Iron Dragon Chapter 189
#96 of Iron Dragon
Alice called it a day and headed for home and was a little surprised to find Nodrog was sitting on the couch. The lovely smell of her favorite dish wafting through the air was the second thing she noticed. While Nodrog and eggplant Parmesan were pleasant, the way Jenny's face lit up when she saw her was even better. Even if Jenny had a miserable day, she was always happy to see her and that made Alice feel special.
Not that Nodrog was ever unhappy to see her, as he smiled as she closed the door behind her. "So?"
"We finished one and have it ready for paint before final assembly. All the parts and pieces go out Monday." Alice said as she took off her shoes before heading to the kitchen.
"Hey there cutie." Jenny said with a smile as Alice kissed her cheek.
"Dinner smells good, but what's for dessert?" Alice asked and put her hand on Jenny's ass as she stood close.
"I think you already have something in mind." Jenny said as she spread garlic butter on the bread.
Alice took a deep breath in, dinner did smell wonderful, and this close she could make out the light scent of her kitten's body wash and shampoo. "You know, you smell good enough to eat..."
"So the mouse is trying to put the kitten on the menu." Jenny cooed as Alice gave her ass a gentle squeeze.
Alice leaned close to whisper in her ear. "I can always get the dragon to put you on the menu for me... and him."
Jenny sighed as the fingers of Alice's other hand rubbed her clit through her pants and panties. It seemed working on the truck had put Alice in the mood, and Jenny always loved that. With a playful seductive tone Jenny quietly said. "You hold the same power over me as he does, so what do you wish?"
Alice smiled. "I want you naked after dinner."
"I think that can be arranged." Jenny smiled as Alice went about putting plates on the table.
Dinner was nice and while Alice put their daughter to bed, Jenny made Nodrog aware of Alice's after dinner dessert plans. As Jenny moaned from his unspoken word, Nodrog had agreed that Alice had a lovely idea. By the time they had gone to the bedroom her panties were damp and she was whimpering in frustration from the lack of physical contact.
The mouse and dragon did not leave her wanting for long as the two quickly undressed the kitten and had her laying on the bed. Alice licked her lips seductively before going down on Jenny. Jenny moaned softly as Alice ate her out while Nodrog removed Alice's clothing.
Jenny watched Nodrog undress as he hungrily eyed the two of them. His lust was like her own and nearly palatable, though his a bit more predatory than her playful. As he stuck his snout between Alice's cheeks, Alice pulled on Jenny's hips pushing her own mousy snout down on Jenny's wet muff firmer, moaning in the process. Alice's moaning, got Jenny to moan and grab the comforter.
Alice's head was swimming between Nodrog's tongue probing her depths and the scent of Jenny's arousal filling her nose. It had been a while since the three of them had a little private time and Alice really wanted some hot and sweaty sex with her two lovers. Sex during the race season had been a little hit or miss, now with the season over, Alice could indulge her more carnal desires.
Not that Alice figured Jenny or Nodrog would mind indulging her. Jenny gripped the comforter tighter as Alice licked her to an orgasm. The kitten bucked under her licking and moaned softly. The warm scales of Nodrog's thumb rubbed across her own clit and brought Alice to climax.
Alice kissed Jenny with lips wet with Jenny's own orgasm as Nodrog took her from behind. Jenny held Alice tightly as she waited her turn for the dragon's attention. Though she could not resist the temptation to tease Alice's clit with a finger. Along with fingering herself as Nodrog's erotic magic made her whole body shiver with pleasure.
Alice and Jenny both worked up a bit of a sweat from their love making and were more than a little weak in the knees. The two of them took a quick shower before falling asleep in the others arms. The weeks waiting for the truck to be reassembled were agonizing to Alice and seemed to just drag on. She wanted it to be done so she could actually drive it. Finally on a cold day Katie called to report that the truck was back in one piece. Alice didn't even wait for Jenny to get off work and just headed down to the shop.
"I think that might be a new record." Wes said as he glanced at the clock hanging behind the counter.
"Record for what?" Alice asked as she walked over to the counter.
"How fast you got here." Joe chuckled.
Alice smiled. "I can do better."
"Of that, we have little doubt." Katie said as she walked out from the shop.
Wes stayed out to man the counter while the others headed back to see Alice's new ride.
