[center][h2]Sunday August 1st, 2094, 19:26
Stavelot, Belgium[/h2][h3]Trailer #18[/h3][/center][color=#1EFF24]”Yes?”[/color] Bea answered the knock at the door, perhaps unwisely without asking who it was, leading to hurriedly swinging her feet off the table when the team’s CEO, Pablo Asturia, entered the trailer.
[color=#FF003F]”Good evening. Our hero of the hour. How come you’re still not celebrating?”[/color] He greeted her with a smile, his bodyguards remaining outside.
[color=#1EFF24]”Just got done with media for the day.”[/color] She was fresh off recording the auction announcement, [color=#1EFF24]”Waiting for the mechanics to wrap up before we go give some bar owner a reason to stay in business. Tea?”[/color] She explained, pointing to the tea pot on her table.
[color=#FF003F]”Yes, thank you. I was ready to postpone our talk to next week in case I couldn’t catch you before the celebrations begin.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I kept you in mind. Or, rather, in my calendar, that’s more reliable.”[/color] She half-joked as she poured him a cup, [color=#1EFF24]”What’s the matter? The voicemail was slightly ominous, going behind León’s back.”[/color]
[color=#FF003F]”Yes, I wanted to expedite this matter.”[/color] He explained, taken aback by the amount of sugar in the beverage. [color=#FF003F]”León would have had to go through me anyway.
Like I said in the voicemail, I believe you’re the key to moving forward. You continue to impress on track and your handling of media surpasses some more experienced pilots even without much media training. We are a team reborn, and we need a strong face to go with our performance. I, and several others on the board, believe you are the right candidate to be that face. This includes a four year contract with revised conditions, pending amendments from your side.”[/color]

The trailer spun a little. Thirteen months ago, she was signing a one year contract with a struggling backmarker that saw her more as a pile of money and tech; and now she was being offered to lead a top-of-the-midfield outfit and could dictate her terms to a degree.
[color=#1EFF24]”I think I did a good job winning over the Argentinian crowd, but they will see this as a slap in the face.”[/color] She brought up the first problem that jumped out at her. [color=#1EFF24]”The mere fact that you’re extending my contract while Ava’s is still in the air will stir people up.”[/color]
[color=#FF003F]”Which you’ll handle like you’ve already done.”[/color] Pablo dismissed it with a wave of his hand, [color=#FF003F]”Keep driving like you are and they will forget any flag.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Would you like to see the pre-season hate mail?”[/color] She laughed, [color=#1EFF24]”Fun reading, if anatomically impossible.”[/color]
[color=#FF003F]”See, you’re already shrugging it off. As much as I was initially worried about you not taking things seriously, it seems to be working.”[/color] Pablo shrugged, passing her a tablet he had brought with him. [color=#FF003F]”Have a read through the first draft.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”This is…”[/color] She trailed off, eyes widening as she read. Less stringent schedule, decision making power over non-grandfathered sponsorships, a hand in livery design, a major raise and provisions for more benefits… [color=#1EFF24]”This is too good, where’s the catch?”[/color] She looked up. This. This is where it comes. More extensive neural mods, advanced neural link, removing safeguards. She signs this, and she’s a braindead husk or a brain in a jar mounted under the ship’s seat before the regs change.
[color=#FF003F]”Your ties to Pridwen Solutions.”[/color] Bea bristled, the issue apparently coming from an entirely different direction. [color=#FF003F]”The regulation change looms large on the horizon. León has pulled off an outstanding move pulling Felix to us, but we must now begin looking into the future beyond the immediate season. That may include equipment from suppliers in competition with Pridwen Solutions if their products are superior.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”So you want to move Pridwen from the role of sponsor to the role of a supplier, contingent on outperforming any other bidders for that contract?”[/color] She parsed his words into plain English, the churning pit in her stomach levelling out again. It could still be preparing the ground for that, but this she could still work with.
[color=#FF003F]”Yes.”[/color] He nodded to be met with an outburst of laughter from Bea, who simply couldn’t keep a straight face seeing Pablo actually stressed over a non-issue that he perceived to be an issue.
[color=#1EFF24]”I apologize.”[/color] She managed to stammer out between breaths, having had to work hard to keep it at a normal ‘entertained laughter’ level as opposed to the unhinged cackle of someone who just avoided a real or perceived existential threat. [color=#1EFF24]”This sponsorship was only a carrot to incentivize teams to consider me for the seat. Dad is giving us technology and staff for free and it’s one Hell of a money sink for the company. And you’re now telling me that Pridwen - currently losing money on this -  either gets paid or returns to net zero, meanwhile I no longer have to worry about my job and hobby potentially driving a wedge between me and my father and/or sister? And we get to choose better equipment, if such exists, more easily? Nobody’s losing here, what are you worried about?”[/color]
[color=#FF003F]”I wasn’t aware Pridwen was at a loss working with us. Why wasn’t this communicated?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Pridwen’s problem, not yours. Dad knew what he was signing up for.”[/color] Bea shrugged, [color=#1EFF24]”You sitting here offering me a full-blooded, multi-year contract is proof that he once again judged a gamble correctly.”[/color] And on top of all of the contract goodness, Bea was internally giddy with joy. Her dad believed in her, put things on the line for her and she didn’t let him down.
[color=#1EFF24]”You’ll also have to speak to him about it, but I doubt he’ll object. Of course, it would tear up my heart to have to race with Fitzroy Orbital engines,”[/color] She grinned, [color=#1EFF24]”But performance is performance.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24][i]‘Like they’d ever outperform a PS product.’[/i][/color] She almost added.
[color=#FF003F]”Do we have an agreement, then?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”You have a tentative ‘yes’ as-is.”[/color] She raised her cup for a toast, [color=#1EFF24]”I’ll get back to you with details during the week. Sign at the factory after Nürenberg?”[/color]
[color=#FF003F]”Yes, but we can announce it at the German AGP. Ride the high of Spa.”[/color]

