full business suit he was wearing, Giacomo quickly dove under the car, sketching all of the intricate details, which he would likely look back on once and never again, such is the mind of the man we all come to know and… Love? Loathe? Some weird mixture of those two things.

Ryouchi, in contrast to everyone else, was still moping about. He’d awoken much earlier than other members of the camp, and spent the morning doing his daily exercises, a habit gained during his recovery over the past few months. A 5 mile run, pushups, which weren’t really an option, so were substituted with 5 more miles of running, squats, which would nomrally be substituted with 5 miles of running, Ryouchi had already jogged 10 miles from camp with around 2 hours to get himself back to camp or risk being tardy for the first stage. After jogging 9 miles, Ryouchi came to a stop at a slight hill, overlooking the camps of the 29 teams who’d showed up to this years edition of the rally. His first thoughts, of course, turned to MCP, the team responsible for his continued employment as a racing driver. Ryouchi took as seat as he contemplated his place, not only in the team but in the world as well, though he normally strayed from thinking about the future much, the picturesque Nevadan scenery and runners high that now blanketed both his mind and body gave him a moment of clarity, as he took a breather before returning to camp.

Ryouchi thought of the past. His mother, Hikiko, a great racer in her own right, was both the best and worst thing about his career. Thanks to her connections, Ryouchi was able to climb up the motorsport ladder while he watched his friends and peers drop out, fail to make the cut or just quit altogether. 19 years of racing, 19 years of time, money, effort and dreams of getting into Formula One. The big show, the number one symbol of opulence and success in the racing world, but when the time came to perform and show up? It turned out Ryouchi and his friends were more alike than he thought. 3 years later, and 5 million dollars of spiraled down the drain. And yet, his luck never seemed to run out, all thanks to a well timed vacation. Everything seemed to fall into his lap then, a basically guaranteed seat in NASCAR, all he had to do was finish races, and finish Ryouchi did, but not much else. Flash forward to last year? 10 wrecked racecars and Johnny winning his first race later, the writing’s on the wall. Maybe being a co-driver wasn’t so bad. Or a businessman, maybe a college student or some bum. Surely there was something Ryouchi was cut out for outside of the racing scene. A deep sigh later, Ryouchi found himself turning hisattention away from MCP’s hopes and dreams for the moment, looking into the distance, revealing all manner of vehicles who would now serve as competitors, rivals, and maybe, just maybe. Friends. “Welp. No use moping around.” Ryouchi broke the silence, his words matted by the carpet of sand and dust that surrounded him for miles to come. Ryouchi stood up, taking the chance to slide down the embankment he found himself on, and nearly careened right into Johnny as they prepared to enter the rift, and to start the long journey ahead.

Shitbox Rally 2023 - THE RIFT

@Madrias

For those returning from the year before, driving into the Rift was, well, not exactly a routine experience, but at least vaguely familiar. For the new ones, it was surprisingly nerve-wracking, having to drive into an oversized metal shed that was clearly not big enough to hold half of one of the giant trucks, a shed they’d all had a chance to wander around and look at, a shed that now opened up into a vivid, dark-blue portal.

Giacomo, having entered the year prior and fully anticipating the rift would shake the nerves of his teammates, decided to, among many things, not mention a single word about the interplanetary rift they’d need to travel through in order to actually participate in the rally itself. As such, most of the essentials such as bug spray and Johnny’s birdwatching manual went unused on the first day of the rally, instead providing a cushion for the young driver as he tried to cope with the severely stripped down nature of the Faenza, though it did little to help cope with the anxiety of being cooped up in a 1,500 pound freezer. Ryouchi, on the other hand, realizing he wouldn’t be needed to guide Johnny in a straight line, took the opportunity to get some shuteye, thus saving him from the looming image of Giacomo in the blue wonder taking up every inch of their mirrors as the Faenza struggled to keep ahead of Giacomo’s incessant tailgating.

Inside the Blue Wonder, a silent hostage negotiation of sorts was underway, with Alessio and Hikiko wordlessly debating how best to convince Giacomo to quit scaring the absolute shit out of his one and only nephew. Wrenching the wheel away from him WOULD actually work quite well, but running the risk of hitting any other cars was something that made that option a no go. Asking Giacomo politely, though a likely success, would distract him, and probably result in Ryouchi and Johnny becoming little more than smears in the road, so that was off the table as well.

