Faster Than Angels

[Ace3000]

The referenced album title of Part 32.1 was A Matter of Time (Part 1) by Voicians.

[s2_24.2: Part 32.2] The Major Cut

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<22120726>

Sunday, July 26th, 2212

Münsterranerring, Germany.

10:29:10

...Meanwhile, halfway down the pack, Crinale were having difficulties keeping up, only being able to do so through sheer violence, keeping most of the pack around them. The race would not end well for them in the slightest. For a start, they were not even able to reach Angelus to even attempt to hold them back, let alone eliminate them. Not even the perfect flying of Lucia was able to get the results the so desperately wanted.

The reason, of course, was simple. The course was a protest against the F12000 Commission. Since they knew that the effective controllers were Crinale, they developed their course to greatly favour high handling craft, a similar fashion to the Japanese Sidewinder course. Therefore, high handling craft such as Jennter and Angelus would excel in the course, where heavy craft such as Crinale would end up in the mid-pack at best. This did, unfortunately, hinder teams who did adhere to pure ideals, but still retained heavy-handling craft.

At one point, Angelus were right behind the German frontrunners, having enough speed to overtake them, where suddenly, they pulled up and right. As the craft soared through the air, turning around, it performed a barrel roll, landing facing the part of the track that wasn't supposed to be accessed until after the loop ahead of them. The boost gained from the roll was enough to bring them back up to speed, as Angelus, were unable to react, already flying onto the loop.

"WHAT?! How the hell were we to know they'd employ that same trick in the actual race?!"

"We were not. Relax. I believe our craft are agile enough to copy them. We are able to use their line with ease."

Gareth thought about it, then nodded.

"Alright. Let's do it! We can beat them!"

<apollo (electro mix) | astronaut_>

It seemed that at least some members of the team were taking the race seriously, even if Brandon wasn't. The two craft flew off the ramp and, with a flourish, performed a sequential barrel roll, Kyoko rolling to the left, Gareth to the right, soaring right over the craft entering the loop. Landing successfully, the two flew down the straight at an incredible speed, navigating the light chicane with ease, rounding the final corner and speeding across the line for the next lap.

The next time they went round, nearing the shortcut, they decided to take it. However, it was clear that they were at a disadvantage, and that Jennter had gained a mass of experience in navigating the shortcut, despite Brandon saying that it was doable after the qualifier. Kyoko attempted to mimic the actions Jennter did, by flying up and to the right, performing a barrel roll and...

Boosting straight into the wall. The craft bounced off, the shields taking the brunt of the collision, but she had otherwise made it. Gareth tried to perform a Scandanavian flick, moving to the left, then turning all the way right, opening the airbrake as he flew upwards. He didn't barrel roll for fear of slamming into the wall. He landed at a 150° angle, the momentum still causing him to move towards the loop, but the craft did eventually slow down, then move forwards, barely missing the craft behind him speeding past. Despite the slower approach, the cut sill shaved some time from the lap.

The white and azure craft kept on like that, following the orange and white craft's lines, all in an attempt to overtake them and take the win. It was a friendly rivalry, not being overly violent. It was clear, however, that the German team was more suited to the course, and would know every quirk about it, thus being able to navigate through the perfect line, whereas Angelus had to rely only on their practice runs, and the high handling and top end speed of their craft.

Once again, the teams started objecting to the use of the shortcut, and those with higher handling also made attempts to navigate it, to varying degrees of success, though, naturally, none as successful as Jennter themselves. That did cause the heavier craft to fall behind more than usual. The race had ended that way too, with 2 distinct groupings of the teams' results: Those who took the shortcut, and those who didn't, separated by a large gap in race time. As Brandon had predicted, the winners of the race were, by a long shot, Jennter.

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12:15:43

A tired Lucia was walking through the Crinale partition of the pits, not paying attention where she was going. Suddenly, she found herself outside a room, occupied by a certain person. The yells inside had brought her back to reality, but the curiosity got the better of her, and so she listened in, pressing her ear against the door...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! You forget who I am. I can and will get rid of those routes."

It appeared he was speaking with someone, but she couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, as if it was a phone call.

"Fine, fine. Next order of business, the data.

...

"Yes, that data."

...

"What? What do you mean we don't have it all yet?! What about the Shinigami Project?!"

...

"Fine. I know how I can gather and analyse their data, quicker than usual.

...

"'Isn't it against the r--'?! Of course it is! Since when have we ever cared about the rules?! Or the law for that matter? These stupid teams will learn what is to be expected out of the F12000 sooner or later!"

'...wha-?' Lucia thought. 'I only assumed the team were obsessed with violence, not completely f*cking corrupt?! Unless I'm misunderstanding...'

Slowly, the girl stood up and backed away slowly, before turning and walking away, trying to look normal. However, that was slightly difficult with the information she inadvertently been presented with. Unfortunately for her, someone had seen her walking back.

"Lucia? Are you alright?"

The young girl let out a scream and jumped, the sudden voice scaring her. She looked around, and saw Leon.

"Leon?! What the f*ck?! Do you want to scare me to death?!"

The man looked confused.

"I assure you, that was not my intention. Although, you did seem to be out of it. I'll ask again: Are you alright?"

"I-I... I guess? Sorry, I'm just a bit tired, after whatever the hell that trainwreck was."

He blinked at her, as if he had his suspicions, but ultimately dropped the issue. "Fine. I admit that race was heavily stacked up against us. I can only hope we can do better next time. Get some rest, Lucia. You definitely seem like you need it. I'll wake you when we need to depart."

She didn't need to be told twice. With a nod, she headed off to one of the side rooms, and took a nap inside it. Or at least she would have, if it wasn't for what she heard, the words echoing through her mind. She needed to tell someone, but who would believe her? Leon? Hal? ...actually, Hal seemed like the better choice. Next time she met, she would tell him. With that mental note made, her fatigue had gotten the better of her, and she fell into a slumber.