The leader of JDT, Garrus, came up to Heaven and Ma’Z as they were heading towards the stands. His gleaming blue and white frame was unmistakable. The Frame was a Rounder, like his own, bearing a set of pauldrons with matching tassets around the hips.
It bore a similar knight motif like Brigand’s but much slenderer and lacking the visible weaponry that Brigand carried. The arms and legs were well armored, but the standout feature was its head that looked much like a Siamese with an armored crest.
A symbol was displayed across the chest, which he guessed to be the crest of their fraternity. A pair of sword-shaped bullets shooting past a crescent moon.
Garrus, himself, wore a similar body suit, bearing the same marks and armor motifs. The bronze tiefling looked more like a modern-day knight of the round, unlike the infiltration set he was currently wearing.
The tips of his braids were a bright blue that matched the color of his Frame, while his silver eyes complimented the white. Seeing the forward swept horns poking out of his forehead, it was starting to settle in that he wasn’t as attentive as he thought he was.
“Seriously, you’re a hard guy to track down. Took longer than I expected, at least. Every time I thought I found you, you had just left. Then when you left town, I figured my best bet was to wait here. I figured there was no way the infamous Krow would pass up a chance to come see a race,” Garrus said.
Ma’Z recoiled slightly at the mention of his alias. “Yo! Ixnay on the oh kray,” he said.
“What? That? Don’t worry about it,” Garrus said with a dismissive wave. “Don’t nobody care what your name is.”
“Hey, did somebody say Krow was here?” someone called out.
“Krow? The Krow? No way! Where?” called another.
“Leaving,” Ma’Z said and pulled away, Heaven following behind.
Garrus looked around, startled, and started to follow after. “Ah skat. I didn’t think anyone would actually overhear,” he said.
“What part of infamous did you not understand in that claim you just made, dummy?”
“Ok. Ok. I messed up. I’m sorry. But I really was trying to find you.”
“Ok? And you found me. I was hoping since you guys beat the boss, I escaped someone trying to show up to fight me down the line.”
“What? Fight you? No man, you saved our auhses. I wanted to come thank you, and to give you your split of the loot.”
Ma’Z stopped in his tracks. “I’m sorry. Did you say loot?”
“Yeah. Loot. You were headed to the stands to go see the race, right? Let’s head over there and I can get you squared away.”
Just then, Heaven cleared her throat.
Garrus looked from Ma’Z to Heaven, and his mouth dropped. “Oh, what the… No falshing… Why are you here?”
“Well, as it happens, I was trying to enjoy a date. With my fiancé. Ma’Hiz,” she said nodding in Ma’Z’s direction.
Garrus’ mouth stood agape as he blinked slowly, his brain refusing to process the words she just spoke to him. After another moment, he shook his heads as if something finally clicked and said, “Oh uh. No uh. I’ll uh- I’m sorry, princess. I uh. I’ll come back? Yeah. Yeah, I’ll- I’ll just come back another time!”
“No. It’s fine. You’re already here,” she sighed. “Besides, look at him. He’s practically got dollar signs in his eyes.”
Ma’Z, for his part, was still staring at the man expectantly.
Garrus looked at Ma’Z, then back at Heaven, and back again. “Ok, wow. Ya boy’s completely checked out,” he said.
“Oh. No. He’s completely checked in. I promise you.”
“Riiiight. To the stands then?”
Ma’Z’s expectant smile became a frown. He nodded sullenly and continued his trek into the stands.
The stands were actually a series of platforms arranged like theater seats with room for up to four Frames per platform. The first three rows of platforms closest to the track were designated as VIP seats. Once each occupant locked in their frame, the platform would then levitate to a height above the track where a series of screens would fill their Vision, projecting racer statistics, such as their names, position, and role.
Each platform also had a noise cancelling feature that kept group conversations private, and like their Frames, a screening feature that would make the platform opaque to keep prying eyes from spying.
The trio approached one such platform and headed up immediately. Ma’Z’s head kept turning as if on a swivel marveling at everything around him. The up close view of the track, the ambient sounds of different genres of music colliding against one another, and the platform itself made him feel like a kid again.
“Oh, I could get used to this,” he said excitedly.
“You should see it when the sun goes down,” Heaven said.
“Still got a few hours. Pretty sure we can find stuff to do around here until then.”
“I don’t know. So far, aside from lunch, we’ve been interrupted by one person or another. I really don’t want to make a trend of it.”
Garrus tried to look inconspicuous, but found it impossible given the confined space they were in.
