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[color=7ea7d8]"Layla, I want to talk. I was worried and told management about your neural interference. [i]Please[/i] don't tell Kais."[/color] Nadia blurted out in a single uninterrupted stream. She had practiced it in her head many times so she could finally do it without stumbling. 

[color=plum]"You told them."[/color] Layla looked up from the charging station, her tone not so much shock, but more a simple processing of what she was hearing. 

[color=7ea7d8]"I had to."[/color] Nadia replied, pleading for Layla's understanding. [color=7ea7d8]"With all the things that happened, I was afraid that if you kept pushing..."[/color]

[color=plum]"[i]I had[/i] to."[/color] Layla shot back at her. [color=plum]"I should've [i]won[/i] Luna."[/color] The whisper slipped out automatically. [color=plum]"I had the most prep, the most experience on lunar terrain, the best synchronizations with the ship I've had in years, the best team putting all their effort into me."[/color] She nudged Nadia, though with some hesitation to her motions. [color=plum]"And yet..."[/color] Layla's voice turned soft, riddled with guilt. [color=plum]"Not even in the top 3."[/color] 

[color=plum]"I don't know if it's me or the tech, but..."[/color] She swallowed. [color=plum]"I was ready to risk it [i]all[/i], Nadia..."[/color] She looked around. [color=plum]"FIAR inspections didn't find anything. The crash at Luna, it wasn't us..."[/color] and Layla let out a slow breath. [color=plum]"But..." [/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"You're afraid that..."[/color]

[color=plum]"That I [i]would[/i] have..."[/color]

[hr]

"You know," Nadia's father started as he plucked out some weeds from his garden. It had been a while since she was there to watch her family go about their routine. "when I was little over your age. I met your mother patching up backup-generators in the rebuild effort." Nadia couldn't help but roll her eyes a little. Yes, she knew. "And now you're here working on anti-gravity. The world's going fast, isn't it?" "Careful, dear, you're sounding old," her mother looked up from her chores. "Well, it's a good enough time to say that I'd like to see her a little more often in my old age, then."

[color=7ea7d8]"It's been a busy couple of weeks,"[/color] Nadia admitted. But then again, when wasn't it? [color=7ea7d8]"Upgrades, R&D, strategy, going over the Luna race."[/color]

Her father's smile dropped a little. Nadia knew they all watched the races. She also knew they didn't like them, and last race would've been a stark reminder of that. 

"And what else is I'd like her to talk about more than just work sometimes too, you know," her father responded back again towards his wife, though the comment was obviously meant for [i]her[/i]. 

"Any cute guys at work?" her brother poked at her. And Nadia blushed. [color=7ea7d8]"Well, I have met someone nice at the party..."[/color] That's right, the party! [color=7ea7d8]"They gave me a full-time contract!"[/color] And for a while she was teased by her brother. Her mother simply smiled from the window.

But her father's response was not what she expected. "So," but perhaps, she could have guessed, "they've got you dug in now, huh?"

Nadia hesitated. [color=7ea7d8]"What do you mean? Is this still about...?"[/color]

"I don't like it, what you're messing with." The change in his voice was stark.

[color=7ea7d8]"We're doing our best, baba. And we reached a new milestone recently! The upgrade I talked about, it stabilized into the safety margins! No more fluctuations, no more after-midnight tests, my work within the team for that is why they gave me the job, actually!"[/color] "It's bad news, [i]hayati[/i], messing with people's souls. I told you. Especially with [i]him[/i]. An apple grows from its core, and that man's core [i]is[/i] danger. You know this." [color=7ea7d8]"This again? Baba, Kais is trying not to be."[/color] Nadia responded, and immediately knew she had run her mouth, and not in the good way. [color=7ea7d8]"It's complicated,"[/color] she quickly added, but it was already too late.

"[i]Trying[/i], huh?"

