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With the race season drawing to a close and only three events remaining, Alice was able to stay at home more. Alice was glad to be back in her lab with Jenny and Molly working on quieter things. This year she had competed in more professional events than ever before. With one exception, she had taken first in all of them. The one race she did not win was the first DNF Alice had in years. She got tangled up by a hot headed rookie and tore the driver's side rear wheel, hub and suspension apart during the final few laps.

Still Alice was pleased with the way the season had gone even with the one DNF. Her only problem with the DNF was tearing up the car, not winning was of little matter compared to damaging the Viper. Alice took pride in never tearing up equipment even pushing it past its limits. Actually not finishing one race took a little pressure off of her. It and the race Carly had beaten her last year proved Alice was not unbeatable. It was just difficult to beat her, but it could be done.

What Alice was the most thrilled about would be actually spending time with her wife and daughter. She had missed them both due to field work and race events. Unfortunately, the mouse still had public things to do even in the upcoming off season. Alice was going to be busy year round it seemed.

Jenny was looking at the calendar in her phone, the last three events highlighted on her display. One of course was the track day for the fans, no tricks this year, darn it. Jenny didn't mind that one at all. It was the other two Jenny was concerned about and as Jenny looked over at Alice playing with Harley; she knew it was the two Alice was looking forward to above all other events.

"You look rather happy." Alice said as Roslyn and Stacy came in after knocking on their apartment door.

"I am because I am flying you to Germany for the race. And that is not all." Roslyn said with a smile.

Stacy raised her hand excitedly. "And I get to be her copilot for the trip!"

"That means you passed all of your tests, congratulations!" Jenny exclaimed as she quickly forgot her phone and jumped up to nearly crush Stacy in her arms as she hugged the little lioness.

"Not so tight..." Stacy said and was relieved to be put down. "Either it's the part of you that is cat, or you have been to the gym... a lot."

Jenny blushed. "Well, I couldn't do my normal work out with her. So I have been going extra after she was born."

"I am not sure how, but she has even more energy now than before..." Alice sighed and Harley tried to imitate her.

"More energy? That simply cannot be possible." Roslyn said with a smile.

"That means you are cleared for flying four engine craft now, correct?" Jenny asked as Stacy sat next to Alice.

"Correct. The only thing left is to get seat time flying and then I will be able to be a pilot. This is almost as exciting as being changed." Stacy said with a smile.

"Speaking of flying." Roslyn said as she and Jenny looked out the window to the hanger where the new ship was being built. "I don't suppose he has told either of you anything about the new starship."

"No." Jenny and Alice replied.

Nodrog glanced out the large hanger doors at the gigantic main building with a smile. He turned back to Marko and company. "We have a few candidates for navigators. Perenth was going to give me information on them later today."

"Have they been through any screening?" Sherman asked. They were overseeing the attachment of the atmospheric drive system. Currently, construction was ahead of schedule by three weeks. Which still put completion around the end of next year.

"Very basic, all of them have no problem living on earth or working with humans from this world." Nodrog said as overhead cranes positioned sections of the craft.

"Two of them are enthusiastic about it. Only one of them has any apprehensions at all." Nodrog said.

Marko smiled as they bolted the drive system to the hull. "Oh, what are their apprehensions?"

"Only in dealing with me." Nodrog said indifferently.

"Is that a major concern, or something we can dismiss?" Dmitri asked.

"It is of little consequence to me. However it is something you will have to take into consideration. I do not know what the dragon's apprehension to working with me is. I will assist Sherman and the other staff in selecting a candidate. In so far as their abilities and the benefits of their elemental alignment. Marko still has final say in any decision made." Nodrog said.

"We still need to make housing arrangements for our navigator and more permanent arrangements for other off worlders." Tabbatha added as the noise of power tools hammered away in the hanger.

"That might need to wait until we hire a navigator. After all, some of the dragons on the Velopian world preferred to have their own, private dwellings." Kitty said thinking mainly of Inilth's home and vast garden. The stone dragon had a very warm and welcoming home, and personality.

"Mianth has a small single person apartment in a complex, nothing special about it at all. Kitty has a good point to consider." Nodrog said.

"Still, we are running out of housing on site. Plus we need to expand other facilities to handle the larger influx of off world visitors. Thankfully we have plenty of space to handle some expansion. Although Alice might lose some of her play space." Marko said with a chuckle.