While the two furiously communicated using the time tested method of “look at where i’m looking, no not there, over there”, their saving grace came in the form of the low fuel light turning on, allowing the team to stop and negotiate with the man. Upon pulling over, in the process locking up and giving the Faenza a love tap, and in the process, it’s first dent. As they got out, Hikiko and Alessio battled each other in a lethal game of rock paper scissors, with the loser having to convince Giacomo to not drive like he was in a BMW. Alessio sent his paper paladin to battle against the scissor sentry Hikiko had brought, and as a result made his way over to his beloved son, Giacomo, who was giddily declaring that festivities were in order.

Johnny took the opportunity to get as much fresh air as he was gonna get in the brief respite that re-fueling the Blue Wonder would provide, as Giacomo declared, with his entire body to accentuate, “With this fuel economy, VICTORY IS OUR-” CLANK Every head in a mile radius turned to look at Giacomo, who, in his excitement, had kicked out a tire on the Faenza. Looks like that one was original. It was thus that the group came to the conclusion that the back of the Spirito would be much more fitting for Giacomo, giving him some time to cool off while Hikiko took over driving duties. That he was tied and bound and thrown there against his will is another matter entirely and of no relevance to the story. A quick tire change later and Giacomo’s muffled screams being ignored, our journey finds us nearing the other side, the end of the rift, and the start of:

MACHINAS CON PASSIONE’S SHITBOX ADVENTURES, TAKE 2: Misery and Happiness

(P.S: fuck me that took a long time to write)

[shibusu]

Team Sinesian Rejects

---

Team information
Previous part (Part 1 - Sunday Friday driver)
Next part

---

Part 2: Sour dreams

---

???, ???

The moonlight illuminates the night with a silvery glow as the red-and-white Ilaris Imbe races through a forested trail, headlights basking the path in yellow as it rockets through. The suspension rocks up and down, wheels hitting the inner fenders, for the bump stops have been removed. TJ, at the helm of the machine, fights the car for control every passing second.

What is making him go at such speed reveals itself quickly, as the clattering of an engine hoist makes itself heard. The partially pink Ilaris Ute is chasing him through the night, its headlights blinding through the rear-view mirror. TJ presses his foot firmly to the floor, pinging noises making themselves heard, despite the engine screaming at redline.

Every time he checks the rear-view, the lights get closer. Terrifyingly close. He tries to press the gas pedal harder, but it’s already flat out. There’s no going faster than this, not without a miracle. With this, he decides that he’ll just have to be a better driver, and hope to god that the 65 horsepower difference isn’t enough to get him in a formal meeting with the ute’s front bumper.

The cars continue through the trail, seemingly endlessly. As the cars hop on bumps, slide around the corners, and steer around branches, the ute inches closer, and closer, and closer. While TJ’s efforts were good at delaying, they weren’t enough to escape.

What follows is a shake, the steering wheel jerking to the left, as the car is shoved violently to the right. For a split second, TJ sees the trees, shortly followed by a deafening crunch. What is laid in front of his eyes for another moment is the front subframe, along with the engine, flying from the rest of the car, quickly being cut off by the frontal airbags deploying themselves. At this point, the primal fear of what will happen next sets in. He thinks he sees the moon a few times, along with more crunching. Eventually, the remains of the Ilaris come to a halt.

The silence is almost frightening, dizziness not exactly helping. TJ looks around the car, looking for the signs of Alauran or Jas being in the car, realizing that he’s alone in the wreck. Pulling the fabric of the airbag out of the way, he observes the severe burns the airbag has caused to his arms. What’s more pressing is the newly developed wet feeling in his legs. He hopes it’s just coolant, but by inspection of the liquid it quickly reveals itself to be blood, which he finds in large quantities all around his body and interior.

What he had forgotten for the moment was the ute. That changed when the red lights in the distance gave way to the menacing silhouette of the person chasing him. It’s approaching. TJ reaches for the gun in the glovebox, remembering to unbuckle himself. As the person draws closer, it becomes clear he’s wielding some sort of blade, though identification is impossible on account of the blurred vision. He fumbles with the gun, preparing for the inevitable.

Within a second, there’s a long blade to his neck.

“H-heeyy, you don’t have to d-do this…” He stumbles over his words as the blade draws ever closer to separating him in to two parts, simultaneously building up the courage to pull the trigger to the gun he’s holding on to just out of sight.

