F7200 Anti-Gravity League (IC, Open)

[Soldati Senza Confini]

OOC Thread:
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=292728

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Location: Quirex Research Lab



Date: April 2158.

The F7200 racing league was nearing. Qirex and other companies were driving their pilots and ships to be better fine-tuned for the event. The director of Qirex, Feliks Levovich had made it clear he wanted for Qirex to show their best new ship, the interceptor AX-7. He was going to win the championship and the gold. The engineers notified him that in the time they had to fine-tune and upgrade that the best they can hope is to make it to C-Class top-end.

Feliks was unsurprised by the news, Qirex had just started moving again into AG racing some years back, so for him the new technology being used was promising to win the championship since they had to retire in the F7000. He understood that security comes first, given that in the F7000 the ships were destroyed and the pilots…

He decided not to think of it any further. It was all a freak accident he concluded, nothing about foul play from other companies. He was part of the AG Consortium and, although he had his views about Overtel he could not say much given the fact that his reputation was not in line with the Overtel competition. He was a main part in trying to defeat Overtel, but other than that he didn't know much. He just hoped that the pilots of the ships were okay and ready to go for the championship.

Meanwhile, in the garage, Charles and Anfisa were toying around with the latest interface and cockpit of their new ships. The ships were being manufactured in an offsite plant somewhere in Russia, while a replica of the cockpits were assembled so that the pilots would be able to get used to it. Charles was concentrated for the longest time in seeing how it could accelerate and handle weapons at the same time and getting used to the feel of the ship. Anfisa, the more technical of the two, was already planning how to develop plugins to efficiently handle her ship.

"This is going to be fun" Charles said through the cockpit to Anfisa "do you think we will be able to see a good competition this year?" he asked, curious as to what her thoughts were. "I'm curious to see if we can make it to the X-Class that everyone is talking about, wouldn't that be great?"

"Of course" said Anfisa, in a calm tone of voice "I'm sure that whatever happens we will end up winning" she said as she kept looking around the cockpit and playing around with the buttons seriously, her face showing concentration. Ever since she was little she would use to try and figure out how things worked. She was like that, her mother knew this. This was why she was selected as the second pilot of the Qirex team, because she knew how to work with technology as opposed to Charles who had a racer's background.

As soon as they met they began to talk and they both saw that they could benefit from their partnership: While Charles gets the trophies, Anfisa can be his wingman and she can provide him with much support and assistance during races and stick close to his position. They knew this was a synergistic team and they were also very excited to see where their endeavors lead. They were hoping Qirex also made their ships upgrades in time so they can advance in class up to the coveted X-Class; however, being their first ship in years, and Charles and Anfisa's enthusiasm into getting into AG Racing they accepted to be the first drivers of the C-Class Interceptors.

As they stepped out of their cabins and they got back to their dorms they both kept talking about how exciting it was to be part of the team for Qirex and that they had a chance to actually enter into AG Racing.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Location:
Somewhere outside of Bombay, India; April of 2158, 23:23 hours


Sweat poured down Arjun Hayat's brow. Mainly out of exertion. He hadn't slept for at least 3 days, from constant training and the upcoming physical testing of his Bappa Billiyom racer line. An entire year of simulator testing had finally convinced Zingar Enterprises to fund the construction of Bappa Billi, and finally, tonight was the night where everything he hoped for rested upon. The success of his racer design.

He had just the person to start the testing. Not Anushka Khan, no. That was his start pupil. No. But Veer Keif. Keif was just the man he needed for the testing. Although a fair pilot, if something went wrong, Keif was, to put it bluntly, replaceable. Anushka, on the other hand, wasn't.

Impatiently, he dabbed at his sweating brow one more time before turning toward the main hangar, where his Bappa Billi was being prepped for the upcoming test. Smirking softly, Arjun wasn't one to show much mirth at anything, let alone show it to others, stood underneath the left wing of the racer and looked up.

Elegantly designed, the Bappa Billi's main feature rested at it's core. A sophisticated propulsion mechanism powered by nuclear sources (and clean too) that allowed it to fly at greater speeds than anything he had seen so far come in the market. Meaning? Zingar and Overtel were about to kiss his ass for this baby. It was going to make them quite wealthy and influential.

"Jokel, Gupta! How are we holding on?", Arjun shouted to two of his main mechanics.

''We're on schedule, Hayatji'', was all Gupta and Jokel could muster. Both men were incredibly tired, as they too had been keeping their boss's schedule. But they too felt extremely excited and confident of the Billi's capacity.

''Excellent. I'm going to drink some chai and I'll be back. Zingarji and 2 Overtel execs will be here at the stroke of midnight, to start the demonstration,'' Arjun shouted at last and then, without much ceremony, turned away to get his tea.

Jokel and Gupta merely nodded and cleaned their hands with a few rags. The Billi seemed to be ready and in perfect condition. Slowly, they slid down and stretched. This was going to be an interesting evening.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Location: Qirex Track, 00:00 hours, April 2158


Charles and Anfisa got the news the interceptor was ready for testing on a real track. This was the moment of truth. They both got in their uniforms and proceeded to the ship. As they got into the carrier of the ships they reminisced on the testing, the simulations, everything the company and themselves went through to get to this point. The culmination of years of work by Qirex being put into their hands since the last cup 50 years back.

As they got to the track they were amazed by the track. It was very wide and with a lot of straightaways in which to pick up speed as well as wide paths, enough to overpass someone, and if not by track at least aerially. They were excited by the prospect and they were waiting to test their craft in the track itself. Feliks was there as well, watching the whole thing from a distance. He was going to make sure to see this first test personally. It was a long time since they saw a Qirex craft in action and so they planned on seeing this through.

As they got the ships into the craft, Charles communicated Anfisa through a virtual telecom interface the ship had setup. "Are you ready Anfisa?" he said, nervous about this trial. Systems at 70% readiness, his HUD read in red letters. "Sure" said Anfisa whose green HUD had 75% completion. She knew how to optimize the system and so she made sure to turn off almost everything she found useless for testing: weapons system, the craft monitors and the help interface. She found she didn't need them to pilot a ship and especially with such an annoying voice.

As they waited the last seconds on the ships to complete they looked ahead, revving their engines to around 6000N of thrust. They were preparing their ships to make a slip start, one of the few things Charles knew how to do in a car and he taught Anfisa. He was interested in beating her, even if it was a friendly event, but as he was her teammate they could not use weapons against each other. "Whoever wins this test race cooks the meal, deal?" he challenged Anfisa who was taken by surprise and smiled. "Only if you win will I make dinner for you, smart alec" she said as she placed her eyes on the track and waited for the systems to reach 100%.

When both systems reached 100% the lights on the track came up green. Both of them hit the auto gear into forward and they both slip started the race, nose to nose, into what was to be the first race for both of them, to test themselves both as competitors and a team all in one.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Location:
Bombay, India, 00:00 hours on the dot
Hangar 3-A1

''Hayatji! Hayatji!'', Zingarji rumbled in that jovial tone of his that belied an iron will. A will that had carried Zingar Enterprises through thick and thin.

''Zingarji, you've arrived!'', spoke Arjun through gritted teeth. It wasn't that he hated Zingar, but rather, the presence of the 2 other men, austere and quiet, made Arjun's nerves tighten around his stomach, like a garrote.

''Is our ''child' ready?'' Zingar asked, looking a bit more serious this time.

