”That fucking close? Bea, what the...”

”Hey, Queen of Scots, got a sec?” A voice belonging to the source of Cassie’s unfinished ‘What the fuck?’ sounded from the pit lane, ”I‘m sorry about turn five, I underestimated just how much this setup would refuse to rotate. My mistake.”

”Suppose you came to apologise at least. Better than most. And probably not worth penalty points, let's not be children in karts. Unless you try it again. Anyway, back to it, yeah? Go destroy your teammate and don't drown? You seem like one of the nice ones.”

”Right back at you.” Bea was quick to reply to the comment about destroying teammates and agreeability. An apology made and offense forgiven, the usual side of Bea surfaced again. ”And we’re fixing that mess, so don’t worry about repetitions or me drowning, Hawaii was the last freebie you got from me! Call it a late birthday present.” She called back with a shit-eating grin, already backing away as she spied a Zygon goon on approach.

---

The ship jumped at every twitch of the control stick exactly the way Bea wanted it to, eating the straights and faster corners for breakfast while feeling like a significant improvement over the previous races where stability was required. Through god knows what space magic, the Carrera Condor ship had gone from sharing second to last in the development ratings with SuperCat to sharing second best with Zygon. Freebies from Pridwen were a contributing factor, but although the factory sometimes heard the odd ‘cartel drug money’ joke, a part of Bea wouldn’t have been surprised given the rapid rise were it not for the preceding 15 years of stagnation.

It was also bearing fruit on an unexpected front, as Argentinian accounts that showed nothing but contempt at the start of the season were rapidly turning a new leaf, leading the shitlords among her fanbase to joke about inciting the ‘Argie (Un)Civil War’.

”That’s provisional P1, Bea! Fantastic job.”
”YES! Like driving on rails, woo!” The brit punched the air in celebration.
”The radiator trick was good for one lap, but let’s not push it in the race.”
”That’s our panic button, got it. Great job with the setup, everyone. I feel like there were a few hundredths more I missed.”
”We’ll take it.” Alistair chuckled.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode 13: Under Spotlights

---

”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?”

Bea moved to stand between Paul and Nora, throwing an arm around each of their shoulders’. ”Get used to the sight, we’re not going anywhere.” She grinned, ”Out with the old, in with the new.”

---

CN:Zygon: The weekend is still young.
MadBea: Promise?
GalwayGirl: Once again, the English are provoking the Scots. [Video link] 😀
Mate0: Oh, shit, she’s getting cocky. VSC on standby!
Sol_de_Mayo: She’ll stay 4th. This isn’t Spa, Paul’s got the ship advantage here.
Zero: P1 to P7 will be absolutely wild this race.
SmolNjol: You’re forgetting Dorian in P8.
Zero: Nah, just expecting Astrid to fall.
SmolNjol: Comparable critical stats as CC, speed isn’t that useful here.
Zero: Except talent and ship control. Astrid’s already caused two race-defining collisions this season.
Crossfit_Crusader: And sobriety.
TruckerTim: First it’s the English and the Scots, now the English and the Vikings are getting into it. We’re feeling historical this week.
User420: Any more historical and CC will pull up with missiles on their ship.

---

”Aaaaah! Turn 14, wasn’t it?” Bea facepalmed as they watched Paul, Nora and Amy pip her in the standings, Paul by what felt like half a toothpick.
”We think so, yes. Poor exit also compromised 15.”
”There’s that extra time I mentioned, damn it.” Bea sighed, ”What setup is Ava running?”
”Yours.”
”By request or order?”
”Everything she tried in practice was slower than yours.” Alistair explained.
”But some of her practice times were faster than her qualifying.” Bea countered.
”Rey said she lost time in the middle of Sector Two. Almost three tenths of a second.”
”They gave her my setup and are surprised she slides around in rapid-fire corners?” A mix of surprise and disappointment at the oversight in both voice and posture.
”You may still think of her as the benchmark, but see it or not, you’re becoming the number one here.” Alistair shrugged.
”But it still doesn’t make sense to give her a setup tailored for a different driving style.”
”It was a last-minute hail mary. They didn’t have time to put it back.” Al shrugged, ”Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith in this sport.”
”Don’t always land those with Felix in your arms I guess.” Bea chuckled, ”Maybe let’s leave leaps of faith to León and stick to slow and steady with Ava?”
”Maybe. Go get some sleep, we start at 11.”
”Good night.” She bode the whole garage well, gathering up her things and heading out, being intercepted by Ava right out of the door.

”Bea! You okay? Like, we're on top of it all, P4 in that standing....and you seem all out of it?”

”I’m alright. Just spent.” Bea sighed, slightly extending her steps so she and Ava could walk side by side without the latter having to almost walk heel to toe, ”I burned up my reserves for today in the fan zone before qualifying. Normally that’s my second wind, but it’s hard to be upbeat all the time when taking your shirt off at the end of the day is a 30 second endeavor.” She tugged at the sweat-soaked fabric to drive the point home.

”Look, if it's about Amy....and the op and everything, look, don't be worried about it. I'm sure it isn't anything serious. She's doing this to wind you up.”

”So first ‘Something is up.’ and now ‘It isn’t anything serious.’? Been pretty secretive about a whole lot of ‘nothing’.” Bea’s exhausted tone morphed into scorn and distrust. ”I’m sure Layla thought it wasn’t anything serious either, and look where she is.” Bea turned abruptly, walking through a gap between two trailers, trying to end the conversation by putting something between the two pilots. ”You’re slow in sector two. Why don’t you go talk to Kais about it?”

---

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. “I am not quite as naive as you think I am.” Paul's voice softened as he acknowledged Dorian trying to help him. “I appreciate what you are telling me. I am trying to figure it out. I will get it done.”

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. “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.”

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. “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?” 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.

---

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.

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.”

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. “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.”

Alexander gave a sharp nod. “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.”

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. “I will think about it. I had not considered that point of view. Do you have any observations from practice today to share?” 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. “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.”

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. “I am listening.”

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: “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.

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, well I be damned. I wonder what he saw in Hawaii? 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. “Thank you Alex. I will review it all before tomorrow’s qualifying race. I appreciate it. It was not something I saw.”

Alexander gave Paul a tentative smile. “We are a team, Paul. We are all part of the same Team, never lose sight of that.”

Alexander tucked his tablet away in a pouch attached to his belt as he left the pilot’s trailer.

---

More Than Machine

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.

---

Rookies in Frame

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.

"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?"

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.

Nora:"Well, they'll have to keep up first. Sure I can get her. Tomorrow, and for the title."

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.

Bea: ”Get used to the sight, we’re not going anywhere.” She grinned, ”Out with the old, in with the new.”

Paul threw his head back and laughed at what the two women said before he added his own comments.

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.”

---

Formula AG in the News

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.

HydrofoilHater What a load of horse sh!t! Mulder took P3 behind Amy Stirling and Nora Kelly.
ThrusterJester:Once again Mulder is in the top 3 and Dorian is trailing way down at P8. What’s wrong with this picture?
QuantumQuokka:Mulder will choke again. Hawaii was disgraceful!
Bertha:Odds on Mulder failing again is high!
ValkyrieFan56:Dorian Hornfleur is doing great for his age. P8 is still pretty good when you look at the talent that he is racing against.
Nana2050:I am rooting for you Paul Mulder!
MulderMuse:Paul Mulder is still my favorite.
Paulmulder4eva: @ValkyriePaul Are you going to do another contest? Maybe a signed autograph or a personalised phone call?
RumorMill: I heard that Knight is making Mulder see a psychologist.
DantheMan: @RumorMill What!?? This is the first I have heard anything like that.
RumorMill: Heard that it was Knight’s response to his failure and meltdown at Hawaii after the race.
LegacyStan94:@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.

“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?”

---

"Well, I got an offer to get into punditary. Hence why I said, maybe I'll rip into you on commentary. Then, maybe a vinyard. Make my own wine. I was on the sponsor roll for an organic brand for years.....so maybe they'd help me." Dorian smiled, as they pulled in, and made their way inside.

It was nice to connect with Paul, and it had felt strange from his side of the garage. Constantly up and down, uncertain. But while Dorian was not pulling as much as perhaps he once could, and was just as wildly inconsistent, he knew this all meant a lot more to Paul than it did to him. He just wanted to do right by the team, whatever he recognised of it, and by for a moment, and old pilot's friend.

---

”So first ‘Something is up.’ and now ‘It isn’t anything serious.’? Been pretty secretive about a whole lot of ‘nothing’.” Bea’s exhausted tone morphed into scorn and distrust. ”I’m sure Layla thought it wasn’t anything serious either, and look where she is.” Bea turned abruptly, walking through a gap between two trailers, trying to end the conversation by putting something between the two pilots. ”You’re slow in sector two. Why don’t you go talk to Kais about it?”

Ava's jaw opened, horrified.
"Oh, fuck you! Come on, I'm trying to help!" Ava replied, Bea covering enough distance, and there not being enough reason for Ava to chase, or make a scene.

Something was up. Ava knew it immediately. How the fuck did she know that? Or at least, her mind paranoid, ran to that conclusion.

Ava had a horrid feeling it wasn't because Bea had spotted her with Kais plenty. The way she mentioned Layla, it immediately made her wonder if Bea was in some other loop. Did she know about what she'd been asking Kais about, and beyond? Or was something else afoot?

Ava didn't want to think on it hard. But was regretting even asking, and knew that in the pit box, it was going to be awkward. This wasn't just a small wobble, from Bea being tired and humid, this felt a bit worse.

---

High Beams

Soundtrack: Metrik - Thunderblade

"We're under the lights of Singapore tonight, and the Marina Bay AGP circuit seems to never give a dull moment. Redesigned in 2079, and modified more with MAG banking in 2090, we're looking at a circuit that offers " Rory enthusiastically began, as the broadcast turned to the circuit, with a panning drone shot over the water of the massive Singapore Flyer ferris wheel, sitting in front of a highway, and all ends of enormous skyscrapers that needled their way into the heavens, far above the circuit's damp tarmac.

"Yes, and the pilots will know that in the heat, they'll be feeling it the entire race. The humid air is constant, and while fans and extraction systems help, they'll be physically suffering today on our screens. Pilots lose up to two kilos a race here, and augments here are really pushed to their pace. Rory, what do you think are the surprises we'll see tonight?" Rosie replied, footage going through stands, tarmac from a drone-shot, and back to the grid, where pilots were making their last minute checks, taking on water and electrolytes, checking their cooling gear over, and clambering.

"Well, everyone is shocked about Thorsdottir going as high as she did, but she loves a street circuit, like she proved in Tokyo. She may not always be the most consistent, but don't rule her out. And well, the rookies who were so confident in yesterday's interview, they'll need to push hard to get past an imperious Amy Stirling. In Singapore, anything can happen." Rory replied, as Rosie chirped back in, the usual excited co-lead getting better as the year came on, maturing a little more.

"Thanks, Rory. Looks like the crews are getting cleared up, and here we are, ready for the Singapore AGP...."

As the canopies shut, cooling was removed, and the pilots were on their own. Desert rounds of the AGP championship at least went later in the year, but Singapore, well, that was always hot. The massive urban heat island, despite geoengineering and trying to tame rainfall in the region and reduce temps, still cooked away.

And as the teams got ready, running through initial checks, the lights flickered up in red.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

And with the race start, all ships were away clean, Amy keeping barely ahead of Nora who tried an immediate lunge, and got shut, slowing up Paul and Bea. That alone created a cascade where Max managed to actually overtake Ava and Dorian within the first lap, somehow putting his absolute pile of a ship ahead of two that absolutely should have been on it. Ava was clearly a bit less elbows out, and Dorian, well, he just hadn't been gelling as much as he would have liked. He was caught napping, as Max seemed to now be hurtling towards Cassie Neves, which was catching the commentators off guard.

Bea and Paul fought, but weren't losing time on Nora and Amy, the main pack of four within seconds, and seemingly inseperable out of the gate. It would be a question of who cracked first. The humidity, heat and sapping transcended humans, the ships themselves felt like they were sucking in thicker air too.

The laps continued. The onboards were clean as anything, the humid night a blur of colour, 90 degree corners surprisingly creating enough good places to catch. That was something that Nora was doing again. Bit by bit, a ship that shouldn't have had the rights to be here, was making sure that Amy couldn't run. She was trying to dump all her ELS, trying to break that link, but Nora seemed hellbent on tethering her. She knew that any chance Amy had at not scoring points, even with her own, was a chance to break forward and close that gap in points, and widen her own to Harrison.

So in Turn 7, Nora made her move.

"And....oh, that was so nearly contact, but Stirling has had to take the escape lane! Disaster, and she's lost so many places, but she is behind Makara now, and what will the stewards say about that?"

"Certainly a racing incident, but Kelly is on a rampage! Look at how twitchy that ship is still, through every corner she looks like she's milimeters from putting it in the wall, that must be absolutely a brick to pilot but if anyone can, this season we're learning that Nora Kelly can certainly tame anything she has!" Rory was picking his voice up in pitch, as with the response, Amy had closed the gap up towards Bea, and was not leaving her rear vision.

The race seemed stable. Max was constantly harassing the back of Cassie's ship, Paul had actually managed to close up to Nora, and Amy, well, she was already breathing down Harrison, the Aussie sweeping it in close to Bea who wasn't having a great race. Plenty of popcorn to go around.

Towards the back, Jen and Hamid had made inroads, but the fighting was getting rather lengthy. Jen clearly had the pace to get past more ships like Cassie's, but Hamid wanted to constantly fight and leech her ELS, trying to follow through on Ava, and get behind Dorian, which he had managed to do, just.

Constantly at each other, Jen let Hamid cover, and then leeched, pulsing forwards, right through the twist right at the final sector, before beaming it on the final, and start-straight complex, knowing that while the Al-Saqr ship had pace, her exit was better and with enough ELS thrown down, she'd make it clear- concede, or impact.

Hamid chose not to let her through- and see if she'd back off as he had the corner.

Contact was inevitable. And it came, with Jen slamming into the side of Hamid's ship, Hamid arguably ahead at the corner still and Jen trying desperately to force him wide. It was a rookie error from a not-so-rookie pilot, as the two bounced across the MAG-tracked surface and off the repulsor field, coming to a messy, broken stop with both ships looking rather wounded.

"Oh wait, red flag, that looks like...ooooh, that is a nasty hit there between Jenny Lowry and Hamid Atlassi! Both are kicking themselves for no doubt, what was an avoidable hit!"

"Yes, looks like Lowry misjudged that, look at the way she tries to close up, that can't work!"

"No, and well, the stewards will want to look at that one. For now, looks like all ships are at a halt, and we're seeing clean-up activity underway. With such limited room, it was inevitable an overtake would go wrong, but do we think Lowry is still holding up to her initial uptick in form, or is this a sign the pilot is struggling with the second seat at Silver Apex?"

"Well, a poor qualifying put her in a bad place. And you can't win races from 12th, so knowing her, Jenny will be kicking herself."

The ships were neutralised, and after the two pilots had clambered out, the small matter of the circuit's incredibly messy state and tight configuration meant the mess was requiring a full clean-up. Carbon was just everywhere, and Jen had gone silent when she was in the paddock, hurling her helmet to an engineer, gloved hands on face, a small yell audible from the Silver Apex garage of frustration that the others might have heard.

Hamid seemed marginally less upset, already adding to what was a shit day for Al-Saqr, on a track that wasn't giving them much luck.

---

At the restart, all ships were back online. And the small matter of the fight was left at the front, with Bea still in a podium position now Amy was behind Harrison and her.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Harrison started strong, immediately picking up pace on Bea, and in Turn 1, took a punt that Bea wouldn't want the corner as much as he did. He had a golden opportunity to close up to Paul, because out of the corners, he wouldn't have the same ELS pull as him. Harrison spent the entire lap jostling with Bea, but eventually, by lap's end, was ahead.

And immediately, not wasting time out of the gate either, Amy made a fierce move on Bea a few minutes later at Turn 1, the very inevitable Amy Stirling not wanting to lose much more time in taking back P1.

Amy would have had that opportunity of course, had she have been higher up the grid- but Bea had stalled her plenty that she'd be denied a podium finish in the inevitable end. Bea might have even had the chance to tangle with her, but, inevitably, it was not to be.

Because up front, the real fight was taking place. In the humid, horrible heat, Nora could feel her body twitch in reaction through every corner, every fight trying to defend from Paul. She was putting it wide, and she wasn't letting go of anything. She was as ever, piloting a ship that seemed completely wild, more so than Carrera's at this point, but she was making it nigh impossible for Paul to fight without causing an enormous crash.

It was heart pounding stuff, because the two rookies at the start of the season who been so highly touted, in a dogfight of their own. So improbably were they here, Nora capitalising on straights and corners, but loose as anything, the ship absolutely not made for Singapore. The fans of both teams were on the edges of their seat, the fight that maybe wasn't at Spa levels, but on a street circuit, felt even more razor-edge than ever. Any mistake would be punished instantly, and be absolutely unrecoverable.

All the way to the end, Paul would prod, poke and shove.

But Nora made one mistake. It was just enough. And in a moment, Paul had a chance on that final lap to give everything, and make a move.

And make that move he did.

Nails fully bitten off, the commentators went wild.

"Paul Mulder makes that move stick, wow, they are side by side, but Mulder has the better of Kelly, and what an emphatic response, what a point proven by the Belgian, he takes it into Turn 18 and keeps the lead, and wins, the Singapore AGP! Wow, and with Kelly right behind him, and Makara winning out over Stirling, what a result!" Rory was at the top of his lungs, the race not a cut and shut with big gaps like Germany, but actually, a close race throghout. Street circuits with ELS that had been mastered, like Singapore made for good races in AG ships, where they could demonstrate their speed and capability to their fullest.

"Yes, an impressive result! Stirling must be kicking herself over that fight with Kelly, and the mistake she made, but what a great recovery to push past Ward and take P4, incredible scenes."

"And would you look at that, Max Wedgewood in P6 overtakes Astrid Thorsdottir in the dying laps, he has driven the absolute bolts off that ship, what a result from the Colorado native! Neves, Hornfleur and Villarosa follow, and well, that rounds out our top ten." Rory commentated, as the footage cut to Valkyrie absolutely going haywire over that win, and in the pit wall, engineers barely containing their excitement.

Nora's audio was significantly more dejected, but even so, she had to admit. That was quite something from Paul, and if the rumours were that he was under the weather after Hawaii were true, what a way he had proven the doubters wrong.

Cooldown Room

The moves Paul had made on Nora was absolutely stunning, and to stick it out right at the end was no doubt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Harrison scowled. That was a win for Nora, and even if she was his biggest championship rival, it was gutting to see it taken right in the death.

"Damn. That is rough. Still. Two rookies didn't smack into each other, so we're all winners....would be an easy P1 if you had!" Harrison joked with a teethy smile, absolutely pulling both of their legs, as Nora shrugged, shaking hands with Paul, the shorter Aussie drenched to her core from the effort, struggling to walk across to the beanbag versus the more active Harrison. The overtake played back, as did the earlier scuffle that Nora had with Amy, and then, the relentless pace at which Beatrix had been picked off, including the fine move by Harrison, putting himself exactly where needed to in order to make her sweat. While Bea was good, Harrison today had oozed confidence, and made the ship work with a setup that he was now getting his head around.

The steward gave the thumbs up, and with it, the three walked out.

Walking out onto the top step, Paul must have felt strange getting three wins this season. The highest highs, the lowest lows. No doubt Bea was feeling that after such a promising weekend. But then again, form, morale, and the roll of the dice were funny things. Because on award of a beautiful platinum and holographic trophy, and a massive bottle of champagne, trying to deal with those highs and lows didn't matter in that instant. The pressure was mounting on Al-Saqr, and in a moment where Valkyrie needed to keep the pressure on, they had delivered.

---

The format semeed to shift a little bit for the interviews, feeling less like an in the moment review, given tensions, but set a week or so after, looking back in retrospect. Giving more time for a response, more nuance, an option to at least hone in on things.

"Bea, it seems like at the start of the season, your hopes were low at the bottom of the midfield pack, but now you seem closer to the podium each week than ever before. What do you think you need to work on to get that final third, especially at the very top level? Do you think you could explain to our viewers what the difference is like?"

"Paul, you seemed to be having struggles with your form, with some inconsistent performances, yet still delivering three wins by Singapore. Tell us, how did that win feel, after? And if you're at liberty, tell us, what do the pressures feel like?"

"Kais, not an ideal weekend, but do you have hope that at the other circuits you'll be able to show off what your speed-focussed craft can do?"

Soundtrack: Metrik - Thunderblade

Paul had spent some time in the simulator the evening before. He practiced against simulations of Nora, Amy, and Bea. He practiced overtakes and the timing of the ELS deployment on the straights. He smiled as he noticed his racing lines smoothing out and his timing got better. He had spent some time with Konrad this morning. He had filled up on electrolytes so much he had to run and pee before the race. Konrad had even given them both an IV with some additional fluids and electrolytes just before the race. It was an effort to help them with the heat and humidity here in Singapore. His team had finished tweaking all the Repeller fields and the antigravitic technology on the ship to help it cut through the moisture laden air without any resistance. They did something to make the energy cost for that more efficient as well. They had done everything they could think of to help him with this race.

Paul had done his homework and spent some time in guided meditation and visualization exercises with Dr. Ingold before the race. Paul was feeling good. He was feeling more positive about this race. He had to admit he had been offended by Alexander’s solution to his meltdown in Hawaii but it was helping. Paul was unloading emotional baggage he had not even recognized he had and coming to terms with what he needed to be happy and healthy. For the first time in his life, Paul let go of pleasing everyone else and focused on what he wanted. He stopped worrying about his mother and whether she would be okay. For the first time in his life, Paul gave himself permission to be selfish and put himself first. Paul had spent his childhood trying to fill a role he was never meant to fill. He was never supposed to be his mother’s caretaker. He had spent his life trying to be everything she wanted him to be so he could see her smile and fill the unhappiness and sadness he always saw in her eyes. He recognized now that was not his role or job. He had always moderated what he said and did to please her. He had a few sessions with Dr. Ingold and his mother. It had helped their relationship move to a new dynamic. She was trying to be more supportive of his racing career. It had been cathartic for them both. The last thing Paul had done before heading to the paddock was to call his mother and let her know that she loved him. She had wished him luck and said she would be watching.

Paul had an eager smile as he walked into the paddock garage where his ship was. He had his helmet tucked under his arm. Before he headed to his ship, he thanked all the crew for their hard work to get his ship ready. He apologized for any bad behavior he had displayed in Hawaii. He went to Alexander who was in the garage wearing an easy smile. Alexander was in dark gray slacks, a Team Valkyrie button up shirt, and work boots. Paul held out a hand to Alexander. “I am sorry for what I said in Hawaii. You were right. I was acting like a spoiled brat. You were right to call me out on it.”

Alexander reached out and shook Paul’s hand with a warm smile. “That’s my job. Team babysitter and head smacker when things are going wrong.” Alexander was aware of the eyes of the crew on him and Paul during their exchange. His smile widened as he heard the catcalls and laughter around them from the crew. Alexander couldn’t help thinking, Yep they would help Paul keep a stable footing. Alexander’s eyes were full of warmth and humor as he watched a new side of Paul. He was surprised at how well Paul was doing since he had been working with Dr. Ingold. Maybe he should make Dorian take sessions as well. He considered for a heartbeat but Dorian would probably resent it. He thought it might help Dorian with the upcoming transition. He would have to find the right moment to at least make the offer to the senior pilot.

Paul gave Alexander a sheepish smile as he heard the catcalls from the crew. “Bout time.” “We were wondering when you would kiss and make up!” “We expect results!” “Happy to check egos at the door!” Paul knew he had earned all their playful barbs. He also knew they meant them as a family member would. He knew they would be there to help him if he imploded again. He smiled and looked around at them all. “Let’s see if I can make my words to Amy come true, yeah?!” The crew all cheered and laughed at him.

Dorian had been nearby smiling and watching. “It’s about time, legacy boy!” Dorian gave Paul a rueful smile. He was well aware that the media and all the fans always compared the results from the two of them. “Shall we go try to win this one? I would love to join you on the podium this time but I would have to get through a lot of people to join you. I will do my best to hold back the midpack for ya.” Dorian clapped Paul on the shoulder with a smile before turning to go to his ship. The mood in the Team Valkyrie garage was good. They were all eager for redemption.

---

Paul had gone through his prerace checklist. He was sitting in P3 with his hands on the control yoke. He flexed his hands inside his gloves ensuring that he had all the manual dexterity he could get. He mentally reviewed all the information coming in from the ship and its sensors through his neural interface. He focused on his nanites and began his deep breathing exercises to oxygenate his blood. He was as ready as he could be. He sunk into his connection to the ship. He tested all the systems with his ability to tap them through his neural interface before saying he was ready. He was handling the neural load well. He had his HUD set up the way he liked it. He had already adjusted to using the ship’s sensor as well as his eyes to pilot. The glare off the water from the bright lights added a hypnotic and distracting factor. Paul felt in the zone as he pushed away all distractions as the countdown began.

And as the teams got ready, running through initial checks, the lights flickered up in red.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Paul hit the throttle and managed to get away from the start clean. Paul growled as his move to overtake Nora at the first turn was shut down as Amy defended aggressively, pushing Nora to the outside blocking the whole lane and forcing Paul to give way which cost him some momentum. Paul could almost feel Bea nipping at his heels right behind him searching for her opening. Paul defended his place. The fight was on.

