[b][center][h3][code]Thu 22/04 11:37         PAUL MULDER            [Batt: 98%][/code][/h3][/center][/b]
[center]———— Today ————[/center][color=#1EFF24]> Just read about your head engineer, everything OK “at home”?[/color]

[color=fff200]> It was certainly a surprise but Knight has the situation under control. Were you worried about me Bea?[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> I was worried you and Dorian will lose pace, stop wasting Zygon’s time and Ava and I will have to start trying. 😛[/color]

[hr][center][h2]Sunday May 9th, 2094, 13:00
Portimão, Portugal[/h2][h3]Race[/h3][/center]The Condors had a mid start, not particularly bothered by Kofi behind but not making any ground ahead either. Poor Bjorn started falling back not long after that, the double overtake making it look like the wiphala ships avoided rather than overtook the struggling Swede.

Ulrich was where the show would be for the Condors’ fans. A near constant, multiple laps spanning rock-paper-scissors esque clash of Ulrich’s ELS sorcery and defense, Bea’s unpredictable feints and lunges and Ava’s surgical precision and race management. The German withstood corner after corner of the Brit’s harassment, constantly changing when and how she attacked to keep him guessing, but every time he had a break and would have normally boosted away, he had to instead defend from Ava on the other side as the Condors passed him between each other like a hot potato.

[color=#129914]”We’d like to swap positions with Ava before the main straight.”[/color] Al came over the radio with an instruction no driver wanted to hear.
[color=#1EFF24]”I can take him, I have him figured out now.”[/color] She protested.
[color=#129914]”Swap. Positions. Please.”[/color] The race engineer reiterated.
[color=#1EFF24][i]’Horsecrap!’[/i][/color] She thought.
[color=#1EFF24]”Understood.”[/color] She answered, pulling off the line on the straight between turns four and five. Ulrich lasted to about halfway down the main straight, having expended a lot of charge fending the Condors off in the preceding few laps, meanwhile Ava kept a reserve due to having her teammate to lean on and forced her way by, keeping the German off the racing line into turn one which allowed Bea to get by with minimal effort.

It didn’t last very long. Exactly one lap to be precise. [color=#1EFF24]”Smoke from Ava’s ship!”[/color] Bea called out, pulling off the line to get a clear line of sight, quickly followed by the ships behind her as she watched Ava pull off into the gravel trap.
[color=#129914]”We think it’ll be a VSS.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Is Ava out?”[/color]
[color=#129914]”Yes, got out. And that’s the safety ship, so set up for the restart. Falkner behind, then Mensah.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Slow and slower, should be easy.”[/color] Bea verbally shrugged in reference to the MMR and SuperCat ships performance, helped further by the Ghanian jumping the German on restart.

It wasn’t long before Dorian likewise had a mechanical failure, yet despite that and knowing exactly when she was making up time, the shortened prep time once again showed and the veteran Frenchman stayed well ahead of any danger. In hindsight, maybe Dorian could have stood to lose a bit more pace that weekend. One day she’d learn to shut her mouth. Probably when she’s old and boring.

[hr][color=gold][center][h1][i][b]DELTΔ HYPER[/b][/i][/h1][/center][/color][color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Episode 5: Trading Paint[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color]
[hr]
[quote]"Bea, not the best weekend for Carrera Condor, and the fire for Ava had us all worried. How do you feel about the risks in Formula AG- following your crash and this recent fire?"[/quote]
[color=#1EFF24]”If anything, Cape Town showed just how safe motorsports have gotten. Of course you’re worried when your teammate’s ship bursts into flames in front of you, but let’s not forget what Ava did before racing. She’s been through worse, rock solid that one.
It’s also important to note that this isn’t something we have to do. It’s one thing if a mine or a cargo ship is unsafe. That is necessary to civilization, people have to do that and thus safety should be paramount there. No one has to do this. We’re all very dedicated hobbyists, we all know what we’re getting into, and nobody is making us be here. Here, you need to strike a balance between safety and entertainment, and I think that of the things people can complain about when it comes to FIAR or the racing series itself, this isn’t one of them.
Becasue be honest with me: If it was completely free of danger, would it still be as exciting?”[/color] Bea finished by asking Aurora before turning to the nearby grandstand and drawing on her dad’s love of movies. [color=#1EFF24]”Are you not entertained?”[/color]

