Shitbox Rally 2023 - Stage 14 (FINISHED!)

:star2: TEAM FRIENDSHIP! :D :star2:

Catchup post! :D

Team Friendship! :D’s Introductory Post

Previously, on Team Friendship! :D

After having been suddenly denied power in camp, the team went to try and clear up the situation; but found matters out of their control for reasons far beyond them. The team was still too optimistic, however, at this early stage in the rally, to let a setback like this keep them down…

(Previous Post)

OOC note: this post is my attempt to cover the past 4 stages in one post; as a result, it’s pretty rushed, and not every stage got a full writeup. In the future, my goal is to do one writeup per stage, and with this post I should be caught up to do so.

The Mojave & Shiverwind (Medium-length summary)

Right after the conversation with Valentin, the team went straight to bed for the night, where the good weather set a good tone for the coming adventure; they didn’t actually need to run the bus during the night, since the temperature was just fine. And the drive through the rift the following morning was similarly uneventful, with the help of their very-reliable bus.

The 2 had wanted to help the other teams during the breakdowns, but with traffic so packed in the rift, they didn’t even have enough space to let down their exit ramp, let alone navigate between the parked cars. So the 2 just stat and waited, mostly pretty bored, but a bit anxious since their bus only barely had enough range to clear the rift (at one point, Riley siphoned some of her own gas into the bus’s just to be doubly sure).

But on arrival to Shiverwind, things suddenly looked a lot worse. With temperatures suddenly as low as -10C, the team realized they hadn’t quite thought of cold weather when preparing their bus’ electronics. and while the risk it posed to the team’s electronics was small, it wasn’t something they wanted to chance. Plus, Freddie was already known to have trouble starting in cold weather anyway. No, they figured the best course of action was to keep the bus idling through the night, to keep the cabin and batteries heated.

And then there posed another problem; their bus was very inefficient on its own, and after that long drive, its 30 gallon tank was nearly empty. Shiverwind point didn’t have any gas stations nearby, so the only place to get gas was from from Shift Happens’ very expensive reserve tanks (which were already partly empty from filling up other cars on the trip).

So after wondering around a short while without seeing anyone, Riley ran into Takaraya, a quiet-but-professional seeming wolf who made very-quick work of filling the bus (and Riley), taking the money, and leaving. With that done, she went back inside, and the 2 sat in the quiet bus for the night, too worried about conserving fuel to try anything more. Their plans of decorating their bus, and mingling with new people, would have to wait for tonight.


Silvercreek (Medium-full-length with dialogue)

Their worries remained the next morning, as they started driving, but after a hundred or so miles they did actually manage to find an actual gas station (which was a absurdly cheaper this time), easing their worries about fuel a bit. And upon arriving access to camp, with such proximity to the resources of the city, they were a bit more comfortable venturing out to look for their first decoration.


As the 2 microcars drove around town, they caught a few passing looks from civilians, since they were somewhat different (and a bit smaller) than anything else on the roads. But they were only a little bit different, and certainly not the flashiest cars in town today, so most of these were but passing glances. There was one group of 3 young boys though, hanging out downtown, who found themselves right near the 2 as they stopped at a stoplight.

“Ey, where’d you get the toy cars?” Shouted one lad at the cars, with an undertone of mockery in his voice.

Freddie, who was in the back of the group, turned to look at them. “:sparkles: Oh, we’re from out of town.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, we’re with that expedition :sunny: from :rainbow: another planet! :rainbow:” Said Riley

It took him a moment to process what he was seeing, but… yes. There was no driver inside. The car, itself, was talking to him. He looked at his friends, to see if they shared his surprise; their looks confirmed they did.

“I remember hearing something about a convoy running through,” one of them spoke up “from some other world or some sort”

“Who the hell comes all the way from another planet just to visit Silvercreek,” the 3rd cynically said.

“We’re actually doing a tour of the :confetti_ball: whole continent! :confetti_ball:” explained Freddie, who had hopped onto the sidewalk. “This is just one of our really cool stops! :rainbow:

Riley had also followed Freddie towards them, but didn’t go onto sidewalk. The friends, meanwhile, seemingly begun to accept the idea of 2 cars talking to them… “Oh, so like, the 2 of you are driving across country yourselves?” said the original speaker.

“Well not ourselves, of course, that’d be unfair for the competition.” Said Riley. “We’re driving our :blue_heart: Bus! :blue_heart:

And the friends were lost again.

“Wait so; you, cars, are driving another car, across the country?”

“Yup! :blossom:” cheered Riley, who seemed to notice nothing weird about this at all. “And actually, we were planning to decorate :gem: it as we went along, with something from each town we stopped at!”

“Yeah! :star2:” joined Freddie. “Actually, if I could ask, is there anything special art :art: or art traditions in Silvercreek, that we could use as a decoration?”

“This is the most dull, boring city you’ll ever find, partner.” the cynic remarked, his confusion momentarily overcome by his self-deprecating attitude. “Nothing but a bunch of cold and silver mines here.”

:bulb: Oooh, Silver!” perked Freddie. “I can work with that! :sparkles:

“Yeah, there were a lot of silver mines on the way in.” said Riley. “Great idea!”

“Alright, well thanks for the inspiration! :rainbow:” Freddie told the group, as the cars turned back to get on the road. “It was nice to meet you! :cherry_blossom:

“Yeah! See ya! :yellow_heart:

As the 2 drove off into the intersection (which was now green for them), the 3 kids were left thinking about what just happened.

“So… that was the ‘convoy from another world,’ then? …Not exactly what I was expecting.”

“Well, thinking about it, why were we expecting anything at all? It’s another planet, who knows what it’s like there?”

“I guess…”


After some shopping around town and some very basic metal-working, Freddie was able to fashion a hollow mock-coin out of aluminum, complete with a basic engraving of a tipple, and spray painted with silver-paint. The job was a bit rushed, as Freddie was still anxious about the cold and wanted to be outside as little as possible, but he was nonetheless quite proud of his work.


Hollenburg (Short-length summary)

The drive to Hollenburg was even less eventful, since fuel was now readily accessible along the highway and the weather getting a little better. As inefficient as it was, the bus excelled at cruising long distances in terms of power and stability. The drive was pretty long, though, and by the time they arrived in Hollenburg, it was already late in the day; it got even later as they drove around the large city, taking in all the sights.

Realizing they’d run out of time, they quickly tried to think of something they’d seen a lot of, and remembered there’d been a lot of freight rail around the town. So once the went inside, Freddie used their onboard printer to print out a vinyl sticker of a freight train, which they stuck on the left side of the bus before calling it a night.


Coalscoop (Medium-full-length with dialogue)

The drive to Coalscoop was a bit more challenging through the ice, but the bus’ immense weight generally kept traction surprisingly high as long as the driver stayed careful. And this was, once again, another day of uneventful travel; with one exception.


Watching all these strange, interplanetary vehicles drive past, Officer Norman didn’t really understand what the fuss was about. Sure, they all looked strange and unusual, but fundamentally they weren’t that different to anything else on the road; they all had wheels, headlights, and drivers like everybody else, and had to follow the same rules as everybody- Now wait a minute, Chief! Just wait a minute; see through the windshield of that one truck there? Is that what looks like a cyclecar, parked where the driver should be?!

In a haste, Norman fired up his siren and pulled his cruiser onto the road to catch this runaway truck, as all the cars nearby pulled over to let him past- …except, to his surprise, the driverless car also pulled over.

Well, okay. this made Norman’s job a lot easier, but also made him a bit confused. He wondered if maybe he’d seen wrong? The truck had been staying in its lane and following the limit like normal… But no, as he stopped in front of it again, he did see a parked car where a person should be. And it didn’t seem parked very stable either, it was shifting around a bit even with the truck stopped.

As Norman walked up to the truck, he gave a cautious “Hello?” to check if anyone was inside. And there was, as he immediately heard back, (in a high-pitched almost childlike voice), “Hi there :tulip:, officer! What’s wrong.”

“um, How many people are inside this vehicle” he asked, as he approached the opened right-side window.

:green_heart: Two :yellow_heart: of us, sir!” the voice cheered, as Norman realized the green cyclecar was now facing him through the window, instead of forward like before. This can’t be…

“Uhh, sir? Are you a car?”

“Yeah! :tada:” The car responded, complete with matching ‘body language.’

“And you are driving.”

“Yup! :ribbon:

“Okay… are there any people on board then?”

“Nope, just me and Riley :yellow_heart: on board!” the car gestured further along the bus, where there happened to be another window, with another car visible through it- this one a tad bigger, but still pretty small.

“Okay, I’m sorry but I’m not really used to a car, uh, driving a bigger car, so- 'could you show me how you manage to control the vehicle.”

“Oh, of course :star:, sir!” said the car. “You’re welcome to use the ramp on the other side.”

Cautious of anyone who’d so willingly let an officer into their space, Norman walked over to the other side to see an electric garage door peeling upwards to reveal the interior, in tandem with a ramp pulling out to. The yellow one drove out to allow him to step inside, and while he was a bit too nervous to go in very far, he did look in just enough to see another lift leading to the green car’s driver’s compartment.

On the floor of this compartment, there were what looked like 2 slits in the ground; the green car showed how it could stick in its wheels in them, and control the bus’ with them as though they were its own. It took a bit of explaining- most notably, Norman struggled to understand that the car like the green one could be fwd -but he got there eventually.

“We can show you the rest of the bus, if you like! :sunflower:” The yellow one offered.

“Oh no, that’s fine.” Said Norman, as he got out. “I just wanted to make sure there was someone on here that was safely controlling it. And you guys are, well maybe a bit wierd, but… looks like you’re up to the task.”

:confetti_ball: Hooray! :confetti_ball:” Cheered the one in back.

“Nice to meet you then, officer! :+1:” The driving one concluded.

Norman was about to say goodbye himself, but then realized something. “Here, uh, wait a minute while I write up a report on it. I have to do this for every time I stop someone.”

“No problem! Take your time! :bouquet:

That he would, Norman thought to himself, as he realized how hard it’d be to get anyone at the station to believe him. Heck, he barely believed himself even with the bus still here…


Arriving at coalscoop, the weather regressed to about the same as it was the first day in Shiverwind, albeit without the wind, and with a gas station available in town. And this made them start to realize that, maybe they’d become a bit too afraid of the cold. Sure their first day worries were probably valid, with gas being so hard to access, but otherwise what’d they have to worry about? They’d seen -10° weather back home, and other than Freddie’s problems starting they could handle it just fine.

Besides, they were surrounded by fuel, civilization, and fellow camp members, what did they really have to worry about? And worst of all, as their encounter with Norman had reminded them, their fear of the cold had kept them from doing the one thing they came here for in the first place; meeting new people!

So as they were making today’s art, a minecart out of coal dust (the idea hadn’t taken very long to come up with, coalscoop was a pretty simple town), they got to make a promise; next stage, they were gonna make a point to meet someone. Regardless of the weather, whether in camp or in town, they would do what it takes to make a friend tomorrow. Because otherwise, what was the point of even being here at all?

4 Likes

Stage 4:

Coalscoop to Nehmenberg

Temperature at mid-day: 9°C

Night-time Low: 4°C

Weather Conditions: With few, scattered clouds, expect a lot of sunshine and minimal winds.


Camp Challenge: Fastest Time around the Evergreen Forest Circuit (Airfield)


Upon looking at the map in the morning, it’s obvious now as to why we detoured away from major cities to come to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. Instead of a straight, fast run from Hollenburg to Nehmenberg on Highway Route 1, we diverted to Coalscoop… So that we could drive the 1337 curves of the Serpent’s Spine forest road, through the Evergreen Forest.

Traffic enforcement seemed to be light, and traffic was almost nonexistent, which meant those who had sporty cars had something to look forward to. Everyone else, however, looked on in dread at the amount of turns they’d have to navigate. Those who didn’t have power steering looked particularly concerned.

The speed signs said 30 MPH / 50 km/h, but just about every curve had “suggested speed” signs of about half of that.

A certain lack of guardrails, combined with plenty of trees to tear up cars, offered plenty of reasons to reduce one’s speed for self preservation.

This was, as a result, a particularly grueling drive for everyone, making it almost an endurance event to deal with 1337 curves in 306 miles of road.

At the end, when we rolled into Nehmenberg, it was a well-deserved respite from sawing at the wheel. The capital city, 1.3 million people strong, with a couple of early high-rise buildings immediately visible, welcomed us and our tired arms as we rolled in. We were given space to set up in their campground at the outskirts of the city.


Next Stage Expected Conditions:

Road Speed: moderate
Road Condition: good
Traffic: high
Police: high


Results Here: SR2023 Stage 4 - Google Drive


@Madrias

Team Shift Happens

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Home Unit: 2:24.27

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Carry All: 2:09.64

Kasiya spent most of the 11-and-a-half Earth hour journey swearing while Rukari hot-miked the radio, broadcasting the huge, heavily-armored werewolf’s thoughts about this particular road to everyone in range. Takaraya had no issues other than learning just how much foul language Kasiya had learned in such a short time. While both rigs had feather-light power steering, he knew that Kasiya’s complaints were more about how often he had to spin the wheel courtesy of the huge number of curves in this road.


@Elizipeazie:

VS Mobil Generator AB

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Robert: N/A

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Regina: 1:46.42

With everything going to plan, including a 4 hour scheduled stop for Val to get a few hours of rest and spend an hour figuring out some currency details, it was a smooth scenic voyage on some well-maintained mountain track.


@Fayeding_Spray

Team M.A.D.

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Walkenhorst: 1:53.39

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Sakura: 1:45.40

Despite traveling as two separate cars again, it seemed there was an unspoken agreement to stick together again. The only difficulty experienced on the trip was passing a couple slower-moving HD-GV units dragging huge trailers. Well, unless the radio was tuned to the same frequency as Shift Happens was using… Then the other difficulty would be listening to Kasiya’s cursing tirade and the complaints about “drivers not giving him any space” as well.


@Shibusu

Team Sinesian Rejects

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Imbe: 1:36.69

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Itan: 1:37.66

Ianis floors it to leave camp and travels at a great rate of speed, though nowhere near flat out. The other three take off in the Frankencar at a more normal pace. When the Itan inevitably ended up pulled over for a warning, TJ blared the horn as he passed by… Only to be pulled over three turns later by the same cop who had dealt with Ianis. Thankfully, only warnings today, no tickets, and no jail time.


@Interior

Team Not-So-Slow

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Schnell: 1:36.64

The winding, twisting Serpent’s Spine road called to you to push the car hard. Unfortunately, the siren’s call of a fast drive on a scenic winding drivers’ road ended up sounding a lot like police sirens. A ticket later (for crossing into the oncoming lane), the Schnell was back on the move.


@TheYugo45GV

The Ambassadors

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Ivera: 1:32.99

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Mayland: 1:40.57

The decision to split up here meant that the crew in the Ivera had no major issues beyond a speeding ticket, while the crew in the Mayland had a real bad time. There was, after all, a loud pop from under the hood, and an awful lot of steam. Then the engine got hot and had to be shut off. The lower radiator hose split, spilling coolant everywhere. With no water up here, a decision was made: Put the car in neutral and let it coast downhill, soapbox derby style. It was slow progress, but eventually, the car rolled most of the way down the twisting, winding Serpent’s Spine by the power of gravity alone. It was just a matter of pushing the heavy Ambassador into camp, replacing the hose, and then refilling the coolant before starting the engine and properly parking the car.


@Doot

The Knockouts

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, 1325 Facelift: 1:21.6

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Papillona: 1:46.66

You would think that Kate would learn to temper her speed. After running over a spike strip and destroying all four tires, she was caught by the police. This time, however, instead of looking around like she was going to run, she put her hands up on the window glass and went willingly. As a result, they didn’t bring out the big scary Dyre from the huge police wagon parked behind the car she ended up inside. Octavia, on the other hand, enjoyed a very scenic cruise on a road she found to be somewhat fun to drive, even if her pace was a little under the speed limit.


@MrdjaNikolen

Team Mravolinski-Chitco

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Saguaro: 1:49.03

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Kontir: 1:56.78

After the hell of the previous two stages, fate seems to have given the two vehicles here a small break. With the Kontir leaning wildly around every corner courtesy of the camper shell, it’s at least an exciting drive.


@Jaimz68

Team HETS

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Franklin: 1:25.70

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, FM VanGo: 1:48.64

Between a speeding ticket in the VanGo and two old ladies wanting to take all the pictures, this was a very slow stage.


@AMuteCrypt

Team Flaming Gallahs

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Priscilla II: 2:21.72

It’s slow yet steady progress in the party bus. No tickets, no tire troubles, engine running fine, everything is as it should be… Except for a slight chance of catching a load of cursing on the radio, and a lot of curves to take in a very-well-decorated bus.


@Edsel

Team Friendship! :smiley:

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Bazard: 2:00.31

It’s hard to say what the two cars think of the winding road. It’s clear that it’d be a great road to drive on in a sportier vehicle.


@Knugcab

Team Hillbilly Rollers

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, IP Rugger: 1:46.37

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Sanju: 2:04.40

Things didn’t go so well today. The Rugger’s engine started making an awful banging sound. Janne recognized it immediately - that was a rod knock. The decision was made to stop now, at the side of the road, and do a field-repair before the rod got tired of knocking and made a window in the block. After all, they had the spare parts. Unfortunately, Janne’s inability to consider the amount of time the repair would take meant that they spent nearly one full Earth day with the engine torn apart on the side of the road. Thankfully, a bit of that time was spent getting some sleep in to keep sharp, because once the engine rebuild was complete, they rolled into camp basically just in time to eat breakfast and start the next stage.


@Odyssey_Fan

Team Sane Insanity

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, KKR S2: 1:37.42

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Roadmaster: 2:03.75

It’s all fun and games until someone fries the tires while drifting and then has to reduce speed severely due to driving on completely bald tires. Meanwhile, the minivan ends up with a warning for driving into the oncoming lanes.


@PortalKat42

Faolan Industries

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Aether 52 H: 1:35.77

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Aether 11/2: 1:32.41

It seems that the bad luck continues for the Faolan Industries team. The speeding ticket was bad enough. A sharp rock causes mayhem for the 11/2 when it slashes one of the suspension lines, spraying fluid across both lanes and causing a noticeable drop in ride height. After a reasonably quick (for what they were dealing with) fix, however, a trip had to be made back up to Coalscoop to get enough mineral oil to refill and repressurize the system, then back to the stricken car to actually complete the repair. Thankfully, the repair held fluid, and once the car was back up to driving height, the dynamic duo continued on their way… But not before tossing some sand over their spill to keep other drivers safe.


@AndiD

Team Taciturn

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Mara: 1:53.93

After agreeing to drive more carefully and keep their car in their lane, the two aliens make another quick run.


@BannedByAndroid

Team ReUnity

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Ursula: 1:29.79

With the engine’s bellowed roar echoing off of the mountain and through the woods, and judicious use of shortcuts no one else would dare take, the little crossover escapes the cops once again.


@SheikhMansour

Team Spy Kids

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Reekayns: 2:06.68

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Mocabey: 1:35.21

“You don’t have to run faster than the Dyre, you just have to outrun your friend.” Such is the case for the Reekayns, which escaped and made it to the camp without any trouble. The Mocabey, on the other hand? Its crew was hauled out and handcuffed, an officer barely restraining a huge, 11-foot-tall werewolf who clearly looked excited about the chance to chase people through the forest. Guess it was a bad time for the engine to stall thanks to a bad fuel pump.


@IDK158

Team J3

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Tiharris: 1:21.06

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Rhien: 1:31.77

Both cars hit the same rock, both cars got the same nasty gash on their oil pan, and as a result, became two more soap-box derby racers to make it into camp. Thankfully, the team was able to sleep in camp with the clocks still technically running, until Jayde woke up, was able to repair their oil pans, and the cars were started in time to start Stage 5.


