[b][center][h3][code]Sun 24/10 07:18 CASSIE [Batt: 99%][/code][/h3][/center][/b] [center]———— Today ————[/center]> So I was just told we’re not going to be teammates. [color=#1EFF24]> Yeah, heard yesterday. If you’re trying to guilt trip me about it, waking me up isn’t doing you any favors.[/color] > You’re still in bed? [color=#1EFF24]> You’re lucky I remember how nouns work at this hour.[/color] [color=#1EFF24]> Something I can actually do for you?[/color] > Just figured I’d ask my Carrera insider how it went down. [color=#1EFF24]> I’ll take insider. Half expected “(in)side chick” 😛[/color] > Hah! [color=#1EFF24]> From what I was told, you asked for everything except half the kingdom and the princess’ hand in marriage.[/color] [color=#1EFF24]> On top of buying you out from that corporate Hell people call a team.[/color] > I thought I was lowballing myself. [color=#1EFF24]> Wasn’t meant to be I guess. Don’t worry, I’ll be saving you champagne next season.[/color] > Fighting words. [You reacted with 😀] [hr][center][h2]Sunday October 24th, 2094, 13:00 Muller Cay, Australia[/h2][h3]The Race[/h3][/center]Bea got off the line quickly, right on Nora’s tail from the first corner. Southern Cross had them on stability, but between better handling and Bea’s brain practically counting as a flight control computer by now when it came to the Carrera Condor ship’s bucking and twitching, she sent it down - or rather up - a fast corner without much trouble on lap five. Bea was visibly more careful than in Brazil. SHe still sent absolute launchers down every corner that allowed it, but she didn’t actually commit, instead seeking to keep Jen off balance. In hindsight, she should’ve known that wouldn’t work in this case, and soon she had bigger problems. [color=#129914]”Defend two to nine.”[/color] Alistair’s voice came over the radio. Bea instinctively swung the ship to the right, letting Jen be Jen and blocking Nora’s attempt at regaining P2, letting her ship drift to the nine o’clock position to position herself for the next corner. [color=#129914]”Low.”[/color] Bea crossed back over the top of the tunnel to the five o’clock position while Nora went low to avoid a collision risk, setting up for a rising left-hander. [color=#129914]”At three, ignore.”[/color] Just as he predicted, the overtake couldn’t stick through the next corner. Nora kept trying and doing a stressfully good job of it, the clock indicators turning from neutral blue to green and then red based on where along the tunnel wall a ship was approaching from the back, Jen meanwhile walking away into the distance. Suddenly, an indicator on the other side of the tunnel lit up and when Bea glanced that way, she was met with the sight of Cassie’s ship. [color=#1EFF24]”Sod off, Cass, we’re having a moment here.”[/color] She muttered, the Scots-Portugese pilot running out of momentum alongside, just on the opposite wall, having to back out of the next turn due to being out of position for entry and falling back behind Nora as both rookies accelerated away under ELS with a better exit. [color=#129914]”That was optimistic.”[/color] [color=#129914]”Slow ship behind, Hornfleur, looks like PU failure.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”SC?”[/color] [color=#129914]”Doesn’t look like it.”[/color] That apparently sent the midfield into a meltdown, Alistair radioing in any changes that might be relevant to them and making bea deeply regret the lack of big screens around the track she could watch this on. Oh well, later. The fight with Nora dragged on, the Aussie managing to regain position a few times, Bea finding a gap to slip past every time. [color=#1EFF24]”Stop trying. You’re third today. Stay!”[/color] Bea muttered to no one in particular. [color=#129914]”Contact between Makara and Stirling, looks like damage on Makara. No flags, might hold up the mid pack.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Got it.”[/color] [color=#129914]”Coming upon backmarkers in 40 seconds.”[/color] For some reason that got a genuine laugh out of Bea. [color=#1EFF24]”That’s not something you hear every day in this sport.”[/color] But it did give her an idea. Jenny was in the next time zone anyway, so when Bea made it past Hamid who was having an uncharacteristically sodden race, she let off the throttle just a little bit and gave him a tow. Hamid, to his credit, realized what was happening and, knowing she’d just leave if he tried to leech, took the free speed boost. For Nora, that meant that in order to get past Bea, she now had to get past two ships in one maneuver, even though Hamid was technically supposed to let Nora go, Bea actively positioned her ship in a way that meant Hamid was always in the way. It didn’t work for long, but long enough to charge and give her the leg up on Nora for the next ten minutes. In the end, whatever Nora had tried, it wasn’t enough. [color=#129914]”That’s P2 Bea, fantastic job!”