[center][h1][b]Thursday 1st September, 2094 Marina Bay, Singapore 2030 SGT [/b][/h1][/center] Paul thought about what Dorian was sharing with him. He smiled as Dorian started to mention a former Belgian he had dated who had a thing for waffles. Paul couldn’t help but snicker as Dorian edited himself. He knew that his fellow pilots and the world saw him as a nice guy, a type of Pollyanna personality. He liked it that way. He didn’t want to be known as the villain or have a bad guy image. He wanted to like the man he saw in the mirror. His therapy sessions with Dr. Ingold was digging deep into his feelings about his father and why he sought out being a racer as well. Paul tilted his head to one side and gave Dorian a wry smile. His voice was laced with humor. [color=fff200]“I am not quite as naive as you think I am.”[/color] Paul's voice softened as he acknowledged Dorian trying to help him. [color=fff200]“I appreciate what you are telling me. I am trying to figure it out. I will get it done.” [/color] Paul found Dorian’s take on what he had to say humorous as that is not what he meant at all. Although it did reveal something to Paul that he rarely acknowledged, he was lonely. He couldn’t talk about racing with his mother. Her feelings about it were tied up in his father and how he died. He didn’t really have any close friends. Growing up wealthy and the son of a famous Formula AG Pilot had left at the mercy of people who wanted to use him. Realistically Paul knew that not everyone he met would be that way. But it was hard to lower his walls and let people in. The result was a lot of acquaintances without any real personal relationships with deeper connections. Paul let out a laugh that he tried to stifle as Dorian went on about having empty sex. [color=fff200]“Thank you Dorian I will learn from your past mistakes and avoid the empty sex. I am not into empty sex but I was, I wouldn’t have any problems having a different girl in every city. But I appreciate your attempt to help me with what I am going through.” [/color] He watched as Dorian sipped his champagne. He smiled as Dorian shared a little about his relationship with Marcel. He was honestly happy that Dorian had wised up and recognized what an amazing thing he had with Marcel. Paul poured himself a little bit of champagne. He held up the flute to toast Dorian. [color=fff200]“To good teammates. I am honestly really happy for you Dorian. You must be excited about what happens next in your life. Have you started making any plans yet?” [/color]He was curious if Dorian had been exploring any offers for what came next or what he wanted to do. It wouldn’t surprise Paul if Dorian said he wanted to buy a winery and become a vintner next. He did love his wine and French food. Paul was almost disappointed when the AV came to a stop. His conversation with Dorian was probably one of the most real conversations he had in the last year. It was refreshing to put away one of the many masks he wore around others and the public. He had been surprised that Dorian seemed to care so much. He thought the older pilot had been avoiding him as much as he had been avoiding him after Hawaii. He didn’t really think Dorian cared how he did one way or another. His heartfelt advice almost made Paul ashamed that he had blamed Dorian for his own performance. Paul already had admitted that he was wrong and that he was not being fair to the man. Paul was bent over laughing as Dorian’s last comment was heard as he walked away from Paul. He might find Bea attractive but he was pretty sure she didn't return those feelings. He was almost sure she swung the other way. As much as Paul admired Bea and Nora he didn’t think getting involved with the competition was a good idea. He did hope to be friends with them. He had tried that with Han and that had fallen through like a lead balloon. She had been avoiding him since Zygon was caught cheating. Paul left Dorian and went to his room. He decided to fill the spa and relax. He sat in the hot bubbling water in his suite thinking. Maybe loneliness was at the heart of his issues. He had felt different after his performance at Spa. He finally felt as though he had released all that pain from his father’s death. Maybe that was one of his problems. He had started racing to feel closer to his father. Now he knew he could have that closeness anywhere, not just on the racetrack. Paul enjoyed racing. He loved the adrenaline rush. There was no greater high for him than when everything was coming together and clicking on the track. When he was in the zone and felt one with the ship. Paul enjoyed racing for Team Valkyrie. He wasn’t sure he would be happy racing with any of the other teams. He liked the balance he had at Valkyrie. Alexander’s approach to help the pilot as individuals to be all that they could be, made sense to Paul. He had fought against Alexander’s heavy handed ultimatum that he had to go into therapy with Dr. Ingold or be benched. He had to admit that once he got over being mad and started working with the doctor, she had helped him uncover some uncomfortable truths that he had not wanted to acknowledge. He had set his father’s memory on a pedestal. It didn’t help that his mother did the same and had indoctrinated him the same way. Paul had to admit that the sport was very different from his father’s day. He was not his father and he shouldn’t try to race like him. He needed to find what worked for him and do that. Paul smiled as he had the answer Dorian wanted. Paul raced because