Chapter 3
The Hour of Battle
-Ex-Driver Headquarters Garage, 6:00 P.M.
Akito pulled the Hachi-Roku into the usualy garage. Nakazato was waiting for him. "You do know it's risky to drive this during the day."
"I know, but I got an invite to come."
"From who?"
"Two of your drivers, Lorna and...the loudmouthed one."
"Lisa?"
"Yea."
-6:16 P.M.
Lorna, Lisa, and Souichi were discussing racing stragities on a scale replica of Mt. Akina. Little model cars of their own veichles, as well as various AI cars, were strewn across a table prepared for simulation.
Souichi said "Here's something important. There's a really long straight over here, followed by a hairpin left. The downhill makes brakes less effective, so we'll most likely have to start braking here..." He placed the model of his Seven a few inches from the turn. "...and start the drift around here." He moved his car sideways on the road. "If we hit this corner right, it would be a good passing point."
Akito entered the room. He watched silently as the three discussed course stragety and overtaking techniques. Finally he spoke. "So how are you planning to pull this one off?"
Souichi answered him. "Well, the best idea we came up with is to split up the two cars and tackle them two on one."
"The problem is, there's only three of us," Lorna said." "It would leave only one of us to tackle the second car. And once the two of us finish one, we'll either have to slow down extremely or catch up quickly to help, and that can take a while."
iHmmm..../i Akito thought to himself. He noticed that Lisa was trying extra hard not to look at him.
-Command Room, 8:00 P.M.
"So, let me get this straight. You want to help tonight." Nakazato lit another cigarette.
"Yup."
"And you're sure you can handle yourself on the downhill."
"Yea."
"I don't know, I still think your father should know."
"Well, it's only this once, I don't think he'll know."
Nakazato pondered this to himself. His father probably would know, being the great racer that he was. But he shook it off. He really could use the extra driver. Punching a few keys on the control panels, an image of an AI car appeared. "Ok then, let me run this by you real quick. Every AI car has 4 sensors, one on each corner of the car." Little circles appeared over the bumper corners. "These sensors control how close each car gets to the railing and to other cars. Now the car is programed to rely on those sensors, so if all four of them go out, the car initiates an emergency stop."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out what looked to be a flare gun. He tossed it over to Akito, who caught it and began to aim it around, getting a feel for the weapon. "This is a concusion gun. It is designed to shoot special rounds of a plaster like substance. If it hits, it will completly cover the car sensors. Four of these shots will put out a car. Now we normally only use these on runaway cars, but this is an exception. You'll have to hit the sensors while making the run at the same time."
Akito spun the gun on his finger once, clumsily caught it, put it on the table, and said, "Sounds like fun."
-Ex-Drivers Garage, 9:15 P.M.
In the garage the three Ex-Drivers made final adjustments to their cars."
"So what's the plan?" Lisa asked.
"I still don't..." Souichi began to say.
Nakazato appeared in front of the garage. "Hi. I'm sorry to bother you while you work, but I've got some good news. We've got a fourth driver, so you can go on with the two on one plan you three had originally conceived"
Souichi was a little confused. "Fourth driver?"
"He'll show up in a little bit. In the meantime just get ready." Nakazato, a fresh cigarette in his mouth, walked away. As he headed for the entrance, he looked down the road at what would be the starting line tonight. The same starting point that had made a legend of Akito's father. He puffed out a breath of smoke, then returned to the garage. "Oh, I forgot. We'll go at 9:55. They'll be lining up then, but they won't be ready to go yet. We'll get a drop on them. Bring two concussion guns, that way you won't have to reload on the way down."
"I don't get it," Lisa said. "Why not stop them while they line up?"
Another ghost of smoke left Nakazato's nostrils. "We need to make an example of these kids. That way, there will be less races. I'll go prepare the command room for the run." Nakazato left a second time.
After he left, the three drivers changed their focus. "Wow, he's a pretty brash commander," Lisa said.
