lucetilogs | Luceti Valley

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Luceti Valley - The First Log

Who: Everyone
What: The start of a new experiment... or is it?
When: August 2nd - August 6th
Where: Luceti itself
Summary: Luceti has become an idyllic and peaceful 50s-esque village. The first few days are just business as usual, right?
Rating: Varies with thread. Please move explicit stuff to appointments post with appropriate warnings.

August 1st had seemed like an ordinary day in Luceti. But late in the evening, for those night owls who had not turned in yet, they were witness to strange fluctuations in the barrier. Beautiful, really, almost like Luceti had received its own 'Northern Lights', even though it seemed to come from the far east, across the ocean. This ominous light show lasted for all of fifteen minutes before it ceased all together. Skimming the ocean waters, a horde of cultists entered Luceti, cloaked by darkness. Upon reaching the entrance to the tunnels, their leader stepped inside and was followed one by one by his fellow cultists. When the last had entered, the tunnel entrance closed. Across the mountains, the entrance to the tunnels in the village did the same.

Midnight passed without incident, but by three in the morning, the change suddenly came. Minds were altered, forms were changed, and buildings sprang from nowhere.

Much later, on August 2nd, morning settled on a changed village, the new mayor made his way to his mansion with his pair of adorable dobermans at either side of him. The sun shined bright. It was a good day to be a Lucetian.

Note: There will be a stand alone log for the homecoming dance. There will be another log for the second stage of the event.

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[Cliff never minded his 'side' job for Vegeta. It paid for his son's tuition, and anymore it filled the gap in the household income that he wouldn't have been able to fill otherwise. Any other man would have resented him, but Cliff was just glad that Vegeta seemed like a man who would be fair in every respect.

Dedication aside, he was deeply in debt with the man. He knew the numbers, but he almost didn't care to even keep track of them any more. The bottom line was that he would be working like this for a long time. He had better get used to it, or face an untold number of years in misery.

It was why he labored night after night in the garage, working on projects that he would give Vegeta ownership of when he wasn't working on the latest piece of mechanical maintenance.

There were worse fates. There were many, many worse fates.]

[It was one of the days he's decided to check in on the extras. Vegeta comes strolling in, ignoring anyone who stared at him otherwise as he practically invites himself in. He had business here and there wasn't anything anyone was going to say to him that was going to stop him.

He walks up to the project Cliff's working on at the moment, cocking a head to the side as he inspects the piece of work.]

Well, what do we have here? Something I should be interested in or just a piece of junk?

[A small part of Cliff's pride bristled a the suggestion that anything he was working on was a piece of 'junk', but such jabs were part of the price he had to pay for his efforts and dedication. Wiping his greasy hands on his equally greasy pants, he stepped aside for Vegeta to take a look.]

I dunno if you'd be interested or not, but I've been trying to figure a way to take the engines from cars and make them smaller. There's gotta be a way, right? The mechanisms are pretty basic and obvious, and I've been thinking recently that automobiles can sometimes be a tad inconvenient.

Now, stick a small engine on a bike? That'd be something.

It's been done. However... [His eyes narrow and he bends down to take a look at what Cliff's been working on. A smaller engine with more horsepower than what's on the market now, Cliff might be onto something.] There's a rise in interest for competitive motorcycle racing. Are you catching my drift?

[Cliff flashed him a sly grin.]

I think I might be.

[Competitive motorcycle racing had a nice ring to it, and its something he would have tried if he were a younger man with less responsibilities than he does anymore. Working with Vegeta had it's difficulties, but there were times when the two men just clicked together like conjoining pieces of the same machine.]

You planning on sponsoring someone, like a team?

[He might be here on business, and their relationship was strictly professional- but there were reasons why Vegeta genuinely liked Cliff, despite having him under his thumb financially. He could press harder down on the man if he wanted to. But he doesn't, and this is why. He just likes the way Cliff thinks.]

Maybe. Maybe not. [He grins back.] The advertising never hurts, wouldn't you agree? And I've got to have the best designed streamlined bike for that. The problem is I'd have to find myself a daredevil or two who's willing to take the risk that will win races. Are you volunteering yourself?

[Cliff grinned. He was elated by the very idea of designing these bikes, but riding them? It wasn't something that he actually imagined ever happening.]

I dunno. I'd be cool with it, but the risk might be a tad much anymore. I know he's married, but I've still got a wife and son to support here. Can't go and get myself hurt on one of those things, now can I?