Carmella's voice came over the team radio. “Max made it past Dorian and Ava; he is now in P9. Good defense Paul.”

Alexander’s voice came over the team radio next. “Dorian, do your best. You know better than any of us how fast things can change here in Singapore. You can still get some points. Keep up your defense.”

Paul’s voice came over the radio. He sounded intense and focused. “Understood. Dorian give them hell back!”

Paul didn’t have time for much more as he and Bea began to battle for every corner and racing line. She would attack and he would defend. He kept his sights set on Nora in front of him. He was slowly making up distance between them on the straights. Nora managed to stay ahead of him. He barely managed to hold Bea at bay as they finished lap two. The heat in the ship was already climbing. Paul was already sweating even with the cooling provided by his suit. Paul had a front row seat to what was happening in front of him. He was charging his ELS every chance his got. Nora was an absolute beast as she kept on Amy relentlessly. She never let up on Amy giving her no quarter. Paul followed her example not giving her an easy fight as he made her defend against him as well. He would occasionally lock her up with his ELS but she always managed to break it shortly afterward. Paul knew that everything would help him in the end. A few laps later Nora made her move on Amy in turn 7. Nora was extremely aggressive and shut Amy out forcing her to take the escape lane in a move that looked intentional and would absolutely be reviewed by the racing stewards as the two ships almost collided.

Paul heard Carmella’s excited voice. “Push Paul! Close the gap. Shut Amy out and close up on Nora.”

Alexander’s voice came over the team radio next. “Amy has rejoined the race but she is now in P6. This is your chance Paul. Remember she is not going to give it to you. Go after her! Fight for what you want!”

Paul smiled as he heard that Amy had fallen way behind them. He put his focus on Nora and pushed the ship hard to keep up with Nora. He was the hunter now and she was defending for all she was worth. Kelly’s ship was not handling well and she almost binned it into the wall several times. She was making the corners by centimeters but she managed to maintain her pace.

Alexander’s voice came over the radio. “Remember what we talked about Paul. Keep track of your ELS. You can get closer in the straights and then overtake her in a corner but you have to stay close.”

Behind him Dorian was fighting to keep Cassie in his sights even as Max made it past him to fight with Cassie. Dorian then tried to take that position back from Max. The midfield changed position back and forth as pilots challenged and defended their racing lines.

Paul was charging his ELS in the corners. He feinting trying to get around Nora but she was not giving him any openings. Paul almost slipped past him but he managed to close the door on her in turn 14. Dorian was now fighting off Hamid behind him. With Jen right behind Hamid harassing him from behind looking for an opening. Then Hamid made an aggressive move and Jen didn’t concede the racing line and an inevitable collision happened as Jen plowed into the side of Hamid’s ship.

Carmella’s voice came over the team’s comms even as his ship shut down where it was. “Red Flag collision between Lowry and Atlassi."

Paul waited on pins and needles to hear how the two pilots were.

Alexander’s voice came over the team comms next. “Both pilots are fine. The track is a mess. They are cleaning it up before restarting. The collision doesn’t change anything for our team. When we restart, be prepared to regain the momentum you lost Paul. Dorian this gives you an opportunity to get past Cassie if she was a poor restart.”

Paul’s voice came over the team comms he took a moment to control his breathing. “Understood. She keeps slamming the door on me. I will keep after it. She will eventually make a mistake and I will be in the position to take advantage of it.” He did some deep breathing to get his oxygen back up while he waited and calm his racing heart from the adrenaline. He was still sweating like a pig but it was the last thing on his mind he kept visualizing a push past Nora.

---

At the restart, all ships were back online. And the small matter of the fight was left at the front, with Bea still in a podium position now Amy was behind Harrison and her.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Paul hit the throttle hoping to catch Nora sleeping as his ship lunged forward. Paul went immediately back to jostling with Nora over racing lines. Nora had a faster ship. She managed to keep her lead off the line. Paul kept on her fighting for every bit of ELS he could drain and trying to force her to make a mistake that would let him past her.

Behind Paul Bea had been distracted by Harrison as he made a move to pass her. Harrison got past Bea and was followed by Amy.

Carmella’s voice came over the team comms. “Makura has overtaken Ward and was followed by Stirling. Keep your head Paul. Don’t forget defense or Makura will get past you.”

Paul’s voice came over comms. “I got it. Same shit different pilot.”

Alexander chuckled at Paul’s response. He was usually so careful of his language. “That’s the right attitude Paul. The job is the same, harass Kelly while defending against Makura.”

Paul smiled as he made an aggressive move in the corner, shutting Makura down while nipping at Nora’s heels. “Maybe I will earn a new nickname.”

Alexander’s amused voice came back over the team comms a few minutes later. “You will be happy to know that Ward is now joyfully harassing Stirling and is trying to take her spot back from Stirling.”

Paul refocused his efforts on trying to make Nora give way. He dogged her heels. He fought for every corner. His body was being thrown against the restraints as he cornered faster. The g forces an extra weight and wear and tear on his body as he keeps pace with Nora. She kept shutting him down in the corners. She would swing wide and he would try to slip inside for her to shut the door time and time again. Paul could feel his frustration climbing but he knew that was when he made mistakes. He blew out a hard breath as they came out of another corner and the fight continued. He was now defending from Makura as he tried to get around Paul. Paul stayed focused and didn’t give Makura any openings. Paul took advantage of the mag railings and the antigravity nature of the ship. He tried overtakes from might feel like impossible angles as the ship literally went sideways around some of the banked corners and up the wall. His dogfight with Nora didn’t have the same intensity as his fight with Bea at Spa but it had its own moments of inspiration and drama on a very different track. Paul never gave up poking and prodding and trying to get around Nora.

They were in the final lap when Paul finally spotted his opening. Nora went wide to make the corner. She needed the outer lane due to the instability of her ship. She miscalculated and had to slow down a bit to prevent hitting the wall. Paul slipped his ship up the inner wall, his canopy almost 90 degrees to Nora’s as he slipped through the opening that was barely big enough for his ship. It wouldn’t have been if he had not taken advantage of the mag strip that curled up the wall and slung him around the 90 degree bend. Paul came flying out of the corner. He smiled as he had practiced this in the simulator. His ship came up to top speed and Nora was gaining on him from behind when he dropped his ELS charge to push his speed up. He managed to widen the gap between him and Nora. In seconds the race was over and he had managed to take the win. Paul did a victory lap and pulled his ship into parc ferme in the winner’s circle.

Paul shut the ship down and turned everything off before he unplugged his neural interface from the back of his helmet. His canopy was being opened by an ecstatic crew member as Paul pulled off his harness. He looked up to see Alexander there with the biggest smile. He clapped Paul on the shoulder. “I never had any doubt you could do it.” He helped Paul out of the ship before giving him a back slapping hug. The crew was cheering around them as Paul took off his helmet and handed it to his race engineer.

Paul looked over the crew. “This one was for you guys. You have always stood behind me. I appreciate you all.”

He was then being led over to the cooldown room. He was followed by Konrad the team paramedic who was hovering like an old auntie.

Cooldown Room

Paul was chugging more electrolytes as Konrad checked him over.

Konrad: “This was a good improvement over Spa. You are nearly as dehydrated. Your levels are borderline. I think that extra IV of electrolytes before the race made all the difference. Preloading on them helped.”

Paul nodded even as he drained the first Zap Sports Drink. He handed the empty bottle to Konrad. “I felt the difference. I didn’t feel the drain on my body’s system and energy quite as bad.”

Konrad nodded, content that Paul was in good shape, packed up his kit and left.

Paul turned his attention to the other pilots in the room. Paul gave Nora a warm smile and walked over to her.

Paul: “I am glad you didn’t give up after the accident on the moon. I wouldn’t accept a win over you without you giving it all you had. I appreciate that you made me work every inch of the way for it. You know I consider you the rookie to beat this season. I still stand by that statement.” He held a hand out to Nora. “Truce? Friends?”

He waited to see how that turned out before turning to address Harrison.

Harrison: "Damn. That is rough. Still. Two rookies didn't smack into each other, so we're all winners....would be an easy P1 if you had!"

Paul looked at Harrison and could see the frustration boiling just under the surface that he hid with humor and a toothy smile. Paul gave Harrison just as toothy a smile back before shaking his hand. “You wish. Sorry Harrison. You are going to have to fight us for every position in every race. Isn’t that right Nora?”

Paul gave Nora a conspiratorial smile. Nora just shrugged and shook his hand. Paul gave her an almost blinding smile. He was hopeful that she wouldn’t hold it against him. Paul took a moment to sit down next to Nora. He still felt sticky with sweat and the heat was still dissipating away from his body. He noted that Nora looked a little unsteady on her feet. That was how he had looked after Spa when Konrad had intervened. At least Nora hadn’t passed out and needed help the way he had. The three pilots decompressed as they cooled off and waited for the racing stewards to give the all clear.

The steward gave the thumbs up, and with it, the three walked out.

Paul walked out with the other two pilots. He assumed his place on the podium. He smiled and waited through the national anthems. He accepted the trophy with a big smile. This win had been for him and his team. An apology for not believing in himself when they had believed in him. It marked his journey to finding his own racing style and accepting the consequences of his own actions and will. He laughed as he showered everyone on the podium and below with the champagne.

---

Paul had been surprised when the Delta Hyper crew didn’t interview them right after the race like they normally do. Paul had been immediately hounded by all the news media present for a sound bite after his win at Singapore. He had been pushed into a hasty news conference by a member of Katherine’s team. Her team made sure the questions stayed on track and out of strange places.

So it was a week after the Singapore race when Paul found himself asked to join Delta Hyper in a studio. Paul was wearing a team polo, dark gray slacks, and black boots. Paul looked relaxed as he waited for the inevitable question.

"Paul, you seemed to be having struggles with your form, with some inconsistent performances, yet still delivering three wins by Singapore. Tell us, how did that win feel, after? And if you're at liberty, tell us, what do the pressures feel like?"

Paul looked thoughtful as he pondered how to respond. He looked right at the camera before starting. “Pilots are under a lot of pressure to perform by fans and by our team. It is our job to win races. We are human just like everyone else. We have other pressures in life and other responsibilities to live up to at the same time. The pressures can be intense. Everyone expects something from you. It can be a lot of pressure to live up to, all the things people around us expect from us.”

Paul shrugged a little as it was not a big secret his performance had been all over the place. “I can’t deny I have had my share of troubles. I am working on them. All I can do is my best. I am putting my all into every race. I feel that realistically that is all anyone can expect from me. I keep training and striving to be better.”

---

Formula AG in the News

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! I am following up on a story we brought you a day ago when 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 proved his point as he won the Singapore Grand Prix with Nora Kelly finishing in P2. Both rookie pilots placed higher then Amy Stirling. For a good portion of the race, rookie pilot Beatrix Ward was also ahead of Amy Stirling. Harrison Makura got past Beatrix Ward followed soon after as Amy Stirling fought to regain her place after Kelly forced her off the track. Will we see more races like Singapore? The rookies have a lot to live up to. 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.

HydrofoilHater I can’t believe Mulder one. Kelly should have been fined for forcing Stirling off the track.
ThrusterJester: I agree Kelly should have been disqualified.
QuantumQuokka:Mulder did well at this one then he will choke at the next one if he keeps up the pattern.
Bertha: Sad but true Quantum Quokka.
ValkyrieFan56:Dorian Hornfleur finished in P9 gaining points for the team.
l Nana2050: Paul Mulder has proven he has it!
MulderMuse: Mulder is good and cute!
Paulmulder4eva: Agreed MulderMuse Paul is dreamy.
RumorMill: Well if he is seeing a psychologist it is obviously working for him.
DantheMan: I just want him to be more consistent.
LegacyStan94: I feel like he is doing well. What is up with all the haters?

Soundtrack: That’s What Friends Are For - Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight

Alexander had a pile of messages to go through after being out of the office for the race. He had updates from Wulfric Gunderson, the head of security, that the new security upgrades had been installed throughout the headquarters. Banshee Microsystems had installed and updated all of Team Valkyrie’s computers except the ones in the current ships. That will be happening over the next week. The Team from Radian Security Systems would be working with the team from Banshee Microsystems on overhauling the cybersecurity on all the new computers and ship systems. Alexander was relieved. He was glad he could be sure that any security leaks or breaks due to Brendel had been dealt with. Wulfric had sent out team wide memos requiring everyone to come in for new encrypted staff badges that would make it harder to forge. All employees had to turn in their old badges while processing the new ones. Any missing badges would require paperwork on when it was lost and how and would require a follow up security check from Wulfric’s staff. They were not taking any chances with their security. It was finally feeling like a fresh start after all the chaos.

There was a report from Cavan Mitchell the head of the engineering department on the new staff and progress on the new designs. Cavan was requesting another engineer specializing in Neural Circuitry. Alexander was a little surprised that he had not spotted that lack in the team sooner. They had a neural engineering specialist but he wanted a specialist in the tech systems side of the engineering equation. Alexander would add that to Mabel’s to do list. Mabel was worth her weight in gold as an assistant.

It was like he had summoned her as his office door opened after a brief knock and his elderly assistant breezed into his office. He knew he was being buttered up for something because she brought him a cup of coffee. He sighed and set his tablet down. She set the cup in front of Alexander before taking a seat. She gave him a pleasant smile. Her hair was up in a complicated braid updo that looked very elegant. She was wearing elegant white pants in some kind of silk and wool blend with gold jewelry. Mabel always managed to look timelessly classy and warm at the same time. He sipped his coffee and his eyebrows rose as she brought him his coffee exactly how he liked it and she didn’t trade it for decaf.

Mabel sat down in the chair across from his desk. She smiled at him warmly. “Good morning Alex.”

Alexander: “Good Morning Mabel, How are you? And what do you want? You brought me real coffee.”

Mabel’s eyes sparkled in delight as she responded in a throaty contralto. “I am doing well Alex, thank you for asking. You know me so well.”

Alexander smiled at Mabel. At least she got to the point and didn’t deny that she wanted something. He gave her smile and took another sip of the excellent coffee and nodded and waved his hand. “Okay let me have it. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Mabel’s smile brightened. “Alex, I know you have been extremely busy with all the work you have been putting into recruitment and hiring the right people to get the new ship designs off the ground and making the changes you wanted to see. But have you really looked at the staff lately?”

Alexander frowned and wondered where Mabel was going with this. Headquarters had been in upheaval for a while now. There was the government investigation, then all the construction to accommodate updating the labs and making room for new research partners. There had been almost constant noise and upheaval in the headquarters campus for a while now. The construction on the labs had just finished. The security updates were in the final stages as well as updating the computer systems. He had Paul’s mental health crisis he had been dealing with. There had been materials shortages for the engineering department. That reminded him he needed to follow up with Lipusv on those. The Junior Team had their own garage now on campus with an administration office and classrooms for them. It gave Sami Lipponen and his staff a place to reside while they did the work for the junior team. Just reflecting over that it was a lot of upheaval and change in a short amount of time. They had done their best to minimize the disturbances to the workflow and staff but some of it was inevitable.

Alexander set his coffee down and leaned forwards as he steepled his hands in thought. He watched Mabel as he put his thoughts into words. “I know there has been a lot of upheaval recently with the government investigation and all the construction. I have noticed some tension. I assumed it had to do with those situations. What have I missed?”

Mabel gave Alexander a nod and a proud smile as if she was a parent coaching a child on good behavior. Alexander raised an eyebrow because he knew she was going somewhere with this.

Mabel: “Alex, your staff have been through a lot of turmoil and some of them have been traumatized over the events under Brendel. We have added a lot of new staff to the payroll. They don’t know where they fit yet. There is a lot of anxiety and tension. There is still a lot of uncertainty. They have been under a lot of stress for a while now. You need to do something to lower the tension and help them to get to know each other.”

Alexander nodded as he picked his coffee cup up and began to sip once more. He absentmindedly looked out his office window over the lush campus grounds. His brain whirls with what he can do to help. He turned back to Mabel with a decisive look.

Alexander noted Mabel had her tablet ready to take notes. He smiled at her and nodded.

“First I want to install nap pods throughout the campus. Make sure at least two get installed in Engineering. I want you to send out a survey asking the staff what they would like to see done to help them relieve stress. We already have an on campus gym that everyone can access. Let’s hear what their ideas are. Lastly, I want you to plan a company picnic. Reach out to the zoo and see if they can accommodate a group big enough for everyone to attend with their family members. See if they have some kind of package plan. I want something where they can spend part of the day with their families but everyone is eating together and they have time to get to know one another. Maybe a team scavenger hunt where everyone has to pair up with someone they don’t know at the company. The families can join in. I will put up a cash prize for the top three teams out of my own pocket. Maybe poll the staff for some funny awards to give out at lunch. Things like the grumpiest employee before coffee.” He saluted her with his coffee cup.

Mabel gave him a big smile. “So my reward for bringing this to your attention is more work?”

Alexander gave her a smile full of teeth. “You know what they say about good intentions. You know, will this work with this group? Is this too a Federated States business model?”

Mabel shrugged at him. “I have no idea. I can put this in the survey and do the fact finding and cost finding part in case they say they like it.”

Alexander nodded. “That is a good idea. We will review once we get the survey results back. Maybe others will have a better suggestion. I don't know enough about German work culture. It would be silly to just take everyone out for a drink. ”

Mabel jotted down some notes and looked up at him. “What inspired the Nap Pods?”

Alexander grinned. “The Engineering Team getting alcoholic drinks named after them and my executive assistant waking them up for work with hang over cures. They have been caught sleeping in the lab more than once. We might as well try to take care of the workaholics.”

Mabel laughed as she gathered up her tablet and left. Alexander just smiled and went back to work.

He reviewed a report submitted by Sami Liponnen on the Junior Team. Scarlett was doing well. She was consistently placing now at the top of the midfield. Anna was still struggling and not really showing much improvement. She was younger than Scarlett. Sami was looking at her growth and suggested she be given till the end of the season to improve. He suggested that the team invest in the young talent they discovered during the bootcamp. He recommended they sponsor the Danish, Luka Ravn who just celebrated his 15th birthday. It would be a long term investment in Luka but if he continued to improve and perform like he did at bootcamp, he had the potential to be a champion one day. In three years, he would make a killer rookie driver for Valkyrie.

Most of the sponsors were happy with the Team. The engineers were finally able to keep up with ship maintenance and have some time to devote to new ship designs. Cavan seemed to be taking a different approach to Felix. Cavan has them working on improving individual systems and then they will try to fit the new systems on a new chassis after the get the new regulations from FIAR. Alexander let him run the Engineering Department as he saw fit. The engineers seemed to like the new everyone contributes ideas to the design that Cavan was leading. The new research and design partners had their own private labs but were also consulting and adding to Cavan's efforts.

Alexander had been busy and had been traveling a lot to get all the new sponsorships and research and development contracts sorted. He wondered if he could sneak a weekend in to see Lena. He missed her.

It felt like as soon as Bea rammed the throttle open, she immediately had to stand on the brakes as Nora and Amy fought through turn one like rabid dogs, getting a close look at the back of Paul’s ship as the ships behind the leading pair concertina’d so hard Max scored two positions out of it. She had to admit those were some nice passes, having caught them on the big screens around the track. Soon, she didn’t have time to watch TV as she reeled Paul in.

Of the leading five, Bea did not expect Amy to be the one to slip up first. That threw a spanner in the works for Bea, because the already big enough Kiwi-shaped problem behind her had now been joined by the newest model of the Verstappen-type racing Terminators. The restart did nothing for her except make her roll her eyes at the state of the rules. Things were starting to heat up - literally, as she’d started using the closed radiator flaps trick to stay ahead of Harrison, the Kiwi having woken up and chosen violence, experience covering for the fact that the Carrera Condor was now the better craft on paper. It came down to a nearly lap-long duel, Harrison gaining a millimeter through every corner until she had to yield or Jen it. Her defense against Amy lasted exactly four laps before the blare of the engine temp high alert put an end to it, forcing her to back off and cool the ship for the next five minutes, actually putting her in Max’ striking range by the end of the race.

”That’s P5. Tough one, but it’s still good points.”
”Aaaaah, that was shite, mate. Just couldn’t keep up.”
”We’re still closing the gap. We’ll get them by season’s end.”

---

UrbanMaverick: Can we PLEASE get a stream of the rejected designs? I need to see the chaos.
MadBea: If anyone puts the Falklands on the bucket, I swear…
Shel1: Wonder what parts of the Fans First thing they’ll be testing.
ForzaGl0ria: Think they’ll go topical for Hawaii and include the ‘overnight rebuild challenge?’
MadBea: Chassis Fix activity won’t be included, props aren’t done yet. Also, ouch. 😛
User420: My guy, it’s on the fucking website…
_PsychoFish_: Back out of the depths of hell and where you belong, let’s goooo!
DadManWalking: The midfield didn’t deserve that fire this year, dude.
Richie: León told her ‘No le Mans.’ after Hawaii’s qualy and homegirl chose to defy thermomechanics to get that overturned.
Hotstuff: or maybe that’s where the ship was supposed to be and Villarosa’s just dogshit
Briat77: Dogshit’s what you’re posting.
Hotstuff: dude, she’s fucking sleeping
Zero: She hasn’t been confirmed yet. Not getting Jen or Max unfortunately, but there’s still talent out there.
GalwayGirl: You can’t put Bea and Jen in one team, that would either be a friendship destroyer or a permanent chill session. 😀
GaryFromIndiana: Ward-Neves 2095. The dream is still alive!
Laugh_Ness: yea, she’s a pay driver this season, but if she’s nae getting kickbacks from the PR department, she’s getting mugged. 😀
MadBea: Marketing Department? Never heard of her.
Cats4Life: ‘Beat my sim time and get a free thing’ my sleep schedule didn’t need that kinda threat.
TruckerTim: Someone grab a life vest and go check on Ava.

---

An argument was occurring in Bea’s living room, the movie on screen forgotten in the heat of the moment.
”No way!” Bea shook her head in disbelief.
”That’s simply how it is.” Fred held his ground.
”Absolutely not.”
”Why is it so hard to believe?”
”I think you lost your mind. Hand over the company to Eva, you need a minder.”
”Well what would you have chosen?”
”Anything but the gunship takedown?!” She asked like it was the obvious answer.
”What’s wrong with it?”
”There are so many more impressive stunts in Raven Squad! The observatory collapse, The Singapore skydive, the convoy scene on Reunion…” She counted on her fingers.
”Yes, from a stunt standpoint they are more impressive, but look at the wow factor of the scene itself. On one hand, jumping off a skyscraper. No big deal, even you can do that.”
”Hey!” Bea laughed as she playfully jabbed her father in the ribs with her elbow.
”On the other, clinging to a helicopter and taking it down with fists. I rest my case.” He finished before changing topics. ”But speaking of Singapore-”
”I think the pace was there, but I just couldn’t keep up.”
”I was going to say that it marks ten to three in finishing position and 2,5 of your points for each one of your teammate’s. Your DNF from a leading position in Cape Town cancels out with her DNF at Luna, so it’s fairly accurate for comparison.” Frederick continued, ”In the last race, you both dropped one place. Difference then seems to be down to the pilot now.”
”Or the fact that it was a track requiring handling and stability, both of which are things I excel at and Ava…”
”Does not?”
”Let’s go with that, yes.” Bea nodded, ”I expect she’ll close the gap a bit at Argentina and Bonneville.”
”You beat her soundly in Tokyo, and the Hawaii result is skewed by the fact you spent your qualifying lap birdwatching.”
”Funny. Let’s see how you handle yourself near that much lava at those speeds.” Bea smiled along with the joke.
”I’d say you and your sister are proof I handle myself just fine near hot things from Hawaii.”
”Oh my God, DAD!” Bea howled half in terror, half in laughter.
”What?” The elder Ward chuckled.
”That alone has to be enough dad XP for a whole level up. That hurt my brain AND my sides.”
”And it’s all your fault. I was happily stoic until you came along. But back to the matter at hand: Two years’ experience over you, knew the team, had the existing fanbase behind her. I have nothing against her as a person, but a good friend doesn’t necessarily make for a good partner. Or did you add the clause to clear a path for the next two years’ championship attempts?” There was definitely pride in his voice - either he raised someone loyal, or he raised someone pragmatic.
”I am starting to think I shot the team in the foot with that clause.” Bea let her head hang over the couch’s back rest, but for a very different reason than he thought. ”Then again, she hasn’t signed it yet, so maybe that problem will sort itself out.”
”Something the matter?” He immediately picked up on the shift in mood. Having himself been infected by his younger daughter’s manic energy, any dip in hers was easy to see.
There was a long stretch of silence. ”I suspect I’ll know next week.”

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode 13: Under Spotlights

---

”Bea, it seems like at the start of the season, your hopes were low at the bottom of the midfield pack, but now you seem closer to the podium each week than ever before. What do you think you need to work on to get that final third, especially at the very top level?”

”As much as I hate to admit it: patience, honestly.” Bea laughed, ”In hindsight, I knew risking the closed radiator would cost me in the long run, I did it anyway for the immediate benefit, it still didn’t work, Harrison made it through and it came back to bite me because I couldn’t hold Amy at all. Could I have held Amy? I don’t know, maybe. I think I could have, but not with engine temps redlining across the board.” She shared, the claim actually sounding like genuine belief rather than wishful thinking.

”Do you think you could explain to our viewers what the difference is like?”

