Faster Than Angels | Part 27
Uploading a day early cause stuff busy tomorrow
The referenced album title of Part 26.2 was Human After All by Daft Punk.
[s2_19.0: Part 27.0] Dome 0095
<22120627>
Saturday, June 27th, 2212... Earth time.
Cydonia Hotel, Albatross, Dome 0095, Mars
"What the hell do you mean, you'd much rather race pure?!" A visibly irritated man retorted at the 18-year old girl in front of him.
Crinale's two pilots, Leon Turner and Lucia Scarlatti, were having yet another argument. While they were usually good friends, and they had many arguments over their time as pilots, this one was a rather bad fight. Once again, it pertained to Lucia's lack of violence in her racing style during her most recent trial in the simulator.
"God, are you f*cking retarded?! Let me say it again: F*ck this sh*tty violence bullsh*t. I'd much rather use my own racing style, one that lets me have fun, one that I know I can win by using."
"That's great and all, but remember who you're racing for."
"Oh my F*CKING GOD WHY. How many times do I have to say it before it enters your thick skull into your retarded brain?! I don't care about Crinale's sh*tty racing style! I race to win, not to kill."
"Who said anything about killing?"
"Killing, eliminating, who gives a flying f*ck?! It's all the same to me and I couldn't give any less of a f*ck!"
"Is that so?! Well, you could always quit? Oh, but then Viktor will probably make sure you won't race again. You'd have to go back to your loving parents."
"F*CK. OFF!" She yelled, "MY PARENTS NEVER LOVED ME! Can you say that people who couldn't accept who I am, a prodigy that was born to race, truly f*cking love me?! HAH! I DON'T F*CKING THINK SO. Those assholes tried to force their sh*tty religion down my throat, despite my countless protests! I am a woman of science, YOUR HORRID GOD DOES NOT EXIST."
"Uh-"
"NO! F*CK YOU! I'M OUT." She cut Leon off. "You're starting to become like my god damn parents. I'll race however I f*cking want. THIS IS MY F*CKING LIFE, D*CKHOLE."
With that, she stormed out of the hotel and started to roam around the small, shanty town ouside of the dome the hotel was in. She sighed, and started to curse everyone and everything under her breath, until she stopped outside a building, looking at it and the sign emblazoned upon it.
Spiegel's
"...wait, is that...?"
The reason she stopped to look at the building was a simple reason: She swore she could hear metal playing in the bar.
"...F*ck it, I could do with a drink." She admitted, stepping inside. Metal was playing rather loudly in the bar, but that was fine for her. Looking around, the only person in the bar was a rather well built blonde haired man, who was relaxing, reading a book.
"U-um... am I supposed to be here at this time? Why are you the only one in here?" She asked, not recognising the man.
He moved the book away from his view, placing a finger between the pages he was on. He recognised her almost at once. "Ah... Lucia Scarlatti, prodigious Lead Pilot of Crinale International. It's fine to be here. While the bar is closed at noon, I know the owner quite well, and I come here periodically to read."
"Okay... so, um... mind if I get a drink? Or would I have to go elsewhere?"
"Nah, it's fine, I can get you something." He stuck a bookmark in the book and started walking to the bar.
"If you don't mind me asking, you look familiar..." She started.
The man turned around and held out his hand. "Halvred Erikson, 2nd pilot for Syncline R/I. Call me Hal."
"Ah, I thought so." She replied, shaking his hand.
Hal then walked around the bar, placing both hands on it and leaning on it. "Alright, pick your poison."
"If you think I want those sh*tty girly alcopops, you can f*ck right off. Rum and coke."
"Ooh, nice choice."
"What do you recommend for the rum?"
"Recommend?!" He scoffed, "I mean, I know this place looks posh, but really, we all prefer to go with the good Captain."
Lucia stood there, mouth agape in disbelief. "...D-did you just... God, someone who knows a good drink. Please, hit me up with the Captain!"
"Heh, sure thing." He said, getting up.
A short time later, Hal had whipped up her drink, and passed it to her, getting a second glass for himself.
"So, what brings you here?"
"[sigh], you don't want to know. It'd ruin this stupid f*cking image everyone seems to have of me just because I'm a pilot for Crinale."
"Tell me, I know that people can have personalities that are different to their racing styles."
"You sure?"
"Hey, you're at a bar, don't people let out their life stories here?" He joked.
"Hah! Oh, fine. Basically, Leon, the second pilot, is getting on my case just because I don't like to use this overly-violent racing style that's being forced on me."
