Rockway Stadium, 6th of March, 2049
"Welcome to the first race of the season 2049! I hope you had a lovely break through the past months. I'm your conductor Florence, and here alongside I have my co-conductor Dirk Breakwater, our Chief Executive. Today, we're starting with one of the very first new tracks settled in Nova State City, welcome to the ex-Yankee Stadium, now renamed Rockway Stadium."
"Inaugurated on the 16th of April 2009, this baseball stadium will soon celebrate its 40th years of its existence in the most unique way - by becoming part of the Anti-Gravity Racing Championship!"
"It's early Spring and outside it's a chilly yet sunny day, with forty-six degrees Fahrenheit. I'm sure that's going to help a lot of the engines of our Pilots today. Speaking of which, we start strong after the first Qualifications with a front row done by Daniel Chang, in his AG-Systems Fighter, followed by his companion Nana with the AG-Systems Agility. Moving down to the Auricom Fighter piloted by Arial Tetsuo, then three Speed Classes piloted by Kel Solaar, Sofia de la Rente and lastly John Dekka. In the last two positions we have the Auricom Agility of Anastasia Cherovoski and the Qirex Agility of Arian Tetsuo."
"Such a big surprise today with Arial there on the top three with one of the hardest ships on track to handle. Will she keep that position today on track? We'll find out very soon in the next five minutes, stay tuned in this channel!"
Barbara looked up at the screens in the FEISAR racebox, nested alongside the other three Teams in one of the old malls of the Stadium, silently on edge for their Pilots on the grid. She overheard the familiar list of checks on their respective ships, from shield energy to fuel levels, to the hydraulics and the HUD in their helmets. At last, for what felt like endless minutes piling up on her chest, the Head Technician jabbed a thumb up in the air with a vigorous movement once he fell quiet with a final "OK", and she relaxed next to her colleagues and friends. Hopefully one less thing to get too concerned about at the moment, now everything will be up to de la Rente.
"It's been ages since I've seen a stadium this full." Florence's voice echoed again in the racebox as she uncrossed her arms to rest them on the armrests in one fluid movement. "To be just the opening race of the Season, this is quite the spectacle already, imagine the very first race week."
"The eyes of the world are all on us… or that's how I feel it at this moment." Dirk added after her, checking on the screens before him for one last check on the briefings. "Alright! We're at the last minute before the start of the race! Florence, do you have anyone that you might believe they're going to snatch the first points for their Team today?"
"Dekka and Chang are on my top three despite the First Pilot of AG-Systems having failed to reach the first positions for a full second behind, due to a very poor execution of the very first shortcut on this track past the first straight. A very unfortunate Qualification time for the American pilot."
"A very interesting combo right there knowing how well they've behaved well the past Season. We'll only have to watch and see now."
The large blue screen on the starting line lit up and counted down to zero, and the elliptic tunnel erupted in the noise of the accelerating engines, jumping out the road to the first chicane of the track at high speed. The main group detached pretty easily from the rest of the bottom four, heading to the shiny new section of the track curving above an Arch of Triumph crowned by the neon red symbol of NSC, welcoming the AG Racers under its pop presence.
"With the highest agility ship of them all, Nana managed to get to the ninety degree corner of the first shortcut, beautifully jumping to the first position after the jump at the end of the Arch turn! Looks like Chang is going to protect his teammate's position as we approach the one hundred eighty turn ahead."
"The crowd is going LOUD at the top of their seats! Solaar, de la Rente and Dekka are now fighting to reach the top group as we're speaking, while we're fast approaching the entrance of the Sold-Out-Stadium itself with Nana, Chang and the unstoppable Arial, shoving her path clear with her Fighter ship!" Dirk commented as a flash of three distinctive explosions followed the trail of three distinctive rockets shot, one hitting and destroying one Bomb upon the impact. Unfortunately, the deflagration slowed down Solaar and de la Rente, giving Cherovoski an opportunity at hand when she moved past them with an elegant turn past the dust and down the long straight before the wide opening to the old baseball Stadium.
The sun shone brightly under the redesigned space, sporting an all-design inspired by the Auricom Team itself, from the mascotte to the colours around the screaming place when their Second Pilot entered comfortably through the one hundred degree glass corner a level lower to the more grandiose glass section of the track embracing the sight of the spectators. As the drones gave that sight through the feed, guiding the view back to the exit section to the starting grid where the battle to the first position truly started, Barbara's mouth opened in awe.