he could and it brought him joy. He liked the speed and adrenaline. He liked being in an elite class of athlete where only a small group of people would ever rise to the same level as he was. He knew he could do better. He would ponder that as the heat and bubbles and his self reflection eased the tension and embarrassment he had taken to dinner with him. [hr] [center][h1][b] Practice Friday 2nd September, 2094 Singapore Marina Bay, Singapore 1700 SGT [/b][/h1][/center] [center][h2][i][b]Paul Mulder and Alexander Knight[/b][/i][/h2][/center] Paul had taken the ship around the circuit a second time. It had responded much better. Paul was grateful for Alexander’s advice to test his ELS because the moisture in the air did affect how far the ELS reached even as they found that it charged better due to the moisture helping to conduct the electric current over a distance. Alexander watched and only made suggestions when he felt they were necessary. He complimented the team on their work and gave due credit where it was due. The engineers were excited about the ELS situation. They were hoping that with the tweaks they made to the gathering device that they would be able to capture more energy faster here in Singapore. The downside was that the capacitors might not react well in the heat to the excess energy. They would be watching that data carefully. Alexander watched Paul’s use of the ELS on the straights. After Paul had finished his practice runs for the day. Alexander let him get a shower and then met him in the pilot’s trailer. He wanted to talk to him one on one. Paul had come out of his private dressing room area with wet hair. He was in a high tech team t-shirt and sports shorts that wicked moisture away from the skin. He took a seat on the couch with Alexander taking a seat on the couch next to him. Alexander gave Paul a deep look like he was looking for answers in his face. His voice was deep and filled with concern when he started speaking. [color=00aeef]Alexander: “I want to hear from you how are the sessions with Dr. Ingold going? Are they helping any? I know you resented me forcing them on you. I had my reasons for doing so but I would like to hear your reasoning and take on it.” [/color] Paul swallowed and felt his cheeks flame as he remembered how poorly he had treated Alexander. Alexander had always treated him with respect and listened to him even when he didn’t agree with him. Looking back he could see how differently Alexander treated his pilots when compared to what he had seen of other team principals. Paul sighed and let out a huge breath. [color=fff200]“I have to admit that it was a good idea. I am still working on my issues. I don’t know if I would have self-destructed before I figured it out on my own. I am getting there. It’s a struggle but I am working on it.” [/color] Alexander gave a sharp nod. [color=00aeef]“Paul, I have been reluctant to broach this with you. I feel like you don’t like me or resent me because I am here because of your mother’s interference on your behalf. I didn’t want to make our working relationship any harder for you. But I am your boss in a way. You can’t pilot like your father. You are not him. Stop trying to be. Find your own style and what works for you. I think when you try to force yourself into a style that doesn't work for you or you try things that don’t feel right to you, is when you make the biggest mistakes. I hope you take my observations as what they are meant to be, constructive criticism. I am willing to listen if you need someone who understands what it is like to be a pilot. I might be from a different generation, but I am always willing to listen.” [/color] Paul simply nodded his head. He didn’t quite know how to respond to that. It did give him something new to think about. His voice was very neutral in tone and showed he was picking his words carefully. [color=fff200]“I will think about it. I had not considered that point of view. Do you have any observations from practice today to share?”[/color] Paul threw Alexander an opening knowing he had more to share. He wouldn’t have been waiting for him if he hadn’t. Alexander raised an eyebrow knowing that he was being catered to. [color=00aeef]“Paul if you really don’t want my help. I can keep my observations to myself. If you are not really going to pay attention to what I have to share. I can just walk away. My position at Valkyrie is not dependent on you as a pilot. Nor is your position as a pilot dependent on me being at Valkyrie. You could switch to another team if you want too at the end of the year. I want to remind you that you haven’t signed your contract yet. There is still time to throw in with another team if that is what you want.” [/color] Paul’s cheeks flamed because he was caught and acknowledged that he wasn’t really going to pay too much attention to what Alexander had to say. He felt like Alexander kept trying to coach him but his experience was outdated. The regulations and sport had changed a lot since Alexander’s time. Paul had to acknowledge that he took it for granted that he would still be with Valkyrie next year. If he didn’t start performing they could replace him as easily as they would be replacing Dorian. Paul nodded and looked Alexander in the eye. [color=fff200]“I am listening.” [/color] Alexander gave him a hard look before turning to the monitor on one wall. He picked up his tablet and used the cast feature to show the data he was looking at on the screen. Alexander simply nodded and began to point