"The truck was a lot of fun to design, since you can see so many more components than a low slung car. Though it was also challenging because you can see so much of the internals." Katie said as they walked to the back of the shop. The truck was sitting in the paint booth, mainly for the lighting and it would be out of the way.
With a flip of two switches the lights in the paint booth came on and Alice finally was staring at the front end of her truck, and it was staring back. The sharp angles and flared fenders caught the light in menacing fashion coated in her preferred shade of red. Walking to the side, black tears highlighted other body bulges and angles. The tube frame was black as was most of the suspension. The lower front A arms and the massive rear lower links were anodized the same shade of red as the body. The giant tires were mounted on black wheels and clamped in place by red bead lock rings. The only chrome being the shock shafts and the reflection portion of the lights. Both spare tires were bolted down in the back and there was no tail gate.
Alice smiled. "I think you have once again out done yourself."
"Glad you like it." Katie said as Alice climbed into the driver seat.
"I don't think like is a strong enough word. I am positive everyone will know who is driving this as soon as it gets on the starting grid." Alice said and looked over the gauges and controls. She loved catching air on her sled and imagined that the truck could handle some truly monstrous air. Wheel travel could be measured in feet and the seats were also designed to absorb the impacts from rough terrain and full compression landings. Alice preferred a manual transmission, but an automatic was the better choice for off road. Though it was not a true automatic, like the transmissions in Carly's cars, this one had a manual valve body with reverse lock out. Alice still determined what gear it would be in, there was no clutch pedal to worry about keeping her left foot on.
There was no flowing plastic or fiberglass in the cab, it was all business in the truck. Gauges mounted to a flat piece of panted steel, a robust and heavy plastic switch panel controlled all of the electrical. The only thing with padding besides the seat was the rubber covering on the steering wheel. A circuit breaker panel and the mount for a navigation system were the only things on the passenger side. Still plenty of room for Natasha's tall frame.
With it fully winter, the finished truck was loaded up in her vehicle hauler and Nodrog would transport the semi to Arizona so Alice could put some miles on it. Little Joe, DJ and Natasha accompanied Alice out to the off road facility. Robin 'Hang Time' Sebastian called the nearby city of Tuscan home. She was a career adrenaline junky who dominated the off road world four wheels or two. Robin was also factory sponsored to race trucks and motocross.
"Welcome to my back yard." Robin said as they got out of the truck and walked over to her. Robin was a raccoon anthro and neared Natasha in height.
"Hell of a back yard. Nice to meet you in person." Alice said with a smile.
Robin smiled. "It is nice to meet the fastest mouse in all the land. Gota say it feels a little odd to have been asked to give you pointers."
"I'm just glad you agreed to it." Alice said as they now walked over to the truck Robin drove.
Alice's truck aside from paint and supercharger was identical to Robin's. Robin's truck ran twin turbochargers and was know by the name 'Ghost'. The truck was painted in dull grays and whites along with eerie greens. The raccoon and mouse thought highly of the other and got down to business quickly. Alice would ride with Robin for a couple laps to learn the track and Robin could point out a few of the giant differences in driving off road.
While Alice was out getting a ride, Little Joe and DJ were getting a little tuning help from Robin's crew. Unlike Alice who knew a little about dirt, the two of them were pure asphalt. The truck didn't have traction control or even a rear differential for that matter. The shocks were another thing, since the truck needed to absorb rough terrain instead of just resisting body roll. While not thrilled about helping future competitors, since Robin had massive respect for Alice, her crew agreed to help. That and they knew Alice would do the same if Robin wanted to try on road.
Alice was grinning widely as they got strapped into her truck. Riding with Robin only got her more excited about getting behind the wheel. She did spend a little more time adjusting belts as that was doubly important in the truck considering just what it was capable of.
"You know I don't think I have ever been excited to ride shotgun before." Robin said as Alice started the engine.
"I think we are on equal ground in that respect." Alice said as she put the truck in first and the rolled out onto the track.
"Since this is the truck's first shake down, let's do a couple slower laps just to make sure everything is tight. Plus it will get you more familiar with the track." Robin said as Alice got them up to a quick speed.
While it was tempting to just lay into it, Robin had a point. So Alice guided the truck around about half the speed they had done in Robin's truck. They listened for anything sounding loose and Robin pointed out turn markers. Once the engine was warmed up and they were convinced everything was tight, Alice rolled into the power.