What feels like an eternity passes, before TJ pulls the trigger. A deafening bang, the figure dropping as soon as the flash dissipates. The blade drops to his legs.

He tries to move, but he can’t. The dread sets in as the sharp pain in his neck starts. He tries to call for help, but nothing leaves his mouth. There’s nothing that he can do. He’s done for. It was over before it had started. Eventually, the blurred tunnel vision gives way to darkness.

---

“TJ, you better wake the hell up!”

---

April 1st, 9:57am

TJ’s eyes fly wide open. He’s in the Imbe again. It’s day, and he’s in the unsurprisingly forest-less Nevadan desert. He reaches for his neck and legs, feeling that they’re both still intact. What an awful, awful fucking dream.

Looking around, he sees the friendly face of Alauran in his window. He looks at the car’s clock. 9:57.

“Alright, you’ve been tugging at that steering wheel for the past 20 minutes now. It’s time for you to get that booty moving, since I don’t think you want to go and throw up doing push-ups in this heat.”

He is indeed correct. That would not be very good, so TJ throws the door open, almost knocking Alauran over. They both walk briskly to the area where the driver’s meeting is being held, slipping in behind some other people discreetly as Malavera began speaking.

The small crowd of people (and not ‘people’) listen as Malavera goes on about the rules of the event. It seems fairly obvious: don’t be a dick, don’t drink and drive, and whatnot. The latter is impossible for the team, since alcohol is not metabolized and would lead to death, though there are other substances they could be on. Fortunately, these substances’ effects are short-lived, so even if there was a consumption event, it wouldn’t exactly take long for them to become sober again. However, it would always be safer to keep away from the powders and poisons.

As Malavera continued, he spoke about avoiding damage to the host team’s vehicles. Easily avoided, since if the team did manage to hit them, the damage would be exclusively confined to our shitbox. TJ shudders a bit, remembering the mangled wreck in his dream.

Following the conclusion of the driver’s meeting, TJ, Alauran and Jas get back together, with Ianis following behind. Disconnecting the power cable, loading all the junk back in to the trunk, and getting the gunk out from the frunk. Power cable goes in the tray of the ute, along with the transformer box. Along with that, all the stuff from the night is packed in, and after waiting for the other teams (some of which with more expansive camping facilities) to pack up, it was soon time to head in to the rift.

“A metal shed? That’s it?” TJ commented on the structure standing close by the camp.

“I remember the guys at Accuracy International were a bunch of people in a shed. Don’t underestimate sheds.” Ianis said, for what seemed like the first time in days. TJ shrugged, before getting in the Imbe, with Ianis following, getting in the Itan Ute. Jas was already in the Imbe by then, and Alauran was sorting through the books he’d taken with him, considering the lack of internet to waste time on. Eventually everyone was ready to go.

---

As TJ turned the key, the glorious cranking sounds of the 1.3 liter engine filled the cabin of the Imbe. Only the cranking sounds, I might add.

“…Start, you piece of crap.”

After a solid 20 seconds of cranking, he decides to not stress the battery out further and disengages the starter.

“Oh, it’s almost like these things don’t start in this heat. Like they weren’t designed for it, not after being ripped out of a wrecker’s car, at least.” Alauran remarked, an overly sarcastic tone ringing throughout.

“Well, why don’t you go fix it then?” TJ grinned, as he unlocked the doors again, tilting his head to signal Alauran to get out and push.

“Fine, just for you.” He begrudgingly said, promptly opening the door, and giving the 900-kilo car a good push. After it had accelerated to sufficient speed, Alauran stopped, and the car was thrown in to first. A complaint from the gearbox later, and the car was started. Alauran hopped back in the still-opened door, closing it and buckling up, as did Jas, hearing the annoyance of the ‘fasten seatbelt’ chime.

At first, the host teams went in, led by Kasiya, piloting the HD-GV Carry-All, soon followed by the rest of Shift Happens, and VSmgAB. Then the more ‘experienced’ (at least, those who have gone in to the rift by car instead of spaceship) headed in. TJ and Ianis slipped in right around the middle of the ‘new kids’ pack. Ointment not included.

The transfer in to the rift was mildly unsettling, at least when you’re not surrounded by holographic micro-LED displays and intelligent AI assistance. It could be called a raw experience, though it was much preferable to go through the rift in something more technologically advanced than an aluminum physics experiment and a driving fire hazard. Either way, it wasn’t particularly fun for either of the two drivers, but nobody had died yet, and that’s what counted.