''Yes, ji, it is'', Hayat replied and with an expansive sweep of his hand, a gesture that made him come across as a bit dramatic, he directed his guests towards hangar 3-A1, to witness history. Or, at least to him, something that was history at a personal level.

Raj Zingar, the current CEO of Zingar Enterprises wasn't really the owner of the company, but rather, its keeper. ZIngar Enterprises really belonged to his would be fiancee and boss (nothing annoyed him more than to think about that arrangement), Perity Zingar. A bitch, if he ever saw one. Shaking his head, he tried to dispel every other thought and concentrate on the tests at hand.

Zingar moved his expansive girth, slowly, towards the hangar. All the time, managing to keep an ongoing chatter with the Overtel execs, who looked rather bored with his incessant blabbering. But, blabbered he kept on. It was as if a moment of silence made him sick or something. Zingarji knew not how to keep silent. Well, that was about to change, at least during the tests, as the noise would drown Zingar's words. To Ganesha thanks were given.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Qirex Track. 00:03 hours

Charles was ahead by some few yards from Anfisa. They were having a very rough time finishing the first lap in first place against each other. The ships sustained the high speeds nearing Mach 1. "This is fun!" said Charles to Anfisa through the telecom system "I have never enjoyed driving until now" he said as they neared yet another curve leading to a straightaway. The ships glided with the ease of butter and the elegance of a finesse ship through the track, kissing the track with their sides and making it towards the straightaway where they both accelerated their cars to maximum thrust to keep with one another.

The track was a majestic treat to Anfisa, who was concentrated on learning the controls of the ship. The help system proved to be useless in the face of her technical skill, and the weapon system wasn't even deployed in the track so she didn't have to turn hers off. They went ahead into 8000N of thrust and increasing almost to their limit. She was sure that her technical specs could make an abrasive drift on the next curve and make it out of it without losing any speed.

"You're getting cocky now Charles?" she asked with a tone of excitement "we'll see how you manage on the next curve" she said as they approached the curve. 1000 ft, 950ft the GPS in their ships marked as they approached the curve. The distance was closing to them as they began preparing their hands in anticipation to make one of the dangerous maneuvers in a track: the closed curve pit. If the ships could handle that without losing speed or without wrecking into a wall they would be well enough on their way to perfecting their racing style.

As the GPS neared 100ft the E-Brake system engaged on both ships. Charles knew 100ft would be seen as crazy and Anfisa knew this as well, but they both were more concerned with pushing the ship to the limit, as they threw themselves at the curve - a very closed right turn - they made their ships drift almost the full motion: 26.7 degrees/ms. Their ships were straining under the Gs generated by the maneuver and their meters were going nuts, the thrust was at max and the speed was around 500MPH on the drift. Charles thought they would crash only to find themselves on the other side of the curve unscathed.

Adrenaline pumped, they began to make their way into the finish of the first lap and into the second. Their bodies ecstatic with the maneuver they just witnessed from each other and smiling at each other through the intercom while putting their eyes back into the race.

Feliks, looking from afar, appreciated the skills of both Charles and Anfisa. He thought they were good, but he never thought they would be this good for their first test drive.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Location:
Bombay, India, 1:00 hours on the dot
Hangar 3-A1

The engines rumbled, mostly like a steady purr. A sound that made Arjun want to wriggle and just go. Everything sounded and looked great. The Bappa Billi was ready. He felt an itch on his gloved hands bu stilled his desires. For this test, Veer was the man to pilot the racer, not him.

Veer¹ stretched himself, fingers splayed against the warming metal of the Bappa Billi. And with a swift motion, he jumped and was sitting, snugly, on the pilot's chair in no time. Hayat flinched, but again, was able to calm down. There were going to be other times to pilot his racer, he knew it. In the meantime, Veer ran an array of prelfight inspections, while Raj Zingar and the Overtel goons looked on. The Overtel goons looked positively bored, and this cause a sense of chagrin in Arjun. Not that he could do anything about it.

Veer gave a slight nod, meaning he was ready for the tests. Arjun nodded back and asked Raj and the Overtel guys to step back. Finally, after a year of development and problems, his dream for the Bappa Billi series was coming true. But his elation was short lived when he heard the voice of someone he wasn't too fond of...

''So, the tests are about to start and no one had the courtesy of telling me?,'' Perity's whiskey voice resounded even over the noise of the Billi's engine.

Arjun turned graciously and smiled, hoping his bicuspids were visible enough and sharp enough to Perity. She ignored him. ''Yes, Perityji. We're about to commence. Care to stay and watch?,'' Hayat replied, still smiling and showing his bicuspids. With an offhanded gesture Perity made it clear she was going to stay, whether Arjun wanted her to or not.

Another high pitched purr of the engine brought everyone to attention ((cue Resinga Billiyom's main theme)). Veer had positioned the racer at the very top of the steep incline at the start of the track. Something snapped, like a whip, inside Arjun's stomach. He was excited. After 3 deliberate accelerations, Veer grinned and with a swift motion, put the racer in gear and screamed, within seconds, down the track's incline.

Everyone got closer to the edge and watch as the racer gracefully pivoted and screamed down the tracks steep curves and inclines. It's really happening, thought Arjun. The tests had commenced.



¹Veer is the man leaning against the bike on the image. The woman in front is his partner, Banhi.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Qirex track. 1:00 hours

After taking a shower and arranging their gear back, Charles checked his tablet to see his clock speeds. He had installed a program to monitor his results on the track over a period of time. He was proud of his skills as a racer as he managed to break speed on several curves and top the engine on the straightaways. He knew that everything was ready for the Interceptor to race. He however wanted to see more out of the entire craft in competitions - he simply was not happy with competing against Anfisa alone.

"Hey Anfisa" he texted her, dubious as to what her answer would be "how about we challenge another team to a friendly match?" he said, curious as to what her answer would be. "Doesn't that mean opening our craft for the world to witness its specs and try to tune their craft to match our own?" Anfisa said, hesitant as to whether the prospect was a good idea. She knew that Overtel, the rival consortium of AGC, would try and make a craft exactly like theirs. Knowing Tigron they would also be interested in copying the specs of the craft.

"That's true but how about we make it private?" Charles said "that way, whoever wants to copy it won't stand a chance to copy the exact same specs" he said, not gaining some trust from Anfisa. "Besides, if they do, we have our own craft to match" he said, proud of his plan but also heeding warning of Anfisa. "Okay, but we won't challenge them to an endurance race" she said, sternly "our ships are not designed for endurance racing. If anything they are designed for speed racing and even drifting, but endurance is not it, even our shields are weak" she said.

"Alright, but who should we challenge" he said, thinking perhaps another team from the AG Consortium would be more fit than someone from Overtel. "I wouldn't know" she said "We can research and then see what we can find" she said, musing about the idea with him. She did not like the fact he was a speed junkie and a victory addict. In the few minutes she was competing with him she began to see his winning thirst can put them at risk of any danger or even worse - from breaking any rules or even have him defect if they begin losing. She did not want to see him defect and go into another company for some reason.

They agreed then to see who would challenge them and see the news on the Global AG board to see what they can find newsworthy on other companies so they can practice their real skills as a team and not just as individual racers. Qirex was going to be #1 in AG Championships and they would make sure to make it happen. The company was just restarting their AG project, their funding was nearly unimpeded due to the fact they managed to become a big manufacturer in other things that can be sold for cars and mechanic equipment. Hence, they did not fear from totaling their ships, just from any life-threatening conditions once out in the field which - judging from their own track - they were verging in between the fine line of life and death.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Aaj Tak News Broadcasting Building
New Delhi
News short, 2:00 hours

News jingle: Deep vibrato voice, Farhan Kapoor reads the news...

