DRIVE II

[Rakoua]

You may want to read DRIVE, also in the writing forum, before reading this.
DRIVE II

5 years after the events of DRIVE...

Interstellar highways. Sven wondered who thought that confining all interstellar travel to a single ten lane highway was a good idea. The lanes were placed in a circular pattern, with a service lane in the middle. Perhaps the design worked in times when interstellar navigation was difficult and travel was rare, but now it is just... annoying. Especially at the tollbooths. There was a who knows how long traffic jam at one of those tollbooths, and Sven was stuck in it. He and his family were supposed to go to a pleasure planet on a vacation, but it seemed that they won’t make their reservation. Traveling outside of the highways was illegal but he didn't really care. The only thing stopping him from getting out of the highway was the fact that he waited for ten hours now and was quite committed. On the service lane, however, he saw a white shuttle going at high speeds in his direction. Possibly a street racer. He then saw a bunch of police shuttles chasing the shuttle, emitting a polaron pulse to try and slow the racer down. They couldn't. But suddenly, the white shuttle was passed by a black one and it suddenly started spinning and...

Ten days later...

Sven woke up in a hospital, connected to various machines. Suddenly, a few doctors ran into the room and checked his status. After ten days in a coma he was finally stable.
“Sven? Can you hear me?� One of them asked, as Sven stared into the ceiling.
“Yes, I can hear you. What happened?� Sven asked. He couldn’t feel his left leg, and when he pushed himself up he realized that it had been amputated.
“You survived a horrible crash… your family… was killed…� The doctor couldn’t continue as Sven suddenly caught his collar and pulled.
�WHAT HAPPENED?� He yelled, angry. Apparently, the only injury he had was the missing leg. The doctor pushed Sven’s hand away and started speaking.
“A street racer named Tereo Helsy, the brother of Serena Helsy, was racing against Servatu Rexi, the street racer that is currently on the top of the most wanted list. As Servatu always does, he let Tereo get in front of him and then took him out later. This time, however, Tereo lost control and smashed into you. You ejected, but your family… they were all killed… We tried to save them…� The doctor finished. Sven released him and relaxed a bit. Now he knew who’s fault it was… and he would avenge his family… or join them in death.

The new prosthetic leg worked perfectly. Sven, however, didn’t. While driving to Trenios City on Earth, he almost crashed two times. The loss of his loved ones changed him. No longer was he the ambitious racer from five years earlier. He only wanted to take down Servatu Rexi, and scatter his remains over half the known galaxy. Arriving in Trenios, he landed and took a monorail to Kenji Uesugi. Kenji had retired from professional racing and now drives his modified SkyScape Cruiser on special tracks in Alpha Centauri when he is asked to. Sven knocked on his door.
“Sven! What a surprise! I heard about your family… horrible… I hope someone rips the guy who did this apart and scatters his remains over half the known galaxy.� Kenji greeted Sven, but the visitor wasn’t interested in talking.
“I want you to come with me to the Asteroid City and help me obliterate Servatu Rexi.� Sven said, somewhat coldly.
“Whoa… whoa… slow down, Sven… Come in, I’ll show you something.� Kenji said, and the two went inside to Kenji’s living room. There was a large screen on one of the walls. Kenji pressed a button and a list of names appeared.
“That’s the Asteroid City underground. As you see, on the top is Servatu Rexi. He is the most notorious driver in the city’s history. You will have to prove your worth in racing before you can take him on.� Kenji said, sounding concerned about Sven.
“Okay, let’s tune up my car.� Sven said, and Kenji sighed, as they went to the parking bay… Later that day, they finished the modification, adding some five hundred thousand more miles per hour to Sven’s engine, and putting some racing stripes. During the painting process, Sven accidentally painted a stripe over his arm, resulting in some laughing from Kenji. The two then went to see Rakoua.

Rakoua Nehori lived in the Alpha Centauri system, in the space station at the starting line of the Centauri Transstellar race. He worked in the astrometry lab in the Star Racing Federation, planning routes for new races. Alpha Centauri is very close to Asteroid City, which is located in its Oort cloud. When they knocked on Rakoua’s door, nobody was inside. They asked some people they met in the hallways and they all said that Rakoua wasn’t seen since yesterday. They went to the hangar, somewhat disappointed, but then they saw a heavily modified shuttle speeding into the hangar and landing close to them. Inside was Rakoua, who recognized Kenji’s car and walked to them, stopping them from leaving.
“Where have you been?� Sven asked, annoyed by Rakoua not being where he was supposed to be.
“Confidential, Sven. Now, mind explaining why do you have a blue stripe on your arm?� Rakoua replied, smiling.
“Uhh… nothing.� Sven said.
“Didn’t you hear about the accident?� Kenji asked.
“Of course I did, news like that spreads trough this station like space flu. I just didn’t think it would be a good idea to remind Sven here of it… You have my deepest sympathy, Sven.� Rakoua said, as they went to his office.
“We came to ask for your help to get revenge on Servatu Rexi.� Sven said, coldly. Rakoua suddenly stopped and told them to go back to the hangar.