@JCurtiss96 & @Leone

Team Aeromad

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Juggernaut: 2:16.89

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Torrento: 1:28.88

Other than the driver of the Juggernaut getting a polite bit of advice to keep it in the lane, and three pit stops for the fuel thirsty Torrento, it was a mostly uneventful journey.


@Tzuyu_main & @FallingComet

Team Black Rabbit Disavowed

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Seikatsu: 1:50.21

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Dauer (Camp Challenge Winner) : 1:18.89

Fast, but under the radar, leads to a quick time if you’re lucky. Getting the fastest lap in the camp challenge also feels pretty good.


@Texaslav

Sheriff Scott’s Posse

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Warren: 1:26.03

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Bowie: 1:44.70

Both cars get a ticket, one for speeding, the other for driving in the oncoming lane around a corner, trying to pass the first car. Otherwise, it’s an uneventful scenic ride.


@Xepy

Team “486”

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Viera: 1:19.73

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Kleinbus: 1:24.89

No problems other than hearing sirens for the better part of 2 and a half hours before the police gave up on chasing you.


@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T

Team Magdelena

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Baumhauer: 1:33.53

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Hinode: 1:42.50

While the Hinode got a quick warning for speeding, it was the slower-moving Baumhauer that got the ticket. Lesson learned - Don’t pass cars on the shoulder.


@SurrealCereal

Team Machinas Con Passione

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Blue Wonder: 1:37.79

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Faenza: 1:22.70

Both vehicles, despite traveling at different speeds, have relatively uneventful trips.


@GetWrekt01 & @That-S-Cop

Cunning Stunts

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, VHT: 1:42.66

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Contra: 1:30.78

Another team out for a pleasant drive - at least in the Contra UTE. The VHT “Sand Hopper” was not as fun to wrestle through 1337 curves.


@EnCR

Team Till D End

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, JMX Linx: 1:37.03

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Avantii: 1:47.37

The Linx was a bit of an anchor on this trip. Between the warning for crossing into the oncoming lane, followed by what could best be described as “an engine explosion,” it’s a slow overall time. The Avantii was used to tow the stricken car into camp, where Kivenaal helped repair it once the team had torn it completely down. Then it had to be put back together again, and before it went back in the car, the need for food and sleep took priority. Thankfully, getting the engine back in the car and started up meant that the timer stopped for Stage 4, with only a bit of time remaining before Stage 5 started.


@LS_Swapped_RX-7

Basedworks

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, RV: 1:44.86

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, MCMOTD: 1:25.33

Having slowed down previously to avoid as much aggressive attention from the police, the MCMOTD makes it into camp without any issues. The RV is only a couple hours behind.


@Mikonp7

Team Gunship

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Haapala: 1:32.45

Between getting a ticket for speeding, and spending an awful lot of time driving slow thanks to the ass-tastic road-holding capability of the chunky offroad tires you put on it, it’s a slow trip for the open-cockpit sporty car. It really didn’t help your speed much when you hit a patch of oil and spent several minutes spinning tires.


@Ldub0775

4 Dicks in a Truck

Evergreen Forest Circuit Time, Centurion: 1:52.30

Things were going well until the cops pulled you over and gave you a ticket for crossing into the oncoming lane. It would’ve been a warning, but someone just had to argue that they didn’t cross into the lane. The cop’s response? “You damn near ran that half of your truck over my hood.”

6 Likes

26 hours left to change aggression for Stage 5!


Cunning Stunts

*Roleplay and status updates maintained by Yours Truly

Chapter 3

Stint 3

A long Travel time and Convoy Logic did not do itself nicely when a truck slowed the Convoy down and it’s been determined that most fixes can be done with tools in the cars, Any major Repairs would be done at camp by Murray and Zach, So they change attack plan to split the cars up and repair major damage at camp and do a bastard fix for the Contra Ute if were to go down in the stage.

Stint 4

Basically just racing the 2, Nothing went wrong, which is a suprise.
So it just reads as Sophie Ragging on the Contra Ute and Lana making sure the VHT was going to be on 3 wheels more than it was on 4 wheels, We did grab a few dead tyres from the road though, those will be helpful for prolonging the active tyres on the trucks when they do go out.

S-cop out, See you in 2 results.


3 Likes

Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Part 4

Last part has brief mention of entities belonging to other teams (@Jaimz68 , @idk158 and @doot in exactly this order)

Does anyone want to go to Hollenburg?

Well…in case of certain individual, we already know the answer…

-GET ME OUT OF THIS SHITHOLE
YOU BASTARDS
FUCK YALLL
LET ME GOOOOOO

Two people responsible for looking on prisoners decided to discuss:

-What is she saying?
-Probably wants to go
-Rules say she shall stay three days here. That is yet to pass…
-Tough luck
-CAN SOMEONE PLEASE QUIET THAT BITCH DOWN!!???
-She will quiet down by herself
-SHE IS LITERALLY ANNOYING ME FOR TWO DAYS ALREADY…PLS LET ME IN HER CELL SO I COULD QUIET HER DOWN
-…aaaand thats why we are here. You are multiple-time criminal, besides some other stuff bcos…
-…i stole from and beaten up some other people, ye ye.
-We also think this is her first time being in a cell.
-I think she is just one entitled pain in the ass that needs some grounding
-Ofc

About 40 Aetherian minutes passed, but Leopolda was still requesting to let her go

-When are we going to get some lunch here?
-You know schedule very well by now and its not going to be delivered for few more hours…Besides, we never heard you requesting lunch earlier
-I just want her to finally quiet down on something
-She refused to eat last time we gave her food
-Just as i thought…entitled “im center of the world” type of people that goes to my nerves.
-She is going to stay just a little bit longer, ok? She is going tommorow.
-I would prefer if you let her go now
-We would too, but the rules
-Fuck the rules
-…aaaaaand thats why we are here
(both the other policeman and prisoner) -can you shut up, man


Local is now sitting in his seat, counting out money he gotten from the ride. Pedro was beside him, looking at foreign banknotes blankly.
He gestured he would like to drive by gently pushing Local and attempting to squezze to driver position.
Local understood, gathered money and exited the car, couple of seconds later entering from other side and continuing his financial revision.
They stopped near some bakery and Pedro had grabbed some loose change that was hanging around, which was noticed by Local and he decided to give him some money for food
Thats when vehicle finally stopped moving around and settled on one place

-What are we going to do now?
-I suggest sleep
-We already slept or, well, napped on road to here. Lets just go and find some toilet and return to car
-Yes, let the girls go first then we are next. Seems Local is also about to leave the car and we dont want to leave it unattended
-Ok

Local also left car, but seems he wasnt looking for toilets. Both Earth groups had did the things and were now waiting for Local.

-Does anyone want to go to Hollenburg?
-No, fuck off, i wait for the…fuck off, ya peasant, stop smelling my air
-Is he drunk?
-Yes.
-Im not drunk, fuck off
-Swaying like that says otherwise
-So, i guess you are all waiting for bus?
-Yes, your services arent needed.
-Hmm, ok…would like to have some more money.
-I want some hot girls to make me company in bed.
-I want a cake
-I want my granpa to be happy and healthy

Drunk (and obviously willing for horizontal action) guy had looked at cake enjoyer

-Really? Couldnt you have specified piece of cake?
-No. I want whole cake
-Damn

Some other guy arrived on station, settling as well…that was until he saw our beloved Local nearby

-Are you driving to Hollenburg?
-Yes, would prob want to go to Nehmenberg as well afterwards…kinda strapped for cash right now.
-Not really what im used of hearing from you, but will join…and i suggest everyone else to do so as well

Drunk guy had chosen two words to respond

-Why would we follow your example? We are all waiting for the bus…like actual officially mandated bus
-Bcos that bus had broke down
-How would you happen to know that?
-Im bus driver, one that was supposed to drive you all and…had feeling this guy (aiming in direction of Local) may be nearby
-You saw me at bakery
-Ofc i saw you at bakery…now lead

Local had appeared with bunch of other people.

-Here we go again…let us rearrange ourself.
-Im staying here, bcos i reckon Local may need some rest from driving.
-Ok, i will take the wheel when you get tired
-Ofc Shaike, you will be informed.

-Who are these people?
-Hmm, just some friends i picked up couple of days ago.
-They are talking strange language
-Yes, i think they arent from around here…although that means they are never tired from my stories
-Oh my…also, why is one of them at driver seat?
-I guess he wants to drive now: dont worry, i will show him where to go.
-How?
-One does not need to speak same language to be able to communicate
-Also…why?
-Admitedly? I wanted some company and saw we can all benefit from teaming up: they did seemed properly lost ngl.
They also call me “Local”. I have no idea what that means, but i guess we may find out.

As was already said, Pedro was driving this time around and other members tried to help in other ways: Shaike and Mrdja tried to help with luggage and loading up some and females were gathering money and delivering it to Local
Local was giving directions via hands and soon enough Pedro realised they are going back.
Drive was uneventful and they will once again spend the night in Hollenburg.

Beginnings of purrrfect story

Ok, then, i guess we shall start the story…from its beginning

This story starts with our protagonist, obviously. There isnt much known about her, except for fact that she had appeared before
Interaction with people she just had, first in what is presumably relatively long time, left her wanting to be alone and alone she was for some time
Day was needed for her to come and encourage herself to get back to those people, potentially giving another chance but as you, reader, may happen to conclude: it was very much too late for that.

Grief for waiting would happen to be of short duration, as hunger took over and protagonist of this part of post had helped herself with nearby birds.
Guard of nearby town would happen to take notice of this and few pieces of meat along with showing of positive attention made our protagonist very interested in this guard

When it came time for his shift to end he brought her with him home, too, where she stayed for unknown amount of time that is likely measured in months as his family pet.
Her next piece of adventure that leads her to some emmigration was when son of guard wanted to continue his education elsewhere and she would join him so he isnt fully alone in that cruel, unknown world
But that piece of story can wait for next post

Serpent`s Spine

After managing to wake up and embrace new day, team had disconnected power and started preparations for next leg of journey.
Loodjoe and Siviko very reluctantly took wheels and drove off.

After the hell of the previous two stages, fate seems to have given the two vehicles here a small break. With the Kontir leaning wildly around every corner courtesy of the camper shell, it’s at least an exciting drive.

This excitement proved to be fair bit too much for Loodjoe and he already requested someone else to take the seat, few minutes later Siviko did the same
Amanda took place in Saguaro and now all eyes were directed at who will drive Kontir
As Mat and Andrea werent keen on traversing so many turns and twists and Pi still felt consequences of some earlier exercise, Chicota was put in hot seat.
Some more fuel also found way to Saguaro`s fuel tank, which was actually main reason for this stop

Driving had continued at bit brisker pace and without wild leaning moments, reflecting that these two are most skilled drivers of team

There were ofc some minor setbacks, like:

  • two older ladies that just wanted to take the best possible picture
  • oil streaks on road, later revealed to be originating from two cars found further down the road
    It just so happens that they hit some big rock, thankfully avoided by our team
  • oh, also team saw police from here arresting someone for first time
    this was short sight, about as short as person being arrested

And this just revealed how many teams in this journey this team is yet to meet

-We should try to make new friends in camp
-Hmmm, not a bad idea indeed: all of those seemed like they are in this journey as well
-They were: those old ladies seemed to use devices from Earth and both arrested shortie we saw and those two cars with turned off engines used very modern cars
-Two cars used very modern cars
-I think i had tad bit too much booze and im kinda tired and this isnt my first language
-Ok Mat…
-Why those two had turned off engines?
-Do you recall some big rock we found on road? And then seeing some oil on the road?
Ye, i would hazard a guess and say that rock caused them quite some grief
-This run is going rather well, actually, nice change from previous two stages
-Ye, but who is to tell what next stage may bring…


image
Nehmenberg would prove to be competitive in size to Belgrade (whose size is noted in picture above), which meant the possibility of traffic jams…something that seemed to be very well fulfilled indeed.
On the road to camp, they had also gathered some supplies if shops were indeed along the way and with that in mind, they went into camp and would prepare for sleep and rest

2 Likes

Stage 5:

Nehmenberg to Nehmenweld National Park


Temperature at mid-day: 15°C
Night-time Low: 7°C
Weather Conditions: Cloud cover increases a bit, breaking the direct sunlight on rare occasions. Winds also are marginally increased, but are of no concern other than the reduction in perceived temperature.


Camp Challenge: “At a Snail’s Pace” (Turbocharged Cars get a point.)


Today’s planned stage had some people (notably, within Shift Happens) curious as to “why, exactly, are we leaving a perfectly good city to go camp in some park?” The answer is actually simple: Camping was always the goal here. That there’s been the possibility to ignore the campground with provided electrical power all this time has been a luxury, not a given situation.

As we all made our way out onto the roads and found ourselves on Highway Route 7, several things became immediately apparent.

One, the speed limit on this road was set at 55 MPH / 90 km/h, which given the somewhat winding nature of the highway wasn’t too surprising, even if it was annoying for some people.

Two, there was a hell of a lot of traffic cruising along at or around the speed limit, plus or minus about 15 MPH (24 km/h), though with most trending toward UNDER the limit.

And, three, there were a ton of black-and-white police cars, and they weren’t hesitating to light up the handful of local speeders… If they saw them.

If there was one thing going for Nehmenweld’s highway system at this point, however, it would be the fact that it’s scenic. Unlike the American Interstate system, where it’s four lanes or more of blacktop across great, empty expanses of land with nothing to see, Nehmenweld’s highway system was four lanes of primitive blacktop weaving its way through the countryside, dipping in and out of small local forests, carving a path around a great big lake, even taking a trip through a quick tunnel to avoid a longer loop around a small mountain.

As we left the highway to head for the national park, it was another mildly serpentine road, dodging massive redwood trees as we closed in on the park.

Just outside the park grounds, we crossed the train tracks at a wide level crossing, then made our way into the campground.

While there were a few log cabins to shelter in, the main area was meant for tents. Or, in our case, to turn it into a giant parking lot.

At least while we’re here, however, those looking for something to do could hike the trails. Or, if you’ve brought bicycles, you could ride the trails instead. In fact, the locals seem to have designed the trails for exactly that purpose, as the occasional cyclist can be seen weaving their way up one of the paths, or disappearing down another.


Next Stage Expected Conditions:

Road Speed: very high
Road Condition: good
Traffic: low
Police: none


Results Here: Untitled spreadsheet - Google Drive


@Madrias

Team Shift Happens

It was nearly an hour into the trip when Kasiya heard Takaraya cursing over the radio, followed by a request to stop as he’d had a breakdown. Upon assessing the situation, Takaraya slid out from under the truck covered in a blackish-brown mess from a blown oil line. After creating a new line and running it to the oil cooler, then to the engine, the engine was filled back up with oil, and Takaraya took a few extra minutes to rinse as much oil out of his fur as he could before getting into clean clothes and back behind the wheel.


@Elizipeazie:

VS Mobil Generator AB

What was a decent start to the trip turned into a bundle of confusion and delay when Robert had his first derailment. While traveling at the legally required speed of 10 miles per hour through the switch, a combination of small events collided to create a problem. First, the signalling equipment was saying that the track ahead was safe, while the switch wasn’t set correctly. Second, the signalman hadn’t set the switch for a smooth transition. Third, Robert, at 2.5 metric tons, wasn’t heavy enough to just force the switch to the proper position. And finally, there was just enough momentum behind the train for Robert to mount the steel rail like it was a curb, then come crashing down into the ballast. With a squeal of steel against steel, the skidplate slid over the rail, followed by Robert’s rear axle, and almost immediately after, the trailer’s leading axle. Luckily, this incident was noticed immediately by a signalman who quickly radioed it in to get a breakdown crane out here to help re-rail the train.


@Fayeding_Spray

Team M.A.D.

Sakura Citrine - 1 Turbo

A relatively clean stage for the documentary team, other than a stop for the crew in the Citrine to explain to an officer that, yes, their car did “sneeze” at him. After a quick warning about not speeding, they were back on their way.


@Shibusu

Team Sinesian Rejects

Other than Ianis getting another warning for speeding, there’s not much to say about this stage. Things are going “well” in the Frankencar, other than the already-defined-as-normal pinging.


@Interior

Team Not-So-Slow

Another easy stage for the beaten-up old luxury car.


@TheYugo45GV

The Ambassadors

Today, it was the Ivera’s turn to pop a bunch of tires. With the Mayland long gone by that point, it was a “short” 3.5 hour hike to a small village to find out, no, they don’t have car tires, followed by a 3.5 hour hike back, and then half an hour of tearing the interior apart to realize, “Oh, the fix-a-flat kit was under the driver’s seat all along.”


@Doot

The Knockouts

One car races to the finish in a hurry, the other takes a scenic Sunday drive. No problems arrive today, even if the screaming sirens have left Kate a little deaf in one ear.


@MrdjaNikolen

Team Mravolinski-Chitco

A smooth drive down a fast, though scenic, highway leaves the crew in good spirits.


@Jaimz68

Team HETS

It’s all fun and games until the VanGo, tailgating the HiWay, overheats and splits a lower radiator hose. Fixing that on the side of the road was the opposite of fun.


@AMuteCrypt

Team Flaming Gallahs

Things were going perfectly fine, and even though a lot of time was lost trying to help Team Sheriff Scott’s Posse diagnose their engine troubles, it left the team in high spirits.


@Edsel

Team Friendship! :smiley:

With all the memorabilia hanging around the bus, the two sentient cars quickly found out the locals like to talk. A lot. After a 17 hour “fuel stop” which included more talking than expected, the bus finally was fueled up and back on the move.


@Knugcab

Team Hillbilly Rollers

More of the usual in the old military truck and the (t)rusty Rugger. Marie honking the horn and tailgating, only to end up surprised herself when Andreas brake-checked her. A few crunchy gear changes later, and Marie passed the Rugger to return the favor… which Andreas had no issue avoiding in the lighter vehicle.


@Odyssey_Fan

Team Sane Insanity

Other than some concerns about whether that actually was a scratch on the minivan, or just dirt on the fender, it’s a trouble-free trip for the maniacs in the built-from-scrap sportscar and the rental minivan.


@PortalKat42

Faolan Industries

It was almost a trouble-free run today. The driver of the Aether 11/2 quickly learned that passing on the right is a ticketable offense in Nehmenweld. On the other hand, spending 30 minutes dealing with a police officer was far more pleasant than dealing with a breakdown.


@AndiD

Team Taciturn

Curse these unreliable Earth transports! After thoroughly reading the owner’s manual, then checking the gauges, they were able to figure out that the ignition coil had come unplugged…


@BannedByAndroid

Team ReUnity

Other than realizing that those Highway Patrol cars are a bit faster than the local ones were, there’s nothing really new to report here. Another clean getaway for Team ReUnity.


@SheikhMansour

Team Spy Kids

Mocabey Pioneer - 1 Turbo

The driver of the Reekayns had noticed the car was behaving oddly leading up to the police stop. After shutting the engine off and receiving their speeding ticket, they couldn’t get the car to start. Upon opening the hood, the problem was spotted immediately: Someone had stolen their battery with magic. An angry march to the nearest village turned up a pair of 6 volt batteries, which worked decently enough after clamping a wrench between two of the terminals.


@IDK158

Team J3

Rhien Willow - 1 Turbo

When the battery conked out on the Tiharris and the Rhien screamed to a stop with a fried clutch, Jacia used her powers to find parts to fix those two cars. She’s not sure where the battery came from, but it got one car going, but the clutch she got on the first try was absolutely destroyed. Instead of trying to “borrow” more stuff, she used magic to fix that clutch to get the cars back on the road.


@JCurtiss96 & @Leone

Team Aeromad

The deafening roar of the Torrento and the somewhat more muted growl of the Juggernaut announce the presence of the airplane-engine-powered duo into every gas station along the route.


