OK9 - Why We Fight
"What on Earth were you thinking? Do you realise what you're up against? What did you think-""
"That one of us in this family ought to have some damn self respect and that we should stand up for ourselves!"
Kallen, unable to exert her annoyance to its fullest extent over the 720p live video feed, decided to supplement her angry response with significant arm motions, stamping her fingers into her chest to emphasise her frustration as she spoke to her brother, 7 hours ahead of her on the other side of the globe. The video call was taking place within her personal trailer, isolated from the clutter of the paddock. The race had just ended, and Kallen had vented about what had just transpired to her brother, who had been within thirty seconds of falling asleep when Kallen called, barely able to even stay awake during the race. Given the race that was in it, that was quite something.
However, recounting the events of the previous twenty minutes had certainly seemed to rouse him, as he had protested with great vitriol, if little impact. That, as ever, did not stop him from trying his damnedest to share his vision of caution and responsibility.
"Why didn't you at least ask me before sticking your foot in your mouth? It would at least let me screen your most outrageous ideas. For the record, this "bet" would sure as hell have been screened from the word go. You're putting our finances at risk on a grudge!"
"Duly noted, but it's always much easier to request your forgiveness than your permission." Kallen replied, having calmed enough to replace rage with snark, however he only continued "Don't give me that crap, this is serious! Talking like that to Taizo, I can't believe you could be so silly. He's the man giving both of us our drives!"
Kallen rolled her eyes, and continued "When he's talking such nonsense it's hard to take it seriously. I mean, you heard the exact same lecture, you were told just as I was to let Tohdoh win, how can you-"
"Yes I heard it, and I understood that I had to accept my role in the short term because I have an ounce of perspective. Fairness doesn't come into it."
Stunned, Kallen paused before following that tangential line of thought with "On that topic, what the hell were you doing? Why did you take it? You were at least keeping pace, and if you challenged Tohdoh you could have easily kept him honest. Instead, you capitulated, but… why?"
"Kallen, that may be, but making enemies within the team would be pretty damn stupid of me when I'm in my first few years as already making money. I was paying for both of us, and unlike you, factored that into my decision making. Let them salivate over titles, I just wanted to make sure both of us had drives once they moved on. Fate rewards the patient."
Kallen snorted, absolutely scandalized by her brothers complicity. "Rubbish. I didn't get into this bloody sport to finish second! Nobody does! Why should I have to-"
"It's not all about you for fu-"
Naoto stopped himself on the precipice of the expletive, not only having better impulse control than his younger, but a far greater reluctance to be hurtful. Chastising, certainly, but his paternal instincts did not lend him what Kallen realized was a cruelty she possessed, a willingness to demean his choices that he would never have. As he took a breath to collect his own thoughts, the sudden quietness and calm sent realization flushing through Kallen, the first moment she had not either been running or roaring. She was being cruel to someone who had only thought about what benefited her, likely at his own expense.
After collecting himself, Naoto eventually sighed "Look, it's happened, and I'm livid at your irresponsibility, but I can't change it retroactively. What are you going to do now? That's what-"
"Naoto, I-"
Visibly regretting his lack of control, he interrupted to end the discussion with "You've made your choice, now we've got to work with what we have. The question going forward is how-"
"Naoto I'm sorry."
She had been berating him for his choices which she knew were made with her in mind, and were at the expense of his own career. For his decision to go with the system and keep their family in the black, she had hurled insults and even then he could barely bring himself to reciprocate.
"Do you think it was fun? Do you think I made the decision to not rock the boat because I thought I'd enjoy it more? I had to think about the bigger picture, and..."
This was a vulnerability that was not common in Naoto, who usually put on the same brave face she'd seen immediately after his injury. However, it was clear that while he stood by his decision, her brash critique made him feel like trash.
Which, in turn, made her feel like trash. He'd been selfless, and she had berated him for it. She shook her head, however he suddenly chuckled, as if back to his normal self.
"Still, I wouldn't have expected any less of you. You never did like to be told what to do. There's no use complaining about it now, unless you want to go back and beg for forgiveness."
They both had a good laugh at that. Kallen didn't know what the terms retreat or back down meant, and would follow through to the end on what she planned. Acknowledging this, Naoto continued "Thought not. In that case, we're going to need to get serious. Where are the next races?"
"Austria, Hungary, Britain then a two month break before Belgium." she explained.
"I should be able to start going out by Britain, but until that point, talk to Suzaku, and listen to what he has to say."
Kallen frowned. "The whole practice spiel?"
He nodded, and replied "Works wonders. Tohdoh is fast, but he doesn't put in the hours. Probably feels he doesn't need to, but you can make up so much ground. Use practice to make your weaknesses your strengths. For example, your lateral movement causes your tyres to get too hot, so see if you can learn to accelerate more progressively to compensate. We're going to need to outwork Tohdoh if we want to win, because of the head start he has."
"I see. If it works, then I'll do it."
Naoto frowned, and noted "Of course, this all depends on one thing. Can you actually beat Tohdoh head to head?"
