OK Number Eight: The Disobedient Servant

"And what's this now, team radio from Tohdoh."

Diethard looked down at his readout in light of Jeremiah's comment, and sure enough, the green light over that frequency was lit, and the empty air was eventually filled with the grumpy man.

"I need you to get Kōzuki out of the way. Suzaku is going to get away, I need her to move out of our battle. She's going to hold me up if she stays ahead."

"Well that's certainly forward." Diethard chuckled, amused at Tohdoh's brazen request. There was no tact or subtlety, just the simple act of pulling rank. Not that this was unprecedented; particularly in old-fashioned teams like Rebellion, the championship fortunes of the main driver of the team was a priority above the potential for a good individual result from the number two driver, and so many drivers, with some nudging from their engineer, might mysteriously and charitably give way to their teammate in a better championship position.

That didn't mean Diethard liked it, feeling that it took away from the genuine racing and was anticlimactic. However, he kept this to himself, and allowed Ohgi to deliver the bad news.

"Alright mate, Tohdoh has a lot of pace and a chance to win the championship from where he is. This race has the potential to be a massive points score, so let him through, let him through, it's for the team. Sorry about this."

Kallen was surprised, but gruff, not fully understanding what was being asked, responding "What do you mean? I'm in front right now, and am currently matching Suzaku. Why do I have to compromise my race?"

"Alright, I understand, but the team is insisting, he has the pace to catch Suzaku, and he has a championship to consider."

There was a beat, before Kallen replied "If he has a lot of pace, then why isn't he ahead of me?"

An excellent question as far as Diethard was concerned, and it did go a ways in endearing him further to Kallen, as she challenged the double world champion to a scrap. However, Diethard also noted a more angry undertone, somewhat outraged at the request and surprised by its existence. He imagined that there would be words shared outside the cockpit between the two drivers once the race was finished, but for now it was up to the pit crew to communicate Kallens reluctance to obey team orders.

"Okay, Kallen is refusing to give up the position, you'll have to make the move on track."

The response from Tohdoh was muddled, not least because it was generously censored, but also mired within the muddying grips of outrage, however the gist, that this was absolutely ridiculous, unacceptable, and all manner of other adjectives, was clear. The beleaguered engineer passed this message on to Ohgi, who ameliorated it considerably when passing it on to Kallen.

"Kallen, I'm afraid Tohdoh is insisting-"

"Are you serious? What the hell is this? We're bloody racing drivers, and if he doesn't want to race he can sod off back to Kyoto! I'm not giving up the position!"

"Well, that was unequivocal." Jeremiah chuckled, greatly enthused by her increasing frustration as this reply was relayed back to Tohdoh, who accepted Kallens challenge to his dominant position with little humour.

His first attempt was made immediately, as the pair moved up through the high speed Massanet corner, which was off camber and declined upwards before peaking and beginning to depress, forcing the car to feel light and unstable. Undeterred, Tohdoh dragged out to the outside of the circuit and pulled alongside as they both moved up towards the corner, rocketing up almost vertically towards Casino Square. As the track began to curve in and lean out, Tohdoh held his nose firmly in the fight in a stunning display of bravery and spatial awareness, threading the needle between losing control of the car and spinning out into the outside barrier, and losing control and crashing into Kallen on his inside. It was not dissimilar to the move that Tamaki had attempted before crashing, going to the outside of a fast corner, however Tohdoh had the skill to pull it off and retain the traction to bring it round.

However, for all his car control, that line simply didn't provide the mechanical grip to pivot his car ahead of Kallens, who held onto the inside as if her life depended on it, and so had retained track position.

"And so, as they head down to Casino Square, Kallen is ahead by just a bit, but Tohdoh has the inside line. This is not a two wide corner, but Kallen holds her line and turns in, and oh! They make contact! Unbelievable scenes, Kallen has shut the door on Tohdoh into Casino Square and taken a nose to the side for her troubles! I can't imagine either driver will be pleased with that, however Kallen remains ahead. Team radio…"

Indeed, as the pair descended towards Mirebeau, Tohdoh spoke again to his pit engineer, angrily complaining "She cut across me! Teammates, unbelievable. Absolutely ruining my race, being stuck behind her."