---

The minutes started to drag on, and Ianis was ready to get his fix of speeding again, at least considering the French parking level of distance between the front bumper of the Ute and the place where the rear bumper plastic of the Imbe should be. A kickdown of the slushbox automatic later, and Ianis took off, nearly sideswiping the mirror off of the Imbe, only then increasing the horizontal space between the cars he was passing.

Though the speedometer had broken on the way to the camp, it was clear by the screaming of the 2.2 liter engine that he was hauling ass at a serious rate, passing the majority of the convoy before Kasiya spotted the ute going at definitely non-convoy speeds, slowly drifting in to the two lanes. As the ute closed the distance, Ianis slightly turned left, in an attempt to get around the massive HD-GV Carry-All. Unfortunately for him, there was no way in hell he’d be off-roading at well over 90 miles per hour. Realizing his, he slammed on the brakes, leaving the screams of the tires and a trail of blackened concrete in his wake. He’d probably get disciplined if he continued, so he retreated to where the Imbe was, this time giving the mirror of the Imbe a good tap with the foldable ute mirror.

---

“WHAT THE FUCK!?”

The Imbe nearly rocks in the sudden jolt of movement as Alauran shoots back in to his seat, having opened the glovebox. What greets him is a submachine gun-unloaded, at least.

“WHO PUT THIS IN HERE!?”

“Right, who would put that thing there?” Jas responded, not quite disguising his guilt.

At that moment, Alauran picks up a parking time marker and throws it at Jas.

“IT WAS YOU!”

“Okay, okay! When I said things about stuff we might need-” He pulls out the cassette deck-“I also brought that. If we ever needed it.” He lays down the thing and goes back to his normal sitting posture. “If you don’t like it I’ll just take it-”

“We are NOT doing that. Where did you even get this?” Alauran calmly asked.

“TJ’s drawer.” Jas hesitated with his response, but blurted it out anyway.

Alauran turns to TJ, who turns to face the two, occasionally flicking his head to have eyes on the road.

“Look. We left that time behind us. But I sure as hell want to be prepared if it does come to bite us again.” He fully turns to face Jas. “And why were you looking around in my stuff?”

“It had a funny sticker.” Jas responded.

“I guess that’s fair.”

---

The four continued driving, with only minor pantaloon-related inconveniences due to braking. Apparently, trusting the 18-wheeler behind you to have functioning brakes despite being made of mostly rust was slightly nerve-wracking, exacerbated by being in a car as safe as Russian roulette. The reason for the stopping being the breakdowns of multiple teams, ranging from tire explosions to a CVT automatic conversion by team Hillbilly Rollers on their IP Rugger, courtesy of their clutch. TJ would have come to help, if he had known anything about how IPs are put together, though unfortunately he was not blessed with such intelligence, and thus stayed in the Imbe to go read the books that Alauran had been studying in the meantime. Jas, however, was entertained playing Transport Tycoon Deluxe on the battery of his laptop. ‘Train #12 is getting very old and is in urgent need of replacing.’

Eventually, the announcement came over the CB that Hillbilly Rollers had reverted their newly made automatic back in to a manual. Driving started again soon after, with the pace remaining the same as prior to the breakdowns.

---

After passing from the rift back in to a planet of some kind, the Imbe gave a ‘low outside temperature’ warning light on the dash, signaling that the frozen conditions were indeed true. Alauran took this as a cue to put his coat back on, having previously stripped to a T-shirt and shorts. There wasn’t really room to change pants in the small Imbe, so he’d have to wait to get out to put those on. TJ, Jas and Ianis really couldn’t care less about the cold, but the heat in Nevada had wrecked them somewhat. At least the cars were equipped with semi-functional air conditioning.

In the meantime, TJ had reclaimed his gun, partly because he thinked it looked cool to have, and partly because of the strange dream, though he would only tell the second reason in private to Alauran.

---

Lastly, after a grueling nearly 9-hour drive, they finally arrived at the campsite, even though TJ almost slid in to Ianis, due to the ABS working a bit too aggressively in the snowy area. They really didn’t have much to set up, since there wasn’t really much to their camping setup besides the cars themselves and small space heaters, along with sleeping bags, which were pretty much exclusively used by Alauran. Three of them. At once.