"Leon... Turner?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, I was raised by his brother... although, telling him about Leon won't change him much, from what I heard about Leon from his brother."
"Ehh, fair enough. I mean, why does Crinale need to do this sh*tty weapon focused battles anyway? It'd just be easier to use the high power of the craft to get quick times and win through that! I can win through perfect runs, by taking Crinale's other technologies to it's limits, not just their stupid weapon tech."
"That's a bit of an oversimplification of battles in racing. If it was so easy to win without weapons, no one would use them. Yet many pilots get so caught up in trying to get their kill that they end up holding themselves back to take out an insignificant target in last place. It's more of a game of chess then it is a mindless shoo-"
"Yeah, yeah, that's great, is that why you haven't got first place in a race yet?"
"Haven't meant a lip like that in a while," Hal chuckled, mostly to himself, "We've had top five placement in every race for both pilots. Maybe we haven't had that magical lucky day, that still makes us the most consistent team of the season."
"I mean, you could get last place in every race and earn that title. Still doesn't mean you'll win."
"In our backyard? I know every curve of that track, you know."
"...Are you challenging me?"
"I'd like to think we crossed that line quite a bit ago. Besides, there's something I've been wanting for a time, it'd be nice to have it for free."
"Ahahaha! A bet? Against me, a f*cking prodigy?! ...The stakes?"
Hal grabbed a bottle from the top shelf, "This red wine, can't get it on Earth, interplanetary shipping comes with too many complications. I bought a glass of this a few months ago, just to see if it was worth it. It caused me to go sober for a week, any other drink was urine in comparison."
"...you mean that if I lose...?"
"You need to buy the wine. Full cost."
"God damn... that's crazy! I'm in."
Hal blinked at how quickly she agreed. "Uh, I wasn't expecting you to accept so easily."
"Yes, well, we both have an advantage. You have the advantage of the home course and I have the racing skills!"
"That's a good point, I'm sure you'll get at least, ohh... tenth?"
"Sure, sure, just pay for the damn wine now, loser." She joked back, having the most fun time of her life in a long time.
I'd like you to take note of the position he mentioned, while not that important, it's just something for a later part, that I changed because it was quite close to what he said.
Part 96 & 96.5: Grand Finale II - Saki to Kyou - Saki Kojikyofu
Faster Than Angels | Part 28.1
The referenced album title of Part 27 was Gas 0095 by Mat Jarvis, under the moniker of Gas.
[s2_20.1: Part 28.1] 30 Seconds on Mars
<22120628>
Sunday, June 28th, 2212.
Nilokeras Fossa, Dome 3030, Mars
The entirety of the short course was available for everyone to see first hand, as that portion of the track was encased in a glass stadium. The blue glow of the glass track accentuated beautifully against the rusty red of the planet. Despite the glass stadium, however, it was perfectly safe to be outside, as oxygenators and heaters were placed around the planet in 2140, which were marked by tall beacons that glowed a certain colour depending on the status of the machinery: white if active and red if damaged, meaning one would have to stay away from the area.
The heaters ensured the planet's surface stayed at ideal temperatures, ranging from about 35 to 0°C at day. At night, the temperatures dipped to anywhere between 0 and -35°C. In addition, Biodomes were put in place if the tourists couldn't get used to the unique atmosphere of the planet.
For Brandon and the rest of the team, it was their first time on the planet, which he found very interesting. However, there was no more time to stare at the beauty of it, as the race was about to start.
Suddenly, Alex danced into the room, a light bound in her steps.
"Is it time? Is it going to start?" She was practically bouncing on the spot.
Brandon looked her up and down, a confused look on his face "You... seem to be in high spirits."
"Of course I do, I feel like a giddy teenager!"
"Uh huh. You asked her out, didn't you?"
"Was it that obvious?"
"Not as obvious as Catherine's answer, I take it?"
"Yeah, she said yes!"
"Well, I'm glad for you. I hope you guys do well."
"I hope so too."
With that said, Brandon turned his attention back to the race, which was mere seconds from starting. "Alright Syncline, what do you have planned? This is your home course, I'm sure there's something up your sleeve."
In a matter of seconds, he would find out.
3, 2, 1... GO!
