Lucas invited Lerman over for a eting at the recreational building located at the centre of the team's circuit. Although it was called a recreational building, it was more like a restaurant with an open air area at the top.
The duo t on the first (ground) floor and didn't waste any ti going into the details.
"What did you call over for?" Lerman asked as he stared at Lucas.
The young man before him could be described as sowhat problematic.
On one hand, he was a genius unlike anyone Leeman had ever seen. Lerman himself was a genius too, but he couldn't even hold a candle to Lucas. And this was despite the fact that Lerman was a peak sixth level Apertures Opening stage stellar practitioner and a peak Tier 1 Elite vestige-smith. Lucas' only downside was his lack of stellar energy.
But aside from his genius personality, Lucas was also a grand scher of plots. From the very first ti he crossed paths with Orvel Feurd, Lucas began planning the man's downfall. In the end, he didn't just take down Orvel, but his accomplices, while seizing their positions for himself. Whether intentional or unintentional, this result made Lerman wary of Lucas.
Hence, although it might seem like a simple eting, Lerman was wondering what Lucas had planned underneath the surface.
"No need to be so uptight. I'm not after your soul or anything." Lucas said, seemingly discerning Lerman's inner thoughts.
"I just need help with sothing. If I recall, the team always makes two copies of any racing shuttle. One is used on the track while the other is a backup and used by the backup driver for practice. I need both vehicles."
It was standard for a racing team to have two of the sa model of a racing shuttle. This was in case of ergencies where one might have been damaged or unrepairable, but they still needed to compete in the race. As such, the second was always on stand by and in top shape, ready to be brought out onto the track.
"That's easy. With your authority, you should have been able to do it without ." Lerman stared at Lucas with a suspicious look in his face.
He might be the head of the Vehicle Manufacturing departnt thereby giving him control over the racing shuttles, but his authority didn't exceed that of the head of Designs and Energy departnt, which was currently Lucas.
"Indeed. So, I need your help for another thing." Lucas smiled at him.
"As you know, my departnt currently lacks manpower so I need to outsource working hands. But why do that, when the team still has so functioning departnts?"
Although a bit hesitant, Lerman still went on to ask.
"...what do you need?"
"A racing shuttle. And I need it to be built in record ti; 8 hours. It should be able to handle the Destroyer. You've already gone through the specs and data, so you should know exactly what I want." Lucas laid out his mind.
Lerman stared at him as if he was looking at a mad man.
To be honest, making a racing shuttle in ten hours wasn't difficult with the Vehicle Manufacturing departnt's workforce and resources. However, making one that could handle the Destroyer —Lucas' self-developed engine that beat the original L2.13o— in eight hours was absurd. And this was with Lerman already being inford about the performance of the engine.
Seeing his expression, Lucas added,
"If it's hard, you can just duplicate the Viper and make the necessary improvents. That shouldn't be a problem."
Lerman cald down at the suggestion.
Indeed, it wasn't an issue to duplicate the Viper in eight hours. For ergencies, the team already had the duplicate parts of the vehicle prepped and ready for use in storage. It was usually under the joint supervision and control of both the On-site unit departnt head and Vehicle Manufacturing departnt head. Lerman could use his authority to take those parts and assemble them into a new Viper. Also, if one thinks about it, the Destroyer was an engine designed to work with the Viper. Even if Lerman was to make extra adjustnts to the new shuttle, he wouldn't need to do much.
"Ten hours. Eight hours is a stretch." Lerman said.
"Deal." Lucas smirked.
"If that's all, I'll be leaving." Lerman stood up.
"You won't be asking why I'm doing this or even for a reward?" Lucas was slightly surprised.
Lerman paused before staring at Lucas.
"Although it isn't obvious, morale isn't good right now. Three departnts just got cleared two weeks ago; not enough ti has gone by for everyone to recover. To make matters worse, our performance in the league has dropped and might worsen in the remaining races. It might not be obvious yet, but so are considering quitting since their job is looking unstable and the ratings are worsening. The introduction of a sowhat tyrannical majority shareholder who has a massive influence over the chairwoman is also a factor in this."
Lucas' lips twitched at that comnt, but he didn't know what to say. Indeed, while he might have done those actions to protect himself and his interests, Lucas might have appeared tyrannical. What's more, Vienna did seem to consider him more than others; at least from a third-party viewpoint even though she was just repaying a favour.
Interrupting Lucas' thoughts was Lerman's continuation.
"However, from what I know, you might be many things but you're definitely not stupid. I know that you still have the team's interest in mind as it affects yours as well. So, whatever you plan on doing is definitely good for the team. Since that is so, I'll already be profiting in the end."
This ti around, it was Lucas' turn to scrutinise Lerman with intent.
"Whatever rocks your boat." Lucas shrugged.
Lerman nodded and proceeded to exit the building, leaving behind Lucas all by himself. However, this didn't last long as Lucas received a ssage on his communicator. It was from Helnord, informing him that the preparations had been completed and Mason was waiting.
"This is going to be a long twenty hours."
Lucas stood up and sighed.
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