It was thus time to begin Sinesian Reject’s (mis)adventures in Nehmenweld. One piston ring, destroyed head gasket or three dead bodies in a wreck at a time. Okay, maybe the last is too pessimistic. One piston ring, destroyed head gasket and bent valve at a time. Hopefully.

[Knugcab]

TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS

PART 1.2 - Slip-sliding into camp

Earlier parts

Pre-prologue part 1
Pre-prologue part 2
Prologue part 0.1
Prologue part 0.15 - Interlude
Prologue part 0.2
Prologue part 0.3
Prologue part 0.4
Part 1.1 - What’s that smell?

PART 1.2 - Slip-sliding into camp

The team entered a world that looked very much like…home. It was snowy, it was cold, it was exactly like northern Sweden this time of the year. Yet, it was kind of a change from Nevada, but it should of course be said too, that considering that none of the vehicles had air conditioning, it was easier to adapt to scandinavian-ish weather than to Nevada temperatures. Andreas and Janne in the Rugger were quite chill, not only temperature wise. However, for our learner driver in the Wolverine, things were a little bit different.

“Keep in mind that the tyres are probably decades old, and I have no chains for it”, Arne told Marie.

“Uhm, yeah….right”, she said, not listening very much.

Approaching camp after a rather short drive from the Rift, Arne gave some directives once again.

“Do a downshift now, you remember the sequence, OK? And be easy on the gas.”

“Downshift it was”, Marie said

CRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRCCCCCCCCKKK

“Eh, I think you’re trying to get into a too low…”

CLUNK!

“…gear”, Arne said. “Now, remember, easy on the gas”.

“OK, easy it was”, Marie said, stepping off the clutch and pressing the accelerator everything but easy.

“I SAID EASY!”, Arne was shouting while the Wolverine was skidding into camp, with a roaring V8, wildly spinning tyres and a cascade of snow standing from its rear wheels.

With Marie spinning the steering wheel like if it has been a roulette wheel, she barely avoided to hit everything in sight with the skidding Wolverine. Snow was thrown all over the camp and the truck was for the most part only centimetres from crashing into everything and everyone.

“PRESS DOWN THE CLUTCH!”, Arne was shouting.

“Uh…the clutch yes”, Marie said.

“NOOOO, NOT THE BRAKES!”, Arne was screaming when the Wolverine was heading forward with its wheels locked up at almost unchanged speed against Team ReUnity’s Ursula. (@BannedByAndroid ) Luckily, all the snow building up in front of the wheels managed to get the speed down enough to stop it with a distance from the Ursula that was comparable to the thickness of a Donald Duck magazine.

“Can I park here?”, Marie said.

“PARK WHEREVER YOU WANT, BUT IT IS UP TO YOU TO CONFRONT WHOEVER YOU’LL MAY ANNOY!”, Arne said, jumping out with his crutches, slamming the door and slowly counting to ten….

Next part

[EnCR]

Prologue part 1.3

Few content in this chapter might be slightly sensitive to some viewer.

Regan house, West Coast, USA
Same friday night

Ringggggggggg… Ringggggggggg… Ring, Ring, Ri-, Ri- R-

“WHO THE HELL IS RINGING MY DOORBELL!!!?” Annoyed Regan shouting from inside his house Regan quickly approaches the front door and opens it

“Who else but me~? ” Carol puts on a full smile

“!.. Wait, why are you here? didn’t we planned to meet tomorro-”

“Yeah, about that~ I decided that we should leave a bit early.”

Carol interrupts before Regan could finish his sentence

“W-what? but I haven’t packed my stuff yet!”

“Well, then do it now~ ”

“…”

“Anyways, I’ll be waiting in the car so make It quick.”

Few minutes later

“Okay, I’m coming!” Regan opens the rear hatch and store his luggage inside

“Let’s go~” Regan sits next to Carol as there’s only 2 seats

Carol turns the ignition on the starter starts making noises eventually the sound of a
Japanese 4 cylinders start to come to life

Carol puts the car into gear and starts driving

Several minutes later

Carol and Regan arrived at the trailer park where Miya lives

Both exits the vehicle and walks towards the door of Miya’s camper

Knock Knock Knock

“Uweh! … I-Is that you, Carol?”

