The Skies have no Limit

[BdrLineAzn]

--Narrator--

As Courage enters the Inn, he spots the rest of his friends at a table talking to each other. As he nears them, he notices something was off just by the tone of their voices. Courage takes the empty chair at the table and sits in it as the others faces to see who was at the table.

Charles
"Looks like you had a bad day, let me guess trying to flirt with a girl and her boyfriend comes up and went straight for your nose."

Rolling his eyes, he grabs a mug off the platter on their table that was infront of them before he arrived.

Courage
"Just so you know I had a good day today, until thirty minutes ago. And you are wrong on Rhodes points 1) I wasn't flirting, I accidentally fell on a lady and 2) it was her father. Which by the way is the owner of a weapons and equipment warehouse in the southern docks. Bdr you should check on that sometimes."

BdrLine
"Alright, but we have something bigger at the moment. Before you came I was telling Tommy and Charles here that someone may try and sabotage the race."

Eyes now wide, Courage place his mug on the table and leans in.

Courage
"Really? How do you know."

BdrLine
"Plasma told me, and the way he said it, he was skeptical too. Still we can't risk this and he told me to warn other racers we know."

Courage
"Well the person who hit me daughter is competing. I can warn her. But how about our ship?"

Tommy
"Well I secured our build site before I left. If there is a sabatouer, I want to check everything."

BdrLine
"Let's doing tomorrow, I had enough for one day."

The four then finishes their mugs and went up to retire for the evening. Upstairs in another room, Gareth has placed Lyre on the bed waiting for the doctor, now and then he would gave her a sip of water. Soon the doctor Plasma has sent for arrived and entered the room. Seeing his patient, he turns to Gareth and nods to him that she can be saved. Relaxing a bit, he sits back as the doctor looks at the current bandages on her and begins his work.

At the skooter races, Alex come back with his daughter and gunner and sees that most of his crew are back as well. As soon the break was over, the racers take their positions again and resumed the races.

--End Narration--

End of Day 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Start of Day 6

Third Day of Spring Festival

Narrator

The next day starts like the past two days of the Festival, a mass influx of people and tourist to enjoy in the merriment. But the day comes with mixed feelings from the different groups. One so is the paranoid feel of BdrLine and his men with the knowledge of a sabatouer in the race. For Gareth, he waits anxiously for the doctor to finish on Lyre. But for Alex it seems like another day, besides the fact of The incident with Courage, he and his men are, for now, unaware of the different happenings and continue their day.

End Narration

[Gryphos]

--Wild Winds Inn--

An hour after the Doctor had finished his work, Lyre woke up and was assured that she would make a full recovery within a week.

Doctor
"Luckily, it was a clean entry and didn't severely damage any vital organs."

Lyre
"How long until I can leave this bed?"

Doctor
"I would recommend you stay rested for the full week but, if you insist, I would say you can move around again after a day or two."

Lyre was slightly deflated by the idea of staying cooped up in this room for even another hour, active by nature, the prospect was not attractive.

Gareth
"Thank you doctor."

The Doctor tipped his hat and strolled out, leaving a bottle of painkillers on the bedside table. After he left Gareth proceeded to tell Lyre what happened after she went out, putting extra clarification on the nature of Mockinjay's timely demise, before telling her of how he carried her back to the ship, flew with breakneck speed back to Cathedral, and carried her to the Inn. He then told her of Plasma's procedure and making a mental note to himself to give Plasma a formal gesture of gratitude, before then explaining what the doctor had told him of the extent of the injury.

Lyre
"Well, I'm guessing we're out of the race then."

Gareth
"Yeah, they've already started."

Lyre
"And where's Roc and Garuda?"

Gareth looked out of the window.

Gareth
"I imagine they're fascinated by the fast moving objects."

Lyre
"You know, you don't have to stay here with me."

Gareth
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I do."

She chuckled, before switching to an unnerving and quite terrifying glare that lasted for around ten seconds.

Gareth
"I'll go."

And so he gave Lyre a kiss and strode out of the room, down the stairs and out the door to enjoy the festivities.