@Tzuyu_main & @FallingComet

Team Black Rabbit Disavowed

Seikatsu Diesel Galactic - 2 Turbos

Both vehicles’ operators got a ticket today. Nehmenweld’s police aren’t as fond of drivers weaving through traffic.


@Texaslav

Sheriff Scott’s Posse

Warren Warlock - 1 Turbo

When the Warlock’s temperature shot through the roof, the crew pulled over to let the car cool off and try fixing the problem. A couple hours into waiting, a flamboyantly-decorated bus turned up, with the people inside offering assistance. One bad thermostat and a full radiator of water later, the Warlock was as good as… Well, at least as good as the day it arrived in Nehmenweld.


@Xepy

Team “486”

Kaufmann Viera - 1 Turbo
Kaufmann Kleinbus - 1 Turbo

I’d say that sirens and flashing lights in the rear view mirror are exciting, but for Team “486,” it’s just routine at this point.


@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T

Team Magdelena

When the Hinode Ambulance ended up a bit down on power, they weren’t really expecting any help, especially as their “teammate” drove off and left them behind. As a result, the Blue Wonder of Team Machinas Con Passione stopping just behind them was a surprise, and when tools were brought over to help out, it was even better. Unfortunately, the bumbling buffoons probably made the repair - two bad spark plug wires - take even longer.


@SurrealCereal

Team Machinas Con Passione

Faenza Spirito - 1 Turbo

When Team Magdelena had a problem, Alessio had to help. After all, there’s no better ally than someone who owes you a debt. After replacing their air filter, swapping around the plug wires, replacing the serpentine belt, attempting to clean their throttle body with an empty can of WD-40, and finally deciding to just replace the plug wires after being told for the 15th time that the wire was exposed, the car was fixed.


@GetWrekt01 & @That-S-Cop

Cunning Stunts

Other than both drivers getting a warning for speeding, things were good for this crew today.


@EnCR

Team Till D End

Like many other drivers, a warning for speeding put a sour note on an otherwise great run.


@LS_Swapped_RX-7

Basedworks

Surprisingly, it was the RV that got all the attention today. The lesson learned? Nehmenweld has some humor when it comes to unmarked police cars. That one was colored up like a taxi when it lit you up and gave you a warning for speeding.


@Mikonp7

Team Gunship

The advantage of having no roof or doors is that when you get a warning for speeding, you don’t even have to roll down your non-existent windows to talk to the cop.


@Ldub0775

4 Dicks in a Truck

Centurion 9000 - 2 Turbos

After making great time for such a big, heavy rig, a police car pulled you over to offer you a present. Surprise! It’s a speeding ticket.

4 Likes

Team Slow
Part 4, Chapter 2.


(this is mainly to compensate for my lack of recent activity)

The police sirens weren’t so fun on the last stage. Justified for crossing into the oncoming lane though. Not much to talk about at stage 4.

We get from Nehmenberg’s campsite, Izzy gets behind the wheel and the two get going to the next stage, which happens to be at similarly-named Nehmenweld. The little hatch that could went well with the roads and bumps. The 1.9 litre engine didn’t struggle through. After what seemed to be like an eternity, we arrive at a log cabin and stay there. Matt gets out the car and the two astounded that the cabin’s interior is quite 1930s. Izzy gets some of the supplies into the cabin. Matt goes and parks the car into the makeshift parking lot. The car was reliable so far, and not much more to document about.

(sorry this one’s actually really short i didn’t feel like doing a long one)

3 Likes

A reminder, aggression and mode changes are due in roughly 20 hours!

TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS (et al), PART 3.2 - THE PARTY
(This takes place in stage 3, and is a collab between me, @Elizipeazie, @JCurtiss96 , @Leone , @TheYugo45GV , @MrdjaNikolen )

Norse was the first to notice the opportunity of meeting new people, even if it was a textbook “free candy” scam for adults.

[dialogue in Swedish]
“Some people are throwing a party of sorts, wanna join?”, Norse asked, to which Valentin agreed with remarkably little in the way of resistance.

[back to english for speech]

A notice was put up for other teams to contact him via radio if he was needed at the power plant, after which the two headed over to the Wolverine. Not long after, Mary excused herself from the remaining Speshul Forces and also headed towards the Party-Truck. The nature of the obviously military vehicle already had Valentin be less than comfortable. Still, Norse spoke up to whoever was there to speak to, just as Mary joins the pair of visitors. “I heard, well… saw that you are throwing a party of sorts? Still have seats for two… uhm… three people?”, Norse inquired.

Arne was leaning on one of his crutches, smoking the last remains of his cigarette with his other hand when a bunch of people, seemingly from Team VSmgAB arrived. There had not really been that much socializing with other teams this far, one good reason absolutely being the Marie-beer-incident some days ago. At least, judging by the military clothing of the woman arriving shortly after the two men, there could be something interesting to talk about there.

“Oh, good evening!”, Arne said. “There is quite a lot of place in the camper still”, he said and pointed on the doors with one of the crutches. “Just walk in, I’ll be joining in soon”. He briefly got a feeling that there was something else he should tell them before walking into the camper, but didn’t give that a second thought since he really could not remember what that was supposed to be.

“Walk… hehe.” Norse could not stop himself from chuckling a little, thinking about how Val would enter. In this distraction, Norse brushed the sizeable inanimate Team Member, causing it to sway back and forth before eventually tumbling to the ground behind the Wolverine. Somehow, nobody else noticed this happen, until Valentin started to fold his way inside, focused on not getting caught up on the impromptu staircase, the doorframe or the roof of the camper upfit. In doing so, he inadvertently steps on top of that cactus, thus obliterating it while also not causing any direct harm to Valentin thanks to the carbon fibre plate that is embedded into the sole for stiffness.

“Oh what?” Valentin mutters as he steps aside to see the results: “I think that plant is no more… Sorry about that…” He then starts plucking individual spikes out of the rubberized coating of the sole, thinking that somehow it would limit the damage done.

Inside the Wolverine, Janne and Andreas was still arguing with Marie, and hardly noticed that some people actually were walking through the door. If anything, they probably thought that it was just Arne.

“Give me some moonshine!”, Marie said.

“No, we have Trocadero for you”, Janne answered.

“Yeah, and Arne and you got yours with moonshine, why can’t I?”, Marie answered.

“Because you are going to be driving tomorrow, you stupid fat wreck”, Andreas told her.

“Why do we have to drive tomorrow, can’t we stay here for one more night?”, Marie asked.

“Now stop this shi…”, Janne said, then looking at Val with big eyes, realizing that he had done something he was going to regret.

“YOU KILLED MY CACTUS!”, Marie screamed furiously, red in her face, looking at Val.

“Hey! CALM DOWN!”, Andreas said and tried to stop Marie from leaving the place where she sat.

Valentin could tell that this Cactus was important to Marie and went defensive: “I swear it was not on purpose!”, he protested, stepping backwards to get some distance between the two, the sight of which made worse by the fact that his shoe still looked like Sonic the… Porcupine. Norse and Mary were visibly overwhelmed with this sudden ordeal of shouting and anger. Marie was fighting like crazy while Andreas tried to hold her back.

“HE KILLED MY CACTUS AND NOW I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!”, Marie said.

“NOW STOP THIS CRAP!”, Janne said.

He threw a roll of duct tape to Andreas, then helped him to wrestle Marie down to tape her hands together behind her back. After that, they taped her to the frame of the bunk bed. “Now you sit here until you calm down!”, Janne said.

“RELEASE ME, AND DO IT NOW!”, Marie shouted.

“If you’re not quiet, I will tape your mouth too!”, Andreas said. Arne was at the same time entering the camper. “What’s all this noise?”, he asked. Then he looked at Marie. “We have guests now. Behave!”

“To be honest”, Arne said to Val, “the rest of us think you’re a hero now.”

“Don’t be afraid”, Janne continued. “She will probably calm down, eventually.”

“LET ME LOOSE!”, Marie was screaming. Valentin just kept repeating that it was not intentional, soon being joined by Norse in support. “Nobody wants to witness death via anger or impulsive thoughts. And i won’t go deeper than that…” Valentin said in an attempt at reasoning while reversing further to the point of there being a good three meters between the camper door and Valentin. Norse had since shuffled back over across the couch to the seat closest to the door, thus creating some gap between himself and Marie.

Arne went out after Val. “Hey”, he said. “Don’t be afraid. We’re all on your side, she won’t have a chance to do anything. Besides, we all hated that cactus anyway. She will probably calm down rather soon anyway. She was already grumpy because she won’t have anything to drink tonight.”

“I cannot help you get rid of booze either. I don’t drink…” Valentin mumbled, still feeling like being in the wrong for having killed Spikey, even if it was accidental.

“Good on you. Alcohol wrecks people…” Mary commented, hiding the fact that she was a fan of the occasional stronger beverage. Though it was apparent to both Val and Mary that Marie was a more avid drinker.

“Ah, don’t worry”, Arne told Val. “Just come in anyway, nobody will force you to do it. We bet that someone is going to compensate for you anyway. I know who would want to do it but she’s not getting any”, he said and smirked.

“HE KILLED MR SPIKEY!”, Marie was shouting from the camper. “OK, NOW WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!”, Andreas said and pulled some more tape from the roll.

“MFBBBBBFMMMRRHHHHH!”, Marie now was trying to shout from behind the tape. “You see”, Arne said, “Now she is probably going to calm down sooner or later since she has no alternative”.

Just after Marie was “pacified”, Mary made her way in as well, sitting directly across from Norse, leaving the cab-side couch seats empty, but temporarily inaccessible. “You Northerners sure are… unique…” Valentin mumbled, watching Marie snake around and shout from behind the tape, eventually making his way into the camper as well once she was at least starting to lose steam. Norse shuffled over a spot to make room for Valentin, who was promptly engaged in a mini-fight of his own against the ceiling fan as he lightly tapped it with his right temple. The fan retaliated by spinning just far enough for the next blade to do the same on his left.

“Ow… Ow.”, he grunts as he drops into his seat, still very much hunched over.

“Origami-Val at it again, hehe!” Norse joked as he inspected the result.

“At least the flexibility and strength training paid off… It is less bad than it looks,” Valentin commented, resting both elbows on the table.

Marie kept on mumbling behind her tape. “Behave when we have guests!”, Arne said, and she finally seemed to give up and calm down a bit, realizing that there would not be too much of a point in fighting while being taped in place. Andreas sighed when Val hit the fan. “Was it really a good idea to put it in there?”, he asked Janne.

“Yes it was”, Janne said. “What if it gets hot?”

“Hot?”, Andreas asked. Yeah, putting in a fucking A/C was too much of a task I guess?"

“There was no A/C on the dump!”, Janne said. “Anyone wants something to drink?”

“To me, the fan itself is more of an issue than any amount of heat could be. Though i am not you and my train has AC.” Valentin blankly commented, “anything non-alcoholic will do for me. Except 0% beer, that just tastes horrid…”

“Sign says ‘free booze’. If beer counts as ‘booze’, all the better. If not, whatever lightest variant of ‘booze’ there is, i guess.” Norse added.

“Same as Valentin for me, please. Am technically still at work.” Mary commented in reference to camp patrol tasks shared with the remaining soldiers.

“No problems”, Arne said, giving Norse one of the beer cans that until recently had been locked into the IP Rugger. Marie seemed to be protesting again behind the tape, but quickly realized that it would not do anything good. To Val and Mary, he poured up some Trocadero into two plastic cups. “Non alcoholic…”, he said to Val and Mary, and then pointed at Marie. “I think someone here almost count those words as swearing!”. Marie nodded, which after all was possible to do despite the amounts of tape she was strapped with.

Meanwhile, there’s a sound of V8 engine as the boat that is the Mayland Ambassador trundles into the camp and rolls to a stop near the Wolverine, beside a pile of disused tunnel supports and minecarts.

“Free booze inside?” Landon reads the sign in the window of the military truck. “Just what are those Swedes doing?”

The car’s engine shuts off as Karl twists and removes the keys from the ignition, while watching the large truck parked nearby. “Let’s go and find out then, shall we?” He asks, intrigued. “Can’t argue with that.”

The can was promptly opened, but not yet emptied as Norse awaited for the remaining group to collect their drinks. The other two inspected the curious soda-like drink in their respective cups, as neither of them have even heard of Trocadero being a thing. A non-verbal mutual agreement had both of them also wait for the rest and their drinks for a collective emptying of whatever beverage container they had.

“Hey, no question there’s some V8 rumble outside now?”, Janne said, with Marie nodding somewhere inside the tape inferno.

“Nah, there absolutely is one…”, Andreas said.

“Mayland. I am sure.”, Arne continued.

Janne walked through the now somewhat more crowded camper, opened the doors and looked outside. There indeed was part of team Ambassadors there, getting out of their black Mayland Ambassador. “Good evening!”, he said to Karl and Landon. “Did you have some struggle today? I think I saw that Mayland coming in the wrong direction? Maybe you held the map upside down?”, he said, and laughed a little.

“Evenin’.” Landon greets as he approaches. “I saw the sign in the window over there.” The general indicates with his finger. Karl on the other hand, to Janne’s question responded: “Yes, the IVERA caught a rusty nail in the tire. Had to buy four tires to get the wheel to work, I do hope they are okay.”

“They’ll be fine.” A cold response from the General. “Aryton radioed me earlier.”

Just then Ramius hopped out of the Ambassador’s window the six legged wolf landing in the pile of disused wood getting his silver fur dusted with a little bit of coal dust. He then approaches and sits down next to Karl, mouth ajar, and his tongue hanging out. Karl then massages the top of his “wolf’s” head. Landon then resumed the conversation. “Right, so what’s going on here? You got some kind of party goin’ on in here?”

Janne answered Landon’s question with a “Yeah…long story short, we need to get rid of some alcohol. But there is nothing dangerous with it, or so…”. He then answered Karl’s tyre struggle. “Yeah, I am surprised that the tyres of our rides have been holding up so well. The IP is wearing some 90s rethreads that I don’t trust at all, and the Wolverine…well, they are probably stock from 1980 still”. He looked at the six legged wolf. “Eh, nice…dog…but can he wait outside? I think the camper is a bit cramped for him.”

Karl looks down at Ramius, who returns the gaze and then runs off. Landon meanwhile is interested at the prospect of having a drink. “If you got a surplus of whatever, I’d be happy to oblige in helping to get rid of it.” He glanced at Karl. “You?” The caracal shruggs. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

“We’ve got surplus of most things”, Janne said. “Just get inside, it’s cold outside here anyway”. He opened the doors to the camper to let the Ambassadors in.

Both Karl and Landon, as they get in, immediately take note of the low ceiling, because of their heights, in the camper portion of the Sanju. They also make a note of the cactus that appears to have been stepped on. Landon meanwhile observes everybody else in the room, who is present. “Hey there.” He greets. “Got any room for us?” Karl meanwhile was silent, but was also looking round. Spotting some of the luxuries in the back of this pseudo-RV.

“Sure.” Mary and Norse both reply, almost in unison while Valentin just nods in a state between latent discomfort and annoyance. They all then shuffled over towards the other end of the Wolverine, during which Valentin once again met his closest friend within the camper. The ceiling fan. “Goddamnit…”, he blurts out, thus adding anger to the mix and making it patently obvious that he was not having the time of his life in the party-truck.

Since Marie had been calm for a while, Andreas ripped off the tape over her mouth.

“Ouch!” she yelled.

“Now, you can get half of a beer if you keep calm for a while, we can even loosen the tape from your hands if you’re nice, OK?”, Andreas said to her.

“Giving me half of a beer is like giving an elephant one peanut”, Marie said.

“Well, you’re not wrong, you’re reminding me pretty lot of an elephant”, Andreas answered.

“Hey, be careful with my fan”, Janne said to Val. “It was the nicest one they had at the dump!”

Arne looked at Karl and Landon. “Want something to drink?”

A look of concern manifests on Karl’s face when he sees the female member of the team in the Sanju restrained with tape. Landon meanwhile accepted Arne’s offer of a drink.

“You got whiskey or anything like that?” He takes care to be mostly polite. As that unfolds, Karl moves to find a place to sit.

“I mean, what did you expect from him if even I can’t stand up straight in here?”, Norse said in response to Janne’s displeasure regarding the fan. In the same time, Mary slides over to make way for Karl to sit. Still, none of them had even touched their drinks, which resulted in the visitors from VSmgAB remaining silent for the time being.

“Whiskey? That would have been something”, Arne said to Landon. “We’re a bit short on luxuries here, take this”, he said, pouring some moonshine in a couple of plastic cups for Karl and Landon. “I guess this will make the colour somewhere near right”, he said, pouring a little dash of Trocadero into the cups, probably still not enough to camouflage the somewhat unrefined taste. Andreas unwrapped Marie’s hands from the tape, cracking a beer open, pouring half of it over in a cup for Marie, drinking the rest of it himself.

“Now, neither you or I will have too much to be able to drive tomorrow. Now, behave or I will tape you again!”, Andreas said in a firm voice.
“Grumble…grumble…whatever”, Marie said and started drinking her beer.

“So…anything interesting happened during the race for any of you guys yet?”, Arne asked, of course aimed towards the other teams.

A couple hours after the party started, the now-unmistakable sound of Aeromad’s V12s approaches the camp. The Juggernaut is in the lead at first, but the Torrento swings out from behind and sails into camp, coming to a stop near the camper. The truck hits the brakes not far behind, but the wheels lock on a slick patch and the truck skids forward, stopping inches from the car’s rear quarter panel. Jenny gets out of the truck, wide-eyed and relieved she didn’t just plow into the car in front of her. Max emerges from the driver’s side of said car, followed by Leo from the passenger side.

“Hey look,” Jenny exclaimed, pointing to the sign on the camper “free drinks!” Max looked to Jenny, who was already heading inside, then to the camper.

“Sure, why not” he shrugged, then looked to Leo, who followed him inside.

Landon takes a whiff of the moonshine. He doesn’t notice anything wrong with it, so he takes a sip. The alcohol hits him like a truck, and he tries not to cough. Karl shoots him a look that no one else except the General can decipher.

“Is this safe to drink?” Karl whispers. “Last time I tried moonshine I almost got methanol poisoning.” His friend gives a sideways glance flashing a worried face, which then fades. Also in a hushed voice.

“He wouldn’t have given it to us or brought it here if it wasn’t safe. Just try to force it down,” Landon pauses. “And, be polite about it.” The interaction is not audible enough for any words to be made out but the body language says otherwise.

Valentin, Norse and Mary now also started with their drinks. Norse had few problems with his beer, nor did Mary with her cup of Trocadero. Valentin was hesitant, as he had no idea what exactly it was, but at least he was 99% sure that he would not get drunk from it. After taking a cautious sip and a pause for deliberation, the remaining cup soon follows suit. “This is good… soda?” Valentin complimented once the cup went back onto the table. “Anyway, the trip has been remarkably pleasant. Not having to steer and only watch for a traffic light every three miles or so is about as easy as it is gonna get.”

“Until we are swapping 32 wheels at either end of the trip,” Norse countered.

“You make a solid point. Still worth it, in my opinion, especially with sufficient manpower. And womanpower,” Valentin then remarked, taking care to also include Mary as part of the team, which obviously made her happy even without needing to comment on it.

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Outside, some chatter from Team Mravolinski-Chitco could be heard:

-But first, we need to connect power -Val is not at generator, prob should contact him via radio -I have an idea where he may be…and i guess you would like to join them

-OH YES -Im going too, i hear some music in Swedish so i guess hosts are Swedes?

-They are -Nice

-If you dont mind, i will go too; would like to meet someone new

-Rest of us will be at car…Amanda will connect power

-Hrmph…ye, could do it With that, Mat, Chicota and Andrea went towards the Wolverine

Arne and Janne laughed a bit at Landon’s struggle with the alcohol, but didn’t really say anything. Marie didn’t say anything either, you could just say from the look in her eyes that she was jealous for not being able to have it herself, when she sipped on her cup. Then they looked over at Team VSmgAB, which really didn’t seem like the heaviest drinkers either. “Haha, well, apart from a fried clutch, and SOMEBODY that could not keep her hands from the beer, it has been pretty calm here too”, Andreas said.