”I feel like I’ve answered this question before, honestly. When you interviewed me and León.” Bea shrugged, ”It’s just more expectation, more pressure, although that four-year contract definitely helps.” She grinned, a figurative safety net beneath her meaning she didn’t have to start sweating if she made a mistake like at Hawaii.
”Before, if we did well, amazing. If we were P15?” She shrugged theatrically, a nonverbal ‘who cares?’ ”Now, being out of the points is a cockup. But that’s it. In a different series, in my debut year, I was fighting for the win. Fighting for constructor’s P5 on debut, outsourcing an experienced teammate more than two to one? Pressure? Pffft, what pressure? We’ll be in that fight next year, and we have two years to make history before the regulations change. And who knows, with Felix on board, we might even get those right.” They had a literal rocket ship now, and had it started out that way there would be no excuse for not fighting for both championships. But picking up steam partway through the season, they had a gap to cover.
”Back in the present, we’re going home for the next round, the team’s home race. You can see the circuit from our facilities, it suits our ship, we know it well and we’ll have a lot of support out there, so we’re feeling confident. ¡Ven a mostrar tu apoyo!” She finished with a genuine smile, having had time to practice that one due to the delayed interview to give her Spanish lessons a leg up.

---

Soundtrack: Crocodile Rock - Elton John

Alexander and Mabel had a busy week. Mabel had sent out the survey on Monday and the employees had completed it by Wednesday morning. The employees had some interesting ideas. The staff embraced the idea of a company picnic. Evidently company sports competitions and teams were popular in Germany. They were excited for an event that would include their families. Alexander gave Mabel the okay to plan the Zoo Company picnic. They would plan it for the Saturday after the Argentina race. The zoo needed a little time to prep on their own end as well. They still needed a little time to get everything pulled together. Mabel was already working with the Zoo staff to plan the event. Alexander called Lena to see if she would be available and would like to join him. Lena had that weekend free and was looking forward to seeing him. Alexander smiled and called Arianna and invited her as well. It was time he introduced the two of them. He wanted to do it before Mabel intervened and it was out of his hands.

Mabel had compiled the employee suggestions into a report for Alexander. He spent some time reviewing the survey. Mabel had included a few questions about stress levels and work/life balance. Employees were reporting high stress and anxiety levels but also were indicating they understood it was a temporary situation. Alexander reviewed the data around work/life balance a little more closely. He would have to ponder how he could provide that for his employees. Some of them needed to be in the office for regular work hours, others could work a flexible schedule based on their needs as long as their work got done. Maybe he could offer a few personal holidays that employees could take with some notice. Some employees could rotate partial days with each other as long as there was coverage. Some employees could be offered the opportunity to work occasionally from home. Alexander would have to work up his ideas and do some number crunching and run it past the board of directors for approval.

Alexander moved on to the employee suggestions for changes and services they could make to headquarters to help with stress levels. The nature of what they did meant long hours and weekend work on race weekends for some staff. Alexander smiled as the child care center on site requested an outdoor park with a playground area for the families on campus. They thought it would be a great way for families to spend some time together during their lunch. They could eat in the cafeteria and then go out for a walk or to play together. Chef Jacques wanted to include a vegetable and herb garden in the green space. Evidently he liked to grow his own produce. He argued that veggies could be included and harvested to add aesthetics as well as flowers. He also thought it would be a fun and educational component to their day care center. They could bring the children out to learn more about how plants are grown. Alexander smiled knowing that Arianna would love that. He added that to his budget proposal for the board of the directors. Another popular suggestion was on site masseuse and spa services. They did get some interns for the physical therapy and training department. Maybe they could provide some hands-on experience for the interns who were looking to turn that into a career.

Alexander had met with the various department heads to make sure everything was in order for Argentina. They had learned some things and it was time to step up what was working. The hyperbaric chamber treatments and deep breathing exercises were paying off for Paul. The cognitive training from the medical team with the guidance, monitoring, and support from the Shinichi team were also showing results for Paul. They had enhanced his physical health and performance even without extremely invasive cybernetic replacement surgery. Paul now could control his heart rate and breathing. It was not as good as synthetic lungs or a synthetic heart but he was seeing better results than biology alone. The nanite neural network allowed him to slow or speed up his heart through his neural interface. It allowed him to ensure his lungs were expanding fully for oxygen when he was breathing even under the g-forces in the race. Konrad’s trick of preloading Paul on electrolytes before a race had been inspired and helped him cope better with dehydration and heat exhaustion. They would be adding that to the routine especially for races such as Singapore where the heat was almost intolerable.

Alexander had offered the same support to Dorian. He had also finally gotten a moment to ask the older pilot if he would like to see Dr. Ingold as well. He had left the invitation open. He had informed Dr. Ingold that Dorian had permission to see her if he chose. He was not mandated to see her unlike Paul. Paul was still seeing Dr. Ingold three times a week. Paul and Dorian both were putting in loads of simulator time. They were competing with each other on past circuits. They were not sure if the circuit would change for this year’s race. Mag tracking allowed some circuits the flexibility to change pieces of it up every year. He met with Cavan and the new engine specialists from Meridian Aerospace had already found a few tweaks to help reduce the energy cost to the engine making them a little more efficient and eke just a tad bit more speed. The nap pods had been installed throughout headquarters already. They had been a hit with the engineers and the scientists. Alexander knew they would be.

---

Paul and Dorian were training alongside each other every day. After Singapore they seemed more in sync and were helping one another. Paul had been letting Dorian where he could improve and vice versa. It was as if everything seemed to click for the two of them all of sudden. Dorian was helping Paul train where he was weaker and Paul was helping Dorian eliminate some bad and sloppy habits he had picked up as he aged. The two complimented one another in training and the tension had reduced to a true camaraderie and support for the other. Paul was still working out his racing style. He was committed to finding what worked for him. Dorian had been helpful by putting in countless simulator hours as an opponent. Alexander had even climbed into the simulator to give both pilots someone different to train against. Alexander invited the two junior pilots, Sami, and Tocho to also give them a new challenge. The training helped speed up Dorian by highlighting where he was losing time through bad habits he had picked up with experience. Those bad habits didn’t matter as much when he was younger and faster but it really showed now. Paul kept getting smoother and better at ELS and overtakes. The varied training with new pilots helped hone his racing instincts and watch for new tricks as he developed his skill and instincts.

Paul always had requests for interviews. She had nipped the rumors about the psychologist in the butt by having Paul make a statement that he was indeed seeing a therapist. Katherine had helped him with the statement and it had been well received by his fanbase. The media had jumped all over with the drama. Paul had simply not engaged since he was focused on training for Argentina. Paul had been approached for some new endorsement deals. Paul was pleased with his new agent. He loved that she sent him weekly reports of the endorsement offers. He had been approached by a fashion designer wanting him to endorse his new cologne. Paul would be required to shoot a complete advertising campaign. A furniture company wanted him to endorse their line of mattresses. He had contacted Chelsey and told her to try and arrange some offers for mid October. He would leave the scheduling to her. He knew he could trust her to follow his wishes. Paul felt good about the intense training. He could see the improvement. He was not ready to interrupt that.

Paul knew that Argentina was going to be a tough race. Bea and Ava had the home circuit advantage. Thanks to Felix’s efforts they now had faster ships with similar handling. Paul knew it was just a matter of time before Bea beat him again. He smiled thinking about the feisty happy pilot. He liked Bea’s spunk and sass. He smiled as he remembered the remarks to Amy and Harrison. The experienced pilots should be worried as the three rookies tried to make their mark on the racing season.

---

Tuesday 09/12 10:28 To: Beatrix Ward [Batt: 43%]

Paul: 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.

Outro to Singapore

The commentary crew had little more to say, as Aurora wrapped things up, on the now deserted track, walking down the start-finish straight in her signature look, smell-o-vision (if it even existed) probably that of ozone and ethanol, looking to camera.

"Well, what a result for Paul Mulder, but there's still a long fight to go for the drivers and constructors championship in the next rounds. Join us in Argentina as we take a short few weeks away from racing but head towards a double header, where the championship battle will no doubt get more intense. Goodbye from us at Delta Hyper, and we'll see you very soon!" Aurora beamed, as the outro played.

Like that, the camera turning to the glistening lights of Singapore, the fighting amongst the ships, the blur of Paul on the podium top step, and the hit between Amy and Nora, started to play out what felt like a season that couldn't quite make its mind up on where the next twist in the round would come.

---

COMPOSITE /// CORDILLERA /// FLARE

Soundtrack: Floating Points- Falaise

The laying down of track, bit by bit. Metal being bonded by drones.

The sound of optimism. People moving about, engineers with machines, androids doing about 98% of the work, but a handful watching over them.

This is the construction of a racetrack.

The crackle-pop of rally cars in El Condor. The sound of a 5 cylinder Audi Quattro, morphing into Helena Starcross's violent, screaming 5-pot F1 car in Argentina, many, many decades back.

Dust, soil being pushed up. Setting up a new embankment, with repulsons being mounted in by a bunch of UAVs. And more sparks.

The roar of 90s F1 cars. Appearing in the sparks, in the metal, in the reflection back, visible.

And then, the screaming whine of an AG ship. The scream of the crowd. The sparks pitching into an Argentinian fan's face, painted white and blue, blue, red and white, yellow, red, and gently turning into a blur almost rainbow like, into the hull of the Carrera Condor ship. And the sound of chanting.

Almost animalistic.

The tattoo of a ship on a Chilean's chest, the shirts sold by Bea Ward, Carrera merch aplenty, drowning out the Silver Apex, and then other Southern Cross merch memorabilia that followed in popularity behind it.

Flares. Pyro. Chanting. Yelling. Crowds.

The slow-mo shot of an entire company's worth it felt like, of fans refusing to shut up.

And the scream of speed coming back, as the weld finished, revealing Buenos Aires Autodromo, made anew for AG.

---

Sitting there in the sofa, background behind, Peter Thatcher had many things to think about to Aurora's question.

"Did it go the way I thought it would? I mean, you tell me. A late swing at things." Peter replied, hearing that direct question.

"Pressure is still on. Nora responded far better than anyone we thought could. And well, we're still in the constructors lead." Owen felt like he had little to add from his last time, but the point felt valid.

"We're still waiting to see how our improvements put us back. Signs are promising. We just have to keep up the pace." Jinwoo coldly stated, quite the opposite to that of Sally Morrigan of NOVA, who was no doubt, feeling that pressure to deliver after the old Fitzroy resurgence that had begun a few races back.

"No miracles. But things don't happen fast, well, relatively in AG, not when everyone's going 600kph and what seems quick to us, it slow to you. It's all about putting something in place. Then unwinding when we can." The smile from the green and yellow-liveried team boss was a candid one, contrasted by that of Ricky Millar, of MMR fame.

"It's bit a sh*tshow." And he laughed, shaking his head, knowing all swirling rumours continued in how his star pilot would be replaced next year.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode Fourteen: The Tango Swing

---

Wrong Way Up

Once again, the format had been changed a little bit.

The sofa sat on the circuit, it seemed at a completely normal angle. You know, the horizon seemed level, the track behind it in metal, the highly advanced skyline of Buenos Aires in the background.

And then, as if to piss people off, the camera suddenly tilted. Revealing the skyscrapers were the wrong way up.

The entire thing was upside down, on one of the more weird points. With MAG tracking, ships were the thing that would have to cling to this, but with the right footwear, you could walk upside down.

Now, having blood pumping into your head was not ideal, so a pilot suit would do to keep the blood from falling into a pilot's brain like a bottle of upturned Coke.

And a hologram of Aurora beamed out, as each of the pilots from Delta Hyper took a seat, confusingly, upside down, a seatbelt handy. Without an augmented body, this wasn't really possible, so this mindfuck of a stunt for an interview wouldn't last long at all.

"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 intiative? Anything to say to the fans, in Espanol?"

Paul was next up.

"Paul, welcome to the southern hemisphere, so to return, we put the sofa the way you might see it from Belgium! With the Junior FIAR grid not often going to circuits with the extreme amounts of inversion and MAG tracking as the cutting edge Buenos Aires circuit, what do you think you can do with a ship that so far this year, seems to be a cut above in handling?"

And lastly, Kais.

"Kais, welcome to the upside down sofa! We're back in the southern hemisphere, how would you say you're helping Hamid get used to the pressures of the seat?

---

La París de Sudamérica

The teams had probably had to be careful. Buenos Aires, and Sao Paolo in particular, were not the other parts of the grid that the teams maybe were used to. Even Cape Town, once one of the most dangerous cities on the planet, had been tamed, but in South America, the passion seemed unfazed. It felt like it was just insanely built up in the city centre into blocks and towers, densely populated with those who hadn't worked in the mines, staying in they grey, underground economy. From augments to other less-legal aspects, Buenos Aires felt actually cool, it didn't feel like the "man" in Singapore with perfection, nor even a vision of equitable utopia in New Hilo.

The nickname of "Paris of South America" was true, given the gloriously extravagant Colonial-era buildings, but skyscrapers, blocks and dense complexes overruled what once a sprawling metropolis into tens of millions of people living however best they could.

It just felt punkish, rogue, more cyber than solar. Dirtier, with higher highs, and much lower lows. Poverty might have been eliminated, but it still felt like someone hadn't checked on the divide here. And fans of any sport, football, pelota, padel, rugby, yet especially now, Formula AG, were wild for it.

Wild was an understatement. Religious, maybe.

Argentina, the mocking joke of economics was still not exactly the wealthiest place on earth, but rare earths, minerals companies and new models of doing business that weren't Peronism or insane shock capitalism had actually managed to turn the script about. As climate change ravaged the equatorial regions, Argentina took on refugees, and they brought stories, ideas and another layer to what was already the rich tapestry of Argentine history. Buenos Aires, as such, didn't feel safe, but in it, felt like you could find every single microcosm of South America in a tapestry that no pilot would probably dare venture into. Too much of a security risk after all, unless someone was unhinged enough to go beyond the security perimeter and into a city fanzone, rather than the circuit's massive one.

So back at the circuit, they were all getting ready, and practice would be on the cards soon. Final checks, tweaks, and a feel for thing.

In the Valkyrie pit, Dorian had started tweaking away, the MAG-tracking making most ELS deployment areas absolutely wild. A physically taxing race, he checked through his vitals and circulation data, before nodding, helmet on, and getting ready to clamber in and run a lap. The feeling was one of tension, because Dorian knew while this was his final year, there was still something to deliver. Get over the line, and find a result, right in the heart of Carrera's homeland.

And in the Carrera pit, Ava grit her teeth when she looked across at Bea chatting with Alistair, before returning to her own setup with Rey. They weren't talking. But they had to put on a brave face. Leon hadn't denied the two were getting more and more racy, and her loving fans were absolutely lapping it up. So she had to make a point. Prove why she was in that second seat. And wipe that smile from that Spanish fuck's face and remind him, and anyone else on the grid why she was where she was.

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. ”’I did it for your own good. Because you don’t want to be tangled in this.’” Be muttered to herself in an unflattering approximation of Ava’s voice, ”Yeah, ‘keep me safe’ by not informing me of something that’s already killed a pilot. Great job, Dumbledore…” 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.

Tue 14/09 10:29 TO: PAUL [Batt: 87%]

> 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.

Being honest, I don’t think I’ll have the time or the energy to do much after these few weeks, sorry mate.

Her finger hovered over the send button. Then again…

Tue 14/09 10:30 TO: PAUL [Batt: 87%]

> 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.
> 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.
> 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. 😛

She could use a distraction.

---

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. ”Hi, you got a minute?”
”Sure deal.” Elise nodded.
”I saw your fight with Alice at Silverstone. A bit tight in places, but good stuff.” Bea set her tray down and sat down.
”Thovex? Easy. All helmet, no head, you just shove her a little, she loses her shit and detonates.” 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.
”Thanks for coming in to help with the setup.” Bea tried to shift topics, ”I swear, Alex looked like his head was about to pop like a champagne cork last night.”
”I mean, what’s his job, right? I had to postpone, like, four things because of this.” The Andorran shrugged, sounding like a teenager who was told to take the trash out. ”But if Ava’s gonna be mid on track, might as well farm engagement.”
Falling out aside, Bea found herself torn between telling her to mind her manners and actually agreeing there.
”For real, Silverstone? What was that?” Elise waved her fork around like a flag marshal in a hurricane, droplets of salad dressing splattering the table. ”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.”
”Think you’d have done better?” Bea said before she could stop herself, too dry to miss unless your name was Elise Vogel.
”Duh.” 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.
”By the way, I wanted to tell you: That chrome of yours - old and new - is straight-up insaaaane!”
Bea winced, remembering herself talking like that. When she was ten. ”Thanks.”
”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!”
”I’m actually glad they didn’t. I’ve seen their new lineup, NOVA can keep them.” Bea leaned slightly away with discomfort, not that Elise noticed.
”Oh, I get it. You’re aiming higher. What is it? Prada? Victoria’s Secret? No, no! You totally 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-”
”I’m not in any way Hawaiian. My mum is.” Bea cut Elise off, ”And I’m a racing driver. Not a glorified stripper.” She added, annoyance bubbling through.
Elise regarded her for a few seconds. ”That’s dumb. Why’d you get them then?”
”So a crash wouldn’t snap my spine and I could get myself and my co-driver out of a wrecked car if needed?” 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.
”Shite, I have to go.” Bea excused herself, stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and did her best to walk away naturally.

”Walk with me.” She mumbled through a full mouth.
”Uh? Sure?” He fell into step, the cafeteria far behind them. ”What’s going on?”
”Nothing, you’re good. Please, God, let it be Cassie next year, not her…” Bea groaned as she walked away.
”Wait, next year?” Alistair was left to ask the empty hallway.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode 14: The Tango Swing

---

”So whose stupid idea was this?” 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.

”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?”

”'Upside down,' you think you're funny?” 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. ”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.” 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.
”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.” She continued before switching to English to address Aurora directly with visible relief, ”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.” She added with a mischievous grin.

”I should’ve brought a parachute, then I could have just unclipped myself at the end of this and fallen away in style.” She joked, tactfully ignoring the safety net below the couch just out of shot.

---

COMPOSITE /// CORDILLERA /// FLARE

Alexander found himself sitting on the interview couch. It had been a while since he had been in front of the cameras. He supposed it was about time. He grumbled a little but didn’t fight it. Katherine had given him a bright smile and a pat on the arm. Alexander stifled the urge to roll his eyes. He could almost hear Katherine’s thoughts that she had finally managed to house train him. He sighed and looked towards his host as Katherine moved off set.

Aurora: “Welcome Alexander Knight from Team Valkyrie AGR Sport. It has been some time since we checked in with the team principals. Our question for you is… is the season going the way you thought it would?”

Alexander laughed outright, unable to hide his mirth. She made it sound like he had planned to be here working in racing again this year. That had not been something he had foreseen. He finally managed to get his amusement under control. His blue eyes catching the light shining with amusement and intelligence.

Alexander: “Sorry that struck me as funny since I had no idea I would even return to racing before the start of the season. I didn’t exactly have months to plan what I would do this season. The season is not going anything like I expected. There have certainly been challenges and obstacles to remove from the team’s path to success. I feel confident that the team is making good progress. Paul is developing into a world class pilot. Dorian remains consistent in adding to our points. Considering where we started the season, I feel the team has made lots of positive gains. I have made no secret of the fact that my long term goal is long term success for the team.” Alexander gave a shark-like grin full of teeth directly into the camera when he made his next statement. He knew that the other team principals would take it as a direct challenge. “I think it is time that another team dominates the sport and challenges Silver Apex. I want Team Valkyrie to be one of those teams competing for the championship next year. So all the work we are doing this year is to prepare for next year’s season where we plan to be a challenging force to be reckoned with.”

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode Fourteen: The Tango Swing

---

Wrong Way Up

Paul found himself strapped into a couch attached to a gravity generator that held him upside down on the track. For safety he had a seatbelt strapped across his thighs to keep him on the Delta Hyper Couch. For once Paul didn’t look effortless put together. His hair which normally lay effortlessly stylish was hanging down in chaotic waves. Paul was cursing softly under his breath as he finished strapping himself into this setup.

Paul: “Whose demented brain did this idea come from?”

He didn’t sound happy or amused to be hanging upside down.

Aurora’s cheerful chirpy voice made Paul want to hit something. At this moment, he found her highly irritating.

Aurora: "Paul, welcome to the southern hemisphere, so to return, we put the sofa the way you might see it from Belgium! With the Junior FIAR grid not often going to circuits with the extreme amounts of inversion and MAG tracking as the cutting edge Buenos Aires circuit, what do you think you can do with a ship that so far this year, seems to be a cut above in handling?"

Paul looked like a grumpy cat as he gave his answer. “Well Aurora, we will all find out together during the race. I believe my performance will continue to improve and deliver results for my team. Can I get down now?” Escape from this dog and pony show. He had never felt more like a talking poodle than he did during this interview. The shit they came up with to entertain the masses and subjected the pilots too… Normally Paul found it amusing and fun. Not this time.

---

La París de Sudamérica

Paul was sticking close to their hotel. He was doing his best to avoid distractions and stay focused on why he was here in Buenos Aires. He did want to meet up with Bea. He was hopeful for a long term friendship. He had a lot in common with Beatrix. His security had been nervous about the Argentina race. Paul had not quite understood their warnings about rabid fans. He just went with the flow and tried not to give his security team an aneurysm. Paul had met with Carmella and the engineers. They had a few things they wanted to try during practice. They had all met to go over the plan for the practice run. The team was worried once again about heat and humidity. Paul would be getting preloaded on electrolytes just before the race.

Paul and Dorian looked over the track and discussed the areas where overtakes might happen. They talked about ELS strategies. Paul shared Alexander’s wisdom in that area and how they might exploit ELS better. Paul was already chugging electrolytes to keep himself hydrated. Paul and Carmella had discussed strategy and the plan was for Paul to start with a preloaded ELS battery and capacitor. Paul had to time when he would use the energy carefully to make the most of that advantage.

---

Paul looked over Bea’s reply to his text message with a confused look.

Tue 14/09 10:30 TO: PAUL [Batt: 87%]

> 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.
> 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.
> 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. 😛

> 😛My therapist doesn’t travel with the team. She suggested art therapy. I was asking for help because it looks like my stick figures are trying to eat each other. [Shares an image where you can’t really tell what the stick figures are doing or trying to represent]

> I thought I missed a group message about what we were doing while in Carerra’s hometown for a race. I thought everyone was hosting a dinner or something when the race was in their team’s hometown. I missed the memo because there wasn’t one. I feel like an idiot.

The Shop Window

Cassie's phone rang as she left Zygon hospitality post-practice, the voice of Joao Vitor, her agent, deciding to make a phone call that connected as she was headed to her personal trailer. Click to receive, Cassie put hand to ear, the Zygon-branded merch jacket clashing against her pilots inner-suit that she kept on for the time being.

"Joao?"

"We have an update. Carrera."

"You want to talk about it, while I'm in the middle of all of this?"

"Well, get yourself clear." Cassie heard, as she walked across to a quieter part of the cloudy, now-springtime paddock, finding a quiet spot behind another trailer, checking for drones and making sure her implants weren't listening in. If Zygon decided they were, well, they weren't total monsters to their star pilots. At least, she hoped.

"Team is going well. What if Carrera piss up next year's ship?"

"That's up to you."

"Well, things are getting better here."

"Contract is sizable. I would think about it. Zygon's got positive trajectory, but the optics, culture, fit at Carrera are perfect, and they are gonna need it. Match made in heaven."

"I'm guessing by that you mean I'd replace Ava, not Bea. How she hasn't been tapped up is beyond me....so yeah. I get it. The Iberian link." Cassie replied, as the agent chuckled.

"Well, she almost was, and yes, that was what they liked. Point is, their management has started making some big moves, and they made enquires through an intermediary. But they need you to meet. Zygon will keep you as their star if you want them to. You're outscoring Han, so Carrera will pay a pretty penny to get you out of that contract. And given Valkyrie sowed up shop with Max, options for the rest of the grid don't exist. So it's your choice. Terms are similar, and they'll even buyout Zygon's share. The flexibility is greater. I'll send you it on the encrypted box what they're proposing. We haven't got long to decide." Joao added, as Cassie sighed, looking to the overcast heaven, the Scot currently dying her hair with a weird blue-red to match the team's livery this weekend, brushing a strand of it from her face.

"I need an inside view. Big decision." Cassie almost spat back, to the point, the decision beginning to click.

"Would you like me to talk to someone?"

"No, the person I'm thinking of nearly smacked into me a few weeks ago. Then apologised rather politely. Funny how it works." Cassie's lips turned to smile, shaking her head.

"Call you back." Cassie muttered, hanging up the phone.

Back in Zygon world, she checked back in with the team, as always, pretending nothing happened.

---

Extrapolations

Sitting there and looking out at the practice results, Harrison and Nora sat looking at the display, inside the pit box, Owen wanting to talk through it with both of them, together. Being held back after hours felt difficult, but their practice results were without a lack of a word, horrendous.

"We're not doing what we should be. I get it, the track's difficult. But we need to kill the bleeding. Stay on the attack. Get after Amy. We don't do that by sitting back. Or deciding we're not sharing data." Owen simply retorted, looking at them both, simply done with their bullshit.

Looking to Nora, the yellow and silver polymer armed and legged pilot looking back with a grimace, Harrison sighed. Hoping it wouldn't come to this. It looked like Bea and Ava weren't the only ones who'd argued.
"All due respect." He commented, the look of animosity coming out from strain in the season.