[hr][center][h2]Brussels, Belgium[/h2][h3]The Mulder Foundation Gala[/h3][/center]Bea arrived to the Gala in style, her arrival heralded by the snarl of a rented 2078 Lamborghini Cabrera LP 750-4 Tecnica. She wore the same gown she’d worn in Monaco - reusing instead of being wasteful, it definitely didn’t have anything to do with being out of touch with and thoroughly disinterested in fashion trends, instead wearing what she liked as opposed to what was the most flashy and designed by the current hit designer. Seriously, what was Sable Vortex’ collar? Despite making a point of not engaging with representatives of any of the gossip and celebrity magazines, they’d probably drag her through the mud anyway, reinforcing her belief that they were a plague on honest journalism. What else was new?

She instead spent her time with people who showed genuine interest in the the Foundation and the sport, one photographer catching her during a 15 minute discussion about current trends in automotive design with a pair of valets and a waiter, a heated but friendly two-v-two debate on the merits of voice and neural controls versus physical buttons, knobs and switches. Bea also made sure to approach Paul’s mother to offer her time if she wanted to cooperate further to advertise for the Foundation or do some direct work with any of the art programmes, that being a topic close to her heart.

[hr][center][h2]Stavelot, Belgium[/h2][h3]Villa De Fleurs[/h3][/center]Paul’s dinner at the Villa had been a bit of good luck for Bea. She had a hotel for the race secured through the team, but it wasn’t worth the time to go back to England or Argentina between these two races, packed closely together as they were, so this sorted out her stay in Belgium for the next few days nicely before she’d make the drive to Adenau, where Carrera Condor would be staying over the Nürburgring AGP weekend.

After coming back from the Gala, she checked that her ten percent commission had come through and immediately sent it back as a donation to the Foundation. Then she sat on the balcony and thought. She’d had an idea brewing in her head for a few months now, but wasn’t sure if it was appropriate or if it would end up being perceived as insensitive. With a final drum of her fingers on the balcony rail, she sprang out of her seat. She never thought things through, why start now? Her travel easel appeared on the balcony, a canvas on a PLA frame on it. The dress came off, replaced with a hoodie and a pair of sweats that she wouldn’t be too sad about reclassifying from ‘clothing’ to ‘rag’ and within a minute, she was in the zone, the job finished when the Sun sat high in the sky and the sounds of lunch being served poured out of the dining hall.

The package would arrive at the Valkyrie headquarters a few days later, mailed from the hotel and addressed to Paul directly, a simple note on the box betraying the sender even without reading the return address.

[color=#1EFF24]Let’s do that again soon. :p[/color]

Inside, a 40x60 centimeter vertical oil-on-canvas painting with a carbon fiber frame with details painted in the colors of Auldrick’s ship - the livery he scored his first victory in. In the dead center of the lower half, painted in minute detail under a magnifying glass with micro brushes, was Paul’s ship mid-overtake, his highlight reel pass that almost scored him P1. Behind him another ship, clearly Bea’s to anyone who saw the race, but in the painting more of a vague outline of it without any defining features as it wasn’t important for the piece, the background likewise unfocused, yet clear enough to recognize the track and corner.

Up above, storm clouds swirled above the track, everywhere except in the painting’s top left corner, where the Sun shone bright through a break in the cloud cover about the size of a dinner plate, straight onto Paul’s ship. At least at first sight. It wouldn’t be until a closer look that an outline hidden in the broken clouds revealed the face of Auldrick Mulder, smiling down upon the scene.

