The interviews with the rest of the pilots played out, mixed in with those of the pilots in focus. "Yeah, just stunning result from Paul and Bea, honestly, they just had something to fight over and I was a spectator. Super impressive, and I'll be keeping an eye on them!" Amy's response was one still from her wear, just how much she had to fight to get there, but not one that felt insincere or misplaced. "Not the best, but again, just couldn't do anything to match with the setups that Carrera and Apex had this weekend. Just can't say anything more, we love Spa, but this isn't one for us, though definitely not one to forget with that incredible fight at the front." Harrison commented, keeping it easy in comments, albeit having little else to say. "Another non-points finish. It's a tough one this year, but what can we do." Astrid shrugged, leaving frame as soon as she came in. "Not a bad showing, just couldn't get into points, man, that Carrera ship is fast!" Max commented, his comment quickly cut to the next. "Well, it's not exactly how I imagined it, no, but a lot of lessons learned, and adaptation. The ship is very different and I have every belief I will do better." Hamid seemed a little more downbeat, but then again, after such a poor rookie performance, he had every reason to be saying that. "Not a bad start, yeah! A point on return, honestly, it's like being back to where I left off, and while the ship has a long way to go, I'm happy to be getting started." Florence replied to the question asked, moving out of the way in her fluoro-yellow-green raincoat as another shower started to pour down. "Well, its a decent showing from us. Shame that Han couldn't get a point, but yeah, a good sign of things to come." Cassie couldn't complain, and while the ship felt very potent of late, it just didn't have that cutting edge on Carrera. At least, not here. [hr] [center][h1][b] Race Day Sunday July 31st Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium 1400 EST [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Closing on Belgium[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Aurora was back in the studio to close up. "Well, what a show we have had. And we don't even have that long to wait for more racing in the hills of northern Europe, as we head over the border to the Nurburgring for a classic of the season, and no doubt to see more thrilling racing." Aurora spoke over the montage, as the show rolled to a close. "From all of us at Delta Hyper, thank you for joining us, and we'll see you in Germany next weekend." [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcSV0koLNFs]The Upbeats- All Over You[/url] [/b] And with that, the race highlights played. Mulder versus Ward, all the way, every tangle, the clash between Hamid and Kofi, the rain and the absolutely manic supporters. From the weaves that Paul made to get to 2nd, to the heroic move on 1st that Bea held out on, it was a classic for the books, topped off with Bea's beaming face on the top of the podium, spraying champagne down Paul's neck, and on top of it all. [hr] Bit by bit, the paddock died down as truck after truck carried materials out, and the buildings on site were unpacked. As a double header, most of the ships weren't going back to the factory, even if some of the staff were- most were being shipped direct to the Nuburgring, so for that case, logistically, upgrades weren't really on the cards unless something late came in. The further-travelling teams, like Carrera Condor, Southern Cross, Zygon and MMR had mostly kept their staff local, instead immediately heading to the circuit once everything was done, and using local facilities and amenities to get underway. [hr] [center][h2][i][b]Astrid Thorsdottir[/b][/i][/h2][/center] Sitting up inside the white-lined sim room, Astrid sat in the corner, exhaling, looking into the giant glass-panelled form that made up the immersion of the room, Tobias, her usual PT had come back in, seeing Astrid on cooldown, her thermal long-sleeved shirt and tights revealing plenty of hours in the cockpit, trying, and trying again. "How's it feeling?" Astrid sighed, shrugging, unable to really make the words. "It's shit. All these false dawns." She muttered, as Tobias sat down by her side, leaning against the cool concrete wall, in whitewash. "Yeah, it is. But this year might just not be it. Let's focus on the fact we're still nibbling at points. And you're not far off them." Tobias's voice was not a reassurance to her, as she put her head back, breathing out, looking back. "But far enough off to watch us drop through the points. It's a tight one this year. Carrera got good. Way more than anyone thought." She noted, sipping down water from her bottle, as Tobias nodded without much to say, Astrid looking across. "I hope the strategy is right. Prioritise the ship for next year. But we should try and salvage something. Have you got anything in mind we can look at in the short term? Anatomy, without ripping me into fifty pieces?" Astrid asked, Tobias taking a moment to think that question over, looking over her, knowing they'd had this discussion before. "Not many. I know you prefer purism, but is this the time to think about it? Even some of the nanite stuff, bone density work. You've always been quietly off this augmentation business. And I know, FIAR probably should tighten up. But we need something." Tobias asked, as Astrid sighed, looking at the simulator, then back at him. "The option without losing limbs sounds better." [hr] [center][h2][i][b]Jen Lowry[/b][/i][/h2][/center] Another session with a