[Plasmarobo]

--Wild Winds Inn--

Plasma descends the stares, eyes fixed on something not quite present, absently buttoning his coat.
The Inn, as it has been, is full of breakfasting patrons. He seems to break from his stupor and nods to the few familiar faces in the room.
Emily is once again behind the bar. He strides over to her.

_Plasma
"I'm taking a day. I have no idea how you do this job. I'll be somewhere in the middle of the festival should you need me. I imagine if anyone can find me, it'll be you or Newt."

She gives him an almost worried look that instantly melts into indifference. Plasma turns away before allowing a brief bit of disappointment to play over his face. Then he is out the door, gently pressing through the flow of humanity filling the city streets. The races would be starting later, everyone would be making last minute adjustments. It was the last and only chance to figure out what the hell was going on.

--Rented Dock Space, Southern Air Docks--
Plasma crouches by the skylight of a large hangar. He can see the people within working on some kind of odd looking craft. He checks the back. Rocket Engines.
Finally, this is the fourth roof I've been on this morning...

He takes a radio out of his coat pocket.
_Plasma
"Time for a 'surprise inspection' captain. Just keep them distracted for ten minutes."

As the guards enter the building, Plasma jimmies the latch on the light and drops onto a catwalk below. He runs along it and swings himself over the stairs, eventually reaching the floor. He rapidly unbolts one of the engines, an ancient model known for it's propensity to detonate randomly.

You wouldn't even need to modify this, it's already a deathtrap... I wonder...

He gouges out several samples of metal from within the engine, and quickly checks over the control mechanisms. He pauses, then plucks out the fundamental reaction controller: A small copper and bronze box wired into much of the device. Satisfied, he scales the catwalks back to the skylight as he hears the crew returning, complaining loudly about wasting time and legitimate practices.

--RF Secure Lab, somewhere under the city, a short while later--
Plasma sits in the center of a nest of wires, scope displays, antenni, and humming generators. A small space has been cleared in the mess of mechanisms, wire, and batteries on the desk in front of him. A brilliant green pair of monitors show identical sine waves. He sighs and stares at the controller.

The interior of the engines had tested negative for everything he could possibly think of. Or so the state chemists had told him. There was no reason to distrust them, at least, none he could find. This little technological wonder then, could be the only alteration. However it performed identically to the standard rocket controller he'd manage to swipe. He leans back in his chair, thrusting his hands into his pockets. They encounter something round and cold. He takes out the little sphere and presses the button.

The mechanical spider gazes balefully up at him from it's perch on his palm. Plasma gazes back, exasperated.

_Plasma
"Well, what do you think?"

The spider clicks. Plasma places it on the desk, then rubs his eyes. The spider ticks it's way over to the pair of controllers. It tentatively pokes the altered one. Then grabs it and drags a foreleg across it, a brilliantly blue spark blazing away at the point of contact. Plasma follows it's process with fascination, watching as the little spider finishes, then inserts for of it's appendages and parts the little case down the cut, revealing the internals. It moves back, then waits expectantly as Plasma picks up the control circuit and stares at the unfamiliar internals.

I've never seen a circuit so small! These parts... they're tiny! But what's this?

The space normally taken up by the larger components is filled with a large magnetic relay, and what looks like a chemical timer. Triggered by a certain, very high temperature no doubt... the kind of temperature a rocket engine would reach after several minutes of burn. He grabs a soldering torch from a nearby shelf, applying it's flame directly to the timer. A few tense minutes later the wave on the second monitor suddenly jumps into an unfamiliar pattern.

This...it's designed to...target something? Any engine with one of these will...I need to find the target.

Plasma glances at the clock and jumps out of his chair. He snatches the spider and control circuit off the desk, and sprints to the elevator out of the lab. Yelling to the operator.

_Plasma
"Surface! Quick as you can!"

--Cathedral Streets--
Plasma sprints down the road, taking a shortcut through an alley when he is brought up short by a tall, cloaked and hooded figure holding a rather large revolver directly in his path.

_Plasma
"You-"

The gun fires once.

