Amaranthine Skyways

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

Rominau tromped off and a voice buzzed in her ear. "Oh good, you didn't end up in the antimatter container," she said cheerfully. "Comfy?" Which she was the one to talk - death-inspiring sex wasn't exactly something you can skip through daisies after. The leather didn't very much help too, but at least she looked fantastic in it.

Was she scared? Fantastically, but this was the kiddie table compared to New Canton. Kali carefully eased onto the bike until she was properly mounted on its reliable, steady seat. She let out a tiny sigh of pleasure from the pressure.

Wilde approached from the pit stop with Rominau in tow. "Kali in her natural habitat. I'm kind of amazed that we're seeing it outside the bedroom."

"Ha! That implies you've actually seen me in one," Kali shot back. These 'Kali is easy' jokes never got old, but she's certainly got plenty immune to it. It was almost flattering.

Rominau revved up his Vesperi 8800-X, which was top of the line in the racing circuit this year and something Kali couldn't help but whistle at. "You look a bit stiff tonight, Reyes. Did a bit of polish of your riding skills beforehand?"

"Funny, I was gonna say the same thing," she teased.

Wilde leaned up against the side of her bike. "You're not seriously taking that Nyxis out there are you?"

"It works, doesn't it?"

"It's been obsolete since 2385."

Kali wrinkled her nose cutely at him. "It's a classic. I built him myself. Don't let the casing fool ya - I've got plenty of surprises in this handsome stud." She patted the paneling along the engine. "Such a good boy."

"You mean girl," Rominau said under his helmet.

She scoffed and stuffed her helmet on. "I don't ride girls. Neither do you." She cackled while driving off. Rominau threw his hands up with exasperation in her side view mirror. Once she reached the starting area, she managed a bit of privacy to speak to Mahak. "I put my will out just in case. I'm giving you Joffrey because I know your parents would love that."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Computer Core]

Mahak squirmed as he tried to straddle the unforgiving metal between his legs.

"=/\=I am not here for comfort." The Vulcan in him replied, but even he had a tone of testiness to his voice. "=/\=I'll be fine."

Mahak heard Reyes's end of the back and forth between her and their competition. Rominau was rattled, despite all of his bravado. He wouldn't be posturing so hard if he was not insecure. Mahak nodded, silently, to Reyes as she gave more than she got in the exchange. Unlike her opponent, she sounded confident, not cocky, a confidence born of skill and determination. Perhaps she will not even need me at all.

"=/\=I am still accessing the core,=/\=" Mahak said. The breath from his words shook free a swirl of dust, and the Vulcan struggled mightily not to sneeze. "=/\=You will be on your own until I can. Good luck, Kali."

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

Kali checked out the competition through her visor. There were only six racers in all - and most were there for a really big paycheck or just plain insane. A sleek looking Orion woman decked out a warp spoiler on the back of Altaira ES-90 had electrical sparks painted along the back back end. She flipped up her visor and laughed at Kali's Nyxsis in all it's sunflower colored glory.

They lined up at the starting line. Before them was no race track. Over the edge was endless sky and one hell of a drop. It was only after the announcer finished up the attendance list and a large matter re-sequencer activates beneath them. A shimmer of light and hologram opens the race track to them with enough curves and angle drops that could easily careen you off of it if you weren't careful.

Kali audibly gulped into her mic. "Well I'm dead. It's been an honor sleeping with you, babe."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Core]

"=/\=It has likewise been a privilege." Mahak replied dryly.

He was almost in. The security surrounding the Kuiper's computer was strong, with multiple redundancies and firewalls, but Mahak thought he had it.

"=/\=The race should begin soon. You will need to focus. You will know when I gain access." Mahak told her. "=/\=Do not react to it or we will be discovered."

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

They barely inched their way out the starting line when a mishap happened. Out of nowhere, an entire cargo crate of gravitic magnets came down over their heads and Kali turned her bike off quickly to avoid her internal battery from exploding along with the others.

Racer number five wasn't so lucky. The Andorian jumped off his bike to pat out the sparks off his jacket thanks to his system going haywire. But the digital flag was already waved down and Kali kicked hard on the throttle to navigate the mines and catch up to Rominau, who was already blithering about amateur night.

"That wasn't you, was it?!" Kali asked over her headset as they made their first hair-raising turn.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Core]

"=/\=That was improper securing of a cargo load,=/\=" Mahak replied. "=/\=Federation Trade Safety Regulation 7G, as I recall. No, I have just now gained access. Do not react and remain safe, but observe the following."

The race directly to the left of Reyes suddenly disappeared from view. By observing the aft sensor readout or viewer she could see that the fast diminshing bike had been ground to an utter halt, spilling the rider across the track.

"=/\=I have interrupted the signal between the track and the vehicle, though I did not intend to cause the operator to be thrown from the vehicle."

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

One racer was quickly picked off - a funny-looking alien who was probably from the Beta Quadrant was suddenly thrown off his bike amidst the roar of the crowd.

Yebix has been dethroned! Looks like you picked on the wrong horse tonight, Binary Affairs! Two racers have already been taken out on this race and we've barely hit the first quarter! Ow! That put our Orion dark horse Fro from the lead to lag behind Rominau and Reyes! What nefarious accident will come up next?!

