Lightbound

Stoberg, Socialist Federation of Kalixia– 2:07 AM

A young woman, with messy, short, dyed hair sits in her bed, in a small, but well-decorated and comfortable hotel room. Outside, the world is quiet and the moon is high, reflecting the lateness of the hour. The expression on her round, kind face is something torn between joy and a repressed, aching anxiety. Her focus is entirely on the television in front of her, broadcasting a message from a land a world away–

–Advertisements play. Toothpaste, recommended by four out of five nonexistent dentists. Politics, begging her to support the failing regime of an unpopular president. A theater, putting on a modern celebration of her culture that she’d rather like to see, if only she had the time. Then, what she’d been waiting for; a minimalist, fairly uninteresting logo flashes across the scene, accompanied by the words: “YELN 34.4, Bayan Evening News.”

Two men sit at a table, backed by an image of a small city, displayed on a large screen behind them. Their faces are an affable sort of bland, their voices a practiced kind of joyful. The first one speaks:
“Good morning, Bayan! Celebrations and well-wishes across Saginia today, as the all-female national cycling team heads off to Kalixia for the international cycling tournament! Led by Bayan’s own June Ausla, 2043 marks the first year in over two decades that the national team has qualified to participate.”

The second, somewhat smaller man speaks:
“But who is June Ausla, the promising athlete that is leading our team to the international stage?”

The first responds, as the screen projects images of the young woman; as a child, on her bicycle. With her family, holding a medal. Alone, standing next to her bike, on a trail cut through tall grass.
“Born right here in Bayan, to elementary school teachers Vonnat and Ryi Ausla, on May 15th, 2018, June has been pushing the boundaries of Saginian Cycling for years. A self-described explorer since early childhood, June got her start in cycling at the tender age of five, in which she would take her bike in order to explore the fields near her childhood home, in the Gyra neighborhood. From there, she would go on to join, and eventually captain the cycling team of her secondary school, winning multiple state and national championships. During this time, she also got her first taste of leadership, preparing her for her eventual ascent to the top of the national team.”

The small one cuts back in:
“Described by friends and family as extroverted and persistent, June has become something of a local darling as of late. After first joining the national team five years ago, her talent and energy quickly propelled into leadership of the chronically underperforming national cycling team, which under her guidance, has gone from an ignored and forgotten aspect of our national sports culture into a celebrated international contender.”

The first one speaks once more:
“And, well, earlier today, June and the rest of the team headed off to Kalixia for the tournament! So, from the bottom of our hearts here at YELN 34.4, and all of Bayan, good luck! Tune in for our evening segment, for an exclusive interview with–”

“Hey, you should probably go to bed…”
A soft voice cuts across the room, tired and concerned, breaking the young woman from her trance. She looks guiltily at its source, a short, thin figure emerging from the bathroom.
“Ah! Haha, sorry, dear,” She says, a flush creeping up her neck, “But, it was my part of the news!” She looks down, hair casting a shadow over her face. The figure, an androgynous thing with thick, curly hair, sits next to her.
“C’mon, you always do this, you get excited or anxious before your competition, and then you don’t sleep, and then you’re not ready.” Their voice is gently scolding, but the undercurrent of care is unmissable. She looks away, smiling bashfully.
“Can ya blame me? Yanno, it’s not like everyone I’ve ever known is watching me, or anything…”
The worry in her voice, before repressed, now bleeds through, thick and cloying, even as she tries to play it off with a smile and a joke. The figure sighs, picks up the remote and turns off the television, before then pulling the athlete into a tight embrace, from which neither will move until morning. The moon shines over the city, and for a moment, the looming competition, and all the responsibility that comes with it, is forgotten.

Someone was knocking on Anastasia’s door. “Do not disturb!” she called out. “I am busy!” The knocking stopped for a moment, then started up again. She looked longingly at her bed, and the novel sitting on the nightstand next to it, then sighed and got up. Stalking over to the door, she pulled it open. “What part of ‘do not disturb’ do you not- oh, no, not you”

“Ana! My oldest and dearest friend!” exclaimed David Zonov, grinning from ear to ear. “What are you doing cooped up in the hotel? We have to celebrate!”

“There is no we, David. And we met a few months ago.”

“You are my oldest friend in spirit! And I already convinced Damir to come.”

“That’s just because he wants to drown his sorrows in vodka.”

“Details! Now come on, we need to grab Aleksandr! I bet he’s sulking over you placing higher than him.”

Anastasia glanced again back into her room. “...Fine. But I’m heading back at midnight, with or without you.”

“Good enough for me! Say, do you remember which one is Alexsandr’s?”

“Follow me.” She stepped across the hallway and knocked on the door across from them. A few moments later, it was opened by a tall man in an all-black outfit.

“...”