Outside, the loud rumble of the V12 in the Aeromad was heard, followed by silence. Some people were clearly heading towards the door. “Well, I guess it’s pretty obvious who’s arriving”, Arne said. “JUST COME IN!”, he yelled to them. Jenny was the first one inside, followed by Max, then Leo. "

Hey guys. So, what’s with the free boo- oh, that’s probably why." Max says, interrupting himself upon observing Marie and putting 2 and 2 together.

“Ooh, I’ll have what she’s having.” Jenny jokes, before realizing how close she is to the fan and backs up slightly

Leo follows Max inside, and very quietly closes the door behind her. She’s already not very steady on her feet as is and has a weird look in her eyes. “Can I uh… ca-can I uh, uh… can I uh… have uh, the, uh, bottom bunk on, uh, the bed? Can… can I sit there? I-I uh, joint pains, and shit. I need more uh… better uh… sorry I’m a little uh, fuck. You know what I’m trying to say.” she asks/states/whatever the fucks, obviously having a bit of a struggle with asking questions to a bunch of strangers.

The Aeromad approaching prevented any of VSmgAB to appropriately respond to Andreas’ rundown of this event. “Hello there”, Norse said, followed thereafter by the others greeting the additional guests.

As Leo requested a seat on the very opposite end of the Wolverine, Valentin nodded: “I have no problem with that. I need to get going anyway, as some people probably are awaiting being connected to Robert.” This prompted Norse and whoever else was sat on that row to temporarily get out again, thus freeing Val from the cramped interior, but not without a last unintentional bout with the ceiling fan. With everyone out, Leo had sufficient room to claim the desired seat before the remainder retook theirs. Mary, seeing Valentin head back to their rig, was visibly disheartened about it ending this early, but did not say anything about it.

While the trio was going towards Wolverine, they had saw Valentin exiting the Wolverine.

Andrea: I presume this is Valentin

Chicota: Yes, thats him indeed

Andrea: We shall ask him if he is going to connect power

Mat: Im sure he is going to do just that, we will leave that to Amanda In meantime, they got relatively near Val Chicota(Directed at Val): Hello, how is it going? And, did you like the party?

Trio had in meantime approached the camper

Andrea: Do we just enter or what?

Chicota: Yes, we enter.

BONK! Other two had started laughing, as Chicota overestimated height of camper and bonked head on roof Chicota: Not funny. He inspects the roof, finding that this left no consequences on it

Chicota: Hello there, i heard there is free booze avaiable. Whom do we have to thank for that?

Mat: I presume someone here is Swedish, as i hear Meduza playing?

Andrea: WOT

Mat, back in English: Its a Swede thing, you would not understand. Lets just sit down and hear if rest has something interesting to say.

Chicota: I will have some of that free alcohol, if there is any left

Mat: Im not heavy drinker, but can handle some drinks myself

Andrea: I will go for something non-alcoholic, for start.

“Marie is having nothing”, Arne said to Jenny. “She has screwed up more than enough by now, and will be driving for the rest of the race anyway”.

Andreas sighed at Leo’s struggling with saying what she wanted to say. “Just sit down there, OK?”. The whole team, though, got a great laugh out of team Mravolinski-Chitco entering the camper. First by Chicotas loud bonking, , then by Mat appearantly being excited by Eddie Meduza being played.

“Yes, we all are Swedes”, Arne said, and started serving the team what they wanted. Marie was almost starting to protest against the alcohol being given away, but Andreas quickly brought out a roll of tape, which immediately made her quiet again.

“Oh did she? I think I caught some of that. Was that you guys that drove by laying on the horn while we were fixing a runaway throttle?” Jenny responded with a slight laugh.

“Hey, don’t get too full of yourself. It was you who sent the car into that ditch!” Max teased, giving Leo a knowing glance.

“You still uh, owe me that 20 dollars, from the uh, bet.” Leo responded, returning an equally knowing, but slightly annoyed look, tail flicking.

Leo didn’t always appear to be paying attention, but her ears would follow the voices around the room as they spoke. Jenny blinked a couple times as she put 2 and 2 together, before looking to Leo, then Max, the offense clearly written on her face.

“Wait wait, you two took bets on whether I’d crash??”

“Yeah, I figured a beach girl like you wouldn’t know how to handle snow,” Max chuckled “but Leo had more faith in you. I had bet it was gonna be on that first bad curve.”

Jenny was about to respond when Mravolinski-Chitco entered and Chicota hit her head on the very same fan she almost hit. Jenny couldn’t help but laugh a little. "You ok? That almost got me too.

Karl and Landon both remained silent as the other people arrived. Of course, Landon could tell the third member of the team piloting the Juggernaut truck was a little baked but he didn’t pay any further attention to it. “I’m starting to think,” Karl began, keeping his voice low enough so only Landon could hear him. “We’ve got a wide variety of people here in the running.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, just look at the lineup we had in Nevada we’ve got Humans, Tigrilians, Khalans, You, Me. I can’t think of who else is here.” There was a bit of snark present in Landon’s voice.

“What made figure that out?”

“Spare me the sarcasm, Landon.” The caracal huffed. “Our reasons to be here is to find something that you’d call dangerous.” The fox gave a murderous glare towards his compatriot, it could be noticed by someone. But they are quiet enough so that no words can be made out.

“Karl. No. This is not the place.” Karl replied with a shrug, but understanding he made a slight error in judgement.

With Valentin now gone, the mood of the remaining two members of VSmgAB turned increasingly more neutral, especially for Mary. Team Aeromad placing bets on whether they’d crash or not did not help either. “Fuck I still owe Val 900 Krona…”, Norse mumbled to himself before looking at the members of team Aeromad: “Betting on Accicents is poor form, in my opinion, especially if 20 bucks are riding on it…”

Chicota entering and impacting the fan pulled Norse out of his mini-rant. “It got poor Val. Three times over”, Mary added with a worry on her face. The somewhat secretive conversation of the Ambassadors was noticed by both to varying degrees, but neither acted upon it due to a lack of knowledge on why they stayed quiet.

Chicota: Dont worry, im robot and can definitely handle little bonk on head. That being said, why are you holding Marie like a hostage of sorts, let her enjoy the drink?

Mat: She might be tasked as a driver

Chicota: I also recall that my dad and namesake certainly had fair few words to say about female member of winning team. Including drinking from spare gas tank by accident. Other two were quite surprized at this and shared puzzled look at Marie.

AndreaThey participated in previous run?

Chicota: Yes, there were three of them, choosing rather distinctive pink van…and they gave us lot of duct tape which we brought this year as well. Also, that idea on betting whether or not someone will not leave road is kinda funny…well, until someone gets injured.

Andrea: Anything interesting so far regarding your journeys?

Mat: And dont worry, we do have fair bit of stuff to say on that regard. Im most familiar member of team with wagon we brought. Uhh, i guess technically Pi would be most familiar with Kontir?

Andrea: Ye, but she wouldnt understand lot of it, so i guess i would be best to ask regarding that truck…

“Marie, what do you say about that?”, Arne asked her as an answer to Jenny’s question about the horn.

“I just have to check out if it was actually working!”, Marie answered.

“Well, to be fair it was quite hard to hear if it did”, Arne grumbled. All of team Hillbilly Rollers then laughed out loud when Chicota was bringing up last year’s rally. “Yeah, Marie, do you remember that gas can incident?”, Andreas asked her.

“HEY, it was not that bad, just left a kind of bitter flavour in my mouth afterwards”, Marie said. Then Andreas totally lost it. “And she painted the van pink while being so drunk…hahahahaha…that she really…hahahahaha, didn’t know which fucking shade she painted it! It’s completely hilarious!”

“HEY! Like you have only done things the right way all of your life!”, Marie said.

“No, but I haven’t done everything wrong like you!”, Andreas answered.

THWOCK! The loud sound of Marie slapping Andreas on the ear spread through the whole camper. “Now you got what you deserved!”, Marie grumbled.

Andreas took the beer can he shared with Marie due to also have to drive tomorrow. “I changed my mind, you will get ALL of the beer”, he said, and emptied the beer can all over Marie, that didn’t seem to react all that upset about that, because, well, beer.

Jenny listened to Hillbilly Rollers’ story with amusement, while Leo responded to Norse’s remark about bad form. “Well, I mean, fuck, if we cared about having good form we wouldn’t have pulled up in a pair of scrap heap salvage titles.” she chuckled.

Max overheard the exchange about his team. “Hey, the truck is at least still new, it just got a little banged up in the… landing.” he shot to Leo, before turning to Norse, “And I wouldn’t have agreed to the bet if I had any belief she’d get seriously hurt.”

THWOCK The noise cut everyone off and the eyes of all 3 were on Andreas and Marie. Andreas pouring the beer all over Marie earned an amused laugh from Max and caused Jenny to nearly spit her drink out

Of course, someone got slapped across the face. But, to the cat and fox they didn’t seem to care. Landon had finished forcing down the rest of the moonshine, while Karl had given up trying to keep it down. “Why are we slapping each other now?” Landon’s voice cuts through the air, but its not raised in any manner. Karl looked over, with a mildly annoyed face. “Should you even be asking?”

“I don’t know. I heard someone get hit and I had to. Now… why are you even asking me that?” An eye roll came in return.

“Forget about it.” Then the two went silent again watching as things unfolded further.

Norse was increasinly not-impressed with how some of the other people present were behaving. Namely, the crash-betting and the unprompted violence were getting on his nerves. “Alright i’m gonna jump ship for the time being… I wouldn’t call myself ‘privileged’, but i can say that randomly smacking others across the head is not the most elegant way of telling people to shut up,” Norse commented. Mary, meanwhile, used this as an excuse to also leave: “Well… was nice meeting y’all. Really gotta get going to start my stint ‘patrolling’ camp,” she spoke.

As they both left the camper, Norse immediately headed to the lodging trailer, within which Valentin was already asleep. Mary, meanwhile, practically sprinted over to the remaining soldiers and promptly got a very extensive, if unintelligible, scolding by Constantin for showing up late.

Trio watched this unraveling with great attention and Marie getting rest of beer was indeed amusing

Chicota: It was intended to be of other color? Also, what happened to it?

Mat: Ye, that could be interesting to hear

Andrea: Im going to try out that thing

Chicota: I guess i should warn you, too much of it could affect you rather negatively…

Andrea: I will ignore you

Mat: He is right. As (i presume) you never drank alcohol before, its important to be cautious Prob best to keep it at one beer

Andrea: Will do…one beer please ---------------------- Upon receiving the beer, she tasted the beer

Andrea: This is interesting

Chicota: Its of very peculiar taste, yes…you want me to finish it for you?

Andrea: No, i can do it on my own

Mat: So, how did yall managed to meet up and form your teams?

“Nothing like this then”, Arne answered Jenny and knocked on the wall. “This truck is in great condition, and I have been looking for a Sanju Wolverine for a long time. I am a little less sure if the IP Rugger will hold up, though…”, he laughed.
“It will hold up, believe me”, Janne said.

Everyone said goodbye to the remaining members of VSmgAB, just to get interrupted by team Mravolinski-Chitco again. “Well”, Janne said. “It all started out with me being able to buy the old Freeway Star we had as a service van at the IP dealership I am working at, for cheap. I didn’t know what to do with it though, but then we got an invitation to Shitbox Rally 2022, so we decided to enter. Then, Marie should repaint it black, but somehow she succeeded in painting it pink while being so drunk that she probably thought she was on another planet. And well, we crashed into dyre, more or less duct taped the whole van together, repaired the engine with old beer cans. And well, won the rally. But that van is history now. It is probably pressed flat at the junkyard we left it at after coming home.”

Jenny listened to Janne’s story with amusement. “Man I wish I coulda seen the van, that sounded like a riot!” she commented, then turned to Max “Hey Max, What about the truck? Seems like you and it have been through alot like their van.”

“Oh yeah, fuckin’ weird story on the Jug out there, and frankly me too I guess. It may not seem like it to you guys, but that truck is a brand new Juggernaut 862 5-Ton. Rolled off the line about a year ago now. In those terms, it’s in beautiful condition. Issue is how I got here.” he pauses to take a swig of whatever drink he was given “I don’t know how things go when it comes to classified data in other worlds, so forgive me for being vague. I was test flying a plane with a payload of various items, the truck being one. I ended up out of control and the plane got ripped apart in several flashes of light. The piece of the plane I was in wound up in Nevada, the truck and some other wreckage with it. Then I ran into these crazies,” he gestures to Jenny and Leo “or rather they fished me out of the plane and fixed me up, and I’ve been staying with them till I figure out how to get home.” After another drink, he chuckles “For a little bit, I actually did think the rift sent us back to my home. Turns out, this place is just eerily similar to where I come from.” his response may be humorous but there’s a hint of sadness in his voice.

Leo takes the end of Max’s short story as an opportunity to pipe up about the car. At this point she’s had a few drinks, and is feeling more confident in her speech. “So when the socially awkward airplane dork showed up it kind of threw a wrench in my plans for the car… Originally I was planning on building it into a numbers matching Redline convertible, but that never fuckin’ happened.” she takes a long sip of her drink.

“Jenny and I were on the way to a fuckin uhhh… junkyard right, to pick up some more shit for the ol’ clunker, and bits of this giant fuckin’ plane start to rain down from the sky, right, so we pull over, yada yada yada, fighter pilot maniac gets in the car, whatever.” she sighs loudly, and reclined back in her bunk bed seat. “So then however the fuck long down the line I got the email for this shit, and we chopped up the car with all these offroad mods and some other bullshit after we pieced it back together like fucking lego from parts off of like… I want to say 12 other Providence 2s. Tried to test run the bitch with the stock engine, blew cylinder 4 and put a hole in the hood because fuck me I guess, so we shoved the giant ass 12 from the other truck in it.” she was obviously a little worse for wear at this point, but went for yet another drink. She also seemed disappointed in how the car turned out. “Piece of shit didn’t fit so we had to fuck with the front subframe and cut a bunch of shit to fit the damn thing in, like… the firewall has a fuckin hole in it and the radiator is almost getting violated by the pulleys and all that fun shit. Trying to fit that engine in the car was genuinely at least 10 times worse than that time I tried to squeeze into my friend’s XS size hoodie, but that’s a story for another time.” she went bottom up on yet another drink, and flicked her tail. “Can I have another? I probably shouldn’t but fuck it” she asked.

Chicota: Quite sad end to it…hopefully this Rugger thing would be usable afterwards Mat Ye, but that story doesnt seem as crazy as, from what i understood, truck literally falling from the sky.

Andrea There were some spare parts for it in plane? Bcos you said…uh…that some car received truck…V12

Chicota No, and i quote: “Tried to test run the bitch with the stock engine, blew cylinder 4 and put a hole in the hood because fuck me I guess, so we shoved the giant ass 12 from the other truck in it.” which means another truck gave its engine for that car He then also recalled something Leo said earlier and took look at her

Chicota “Im trying to put this rather nicely, but XS means extra small…you are definitely NOT small”

Mat Could have been bet forged while pretty much everyone was on that level of “mistaking pink and black” drunk. That being said, can your teammates carry you to vehicle in case you indeed go overboard with drinks? We can deploy Chicota to carry you to there.

Chicota I can technically carry her, yes, but that wouldnt be valid incentive to just get absolutely drunk…we also have female member that can carry her

Andrea Is that what happens when you drink too much alcohol? Someone is carrying you to bed?

Mat Yes, but you arent going overboard anyway Some time was given as trio sipped on their respective drinks

Mat I suppose its only fair to describe the case of us getting cars…Saguaro was parked on our parking for as long as i know and i had decorated its documents when i was 2…fair few decades later some strange group of guys had decided to buy some car to move around in Sweden, getting that. Saguaro had also participated in 2022 Trafikjournalen 24h clunker run, finishing last but it was easily repairable and converted back into road going car So far it had proven to be very heavy drinker and was one of cars considered for some TV series in 90s Its here bcos i guess it was easy way out

Chicota Ye, we certainly had thought about some other options, but due to deadline for joining the challenge that was quickly approaching, we did chose to go with these. Afaik from my father, that competed in previous year`s Shitbox Rally, Kontir was bought cheap partially bcos it has undesirable engine: 4 cylinder 1.9 liter one As was case with previously mentioned wagon, this has some history: it was, too, going through…i think it was called Crugandr…and survived although with broken camper After that was utilised by Pi and Andrea for quite some time and…well…here we are again Saguaro so far didnt had any defects but required refueling during stages, but this had issue with driveshaft deciding that truck shall taste career of pole jumper and that, i presume, had impacted gearbox so that needed a fix during next stage Which is also one from which we had gathered here, btw…hopefully it will be better as we move on. I guess that story of how we ended up forming this team would be fair thing seeing that V12 truck gang had shared theirs, but in most of cases its also our life story, which may get relatively long. Only exception is Mat, that became kinda member of team when there were plans for participating in that Trafikjournalen thingy, as he was one that informed the rest and explained some stuff His dad was also very helpful

Janne, now being a bit drunk by swallowing a cup of moonshine too much started laughing hilariously at what Max and Jenny had to say. There was no way that it was true, he thought, but well, a good story is never wrong.

“As long as we have something to offer, you can have more”, Arne laughed and said to Leo, pouring up some moonshine once again.

“Hey, Ruggers didn’t get their name for nothing”, Janne said. “Don’t you remember when they tried to kill one on Bottom gear?”, he protested, meaning that the Rugger would absolutely have a chance to withstand this rally, and also another one.

“But there is a secret to it”, Arne said. “It is a 4 wheel drive with the transfer case removed, so don’t believe the stickers, it is only a 2 wheel drive now”.

“Yeah, because the transfer cases go for crazy prices”, Janne mumbled. Andreas laughed when they mentioned the last Shitbox rally. “Did you guys get any use for the duct tape?”. “Damn, I would really like to participate in 24h of clunkers some day…”, he continued.

As the night went on, the memories of what happened started to become more and more fuzzy from this on…

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Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Part 5

Beasts are unleashed, brothers reunited and some granmas fight

-Im awake, fuckfaces
-Good morning to you too…How was the night?
-Feel free to get into cell and find out
-No thanks.
-Question…is that bitch awake?
-You want us to wake her up for you?
-You said you are releasing her tommorow…yesterday
Which makes this the day of her release
-You really want to see her gone, arent you?
-She is most annoying person i met behind bars in very long time, possibly ever.
So yes, i really want her gone.
GONE

Another lovely cop rolled into scene with his usual note

-AAAAnd thats why we are here
-Better not jump into conversation you are not tuned into, makes you look more stupid than you already look
-I aint that stupid to be behind bars
-I aint that stupid to wear that uniform.

-…Sometimes we wonder why we even have you here
-So you look like you earn your wage?
Be honest, im making your jobs in the way.
-We could have been enrolled into Highway Patrol instead…oh the agony.
Instead of driving fast cars and getting laid with women, i hang out with you two.
-What, we are bad company?
-You are literal criminal and he…would prefer so many other people instead of him.
-Look on good side: im one that will stay here and she is going away

Cops took look at Leopolda, still asleep

-Ngl i do agree, we can understand what you are talking about and…yes, you arent really causing much problem for us
You did a lot of bad things and unless fate REALLY smiles upon your side, you are here to stay.
That being said, its very easy to imagine much worse cases to deal with: not causing much trouble for us is certainly good thing
-Well, helps that we do happen to talk to each other, being alone here in cell would be much worse without our talks
There are disagreements being on opposite sides of same page, but, this does mean lot to me
And i saw way worse accomodations

At about this moment, it sounded like someone is approaching the building. Steps became louder and louder, proving someone was indeed going here
Two people, both males, had entered through door and gotten into general area where our talkative trio resided (ofc divided by fact one is locked in cell)
Cops had became more tense and official in their stance and behaviour

-Lemme guess, big bad cop boy had arrived
-What kinda language is that…oh…
-You are surprized to see me here?
-No, dissapointment may be better term
-Thought so
-How do we have such pleasure to meet again?
-I was doing my thing…and they did theirs. But its nice in here, i had already established myself as main guy in here
-I heard we have new member?
-Ah…release her NOW. That woman in cell besides mine must be the most annoying thing conceived by pair of humans…when she is awake.