"I saw an article on the actual airport expanding to accommodate space ships. Any truth to that?" Catlin asked.

Dmitri looked at his own tablet. "I saw the same article. I know they have begun surveying part of the facility and applied for building permits."

"That will be good. Get a little larger influx of travel." Marko said.

"Speaking of travel, are you still planning on accompanying Alice and Carly for the race in December?" Tabbatha asked.

"Of course." Marko said and looked at Nodrog who checked his watch again. "Are we keeping you from something?"

"I thought Samantha said we were not allowed to go with them today?" Sherman asked.

"We aren't going with them." Nodrog said.

"Than why are you eyeing your watch so closely?" Sherman asked.

Nodrog chuckled. "I am supposed to baby-sit Harley for Alice and Jenny."

If not for the noise of tools you could have heard a pin drop as the group just looked blankly at Nodrog.

"What?" Most of them asked.

Nodrog crossed his arms. "It is not that far fetched of an idea."

"Don't you do things like change political regimes, not diapers?" Jade asked with a snicker.

"Well both do need changing, for the same reason most times. Diapers just tend to be less messy and time consuming." Nodrog said. Between his three lives, he was considerably older than the human race. Just because he could not father children did not mean he did not know how to care for them.

Catlin blushed. "So is there anything you do not know how to do?"

"I do not know how to compose music. I can play it easily, but writing is outside my grasp." Nodrog said and shrugged.

"Actually Sir, we do have another meeting shortly." Tabbatha said and was the only female who did not have maternal thoughts at the moment. Jade, Kitty and Catlin all were thinking of how close he fit to their ideal of the perfect man.

"In any event, have a good day. When can I expect an over view of the candidates?" Marko asked as he glanced at his own watch.

"Tomorrow afternoon or early the following day." Nodrog said and scratched his chin. "Depends on how many questions Sherman and the others have for me on the matter."

Nodrog knew what all the ladies were doing, Roslyn had told him as much. The only reason Roslyn was going is, well Jenny and Stacy would not let her say no. Either they begged and pleaded or guilted her into going he was not sure. The two felines were very skilled when it came to harmless, but devious tricks. They used their cuteness with frightening results.

Nodrog smiled as the young girl marveled at the change of venue after passing through the shadow monster. The quiet apartment replaced by the sound of other kids playing and the warmth of a summer breeze as they stood out in Inilth's yard.

He had promised to take care of Harley before Perenth wanted to go over things. One of the navigators had a child and so did a few of the Velopian staff. Inilth's backyard was large enough to accommodate the meeting and the youngsters. The weather was pleasant this time of year and the dragon's backyard was possibly the safest place for the kids to play. Why have a meeting inside a stuffy building when the outdoors was more inviting?

Interestingly the dragon navigator who had apprehensions working with Nodrog, was one of the two candidates present. The young dragon was seventy years younger than Mianth. A short and slender male air elemental with high cheek bones and shoulder length white hair and scales. Only his storm cloud gray eyes hinted at any strength at all.

Strength was the young dragon's hesitation to instantly agreeing to the prospect of moving to earth. His apprehension and hesitation came from being afraid the earth aspect typhoon would look down on him for his frailer or feminine appearance.

There were a few exceptions to the rule, but generally a dragon's power could be easily figured by their size. However looks can be deceiving and considering Mianth was slightly bigger than him... Skill wise, he ranked as high as Mianth. He was afraid he would be overlooked or completely dismissed by Nodrog. Plus there were many rumors and stories about the overwhelming strength and power of the Iron Dragon.

It was not that surprising how many of the graduates were fearful or hesitant to work with Nodrog, given his unique standing and status. He could teleport vast amounts of material or people without training. The theory most had behind Nodrog being able to do, without training what so few could; he had figured out how in a past life. He did not use true teleportation or the very short range blink. Nodrog used both to cover any distance.

Also not to be over looked or forgotten, the Iron Dragon was metal, and so were starships. With the exception of Velopians and a small number of other races that lived on low iron worlds. Blood contained a fair amount of it, all metal bowed to Nodrog. He ate it, lived off of it and depending on his form, it became part of him.