“Aleksandr!” David interjected before Ana could speak. “Where have you been? We’ve been waiting on you! Come on, we can still make it to the celebration on time.”

Aleksandr turned to look at Ana. “...”

“Don’t look at me,” she protested. “It’s all his idea.”

“...”

“I know, I know. But they’re always going on about team building anyway, and you know he’s not going to give up. Better to just agree.”

“...”

“We can just steal his card once he’s drunk. He wants to drag us out, he can pay.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” David added.

“...”

“Fine, fine. When we win I’ll have all the money I’ll ever need.” This brought a small smile to Aleksandr’s face. David shuddered. “Don’t do that, man! It just makes you look even more like an evil vampire.”

Ana groaned. “Alright, enough with the comedy routine. Let’s just go get Damir.”

They set off down to the lobby. Upon reaching it, they found Damir pacing and muttering to himself. “...but lo! The fatal rise doth appear/to fill the valiant racer with fear…no, no, that doesn’t work…oh, you actually got them.” He said the last lines upon looking up and spotting the other three.

“Damir!” David gasped, faux-affronted. “How could you really doubt me like that!”

“Spare me your protestations, jester. I must numb the pain posthaste. I never should have joined this insipid competition.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great material,” Ana said cheerfully. “Besides, you told us when you joined that you never expected to do well. Didn’t your friends pressure you into it?”

“I suppose you have a point…no matter. Let us be off.”

“Finally! It’s almost ten and I’m not even seeing double!” David exclaimed. “Taxi!”

International Cycling Tour Kalixia

Procedural notes:
- For those of you who aren't on the Discord, there was a simulation error, and so I have to re-simulate the first stage of the competition. All of the other stages will be moved forward.

STAGE 1 - Stoberg to Kolata

Top 10

 1 Robert Eyderweg (Choppyhausen)               6:10:38
 2 Obi Nagasi (Croblade)                        6:10:44
 3 Pyetr Kovalenko (Ostrovskiy)                 6:11:02
 4 Lionel Adam Sepedaan (Sidoarjo Raya)         6:11:13
 5 Scott Broomhead (Croblade)                   6:11:34
 6 Doreen van Goren (Choppyhausen)              6:11:50
 7 Lydia Tassea (Sentinopolis)                  6:12:23
 8 Olga Warczyk (Azropa)                        6:12:34
 9 Aleksandr Losevsky (Kalixia)                 6:12:54
10 Janusz Krasiński (Azropa)                    6:13:00

11 Nathan Drake (Goanya)                        6:13:11
12 Victor Sullivan (Sentinopolis)               6:13:15
13 Engi Mögnagassonr (Bjornifjordaland)         6:13:40
14 Eduardu Acquaviva (Etarria)                  6:13:43
15 Djoko Prasetyawan (Sidoarjo Raya)            6:16:48
16 Patrick Hamilton (Goanya)                    6:17:47
17 Kirk Chiphead (Ostlantis)                    6:19:01
18 Juanni Cosmo (Surpantaria)                   6:19:08
19 Hiðugir Uðoðssonr (Bjornifjordaland)         6:19:24
20 Lyublyana Kravchuk (Ostrovskiy)              6:19:49
21 John Baxter (Pazill Ran)                     6:20:13
22 Lucy Johnson (Pazill Ran)                    6:20:35
23 Maria Polyanska (Ostrovskiy)                 6:20:54
24 Anastasia Fanina (Kalixia)                   6:20:55
25 David Zonov (Kalixia)                        6:21:09
26 Bill Goodwin (Pazill Ran)                    6:21:21
27 Damir Shults (Kalixia)                       6:21:22
28 Anya Cyral (Saginia)                         6:21:37
29 Orsu Romani (Etarria)                        6:21:57
30 Patrick Radermann (Choppyhausen)             6:22:36
31 Farah Buqu (Saginia)                         6:22:40
32 Uðgir Koljagirssonr (Bjornifjordaland)       6:23:09
33 Sognakí Áðforjasdottir (Bjornifjordaland)    6:23:50
34 Alexander Martin (Croblade)                  6:23:57
35 Feline Sol (Choppyhausen)                    6:24:17
36 Kat Nyer (Saginia)                           6:25:32
37 Pauline Eyderweg (Choppyhausen)              6:26:25
38 Gabriela Masarska (Azropa)                   6:26:57
39 Magumettu Geronimi (Etarria)                 6:28:53
40 Rodney Howard (Goanya)                       6:28:57
41 Michael Ellis (Goanya)                       6:29:59
   Jane Wells (Pazill Ran)                      6:29:59
43 Artur Maxadu (Surpantaria)                   6:30:00
44 Fordorrico Verdo (Surpantaria)               6:30:01
   Marvin Feder (Choppyhausen)                  6:30:01
   Alisandru Forrnendo (Surpantaria)            6:30:01
47 Eryk Brzyszkiewicz (Azropa)                  6:30:02
48 Irenea Guerrini (Etarria)                    6:30:04
49 Zacharias Tavoularallis (Sentinopolis)       6:30:05
   Adam Matotis (Sentinopolis)                  6:30:05
51 Alexander Eyderweg (Choppyhausen)            6:30:33
52 Felix McCyclebrick (Choppyhausen)            6:30:54
53 Lera Urde (Saginia)                          6:34:51