Nadia hesitated and a tense silence fell. She couldn't deny she found Kais intimidating still. She had seen him hanging out after-hours at HQ's gym more often since returning from Luna, '[i]preparing[/i]'. She was afraid to ask for what. And then there was the sensory deprivation, the holographic reflex drills, the Nuba wrestling drills with modded pit-bots that struck her as too militaristic for comfort. He had even asked Layla off-handedly if she could find a way to get one of the AG-backpacks from her space agency associates like the ones they used at the Hamad Spaceport Training Facility, but for [i]high[/i]-gravity pressure testing. And not even just for training. For [i]fun[/i], he said. 

And yet, at the same time, the other image of Kais came to her mind, where they worked together to try and keep Layla safe when she was risking overheating during the overclocking trials, and Nadia felt torn in two. She forced a small smile. [color=7ea7d8]"I know what I'm doing, I..."[/color]

"Nadia, [i]I've been[/i] there before," her father cut her off as he leant forward, and Nadia could hear the servos in his prosthetic leg whine. "Getting pulled into something bigger than you. You think you can handle it, but you can't. And with [i]him[/i]...?" He sighed. "You’re smart, Nadia. Smarter than me. But don't get too caught up in that. Be careful who you trust."

Nadia nodded. She already knew. She quickly took her cup of mint tea, freshly plucked from their garden, took a sip, and changed the subject.

[hr]

Omar's office room's glass walls turned opaque as Al-Saqr's team principal turned to Nadia. "You went to Paris Uni-2, you know your French, right?"

She blinked. [color=7ea7d8]"Yes, why?"[/color]

"Good. You're coming to Monaco. Always a better look if you don't have to rely on the auto-translators. Also..." He paused. "I need you to push Layla and Kais. Our chances are slim in Monaco, not with our current ship design. So we'll need to get out of Monaco what we can. We'll use it as an opportunity, to test just how far this AI-bond can go. Luna's got us on the back foot, got Layla hesitating, we'll need to push through that. And I know you're close, talk to them."

Nadia resisted the urge to cross her arms to guard herself. [color=7ea7d8]"But... weren't we already crossing a line with the safety mechanisms, not to mention the Portugal interference, would it be wise to take it even further?"[/color]

Omar countered with a voice that he kept almost patronizingly calm. "You know Layla and Kais are built more durable than most. It's why we got them on board to begin with. And it's paid off: they [i]handle[/i] the risk. But Monaco's a tough beast, and we'll need anything, [i]any[/i] leverage to keep us in the race. Testing out our new limits is our best shot. But I'll compromise: you said Layla was able to reach out into the network? What about simply... [i]monitoring[/i] it?"

Nadia didn’t answer, but she knew the answer was written on her face.

"We value your honesty and your dedication, Nadia. But we didn't give you a promotion for nothing. You're a valued part of the crew now, and that means keeping the ship afloat and our people safe. I think you know just as well as anyone that Layla's AI-bond is our greatest advantage on that: wouldn't you [i]want[/i] them to know if there were under-powered repulse systems on-track? Or... [i]other[/i] suspicious activity?"

And Nadia nodded. Of course she did. The amount of data Layla and the AI could crunch now were staggering. Who knows what that might yield. If it helped them stay safe, then, maybe. Still, with Layla's guilt...

"But," Omar cut off her train of thought. "I recognize you are the expert on this matter more so than me, with your... [i]previous experience[/i] with it all." He shot her a knowing glance. "So I will put you in the lead on this. I'm sure you'll find a way to start off on the right foot."