“ Yes~ are you ready? I’ll be guiding you to the destination. So don’t get left behind~ ”

“A-…Again with ‘that’. You know that I can’t drive my camper very fast you know… my camper is… one of a kind. And I don’t know If It should go ‘that’ fast you know… things might break… I-I don’t want to imagine the repair cost … …”

“My~ My~ you have no idea how easy it is for me to fix whatever is broken on your precious camper~ I only need a few things and you know~ Let m-” “H-Hey! no!! don’t.”

Miya quickly grabs her hand “Ahe he~ I’m kidding. For now~ ”

Miya explodes, but not literally

“Oh yeah! Now that reminds me. Miya, may I borrow your camper key?”

“… … …” Miya slowly reaches her pocket and gives the key to Carol

“Thank you~” Carol exits the camper then opens the hood of the camper

“Excuse me~ but I’m going to tinker around with the engine for a bit.”
Carol picks up a ratchet and starts to disassemble the engine head covers

“Kay~ let’s work on this” About half and hour later

“Phew~ that got a bit hot.” Carol puts the engine back together before closing the hood
Thump (sound of the hood closing) Meanwhile inside the camper

“Hey, wake up! wake up! …” Regan tries to wake Miya, but fails to do so for the last few minutes
Carol opens the door
“What’s going on, Regan?”

Regan turns over to Carol

“Miya! She’s unconscious for quite some time now.”

“Ah~ okay, hand her over to me.”

Carol holds Miya tightly “Miya~ If you don’t open your eyes right now, I’m going to give you a kiss~ ”

Vine boom sound effect
“What the hell was that noise?” Regan raises his left eyebrow in confusion

Carol closes both of her eyes and slowly moves her lips closer to Miya’s

Miya feels a very powerful presence very close to her
“… Eyehhhhhh!!!”

Miya very surprised, pushes Carol away from her

“W-W-wh-wh- what did you just do to me!?”

“Hehehe~ ”

“!!! … Ah…ahhhh… ahaaaaa~~~” After realizing what Carol did to her, Miya starts crying

“I will pretend that I didn’t witness any of that…” Regan suddenly feels exhausted, he has enough of It and exits the camper

He sleeps inside the JMX

A certain trailer park, West Coast, USA
Saturday morning

“Ahhh… my back hurts…” Regan looks over to Miya’s camper
“I wonder If they’re up now.”

Opens the door

“… Of course they’re both asleep…” Regan lightly shakes Carol’s arm

“Come on… how long are you going to stay like this!” shakes harder

Carol is still unfazed

“… I guess it has to come to this”
Regan moves his head closer to Carol’s ear

Blows… Blows… BLOWS
“!!! Hnengh!” Carol jumps in a surprise

“… Oh! Regan, you’re awake hahaha~"

"Finally the time you wake up… How deep were you in that sleep?”

“Ah- ah! right, we’ve got to move!”

“Hey! answer me.”

“Oh, Miya is still not waking up~”

Carol getting prepare to kiss her again

“Uh um… I think I’ll wake her up, you go do your own thing.”

“Oh, oh I was going t-”

“LET me wake her up…”
“Ahhehehehe~ then I’ll go set up the GPS route then.”
Carol exits the camper

“… One day I’ll wipe that teasing attitude out of you… just you wait…”

“Yawns~~~ … Oh? R-Regan?”
Regan noticed that Miya has woken up

“Where’s… Carol?”

“She is setting up the destination point to… somewhere I don’t actually know.”

“O- Oh… the rally?”

“…Say that… again…”

“Y-You don’t know? Carol said that she’ll be taking us on a rally but she also said that It’s more like a… um… road trip. She… hasn’t said anymore about this tho…”

“… Ha???”

“If you… don’t understand what I meant… just… go… ask her…”

“…”

Regan exits the camper and enters the JMX

“Ah~ I’m guessing you’re ready.”

“What is this ‘rally’ you’re going to make me participate in?”

“Oh~… I can’t tell you right now~ ”

“Ha!? What do you mean you can’t tell me right n-”

“Shhh~ If you behave well, I might tell you~”

“Do I look like a child to you?”

“Ahahahaha~~ Yes.”

“… … How about you start driving already…”

“はい~ ”

Regan is at his limit
“…”
This begins the journey to the middle of Mojave desert

A gas station, West Coast, USA
Saturday late morning

Carol has started refueling her JMX, Regan is still recovering from the humiliation

Miya is also refueling her camper

“… Are you still upset with me~?”