I guess it depends on how badly you need the money. [Said as a reminder, almost. But Vegeta agrees with Cliff on this one- motorcycle racing was a dangerous sport, and it was easy to lose your life competing. If he were in Cliff's position, he probably wouldn't do it himself. He'd find a different way to get by.]

Though I suppose that if I lost you to some kind of ridiculous accident, I wouldn't have an engineer anymore. We can't have that, it would have been a waste of time and money. I'll find someone else, rest assured. Now. Why don't you go ahead and throw me some ideas you might have on making improvements to an already flawed design on these cycles.

[That was some burn Vegeta left with his words, but the point was loud and clear. Sure there was snark, but Cliff was far from a wild 20-something anymore.

At least the engineering wouldn't get him killed.]

Lemme take a look at the schematics then and we'll see what's up with what you've got so far. So far, it sounds to me like you'll want something streamlined and efficient instead of one of those hogs with all of the bulk. Those guys are popular...but, really, they're a waste of money and fuel.

That's right they're a waste. I wouldn't own one of those in a million years. I like my car just fine. [He's not interested in dying. He knows how dangerous it is to drive a motorcycle. He prefers to live, thank you very much. If he had more of a ninety percent chance that he would live through an accident in one of things, maybe he'd change his mind.]

Anyway, here. [He hands over some of the designs that his own engineers had come up with. They weren't the greatest, but they're also not thinking much outside the box. Cliff being the smart man that he is will probably be able to see all the flaws.] This is what my people have come up with, but I'm positive that there's a better way. Tell me what you think.

[Cliff unfurled the paper on the workbench to take a look at the in-progress designs. The hastily drawn lines, figures, and scribbled notes in the white space weren't very encouraging, but they gave the basic idea of the intent that Vegeta's people had it in mind. It was rough-- very rough-- but a few tweaks...]

Lemme show you. That'll be easier.

[With that Cliff reached for the nearest pen and scrawled out a few more lines, directly upon the image as it was. The original idea was very basic and ordinary, an idea that was good for a regular motorcycle but far from ideal for a racing bike. The additions gave the idea of a more streamlined form, one that would resist drag and improve on overall speed.]

[He watches Cliff as he begins to draw. The lines were well placed, the design obviously better than what the idiots he'd hired designed. He's got half a mind just to fire them and get someone that could do the job decently. He'd hire Cliff, but then he wouldn't 'legally' be able to get all the rights to it. And besides, he'd have to give him benefits- this way he doesn't have to. He figures he's been dolling out enough dough to the man anyway to cover any benefits that he would have provided.]

Yes, that's much better. I can see where you've corrected where those idiots managed to screw it up. How long until you can provide a more clear blueprint?

[Enough dough and then some. The work with Vegeta both funds his son's education and is the only reason he and his wife still have a roof over their heads. A deal of this complexity wasn't possible through legal channels. He and Souji would have to live in a boarding house otherwise, and Fayt and Nel wouldn't have as nice a situation as they currently do.]

Gimme a few days and I can have this cleaned up for you, no problem. [He neatly rolled the prints up for storage, tying it off with a loose piece of twine to keep the pages from flaring and getting in the way in transport.] I dunno where your boys got their training, but I've got half a mind to find it and file a few complaints. This ain't the first time they've come up with junk like this...

A few days will be enough. But no longer. [He nods as Cliff ties up the plans. At least he managed to find an engineer with half a brain.]

I don't know half the time either. All they do is design vehicles with massive flaws and I've got to have someone else check it over ten fold. But as sad as it sounds there isn't much better that apply. I'm constantly throwing out morons and getting nothing better in return. It's like half of this city can't turn out one decent mind. Perhaps I should start putting out listings in other cities.

[Strange how it doesn't occur to him to hire people outside the city itself...]

'Half this city' also seems to think that going on strike is going to help the state of affairs. Honestly, I'm only out there for the boys-- the unions should be able to handle it...

[Besides, it's not like he was completely out of work like those other guys on strike.]

I'll get it back to you before then. I just need a clean page and my drafting tools to sketch this girl up. Then we can get started on scale models and mock ups before we set up a test drive.

[He doesn't care to comment about the strike to Cliff. He's got his own ideas about it and he's not up for sharing with other people who aren't the same status as him.]

Alright then. I look forward to seeing the results from you, so I hope you don't disappoint. I'll find a driver. Then we'll see how well your design functions.

Me? Disappoint? Please.

[Don't question the man, Vegeta. He know's what he's doing.]

You take care of your stuff and I'll take care of mine. It'll work out, just like it always does.

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Luceti Valley - The First Log

IN THE GARAGE, COVERED IN GREASE

SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.

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