[Piemanlives]

--Warehouse, South Docks, Secondary Workshop--

The race was in a few hours, everywhere the hustle and bustle of people was much more frantic then ever, however even he was feeling a bit apprehensive, he wasn't exactly sure why, but when he entered the inn everyone seemed a bit occupied. More to the point however is that they seemed worried about something, whatever it was it probably had to do with the races. "I wonder what is going on," the thought had crossed his mind several times over the hour but now wasn't the time focus in it. He looked over the 3 seater craft, it was stripped down and had several parts removed and replaced with lighter ones, the engine was snugly mounted inside of the crafts casing. Wings had been mounted integrated quite well into the hull. Richard was never an engineer but he can come up with some ideas that make more sense then they should. The Mobula was a perfect example of this and one was under construction in Firnfield and was to go under trials soon. With the final piece mounted they took a step back and looked over their craft, it was strangely elegant in a way, they managed to get some fairly large tanks for it too, Well that and an emergancy balloon kit was fitted just in case they needed to make a landing anywhere.

Alex
"Right,  the craft is ready, should we haul it out and do some tests in case it doesn't work?"

Richard
"I'd rather not die during the race, so I'm all for it."

Reagan
"That sounds like a good idea, I'm in."

Alex
"Alright then, Preston, Davidson! Help me load this thing in the ship, we're heading to the city limits."

--Warehouse, South Docks--

Lorena
"Almost......got it.......there."

They've been working on the thing since yesterday night, dad apparently guessed they were competing and decided to make it a crew venture, meaning they had 2 other members of the crew working with them. She looked to her right, Warren and Phillip were looking over the engine for any wear and tear that might effect it later, they hadn't found anything and the controller inside seemed to be functioning properly. She had finally fixed the fuel tanks in place, the engine was ready and they wings had been fitted earlier. Phillip was attaching the engine now, she decided she'd get something to drink for everybody.

Lorena
"I'm heading out for a moment, you guys want anything?"

Dalhia
"If you can get me a sandwich that would be wonderful"

Davidson
"Get me one as well, hold off on the mayonnaise."

Phillip
"I'll have what he's having, just as long as there is extra mustard."

Lorena
"Alright I'll be back in a bit."

She exited the warehouse then, heading towards the inn which happened to have some pretty good food. She was walking when she saw who she though was the owner confronted by a hooded man, who was holding a fairly sizable revolver.

Plasma
"You-"

Lorena
"No!"

Just as the man fired however a stream of crates and boxes fell in front of him, effectively making the shot moot. Seeing this he ran off into the accompanying alley way and sprinted off.

[Gryphos]

--Outside Wild Winds Inn--

Roc was bored of fast moving objects and was on his way back to the place where he thought his master was. He was just above the Inn when he heard the sound. He had come to recognise the sound of gunshots and come to associate the sound of it to the act of violence and danger to his master.

With his sharp vision he peered down to see a man with a gun sprinting into the alley, he also knew the image of a gun and was able to put two and two together. The eagle swooped down into the alley and, with a swift movement, slashed at the man's back with his sharp claws. The man stopped for a second out of pain, only to look back and see an eagle fly past his face and slash at that, before swooping around and doing the same again. Roc then went for the legs, sinking his claws deep into the man's calves and shredding his trousers. Before long the man was on the floor with cuts to his back, face and legs, while his gun lay on the ground beside him. Roc picked up the gun and tossed it a few metres away, before sitting on a nearby skip and squawking loudly, trying to attract attention.

[BdrLineAzn]

Wild Winds Inn

Up early and already downstairs, BdrLine and Tommy converse with each other about the speculation of a saboteur in the race. Up in their rooms, Charles and Tommy are getting ready to go down and meet them.

BdrLine
"So we are going to finish constructing the ship when we get back to our site."

Tommy
"And check everything over?"

BdrLine
"Twice if we have too."

Tommy
"How about the engines, those are way too complicated for us to check."

BdrLine
"I tinkered with Artemis rockets before and I believe they have the same basic design, but all we are looking for is are some obvious tampering to them."

Back upstairs, the two already dressed for the day, go to their bags and bring out their semi-automatic Guards pistols that they kept after their time with the Anvalan Military. With an unknown saboteur on the lose, they decided last night to keep an open eye out for any strange activity. Once holstering them inside their vests, they head down to meet with the other two. BdrLine spots them as they reach the bottom of the stairs and motions for them.