Halfway through the race, suddenly an alarm went off, and the Head Mechanic went to check in immediately. Much to the dismay of everyone who has rounded around his chair, the reason why it began to blare was significant.
"Rente! You're too low on Shield, absorb that Turbo, now!"
"No, I won't. I will use it to reach the shortcut above the last straight–!"
ENERGY CRITICAL
BAILING OUT PROCEDURE ACTIVATED
"RENTE!"
In a purple explosion, the ship got destroyed, and the feed moved on the pilot's seat miserably on the ground, cussing to the skies above.
"Damn! Bad DNF for Sofia on the penultimate lap! What a shot of Plasma from Solaar, unbelievable! The escort ship is now fast approaching her location as we speak, but what an unfortunate first race for the First Pilot of FEISAR." Florence commented after she regained her composure from the initial shock alongside Dirk, while the camera drones returned to film the rest of the race beyond that point.
Sofia made her way in the racebox, battered but completely unharmed, except for the heavy blow in her ego. As their medic and half of everyone standing up from their seats to check on her, including Barbara, the room erupted in a mix of joy and concern altogether.
"Sofia–" The medic began to speak louder than the rest as he moved closer to inspect her better, but her reaction was of utter frustration and annoyance in the way she dodged his steps and nearly bumped him away with her arm.
"Move off." She scoffed out, with no one stopping her from leaving the room at the backdoor.
Almost no one remained to see the ceremony of the three winners on the podium.
Race Week 1 | 13th - 14th - 15th - 16th of March
Nova State City, Downtown
A week later the disastrous start for FEISAR, and the subsequent dominance of Auricom with Arial and Cherovoski on the first and second position, followed by Solaar on the third, the real calendar began.
The affluence of people and fans from the entirety of America and the rest of the world altogether remained unchanged throughout the entirety of the "calm" days which went and passed by everyone. What remained also constant was the reeking nervousness and tensions on everyone of each Team, FEISAR was no rare exception.
"Four Events in four different days, through Thursday to Sunday, and a lot of high stakes are over the back of everyone. You can step outside and cut that friendly atmosphere with a knife for how thick it is." Casei-Jonas commented with a sigh, tossing aside his mechanic gloves stained with a mix of dirt and oil after a last minute check, successfully bringing back to life an engine in need of a shake.
"No wonder." Barbara commented back to him while she looked outside at the finely tuned FEISAR Speed being handled at Paul Jackson, in need of more training for the B Class.
After the disastrous show they had on the grid a week ago, they doubled their efforts and sessions on the tracks and on the gyms, that included herself and some of the Test Pilots who weren't directly active in their respective HQ and would participate in the Events for more points to their Team. Although almost half of them weren't present, she was still glad that she kept many good ties with them, making her always grateful whenever she'd see their familiar faces around or on the track. Bologna will be next in a few weeks, which means that she won't see them all for at least fifteen days once it'll be her turn to join the nomadic HQ and return to her homelands. That only meant that she'll be able, finally, to meet her mother once more in person. Using this happy outcome to keep her motivated through the harsh week ahead, her attention returned to the thundering engine escaping her hearing field to a far distant, yet loud brontide. Jackson was pushing that to its limits, and it was paying it off by the happy expression of the Head Mechanic, even when half concealed under the sunglasses.
The tuning and training all brought them to prepare themselves for the first Race of the week, in Downtown.
Being one of the three new tracks of the Season, the grid was mostly filled with already familiar names, but with the inclusion of the single FEISAR Speed piloted by Paul Jackson, unfortunately at the bottom at the grid that day after a brilliant Pole position for the pilots Chang, Kurlov and Solaar, respectively on Speed, Agility and Speed Classes each. Barbara mindabsently squared the rest of the names blinking on screen alongside the floating ships awaiting the start with a veiled nervousness.
"...Arian struggled with her Agility ship, surprisingly Cherovoski shone in the Qualification, getting even faster than her First Pilot, Arial, on the sixth position with her Speed ship. Too bad for Dekka today, seventh with an Agility in his hold, while the Second Pilot of FEISAR, Jackson, barely managed to reach the grid today. It feels like some tried to experiment, with mixed reactions from their respective positions…"
When the race began, passing through a low tunnel which later opened to a beautiful side of a Neo-gothic Cathedral built in Nova State City, the track had a different feeling in the B Class speed: the corners felt more tighter, the maneuvers more daring, but the barrel rolls were easier.