"Do you think so?" Lorna said. I thought he was rather nice. He seems to know Akina pretty well."
"I heard some rumors about him. They say he used to be a street racer back in the old days." One of the mechanics had told Lisa this earlier.
"I heard the same," Souichi said. "He used to drive a black R-32 GTR. I wonder what happened to it."
-Along Lake Akina, 9:50
The Stratus, Europe, and Cataram were parked under a dimmed streetlamp, waching as the crowds gathered.
"This race is pointless," Lisa called through her headset. "These races don't involve skill at all!"
Souichi said "I know. They don't have any faith in themselves or their machine. A computer does all the work. It dishonors those who spent the time and effort to master driving."
"It's almost time." Lorna checked her watch; 9:52. As she prepared herself for the run, she heard the distinct sound of a motor idling to a stop. As she check to her right, she saw a panda colored car roll to a stop in line with the others.
Lisa saw this as well. "What the hell is that?" She heard a call through her set. "Oww! Not so loud, I'm just getting the hang of this stupid set."
The three drivers were surprised. "Akito?"
"Yea, it's me."
Lisa was quick to react. "Get out of here! You can't handle this!"
"You three said you needed an extra driver! I've already got the equipment on board, and there's not time to change the plans!"
Sure enough, the clock struck 9:54.
"So how are we going to pair up?" Akito asked.
"You and Lisa, and Souichi and I."
"No way, Lorna! I won't drive with that guy!"
"What about Akito and I, and you and Souichi, Lisa?"
Akito said "But what if one of us can't get into position?"
9:55.
"No time!" Nakazato called from the command center. "Figure it out on the way down! GO!" The four cars tore off towards the crowd, in two rows of two.
-A single teen stood just in frot of two AI cars. He held up his hands. "10...9...8..."
The two cars, a bright white coupe and a red hatchback, were being reved by their modified programing. The drivers both had a finger on the start button, which would launch their cars down the road.
"7...6...5...oh crap, GO!"
Both cars smoked a brief second, then flew down the road, the Ex-Drivers in hot pursuit.
Six cars on a two lane road.
Lorna and Akito both pulled foward after the coupe, which had taken an early lead. Souichi maneuvered in frot of the hatchback and lightly braked. A light blinked on the hatch and it slowed down a great deal. It gave Lisa and Souichi enough room so they would not accidently drift right into the back of the Hachi-Roku or the Europa. The first right hairpin came up. Lorna and Akito had not yet managed to pass the coupe.
As all three cars made the turn, Akito gunnd the Hachi-Roku side by side of the coupe. He kept to the left and as the next left hairpin came up, he slammed on the brake and downshifted. This move put him just in front of the coupe.
Just behind, Lorna also pulled the same drift. The coupe exited the hairpin on the inside, so Lorna pulled to the right. She reached for a concussion gun from the passenger seat and leaned out the window. Taking careful aim, she pulled the trigger and covered the rear right sensor in a thick paste.
Almost 150 meters behind them Souichi, Lisa, and the hatchback also made the left hairpin. Both drivers leane out of their cars, Souichi in the lead, and they hit the front left and rear right sensors.
"Damn!" cursed the rider of the hatch. "Who ARE these guys?!" He removed up a safety covering and flipped a switch to start a drift program.
As Lisa prepared for a quick shot before the next hairpin right, the hatch sudenly threw its front end left, then back right. Her shot of the left rear sensor was now blocked by the bumper as the red hatch slid around the hairpin. Soiuichi was pressed on the throttle as his opponent came dangerously close. He picked up the pace and glided around the next left. Behind them Lisa leaned out again. The hatch drifted to the left, giving Lisa a better than perfect shot at the sensor. A moment later it too was plastered.
