[center][h1][b]Silverstone Grand Prix, Race Weekend[/b][/h1][/center]

Alexander had done his rounds with the teams’ sponsors that had come to Silverstone. Zap Sport’s Drinks and I Can’t Believe It's Not Meat were making a small killing as vendors to fans at Silverstone. Alexander had stopped and checked in with BioCHO as well. Enigma Lux had a presence in the Valkyrie Fan Zone selling the high end line of fan gear created by them. Alexander had stopped by to thank Artie’s team for their support and to see if they needed anything. Alexander had to admit that the fan gear collaboration with Enigma Lux had become a quite lucrative sponsorship deal for Team Valkyrie even if the cost was him walking down a fashion runway. Alexander sported a rare smile as he thought about the fact he would never have met Lena without them. She had a modeling engagement in Milan this weekend and couldn’t be here with him. He missed her already. Thinking about her, he used his neural  interface to connect with his tablet to send her a quick message wishing her luck with her event. 

Alexander had started being more intentional with the Team Valkyrie Junior Formula AG Team. He had tasked the team’s trainers with ways to better support the Junior Team. They were building custom training routines for their drivers to complete while at home or traveling.The Junior team didn’t live at the Campus and were rarely there. Alexander was trying to change that within reason. If they wanted these drivers to develop into professionals they needed to do more than go to races. The team’s nutritionist was working with Chef Jacques to provide them with appropriate meals while the team’s physical therapist worked with the team's physical trainer Agnes Poulsen to develop physical training routines for each of their junior drivers. The Junior team typically came to campus for a bootcamp in the off season. Alexander is arranging for them to have smaller bootcamps over shorter breaks so that they can get more training on campus. He tasked Katherine’s team with developing a course on how to handle the press for their junior drivers. He tasked the HR team with developing a course to teach the Junior pilots how to vet and find a good manager to look after their personal interests. He had the legal team prepare a workshop for them on the importance of having contracts vetted by a legal professional they trusted before signing anything. 

If Alexander was going to do this, then he was going to do it right. If they said they were preparing these drivers for professional careers and putting the team’s name on it. Then Alexander wanted it to be the best academy out there. Meeting Scarlett Collins of their Junior Team reminded him that not all their Junior Pilots had the same resources growing up. Racing was an expensive sport and was typically closed to those of lower financial means. There were skills that professional pilots were going to need that had traditionally not been taught by the academy. Alexander wanted to make sure they were all set up for success. He tasked the medical team to discuss the variety and types of augmentations that Formula AG racing teams were using on their pilots. He wanted them to have a realistic idea of the pros and cons of each type and what the implementation involved. He didn’t want the Junior team pilots to be taken advantage of after they left the academy. Valkyrie didn’t have space for them all. He knew  some would go to other teams. With the new changes, Alexander was hopeful that all the Team Valkyrie Junior Team would start to show improvement in skills. 

Alexander began to covertly work on his plans for long term change for next season once more with Leopold’s blessing. They were actively searching for new research and development partners to take the team to the next level. Alexander had a meeting with Yuhara Shinichi of Shinichi Bionics to discuss updating the team’s pilots to her new neural interface and helping to push the legal certifications through with the help of the European Union Space Agency. Alexander felt they were a good match. He could help her and they could help his team. Alexander was pretty certain that Johanna would be in favor of this and interested in the space applications for Yuhara’s special approach to cybernetics. Alexander had a meeting scheduled next week with Robyn McIntyre of Banshee Microsystems. Paul had filled him in on the young lady’s attempt to use a VIP ride to vet a new microprocessor chip she was working on. Alexander was interested in working with her. He wanted to upgrade the team’s computer systems. He no longer trusted them after what he found when investigating the former CEO. He worried that their systems were compromised and that Brendel could sell backdoors to their competitors. It was an itch he couldn’t scratch. His worry might be baseless but Alexander believed in preparing for the worst. It would set his mind at ease to put this worry to rest. After his conversation with Paul, he believed that there was a mutually beneficial partnership there for the making. Alexander grinned, happy to finally be making some progress on his plans. Now if he could only find a decent engine engineer he liked and could trust to build a new engine for the next generation of ships. 

