[color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Red Flag[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color]

Unacceptable travesty, or fact of life?

Hyeon-Ae sat quiet in the open cockpit of her craft as mechanics buzzed all around. However long the red flag lasted, it was a rush to make sure the vehicle could handle the rest. With not much better to do and unwilling to disembark - Hyeon-Ae sat with a portable pad and watched the crash over and over from drone footage. Who did what, how it happened, the aftermath. For her own sake, she'd merely caught the shockwaves of collision and risk of eventual debris. Zenix and Ward played a dangerous game, for certain, but Hart’s maneuver was a step beyond. Careless? Certainly. Reckless? Definitely? Clever? Arguably. What mattered first and foremost was learning to react and defend against similar madness for the future. Hyeon-Ae frowned and scratched her cheek briefly, before speaking into her radio. “How is Ward?”

“Uh… All green, first glance. Medical’s taken her in.” it crackled back as her designated radio engineer paused to answer. Hyeon-Ae nodded to herself. The footage made it pretty clear what happened. Reckless driving, high ambitions, and ruthless choices. The question was how it would play later. She shut down the pad and shifted in her seating for comfort. Dangling the pad out over the edge until someone took it, she replayed the scene in her head. Could be a good opportunity to put some off-track heat on a few people.

…

What felt like an eternity later, the race was back on, one vehicle fewer on the grid. Something didn't sit right; distractions, restlessness, doubts. Whatever it was, Han’s momentum from before was slow in returning. In the back of her head, somewhere between the blend of woman and machine, she wondered if the idea of being torn apart and separated from machine, and helplessly sailing through the air in a steel coffin had tempered her spirit somewhat. Whatever it was, that small feeling of consternation she restarted with was enough to give up chances and optimization she might have taken. She played it safe.

That is at least, until Mulder tried and successfully passed her the third time in a turn. She clicked her tongue - or at least her mental image of herself did - as she yet again boosted past him in the following straight. This frustrating gnat kept gnawing at her position like a dog who saw where she hid the snacks. So she played defense, dueling him around the track tirelessly, easing off in turns and pushing with her spare power when he had to focus on handling. Though she outwardly found the exchange despicable and annoying - she nonetheless accepted it wholeheartedly, fighting back and forth like a spiteful child refusing to give up their seat. It became something of a game within a game. Their exchange became predictable. He challenges. She retakes. He sways inwards. She defends.

Then Paul swerved right in another inwards challenge, leaving a large opening for a surging Villarosa to speed by. Hyeon-Ae faced the choice to swerve hard to defend a surging Villarosa and potentially lose two positions if she screwed up, or crash, or keep her position firmly in place against Paul's challenge. She chose safety, and let an unbidden curse escape her lips. Was it the damn crash? Was she a coward? What the hell was Mulder thinking? She resigned herself to continuing their duel, though after this slip-up their positions seemed to entrench themselves a little more. Hyeon-Ae felt sure now that there would be no more surprises.

[I]“Neves DNF. EM trouble.”[/I]

“Oh, for [censored] sake.”

She finished in the same place as she qualified, with Paul Mulder escorting her all the way to the end.

[hr]

[color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Post Race, Interview[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color]

"Han, we loved watching your race with Paul, and it looks like you were fighting to get back to catch Villarosa! How was your fight with Paul, and how do you feel to have come out on top?"

Hyeon-Ae offered a somewhat more easy-going smile than her typical humble one. Perhaps a remnant of fatigue and adrenaline, or an effort to seem approachable. “Paul is a very interesting pilot to race against; such a persistent yet capricious driving style,” she offered with a warm smile, fixing Rory with her gaze after a quick glance at the camera. “Really brought me back to the racing in the youth programmes, when everyone was still figuring things out.”

She took a breath, letting her words hang before continuing. “Villarosa really came out of nowhere there, I feel. I paid for underestimating her, but that made me look forward to facing her again.”

[hr]

[color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Social Media[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color]

[I][b]Han Hyeon-Ae @ HHAZygon[/b]: My well-wishes to [b]@MadBea[/b] tonight. Hopefully some pilots are spending their time reflecting inwards. Unforgivable behavior.[/i]

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[B]Classie0:[/b] [i]boo [/i]
[B]Classie0:[/b] [i] someone sabotaged cassies machine i swear it[/i]
[B]Exxalibur:[/b] [i] Yes; Cassie Neves. Her undignified European ways are too coarse for the delicate and elegant masterpiece that is Zygon's vehicle[/I]
[b]Zygonite:[/b][i] lol she did good til it conked out tbh [/I]
[B]Exxalibur:[/b] [i]She cannot compare to the queen of AGR… Hyeon-Ae I will always be your biggest fan[/I]
[B]WyteNyte:[/b][i] Queen of ninth place.[/i]
[B]Exxalibur:[/b] [i][Message removed by content filters.][/i]
[B]Exxalibur:[/b] [i][Message removed by content filters.][/i]
[B]Exxalibur:[/b] [i][Message removed by content filters.][/i]
[b]Zygonite:[/b][i] lmao [/I]
[b]Classie0:[/b][i] delicate masterpiece rofl[/I]
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