things out and show him what he saw from today’s practice. Alexander: [color=00aeef]“On the straights you are engaging your ELS right at the beginning for a boost through the whole straight. You are wasting some of that energy. Get your ship up to speed first then dump your ELS cache to up your speed in the middle of the straight. If you get close enough to someone to drain their ELS on the straight, do it. It will slow down those who have higher speeds than us, giving an advantage to help you catch up. You have worked on improving your racing skills in corners but watch your distance on some of these overtakes. Don’t get too reckless or you could crash. Be sure you are watching your opponents distance and speed on overtakes here. Some might have pilots lower in the mix try to take you out so you are not a threat to the pilots in front of you. Always be aware of who is around you on the track. You might be friends with some of the other pilots but never forget this is a competition and a race. You can see here in corners 4 and 9 where you swing a little wide and get a little sloppy because you were alone on that section of track. Remember that smooth in is fast out when you follow an optimum racing line. I will email this data to you so you can review it as you like.” Alexander tapped a few more times on his tablet and then rose to his feet.[/color] Paul watched Alexander’s presentation with faked interest at first. He had to admit that the advice was interesting and useful. He could appreciate the raw data that came with it to validate what Alexander was saying. He was looking over the data from the ship in the sections Alexander referenced and had something of a hmph aha moment. Paul was thinking to himself, [i][color=fff200]well I be damned. I wonder what he saw in Hawaii?[/color][/i] Now was not the time to ask. He didn’t want to bring attention back to his meltdown in Hawaii. Paul looked up as Alexander stood up. [color=fff200]“Thank you Alex. I will review it all before tomorrow’s qualifying race. I appreciate it. It was not something I saw.” [/color] Alexander gave Paul a tentative smile. [color=00aeef]“We are a team, Paul. We are all part of the same Team, never lose sight of that.” [/color] Alexander tucked his tablet away in a pouch attached to his belt as he left the pilot’s trailer. [hr] [center][h1][b] Qualifying Saturday 3rd September, 2094 Singapore Marina Bay, Singapore 2200 SGT [/b][/h1][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]More Than Machine[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Paul had spent his night reviewing his data from practice. He focused on what Alexander had revealed. He had thought about how to incorporate what he was saying into his racing style. Paul finally understood that he had been trying to copy moves from other pilots that he admired who had done well. Paul needed to find what worked for him and stick to that. He needed to take the right chances, the ones that his instincts said go for. He needed to trust his instincts a little more and push all those negative outside voices out of his head. He couldn’t be his father and shouldn’t try to be. He needed to be himself. He was not quite sure what that looked like yet on the race track but he was going to find out. He had worked in the simulator last night trying to improve his ELS use and defense and tighten up his corner work. He felt ready. Paul was glad that he had practiced using his ship’s sensor to guide him on the track in Singapore during practice. The track glistened as water puddles from the rain reflected the neon and prismatic lights from holograms that lit up the skyscrapers that surrounded the track during the street sections. The color lights could be a dizzying hypnotic blur at the speeds they would be reaching. Paul was doing some deep breathing to release his tension and trying the new visualization techniques Dr. Ingold had been teaching him. He had gone through his prerace checklist with Carmella. He had asked her to give him realtime updates on how his speed was compared in straights and corners to his averages. If he was messing up he wanted to know in enough time to fix it. He pushed all the mental noise away and focused on the ship. He plugged his neural interface and began incorporating all the streams of data into his consciousness. He acknowledged each one with a little test. The ship felt alive around him. He smiled as he sunk his consciousness into the ship as if they were one body. He waited for the start and was quick off the mark. He felt good about his run. He could feel the difference in the corners now that he knew what to look for. He had to admit that Alexander’s advice with the ELS was right on the money. He managed to pick up almost a whole second on the straights. He was pleased with his performance. He was even happier when the results came in and he had claimed P3. Paul acknowledged he had a fight coming in this race. He would be chasing Nora then Amy to take P1 with Bea fighting to get past him the entire way. Dorian had claimed P8 and was bookended by Ava and Cassie. His teammate had a little easier but not by much. [hider=Qualifying Results for Singapore]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn-eA0G0sumgf79TvEnPjOHyQP-vZSFV6LNrn_OY/edit?usp=sharing[/hider] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Rookies in Frame[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] Paul could feel the sweat soaking into the microweave tech fabric that lined his race suit. The