“It’s fine man. I’ve already made my peace with the fact that my fiancé’s pretty famous,” Ma’Z said.
“Dude, the fraternity’s going to flip when they hear about this,” Garrus said.
“No one’s going to try to snipe my head, are they?”
“Sorry, we’re not that kind of guild. Did the princess tell what JDT stands for?”
Ma’Z shook his head.
“We call ourselves the Justice Defense Team. We’re one of the vanguard groups that tackles dungeons and the like.”
“Is that why you were out in the middle of a raid? The risk/reward ratio must be pretty high.”
“Yeah, it was a contract we received for a pretty high take. Busted machine was rampaging through a park and headed towards a Tears settlement on the outskirts.”
“And then I showed up.”
“Yeah. It took all of us by surprise, to be honest. One minute we were all in formation, chipping away at the thing, and then the next, you were just there, in everyone’s way and ruining our momentum. When I got the call some naked guy in a busted Frame was trying to wipe us, I was honestly about to RD you right there on the spot.”
“If it makes you feel any better I had just logged in. I had no idea of what was going on.”
“And you had no business being out there. What were you doing when you logged out last.”
“Believe it or not, testing my luck and doing a little bit of exploration of my own.”1
Hearing that, Garrus did a double take, as he looked to Heaven for confirmation.
Heaven shrugged and said, “He’s an odd one. That’s for sure.”
Garrus just shook his head at the preposterousness of it. “I can’t believe we were almost done in because no one saw your Frame laying idle in the middle of a field. Did you have a camouflage buff going?”
Ma’Z began to panic internally and mentally asked Heaven what did he mean?
Heaven almost yelped again as she looked at Ma’Z and thought, Our bodies are persistent. When you log out, only your consciousness goes. Your character stays exactly where you left it. So either we go somewhere back in the city or a safe zone, or you find some other means to keep yourself safe out in the wilds.
Do you have an ability like that?
Yeah, I have a spell that makes me invisible, and with my regeneration, it can remain in perpetuity for days.
Ah hell.
“Yeah, I had a spell that let me blend in with shadows” he lied.
“Had?” Garrus prodded.
“Swapped out after I got back to town. Since I was planning on racing, I decided to try for something suited for that.”
“Talk about freak luck. You’re lucky you logged in when you did then. With all the missile fire, I can’t believe you weren’t blown to pieces.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Oh, don’t I know it. Scared the shit out of me when I saw that barrage of missiles heading my way.”
Ma’Z started to laugh. A moment later Garrus joined him. Their laughter started to rise in intensity, Ma’Z trying to hide the hysterics threatening to jump out of him. Garrus due to the preposterousness that put his fraternity a hair’s breath away from disaster.
Heaven watched the two awkwardly, having a sense of perspective from both of their points of view.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Soooo, you said loot?”
Their laughter quickly died down, Garrus quickly composing himself and saying, “Uh. Right. So, believe it or not, you actually saved our auhses.”
“Eh?” Ma’Z said.
“Yeah, we had been pounding at the thing for the better part of a half hour, and within those two minutes of you arriving, you quite literally did the unthinkable and blitzed the thing and turned its own weapon back in on itself and made it kill itself.”
“Well… I mean. When you put it that way, that does make me sound pretty badass.”
“Except, by your own admission, you did it out of spite,” Garrus laughed.
“I just wanted out man. I was just trying to get back home, not fight a damned tank and get yelled at for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Woah now. You’ll get no complaints from me. You were instrumental in defeating the thing, and no lives were lost, so it was only fitting you got a cut, even if you were just a party crasher.”
“I uh. I mean thanks. I guess. I didn’t feel like I did all that much.”
“Trust me man. You did, and I’m really thankful you showed up when you did. Another five minutes and our fight would’ve been right within the settlement proper and we would’ve not only failed the contract, but cost a lot of innocent lives.”
“Well shit, when you put it that way, you make me sound like a hero.”
“Haha, don’t get a big head now. Anyway. Here. This is your take. When I found out you were basically a legendary racer in the real, it seemed all the more fitting that you should have this”
Garrus put his hand out and a trade window appeared.
Garrus wishes to trade
Do you Accept? [Yes] [No]
“Woah, thanks! Is this crafting material? What’s chrysteel?” Ma’Z asked, accepting the trade.
“Mine, is what it is!” Heaven said.
Ma’Z and Garrus turned to Heaven who had a slightly deranged grin on her face.
“Uh. Princess?” Garrus said.
“Do I really be making these faces when it comes to racing? Settle down woman.”