Akito held his lead, but he found that he didn't have a very clear shot while he flew through the S-curves. Lorna kept up as well, pinning down the coupe. The three headed for the steep downhill, followed by a sharp hairpin right. Akito started downshifting, then he pulled the steering wheel full lock to the right. He let the car slide, controling the traction in the rear wheels with his right foot, and he countersteered to the left. With his free hand he grabbed a concussion gun, aimed, and fired. The blast managed to get the left front sensor, and Akito dropped the gun to the floor of the passenger seat. He finished the drift and stepped on it for the long straight. He reached for the second gun, leaned out again, and fired. The shot went wide, attaching itself to the guardrail. "Damnit!"
Lorna leaned out her window and picked off the third sensor. "Relax!" she called. "Akito, the top pops off if you push the button by your thumb and flick the gun." He did so, and the gun seemed to split in half. He supported the wheel with his knees and as quickly as he could he reached for the second plaster grenade. It slid easily into the tube, and with another flick of the wrist the gun was again ready. He leaned out again and shot. This time it hit dead center, and the car's systems began to shut down.
The rider in the coupe began to pound on the dash. He knew his time was up. Suddenly, a giant airbag burst, filling the entire cockpit and pushing him down into his seat.
"Help me draw the car to the side!" Lorna said. She pulled up on the left, and Akito held in the front. Together the two began move to the right, and what was left of the car's sensors moved the car with them. The coupe came to a stop on the side of the road.
"Alright!" Akito called. "So now what do we do?"
"We could finish the run," Lorna said.
"That sounds good." With that, the Hachi-Roku and the Europe continued to race down the mountainside.
Lisa and Souichi were still driving along the straight, but Souichi concentrated on slowing down the car. When he felt he was at a reasonable distance, he threw his seven into a spin. As his car faced the hatch, he shot straight ahead, hitting the final sensor. He finished the spin, and braked in front of the hatch. With Lisa on the left, they too pulled the hatch to the side of the road, almost just behind the coupe. The hatch driver was also pushed back into his seat by the giant airbag.
"Show off," Lisa said.
The galleries were stunned at the skill of the new drivers, who had together taken out two of the better riders of Akina.
The Hour of Battle
-Ex-Driver Headquarters Garage, 6:00 P.M.
Akito pulled the Hachi-Roku into the usualy garage. Nakazato was waiting for him. "You do know it's risky to drive this during the day."
"I know, but I got an invite to come."
"From who?"
"Two of your drivers, Lorna and...the loudmouthed one."
"Lisa?"
"Yea."
-6:16 P.M.
Lorna, Lisa, and Souichi were discussing racing stragities on a scale replica of Mt. Akina. Little model cars of their own veichles, as well as various AI cars, were strewn across a table prepared for simulation.
Souichi said "Here's something important. There's a really long straight over here, followed by a hairpin left. The downhill makes brakes less effective, so we'll most likely have to start braking here..." He placed the model of his Seven a few inches from the turn. "...and start the drift around here." He moved his car sideways on the road. "If we hit this corner right, it would be a good passing point."
Akito entered the room. He watched silently as the three discussed course stragety and overtaking techniques. Finally he spoke. "So how are you planning to pull this one off?"
Souichi answered him. "Well, the best idea we came up with is to split up the two cars and tackle them two on one."
"The problem is, there's only three of us," Lorna said." "It would leave only one of us to tackle the second car. And once the two of us finish one, we'll either have to slow down extremely or catch up quickly to help, and that can take a while."
iHmmm..../i Akito thought to himself. He noticed that Lisa was trying extra hard not to look at him.
-Command Room, 8:00 P.M.
"So, let me get this straight. You want to help tonight." Nakazato lit another cigarette.
"Yup."
"And you're sure you can handle yourself on the downhill."
"Yea."
"I don't know, I still think your father should know."
"Well, it's only this once, I don't think he'll know."