"Well, since you two won't have that respect, we've already made that call. Your engineers will talk and share your setups, we're one garage, not two units fighting. For the sake of the team. So don't be nearly pilots. Be the ones that take this intuitive. We've got a chance here to keep that top spot as ours. Let's not fuck this up." Owen added, looking to the delta in the map, a reminder to them both, looking back.

"Any chance we get to stop Amy, is a chance one of you two will get to take top spot. But that gap is growing, and if you don't work together, you can forget about any chance we have of holding a candle to them this season. Lowry is hunting us in the Constructors. And remember what happens to us if we lose that top spot. Are we understood?"

Both pilots nodded, as with it, the team boss, Owen Keating, suddenly was in the sofa, with the background behind him.

"Was it hard having that talk with them both?"

"Yeah, well, it isn't exactly a fun choice. It isn't what I'd prefer to do. But, you have to set it out."

"Would you say that's a nice problem to have?"

"Well, have you ever had two people who want the same thing, fight it out? It's understandable from their point of view. But from mine, I see two pilots willing to give it their all for the Whanau and so many Polynesians that would love to be in those ships. Best we deliver without arguments."

---

Fame

The Moroccan's white-bleached hair stuck out as he signed away at fans that had come to Al-Saqr's fanzone, the growing fanbase all shifting from Layla to him. He was a hell of a lot more outgoing, and for the Arabic Union based Al-Saqr, suddenly a growing star. Kais Zenix may have had his marketing, his ventures and his own way of doing things, but Hamid had grown in popularity once he hit the points. So signing autographs on posters, tablets, arms, and all sorts of places, as well as being at the fore.....made him an obvious target in the interview room for Aurora's questioning.

A kid ran over, with a hand drawn picture of the Al-Saqr ship, and Hamid gleefully signed it away, a pentagonal star at the end of his name that always came with heritage of where he came from.

Things were going on in the background. Things he didn't want to dwell on. Or wasn't exposed to.

"You and Kais seem very different when it comes to marketing. Why is that?" Aurora asked in the cabin, Hamid sitting there with his legs crossed, white and green faux-leather jacket on, sunglasses in hand from whenever this element had been filmed.

"Habibi, I'm open! I remember being a kid and being excited. So I put myself in the right place. Kais focuses on the race. I'm extraverted. People person. I feed off that."

"Would you collaborate with another team's initiative, if asked?"

"Well, officially....I can't answer that! But, I think we have to share the love. We forget so easy. It's so hard to become a pilot. So difficult to do. So I pay back my child, my young self by giving others the same hope. #FansFirst is a great initiative. I would love to do something like it." Hamid smiled, beaming at footage.

That cut easily into a 6-year old Hamid on what was old home-video like footage, with a composite framed cart, framed on an old F1 design, smiling and standing by it with a bicycle helmet, absolutely glowing with pride with the thing he absolutely loved.

---

Infamy

The fans at the Carrera Condor fanzone were also out in droves, crowding the place. This was a flagship event, absolutely as big as it could be. And while Bea had her adoring fans, almost in the hundreds, like having an entire Silverstone crowd to herself in the same way the Europeans loved Paul came to see the Chilean. She was not Argentine, that was 100% different to having Bea's predecessor in, but, she was Latina, she was of the area, and given Chilean and Argentine relations had cooled, despite history, she was still seen as the region's best racer in a generation. Ava towered over most, even on her prosthetics, her posture and pre-amputation height maintained by this in particular.

Ava enjoyed this. She was getting over the pain of the split with Bea by at least reaching out to people, replacing the hole in her heart from thinking she actually had a friend, to swallowing the adoration of her fans and the distraction it gave. Something about not being liked, but being loved. It tugged at her, but Rey encouraged her to keep her mind off it and engage with fans.

Signing away, Ava kept close to the forefront, before one fan decided to pipe up. Probably not Argentine, given the English accent bringing him here to the relatively cheap tickets and epic views at the packed out Autodromo.

Which was brave. In Argentina, English was not maybe the best voice to have.

"You're full of shit! You're holding back Bea!" The voice called, clearly at the wrong fan meet. Very clearly, in negative IQ, but passion was one thing. Response was immediate.

"Puta, you won't support our own, English bastard!" Another yelled back in Argentine-tinted Spanish, and Ava backed away, realising quite what was about to happen.

And suddenly, shit absolutely hit the fan. One man punched another, and Ava was quickly extracted away, as security immediately lept in and contained someone else throwing a flare.

It felt like even in trying to hold back, the flames stoked, but the feeling of violence never too far. Ava had never seen obsession like this. Some fans had gotten angry in spite of Carrera's rise, not at management, but at the divide that had leaked, and then been encouraged by Leon in the press.

"Was it hard dealing with the fallout between you and Bea? The rumours, I mean..."

"I would rather not talk about it. Next question." Ava cut Aurora off, there and then, arms folded, looking dead to camera.

"And the rivalry between the team in Argentina and Britain?"

"Next." Ava burnt a hole in the viewer.

---

Relations

The phone rang inside his trailer, as Ben finished up with the VIP meet and mingle session, NOVA making its most of the morning and letting local celebrities in where they couldn't into the now packed out Carrera Condor sector. Orchard Capital, in particular had brought some hot shots in, so Ben was wheeled out to chat all things racing, while Florence did the last minute work in the sim, wanting to extract a bit more from the ship. In his black and green-lined undersuit, the barely 19 year old pilot was readied to go, leaning against the wall with phone in hand, with Amber's face on it.

A pinch of finger, and Amber's voice animated.

"Hey."

"Hey." Ben tried to play it cool, the Swiss on the other end of the phone almost certainly calling about something Ben had wanted to get back to her on. More than the fast message last night.

"Sorry I couldn't make the date. Look, you know how it is." Ben spluttered, feeling the silence needed filling.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Big shot AG pilot now. You don't mingle with us juniors." It was becoming a little clearer who this was. Amber Beck, Nordic Call, JAGF pilot. Two young lovers, for sure, and even in spite of being in two different teams, had barely been reported on in the field of Ben's youth and his high performance in the Junior AG league.

It was some melodramatic bullshit to pick, but, from the moment Ben met Amber in the lower leagues, they'd chatted, their families in similar circles, and well, one thing led to another. Dating another racer was silly, beyond stupid, even management told him that. But 18 year olds made decisions that weren't always fuelled by the right thing.

"No, it's....well, okay, it was a really serious dinner. Florence introduced me to....well, I can't say."

"You, and your ego are just blowing up like a balloon. Can't say? Look at you now."

"Well, you just weren't as fast as me. You'd be here too."

"Cheeky." Amber replied, as they both laughed, Ben looking out of the window, seeing the crowds thin, as the VIPs left and were headed for their next engagement. Meaning he'd be joining Florence in the sim for more work soon.

"I'll make it up to you. Nova Cadiz Asado. Tonight. After your race. I'll watch it once I'm done in the sim." Ben replied, Amber leaving a silence, with a contemplation.

"I will just have to clear my heaving schedule. So much to think about, so many events to reschedule..."

"Oh, funny...."

"Yeah, yeah. This is why pilots don't date." Ben added, cutting it off hearing the sound of footsteps up the stairs to his trailer. "Really sorry, but I need to run. Love you lots."

"You too. Good luck." Ben put down the phone, seeing one of the engineers come past the window and knock, and with that, phone was thrown back, and pilot Ben was back in the building.

---

Magnetised

Soundtrack: KOAN Sound- Spirals Unfold

"Clear, Jen. Let's get after it." The voice from Cal put her in her mind back in the zone.

The track itself may have started and ended at the old Oscar y Juan Gálvez Circuit start-straight, but it quickly ended up being nothing like it- from tarmac onto complete MAG tracking, that made grip basically vice-like through most corners, making ships go from slip to stick. The camber was basically 70 degrees on the hardest of hairpins, making them come across as much shallower turns than they were given how hard the ships were planted into the corner through the seat- but thanks to their positioning, making it safe for spectators to actually watch ships go toe to toe through them, watching them as if they were seeing them come in top-down given perspective. Most of the MAG tracking was built on a specialist glass or seethrough surface, making it possible to see at Turns 3 and 12/13 the ships literally fly towards each other yet opposite to each other, on different panels of glass.

The feeling of modernity bled through the stands, with the spectators right against the track, with enormous field generators allowing for ships to come incredibly close to watching spectators- while offering them an outlet if they collided or crashed. It blended safety with spectator views, in a way few circuits really did- while it may not have been to a traditionalists liking that the original circuit was butchered, it created a spectacle and good racing, rarely two things that blended.

Curva 1 leading to a massive ramp that led into a massive banked turn that had a view onto the rest of the circuit and the towers of Buenos Aires, before coming down at Turns 3 and 4, before slamming out at 6 into a hard, long bank. A long straight allowed for a lovely burst of speed, allowing for a massive burst of speed into 7, at 8 using a similar banking to keep speeds high, and make up for the original circuit's deficit of breaking up flow- with MAG tracking, the circuit felt a lot faster than its layout appeared to give, MAG tracking in corners also making it easier to pick lines for overtakes and dump ELS. Here, it felt like every overtake really relied on ELS, and just making brave, hard moves through the corners at any given moment. At Turn 12, the circuit went underneath its own banking, literally going upside down onto the other part of the circuit before coming back down into where Turn 13 and 14 at the Senna S restored itself back to the only part of the circuit maintained- a tarmac section that led to the Turn 16 transparent-glass bank (in front of lots of roaring fans), and the chicane at 17/18 that used a fun inverted camber to force ships to slow down, ratchet hard right and left, before slamming on the gas without hitting the wall. The lap was short, barely over a minute, but it had this "one more time" feeling to it. Unlike other circuits earlier in the season which were lengthy, long affairs of super fast, long corners, this felt like a challenge to

A thrilling lap, given most of it was taken near full throttle, and the pilot inside.

"Jen, that is P1! P1 Jen, stellar lap, where did you get that from! Your Q3 looked absolutely dialled in, that's close to a lap record!"

"Woo! That's what I'm talking about!" Jen chirped back, backing up Cal's confidence from earlier, and proving that in spite of spotty performance, she still had what it took. The ship was of course, still a cut of the field, but today, she put the time in. It seemed strange. Jamie had completely missed the mark, lost his way despite a promising season, but Jen, she seemed to have something else up her sleeve.

Like Amy? Or was it the ship finally being tamed and set to her feeling? The speculation was uncertain, but Silver Apex seemed to be back, and to take back 1st in the constructors was a worthy gambit.



The others experienced varying laps. Paul had clearly gotten an optimal ELS tune, finding a ship that absolutely sang thanks to a rested, focussed team, able to make the most out of each corner and in theory, on a circuit that demanded an incredibly potent ELS system given the amount of MAG tracking, had just lost out to Jen being on one. While Beatrix had done well, it was almost out of stubbornness- the team wanted to do well at their home race, and despite Ava being away, it was a home race for Carrera. She wasn't letting the fans down, and almost as if fuelled by a want to prove Bea wrong, was holding pace.

As if a fuck you, look at me now.

It was a statement to get ahead of Amy, who was struggling, but showing promise on certain sectors, never a threat to rule out. Hamid had absolutely gotten his ship places it shouldn't have, and the sparks of promise were beginning to show. Even if Florence Mason had fried her power unit in Sector 3, and caused a red flag right at the start of the season, poor luck dampening an initially promising start for NOVA.

---

Post Qualifying Interview- Argentina

Post qualifying, the sunset came in on the elevated MAG track, and at the main office building, almost marble-white and surrounded by greenery was a rooftop where Aurora had a chance to catch up with each of the pilots.

"Bea, third place in Argentina, and it puts you next to Paul Mulder. Tell us, how are you looking forward to battling with him again, after your previous fight in Singapore, and who could forget your massive duel in Belgium!"

And inversely....

"Paul, second on the grid, showing that whatever it seems to be that you're doing! How are you feeling about fighting with Beatrix tomorrow, and making the best of your grid position, and what looks like a breakthrough ELS system?"

On the other hand....

"Kais, not the best performance from you, but it looks like your ship seems to still be breaking all the records at the speedtraps. Tell us more about Al-Saqr's speed focussed strategy, and how you're getting on with taming it?"

Paul was in the Valkyrie Fan Zone. His security team had been beefed up. Paul didn’t quite understand why. They always had a ton of fans at every race. He didn’t understand the explanation that had been given to him that Argentina fans were a little more crazy and intense. Someone had cited issues at other sporting events in the past. Paul was set up in front of Team Valkyrie step repeat backdrop greeting fans and posing for pictures and signing autographs. There was a commotion that started in the Carrera fan zone but it seemed to travel through the crowd. All at once Paul found himself being whisked away by his guards as the fans. Paul was disoriented and confused until he saw that the fan zone had become a free for all brawl. He saw a little girl get separated from her mother as fighting broke out near him. Paul forced his security guards to stop and gather up the frightened child as he forced his way through to the frantic mother. He then allowed security to whisk them all away from the manic crowd. Once they made it to a back stage area one of the security guards escorted the mother and daughter to an exit. Paul was trying to calm down in the pilot’s trailer but he kept seeing the meaningless violence that had spilled into the Valkyrie Fan Zone from the Carrera’s. He kept seeing the face of the frightened crying little girl. This was supposed to be a family sport. Paul couldn’t help thinking what was wrong with the Argentinians?

---

Alexander was reluctant to reopen the fan zone after the fans broke into a brawl. Unfortunately the team was under contractual obligations with FIAR. They made some changes to the security and established clearly defined areas with rope stanchions to help separate the various areas in the fanzone. It would hopefully prevent any further incidents along with a heavier security presence. Alexander ensured that the meet and greet for Paul and Dorian had extra security and more control. They had also mapped out escape routes to extricate the pilots if violence broke out again. He also made sure there was food and drink available to hopefully help cool tempers and reduce frustrations that fans might be feeling having to wait in line.

---

Soundtrack: I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas

Paul had been good about drinking Zap sports drink to keep his electrolytes at good levels. He had gone through his prerace oxygenation therapy. He was as ready as he could be. His race suit’s compression felt good and supportive. Paul went through his prerace checklist with Carmella. Paul was sitting at the starting line ready for the qualifying race to start. His hands rested lightly on the control yoke and throttle.

Alexander was sitting with the race engineers. He had a headset on. He spoke into the microphone.

Alexander: “Okay Paul, remember to use the ELS thoughtfully. Your timing will need to be flawless. Remember that the ELS capacitor and battery are starting off topped off. You are ready for this. Remember to use the mag tracking to your advantage. You got this!”

Paul smiled and answered back. “Damn right I do!”

The race started and Paul was clearly focused and in his element. His racing lines were smoother and more elegant. He was picking up microseconds in every corner and chicane. He was not afraid to take the mag track up the wall if it was a faster time for him. Paul’s run was fearless as he tried out new racing lines that favored his ELS strategy for speed. Paul brought the ship across the finish line. Carmella was screaming in his ear.

Carmella: “That’s P2 Paul! P2!”

Paul threw his fist into the air triumphantly. The run had felt good and he felt in control. He knew what he was doing and why for every move. Paul felt good about the new direction his racing was taking. He pulled the ship into the paddock garage. The team was celebrating around the garage. He climbed out and thanked everyone on the team for their support.

---

Post Qualifying Interview- Argentina

Paul was still in his race suit as he made his way to the Delta Hyper Set for his interview. This time the set was on a rooftop terrace of one of the buildings at the track. Paul had taken off his racing helmet. His hair was matted to his head by sweat and he had a Zap drink in his hand. He slugged back the electrolytes to replace what he had sweated out during the race.

Aurora: "Paul, second on the grid, showing that whatever it seems to be that you're doing! How are you feeling about fighting with Beatrix tomorrow, and making the best of your grid position, and what looks like a breakthrough ELS system?"

Paul looked as relaxed as he was going to get. He was grateful that he was not strapped back into an upside down couch.

“I welcome a rematch with Bea. I really enjoyed our fight at Spa. I am looking forward to the rematch. Of course this time I am chasing Jenn. I have been working on improving my skills in ELS. I have been working on some new strategies with ELS to help our speed issues. It seems to be working.”

---

”Fantastic run, Bea! P2 as is, but Mulder’s looking fast.”
”Yeees!” She cheered, ignoring the last part of that statement and just enjoying the moment., ”And no rioting in the grandstands as far as I can see, look at that.”
”Nobody’s throwing rubbish or fireworks onto the circuit?”
”That’s why we have repulsors, they work both ways.” She chuckled.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode 14: The Tango Swing

---

The interview couch had at last been moved to a sensible place.

”Bea, there’s been a lot of talk about tensions in the team in the past few weeks. Is ther-”

”None of your business. Not the fans’ either.”

”Third place in Argentina, and it puts you next to Paul Mulder. Tell us, how are you looking forward to battling with him again, after your previous fight in Singapore, and who could forget your massive duel in Belgium!”

”There was not much of a fight last time around, so that’s one problem I intend to make up for here. But fighting Paul is always good fun, and here stability isn’t even critical so I like my chances. If we could recreate Belgium here, that would be amazing.” She said, before adding with mischief in her voice. ”And if we could match the duel as well, that would be a nice bonus.”

”And this time he has to deal with both of us. One way or another, we’ll be eating good this Sunday.” She added convincingly enough, though not sure if she believed it herself. ”Maybe not if Cassie decides to go bowling into turn one.” She added with a cheeky shrug.

“Last question, Bea: Even before your meteoric rise in Formula AG, you already had a large following and active social media presence. Any comments about Elise’s response to the unfortunate incident in Carrera Condor’s fan zone?”

”What did she say?” Bea fished out her phone from her pocket, already having a bad feeling on the back of her latest interaction with the Andorran junior pilot, eyes going wide with unwanted validation when she found the post.


Bea took a deep breath. Bea facepalmed. ”Oh, for fu-”

The interview cut to the next driver.

---

Foreshadowing

Sitting in the interview room. Peter Thatcher, polo shirt as ever, legs crossed over, was centre of frame.

"Did you expect what happened next on race day?" Aurora asked a simple, yet straight to the point question. Editing had played one hell of a blinder here.

"Hah. Rushing to the airport after wasn't in the plan. I guess you're here for drama. In my years....haven't seen a right balls up like that." Peter replied in his sarcastic, laconic style of plain Irish speaking.

---

The Sharp Edge of Carbon

Soundtrack: Metrik- Fall To The Dust

All ships sat on track, the crowd to capacity, and the sun beginning to come down, the race's end set to time with the sunset. The floodlights were on, the horizon was a hazy gold, the track's design thankfully meaning that the sunset wouldn't blind or overwhelm the ships on track.

"Well, we're watching the ships get ready, final checks take place, and the fans go wild with noise since at least two hours ago, two pilots in particular represented in the crowd. Rosie, it seems like a right mix up in qualifying. Argentina rewards ships and pilots that are smooth, can Carrera make it work here?" Rory asked, as Rosie chirped up, the VT cutting to them both gearing up and clambering into their ships on the grid.

"Well, up until now, we know that Ava Villarosa and Beatrix Ward were inseparable, always in socials together. The divide that has hung like a rumour since Singapore has been never louder than. They're both together in P3 and P4, and with the crowd going wild for those two in particular, already dozens of flares having to be caught out, they are going to be favourites in every corner. Tensions are high, but they both thrive on that. Anything can happen, Beatrix is unpredictable and has a ship that was inching away from first, while Ava is likely to be catching up in her team-mate's confidence."

"And what about Lowry, do you think she has what it takes to convert that pole into a win today?"

"Well, that Silver Apex ship seems so inconsistent between the two pilots, but it's clear Jenny isn't making the same mistakes that Hart did earlier in the season. She's clearly adapted, moved into those new mods like a duck to water, and is proving her performance in the old Fitzroy ship isn't a fluke. Is today finally the moment she converts it? We'll have to see."

"Certainly, with her team-mate's less than stellar qualifying, Peter Thatcher will be hoping for a result. Talk about Paul Mulder too, well, that adds something to the mix. With him up in P2? What a story he has had, finding his feet after a shaky few races. Some say that he just found something, and it's clearly he's much happier taking more risks. His father's style always blended flair with absolute precision.

"Well, given the story of Valkyrie, I think they are finally beginning to find roots in a pilot that much of the grid were scouting. Next to Beatrix Ward, I wonder how they will fight it out....and the marshalls are away, okay, looks like the start sequence is ready. You're watching the Argentine AGP, and myself, Rosie Appleyard and Rory Andrews. We welcome you to what will certainly be. With one of the most advanced tracks on the grid, with the skyline of one of South America's biggest cities in the background, we are at the home of Carrera Condor, and the crowd are roaring for two pilots in particular. Who will take the win? Stay tuned, as we prepare to go green...."

---

Four. Three. Two. One.

The start was chaotic.

Ava took Bea early on, upsetting the rematch of Paul and Bea fairly fast, as Bea managed to follow in Ava's wake, the two actually managing to get Paul on Lap 1, then Jen on Lap 2, exploiting an error that put Paul right behind the Carrera couple. Paul's start hadn't been stellar, but he was making it up.

A dream start, literally, you could not write better.

But Ava was in P1. And lap after lap going by, this was something new. She could actually hear the crowd outside the ship. For the first time ever, she was in a position to actually do something that nobody else could have dreamed of at the end of the season. Like a British pilot winning at Silverstone, or Paul at Spa, this was a screaming pitch that seemed to shake the glass of the banking more than the ship's latchings did.

"Ava, defences off and set to neural on ELS, Bea will be in a good spot to keep Mulder off us, copy?" Rey's voice came through, deflating that hope.

"Negative, she's suckering off me, she's going for a pass, not hold! This early on, we're going to burn up time fighting each other!" Ava replied, straight to Rey with that answer.

"Ava, Bea is faster than you in Sector 3..."

"Understood, because she's trying to fucking leech energy off me! Tell her to stop and point it backwards before Mulder and Lowry get us, stealing it from me is gonna cost us! Mierda, make a decision!"

"Copy, Ava. We'll look into it." Rey added, the gap of silence too long as Ava filled it going through the Start Straight again, seeing Bea come closer and closer, but losing time at the first complex.

"Well, she's losing time out of Turns 1 and 2 trying to snatch ELS, I need her to focus on defending behind me, not stealing from me, we are both going to lose time if we don't! If she has the pace, she needs to exceed my times outside ELS deltas, like we agreed, how many times to I have to say it!"

"Understood, we will ask." Rey turned to Alonso, chatting to him, the response coming from the Spaniard TP as he overrode Rey and Alistair.

"Beatrix, we need you to hold off ELS leech from Ava and go into neural, build up charge, let's build a full battery before we do anything. We can talk about overtakes, but you need to be patient and we need to time this, priority is holding back Mulder. Let's play fair, we'll make a switch when needed. We need to protect this advantage, confirm?" Alonso butted in past Alistair, overriding, switching to Ava's line.

"Ava, we're going to switch you in two laps if you cannot improve the gap, stay in attack. When ordered, switch to neutral and allow pass. Confirm?"

The message went unanswered. Ava's pace pricked up. Not for one lap, or two, but for another five. She was dumping more ELS as if to spite Alonso, and Bea, in full attack. To say "I'm not giving this up". A point because she was in lead, she'd hold, and Bea would have to put the pieces together. Bea in the moment would see it as total, complete bullshit. Ava was just doing what she considered needed to break away, the pace would sort itself out, and Bea would have to follow Ava's choice of strategy. This wasn't normal Ava, the strategic, careful, concise. This was her deciding to make a principled point. She wasn't being told to let someone go, she was taking her initiative this time, and was forcing Bea to fight Paul for longer than both would have wanted. It would have been dicey, both would have been tense enough....Ava had effectively left her team-mate in the shit.

Yet one small mistake out of Turn 6 from Ava later after making a decent dent into that gap and absolutely screwing Bea, suddenly, they were all three batched extremely close. This would have probably been the point to switch them, Rey waiting for the straight as Alonso gestured at the display in the pit wall. Bea had the pace, but was wasting her time fighting with Paul. But Ava hadn't heard the order yet. Bea hadn't either. Paul must have sat there wondering why the hell he was stuck in traffic, between what should have been an incredibly simple decision to keep the Belgian lion away.

Ava and Bea led, with Paul right behind, Jenny right behind him. It was a fight Carrera could win, but they had to play chess, and make a decision. Someone had to come second. Someone had to drop back and defend, using ELS to leech and force both Southern Cross's and Silver Apex's strategy teams into deciding if they were going to send, or keep behind. A 1st place and 2nd/3rd were not to be scoffed at, not when Zygon was competitive here- ensuring one of them could run away and win and the points haul would close the gap to Zygon at what was in theory, one of their better tracks. And in Argentina? That would be bliss. In that livery too, that blue and white flag replacing the black among the rainbow making for a real homage to the new Latin world.

But who would want to give up the ultimate race for an underdog team, their factory in view?

The argument, and breakage in the team to reinforce their mindsets had gone the other way. Instead of driving the pilots forwards, in the moment they needed to work together, they weren't interested.

Ava didn't feel inclined to give up.

There was blood because for the first time, Ava had the chance to make history. A Latin American winning in Argentina, that would be spectacular. The crowd absolutely were going haywire, massive Chilean flags in grandstands reaffirming that point. The Huasa, the former Ace turned cold pilot was never tested by first place. She had her strategy, and she was sticking to it.

Yet Bea had made the unfortunate mistake of making a different kind of push, acting on impulse from Ava taking a wider line. It was a rushed move in Turn 5, at full tilt, Ava partly to blame for holding too broad a line, Bea partly to blame for forcing the issue. Misinterpretation would be the common way of looking at it. Not through their lenses.

