Beta Angels(0x02) >Phase_02<
>>FX150: Amateur AG Racing League
<21961113>

Sunday, November 13th, 2196

Sydney, Australia

Australia was home to the final race of the final FX150 season before the start of the professional FX300 League. Because of that, and the fact that one of the competing teams were sponsored by Katana, Brandon had flown over to Sydney to spectate the race and, on the chance the team he was sponsoring won, congratulate them on their win.

That team was a combination of 4 sub-groups working together as one singular team. The major group in the team, the University of Queensland's engineering portfolio, were the namesake of the team, QUAD, which was also a reference to the number of sub-groups working together.

As part of the university's engineering/racing class, the students were to work with the groups to build a craft using parts supplied to them from supporters, sponsors and the groups within the team. The one chosen to pilot the craft was one that was interested in the actual piloting of the craft itself, Gareth Ardos, a then 25-year old student of the university.

Brandon had taken his seat in the VIP section of the racetrack, just as the race was minutes from starting. All the craft had taken their place on the grid, with QUAD taking a mid-pack starting position. While not the fastest, Katana had provided the team with what they had called a "Semi-Prototype" AG stability system, which at the time, no-one could be able to fathom why the company had referred to the fully operational system as such.

On the dot of 1pm, the race had started.

Ready.... GO!

Almost all the craft shot off the line, save for a couple that had some sort of mechanical failure, and was unable to be restarted to begin racing. Thus, they were promptly disqualified. They were a team that had all sorts of problems like that throughout the season, albeit not as severe as the failed start. However, that was the final nail in the team's coffin, and their chances of obtaining an underdog victory were diminished.

On the track, the single QUAD craft was slowly making its way up the ranks, the video game-trained pilot navigating the dual-hull ship fairly easily. Although, that may also have had something to do with the fact that the FX150 ran at a slower speed than Gareth was used to. This did mean that, a couple times in his earlier races, he opened his airbrakes too early due to his muscle memory, but by the time this final race came about, he had eliminated that shortcoming.

Entering the tunnel, Gareth fired off a turbo, passing one more craft, before said craft shot some rockets at him, defending their position from him. Retaining the inside line of the following corner, Gareth picked up some missiles. With the target locked on the craft ahead of him, he lay in wait, just in case he was able to pass them without firing the weapon. Unfortunately, the craft had started to pull away from him.

"Mmh, fine."

Upon making his decision, Gareth immediately fired the missiles at the craft, hitting it and slowing it down. As he passed it, he emerged from the tunnel, aiming for the next craft ahead of him. The distance between them, however, meant that it would take several laps to catch up and pass them.

A multitude of laps later, Gareth, now in fourth place, had crossed the line for the final lap. He was right behind the three craft ahead of him, each were fighting for first place. As he passed the craft in third place, he obtained another turbo, which he instantly used, obtaining the top position upon entering the tunnel. Keeping his lead due to the high handling of the craft, Gareth was home free.

Warning. Incoming weapon.

Rockets were fired in their telltale 3-shot spread pattern. Each one had hit a craft, the third eliminating a team. Gareth was pushed back down two places, and with his direct competition using a turbo, he had to make do with the final position he had no choice but to accept.

<race complete>
<third place>

While it wasn't a win, Gareth did get a place on the podium. After standing on the podium and accepting his finish, Gareth had made his way back to the pits, where one person was unexpectedly there, leaning against a wall.

"That was a pretty good race. You were pretty good, I could tell you had your focus on proper racing techniques rather than overusing weapons to attain the victory." Brandon spoke to him.

"U-uh, thanks, I... guess I could say I had a bit of practice with that racing style." Gareth replied, "Uh... who are you again?"

Brandon stepped off the wall. "Do you not know who I am? Ah. Well, I guess it's as good a time as any to introduce myself. My name is Brandon Smith, I run a... moderately sized company called Katana. Maybe you've heard of it?" He joked, getting a chuckle out of Gareth.

"Yep, sounds familiar." Gareth joked back. "So what are you doing here?"

"I decided to watch the final FX150 race, to see the team I'm sponsoring live in action. See, I've got a project in the works, and... let's just say I had a reason why I needed to see this race. That's about all I can tell you right about now."