In a flash, a triad of Speed Classes jumped from the lower positions to the highest, respectively of Chang, Solar and Arial, while the rest remained to fistfight between Rockets and Missiles, with the poor Jackson barely holding out the fourth position that day. It didn't help the more intricate section of the circuit just past the glass road which flung them up in the skies and dipping down to a section of Capital Reach, visible through the forest of roads around them, guiding to the finish line in another spectacular sequence of whirling barrel rolls.
Few to no Pilots didn't felt afraid to try and make sure to chain three of them in a row after each fall in the waving road. It was all a test of skills, reflections and pure calculation between the shield management and the sheer search of speed through every toss and turn. If Jackson followed the more aggressive tactics of Sofia, he'd have his energy shield gone by now, so the Team felt satisfied with his final time at the fourth position, and that became a lesson to everyone present there in the racebox of FEISAR.
Within the last part of the track, the podium was already visible through the rised smog of the Rockets shoving the way for Solaar to cross the finish line in a spectacular way, followed in tandem by Arial and Chang in the end, in an uproar of celebrations across the stands. FEISAR could only pat each other on the back with a final sixth position for the British Pilot.
Nova State City, Capital Reach
The next day, it was time for the first Combat of the Season, at the same golden hour time of yesterday, at Capital Reach, with a special twist for the Pilots to adapt with.
Delia Flaubert stared up at the stage with a puzzled look mixed with utter frustration upon hearing the details of the coming events, while for Holst McQueen, his eyes shone bright in pure emotion, as if he got a lovely glance at his gold-laying eggs hen, with them being as big as the deadly AG Bombs that they could carelessly leave around the track much to their heart's contentment.
For the rest, it became clear why there were no particular Qualifications for this event.
"Are you truly sure that this is what we're going to do today and on Sunday?"
"Yes, Ms Flaubert. As presented, we'll have to use only our Speed ships against the rest, using the same Class. It'll be an interesting way to understand how to tackle this in case we have no Fighters left and we have to use… other resources." The Head Mechanic commented and reassured at the same time, but all he received were daggers from her glares.
"We must have more of them regardless, after all we all made them the most durable on track to face those overpowered of that pompous McQueen. I hope this stupid show won't be repeated in the next season." She replied with a final groan of disapproval with what she considered just something to tickle the fancy off the crowd with something unexpected than an event to take seriously. She wondered if Belmondo felt the same in this exact moment.
"Get Arial and Cherovoski ready. Let's make sure to make those of Qirex have a harder time getting first with their Speed ships made with plywood and spit."
All lined up in pairs, the four Teams appeared on the track all with their fixed Class. It'll be an "all against all" without any mercy, even with all the limitations of their arsenals and the weaker shields at their disposal, except for Auricom. The time struck zero at the billboard, and the three minutes began to clock down as the Speed ships fenced past the starting grid to head greedily toward the first Weapon Pads on the ground.
Much to the insult to the injury, on that already absurd day, no one made it out in one piece before the countdown dropped to zero.
First the AG-Systems ships were the first to fall, then came the turn for those of FEISAR, and the battle was all on for the two rivals for the crowd to lose their voices on. Halfway through the three minutes, Arial and Arian destroyed each other with an explosive finish, face to face with a Plasma on each, leaving Kel and Anastasia to fend off each other. It turned out to be a rather slow and agonising chase between a cat and a mouse, Cherovoski playing defensively with a sharp reaction against Solaar's deadly precision, a tango where both of them were reluctant to end - or even to have started in the first place.
In the end, three Mines destroyed the purple ship of the Russian pilot, but not after giving the last blow on the white ship of Cherovoski with a final Missile fired before the last weapon would've depleted his energy.
"The final score is 100 for Kel Solaar, 99 for Cherovoski and 95 for Arian. Congratulations on the podium!" An announcer from the Federation declared after he welcomed all the pilots without their AG crafts in their respective raceboxes.
The Russian Team cheered loudly for having both their Pilots taking the Pass each with ease, barely hushing the outcries of protests from the American Team just next to them. It was a miracle that no one passed on physical threats, as the air was like dormant gunpowder next to an erupting flame.
Amidst the chaos of the two, only Kel and Cherovoski stared at each other from a good distance, and a smile of a mutual approval appeared on their faces.