If you were eating popcorn, right now you'd choke.

The two ships clattered, and flung off the track and into repulsors, Bea's ship in particular fluttering twice over into the top bank and barely missing a massive crash with Paul, anchoring itself into one of the arrays, Ava's going low and in front of a spectator stand, skidding to a halt in the magnetic-enabled runoff area. Immediate red flag. The crowd, screaming and cheering, went dead silent.

What words were there?

Ava peeled out of the canopy, seeing Bea, so angry, so livid, so unbelievably pissed, every sinew in her body had to have her pull away once she'd seen Bea was pulling her own canopy open. Not to do anything stupid.

The noise was white, almost feint, like she'd been concussed, but instead, it was just the withdrawal of every single feeling she could manifest in her prefrontal cortex dumping out of her like a brick from a skyscraper. A medic came across but Ava kept walking, pushing them away. Just kept going, refusing anything. Helmet in hands, teeth grinding, forehead and cheeks pale like blood sucked out of them and away. By the time she was in the pit box, having walked the entire way, the white, blue and red helmet was out of her hands and hurled into a screen, no words leaving Ava bar an incomprehensible shriek. And tears pouring like a fountain in a way that.....for far to long, hadn't. She hadn't cried since she hurt like hell in physical training with her new prosthetic legs. Everything else was a footnote. But this broke, tortured, and grafted her.

There was a fighter pilot who was surgical, who would have forgiven, who would have let go. But even Leon's voice didn't stop her. She just didn't want to fucking exist. Not here. She knew she'd fucked up. But so had everything else.

The crowd didn't know how to react. They weren't sure what to even do. It was like watching Argentina get hit 5-0 in football. Tears, dejection, almost like they'd all felt Ava's out of body hurt. They weren't even angry. They were just lost.

---

Retaking Ground

Back again. Jenny took a strong sip of electrolyte, before the canopy snapped shut again, all systems active, no damage beyond scratches of carbon from the Carrera Ships leaving a streak of white and blue along one of the sides of the ship.

Four. Three. Two. One.

It was fast. Instant, the jolt in the back of the seat, but Cal had come up with a firm strategy for Jen to use, and made no bones about it. With all this tension, it was time to push, and push hard. Make a statement.

Jenny got back ahead of Paul at the race restart, taking advantage of his perhaps willingness to calm it down after that massive hit, to just scoop forwards.

And she didn't leave his front view, staying a second ahead but never being caught up, expertly keeping ELS on to not make the same mistake Nora did in Singapore, her game much simpler. Further back, the grid shuffled as a few other ships crashed out, including Kovalenko (through an error out of the last chicane), and Wedgewood suffering an engine fault in the dying laps of the race, retiring the ship rather than risk any further damage.

"We're holding nice, let's keep here." Cal called into Jenny's ears, as she zipped through that last chicane, one more lap to go. Paul had put pressure on. But she knew how to put the ship to block, and remain consistently up where it mattered, and in a counter to any strategy the Belgian had.

Lap after lap had come, but in an anti-climactic way, where she'd started was where she ended.

With the chequered flag, Jenny grinned.

"Holy crap! That was amazing! Wow! Thank you for your trust, support, P1 is just mad! Cannot believe it" Jen absolutely beamed, hands up in air, the crowd going mild, throughly whelmed as their adrenaline had zapped out in the boring second half of the race and watching a British pilot win. Some did cheer though acknowledging it, but the tears of joy Jen had were contrasted with the facepaint being turned to black on most Carrera fans. At least it wasn't Stirling. If it was, they would have probably started a riot. The ones that had decided to, thanks to the enhanced security presence, were removed fast and the crowd control felt more and more like a tar keg that was being doused in water. A lot of people left fast. The circuit had ran out of booze. Cry for me, Argentina, it felt like Carrera had said.

But Jen was on cloud nine. Every loss meant a win somewhere else, and well, she had gotten her first.

"Well done, Jenny, that was a showstopper, and P1! Well done, bring it on home!" Cal replied, finally having something to cheer for.

"Jenny, that was stellar. Kept a firm control of that race, even when things didn't go right, you stayed calm and that's proper professionalism that. Great work. Drink it in, well deserved, Jenny Lowry, first place, first of many!" Peter's voice overrode, as Jenny giggled with laughter, taking this insane moment in, her emotions all over the shop, but for now, living in a moment any child would have dreamt of being in. Under floodlights at Buenos Aires, winning a race in Formula AG.

She had as many wins now as Bea did....

"Yeah!! Woo!" Jen yelled, unrestrained in how happy she was, the Silver Apex crew chanting her name as she pulled into the box and mobbing her as Paul and Nora joined her.

Race Results for Argentina

---

Cooldown Room- Argentina

The room felt weird.

Jenny had actually won, and her face was jubilant, and Paul was no doubt exhausted.

"Nicely done Paul. Not today, but you duel well." Jen smiled, looking back at their fight in the first half of the race, impressed with Paul's racecraft, clearly having learnt the lessons from Silverstone, aggressive yet not pushing past into insanity.

"Christ. Big hit Bea....what were you thinking?" Jenny asked out loud, as Nora shook her head, the incident being replayed on the display.

"Blue on blue. Didn't think I'd see it." Nora chuckled, unfolding her legs, the standings appearing on another screen next to the race highlights reel.

"Gonna get ya, Amy..." Nora muttered, as Jen saw the stewards come in, and with it, she let Nora, then Paul take the lead, before stepping out herself and running onto the top step.

An entire season of utter bullshit with Fitzroy last year. Then the mess in the first half. The P3 that was a miracle. And now this. They said fairytales weren't written. But her best friend crashing into her team-mate, to basically give her P1?

It was unfortunate, but Jen did not hold back her smile, because she'd finally made it. And matched Bea now, but felt like while it may have been more of a fluke, this wasn't the last time she'd be up here. She had a taste for blood. She was coming back for more, her smile toothy as God Save the Queen played, and then champagne flew between her, Nora and Paul.

---

Delta Hyper- Interviews

Aurora was once again in the booth, back with both Bea, then Paul, among the many other interviews. The sound of thunder could be heard, as if there couldn't be any less of a cinematic feel to match the mood at the circuit, the local media cycle going insane behind the scenes in ripping Bea and Ava apart. And obviously, posting anti-British propaganda about Silver Apex. Like usual.

"Bea, an awful result for you and the team, possibly your worst nightmare. We'll keep it brief- any words for the crowd?"

"Paul, what a thrilling race! What are your thoughts on the Carrera Condor incident? It looks like you just didn't have the spring back on Jenny after the restart, but it looks like you're continuing a rich vein in form, what in particular do you think has pushed you forwards?"

---

"Yeah, well things happen when team-mates don't talk. I guess I've been on both ends. Ava had priority there in the lead, but sometimes you have to listen, and realise you're gonna need to give and take. Teams win races by working together. I'm sure that they'll internally review it." Florence commented, her poor result not the focus, but the shitshow that was Carrera.

"Rivals? Yeah, people are chalking me and Paul up! But I'm still keeping my eyes on the top spot. It lucked out for me, but honestly, once I sowed up the move on Amy, I knew anything could be on. " Nora came out and grinned, as Harrison followed.

"What's it I'd say....sh*tshow? But what can I say, gave it our all today. Massive result for Nora today, I tell you, she is unstoppable and making me up my game! I'll need to keep my eyes forward."

Hamid grinned, a Riccardo-esque look from the short-haired, pale white maybe finding his luck.
"That, that was so much fun! I mean sure, Cassie was a monster, but fighting with her was cool, so much respect! And overtaking Stirling! Yalla, I am pinching myself, what a rush!" Hamid looked like he had swallowed all of the sugar, because this rookie on a modern circuit, where Kais's style had maybe not come to fore (one perhaps later for speed circuits), had made it pay.

Cassie was happy too.
"Seriously result for Zygon today. The incident with Bea Ward and Ava is uhhh.....well, I know from personal experience what it's like when a team struggles. Amy had some issues, then what happened, yeah, I got lucky for sure but I made that luck!" Cassie retorted, smiling for once.

"It was not the best from me, but on MAG tracks, I will be honest as I'm not coming back to many more- I am not a specialist! That was why I was so surprised in Hawaii, non? But yes, great result from the team, Paul is special. He is living up to his standards. And any doubters, put some respect on our chief, I couldn't be prouder of our progress this season. I'm going to give it everything for the rest, I'm feeling motivated, and while the rookies are proving exceptional, I feel I'm going out on a high. Maybe I'll interview people like you next year, Aurora?" Dorian beamed, uncharacteristically upbeat, despite what was a middling result. The honesty started to trickle out of him, perhaps realising if he could help Paul, big him up, get public, he'd feel that too.

Astrid grinned. It was unusually colourful of her. Was she already on the gin?
"A point! We got a point!" She was taking this one for all it was worth. One closer to MMR!"

Max was the opposite.
"Ship just gave out, such a pain. We've had a great ELS setup, thanks to Ulrich, but just couldn't make it play. And man, the crazy shit ahead from Carrera...."

Amy had to be careful, her poor result due to a poor start and getting absolutely rinsed on ELS by Cassie and Hamid, the ship not setup for "traffic" given Amy's assumption she'd put it on pole- meaning she hadn't gone as well. She was lucky Bea and Ava crashed to get anything.

"It's tough. I mean, I know Bea quite well, she's ambitious and she wouldn't give up a position if she doesn't think she can get it. Looking at the review, I think she's right to do it. Team-mates are just like anyone else on track, in the heat of the moment, and while engineers might have the strategy in front of them, we have to do with what's in front of us and follow instinct. Sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it wins you championships." Arrogant? A little. But Amy had won two....

Ben was unusually media trained, but his energy still came out.
"Nearly a point! I mean, yeah, it's a hard ship, and we have a lot of development. I suppose it's about finding flow, consistency, and we'll punch into points."

Ava sighed, the interview question coming out. Her minder was next to her, as Ava didn't need to glance before giving a legally audited answer.
"I won't be able to comment on the matter."

---

Braking Point

The lock went on the door of the conference room as the figure walked in, Leon interrupted, and Pablo Asturia silencing everyone, all techs, both pilots, and the TP.

Pablo arrived mid session of Alonso no doubt debriefing and dressing down the team. But Alonso's comments had absolutely nothing on Pablo. Nothing on someone who picked a specific day to come here. Staked the entire team on this. Felt the weight of media and his phone still buzzing in his pocket, which was now constant, as if he made a statement to the team by putting it on the table, revealing the constant, non stop barrage of messages. Alonso had been smart enough to shield the team. Found Ava heaving with tears in her room, just in total, broken disbelief over what she'd done to Bea, to her fans, to her chance.

Pablo collandered all of that hate, all of that feeling, because now, was about to give an executive bollocking. If Paul had felt a wobble in mental health, this was throwing a brick into a washing machine. One that Leon hadn't communicated. One that put across the feeling of how on the edge it all was.

"What the fuck was that?" Pablo didn't address Ava or Bea. Just seemed to be direct at Alonso. For now.

"Seriously? At home, after all this work we did, everything together? We threw away a prime position to put those Korean fuckers to the sword, in front of our home audience, our one fucking chance! Every spotlight in the world is on us, and we respond with this? The one race where Silver Apex cannot fucking win!" Pablo threw a water bottle he was carrying and it ricocheted off the desk.

"This is unacceptable!" He yelled, hell hath no fury like the billionaire who could have accepted a crash, a mechanical, even dropping back in points, but a double DNF caused by a pair of team-mates crashing into one another? Who had just had a biblical argument? Well, that was just as bad as it could be. If ever the roll had decided to laugh, it was right here.

"And both of you, do I need to fucking remind you what is at stake?" Pablo walked around to the pilots, hand out to any protests.

"An entire fucking continent wants to crucify you, burn every fucking hope they had that you were their pilots, their dreams you'd actually fucking give them something to cheer for after half a decade of work, so give me a reason not to put you on that cross first?! Find some fucking pilots that work together?" Pablo didn't decrease volume. He seemed to go up, now getting personal.

"Ava, you know better. Want to prove a point? Good, you just fucking proved you can't handle the pressure, rather than fucking leading this team, you put your pride first! Play back the comms, tell me you couldn't accept conceding the position! Oh, and Bea, your contract's ink may barely be dry, but you behave like a fucking child! Couldn't be patient, and forced a move there, fucking up our best result yet? Her I expect better from, but you can go toe to toe with Paul Mulder yet can't wait for your own teammate?"

"Hey, fuck you! The team didn't make a decision. I don't want to hear..." Ava's interruption, got interrupted by Pablo, who even despite not sitting in a ship, wasn't taking prisoners.

"No, you're not done hearing it! There's tens of juniors waiting for your chance, and you both committed to fucking this race up, for everyone! Everyone behind you! Burying your head in the sand solves nothing. We're protecting you from the press, because if we get this wrong, more than the lab goes up in flames! So I'm through with hearing bullshit, excuses, arguments, all of the entire time in the lead up, all the rumours....now this? Constant lies. When what matters is today, we had the best opportunity to put Zygon's teeth out of jaw, from a position we could have matched them! The gap is widening. All of you. Let that in when you think about what missing an opportunity today means. They did not win. We, we, fucking, lost." Pablo nearly spat as he called it out, as he saw it, the passion raw now given he'd started taking far more investment into the team.

"If this happens again, our funding dries up from sponsors, deals, promises we can make to make this team the best in the world. We run out of chassis to provide you, given between the two of you, and engineering faults, enough have been written off....and if FIAR slaps us with points deductions for it, we are over. A lot of people in that factory we hired specifically to get you both there, will not be needed because we cannot settle for where we came from. We cannot fuck this up. Not when the consortium is risking everything on you all to deliver what you have already proven you can do. I'm asking for nothing more than your high standards. Not. This." Pablo reiterated, making it clear that even though eh saw this through a money lens, he absolutely understood the wider implications.

"We're dependent on a solid end to our season, or else there won't be a team that'll compete next year if there isn't momentum. Felix is here because we are moving next year's ship forwards, and have a one in a generation opportunity to do so. Leon will tell you that's where the majority of the investment went. So if you don't like working together, take up contracts elsewhere in lesser teams, act your standard. Because no big team will accept you, not when the market for pilots and engineers is closed. Or, prove everyone wrong, and step the fuck up, here. If we want to win titles, we cannot compete like any other team. We must work together. We are Carrera. We run this continent. We are going to go to Brasil, and do better. We, will, fucking, do, better. As a team. Not as individuals chasing glory. Are we understood?" Pablo asked, a grovelling yes coming out of Ava, Pablo's grade of Iberian anger looking like smoke was about to pour out of his nostrils.

"We have a week to Sao Paolo. Leon, I expect better, especially from you. Or maybe the board will decide what's holding this team back from wins is you." Pablo walked towards the door.

He left the room fairly sharp. And the silence echoed, as Ava sat up and picked up the bottle, exhaling, leaning against the wall, looking to Leon.

"Say something, Leon. I'm not taking shit from him. You fought over keeping me. Moment you could have given me a chance, you pissed it away. And after nearly dying..... I won't take any offense. We won't be a team until we're honest." Ava simply retorted, looking to Bea before back to Leon, a sigh forming.

"Sorry. I owe you a new display." It was barely a whisper, Ava feeling the adrenaline fully shake out of her now, and wanting to leave before she dropped to the floor.

Pressure had gotten to everyone. Southern Cross had similar issues when Harrison had clambered to the top. Unlike Valkyrie, the team at Carrera were not seasoned, born in the fire like Valkyrie was in managing strategy, wins, successes. They were still learning, competent, but lacking even 5%, was that final difference that made the upstarts choke. Including Ava. She'd never led a race before. And she'd not win again if she let this get to her. A competent, solid result had dissolved into piss.

It wasn't the lows that got you. It was the hope that gave you everything, against all logic, reality, objectivity, that emotion came out and made shit that wasn't consequential, real. It was why racing was why it was. The moments of glory, standing on the top step, contrasted by absolute devastation, hurt that could only come from the highest highs, crashing into brutal lows.

So, it was poor timing that Cassie had decided to call Bea in that moment. Cassie had quite possibly, the worst luck in the world when it came to making enquiries of teams. This shitshow made even Zygon's early season meltdown, and maybe even Valkyrie's literal corruption scandal at the end of last year seem viable.

---

An Antithesis

The high of another P2 for Paul was maybe not as good as swiping a win from Jenny, but, it was still proof that he could do it under pressure from Nora Kelly, who had come out fighting once again. Every points haul was one that put her closer to Amy, but for Valkyrie, compared to before, this was looking better and better.

The team were jubilant, even Dorian was cheering for his team-mate, bigging him up, and giving high fives, because this was another podium excluding Germany and Hawaii, proving he could fight at the top level and bring in his father's talent to life. Dorian might not have been the same pilot he was before, but what he lacked on track, he was making up for in the sim for next year's ship. It was emerging that Paul's style was smooth, silky, almost effortless now- like Dorian's but with more punch, a pilot that could make pushes and feints like Harrison had last year. A points haul that extended the gap past Al-Saqr right when they needed, all the tiny, almost insignificant marginal gains of Alexander yielding into this very moment. Even if Dorian hadn't done well, the double DNF of Carrera ships had lifted his position, and stemmed any damage from Al-Saqr this weekend.

It must have felt redemptive, the very highs and lows even by Valkyrie standards all over the shop. Paul would be feeling over the moon, and no doubt, the team felt like from here, they'd turned a corner. No more was the scandal, endless drama, problems of the past. They were now thinking about next season, cementing P3, and who knows, even putting Paul into P3 in the drivers' championship. With the way things were going, the next two rounds would be critical to that effort, make or break to even putting Harrison on the spot. It meant that Paul's target was now not just Kais Zenix, but the 2nd best pilot on the grid from last season's results.

Alexander meanwhile, received a call from Johanna Lipusz, despite the timezone difference, a victory in Singapore followed by this making a call from her come through, finding a moment among the chaos.

"Evening. Nice results. You breathing ok after what happened at Carrera?" Johanna chuckled, awaiting a response before replying.

"It'll be hard from here, but your wonderkid, he is something. We think P3 in constructors based on that performance is still viable. Al-Saqr will not let up on points in the desert tracks. We can end on a high. Let's aim high." Johanna started, as she stated what was increasingly the obvious.

"And Mulder's closing in on Makara. If this is what he can do with a ship that isn't made for him, imagine what he'll do with one that is. We need to hone in on this. Forget legacy, Alexander. We need to make sure next year, a European wins this title. The driver's championship would be a hell of a statement. Carrera are expecting to come out swinging but are under financial pressure. More pressure we put on them, more mistakes they'll make, like today. I don't share much optimism. But everything from here, you push. They took Felix from you. You decide how we take it back from them, starting today."

---

@Starlance

Thu 01/10 20:20 - MadBea - [Batt: 75%]

Jen >
"Sending you lots of love. I can't imagine how you feel right now. Recommend you don't look at any media or news for a while. Press is going mental. Call me if you can.
"P1 is incredible though. I get why you went crazy. Tell you what. Want to grab Rodízio in Rio before the race in Brazil? Give you something else to focus on."

@LadyAmber

Thu 01/10 23:10 - Paul Mulder - [Batt: 99%]

Max>
"Sick drive dude! Gonna be real. MMR is pretty bummed out at the moment. Just trying to work out- you got any recommendations on personal trainers in Germany? I could use a guy, mine doesn't want to move with me to Europe next year."

Soundtrack:Panic at the Disco - High Hopes

Paul spent an hour in the fan zone for the early bird fans. He was relieved to see the extra security and heightened security measures that Alexander had put in place. He could still see that terrified little girl’s face and her relieved mother once they had been reunited. Paul didn’t understand the violent edge to the passionate Argentinian fan base. He made sure to smile and be humble and polite to everyone he came into contact with. He would not be the reason for a riot in the fan zone. There was a moment of uncomfortable tension when Paul had to leave to prepare for the race. There had been grumbling in the crowd as his security shut down his line. Paul sensed the tension and stepped forward to address the crowd. He had used all the charm and poise at his disposal and all the training Katherine had drilled into him for dealing with the media. He raised his hands to draw the fans attention.

Paul’s voice oozed sincerity and amusement as he told the crowd. “I apologize for not being able to stay but I need to go prepare for the race. You want me to give it my all don’t you?” He paused and nodded as cheers went up from the disgruntled fans in line. “Then I have to go get ready for the race. It takes time, you know. I will be thinking about all of you as I race!” Paul looked at the line which had to be shut down. There had been twenty five fans already in the queue. Paul smiled and whispered quickly to one of the security guards. The security guard nodded, accepting Paul’s idea.

Paul: “As an apology those of you who have been waiting for a while will get a free Team Valkyrie T-shirt on me. The security guard here will hand them out but you will need to be patient for them. Now I have to go. Wish me luck!”

He waved as he walked off with two other security guards. He was relieved when he made it into the more secure paddock facilities assigned to the team. His security guards escorted him to the pilots’ ready room. One of his security guards told him “That was good thinking back in the fanzone. To offer those fans a consolation t-shirt probably reduced the tension and prevented another violent outburst. Relax and get ready for the race. We are on duty out here. Good luck Paul!” His security guard gave him a friendly slap to the shoulder as Paul entered the pilot ready room.

---

Paul’s security guards escorted him everywhere he went here in Argentina. After the violence that had transferred over into the Valkyrie Fan Zone the day before, Paul was grateful for their presence. He was more relaxed in the Team Valkyrie area of the paddock though. After leaving the fanzone, Paul’s morning had been busy preparing for the race. He had spent time with medical staff as they gave him an IV full of electrolytes to prepare his body for the race in the heat and humidity of Buenos Aires. Paul had spent some time meditating and communicating with his nanites as he pumped extra oxygen into his bloodstream as well. He spent some time meditating and employing the new visualization techniques Dr. Ingold had taught him. He had been so surprised that they had helped. It had quickly become part of his pre-race routine. Paul had called his mother and spoke with her for a few minutes. After what happened in the fanzone, this was one race he was grateful that she had not attended. She was on a nature shoot in Africa for a wildlife nonprofit. They had both agreed that no matter what she was doing, they would at least speak before each race. Paul had then changed into his racing suit. fHe was in standard Valkyrie Livery here in Argentina. He was in his typical dark gray and yellow race suit.

Paul was finally escorted into the garage section of the paddock by security. He stepped into the garage bay and saw that the mechanics and engineering were all doing last minute checks on both ships. There was a slight tension in the garage today. The typical laughter, music playing the background, and joking around seemed to be missing. Everyone had a more serious air to them. They were all going about their jobs with a professional demeanor and focus that didn’t surprise Paul but was usually hidden by their camaraderie with one another. Alexander was deep in discussion with both Carmella, his race engineer and Dorian’s. Alexander had begun to join the engineering team during races.

Alexander emphasized the security concerns that he had after the incident in the fanzone. He made sure everyone knew that the safety of their personnel came first. He had supported Wulfric’s decision to send more security to beef up their operations here in Argentina after what had happened in the fanzone. The additional security personnel had come from headquarters and had been flown in on one of the team’s shuttles. Alexander had been sure to beef up security for the Junior team members that were racing in the junior league. Security was an added concern for Alexander who should be focused on racing strategy but he needed his pilots safe in order for there to be a race.

Alexander had reviewed their overall racing strategy for Buenos Aires with all of the race engineers and pilots. They had seen good luck with the precharged ELS batteries and capacitors so they would be doing that with all of their ships. The biggest risk with the strategy was overheating capacitors and batteries which might cause a premature discharge. Alexander felt it was an acceptable risk. Alexander also ordered electrolyte IV’s for all the pilots. The medical precaution had proven to be beneficial with Paul so now they would try it with all of the pilots. The engineers had spent the practice day dialing in ship adjustments for the heat and humidity. The ships were as prepared for the race as they could make them. Alexander warned the pilots to remember that while Mag Tracking allowed them to make some truly amazing moves and overtakes, it also ate up their power and speed. ELS Strategy and energy management was going to be a key factor for the team here at the Argentina GP. He reminded his pilots that smooth in and smooth out was fast. Stick to optimal racing lines when they could and ELS timing would be key to maintaining speed at the track. Alexander finished his briefing by wishing all the pilots luck.

---

Paul sat in the cockpit. He had just finished his prerace checklist and radio check. He massaged the hightech gloves on his hands to ensure maximum flexibility and dexterity. It was a habit he had that stuck with him. Paul did his best to relax and be in the moment.

Five
Four
Three
Two
One
Go

Paul had a poor start. He was struggling to focus on the race. He was just a fraction slow on the start but it was enough to put him in jeopardy. Bea and Ava instantly capitalized on it. Paul fought to maintain a good position around the first turn. Paul’s initial movements in the first turn were jerky and not the smooth polished lines he had been taking recently. It was clear that he was out of his comfort zone and that something was wrong. Paul watched as Ava passed Bea who then passed him followed by Bea. Carmella’s voice in his ear screaming at him to get his head in the race.

Alexander’s deep voice in Paul’s ear was unexpected but welcome as it had a relaxing effect on Paul. “That’s okay Paul, you have time to get it back. Focus on your corners and racing line. Pull it back together. You got this.”

Paul took a deep breath and adjusted his racing line slightly. Alexander’s voice pushed back his panic and allowed him to focus on what he needed to do to recover.

Paul followed in the two women’s wake. His focus returned as he then began to fight to regain the lost ground. Paul found himself behind Jen Lowry. He worked on getting closer to her so that he could attempt an overtake. Paul finally managed to get past Jen. Now his focus was on Bea in front of him. He began to stalk Bea in efforts to lock her up with ELS. Bea was defending but Paul didn’t let up on the pressure. Jen made Paul work to defend which was saving Bea some effort. Paul was caught between the two and Jen was forcing him to defend his position almost constantly.