Subordinates had also joined convo, allowing their prisoner to talk

-She is due to be released today, her offences being agression towards police officers and speeding.
-Hmmm, maybe she aint so bad after all
-I guess she isnt from around here either?
-Nope

Other new arrival looked in cell and eyes had met

-Hrmph, not sure why im surprized to see YOU here.
-That begs question, brother…why are YOU here?
-Ah, simple. Main police officer requested ride to here and i obliged. He decided to treat me with some refreshments and stuff in return, as he thinks my group would appreciate it.
-Not that my usual remarks on these fuckfaces are rare, but i feel this time would be truly appropriate
I can guarantee we have good food and drinks and I dont complain on accomodation…but inviting regular person in here for any reason is hardly treat of any sort
-I must apologise for his language
-You are aware that two of these three are regularly exposed to said language?
-And im your brother.

Some pause has happened, long enough for one cop to bring chair for other man to sit.
Our tough guy, unbothered, had brought his “chair” so he can sit as well, or more precisely lie on bed he just brought to show dominance

-You said you now have some group of people with you?
Can you tell me more about it, as not lot of news come my way and i feel you arent in hurry anyway?
-Not sure if policemen would approve of this unexpected visit to you
-They would. Certain very annoying woman is due to go out today and that may happen to be their highest priority, meaning im only one that remains.
She is currently asleep, which is prefered atm by all three regulars here.

Other brother spoke

-Well, i arrived in Shiverwind Point few days ago…its widely known i like to travel and i was so tired.
Found out that there is some group there seeming lost, speaking weird language. They were helping around so they could stay there…or thats what workers told me.
Despite big language barrier i saw opportunity to not be alone on this trip and so we transfered their stuff in my car…
-You mean bus
-…whatever, and we are hanging out atm.
They seem to call me “Local” and i learned to respond to it.
Few of them offered to drive for me: they know how to drive.
Our currency is unknown to them, but they still manage to get food and water…admitedly using my money to do so, but i knew they were unlikely to have adequate currency anyway.

One of cops chimed in

-How big is the group?
-Five: three males, two females. One of guys seems to be tad bit older than other guys and girl, but another female would likely be old enough to be granma to rest and like a mother to him, no confirmed family relations there tho.
-I guess that guys could have atleast came with you to help with carrying food and drinks you are likely to get here.

Local chuckled

-Dont worry, they arent as big or as strong as you are
-Dissapointing
Lemme just return this back where it belongs (refering to bed) and if you need me, you know where to find me

Action is now moved in storage room, with Local, main guy and one of policemen

-Hmm, i wonder if our current female prisoner is from same…whatever as those guys from your group
-Good question, should be easy to check
-Another thing…as far as my files indicate me, our friend was not causing trouble while in here?

-If you are fine with being called some less-than-formal names, he was fine.
You already heard yourself: food is good, cell is good and we do tend to talk to each other
-I had warned you to not try to make friendships with prisoners
-I will remind you that he is only prisoner we receive and tbh, we do happen to know he is accepting of his fate.
He is not willing to get in bigger trouble than he already is in.
-I guess he would not misbehave if he is on road with his brother
-That would be…interesting.

Now we are moving from storage room with some load
Guy is chilling in his cell

-Hey, do you plan to sit on your ass or would rather help your brother?
-You know the answer, as that guy is absolute weakling.
To be fair, all of you are, but thats…(looks at the cop)
-(puzzled at first, upon realising)…why you are here
-Yes
-Im almost sorry to break up your little friendship circle now.
-What, you decided to transfer me to another place?
-Kinda.

-But i guess you would be stuck with me
-What…OH…that will be…interesting.

He said that exact sentence, but it was clear he was longing for freedom and very excited about this
When all was said and done, he grabbed a rifle and took few shots in air

-FREEDOM
-wHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING

Sees open cell door, basically sprints out of the cell and towards her car
To no surprize, she gets stuck.

-Im going to drive her car and you are driving my beast.
-Deal.
I guess i would need to thank you for releasing me, even tho its very likely we are going to meet again
-We hope thats not going to happen, as you may not even be in our region at that point
-Hard to tell…either way…while we called each other names and stuff, me and those two in back were otherwise treating each other as humans: i greatly appreciate that.
-Likewise
-Yeah

Car was pulled out, Local nudged Leopolda out and took her seat and bro opened door.
She decided she prefers her own car

-Im keeping an eye on you
-Catch me, dirty copper…WTF
-Im surprized too…so fast
-Damn, looks very sleek…would like a go myself at some point
-First you shall prove you can handle that
-Fair

New guy was quickly accepted when they picked up the rest of group but other new member of team was not viewed so nicely
Sora and Leopolda both took words of other to heart and started arguing, getting more and more riled up, resulting in Leopolda deciding to escalate.
Sora is ofc in much better physical shape and she managed to hold her own against her heavier opponent, even tho some punches would still manage to hit the target
This soon became running competition until Sora tripped but still those reflexes and intuition that allowed her to save lives for literal decades served her well here, allowing her to avoid Leopolda`s attacks and manage to take her off her feet too.
Sora was quicker to stand again and had went back to group.
Leopolda decided to note that its over for now, giving Sora victory

Both vehicles having their regular occupants inside (and in case of bus, few more other people) they steered towards Nehmenberg.

Claws of time

So, about this son and the pet…

Son had decided to pursue higher education, accompanied by pet. They settled into a new home and are coming to ropes with this new situation

One day, while trying to find some more relaxed book to read while relaxing from studies, he stumbled upon an forgotten book. Some say to not judge book by its cover but, due to state of covers here, that saying would be deeply compromised. Driven by curiosity, boy decided to borrow this book, unaware of the profound consequences that awaited them.
Librarian was some young intern not well versed regarding contents of book:

-Hello, what is this book about?
-Uhhhhh…its prob about…hmm, old and crusty
Have you atleast looked at its pages?
-No, i expected you to know or to be able to find about it

He then explains where he found it, expecting that books would be indexed by where they were
Unfortunately, someone missplaced this particular one

-That section is about crime novels
-Hmmm, so this must be something similar, then.
Alright, thanks

Upon arriving at his room, he had realised this would be little bit different writing than he was used to, but took this as challenge to find culprit
As he deciphered the text inscribed in the book, a surge of magical energy enveloped the room. The incantation unintentionally transported duo to the Nehmenweld.

-Uhhh wtf, where are we
Argh, prob should have seen it coming from beggining, now what?

Looks at where he read this part that transported them in here but before he could piece the thought back together, he was interrupted

-Where is…uhhh…this place…here?
-I had just arrived here
-Show me the way
-Im…not from here
-Dont care

He took look at map. It was of Nehmenweld

-Are you sure we are in Nehmenweld?
-Yes?
-Bcos i dont recall ever being in Nehmenweld
-How?
-Im…not from there
I had tried to read this book thinking it was crime novel
It was not crime novel
-I dont believe you

Book was shown

-It must be some manual for magic
However i dont know magic
I know that im lost
-Do you believe that i cant really help you with that?
-Sadly, yes.

They however decided to continue further together, forming trio

-I wonder if this event i heard about had progressed further
-Which one?
-I dont know the name, but there were talks about some group of other-worldly being deciding to take a trip in our world.
My father talked to me about their horseless carriages and that seemed quite impressive
-Are you living under a rock? You never heard of car?
-Car?
-Vehicle that is usually defined as having four wheels and is propelled by engine placed inside of vehicle. It can transport people, cargo or little bit of both at same time
Here is mine.
-WOAH
-Did that book also made you time travel?
-I literally do not know

Calendar was found and well…these two had indeed traveled through both time and space

-My poor parents, they must think im dead
-They could also be dead by now
-REALLY
-I mean…just listing the possibilities.

This shall continue

Highway ride part 2

Morning was tricky thing for sure, with two oldest members complaining about some joint pain.
This was very sad occurrence, but likely expected in their age.
Quick check was done, revealing that its just nerves acting up

Andrea decided to pilot wagon, just so she can also contribute to the efforts.
Chicota was thinking about driving the truck, but Mat decided he would take this stage.
The drive ended up being very enjoyable indeed and there was visit to petrol station due to wagon being very thirsty as always.

Well, Andrea was not the best driver in world, but her driving was improving more she was behind wheel.
She did had lot of practice driving Kontir along with Pi, but preferred to leave driving to better drivers (or two that also needed to sharpen their skill).

Nevertheless, group safely arrived in camp and prepared for night and next stage

Hello, Boss and Hello, Shitbox

Meanwhile, elsewhere…two good friends were discussing something that needed doing:

-I need to move something heavy.
**-Ok. **
-I cant do it alone
-I know a guy.
-Would he want to help?
-Yes, we need to get some more beer…he likes beer.
-What
-Will explain later.

Phone call followed

-Hello
-Its me. I need you to come and help with this heavy thing that must be moved.
-BOSS
-Yes, its me. One of my friends needs some help with something heavy.
Chicota: Why?
Boss: He is good friend of mine, Chicota.
Chicota: Ok, then

Another friend had heard the name
-Chicota?
-Yes, im calling Chicota.
Chicota: I guess friend is also there?
Boss: Yes.

Phone of Boss was passed to friend
-I guess i shall help you.
-You can call me KRT
-Funny name
-You are funny guy. I recall she told me that she was once angry at you and you pissed pants.
Chicota: That’s untrue.
Krt: Is it? (Looks at Boss)
Chicota: Very much so
Krt: Explain
Chicota: Happened more than once.
She is scary, to me extremely so back then

Krt looked at Boss, who is female not seeming to match Chicota’s might

Boss: He is now 2m tall and has 100kg but once upon a time, i was bigger and stronger.
Also he pissed me off very frequently.
Krt: Better not piss me or her off, then.
Chicota: Will do.

Call ended.
Chicota arrived red-eyed to place.

Krt: Why are you red-eyed?
Boss: Fighting mode. He can lift and throw 130ish kg while in it. One handed.
Krt: How such might was scared of girl?
Also, what are you again?
Chicota: Robot?


After job, Chicota and Krt decided to sit down and enjoy some beer.

Chicota: I gotta go to look at some car for sale. I hope i helped well.
Krt: You did, indeed.
Chicota: We plan to go to Sweden near end of this year to participate in some race called “24 hours of clunker run”.
That requires some shitty car, obviously.
I got some information about one such thing nearby.

He now turns to still nearby Boss

-I guess that’s all for now.
-Probably
-Delighted to see you again.
I gotta go see that shitbox. Will need to get back to fetch car in which i could travel to seller.
-Good luck with that.
-Will do.

Going back, Chicota recalled all wonderful adventures with Boss.
He was also taken aback at absolute beauty that was on sale

Few pictures from car repair shop that sold it:


-After looking at all things of both mechanical and visual, i can say its perfect.
-Hehe, its far from perfect tbf
-Actually, yes…but we dont need it to be in pristine condition.
-You seem to be very knowledgable in terms of car mechanics.
-I do repair fair bit of stuff as well.
We intend to compete in some clunker race in Sweden.
I could repair everything no problem, but that isnt in spirit of said competition.
One of greatest things there is making guess whether or not it will survive whole race.
Also making new friends.
-I see. Do you agree with price?
-Ofc not, as buyer i want it as cheap as possible and your interests are in other direction.
-Haha, im sure we can find middle ground

After some haggling, they had realised listed price was indeed that sweet spot.
Seller agreed to drive now-not-his car and return back being driven by Chicota.
Now it was on Chicota Senior to take look again and tweak it so it fits regulations for race.

2 Likes

Team VSmgAB & Team Shift Happens


Stage 0 Camp, The Range (VSmgAB + Shift Happens)
Stage 0 Camp, Nighttime Breaker Trip (VSmgAB + Shift Happens)
Stage 0 Camp; Can’t sleep (VSmgAB; Machinas Con Passione)
Stage 1 Drive (VSmgAB)
Stage 1 Drive (Shift Happens)
Stage 2 Drive/Camp (Shift Happens)
Stage 2 Camp (VSmgAB + Shift Happens)
Stage 3 Camp (VSmgAB + Hillbilly Rollers + Aeromad + Ambassadors) Part 1, Part 2


OOC-Elizipeazie:
am behind schedule. catching up by not bothering with extensive writing flavour. Instead, have the abridged version.

Stage 4 Drive

  • nothing remarkable
  • delay was due to Val shoving in a three-hour nap cycle for safety reasons

Stage 4 Camp

  • Val and the Gang are met by a slew of officials having travelled there from Holsia. Representstives of rail operators in Nehmenweld are also present.
  • They are stalled (with help from Norse) sothat val can fulfill his duties in powering camp
  • Guests: astonishment.wav
  • once finished, Val returns to take care of the locals
  • they each explain as best they can in how their contracts are set up, thus revealing the terms to the respective other parties.
  • this escalates in a heated bidding-war over who can throw the most money at Val in an attempt to secure the deal.
  • Val breaks up the war, with the Holsians currently leading by a fair margin. He needs to figure out the logistics of it, since Valentin is, in fact, NOT a local to Aetherii.
  • They are instructed to re-evaluate their offers (converted to Nehmenweld currency in case of the visitors from overseas) and re-issue them tomorrow at the National Park.
  • Valentin hands them a slip of paper denoting the nearest railway station and an expected time of arrival.
  • The original contract binders are also handed back.
  • They respectfully part ways, leavkng the evening to be relatively generic.

Stage 5 Drive

  • the first 250 miles or so were uneventful
  • cue a minor diversion through a different platform at a station
  • speed_limit_10_sign.jpg
  • slow down as required
  • suddenly car is not following the rails anymore
  • whatthefuck.gif
  • be stopped by excess drag of undertray and compinentry scraping
  • cue a walk to the signalbox, reporting the incident
  • breakdown train is in bum-fuck nowhere
  • half the station is blocked now lolz
  • might as well “recharge”
  • discover that the nanites can be exploited as sedatives/ sleep aids
  • cue Norse be confused by Val’s sudden ability to sleep outside of his rigid schedule
  • about 7 hours pass
  • train is re-railed fairly easily, given lack of weight thereof
  • said lack of weight is determined to be the cause of it all
  • train is towed (with some bodge-job engineering for a buffer on the breakdown train) to a place steamworks
  • inspect Robert II for any damages
  • thisisfine.png
  • meet the officials from yesterday there
  • they each hand Val a new binder, containing corrected contracts
  • “will notify at [end of race location]”
  • part ways again
  • rest of way is driven via road

Stage 5 Camp

As the scratched-up-but-otherwise-fine group of cars rolled into camp, Valentin immediately went to work with the electrical generator part of his journey in Nehmenweld.
As always, it was rather unremarkable work, which already had him question if he is going to keep the service in place for future meetups of this kind.

At last, power was running for now and Valentin re-read the contracts, which turned out to be the originals from a few days prior, but with substantially higher salaries scribbled into them.
The offer from outside Nehmenweld at least went as far as to include a (hand-written) note about how the change came on short notice and that a legally binding, fully printed copy would be provided upon conformation.

[dialogue entirely in Swedish :sweden: ]

“They really want me to build trains, don’t they?”, Valentin mumbled.

" They want what?", Norse inquired, having heard Valentin and his thoughts.

“There are like three companies here that want to hire me as the lead engineer for their respective railways.”

“Any particular reason? Seems random to me…”
Norse was confused. After all, it was his first and Valentin’s second time ever on this planet. Being hired into an intergalactic employment contract blew his imagination wide open.

“Remember the other Dione i have sitting around collecting rust and dirt? That thing is, as far as i know, at least, the current rail speed record holder. Not sure if anyone has beaten it since… I would assume so, since tomorrows schedule is basically impossible to achieve at line speed…” Valentin explained.

The confusion was very visible in Norse’s face: “Uhm… congratulations?”

“Thanks, i guess… i will have to talk to the station master or signalman to figure that out. Hopefully, that is just a fuckup on their part. Or they want to see Robert II at speed…”

Valentin dug around for the map supplied at the start of the race, correlating it with those supplied by the local railway staff.

“The next signalbox is like 10 miles from here. Might as well get some miles in…” Valentin grumbled as he got out of the gen-set car and towards the back.

“Mind if i join?” Norse inquired.

“Sure”

Some extensive preparations and 10 miles of cycling later, they end up at a small siding, which also had the aforementioned signalbox located there and coincidentally looked like the place where the team would join the railways tomorrow morning.

“Hold on, i will get that cleared up.” Valentin said, disappearing into the signalbox soon thereafter.

About 30 minutes later, mostly due to ongoing railway operations dragging out the conversation, Valentin returned with… news:

“We are ‘sending it’…”

“Uhm…”

“They say that the scheduling ‘mistake’ was deliberate. Aparrently, the line we will be running on is a purpose-built testing track of sorts. Trains are sent along that stretch to determine some factors of performance.”

“How fast do you think we will be going?”

“I have no idea. The motor gearing goes to about 240kph. But we have like 800 horsepower and the aerodynamics of a single 80s wagon. And if the thing is unstable, we simply are late. German Federal Railways style.”

“Fair enough… i guess.”

The conversation was more or less left at that as they rode back to camp, where a couple additional teams were awaiting their electricity.

Soon after, the wait for shift Happens began…

[Dialogue reverts to English :uk: / :us: from here onwards]

A few Earth hours later, two trucks and their trailers showed up. Kasiya was one of the first to get out, grabbing their plugs and getting the Carry All and the two towed trailers connected to power so the refrigerated units could run silently. Then Takaraya, with still-slightly-oil-stained gray fur, climbed out of his cab, hooked up the cable for the Home Unit, and stepped inside the living area to take another shower.

Kaylie and Jayde climbed out of the Carry All’s rear seat, while Malavera and Kivenaal did much the same from the Home Unit, leaving Rukari free to climb into the Carry All’s rear bench to sleep, and Kayden to do a very similar thing over in the Home Unit.

Kasiya carried the service end of their cables over to Robert II and handed them to Valentin, then headed back to the Home Unit to make a cup of tea.

Norse was the first to notice the recognizable pair of hilariously oversized trucks.

“Look who has arrived…” He said to himself, loud enough for Valentin to hear.
Before either one of them could really do or say anything, Kasiya was already there and holding up the three cables belonging to their team.

As soon as they changed hands, Kasiya was gone again.

“Someone seems to be in need of some quiet…” Valentin mumbled and he connected the cables to their respective plugs.

Afterwards, he collected the contract binders and headed over to the HD-GV’s himself, in search for Malavera.

Malavera was in the middle of some light stretches when Valentin arrived at the HD-GVs, the sound of the shower running in the background showing that at least someone was in the Home Unit trying to get cleaned up.

Kasiya poured a fair bit of water into the kettle and hit the switch, really in need for a calming cup of tea after the repair at the side of the road. What he got instead was an unpleasant reminder of just how much power their climate control used, as the power went out. Frustrated, he grabbed the kettle, unplugged it from the Home Unit, stormed out of the RV, and plugged it in to the 230 volt cable normally meant for the Carry All.

Malavera looked over, then said, “Kasiya and Takaraya had a bit of a rough day. The Home Unit blew an oil cooler line, Takaraya had to fix it. He’s in the shower trying to wash oil out of his fur. Kasiya’s just… He’s wound up tighter than a cheap watch right now because no one gives anyone space on the side of the highway, so every time Takaraya had to get out of the engine bay, or out from under the truck, Kasiya’s there in his armor acting as the living brick wall to chase people away from the broken down trucks. Really wish people would quit staring at breakdowns myself. Either ignore it and drive safe, or stop to help. Don’t stare at it and drift closer to it, threatening to crash into it.”