BdrLine
"Hey you two, ready to get this day over with?"

Charles
"Guess so, well you know where I'll be at. Second day of shooting, but I'll keep a watch out for you know what."

BdrLine
"Alright, oh and Courage, you'll be coming with us, we need you to see your ship, and to help finish it as well."

Courage
"Okay then, lead the way."

The four then leaves their table and the Inn to their different destinations.

--Somewhere in Cathedral--

As Charles makes his way to the competition range, he has his eyes and ears open and hearing for anything that seems out of place. Then he heard a gunshot, even with the noise from the crowd, he is able to locate it down an alley where he spots what seems like Plasma on the ground with crates strewn around him and a person he has never seen going over to him and helping him up. Out in the distance, he sees another man running around a corner trying to escape.

Pulling his pistol out, he rushes to the two and checks Plasma.

"Hey there Lieutenant, looks like you almost had a bad day."

He takes a once over and sees that there was no blood or bullet wound in him and turn to the lady.

"Watch him, I try and get our 'friend'"

Leaving the two, Charles runs down the alley way where he saw the man turn. After a few minutes of running, he thinks that he has gotten away until he heard what seems like bird squawks. Cocking the pistol, Charles turns a corner and sees the bird from the Inn and the man who shot Plasma on the ground with claw marks. Holstering his weapon, he goes to the lying body and checks the pulse, he feels a faint beating, and looks at the eagle.

"Nice work, now lets see what is going on."

He picks up the unconscious man and walks back to where he last saw Plasma and the lady. Seeing that he is still there, he goes over to them.

"Got the guy, now what."

--Docks--

What seems like hours, the three has finished building the the whole craft for the race. The design BdrLine went for was that of a plane,  the body slim and arodynamic, only difference was the addition of angled, swept back wings. Inside the pilot seat, only the basic and most simple controls were put in to shave off weight. What sits is only a plain dashboard that only shows the fuel and altitude, rudder pedals, a joystick to control pitch and yaw, finally the seat. As Courage looks inside, he notices a big red button on the joystick.

Courage
"Hey Bdr, whats this?"

At the back installing the two X-02 engines, BdrLine looks over and sees him almost touching the button. Panicking, he quickly goes over and takes his hand away from it.

BdrLine
"Don't touch that, its for emergencies only."

Courage
"What is it them."

BdrLine
"hehe, weeeeell, in an event that somehow you lost control, we place mini rockets under your chair to launch you out if needed, afterwards a parachute will deploy which will bring you down safely. That button is the one that sets it off."

Couarge
"Wait, you mean to tell me, im sitting on explosives!"

BdrLine
"Don't worry it is safe. When Tommy and I looked over everything twice, I highly doubt you will use it. Come on, the engines are almost installed and we need to get this to the track.

Sighing, Courage goes over and helps finish bolting the engines in place. And with the help of an airship with a crane, it lifts off the racer and brings it to the starting track.

--Non-Descriptive Room--

Placing his bird mask on, the Mystery Man turn to see the other person he was talking to earlier in the week.

Mystery Man
"So everything prep and ready?"

Man
"Yes sir, we have taken the Zhao shipping job and two ships heading to Chang-ning as we speak."

Mystery Man
"Good, we may be able to capture the family this time. And the race."

Man
"We have disguised our remaining two ships as Cathedral Militia colors, and will be in the formation overlooking the race. All that remains is your galleon"

Mystery Man
"Excellent, those prototype engines are as good as ours."

Laughing, he exits the room with the other man to launch his plan.

[Plasmarobo]

--Alley near Wild Winds Inn--

Plasma pulls himself up off the ground, feeling at his chest, determined to find the bullet hole. Finding nothing he looks around bewildered. He sees Lorena, and turns to her, still pawing at his own chest in disbelief.

_Plasma
"What happened!? Why didn't...what?"