<10:00:00_>
<nilokeras fossa: short fwd_>
<race: lap 01 of 102_>
01. ERI220.1.99.175 (#99 | Halvred Erikson | V.ult-2X1024)
02. TSU524.0.45.175 (#45 | Katsuo Tsukiko | V.ult-2X1024)
06. FUJ616.0.43.194 (#43 | Kyoko Fujisaki | AX2.0_r1)
10. SCA308.0.7.329 (#7 | Lucia Scarlatti | F0-RA8/00095)
11. ARD889.1.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r1)
15. TUR847.1.13.329 (#13 | Leon Turner | F0-RA8/000127)
<evangelon | desimal_>
As usual, the craft took off at a blistering pace, but this time, something was very different regarding Syncline. As soon as they were off the line, they altered their racing lines so that Hal was directly behind Kat, decreasing the wind resistance and raising their overall speed.
When they reached the first corner, Kat moved slightly more outside than Hal did, to give him even more turning ability than the unique craft design allowed. As soon as they were out of the turn, they returned to their prior formation of Hal racing directly behind Kat.
Further down the pack, Kyoko was amazed by the sudden and massive lead the team took. Usually, they were mid-pack runners.
"What... even? They aren't this good, were they?! I doubt it's just because it's their home course... They must have some strategy, I've never seen them follow one another so closely before."
"Quake"
Immediately, though, a quake was fired, taking out Kyoko and, when it eventually reached them, both Syncline pilots. It was enough for them to lose their lead, and fall into the main pack.
"Formation Beta."
Suddenly, in the busy pack, the two craft sideshifted in opposite directions. Kat allowed Hal to pass her and they both sideshifted back to being in line with one another. Along with the change in leader, the racing style of the team changed drastically too, becoming more violent. Kat, when she got them, dropped mines and occasionally bombs on the track behind her, while Hal focused on using the forward firing weapons at the opponents ahead of them.
Like Kat did when she was ahead, Hal took the corners further outside than Kat did, to give her the extra turning ability. With their combination in forces, they reached the current race leaders in no time at all. They began to switch back to their previous formation again.
"Missiles. Rockets."
Hal was hit, and fell back, only to be hit by a stray rocket, keeping him stationary for a while longer. It was enough to separate him from Kat. Fortunately, their strategy covered that as well. While he usually absorbed it, he used turbos to catch up with Kat, also adopting a less violent style in the process.
Kat on the other hand, raced as she used to; she always healed using weapons and took the corners aggressively. This brought her closer to the front. However, the pilot in front of them wouldn't relinquish their position to her. It was then her mind tricks came into play.
"So you won't let me through? Fine."
She maneuvered her craft in such a way that they made a mistake in the corner, moving to the outside, whick left Kat to slip on the inside and pass them... for about a second, until they activated a turbo and got ahead.
"Nice try, but who said I'd give up that easily?"
"Me." Came a voice that was not the pilot's.
Faster Than Angels | Part 28.2
Thanks to Bardic for providing the concept for these past 3 or so parts, as well as the next one!
The referenced album title of Part 28.1 was the self-titled album by 30 Seconds to Mars.
[s2_20.2: Part 28.2] The Rise of Syncline R/I and the Pilots on Mars
<22120628>
Sunday, June 28th, 2212
Nilokeras Fossa, Dome 3030, Mars
<so long sentiment | celldweller_>
"Nice try, but who said I'd give up that easily?"
"Me. Kat, out of the way."
She sideshifted out of the way, just in time for...
"Missiles"
They hit their mark, the white and red craft fell back, and Hal was back in 2nd place, moving back right behind Kat in their original formation. Although, like their original formation...
"Quake"
They were both hit by a quake, and overtaken by the very same craft that was ganged up on.
"I told you already, who said I would give up so easily?"
"Cannon"
That was pretty much the start of a battle between Hal and his new race rival. Initially just an attempt to slow them down, the other pilot defended their position by any means necessary, pumping any offensive weapon obtained into the red and purple craft.
"Fine, if it's a battle you want, then it's a complete curbstomp you'll get."
"Rockets"
All 3 rockets hit the rear of the craft, dealing a great deal of damage and slowing it down immensely, allowing Hal to pass it. He kept an eye on the craft, ready to dodge any attack it would do.
"Tch, really? You're using the weapons to heal? Oh, w-"
"Plasma"
Instantly, Hal sideshifted out of the way, harmlessly avoiding the attack. He sideshifted back, slowed down, and...
"Mines"
Fired them at point blank range, giving the pilot no time to react.
<contender_eliminated_>
"That's enough. Now..."