Nadia's mouth turned dry. [color=7ea7d8]"I'll see what I can do."[/color]

[hr]
[hider=Omake: Rec Time, Monaco]
[center][h2][color=7ea7d8]Rec Time[/color], Monaco[/h2][/center]
[center][b]Soundtrack[/b]: [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUjAD7g2JWA]GIMS & DYSTINCT - Spider[/url][/b][/center]
[center][b]Gee Sam[/b]:
[Picture of a topless Kais on a yacht sipping champagne] 
"Look who I spotted in Monaco. [b]@[u][color=orange]ASZenix[/color][/u][/b]"
[sub]👍❤️ [b]RadNad[/b] and 7,119 others[/sub][/center]
[center][i]Community Note: This fake image is a bot-generated ad for 'Overtaken in Monaco'. 
Contrary to what is portrayed, Kais Zenix does not drink alcohol, does not have a yacht, nor six fingers on his hands.[/i][/center]
[indent][b]CravemanBob[/b]: "🤓☝️ Not [i]yet[/i]..."
[indent][b]TombOfTemptation[/b]: "Six fingers... That'd be even better! 😏"
[indent][b]BoomSlayer[/b]: "Rip and tear, until it is done."[/indent][/indent]
[b][u][color=orange]ASZenix[/color][/u][/b]: "I could take him."
[indent][b]ZenixRising[/b]: "OOOOOOHHH MYYYYYYY"
[b]GenFlex[/b]: "Man, don't give the shippers ideas. I mean, aren't you basically a clonetrooper? There must be other versions of you."
[indent][b][u][color=orange]ASZenix[/color][/u][/b]: "I could take them too."
[indent][b]TombOfTemptation[/b]: "🤯"
[b]TIE_FIGHTER[/b]: "Bro..."
[/indent][b]CravemanBob[/b]: "Speaking of which, how do they know whether or not you've been replaced during a race?"
[indent][b][u][color=orange]ASZenix[/color][/u][/b]: "Basic biometrics. Ship's neural lock. Looks."
[indent][b]Croissantroll[/b]: "Also, he can race, which you can't say about everyone."
[indent][b]FightOnMommyVillarosa[/b]: "Too soon, mate."
[indent][b]Croissantroll[/b]: "Simp."
[indent][b][u][color=orange]ASZenix[/color][/u][/b]: "Watch it."
[indent][b]TombOfTemptation[/b]: "btw, if you [i]could[/i] have one more finger, which one would it be?"
[indent][b][u][color=orange]ASZenix[/color][/u][/b]: "Middle."
[/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

[color=orange]"Nadia?"[/color] Kais put down his tablet that had served as his en-route entertainment. 

[color=7ea7d8]"Kais?"[/color] Nadia snapped to attention, as if caught with something.

[color=orange]"What are 'shippers'?"[/color]

Nadia grew an intense shade of red. Then grew even redder as she stumbled her way through an explanation, and quickly typed in something onto his tablet's search bar.

[color=7ea7d8]"Just... don't take it too seriously, ok?"[/color] 

[indent][indent][b]Overtaken in Monaco[/b]: Kais attends an exclusive yacht party, only to find himself in a strange arrangement with someone he probably shouldn’t be entertaining... [color=f7941d]"That's... strangely foreboding..."[/color] [color=7ea7d8]"They like referencing the real-life racing schedule. They churn out these things, you have no idea."[/color]

Other works of this author include:
[list]
[*] [b]Crashing Into You[/b]: Kais crashes into a rival, causing fights, frustration, candlelight, and no escape... [color=f7941d]"Well, what do you expe-? [i]Candlelight[/i]?"[/color]
[*] [b]Rebels With a Cause[/b]: [color=orange]"What happens when two rebels without a cause find each other?"[/color]
[*] [b]Kais and the Cute Cat[/b]: [color=7ea7d8]"Oh, I've read that one, it's actually quite sweet..."[/color]
[*] [b]The Puppy and the Pitbull[/b]... [color=orange]"P...[i]Paul?[/i]"[/color]
[*] [b]What happens on Luna...[/b] [color=f7941d]"What? [i]Noo[/i]..."[/color]
[*] [b]One More Lap...[/b]
[*] [b]Engineered for Her Pleasu--[/b]
[/list][/indent][/indent]
[color=f7941d]"OK that's enough of that."[/color]
[/hider]
[hr]