With less physical body than the Viper, the big V-8 was considerable louder at full throttle. Due to the amount of suspension travel and spring rates, the truck really squatted under full power. It did not pull as hard off the line, but that was more of a traction issue than power. The first thing Alice needed to get used to was the body roll, the truck really leaned around corners. Pulling the inside front wheel off the ground wasn't as unnerving as she would have thought.
Catching air, that was just awesome and Alice giggled the first time they really caught air. Having raced snow machines, she did already know to let off the throttle when in the air and let the truck settle after landing before getting back on the power. By her third lap, Alice was clearing one of the table top jumps and surprising to her own crew was in the right lap time for racing.
"What's her time?" Robin asked as they blew past the start finish line.
"That would have put her starting third in the last race." One of Robin's crew said.
"That's a good place to start." Alice mused and slowed to pull into the pits.
After climbing out of the truck they sat down to look over data. Alice knew numbers and while the terrain was different, race data made sense to her. With some wheel time Alice was comfortable in the truck. After lunch they would take both trucks out on the track so Alice could get used to some of the more uncomfortable things about off road racing. Getting a face full of dirt.
Natasha would be riding with Alice so she could also get used to it. And it gave her a chance to figure out how to get the computer tablet mounted so she could read it while being in a paint shaker. Unlike the road cars, the trucks did not have any windshield at all. They had a metal mesh screen to keep the bigger rocks and things out. Both of their helmets had a motorized film system on them. Just a quick press of a button, the helmet would pull clean film across the visor so they could see again.
Natasha swore in Russian as she took a couple rocks to the chest as Alice chased after Robin around a looser part of the track. Alice weathered the dirt a little better since she had been stung by chunks of ice while racing her sled. Still the race suit wasn't as thick as her winter gear, so she would probably have a couple bruises.
Robin was pleasantly surprised how well Alice kept pace with her. As each lap she went a little faster and the last lap was at her normal race pace. Alice had nearly passed her a couple of times, so Robin knew Alice could handle a truck in the dirt. After a shower Robin took them out to one of her favorite places for dinner. Since tomorrow would be another busy day.
"I think I will need to get a little more padding in my race suit. Some of those really hurt." Natasha said as they got ready for bed.
"We didn't think of that beforehand. Though the gel suits should offer more sting protection." Alice said as she flopped on the bed.
"Good point. I am sure it will be much hotter in the truck during the race season than now." Natasha spoke as she turned off a few lights.
They were sharing a room while Little Joe and DJ shared a room. The two made a cute couple and Alice was really happy for them. Poor TJ was a little lost with her sister spending more time with him than her. Alice didn't give much thought to anything else, because she was out nearly as fast as the light by her bed.
No matter how tired Alice was last night, once her alarm went off she was wide awake. Because she was looking forward to another challenging day in the dirt. Today would be Alice and Robin running at race pace all day. There was no drafting or low pressure areas for Alice to exploit, despite reaching speeds over eighty MPH, the trucks did not have any aerodynamics at all. The wind howled through the mostly open body unhindered and Alice could hear the dirt clods and gravel ping off the steel body under the fiberglass.
That was the only protection Alice had from the elements was essentially the steel plated bathtub she sat in. The inner panels being thicker to keep her safe in the event of catastrophic engine and transmission failure. They had to water the track to keep the dust down and so Alice could practice in the mud. However at the end of the day, Alice still smiled though nearly soaking wet and covered in mud. Robin was equally as dirty and nothing but smiles.
"I am looking forward to racing with you next year. Thanks for all the help." Alice said as the trucks were hosed down.
"I didn't do much. But I agree can't wait to race you." Robin said rather excitedly.
After a shower and getting clean clothes on they headed out to the airport to put the truck in the container. "How did you get along with her pit crew?" Alice asked as they unloaded in a snow storm.
"As well as we do with most. Until you ran some hot laps, they weren't sure about it." Little Joe said as he put their bags into his car.
"I took a bunch of notes. Though the truck is a little more straight forward on tuning." DJ said.
"I am just glad Mike got you a tire tech for the season, that knowledge only comes from experience." Little Joe added.
"You have a point there, besides the different compounds, there are a dozen types of tread for different kinds of dirt. I still don't know what loamy even means" Alice said with a little frustration.