oxygen monitoring and supplying mask on, Jen was on the treadmill. Her hair coloured in a wilder sort of aquamarine and tucked in a bun, her new arms holding onto the rails, the white-shimmery silver tech-like vest in Apex's brand, even if she herself, prefered VIXN's lineup. It was a chance to at least strench out and keep routine, especially as a break from sitting in the simulator and being plugged in. Even with prosthetic limbs, and a lot of her lungs and heart replaced with synthetic elements, testing and constant checkups, as well as building core fiber to work with the prosthetics, high loads in the ship meant that fitness was always a priority. That and the fact she was trying to match Ava's pacing on the Strava application that all the pilots had access to. More of a flex than anything else, because genuinely, outside of Kais and oddly, Vlad of all people, Ava was that benchmark that she wanted to hit. Long legs, based out of Ava's natural frame were always going to be impossible to match but Jen never liked to turn down a challenge. And well, prosthetic limbs could only do so much that their owner had, but VO2 max, and every benefit that came with being as fit as a fiddle meant taking corners better, taking the endurance on more, and being able to come out of it swinging was always something to aspire towards. So being hooked up like this wasn't just science, it was a strange sort of reassurance. It felt strange to have hit the ground running so quick. 4th had been admirable, and while losing out to Paul at the start, that just came from playing it safe. Not taking anything too difficult. And it was a promising sign she hadn't binned the ship and lost any more positions, which was exactly what Apex needed to chase after Southern Cross. That much was telling, and boded extremely well for Jenny. Able to tame that ship, which was surprising considering all the rumours. Finishing up on the treadmill, she pinged Bea a message, before putting her phone back in her vest's pocket, headed to get checked in with the muscular-skeletal specialists and check they were happy with her mods. [hr] [color=gold][center][h1][i][b] GREEN//HELL//HEAVY [/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVoZWmPGxrM]Muse - Unravelling[/url] [/b] The bars widen on a forest, a huge one, with a tiny ribbon of tarmac running through it. Not even widened, while the GP-Strecke may have been more a classic racing circuit, the Nordschlife, the northern ring, was nothing like that. It was covered in graffiti, and it felt, by comparison to every other AG circuit, the opposite of a marketer's paradise. Despite every advancement in AG, the banking on certain elements with MAG tracking, it was virtually untouched, unlike Spa. It felt raw. With shirtless fans drinking Pilsner on each corner, the degeneracy still here. This was crazytown. "Welcome to the Green Hell." The voice of Ulrich Falkner, carrying through with his distinct German pronunciation, casting a rather darker shadow. A scattered montage. Racing in the 1970s through perilous corners. Nikki Lauda's crash and the fireball that had ensued. Crashes of GT3 cars. GT4 cars. Idiots in BMW M4s thinking they had what it took, instead binning it in gravel at Youtuber Corner, among the other cult-followings that this circuit had gone through. "A circuit that claims all." And then a top down, the visuals speedrunning through it. "184 corners, and 26 kilometres of pure torture." A cut through a high contrast, polarised view, turning blue sky to black, and the dark black to white. The feeling of it being daunting. Almost impossible to remember. Even Italy, which by comparison was about as long, didn't have this level of complexity. "Nowhere to run." Cutting to an onboard, through Flugplatz that sent ships airborne, just showing how tight the circuit was as there was almost zero run-off outside of the field generators, and another collision being heard. "Nowhere to hide." The crash of an older Carrera ship in the gravel tangled up with an older Zygon ship. It felt almost like a cosmic terror, the bubbling feeling. "Undulation creating terror. Uncertainty. Entropy." The circuit in burst snippets of polarised film, inverted in colour, the MAG circuit adding to that feeling of dread, a ship on side through Carousel. "Welcome to Germany. Welcome to terror. It's scary good." And as if with that, the film seemed to granulate and fade away, turning into powder. They were aiming for definitely some sort of horror here. [hr] [color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Episode Eleven: The Green Hell[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][h1][b] Thursday August 3rd Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany 1500 EST [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]The Fear Factor[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] With the intro out of the way, the comparatively, and hysterically comparative sunny day at the Nürburgring clashed completely with the horrific weather of the week earlier in Spa, barely 200 miles away in the Ardennes. The Eifel Mountains gave a similar atmosphere, and while the GP circuit where the racing started was comparable to sections of other racing circuits like Portimao and Silverstone, it turned into anything but- with the narrow Nordschlife, or "Northern Loop" narrowing the circuit into a harrowing, barely two-ship wide track that pilots loved to hate. Rosie was then brought into view, standing in the pit lane, a little before proceedings would take place this weekend to start this off with a little