Diethard chuckled, and continued "... and yes, Tohdoh not pleased in the least, but Kallen is moving very defensively into Mirebeau, leaving no way through for the older driver. They pull around down towards Loews, and Tohdoh has a peek around the outside! Not quite enough room there, and Kallen gets a much better run out of the corner. Tohdoh was absolutely compromised by that wider, slower exit, but he's absolutely not giving up this fight for love nor money."

Indeed, he made up significant ground through Portier, and gave intense chase through the tunnel, the two engines, designed and built in Japan, roaring along, amplified by the echoing effects of the tunnel, to propel the two Japanese drivers down to the Nouvelle Chicane, a heavy braking zone which forced the driver left then right over killer kerbs. There was plenty of runoff area on the inside if someone messed up their braking, however such use had to be genuine.

Jeremiah took over commentating as they flew out of the tunnel and into the light of day, already excitable from what was a very odd Monaco Grand Prix.

"So Kallen is under pressure now from Tohdoh, he's darting around in her mirrors as they speed towards the braking zone, and he moves to the outside, which turns to the inside and oh! He cuts inside her, but he puts his car off circuit! He mounted the kerbs and used that space to move the Seiten up her inside at the apex of the chicane, and put all four wheels of the designated track. Brilliant move, but surely, he'll have to give the position back, because-"

"Hey, what the hell! He cut across the chicane, illegal move!"

"-and I think that's Kallen making my point there on team radio, he cut across the kerb and went onto the run off area, so I'd assume he'll have to give the position back. More team radio."

Tohdoh's microphone promptly crackled into life as his engineer told him "Okay Tohdoh, it's annoying but you'll have to give the position back to Kallen or the Stewards will give us a time penalty."

Tohdoh groaned in frustration as his chances of catching Suzaku in the dying laps faded before his eyes. He moved over to the outside of the track on the run up to Tabac, and seemed to shake his head.

"Presumably he's giving up the place, but… eh, that's really not the place on the track you want to be doing it." Diethard winced as Kallen caught up towards Tabac, but there was not enough room to pass, and so she filed back in behind the other Seiten.

"This race is all over the place, it's absolutely fantastic." Jeremiah laughed, as Tohdoh continued to slow to attempt to return the position. Diethard noted "He's definitely giving way, but that we've not got a lot of room on the way up to Swimming Pool, and now he has to take the corner, cutting Kallen off again. So frustrating."

"But I'll tell you who's absolutely delighted about this, it's Suzaku Kururugi. With Tohdoh slowing down, he can just romp away with this race, which is absolutely not what Tohdoh needs for his championship."

However, Diethard suddenly realised as he saw a streak of blue silently encroach upon the two purple Type 2 "Seitens" that there was in fact a third party who stood to profit from Rebellions bottling of team strategy even more than Kururugi.

"Oh my word, is that Lamperouge? It is! Lamperouge's Ganymede has caught right up to the back of this train, which only compounds Tohdoh's difficulty."

As Diethard said, the reduced pace of the battling Seitens allowed Lelouch to quietly insert himself back into the battle as the pair curtsied towards Rascasse, where Tohdoh finally realized that he was in deep, deep trouble, and held the inside line to avoid being caught up in the hell Lelouch was about to unleash on the pair of them.

Kallen was forced, by virtue of Tohdoh's sudden defensiveness, onto the dirty outside section of the circuit, which, alongside her already slowed pace behind Tohdoh, allowed Lelouch, who was not restrained by the need to eventually let Kallen past, to nip up her inside and steal the position, causing Jeremiah to roar with laughter.