When they came to the hangar, Rakoua led them into the shuttle he came in.
“Servatu Rexi? Are you crazy? He’s on the top of the wanted list in Asteroid. You’ll have to take on his team members too first. They’re pros. The best of the Asteroid underground. They’ll rip you to pieces and spread your remains over half the known galaxy.� Rakoua said, sounding like Sven lost his mind.
“How do you know that, Rakoua?� Kenji asked.
“Well, I might go there every now and then to make some cash in racing… and that Rexi guy destroyed me. He gives you a false sense of security and destroys you in the end. I barely escaped crashing. You aren’t a street racer, Sven. Keep out of it.� Rakoua replied.
“So… you’re a street racer? That’s strange.� Sven said, taking a brief look at the controls. They were similar to the ones in normal racing, but had some extra boosters and no safeties.
“Pretty much. Well, if you need to get revenge on Rexi, I can get you to him. You’ll need a team though.� Rakoua said.
“Well, you and Kenji can help me… right?� Sven replied, and Rakoua nodded, not convinced that it will work.
“Well, I guess we’re going to Asteroid City…� Kenji stated and they went into their shuttles.

Asteroid City may not be a very original name, but it is accurate. Located on several asteroids in Alpha Centauri’s Oort cloud, it has a complex network of streets and roads that are perfect for extreme street racing. The Asteroid Arena is known for its common races, but most of the excitement is on the street. There is one street in the city in particular which is famous for street races. The 33rd street is wide and long, and crossed by bridges between massive towers that surround it. Police monitors this street closely, but there are street races in it almost weekly. Kenji, Sven and Rakoua came here to look for Servatu Rexi, who commonly races here. And they saw him. A black shuttle speeding trough the street followed by two green ones and chased by police.
�Rexi. We’ll distract the two other races, you intercept him.� Kenji said, and the three separated. The race was on.

Servatu saw Sven rapidly approaching in his rearview mirror.
“Who is this guy?� He thought, speeding up. Sven sped up too, and caught up. Servatu wasn’t used to seeing anyone catch up to him just like that, and tried to knock Sven out of the race by smashing into him, but Sven slammed on the breaks, letting Servatu pass right in front of him, and then took the opportunity and passed him. Still, Servatu slammed the nitro and won the race. In the meantime, Rakoua and Kenji were beating the other two racers by a mile. They passed them almost instantly, possibly because the street racers smashed into each other. The police was hot on their tail, though. Still, blocking street racers on a 3D street was difficult, so Kenji skillfully passed between the shuttles in the blockade and Rakoua passed trough the hole Kenji made in the formation. In the end, there was a massive explosion as the chasing police shuttles smashed into the blockade, destroying half of the vehicles in a satisfying fireball that, unfortunately, didn’t last long in vacuum.

“Who are you?� Servatu Rexi asked Sven when they landed near the finish line. Kenji and Rakoua came some two seconds later.
“I am Sven Sarrye. You may have heard about me… You smashed that guy into me a few days ago.� Sven replied.
“Sarrye… Sarrye… is that with one or two R?� Servatu laughed. He didn’t really remember or care. He heard of Sven, though, five years ago.
“You idiot.� Sven said, trying to punch Servatu, but was stopped by Kenji.
“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you today. And apparently, you’re lucky I didn’t kill you ten days ago. Don’t push your luck, though. Heh. You’re in the asteroid underworld now. Maybe I’ll see you once racing against those kids on skytrikes.� Servatu continued laughing. Sven ignored him.
“I want a race against you. Now.� Sven said, determined.
“I told you, space trash, go race with those kids on skytrikes. Who knows, you might learn something. Or, if you want to get killed, you and your little friends can race some of the newcomers in my gang.� Servatu replied, still laughing.
“If you want to punch him now, I won’t stop you.� Kenji whispered, but Servatu heard it and just laughed harder. He then returned to his shuttle and raced away.