Nakazato pondered this to himself. His father probably would know, being the great racer that he was. But he shook it off. He really could use the extra driver. Punching a few keys on the control panels, an image of an AI car appeared. "Ok then, let me run this by you real quick. Every AI car has 4 sensors, one on each corner of the car." Little circles appeared over the bumper corners. "These sensors control how close each car gets to the railing and to other cars. Now the car is programed to rely on those sensors, so if all four of them go out, the car initiates an emergency stop."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out what looked to be a flare gun. He tossed it over to Akito, who caught it and began to aim it around, getting a feel for the weapon. "This is a concusion gun. It is designed to shoot special rounds of a plaster like substance. If it hits, it will completly cover the car sensors. Four of these shots will put out a car. Now we normally only use these on runaway cars, but this is an exception. You'll have to hit the sensors while making the run at the same time."
Akito spun the gun on his finger once, clumsily caught it, put it on the table, and said, "Sounds like fun."
-Ex-Drivers Garage, 9:15 P.M.
In the garage the three Ex-Drivers made final adjustments to their cars."
"So what's the plan?" Lisa asked.
"I still don't..." Souichi began to say.
Nakazato appeared in front of the garage. "Hi. I'm sorry to bother you while you work, but I've got some good news. We've got a fourth driver, so you can go on with the two on one plan you three had originally conceived"
Souichi was a little confused. "Fourth driver?"
"He'll show up in a little bit. In the meantime just get ready." Nakazato, a fresh cigarette in his mouth, walked away. As he headed for the entrance, he looked down the road at what would be the starting line tonight. The same starting point that had made a legend of Akito's father. He puffed out a breath of smoke, then returned to the garage. "Oh, I forgot. We'll go at 9:55. They'll be lining up then, but they won't be ready to go yet. We'll get a drop on them. Bring two concussion guns, that way you won't have to reload on the way down."
"I don't get it," Lisa said. "Why not stop them while they line up?"
Another ghost of smoke left Nakazato's nostrils. "We need to make an example of these kids. That way, there will be less races. I'll go prepare the command room for the run." Nakazato left a second time.
After he left, the three drivers changed their focus. "Wow, he's a pretty brash commander," Lisa said.
"Do you think so?" Lorna said. I thought he was rather nice. He seems to know Akina pretty well."
"I heard some rumors about him. They say he used to be a street racer back in the old days." One of the mechanics had told Lisa this earlier.
"I heard the same," Souichi said. "He used to drive a black R-32 GTR. I wonder what happened to it."
-Along Lake Akina, 9:50
The Stratus, Europe, and Cataram were parked under a dimmed streetlamp, waching as the crowds gathered.
"This race is pointless," Lisa called through her headset. "These races don't involve skill at all!"
Souichi said "I know. They don't have any faith in themselves or their machine. A computer does all the work. It dishonors those who spent the time and effort to master driving."
"It's almost time." Lorna checked her watch; 9:52. As she prepared herself for the run, she heard the distinct sound of a motor idling to a stop. As she check to her right, she saw a panda colored car roll to a stop in line with the others.
Lisa saw this as well. "What the hell is that?" She heard a call through her set. "Oww! Not so loud, I'm just getting the hang of this stupid set."
The three drivers were surprised. "Akito?"
"Yea, it's me."
Lisa was quick to react. "Get out of here! You can't handle this!"
"You three said you needed an extra driver! I've already got the equipment on board, and there's not time to change the plans!"
Sure enough, the clock struck 9:54.
"So how are we going to pair up?" Akito asked.
"You and Lisa, and Souichi and I."
"No way, Lorna! I won't drive with that guy!"
"What about Akito and I, and you and Souichi, Lisa?"
Akito said "But what if one of us can't get into position?"
9:55.
"No time!" Nakazato called from the command center. "Figure it out on the way down! GO!" The four cars tore off towards the crowd, in two rows of two.
-A single teen stood just in frot of two AI cars. He held up his hands. "10...9...8..."
The two cars, a bright white coupe and a red hatchback, were being reved by their modified programing. The drivers both had a finger on the start button, which would launch their cars down the road.
"7...6...5...oh crap, GO!"