Ma’Z opened a trade window and handed over the material.
“Unbare doshi narimaitra otru’fin,” Heaven said.
“I mean, you’re welcome, but the fuck does that even mean?” Ma’Z said.
“It means, you have all of my naughty places, my love.”
“Woah. By the Goddess, I didn’t need to hear that!” Garrus said horrified.
“That’s what you get for crashing our date,” she shot back.
“I didn’t know!”
“Not my problem.”
“Un bah ray dough sheet. Naru. Nari-” Ma’Z tried to sound out before Heaven interjected.
“Stop it before you ruin it.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“So, the princess has another side to her after all,” Garrus said.
“Of course I do. You always see me on contract. Did you really think I would act like that in my off time too?”
“I mean. Yeah? Not like I had much else to go on.”
“You had common sense to go on,” Heaven said flatly.
“I want to argue with you, but I don’t exactly have a comeback for that.”
“You don’t really strike me as the leader of-“
## LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. TEARS, SONS, AND SYNTHERS. REDIRECT YOUR EYES AS THE RACE BETWEEN TEAM FERILAND AND TEAM DOOR BUSTER IS ABOUT TO BE UNDERWAY. I HOPE YOU’RE STRAPPED IN TIGHT FOLKS, BECAUSE THIS RACE IS GOING TO BE CRAZY! ##
Ma’Z turned towards the sound of the announcement as a grin quickly overtook his face.
Heaven gave a knowing smile as she shook her head. Turning to Garrus, she said, “If you have anything else to say, you better say it now. Once the race starts, the business hours for Casa de Ma’Hiz will be officially closed.”
“What does that even mean?” Garrus said.
“It means his mind will be thinking of nothing else but the race. He’s planning to join the circuit soon, so this is basically research.”
“I… see. Guess he didn’t get his reputation by being lazy.”
“The only other thing he’s as passionate about is building things and me.”
“He’s a crafter too?”
“Sentinel, believe it or not.”
“Oh thank the Goddess, that’s a relief. I don’t think I would’ve been able to take it if I found out we were saved by a civvy… uh… no offense.”
“Totally offended. You know, I’m not the only civvy that knows their way around a battlefield Mr. Vakkr.”
“Exception. Not the rule. So Ma’Z is planning to enter the circuits? Does he have a team?”
Garrus’ mention of teams got Ma’Z attention.
“I'm sorry. What'd you say about a team? I can't go solo?”
“Not anymore. Too much magic on the field. Whenever a prominent racer started to make a name for themselves, they were picked off in short order. Team races quickly became the default position, and then it became mandatory. So, if you want to race, you need to register a team of three.”
Ma’Z turned to Heaven who just shrugged her shoulders and said, “I honestly didn’t know that. I hadn’t really paid that close attention to the circuits, so this is news to me too.”
“Well damn. Now I have to find two more, and I don’t know anybody,” Ma’Z said.
Frantically, he began to look left and right at the surrounding platforms, trying to tease out if he could judge any of their abilities just by looking at them before finally settling on Heaven and Garrus.
Garrus, picking up immediately, threw his hands up in defense and said, “What? Not a chance. I already got a team of riders with JDT. If they found out I joined a Reaper, they’d kill me on sight… uh… metaphorically.”
Pleadingly, Ma’Z turned to Heaven who started to recoil and said, “Ma’Z, you can’t be serious. I don’t know the first thing about racing!”
“Maybe, but I followed you all over the Zastra and Darrion districts, through a tight ass cave, over a cliff and down a valley and back again. I’ve raced against people who didn’t have half the skill and control you displayed today. I don’t think I’d ever been more impressed in my life.”
Heaven could feel the heat rise in her cheeks and prayed with everything she had that it didn’t show on her face.
“Holy Three, I’ve seen a miracle,” Garrus said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen prettier freckles than I’m seeing right now either,” Ma’Z added.
“W- w- w- will you stop!?” Heaven said throwing her hands over her face.
“Ma’Hiz. Seriously man, I don’t know how you two met, and I don’t know where you’ve been up until now, but I don’t think I can thank you enough right now,” Garrus said.
“Huh? What did I do?” he responded.
“Heaven’s got a bit of a reputation as one of the most no nonsense yautshi’s in the city. Like, not in a bad way, but definitely a bit aloof and to the point. So this is just a refreshing moment to know she’s not all business, all the time.”
“I’m not that bad!” Heaven said, having somewhat emotionally recovered.
“Eh, she seemed pretty relaxed with the other Reapers, though she is a bit overly professional when she’s on the clock. A bit of that old military discipline shining through, I guess,” Ma’Z said.
