[center][h1][b]Sunday July 2nd, 2094 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal, Canada Hockey Fight Race [/b][/h1][/center] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://youtu.be/2C4lFUpI_4U?feature=shared] How to Train Your Dragon Soundtrack - The Flying Scene[/url][/b] Paul was grateful for the tech in his suit because the muggy heat of Montreal combined with the heat inside the race ship would have been unbearable then. They had to keep the ship’s engines cool enough without the extra weight of an extensive air conditioning system for the pilot. Paul’s racing suit was more like an insulated space suit with cooling built into the suit and made to withstand heat. Paul made sure his gloves were fitting well. He massaged them down into place and made sure he had full dexterity. It was one of those small rituals he did habitually before a race. He sat in the cockpit and looked towards the stands full of fans. There were banners in all the teams colors waving as the fans showed their excitement for the race to begin. Paul was sitting in the P4 pole position. The ships were staggered and Paul was in the outside track in the second row of ships with Amy Stirling next to him and Han in front of him. He bowed his head and cleared his mind. He mentally went through the race again, where all the corners, chicanes, and straits were. He remembered the tactics that had worked in the simulator for overtakes here in Montreal. He opened his eyes and began his pre-race check. Everything checked out fine. [color=fff200]Paul: “Radio check.” [/color] [color=7bcdc8]Carmella: “We are reading your fine Paul. All systems show ready from here. Reading your telemetry.” [/color] [color=fff200]Paul: “Systems check complete. All systems showing green.” [/color] [color=7bcdc8]Carmella: “Race start in t-minus ten minutes.” [/color] [color=fff200]Paul: “Confirmed time to start t-minus ten minutes.” [/color] There was a countdown clock on his HUD in the ship. Which was set up to his preference to show what telemetry he felt he would need in this race. He received it all back from the ship through his neural link but kept the most important ones on his HUD. Because of the heat, he had the engine temperature on the dash this time next to his collision alarm. Paul’s right hand hovered over the throttle with the left resting on the steering yoke. Paul watched the countdown in a state of anticipation and zen. Just another day at the office… The lights turned red. And…. Four. Three. Two. One. Paul had watched tons of videos on his competitors. Amy was an aggressive racer and she seemed amped up after losing the pole position to Carrera Condor. He would catch her later in the race. He didn’t want to get in her way and be mowed down. He would like to finish this race. Amy quickly flew past Han. She had a fabulous start and was quicker off the start. Amy’s ship screamed past Han with an almost dominating roar. Paul maintained his position even as he was battling Nora who was trying to overtake him from behind and lock him up for ELS drain. Paul defended in a cool tactical manner as he figured out the best strategy. The tactics and overtake simulation training with Alexander was paying off. Paul was now chasing Han as they went into round two. Paul had an edge in handling and stability. His ship seemed to be coping with the heat better than the Zygon ships as well. Paul used that to his advantage as he gained ground and speed in the corners. Paul smiled as he defended against Nora. She was an excellent racer and he had learned a lot about overtaking and defending by watching videos of her races. She had good instincts and Paul respected her as a racer. She almost got a lock on him in the third corner. He barely managed to defend by slipping sideways, changing his racing line to hug the inner corner a little tighter. The move put him in position to overtake Han whose ship was to the outside in the corner. He pushed his speed up and smiled as he slid past Han and came out of the corner like a cork out of a bottle. Nora slipped past Cassie behind him. He pushed his speed up with Cassie now in his sights. Paul was slowly gaining on Cassie as he made up speed and time in the chicanes and corners. He continued to have to defend against Nora behind him. Cassie tried to hog the corner as a defensive move as they moved into a tight corner. It sucked for Cassie because Paul noted the curved wall that looked almost like a half pipe wall and grinned. He loved using these unconventional spaces for overtakes. This was antigravity racing after all. He felt like others forgot that at times. Paul simply poured on the speed and went up the curved wall and around and down in front of Cassie. His ship was just past Cassie as the curved wall ended with a lip which caused his ship to flip over and land back on the mag track in front of Cassie’s ship. He grinned and charged after Amy. Paul felt all the distractions falling away. The roar of the engine fell away, the cheering fans, his focus narrowed to the ship and track. It was as if the rest of the world fell away and he was one with the ship. He felt as if he and the ship had merged and it was so responsive to his every need. Paul’s focus was absolute as the barest nudge here avoided the ELS attack from Nora behind him. He remained calm and focused on catching Amy. Slowly but surely the gap between them was closing. Paul’s focus became the ship in front of him and the ship behind him. The battle with Nora was fierce as he tried to close the gap between him and Amy. Paul waited for the opportune moment as he cached his ELS. The new resistors and capacitors that the engineering team had modified were able to store that little bit more energy just a bit faster. Paul watched for his moment as the distance between him and Amy fell each lap. The moment came as Paul caught up to Amy in a corner. He fired his ELS system and began to leech the energy from Amy’s ship. Paul grinned as Amy’s ship pulled away