Eliminated

 — Örmi Engissonr (Bjornifjordaland)                DNF
   June Ausla (Saginia)                             DNF
   Rinata Rocca (Etarria)                           DNF

Racing for the Cosmos

WHOEVER was writing the script for this event must have been feeling particularly mischievous on the day of the first stage, as it appeared fate itself had selected Juanni Cosmo, the until-recently-unemployed tourist who'd never even rode a bicycle before, to be the luckiest out of Surpantaria's participants. 6 hours, 19 minutes, and 8 seconds. Less than 10 minutes away from first place. Sure, he wasn't even close to being there, only managing to reach 18th place, but for a complete novice like him, that was more than enough. Besides, he had a fantastic time on the way to Kolata, and for him, the experience of the journey mattered a lot more than how long it took.

His other teammates were in a... less positive mood, to put it lightly. All of them had arrived at the same time, and all of them were near the bottom of the pack. No one seriously watching the contest had expected Surpantaria to put up a legendary performance, but the news was still painful to take in. And no one took it harder than Alisandru Forrnendo. The supposed best cyclist in his entire nation had come in behind all of his countrymen, and it was said he could be seen visibly seething as he entered the Kalixian capital, as his entire reputation was now on the line. He did appear to cheer up, however, after Artur Maxadu reminded him that at least he wasn't one of the three unlucky souls to have been eliminated that day.

Regardless, a good showing for Surpantaria, already regarded as a long-shot, now appears to be hopelessly out of reach. Three out of its four cyclists have been effectively knocked out of the race, and it looks doubtful that the other one can even make it to the top quarter, nevermind the podium. Can Juanni Cosmo pull off a miracle, or will the odds against him send him crashing down?

Utter Disappointment

The director of Team Sentinopolis stood in awe at the complete ineptitude of his team. Zacharias, Lydia, and Victor had been training for this moment for months, but now that it was here, they couldn't help but get themselves disqualified at every turn. In the first stage, Victor Sullivan stopped to fraternize with a friend on the opposing team and got himself disqualified, and in the second, Lydia had totaled her bicycle and gotten disqualified as well. Now, Director Bardas had to whip these utter disappointments into shape.

"What were you all thinking?! Do you have any idea how the world stage will view us after your catastrophies?! NOBODY WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY SERIOUSLY IF YOU KEEP GETTING DISQUALIFICATIONS! The only one of you in this room who finished in ANY sort of shape was YOU, Victor, but I don't believe for a second you weren't getting help from that man on Team Goanya. I want all of you, ALL OF YOU, training from now until the sun sets! Sentinopolis cannot afford to look weak or incompetent, which ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN! GET OUT OF THIS ROOM AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU'RE PROPER RACERS!"

After Bardas had finished his screaming session, his face beet-red, he stormed out of the room. The team were frozen in surprise for a moment, before deciding that doing what their team said was better than another screaming session. Zacharias and the others made their way to their bicycles, locked up safely inside the team's trailer.

"I can't believe that Bardas guy. It isn't like we haven't been putting in the work," Zacharias complained as he opened the trailer door for his team. "Like he said, Victor managed to get 7th place! That's not too shabby!"

"Thanks, kid," Victor replied. "But 'ol Bardas did have a point. We aren't doing too well out there. Maybe you kids will learn a thing or two from some training."

"We've been training for months already, and we already completed two stages. What more does he want from us?" Lydia says, unlocking her new bike.

"He just wants us to succeed, even if he's got an... Aggressive way of showing it. Now, come on, we got training to do. I'll make sure we're ready for the next stage coming up."

For the rest of the day, Team Sentinopolis raced up and down the paths around Vesagrad, steeling themselves for the next race. Victor was the most experienced out of all of them, so he took it upon himself to be an unofficial team coach for the rest of them. By the time the sun began to set, they all felt a little better than before. The team went back to the trailer, locked up their bikes for the night, and went back to the hotel to get some well deserved rest.

'Maybe by Stage 3 one of us will finally get a podium finish,' Victor thought to himself as he settled down into an armchair. He reached underneath it, and retrieved a hidden box of cigars. Smoking wasn't allowed on the premises, but that wouldn't stop him from enjoying one or two when everyone else was asleep. He grabbed all the necessary smoking utensils from the box, and began smoking a fine Goanyan cigar his friend had gotten for him.