[hr][center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjE3OC5mMTk5MGEuUzJGcGN5QmFaVzVwZUEuMA/creattion-demo.regular.webp[/img][/center][hr][center][color=gold][h1]DELTΔ HYPER[/h1][h2]Episode Four: Azzuro Alpina[/h2][/color][/center]

Countdown. And with each light Kais’ mind ached in anticipation. Then the machines around him erupted, snow sublimated around them as they went, and the fight was on, for a while…

[b]“Yellow flag. Repeat: yellow flag.”[/b] Kais’ race engineer Zeina’s voice came over the comms.
[b][color=f7941d]“Copy that. Yellow flag. Lining up in the shame parade.”[/color][/b] Kais said as he decelerated the ship and the ship’s AI controls gently but resolutely guided the ship over onto the virtual safety track. [b][color=f7941d]“What’s the incident?”[/color][/b]
[b]“Collision, Han and Astrid. They’re scanning the area now.”[/b] Zeina replied.
[b][color=f7941d]“[i]Astrid[/i]?”[/color][/b] That was a name Kais hadn’t expected, not after her performance last race, and especially not at the position she found herself in at the start. [b][color=f7941d]“What happened?”[/color][/b]
[b]“Looks like a bad overtake from Han at the Pordoi jump.”[/b]
[b][color=f7941d]“At Pordoi? Risky.”[/color][/b] So Han pulled a [i]Jamie[/i], huh... [b][color=f7941d]“Damage report.”[/color][/b]
[b]“Debris all over the place, power’s down, they’re out. Pilots look OK. Scratch that, they’re more than fine: Astrid’s giving Han a stern talking to.”[/b]
[b][color=f7941d]“Heh,”[/color][/b] Kais couldn't help but snicker a little. [color=f7941d][i]Good luck with that[/i][/color]... [b][color=f7941d]“Give me the highlights.”[/color][/b]
Zeina was quiet for a moment, then came back on the comms. [b]“Called her spoilt, apparently.”[/b]
[b][color=f7941d]“Tame.”[/color][/b]

A few moments of silence passed. Moments that felt like a drag at 80kph.
[b][color=f7941d]“How’s Layla doing?”[/color][/b]
[b]“Fighting hard. Amy’s right on her back.”[/b]
And Kais winced and thought: better prep the ice, then. Layla may have that resolute brightness about her, but when pushed, she was a force to be reckoned with. Knowing her, with the long stretches that characterized this track, she’d overclock her mods in equally long stretches - and that was a peril [i]not just[/i] to her opponent. [b][color=f7941d]“Tell her to keep her cool.”[/color][/b]
[b]“Will do.”[/b]

Some time later.
[b]“Back to business, Kais. Cleanup’s nearly done. Flag’s getting lifted soon.”[/b]
[b][color=f7941d]“Copy that. Accelerator’s aching.”[/color][/b]

And when the yellow notification disappeared from his mind, Kais released the brakes, and through the neural overlay of the ship's sensors, he could still feel the actual seat’s material shaping around his form as close to 5Gs of acceleration pushed him back. The fight was on again. But Nora was gone before he could punch it well and good. [color=f7941d][i]Damnit.[/i][/color] He pushed the accelerator, but the difference in speed was too great, and the gap grew and grew.

That didn’t mean he was out of the danger zone, though. In the remaining rounds, Harrison behind him crept closer, then drifted back, then crept closer again. And Kais kept him behind, his adrenaline-fueled reflexes jerking the ship around with precision, though just barely in the margin of controlled and acceptable racing tactics. He couldn’t let him pass. No way. His mind asked the neural modulator for more control over the pilot-ship interface, and he felt his mind fill once more. Jaw clenched. Eyes tight.

[b]“Keep defending, Kais!”[/b] Zeina came over the comms.
[b][color=f7941d]“What does it look like I’m doing!”[/color][/b]
[b]“This is our final stand! Execute! Execute!”[/b] Zeina cried. Or…?
[b][color=f7941d]“What… What did you just say?”[/color][/b] Kais’ voice reduced to a whisper.
[b]“Oh god, we’re lost!”[/b] The panicked voice crackled over the comms.
[b][color=f7941d]“...Command, repeat!”[/color][/b]
[b]“It’s all lost, we’re done for!”[/b]
[b][color=f7941d]“Control yourself!”[/color][/b]
[b]“Kais? Can you hear me?”[/b] Zeina’s familiar voice returned. [b]“Looks like you lost comms for a second there.”[/b]
[b][color=f7941d]“Yeah.”[/color][/b] Kais blinked, shook his head as if to try to awaken from a nightmare. [b][color=f7941d]“Let’s... Let’s keep the chatter to a minimum from now on.”[/color][/b]

Some rounds later, as Harrison and Kais reached the glacier section, Harrison suddenly rolled around one of its tunnels and took him over from above. A beautiful maneuver, but it was one Kais’ mind would only truly appreciate in the post-race rewatch. Makara disappeared into the distance as Nora had, and for the rest of the race Kais kept Amy at bay, and that was enough to have on his mind. The chequered flag flew, and he rushed out for fresh air. In the distance, Layla steamed as the team's medics checked up on her and took her towards her own cooldown. And back home, juniors Hamid Atlassi and Malik Ashott traded messages of concern.