“… … …”

“Ah~!” After Carol done refueling her car and pay for the fuel, she went to the gas station store to buy something

Few minutes later

“Hey~ look what I have in my hand~”

Regan looks over to see his favorite drink in Carol’s hand

“! … …” Regan wants It, but also don’t want to give in

Carol slowly brings the drink in front of him

“… … …”
Regan fell for it

“Will you talk to me now~?”

“Okay! Okay. I get it!”

moments later

“So… the event we’re going to is called ‘Shitbox Rally’ … What exactly are we going to experience?”
“Well~ I don’t know much, but based on what I read in the email… we’re going to have a run across the land of Nehmenweld.”

“ Neh… man what? Is that somewhere in europe?”

Carol lightly tap on Regan’s forehead

“H-Hey!”

“Obviously not~ anyway we’re going to experience extreme weather and temperature changes during our run. there’s also many hazards awaiting us which we don’t know, but It’s so dangerous that their scouts are carrying guns.”
“Huh? Huh!? To the point of having to carry a firearm? You should’ve TOLD me way earlier so I can reconsider my choice…”

“Now, now~ If I had told you everything back then. you two probably won’t come. so~ ”

“…” Regan has gone silent again…

“Miya! Are you done? we’re moving now!”

Miya gives an arm gesture to indicate that she is ready

“Okay~!” Carol steps on the accelerator

A gun store, West Coast, USA
Saturday late noon

“So~ I’m guessing you’re buying guns.”

“OF course I am! I left the guns at my house cuz I thought we were going on a relaxing road trip!” Regan walks into the store with
the other 2 following along

Regan approaches the counter where the gun store owner is standing “Um, I’m looking to buy guns.”

The gun store owner stares at Regan for a few seconds before finally starts talking
“Well, One of you probably has never fired a gun before, right?”

“Um? what do you mean?”

“You know very well that I can’t sell guns to people who have never passed a background check before. That girl with pink hair seems very nervous coming inside here.”

“!!” Miya surprised

Phone ringing tone

“Oh.” The gun store owner answers the call

“I’ll be back in a bit. you may look around, but don’t touch anything.”

The gun store owner then walks into the room behind him and stays in there for sometime

“Miya~” Carol looks over to Miya

“Y-yes?”

“Have you ever fired a gun~?”

“!! Wh-what kind of question is that…of course I haven’t. I-I would never ever shoot a gun in my entire life…”

“Oh… Well~✨I’ll find something for you to use then.”

“H-ha? Wh-why? didn’t you say It’s going to be kind of like a r-roadtrip?”
“Uh… well~ I guess I haven’t tell you everything~”

“!!!”

“There’s a possibility of us encountering something very dangerous, so you’ll need to learn self defense. Don’t worry~ I have some experience~”

“S-Some experience!? I-I don’t think I really trust that. What If w-we don’t survive!. Who’s going to bury us? We’ll die all alone!!… I-I don’t want t- ah…”
Miya fell unconscious

“Oh my~” Carol lift Miya’s body from the floor

Door opens

“Sorry to keep you all waiting. Now If you want to examine the guns that’s showcasing on the wall, do tell me.”

“Hm…”

Regan sees an automatic rifle and is interested

“Can I have a closer look at that one”

“Oh, the M4”

The gun store owner grabs the rifle down from the shelf

“This one is 2890$, It already has some modifications done to It, but that’s not a bad thing.”

“Um… do you have more affordable choices?”

“Unfortunately that’s the cheapest m4 I have for sale. there’s this one for 1520$”
The gun store owner picks up an AKM, It lacks the classic woods furnish but, the rest is still an AK

“And also this one and thi-”

The conversation went on for a while, but eventually Regan settled on a semi-auto FN FAL which he bought for 1300$ after some bargaining.

“(So… I bought myself a decent rifle… For Miya… If she can pass the background check in under 3-4 days which is kinda unlikely. But If she does, we might come back and get something for her. and also reserves ammo just in case… yeah we’re all set… I think)”

“We still have a few days left before the actual event starts~ so let’s go find a place to stay for now.”

“Right.”

The team then go out to look for a nearby motor hotel to stay in

Inside a Motel, West Coast, USA
Saturday night

“2 rooms for us”
Regan pays for the rooms and proceed to grab the keys from the receptionist

Before they make their way into their own respective room. Carol slightly tap on Regan’s back and quietly says

“Hey~ i might come to your room later so~ ”

“!! What?”