Paul’s heart was in his throat as he barely managed not to plow his ship right into the center of the two Carrera ships colliding. Paul's cursing live on radio as he reacted. Trying hard not to incur a FIAR penalty for cussing live on the air.

Paul: "Fudgesticks!"

Paul’s adrenaline was in overdrive as his ship had already shot between the two ships as his automated systems shut his ship’s power down as the marshals worked first to recover the pilots and remove the disabled ships and clear the track.

Camella and Alexander were both screaming into the radio demanding if he was alright. It took Paul a moment to calm down enough to reply.

Paul: "My heart about jumped out of my chest back there. I think I am alright. The ship got splashed as I shot between them though."

Alexander: "Bring it in so we can inspect it while the race is stopped."

While emergency crews worked to clear the track, all the ships were ordered back to the starting line. Paul’s ship was pulled into the paddock and quickly examined for damage. His paint job had scrapes and paint transfer from Carrera's ships that had dinged the side of his ship as he passed between them. Paul had been lucky there had been no significant or operational damage to his ship. Paul was waiting on the starting line once more. His adrenaline crashed causing his hand to shake a little as he waited for the race to restart.

Paul had a better start this time but Jen was faster. She made it to the first turn in a better position than him and took the lead in the race. Paul fought to try and catch up with the Apex ship but Jen managed to stay just out of ELS range and ahead of him. Jen’s ship was faster and she didn’t allow Paul any of the advantages that he had been exploiting with other pilots. He never managed to overtake Jenn and finished in P2 which was still respectable. Paul was grateful for P2 after his poor start.

---

Cooldown Room- Argentina

---

He pulled into parc ferme and was helped out of the cockpit by his crew. They were all excited to have done so well here in Argentina. Paul accepted a Zap Sports Drink. He chugged it down on his way into the cooldown room as they waited on the official race results ruling from the marshals.

Paul smiled at the jubilant Jenny Lowry.

Jenny: "Nicely done Paul. Not today, but you duel well."

Paul congratulated Jenny on her win offering her a handshake. “Well I can’t win them all. I will keep trying to improve. I hope to catch you in the future Jenny. Congrats Jenny. Enjoy it.”

He then turned to Nora with a mischievous grin. “I keep telling them you are the rookie to beat. Congrats Nora.” He offered Nora a handshake as well with a big smile.

Paul was not quite as excited for P2 this time. He was grateful to do as well as he had but he was worried about the fans reaction to both Carrera ships being taken out of the race by a collision. There was no way he would ruin this moment for Jen though. She had more than earned her moment in the sun. He knew he could trust Alexander to handle the security issues.

---

Delta Hyper- Interviews

---

Paul was once more in the Delta Hyper booth. He was still in his race suit having been pulled immediately into the interview after the podium ceremony. Paul’s hair was still wet from the champagne that Jenny had joyfully sprayed all over him. He had simply laughed and sprayed her with the bottle that had been handed to him. The result was that his hair was sticking up at odd angles in sticky wet waves. The press junket had been almost hostile after the race and was brutal to all the pilots with their questions and avarice hunger for any kind of scandal to capitalize on.

Aurora: "Paul, what a thrilling race! What are your thoughts on the Carrera Condor incident? It looks like you just didn't have the spring back on Jenny after the restart, but it looks like you're continuing a rich vein in form, what in particular do you think has pushed you forwards?"

Paul laughed and shook his head. “I am not going to comment on the Carrera Condor collision.”

He knew that there was nothing he could say that wouldn’t upset the fans or cause further speculation and strife. It was better to take the high road in his opinion. He considered Bea a friend. He didn’t want to make her situation worse. He had no idea what was going on with her. He gave a bright smile as he answered the rest of the question.

Paul: “Jenny managed to keep out of ELS range and her ship is faster than mine. I couldn’t capitalize on the ELS to catch up to her. I had to defend aggressively to hold Nora at bay. She was quicker off the restart line and managed to capitalize on that. Honestly, I believe part of my success is some of the new training techniques that I have been working on for a while that Alexander Knight implemented when he first came to the team. I think some of them are finally showing results. I also want to point out that I keep saying that Nora Kelly is the rookie to beat. I am not surprised that she came in P3. She made me earn that P2.”

---

An Antithesis

The mood in the garage at the paddock was a celebratory one as the team worked on packing up. There was music playing and a champagne bottle had been passed around as the engineers and mechanics began working on packing up all their gear to be loaded on the company plane. Paul had slipped at the beginning of the race but managed to claw his way back to P2. The collision between the Carrera Condor ships certainly helped. Paul had no delusions about his performance at this race. He kept a smile on his face as he celebrated with his teammates. Dorian of course fussed that the champagne was not French. Paul had simply laughed and told him of course not they were in Argentina! Some of the engineers had hope in their eyes as they considered where the team had moved in the rankings. The team felt like a weight had lifted. All the negativity and pressure from last year’s season. All the attention from the scandal and drama of the court trial and investigations seemed to fade to insignificance under Paul’s consistently placing well and bringing in points for the team. Dorian had ended the race in P8 just behind Amy Stirling. That also seemed like something to celebrate. Everyone was talking about the preparations for next season that they might finish this season stronger than they had thought the team would. There was a palatable excitement in the Team Valkyrie paddock.

Alexander had been reluctant to inject any caution or negativity into the celebration. The crew had earned it. He was a little worried about security. He knew that Wulfric was following the events happening in Argentina and was liaising with the local law enforcement now that the race had ended. They couldn’t pull out till all the gear had been repacked into team trailers and hooked up to the heavy duty truck transports that pulled them.

Alexander’s comm unit beeped with an incoming call. He saw the name on the caller id and stepped into the quieter area of ready rooms attached to the team paddock. Johanna Lipusz was calling him despite the timezone difference. He accepted the call.

Alexander’s voice cautiously neutral as he greeted her. “Hello Johanna.”

Johanna: "Evening. Nice results. You breathing ok after what happened at Carrera?" Johanna chuckled, awaiting a response before replying.

Alexander raised an eyebrow she couldn’t see when he answered with humor in his voice. “I am breathing okay but I am worried about the tension here in Argentina with the public. I am happy my two pilots mostly get along.” He left that thought there as he waited for her to tell him why she had really called him.

Johanna: "It'll be hard from here, but your wonderkid, he is something. We think P3 in constructors based on that performance is still viable. Al-Saqr will not let up on points in the desert tracks. We can end on a high. Let's aim high."

Alexander rolled his eyes as if he wasn’t already doing everything he could to support both pilots to give a great showing at every race. He had enough ego to admit that Paul’s performance had improved and been more consistent lately. What he found most amusing was that Miss Lipusv felt the need to inform of this. Of course she was not informing him but demanding the results she wanted to see. It frustrated him as he knew that there was only so much he could control or influence to get the outcomes they wanted. Sometimes life turns on the roll of a dice and things simply happen beyond your control. Alexander knew better than to make promises he couldn’t guarantee. All he could promise was the team’s best efforts. Alexander just listened to Lipusv ramble. It was safer for him.

Johanna: "And Mulder's closing in on Makara. If this is what he can do with a ship that isn't made for him, imagine what he'll do with one that is. We need to hone in on this. Forget legacy, Alexander. We need to make sure next year, a European wins this title. The driver's championship would be a hell of a statement. Carrera are expecting to come out swinging but are under financial pressure. More pressure we put on them, more mistakes they'll make, like today. I don't share much optimism. But everything from here, you push. They took Felix from you. You decide how we take it back from them, starting today."

Alexander took the opportunity to remind Lipusv of some of the things he had last contacted her about.

Alexander: “We have been working to improve and chase the best results we can get at every race. Some of the longer term training is finally paying off. Shinichi Bionics augmentation systems have been a game changer for the pilots. We are going to take it back by doing our best, hiring the best we can, and supporting them as best we can. Cavan is actually a better engineering lead than Felix. Felix had more personal accomplishments but Cavan is better suited to letting our individual specialists shine and pulling their egos aside for collaboration. His overall vision is beginning to come together. I am currently looking for a neural interface systems specialist. I have not heard back from you about the backlog of proprietary parts for some of the antigravity components that our engineers are waiting on. The team continues to push forward. We have not been idle.”

---

Thu 01/10 23:10 - Paul Mulder - [Batt: 99%]

Max>
"Sick drive dude! Gonna be real. MMR is pretty bummed out at the moment. Just trying to work out- you got any recommendations on personal trainers in Germany? I could use a guy, mine doesn't want to move with me to Europe next year."

Paul>
“Thanks Max. I managed to recover. I had a shit start though. Oh Max, you didn’t pay much attention to your contract did you? The team has a whole department devoted to pilot training. You will be in the tender hands of our team’s physical therapist Sasha Volkova who will work with the medical team to design a new fitness regimen for you. Then you will be introduced into the hands of the lovely Agnes Poulsen who is the team’s physical trainer. If Agnes feels you need a personal trainer, you will get one that will work under her to implement the plan they develop for you. Don’t worry the team will have you sorted out and will provide whatever you need. Trust me when I tell you that you will be very surprised at the lengths the team will go through to develop and improve their pilots.”

---

Alexander’s concern grew as FIAR rushed the podium ceremony. There was a restless almost animalistic energy among the crowd at the circuit. The crowd was not quick to disperse and was lingering. Circuit security and staff were working to guide fans to leave the stadium which unfortunately was fueling tensions. Formula AG Teams were urged to withdraw to their paddocks and begin packing up their equipment. The media junket after the podium was held in a secure area of the circuit but was almost brutally aggressive to all the teams. The journalists were like a pack of hounds that had scented blood in the air. The scandal and shock factor of the local team’s pilots colliding after taking P1 and P2 positions in the race were polarizing to the tensions in a region known for violence and political unrest. The local fans were angry to have what they felt was a guaranteed podium win taken from them at the home track. The fans were angry and they wanted someone to blame and take that frustration out on. The other teams were targets in their crosshairs. The fans left the stadium and entered the streets surrounding the circuit. Local authorities were doing their best to calm tensions and move the crowd along.

Alexander had been keeping tabs on the growing situation with the team’s security on the ground. He was confident that they could at least get their personnel out but he couldn’t pull everyone out until all the gear was packed. Alexander allowed the team to work at their pace. Then he received a phone call from the local authorities that he had been expecting. The fans had flooded the streets and had become a mob. They had been joined by fans who hadn’t been at the track and were protesting in the streets. Rioting had broken out and local authorities were responding but were hard pressed to contain the angry crowds. All their resources were currently focused on keeping the crowds from tearing the city apart. The stadium where the team was had been secured and was safe for the moment, but the streets on the way to the airport were not. The authorities didn’t have the manpower to help them evacuate. Alexander told the man who had contacted him that he understood. He got his contact details in case he needed to contact them.

Alexander had no sooner hung up with the man than he was receiving a live conference call from Peter Thatcher, Owen Keating, and Jinwoo. They had been informed of the rioting happening in the city. Curious Alexander answered the call.

Alexander: “Hello. I assume you just got the same message I did.”

Peter: “Yes, I am concerned about waiting for them to contain this. I don’t think they can.”

Owen: “I don’t trust them to contain this. They can’t protect us now. This is just getting started. This is only going to get worse before it gets better.”

Jinwoo: “I agree. I don’t like having all of our equipment at risk.”

Alexander waited for each man to state their thoughts.

Alexander: “I am assuming you are contacting me for a reason?”

Peter: “Yes. I want to pool our resources and work together to secure our teams’ personnel and equipment. I know you have military experience Alexander. I have security but they have told me they don’t have enough manpower to do it alone. We want to propose pooling resources to make sure our teams come out of this alright.”

Alexander paused and looked thoughtful. He pulled Wulfric into the conversation who had come to Buenos Aires with the additional security personnel after the issue in the Valkyrie fan zone.

Alexander: “I want to introduce you to my chief of security Wulfric Gunderson.”

Wulfric gave a respectful nod to the other gentlemen on the video call. “Gentlemen.”

Alexander continued in a serious tone. “I agree with Owen. These riots are going to get a lot worse. I don’t trust the locals to protect our people or equipment. They point blank told me to sit tight; they don’t have the resources to help us right now. If they can’t contain this, we will be the first targets. We need to move now before more people join the mobs already in the streets. Wulfric can we get out safely?”

Wulfric gave Alexander a hard look. “By ourselves no. We planned on an orderly evacuation from a set area secured by FIAR’s team. Not a full blown city riot without additional support.” Wulfric’s eyes went over the other team leads. “We might be able to do it together but our window of opportunity is going to shut fast. We also cannot rely on the local authorities for help.”

Alexander nodded understanding Wulfric’s shorthand. Alexander met each of the team’s principals with solid eye contact. “Team Valkyrie will be evacuating all non essential personnel using our antigravity shuttle from the circuit to the airport. Then if you gentlemen would like to pool security and resources, we can make a break for the airport in a joint convoy. Our security teams can coordinate to get our equipment to the airport. The airport is still secure at this point. If rioting reaches the airport it will be shut down. Speed is going to be a factor. How fast can your teams be ready to move out?”

Peter Thatcher looked relieved like he was hearing exactly what he hoped to hear. “Apex will be ready to move in 30 minutes. Who will lead the security teams?”

Alexander nodded to the other team principals. He didn’t think any of them would try to take advantage of this situation. They all had the same thing to lose if they failed. He felt comfortable working with the other team leaders on this. Alexander looked at the other team leads. “I would like to suggest Wulfric Gunderson coordinate it. He has a military background and has been handling security for Team Valkyrie since I started. I trust him to handle this and he is here with us. Anyone else?”

Peter Thatcher looked like he had swallowed a bug. “I have security on site but my head of security is not with the team here. I would have to concede that Wulfric is a better choice than my team lead here.”

Planning an operation to get a special equipment convoy to the airport during a riot is not typical crowd control security operations. Jinwoo and Owen both accepted Wulfric as the person to lead the operation.

Wulfric stepped in and took over the conversation at that point. He arranged for the Team Valkyrie shuttle to make multiple runs to the airport to evacuate the other teams’ non essential personnel. There was no need to put innocent people in danger. The plan was that all four teams would join up in a one long convoy that would leave in 30 minutes. Only the security teams and equipment drivers would be making the harrowing drive through the city to the airport.

Alexander had already developed an evacuation plan after the violence had erupted in the fanzone. He had his security prepare an evacuation plan for the pilots. Alexander didn’t wait to put it into action. Alexander called all the staff together and explained what was happening. He explained what he needed everyone to do. Everyone jumped into action to pack up all the gear and equipment as fast as possible. With everyone helping out, the containers were packed and ready to move in 30 minutes. Then Alexander had all nonessential personnel evacuated using the team’s antigravity shuttle that the extra security had come in on. The shuttle landed in the parking lot of the stadium and had just enough room to evacuate the pilots, the medical team, the engineers, and the mechanics. The only people left were the drivers for the trucks that hauled their equipment trailers and the security personnel.

Alexander stewed in frustration as he sat on the crowded shuttle that was making its way to the airport. The crew would be transferring to the team’s plane. Alexander would have preferred to stay and help the security members get through the crowd in the streets. He hated to trust other people to keep his people safe. Alexander knew that he might be a target and attract more attention to them so it was not safe for him to join them. Even if he was halfway decent in a fight. All Alexander could do was trust in his people and give them as much support as he could by clearing any red tape and bureaucracy for them.

Alexander and Peter had contacted the local authorities and explained what they were planning. They worked with local authorities to choose a route that would take them around the worst of the fighting in the streets. The local authorities had already set up road blocks to try and keep civilians out of the areas already erupting into violence. The local authorities would at least let their convoy through uncontested. Wulfric had planned ahead and all the security staff were armed with non lethal crowd control methods, sleep gas canisters, tasers, and high powered water hoses. Wulfric had shared what he had with the other security teams.

Security personnel were riding shotgun in every tractor trailer. Some of them were strapped to the roofs and tops of trailers with safety lines. The equipment they were using was strapped to the top and rear of the trailers. The convoy rolled out a moving heavy cargo train of heavy metal and steel bristling with security personnel with their head on the swivel looking to engage angry fans. It was not a matter of if they would run into rioters but when and if they would be able to break free without getting bogged down and trapped. Speed and decisiveness would be a key factor. Wulfric had given the orders not to stop and keep moving. They would do their best not to kill anyone but they needed to get out of this city before it completely self-destructed and they were trapped.

---

---

---

"Kais, welcome back on Delta Hyper! How have you found the change so far this season, with a visit to Hawaii instead of Rwanda, as planned in the season?"

"Hello Aurora. It's probably my most favorite location so far. Weather's good. Nature's nice here. Didn't come across a bullshark yet." Kais shrugged, then seemed to hesitate on that last statement as he looked back to Bea...

"Don't worry about me. This takes me back. It's soothing." Kais had said as the affectionately-called 'shitbox van' jumbled the crew against each other at the hands of hers truly. A back and forth went on between the occupants, but Kais' eyes was drawn back to the horizon as he always used to do. This time, however, he did not look out for anything nasty, but, as it turned out, a beach episode. Patting Harrison's shoulder, still looking a bit queasy from the ride over, they emerged in wetsuits with carbon-fibre boards slung under their arms, and were shown the ropes. After a while Kais dripped wet out of the sea, and decided he didn't understand the appeal of surfing, though a subsection of social media posts vehemently disagreed.

Better still had been his off-time, when he had visited the rainforest here.



The rainforest whirred around them with sounds Kais didn't even knew existed. Native birds had decreased since the climate changed, but their songs had made way for the creaking of frogs and the buzzing of insects.

Kais was not exactly familiar in this environment, but luckily the basics of survival were universal: shelter, water, temperature regulation, and some delicious Nomad Nutrition® Mango & Passionfruit Nutri-paste. The crew were supposed to make a mini-documentary about the native wildlife here for a local charity, but when the holography-drone had gone haywire Kais had taken on the mission to retrieve it. Something which some of the crew were very keen on, and others... not-so much.

"Heard they have bullsharks here in Hawaii. Man'o'war jellyfish." Hamid told to the camera of his PDA, sweat pearling on his forehead. The recording may not have been full-holo, but at least it was something they could put up on their socials. "Be very scared, Hamid. They've got cats here too." Kais could be heard saying in the background. For all his overconfident cool factor, being born and bred into money, Hamid had a soft heart, and even softer hands. But he was right. Since the changes in the climate, the ecosystem had indeed changed. Lots of new invasive species. Several experimental species. And, as it turned out, cats... "...fled up the island with the rising tides. The Eco-cons have kept them there... They keep the rat population in control." Kais had read a lot about it, and it may or may not have been the reason he decided to come here.

Hamid slapped at something on his arm and flattened some brightly-colored insect. "Ugh...Mosquitoes..." This time Kais shuddered. "Hey," Hamid continued, "weren't they experimenting with uplifting some monkeys that one time? See if they could make them more climate resistant? Didn't some get out? Heard they were dangerous. Almost human-like even..." Hamid continued.

"Used to be the excuse for many things." Kais mumbled under his breath, thinking back to what Cassie had told him. He shook it off. "They're just trying to survive, Hamid, same as everyone..." He pointed. "That way..." he said, after checking the map and double-checking on his orienteering in the landmarks again. Then, he set off at a very brisk pace, one the crew had to work to keep up.

"You really take that bigfoot story seriously, Hamid?" Another crewmember asked. Hamid shrugged his shoulders, but his face betrayed his true answer. Under his breath he said "Lucky we have our own."

At that very moment Kais held out his hand and stayed very still. Hamid froze as he bumped up against him and was held back, eyes wide. "What?" Kais put a finger to his lips, his eyes focused intently on several meters ahead of them. Then, with a slow, most careful finger, he pointed.

"Look. Kamehameha butterfly. Very rare here after temperatures shifted."
Hamid let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank g... I thought I was done for. But how do you even know thi...?"
"Hamid, if you don't shut your mouth I swear I'll take my first aid kit and sew i..."
The butterfly flew off. Kais looked at Hamid.
"Hey, that was your fault."

The crew marched on. Eventually they found the drone, downed, and picked clean. But no monkeys.
"Hmm... IR Camera's missing."
"That's not good..." He looked at Kais. "Right?"

Somewhere else in the forest, the crew were being watched. An infrared camera spied them, flicking from one person of the crew to another. It eventually settled on Kais. There it stayed, and it watched him looking around, scanning, alert. The bar code on the back of his neck peeked from his jacket. Then he looked straight towards the camera, where he squinted his eyes -(gestured): reflection on the lens, quick, duck..!- but then the man seemed to nod imperceptibly, and moved on. And in the end, the troop decided not to pursue them any further.

The way back was uneventful.

"So when are we drinking our own pee again?"

"Sooner than you ending up in the Top-10..."

---

The Moa Tempesta high-tech geothermal plant had whirred to life theatrically for the opening shot, and it was an almost alien place, more fit in a sci fi game set on the moons of Io than close to the idyllic cityscape of New Hilo where Aurora had held her interviews earlier. And racing it was every bit as different. Luckily, Kais thrived in the different and the dangerous.

"Kais, wow, what a lap from you! It looked like you gave it everything, so loose, so absolutely ragged out of every corner! We heard that you have a new speed upgrade and it shows in the splits with your ship looking like it will set speedtrap records here in Hawaii?"

"Thanks Aurora. With Layla's break the team's priorities have shifted away from work on the neural link and computer systems. We've gathered a lot of data last race, and Hamid has worked hard on tuning the drive-grid with the energy systems for more..." He glanced behind, to the ominous red glow of the volcano. "Dangerous scenario's." Under his breath, he muttered "Comfort is over-rated. I'm going to push things for all it's worth." Then he made way for the next interviewee.

He had been talking with Hamid after the tests. They had been pushing the speed to such levels he felt it was becoming actively dangerous for him. In fact, he figured that was Omar's play to begin with: with Kais now in a more lead position, no matter how little, they could get away with pushing the limits even further, at least for now. Hamid was still in the figuring-things-out phase, taking things carefully, no matter how much of a Union Fanboy Speed Junkie he may have been, so it was Kais that was in the firing line now. And Kais wasn't sure it fit Hamid, and Kais had been cold to him for this reason. Better to stay unattached. Who knew if... He pushed it out of his mind.

And in the race, Kais held his P5. His battle with Amy was fierce, but eventually she gained on him.

"Kais, a positive result for the team on a circuit that you surprised everyone on as you hunted down Harrison, but in the last laps, lost out to Amy Stirling. How does it feel duelling with her, given your previous experiences at Silverstone, do you think you have an understanding?"

"Dueling her is like getting stabbed in the back." Kais responded. "There's no back and forth with her. No feeling out each other. She just appears, and then coasts by on her team's high tech, more than people dare to admit or draw attention to... Is what I think. I think we have an understanding."

Kais left it at that. As for Amy's message, that was left unanswered.

---

You'd almost think it was an ad for a futuristic resort. A crescent-shaped artificial island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Mangrove trees swaying in the wind, the sun high up in the sky. And then... At many hundreds of kph, Hamid came blasting by theatrically across a VR-drone-marked testing strip in the water. They usually tested out in a desert strip, but they could use some nice-looking publicity - and if that meant enduring the grumbles of mechanics now having to deal with some sea water in the ship's systems, that was an okay sacrifice. In the garage, a Lunaspace macro-fab' 3D printed replacement parts that an extremely nervous Juan rambled on about like a mad genius, to some amusement by the crew around him. A safety-goggled -and somewhat flustered-looking- Nadia was seen holding up an intricate piece as the camera-drone swung around, as if inspecting these things was a manual job and hadn't already been done by the scanners inside the fabricator. In the end, Kais had even challenged Aurora for a little race in the team museum's retro-simulator, the one with actual screens and actuators (which, upon a theatrical wink from Kais, the team had adjusted to maximum settings for maximum viewing pleasure. Finally, the Delta Hyper filming crew was slowly but very surely ushered outside again, past a certain extreme-high-security area.

"As I think you can see, our facilities are intricate," Omar spoke with his usual calm. "and very specialized to our style of racing. We have a lot to thank to our partners on that. Indeed, I think the keenest eyes among our viewers might have seen some Durrat yacht-tech at the garage today. We're very proud of where we came from." Hamid nodded. Kais kept his face still. "And I'm very happy that our viewers got an impression of that. I hope you've enjoyed our tour, Aurora."

"Omar, Kais, thank you for hosting me on the island, quite the scene outside! With performance behind you hotting up, are you hoping for a late season lunge into more points, trying to outpace your rivals at all costs? Is it sustainable, or do you think you've found a happy medium?"

"Our developments are made up of quick testing cycles, as you've heard from Juan." Kais responded, instinctively moving himself protectively between the film crew and the opaque window door that held their most secretive development. "Our racing is about playing the long game. We're very eager to show you."

And after the shoot, after the DH crew were shown off, and Kais wandered back to his next appointment, he briefly saw Nadia in the corner of the garage, shivering in Farouk's arms. 'I thought they were going to find out.'

---

In said secretive room, on another day, Mohammad and Amina Al-Nadir shouted like they hadn't done in years.

"Did you get into her head to doctor her last Will also? Why were your names in there to be her guardians but not us?"

Kais put out his hand and looked him in the eyes. The man looked up at him, then to Omar, his thoughts clear on his face: so you've brought your little enforcer too? But it was enough. Everyone would keep things safe here.