"What tactics! Not only has he taken advantage of their squabbling, but Kallen must eventually get her place back or Tohdoh will incur a penalty. He's got two places in one pass, at Monaco! The Provençal driver must be absolutely over the moon with this, as he makes a run up the front straight to catch Tohdoh. DRS is enabled, he's catching into the braking zone, but- hold on, what?"

Jeremiah was, in a very out of character display, lost for words, as things took a turn for the bizarre. Lelouch, with more certainty, swept to Tohdoh's inside, and looked set to outbrake the Japanese driver, however out of nowhere Kallen, who was likely fuming at what had occurred, didn't brake at all, skipping over the kerb on the inside to complete the corner using all the run-off area on the inside between the track on the pit exit, nearly spearing into Lelouch as she returned onto the track.

Tohdoh, seeming Kallen whiz pass on what must have seemed like a rapid collision course with the outside wall, braked heavily ahead of the corner, losing out to both younger drivers as the commentating box was deathly silent, it's occupants utterly unable to digest what had just happened.

Jeremiah recovered first, scoffing "It's complete anarchy out here today! Every man for himself! Spread the word, wacky races has arrived in Monte Carlo!"

Diethard eventually laughed along, replying "Track limits? We're in a post-track limits society my friend. God is dead, everything is permitted!"

A good laugh was had at this joke, before Diethard could return to some vague semblance of serious analysis, commenting "Yes, it would seem that we just saw Kallen taking the law into her own hands there to some extent, and the logic isn't unsound; her teammate just did it on her and appeared to be getting away with it, but should it not be an issue for the Stewards? Should she get a penalty?"

Jeremiah, still in stitches, parsed together "Well, it did neutralize Tohdoh's gain, so it's a net nothing. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but I think the fair running has mostly been restored. It was a bit unconventional how they did it, a bit 'frontier justice', but I wouldn't meddle if I were the Stewards."

"So…" Diethard chuckled. "If the racing gods are so kind, then the order is as follows; Suzaku Kururugi leads comfortably, in clear air and without challenge. Next is the Lelouch Lamperouge, the local driver piloting that Ganymede to what would be Ashford-RT's highest finish since 2011. Completing the podium is Kallen Kōzuki, in spite of the teams wishes, a brilliant drive that will be overshadowed by controversy. Fourth is Tohdoh, fifth is Weinberg, and sixth is Cornelia McGlynn."

"What's gonna happen next?"

Unfortunately, not a great deal. Tohdoh made several more attempts to pass, but Kallen was able to block him off, and Zhou having her engine fail due to overheating, the rest of the race was Monaco in the more traditional sense; a bit of a procession. However, as the final lap rolled on, that certainly didn't diminish the accomplishment of the winning driver, or his enthusiasm for his achievement.

"And so this is Suzaku coming around the final corner for the last time. It's been only two weeks since his careers second win at his home race, and he's already gotten a third, because Suzaku Kururugi has won the Monaco Grand Prix! The excitement in pit lane-"

"Whooo! Nicely done everyone, you've all put in such hard work, thanks for delivering a fantastic weekend. P1! That's how it's done."

"-and that was Suzaku, over the moon with his victory, and deservedly so, and here comes the Motley crew of Lelouch Kallen and Tohdoh!"

Lelouch's team radio was dominated by ecstatic excitement, however Kallens, though less dramatic, was ultimately more interesting. Ohgi spoke first, commenting drily "Good drive. Not the result we wanted, but we'll talk more in the debrief."

"You didn't hire me to drive slowly." She replied with clearly veiled frustration

Diethard collected his papers, ready to head out to cover the podium, before asking his colleague "A closing thought, if you don't mind Gottwald."

"Of course."

"The person we have to thank for this, all of this, is Shinichiro Tamaki. Without Tamaki, none of this would have happened."

"What the hell did you think-"

"Shut up!"

Kallen, fully prepared to unleash all manner of fury onto Tohdoh as they finally found some privacy in the Rebellion meeting room, was preemptively silenced from behind by Taizo Kirihara, who shut the door as he entered, leaving the three of them to sort out their issues alone.