''Good morning, India. I'm Farhan Kapoor. This just in: Overtel announces the successful completion of tests for the Indian National Racing Team, Resinga Billiyom. The Bappa Billi ZX4000, the racer that has been making the rounds online, has been confirmed ready for tryouts at national level.

Overtel, in a joint effort with Zingar Industries, has been trying, for the past 8 years, to revive interest in anti-gravitational racing in India. Last year, they announced the formation of the Resinga Billiyom, an elite group of racers and engineers, commandeered by none other than Perity Zingar Kajol, the heiress of the Zingar-Kajol fortune and future CEO of Zingar Industries.

It is unconfirmed whether Perity Zingar will be also participating in a racer capacity, but it is speculated that it will be Arjun Hayat, the golden boy of Zingar Industries and alleged designer of the Bappa Billi line, who will be captain of the racing team. No confirmation or denial has been given on whether Hayat will be the captain of the team.

More updates on this as the information reaches us.

Reporting for Aj Tak News, I'm Farhan Kapoor.''

Cut to commercials...

---

NOTE: I realize the music is for Aaj Tak's weather forecast but I couldn't find anything else. Sorry.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Aaj Tak News Broadcasting Building
New Delhi
News short, 2:00 hours

Deep vibrato voice, Farhan Kapoor reads the news...

''Good morning, India. I'm Farhan Kapoor. This just in: Overtel announces the successful completion of tests for the Indian National Racing Team, Resinga Billiyom. The Bappa Billi ZX4000, the racer that has been making the rounds online, has been confirmed ready for tryouts at national level.

Overtel, in a joint effort with Zingar Industries, have been trying, for the past 8 years, to revive interest in anti-gravitational racing. Last year, they announced the formation of the Resinga Billiyom, an elite group of racers and engineers, commandeered by none other than Perity Zingar Kajol, the heiress of the Zingar-Kajol fortune and future CEO of Zingar Industries.

It is unconfirmed whether Perity Zingar will be also participating in a racer capacity, but it is speculated that it will be Arjun Hayat, the golden boy of Zingar Industries and alleged designer of the Bappa Billi line, who will be captain of the racing team. No confirmation or denial has been given on whether Hayat will be the captain of the team.

More updates on this as the information reaches us.

Reporting for Aj Tak News, I'm Farhan Kapoor.''

Cut to commercials...

Qirex Research Facility. 2:00 hours

Charles saw this on his twitter feed as a new link to a video broadcast. As he listened carefully he knew they could test their craft against that team. He then forwarded the tweet to Anfisa to see that she also got the message. As they got the message they also notified Feliks they would be competing against Resinga Billiyom. Feliks told them he would have to think about it given he knew of the news as well and he also knew of what exactly they were dealing with. Tigron had funds to restart any AG project in the long term as well as to make lucrative contracts as the head company of Overtel. He managed to buy the technology for the Anti-Gravity engines when Qirex got out of business and now that they were restarting the company's racing side they were scared Tigron would pick up interest in creating their own team and kicking them out again.

Feliks talked with both Charles and Anfisa afterwards about this. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he said in a calm voice. His calm voice betrayed the uncertainty of his words, and he knew as much. However, he knew also that if they could manage to defeat Zingar's team in a race they would be seen as serious competitors. "We're sure about this" said Charles, with Anfisa looking at him as well "we feel that this would propel us as serious contenders against Overtel" he said, more serious now. "Okay," said Feliks "I will send out the challenge invitation for us to compete in a track of their choice" he said. Before Charles began protesting Feliks looked at him with expressive eyes as if pleading for him not to argue, he then turned his back on them.

"You are the ones who want to compete," he began, his voice still as smooth as it was when he began talking. There was no hesitation when he spoke the next sentence "as such, you will be the ones who will compete in Billiyom's turf. We won't be both challengers and hosters. Let this be a lesson not to be rushed" he said as he dismissed them. Charles and Anfisa went out of the office and once they were out there was a smile spread across Feliks' face. He knew they could win, but he had to prepare them for the worst - the fact that they could lose if they did not coordinate their team well enough, which is more than likely with a ship like the one Billiyom has been preparing with the backing of Overtel.

Minutes later, he sent out the following letter to Zingar's director Perity Zingar with a jingle:

Dear Perity,

First of all congratulations on your new development, we are proud of having you in the AG Racing trade. We hope for us to become good competitors.

As you know your company and mine are in different consortiums. As official companies of the AG Consortium and as a friendly challenge to your new ship we would like to extend an invitation to compete in a place of your choice and a date that is convenient for you. I am sure you have other things to take care of as well as this. Please let me know what you think.

Sincere regards,



Feliks Levovich
Director of Operations

He also prepared a datacast to broadcast the news to the world so that Anfisa could also participate in a race in the case the race in India wasn't against two ships but rather a single ship.

---

OOC: No worries

[Aeken]

Arinimun Track - 1:12

A streak of yellow whizzed along the track, ruffling the air around it. Dim orange lights illuminated the metallic ground. The engine gave a deep rumble, audible throughout the entire premises. The darkness of the night consumed almost everything, only upping up the dangers that could be present in racing.

Armando steadily guided the Magna Mare through the track, avoiding the obstacles and aiming for the mockup targets with the dual laser emitters. He knew he was taking a risk by going out when it was so dark out. Aelera would be furious if she found out what he was doing. The car was reaching 730MPH, almost at its limit. It swerved and spun, elevating and rearing upwards. Armando struggled to keep it together. The frame groaned as it began to stress.

Red lights began flashing on the dashboard, notifying the integrity of the Magna Mare was deteriorating as the speed ramped up. 731-- 735-- 740MPH! It zoomed faster than it had ever before, trembling softly as it took more force with it. Armando gave a large and ambitious grin, adrenaline pumping as he stressed the vehicle harder. As he was about to slide the accelerator forward once again, the track lit up brightly.

Shit!, Armando thought quickly as he slowed the Magna Mare down. Aelera must have noticed.

Standing in the dark observatory room overlooking the track, Aelera, in her signature black-and-green outfit, gazed out onto the track, seeing the Magna Mare skid to a stop. She was boiling mad, her eyes burning with fury. Armando had raced again in dangerous conditions-- conditions she would not prefer.

Brushing her fingers on the comms relay mic, making static, she brought it close to her lips and spoke softly. "If you ever do that again, I will see to it personally that you be held back from the next championship qualifier race." Aelera knew she was spewing lies. She couldn't stop Armando, even if she truly wanted to. He was a determined man, one who would not stop his passion for racing. Putting down the mic, she walked out of the room, her boots clanking against the ground.

Armando sighed. An upset Aelera was never good. The Magna Mare slowed to a stop, its engine now a quiet hum. Armando opened up the cockpit hatch, and climbed out slowly. He slid off his helmet, tossing it back into the cockpit as the hatch closed with a hiss. He walked towards the exit as his car was loaded into the garage adjacent to the exit, reek of mechanical parts billowing out before it shut.

Walking into the track's main hub, he took a seat at one of the numerous terminals by the meeting room. If he couldn't race whenever he wanted to, looking for a willing racer was a good-- and safe choice for him.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Global Datacast. 01:40 hours. Short.