Nova State City, Subway
The repurposed section of few dead rails of what was once the more lively Underground Metro of the old New York became the penultimate event for them to take.
"Hello and good afternoon from Nova State City! Today we have a Sprint Race going on, and the competition is stronger than ever on the grid! Who will win on the single lap ahead on the newest repurposed Underground area?"
On the most privileged spots, the Auricom Agility of Cherovoski dominated the front row, followed behind by Solaar and Arian, her twin sister Arial remained stuck there on the fourth, the lastly, aside from the Agility ship of Kurlov, the bottom grid was dominated by AG-Systems. And for a good reason on that, none of the Belmondo Team felt secure on that track, so the brief Qualification for that race was under a more cautious pace.
Jaumé looked up at the feed being updated live under his attention, and his expression hardened in a full frown as the drones showed around the track, waiting for the start.
"This track has some of the highest use of the Mag-Strip technology so far, maybe second only to Empire Climb. Keep your attention up, guys, and keep us constantly updated if something feels wrong."
"Copy that" Chimed back through the comms the voice of the three Pilots in their respective ships.
As the zero hour struck and the engine were at full power, the Sprint Race started smoothly through the first section dividing in two parts, and immediately the AG-Systems Speed of Dekka took that path to skillfully jump higher in the grid, surpassing both Arial and Arian to remain in close proximity with Solaar. As the track returned in a straight narrow road ahead, everyone was forced to huddle up and get ready for the most intricate view they've seen so far. A 180 turn became the bane of the Auricom Speed of Arial, but was the joy for Dekka, Cherovoski and Chang, the rest had to use the glass section above in an intricate spiral, an alluring beauty of a shortcut that drove closer the other half of the grid. Nana, with his Fighter, had no other choices but to go up there. Smoothly, the Speed Pads guided him through as the blue strip kept him "glued" on the track, but at the other half his heart nearly jumped up his throat.
"Losing grip! Everything is shaking too much in the cockpit!" Blurted out in mild panic the pilot as a few alarms began to beep loudly beside, and Jaumé saw the same scene he saw months ago in Tokyo.
Preparing for the worst, he hoped that the only known solution through the last bad experience would be enough.
"Nana! Accelerate at maximum speed and catch all the Speed Pads, quick!"
As everyone in the racebox held their breaths through the cameras showing the struggling pilot in the upside section of the Mag-Strip road through the tunnel, the Speed Pads guided him out pound after pound on his seat, until he managed to get out there unharmed. Everyone gasped out in relief, followed by a few claps, but the Head Mechanic was certain that this shouldn't have happened, not in an official track supported by the Federation.
'What are those guys doing with these infernal things?' he thought in sheer frustration, but mildly relieved that everything went well in the end for their Third Pilot.
The race continued as normal, it seems that no one felt the same faulty sensation on their ships through the Strips, as the race headed to its other half of the completion through more skillcuts and shortcuts for everyone to use to their own heart's contentment. Only the bravest, though, managed to keep the pace and reach the end of the long final straight with a secure victory.
The crowd cheered the arrival of Solaar and Cherovoski past the finish once more, followed by Chang, another podium for the three of them but another long head-scratch for the Federation for sure once the celebrations would've subsided. Belmondo was on his way to demand more explanations before the Chinese pilot could even jump out his racing suit in the post-race, and they wouldn't leave until they had more to know about this nearly avoided accident.
Later that evening, Nova State City, Pir-hana temporary HQ
Malina stood there in the claustrophobic room filled to the brim with people aside from her assistant and her small équipe of Medics, in a tensed silence after the checks on all the Pilots involved in the race resulted in nothing wrong going through them. The tests resulted all negative for all the possible side effects registered in the past, from nausea to headaches to tintinniculus, but nothing.
Nana was only shaken by the experience he had but nothing bad resulted beyond that state of distress experienced. The adrenalin was long back in its dormancy state in his body.
"My job here is concluded. I have nothing to report being significant for tonight." She commented calmly while she waited there with Humpré scanning her tablet and skimming through the data collected.
Once he was done with it, he handed it back to her and returned his attention to the CEOs of the four Teams which were present on the grid.
"We thank you for your patience while we were checking on what went almost wrong today, and we came to realise that the high amount of Pilots driving through that section of the grid overpowered the generators that make it possible for the ships to drive above it safely. We take full responsibility for not having tuned it to the new Speed Class and the maximum quantity of crafts allowed to drive over safely." The man with the fiery pin explained calmly, but it was welcomed with a cold silence.