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”YEEES! Fuck me, I’m sweating into the sauce here.”[/color] [color=#129914]”Having type two fun?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Type one point five, one point six at most. Imagine being fully submerged in a clean liquid and still needing a shower.”[/color] She laughed, the breathing liquid gurgling in her throat. [color=#1EFF24]”You know what you are, Al? A fucking legend! With those defensive callouts, bloody Hell. Like having another pair of eyes on the back of my head like Voldemort.”[/color] [color=#129914]”You’re saying I can be your wingman anytime?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Good one, but that’s a RIO. You can’t be a wingman, you retired.”[/color] She laughed, a combination of having a movie nut and a weapons manufacturer for a dad dredging up random trivia she learned by osmosis from the depths of her memory. [color=#129914]”Just had to remind me, didn’t you?”[/color] Alistair grumbled, [color=#129914]”Dinner on you tonight?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Like always, if you can all agree on a place.”[/color] [color=#129914]”We’ll drink you down a tax bracket.”[/color] After successes earlier in the season, she knew they could and they would. [color=#129914]”Ava is up two places, ahead of Stirling.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Nice! Han?”[/color] [color=#129914]”P11.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Even nicer. No points, bad Zygon.”[/color] [color=#129914]”Radio, Bea…”[/color] Alistair tried to reign her in through chuckles, knowing no floodgate could hold that river of adrenaline and endorphins. [hr][center][h2]Sunday October 24th, 2094, 14:00 Muller Cay, Australia[/h2][h3]Cooldown Room[/h3][/center]It was fortunate she only started getting podiums after her lung replacement, allowing her to drain her suit and lungs easily before the podium ceremony. Having to attend it suited up and helmeted like a mermaid trying to function on land would take a lot of joy out of the moment. Unlike Belgium where the nearly 40 minute, seemingly nonstop duel with Paul left her barely mobile, Bea was vibrating with excitement she might have phased through solid matter. You’re only as good as your last race. And this one was pretty damn good for a track that didn’t suit them that well. [quote]”Well.....okay, you got me there. Proper.....yeah.”[/quote] [color=#1EFF24]”It’s not like you gave it up for free or anything, you made me work for it. But Cassie’s lunge on lap 48 was interesting. ‘Where did you come from- oh, okay, bye.’ ”[/color] Bea mimed glancing at the overtaking ship and then following it as it fell back again. [quote]”Look at us now, eh? Told you we'd be fighting at the top someday! And it looks like you got your second podium at last. Proves it wasn't a fluke!”[/quote] [color=#1EFF24]”Fluke?”[/color] Bea seized her heart with her hand, grinning wide. [color=#1EFF24]”How dare you? Don’t look at the previous two races. But I couldn’t make it stick, and then you just walked away. Still too wobbly in places, wherever I hit a crest, the ship didn’t know if it wanted to be an AG ship or a shitty aeroplane. Swear I saw myself lawn darting into the ceiling on lap five.”[/color] She laughed. [color=#1EFF24]”I’m staying here tomorrow to do some more reef diving and meant to ask if you wanted to come along, but It looks like you’ll be too busy celebrating this, eh?”[/color] She had to ditch the suit, the solid shell not very buoyant before going in, intending to spend half of tomorrow in the sea anyway and seeing nothing wrong with getting a head start. [hr][color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color][color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Episode 16: Diving Deep[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [hr] Having been fished out of the sea by sea killjoy to answer interview questions, Bea threw some team merch over the undersuit before taking her turn. [quote]”Bea, what an epic fight you and Nora gave us. It seems like you're so much smoother out there, you seem to be. It seems you might have upset a local comeback, but, how does it feel to be scoring a podium again, especially next to someone you're best friends with?”