So for the two young dragons who had applied to be Marko's first dragon navigator, to see the all powerful typhoon care for a child, was profound. He was polite, and laughed. This was not what they had expected the most powerful dragon to be like. He was honest with them, letting them know he did not have much influence over who the humans would offer the job too.

With files and Harley in arm, Nodrog headed back to earth. When the ladies returned home they found the typhoon reading a story to the girl. It was times like this, the humans forgot what he really was and what he was truly capable of. It was times like this, Nodrog himself could forget why he was made and simply enjoy life.

"So, now that they can't hear us. Was she really as good as you said?" Roslyn asked as they walked to their apartment.

"With any luck Harley will continue to take after Alice, and be a little saint. Truthfully it wasn't hard to watch her since she played with other kids." Nodrog said.

Roslyn looked over at a pair of landing fighter jets. "I suppose hate is something that has to be taught."

"Most evils are learned." Nodrog said.

"Was she scared?" Roslyn asked.

"Not at all. Everything is fascinating to them at that age. I hope that like Jenny and Alice, she keeps that fascination." Nodrog said.

Roslyn turned her eyes to the hanger with the under construction starship. "Is it a warship?"

Nodrog smiled. "I am surprised one of you has not asked sooner."

"Well it is sort of top secret." Roslyn said and searched his face for insight.

"It has weapons, but it is not a warship. Armed research and cargo vessel would be a fitting description. The Velopian Cutter it is based on is designed for speed not fighting. It can defend itself from smaller craft and in a group possibly take on a destroyer. However against larger vessels its best course of action is to out run anything that could damage it." Nodrog looked at Roslyn with a smile as he spoke.

"That does not sound too bad. Even I carried a weapon with me when flying and my planes at least had a chaff and jammer system for defense." Roslyn said thoughtfully.

"Long lasting peace would be wonderful, however we know all too well, eventually something will change that." Nodrog said.

"Unfortunately." Roslyn said a felt a little better after he put an arm around her.

What Nodrog did not tell Roslyn, or Alice and Jenny was the fact they were indeed building a warship. It would be equal to the Velopian or Gray battleships, though not nearly as capable as either race's capital ships and battle carriers. Sharn traveled mainly on the most heavily armed and armored battle ship the Velopians had. They had a ship that dwarfed the Admiral's fleet ship in both size and power. It remained hidden from spying eyes in the very metal heavy asteroid belt in their system.

The Grays hid nothing from their enemies' eyes. Because they believed that they simply had far superior equipment. They also enjoyed showing it off thinking none could copy their technology. The Grays would be shocked to learn how quickly Marko's staff had been able to do just that. Actually the Velopians were surprised how quickly the humans learned how to copy and build technology.

The Amazons and Minotaur had rather large navies at their disposal, since they focused so heavily on war. Monsters did not really put much stock or faith in huge complicated technology. As time goes by, they might reconsider it if it becomes necessary. For now, why bother since a few of their kind could destroy legions with thought. Surly the typhoons would protect the monsters if it came down to it.

With August and September past, it was October and that meant it was time for the race Alice had been looking forward to all year. Well one of two races Alice was looking forward to all year. It actually was the first time Alice was visibly excited about a race most people had seen.

Alice was not the only excited one, Stacy was both excited and incredibly nervous. Roslyn was in charge however she made Stacy do a large amount of the work load. The little lion guided the loading of the semi truck and had to make sure it was correctly chained down to the deck of the plane. Roslyn of course standing behind her making sure everything was correct.

This was not a test, Roslyn favored a more hands off approach to training. She would not let anything be missed or over looked, only offering assistance when asked for it. Actual loading and unloading, and time in the copilot's seat were more valuable than classroom lecture and simulation. At least in Roslyn's mind it mattered more.

Alice, Nodrog and the others belted in as Stacy went over the preflight checklist with Roslyn. With that done they put on their belts and got the engines started.

"Very good Stacy. After you do this several more times, your nerves will calm down and it will go a little quicker." Roslyn said as she prepped for takeoff. They taxied out to the runway and waited for permission to take off.

With Roslyn's guidance Stacy got the big plane moving and into the air. Roslyn's hands were always on the controls but that was part of the guidance. Along with verbal guidance and pointing out things that the simulators could not actually simulate, like G force and load.