Kaylie sighed when she saw Kasiya was using the Carry All’s cable to brew tea, then said, “Let me guess, the power’s out in the Home Unit? See, this is why I said that you needed a more efficient, or lower powered climate control unit. Because you’re pulling three-and-a-half kilowatts on a four kilowatt line. Your kettle pulls 1.5, the microwave pulls 1, the only thing in there that you can use is the hot plate - on low. I have no idea how the hell the hot water heater in there works, but I’m honestly surprised it doesn’t blow the breaker.”

“The hot water heater isn’t electrical. It’s an insulated water tank with a heat exchanger running through the middle of it. Hot coolant goes in, warm coolant goes out, water gets heated as a result. Only good for about 50 gallons, but… It’s normally enough for all of us to shower,” Kasiya said. “But three of us get to “enjoy” cold ones tonight because someone’s used two showers worth of hot water earlier, and another just now. I’m one of the “lucky” fucks who got the short straw. The other two are Rukari and Kivenaal, who find “room temperature” water to be pleasant. Hell, Rukari mentioned swimming through a partially frozen lake once. The two of them, of course, don’t care that the water won’t be warm, they can’t freeze in this shit.”

Malavera looked to Valentin, then said, “Yeah, he’s having a bad day. We’re all kinda hoping a hefty mug of tea helps, but… I’m figuring we’re going to have a moody Khalan on board for a while. Anyway, what can I help you with?”

“The locals have figured out currency conversion. I have three new contracts now. They all read Silver Syrkals now. And they seem very eager in throwing copious amounts of money around… But first, i shall go and re-set your breaker,” Valentin explained, turning around and dragging the three binders back to Robert II, where they were placed onto the roof.

The Home-Unit cable was then unplugged, after which he crawled into the second row to re-enable the breaker for that plug.

With the HD-GV now being powered again, Valentin returns to it, binders in hand.

“So. One, they now have quoted currencies at least you lot are familiar with. Two, i would like to settle the logistical part of this hypothetical employment,” Valentin said.

Malavera nodded, then got Kivenaal, Jayde, and Kaylie to settle at a table with him and waved Valentin over to it. “Well, we can certainly try to work out the details,” Malavera said.

Kivenaal sighed, looking over at the Home Unit as Takaraya stepped outside, his fur still damp from the long shower. “At least he managed to get clean,” Kivenaal grumbled.

Valentin also took seat and went about looking for the salary details in each of the three contracts.
The respective page was opened up and then slid over to the others.

“I remember from last year that one Syrkal was somewhere around 30 US Dollars. But i have no idea how stiff inflation is here, nor do i know if we are still in the same general timeframe…” Valentin noted.

Jayde smiled. “Nehmenweld was always a bit ahead of Crugandr when it comes to technology. Better roads, similar skill with trains. A lot larger place, though, so personal motor carriages are more common. Also a lot more…” he paused as Kaylie kicked his shin, then course corrected with, “More people have embraced technology here, instead of tradition. Hence, motor cars and not animal-drawn carriages.”

Kivenaal shrugged lightly. “Timeframe, about two or three years after last year. I tried to open the Rift as close to the previous time as I could, but… There are things you don’t take chances on. I’d rather be a couple years too late versus a month too early, and for good reason.”

Kaylie smiled, then added, “From what I know regarding what Jayde has done from time to time, you generally make out a bit better cash-wise on Earth than you get here on Aetherii.”

“Silver here isn’t expensive,” Malavera said. “At least, comparatively speaking. When it’s brought to Earth and sold on, we get the market value on Earth.”

“From my experience, about $5,000 worth of Syrkals comes back to Earth as $5,100 worth of silver,” Jayde admitted. “On average, of course. Malavera’s mentioned that he’s looking into ways to offer a better value, though.”

“I’ve been considering a gold mine as well. It’s less stable, and more risky - too much too fast could destabilize the market - but from what Kivenaal has said,” Malavera mentioned with a smile.

Kiva finished Malavera’s opened statement with, “Small-scale tests found that $500 worth of gold here is close to $750 on Earth. It’s a thought, though I’ll mention, carrying gold sucks. It’s fucking heavy compared to silver.”

“Effectively, what we’re saying,” Jayde said, is that any one of these three companies would be paying quite well. We’re looking at…"

Kaylie spoke up with, “Holsian State Railways is offering about 200,000 United States Dollars per Earth year, plus 2% for every completed engine. Northern Mountain and Transportation offers the same wage, 200,000 USD per Earth year, but is offering 500,000 USD per approved patent. Queensdale Southern and Coastal Railroad is offering a flat 220,000 USD per Earth year, with no apparent bonuses.”

Malavera tapped a couple of times on his wristwatch, and Hunter materialized on the display. “Yes?” Hunter asked.

“How much value, in USD, would a completed locomotive have? And from that, what’s 2% of it?” Malavera inquired.

Hunter thought for a second, then replied, “While I can’t give perfectly accurate records as my prime unit is currently unreachable, the average locomotive comes out to being worth about 1 million to 1.5 million USD in material value. Two percent of that comes out to $20,000 to $30,000. Having listened in on this conversation up until this point, the Holsian State Railway contract has the highest value provided more than 17 locomotive units are completed.”

“What’s the average production run of locomotives look like, numbers-wise?” Malavera inquired.

“Typically between 20 and 250 units,” Hunter replied. Then, anticipating the next available question, Hunter answered, “On the low side, 20 units worth 1 million USD, that calculates out to 400,000 USD additional. On the high side, 250 units worth 1.5 million USD, that calculates out to 7.5 million USD. Low middle, 20 units worth 1.5 million USD, that calculates out to 600,000 USD. High middle, 250 units worth 1 million USD, that calculates out to 5 million USD. Assuming a true middle-ground, 115 units worth 1.25 million USD, that calculates out to 2.875 million USD.”

Kaylie smiled. “Effectively, your best option is the Holsian State Railways.”

Valentin intently listened to what to what Shift Happens had to say regarding currency conversion, pondering about the choices available.

“If i remember correctly, we did already talk about hypotheticals around getting the salary to work on earth. And i don’t really know as to how working conditions would pan out at either of those. Though the local ones here obviously seem to have issues regarding operational safety…” Valentin mentioned, in reference to the earlier derailment, “like… non-interlocking signalboxes? The hell!?”

A deep breath followed to get back on track (pun not intended):

“Anyway, Holsia it seems to be. No idea where they even are or what it looks like, but government jobs are the most secure career you can get.”

Jayde nodded, then said, “None of us have ever been there, but, I do have my world map with me.”

Kaylie gave a warning look to Jayde, moments before Jayde pulled a framed map out of his bag and placed it on the table. “Now, we’re here, give-or-take a bit,” Jayde said, motioning to the middle of Nehmenweld. “Holsia is here,” he added, pointing out a smaller country north of the equator. He placed his fingers each side of the small country, then pulled in opposite directions, causing it to grow larger, moments before the names of several cities came into view. “Unfortunately, this is the most we really know about it.”

Malavera sighed. “I think what Val is getting at is he’s trying to figure out how to get there.”

“Oh,” Jayde replied. “I mean, in theory, I could… Ow!” Jayde glared across the table at Kaylie, before returning the hefty shin kick with his left leg.

“Ow! Fuck me, that hurt!” Kaylie snapped.

“Yours do, too,” Jayde qupped back. “As I was about to say, in theory, I could set up a traveling mirror between your office there, and your house. It’s, compared to the Rift, rather instant.”

“Ummm… so it quite literally is a portal from wherever in Holsia to wherever in Sweden? As in, walk in one end and pop out the other?” Valentin inquired.

“Something like that, yes,” Kivenaal said. “Momentum’s preserved on the way through, so if you take a running leap through a mirror, you arrive with that momentum on the “far side.” So, my advice - don’t trip over the mirror frame on your way through. It hurts.”

“I mean general relativity does compute here… Just the frame of reference changes,” Valentin remarked, “so a Portal, or mirror, or whatever between what would be my new flat and Holsia. The salary goes to you via silver of some form, the profit from which forms my actual salary. I take it that you are not doing this for free, nor do i expect you to.”

“We can figure out what the costs will be,” Kivenaal said.

“If you’re designing locomotives, I’m assuming you’ll need more time on SC1, then,” Malavera said. “Then there’s the matter of Jayde’s initial payment for setting up the traveling mirror.”

“Making a new mirror isn’t that difficult. I’ll mostly just need some place to rest afterward. It’s… More energy intensive than opening the Rift, but not something I can’t handle,” Jayde mentioned.

“Not sure on the server thing. If anything, i need it for simulating the finished thing. Latency makes actual design work practically impossible. To wherever that thing is parked, round-trip ping is deep into 4 digits somehow…” Valentin explained, “regarding the mirror, i can guarantee that my flat will not have sufficient space for you to prop up a bedroll in. Though i am more than willing to book you a hotel room of sorts to rest in.”

“Yeah, you try and get better ping from behind the moon,” Malavera quipped. “If we had a third ship in orbit, I’d use the ship’s communications system to speed things up, but… We’ve got two up there, plus my own behind the moon. My personal shuttle doesn’t have strong enough comms to pull off a significant reduction of latency.”

Jayde, on the other hand, gave a light nod. “Anything is reasonable. A new mirror is a bit harder to get started than a doorway through the Rift, but… It’s faster.”

Kivenaal thought for a moment, then fished a small mirror out of his pocket for an experiment. “I’m opening a temporary mirror to the Twin Suns garage. Technically, to the rear-view mirror of one of the trucks, it’s about the same size as this one. If it works how I’m thinking it works, we might be able to cut the lag between Mal’s servers and you.” Kivenaal opened the mirror and then pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking to see if he had any connection to the network.

After a few seconds, he shook his head. “Nope. Apparently, radio waves don’t go through mirrors. That said,” Kivenaal mentioned, “we could run a wire through a couple of mirrors. Sure, if the mirror ever fails for whatever reason, the cable is sure to be destroyed, but… When in doubt, you really can’t get any faster than a wired connection.”

Jayde, being a bit puzzled about the networking talks, reached into a bag and pulled out a small, fiery-orange piece of quartz crystal on a string, then casually swung it around above the table. After a moment, something seemed to click for him, and he spoke up, “Wait… I think I somewhat understand this. So,” Jayde paused for a moment to get the crystal moving in a lazy circle again, “this crystal represents data being sent between two computers. I have to move my hand in a very specific way to make it go in a circle, and the time it takes the crystal to respond is like latency. The string length is like the distance between systems. The longer the distance, the more delay there is in the crystal moving, the longer you have to wait for things to be in the right place. So more speed isn’t helpful, you have to shorten the distance.”

“If that ‘supercomputer’ can do ethernet, i can rig something up in my soon-to-be office for good data bandwidth to,” Valentin mentioned, before confusion filled his face as Jayde swung a crystal about.

After having listened to Jayde’s take on it, Valentin had to correct a bit:
“The crystal is one PC, your hand the other. The process of spinning it is the data and the time it takes for it to start spinning is latency. Or in wholly different terms. Remember how it took a while for Robert II to get going if you pressed the gas pedal? THAT is latency. The time it took for Robert to respond to my input is latency.”

“Oh,” Jayde said, contemplating what Valentin had said for a moment. “So I was on the right track, just not quite there yet?” Jayde asked.

Kaylie smiled, then mentioned, “He really is trying to learn, just… Sometimes it’s hard to find ways to describe technology to him when he asks how it works because we’re all on different levels of understanding. Then again, he surprises us with some of the things he does know. He had to teach all of us the right way to pitch tents, he knows how to make the perfect campfire and make lighting it look easy, and some of the basic cooking he does is odd, yet satisfying. In return, he doesn’t really get technology, he insists on video calls instead of texting or basic phone calls because he’s so used to talking to people face-to-face with mirrors, and, well, you had to teach him how to drive stick. So, you’ve also seen how fast he learns.”

“The real scary thing,” Malavera said, “is that sometimes Jayde’s ability to learn outpaces our ability to tell him how to use it appropriately. There is nothing scarier than getting someone up to speed on how to use a computer, figuring he’d stick to funny videos on YouTube, only to realize that he’s watching tutorials instead.”

“Lost my computer usage rights for a week. Apparently you’re not supposed to access other people’s networks and look through their files,” Jayde admitted, looking a bit embarrassed.

“In Jayde’s defense,” Kivenaal said, “the network he “broke into” had the password set as “password.” At that point, it may as well be an open network.”

Malavera chuckled, then said, “Yeah, and Jayde learned rather quickly that the contents of other people’s computers aren’t always, well, safe for work.” After a few moments, he then said, “I’m sure that SC1 can do ethernet. Or some form of fiber-channel. Either way, shouldn’t be too difficult to drop you a line once you’ve gotten stuff set up.”

“Ideally, we get straight Ethernet because of what is easily available commercially back home, but i am sure we can make something work,” Valentin said rather enthusiastically. The prospect of working to engineer last century technology with a highly comfortable salary was very promising to him.

“So, to recap, salaries are in the region of 200 000 US-Dollars per year, plus 2% of each completed engine’s value. That funding is transferred to earth via silver. A portal, or ‘mirror’, rather… is set up between my would-be office and whatever i get in Holsia. The same applies to networking regarding your behind-the-moon server stack. A cut of that salary is split off as the transfer and computing usage fee. Did i miss something? If not, i would try and get in touch with those folks from Holsia early,” Valentin reiterated, visibly in a good mood.

He also collected the three contract binders again, stacking them in a ‘neat’ (read: very lopsided) pile in front if him.

“Sounds like you got everything covered,” Malavera said. “And don’t worry, once we get back, I’ll figure out how to drop you an Ethernet cable. I’m sure there’s a reasonable place to put a mirror in that won’t be in the way, yet will still give you a short cable run.”

“I’ll create the traveling mirror once you get your new office set up,” Jayde admitted. “By that time, Kivenaal should have two matching mirrors set up for the cable run. I can work with any mirror, so don’t worry about that side of things. You don’t need some very-fancy early 18th century thing made with silver, modern will do. In fact, I’d much prefer it versus setting up a proper silvered glass mirror.”

“In that case… thank you very much for helping me out with this. I would try to get in touch with the Holsia people and do some financing maths. I would get back to you sometime during this trip regarding salary split to cover your efforts as well,” Valentin politely stated as he got up with the binders in hand.

“You’re welcome,” Malavera said. “We’ll try to keep in touch.”

“Hopefully we’ll have some better luck. Losing an oil cooler line was a hell of a setback,” Kivenaal said.

Kaylie gave a light smile and got up to head to her tent, with Jayde only a few moments behind, giving Val a polite wave before ducking into the tent.

Malavera and Kivenaal ended up heading back to the Home Unit, grabbing a quick bit of food before crawling into Kivenaal’s tent for some rest.

Valentin, likewise, returned to the orange half of his train, where the remaining evening was spent doing the salary maths.
Another ride to the signalbox also was part of this in hopes that the Holsian representatives happened to be there, to no avail.

Eventually, bedtime rolls around as VSmgAB snuggles up in their respective compartments.

4 Likes

Stage 6:

Nehmenweld National Park to Sundale


Temperature at mid-day: 16°C
Night-time Low: 8°C
Weather Conditions: Again, weather conditions are stable, with little changes. Few clouds and mild winds make for a pleasant day to most people. Later on, more clouds appear in the sky, turning it into a thin overcast by the evening.


Camp Challenge: Police Authorized Top Speed Run.


After all the praise given to the highway system yesterday for being scenic, today, Highway Route 7 earns itself a bit of hatred. We’re cutting across the Plains of Nehmenweld at this point, and that means the road is very straight and very flat.
Police cars exist, but are willingly turning a blind eye for today. Some of them might even enjoy the otherworldly cars blasting by, given that there is little in the way of local motor traffic.
Fortunately, the view along the highway is still interesting, with a great view of some of the smaller villages, towns, and smaller cities along the way, and several occasions where the train tracks either run parallel to the road, or we’re driving over bridges above the tracks.
When, after 550 miles of highway, we exit and drive the last of our 561 mile trip into the small city of Sundale, we arrive in a suitably large campground just outside the city. About two miles further up the road is the train station and freight handling yard, complete with a turntable and a somewhat-hastily-constructed wood-and-dirt ramp from the tracks down to the gravel service road.


Next Stage Expected Conditions:

Road Speed: very high
Road Condition: good
Traffic: very low
Police: very low


Results Here: SR2023 Stage 6 - Google Drive


@Madrias

Team Shift Happens

Today was a comedy of errors for the Shift Happens crew. First, Malavera managed to get bad directions to the highway, courtesy of managing to lose the Stage 6 road map and Rukari having tossed the backup copy of all the stages back on Stage 4 to prevent Kasiya from finding an alternate route away from the twisty road of doom. Then Kasiya lost the air connection between the first and second trailer, slamming on the rear trailer’s brakes at 90 miles per hour. After reconnecting the hose and realizing they were going the wrong way, the two rigs made it onto the proper side of the highway and accelerated up to 90 miles per hour again… Only for Takaraya to request a pit-stop because he wasn’t sure whether the rattle was his engine or something else. After removing the rocks from inside the Home Unit’s maintenance bay, they tried again to get up to speed, only to end up pulled over by a curious Department of Transportation officer, who was surprised to learn that, yes, their trucks did have enough power to haul double trailers. Then, after being given multiple setbacks already, the crew had to wait for the road to be cleared leading into camp after a train broke down and blocked up the road crossing. The end result? They rolled into camp around 3 Sun the next day to a camp of people who weren’t sure whether to leave, or whether they’d stay an extra day.


@Elizipeazie:

VS Mobil Generator AB

With permission granted to give it everything, Val and his crew put the train on the tracks and sent it hard. After a bit under 6 hours, the quartet of cars rolls into the camp, having once again set a railroad speed record.


@Fayeding_Spray

Team M.A.D.

The Walkenhorst is forced to stop after a bit of debris slashes the sidewall of one of the tires. A slow pit-stop on the side of the road gets it going again… A bit over an hour later. Meanwhile, the Sakura just buzzes along like an angry bee.


@Shibusu

Team Sinesian Rejects

Despite the cops looking the other way today, Ianis doesn’t quite floor the Itan, though it is quite quick. Meanwhile, the trio in the Imbe are just hoping that no one hits them while speeding.


@Interior

Team Not-So-Slow

It turns out that when you blow a tire, the right course of action is to pull over and change it. You guys, instead, drove on the flat tire until the rubber disintegrated and the rim was ruined. It took a wizard 20 hours to return your wheel and tire to usable condition again… And a surprisingly large amount of money as well.


@TheYugo45GV

The Ambassadors

Despite traveling separately, the Mayland just tucked in behind the IVERA and stayed in the draft provided by the Toppola on it.


@Doot

The Knockouts

Camp Challenge Winner: 1325 Facelift - 171 MPH

(While other cars could physically go faster, they’re the only ones who blew through the speed-trap at the end actually actively sending it.)

Kate started up the 1325 Facelift with her usual plan in mind - floor it, don’t stop for cop cars, hope not to break down. This time, she was surprised to hear the absence of sirens behind her, and noticed the roads look quite different when not illuminated by red-and-blue flashing lights. Emboldened by the lack of response, she put the pedal into the firewall and shot past a pair of police officers who were timing cars with stop-watches, while a third did the math to find out the speed of each flying car.
Octavia, on the other hand, just did her usual Sunday cruise, enjoying the drive and watching as everyone blew past her.


@MrdjaNikolen

Team Mravolinski-Chitco

The crew in the Kontir avoided the bit of road debris, but failed to warn the crew in the Saguaro of the unknown road object. This resulted in two flat tires on the passenger side of the car, and a long search for supplies to patch one and replace the other.