Omar responded. "Because Layla had reason to believe if there were... complications, there would still be things we could do beyond burying her."

"Things you could do, ya Allah, forgive them." Amina slumped.

"And what would we even bury, huh?" Mohammad took over, speaking with such anger he almost spit it in Omar's face. "Poor girl's made of damn plastic at this point. I can't believe she let herself be pushed into going this far by you all, I just..." He paced around the room, hands in his hair.

Omar kept his voice as eerily calm as he always did. "As per her wishes, she has been brought to a location where she is monitored and kept in a stasis chamber. All state of the art, of course. Our Dr. Pahari and the team are working very diligently on her... condition." He didn't dare call it brain-death. "We can offer you help and compensation if you need it. Dr. Nasri is one of the best therapists we know. But I must press you that this is a secret operation. I'm talking military-grade top secrecy. It's why the media knows few details -retired due to health issues-, even our own team knows the bare minimum, on orders of the Emir."

"Trying to grift the Emir for as much money as you can, are you? You're exploiters. Dirty, dirty exploiters, and I want nothing to do with it. I want her back. Whatever's left of her. And if I have to blow the lid on..."

"Sir." Kais interceded. "It's what Layla wanted. And she wouldn't have said it if she wasn't 110% sure about it..." He paused. "She was one of the toughest and bravest people I've ever known."

Mohammad took one look at him, knowing who, what he was dealing with, and decided on a more passive aggressive "If only you know the things she said about you..." He paused, as if to let it sink in. "Well, sorry for your loss too, then." He snorted with disdain.

But Kais responded. "I don't think you understand, sir. It's..." 'The way number 17 flies' was what he wanted to say, but he left it, lost in thought. "I can't explain it. But I'm not giving up on her..."

The sentiment and tact took them back more than anything, and eventually they were led to Omar's office where they went over details with the doctors and a strict non-disclosure agreement. In the end, they were led out without much trouble, but still very much with a heavy heart.

"Thanks for diffusing the situation there, Zenix. I'm not sure if I could have managed it on my own if things were to have..." Gone bad, Omar left in the air.

"I'm not doing this for you. Or the company. Or the Emir," Kais retorted. "I made a promise, to her... That I wouldn't let another team member fall. And I'm not going to go back on that promise. Not again." Omar felt it prudent to answer with a solemn silence. Kais nodded. "That is all."

And in the secret room's server, more data points bleeped up on the screen. The search for Layla continued...

---

Singapore was a whiplash compared with Hawaii. No more tropical idyll, this was more akin to a greenhouse. Even racing in the VR-space ZONE here was only a short reprieve from getting drenched, and not even so much from sportive perspiration, oh no, the climate here did that all of its own.

At Annapurna Restaurant, another reprieve. But then the stress perspiration started.

"Anyway. Question to you all. Everyone's neural link playing up, or you all fine? I had some issues back in the last couple races. Worrying, to be honest. They think they got a fix. But I thought you know, nothing of it first either, so maybe, it was something you lot had too. Maybe the ELS or something else just tripped it on something? Anyone?"

Kais heard the comment, as off-handed as ever with her. But he did not answer, and spent most of the rest of the evening pretending everything was alright. But every now and again, his eyes would stare into empty space for seconds too long, something a certain other ex-military would likely have spotted. When the evening ended, he retreated to his quarters as quickly as he could. He opened up his PDA, and wrote a message.

Kais: How is progress?
JP: Steady. Can't rush these things.
Kais: If there's anything, keep me updated.
Kais: And have Remi add some monitoring functions for potential malicious fragments. I've been hearing strange things.

---

Before Qualification.

"With the humidity, how are you feeling?"

"Humid." Kais shrugged, absent-minded. "It's fine."

And 'fine' it went. Middling, but Singapore never was a track meant for them. Qualified at 12, then he gained one to finish in 11. A gain on Han, too. And that was a win enough for him.

"Kais, not an ideal weekend, but do you have hope that at the other circuits you'll be able to show off what your speed-focused craft can do?"

"Yes. We have a lot of difficult developments going on. Our eyes are set at the races on our home-turf."

---

Kais walked with magnetic boots on the upside down track towards the yellow sofa that seemed to almost taunt him. He... Sat down? Sat up? And strapped himself with the seatbelts the team had helpfully provided them. The blood rushed into his head... As if the interview wasn't a headache enough...

"Kais, welcome to the upside down sofa! We're back in the southern hemisphere, how would you say you're helping Hamid get used to the pressures of the seat?"

"Hmm... Simple. I don't treat him as a rookie. He joined Formula: AG, at Al Saqr no less. If the pressure... goes to his head? That's on him."

And it was true. Kais up to now had only ever pushed Hamid away. But something about him wondered: did he do it because he disliked him? Because he was a Unionite fanboy? Or was it because something inside him wanted to keep him away from the Al Saqr experimental pipeline? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, and instead raced as best as he could.

In Qualy, Kais got P12, but during the race seemed to be so in sync with ship number 17 that it seemed to almost nudge him. He felt the lines, heard the opportunities calling out to him, and in an almost improbable push, still managed to scrape by another 4 positions to finish in P8.

"Kais, not the best performance from you, but it looks like your ship seems to still be breaking all the records at the speedtraps. Tell us more about Al-Saqr's speed focused strategy, and how you're getting on with taming it?"

"Speed doesn't have to be tamed. Every jump forward is difficult at the beginning. But we'll make a comeback. You'll see."

---

Ava’s start took Bea by surprise, the Briton privately wondering if the Chilean was powered by spite and got second wind a few weeks ago.
”Mulder now .034 behind.”
”Spa 2.0, here we go!” She called out, actually grinning through the corner, switching her ELS to leech off of Ava to build up a reserve.
”Gaps and deltas?”
”Gap ahead .03, losing in turns 1 and 2. Gap behind .04 and losing to both on the straights”
This went on for a few laps, neither gaining nor losing, Bea’s battery slightly positive.

”Beatrix, we need you to hold off ELS leech from Ava and go into neural, build up charge, let's build a full battery before we do anything. We can talk about overtakes, but you need to be patient and we need to time this, priority is holding back Mulder. Let's play fair, we'll make a switch when needed. We need to protect this advantage, confirm?”

”I am trying to build up charge, but copy?”

Bea did as ordered despite thinking unpublishable thoughts. Not even a lap later:
”Bea, we’ll switch in two laps if you can keep up.”
”Why did you order me not to attack and then tell her to improve the gap?” A sharp edge started appearing in Bea’s voice, ”That’s bullshite, Al. I thought we left that at the ranch.”
”I’ll get back to you on that, for now keep Mulder behind. Gap .019-”
”If you need ELS defense, swap us and use her. Why is this even a discussion?” Bea stepped on him to protest, hiding a ‘get her out of my way’ behind a ‘use our strong points better.’

”Reminder: You’ll need to close up to get the swap.”
”I can’t close up now, I’ve got a bloody Belgian Malinois nipping at my heels because Ava’s out for herself and you can’t keep a hold of her fucking leash!“ Bea snapped angrily, ”Both ships together and instead she leaves my arse hanging in the wind for the blokes behind me again like back at Auckland. Way to ‘protect the advantage’ team, great job, why did you think I was leeching in the first place?” She was absolutely calling out the team orders and disorganized chaos - politely keeping quiet about the fact that the energy buildup would have also been really useful in getting past Ava - over the radio to wash her hands of this mess and as her own version of rebellion. If this was going to be a shitshow, the audience would know in real time.
”Beatrix, there’s still a lot of time to-”
”No one but Al on the radio for the rest of the race.” Bea clapped back in a tone one should not be using with their boss, ”And you answer questions and provide data when requested, nothing else, confirm?”
”Bea, you both need to wor-”
”Not what I asked. Confirm.”

It was at that point two things happened.
The first thing was Bea going rogue, setting ELS to boost and trying to slip away from Paul through the first few corners.
The second thing was Ava making a mistake in turn 6.

Suddenly, Bea was right on the back of her teammate. Close enough to use her teammate as a barricade to block Paul completely from passing, though unable to pass herself due to her battery running low. She’d have to make it stick soon, or she’d be in the weeds again, and this time of her own making.

She was about to ask Alistair where Ava was losing the most when she saw it. The opportunity.

Neuron activation. The monkey brain took over.

Bea sent it down the inside. A move that characterized her racing style.

Ava twitched back to the racing line, trying to recover from her error and minimize time loss.

León was just chuckling at Bea’s radio message, echoing his grandfather’s own ‘No more radio for the rest of the race.’ when the chuckle died in his throat.

The ships pushed off of one another. Bea’s neural link disconnected. Her ship slammed into a barrier, overheat warnings immediately flaring up in the cockpit as the wax tank broke off before being drowned out by the grinding sound of the ship skidding to a stop along the track.

”Bea, you alright?”
”She ran out of talent again, un-fucking-believable!” Bea thundered as she jettisoned the canopy, clearly physically well enough to boil over. ”Ship’s fucked, I’m out. Why am I wasting my bloody time in a series where people can’t be arsed to pay attention?!” She pulled the radio connection before anyone else could say anything.

After the other ships went past, she undid her safety harness and carefully let herself down from the angled ship magnetically stuck to the bottom part of the banking. Seeing Ava already out, Bea shrugged widely with her arms in her direction - a nonverbal ‘What the fuck?’ before turning to the medic who jogged up, waving him off with a thumbs up. She absolutely would have thrown a helmet if she could take it off at that moment, instead having to resort to punting a stray piece of Ava’s ship with her heel like a football.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode 14: The Tango Swing

---

”Bea, an awful result for you and the team, possibly your worst nightmare. We'll keep it brief- any words for the crowd?”

Bea almost, almost said something about it not being the worst nightmare because Ava didn’t cost anyone an arm and a leg this time around. ”Nice weather today. Don’t set anything on fire.” She simply said before walking away unprompted.

---

A visibly tense Ava Villarosa addressed the media following her collision with teammate Beatrix Ward, emphasizing that she had been “following the instructions given at the time.” Villarosa, typically measured and analytical in press settings, appeared guarded as she reiterated that her pace and energy deployment were dictated by real-time calls from her engineer. She stopped short of assigning blame but made it clear she felt her actions had been justified and consistent with the guidance she received.
Beatrix Ward did not mince words after exiting her wrecked ship in Buenos Aires, venting palpable fury. Her radio outburst “Why am I wasting my bloody time in a series where people can’t be arsed to pay attention?” Was followed by her ripping out her comms connection and dismissing medical staff as she stormed away from the crash site. Ward’s frustration appeared to stem from being caught between obeying a set of shifting team orders that ultimately left her exposed and perceived lack of awareness on her teammate’s part.

That was not the only spicy message between Beatrix and her team. While it’s not uncommon for drivers to express frustration mid-race, Ward’s instruction effectively shut down communication from senior team personnel during a critical phase of the race strategy. Analysts are questioning whether this was an impulsive flare-up from the fiery rookie or a symptom of deeper communication breakdown within the team.
The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police confirmed late Sunday evening that officers were deployed to the Antigravity Circuit at the request of the Carrera Condor team following escalating tensions between fans and team personnel. While no arrests were made and there were no reported injuries, police used tear gas to disperse a crowd gathered at the main paddock gate after Condor began their post-race pack-down. Witnesses say approximately 200 fans were chanting for an explanation of the intra-team crash that robbed hometown favorite Ava Villarosa of a potential podium.

Police sources indicated that the crowd became agitated when security attempted to move Condor’s transport vehicles through the gate, though videos taken by the protestors seem to indicate the officers acted first. Although the situation was brought under control within minutes, the incident marks one of the most dramatic public reactions to a motorsport team’s performance in recent memory. Local organizers have stated they will review security protocols ahead of next year’s event, while neither Condor nor the AG series have issued formal statements as of press time.

CarreraCarmen: A possible 1-2 at the home race and THIS IS WHAT WE GET??
Sol_de_Mayo: Everybody sucked today.
Mate0: Can’t be friends at the top. Childish to think you can.
UrbanMaverick: Can’t have nice things in fucking Argentina.
TruckerTim: That’s because Argies have the hardware of Italians with the software of Spaniards, the psychopathy of Serbs and the straight up malaka anger of Greeks.
Laugh_Ness: Bloody partsbin humans lmao.
DohnJoe: if I see any of y'all Villainrosa fans out in the wild imma make what Paul's folk did in Congo look like a fuckin' picnic
HotStuff: Chile managed to make a right-wing dictatorship likable and yet can't produce a supposed test pilot who knows what's going around her craft.
TheDawg417: [Picture of Bea getting out of her wrecked ship] Can’t park there, mate!
MissedApex: Bea fucking hanging up on her team, what a queen! 😂
NorthWest: Put in a position of fame and stress at too young an age to be mature enough to do it and causing problems when she buckles? Yep, historical monarch behavior.
User420: Argies with Bea Derangement Syndrome bout to be wild
TruckerTim: Bea Derangement SyndroMe, because these nutters need to be tied up for public safety and then have some sense slapped into them.
Paulmulder4eva: Paul watching both Condors bin it in front of him like: [link]
Briat77: Lmao, Ward having a meltdown like a child.
Zero: [Link to video of Ava smashing a monitor with her helmet in the garage]
Javi: thing goes not smooth -> ward loses her shit -> meltdown. tale as old as time
Cylonking183: Success’s gone into her head.
SmolNjol: Lmao, Alonso basically ordering the fans to get gassed but can’t wrangle his own employees. Sad.
Xinny: You know it’s bad when Bea - who stood up for Ava several times during the year when she was being shit - doesn’t even look at her once during the press conference.
GalwayGirl: I think that’s the first time I’ve seen her walk out of an interview.
TruckerTrim: Valkyrie and Fitzroy about to have competition in the Disaster Team Championship.

---

Sun 03/10 20:32 JEN [Batt: 74%]

> Sending you lots of love. I can't imagine how you feel right now. Recommend you don't look at any media or news for a while. Press is going mental. Call me if you can.
> They’re always mental, but it’s fun to laugh at the delusions. I don’t seriously concern myself with what gossip rag writers think, most of them don’t do it very often anyway.
> P1 is incredible though. I get why you went crazy. Tell you what. Want to grab Rodízio in Rio before the race in Brazil? Give you something else to focus on.
[You reacted with 👍]

---

The debriefing hadn’t even started when Pablo made his entrance. If Ava thought the Chilean fires years ago were bad before, he was about to go scorched earth.

Bea simply sat there, hands clasped together on the table, letting Pablo vent. Nothing she could say could make anything any better, but she could make things a lot worse. So she sat there and took it on the chin, thinking about blueberry pies and nodding once when he demanded an answer.
She only spoke up a few seconds after Hurricane Pablo had left the room, muttering under her breath. ”Show up, yell at everything, fix nothing, leave. Average CEO behavior.”

It was, indeed, not a great time for Cassie to call, Bea’s phone on silent mode nevertheless vibrating loudly against the metal of her leg in her pocket before she declined the call without even pulling the phone out of the pocket.

”Alright.” León steepled his fingers, visibly trying not to throw something. ”I’ll deal with him later. Now we focus on taking whatever this was and doing the exact fucking opposite next week.”
”Maybe we can start by you not talking on the radio and letting the race engineers do their job.”
”Especially through corners with two peer ships right behind. You used to race, you should know that.”
”You trying to shut us down is extreme in the other direction.”
”What was there to talk about even? I swear the entire strategy got thrown out the window by lap two.” Rey summarized, unfortunately, very accurately.
”Oh, there was a strategy?” Bea mocked unhelpfully, ”Would have been nice to tell me. All I got was ‘Go neutral, build charge and we’ll swap if we need to.’ and then you running off on your own, dumping power like you’re shorting Fitzroy stocks for five laps.” She pointed at Ava.
”I was told to stay in attack and build a gap.” Ava defended herself.
”That is the instruction I was told to pass, and then the swap order didn’t come.”
”But we weren’t told not to swap either. Just left in an info void.”
Bea turned to Alonso. ”So what was the plan? Because from where I was sitting, that doesn’t read ‘We said we’d swap if we need to and we didn’t need to,’ that’s a ‘We like this running order but don’t want to order you to hold over broadcasted comms.’ If you wanted Ava to win at home, sure, I can live with being a pawn once in a while if I know what the game is. It’s still bullshite, but at least tell me ‘Fuck your pace, we want the optics.” before the race, that’s what the pre-race briefings are for.

The meeting went on. Not particularly productive, but no one died which at this point was a victory.

No one was aware of a nearby janitor recording all of that through the wall on his phone until it got leaked a few days ago.

As Bea left the meeting, she pulled up her phone again and dialed the last incoming number. ”Sorry, was in a meeting.” She said in a tone like she expected that to be a bulletproof explanation on the back of what happened on track, ”What’s up, Cass?”

---

@Starlance



”Sorry, was in a meeting.” Bea said in a tone like she expected that to be a bulletproof explanation for the declined call on the back of what happened on track, ”What’s up, Cass?”

The phone dialled back on through, as Cassie sat up, leaning her head against the padded cushion of the AV’s headrest come wall, looking out on the ensuing chaos that was erupting across the Argentine capital. Fuck me. They loved Carrera here. Bad time for a call, but then again, life had a funny way of putting things together, even at this time in the morning. The security team recommended sitting tight in the hotel, and leaving in the morning, when the fans dispersed. They were still going. Even in the morning hours. This was insane.

Cassie realised the gap was growing in what she should have said, taking her eyes off the outside and back into the interior so she could at least focus on the matter at hand, bottle of water in hand.
“Hey, just a quick one really. More speculation, but, I wanted to touch base with you about….well, rumours. Rumours that people were linking me to Carrera Condor, and uhhh….well, you know. And, given current circumstances, I just wanted to check in with you first. I was thinking of ringing Ava after the hit too, but I thought not to stir the pot. Heard things were a bit tense between you two. Shit, sorry, I shouldn’t have…..yeah, sorry. Let me go again.” Cassie didn’t get any of her words out right, as she sighed, sipping water down, alarmingly, not the same person Bea had seen earlier in the season at the Zygon fan zone, or perhaps generally on the grid.

”Take a breath.” Bea chuckled, honestly glad for something to laugh about. ”Or stammer it out into a bucket and I’ll sort it out later.”

“I wanted to see what you thought about those rumours. And what the team’s like, you know. From someone I trust.” Cassie cut it there. Best not to overdo this.

There was absolutely zero chance Cassie was going to believe her if she told her the team’s on an upward trajectory. Less than zero. Absolutely none. ”Why are you asking me about rumors about you, shouldn’t you know if you’re tired of Zygon?” Bea asked, voice a mix of amused and confused.
”As for what the team’s like…” Be almighty not have been smart, but she wasn’t an idiot. ”To me, it’s a team. What’s it like at Zygon so I have a point of reference?”

“Corporate. You seen the ads they ran with my face recently? Or the fact that while we had the best ship for a little while….I still seem to be a foreigner in a team that wants its own to succeed? That paint a picture?” Cassie replied, looking up at the jammer, sat neatly on the wall, a device she’d started asking her agent to start checking with the best cybersecurity specialist she could know. Keep the quantum encryption locked tighter than a duck’s coat in water. She sighed, Bea keeping tight lipped.

“I’m trying to say the rumours might have meat to them. Now, I know that you’re doing some serious stuff at Carrera. You don’t sign Felix Burkhart without wanting to make a challenge to the top three. And as good as Ava is, I know why my agent keeps telling me to consider choices. So yeah. Consider this me telling you openly that we might be team-mates next year, but I need to know, if you’re first, keen, and second, what I’m going into. I’m not asking anyone else, I don’t want to go on a factory tour. I want to ask you first. Unless I’m taking your seat, Bea. I wouldn’t trade mine for yours, if I were you.” Cassie added, beginning to find her confidence getting there to a point.

”I have not seen them, actually. Just thinking about Zygon has been driving me up a bloody wall since Canada.” Bea shared truthfully. It wasn’t a sin that they got caught cheating, it was a sin that they tried. ”If I’m keen? Yeah, absolutely. Have you spoken to Elise?” Once again asking like that was an explanation.

An amused snort carried through the phone when Cassie cautioned against trading seats with her. ”Yea, no, Zygon sounds exactly like the Hellscape I envisioned it to be, pass.”

”Carrera’s not corporate-feeling. Not yet, I fear. CEO just yelled at everyone in the room like León was five, not fifty. I didn’t even know his face before Spa. But the moment they smelled improvement, the suits started talking.” She started with the fresh, bad news. ”But it’s a lot better at the factory. There, the ‘family business’ atmosphere is still mostly holding.
I get the foreigner part, though. That’s something I was really worried about - you’ve seen how insane the locals can be - but that was an empty fear, fortunately. Whether because they’re not as rabid as they sound or if I hit the ground running, that I can’t tell you. And from what I hear Brazil loves you, so you’d already have one foot in the door.”

Cassie laughed, a full belly laugh, leaning back more, probably leaving Bea confused, before she composed herself, clearing her throat.
“Shit…..well, turns out I have worse luck than SuperCat power unit.” Cassie chuckled, still shaking her head, letting it all sink in, the confidence there, the sounds of it Bea having no objection. Or no choice, rather.

“Is that a regular thing for you? The whole, you know, angry CEO thing. We have the same too, but does he mean well at least, or is he just….fuck, how do I say this, incredibly obsessed with selling? I mean, I’m used to that shit from angry Spanish people. You just have to learn how to shout back…..although given my current selection choices, you really want to take advice from me? I’d be like a local if I was a fan. Proper fuck up, Bea. Properly. But, knowing you, you’ll probably fucking send it past me. But you’d blink after what you did in Singapore..” Cassie snickered, sitting up in the AV as it continued on the way towards Ezeiza, the international airport that currently, was checkpointed up below the AV lanes like a border crossing.

She composed her thoughts again, thinking about the foreigner element too. “You’re tanned skin. Basically a gaucho already, if you speak the language, even a little,. Goes a long way. And is far easier, as it turns out, than Korean. They don’t like me relying Earworms much.” Cassie chuckled, reflecting on her own, despite her Scots roots, still having bronze in her pigments, well, the ones that weren’t replaced with artificial skin for her implants.

”I don’t know if ‘Spanish B1’ by race 12 is considered ‘speaking the language.’ ”

“Suppose the team will get their shit together if the results come. But that depends on one person I guess.” Cassie made it obvious who her pick in the team was, as she saw the AV start to come in, queued behind another two on the private landing strips, realising time was running out.

”I don’t know the CEO, I’ve met him twice. The first time, he was practically grovelling at my feet offering a new contract, and now Hurricane Pablo.” Cassie could probably imagine Bea’s shrug through the phone. ”He did try the whole ‘If you can’t perform, people will lose jobs.’ thing on us. Whether you think he cares or it was just emotional blackmail, you’ll have to decide for yourself, I can’t help you there. Maybe a factory tour would help you decide?” Bea added like a drug dealer offering someone ‘just a taste.’

Bea inhaled sharply, forcing herself to ignore mentions of the crash or the comparison to Singapore. ”But you’re right, I’m not taking team selection advice from you. Although I’m glad you have your luck, if you didn’t I’d be out of a job. Or worse, at Zygon.” She chuckled, ”If I wanted an unfeeling robot for a teammate, I’d play the FA 2094 game.”

Cassie giggled, feet up on the centre table, adjusting her elbows in her rest against the window.
“I guess a factory tour would be nice. See it all for myself, you know, see if there’s a nice desk, see if I can rope in some of my old sponsors from Portugal that didn’t want to make the jump into Zygon. And meet Pablo. Classic Spanish CEO tactic. He’ll run it like a family, but that means he’ll throw sandals at you. Just gotta learn how to keep your head off the block and pass them back. And ideally, not pin your team-mate out of a leading position. Bea. Has anyone mentioned it to you yet?” Cassie absolutely took the win out of being wholesome, with a zinger that was aimed sarcastically, knowing Bea could absolutely throw it back, but in this moment, knowing laughter might at least drag her mind away from it, laughing in a way only two people who understood Britain could be sarcastic about it.

Cassie was a fierce, determined pilot, there was no denying that. She would go all out, put it on the line more than some, and in ship to ship, she had the makings of Amy’s talent to just swing from people with ELS when needed. But consistency was lacking. Going from one team, to another, to yet another felt like a symptom of her own nature, yet the circumstances of bad luck, well, that also played a part in never feeling totally comfortable.

“Anyway, don’t think I’m coming in to steal all your thunder. You’ve had a hell of a season as a rookie. You, Paul and Kais are generational. But yeah. Luck runs out, like this weekend. And it comes back. Just have to make do with what you can. It gets better. If I’m thinking of coming over, it’ll be a push for us both. Glad to hear nobody’s totally mental at least. Apart from you. Obviously.” Cassie held an honest tone with just a hint of sarcasm cracking in the end, knowing Bea wanted that title as much as she did. But that mutual respect was there. A willingness to push each other to limit, whatever that limit was, and she saw a little of herself in Bea. More mature than she was at that age.

”Fuck the desk, Cass, have you seen the dorms on the ranch? And I never liked morning runs until I saw that scenery.” Bea briefly went full saleswoman, actually having to pause and lean against the wall to laugh because the sandals comment took her by surprise. And then Cassie brought up the crash again and the laughter died in the blink of an eye. ”Yea, well, if she hasn’t figured out how to safely rejoin after four years of doing this, I can’t help her.” She replied, not a snap but a definite hint of a simmer under the lid.

