[center][h2]Tuesday September 14th, 2094, 10:25 Buenos Aires, Argentina[/h2][h3]”The Ranch” (Carrera Condor Formula AG Team headquarters)[/h3][/center]Bea sat in her apartment at the Ranch, decompressing from the spat with Ava. She expected as much. Maybe even worse. But it still stung. [color=#1EFF24]”’I did it for your own good. Because you don’t want to be tangled in this.’”[/color] Be muttered to herself in an unflattering approximation of Ava’s voice, [color=#1EFF24]”Yeah, ‘keep me safe’ by not informing me of something that’s already killed a pilot. Great job, Dumbledore…”[/color] She scoffed when her phone pinged. Bea stared at the message for a few seconds, confused like a forest bee. She had to scroll up through the conversation and check through emails to verify that no, she wasn’t losing it, they never talked about anything like that. [b][center][h3][code]Tue 14/09 10:29 TO: PAUL [Batt: 87%][/code][/h3][/center][/b] [center]———— Today ————[/center][color=yellow]> So thinking about trying art therapy. Any recommendations on where to start? What are we doing while in your town for the race? I need to know what to pack.[/color] [color=#1EFF24]Being honest, I don’t think I’ll have the time or the energy to do much after these few weeks, sorry mate.[/color] Her finger hovered over the send button. Then again… [b][center][h3][code]Tue 14/09 10:30 TO: PAUL [Batt: 87%][/code][/h3][/center][/b] [center]———— Today ————[/center][color=yellow]> So thinking about trying art therapy. Any recommendations on where to start? What are we doing while in your town for the race? I need to know what to pack.[/color] [color=#1EFF24]> I’m versatile. Bring what looks interesting/fun to you, we’ll figure it out as we go. I have some stuff at the factory too, so I can supplement.[/color] [color=#1EFF24]> Maybe pack the therapist. And if you show up with a primary school art supplies box, I will laugh at you and neither you, I or god can stop that. 😛[/color] She could use a distraction. [hr][center][h2]Tuesday September 14th, 2094, 12:48 Buenos Aires, Argentina[/h2][h3]”The Ranch” (Carrera Condor Formula AG Team headquarters)[/h3][/center]Bea felt like her brain had torn free in her head and was now spinning freely. With Ava off advertising for PolarVault, it was just up to Bea and Alex Valle, the team’s development pilot, to dial down the setup for Argentina and it was taking a mental toll. Her mind felt like the week before graduating high school, and breaks went from being time she could do something not work-related became time she could do nothing at all for 30 minutes. Picking up her lunch, she spied the blonde mane of Elise Vogel, Carrera Condor’s junior series pilot, at one of the tables. Bea had seen her a grand total of six times in the 13 months she’d been the team's employee herself and spoke to her exactly twice, so it was high time they actually got to know each other, especially since Bea now had a reason to think they might be racing together next year. Bea walked up to her table. [color=#1EFF24]”Hi, you got a minute?”[/color] [color=#FFECA8]”Sure deal.”[/color] Elise nodded. [color=#1EFF24]”I saw your fight with Alice at Silverstone. A bit tight in places, but good stuff.”[/color] Bea set her tray down and sat down. [color=#FFECA8]”Thovex? Easy. All helmet, no head, you just shove her a little, she loses her shit and detonates.”[/color] Elise replied nonchalantly. Bea hid most of her expression behind her sandwich, the free admission of such a mindset hitting her from the left field. [color=#1EFF24]”Thanks for coming in to help with the setup.”[/color] Bea tried to shift topics, [color=#1EFF24]”I swear, Alex looked like his head was about to pop like a champagne cork last night.”[/color] [color=#FFECA8]”I mean, what’s his job, right? I had to postpone, like, four things because of this.”[/color] The Andorran shrugged, sounding like a teenager who was told to take the trash out. [color=#FFECA8]”But if Ava’s gonna be mid on track, might as well farm engagement.”[/color] Falling out aside, Bea found herself torn between telling her to mind her manners and actually agreeing there. [color=#FFECA8]”For real, Silverstone? What was [i]that[/i]?”[/color] Elise waved her fork around like a flag marshal in a hurricane, droplets of salad dressing splattering the table. [color=#FFECA8]”You go P8 to P5, almost bin it and re-pass three top tier pilots in a lap, literally going feral on them. And she qualifies P16 and gets passed by Henry? Come oooon.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Think you’d have done better?”[/color] Bea said before she could stop herself, too dry to miss unless your name was Elise Vogel. [color=#FFECA8]”Duh.”[/color] Elise rolled her eyes, Bea not really paying attention as what she had just said clicked in her mind. The instinct to stick up for the Chilean driver, built over months, was still there even after the previous day’s eruption, like a Pavlovian reflex. [color=#FFECA8]”By the way, I wanted to tell you: That chrome of yours - old and new - is straight-up insaaaane!”[/color] Bea winced, remembering herself talking like that. When she was ten. [color=#1EFF24]”Thanks.”[/color] [color=#FFECA8]”That’s, like, sooo much marketing potential. Your painted for the punk crowd, swap to a clean look for the old codgers, your racing ones for the geeks… Huuuge L for VIXN for not signing with us, one photoshoot with you and that would, like, break the feed!”