@Jaimz68

Team HETS

Some bad directions led to an 11 hour detour, but in the end, the crew got to camp safe and sound.


@AMuteCrypt

Team Flaming Gallahs

Slow is smooth and smooth is, well, still not fast. But at least the party bus looks damn good while cruising down the highway with their music playing.


@Edsel

Team Friendship! :smiley:

Today, the cars avoided having any lengthy stops to talk in the gas station, instead cruising into the camp without any problems.


@Knugcab

Team Hillbilly Rollers

Some people are bound to have problems. At some point, something or someone must have bent one of the rear fenders on the IP Rugger. With Eddie Meduza playing on the radio, the rubbing went unnoticed until the tire exploded. Said tire proceeded to take out the brake line to the rear axle, which is really where most of the time was spent during this repair.


@Odyssey_Fan

Team Sane Insanity

“But the fastest car in the world is a rental!”
“NO! We can’t afford to break it!”
“Fine.”
It’s a steady (but slow) trip in a sportscar and a rented minivan, but no damage is done.


@PortalKat42

Faolan Industries

This is where the pair of Aethers shine. A long, comfortable highway cruise, no worries about the speed limit, just get comfortable and let the engines growl.


@AndiD

Team Taciturn

It’s a fairly normal highway stage for the two cloaked aliens. Nothing breaks, and the cops aren’t caring about the little bit of speeding going on.


@BannedByAndroid

Team ReUnity

Today, the “Just f-ing send it” strategy works in your favor, as the cops don’t care, at least for this stage. Second place isn’t so bad.


@SheikhMansour

Team Spy Kids

Both cars send it, but only the Mocabey pulls off a podium finish. The Reekayns is just not fast enough.


@IDK158

Team J3

We’re not sure whether the driver of the Tiharris was trying to send it, or just driving normally when the engine seized up. Luckily, it was easily “fixed” with a bit of magic to just “loosen everything up until it runs again.” Granted, it may have been quicker to actually solve the problem.


@JCurtiss96 & @Leone

Team Aeromad

The Torrento had a torrential downpour… Of transmission oil. Turns out, aviation V12s and factory automotive transmissions don’t mix too well. Luckily, there was another spare onboard the Juggernaut, and so the problem was fixed, even though it meant that their lack of top speed was more self-preservation than sanity.


@Tzuyu_main & @FallingComet

Team Black Rabbit Disavowed

Neither half of the team decided to truly send it on this stage, but perhaps given the size of the Seikatsu, that was a good thing. A trouble free stage for the two vehicles.


@Texaslav

Sheriff Scott’s Posse

No breakdowns, but also a deliberate choice to not speed today, means that the time they pulled off is only “average” instead of “good.”


@Xepy

Team “486”

It’s no surprise that both cars were sent on this stage - they’ve been sent like this on every stage so far. A joint 4th place isn’t a bad finish as a result.


@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T

Team Magdelena

Another team who chose not to just floor it, whether from sanity, self preservation, or just general distrust that the cops really were turning a blind eye to speeders today.


@SurrealCereal

Team Machinas Con Passione

While the Faenza disappeared into the distance, the Blue Wonder was left at the side of the road, trying to figure out why their engine wasn’t running right. After firing the parts cannon at the entire ignition system, the problem is solved. What was it? “I dunno, something in that pile is bad.”


@GetWrekt01 & @That-S-Cop

Cunning Stunts

A slow and steady run held back by the Contra UTE blowing all four tires. After fighting with lug nuts that were corroded in place and last tightened down with a rattle-gun, it was an easy process. It helped that Team Till D End kept you company while dealing with the same problem.


@EnCR

Team Till D End

Turns out that the tires on the Linx were just a bit more bald than you expected. When all four tires exploded, you rolled to a stop behind the Contra UTE of Team Cunning Stunts. They helped keep you company while you chased all the angels away trying to remove rusty lug nuts that some 800-pound-gorilla had tightened down last time.


@LS_Swapped_RX-7

Basedworks

A trouble-free run for two of the most recognizable cars on the field.


@Mikonp7

Team Gunship

The “fun” thing about street-legal race cars that have been prepped for road rallies is that sometimes it’s a pain in the ass to access the engine when something goes wrong. That’s how a simple decision to cut open an oil filter and check for shinies after hearing a funny rattle turned into a 7 hour debacle. Turns out, the engine’s mostly fine. That rattle? There’s a bad belt tensioner. It’s fixed… Well, “fixed,” with three zip ties, some duct tape, a piece of chewed bubble gum, and a clicky-pen.


@Ldub0775

4 Dicks in a Truck

Hammer down and haul ass! While not quite sending it, it’s still respectably fast for a big truck.

2 Likes

Team Shift Happens

Pre-Race Camp (VSmgAB + Shift Happens)
Stage 0 Drive (VSmgAB)
Stage 0 Camp; Part 1 (VSmgAB)
Stage 0 Camp, Arrival. (Shift Happens)
Stage 0 Camp, The Range (VSmgAB + Shift Happens)
Stage 0 Camp, Night Time Breaker Trip (VSmgAB + Shift Happens)
Stage 1 Departure, Sounds Like A Plan (The Ambassadors & Shift Happens)
Stage 1 Drive (Shift Happens)
Stage 2 Camp, Arrival (Shift Happens)
Stage 2 Camp, Job Applications (VSmgAB & Shift Happens)
Stage 2 Camp, A Word With Authority (Sinesian Rejects & Shift Happens)
Stage 5 Camp (Shift Happens + VSmgAB)


Driver’s Log 1
Driver’s Log 2
Driver’s Log 3


Stage 6

After a rather late night, the crew got on board the HD-GV units, except for Kasiya and Takaraya, who were arguing about something by the trailers.

“If you’re worried about the engine, then why are you doing the top speed run today, instead of driving at normal speed?” Kasiya grumbled.

“Because going fast will put less strain on the engine than dragging that trailer,” Takaraya replied.

“So you’re making me drag doubles with my foot to the floor, trying to keep up. Because it makes sense to have two trucks potentially damaged, instead of just one.”

“Listen, it’s for one stage while I check and make sure that the engine is okay.”

Kasiya groaned, then got in his truck and coupled up to the trailer. After making sure the power and air were connected, he set out on the road, having to follow Takaraya courtesy of their missing stage maps. Rukari flinched as Kasiya threatened one more time to hit him for tossing the maps on the Serpent’s Spine, leaving Kasiya without any navigational information, and thereby following Takaraya.

Takaraya, on the other hand, was dealing with Kayden who had no idea where the stage 6 map was. “Seriously, I can’t find it. There’s five. There’s seven. Can’t find six.”

“Hold on, there’s someone up there, that gas station. I’ll get directions to Highway 7, toward Sundale,” Malavera said. The trucks stopped, Malavera got out and got some directions, then climbed back into the truck. “Right, we need to head south on Highway Route 7, that’ll get us heading the right way,” Malavera said.

The two trucks hit Highway Route 7 traveling at full speed. After a few long, long minutes, Kasiya was swearing again as the brakes in the rear trailer suddenly locked up and threatened to destabilize the whole convoy of crap that was the Carry All and two trailers. After quickly reconnecting the air hose and this time remembering to twist it until it locked in, the crew was back on the move at 90 miles per hour, the engines roaring at full power.

At least, they were at full speed until Valentin’s train rocketed past them heading the complete opposite direction. “Oh, what the fuck!?” Kasiya yelled. Jayde grabbed the handheld, then told Malavera, “Sundale, not Sundell, you fool!”

The two rigs were turned around at the next available opportunity, then hurtled back down the highway heading north. The engines roared again, heading at full tilt in the correct direction, right up until Takaraya said, “There’s something rattling in the engine bay. I want to stop and check it out.”

“Of course you do,” Kasiya grumbled. “If we’d been going in the right direction and not having delays, we’d be there by now.”

After stopping again, Takaraya was able to remove a handful of loose rocks from inside the engine compartment, confirming the engine wasn’t rattling, it was stuff in the engine bay that was rattling.

Once again, the two rigs returned to their top speed of 90 miles per hour, making great time for about two hours before a siren sounded from behind the two trailers of the Carry All. “What now?” Kasiya grumbled, pulling off to the side of the road. A Department of Transportation officer looked over at the now-idling truck in awe, surprised to see a vehicle powerful enough to drag not just one, but two trailers at highway speed. After getting a fair run-down on the performance statistics of the Carry All, they were allowed to go again.

Just after they left the highway and headed toward the Sundale camp, they were further delayed by a broken-down train, blocking the level crossing into the city. By the time a breakdown train arrived to remove the train and pull the freight cars away, it was nearly 3 Sun.

The two trucks rolled into camp at 3 Sun, where the exhausted crew of drivers swapped out with their reserve crew in the back, putting Malavera driving the Home Unit, and Jayde reluctantly behind the wheel of the Carry All.

4 Likes

A Reminder that changes to aggression and driving mode are due in a bit more than 48 hours!

Important Announcement:


Elizipeazie and I have been discussing the possibility of speeding up the stages. We’ve come to the conclusion that, with our new spreadsheet, doing all the stage-work takes less than 2 hours, compared to 5 to 7 hours from last year.

However:

To do this, we would have to eliminate the aggression and the driving mode changes. You would be asked one final time to set your aggression and mode, and that’s what you run to the end of the challenge.

Because this would be a huge change to how the challenge is run, we have to ask you as a group, would you rather keep the two-week schedule and aggression/mode changes, or speed up to a one-week schedule while locking in a final aggression/mode change?

  • Keep the Two-Weeks-Per-Stage schedule and keep Aggression and Driving Mode per stage.
  • Change to a One-Week-Per-Stage schedule and set Aggression and Driving Mode for the remainder of the event.

0 voters

4 Likes

Stage 7:

Sundale to Moonshadow Village


Temperature at mid-day: 16°C
Night-time Low: 6°C
Weather Conditions: Just in time for sunrise, a mild drizzle covers camp, which lasts well into the afternoon, when it subsides. Winds are calm, with occasional gusts of unremarkable strength.

Camp Challenge: 0-62 MPH / 0-100 km/h time.


Today’s journey takes us out to Highway Route 4, traveling primarily west instead of north. Like yesterday, the road is mostly flat with a few minor hills in it, though the speed limit is at least a little better thanks to us not having to contend with National Park traffic. With permission to do 75 MPH / 120 km/h, only the occasional car in sight for traffic, and two slow-moving trucks hauling livestock, everyone’s able to make good time here.

After leaving the highway, we head onto a small forest road that takes us to Moonshadow Village. This quiet, sleepy little forest town barely makes it to 9,000 people, and it’s clear that living here means having little fear of heights, as while the town is small in footprint, there’s a lot of vertical space used, and a LOT of little “sky bridges” spanning between various buildings.

We’re told to park up in a little clearing next to the small railway station, and to leave space so the trucks can get to the station to retrieve the mail.


Next Stage Expected Conditions:

Road Speed: very low
Road Condition: very poor
Traffic: low
Police: moderate


Results Here: SR2023 Stage 7 - Google Drive



@Madrias

Team Shift Happens

With Jayde driving the Carry All, and Malavera taking the wheel for the Home Unit, things started off rather rough, with most of the crew barely rested from the previous stage. This was made even more clear when, about two hours into the drive, Malavera drifted off the side of the road, taking out two quarter-mile markers and tearing up a lot of dirt as the giant truck bounded off-road at 70 miles per hour. By the time the Home Unit came to a halt, and with it, the Carry All, a big decision had to be made: “Do we try finding another alert driver, or do we sleep first?”
The result? Once the truck had been dragged back up onto the road, the two halves of the team found places in the cab and in the Home Unit’s living area to get a few much-needed hours of sleep.
The cops knocking on the door of the Carry All didn’t help Kasiya’s mood as he had to explain that, yes, they were getting some sleep after one of their drivers had an off-road excursion.
When they finally arrived in camp, it was, perhaps, a bit more clear that something had gone wrong, as the front bumper of the Home Unit had some rock dents, the whole vehicle was covered in dirt, and Malavera was quite visibly upset as he’d never screwed up that badly before.


@Elizipeazie:

VS Mobil Generator AB

It’s a smooth rail cruise down the line, courtesy of being in the plains at this point. With no mishaps and no signals at danger, it’s a good run.


@Fayeding_Spray

Team M.A.D.

The Citrine ends up stopped by cops. What was just going to be a warning turned into a speeding ticket after the officer decided he didn’t like the attitude coming from the driver.
Meanwhile, the Walkenhorst continues on just fine.


@Shibusu

Team Sinesian Rejects

Ianis gets another speeding ticket for his collection, while the Trio of Trouble manage to keep their badly-pinging Imbe on the road and somehow up to highway speed.


@Interior

Team Not-So-Slow

Today seems to be everyone’s bad day for getting tickets. Apparently, after the previous day’s speeding extravaganza, they’ve decided to put a stop to it today, as the Schnell pulls over a few miles ahead of the Citrine and the Imbe and the driver pays off a fine.


@TheYugo45GV

The Ambassadors

Other than the Mayland crew getting a warning for excessive speed, it’s a relatively normal cruise.


@Doot

The Knockouts

Octavia finds herself going through a difficult challenge: Changing tires when her body isn’t really meant to do that. After accidentally popping a hole in her spare, she figured out how to put a patch on it, then fill it up with air.


@MrdjaNikolen

Team Mravolinski-Chitco

The Saguaro ends up with two flat tires today, 20 miles apart from each other. While the tire changes are relatively easy, changing the driver’s side tires on the side of the highway is a little nerve-wracking.


@Jaimz68

Team HETS

How many old ladies does it take to change four flat tires? Two to stand aside and gossip while the young’uns do all the hard work.


@AMuteCrypt

Team Flaming Gallahs

A smooth cruise for the Party Bus today, as no issues happen. No flat tires, no broken equipment, no police stops.


@Edsel

Team Friendship! :smiley:

Nothing goes wrong today for the two cars driving a bus.


@Knugcab

Team Hillbilly Rollers

We’re not entirely sure what happened here to cause another burned out clutch in the IP Rugger. Andreas blames it on a sub-standard replacement part, something cheap instead of a proper IP service part. Janne swears it was in an IP OEM part box. Then the culprit is revealed: Marie knocked a bunch of boxes on the floor before the challenge started, and several of those boxes burst open, so she just put everything back. Apparently, a Chinese clutch made its way into an Official IP Replacement Parts box…


@Odyssey_Fan

Team Sane Insanity

The KKR ends up on the side of the road with a serious rough-running issue. Turns out a coil pack died and left the engine trying to run on two cylinders. It took two hours to find the spare parts in the back of the minivan.


@PortalKat42

Faolan Industries

It turns out that blending in is sometimes a good thing. The higher speed is harder to notice when you look like normal traffic, and so the cops don’t pay you any attention.


@AndiD

Team Taciturn

The two aliens did take the time, after their last look through the owner’s manual, to perform basic maintenance. Granted, they’ve never done an oil change before, so it turned into a two-and-a-half hour ordeal, but better safe than sorry.


@BannedByAndroid

Team ReUnity

Nothing really interesting happens today on this trip, so it’s an opportunity for the team to chat and listen to music.


@SheikhMansour

Team Spy Kids

The Reekayns had bad luck today with finding the few available potholes on this road. Each tire met a pothole and popped, resulting in four lengthy pit stops to change tires out.
Meanwhile, the Mocabey disappears into the distance.


@IDK158

Team J3

When the Rhien broke down again with a bad clutch, Jacia tried her luck at fixing it. Her first attempt swapped the “repaired” clutch for a used clutch. Her second attempt actually worked. Putting the car back together, however, still took a long time.


@JCurtiss96 & @Leone

Team Aeromad

Well, it’s a good thing you had spares of just about everything. A road-side engine swap for the Torrento wasn’t exactly fun, although it was a good bonding moment for the team.


@Tzuyu_main & @FallingComet

Team Black Rabbit Disavowed

The driver of the Seikatsu got a mild warning that they needed to be more aware of how wide their vehicle was, but otherwise, it was a smooth run today.


@Texaslav

Sheriff Scott’s Posse

The Bowie Bearcat gets a warning, the Warren Warlock gets a ticket. Apparently, honking at your teammates doesn’t go over well with the cops.


@Xepy

Team “486”

Camp Challenge Winner: Kaufmann Viera Custom - 3.5 seconds 0-60

No breakdowns, just screaming sirens behind you for several hours.


@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T

Team Magdelena

Between both halves of the team getting a warning for excessive speed, and then the Baumhauer developing a very serious misfire, it was a slow day for the team.


@SurrealCereal

Team Machinas Con Passione

The driver of the Faenza didn’t see the spike strip while fleeing from the cops. After the car rolled to a stop, they became the first team to experience the full brutality of a pursuit, as the Faenza’s driver decided to run for it. Lessons learned? One, the Nehmenweld Highway Patrol aren’t messing around. Two, being pounced on and pinned to the ground by an 11-foot-tall werewolf in body armor fucking hurts. Three, it’s even worse being tossed into the back of the police wagon after you’ve been covered in bruises courtesy of the Dyre being trained as a “police dog” and then getting picked up by the officers.


@GetWrekt01 & @That-S-Cop

Cunning Stunts

The driver of the Contra UTE gets a polite warning from the police to leave the “flamboyant driving” off of the highways. Apparently, they don’t appreciate drifting here in Nehmenweld.


@EnCR

Team Till D End

It’s a good clean run for Team Till D End today. No breakdowns, no police stops.


@LS_Swapped_RX-7

Basedworks

Both drivers get a warning. It would have been a ticket for the MCMOTD, had the cop involved in that particular traffic stop not gotten a call to aid in stopping a speeding shit-nugget that just so happened to belong to Team Machinas Con Passione.


@Mikonp7

Team Gunship

A curious police officer pulled you over to ask about your car. Most notably, the fact that you have no roof. It’s not illegal, but the officer was interested in the roll-cage with cargo on top.


@Ldub0775

4 Dicks in a Truck

Somehow, you’ve managed to slip under the radar in the giant rig with an even more giant trailer on the ass of it, escaping with no tickets and no breakdowns today.



As the poll is now closed and 80% voted for one-week-per-stage, please set your final aggression and driving mode as soon as possible. By next Monday, aggression will be locked in. This is the final stage on the two week schedule, Stage 8 will then start the one-week schedule.

2 Likes
Video Logs SR2023

Days 1 and 2


[WARNING: Attempting to access secure file - Enter admin key to proceed:]

[Confirming…]

[ACCESS GRANTED]

[{Select File}]

[Opening - 2023_NMWLD_01_1_1]

[Playing Video]


[The video opens to reveal Karl sitting in the driver’s seat of the Mayland Ambassador. Landon is nowhere to be seen. It appears that this was recorded shortly before sunset]

Today’s date, I’m not sure and I am currently in a region called Nehmenweld and the local time is… Well, I don’t know. It’s cold as hell outside, some place called Shiverwind Point.

But anyway, I’m here following my grandfather’s footsteps looking for a cup that I know as the Sacred Chalice. It’s some cup made of solid gold that’s capable of being weaponized and I’m guessing that it has something to do with its supernatural properties. Of course, neither my friend, Landon, or I have been able to find any leads as of right now. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though.

Tomorrow we head for Silvercreek City, and we’ll probably see what we can find there. I checked the map, and it’s large enough that it might have a library, so we’ll look into that.

I don’t have much else to add apart from reporting that everyone arrived safely, and that we’re hoping this journey doesn’t take a turn for the worst.

Until then, Karl out.

[The screen goes black.]


[{Select File}]

[Opening - 2023_NMWLD_01_1_2]

[Playing Video]


[Karl leans back from activating the camera on his laptop, sitting on the Mayland’s dashboard.]

We’ve arrived in Silvercreek, and the local library doesn’t appear to have much on the cup. But, I did find a textbook on the history of religion and several maps that my grandfather found. It was a little awkward when the archives keeper or whatever asked me if I knew my own grandfather.