Belmondo, especially, was far less friendly today.
"That's not enough to say so, Humpré. This time I will ask my and FEISAR's experts over the matter. One of my Pilots was going to have a severe accident on the track like we had a few months prior, and you tell me that it was the fault of 'too many ships' on the Mag-Strip section? I want to see clearly myself."
"But sir, we–"
The French man didn't even let him start that he stepped up and pointed a finger at his face to direct even more successfully his demands. "Consider this as a double-check for everyone involved in the Championship. We both want the same thing after all, no? The safety of the Pilots, the safety of the crowd and at least the enjoyment of both. This shouldn't be too much to ask, no?"
Humpré paused uncomfortably, while Malina and the rest of their Medics, Engineers and Mechanics looked at each other in a mutual sensation, awaiting for the answer of their superior.
After what felt like an eternity, he stood up from his desk and stretched forward his hand toward the pioneer.
"As the CEO of the Federation itself, I will accept your request, Mr. Belmondo. We will allow your experts to look into our newest tracks throughout the next week."
As their hands met, the promise was sealed, but Malina couldn't help but feel sort of disgusted over this reaction from her CEO. He had shown weakness over a matter which was given to them, and them only. They had all the reasons to continue working on the technology safely without any other nuisances who could simply steal their patented work. This shouldn't be an affair of the other Teams, they had to continue their jobs as they would do theirs, but they were crossing the same line that they outlined in the past.
As they were all dismissed from the room, her hands tingled with fury in her veins at each heavy step, Jiménez noticed that and carefully he placed a hand over her shoulder to call her attention back to them.
"Malina, are you ok? You seem... upset. Is there anything wrong? Did they bothered you?" He politely asked, only to be met with her cold gaze to let transpire all her sentiments regarding this meeting way more directly than any words she could share.
"They won't expect what beast will appear on their faces until it'll be too late, and I'll be glad to live the moment when they'll finally understand what we're truly capable of." She spatted back as she sped up her steps to outrun her assistant, who slowed down until he stopped in the corridor to watch her go and leave his line of sight under the blank lights of the building.
Nova State City, Unity Square
The clean night skies above the track welcomed the streetlights across the familiar outline of its streets, what was unusual remained the full grid of Fighters on what shouldn't be their main events to tackle on. Arial had the best time of her life on the brief Qualifications previous to the night race, Arian, on the third position, was seething in rage as the steel of the flaming burners in hold for the race. In between them, Nana had his revenge from the shock of yesterday, and he was motivated to catch a proper victory for his Team. However, what was welcomed more dearly, was the return to the grid of FEISAR, with de la Rente in eighth position, after the disastrous Qualifications they were having somehow.
"Thank you for joining us through this intense race week, which will conclude tonight at Unity Square where the final race of the past season began. However, tonight we're with an all out twist, all the ships are Fighters on the grid! Let's see who will come out victorious on this high speed brawl tonight!"
Barbara smiled proudly at Florence on the screen of the small tv in the racebox, before the screen flicked back to the starting grid, in trepidant wait for the countdown.
"Three, two, one and… GO! Nana has no hesitations and with a marvellous jump start he snatched away the first position from Arial! The chicane gave him an ulterior boost with a very skillful barrel roll at the last jump, again, an incredible start!"
The cellphone of Barbara suddenly started to ring, and she was quick to respond as the number was of her mother.
"Hey mum! Is everything alright? How did the first check on Subway go?"
"Hey dear, um… I think there's a lot to say actually, but I'll meet up with you tomorrow after the race is over, alright?"
The silence was loud for a moment, while the rest of the noisy atmosphere for Rente jumping on the fourth position after a skillful show of might with a chain of Missiles and Cannons on the penultimate section of the race fell on deaf ears.
"Alright, no problem. See you tomorrow after breakfast then. Stammi bene, mamma."
"Ciao amore, e a domani."
Once the soft bip of the closing call brought back the Italian Pilot in the happy chaos of the box, she couldn't help but focus on the tone of her mother, and how serious she sounded despite she tried her best to remain neutral, almost happy like her usual.
If whatever she found so far was so serious to make her this concerned on the call, something wrong was on the horizon, and she wasn't really sure if she was ready to know the reasons.