from him but was unable to pull away very far as she was helping his ship by giving it energy and dragging it partly speeding him up. Paul kept his focus as he smoothly moved with Amy countering her attempts to shake him off. He was behind her but staying with her. Paul continued to bide his time harvesting and banking the ELS energy from Amy’s ship as he stayed with her. Paul used the banked ELS to keep close to Amy in the straits while he used skill to harvest it in the corners. The ELS dump gave his ship a boost of speed. Paul’s training with the ELS system and Cavan’s overhaul of the system working in his favor today. Paul remained patient and made tactical decisions. Time was on his side in this race. He was slowly closing that gap between him and Amy and reeling her in. Paul was inching closer to Amy each round. They turned into a chicane after the last straight and Paul saw an opening as Amy banked wide into the turn. Paul didn’t trust Amy but she had left him a wide opening. He closed on her as her ship slowed for the chicane. Paul’s ship was on pace behind her. Paul hugged the inside wall not wanting Amy to accuse him of an illegal move. He wanted plenty of room if she slowed too much to get around her clean. Paul saw it before it happened as Amy swung too wide and her ship hit the wall. The speed of the ships had Paul around the corner before the automatic shut down from the crash occurred. Paul had seen her slam into the wall and skid along it beside him as he moved his ship around the corner. [color=fff200]Paul: “Talk to me Carmella. Is she okay?” [/color] [color=7bcdc8]Carmella: “She is fine already out of her ship Paul. Her ship is out though. You will restart in P1. Now you need to hold off Nora to win. You got this.” [/color] [color=fff200]Paul smiled: “Hell yes I have this.” [/color] Paul had an open track in front of him and only needed to worry about Nora behind him. He would drop into a flow state, one with the ship only to have it interrupted by yet another crash alert and emergency stop as the track was cleaned up.The race was stopped a few more times due to crashes. Paul managed to push the frustration and worry away once he knew the pilots were okay. He was surprised when Carmella told him that Dorian had to leave the race. He wondered idly what the hell was going on in the midfield. Paul and Nora were dueling to the end. He managed to defend his position with Nora challenging him the entire way. He slowly managed to put some space between him and Nora between all the restarts and a clean racing line in each corner where he showed the ship’s handling and stability as he got through the chicanes and corners with more speed than others could pull. His handling of the ship was masterful and his timing impeccable. Paul instinctively moved the ship to the outside as Nora closed in behind him on the final straight. He managed to defend against her last ELS attempt. Paul was in a state of disbelief as it registered he had crossed the finish line first. He had won the race. He pulled the ship into parc ferme. He closed his eyes and let his helmet rest against the seat behind him as he thought about his father. A sense of accomplishment washing over him. He had finally won his first Formula AG race. He grinned as a sense of victory and joy had him unfastening his harness and unplugging his neural interface from the ship. Before he climbed out of his ship, he heard Alexander’s voice on the coms. [color=00aeef]Alexander: “Congratulations Paul. Your father would be proud and cheering for you. Enjoy your win.” [/color] [color=fff200]Paul: “Thanks Alexander.” [/color] Alexander Knight’s words were almost soothing, a benediction and blessing from a father he had grown up without. Paul smiled as he finally felt he no longer had anything to prove. He felt as if a weight had lifted off his shoulders. He smiled, taking a moment to mentally thank his long dead father. He then popped the canopy and stood in his ship waving to the roaring fans. He soaked in the moment before his team was surrounding his ship and cheering for him. He looked down at his ecstatic teammates. He yelled to be heard over all the cheering and yelling. “Thanks Everyone! I wouldn’t be here without you!” Paul finally climbed down out of the cockpit and was promptly mobbed by members of the Valkyrie team. He was hugged, had his back slapped, and pushed around before laughing. His team led him to the cooldown room for the winners before letting him go. [hr] Paul entered the cooldown room. He finally had a moment to pull off his helmet. He slugged down a bottle of water and a Zap drink. Even with the cooling suit, he was sweating like a pig. He was grateful for the air conditioning in the cooldown room. There was a strange vibe in the room without Amy’s domineering presence. Paul smiled and his excitement shone as big as his smile. Paul approached Nora and gave her a huge grin as he shook her hand. He would have hugged her but he thought she would kick him if he tried. [color=fff200]Paul: “Nora you were just as tough to beat as I knew you would be. It is nice to see you back in fighting form at the top where you belong.” [/color] [color=c4df9b]Jen: “This is incredible. You guys are regulars, right? I mean, I got lucky but….wow! And to think that Bea hasn’t even got up here yet….oh she is gonna be so jealous!” [/color] Paul was exasperated and a little embarrassed at Jen’s comment. [color=fff200][i]Was he a regular?[/i][/color] The thought stopped him cold in his tracks. Jen smirked, chuckling, as she watched her move on Harrison right in the last lap, grinning ear to ear. The highlights moved to show Paul overtaking Amy. [color=c4df9b]Jen: “Nicely done, Paul! Well deserved win, it’s been a while coming! That fight with Amy looked fun….you two really tangled!” [/color] Paul then went to Jenny Lowry and picked her up in a huge hug with a big dopey grin on his face. [color=fff200]Paul: “Congratulations Jen! You deserve to be here. Enjoy it!” [/color] Paul whispered in her ear. [color=fff200]“Even if you don’t come to Valkyrie, I hope we can be friends. You deserve to be here. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently.” [/color] Paul let her go and grinned at her. He felt while different that his and Jen’s journeys were similar in that they had set out to prove they could do it. Paul grinned as he followed Jen Lowry as she led them out to the podium. Paul felt it was only appropriate. Jen deserved this moment in the sun after struggling for so long. He was happy to share the moment with two women he admired. Paul still felt that Nora was his biggest competitor amongst the rookie pilots besides Kais. Jen was always upbeat with a friendly smile. He hoped she chose to come to Valkyrie but as a career move he could understand if she chose to go to Silver Apex. He just hoped that she remained as friendly and warm a person as she was now. Apex seemed to chew up pilots. Apex might win but he had to agree with Alexander, at what cost? Paul was perfectly content and happy where he was at Valkyrie. Paul followed along in Jen’s wake wearing Valkyrie’s dark grey and yellow. He waved and smiled to the crowd as he followed her up onto the podium. As the national anthems played, it gave him a moment to pause and reflect on where he was and what he had accomplished. He kept a neutral look even while inside that feeling of joy and sense of accomplishment didn’t dwindle one bit. He laughed and cheered and hosed Jen down with his own huge bottle of champagne before nailing Nora as well. He sprayed the last of the champagne out over the crowd in front of the podium as he laughed celebrating his first win. Paul was even happier to be celebrating this podium with two friendly competitors. Paul knew it was only a matter of time before Nora took the win again. She was already on a comeback streak. [hr] Paul had time for a shower and change before his Delta Hyper interview. The heat was oppressive here in Montreal. Paul had chosen sneakers, shorts, and a team polo shirt for the interview. The polo shirt was made out of a high tech fabric that wicked moisture away and had a cooling effect. The sponsor logos were in strategic places and flashed like he was a walking billboard from one to another. Paul stopped in the middle of the stage and waved with both hands to the crowd as he was announced. He smiled and laughed as they got louder. [color=fff200]Paul: “Thank you Montreal! I wouldn’t be here without fans. My thanks to you all!” [/color] He gave them another moment before he made his way to his seat on the couch. [quote][color=ed1c24]Aurora: “Paul, congratulations on your maiden win, the crowd have gone absolutely wild! What a result for you and the team, talk us through your fight with Amy, and your dominant display despite all the virtual safety ships?"[/color] [/quote] Paul smiled at Aurora and shrugged, not sure what to say. [color=fff200]Paul: “Thank you Aurora. My thanks to all the lovely people who came out to watch the race. We wouldn’t be here without them.”[/color] He let the crowd cheer and go on for a moment. [color=fff200]Paul: “Before I answer I just want to say a few things. Let’s hear it for Jenny Lowry! She deserved to be on that podium today! It’s been a long time coming, yeah?” [/color] Paul waited while the crowd cheered and chanted Jen’s name. He smiled when he heard it. [color=fff200]Paul: “I also want to say welcome back to Nora Kelly! It is nice to see her back on the podium this season.” [/color] He waved to the crowd before continuing. They were lapping up any attention he gave them. He waited for them to calm down once more. Paul gave her a smile as he continued with his answer. [color=fff200]Paul: “Well Aurora, I think today was simply the cumulation of training and improvements that the team has been working on for a while. Team Valkyrie works as a team. I wouldn’t have been able to win today without the support of Team Valkyrie and everyone who works there. I simply showed up and did my job. My trainers and the medical team helped me recover from my injuries from the last race. Cavan Mitchell and his team have been working to improve our ELS for some time. The team also had to rebuild my ship in time for me to compete here. Alexander Knight and our training team have been working with me on some new training that is finally paying off. He has had me focusing on working on ELS where I was weak at the beginning of the season. Today was one of those days where everything went right. We made the right decisions and had the right ship at the right time. I have been focusing on tactics and overtakes. I believe that was what carried me to victory today.” [/color] He hoped that answered Aurora’s question. [hr] Alexander couldn't be happier with Paul’s performance at the Montreal Grand Prix. He had performed well. It felt as if all the training, new neural interfaces, the work on the ELS system had all come together at the perfect moment. As happy as he was with Paul, he was just as frustrated and disappointed with Dorian. He had given Dorian everything he had asked for but his performance and consistency was lacking. It was like he was either on or off. He frowned, not happy with Dorian. Since his win at Monaco had he checked out for the rest of the season? He needed to address it with Dorian. He had some ideas but he needed to put some things in place first. He had some inquiries to make. [hr] [center][h1][color=fff200]Social Media[/color][/h1][/center] [center][b][color=fff200]Paul Mulder @ValkyriePaul: [/color][/b][/center] [color=fff200]I want to say thank you to all the fans for their support. Here is the view from the top. I wouldn’t be here without you.[/color] [color=fff79a][picture from Paul’s point of view on the podium][/color] [hider= Team Valkyrie Characters] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zrLx5XUgYiVm6KjTpFTWZtJvXc0MX77enkLzINHujKw/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [/hider]