Carol then follows Miya into their own room and closes the door

“… (I should go to sleep early, maybe Carol won’t come and knock on the door if she sees that I didn’t respond.)”

Couple of minutes later
Knock Knock Knock… Knock Knock Knock… the knocking went on for few more seconds

“… (I’m not opening that door… please go away)”

The knocking stops… but. Pick… pick… … … Opens

“!!! (Did she manage to unlock the door!? Shit! better pretend to be asleep then.)”

Sound of the footsteps coming closer as Regan tries his hardest not to make any noise. The “intruder” stops to look around and starts wandering around inside the room

“… (Wait, is it really Carol? wouldn’t she have says something by now if it was her inside the room right now ahh whatever.)”

Regan continues to stay silent as he experiences the longest minutes he ever felt

Eventually the “intruder” left the room and closes the door

“(They… left? finally I can go to sleep…Oh yeah and ask Carol If that was her.)”
Regan immediately fell asleep

A Motel parking lot, West Coast, USA
Sunday morning

“Hey!”

“Yeah~ Reagan?”

“Was It you? Who came into my room last night?”

“Hm~? Oh I did say that, but I wasn’t actually serious”

“Say what? so…”

“Is~ something wrong?”

“N-No nevermind.”
Regan walks off towards the JMX and grabs the door handle

Locked
“Hey~! you need to unlock the door first!”

“I know!!”

“Catch~!! ”

Carol throws the car key towards Regan

Surprised by Carol’s action. Regan immediately runs towards where the key would be falling

“What are you doing!?”

He catches It

“Can you drive the car this time~? Just follow the GPS route.”

“Yeah sure…”
Regan inserts the key into the ignition and turns it clockwise, The sound of the electric starter spinning to start the crank follows with the noise of the 4 cylinders coming up to life

“Here goes…”

He puts the car into gear and slowly releases the clutch

Miya follows behind in her camper

Highway, West Coast, USA
Sunday noon

“Where are we going?” “You’ll know when you get there~” “…” Regan continues to drive with little to idea where they are going…

Time skip to next week Friday (31st March)
Mojave desert, Nevada, USA
Friday late morning

“How long have we been driving for… and are you sure that this is where we should be heading?”

“Certainly~ The destination point is in the Mojave desert”

“But I can’t see any roads that lead to where we are going. It’s just dry fuck off desert land”

“Obviously~ there will be no road as where’re currently somewhere in the middle of It~”

“…”
Few hours have passed since that short chat. It’s now late afternoon

Mojave desert, Nevada, USA
Friday late noon

It’s been a long journey to come to the middle of the Mojave desert. Regan is behind the wheel for quite some time now with no rest. His vision is still facing forward, but he suddenly sees black. He tries to regain his consciousness, but to no avail. Carol notices this and wakes him up before saying
“Let’s have a little stop before we continue~”

Both Carol’s and Miya’s vehicle came to a stop in a middle of the desert

Carol exits the vehicle and grabs the binocular to check the surrounding
The Regan and Miya is still in inside
“(Hm… according to the GPS… I think we’re very close to where we should be heading. Oh!)”

Carol increase the magnification of the Binocular

She sees a road trail leading to a bunch of vehicles in a large group, some are shitboxes, some are massive trucks, but other than that everything else looks like wavy dots

“Hey~! Regan!”

She knocks her hand on the windshield of the JMX

“… …! H-huh? What now? If It’s nothing important, please leave me be…”

“I think I see the meeting point now~! We should move now, you can have a rest later after this… Actually you know what. Let me drive~ ”

Regan moves to the passenger seat while Carol go on the driver seat

Meanwhile inside Miya’s camper

“(… I feel like d-dying right now… …)”

Miya is barely able to stay awake, but she also fears being left alone on this journey. She tries to stay awake by hitting her head on the steering wheel every now and then

Sounds of the 4 cylinders starting woke her up again. She sees that Carol’s car is moving again, She panics and immediately starts up her camper before follows behind

Couple of minutes later, the sights of the large groups of vehicles parking in the distance become much clearer, among them that standout is the large 10 wheeler RV and many anthropomorphic people that they’ve never seen before in their life.

Carol quickly finds the space to park her vehicle. Miya park the camper closely to her.

End of Prologue

[Elizipeazie]

Public Service Announcement

---

The deadline to change aggression and/ or Top Gear behavior for Stage 1 has passed.

Any later requests will not be considered at this time.