Slow and steady had been no one's idea, though it should have. Kali nerves were on fire after someone ahead of her somehow crossed a proximity mine and went skyrocketing overhead. That was when she noticed a checker board of blinking lights along the track. While she drifted around to avoid them, the Orion woman was dogging on her tail.

The front prongs of her bike cackled with energy. She intended to shock the hell out of Kali first before she cleared the mines.

Kali should have really invested in the graviton tacks earlier.

"Dammit! Back off!" she growled over her shoulder. "Don't taze me, Fro!"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Core]

Mahak was listening to the race announcer in his ear while listening to Reyes in the other. When he heard she was having a problem with the racer called Fro, he acted.

"=/\=Kali, remain clear of Fro. Slow down to let them pass if you have to." Mahak told her, his fingers busy on the portable computer. "=/\=Standby."

An exotic cargo unit, an automated antigrav unit used to move matter too sensitive to transport, swooped over the pair of racers. It clacked its prehensile claws together.

"Uh oh! It looks like one of the cargo haulers is choosing this moment to malfunction! What a development!"

It snatched Fro's entire bike up in its claws and shot upward so fast that it was gone from sight, the only sound a dwindling scream. Unseen to the racers, Mahak made sure it landed its new cargo safely.

"=/\=Are you feeling gratitude that I am on your side, Kali?" Mahak asked, coming as close to a quip as he ever could.

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

Kali jeered off and narrowly missed a proximity mine getting away from Fro, but may have 'accidentally' slammed against Rominau in the process. He tried to kick her off and only succeeded because they were smack dab in the path of a very large mine that would have blown them apart.

She scrambled somewhere behind Fro and that was where the Orion was unceremoniously picked up like some kind of demented crane game. Kali almost fell of her bike in horror. "What the f-"

Before she could comprehend saying anything, the ground area was pointing downwards, indicating a drop off. She tried to slow down to compensate; she didn't know if the dropdown had a dangerous turn in it, but Rominau suddenly rear ended her and any joke that came to her head was lost the moment she careened over the dropdown at too much speed.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Core]

Mahak opted for something simple for the remaining racer, a person unknown to him. Rominau would have a surprise coming, but his bike was also the most advanced. He would take more time.

"Open up in there!"

The voice rattled Mahak out of his work. There was urgent banging on the bulkhead and the sound of panels being removed.

"You have compromised Federation security," The voice said. "Cease what you are doing immediately and cooperate."

"=/\=Kali, i am afraid I am no longer able to help you." Mahak told her in an urgent whisper. "=/\=I am initiating emergency transport protocol."

He activated the tiny beacon in his hip pocket. In an instant, he, the computer and any trace of him was whisked away, back to their quarters.

[Quarters]

Mahak sank to the floor and very nearly cried out in pain. He curled up in a tiny ball of pain. Hours of having that strut dig into his groin had robbed him of the ability to walk for the moment. Soon, he was on his feet, but he had never had so much pain rising from a knockdown in boxing. Apparently, Kali Reyes and metal were tougher on his body than the ring.

"=/\=Computer, put on the race." was all the eloquence he could manage. Reyes appeared on the room's computer screen.

Mahak pulled himself up and laid on the bed for a few minutes, simply feeling the luxury of not having something digging into his body. It felt like sheer bliss.

His computer and equipment were on the ground. Reluctantly, he got to his feet. The phaser was right where he'd left it, in the dresser drawer. He vaporized the computer, PADDs, and transport beacon. There was no evidence left of his involvement. The only thing he had saved was his comm.

"=/\=I was very nearly apprehended by security." Mahak said. "=/\=I had to abort. You will have to beat the last two racers on your own."

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

"That's okay!" Kali squealed halfway down the ramp. It was near at a ninety degree angle and she could feel her stomach climb up to her throat from the sheer drop, but she was in the lead...

...until Rominau suddenly snagged her tail end with a grappling hook and slowed her down. He pulled on ahead, but not before giving her side a sharp kick in the hope of sending her sprawling off the track. Unfortunately for him, she anticipated it and gunned forward.

She breached the lead on her skybike because she narrowly avoided that bastard Rominau side-winding one of the racers right over the skyway. It could have been her - should have been her - but her sudden brake kept her from a one-way ticket to terminal velocity bulleting down the atmosphere.

Kali flipped Rominau off with a gloved finger as soon as she found him tailgating her. It was too bad he couldn't see her stick her tongue out at him underneath her helmet.

But then all of a sudden, the raceway beneath them exploded and launched the poor sod in first place up over them in the artificial air. Kali tried to sidewind herself into breaking before speed ended up careening her over the cliff, but Rominau's bike crashed into her's from behind either in malice or genuine confusion. They ended up skidding over the fractured road and would have taken the plunge down below if Kali didn't manage to grab a hold of what was left of the road of the other side.

She gasped in surprise and held on tight to the edge as something heavy tried to pulled her down. Looking down, Kali found that Rominau had grabbed a hold of her legs and was trying to climb up over her to safety or send them both plummeting down. Kali unbuckled her helmet with her free hand and tried to smack him over the head with it as they dangled.