In the commotion of the battle, Kat had taken the chance to escape and go for the gold. Hal was in 2nd place, but he was a fair way behind Kat.
"I've dealt with them, catching up." Hal notified her.
Again, he healed himself using every pickup he obtained, apart from turbos, which he used. He also took advantage of the track's banking to execute barrel rolls where he could. Over the span of 6 laps, Hal slowly narrowed the gap between him and Kat, eventually reaching her on the 7th.
"Formation Alpha, let's finish this."
"Agreed."
Hal kept to the rear of Kat's craft, having no real problems until the final lap. Somehow, one pilot was able to get close enough to them to attack.
"Missile"
Lucia fired the weapon blind, allowing it to fly across the track. When it missed the target, it bounced off the wall, and directly into Kat.
"Ngh!"
She instantly sideshifted out of the way of Hal, who was still travelling at the same speed. Hal kept his composure and speed up. Running over a weapon pickup, he seemed to be in luck. He dropped the bomb he received and decided to go for the win.
BOOM
"ARGH, NO!"
Lucia had run into the bomb, leaving Hal home free.
<race complete_>
<first place_>
Part 97A & 97B: Grand Finale III - Final Overture - Kyou Kenkyohinkon
Faster Than Angels | Part 29
The referenced album title of Part 28.2 was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie.
@Bardic, if this part isn't good enough, tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll fix it.
[s2_21.0: Part 29.0] MARTIAN_SUNSET_MEMORIES
<22120628>
Sunday, June 28th, 2212
Firestar, Near Dome 2052, Mars.
23:02:00?
The girl stood by the tower that overlooked the old F3600 course.
'Sure is taking his sweet ass time,' She thought, looking at the time displayed on her phone. 'I don't have a car, I had to buy the stupid wine, and yet I got here before him. The hell?!'
As she finished that thought, a black Koenigsegg raced about the parking lot, sliding to a halt at one of the many empty lots. The tall, well-built man got out and walked up to her.
"Hey." He greeted, a wide, cocky grin on his face.
"Hey yourself. You're late." She shot back, showing him her phone.
After examining it for a second, Hal explained himself. "Your phone's fast." He showed her his phone, which displayed 22:59, then changed to 23:00. He then slipped it back into his pocket. "Anyway, what matters is that we're both here. Did you get the wine?"
"At. Great. Expense." She spoke through gritted teeth, holding up a bag.
"Heh, that's why we bet on that particular one, remember?"
"Quit grinning like that."
Hal did stop grinning like that. Instead, he doubled up and burst out laughing.
Lucia went to say something else, but just gave up and walked inside the observation tower. A short while later, finished laughing and realising the girl walked inside, Hal entered the tower.
"Finished?"
"Heheh... eheheh... Uh, heh, yeah. Let's go. Heheh."
They took the elevator up to the top floor of the tower, then walked to a seat near the window and sat down. Hal took a corkscrew out of his pocket and popped open the bottle, pouring both of them a glass.
"...Holy sh*t... This really is some good stuff... woah."
"I know right? As I said yesterday, every drink becomes piss in comparison."
Lucia chuckled, then stared out of the glass outlook, taking in the beautiful scenery of the sun setting over the old racetrack.
"...Wait, why wasn't this rebuilt for the F12000?" She asked, pointing down at the track. "Don't you guys own it or something?"
"Firestar? We decided that it didn't really fit our style, Nilokeras Fossa was tailored for the V-ult. As to why it looks new and not so dilapidated, well, after our rejection, some other group picked it up and repurposed it for a different racing league, one we own. It's about the same speed as the F3600 was, apparently, so it retains the original 6.3km layout... or so I've heard."
"Interesting." She commented, before asking another question, "Wait, you own your own league? So why you don't have a third reserve pilot?"
"Ah, that one is simple." He explained, "It's all because of the team's pilot chemistry, it is one of the most important aspects of any team. See, while you and Leon are better pilots in terms of your individual skill, I work well with Kat."
"Which is why you were able to win?"
"Well, that and our friend Nilokeras!" He laughed.
Lucia took the bottle of wine and helped herself to a second glass. Hal immediately poured more wine into his still half full glass, since it was his prize.
"You know," Hal spoke suddenly, "Kat's doctor made her race with a neck brace, because she refused to be replaced. I mean, I can understand not wanting to be replaced, because of the whole chemistry thing."
"Wait, a neck brace? What happpened?"