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”I’m actually glad they didn’t. I’ve seen their new lineup, NOVA can keep them.”[/color] Bea leaned slightly away with discomfort, not that Elise noticed. [color=#FFECA8]”Oh, I get it. You’re aiming higher. What is it? Prada? Victoria’s Secret? No, no! You [i]totally[/i] radiate Under Armour vibes. You should've done something in Hawaii - white beaches, surfboards, that's, like, made for a swimsuit ad, instant trending, no kidding. Plus you could've leaned into that whole Oceanian Whanau vibe since you-”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”I’m not in any way Hawaiian. My mum is.”[/color] Bea cut Elise off, [color=#1EFF24]”And I’m a racing driver. Not a glorified stripper.”[/color] She added, annoyance bubbling through. Elise regarded her for a few seconds. [color=#FFECA8]”That’s dumb. Why’d you get them then?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”So a crash wouldn’t snap my spine and I could get myself and my co-driver out of a wrecked car if needed?”[/color] Bea asked like it was the obvious answer, but by now knew they were operating on completely different frequencies. Fate provided a graceful exit in the form of Alistair walking in. [color=#1EFF24]”Shite, I have to go.”[/color] Bea excused herself, stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and did her best to walk away naturally. [color=#1EFF24]”Walk with me.”[/color] She mumbled through a full mouth. [color=#129914]”Uh? Sure?”[/color] He fell into step, the cafeteria far behind them. [color=#129914]”What’s going on?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Nothing, you’re good. Please, God, let it be Cassie next year, not her…”[/color] Bea groaned as she walked away. [color=#129914]”Wait, next year?”[/color] Alistair was left to ask the empty hallway. [hr][center][h2]Friday october 1st, 2094, 11:00 Buenos Aires, Argentina[/h2][/center][color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color][color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Episode 14: The Tango Swing[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [hr] [color=#1EFF24]”So whose stupid idea was this?”[/color] Were the first words heard in Bea’s segment, the Briton not at all happy about having to suit up for an interview, arms dangling loosely beside her head. In addition to a custom ship livery - The black of the ship replaced with the Argentinian flag, the wiphala accompanied by ribbons made up of the flags and mottos of the team’s other partner nations flowing along the ship’s lines - and a white-and-blue racing suit with the Sol de Mayo symbol emblazoned across her chest to match that would also be used in Brazil the following week, Bea’s regular helmet was replaced by the design contest winner. The base was circled by a green motif with silhouettes of galloping horses mimicking the pampas, the rest of the helmet a blue to white gradient rising from the pampas to the top serving as a canvas to the circuit map, each straight and corner having a roughly playing card-sized image of some famous moment that occurred there throughout the circuit's history attached to it. That was after throwing half a Sagan of designs featuring just a stylized flag, a handful of those featuring the Falklands and one absolute abomination that made her helmet look like a giant Stargazy Pie in the bin. [quote]”Bea, we're at the home of Carrera Condor! What a turnaround it has been for your team, and from your comments, it sounds like you're taking things stuff upside down. How have you engaged with the fans locally, given we've seen so much of your #FansFirst initiative? Anything to say to the fans, in Espanol?”[/quote] [color=#1EFF24]”'Upside down,' you think you're funny?”[/color] Bea grinned behind her fishbowl before continuing in Spanish, sometimes having to pause to look for words or rephrase when she talked herself into a dead end. [color=#1EFF24]”[b]Obviously the home race of the team is going to come with some pressure, especially given how passionate local fans are, but we're handling it. The PolarVault ad campaign was a bit ill timed, but between Alex, me and Elise we think we managed the prepwork. Big shoutout to Elise for taking the overtimes and coming in to help.[/b]”[/color] She gave a thumbs up, visibly confused for a moment which way to turn the hand so it would be facing the right side up for the audience. [color=#1EFF24]”[b]The initiative seems to be popular, hopefully not just because of the novelty. We're getting a lot of good feedback, what to keep, what to change. There's some teething issues obviously, but as far as I've seen people are taking it with humor when we have to adjust something on the fly.[/b]”[/color] She continued before switching to English to address Aurora directly with visible relief, [color=#1EFF24]”I haven’t seen you lot there yet. What’s the deal? Rory and Rosie talk a big game during commentary, we want to see how they actually handle the strategy calls.”[/color] She added with a mischievous grin. [color=#1EFF24]”I should’ve brought a parachute, then I could have just unclipped myself at the end of this and fallen away in style.”[/color] She joked, tactfully ignoring the safety net below the couch just out of shot. [hr] [center][url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TrLdbYUu7LJQf9_6F1zblN3WfwvCU8R3W8Xskd8b3vI/edit?usp=sharing]Carrera Condor NPCs[/url][/center]