"It'll be hard, he showed pace today, but it can be done. I'm getting quicker, and I was already keeping him honest. I just need a little luck."
"You're depending on luck?" Naoto replied, incredibly dubious.
This was strange as far as Kallen could tell. Luck always played a factor, whether it was an engine failing or a sudden puncture. It was rather typical of Naoto to avoid relying on such things, however Kallen had already thought this through, reassuring him with "I make my own luck."
As if on cue, her ace in the hole made its aural appearance, wandering into the trailer with an inquisitive tone some ways away, uncertainly asking "Kallen? Êtes-vous ici?" as its owner, Lelouch, proved that he at least had the ability to be punctual.
She grinned, before calling back "Speak of the devil, come on in!"
Naoto paused, before scowling "Is that that French scumbag? What the hell is he-"
Well aware of her brothers animosity towards the Gaul, she diplomatically tried to end the conversation before he had an aneurysm seeing Lelouch in his sisters trailer and drawing unfortunate conclusions, and interrupted with a hasty nod and a clamour of "Gotta go, seeya Naoto."
"Kallen, wait..." he asked, with slightly more care, such that she actually did, waiting to hear what he said in his sudden thoughtful tone, more genuine and concerned, though with more pregnability that unlike his usual paternal caution, had an ounce of personal fear that drew Kallens attention. He normally didn't let this show, except after his crash, which made it all the more relevant to Kallen.
He took a breath, and asked "Kallen, please don't make us have to take out loans. I don't want to go back there, so please, know what you're doing."
She softened, understanding his had gone through a period of extremely rough finances that Naoto was always incredibly eager to avoid repeating, which lent to his frugal approach when he was paying and piratical approach when he was not. Kallen reassured him with all the confidence she could project "Of course. We're not going back to that. We won't, I'm faster than him, and that's a promise. When we get to Brazil, we'll be top dogs."
He nodded, buoyed by her self assured vow, and replied tiredly "Thank you. Have a good evening. I'll pretend I didn't just hear who I just heard for the time being. Don't have too much fun now."
She nodded, chuckling at her brothers cheek as he cut the feed, leaving Kallen alone for a moment, sitting in her cramped couch. She felt a sudden relaxation in spite of the stakes, as there was some solidity to the confidence she had reassured Naoto with, and after the day that was in it, some relaxation was well due, particularly given the tasks she had ahead of her over the next six months.
However, there was one more person to meet.
"You can come in now Lelouch."
Finally allowed to move past the halfway house of the doorframe at the opposite end of the truck, Lelouch moved up the surprisingly steep steps into the dark trailer proper, seemingly impressed by what he saw. Kallen doubted that Ashford, for all its heritage, could quite afford this amount of space, or that Lelouch was not quite so spartan as to sacrifice comfort for any measurable advantage. Either way, Lelouch certainly took an interesting amount of time gazing at the ceiling and walls.
After a moment, he looked back towards Kallen and, seemingly confused, though it was hard to tell, asked "What is it you wanted? You were quite cross on the podium, especially given that it was your first."
The podium had been the most awkward thing in the entire universe, as the spotlight was somewhat stolen from him by Kallen and Tohdoh's spat. Kallen was furious, and Lelouch looked like a lost puppy up on the podium, not being entirely sure where to look. An interview with an increasingly exasperated Diethard Reid had done little to alleviate the situation, beyond a brief focus away to the joyous Suzaku, who really seemed to be the only person who was happy to be there, and the overdramatic Lelouch. Their broadcasted interaction covered the brief controversy the race generated, and was ultimately nothing more than an annoyance.
However, this misery was thankfully over, and they were isolated from the human equivalent of a wet tissue in Reid, so Kallen was ultimately more at ease as she invited Lelouch onto the couch opposite. Still unsure why he was here, he asked "So, you didn't say what you wanted."
"I'm calling in that favour from Japan." Kallen explained.
His eyebrow raised in a fascination, as he replied "Oh my, this is certainly intriguing. I would very much like to hear the context behind this request, if it's not too much trouble."
Kallen shrugged, feeling more than willing to bring Lelouch into the fold before explaining "Taizo began to pull team orders during the race, causing Tohdoh to try and plow past me and slowing us both down before he skipped the chicane."
"Aye, that makes sense. Certainly helped me. I was wondering why you were both so slow and fighting. Only hurting yourselves." Lelouch nodded.
"As Taizo was eager to make clear." Kallen sighed. "We had a row, and we made a bet as to who will be faster over the rest of the year. Your job from now until Brazil is to help me beat him in the championship standings. Four races in, I'm twenty one points behind him-"
"And nine points behind me." Lelouch interrupted, chuckling at his luck that had somehow propelled him into fifth in the championship, twenty six points behind Suzaku, whose sudden surge to the top was also more of a factor of his opposition within Camelot and Rebellion shooting themselves in the foot over the last two races, allowing him to steal a pair of victories.
"In my defence, I've only been in for half the season so far." Kallen joked. "Nonetheless, I've got three quarters of the season as a whole left to catch the both of you."
