[center][h2]Sunday July 2nd, 2094, 1400 EST Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal Canada (Federated American States) [color=gold]Hockey Fight[/color][/h2][/center] Paul was enjoying the moment as he celebrated his first Formula AG win with his crew as they were leading him to the cooldown room. He had been pushed, hugged, and congratulated and spun around like a top from crew member to crew member. He suddenly found himself facing Kais Zenix who had shouldered his way past some of the crew. Kais had the same serious look he always wore as he held out a hand for Paul to shake. Paul gave Kais a triumphant smile as he shook his hand. Kais: [color=orange]"Hell of a drive, Mulder. Kept the demolition derby in your rear-view sensors and straight into P1. Ace moves."[/color] Paul nodded as he shook Kais’ hand. [color=fff200]“Thanks Kais. I appreciate that. My sympathies that you got nailed by Hart again. I would watch your tail. I think he has a thing for you.”[/color] Before Paul could say much more Kais had disappeared back into the crowd. [center][h1][b]Lhonneux Family Estate Outside Brussels, Belgium [/b][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://i.ibb.co/HppdQSmJ/Lhonneux-Family-Estate.jpg[/img][/center] Paul had taken a private chartered jet home from Montreal. He had gone straight home to Brussels. He wanted to celebrate his win with his mother. He was officially on vacation for the next two weeks. Technically FIAR had all pilots off for the summer break but there was work to do during the break to get ready for the next race. It was a time to implement improvements and test them. Which meant as a pilot, he didn’t get the whole summer break off. But he did get some time. Paul had slept in the following day and woke up to an overflowing inbox of interview requests. He had put off getting an agent as long as he could. He was paying the price for that now. He got up and put on his running shoes and workout clothes. He would keep his workout low key but he knew he would regret it if he slacked off his physical fitness during the break. Agnes would make him pay for it when he got back to campus if he did. Paul put his earbuds in and cued up some music before he jogged down the stone stairs off the west entrance and onto the cobblestone path. He always loved coming home. He could run outside in the sunshine. He took a long meandering route that wove through the estates' grounds and gardens. It was peaceful and private. The scenery was a delight to his senses. He smiled as he felt the tension melting away. He occasionally checked the fitness tracker on his arm to see what his heart rate was and how far he had run. He made four complete circuits of the property and changed his route through the gardens each time. By the time he was done, he felt at peace and relaxed after a 5 kilometer run. He jogged back up the same steps he came out of earlier. He went back to his room and took a hot shower allowing the hot water to massage sore muscles. He then went in search of breakfast. After breakfast he met with his mother’s head of security. He had asked the man to vet some potential new agents. He had a really hard time trusting an agent but he simply didn’t have the time to sort through and manage all his endorsements, public appearances, and media engagements without some help. His last agent had tried to push Paul into some deals that he was not happy with. After investigating it appeared that he had taken bribes to push the companies deals on him. He had withheld better offers from more reputable companies for the bribe money that far exceeded what he would have gotten from his commission. Paul thanked his mother’s head of security who was an older man. Gregory Vandecasteele had been with his mother for a long time. He had been a quiet fatherly presence in Paul’s life. He had always had time for him as he was growing up. Gregory had gray hair. He had younger staff that did the hard work now and he oversaw them. Paul trusted Gregory and reviewed the files he had handed him. The first file contained a dossier on a Belgian woman, Diana Desreumaux. She was an established agent with a good success record. She has several high profile clients but none of her clients were athletes. Her clients were mostly musicians and artists. She had a good reputation though. The next file was a man named Christophe Kerger from Luxembourg. Christophe had several high profile athletes in rugby and football in his portfolio. He too had a good reputation among his clients. Paul was surprised when he opened the last folder. He laughed and looked at Gregory with a raised eyebrow. Gregory had included a dossier on his daughter, Chelsey Vandecasteele. She had a degree in public relations and marketing with a minor in business. She had a more modest portfolio than the others. Chelsy had worked for a large agency before starting her own company. She had been in business for herself for a few years. She was established but didn’t have any really high profile clients yet, at least not on his level of fame. Paul was intrigued by the idea of taking on a lesser known agent. He liked the idea that she would have more time for him. He also knew her as she and her father lived on the estate as he was growing up. She was older than Paul by ten years. He had not seen her since she had gone off to college and pursued her own life away from her father. Gregory grinned at Paul. Paul: [color=fff200]“I had no idea that Chelsey had gone into public relations.” [/color] Gregory: [color=8dc73f]“I have another file if you feel this is inappropriate Paul.”