[/quote] [color=#1EFF24]”Fucking finally. Of course I’d prefer to be looking down at Jen from the top step as opposed to looking up from the lower ones, but baby steps. She earned it today.”[/color] Bea laughed, [color=#1EFF24]”Nelly also fought hard. Sorry to the Aussie fans, but I have a debt to ours to start settling, I have to prioritize.”[/color] [hr] [center][b]Carrera Condor @CarreraCondorFA[/b]: [i][Group image of Bea and her mechanics at a long table in a beach bar, arranged like the Last Supper painting with Alistair in Jesus’ place and Bea in Judas’] “Oh, we missed these. ¡Los cóndores siguen volando!” #BarrierReefAGP #CarreraCondorFA #FormulaAG #AGRacing #CondorsKeepFlying[/i] [/center] [b]Sol_de_Mayo:[/b] You’ll need to pay those lost points back with interest, young lady! [b]MadBea:[/b] Working on it, just don’t break my kneecaps. [b]GalwayGirl:[/b] We won’t. But if you fuck up again, you might wake up with a cylinder head on your pillow. [b]ForzaGl0ria:[/b] HeyheyHEY! That’s our thing. You stick to car bombs. 😀 [b]MadBea:[/b] Children, please! (but make the cylinder head fit my Civic please) [b]Xinny:[/b] No cylinder head. Points! 😀 [b]GaryFromIndiana:[/b] Big L not signing Cassie IMO. [b]CarreraCarmen:[/b] Team going with the budget option because Ward broke too many ships. 😀 [b]AndesAG:[/b] Ava’s washed. [b]MissedApex:[/b] Unlike the average Zygon fan. 😀 [b]mel_er:[/b] Imagine using the phrase “big L” in 2094… [b]TruckerTim:[/b] Imagine wasting entire seconds of your life writing a comment like that. Oh, wait, you don’t have to… [hr][center][h2]Monday October 25th, 2094, 21:12 London, United Kingdom[/h2][h3]Highgate, Fitzroy Close[/h3][/center]The home cinema at the Wards’ home was playing the race replay. Bea was draped over Frederick’s side, holding a bowl of salt and vinegar chips while a small bowl of unflavored rice chips sat in front of her. God damned food plans. [color=#2488FF]”So, back on your game?”[/color] Fred asked with a teasing tone when the replay showed her fending off three overtake attempts by Nora in three consecutive corners. [color=#1EFF24]”Implying I wasn’t?”[/color] She asked with mock indignation. [color=#2488FF]”Are you genuinely asking that question?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Hey, Argentina wasn’t my fault and I’m allowed a mistake every now and then. Unlike half the bloody grid, I’m still just a human being.”[/color] She poked a finger in his direction with a laugh. They kept watching in silence for a little bit. When he next spoke, his voice was serious. [color=#2488FF]”Your mother was extremely worried because of Argentina.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”I know. I apologized at least four times.”[/color] She sobered up instantly. [color=#2488FF]”Never to me, can you imagine what living with her was like? All those questions I had to answer, reassurances I had to make…”[/color] He continued the joke, voice still as serious like he was discussing a contract for manufacturing ICBMs. [color=#1EFF24]”I’m sorry. You can hold my trophy when the copy arrives.”[/color] [color=#2488FF]”Deal.”[/color] He answered immediately with a grin. The cameras cut to a fight in the midfield, where Ava had just made a beautiful double overtake on Amy held up by the damaged Harrison. [color=#2488FF]”So…”[/color] He started more carefully, [color=#2488FF]”Ava used your contract clause.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”It is what it is.”[/color] [color=#2488FF]”Is that your official statement?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”My official statement is a resounding ‘Meh.’ I don’t have a choice in the matter either way.”[/color] [color=#2488FF]”And your private opinion?”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”I can’t listen to Elise talk for more than 30 seconds without popping a blood vessel, Cassie would have gotten priority from the team on experience and better the Devil you sort of know, so I won anyway.”[/color] Bea shrugged. [color=#2488FF]”That’s definitely a way to look at it.”[/color] [color=#1EFF24]”Like I told Rory in Africa: I don’t waste energy on things I can’t control.”[/color] She shrugged, [color=#1EFF24]”Let it never be said I learned nothing from you.”[/color] [hr] [center][url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TrLdbYUu7LJQf9_6F1zblN3WfwvCU8R3W8Xskd8b3vI/edit?usp=sharing]Carrera Condor NPCs[/url][/center]