Friends of Qirex: Welcome to our high-speed revolution.

For 2158 our team will strike back at the competition with an all new race craft that has been honed by the finest engineers at our new facility outside of Moscow and by our partners at Quantax Dynamics.

Make no mistake – in the F7200 Racing League we will field the finest Qirex craft produced since the days of the F7000. It has balance, speed and durability in such abundance that we can be considered championship contenders before a race is run.

At the position of Lead Pilot will be Charles Treyarch, a young newcomer gentleman who is the hot topic on every national datacast and who each of our continental competitors can only dream of having on their roster.

Together, Charles and our AX-7 chassis will be a formidable combination on the global stage of Anti-Gravity Racing. I look forward to seeing your support in Russia and around the world.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Aaj Tak News Broadcasting Building
New Delhi
News short, 2:00 hours

Deep vibrato voice, Farhan Kapoor reads the news...

''Good morning, India. I'm Farhan Kapoor. This just in: Overtel announces the successful completion of tests for the Indian National Racing Team, Resinga Billiyom. The Bappa Billi ZX4000, the racer that has been making the rounds online, has been confirmed ready for tryouts at national level.

Overtel, in a joint effort with Zingar Industries, have been trying, for the past 8 years, to revive interest in anti-gravitational racing. Last year, they announced the formation of the Resinga Billiyom, an elite group of racers and engineers, commandeered by none other than Perity Zingar Kajol, the heiress of the Zingar-Kajol fortune and future CEO of Zingar Industries.

It is unconfirmed whether Perity Zingar will be also participating in a racer capacity, but it is speculated that it will be Arjun Hayat, the golden boy of Zingar Industries and alleged designer of the Bappa Billi line, who will be captain of the racing team. No confirmation or denial has been given on whether Hayat will be the captain of the team.

More updates on this as the information reaches us.

Reporting for Aj Tak News, I'm Farhan Kapoor.''

Cut to commercials...

Qirex Research Facility. 2:00 hours

Charles saw this on his twitter feed as a new link to a video broadcast. As he listened carefully he knew they could test their craft against that team. He then forwarded the tweet to Anfisa to see that she also got the message. As they got the message they also notified Feliks they would be competing against Resinga Billiyom. Feliks told them he would have to think about it given he knew of the news as well and he also knew of what exactly they were dealing with. Tigron had funds to restart any AG project in the long term as well as to make lucrative contracts as the head company of Overtel. He managed to buy the technology for the Anti-Gravity engines when Qirex got out of business and now that they were restarting the company's racing side they were scared Tigron would pick up interest in creating their own team and kicking them out again.

Feliks talked with both Charles and Anfisa afterwards about this. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he said in a calm voice. His calm voice betrayed the uncertainty of his words, and he knew as much. However, he knew also that if they could manage to defeat Zingar's team in a race they would be seen as serious competitors. "We're sure about this" said Charles, with Anfisa looking at him as well "we feel that this would propel us as serious contenders against Overtel" he said, more serious now. "Okay," said Feliks "I will send out the challenge invitation for us to compete in a track of their choice" he said. Before Charles began protesting Feliks looked at him with expressive eyes as if pleading for him not to argue, he then turned his back on them.

"You are the ones who want to compete," he began, his voice still as smooth as it was when he began talking. There was no hesitation when he spoke the next sentence "as such, you will be the ones who will compete in Billiyom's turf. We won't be both challengers and hosters. Let this be a lesson not to be rushed" he said as he dismissed them. Charles and Anfisa went out of the office and once they were out there was a smile spread across Feliks' face. He knew they could win, but he had to prepare them for the worst - the fact that they could lose if they did not coordinate their team well enough, which is more than likely with a ship like the one Billiyom has been preparing with the backing of Overtel.

Minutes later, he sent out the following letter to Zingar's director Perity Zingar:

Dear Perity,

As you know your company and mine are in different consortiums. As official companies of the AG Consortium and as a friendly challenge we would like to extend an invitation to compete in a place of your choice and a date that is convenient for you. I am sure you have other things to take care of as well as this. Please let me know what you think.

Sincere regards,



Feliks Levovich
Director of Operations

Perity had her eyes closed, one index finger pressed tightly against her lips as she listened to her uncle, Raj, drone about something that, no doubt, was important. At least, important to him. Her brows twitched a bit as she heard Arjun's reply. Some nonsense, she was sure. Nothing else ever came out of Hayat's mouth.

''... magnificent timing and excellent maneuverability...,'' Raj finished his sentence. Perity opened her eyes and stoically looked at her uncle. He looked fat, fat and old. Shaking her head slightly, she nodded and directed her attention to the Overtel goons, who, up until that point had said nothing.

''Well?," she asked in her direct manner, making her uncle flinch.
''Well... on matter of maneuverability, timing, speed and endurance, we can honestly say that...,'' they spoke monotonously, and together, as if they were symbiotic. Something that disturbed Perity more than she cared to admit.
''Say what?,'' interrupted Arjun, making her grind her teeth.
''... as we were saying... the Bappa Billi exceeds all of our expectations and more. However...,'' they paused as if this necessitated some sort of dramatic overture.
''Yeeeees?,'' asked Perity, exasperation clearly audible in her tone.
''... Yes, however, we do not think we can assess the racer's true capabilities without seeing it compete against another team,'' they punctuated.

Perity tilted her head and pondered this. Her uncle, as if waiting for a signal, started prattling about teams and who had the slightest chance and readiness against Resinga Billiyom. Perity stopped listening. She just tuned everyone off and retired into her quiet mental place. Who indeed?

She opened her eyes after what seemed and eternity, just in time to hear Arjun speak.
''Perhaps we can talk to the Italians... I heard tha-,'' he trailed off as he heard Perity say ''No. Not the Italians. At least, not yet...''

The prattling resumed and she took a deep breath only to have her reveries interrupted by the ping of her smartphone. She pushed the light button and saw that she had one email, flagged urgent. She was about to ignore but something in the back of her mind nagged at her, so she opened the email.

Dear Perity,

As you know your company and mine are in different consortiums. As official companies of the AG Consortium and as a friendly challenge we would like to extend an invitation to compete in a place of your choice and a date that is convenient for you. I am sure you have other things to take care of as well as this. Please let me know what you think.

Sincere regards,



Feliks Levovich
Director of Operations

So AG had something up its sleeve after all, she thought. Smirking she replied:

---

Levovichji,

Invitation accepted.

We shall host the track. Kuala Lampur, 30th of this month.

Att,
Perity Zingar-Kajol
Director of Operations
Resinga Billiyom Ltd., Overtel-Zingar

---

Hitting the send button she cleared her throat and calmly interjected into the chaotic conversation going on, ''Qirex Racing. Gentlemen, we've been challenged. I trust this means we all get what we want. Let us see what our racer can do, shall we?''

With that, she turned away and left the hangar meeting room.

Qirex Racing, huh? That was Charles's racing team. She was sure of it. With a soft laugh, she climbed into her car and drove away, at breakneck speeds, through the deserted Bombay streets.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Addendum:

Raj Zingar: how he looks.
Overtel goons: how they look.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Perity had her eyes closed, one index finger pressed tightly against her lips as she listened to her uncle, Raj, drone about something that, no doubt, was important. At least, important to him. Her brows twitched a bit as she heard Arjun's reply. Some nonsense, she was sure. Nothing else ever came out of Hayat's mouth.