suit was lined and worked with the power from the ship to keep the pilot cool inside the ship as the ship’s heat sinks sought to dump the excess heat so it didn’t interfere with the engines or electronics. As soon as Paul had climbed out of the ship, the ship’s paramedic Konrad had slapped an electrolyte drink into his hand. Another teammate had taken his helmet for him. Konrad had been watching him closely for heat exhaustion after he had gotten dehydrated during his push at Spa. Konrad had started hovering more like an old hen. He was grateful for the cool orange drink as he downed it. His mouth felt dry and parched. His body seemed to soak up the drink like a sponge. He was working on his second as the media caught up to the pilots leaving the qualifying race. Paul’s dark blonde hair was dark with sweat and flattened to his head from being in his helmet as the three of them were herded in front of the cameras with the media hounds hovering and jostling for position around the edges hoping for a sound bite. [color=ed1c24][quote]"Nora, Beatrix, Paul, you three have been rookies all this season and now that you're all here, how do you feel about taking the rest of the places by storm? What a dominant qualifying, do you think you can take on Amy, without taking each other out?" [/quote][/color] Paul simply smiled as he felt an arm sling around his shoulders in a camaraderie move. He found himself standing between Beatrix and Nora. Each of them had slung an arm around his shoulder. So he looped an arm around each woman in the same way. He grinned more than willing to play along. It was about time they learned that nice didn’t mean he was a doormat. Paul returned Nora’s grin with a wink to let her know he would back her play. [color=f7941d]Nora:"Well, they'll have to keep up first. Sure I can get her. Tomorrow, and for the title." [/color] Paul couldn’t help smiling at Nora’s comment and the crowd cheering for her. He was glad that Nora had not let the accident on the moon take her out of racing. He was glad to see she had fans here to support her. He still felt she was the rookie to beat. [color=82ca9d]Bea: ”Get used to the sight, we’re not going anywhere.” She grinned, ”Out with the old, in with the new.” [/color] Paul threw his head back and laughed at what the two women said before he added his own comments. [color=fff200]Paul: “I have to agree with them. All three of us have already proven we can beat Amy. I feel like these two ladies will be my biggest competition for years to come. So as Bea stated, get used to seeing us. Amy should get used to checking her rear view. I am fairly confident at least one of us can get past her. She might need to get used to chasing us.” [/color] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Formula AG in the News[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][h1][color=fff200][b]AG Source[/b][/color][/h1][/center] [quote][color=ed1c24]This is Shannon Taylor with AG Source here. Keeping track of what happens on the track and off of it for Formula AG fans everywhere! Team Valkyrie AGR Pilot Paul Mulder was captured by a group of media after the Singapore Qualifying race. He was asked if the three rookies felt that they would be able to get past Amy. Paul pointed out the fact that all three of them had already beaten her at least once. He even went on to state that he felt Beatrix Ward and Nora Kelly would continue to be his biggest competition on the track for years to come. Mulder is usually the first pilot to consider optics and give a neutral answer. He was not pulling any punches today with his declaration. I guess there might be some junk yard dog underneath that cool polite exterior after all. Don’t forget to follow us as we keep you up to date with what is happening with your favorite Formula AG Teams and Pilots. This has been Shannon Taylor with AG Source.[/color][/quote] [center][h1][color=fff200][b]Social Media Response [/b][/color][/h1][/center] [color=fff200]HydrofoilHater[/color] What a load of horse sh!t! Mulder took P3 behind Amy Stirling and Nora Kelly. [color=fff200]ThrusterJester:[/color]Once again Mulder is in the top 3 and Dorian is trailing way down at P8. What’s wrong with this picture? [color=fff200]QuantumQuokka:[/color]Mulder will choke again. Hawaii was disgraceful! [color=fff200]Bertha:[/color]Odds on Mulder failing again is high! [color=fff200]ValkyrieFan56:[/color]Dorian Hornfleur is doing great for his age. P8 is still pretty good when you look at the talent that he is racing against. [color=fff200]Nana2050:[/color]I am rooting for you Paul Mulder! [color=fff200]MulderMuse:[/color]Paul Mulder is still my favorite. [color=fff200]Paulmulder4eva:[/color] @ValkyriePaul Are you going to do another contest? Maybe a signed autograph or a personalised phone call? [color=fff200]RumorMill:[/color] I heard that Knight is making Mulder see a psychologist. [color=fff200]DantheMan:[/color] @RumorMill What!?? This is the first I have heard anything like that. [color=fff200]RumorMill:[/color] Heard that it was Knight’s response to his failure and meltdown at Hawaii after the race. [color=fff200]LegacyStan94:[/color]@RumorMill I don’t know how much credence to give this. I didn't hear about any meltdown after the race in Hawaii either. I have not heard about this rumor at all. The media vultures would be all over this little tidbit. [hider= Team Valkyrie Characters] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zrLx5XUgYiVm6KjTpFTWZtJvXc0MX77enkLzINHujKw/edit?gid=0#gid=0 [/hider]