by Victoria Sheridan 11th June 2020, 4:44 pm
-Motor City Test Track, early afternoon-
Wearing her Azure Armor over her Steel Matron t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts with white tennis shoes, Victoria arrived at the Motor City Test Track to answer Dr. Hanlon's request to test the improved DH-40 Centaur, that marvel of engineering that she had first tested months ago. The test drive had revealed numerous problems with the Centaur like a problem with the coolant system, an underpowered engine that overheated easily, the air intake system being inadequate, and other problems that combined to make the first test drive something of a failure. Today Dr. Hanlon promised that all the engineering problems had been ironed out and that there would be no repeats of the mishaps that had marred the first test drive.
Victoria entered the test track to find Dr. Hanlon and his new partner Dr. Reid standing around a wooden table with some laptops set up. The laptops displayed all manner of technical data on the Centaur that she did not understand and that she could not even begin to understand. She greeted Dr. Hanlon and Dr. Reid.
"Hi there! Sorry it took so long for me to get here." Victoria apologized for being late. The two doctors turned to face the Sabertooth mage and were taken aback by her new appearance. Victoria knew that she should really start trying to find a way to shift back to her old appearance soon, but before she could even think about that she had to play Whack-A-Cult first in the Haunted Guild and then Silent Cemetery hardly a day later. Stopping demons from being summoned into the world came before solving the mystery of who she really was. The world would thank her for getting her priorities straight.
Dr. Hanlon was the first to speak to the brunette.
"Miss Sheridan, is that really you?" He asked in amazement. Victoria nodded and rolled up her left sleeve to show her Sabertooth guild tattoo.
"Oh my. It really is you! You've grown quite a bit since we last met!" Dr. Hanlon expressed amazement at the brunette's new form. Victoria laughed a bit.
"It's a long story, Dr. Hanlon. I'll have to tell you all about it once I get the story myself." Victoria told him. Dr. Reid spoke up.
"Dr. Hanlon, if she really is Miss Sheridan, do you think her increased weight will affect the reworked Centaur's performance any?" Dr. Reid asked. Victoria frowned and put her hands on her hips before glaring daggers at Dr. Reid. What was the blonde doctor trying to get at? Was she calling "Tall Victoria" fat?
"No, not at all. The Centaur was made with a weight tolerance of up to 500 pounds before performance is affected. That's enough for the rider and one passenger, maybe two passengers in a pinch." Dr. Hanlon answered. Dr. Reid looked at the brunette and finally realized how badly she had messed up.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by it, Miss Sheridan!" Dr. Reid apologized. Victoria could tell from Dr. Reid's body language that the blonde was telling the truth, so she decided to let the matter go so that they could focus on the reason they were all here, which was testing the new and improved DH-40 Centaur.
"Eh, it's no problem, Dr. Reid. I'm ready to test the Centaur whenever you guys are." Victoria said casually, putting the conversation on the implied insult about her weight to rest. Dr. Reid handed Victoria the same blue helmet with the built-in headset and microphone that she had worn last time. She then handed Dr. Hanlon a wireless headset and put her own headset on. Victoria put on the helmet and Dr. Hanlon pointed her towards the waiting DH-40 Centaur.
"The controls are the same as the last time, my dear. Take the Centaur onto the track and we'll begin the test drive." Dr. Hanlon instructed her. Victoria flashed a thumbs-up sign with her right hand and climbed onto the Centaur. Gently twisting the handlebars forward, Victoria eased the hovercycle onto the test track and sat in place to await the command from Dr. Hanlon. She noted how smoothly the throttle controls worked this time and was pleased with that improvement.
-On the test track-
"Now, before we begin the test drive we'll need to do a comms check." Dr. Hanlon informed Victoria. The brunette waited in place and listened to some papers rattle in the background.
"Can you hear me, Miss Sheridan?" Dr. Hanlon asked.
"I can hear you loud and clear, Dr. Hanlon." Victoria answered calmly.
"Can you hear me, Miss Sheridan?" Dr. Reid asked. Victoria had clenched her teeth in anticipation of having her ears blown out by the volume control being set too high, but this time Dr. Reid had adjusted it before speaking.
"I can hear you loud and clear, Dr. Reid." Victoria answered calmly.
"Good. You may commence the test drive when ready." Dr. Hanlon gave Victoria the command she had been waiting for.
"OK. Starting the test drive now." Victoria replied. She gently twisted the handlebars forward and got the Centaur in motion at a modest 5 MPH. She continued to slowly accelerate until the vehicle was moving at 20 MPH, which was a fifth of the Centaur's top speed. However, the new Centaur had presumably received an improved engine as part of the updates to the design, so she had no idea of what the vehicle's new top speed was. She would find out whenever Dr. Hanlon ordered her to go faster.
Victoria rounded the first curve at 25 MPH and noted that the Centaur had kept its responsive steering in turns after being upgraded. That was another feature of the hovercycle that pleased the Sabertooth mage. She kept going at her current speed and listened out for any special instructions from either of the doctors. Victoria rounded the second curve and maintained 25 MPH when she received instructions.
"You may finish the first lap at your current speed. Once you finish it I'd like you to accelerate to 50 MPH and run a lap at that speed." Dr. Hanlon requested.
"Understood." Victoria said as she turned into the third curve. Not too long after that she turned into the fourth curve and passed the entry gate. At the start of the second lap she slowly increased the speed until she was running at 50 MPH. She carefully maintained the new speed as she approached the first turn.
[Post Word Count: 1,081]
[Total Word Count: 1,081/2,500]