Hal had prepared for this question, and had fabricated a story to prevent knowledge of the Stoica Incident from leaking out: "Snowboarding accident. She was at the ice-caps to the north, when another boarder, who had never snowboarded on Mars, just trips up right in front of her. The board smacked her in the neck, hard and in a vulnerable region, which basically left her suffocating on her own throat. Thankfully, a medic came by quickly enough, with a machine to force air into her lungs. It was... pretty brutal, to say the least."
"...Ouch, that sounds awful. Although, that does remind me of an injury I saw someone have."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I was in a mosh pit at this one concert and, well, that's pretty much all I need to say, right?"
"'Can probably see where this is going, but keep talkin'."
"A'ight. Basically, this dude gets f*cking wrecked. Like, he gets hit once, then twice, then all these people just gang up on him. Then one guy throws a punch straight into his neck. He then collapses and is pretty much choking to death. Then these other two guys carry him off to the paramedic so they can do their paramedic sh*t and save him. But yeah, long story short is, I learned that mosh pits can be dangerous."
"Do you go in them?"
"Ahh, f*ck off, I'm more into enjoying the music than wrecking someone's sh*t." Her voice started to slur a bit, the alcohol had started to take effect.
"Heh, true."
"Ooh, hey! Do you have any battle scars?! I bet you do, cause of the whole Viking thing or some sh*t."
Hal made a noise that made it obvious that he was trying to stifle a laugh, but due to his drunkenness, he failed horribly. "The only big scar I have, although it's a surgical scar. It's on my abdomen, from a liver transplant and reconstructive rib surgery after I got in a street fight in Japan. That was a few years ago, 2209."
"Cool, cool... can I see it?" She asked excitedly, her speech getting even more slurred.
"Don't see why not." He shrugged his shoulders, then lifted his shirt up.
The moment she saw his body, she tensed up, her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. After several seconds, she only begun to speak after Hal dropped his shirt back down. "Hey!... just so you know... I may be drunk, but I'm not a sl*t, so you better not be thinking about ffff*cking me."
At that point, she was completely drunk.
"...wait, what?"
"You heard me, don' try and f*ck me! I'm not a sl*t."
"Mmmhm, last woman who told me that was the biggest liar of both planets, but I'll take your word for it." He then decided to change the subject quickly, "So, have you been in any fights?"
"Ehh, like, a couple. Most of my fights have been verbal than physical, but I've thrown some punches about to those select assholes that really deserved it... although, with that said, most of my fights were with my parents, my mother especially. She was so high and mighty about God and sh*t, and I just had enough of it. They even went so far as to inhibit my skills by putting me on some pills that I can't remember the name of, but they basically made me feel really, violently ill whenever I went anywhere an Anti-Gravity field. Few months later I just told 'em to f*ck off and I went on my own."
"Huh, that's interesting."
"My parents never had my best interests in mind, they just tried to make me conform to their sh*tty bullsh*t religious f*ckery. Pissed me off to no end hearing them talk about some non-existant entity they read about in a book once. F*cking... bullsh*t."
Those were her last words, before she passed out from the alcohol.
"Hah, weakling." Hal said slightly drunkenly, before taking the bottle of wine and finishing it off, passing out not long after.
------------
The next day.
The soft click of the door opening softly sounded through the area, but the two sleeping people didn't hear it. Suddenly, knowingly, the girl who opened it threw it closed, making a loud BANG.
"HaAAH!" Hal screamed awake. Lucia shot up as well, but made no sound... maybe she did, but it was drowned out by Hal's scream.
"Heeey, Hal! how's it goin'?" Kat greeted him with a smile.
"Kat?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I just wanted to see how well you were doing with Lucia." She said innocently. "So, what did you get for your date?"
At the mention of her name, Lucia turned around and saw the other pilot standing there.
"H-H-H-H-Hey, hey, heyheyheyheyhey! D-D-Don't do that! Why are you snooping around here for?"
"...I just wanted to see how well you guys were doing. I was concerned for my co-pilot. But it seems he did very well." Kat grinned.
"Wh-wh-wh-what does that mean?!"
"Anyway," She turned her attention back to Hal after winking at the younger girl, "answer my question. What did you get?"
"Well, for starters... it wasn't a date... and I didn't buy anything, she did."
"Sure it wasn't..." She nodded sarcastically, "Alright, then, what did Lucia get?"
"Well, I can say it was a bet. To see who would be buying it..."
"Wait..." A smile appeared on her face, "You don't mean... that wine?!"
