The Last Battle that Matters (Part 1)

Posted on Sat Sep 30th, 2023 @ 11:14pm by Commodore Tohru Honda & Captain Maho Takahashi & Captain Shimakaze Zh'gero & Commander Keisuke Takahashi 'K.T.' & Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke & Commander Elisabeth Churchill & Lieutenant Commander Tristana & Lieutenant Commander Ryosuke Takahashi 'Ry' & Lieutenant JG Takumi Fujiwara 'Tak' & Takeshi Nakazato 'Zack' & Lieutenant Paisley (mUra) F'rar & Lieutenant Alisha Reno & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair & Commander Rize Tedeza & Lieutenant Wyndon Rapisarta & Lieutenant Karen Kujo 'Union Jane'
Edited on on Sat Sep 30th, 2023 @ 11:21pm

1,675 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Fast & The Fleet

Everyone else had gone. The score heading into the final battle was NightKids - 7, SpeedStars - 4. Through the efforts of Nakazato and Commanders Takahashi and Misono, the NightKids' overall victory was all but certain.

While her crew had given their all in the regular crew round, Shimakaze wasn't pleased by her wife and two husbands' fumbling of the Commanders' round, and if she could beat Takahashi here, even though they would still mathematically lose, she would consider it a SpeedStars victory.

For Maho, the evening had been quite eventful. While they had started off on the wrong foot, allowing the SpeedStars to accumulate an early points lead, the NightKids had since rebounded, and though the regular crew round had ended in a tie, thanks to the efforts in the Commanders' round, victory for the NightKids was all but secure, and beating Captain Zh'gero would be the icing on the cake.

Both Captains knew what was at stake as they lined up their BNR32 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs on the starting line: Maho was driving the black R32 that Nakazato had piloted to victory earlier in the Commanders' round, while Shimakaze was driving one that was silver in color.

Tohru stepped in front of the two sports cars, knowing the power that she was about to unleash when the final round began:

"Alright, we're starting the..." Tohru began.

"Actually, Commodore:" Keisuke interjected, stepping forward. "If you don't mind, I would like to start the countdown this one time."

Tohru nodded, clearing the starting line as Keisuke took her place in front of the R32s.

"Eyes forward! Here's the countdown!" Keisuke called out, raising his hand into the air. "Starting in Gou! (Five!) Yon! (Four!) San! (Three!) Ni! (Two!) Ichi! (One!) GO!"

Keisuke dropped his hand, and both Captains went into first gear, peeling off the line and blowing past Keisuke as they rocketed towards the first corner. Neither one of them was prepared to lift and cede the early lead to the other:

In a viewing area off to the side, Jane Sinclair stood tall and cheered her Captain on. Mathematically, the contest was over, but she understood that this was about more than the agreement between the Myogi and Haruna captains. Pride was at stake. Glory. Rising to the top while your opponent spun out of control and falling further and further behind you.

She just hoped her aggressive cheers didn't deafen the person in front of her.

Despite the attempt to outrun Shimakaze for the lead, the Haruna's captain was just as fast on the gas and through the gear changes as Maho was, and with the first corner bending to the right, giving Shimakaze the inside line, Maho was forced to lift, and the silver GT-R gained the lead.

"Understood." Amatsukaze acknowledged the transmission from the first corner before turning to her and Shimakaze's two husbands. "You hear that? Our captain just secured the early lead."

"Everything is going according to plan:" Hatsuzuki responded.

"As long as our Captain doesn't try anything stupid to play with Takahashi, she'll have this race in the bag." Amatsukaze said.

Alisha snorted in laughter as she overheard the comments from only a few feet away, having left some distance between herself and Jane and shook her head, "You guys really aren't all that, you know... If I can beat one of your best, me, then you've got no idea what the Cap'n can and will do."

Amatsukaze looked ready to insult Alisha, but Hatsuzuki put out a hand to stop her.

"On the contrary, if you're putting that much faith in your captain, then you've never seen ours race:" Shimakaze said. "When she puts her mind to it, Shimakaze drives like a woman possessed, and sets a pace that even we, as her bondmates, are scared to follow:"

For the first few corners, Shimakaze's driving surprised even Maho, with the Andorian taking the corners with seemingly minimal braking, and Maho was only barely able to keep up:

She's fast! Maho thought. At this rate, she's going to start pulling ahead!

The two GT-Rs flew past the next lookout in a blur:

"The pace so far is evenly matched!" The lookout reported. "Neither driver is holding anything back!"