''... magnificent timing and excellent maneuverability...,'' Raj finished his sentence. Perity opened her eyes and stoically looked at her uncle. He looked fat, fat and old. Shaking her head slightly, she nodded and directed her attention to the Overtel goons, who, up until that point had said nothing.

''Well?," she asked in her direct manner, making her uncle flinch.
''Well... on matter of maneuverability, timing, speed and endurance, we can honestly say that...,'' they spoke monotonously, and together, as if they were symbiotic. Something that disturbed Perity more than she cared to admit.
''Say what?,'' interrupted Arjun, making her grind her teeth.
''... as we were saying... the Bappa Billi exceeds all of our expectations and more. However...,'' they paused as if this necessitated some sort of dramatic overture.
''Yeeeees?,'' asked Perity, exasperation clearly audible in her tone.
''... Yes, however, we do not think we can assess the racer's true capabilities without seeing it compete against another team,'' they punctuated.

Perity tilted her head and pondered this. Her uncle, as if waiting for a signal, started prattling about teams and who had the slightest chance and readiness against Resinga Billiyom. Perity stopped listening. She just tuned everyone off and retired into her quiet mental place. Who indeed?

She opened her eyes after what seemed and eternity, just in time to hear Arjun speak.
''Perhaps we can talk to the Italians... I heard tha-,'' he trailed off as he heard Perity say ''No. Not the Italians. At least, not yet...''

The prattling resumed and she took a deep breath only to have her reveries interrupted by the ping of her smartphone. She pushed the light button and saw that she had one email, flagged urgent. She was about to ignore but something in the back of her mind nagged at her, so she opened the email.

Dear Perity,

As you know your company and mine are in different consortiums. As official companies of the AG Consortium and as a friendly challenge we would like to extend an invitation to compete in a place of your choice and a date that is convenient for you. I am sure you have other things to take care of as well as this. Please let me know what you think.

Sincere regards,

()

Feliks Levovich
Director of Operations

So AG had something up its sleeve after all, she thought. Smirking she replied:

---

Levovichji,

Invitation accepted.

We shall host the track. Kuala Lampur, 30th of this month.

Att,
Perity Zingar-Kajol
Director of Operations
Resinga Billiyom Ltd., Overtel-Zingar
(Image)

---

Hitting the send button she cleared her throat and calmly interjected into the chaotic conversation going on, ''Qirex Racing. Gentlemen, we've been challenged. I trust this means we all get what we want. Let us see what our racer can do, shall we?''

With that, she turned away and left the hangar meeting room.

Qirex Racing, huh? That was Charles's racing team. She was sure of it. With a soft laugh, she climbed into her car and drove away, at breakneck speeds, through the deserted Bombay streets.

Feliks got the e-mail back and read it. He was fidgety about the whole thing. He was sure the prototype was ready, or was it really capable of handling the Indian weather? There was only one way to find out and that was decided already. They would have their first test at Kuala Lampur and that was that. Feliks didn't know the Billi's specs or anything, but they also didn't know theirs. He also knew that for a friendly match they probably would not have their field weapons system activated. However, this didn't mean that they would not equip defensive weapons into Charles' Interceptor. Then he sent another email to Zingar:

Dear Perity

Accepted. We will see each other on the 30th of the month in Kuala Lampur. We will be anxious to test our new ship against yours.

Sincerely
Feliks Levovich
Director of Operations



As he thought about it he forwarded the e-mail to Charles waiting to see what he said.

Charles was with Anfisa thinking about what to do. "If they decide to challenge us I will..." he began when he received a new message on his smartphone. It contained the e-mail and an addition from Feliks. "Be ready for this" the addition read. Charles decided to look up Kuala Lampur track in his tablet and he was amazed by what he saw but also a bit intimidated. Does this mean his ship was going to sustain the weather? Would it corrode? What exactly would it do to the Qirex ship and furthermore, how will this impact their performance? They knew how it would perform on cold weather, but they had no clue if being under the Bombay heat would make any changes to it. Perhaps not, but still, it can't be denied the elevations and all may impact the AG systems into accelerating and maxing out more than usual, or perhaps nothing would happen and he was paranoid like always.

Anfisa on the other hand knew that the entire ship was designed to control temperature internally and to be able to maintain the same specs regardless of altitude. It was an Anti-Gravity track, and it was something they had to look out for since it was a global championship. The engineers did a good job with the ship but they did not know how well of a job did they do. She sent a message to the mechanic advising him to actually tune the gears in a more open configuration. Charles would top speed slower than usual by some seconds, but at the same time his ship would not suffer a lot either from the heat.

She knew her chance to race was going to be either with Charles or alone against another team, depending on the circumstances.

[The Grim Reaper]

"Morning, Woodman."

Anil Kapoor set his umbrella down on the bone-dry concrete of the RAACA Calder Workshop. Australia's biggest anti-grav racing workshop - not that that was saying much. Frank Woodman was sat cross-legged on the floor, one hand scratching his head, the other covering his mouth. Probably deep in thought.

Maybe.

Who really knows with Woodman?

"How is she?" Frank snapped to attention, suddenly, leaping up to a standing position, one hand on his hips and the other on the car. "Clyde's a he, you know that 'nil." Anil chuckled. After so long managing RAACA, he still forgot how attached his team got to their cars. Then again, he couldn't really beat himself up for that. It'd been a long time since they'd actually been able to call a car theirs.

"Well, how is Clyde?"

Frank looked around for a moment, seeming confused. "Col's out the back, he's gone to get a coffee. He got here before I did." Anil walked over, checking the cheap laptop hooked up to the car. Cheap, but more efficient than the bulky, immobile systems some of the higher-tier teams liked to use. Leave the laptop on overnight, and it'll do everything they can, plus you can move the laptop around to different workspaces, or have a driver monitor the systems while they operate on a simulated track.

Well, maybe not a simulated track. Basically, a treadmill for antigrav cars. Simple technology, but it stopped them from having to use tracktime at the Calder. Or take the cars into the rough weather.

Anil's eyes scanned over the almost random assortment of words and numbers. "Shield generator power capacity at full, even with the failsafes on." "Yeah, one of the safest C-Class cars in the league, I reckon." "You total this thing and the shield generator should still keep the driver safe from debris." "And if you don't, it'll keep you safe from everyone else."

It was a custom shield generator - possibly the most heavy-duty shield generator in the C-Class league, and the most expensive thing RAACA owned. The Clyde could operate on the old Outback test tracks and still run at full capacity from start to finish, although it still needed a full reconstruction the first - and only time - they tried it. Shields at this level can only do so much, and the chassis was not particularly impervious to dust and rain.

Despite having a huge engine, it was not particularly efficient, and so the chassis could not be particularly heavy, hence the use of inferior materials. The Clyde's massive thrust output could make it to 500 as fast as any C-Class destined to be a racer, but didn't go any faster than that. The turning circle of such a huge beast, too, was close to obscene.

And yet, it was Anil's baby. Well, the RAACA's baby. There won't be a dry eye in the house when the Clyde finishes its first race, except perhaps for Anil and whichever of Colin or Frank would be driving it. Despite how routine building it had felt, it was still an incredible accomplishment for the RAACA design team.

The Clyde, and every single one of its components, had already been tested almost to death, and then rebuilt again and run through another test regime. RAACA's intake of money depended on flipping cars, and they purloined so many subpar parts that they had some to spare on making sure their own cars worked perfectly before they even put a driver in for testing.