Both cars smoked a brief second, then flew down the road, the Ex-Drivers in hot pursuit.
Six cars on a two lane road.
Lorna and Akito both pulled foward after the coupe, which had taken an early lead. Souichi maneuvered in frot of the hatchback and lightly braked. A light blinked on the hatch and it slowed down a great deal. It gave Lisa and Souichi enough room so they would not accidently drift right into the back of the Hachi-Roku or the Europa. The first right hairpin came up. Lorna and Akito had not yet managed to pass the coupe.
As all three cars made the turn, Akito gunnd the Hachi-Roku side by side of the coupe. He kept to the left and as the next left hairpin came up, he slammed on the brake and downshifted. This move put him just in front of the coupe.
Just behind, Lorna also pulled the same drift. The coupe exited the hairpin on the inside, so Lorna pulled to the right. She reached for a concussion gun from the passenger seat and leaned out the window. Taking careful aim, she pulled the trigger and covered the rear right sensor in a thick paste.
Almost 150 meters behind them Souichi, Lisa, and the hatchback also made the left hairpin. Both drivers leane out of their cars, Souichi in the lead, and they hit the front left and rear right sensors.
"Damn!" cursed the rider of the hatch. "Who ARE these guys?!" He removed up a safety covering and flipped a switch to start a drift program.
As Lisa prepared for a quick shot before the next hairpin right, the hatch sudenly threw its front end left, then back right. Her shot of the left rear sensor was now blocked by the bumper as the red hatch slid around the hairpin. Soiuichi was pressed on the throttle as his opponent came dangerously close. He picked up the pace and glided around the next left. Behind them Lisa leaned out again. The hatch drifted to the left, giving Lisa a better than perfect shot at the sensor. A moment later it too was plastered.
Akito held his lead, but he found that he didn't have a very clear shot while he flew through the S-curves. Lorna kept up as well, pinning down the coupe. The three headed for the steep downhill, followed by a sharp hairpin right. Akito started downshifting, then he pulled the steering wheel full lock to the right. He let the car slide, controling the traction in the rear wheels with his right foot, and he countersteered to the left. With his free hand he grabbed a concussion gun, aimed, and fired. The blast managed to get the left front sensor, and Akito dropped the gun to the floor of the passenger seat. He finished the drift and stepped on it for the long straight. He reached for the second gun, leaned out again, and fired. The shot went wide, attaching itself to the guardrail. "Damnit!"
Lorna leaned out her window and picked off the third sensor. "Relax!" she called. "Akito, the top pops off if you push the button by your thumb and flick the gun." He did so, and the gun seemed to split in half. He supported the wheel with his knees and as quickly as he could he reached for the second plaster grenade. It slid easily into the tube, and with another flick of the wrist the gun was again ready. He leaned out again and shot. This time it hit dead center, and the car's systems began to shut down.
The rider in the coupe began to pound on the dash. He knew his time was up. Suddenly, a giant airbag burst, filling the entire cockpit and pushing him down into his seat.
"Help me draw the car to the side!" Lorna said. She pulled up on the left, and Akito held in the front. Together the two began move to the right, and what was left of the car's sensors moved the car with them. The coupe came to a stop on the side of the road.
"Alright!" Akito called. "So now what do we do?"
"We could finish the run," Lorna said.
"That sounds good." With that, the Hachi-Roku and the Europe continued to race down the mountainside.
Lisa and Souichi were still driving along the straight, but Souichi concentrated on slowing down the car. When he felt he was at a reasonable distance, he threw his seven into a spin. As his car faced the hatch, he shot straight ahead, hitting the final sensor. He finished the spin, and braked in front of the hatch. With Lisa on the left, they too pulled the hatch to the side of the road, almost just behind the coupe. The hatch driver was also pushed back into his seat by the giant airbag.
"Show off," Lisa said.
The galleries were stunned at the skill of the new drivers, who had together taken out two of the better riders of Akina.