He shakes his head and drops his hand from his chest. The mechanical spider scuttles up his arm, coming to rest on his shoulder. It clicks as Plasma looks at the crates, touching one of the broken boxes almost reverently. His gaze flicks up as Charles comes around with the bloody assailant. A sudden, crazed look enters Plasma's eyes and he begins to wave his arms in weird flapping patterns.

_Charles
"Got the guy, now what?"

_Plasma
"Put him down! Quickly! He might be booby trapped!"

Charles quickly sets down the man. Plasma waves the two back from him.

_Plasma
"Stay back. I know this man. We've met once or twice before, and not on good terms. He a mercenary of sorts. Although how he knew..."

His gaze flicks up to Charles.

_Plasma
"You need to tell BdrLine something, quick as you can: The control devices are rigged. I don't know if they're designed to crash the ships at a certain place or just misdirect them, but once the engine has been run for more than a minute or two..."

He trails off, staring at the body on the ground. He blinks once. Then whips around and dives at Lorena suddenly, shouting at Charles.

_Plasma
"DOWN!"

Charles barely manages to throw himself backwards as the fireball erupts from the man on the ground. It's not very large, but does enough to incinerate the body and would have done for Plasma and Charles had they been any slower. Plasma picks himself up, brushing the dirt and dust from himself and helps Lorena to her feet.

_Plasma
"Are you alright? I think I've seen you at the Inn. I'm Plasma and I'm very sorry about all this. I'd forget about it if I were you. Unless you're in the rocket race, in which case you may want to remember."

He gives her a pained smile. Then turns to continue down the alleyway.

_Plasma
"You'll have to excuse me. I've got to find the organizers of the race and delay the start if I can. At least long enough to get things sorted out."

He runs off towards the Cathedral Plaza. 

[Gryphos]

--Docks--

Michael was just putting his skeleton Squid through some maintenance tests and found nothing mysterious. He thought to himself:

I don't know how long these engines were in that warehouse, but they're in good nick. I'm lucky I found them when I did or someone else would've nabbed them in no time.

At that moment he looked to the gangplank to see Gareth coming aboard.

Gareth
"Well, Michael, this..."

He gestured vaguely at the ship.

"...Is quite something. You taken her out on a test run yet?"

Michael
"Not yet, no. Rather not spoil the engines."

Gareth nodded understandably.

"But anyway, what happened with you and Lyre while we were busy with this?"

Gareth
"Oh, you know. Wandered around town, bought some stuff, went looking for more stuff, got shot at, got shot. You know, the usual."

Michael laughed before suddenly realising he wasn't joking.

Michael
"Flak, what happened? Are you okay?"

Gareth
"I'm fine, but Lyre's gonna be bed bound for a few days back at the Inn. The story is..."

He told Michael about the story with Mockingjay and the firefight at Garrow.

"So you've just been working on the ship, right?"

Michael
"Yep, just tinkering. I did overhear some guy getting punched earlier in that warehouse over there."

Gareth
"What is it with people recently? If they're not getting shot, they're getting punched. Next thing you know people will start blowing up."

Michael
"Very possibly. Anyway, I gotta get this monstrosity ready."

Gareth
"Well, I'll be off. Good luck, don't get blown up."

Michael
"I can't promise anything."

They both laughed as Gareth stepped off the ship and returned to town.

[Piemanlives]

--Near the Wild Winds--

She watched him run off, the warning played in her mind, what did he mean I'd be wary if I was in the race, is something wrong with the race? She shook her head, she'd be sure to check the craft again when she got back, first she needed to grab that food.

--Outside Cathedral, Trade Ship Skyrunner--

The few members of the crew scurried about checking to make sure every thing was ready for the test run, the emergency shut off switch was primed and ready, all that remained was to deploy the craft. At the front of the ship was a jury rigged station replacing the front facing gun.

Alex
"Alright, time to fly this thing, Davidson get on the release."

The three of them took position on the craft, a rear facing chaingun was mounted on the back.

Reagan
"Is this thing really nessecary?"

Alex
"For now yes, who knows what might pop in for a shot at the Skyrunner, and with its diminished crew compliment I doubt it can last that long without us."

Reagan
"Oh, you seem to have thought this out."

Richard
"He's a bit of a paranoid like that, anyways I'm ready here, Captain give the signal."