"Well...how are you feeling, Frank?" "I don't know, I'm trying not to feel. Colin says he's looking forward to it." "You two been using the simulator?" The simulator was Anil's own baby, and one that he didn't have to share with RAACA - although, he did. It was a simple program, effectively a mobile game, with asymmetrical information to both players. It allowed RAACA's traditional two-driver team to function at maximum capacity, allowing a 'blind' driver to operate the game based on their information while communicating with a second player who had access to a different, equally important set of information. A simple program, but one that helped prepare drivers just as much as a full dress rehearsal, Anil reckoned.

"Yeah." "It's the Calder, tomorrow. Don't break anything." "No."

Anil raised an eyebrow. Frank was an experienced and capable driver, and Anil knew him well. Then again, Anil was just as shaky as Frank's voice.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Luxury apartments complex
Bombay, 4:00 hours

''Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch!!!,'' he screamed at nothing, while showering. Fucking Perity, always stepping in and making decisions without asking for the team's opinion. She may be the director of the team, but he was the brains behind it all. That bitch.



Zingar-Kajol Estate
Bombay, 4:10 hours

Perity laid in bed, not asleep. Not quite. Looming in her mind was the upcoming match with the Qirex racing team. She was sort of familiar with the Kuala Lampur track, but that didn't mean she knew all of it and what it could represent, obstacle and test-wise to the Bappa Billi. Of course, Qirex didn't know the Billi's specs\, but neither did Resinga knew Qirex's racer specs.

''Surprises... I relish them,'' she whispered to the deep shadows in her room. Then, it all went blank. She slept.



Resinga Billiyom's dorm
Overtel HQs, Bombay, 4:30 hours

Everything was silent. Anushak Khan slept the sleep of the just, or rather, the sleep of those who've been working so hard, everything hurt.

She didn't know what the fuss was about. Racing didn't require you to train like a motherfucker. What the hell did it really matter if she had awesome abs to a race? She was going to be inside the racer, anyhow. No one would see her flat tummy.

She slept.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Kuala Lampur. April 30. 09:00 hours.

The Qirex carrier managed to land in Kuala Lampur in time to set up everything in the garage of the track and the pit configuration. Feliks did not go there but he was also sure that Charles and Anfisa would win, and there were specific instructions to bring Anfisa back home with the ship if it turned out to be 2 against one. He did not want any disadvantages on the race. If they were going to test it it would be in a fair one-to-one or two-to-two match.

Charles was excited about the race. His demeanor was relaxed but at the same time a smile could be seen across his face. When he stepped into the garage he could see a poster with Zingar on it. So we're going against Perity's team he thought and smiled for himself as he helped the mechanics make the final adjustments into the craft. He wanted to have a good start and he knew what they needed to do in order to guarantee a slip start. Taking advantage of the speed boosts and drifts would be the only way to dominate the race if her ship proved to be too powerful. However, even then he didn't know. He could be doing all this for nothing for all he knew, but he kept working regardless while Anfisa watched, leaning against a wall patiently as he saw him working hard to win.

Charles had the spirit of a born to win racer in him, and she could tell that from a distance. It made her smile that even though he was a racer he learned everything he needed to know about his ship fast. He has potential to be a great AG Racer she thought.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

BUMP

--to be filled out tomorrow.--

[The Grim Reaper]

"Urgent affairs...sincerest apologies, please prepare a debriefing...Kuala Lumpar for a week."

Colin Lanson flipped through the emails on his phone sitting on a stained, oily recliner. Whilst RAACA was not so broke that they couldn't afford decent chairs, for the most part they did not bother to keep the workshop's luxuries particularly well stocked. The RAACA team clubhouse at the Calder Thunderdome was actually pretty swish, so to speak. It technically functioned as the entertaining venue for the Thunderdome's VIP guests and visitors, and so received a significant amount of funding from the AAA to keep the place looking sweet as.

But the mechanics and drivers who worked at the workshop were expected to put their nose to the grindstone when at work. For most of them, actually attending a race was a holiday, as the large workshop team was simply too big for them to field the entire group as a pitcrew, unusually for a C-Class team. And so, when at work, they put up with sticky overalls and creaky recliners.

They were, again, the only ones there. The mechanics were too busy overseeing the preparation of the Calder Thunderdome. Whilst at the best of times, it still had to be converted to an antigrav track, as it served overtime as a general racing track and stadium, it would spend the rest of the week being outfitted with an entire gamut of RAACA tracking and diagnostics gear. While they almost always used some of the gear for testing cars before on-selling them, a lot of this gear were recent upgrades, additions, or simply generally kept in storage. It was a system that would have to be tested, monitored, and re-calibrated before a car ever touched the track, to minimize the amount of unregulated use the Clyde would go through before racing.

Vigorous testing is good, but any more track-time than necessary could result in something going wrong with a driver inside rather than in the workshop, and the Clyde was not particularly dispensable. Whilst the team was as happy go lucky as any Australian stereotype, they couldn't help but be paranoid given how long it took to actually find the disposable income to build the Clyde and the equipment needed to test it as a professional racing car.

And, apparently, Anil Kapoor wouldn't be there to see it.

---

Kapoor washed his face with warm water. He had gotten the message from one of his staff in a hurry, telling him about the Friendly in Kuala Lampur. It would be impossible for the RAACA to pull together the funds and contacts to move the Clyde all the way to Malaysia with such short notice - they'd booked the transport for this year's season already. But, he could still attend the Friendly to observe, to take notes.

That being said, it wasn't particularly great notice even for him alone. He'd been on the way home from a late-night business meeting - well, a cocktail party.

A quick email to Colin, and a quick email to his personal assistant asking her to book a flight and a taxi in the morning, and he prepared his travel bag, always packed in case of an urgent business proposal. It wasn't a common occurrence, but in times like this, it was nice to have it ready.

Maybe he'd have a chance to talk to some of the drivers - or pilots, as driver was somewhat of a particularly Australian hold-over from the RAACA's origins from the automobile racing scene. Maybe even other team managers. Exchange notes, ideas, business proposals.

He sighed. His bed was already made, by the maid he kept on staff, paid for by some smart investments early in his career. It was not a large home - beyond the apartment's location in the enviable Melbourne CBD, he preferred the small, tidy lodgings. Yet, he rarely had time to tidy things up himself. Some days he slept at the workshop. Others, he slept at the Thunderdome.

It was a sophisticated, classy place. His desk sat across from a tasteful single bed, and his laptop was carefully cleaned whenever he had the chance. His living room was impeccably dusted, as there was not much else to be done to a room that was never used. The same went for the kitchen - he generally ate breakfast and lunch at work, or on the way. By the time he got home, dinner was a waste of time that could be spent sleeping.

The next day, no doubt, he would be flying business class. Economy class just exacerbated his fear of flying, and crowds, and tight spaces. He hated the taking off, he hated the landing. Antigravity cars were perhaps an odd fit for him - or maybe not. That fear of flying...is only tempered by respect and awe for the history of aviation when you make it to the destination, when you finally touch down. To be responsible for that...that gave Anil the chills, and it made him feel so great when it worked out.

But eventually the stress started to become all-pervasive. And now he doesn't design, or build them anymore. He just gives advice. Just manages business. Just discuss, talks shop. His career as an engineer fell away...fell away...fell asleep.