bit of a different intro. "So, we've seen our pilots race each other, in karts. And last weekend we saw them fight in AG ships. But we wanted to give them a little bit of a different experience. Something to really scare them a little." Rosie added, cutting to the next scene with her walking down the pit lane of the GP circuit, which on this occasion, was combined with the rest of the circuit. "As we know, the Nürburgring is a public road. So, we thought that while they might normally be in control....what if they're passengers on a hot lap?" Looking across in another sleek cut, the three two-person anti-gravity ships were in FIAR livery, so as to not favour any particular team. "Shall we see how our pilots react?" Rosie asked, an audience already wondering just who the [s]victims[/s] terrified passengers would be. Cutting to the next scene, Rosie walked out, her new apple blonde locks dyed for the second half of the season, in front of the collective group, all suited and readied. Beatrix, Paul, Kais, with Hamid, Florence and Ben joining them on the grid. "Hi all! Well, welcome to this experience. How are you feeling about it?" Rosie asked, as Hamid piped up, chirpy as always. "Thanks Rosie! Yes, I am very excited! Haven't ever raced this circuit, so can't wait!" "Well, you're in for a treat, Hamid. Never gets old, this one..." Florence smirked, as Rosie pulled out a card, a shit-eating smile on her face in response to just how intense this was going to get. She knew the score, but he might not have... "Well, we have another twist. I'm going to give an envelope to you." Once opened, they'd realise what the questions contained. They'd be getting asked the question by the passenger, who no doubt, would be screaming the questions out. "Ben, you're with Beatrice, Hamid, you're with Paul, and Florence, you're with Kais." Ben went first, clambering into the back of the ship, without a neural link, feeling extremely exposed. "Right. Full disclosure Bea, I'm absolutely shit at being a passenger." Ben was of course, one of the newest rookies, and the youngest of the grid now by a while, and likely to have spent time in and around the scene Bea and Jen were in. Meanwhile, Hamid clambered into the back of the next ship along, sitting in with Paul. "Habibi, yo! So uhh...you aren't gonna go too crazy, right? Chilled out for a local track? Right" The Moroccan's easy tone carried, although, even he had to admit, the nerves were creeping out. Climbing in, Florence kept it cordial, knowing what was to come, but still aware that Kais drove on an edge, and even in this setting, would look to find a few tenths faster where he could. "Haven't done one of these in a while! Alright Kais, show me what you got." Florence's confidence dripped, but well, even that wouldn't be well founded. [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jVwvjxSQ9w]Pendulum x Joe Valence & Brae - Napalm[/url] [/b] Of course, what ensued next, was down to how each pilot drove. And in an AG ship, without a neural link, it was the equivalent of being strapped into a fighter jet flying off the deck, constantly. The "feel" of corners was gone, so all that was left was just sheer terror. And a lot of screaming in and around every single corner. Going easy was not something any passenger would really feel. So every single passenger was yelling, and yelling back at their pilot in command. That said, those passengers, namely, Hamid, Florence and Ben would all have questions to ask and would be delivering them under pressure. [b] "Who's your idol in Formula AG, past or present?" "Schnitzel or Strudel?" (yes, it literally just says that) "Do you think about anything else while racing?" "Who in the paddock would you ship as a couple? "Best BBQ host?" "What's your dream historic car, money no object?" "What would you prefer, a race on Mars or at the bottom of the ocean?" "Things that people might not know about you?" [/b] Every instinct in any pilot would be to brake earlier, corner quicker, let alone the acceleration, the violent way a ship could be thrown, and in that moment, anyone short of an android would be finding their heart rate hadn't. While on straights it was one thing, it was clear that no pilot in charge was ever going to back down when they had a passenger at least used to racing, that they would absolutely have fun terrifying. But, once that lap was completed, the roles were reversed as they pulled into the pits, and the canopy was opened. "How was that?" Rosie asked, as Ben shoved Bea, absolutely "Fucking hell! Shit, that was fun, but terrifying!" Ben yelled out, everyone collectively laughing, as with it, Florence playfully wrapping her arm around Kais. "Not bad! He's got some bravery braking in a ship that late!" The others chuckled, as Hamid wiped the sweat off his brow. "You are crazy, Paul! What the hell, you went through Flugplatz completely flat, in a ship you've never had? Yallah, you're crazy!" "Time to swap?" Rosie asked, and well, all the pilots would want a bit of revenge, no doubt happy about that idea. And with that, the other pilots got to work, linked up to the ship, while their passengers weren't. Ben decided not to go easy, and well, neither did Hamid and Florence, both absolutely chatting bare gossip as they took it out on the GP circuit with ease, but once on the Nordschlife itself, returned the favour. Reacting to that terror was all the pilots, and well, an unfiltered look in what happened when control was taken away from them on one of the most undulating, long laps of the year, taken at what felt like warp speed.