[/color] He shrugged and pointed to Chelsey’s file. [color=8dc73f]“She is still building her client base. You know her and she knows you. I believe you could trust her to have your best interests in mind. I can’t think of anyone better than a family member you can trust to have your interests in mind.”[/color] He smiled at Paul. Paul smiled back at Gregory. [color=fff200]“I won’t promise anything but I will set up an appointment to see her. I have a few reservations about it. She hasn’t handled a client of my caliber yet. We will meet and see what her ideas are.” [/color] Gregory gave him a slight bow. [color=8dc73f]“As you wish sir.”[/color] Gregory looked like the cat that got the canary. Paul laughed as he walked away carrying the three files with him. Paul interviewed Diana Desreumaux. She had plenty of experience with endorsement contracts but not with sponsorship contracts or sports contracts. Christophe Kerger had plenty of experience with endorsement, sponsorship, and sports contracts. Diana was nice but her ideas for endorsement ads made him cringe. She simply didn’t have a clue about Formula AG Racing. She confessed that she was not a fan and never watched it. He was already handling several high profile celebrity athletes which he bragged about it. He shared details about endorsement deals for his other clients which Paul found distasteful and a breach of confidentiality. Paul didn’t believe he would have enough time for him. Paul didn’t get a good feeling about him. Paul had interviewed Chelsey and had found that she had been following his career. Her portfolio was much smaller and Paul could tell that his mother had referred a few artists her way. Most of her clients were locals and in need of her marketing skills. Chelsey seemed happy to hear from you and thought it was a personal call. She was surprised when I brought up the idea that she could become my agent. Chelsey instantly began spouting how she had no experience in that way. She was trained for it but had no current clients in that capacity. She was surprised that I would ask her about it. She had laughed and shook her head when Paul told her that her father had recommended her to me. Chelsey shrugged it off and apologized for wasting his time while being happy to hear how he was doing. Paul grinned as he turned serious with Chelsey. He explained the issues he had with some of his previous agents. He told her he was dead serious about taking her on as his agent. He asked if she would be willing to make him her only sports client. She confessed that she didn’t feel up to the job but was surprised and appalled by the lack of ethics he had experienced with other agents. She was concerned about taking the job but if it would help Paul out she would do it. Chelsey felt completely inadequate for the job. Paul was convinced she would be perfect! Paul grinned at her and told her he would have a contract for her to look over by the following day. Paul had smiled and checked that off his to do list. He went to get ready for his lunch date with his mother with a grin. [hr] Paul spent some time reviewing the videos from the Montreal race. He was surprised to see that Kais didn’t hit Jamie Hart. He was surprised when it came out that Zygon had been using illegal modifications. They had been cheating. He wondered if that was why he had not heard from Hyeon-Ae in some time. He watched what had happened to Dorian and frowned. He was familiar with Dorian’s racing style and he was lacking his typical consistency this season. He knew there had been a lot of drama since Alexander started at Valkyrie but it seemed like there was something more going on with Dorian. Maybe it was his impending retirement. Knowing that each one of these races would be the last of his career had to take an emotional and mental toil. He made a point to send Dorian a nice bottle of wine and reach out to his teammate. He learned everything he could from rewatching the video and reviewing his ship’s data telemetry from the Montreal race. He then turned his attention to other things while he was at home. [hr] [center][h2][b] [color=fff200]Team Valkryie AGR Sport Headquarters Aachen, Germany[/color] [/b][/h2][/center] Paul had enjoyed his time at home. He had run everyday. He had done the circuit of local news stations to do interviews about his win in Montreal and to plug the upcoming fundraising gala for the Mulder Foundation. The marketing surrounding the gala was gaining steam with the free press from his win and the interviews. The extra press had helped elevate his endorsement profile as well. Chelsey had jumped right in and he had sent her copies of all of his contracts which included his endorsement and sponsorship deals. She had been in contact quite a bit as she got up to speed on his information. Once he felt she had at least familiarised herself with his information he dumped her into the deep end. He added Chelsey’s contact information as his agent to his professional page. He had already contacted Katherine and let her know who his new agent was. Katherine would end up working closely with Chelsey to coordinate endorsement and sponsorship contracts and clauses to ensure he didn’t accidentally breach a contract by accepting work from a competitor. Katherine would also forward any personal endorsement requests to Chelsey for her to review and share with Paul. He appreciated that Chelsey would set up a set weekly meeting where they would discuss any pending business on endorsement contracts. Anyone wanting urgent contracts would be held off. His previous agents had only thought about their commissions and would contact him all the time even when they knew he was busy. He already felt like this was going