[color=#1EFF24]”As for our race, we knew it would be bad, but this came out of left field.“[/color] She returned back to Aurora when the cheering died off - Cassie’s fans providing a lot of it - to address the first part of the question, [color=#1EFF24]”It’s a shame, I think together we could’ve taken Dorian as well even if he hadn’t had his own problems.”[/color] It would still have been pointless, but ego was a concern with racing drivers.

[hr][center][h2]Sunday May 9th, 2094, 16:38
Portimão, Portugal[/h2][h3]Paddock roof terrace[/h3][/center][color=#1EFF24]”Don’t take this the wrong way,”[/color] Bea set down a cup of tea beside Ava as she joined her on the terrace overlooking the back of the paddock where the team was finishing up loading the trucks with a mischievous smirk, [color=#1EFF24]”But I expected a calmer reaction from a test pilot.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”An ejection system would have made that situation calmer.”[/color] Ava offered half-hearted defense as she accepted the steaming gift, [color=#7AFFAD]”Better now than next race.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”True. Heard something about injectors?”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”You heard correct. Started pissing fuel into the engine uncontrollably, and beyond the combustion chambers. Total loss.”[/color] The Chilean pilot explained, [color=#7AFFAD]”Good damage control today.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Not good enough. Couldn’t even get past a crippled ship.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Driven by someone with over a decade of experience. Our partners and fans could do a lot worse than us.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”True. They could’ve been with Fitzroy.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”Fitzroy Orbital has fans?”[/color] Ava asked after in jest a pause.
[color=#1EFF24]”They do. I saw them myself after Italy. All six of them.”[/color] Bea joined in on the joke, [color=#1EFF24]”On second thought, they were probably just some of Jen’s fans.”[/color]
Neither of the chuckling women noticed the Delta Hyper crew member sitting a few tables away having surreptitiously turned the camera drone on while leaving it laying on the table.

[hr][center][h2]Monday May 10th, 2094, 10:09
Buenos Aires, Argentina[/h2][h3]”The Ranch” (Carrera Condor Formula AG Team headquarters)[/h3][/center][color=#FFAA00]”Looks like you managed well in my absence. Portugal did not turn out great, but we soldier on. Ava, the engineers have already assessed the damage, we’ll have your ship back in order in time. The non-engine damage was less than initially expected.[/color] He began before turning to Bea, [color=#FFAA00]”Having returned to talks with Sarif Industries, Mr. Sarif made a note of the liquid immersion system used by the number 18 crew and suggested one of their products for our use. I believe you plan on synthetic lung replacement?”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”I don’t think that’s necessary now.”[/color] Bea shook her head, [color=#1EFF24]”My main reason is an issue of comfort and convenience. If the option for on-track gains is there now, it will be there later. But we sacrificed the last race for Luna, I think we should keep the momentum going. If the heart replacement surgery is anything to go by, there will also be a recovery time which is why I’m holding off on it until the summer break.”[/color] Not that she didn’t want it yesterday, but even scatter-brained people knew distractions were bad.
[color=#FFAA00]”Very well.”[/color] León nodded, [color=#FFAA00]”Ronaldo?”[/color]
[color=#D81A1A]”Preparations are on schedule. Now it’s a matter of setup priority.”[/color] The engineer answered, [color=#D81A1A]”Simulations show a balanced approach to not be worth the effort, which leaves us two choices.
Option one: Focus ELS for an aggressive strategy. The pack is level on this, but we are up there. This will favor Ava slightly given her familiarity with the system.
Option two: Speed and handling. It would allow us to even out the deficit, given the ship performs well in these areas now, and plays better into Beatrix’ racing style.”[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]”Aggressive sounds good. Plus projections place ELS as critical, not to mention Ava has raced there already, I haven’t. This will likely be her show and there’s bigger point gaps in higher places.”[/color]
[color=#7AFFAD]”I was going to say the same, but I’m glad you said it first.”[/color]
[color=#FFAA00]”I agree. Everyone pulling in the same direction, you make my job so easy.”[/color] León shared a joke, generally seeming less tightly wound than in the past month. [color=#FFAA00]”Flávia, you had something you wanted to bring up?”[/color]
[color=#FFD800]”Yes, given that a large share of Pridwen Solutions’ portfolio is in spaceflight, Mr. Ward asked for our pilots’ time before the weekend for some promotional work.”[/color]
[color=#FFAA00]”Easy enough to do, if it’s nothing risky. We’ll be on the Moon early anyway to acclimatize.”[/color]