"Oi!" Karen called out, shifting her attention to the group of spectators gathered behind here. "Are you all going to stand around and take it like a bunch of petrified assholes, or are you going to actually do something about it?! We didn't come this far to see the Captain lose!"

"Erm... and what are we supposed to do about it?" one of the spectators remarked nervously.

"What else?" Karen grinned as she pulled out a set of pom-poms. "Make our voices loud and clear! Now who's with me?!"

Paisley was off to the side, grimacing in pain, but unwilling (yet) to go to medical. She'd be fine. Probably.

As the spectators looked on, Karen turned to face the Andorian crew and began to perform a most unusual dance.

"Move, bitch, get out the way! Get out the way, bitch, get out the way!" She could be heard chanting over and over. "Move, bitch, get out the way! Get out the way, bitch, get out the way!"

The spectators looked at one another curiously, but slowly began to join in on the chant.

"MOVE, BITCH, GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY, BITCH, GET OUT THE WAY! MOVE, BITCH, GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY, BITCH, GET OUT THE WAY!"

Jane grinned from ear to ear and eagerly — and loudly! — joined in on the chant. “Move, bitch! Get out the way!”

Clyde Th'rollo had had the misfortune of standing on the corner next to the Junior officer whom in his honest opinion had cheated her way into the big dogs' battle and won, and now he had to witness this insufferable chant. Though the Haruna's intel officer normally held his composure, this blatant mocking of his skipper sent him over the edge, and before he knew what he was doing, Th'rollo was delivering an uppercut to the junior fraudster's chin.

"MOVE, BITCH, GET OUT THE Ow fuck!" Karen shouted as the Andorian's fist connected with her jaw, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"And to think I was going to share my insight into Shimakaze's technique..." Th'rollo muttered.

Jane was at Karen’s side in seconds. Her face turned toward her injured commbadge, she subtly tapped her commbadge to open a wide channel. Then she turned to face Th’rollo.

“How dare you, sir! Your opponent gets under your skin and you assault her! In full view of internal sensors, no less.” She stood eye to eye with him, keeping herself between him and Karen. “Haruna crewmember assaults Myogi crewmember during a service competition.” She hoped that what she said would be heard by security officers, or possibly by someone working for Honda.

"So, now you're going to spoil my enjoyment, sweetheart?" Th'rollo chuckled. "How cute, but it's a game two can play."

Th'rollo smacked his combadge before Jane could stop him.

"Myogi crewmember is harassing Haruna crewmember in a show of bad sportsmanship." He said.

Tohru heard the two transmissions and sighed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." She muttered under her breath before tapping her combadge. "Th'rollo, Sinclair, behave yourselves or you will both be ejected from the holosuite: Do I make myself clear?"

Jane gritted her teeth. “Crystal, ma’am.” This isn’t over, she mouthed at him before going back to Karen.

After several corners of white knuckling the wheel to keep up with Shimakaze, Maho began to notice something: Shimakaze's lines; they were the same lines that Maho would have taken if she were in the lead.

Her racing line: Maho thought. It's practically the same as mine! It might be risky, but...

Maho's mind flitted back to a personal driving lesson she had had with Takumi:

"It's only supposed to temporarily throw your opponent off guard." Takumi had explained. "If you're serious about using this move, you have to be prepared to navigate by the lights of your opponent's car..."

Tyli Sh'Veshron was posted at a corner that the two R32s blew past. The wind from the two cars rustled the Andorian's hair as Tyli looked off into the darkness into which the two cars were vanishing.

"Seems like Captain Zh'gero is using Simulation X for this one:" She muttered. "And if she is, that means she will be using the incline to her fullest advantage..."

"Of all the..." Wyndon clamped his mouth shut as the monumental danger of what the captain was doing dropped upon him. he was practically white knuckled on the barrier, straining his eyes to see further. Victor had sent him here to keep an eye on the medical side of things while he treated the crash victim from earlier.

Paisley moved forward, bending down to the woman punched in the mouth. "Come with me to medical. I need to go; I tweaked my stupid lizard ankle," the Carjoran said. "On the way, I'll tell you about how a Cardassian would deal with that," she said, helping Karen to her feet. She tapped her comms. "Medical, can I have a transport, please? I can't walk far." She sighed. Fuck.

As Maho was preparing to make her move; she was brought out of her state of concentration by something unusual happening in front of her:

Shimakaze's R32... The hazard lights were on!

Maho was stunned as Shimakaze gracefully moved over into the normal traffic lane and began slowing down, allowing Maho to overtake in the oncoming lane. The two captains locked eyes as Maho passed.

What are you planning, Zh'gero? Maho wondered.

To be continued...

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