2199 Citt

This fan-fiction was based on a video on Pure that I made here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6OWldh8j3c&t=170s

2199 Citta Nuova Tremor

On August 18th, 2199, which was the midway point of the 2199 FX300 race season, a tragic race occurred in Citta Nuova ("New City" in Italian), a prominent high-rise skyscraper district in Makana Island's Vineta district, said to be the third running of the ultra-technical circuit. Many pilots shudder in fear due to the sudden sharp and blind corners, as well as undulating track sections which could catch others by surprise. But one violent and ruthless pilot from AG Systems would change the perception of this track forever.

Qualifying:
1. Scien (FRA) - Klor
2. Mark James (GBR) - Cardracer
3. Jesse Fairbanks (USA) - Auricom
4. Nadia Elenova (RUS) - Tigron
5. Jonathan Lidgren (SWE) - Goteki 45
6. Hwang Ji-hye (KOR) - Van-Uber
7. Xavier Chaffin (NZL) - Triakis
8. Hajime Hisanaga (JPN) - AG Systems

Going off to a poor start, Hisanaga claimed that if he were to start from last place in the race, he claimed that he could brutally and ruthlessly destroy everyone on the grid, given that Citta Nuova was also known for punishing careless pilots, causing large drops of shield energy due to unpredictable mistakes.

Unbeknownst to him, his AG Systems Amphithere AGS-300 was equipped with the experimental Seismo Corp. Series VI quake emitter capable of causing catastrophic damage far beyond the previous iteration, the Series V, which was measured 6.5 on the Richter scale. In contrast, the Series VI was capable of unleashing a tremor of up to 8.0.

As it turns out, Hisanaga hadn't been doing too well in the championship rankings as his tendency to brutally eliminate pilots without any mercy sometimes causes him to forget about catching up with the rest of the pack.

Anti-gravity racing historians have compared Hisanaga to being just as, if not, more violent than Omarr Khumala during the F9000 days, and was also notable for his foul temper and tendencies to pick physical fights with other pilots off the track. Some say that Hisanaga's poor temperament and impulse control was due to his father once claiming that he would never become an AG racing pilot, but he proved him wrong nonetheless, even if he was yet to win a championship title.

It was even said that both AG Systems, in particular, their team director, Sakura Tanaku, and Race Commission Chief Executive, Ripp Griffon, threatened to have him sacked and have a lifetime ban on AG racing due to his sheer elimination count in a single season, which surpassed that of Khumala's, making him one of the most violent pilots in AG racing history. He always had a particular habit of taking down the strongest-shielded ships such as Triakis and Tigron to prove his dangerous piloting skills, akin to "hunting for big game".

Then on August 18th, 2199, the race began, but Hisanaga had other ideas. He started going the wrong way onto one section of the track, deploying a barricade of bombs before unleashing the first Series VI quake, causing as much damage to all ships as much as possible. Then on what would have been the end of the first lap, Hisanaga fired rockets straight-on to the privateer craft of Mark James, known as the "Cardracer".

James was safely evacuated without any injuries, thanks to the new emergency teleport system, but his craft was written off and a new chassis had to be produced, which could not be completed in time for the next race in Sebenco Climb.

The same cycle went on again for the next lap, until a lucky missile launched from Hisanaga's Amphithere AGS-300 caused Hwang Ji-hye's Van-Uber ZR-330 to veer to the wall and hit a stationary bomb. Upon her evacuation, Hwang claimed that she had suffered from shellshock due to the bomb's immense explosion, but was unhurt.

For the next lap, this is where the race would have sealed its fate. After a deliberate turbo ram, followed by rockets onto Nadia Elenova's Tigron BULL-667, which was said to have literally split the craft in half, and that one stray rocket hit Jesse Fairbanks' Auricom ACM-7K7, otherwise known as the "Nebula".

The one last quake Hisanaga used to target both Xavier Chaffin's Triakis Anne and Jonathan Lidgren's Goteki 45 Kilauea not only eliminated them both, but destabilized most of the track's surroundings and caused structural damage to the track's high-rise buildings, with notable cracks and shattered glass panels, which in turn also affected their infrastructure as well.

Xavier Chaffin's Triakis was sent violently flying off the track's surroundings and exploded imminently as it left the track limits, making him the only pilot fatality of the event. Then while waiting for French pilot Scien and his privateer "Klor" craft, a combination of bombs and rockets meant that Hisanaga was the only pilot left with a craft that was intact. The race had promptly ended shortly thereafter, with all pilots evacuated and accounted for, except for Chaffin, whose death was quick and horrific.

Hisanaga was then booed by the race crowd for his violent tactics, and AG Systems were promptly disqualified from the 2199 season, and the unveiling of the Ver. II upgrade (akin to "EVO jokers" of the Le Mans Hypercars and LMDh machines of the early 21st century) to the AG Systems Amphithere AGS-300 was delayed for an extra year as they were bound to be introduced for the 2200 season in time for the dawn of the 23rd century. Other than Ripp Griffon himself, other anti-gravity racing personalities, such as even Belmondo Foundation chairwoman, Natasha Belmondo, and her husband, Daniel Johnson, condemned Hisanaga's actions that day.

Hisanaga was forbidden from competing in the 2200 season as well. He would face charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, but the charges would be dropped as he was able to pay bail eventually, and was then terminated by AG Systems, effective immediately, for his ruthless eliminations. By 2200, Hisanaga's seat at AG Systems would be replaced by the up and coming Japanese newcomer Tachy Hoshino, who would later win the championship in 2206 following the disqualification of Triakis.

The team at Triakis also wanted to sue Hisanaga for the brutal and fatal Quake elimination of Chaffin, as well as the complete hull loss of their Anne craft, but resisted as this would have added more tension between both teams off-track. Feliks Levovich also wanted to do the same as their Tigron BULL-667 chassis had been written off, leading to a costly replacement, despite it being the last known Tigron model in Qirex's possession currently in production.

Although not without controversy, Hisanaga would meet his stride when he flew a privateer race craft for Coca-Cola, known as the "Cokestyle", which he would pilot to victory in the 2201 season, and announce his retirement from there, but this would remain the deadliest racing incident in the FX era, and thus, the Seismo Corp. Series VI quake emitter was never used, even until now in the FX350 and 400 Leagues.

This also caused major changes to how weapon pads worked, and the old Seismo Corp. Series V quake emitter was re-wired where it could no longer be fired backwards from the direction of the track. Other weapon manufacturers and suppliers, such as Bulls-I Armories (Missile), Kazagi-Ryland (Rockets), Me-Paz (Plasma), FerrumTech (Mines) and Ka-Blamo! (Bomb) were also subject to a re-evaluation of their product testing and licenses to supply their products into the FX300 League and beyond following the incident.

Coincidentally, the 2199 Citta Nuova Tremor also happens to occur 35 years after the much more horrific Temtesh Bay disaster during the F9000 era. Citta Nuova was not raced again until 2203, following the need for extensive repair and re-evaluation into the track's design.