"Yeah, that really expensive one."
"Wow, you guys must really like each other!"
Lucia started stuttering again, but this time, no discernible words could be understood.
"...we're just friends."
"Of course you are, and I'm a Level 5 esper*, hahahaha! I mean, just look at how your 'friend' is acting! Seriously though," Her tone changed to a slightly more serious one and directed what she was about to say at the two, "Don't worry about it, I'll keep your relationship a secret."
*I'll give you a cookie if you know or can figure out that reference.
Faster Than Angels | Part 30
The referenced album title of Part 29 was SUNSET_MEMORIES by ODDEEO.
[s2_22.0: Part 30.0] Tests for EXPOSURE
<22120708>
Wednesday, July 8th, 2212
Unknown location
Unknown time
"Quantum Destabiliser version C-0.2 tuning Test 4, beginning in 3, 2, 1..."
The suited man aimed something that looked like a pistol at a mannequin in what looked like a full racing suit and fired several bright blue blasts into it.
CRACK!
A loud cracking noise was heard as the mannequin split in half from the weapon's destabilisation beam, causing the molecular structure to fall apart explosively.
"...Fine tuning is required. Excepting that, it seems to be working just fine." The man spoke simply.
Completely fine tuning the weapon would take several days, however, they were able to make small adjustments in a matter of an hour or two. The next test involved two subjects, a pig carcass, and another mannequin in a racing suit.
"Quantum Destabiliser version C-0.2 tuning Test 5, beginning in 3, 2, 1..."
The man was to fire 10 rounds, 5 at each of his targets. He fired 5 rounds into the mannequin, which caused the helmet to explode and the suit to liquefy. He aimed at the chunk of meat and began to fire the remaining 5 shots. The instant he fired once, the carcass exploded.
"Ugh! Disgusting." He muttered.
The scientists in charge leaned into the speaker, "Yeah, you can just leave for now, cleaning that up and fine-tuning the device to not affect flesh will take a long time."
"Fine. Just tell me when you've tuned the destabilisation wave." The man spoke, turning and walking out of the lab, leaving the weapon in a container in the scientists' possession.
------------
<22120710>
Friday, July 10th, 2212
The man walked into the lab, after getting a notification that the fine tuning was complete. Walking into the test area, he picked up the gun-shaped device and, seeing two targets similar to the prior test, turned around.
"This better not be a repeat of last time." He cockily said at them
"We fine tuned the wavelengths, they should not affect flesh."
"And you didn't properly test it because...?"
"We thought you wanted to do the tests." They finished.
The man smirked, "You're absolutely correct." He said slowly, before spinning around and firing 5 shots into the mannequin. This time, the helmet didn't explode, but it did fall apart. The suit, while slower this time, still liquefied.
"What kind of pervert wants that to happen? Fix it." He noted upon seeing the suit melt off the mannequin. He then turned to the pig carcass. The scientists had done their job, as nothing happened when the man fired into it.
"Quantum Destabiliser version C-0.3 tuning Test 6, complete."
The break between the test this time was, in addition to fine tuning the device, to perform tests on the carcass to see if there were any unseen effects caused by being shot at with it. A short while later...
"There are no effects to the carcass that we could find. It's safe."
"Good, and the liquefying suit problem?"
"Taken care of, we'll begin the test."
"Fantastic."
As he got into position, the only target was the mannequin, wearing yet another racing suit. The man took aim, activated the weapon, and...
"Quantum Destabiliser version C-0.3 tuning Test 7, beginning in 3, 2, 1..."
5 shots were fired rapidly into the suit. However, the man tilted his head. Nothing happened. The suit didn't fall apart, which was good, but the helmet didn't fall apart. He walked over to the mannequin, drew his fist back, and drove it right into the head.
BAM!
The mannequin fell over from the force of the punch, the head landing on the floor with a loud thud. Those two things were not strong enough to break the helmet apart, which meant that the weapon was useless against it.
"...hey, plebians! You messed up." He said, deactivating the device and hurling it at them. "Fix it, I'm out of here. I need to practice for the race. I can't miss this opportunity to finally give those high and mighty fools the ultimate humiliation!"
Faster Than Angels | Part 31.1
The referenced album title of Part 29 was EXPOSED by Boom Boom Satellites.
[s2_23.1: Part 31.1] Tailing the Angel
<22120712>
Sunday, July 12th, 2212
Omega Harbour, Perth, Australia.