Caught up now? Great! Didn't ask for this. Okay, maybe I did.

"Oooh, looks like ALL of our racers are in trouble!" The announcer screamed out. "Reyes and Rominau are barely holding on!"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Quarters]

"=/\=Steady. You will be alright. Do not let--=/\=" Mahak was saying into his comm to Reyes.

The door slid open so sharply that it rocked off its treads. An enormous Nausicaan lowered his arms and barged into the room.

Mahak was on his feet in an instant, and regretted it. His groin dragged at his movements. He barely had a moment to ready himself before the big alien tackled him.

He found his feet leaving the ground as he was carried across the room. His assailant finally slammed him down, but it was onto the plush bed.

"Hold him!" A male human said as he entered the room. The Vulcan couldn't twist his head to make out who it was.

Mahak was utterly pinned. His arms were trapped at his sides. He headbutted the man holding him, but he could only move his head a few inches. It didn't even dismay his attacker. Instead, the Nausicaan laughed one of his people's ugly, mocking laughs.

"Goodnight, pointy ear. Sleep tight." A voice said as Mahak felt the light pin prick of a hypospray in his neck. It sounded like Wilde.

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

Sometimes in inopportune moments, that coveted Vulcan strength of hers would kick in. She could only dangle hopelessly into oblivion and work enough adrenaline to pull herself up despite Rominau clinging to her like a babe. Somewhere during the dangle, she dropped her helmet hitting him with it.

With great effort, Kali inched her free hand to grab a hold of the ledge and she had to mentally thank Mahak for making her work on her pull ups. She'd be halfway down the stratosphere by now otherwise.

She spotted the grappler gun just inches from her fingers and strained to reach for it.

"Hurry up!" Rominau squawked from somewhere near her ass.

"Shut the hell up!" Kali snarled and then sighed when she got a hold of the handle. She shot the grappler at the debris on the road and managed to snag Rominau's skybike trapped nice enough to hold the line steady when she retracted the gun.

Kali punched the hell out of Rominau as soon as they made it back on the track, knocking him out. The other racer was not too far off trapped in the debris, but he had some kind of pulse when she absently checked and surveyed the wreckage.

Her beloved skybike was probably a nice fireball in the atmosphere. She tried not to cry about that when she fished Rominau's bike out of the wreckage and started it up.

"Thanks for the upgrade, you cheap bastard!" Kali shouted at Rominau's motionless form before zooming off to the finish line in her dust and disheveled glory.

She checked her earpiece just in case. "Testing, testing! I lost transmission back there!"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Rooftops - Starbase Kuiper]

"-kind of comm." An alien voice said, tearing Mahak out of his daze.

He was laying on the cold, hard ground, and a quick flex of his muscles told him that they had not been very gentle in dragging him there. In addition to the sharp pain in his groin he had aches all over his back, rear end, and neck. He had apparently flopped around a bit, too: his arms were covered in purple black bruises and he felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. His head was radiating with dizziness. They'd bounced him all over the starbase to bring him up here.

"Give it here." A male human said, and then went on, "We've got your boyfriend of the week, Kali. If you want him to survive this you know what you have to do. Forfeit the race."

Mahak stretched out with everything at his disposal: his mind, his ears, but his eyes remained closed. Neither the Nausicaan or the human had any sort of telepathic power for him to latch on to. He would have to go by hearing alone. He steadied his breathing and strained to listen as hard as he could.

There was a shifting sound approximately ten to twelve feet from his head, to his left. That was where the human's voice was coming from. Mahak had realized through the fog of his brain that it was Wilde. He was uneasily moving his weight from foot to foot.

He could not pin down where the Nausicaan was. He thought his voice had come from his feet, but the big fellow was quiet in movement and wasn't speaking. He was more disciplined than his employer, which suited Mahak just fine. He was the more dangerous one anyway.

The Vulcan gathered his strength as best he could. Any moment they'd test to see if he was awake or Reyes would throw the race. He could not allow either to happen.

"The company's as good as mine, and you'll be well paid."

"Good."

Just a few simple words, but he had them. Mahak steeled his nerves and got ready to move.

[Kali Reyes]

[Skyways]

"Wilde!" she barked at the receiver. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm the only damn rider left on this track!"

Wilde paused for a moment. "Then I suggest you go back and drag him to the finish line."

Kali swore loudly, but slowed down her momentum. She didn't have a choice in the matter anymore. It wasn't until she saw someone standing in the middle of the road did she panic and careened out of the way. She tumbled hard, bouncing painfully along until her body literally scraped itself into stopping. She meekly groaned through her bang up and tried to get up from the ground.

A pair of robust workboots caught in her vision. Then she was suddenly seized gently up and she caught strong legs and a familiar barreled chest until she recognized the damn ghost of family's past.

With one hand, the weird glove Grey had on shortcircuited the flying drones that sent visual over to the audience. They clattered uselessly to the ground.

"Kali..." he chided, those middle-aged features still handsome and still threatening. "Are you quite done?"

She could only pant in surprise. "Holy shi-"

"Language."