[hr][b][center][h3][code]Monday 02/08 14:12     ASTURIA            [Batt: 99%][/code][/h3][/center][/b]
[center]———— Monday - 26/07/2094 ————
Missed call (Tap to play voicemail)[/center][color=#1EFF24]> We’ll speak after the race, then.[/color]
[center]———— Today ————[/center][color=#1EFF24]> On top of what’s already in the draft, I get to veto any medical procedures including pilot mods for myself, a fixed percentage of the sponsorship income goes to community outreach every year (I’ve had some ideas for a while, I’ll give you the details in person) and whether or not Ava stays for the remainder of these regulations is up to her.[/color]
[color=#FF003F]> I won’t be staying for the race, does Friday after practice work for you?[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> Friday it is. Give me a time and place when you know.[/color]
[color=#FF003F]> Very well.[/color]

[hr][center][h2]Thursday August 5th, 2094, 15:00
Nürburg, Germany[/h2][/center][color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color][color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Episode 11: The Green Hell[/b][/i][/h2][/center]
[/color]
[hr]
Back again in her dry suit, unworn since her outing to Pikes Peak, and back to her old junior series helmet. She always relished every opportunity to bring it back out because it was her favorite design of hers, as much as she worried about what lay ahead. She could only hope she wasn’t about to get paired up with some sadist. Sweet Jesus, not Kais…

[quote]”Ben, you’re with Beatrix…”[/quote]
Oh, thank God.

[quote][color=#5EBD83]”Right. Full disclosure Bea, I'm absolutely shit at being a passenger.”[/color][/quote]
[color=#1EFF24]”They’ll probably swap us around after this, so: What I do to you, you do to me?”[/color] She offered him a hand with a friendly smile after checking his harness was done up correctly, holding final responsibility for the passenger’s safety as the driver.
[color=#5EBD83]”Deal!”[/color] Ben shook her hand.

Bea took full advantage of the outlap to get used to how the ship handled, gradually speeding up until she was putting it through its paces by the third sector. [color=#1EFF24]”Okay, this thing refuses to slow down and it actually oversteers. Think I can drift it?”[/color]
There was a resounding [color=#5EBD83]”No!”[/color] from the back seat.
[color=#1EFF24]”You don’t think I can?”[/color] Bea feigned offense, [color=#1EFF24]”I’ll prove it, watch.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”No, that’s not what I meant! I meant no, don’t do it.”[/color] Ben’s protests continued, answered by a gleeful cackle from the forward cockpit and a turn taken normally. [color=#5EBD83]”Christ on a fucking bike...”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”A deal’s a deal. Get your questions ready, hotlap starting…”[/color] She answered and rammed the throttle open, [color=#1EFF24]”Now!”[/color]

[color=#5EBD83]”Who's your ido- Jesus Christ. Your idol in Formula AG, past or preseEEEEEEnt?”[/color] Turn one was upon them faster than Ben thought it would be.
[color=#1EFF24]”Nobody.”[/color] She answered the first question briefly, then deciding to poke a little, [color=#1EFF24]”My idols come from a higher form of motorsport.”[/color]
The Delta Hyper camera capturing her face would note a shit-eating grin, fully knowing that comment would stir a hornet’s nest.

[color=#5EBD83]”Schnitzel or Strudel?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Strudel.”[/color] The sweet option a clear answer to anyone who knew her. [color=#1EFF24]”Flugplatz, cleared for takeoff!”[/color] She called as she throttled up and the ship briefly left its usual altitude above the surface in a short jump.
[color=#5EBD83]”WhaAAAat filling?”[/color] Ben’s voice jumped, caught out by the launch.
[color=#1EFF24]”Pears, any other fruit, quark, walnuts and poppyseed. In that order.”[/color]

[color=#5EBD83]”Do you think. About anything- God above! Else while racing?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Depends on the situation. Sometimes- Oh, birdie!”[/color] She said right before a braking point, turning her head to look at the nonexistent bird while keeping her eyes fixed on the track. Ben could of course only see the former, not the latter, the sound he made confirming he bought into the illusion before her snickering let him know what’s up. [color=#5EBD83]”You will eat that in two laps’ time!”[/color] He half yelled, half laughed.

[color=#5EBD83]”Who in the paddock would you ship as a couple?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Didn’t they ask this in Japan already?”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Before my time.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I don’t know. Paul goes with anyone, that’s a safe answer- Oh, this is a hairpin, I forgot.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”WHAT?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I’m just pulling your leg.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Oh, you’ll get it when we swap, just wait…”[/color]

[color=#5EBD83]”Best BBQ host?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”León Alonso.”[/color] She fired off without hesitation as Ben was being squashed to the right side of the cockpit by the Carousel. [color=#1EFF24]”Ava wasn’t joking with the Asado.”[/color]