09:30:06
"Well, that was completely coincidental" Brandon commented, as the first race on Angelus' home course coincided with his birthday.
"Smith-san... it is your birthday?" Kyoko exclaimed excitedly. "I did not know." She then muttered something to the effect of "I should get a gift...", before jerking straight up, realising she said that out loud, and saying "A-A-Anyway... Happy Birthday!"
Brandon just stared at the bowing girl and smiled. "Um, thanks."
The team had a small party, while at the same time preparing for the race. In that half-hour though, they were completely ready to race, and had moved the two craft onto the grid in, naturally, pole position before the countdown started...
3, 2, 1... GO!
<10:00:00_>
<omega harbour: short fwd_>
<race: lap 01 of 92_>
01. FUJ616.0.43.194 (#43 | Kyoko Fujisaki | AX2.0_r1)
02. ARD889.1.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r1)
03. SCA308.0.7.329 (#7 | Lucia Scarlatti | F0-RA8/00095)
07. TUR847.1.13.329 (#13 | Leon Turner | F0-RA8/000127)
<star guitar (brookes brothers remix) | shinichi osawa_>
<alt track: death's hand | slayer_>
The craft flew off at their usual high speed, with Angelus taking the lead, Lucia quite close behind the two pure white craft. This time, however, Lucia debuted a new experimental strategy: after planning the race out with Leon, but not Viktor, knowing what was expected of her, and knowing what exactly was to be done at the end, she requested that the entire race be run with radio silence. The reason for that was simple; she was going to race while listening to music.
As the dark, heavy music blared in her ears, she found her rhythm, beginning her attack, which consisted of...
Well, nothing.
She just kept behind them, doing absolutely nothing, not even attacking or racing past, even though she was presented with many opportunities to. Naturally, Viktor was yelling at her to start attacking, but since she turned the radio off in favour of her music, she could not hear a word.
Leon's role of Crinale's new strategy was to act as Lucia's shield, fending off any craft that went near the 3 racers.
"LEON! WHAT IS GOING ON?! EXPLAIN TO ME IMMEDIATELY, OR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY WILL BE DESTROYED!"
Hearing Viktor's loud yell, Leon calmly explained the plan.
"Basically: relax, it will all be worth it. The very end will be the beginning of our ultimate victory." He concluded.
A few seconds of silence filled the radio, as Viktor processed Lucia's plan.
"...If this was any other circuit, I would reject that plan and force you by any means necessary to use the standard strategy, even if you're using Prototype EXO10; which, by the way, was implemented in the RA8 without my permission! However, this is the home course of Angelus, ergo... I shall become slightly more flexible. IF, however, you fail to win, and hand the victory to Angelus, you and Lucia shall face the full consequences."
"We went over every single aspect of the plan... we won't fail."
"We shall see about that. For now, I shall stand by and observe." He ended the conversation.
Meanwhile, back at the front, Lucia was getting agitated, but she didn't let it get to her.
"Ugh, no no no! You're doing it wrong! This is your home course, you can do so much better!"
She was annoyed at the fact that the two Angelus craft were missing the racing line the prodigy mapped out in her head by mere centimeters. She tried to not let it get to her though, as she needed to stay calm and keep behind them, putting more and more pressure on the team.
Although, it wasn't just the racing line that was off, they also had large inconsistencies in their braking lines. Sometimes they'd brake later than what Lucia thought was the perfect time to brake, and other times they would brake earlier than expected.
'What the hell is going on? Were they always like this? I would have thought they would be better on their home course.'
This continued for most of the rest of the race. The 4 pilots retained their respective positions, playing the other team into their own traps. Despite it being halfway through the season, the rivalry between Angelus and Crinale had reached it's peak.
Lucia had been caught in Angelus' trap, they had been in control of the race since the beginning. The erratic behaviour was just a cover for something far greater, however, the final lap was where both teams would enter the final phases of their strategies.
By controlling their racing line, braking patterns and even their speed, the two Angelus pilots were able to simultaneously get consistent, accurate lap times that barely deviated from each other, while also tricking Lucia into following their wildly deviated racing patterns, with the exact opposite effect: lap times that were all over the place, and causing her to race slower than usual.
Although, that was just one part, a set-up taking advantage of a critical racing tactic that the 18-year old prodigy lacked, for Angelus' final trick, that, in any other circimstance, should have ascertained their victory.