Alex
"Travis, hit it."

Davidson hit the switch, at the same time Richard fired off the engine and the craft flew off into the distance.

Richard
"Captain, I'm just going to say this is still the worst idea you've had in a good while, worse then trying to steal from under the Yeshan Empire during our time in the Firnfield militia!"

The roar of the engine combined with rushing wind almost drowned out what he was saying but he got the gist of it.

Alex
"It worked though didn't it!?"

Richard
"Got me there!"

The two of them shared a laugh, behind them Reagan was just listening, she realized she never really knew the man who she married several years ago. There was no time to dwell on that now however, she needed to watch for anyone aiming to take shots at them and the ship.

Reagan
"Do you guys see anything?!"

Alex
"Huh?! Oh no I don't! Richard do you see anything!?"

Richard
"Negative Cap! Wait, I see something in the distance!"

Alex
"Pull up along side and wave at em!"

Richard pulled the craft along side, the crew looked up at them and waved. They seemed to know what they were doing and yelled words of encouragement. They waved back and flew off, by the time they had launched the balloons and landed they had flown for a total of 12 minutes.

Alex
"I'd say a flight well done, what about you guys?"

Richard
"Thrilling, this craft handled like a beaut!"

He let out a laugh, it wasn't every day he saw him like this. He did seem to be genuinely happy though. He looked over to Reagan who was still looking at Richard, she seemed, down for some reason.

Alex
"How about you, how do you feel about this?"

Reagan
"Huh?-"

She snapped out of whatever thoughts she was thinking and looked at him.

Reagan
"Oh the test was good, I was able to get a decent ark of fire at anything I aimed at why?"

Alex
"Just wondering, also are you alright, you seemed out of it for a moment."

Reagan
"I'm fine, there's the ship, we should probably head back now."

The ship landed next to them, the crane lowered and lifted them back on board. The Skyrunner set a course for Cathedral and headed home.

[BdrLineAzn]

--Somewhere In Cathedral--

After the mini fireball engulfing the man, Charles gets back up and sees Plasma running off in one direction. Remembering his warning, Charles turns and run towards the docks where BdrLine and the others are working on their build.

As he arrives there, he sees no one around. Groaning, he Charles paces back and forth wondering where did the go.

"Come on, come on. Ok, ... since nothing is around here I assume they finish with the ship. Now where do you go from there."

Realisation hits him as the race would start in a few hours and most of the competitors would be at the start. He goes off in another sprint to the western edge of the city where the course was laid out.

--Rocket Race Starting Line--

On board the crane airship, BdrLine and the other two leans over the rail as the operator guides them and the ship to the start. From the air, they see how far the actual course was and the many checkpoints.

Placing a hand on his back, BdrLine says to Couarge.

"Look at this, the iconic course. Ready for this."

Courage
*sighing* "Ready as I'll ever be."

Standing back up, Courage digs his hands in his pocket and feels a piece of paper in one of them. Curious, he pulls it out and remembers that one of the ladies at the warehouse gave it to him before they left. As he was about to open it to read it, the operator calls out.

Operator
"About to land, you guys get ready to unhook this thing."

Folding back up and placing it in his pocket, he, BdrLine, and Tommy goes over to the side holding onto the railings as the operator lowers the airship. At a safe distance from the ground, they jump and land on the floor. Going over to the straps, they unhook them and soon their rocket ship is place I. one of the open slots. The crane ship then leaves the area to continue with the rest of it's jobs.

[Piemanlives]

--Rocket Race Starting line--

Lorena was over looking the craft again, they had found nothing wrong with either the engine or the craft. Her father had arrived a little while earlier, a three person crew including him was on board his craft, including a light chain gun. How he managed to get it passed the guards she was unsure. She looked around, apparently the race was going to start on schedule, Plasma had failed it would seem. She looked to the observers position, they had the flag ready, it would seem the race would start soon.

[Gryphos]

--Rocket Race Starting Line--

Michael stood at the helm of his Skeleton Squid as his small crew made up of Lionel, Kay and Hector stood with baited breath on the deck with spanners and mallets already drawn. Michael looked up above and saw both Roc and Garuda circling overhead, which unnervingly reminded Michael of vultures. To maintain his own morale, he decided to ignore them and address his crew.