[color=#5EBD83]”What's your dream historic car, money no object?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Fun car or a daily driver?”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Fun car.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”How long do you think it will take before Hamid can ask the next question after this one?”[/color] Bea laughed in reference to Paul’s interest in cars.
[color=#5EBD83]”He probably already has his dream car, so not long.”[/color] Ben countered.
[color=#1EFF24]”Fair. He has all of our dream cars, doesn’t he?”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Yep.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Prodrive Hunter. It’s the blueprint for Rally5 to Rally3 cars since the 2040s.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”I thought you’d want the original Quattro?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Nope, the kit car I have looks the same but handles better. I’d say it has a better engine too, but I don’t want to wake up to a cylinder head on my pillow courtesy of the inline five mafia.”[/color] She laughed.
[color=#5EBD83]”Do not speak ill of the straight five, heretic.”[/color] Ben laughed along, himself a member of said engine’s ‘fanclub’.
[color=#1EFF24]”I didn’t say it was [i]bad[/i], I said there are better options!”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Better how, it’s literal perfection.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Flat engines allow for a lower center of gravity, boxers have better balance and they are easier to mount longitudinally because they’re shorter.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Two cylinder heads, head gaskets go quick, they have lubrication issues when sitting for too long and they get worse mileage.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”If you’re worrying about mileage in a sports car you’re doing it wrong, and if you let a car like that sit for long, you have a user issue.”[/color]
Ben took a breath to continue the friendly argument, but a hard brake forced the air right back out of his lungs, ending it for now.

[color=#5EBD83]”What would you prefer, a race on Mars or at the bottom of the ocean?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I can only get one?”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”Apparentlyyyyyy! Fuck, that barrier was close!”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Five point four seven meters according to the neural link. Mars, then. We already have the Barrier Reef AGP. If you go below 200 meters below the surface the water will get pitch black anyway. Racing up and down Olympus Mons or around Valis Marineris sounds like fun.”[/color]

[color=#5EBD83]”Things that people might not know about you?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Things that people don’t know about me are things that people don’t know about me because I don’t want people to know those things about me.”[/color] She said nonchalantly as they tore along the Döttinger Höhe straight, [color=#1EFF24]”But I suppose what will come out soon is that I will be an even worse passenger than you.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”How? Don’t you skydive and race up a mountain with no guardrails and whatnot for fun?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Even if my parachute fails to open, or I stop getting air through my regulator a hundred meters below the sea, [i]I am still in control[/i]. It’s still up to me to troubleshoot the issue, take remedial action and get out of there. But when we swap and you’re sitting here and I’m back there? No control. Literally a passenger.”[/color] She explained as they slowed down for the pit entry.
[color=#1EFF24]”You struggled with that question about distractions, didn’t you?”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”I struggled with a lot just then. Let’s see how you do.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I’m at peace with my fate. When you said ‘Do you think about anything?’ and paused, I was about to answer ‘No’.”[/color] She laughed.
[color=#5EBD83]”No thought, head empty. EPR not at maximum yet.”[/color] He joined her, the danger having passed.
[color=#1EFF24]”Exactly! I paid for the whole gauge, I will use the whole gauge.”[/color]
[color=#5EBD83]”The nickname’s right, you [i]are[/i] mad!”[/color] He shook his head.

She brought the ship in to stop in the pits, springing out of the seat and offering Ben help getting out. If he was half as shaky as she expected to be, he’d need it.
[color=#5EBD83]”Fucking hell! Shit, that was fun, but terrifying!”[/color] Ben yelled out, everyone collectively laughing
[color=#1EFF24]”He’s brave, this one. When NOVA sort their ship out, he’ll be a problem.”[/color]

[hr][b][center][h3][code]Thursday 05/08 17:18   GAZZA            [Batt: 87%][/code][/h3][/center][/b]
[center]———— Sun - 01/08/2094 ————[/center][color=#46BDC6]> Congrats on the first win! Absolute class. Next year in Silverstone so we can celebrate together, eh?[/color]
[You reacted with ❤️]
[color=#1EFF24]> Haha, thanks![/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> Yeah, came close this year, might actually happen.[/color]
[color=#46BDC6]> No doubt.[/color]
[center]———— Monday - 02/08/2094 ————[/center][color=#1EFF24]> Did I hear right? Caroline binned it in Finalnd?[/color]
[color=#46BDC6]> Aye. Totalled the motor, retirement in the third stage.[/color]
[You reacted with 😀]
[color=#1EFF24]> Get fuuuuucked![/color]
[color=#46BDC6]> In the ditch, where she belongs.[/color]
[center]———— Today ————[/center][color=#1EFF24]> I am SO SORRY for what I put you through for three years! 😀😀[/color]
[color=#46BDC6]> He?[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> Watch this episode of DH when it comes out, you’ll know.[/color]

[hr]
[center][url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TrLdbYUu7LJQf9_6F1zblN3WfwvCU8R3W8Xskd8b3vI/edit?usp=sharing]Carrera Condor NPCs[/url][/center]