[Kiruri]

Nino's Penthouse, New Atlantica Island City
1 week before Kuala Lampur

Quistis Trepe, Río Azul Inc.'s race division director, sighed deeply as she entered the elevator. She had the illsion that when she reached the top floor, and the elevator doors opened, she would find a nice young boy reading up on Río's latest ship or look up info on the up and coming Kuala Lampur race, but all glimmer of hope disappeared once she realized it was Nino who she was dealing with. As the doors closed and the elevator began its ascension, she looked down at the tablet in her hand. It was a nice black 8 inch one, with metal lining and the company's logo on the back. These were standard with the higher-ups in the company but this specific one wasn't hers. Quistis fidgeted with the screen, touching here and there, opening one app and then another until she finally settled on the email application. She touched a link, which opened one specific sender's mail. It had all the details one could want regarding Kuala Lampur. She briefly read it before putting the tablet in sleep mode.

*ting*

The soft hum of the elevator's deceleration and the standard beep which indicated one had reached her floor startled Quistis a bit. She had her mind so set on other things, other issues and preoccupations, that she had forgotten she was in an elevator. Quistis looked forward as the doors glided open, each one to its respective side.

She widened her eyes as much as possible, trying to capture all the light available in the pitch black room. Quistis was surprised to see the room so dark, especially considering it was near midday, but she didn't worry too much. She had practically memorized the room's layout and knew she could manage her way toward the windows. In fact, she considered going up to Nino's penthouse almost a routine. Quistis even slotted "Wake Up Nino from dark room" into her itinerary at work. That was her attempt at humor and every time she saw it she giggled to herself.

The biggest source of light in the room came from the elevator cabin. It was still pretty useless anywho. All the elevators in this specific building were always dimly lit and that petite fact bugged the living hell out of Quistis. It was one of her pet peeves. She had thought of complaining to the building's management, and indeed she did, but alas, management did nothing to solvent her "elevator crisis"; of course, that was to be expected, considering she really didn't live there, but she would have thought they'd make an exception and take into account the probable fact that it was she alone who walked in and out of the front doors more so than any of the other resident, that's gotta count for something, argued Quistis.

The doors finally closed, and the already pitch black room became even darker. By now, Quistis' eyes had adjusted. She managed to spot the few lightsources around the room; such as a lava lamp which she knew sat at the far end of the main sofa, and the television, which even though was turned off, its buttons emitted a weak blue glow. She had gathered all the info needed to know what had happened here.

Even in the darkness, Quistis managed to trace the outlines of numerous bodies lying on the floor. Some were loners scattered here and there, others were huddled together mainly on the sofas.

*Achoo*

The stench of cheep party alcohol had finally tickled Quistis' nose. She feared her sobriety would not last if she stayed in the room much longer. She hurried toward the windows, making sure not to hurt any of the wasted bodies lying on the floor. As soon as she opened one of the window's blinds and the light poured in, moans and groans and mumbled complaints along with some harsh commands were set off. The partied-out teen zombies lying all over glared at her as they were forced to get up and find more darker crevices to crawl into. She ignored them and went directly to her target.

Upon the main sofa laid three human beings. The first (and the one at the bottom end of the sofa), a female of around the same age as Nino, and apparently of the same party-caliber, hugged a male's body snugly. Nino, the body in the middle, the 19 year old racer the femme hugged as she slept away the alcohol, shirtless, of course and sleeping as well, hugged another guy's body.The guy, perhaps around (but not above) 27, was shirtless as well. He too was sleeping away the alcohol.

Quistis shook her head, trying to show her discontent and disapproval. She grabbed a nearby glass, presumably filled with just water, but that didn't matter. She threw the liquid at him, aiming for his face: "Nino, wake up. We have work to be doing. You reek of weed and alcohol. Bathe yourself, boy, and get sobered up. I'll be expecting you at the track in 2 hours. Don't be late."

She placed the tablet she had in her hand upon his bare and somewhat wet chest. He fluttered his eyes open,and with his free hand wiped the liquid away. Most of the liquid Quistis had thrown at him landed on the other man's chest. He was fast asleep and barely noticed. The girl, however, let go of Nino. She slouched toward the other side of the sofa.

Quistis leaned forward, toward Nino. His eyes were open, but his vision was surely blurry: "I have left some Gal-Aid in the kitchen. It'll help with the hangover. Reed the mail I sent you...it's already opened, look at your tablet. I'll be leaving now".

Quistis made her way back to the elevator. She wanted to leave now before the other burned out party goers realized the room had an elevator.

*Ting*
Quistis stepped in and the doors shut lightly behind her.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

April 28, 2158; 13:00 hours. Qirex Datacast

Notice:

This is an invitation for all companies for the Kuala Lampur Friendly, where Qirex and Resinga Billiyom will be testing their craft in a race that will be both exciting and one of the first ones in 2158 in preparation for the F7200. Other teams can always participate, just bring your craft over and have fun!

This is a private event so no public allowed. The only spectators of the race are going to be those companies who do not wish to compete yet but rather just observe, but only companies. This isn't an open event to the public, it is a company-only event.

This was a message from Qirex

[Apple-Loosa]

Location: Tempo Racing Technologies HeadQuarters and Complex, Milan, Italy

Date: April, 2158, 3 days before Kuala Lampur...

A distressed women strolled down the crystalline hallway which overlooked the courtyard. Her name was Isabella Verona, the official director for Tempo Racing Technologies. She was clutching a stack of paperwork to her chest as well as her tablet and seemed determined to get to where needed to go; ignoring the friendly greetings and waves from colleagues where many wore white labcoats. She hurried along, turning a corner and went along the wall, which bore TempoRT's logo. She continued down the passageway, now at a even quicker pace.

She went into a large room, which overlooked the magnificent view of the entire headquarters on the edge of the evening. Isabella however paid no attention to this, having came past this exact place more times then she could even remember. She continued on her route, paying no attention to the two workers who were sharing a evening chat on a sofa, and continued to a flight of stairs and begun climbing them. After a minute Isabella reached the top and reached a mini cafe. A couple of people were having dinner here in the evening, as well as the two people who she wanted to meet.

Leela Gemini was sitting on a white cushioned chair, swaying her head to the music from her headphones. She took several bites from her dinner and continued to read through her magazine, the latest addition of Italy's AG weekly. Sitting opposite her was Carlo, who was taking sips from his Brandy coffee and reading email's on his phone. They had just finished practice at the mini-track which was located only one kilometre away from the Tempo Complex, and came here for dinner, by request of his director. He felt a presence behind him, and turned causally to see his director drawing a seat from another table to join them.

"I see you got my email" Isabella commented, fixing her glasses with her left hand. She slid in her seat and placed her paperwork on the table.

"Yep, and It is a change from where we usually meet, so it must be important" Carlo said. He then leaned over and tapped Leela to get her attention. She looked up, and blushed when she saw her director was already here. She removed her headphones from her head and turned her music off. "Sorry..." Leela said, then after a few awkward seconds asked "Um...Why are we meeting here instead of your office?"

Isabella picked up her tablet and placed it in the centre of the table. It flickered on to life, and displayed a hologram which bore a message.

Notice:

This is an invitation for all companies for the Kuala Lampur Friendly, where Qirex and Resinga Billiyom will be testing their craft in a race that will be both exciting and one of the first ones in 2158 in preparation for the F7200. Other teams can always participate, just bring your craft over and have fun!