Anyway, that was most of the excitement to be had on this trip though we’ve had mishaps. But, still nothing interesting to report. I’ll let you all know next time.

Karl out.


A video log from Karl, and more interesting stuff will come soon, since I’ve missed quite a lot. Until then, stay tuned for more.

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TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS

PART 5.1 - Knock, knock, who’s there?!

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 2.1 - Can I see your driver’s license, please?

Part 3.1 - No beer means no drama

Part 4.1 - HOOOOOOONK!

Part 4.2 - The party

PART 5.1 - Knock knock, who’s there?

“Urgh…did Marie run me over with the Wolverine yesterday?”, Janne asked when the team got up in the morning.

“Nah, you’re just resurrected after dying twice”, Andreas answered, laughing at Janne’s hangover.

“Nghrf…”, he grumbled, went out of the Wolverine and stepped into the passenger seat of the Rugger. The buzzy inline four started up in the chilly morning after some fiddling with the choke, soon to be silenced with the not-so-muffled sound of the V8 in the Wolverine. The somewhat clogged heater did its best to defog the Rugger’s windshield in the morning, and despite some tin can like sound from the worn out 80s speakers, you could identify the raspy voice of Eddie Meduza somewhere there in the background. The vehicles was all but suited for the roads between Coalscoop and Nehmenberg, which were as twisty as the christmas tree lights when you’re taking them out of the box in early december. Especially Marie had something of a workout, wrestling with the huge steering wheel of the Wolverine through those windy roads.

“My arms hurt!”, she told Arne.

“Bollocks!”, he answered. “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger!”.

“And I am going to kill that bastard that killed Mr Spikey!”, she shouted.

“Just keep quiet”, Arne grumbled. “Everyone in the world except for you hated that cactus!”

Meanwhile in the IP Rugger, things took a turn for the worse.

“Damn, the oil pressure light is flashing”, Andreas said, “is it some ground issues with the sensor, or is it the worst sce…”

BANG BANG CLANK CLANK CLATTER CLATTER BANG!

“FUCK!”, he said. “It was the worst scenario!”. He turned the engine off immediately, flicked the switch for the hazard flashers and stopped at the side of the road.

BANG!, it said and the Rugger hurdled some metres forward after taking a Wolverine bumper to its rear end. Andreas stepped out and signed to Marie to roll down the window.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?”, he asked her.

“I’m sorry, it was just that I got a wasp in my shoe, and…”

“I don’t want to hear anymore”, he grumbled.

“What are we going to do now?”, Andreas said. “Look for some scrap metal dealer, leave this POS there and hope for the Wolverine to hold together for the rest of the race?”

“Nah, I think I saw something”, Janne said and opened the glovebox, taking out a small orange box with the IP shield on it. “Look, a bearing kit. Sure, the crank and rods are probably shot too, but it might hold together for the rest of the race.”

“Are you going to swap bearings at the side of the road?”, Andreas sighed loudly.

“If you have a better idea, tell it to me now”, Janne said. “We certainly don’t have time for arguing now”, he said.

Luckily, they found some rocks at the side of the road, pushed the Rugger over there with the Wolverine, with the front wheels standing on the rocks, and the Wolverine stopping it from rolling backwards. The empty moonshine jugs came in handy for draining the waste oil into, and then Janne started loosening the engine mounts.

“We can do it with the engine still in the truck”, he said. “The problem is just to get the engine high enough to be able to pull out the oil pan”.

After some looking, they found a log that wasn’t all that rotten at the side of the road. By placing it underneath the clutch housing and letting Marie jump on it, Janne finally managed to pull out the oil pan. Sure, time was ticking away, especially with the tempo Janne managed to keep. One by one, he loosened the caps, took out the old bearings, finished the surfaces with some fine grit paper he found, put in the new ones and retorqued the caps. Doing everything in reverse order, he reassembled it, put in some fresh oil and a new filter, and started it up. Everything went fine, there were oil pressure, the team could once again continue their journey, through what now was the night. Extremely tired they were among the last teams to arrive at camp, and immediately fell asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Yes, I am lagging behind many stages, but I will try to sort that out now. Sorry.

Next part

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Team Mravolinski-Chitco
Part 6

Familiar faces, we must cook

Prisoner bro seemed very intimidating, but rather satisfied to see noone can match his might.
He was advised not to intimidate other regulars, as that wouldnt be very nice of him.

-Indeed granma, young female, two young males and someone old enough to have some decently-aged children.
Im not looking forward to sharing space with that bitch that was also released from prison. She seems whiney and stupid and whiney.
-Do you have some money on hand? Bcos we all could benefit from it.
-Not much tbh. But could get some.
-Dont do anything stupid. Im supposed to keep an eye on you so you dont get behind bars again.

Silence

-Now you will have company of me, so i suggest ditching these weirdos…all of them.
-Thats not an option. I actually quite enjoy the fact they dont complain on my stories.
-Bcos they dont understand said stories. They are stale and stupid.
-Still, i kinda highly doubt it would be nice thing to do. Im only guy from around here they know.
They are helping best they can.
-I would prefer if help would be of financial kind.

Speaking of which…

-Sora, Pedro, what do you have in terms of money with you?
We only have Serbian dinars with us.
-What is what “dinar” thing?
-Money.

Pulls out banknotes and coins of said currency and Pedro inspects.

-We are using same way to express numbers, it seems.
-Thats not a coincidence

Sora spoke up

-Emperor, can you make us ton of money?
-Even if i could, it would be useless here.
-We arent in universe where she is Emperor. She admited that to me tad bit earlier.
I have no reason to argue that.
-I dont believe you and i have no reason to believe you.
-You actually do have reason. Emperor can confirm what i said.
-What if i dont?
I may enjoy watching your argument
On other hand, it would be nice to know how much money we have on hand.

Pedro and Sora checked the money

-Not much here. Its not like i prepared to go with you lot afterall.
-Im tad bit better off.
-Hrmph
Still hardly lot of money however you look at it.

At one of stops made, Local decided to investigate.
He understood this was money from where they came from and understood financial strength of coins and banknotes they had

Serbian dinar - Wikipedia covers most of stuff he may witness, with few exceptions

  • Noone had banknote of 5000 dinars with them. Said banknote is represented on English Wikipedia
  • For some reason, said English wiki doesnt really cover coins of smaller value in regards to how they look hence link to Serbian equivalent in Cyrillic letters
    Српски динар — Википедија
    English one does cover them data-wise, so dont worry about fact you dont understand Serbian.
    Speaking of someone that doesnt understand Serbian…

-That is USELESS here.
-I know and they know too.
-USELESS
-Now we know that atleast we mark numbers the same.
-USELESS
-Dont mind him (to rest of group, then turns to brother)
Look, if you had checked it out, we would like it to be returned

Brute turned away and threw money over shoulder

-USELESS

Local gathered money and returned it to rest, without a word
Still, would this bunch prove to be, indeed, useful beyond their tolerance for his stories?
Fear not, as two members of this group have particularly valuable knowledge and/or skills.
.
.
.
.
.
Ok, maybe one actually, but other will be mentioned. Probably. That would be Pedro

As for Sora, she is totally going to be very useful and in way that is…easier to put into practice

And no, im totally not mentioning that as reference for me regarding next piece of post for next stage. Totally.

WARNING: Uhhhh, i dont suggest doing eat or drink while reading next part.
You will be warned through part as well. It could be too funny or you could decide this just isnt something you want to follow with that delicious sandwich and Cola for other reason.

Fantasstic highway drive

I know, i know, these bad guys simply cant be boring at all but so far they didnt do anything bad per se.
But during this day, that has been changed…and they have not so nice title of being only group on this stage properly pulled over and given a ticket.

Trouble began in city, as they had managed to get some solid amount of food and drinks.
Food was eaten and drinks were drank and this is as good of place as any to warn you, the reader, to proceed with caution if you are consuming as well while reading
Reasoning would be self-explanatory and i guess one member of this group would be to blame…

-Man, im full.
-These guys really know how to make good food
-I had eaten many
-Pfft, thats nothing, i had eaten more.
-How much?
-Many more
-Many?
-MANY.

This attracted attention of tad bit more members of group. Some placed bets, others accepted them and so money was rolling in background.

-That isnt smart idea.
-Oh why? You think i cant handle it?
-…Yes?
-I will be happy to prove you wrong
WRONG
-We aint stopping
-I could manage it, no problem.
This isnt my first time ya know

Tad bit later, in different vehicle

-Boss, are we going to stop any time soon?
-NO, i think we are ahead of Team Mravolinski-Chitco.
-Isnt that a bad idea?
-How so?
-Uhh, we kinda dont know if they might come in some other direction
-Nonsense, i found some maps. There is no way for us to be lost.
-Im not convinced

Negativka stepped into conversation
(Ye, name is literally “bad guy” but female; bad guy here meaning antagonist, one that hero must fight)

-I bought them off some old poor fella that found them while trash digging, or so i understood.
Places we have been in so far match some of map by virtue of being in exact foreign language. There are more marked places to go, and im confident that we will be on track.
-Either way, i dont want to stop. Maybe we will slow down if we estimate there is high chance of them entering some fight.
I feel that would be our best chance to attack them.
-I dont recall us ever having that kinda strategy.
-Bcos we are only ones that they usually need to fight off. Last year they needed to fend off some wildlife…oh the dissapointment for us not joining in back then.
But ye, hopefully im crystal clear…WE AINT STOPPING FOR ANYTHING

…and that covers bathroom breaks, as it became more and more obvious to certain already mentioned member
He sat uneasy, crossing legs, showing discomfort…it hopefully becomes clear why i gave warning regarding readers taking it easy with consumables while reading.
Sweat was showing along with strong desire to just let it go, opposed to his pride and dignity.

-Can we stop for second?
-NO
-WHY (whining)
-Orders from Krta himself. He wants to be ahead of our enemies.
-Arent we already ahead?
-We are, but you dare to dispute his orders? I reckon you could have used the head tad bit earlier.

Everyone laughed in his discomfort, pushing him quite close to insanity…
He had went over some others towards a door
.
.
.
.
One policemen, sent to watch over highway on this wonderful day, had exited his patrol car.
He had certain issue in area below his back and decided to solve it with his hand.
Upon opening internal valve, he realised there were actually two issues, but one was solving itself now

-It stinks.
-So?

He decided to continue what he exited car for. Two moves and it seemed to be over.

-Thats 69th time of you scratching your butt today.
-So? You have something against my butt?
-I have against you scratching it on job. We are supposed to be professional.
-You snored out half a shift, hardly professional thing either
-I was tired, ok?
-Excuses, excuses.

In distance they saw big group of vehicles that were themself big as well.
They would have counted them out, but something about one of them would attract their attention.

-That one has somewhat open door.
-Oh my, it really does.
-Why?
-Something seems to kinda fly out of it, not sure what.
-We might need to see what is that.

Offending vehicle is now passing in front of them.
They see someone’s backside (more precisely, ass) and are shocked.
Several seconds had passed and they now alarmed next patrol to give ticket for indecency and littering, shock turning into laughter.
Said next patrol did road block, which prompted Krta to stop against his very words and upon exiting the car to personally confront law with words, policeman literally dragged him to another vehicle, one with open door and quite the sight in opening.
Then said officer gave the ticket.

-I dont understand whats written here.

Policeman gestured for them to turn around and clean up “trash” left behind, as he understood Krta’s “Im not of this world and cant read this thing” by noticing language he doesnt understand.
Turning around happened quickly and soon spillage was sorted out.

This isnt last we are going to say about Krta’s group. Expect consequences.

You can pick sandwich and Cola safely again or whatever you decided to consume while reading

Clawing away some trash

After some time, person that actually knew the way was found.
Trio of two guys and pet had asked some directions.
They were on their way

-What are you doing?
-Im gonna dispose of this book. It ruined my life. LIFE!
-But…what would its destruction do that would help you two returning back? If its with us and whole, we can eventually find someone that could decipher it.
-I have nothing and noone in this situation. Take no offence, but you are still mostly stranger to us by any metric.
-Offence not taken.
I see your point, which still wouldnt benefit from destruction of book.
Besides, we dont know for sure if it will not release some curse on its terminators. Remember, its book of magic.

Some time passed in silence

-I guess you are right. Still, we are not sure what we can do in this situation.
-Its probably for best to not divide just yet. Im going to Sundale, which is a town. We can sort out accomodation and think what to do there. Besides, that would allow you to make some more friends.
-Sounds good


Blessed with sufficient space and lack of traffic, vehicles of Krta turned around in correct direction
Going with the (expected) flow, all vehicles stepped on gas and went as fast as they could.
As vehicles could be considered identical, their “as fast as they could” depended a lot on driver behind wheel.
One of them would happen to have nasty issue that presented itself at one point, namely when they went off highway

-Im so much faster than others. This is SO COOL.
YOU WILL NOT GIVE ME ORDERS OF CARRYING TRASH ANYMORE.
WATCH MEEEEE

Driver went very quickly and speedily, realized he might be going too fast and in panic slammed brakes.
ABS did the thing and stopped fronts from locking up but same couldnt be said for rear
Multiple spins happened, but car ended up being on all four wheels in correct direction and still on road.

-WHEW. Atleast i didnt crash

Next vehicle, also belonging to Krta our beloved, seemed to have driver with non-existant reflexes, plowing into now-stopped vehicle in front.
Lot of trash, glass, pieces of metal etc. found the place on road and people in both vehicles got shunted a lot.
Injuries differed ofc from not so serious to more serious ones, but its not like anyone actually cares that much.

What we do care about is fact that someone had a nasty idea to put into action, which was approved by Krta himself.
After almost all people had entered the vehicles, this group continued onward to next city


In Sundale, trio had managed to find place to stay for some time and now human part was busy trying to settle in and organize food.
Pet was hanging around, going outside and inside as she pleased
This however would attract some attention.

-Oh my, look at that lovely sight.
-I dreamed to have one of those for longest of time
-Damn, such rare opportunity
-Yes

Some rechecking of clothing and pockets followed

-I know what we are doing tonight boys.
-Yes, finally. I got sick running away from old ladies after we decorated their homes with personal touch.
-Plan?
-Throw rock through window, get in and try to bait the animal using copius amount of meat.
-Where we are gonna find that?
-I have my ways.
-How to defeat those two guys?
-Easy. We have hammers and they dont expect hammers.
-Nice. I will bring the leash.

Night came and window got broken via rock.

-Im in.
Damn, everyone is asleep.
-Oh thats awesome. Unlock the door and let us in
-On it.

Extraction of pet went without too much of problem.

-Where is the car?
-Here
-Damn this is heavy
-About as much as your mom
-Shut up

Someone decided to ask

-Hey, how are we going to explain this much hair in here?
-My parents dont care about that
-This is your car?
-Nah, its of my dad.
-Good. We are going on a highway
-WHAT
-Yes, we are. Bcos freedom and shit.
-Cool
-Isnt this the wrong way?
-ZARUKI (Glaring at driver)
-I have no idea what you said
-Oh i know, i know.
-Really?
-Idiot
-No you are idiot
-Bro, i meant…
-DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOU MEANT
-CAN I JUST FUCKING DRIVE

Horns blaring, showing displeasure on them going opposite direction.
As for “Zaruki” that means “Idiot” in Valraadii, so i guess one of these guys have some knowledge in it

-SHIT
Im going to get in that proper direction.
Doesnt matter in which direction we are going, freedom in both directions.
-Ok

Bunch had entered highway and stepped on it, towards new adventures
We are going to just stand on side of highway and watch their taillights getting smaller and smaller in distance…for now.

Atleast you can rest etirenally

Morning was indeed very great and it seemed that there is possibility for refueling Saguaro and nothing else.
This time around, it was decided to refill BOTH vehicles at same time Saguaro required its refill.
Real interesting thing had started when Saguaro required refill AGAIN.
This time, there would be required detour since apparently highway was blocked by some banners with what seemed like gibberish written on them.
As such, both cars tried their luck on exiting the highway as fast as possible at next exit, which had some debris splaterred on it
Due to differing track widths, Kontir had cleared the debris easily, but same couldnt be said for much narrower Saguaro, resulting in, well…

-Seems that both tires are goner on passenger side
-We will stop when there is space to access the damage, but note we didnt really packed much in terms of spare tires for it
-Eh, could be worse

-Rear isnt in such bad shape, but we really need to figure out what to do with other one.
-Thats bcos i swerved to avoid more damage to it
-Wonderful. It still needs to be fixed tho
As such, we shall find tire shop here
First we will cleanup this, no need fo fellow competitor to suffer same fate needlessly

There was approach to what seemed to be tire shop, which is now also blessed with lot of cars parked in close proximity. Clanking could be heard relatively clearly

-This is nothing but shame, ya know? I had worked for him for many years…no, few decades and…it wasnt always easy, but we pulled through all and any obstacle…but it wasnt meant to be this time.
-Yea, agreed

-Weird clanking could be heard/
-Weird?
-Not what i would expect from workshop, anyway.
-Atleast means there will be people there
-True

However, there was some inconvenient obstacle on way to getting into shop

-BEEEEP
-WE DONT SERVE ANYONE TODAY
-WHO PARKED LIKE ASSHOLE ON ENTRANCE
-I SAID…WE SERVE NOONE TODAY!!!
-Nonsense

Chicota had exited the vehicle he piloted and went around obstacle. He took notice of what he could gather from parts of it that he passed: long black vehicle, with only notable feature being blacked-out windows. Clanking was very clear now and so was the reason

-Not only someone`s parking skill could use refinement, but also all of you lot are eating.
-We are closed for today, fuck off
-So you can eat in peace?
-EXACTLY
-What are we supposed to do, then?
-Feel free to fuck off. We are changing no tire today.
-Not even to this thing someone so carelessly parked here?
-That needs no tire change
-It does, rear left is deflated
-What…go and check

One of people at table reluctantly left table and decided to inspect the tire
He burst into laughter

-WHAT THE FUCK IS SO FUNNY
-Tire…its flat…
-This is no occassion to laugh
-Its ironic that his last ride has gotten flat tire. That irony had made me laugh.

Chicota only now grasped conclusion some reader may have gotten already

-Last ride? Wait…you are telling me this thing is a hearse?
-Yes?
-But it has no markings on it
-Ye, but this is such a small place that we need no markings.
Besides, its fully black and big vehicle, which should leave no doubt on its purpose
You arent from here or?
(Looks at vehicles blocking the street)
You arent from here

-I cant believe on flat tire. Free beer for everyone if its true
-Bet

Shouty guy became very quiet
This continued for few minutes

-You lost the bet?
-I did.

Defeated, he returned to table. Chicota spoke

-Can we atleast get some basic resources in order to fix our tires?
-No. (guy that lost the bet)
-Can you inflate tire on this hearse? (younger guy still at hearse asking Chicota)
-You sure you only need to reinflate it?
-Uh…yeah. Its not like we are going very fast…or far.
-If its something more serious, that might not help.
Also, we could hodge-podge our tires if we are given some basic resources. We are willing to pay for said resources and usage of tools
-Hmm, could do.

Resources are given and repairs were done in middle of street.
Ofc, it should be noted this isnt all…

-Cant believe our plan worked.
-That was genious plan to divert them in way to pop some tires
-Lets just move these out of way.
-Yes, lets. Krta will be happy to hear about it.

They watched teams slower than Mravolinski-Chitco pass by, under their metal plates used to divert mentioned team
These were spooked in night when certain band of misfits had booked it through very same highway exit going in direction that wasnt intended.
Eventually, they were found and police brought them into their station, thinking they are homeless people.
One of them had scribbled Полиција нас је одвела у њихову станицу, мисле да смо бескућници
(Replace them and they with us and we, respectivelly in bold part of previous sentence and you get translation of what they wrote)
Rest of their group had picked up the panels and picked them up at said station.

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