Stacy relaxed a little after they turned on auto pilot, but still keeping her eyes moving over the rows of gauges and indicators.

Chapter.

It was an uneventful flight over to Germany. Roslyn saved her praise and critics until the two were alone. Roslyn did not believe in pointing out faults when others were present. Stacy had not done anything wrong, but did need to work on a couple of things. Things that Roslyn pointed out would improve with seat time.

They would meet up with the others later. After all, the others slept on the way over. Roslyn and Stacy would be able to watch from the semi truck parked in the pits. The track was forty three miles south of Cologne. They would be racing on the combined circuit, which was sixteen point one miles in length with one hundred and seventy turns. The reason why Jenny was so nervous about this race? Since its completion in 1927 and several major rebuilds and repairs since then, the track has taken the lives of over three hundred race car drivers.

Jenny was terrified of Alice actually competing on the ring. Alice was an incredible driver, few compared to her. The track didn't care because some of those drivers were the best of their day. The Amazon track was a little longer, but it was twice as wide and had a great deal more area between track and solid barriers. The Nurburgring was tight and unforgiving with poor visibility in most areas.

It demanded concentration and utmost skill to successfully navigate which was why Alice had dreamed about racing here. It was a track that was portrayed in many video games and Alice was curious to see how well the games portrayed the track. Ten minutes into her first practice session she complemented the game designers on the visual appearance of the track. However the track surface was in less than ideal shape having banged and scraped the underside of the Viper in a several places. Leading her to believe the reason no one had made a lap under six minutes was simply because the track was to rough to maintain a higher speed. Her practice laps would not be needed to learn the track's twists and turns, but where it might rip something off the car or punch a hole in something.

The rough track surface caused problems for everyone which included a wreck that totaled one of the race cars. This was one of the few tracks Ron had not competed on during his career as a driver. So he was also nervous as qualifying began late in the week. Some of the whispers and grumblings in the pits bothered him.

His daughter was a bit naive thinking all of the people she raced against did not hold grudges, or just disliked other drivers. Ron had managed to protect her from some, as did Wes and Tim. An international event like this, it would be impossible. Because he knew Alice had people who disliked or hated her and did not think she belonged behind the wheel.

In some aspects the race on the Amazon world was a pleasant change of pace. Because all of the drivers were female, and with a couple of exceptions; they were all very courteous and respectful of one another. They all wanted to win, but they all wanted to win fairly. Ron hoped the next off world race would be equally as nice.

Thanks to changing the springs and adding a quarter inch to the ride height the Viper didn't scrape its underside in as many places. With qualifying over, Alice had placed herself on the second row in fourth place. Which made her the fastest person that had never raced on the track. The other track rookies were much farther back in the field. Alice was in high company since she sat with some of the best professional divers on this world. The three drivers ahead of her were people she still looked up to, people she had wanted to emulate.

In person, they left a little to be desired. So Alice decided instead of emulating them, she would just have to beat them. Actually that was her plan from the start to win her first time out. It was certainly not outside of her abilities or far fetched to think such. That was some of the reason a few of the professional drivers were glad Alice did not compete fully. They wanted to win championships after all.

Thanks to the track's layout and condition, this was going to be the most punishing race of Alice's career. Even Stacy and Roslyn could see Alice was a little tense. The mouse was still calm and smiled for cameras as they got the car out on the starting grid. Once in the car Alice calmed down further. Her strategy as always, wait for an opening.

It was a beautiful fall day with heavy cloud cover. Which with the track's size mattered, because the track surface would not be a constant temperature. Cooler sections would have less grip than the portion still in sunlight. The race had been scheduled to be ran on Saturday, however rain postponed it until Monday.

Alice was in one of three Vipers on track, the unmarked candy red car still stood out from the others. While having a few other Mopars on track was fun, Alice was more pleased that the three of them all were ahead of the four Corvettes in the mix. Wes was not competing today, but there were a couple Austin Martins on track, which she also had qualified faster than.

The three cars ahead of her were certainly no slouches in performance. One was a Mclaren, one a Mercedes and the third a Jaguar. All of them twelve cylinder turbo or super charged engines. Alice liked putting her larger and louder displacement car up in the front. As a good friend of her father's said 'there is no replacement for displacement.'