[hr] 

Alexander had wished both his driver’s luck before they had climbed into their ships for the race. Alexander knew most Team Principals would be in their posh private boxes for the race. Alexander preferred to be in the middle of the action in the paddock. He would watch the team’s race engineers and listen in on a headset. He rarely intervened as he trusted his team to do their work. He felt more comfortable here with the team than with the sponsors, suits, and other people who had no real idea of what it took to get on that podium. Alexander was watching the monitors intently as the race started. Paul was moving up through the pack. Dorian had a bad start but was at least holding for now. Alexander smiled noting the improvement especially in his ELS defense. It had been his biggest weakness at the beginning of the season. Alexander watched as Paul pushed aggressively to overtake the Zygon ship on the outside. He was in position when Cassie’s ship made an aggressive move to shut him down, the ship drifting further than she probably intended due to its poorer handling. Alexander saw it coming as neither pilot yielded. 

Alexander froze in terror as Paul’s ship made contact with the Zygon ship and went flipping into the barrier. The ship came to rest upside down and there were pieces of the ship all over the track.  Alexander closed his eyes and swallowed the panic that was trying to overwhelm him. He knew the ship had massive safety features for this reason. The crash looked worse than it could be. The cockpit area of the ship was still in one piece. The debris all over the track were those extra bits and sensors all over the ship. They were designed to crumble and break so that they didn’t impale the driver or crucial systems. The barrier technology was designed to keep the pilot alive and prevent accidents like the one that took the life of Paul’s father Audrick. 

Alexander sat down in a chair hard as memories of that crash overlaid the present in his mind. Alexander found himself using some of the techniques his therapist had been teaching him. He purposefully focused on the differences to prevent being sucked into that painful memory. There was no blood. The cockpit was intact. There was movement now as Paul was helped out of the side hatch on the cockpit. Paramedics and emergency rescue personnel were already responding. Paul was obviously injured and shaken a little as he was being helped and steadied by a person on each arm. He was stumbling a little. Paul raised an arm and waved at the crowd who let out a collective cheer of relief at seeing he was okay. Alexander found himself taking another deep breath. He was okay. He pulled off his headset and began to run towards where he knew Paul would be arriving. He wanted to make sure he was okay. His mother might let him live yet. He would make sure Paul contacted her as soon as possible to reassure her. 

[hr] 

Alexander was exhausted. It had been a long and trying day. He had a lot to deal with after Paul’s crash. He had first met Paul as he came in off the track and stayed with him as he got medical treatment. Alicia had called him while Paul was being checked out by the doctors. Alexander reassured her of what was going on and that he was with Paul. He told Alicia he would have Paul call her after the doctors were done with him. Alexander continued to deflect people  away from Paul giving him a chance to get his wits about him before having to deal with other people. 

Paul had a mild concussion, some strained muscles in his shoulders, and some bruising. Paul didn’t have a  brain bleed but the force of having his head shaken around caused some bruising and swelling on his brain. His brain basically hit the skull from the force exerted on his body. The restraints and the neck support brace had helped minimize that. The repulsor barrier technology on the cockpit had kept it together protecting him further. Paul had been monitored for a while after being given some painkillers and medication to reduce the swelling and inflammation. He would heal quickly and be back to normal in a few days. He was under strict orders to rest with no strenuous activity for a few days. 

Alexander had run interference with the press for the moment. He wanted to give Paul time to get back on his feet and be thinking clearly before he had to deal with them. Paul would have to do the Delta Hyper interview as it was a contractual obligation. Alexander had sent Cavan a message to begin building Paul a new ship and get it ready for Canada. They had resources to rebuild the entire ship. This kind of thing happens in racing.  They never wanted to have to do it but the team could. Alexander was grateful for Lena's calm and caring voice as she checked in on him later in the day. He wished she was here but hearing her voice before he climbed into bed was a balm that he had not known he needed. 

[hr]

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