to work out. Paul was back at the headquarters. He was suffering through another grueling session with Agnes, Sasha, and Mitsuko tender graces. Paul kept his complaining to a minimum. Shininichi’s system was amazing but it was not all rainbows and goodness. Paul was required to drink a protein and supplement shake three times a day to help get the building blocks for the changes into his system. The shakes had a nasty aftertaste and a consistency like liquid chalk. Then he was being put through a special workout routine to strengthen the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around his joints. It was painful as he had to keep pushing and breaking tissue down so it could be rebuilt. It was painful and exhausting. Then there was the odd sensation of growing pains like he suffered as a boy and the feeling that his bones itched. Mitsuko assured him that the process was coming along great as she was monitoring the process. It was not the most comfortable process in the world. Once the process was done, Paul had gained about 5 pounds in weight from the process with much denser bones and the graphene latticing along his skeletal structure. Agnes and Sasha put Paul through another series of tests to ensure he had fully adapted to the changes. The final scans and tests revealed the process had worked extremely well. On the test track, the changes made to his body helped him with the g forces he was subjected to inside the cockpit. Paul was pleased that he got to take part in the summer bootcamp. He raced anonymously in the older ships against the junior academy cadets. He enjoyed the hell out of himself. He enjoyed cutting down a few egos even more. He knew his identity as Racer X was never revealed to the cadets or Delta Hyper. Alexander had him test the cadets ability against an experienced opponent with ELS and overtakes. He wanted to see if they understood how to defend and use those systems. Plus with Valkyrie’s set up it required a racer that could get the most of the ship’s handling and stability. It was a very telling experience as some of the racers were obviously used to relying on better ships and speed over their opponents ships to win. It also gave Paul an opportunity to test out his mods in real life conditions on the track. Overall while the upgrade process was not the most enjoyable in the world, he appreciated the new stability his upgrade gave him in the cockpit. Paul knew that Cavan Mitchell and his team of engineers were trying to get more speed out of the Valkyrie ship. He hoped that with the extra time over summer break that they managed to come up with some minor tweaks to help. Paul would need that extra speed at Spa. Every little bit helped. Tocho Lister while helping with the Junior Academy Bootcamp was available to run tests on any improvements the engineers needed tested. Daniel Ogier would have some time to help with that as well. Having one pilot on campus and available would help out the engineers significantly. Having two test pilots with different flying styles would help them test the ship for multiple pilots as well. More data was always better than no data. [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Media Over Summer Break[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [color=ed1c24]“This is Lilly Stryker from TMZ. We come to you today with some news hot off the presses. Paul Mulder has fired his agent and replaced them with a childhood friend. His new agent is Chelsey Vandecasteele. Miss Vandecasteele has a degree in public relations and marketing with a minor in business. She comes from obscurity into the spotlight with such top tier talent. Critics feel that this was a poor move on Mulder’s part. Paul has not commented on our inquiries into the matter. Other agents ponder if she was given the job for other reasons. She doesn’t seem to have the experience that you would expect for such a high profile athlete. We will be keeping our eye on this so we can update you in the future. Remember to follow us, this has been Lilly Stryker with TMZ.” [/color] [hr] [color=ed1c24]“This is Lauri Ivan with Victory Laps Racing News. We are hearing rumors that Alexander Knight had invited one member from each of the Junior Formula AG teams to attend the Team Valkyrie Summer Bootcamp. The rumors have gone unconfirmed but there seems to be a kernel of truth to them. Olivia Lau, Phoebe Kostas, Liam Hunter, Amber Beck, and Elise Vogel are mysteriously away from their teams when summer breaks tend to be when junior teams get some attention in the paddock. Is Alexander Knight secretly interviewing pilots in an effort to see who will fill Dorian Hornfleur’s shoes next season? We have had confirmation from some of the other junior league teams that their junior members received an invitation and they declined. I guess we will just have to wait to see what Alexander Knight has up his sleeve next. This has been Lauri Ivan from Victory Laps Racing News.” [/color] [hr] [color=ed1c24]"This is Hans Keller with Gossip. There is hot news from Team Valkyrie today. The team has confirmed the rumors that Alexander Knight was seen in Los Angeles visiting his daughter Arianna. The two were reportedly seen at a small Mexican Restaurant in Santa Monica. The team confirmed rumors that Tocho Lister has been wooed away from Miller Motor Racing and will be joining Team Valkyrie AGR Sport. Will Tocho Lister replace Dorian Hornfleur? Team Valkyrie has confirmed he has been offered a contract and accepted it but not what his role will be. Remember to follow us on Gossip as we keep you updated on the latest gossip! This has been Hans Keller. [/color] [hr] [center][h1][color=fff200]Social