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[center][h3]RoadPlayersGuild Thread: [DISC] DELTΔ HYPER - Round 4 Italian AGP[/h3][/center]
[indent][indent][b]BeaForever[/b]: [i]Now that was a crash I didn’t see coming.[/i]
[indent][b]Hyeon-Bae[/b]: [i]Nooo my queen [/i]😭[i][/i]
[indent][b]NorthernNina[/b]: [i]Didn’t know you had a thing for the nordic party animals, good choice lol[/i]
[indent][b]Hyeon-Bae[/b]: [i]Blasphemy! Repent~![/i][/indent][/indent]
[b]BrakesAreForLosers[/b]: [i]Prophet Kais calling it in Auckland. Han’s not doing too well out of her air conditioned comfort zone.[/i]
[indent][b]ZenixRising[/b]: [i]Idk man, Kais seems kinda out of it himself. Already down to P3 again. Look at his eyes.[/i]
[indent][b]Here4Thrills[/b]: [i]Yeah, I give it about 2-3 races before shit’s really gonna start hitting the fan at Al-Saqr.[/i]
[b]IHartRacing[/b]: [i]Suck it, buncha warhawk simps.[/i]
[indent][i][Message filtered due to inappropriate content][/i]
[i][Message filtered due to inappropriate content][/i]
[b]ShiftsNGiggles[/b]: [i]Oh boy here we go.[/i]
[i][Message filtered due to inappropriate content][/i]
[i][Message filtered due to inappropriate content][/i]
[i][Message filtered due to inappropriate content][/i]
[b]ThatOneDriverFan[/b]: [i]Just lock the thread, OP, before the FBI raid us[/i][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[b]NitroNorasArmy[/b]: [i]Called it. Nora just casually being like ‘oh that’s cute, you thought you had a chance, huh?’ *boss music starts playing*[/i]
[b]NeverQuitNeves[/b]: [i]And Cassie still not breaking into the points ffs. The Zygoons needs to get their clipboards out of their asses already #justiceforcassie[/i]
[b]RustyApex[/b]: [i]Just be happy Amy’s finally off the podium, yall. It was getting a bit boring tbh[/i]
[b]ThrottleMeMommyVillarosa[/b]: [i]What does everyone make of all the chaos at Valkyrie?[/i]
[indent][b]TurboLover[/b]: [i]Where is that truther guy when you need him?[/i]
[indent][b]TiresAndTinfoil[/b]: [i]I think they got something on Bea. Why else would she agree to the Mulder charity gig when his team is under so much scrutiny atm?[/i]
[indent][b]Alpaulcalover[/b]: [i]Don’t you dare besmirch Paul with your filthy accusations![/i]
[indent][b]FuelForThought[/b]: [i]It’s always the sweet and innocent-looking ones you gotta look out for. You just wait, you just wait…[/i]
[indent][b]ImFastAFBea[/b]: [i]Never mind, put the truther guy back on the shelf where you found him.[/i]
[b]SkidMarkStan[/b]: [i]It’s a racing game, not game of thrones. Now calm down, podium ceremony’s starting.[/i][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[center][h2]Cool Down / [color=gold]Warm Up[/color][/h2][/center]
Kais felt the cooldown room was surprisingly hot despite the frigid environment. Even now sweat pearled on Kais’ forehead in the aftermath of the race, and he could still feel the rush in his veins as the replay showed Astrid and Han’s crash, NitroNora honoring her nickname as she launched off after the flag was lifted, and the gap growing and growing. [b][color=f7941d]“Well. You got me there.”[/color][/b] He said, as close to a compliment as he managed. 

But the race had already passed into the background for him. Al Saqr’s team was starting to push the limits with their neural link, but the limits seemed to have started pushing back, and it made him annoyed. Layla had been plunging into ice more and more lately due to sheer processing overexhaustion, and though Kais himself was lucky his own circulatory system was more optimized for high stress and temperature survival than hers, he too had migraines and cold sweats more frequently now, even with his sedatives. The more the team tinkered with the guardrails and mappings of his neural connector, the more things became… well… Kais’ face twitched in a pained expression. The cracked voice of his race engineer flashed into his mind again as he saw Harrison gloat when the replay showed his literally over-the-top overtake. Kais sat up, took a deep breath, and swore he saw concern flash over Harrison face for a fraction of a second. As they always did...

Then the recaps showed Amy lagging, stuck behind him in P4, and a small sense of achievement came over Kais. [b][color=f7941d]“We did it.”[/color][/b] Kais said under his breath with a smirk of his own as his eyes glanced at the two sitting to his left, the subtext hopefully clear: [i]no Amy on the big stage today…[/i]

And finally, as they were led on towards the podium, a brief respite from the cameras, he spoke to Nora. [b][color=f7941d]“Hey, killer race today. But you better be on your guard: and not just for me.”[/color][/b] He paused, Amy so confidently commenting about his neural mods after last race still ominously ringing in his ears. [b][color=f7941d]“P1 makes you quite the target, after all. And payback is sweet… isn’t it?”[/color][/b] He said as he looked her in the eyes. A warning? A challenge? A callback to her comments last race? A message to her that he [i]knew[/i] she had been involved with transnational gangs as Ava had told him... and [i]understood[/i]? All of it? Who knew... [b][color=f7941d]“Now let’s get out there.”[/color][/b] And as the ceremony neared its end, the defiant forefinger went into the air again, and then aimed towards Nora. But was it the [i]Number One[/i], or was it, once again, the [i]Bang[/i]? Who knew...

[hr]
[quote][b]"Kais, what a race it was from you and Nora! How did it feel going toe to toe with another rookie?"[/b][/quote]
Kais blew some air out of his nose in amusement. ‘Toe to toe’, she said, and he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of defeat, the sight of Nora’s ship blasting off of Pordoi like an Olympic ski jumper still fresh in his mind. [b][color=f7941d]“She’s damn fast, that one. I’m going to have some words with the team about our drive core, else we’ll never properly get to duke it out.”[/color][/b]

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