"Certainly. So with that confidence, what do you need me to actually do?"
Kallen stroked her chin, selecting her words with caution as she spoke "Two things. The latter will come later, but for now I have a few questions, particularly with regards to your performance. The Ashford car is absolutely uncompetitive, to put it mildly. Rivalz only scored his first points today, and you're consistently down in both lap times and speed traps. In spite of this, you've finished ahead of me in the last two races. How are you outperforming that Ashford?"
Lelouch frowned, and seemed to think it over with pursed lips. It was clear he wasn't eager to share his secrets, however it wasn't as if he hadn't made a promise. He eventually turned his head slightly away, making the angle his eyes formed to Kallen, before, with more hesitation than he had shown previously, beginning.
"Because I'm nice, I'll explain how I do things. Points are awarded to those who finish from first to tenth. With twenty people on the grid, that makes ten who will not get any points, whether they finish eleventh or last. With me so far?"
Kallen nodded. The points gap was well established, and had continued to screw over midfield teams who weren't quite good enough for consistent P10's by placing them among backmarkers in the championship standings since 2010. Seeing acknowledgement, Lelouch continued.
"Suppose someone goes through a season in an Ashford and take no risks. They finish eleventh every single race, and they finish the season on no points, because they weren't fast enough for the top ten and their strategy never differed from those who were faster than them. Then, let's suppose I took a risk every race. In 9 out of every ten races, it doesn't work and I finish last out of everyone, getting zero points, just like the guy in eleventh. However, in that tenth race, I pull it off, and finish in eighth, or ninth position. That puts me ahead, with one or two points, even though for nine out of ten times the other person finished ahead of me. That's how you have to think when you're at the back. Now that we're in the midfield, I've applied that thinking to turning a ninth or tenth into a third or fourth."
Kallen understood the principle to be classic game theory, however was confused by what he assumed she would get from it, asking "What does that mean for me?"
He frowned, before shaking his head and attempting to reframe what he was saying, admitting with some deflation "I don't actually enjoy grand prix racing. I don't get much out of it, at least not at this high a level or with this technical a car. I'm only here because it pays well. What I really enjoy is chess. I was always rather good at it, but it never turned out to be a viable career. What I'm talking about is relevant to you because of objectives. What is the goal in chess?"
"To take the King." Kallen replied.
Nodding, Lelouch pointed at her to emphasise the point and replied "Exactly. Not to take the most pieces or do the most damage, but to take one piece. Within the context of this sport, what is your goal?"
"Score as many points as possible."
He withdrew his hand, and sighed "No, not exactly. You need to finish ahead of Tohdoh. That isn't quite the same thing. I remember racing against Tamaki in my first year of GP3, and his team called him in on lap six for new Primes. I thought it was lunacy, but he was the person I had to beat, and so mirrored his strategy. He would have actually finished ahead of me had I not done it. You don't go with what you think is fastest, you only go with what clears the task at hand."
Kallen frowned, but nodded along, simply replying with "I see."
Lelouch let out a breath, before seeming to recall she had asked for two favours, and begrudgingly asking "So what else do you need?"
She frowned, and laced her fingers into a tent as she thought. This part of her plan was less straightforward , however she had to avail of of all the resources available to her "I'll have a word with my engineer, and you with yours. If I say, say, shift set one, then your engineer is to contact you and you are to hold up Tohdoh if he's near you?"
Lelouch smirked, slyly commenting "That's certainly a big ask for one favour over a shunt."
Kallen, paused, before acknowledging Lelouch was correct. "What do you want?"
"Tohdoh's going to be none too pleased if you beat him." Lelouch explained, gesticulating extensively. "I imagine he might take a sabbatical, or something to that effect. My contract runs out this year, and I hope you'd appreciate my help when they ask you who you want as a teammate."
Kallen nodded. It was a small price, and one that, given her growing pace ahead of Lelouch, she could deal with. "I can do that."
He nodded and stood, sensing matters were approaching their end, and indeed they were, as she felt like she wanted to fall asleep more than anything else. However, as he walked towards the exit, she realised she had one more question.
"Hang on a sec, one more thing." she called out, leaning back over the chair and asking over her shoulder "Why does my brother hate you?"
Lelouch finally smiled fully, with much less guarding, and chuckled "Heh, there's a very good reason. Three years ago, we were both in Brazil for the GP3 championship finale, and we were both in the title fight."
Kallen blinked, and asked "And?"
"I punted us both out on lap one. We were both out of the race. He didn't take it well."
With that, he turned and waved as he left, back turned away.
Lelouch, you cheeky Occitan, that isn't the whole story now is it? We'll have to see if there was more too that, but nevertheless, we learned a lot this chapter. Cooling off some of the racing, we saw Naoto's patience tested and Kallens motivations highlighted, however now both of them are going to take the fight to Taizo in the future, with Lelouch fishing for a promotion, Kuki Urie style. More power to him, but there's more to it that that, as I chatted about with OneSpiker.
See you next week. In the meantime, please review and let me know how you're finding the story, as it really gets my spirits up as I write!
~Eth0