She had at least two liters of displacement on most of the field, which was offset by the heavier weight of her car. Plus some would argue, the loss of power because of the all wheel drive system. The two other Vipers were rear drive, one naturally aspirated and the other running a blower. Two of the Corvettes where also running a forced air induction system of some kind.

The starting grid was twenty cars. This was an invite only race, of which many openly voiced opinions against Alice being able to compete. Since she was the only driver not to have won a Championship. They were out voted by the others since Alice had taken first place at the first race held on another planet.

All but two of those who were against Alice racing were at the back of the starting grid. Which had been pointed out as a possible reason to their outcry. The other two sat in the front row. The green flag dropped and the race started off cleanly.

Alice held her ground and position as they wound their way around the monster ring. Because of the cooler temps, she didn't have to eye some of her gauges as frequently. The car had plenty of power and grip to stay right on the heels of the three drivers ahead of her.

As they got ready for the first pit stop, Alice's pit crew were on edge. Not because of Alice's performance, but theirs. DJ stood at her spot bouncing lightly to focus and calm herself down. The impact gun weighed heavy in her hands. Oddly more so than the first pit stop on the Amazon world.

Alice slid into her pit and waited as they changed tires and fueled the car. Her eyes focused on DJ, as soon as the kitten began to move across, Alice pushed the clutch in and put the car in gear. In her mind it was a perfect stop as she squealed the tires leaving her pit stall. As she pulled back out on track, it was a perfect stop.

It was a solid two hours into the race, when there was the first of a few odd incidents. Nodrog was placing the driver's side tires for the following pit stop. DJ and Wes were working on something else, which in DJ's case proved to be a saving grace. As one of the drivers came down pit road a little too fast and clipped Nodrog.

Which did him no harm, but hitting the nine hundred pound iron dragon severally damaged the car. Ron had a lengthy talk with a race official about it and clearly the team who's car hit Nodrog, seemed more upset he was not injured than the fact the car needed repaired.

"They were going to dock him positions, but considering the damage to the car..." Ron said as they huddled by the tool box.

"That was a cheap ass shot and everyone knows it." Big Joe grumbled.

"Wes." Nodrog said.

"Yeah?" Wes asked and was still upset about what the driver had done. Solid metal dragon or not.

Nodrog crossed his arms. "Switch me positions. You be jack and fuel man, I'll change tires."

"That's not something to change mid race." Ron said.

"It might not be, but what if someone else tries something? They would hit me before the car or DJ." Nodrog said.

"He has a point Ron." Little Joe said from his seat on the tool box. "Better make up your mind, she is only a minute out."

Nodrog looked Ron in the eye. "I have taken harder hits than that before. If they are going to play rough, at least let me give them a solid target."

"Alight. Wes switch him spots." Ron said and a shiver went up his spine. He had heard the stories, but to actually see it was something else. Plus he could not forgive himself if something happened to Wes or DJ.

"Alice, Wes and Nodrog switched spots. Just wait for DJ's signal and you will be fine." Little Joe said over the radio.

"Something wrong?" Alice asked as she headed down pit road.

"Just a close call. Someone was a little to reckless coming down pit road." Ron said as he watched the red Viper make its way down to them.

"I feel sorry for whoever hits him." Alice said and ducked into her pit stall. She felt the car raise as Wes sent air to the jacks and watched as the fuel gauge quickly climbed to full once again. She could hear the impact guns and her ears told her Nodrog was keeping pace with the others. The car dropped and she took off once again.

There had only been one full course caution in the two hours. The couple other incidents were quickly cleaned up, or on pit road. One of the drivers who supported Alice in attending was involved in a serious wreck, leading to several injuries. None life threatening.

"Did you notice?" Little Joe asked as he leaned over to talk to Ron and Joe.

"Notice what?" Big Joe asked.

Little Joe pointed to Nodrog. "They have been going a little wider by our pit when he is out in it."

"Can you blame them? Normally when someone is hit by a race car, they leave the track in the back of an ambulance." Ron said. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous.

DJ was much calmer with Nodrog on her side of the car for the pit stops. She and her sister were uneasy about some of the looks they had gotten since showing up. They also noticed like Dmitri, Nodrog's presence changed other people's attitudes. During practice they had gotten lost and had asked a few people to point them in the right direction. Most simply pretended not to understand them.