"I am sure none of you will have any problems when the season starts." Nodrog chuckled.
"I am glad you have faith." Alice mumbled.
Nodrog chuckled. "I have seen you conquer asphalt monsters and tame even snowy peaks. The desert should prove little trouble."
"He has a point there. So the usual time for Thanksgiving at your parents?" DJ asked.
"Yup, another full house event." Alice said with a smile.
"We will see you later. The second truck should be together next week." Little Joe said before they got into DJ's truck to head for home.
Alice and Nodrog watched them drive off before heading inside. "Now we just need to find TJ somebody."
"Have they always lived together?" Nodrog asked as they walked to the main building.
"Yeah and neither of them have done much if any dating. They are like Wes and had to grow up a lot faster than anyone should. I am glad Joe took them in and got them in steady work." Alice said.
"They are lucky to have someone like you as their friend." Nodrog said as they headed inside.
Alice headed up to the lab to check on Jenny and Molly while Nodrog headed up to Marko's office. Marko turned to look at who entered the office after a knock at the door. "And how did this little adventure go?"
"Even with all the flying mud a rocks, still smiles and giggles. Hopefully the competition does not underestimate her." Nodrog said with a smile. "Your little assistant is strangely absent."
Marko chuckled. "She took some time off so she could take Cirrus to meet her parents."
"I am glad she has opened up to him. Has it been a little quieter with her gone?" Nodrog asked.
"No, I still get messages and notes from her. So we still have a little work to do in that area." Marko said and they stood by the windows to look out at the facility. "The other starship is just about ready for its first shake down. If it is possible, I would like you to go out with it."
"That should not pose a problem, I only have a few commitments in December. Am I just observing or something else?" Nodrog asked as people hurried around this way and that out in the cold.
"This will be January at the earliest. Translating and maybe emergency response, if the drive system fails." Marko pulled out his tablet to glance at notes. "The ship will make a run out to Mars at full speed, then jump to a Velopian ship facility near an asteroid belt."
"Are there going to be Velopians on board as well?" Nodrog asked.
"There are a few, who are strictly in system navigators and translators." Marko turned and traded the tablet for his coffee cup.
"You do understand, I know nothing of ships and their workings." Nodrog added as Marko sipped his coffee.
Mark chuckled and smiled. "In some of my late night musings, I have given your abilities serious thought. I have come to the conclusion that you are far more capable than you want us to believe."
Nodrog smiled slyly. "Oh, and what do you think I can really do?"
"While I do not fully understand the ratings of power navigators posses, or if the typhoon designation is based on hard facts or simply arbitrary opinion. I do believe if necessary you could teleport the entire ship, even if it were crippled someplace safe. Or even tell the metal of the ship to reform solid if a hull breech occurred." Marko said rather matter of factly and punctuated his statement by sipping his coffee.
"Fair enough. Though the navigator power is based on three criteria; total mass that can be moved, speed of teleportation, and of course how precise they are. For example, Mianth can teleport the most mass with near perfect accuracy and relatively quick speed. Tunrog cannot teleport near the mass Mianth can, but no other dragon can do so with his speed or accuracy." Nodrog said.
"So Cirrus is ranked close because he has good marks in all three." Marko stated. Though the speed was a little lost on him since no matter who was navigating it always seemed to be instant. "So how would you stack up against them?"
Nodrog gave it some thought. "It is hard to say, after all ships are primarily metal and it is my element. I also do not use the same form of magic to perform teleportation."
"I don't suppose you know how they rank you typhoons, do you?" Marko asked.
"I know it is not arbitrary; magic ability, physical strength, mental fortitude and other aspects are all weighed. I don't think they have real value as there are few of us as class one, and only one class two." Nodrog said.
"Who is more powerful than you?" Marko asked.
"That are not gods, only the world eater Ultima Weapon. Who is rumored to be older than time itself. Basically the full hierarchy is this; mortal, immortal, monster, typhoons/angels/demons, demi god, god. There are more minute groupings, but those are the major ones." Nodrog said.
"Where would Roslyn and Sherman fall, since they are no longer mortal?" Marko asked.
"Sherman is a little more than an immortal, but not fully a monster. Roslyn would possibly be a lesser angel. I generally don't worry about such things." Nodrog said and shrugged.
There conversation returned back to normal business as Dmitri joined them. Along with other department heads, some truly exciting things were coming together.