However Kallen, not one to be intimidated by such trivial things as being outnumbered or being in the presence of your employer, and so stayed on the offensive, continuing "What was the meaning of this crap? Telling me to take myself out of the running so Tohdoh here could score, what would it be, six extra points? I'm in this Championship just as much as he is!"

"Except you're not." Taizo responded. "Tohdoh has already proven himself with two titles, and he's our best chance of winning again against the Camelots. If that's ever going to happen, we have to maximize the points our best driver gets, while they split their points by competition with one another."

It all made sense; all those concerned frowns from Suzaku, Lelouch's comment of "You make your decision, the team will make theirs.", Taizo's reference to having to "have a word with Tohdoh" after the Japanese Grand Prix, and her brothers reference to Rebellions old fashioned way of thinking. She just hadn't been the victim of it yet, and so had not noticed that the team was built around one driver.

"And you've made that call this early in the season? Presumptuous, you couldn't even keep it on the road in Japan."

Tohdoh, who hadn't spoken yet, looked immensely apathetic, clearly not enjoying this argument. While he had been aggressive in the car, his notorious quietness was fully present, leaving Taizo to speak alone. It wasn't clear to what extent he agreed with Taizo, and how much he simply wanted to drive and be rid of the politicking, but Kallen was too angry to discriminate. However, Taizo was more than equipped enough to go to bat for his driver.

"And you did well for the team in that race, but your primary mission is to ensure Tohdoh has the best environment possible to win us a World Championship, just as his engineers, pit crew, and developers do."

Kallen paused, as the penny dropped. "Did Naoto make the same deal?"

Taizo smirked, before replying "He made it eagerly, with enthusiasm, and not an ounce of doubt, because he understood that our success, the teams success, was more important than any one of us. Moreover, he had a drive, something that not many are privileged with."

For once, Taizo was wrong, and it was interestingly telling; Kallen suspected he'd accepted to help her get a seat later, perhaps after Tohdoh retired, however it was a minor detail, as what really rankled was his reference to "the team." She shook her head, and replied "More important than any one of us, except your precious Tohdoh."

"You're going about losing your wage the right way, and I'm told you have some fairly hefty medical bills to pay."

The mood of the room suddenly shifted. Tohdoh's face shifted from uncaring to uncomfortable, clearly disliking the tack his boss was taking. However, Kallen was seeing red, absolutely livid with Taizo. He was now threatening Naoto, and this would not stand. She wanted to see him embarrassed, humiliated, ruined, or any combination thereof. To yell, to cause physical injury, no, these would not suffice. Fundamentally, Taizo was wrong, and she would prove it.

"I propose a bet."

She was making a mistake, almost certainly. It was too early, she didn't have the experience-

"Go on."

"If I finish ahead in the championship at the end of the year, then I'm the lead driver going into next year. No team orders, and I get a say in how we build the car."

This was her hand. There was not a riskier play, nor one that would grant victory quite so sweet, however it risked everything on the chance that she could be fast enough to beat the champion of the world, with the team at his back.

Taizo barked out a vicious laugh, understanding the stakes, and responded cruelly "Very well! And if you lose, then you do as we say, and without pay. You'll drive behind Tohdoh as a mobile buffer, score decent points, and maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, when we find a new driver to stick in the number two seat, you'll find a team willing to hire the driver that spent three or four years playing second fiddle."

Kallen blinked. "Without pay?"

"Most people pay to drive in this sport. To be paid is a luxury you're on the precipice of losing. Or, alternatively, prove me wrong! Beat Tohdoh! Make our day!"

Kallen took in a deep breath. She steeled herself, and prepared the most vicious scowl that she could summon from the pits of her hate as she extended a hand laced with disgust.

"You're bloody well on."

Thus, we have our conflict for this first season. Certainly, Kallen has the talent to fight for Championships, but first she has to shake up her team, and for that, she has to face up against Tohdoh. Will she succeed? Find out next week! Please rate and review, it really motivates me to write more!

~Eth0