One team they figured had said something rather nasty about them in German, and clearly looked down at them. DJ and TJ were scared and thankful Nodrog showed up when he did. The other pit crew looked frightened when Nodrog said something to them in German. He would not tell them what he or they had said. Probably for the best the twins thought.

Out on track in the Viper, Alice was still maintaining her position. She had lead for a few laps as the leaders pitted early. Her lowest position of the day being eight. She was still being respectful and waited to make passes on everyone. So far it had been just about everything she had dreamed about. Aside from the poor condition of the track surface.

She ended up trading a little paint simply because the track was narrow and rough. Nothing Alice couldn't handle and nothing that hampered the car's handling. After four hours of getting beat up by the punishing track, Alice had her eyes on the finish line and with a less than a mile to go held the lead.

Despite scrapping the underside and trading a little paint the sinister snake howled down the track. It had weathered the event rather well and with her guidance had taken the lead around the three quarter mark of the final lap.

Alice grabbed a higher gear and laid into the power after coming out of a corner. She could hear the Jaguar off her left side, it had a little better pull in this section of the course. While the Viper cornered exceptionally well, there were cars that took corners better than her car.

The two traded paint as they entered another corner. That wasn't really unexpected, Alice wasn't going to let them by without making them work for it this late in the day. She held on as the Viper got a little sideways after another light tap from the Jag.

It was the following hit Alice had not expected. It was a rough section of the track so she shrugged it off and powered on. Which is when something happened and the second place car plowed into the rear quarter panel of the Viper sending them both off track.

The accident could not have been poorer timed as this section was incredibly uneven. Those sitting on the inside of the track watching were starting to get up and run away as the two cars plowed off track.

Alice's heart sank as she realized there was no saving it and quickly reached over and disconnected the battery power. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms as the Viper slid sideways at more than one hundred and sixty miles per hour. A second hit upset the car more, and then it just got worse.

Still well over one hundred and thirty, the Viper lost what little down force it had in the slide. With no down force at all the Viper, violently rolled over. The car hurled body panels, Plexiglas, the passenger front wheel and other parts as it tumbled. The sound of rending metal and parts breaking was all Alice could hear. It rolled four times before hitting the fence at eighty miles per hour. The fence kept the car from going into the scattering crowd, but turned the roll into an even more violent spin.

Alice had lost consciousness before hitting the fence. The crumpled and mangled Viper came to a rest upside down along a tire barrier. The Jag did not fare any better and one of the spectators was killed after being struck by a part of the Viper the safety fence did not catch. From the moment of the hard hit that sent them off track to the cars coming to a mangled stop was only seconds.

Roslyn and Stacy were out of the trailer and sprinting to the pits before Alice had rolled. They had to stop Nodrog before he did anything, be it helpful or violent. Stacy managed to catch Wes who was clearly upset.

Roslyn put both hands around Nodrog's snout and jerked his head around to look at her. His eyes already glowing. "Look at me! You can't do anything. Not right now. I know you want to but you can't right now."

DJ and TJ each grabbed one of Nodrog's arms. Pleading that he not go and help Alice or hurt the other driver. It was a part of racing Alice knew the dangers of. The three of them managed to keep him from doing anything rash. However he still took a chunk out of the brick wall with his fist as they walked to the trailer. Which scared everyone that saw it.

Nodrog did not want to wait for the useless mortal doctors to check on Alice. He wanted to take her to someone far more skilled with healing. Alice was still out as the EMTs pulled her out of the mangled beyond repair, Viper.

On the other side of the world Jenny was with a number of coworkers in a late afternoon meeting. It was an rather important meeting and they were supposed to have turned their phones off or left them in their offices.

Marko chuckled as Jenny jumped and fumbled with her phone as it rang in the middle of the meeting. "Jenny, I know you are excited to hear from Alice but..."

Everyone watched as Jenny stared at her ringing phone, her face turning pale. "Jenny aren't you going to answer it?" Jade asked.

Molly leaned over to look at the caller ID. "It isn't Alice, its Alice's father."

Jenny's phone continued to ring and Tabbatha jumped up as the private phone she carried for Marko began to ring. The young assistant was now worried as the caller ID said Roslyn was trying to reach Marko.