Later that day, Sven and Rakoua were driving along 71st street, the location of the next race against Servatu’s team will be, looking for shortcuts, when on one alley, they saw his shuttle and a police one.
�Looks like Rexi got caught..:� Sven said, but Rakoua wasn’t so sure.
�Perhaps the police is just doing a check on his shuttle. I don’t think that such a racer would get caught.� He said, as the Kenji slowed down a bit to check it out.
A few hours later, the three were at the starting line along with three other racers, all driving black shuttles. The traffic light was still red, but as soon as it was green, they activated their engines and sped into the crowded street…

Rakoua evaded some weapons fire from one of the black shuttles, but one of the shots hit his engines and they started to fail. He attempted to compensate, and succeeded, leaving Servatu’s henchman in the dust. He then released omicron particles from his engine’s exhaust, which caused the other shuttle to lose control and stop. Sven had it easy, actually, Kenji making a diversion but the two blocked his way using a shortcut they made by shooting at some buildings. Kenji crashed into one of the blocking shuttles, ejecting in the last second. While trying to guide his escape pod to land, he saw Servatu’s shuttle exiting the alley and the police one following it. At first they were slow, but soon a chase started.
“Rakoua? Rakoua?� Kenji said over the communication link.
“Kenji? What happened? You crashed?� Rakoua yelled because of the interference in the city.
“They blocked my way. Come get me, and make sure the guy following you is disabled.� Kenji yelled.
“Okay, he’s disabled.� Rakoua replied, and picked up Kenji’s escape pod.
“Go left to 31st, we need to find out what is Servatu up to. And go fast. Do you have cloak paint, maybe?� Kenji said.

The last black shuttle was not chasing Sven, trying to crash him and kill him once and for all. Sven skillfully dodged a few weapons shots, but one scratched some paint.
“Okay, you’re a goner.� Sven said, looking at a massive scratch on his paintjob. Sven flew over a bridge going over the street, the black shuttle following him and almost crashing.
�You just never quit, do you?� Sven was angry, and spun his shuttle, trying to confuse his opponent. It didn’t work, and the black shuttle almost passed him, but Sven blocked in the last second. The black shuttle started spinning, losing control, and smashed into Sven’s shuttle just a few meters from the finish line, both shuttles passing it simultaneously, but the black shuttle exploded, killing its driver instantly.

“Of course I have cloak paint.� Rakoua said, pressing a few buttons, and paint started changing color until they were invisible.
�Now, mind explaining?� Rakoua said, confused.
“I have reason to believe that the evil Servatu Rexi is actually a police spy.� Kenji said, shocking Rakoua.
“What reason?� Rakoua asked.
“Well, the chase started slowly, and they seem to coordinate it to make it seem as convincing as possible and perhaps to help boost Servatu’s rule over the underworld.
“So, okay… check all frequencies for one between those two.� Rakoua said, and Kenji did that.
“Here.� Kenji said, typing in 3216 MHz on the radio and they could hear a conversation…

Sven landed near the finish line, waiting for the others to come. He didn’t get any news from Kenji and Rakoua and was quite worried.
Suddenly, a man in black robes that completely hid his face came to him.
“Sven Sarrye.� The man said, and Sven turned. Someone else, apparently a woman, came too, also in black robes that hid her face. Still, it was apparent that she had long black hair with a little pink on the edges.
“Who are you?� Sven asked. He didn’t really care though. He couldn’t even connect the dots concerning the female.
“That isn’t important. The important thing is that we want to help you destroy Servatu Rexi.� The female said.
“And why would you help me?� Sven asked, confused.
“We have our reasons. One of them is that he almost killed me. The other is that he is an undercover police officer pulling strings , making sure that we get caught. We need to kill him, or the whole street racing ring will be crushed.� The male said, not showing emotion.
“And what are you going to do?� Sven asked.
“We are going to set up an energy string on the next race, some two hundred meters from the finish. Check your heat scanners, it will show on them.� The female said, equally emotionlessly.
If Sven was like he was before the crash, he would have connected the dots and stopped them from doing that. But at the moment, he wasn’t, and he was ready to do anything he could to get his revenge…

“Roadblock on 2nd street, pattern delta, you can pass on the left side.� A police officer said, not aware that Kenji and Rakoua were eavesdropping.
“Okay, take the shortcut and intercept me, and make it close.� Servatu replied, also not aware of that. Kenji terminated the link.
“Apparently, I was right.� Kenji said, amazed at how elaborate it all was. Rakoua just sat there and looked surprised.
“We have to tell Sven about this.� Rakoua said, making the shuttle visible again.
“Let’s go.� Kenji said, and they went to Sven. When they told him that Servatu was an undercover policeman, Sven just nodded.
“You won’t race in the final showdown.� Sven said.
“Why?� Rakoua asked, surprised.
�Because. You will watch as I destroy him, as I want to do it alone.� Sven said, and entered his shuttle. They then went to a hotel.