Media[/color][/h1][/center] [center][color=fff200][b]TeamValkyrieAGR@TeamValkryrie[/b][/color] [/center] Help us celebrate Team Valkyrie pilot Paul Mulder’s first win in the Formula AG league at Montreal. Don’t forget that you can buy fangear at our team store [link to team store]. Team Valkyrie is announcing a change to their Fan Zone for upcoming races. Expect Valkyrie Fan Zones to be more interactive than ever with smaller local businesses joining us for upcoming races. They will add local culture and flair to upcoming fan zones with new food and drink options and experiences changing every race. The Team couldn’t be more pleased to be able to engage smaller businesses as we redefine what the Formula AG racing community looks like. Check out the new interactive race calendar to see what will be available in upcoming fan zones! [color=fdc68a][link to calendar][/color] Team Valkyrie AGR Sport is proud to announce that the Mulder Foundation Fundraising Gala is sold out! Team Valkyrie AGR Sport will be giving away one pair of tickets to the Mulder Foundation Gala at the upcoming Spa Grand Prix. Visit the Team Valkyrie Fan Zone for opportunities to win the tickets. You can still submit bids to the silent auction items. [link to the silent auction page] You can also still buy the special t-shirt promotion designed by Mad Bea. You can purchase your t-shirt in support from the Team Valkyrie Store or from the Mulder Foundation. [color=fdc68a][link to buy the t-shirt][/color] Proceeds go to support the Mulder Foundation. [color=fdc68a][link to the Mulder Foundation][/color] [center][color=fff200][b]PaulMulder@ValkyriePaul[/b][/color][/center] Wow! Thanks for the support for the Mulder Foundation. I appreciate it! I have seen the plans for the new fan zone experiences. They are gonna be different for each race! It’s gonna be fun! I am looking forward to it. [color=fff200]OfficeDrone#12:[/color] The new fan zone remake is amaze balls! Never heard of his new agent before though. [color=fff200]SuperfanAGR54:[/color] Tocho Lister? Please tell me Alexander is not going to replace Dorian with Tocho. That is not a good replacement. [color=fff200]DantheMan:[/color]Congrats to Paul on his first win! May there be many more in his future. [color=fff200]BatDave:[/color] I am Batman I should have thought of this... [color=fff200]Superfan2075:[/color] I am skeptical but will go check out the new fan zone. What is Knight up to now? Why would he invite the junior academy pilots from other teams to Valkyrie’s bootcamp? Doesn’t that invite the enemy to check you out behind the scenes. [color=fff200]DadBod89:[/color] Hmm that’s an interesting concept. Very different. Not sure what Knight is up to now. [color=fff200]Hater101:[/color] Big Whoop! It is only their second win this season. *rolls eyes* Bad move on Knight’s part. You don’t invite the enemy within. [color=fff200]Papabear34:[/color] It’s nice they plugged his fundraiser. I bought one of Bea’s shirts. I can’t think of a more meaningful souvenir for this season. [color=fff200]Nana2050:[/color] It’s nice to see Paul doing well. I like the changes to the fan zone. I bought my t-shirt! [color=fff200]GeorgeFly:[/color]Hmmm I am reserving judgement till the press covers the first one. It was time Paul won one. Not sure what Knight is up to now. [color=fff200]ValkyrieFan56:[/color] Ohhh I like the new calendar. It has holographic pop ups showing the vendors and their set up with interactive menus too! That’s nice for planning ahead. The rumors about what Knight is up to is concerning. [color=fff200]Weedhead81:[/color] I am bummed. There was no weed on the silent auction. I checked. That’s just sad man. [color=fff200]SexyM@m@5:[/color] I would like to hear about Dorian. It’s like they stopped supporting him now that Paul is winning. BOO! [color=fff200]Paulmulder4eva:[/color] YES! They detail when the pilots will be in the fan zone for meet and greets. [color=fff200]Britball12:[/color] I am happy to see Paul finally win a race. Not sure about the changes to the fan zone. I do like the new interactive calendar though. [color=fff200]!YouSlow!:[/color] Meh. I feel Paul should have won one before now and don’t get me started on Dorian’s performance at Montreal. Is he phoning in his last season? [color=fff200]xImFasterthanUx:[/color] @!YouSlow! I completely agree. For a racer known for consistently delivering, he has been all over the place this season. [color=fff200]AGInthusiast:[/color] Meh! I agree that Dorian’s performance has been all over the place. Is it just rumors or is Knight up to something? [color=fff200]micheal650004:[/color] It’s nice to see the team supporting Paul’s interest outside of racing. Nice to see him on the podium. [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color] Bah Humbug! Dorian didn’t finish in Montreal. Paul finished in first big whoop. We have heard about this fundraiser a lot lately. Can we get some real racing news? New fan zone experiences? Not really. Just new sponsors. [hr] [b][center][h3][code]Tues July 26 Formula AG Pilot Group Chat[/code][/h3][/center][/b] [color=fff200]Paul:[/color]Since we are going to be close to my hometown, I will be hosting the dinner party for the pilot group on Thursday before the race at Spa at Villa De Fleurs. I have rented out the entire hotel. Come stay for the race and join me for dinner on Thursday. World Renown Chef Greyson Angelotti will be cooking just for our group. [hr] [hider= Team Valkyrie Characters] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zrLx5XUgYiVm6KjTpFTWZtJvXc0MX77enkLzINHujKw/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [/hider]