As the two white craft blasted through the mag-lock section and onto the final straight, the pilots communicated to each other in single word sentences, fully aware of the strategy, and the final phase tied to it.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then... aaaaand....
"100! NOW!"
Faster Than Angels | Part 31.2
The referenced album title of Part 31.1 was Playing the Angel by Depeche Mode.
[s2_23.2: Part 31.2] Strategies of Darkness and Light: Angelus
<22120710>
Friday, July 10th, 2212
Omega Harbour, Perth, Australia.
10:50:39
The strategy of Angelus was only conceived after overhearing part of Crinale's. Alex, having been on an errand, just happened to walk past
"From what I heard, their plan involved keeping behind us, until the final lap, where a second part will happen. What that second part is... I don't know. They must have discussed that part of their plan beforehand, cause they didn't explain."
"Fair enough, I can devise a strategy from that, thanks."
"Y-yeah, no problem."
After a few minutes, deep in thought, Brandon called the two ace pilots in for a discussion.
"'Sup?"
"You wished to speak with us?" Gareth and Kyoko greeted him.
"Yes, I have a strategy that can secure our victory."
"Explain?"
"Basically, it is to do with lap times. Since you've raced this circuit countless times, you know it better than anyone, and can defeat their times easily. The first part of my strategy involves limiting the craft's power to a certain amount, calculated such that you would still be front runners."
"How much would the limit be?"
"I'm not sure, I have to observe the others' times and speeds, and calculate a percentage based on that. If I had to give a rough guess, however, I'd say between 70 and 80%."
"That sounds reasonable."
"Yeah. For now, though, just do your runs at 70% power."
Brandon dismissed them to continue their practice. As they did, he observed the performance of the other teams and gathered them all, having 4 final figures from the data: a fastest time, an average time, a fastest speed and an average speed. He then compared that to Angelus' best times and speeds at full power and at their 70% power limit, performing multiple complex calculations against them. Finally, the end result was multiplied by 100, giving him one final figure.
82 was the percentage by which the power would be limited by. To test this, he spoke to both pilots over their comms.
"I have a semi-final percentage figure. To finalise my calculations, I need you to do some more runs, at 80%."
"Got it."
"Increasing power limit from 70% to 80."
After several more laps, Brandon had enough data, averaging out the data between the laps and re-doing the calculations. Once again, he came up with the final figure of 82.
"Perfect." He commented.
------------
<22120711>
Saturday, July 11th, 2212
"Alright, for our qualifier, you guys will be doing the speed lap at 82% power."
"82?"
"82. Yeah, it is a bit specific, but it is enough that you should still get pole position."
<11:25:00_>
<omega harbour: short fwd_>
<qualifier_>
01. FUJ616.0.43.194 (#43 | Kyoko Fujisaki | AX2.0_r1)
02. ARD889.1.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r1)
The qualifier then started, Gareth setting off first, then Kyoko 15 seconds later. Once they had gotten around their flying lap, they started their speed lap proper, speeding past the line at the maximum speed 82% power would yield. After they had run through the standard 7 laps, getting 6 serious times in, the results came in, and it was predictable. Angelus had made a clean sweep, and gotten their 1-2 position for the race.
After the qualifying, Brandon held another meeting with Kyoko and Gareth.
"Now that's done, I can explain the race strategy. First off, you'll be racing at 85% power for most of the race, on the final lap you'll use the full range, all 100% of the Xff's power. But now, let me explain the second part. That lead pilot, Lucia Scarlatti, may be a prodigy, but she is only skilled in racing techniques, that's all. She's too young, she doesn't have the experience of being in dogfights... so, we use that to our advantage.
"Basically, you trick her, lure her into a trap where her racing line and style becomes bad and inconsistent. The psychology behind it is simple enough, her strategy involves paying attention to you at all times, so by using unorthodox lines, yet keeping your times consistent, you should make her race more inconsistently too, but since she doesn't know of the many lines one can take that, while not providing the best time, but a consistent one, her times will drop due to her falling into the trap.
That's when, after 91 laps of consistent inconsistence, you drop the power limiter and run the final lap with max power and on the fastest line. That sudden change should throw her off balance, giving you the win. Is that simple enough for you to accomplish?"
"Of course mate!" Gareth replied, "We ran that course thousands of times, we know tons of racing lines that would give us the same time, it's just a matter of altering the line and braking points in key areas to make the time differences cancel out."
"Exactly, that's exactly what I meant. I have faith in you guys... now I can't wait for tomorrow!"