She spoke up again after a second’s pause. ”You call me ‘mental,’ I say ‘Spice of life.’ ” The humor returned as quickly as it left. ”Let me know once you know when you’re coming over. I’ll trade you fact-checking the sales pitch for an I-owe-you in the future.”

Cassie chuckled, shaking her head, knowing the bitterness was still there. She got on well with Ava herself, not as close as Bea at least, given the age difference. She’d always just been there on the grid. Maybe not the highest performer, but then again, Carrera was never anywhere to be seen. A safe pair of hands, but maybe not much more.

“Eh, you didn’t slap into me in Singapore. That’s the payback. It all sounds lovely, anyway. Sounds like I have a visit after Brasil to check in. Haven’t seen the dorms, but it sounds like I have something to see. Although…..” Cassie added, looking through the window, as the ship slowly approached the deck, the Luso-Scottish pilot having one last thought.

“Mod wise, there might be some complications. Nothing serious, but Zygon loves their proprietary, puts me back to bare basics, bar the optics which were on my pick. I might need to chat about it some other time, just means I need a bit of like for like in the off-season. Your chrome all holding up okay? They look fucking mean, by the way.”

”Just fine, but limbs are the cyberware equivalent of the lever, it’s the oldest thing there is.” Bea shrugged, the racing limbs being the most advanced piece attached to her. ”Consider custom paintjobs part of the deal.” Bea grinned.
Cassie nodded, brushing a bit of hair aside with her own prosthetic, smirking herself.
“Well. I had a guy but limbs change as often as each other race due to……marketing reasons. Good to know. So long as you aren’t filling me with the kind of shit like Amy is. Side note, you probably….well, you guessed she’s a bit fluttery? I dunno. Me and Harrison chatted about it. Seems fucking odd. Like I know you two are friends, and she means well, but yeah, got me scared, and I’ll put anything in me. Like, tell whoever your neuroscientist and augment specialist are, so long as they don’t turn me into Layla or a fucking Pinata, I’m keen, but not whatever menu she is on. Anyway, won’t keep you. I need to run…..alright, I’ll tell my agent to get something arranged, and don’t be a stranger, yeah?” Cassie added, nonchalantly, as the AV landed, the doors split open, and with it, Cassie grabbed her bag and leapt out, the noise of the jet engines suppressed, but still making a little interference.

For a second, Cassie would swear she heard the creaking of Bea squeezing her phone. ”Nevermind, cancel the visit, the more shite you agree to have put in you, the more they’ll try to shove in me.” She hid it with a joke, thanking all the gods she didn’t believe in that Cassie couldn’t see her face. ”See you at or after Brazil.”

“Alright, see ya then!” Cassie replied, the sarcasm taken over the noise, not hearing that slight subtext fully, before disconnecting the call, a group of Zygon staff already on the other end, ushering her inside the private terminal, immediately for a private jet that was connecting her, and a fair chunk of engineers over to Sao Paolo, for tonight.

---

Outro to Buenos Aires

"Well, that is all for Buenos Aires. We're not going away for long, as next week, we're in Sao Paolo for an iconic AG race at the Interlagos circuit, for what will be certainly more nail-biting racing in South America. Until then, bye for now." Aurora's voice led on outro, silky as ever, that Irish tinge ever present.

And cut it was. To a fairly stylish sequence.

Maybe not quite what was in mind. But a ballroom.

The sound of dancing could be heard, as shoes tapped against floor. Tango.

Soundtrack: Georges Bizet - Habanera from 'Carmen Suite No.2'

If there was a moment, as they pirouetted on floor, the dancers moved in sequence.

A couple on a floor. Hands linked.

A couple of ships colliding, both Carrera Condor ships struck.

Kais, pushing through opponents like a knife through butter.

Jen coming through, pushing past Paul, the fight continuing.

The reaction of fans, anger, rage, joy, but fading back to withdrawal.

The feeling of something to come.

The two dancers turning around, as the theme intensified. Crowds roared. People got angry.

But the dance continued, Jenny on the podium, to the crescendo of the classical piece, beaming smile given, flanked by Nora Kelly and Paul Mulder.

---

Formula AG Pilot Group Chat

[Newspaper article image of riots]

Harrison
Yikes, fight club

Ava Villarosa
Shut the fuck up, this is serious.

AStirling
Also yikes

it is, yeah I'm putting something out. This is out of control. This hasn't been this bad since 2091.

Dorian
That is really sad. Shame about it, I put up a post last night on socials. Probably worth a more unified message if you want to reshare, I put one on Instagram?

Astrid
You still use Instagram?

@Amy Stirling 2091? That was a bad fucking year. One of my engineers got hurt :(

Dorian
@Astrid

One day you'll just be old and an alcoholic and because you're not French, it looks worse

Ben Hale
*ohhhhhh shiiiiit*

@Dorian you all wear berets, eat baguettes and have stripy shirts, don't lie

Flo Mason
Yeah that's a violation

I've shared it @Dorian, you're like the elder statesman!

Dorian
All good, happy to help :)

[photo of an actual baguette with ham, cheese and salad]

Harrison
Me and Cassie too!

@Dorian you fucking sick cunt, owning it lmao

Ben Hale
You two dating?

@Dorian yeah fair enough that looks filling ngl

Cassie Neves
@Ben Hale We saw the recent episode of Delta Hyper, you do not get a say

Astrid
You guys are so mean to me

Wedge
Yet somehow everyone agrees we should be horrid to Astrid

Jen
You guys would catch fewer bullets in the riot if you stopped chatting shit

Art stuff in Brazil looks fun. Have fun, whoever Delta Hyper decided was a needed victim!

Kofi
It does look fun. Alexis Mayer is a cool artist. She sprayed a load of stuff in Accra for a project we did there to regenerate slums into an urban forest. She's like Banksy but with way more colourful paint. I have a lot of time for her. I love Brazil, such good nightlife. You young lot should enjoy it!

Harrison
Estrela is a really good night out- mostly trance. VIP there is good on Sunday nights :)

Astrid
@Kofi You remember who Banksy is?

Amy
@Astrid this is why you get bullied, stop getting pissed up and hurtful ;)

---

SAMBA /// SENNA /// LAGOS

Soundtrack: Jungle- Talk About It



Cut to a pitlane, with the iconic start straight of Interlagos.

The outlook of grey skies, with sunshine breaking through on the horizon.

The noise of kids playing.

As if to almost reiterate, that despite nearly a century, in the Favela, the only thing that changed was the condition of the houses into advanced polymer, made permenent yet heaped in a mess on a steep hillside. Trees, greenery, the actual sound of birdsong, chirping loudly, cutting to a favela.

Poverty eliminated, but community maintained. A place that couldn't be imagined 70 years ago, the grit still between.

Maybe this was compromise.

But as the ball bounced off the wall and the kid wacked it with a whipped kick into the holographic net, and yelled, jumping off the side of a painted house, it was perhaps the depiction of it.

As the camera panned up to that depiction of Senna on street art, on a massive mural on the side of a four-storey structure with his face, stepped in green and yellow.

And a voice.

“And suddenly I realized that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension.”

Senna.

And cutting into Sao Paolo. A throwback, history of Senna rushing through the circuit unable to shift gears, throwing the car around corners on clutch, desperate, trying to hold onto first place.

The fear, the heartbeat, the scream of a turbocharged V8 fading into a naturally aspirated one.

"Is that Glock?" The pass on the Toyota by Hamilton on the last corner of the last race, in 2008.

The pounding of Lewis Hamilton's fist.

Rain. Hurling rain creating a transition.

Starcross on the charge, engine screaming, passing Lindstrom, the 5-cylinder scream of the Red Bull and her legendary fight here in the drizzle, the drying circuit forcing the aero-fed F1 cars into floor. Rolling a kerb, over as the footage faded, flipping upside down into a dark room.

The massive holographic and LED lighting illuminating behind, popping with colour, settling on a bright, pearlescent yellow.

And to the sight of Cassie Neves, sitting atop a Zygon ship with a specialist livery, the red and blue fading into a very un-Zygon like scheme of dark blue, with green pasteled across the ship.

"Bem-vindo ao Brasil."

This was a place of contrasts. But if anyone thought Brazil and Argentina were similar, instantly, the setting felt established that this was anything but.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode Fifteen: The Art of Racing

---

Tag the Favela

Soundtrack: Barbatuques- Baiana (CloZee Remix)

With the crew in Sao Paolo, unlike Buenos Aires where it felt like the city was a faraway, messy, abstract, just enough security had been put in place out of the view of the teams to actually engage. The humidity hit in the same way as Singapore, but being slightly higher than the ocean, it seemed to taper off with any gust of wind- and being more cloudy, didn't come with also getting sunburnt. The tint almost felt like it was gold, sun poking past powerlines and satellite internet dishes.

This was a place you could absolutely party in, because it screamed cool. The colourful buildings said that.

Sao Paolo was perhaps an alternative vision of future to New Hilo's utopian, yet isolationist Shangri-La- to Singapore's ruthlessly clean, controlling city- and even perhaps, the brutalist, concrete jungle of Buenos Aires that by design, kept the teams out by being so dangerous, so punk, so at the forefront of the new gold rush of lithium and rare earths.

It wasn't some guiding vision, but a few good feelings steering a city's chaos into one direction. Colour. And a lot of art.



Brazil seemed to let people in, in terms of actually engaging with what it had to offer. It was colourful, almost parsing complete creative, total freedom, the shacks of metal replaced by polymer, modern, rust-proof composites that while stacked, felt solidified, permanent. A lot of changes and reform had brought a heady mix of capital, co-operative and a new mindset. Curtiba-styled urban planning made it feel dense but easy to get around with public transport that didn't pander to environmentalists, but realists with a creative mindset- and it felt like a ton was going on, with some of the world's best nightclubs, artists melding with the newly rewilded Amazon and forests between Sao Paolo and Rio. Cities were dense, it felt heaving, yet somehow, not alien. Dangerous, gritty, yet in the best kind of way. The kind of place where good food was on any corner, from anywhere, and most of all, the Brazilian focus on their creative economy created an ocean of kids dreaming of shaping their world into something more than bland. Even in relative loose assembly, the Oscar Niemeyer-like vision of the future felt like it could be seen, skyscrapers not all made of glass but insanely complex concrete, polymer and almost wooden structure-like buildings. It was organic, it felt like a claw of nature stood out of Sao Paolo's core, and the Favelas, as vintage as they were, now felt like a future village looking onto it.

Cantinho do Céu was one such perfect example- communities that lived here were lifted out of poverty not by having their entire livelyhoods uprooted, but shacks improved into permanent stacks that didn't look like they would fall apart in a Category 4 hurricane, utilities put in, tarmac roads between the blocks of the ramshackle slum-like Favela, and now, it felt like somewhere liveable. Food and grocery markets were nearby, it felt like for most, who had decades before lived in the worst of the Water Wars and the ecological crisis that ravaged Brazil especially hard, had now come back to normality. Crime had been driven out through a community-led approach, and while the worst horrors were still hitting hard, it didn't feel like the grit or cyberpunk-ish danger, terror and fear that pilots would stare at from afar. Some crime, sure, but it felt enough to be diverse and creative. A place where you were more likely to find a creative cafe than a coke dealer.



In many places, the advent of Universal Basics left people focussed on reclaiming the land, rewilding, or new, bold engineering challenges beyond earth. A dichotomy. The residents of this favela decided every single exterior surface was an artform and that was their mission, and in itself, Sao Paolo and Rio had an economy from it. Graffiti gave way to professional artists. And suddenly, it was covered. From lions to stars and moonscapes, every single corner, stairset, wall, surface that wasn't driven on (and many that were) in this former slum was now a depiction of something, a message, a purpose, a story, a place. Like an art gallery that sold incredibly good bananas. Favela stopped being such a dirty word, it just felt like the description of what high density, hillside, unplanned housing made permanent with modern utilities felt like now.

There was always a bit of grit. The favelas were always terrifying, but instead of degenerating, they now seemed to be more full of life, colour, feeling than ever before. There was community here, a flawed one maybe, but perhaps they seemed more content, no surveillance state, nor any rejection of the outside. People here knew how to balance, and there wasn't a chase after money, sustainability, but a weird blend of old with new. Perhaps for Delta Hyper, this Favela was selected as one that was sanitised enough, beyond where absolute chaos was always encroaching. After Buenos Aires, scrubbed out of the camera, the security contingent was at least a platoon's worth of local police, bolstered by teams bringing their own security. The residents were fucked off about this arrangement, but then again, a group of local artists had been brought in by Delta Hyper to help on their intro segment.

Inspired by that visual as they had been driven in as part of a convoy, the rest was on foot where Aurora led Paul, Bea, Kais, Harrison, Cassie and Kofi up through stairs, into what was a football pitch on concrete, with a load of whitewashed walls, turning to face them and camera drone, walking past another artwork, a famous copy.



"Well, Welcome to Brazil! In places like these, some of the best footballers, and even pilots come through, driven by nothing but creativity and we thought we'd return the favour by bringing you all here. Alexis, would you like to introduce yourself?" Aurora broadly swept her hand out, as the dark-skinned, afro-having Brazilian walked out, glasses taken off.

"Hey, I'm Alexis Mayer, I'm here to show you a bit about our art. As you can see, we love racing, and our God, is Senna from over there, so you are among the holy!" Alexis pointed to the mural from earlier, from the intro, laughing richly as she took the crew across to a table, where at least four-dozen spray cans sat as well as some very fancy looking acrylics that would add pearlescent and a kind of holographic pop to them once completed (like a really weird laquer), with some respirators already set up there too. As they sorted themselves, Alexis was looking across to them once more, in a smooth jump cut after introductions.

"My question is, how will you leave your mark, like Senna on that wall? And well....we know one of you is an artist!" Alexis chuckled, Aurora joining as the camera picked up Bea's arms and legs, not hiding any of it. Alexis's team turned up, a few more artists, many of whom lived here. It wouldn't be a shock if one of them was the willing occupant of the house getting sprayed, the white walls illustrating this might not be the first time a tag was done on it.

With it, each had a canvas on the wall to paint.

Their own story. Their own mark on a Favela in Brazil. And as some teenagers started playing football in the background, the montage would continue.

This was a story in literal spray paint. Their story. Whatever they wanted, abstract, detailed, whatever it would be. Left as a mark, no matter how poorly they painted.

Harrison left a few markers, that of a red bird with a fire-laden stick in its mouth, the firehawk, his nickname, personal logo, and affiliation to his indigenous roots.

Kofi's being that of a construed lion, perhaps his throwback to his own sanctuary work in South Africa, the kind Kais had seen.

And Cassie? Well, she wasn't that amazing. She struggled a bit, struggling for creativity, ideas, being helped by one of the members of Alexis's team to try and get her image of something more abstract. A sun rising over a beach? Or something else?

---

Delta Hyper Interviews

The backdrop of Sao Paolo was in the background, the architecturally creative skyline contrasting with the traditional, classic circuit.

In the black-walled room of the Delta Hyper interview room, Aurora's voice was as ever, present.

"Six races to go, Bea, and coming out of a rough weekend in Buenos Aires. The question on everyone's lips is, what do we see Beatrix Ward do from here? We've seen some big lows, big highs, what would you say your feeling is going into Brazil?"

"Paul, we're in sunny Brazil, and your P2 is certainly something. How are you feeling about putting it back on pole again, keeping your streak of podiums going?"

"Kais, we've seen Al-Saqr adapt as the season break has passed, and there's lots of speculation about the mid season change for the ever-loved Layla Al-Nadir being replaced by Hamid Atlassi. Do you think the fans are confident that Hamid is the right replacement for her?"

Bea What the bloody Hell is going on here? I leave my phone out of reach for ONE cardio session… :D

---

The small, two-door SUV skidded to a halt in front of an assembly of Carrera Condor pilots, a few automotive journalists from across South America and Africa and a gaggle of representatives of Tecnologia Automotiva Catarinense, the Brazilian company manufacturing the car. The amount of mud covering it all the way up to the roof left no one guessing which pilot had the first go at it.
“Well?” The TAC product manager asked as Bea stepped out of the driver’s seat.
”It’s a shitbox.” Bea didn’t even look at the group of execs as she stepped aside so Ava could get in the driver’s seat, ”There’s at least five degrees of play in the steering, the wipers are too small so don’t expect to see out much and the shifting pattern mask is a suggestion, not a fact.” She cautioned the other driver.
Murmurs of surprised displeasure rippled through the TAC representatives.
”Oh, you thought I was done?” Bea stared down the quartet of execs with the air of a petrolhead gremlin with opinions, ”What is that suspension? If someone with dentures hits a pothole, their teeth will end up in their lap. This is a car with 50 klicks on the clock. So why do the interior panels sound like a ten year old mattress when you touch them? And why on God’s green Earth did you put a competent engine in, only to shoot it in the foot with that gearbox? The shifter feels like a ladle stuck in mash, and the ratios are completely…”

She went on like that for another minute. Elise laughed. Alex facepalmed, thinking he should at least try to stop that but at the same time knowing there was nothing he could do. Ava wisely chose to pretend she was too busy adjusting the seat to notice anything.

The ad shoot went forward anyway, obligations and all.

Bea’s minimum effort, flat delivery of her lines in stark contrast with the ads earlier in the season became memed by both sides of the Carrera civil war, the director of the ad shoot simply unable to coax any enthusiasm for the product out of her..

Replying ”The team’s sponsor agreement prevents me from sharing my true opinion of the thing.” to someone asking about the car on one of her streams later that week was just the cherry on top.

---

Thu 07/10 18:11 CASSIE [Batt: 18%]

[Image of Bea’s bedroom at the Carrera Ranch - Queen sized bed, wooden furniture, large windows and an attached terrace with a view of the pampas.]
[A close-up of the fully loaded Asado grill during one of the weekly team cookouts.]
> You know they’re calling your name. 😛

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode 15: The Art of Racing

---

Bea briefly considered a condor-shaped phoenix rising from a pile of ashes shaped like the Buenos Aires autodrome, but decided against it. Only in part because the condor was an ugly bird. Christ the Redeemer standing arm in arm with Ayrton Senna overlooking Brazil was funny, but she could see how it could not be.

Instead, she painted an aerial view of a group of racing cars and AG ships on a mixed-grid formation lap. Not abstract, but neither identifiable as any particular car, era or pilot.

19 of them, with a gap in the middle.

A missing man formation.

---

”Six races to go, Bea, and coming out of a rough weekend in Buenos Aires. The question on everyone's lips is, what do we see Beatrix Ward do from here? We've seen some big lows, big highs, what would you say your feeling is going into Brazil?”

”I’ve definitely had some time to calm down. But once again, you’re asking me about the future when I still don’t know what I’ll have for dinner.” Bea chuckled, the usual tone back once again. ”You’re right: There’s been high highs and low lows. But do you know what you’re describing there? A career in motorports.” She shrugged.
”Still, the highs are in the lead, at least so far. But I think that, going into the future as a team, we’ll do just fine. Despite Monday’s bollocking certain people can’t seem to shut up about. But we like where we are right now on the technical side. Felix and his people are already pivoting to next year’s ship with only one department working on the last upgrade, that’s how confident we are in the ships.
As for the communications side of things, well… Your mum and dad never argued?” She grinned.

---

Soundtrack:Dark Cyber Music - Cyberpunk Music Mix

The Team Valkyrie antigravity shuttle managed to evacuate all the team personnel that had been at risk at the track. The only personnel left were the security guards and the drivers. Wulfric had quickly organized and collaborated with the other security team leads, guards, and drivers. He had spelled out the plan in detail with everyone who would be a part of it. He had then reviewed what equipment they all had for defense. The guards would be riding on the outside of the trucks to protect them and the equipment they carried. All of Team Valkyrie’s guards were armed with non-lethal options such as taser wands, high powered water hoses, and sleep gas canisters that were fired from a grenade launcher. Team Valkyrie’s personnel were wearing body armor and the guards riding on the outside of the trucks were wearing magnetic boots to help them stay on. They were carrying riot shields. The reflector technology used at the track was a power hog and was not available for portable use.

The teams began their run as the FIAR guards opened the emergency services gate that was on the opposite side of the stadium from where the crowds were rioting. They managed to get away from the stadium by going out an entrance that the crowds had not known about. The flight through the city began. They couldn’t avoid all the crowds though. The convoy made it unmolested away from the racetrack but as they got closer to the airport they ran into the crowds. They had been surprised to see the convoy of teams making a run towards the airport but word spread quickly on social media. The convoy ran into trouble at a major intersection that led to the turn off for the airport. The angry crowds rushed the trucks which had been forced to stop by the massive crowd of people or run over people. The trucks were still rolling forward slowly but the crowd had managed to slow the convoy down enough that they could catch up on foot. The guards managed to control the crowd and push them back using the high pressure water hoses but not before the crowd managed to throw a variety of objects at the trucks. Some managed to fire guns at the guards. A few threw molotov cocktails causing fire to splash all over the side of one of the trucks. The water hoses helped put the fire out quickly. The convoy made it to the airport. Two of the Team Valkyrie trucks had been damaged and four guards had been injured in the altercation. Alexander made the decision to just get their plane in the air. They would check out the damage when they got to Sao Paulo Brazil.

---

---

Alexander arranged for the team to be given early access to the paddock. They would need the extra time to get the ships ready for the race. The engineers were pouring over both ships to try and assess any damage. The fiery cocktail had been lobbed at the truck hauling the two ships. While the fire was put out quickly and did little more than cosmetic damage to the truck’s outer container layer, the heat damaged some of the ship’s sensitive components. Some of the bullets had also done some damage. The mechanics and engineers were doing their best to repair what they could.

The team had four guards that had been injured during the hectic run to the airport. Two guards had suffered minor burns, one had been hit by a knife that had been thrown, and the final guard had taken a bullet to the arm. The guards had been treated in flight by the team’s medical team. They were stable and had been patched up and sent home. The mood in the garage was somber. The team was angry and frustrated. They were worried about what had happened. They had taken a P2 in Argentina and should be celebrating instead they were worried and stressed after the frantic evacuation from the night before. They know how extra work ahead of them to get the ships ready for the race. They were worried they would miss something but they didn’t have time or the resources to completely overhaul both ships before the race. They would do their best but some components could not be replaced in the field. The tension was palpable and the mood in the paddock was tense. Alexander and Wulfric had stepped up the security unwilling to take any more chances with their equipment or personnel while in South America.

---

Formula AG Pilot Group Chat

[Newspaper article image of riots]

Harrison
Yikes, fight club

Ava Villarosa
Shut the fuck up, this is serious.

Paul
I agree this is damn serious. We had four guards injured getting out of Argentina when our equipment trucks were attacked.

AStirling
Also yikes

it is, yeah I'm putting something out. This is out of control. This hasn't been this bad since 2091.

Dorian
That is really sad. Shame about it, I put up a post last night on socials. Probably worth a more unified message if you want to reshare, I put one on Instagram?

Paul
I shared your message while adding my own. I put a message on all my social media accounts.

Astrid
You still use Instagram?

@Amy Stirling 2091? That was a bad fucking year. One of my engineers got hurt :(

Dorian
@Astrid

One day you'll just be old and an alcoholic and because you're not French, it looks worse

Ben Hale
*ohhhhhh shiiiiit*

@Dorian you all wear berets, eat baguettes and have stripy shirts, don't lie

Flo Mason
Yeah that's a violation

I've shared it @Dorian, you're like the elder statesman!

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DELTΔ HYPER

Episode Fifteen: The Art of Racing

Tag the Favela

Paul was tired and cranky. He had not been sleeping well. He had been having bad dreams about the violence that had happened in Argentina. He kept dreaming about the little girl that had been separated from her mother. He kept dreaming that she had been caught up and killed as collateral damage in the violent crowd. He had spent every day at the track trying to help the engineers and mechanics to fix the damage that had been done to his ship. He walked along in the group of pilots in between Bea and Kais. Paul wanted to ask Kais how he handled the violence but was afraid of the answer. He had been surprised by the fact that he now needed to be an artist. He had some ideas but knew he didn’t have the technical ability to pull it off. He simply went with the easiest route. He discussed his idea with one of Alexis Mayer’s helpers. They helped lay out his idea into a cool looking design in a grid pattern. They went on to show him how to use pieces of cardboard to get straight lines and curves and layer the color on the wall.

By the time Paul was done, he had paint all over his hands and some on his clothes. He was wearing sneakers, tan colored walking shorts, and a team t-shirt in a high tech fabric that wicked moisture away from his skin. Paul stepped back to admire the end result. The artist had kept it iconic looking and simple. The bright colors popped off the white wall. A neon blue peace sign with golden wings had light rays in various colors shooting out of it. Paul wanted to remind the world that peace was possible and desirable after the violence in Argentina. The wings were a reminder that he flew around the track and he was a member of Team Valkyrie. Valkyrie’s had wings… right? Too cliche? It was simple and in his skill set. Paul smiled as it looked better than his stick figures in his art journal.

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Aurora: "Paul, we're in sunny Brazil, and your P2 is certainly something. How are you feeling about putting it back on pole again, keeping your streak of podiums going?"

Paul smiled sadly at the camera. He did his best to appear enthusiastic and upbeat. It probably read a little forced because it was. Paul had a hard time feeling celebratory or accomplished after their frantic departure. “I hope to repeat that feat but I am not as confident about my ship here in Sao Paulo. It was damaged by the rioters on the way to the airport. I will do my best.”

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Sunday 10/04 23:10 - Paul Mulder - [Batt: 39%]

Paul>
Hey Bea! Not gonna ask what happened. Just gonna say I am here for you and I am glad you are alright. I hope things get better.