The next day was race day. Rakoua, of course, wasn’t convinced that Servatu wouldn’t use some dirty tricks, like he did before. He was sure that the spy still thought that his cover still worked, so he was allowed to do pretty much anything. Perhaps even the police set up the traps. So, he left Kenji asleep in another room in the hotel and turned on the invisibility paint, making sure that Sven didn’t see him. He then went to the starting line and raced along with Servatu and Sven.
At first, Servatu was winning, speeding along the street with a false sense of security. Apparently, Sven gave him a taste of his own medicine when he passed him, not leaving Servatu any room to pass him again. It was a dirty trick, one could say, but it worked. The race proceeded slowly, Sven being careful not to let Servatu pass him. Rakoua didn’t like the slow progress, being a racer and liking fast speeds. At times, his hands drifted to the nitro button. Apparently, so did Servatu’s. Sven’s didn’t, and that was what mattered. Until Servatu suddenly, turned into a shortcut that Sven didn’t notice when he checked the street map, and when the two met up again, Servatu was in front, and he didn’t care about going slow.

The race suddenly got fast, and they were getting close to the finish line. Sven didn’t like getting passed and sped up, until he passed a very incautious Servatu. The finish line was in sight, and Rakoua noticed the energy string. Servatu didn’t. He thought that Sven would crash into it but he just dodged it. Servatu, however, was on a collision course… Rakoua sped up, and pushed Servatu down and under the string which sliced a part Rakoua’s shuttle like knife trough butter. It also depressurized Rakoua’s cockpit. He tried to eject, but by the time the force field was active, he crashed into one of the buildings in a massive fireball. The building exploded into the vacuum, fueling the fireball with enough air to engulf the entire street, causing massive damage. Servatu just barely escaped. Sven noticed that Servatu was unharmed, and got really angry that it didn’t work. He just continued driving until he exited the city.
“Medical emergency in sector 7!� Servatu yelled over the communication link, trying to get someone, but he then saw an escape pod. After scanning it for life signs, he only got some weak neural activity… whoever was in that pod, died a few moments ago.
“One down, two to go.� The robed female with black hair with a few touches of pink on it said, and started laughing.

The end, for now.


May make DRIVE 3 or even a RPG concerning this.

[Dudebot5000]

Well, I didn't see that coming. =P

Personally, with a bit more detail and plot, this could make a fine epic. It may just be me, but the story just seems kinda rushed. Just include some more detail about Sven meeting up with Rakoua and Kenji (Perhaps even make Sven have to talk them into it because they could refuse at first =P) and hold the police discovery out a bit longer (I'm all for Kenji being smart, but it'd be nice to see some more clues leading to the discovery =P)

In other words, the only thing that I think could make it better would be to make it longer and more detailed. Aside from that, it's pretty good. Nice use of explosives. =D

[Kritzelei]

Wow, that was brilliant! Although, it does sound like you have a huge grudge against me all through the story . Only joking, I have to say, I can't wait for DRIVE 3 or DRIVE RPG.

I agree with Duckbot, you could make it into an epic if there was a bit more detail.
TBD

[Rakoua]

Duckbot:
Thanks!
I didn't have any more space for any detail, this si pretty much the first version I made because all the others would have had like ten pages or so, which would get kinda boring. If this was made an epic, each paragraph would probably have its own chapter.
Also, Sven didn't give them any time to object, besides, Rakoua knew very well that in street racing, the odds have to be even and they pretty much destroyed Servatu's team.
I gave clues leading to the discovery, two actually.

I'm all for explosives. If a DRIVE RPG will ever be, there will be explosives.

Servatu:
Thanks! Yeah, they do. If I make DRIVE 3 before the RPG, probably I'll tie some ends of this one, like why did Servatu almost kill Sven and who are those two in black robes, even tho that might be obvious. Also, I never said that Rakoua was really killed for those of you who like mysteries.

[Magical Girl Mimi]

Awesome stories, Raks. Now I can't wait for the RPG to actually start. *Looks at TBD*

[Rakoua]

Thanks
It's interesting tho, I do have *Static* .

[Magical Girl Mimi]

And I think it's fairly obvious who those two cloaked people are. Given that one of them essentially gives away who he was.

[Rakoua]

Yep, it's obvious, very obvious. What they wanted isn't.
But I don't think that a storyline of a hypotetical DRIVE RPG I would be working on would focus on it.

[Magical Girl Mimi]

Yeah, it'd be best to save that one for the rest of the actual stories, if there are more.

... And hypothetical? =P

[Rakoua]

More...
And yes, hypothetical, maybe...

[Magical Girl Mimi]

*Coughs* Hypothetical? =P

[Master X: Neo Black]

Wow! That is crazy awesome! I cant wait for the RPG or next story!

[Rakoua]

Blades: Yes.

Master X: Thanks!

[MsRowdyRedhead]

Awesome stories, Rak... we want more!

[Sim533]

Really good stories. Like what MsRR said: We want more. 

[Rakoua]

Thanks!
About more: I dunno, time ius a big constraint, maybe...
I have the storyline all worked out tho.