Michael
"Hey! Did you guys remember to bring the moonshine?"

Lionel
"Yep, we put it in the engines."

Kay
"You may wanna hold on to something when we start accelerating."

Hector
"And in the corners..."

Kay
"And on the straights..."

Michael
"Basically, just hold on."

Lionel
"... Hell, we probably should even be holding on now."

A few minutes passed before the crew started to grow impatient.

Kay
"What's the hold up?"

Michael
"We should be starting soon, don't worry."

[Plasmarobo]

--Rocket Race Temporary Hippodrome--
Plasma races along the outer edge of the Stands. The organizers had decided that switching radio channels was a better idea that believing him, and he had only one other chance to get this right. The flagship Piety (someone in the government had a sense of humor, at least) would hold the council members for the viewing of the race. His only chance would be to somehow get aboard the ship.

Lucky for him, it would be anchored. The ropes shouldn't be too difficult to clamber up, right?
He makes it to the anchor point within a few minutes, halting in dismay.

Of course it's guarded...I suppose there's nothing for it now, but to report it.

He walks calmly up to one of the guards nearby and explains his findings. The man looks skeptical, but gets on his radio and is assured by the organizers that they've looked into it and found nothing wrong. The race is to proceed. Defeated, Plasma finds a high point at the back of the stands as the starter pistol echoes out a short blast.

The thunderous roar of rocket engines fill the air, burning through gallons of rocket fuel and heating the chemical timers embedded in each engine. Plasma surveys the course, looking for probable targets. There was always the council flagship, but that was unlikely. Cathedral was a neutral hub of trade that maintained excellent relations with everyone. With the profit flowing in an out and around the city, there was little to gain and so very much to lose by declaring war on the city.

The crafts themselves might be valuable, but he doubted very much that they would be intact, assuming the controller had no concept of 'landing'. Package delivery by rocket. I wonder though... rocket engines could be valuable tech, if someone was attempting to construct a larger scale rocket...

But it wouldn't be long now. The front runner would be losing control in only a few seconds, with the rest to follow. A sudden thought strikes him.
I wonder how they'll be judging this race if everything goes to hell?

[Gryphos]

--Rocket Race Starting Line--

The sound of the starting pistol sends engines into action as Michael puts the throttle on full whack and the Skeleton Squid starts zooming off. The crew immediately starts to stumble and grabs onto anything nearby. The sound of the engines is so loud that Michael can only just make out Lionel's scream of "HOLY SHIT!". All around him Michael can see other aircraft flying along side his with massive plumes of flame emanating from their engines. Meanwhile, Hector is desperately crawling along to the main engines to make a check up, and Lionel and Kay were just enjoying the ride while they could.

Michael was impressed with his own initiative in choosing to pack a Squid with rockets as, his Skeleton Squid was keeping pace with the top runners. A few aircraft were ahead of him, but not by much, and he knew the race would be made or broken in the corners.

Kay
"WATCH OUT, FIRST CHECKPOINT COMING UP!"

The first checkpoint was a 100 degree turn around a rock formation and was approaching fast. Michael slammed the brakes as the reverse engines on each side flared up, before making a huge bank that forces the crew onto the deck with the g-force. Michael came out of the turn relatively smoothly and cranked the ship back into full speed.

it was at this point that Hector was examining  the main engines.

Hector
"err, CAPTAIN!"

[Sgt. Spoon]

WROOOOOM

Spoon almost fell out the seat of his B47 "Dust-Mule" tractor as the sky in front of him suddenly lit to flames and the big projectiles lounged themselves up in the air. He stopped, jumped off and half-crawled up the little sand dune which covered him from the race-tracks and the city. When he finally realised he hadn't accidentally trampled into the start of a raging war, he remembered the sight in front of him for what it actually was.

Spoon
"The Burren Rocket Race? So I've come to Cathedral no less..."

Watching the spectacle, he raised his hands and put on his googles as the waves of dust and sand whipped up by the rockets now swept in over the spectators.