This is a private event so no public allowed. The only spectators of the race are going to be those companies who do not wish to compete yet but rather just observe, but only companies. This isn't an open event to the public, it is a company-only event.

This was a message from Qirex

"We have been invited to a friendly race in Kuala Lampur, the Capital of Malaysia." Isabella said. "It is a private event, only companies are allowed to attend and participate with a team." She continued. Leela and Carlo glanced at each other, sharing the same look of surprise at this message. After a few more seconds, Carlo asked "Are we going to it?"

Isabella nodded in response. "It will not only show off the companies ship, but allow you, as racers, to get to know one and another and experience a proper race" She told them. "We will also be leaving tormorrow for Malaysia, bringing two 'Nico Lampo's' with us." she finished.

Both racers blinked as Isabella finished what she had to say. They shot another glance at each other. "I think that it'll be great to meet more racers. I can't wait to meet them." Leela said bearing a large smile. Carlo nodded to her with a little grin of his own. "Same here" he said. His eyes suddenly widened as a thought struck him. "What about the new ship that we're developing?" He asked in realization. Surely, they were planning to use it in the F7200, but what about this?

Isabella shook her head. "The new ship is nearly close to full completion, and it will be ready for F7200" She said as if reading Carlo's mind. "But will not be ready for this friendly, more testing is needed for the new 'Ion-Engine' we plan to use" She said.

Leela, still smiling, asked "Have you sent a response yet?". Isabella looked at her and nodded. Isabella's expression suddenly changed to a more serious face "Now your gonna need to be up early tormorrow..." .


2 hours Before
TempoRT Datacast

Dear Qirex,

We here at TempoRT would like to thank you for the extension of the invitation and will be happily be participating at this friendly event.

We will be bringing our team and craft along for the fun!

From, Director Isabella Verona

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Qirex Headquarters. 3 days before Kuala Lampur

2 hours Before
TempoRT Datacast

(Image)

Dear Qirex,

We here at TempoRT would like to thank you for the extension of the invitation and will be happily be participating at this friendly event.

We will be bringing our team and craft along for the fun!

From, Director Isabella Verona

Feliks saw the invitation and smiled, the racers were going to have fun, and at the same time they will be able to compete and get to know one another. He hasn't seen so much excitement from any company since the day of the 7000, a league that people who were older than he saw with admiration until...

He shook the thought out of his head. He needed to focus on making Qirex a powerful company, and nothing would stop him. He sat down and began typing to Isabella Verona about the event:

Dear Isabella,

We are glad you have accepted our invitation. We will be glad to have you in the friendly. See you in three days.

Feliks Levovich
Director of Operations
Qirex Research and Development

He then sent it and waited for the day to arrive. He knew they would have fun, but not with him around. His trademark youth was gone and was replaced with a cynical but business like attitude. He could not show this face as Qirex. Soon enough he would have to choose a successor for the company, but the only person who could was not interested in leading the company...

Qirex HQ. 2148. Feliks' office.

"What do you mean leading the company?" said an angry voice "I can't do this! Not when I have other plans and dreams" the voice said in a more explanatory tone. The person who was speaking placed the tablet down "you planned this all along didn't you? Out of everyone who you could have asked, you had to train and ask me to do it" the voice said in thoughtful frustration "you have no idea how I feel right now".

"Understand, we cannot afford bad leadership in a moment like this" Feliks said in a quiet tone "besides, Qirex can take care of itself; we managed to pull through after almost 20 years in my charge, we can do it now without corporate leadership" he said, trying to make the person reconsider "please think about it"

"You lied to me and made me your pawn" the person said to him "I don't want anything to do with you, in fact do not look for me; you won't find me" the person said as they left him on the room "and one more thing" the person said as they turned around and saw Feliks from the corner of their eye "do not ever do what you did to me" they said as they closed the door behind them.

Qirex, present day, 3 days before Kuala Lampur

As Feliks struggled with this flashback he went for a shot of whiskey from his drawer. Where were they, he thought as he gulped down the whiskey in the glass.

[Kiruri]

Río Azul Inc.'s Regional HQ, New Atlantica Island City
1 week before Kuala Lampur
3 hour's later...

"You're late, Nino". Marcos smiled at the unkempt 19 year-old as he walked into the room. Nino smirked; "Yesterday you didn't even show up. We were waiting all night, but day came and you were yet to be seen." He walked closer to where Marcos sat and laid his leather jacket upon the soft black sofa. Nino turned and walked toward the cupboard right behind Marcos.

Marcos kept an eye on him as he walked by; "You know I don't party, and, are you still going to drink even after last night'? I'm pretty sure you're not even sober yet."

Nino snickered at the comment; "This one's not for me, Marc". There was a brief silence between the boys that lasted until Nino finished pouring the liquor. "Right, well, you missed one hell-of-a party. The best part were the chicks." Nino laughed as he continued; "There was this one girl.... wow, I mean, wow, she was just amaz..."

"And what about the boys?"

"I was getting to that, Marc. Anyways, here." Nino walked back to where Marcos sat. He handed him the glass. Marcos tipped it toward him; "cheers".

Nino laughed; "So, I take it Q's not too happy about my tardiness?"

"You're right, Nino, she isn't. But, I mean, it's not like you ever show up early. We're all accustomed to it."

Nino sighed. He got up and went to the window. It was quite a large window that stretched from the ceiling down to about a foot above the floor. It overlooked HQ's public gardens and the Pacific ocean that stretched beyond them.

Nino gazed into the horizon. The sun's rays danced happily upon the ocean's waters. The whole scene was calming.

"You know what, Marc?", Nino kept his gaze fixed upon the ocean.

"hmm?" Marcos turned and looked at him.


not finished

[Aeken]

April 28, 2158; 13:00 hours. Qirex Datacast

(Image)

Notice:

This is an invitation for all companies for the Kuala Lampur Friendly, where Qirex and Resinga Billiyom will be testing their craft in a race that will be both exciting and one of the first ones in 2158 in preparation for the F7200. Other teams can always participate, just bring your craft over and have fun!

This is a private event so no public allowed. The only spectators of the race are going to be those companies who do not wish to compete yet but rather just observe, but only companies. This isn't an open event to the public, it is a company-only event.

This was a message from Qirex

From the Office of Aelera Reggati

---

Ariminum Heavy Industries is most interested in joining in the Friendly event in Kuala Lumpur.

Our racer Armando Buroc and our wonderfully crafted vehicle, the Magna Mare, shall arrive shortly in preparation.

Aelera Reggati
Director of Ariminum AG S.p.A

OOC: I'll add in s'more later.

[The Grim Reaper]

To Qirex, regarding the Kuala Lampur Friendly:

On behalf of Mr. Anil Kapoor, Director of the Royal Anti-Gravity Auto Club of Australia, I would like to tender our sincerest apologies for not being able to attend the Friendly as a race-team. Our own F7200-compliant racer is currently undergoing routine testing to assist with the calibration of new workshop equipment to expedite later testing and upgrading.

However, Mr. Anil Kapoor will be attending the Friendly along with a personal aide as a company spectator on RAACA's behalf. His residence details will be sent upon his arrival in Malaysia, and he looks forward to the event.

Ms. Elizabeth Leslie Tyson
Personal Aide to the Director, Mr. Anil Kapoor
Royal Anti-Gravity Auto Club of Australia, Melbourne, Victoria

OOC: for later.