“Oh? Well that explains a lot then,” Garrus said.
## AND THERE THEY ARE FOLKS. TEAMS FERILAND AND DOOR BUSTER ARE TAKING THEIR POSITIONS. WHO WILL CROSS THE FINISH LINE FIRST?
WILL IT BE TEAM FERILAND? OR WILL TEAM DOOR BUSTER PULL OFF A MAJOR UPSET VICTORY?
THE COUNTDOWN IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. I’M GETTING EXCITED FOLKS. MAKE SURE TO PLACE YOUR BETS. LET THE RACE BEGIN!!! ##
Ma’Z turned to his attention back to the track, keeping an eye on the window displayed against the screen that displayed the racers at their starting position.
Meanwhile, Heaven turned to Garrus, pointed at Ma’Z and mouthed, ‘Watch.’
Ma’Z was already setting up the HUD in his Vision in a flurry. He pulled up the names of each racer, their Frames, and a line graph set against a timetable to measure their performances at each turn on the track. They were separated by their team colors. Chrome red for Team Feriland, and metallic blue and gold for Team Door Buster.
The countdown had already hit zero, and he was thankful that his Vision recognized his mental commands, arranging his desires exactly as he envisioned it in his mind’s eye. Now that he knew that all the races consisted of teams of three, it turned everything he knew about the rules on its head.
Looking at the lineup, Team Feriland consisted of two rounders and a scout, while Team Door Buster had two titans and a scout. In terms of pure speed, Team Feriland should have had the clear edge, but almost immediately Ma’Z realized how much of a mistake it was to think of the titans as being the slowest of the three.
While they were heavy, they were also built for power, and in this race, that seemed to translate to being able to burn their boosters far longer than he thought possible.
Instead of questioning it, he opted to simply take it as fact. It was happening right before his eyes, and while the two titans were still behind the rounders, they were using their slip stream to steadily close that gap.
The two scouts, however, were essentially neck and neck, running side by side, gaining and losing ground with each turn. Team Feriland’s all chrome red Frames were easy to keep track of even at the distant end of the track, making it easier to compare his map data to what he saw in front of him.
In his mind’s eye, he was constructing his own view of the track, using the lead scout’s position as a mental anchor determine where he was and how fast they were going.
Garrus watched with rapt curiosity as Ma’Z lifted his hands and began to mimic driving alongside them.
Using Yemaya, Heaven tapped against Garrus’ Frame to get his attention and said, “See? Goner.”
“So, he’s just not going to respond to anything I say?”
“Not really. For example, he can ‘hear’ you, but unless you speak certain trigger words to him, his brain is just going to filter them all the way out of his head and into oblivion.”
“That’s crazy. It’s almost like a battle trance. What’s he doing anyway?”
“Uh, if I remember correctly, he’s constructing a mental image of the track in tandem with the overhead map. From there he plots the best line to follow, and how to efficiently navigate each turn.”
“He can do that?”
“As vivid as if it were reality itself, from the way he describes it. The good news is, once they start the second lap, he’s going to flip, and probably snap out of it.”
“Uh, wow. Ok. I’m even more surprised that he chose Sentinel over Civilian.”
“That makes two of us. But then again, I chose against type too, so I don’t exactly have much room to talk.”
“Oh right, he did mention something about being military.”
“Yup. Combat specialist. Ma’Z though, is basically a hobbyist engineer. From weapons to robotics, he’s made a pretty wide variety of stuff over the years. He did a stint in college, but quit soon after, which is about when we met.”
“Been together ever since, huh.”
“Not really, but not really something I’m planning to discuss either. No offense.”
“Ah. Uh, understood. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, Garrus. I like our arrangement, and I don’t want to muddy it up by bringing our personal lives into it.”
“Yeah, uh- Yeah, that makes sense. Guess I got a little carried away seeing as I’ve never seen this side of you before.”
“Well, I guess count yourself lucky then. Ma’Z is pretty good about bringing my walls down.”
“Sounds like a special man.”
“Yeah. He is.”
Just then, Ma’Z jumped out of his trance, looking at the racetrack with utter incredulity. Turning to Heaven, he pointed at the track and said, “What. In the fuck. Is that?”
Heaven smiled, looking at her fiancé amusedly and said, “That, my dear, is what we call combat racing.”
Ma’Z’s face became even more horrified as Heaven smiled even wider. “I said I could only show you better than I could tell you,” she said. “And let me just say that that is why you need a team.”