[hr]
[center][b]Bea Ward @MadBea[/b]: 
[i]"Not the result you were hoping to see, and our apologies to everyone who came to support us in person at a race we chose to sacrifice even before mechanical failures hampered us further than expected.
With the team rested, we’re hard at work preparing for the next one. We’ll be back in gear then, revving higher than ever.”

#FormulaAG #CarreraCondorFA #AGRacing #PortugeseAGP[/i]
[/center]
[b]Briat77:[/b] Absolutely disgusting to see what this team has become. Selling out to Tommy corpo scum and blatantly prioritizing their planted pilot who has nothing to do with the team’s culture, just brings money.
	[b]Javi:[/b] team prolly sabotaged ava to make ward look better artificially
		[b]IronBeer:[/b] …do you need psychiatric help? ‘Cause I know a guy.
		[b]Xinny:[/b] [b]@TiresAndTinfoil[/b] if you’re ever doing a podcast I’ve got a co-host for you.
			[b]NineIron:[/b] You mean a “nutcast”
			[b]Darkstar69:[/b] I’d pay to watch that. Preferably after a good blunt.
				[b]Crossfit_Crusader:[/b] Might wanna hit up that pothead weirdo that hangs around Valkyrie forums.
[b]CarreraCarmen:[/b] Nooooo, poor Ava.
	[b]GalwayGirl:[/b] She was absolutely on fire today.
[b]AndesAG:[/b] maybe time for that new engine pridwen has been failing to deliver since season start
[b]User420:[/b] [b]@MadBea:[/b] Any thoughts on the continuing Valkyrie mess?
	[b]MadBea:[/b] I think it’s best to not stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.
[b]CloroxEnjoyer:[/b] Hope Nordic Call can bounce back after this BS.
	[b]Shel1:[/b] You mean Astrid, ‘cause Waldgard is fucking nowhere
		[b]NorthWest:[/b] We don’t claim him. As far Sweden is concerned, he’s Danish.

[hr][b][center][h3][code]Fri 14/05 18:22         EVA            [Batt: 42%][/code][/h3][/center][/b]
[center]———— Today ————[/center][color=#E100DB]> BEATRIX VIOLA![/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> What?[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> I cannot believe you.[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> What did I do now?[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> [Link to Delta Hyper Episode 5, timestamped to Bea’s exchange with Paul just after the kart race][/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> What?[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> What’s harmless banter between friends?[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> You are unbelievable![/color]
[sup][You reacted with 😆][/sup]
[color=#1EFF24]> And you need to lay off the romcoms. 😛[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> If you have a wishlist for Moon souvenirs, send it my way.[/color]
[sup][“Eva” reacted with ❤️][/sup]
[color=#E100DB]> I’ll take some regolith samples and take a lot of holos.[/color]
[sup][You reacted with 👍][/sup]
[color=#1EFF24]> Nothing for Christopher?[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> I didn’t want to presume.[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> He builds dioramas and models.[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> Moon landings?[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> He doesn’t have any yet.[/color]
[color=#1EFF24]> [Link to 1:10 scale model]? 😛[/color]
[color=#E100DB]> Fiend. 😆[/color]

[hr]
[center][url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TrLdbYUu7LJQf9_6F1zblN3WfwvCU8R3W8Xskd8b3vI/edit?usp=sharing]Carrera Condor NPCs[/url][/center]