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Ariel Piper is one of the few female hover car racers, and driver of the Pied Piper.

History[]

Early History[]

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Ariel Piper obtained her own racing-class hover car, which she christened the Pied Piper. During her teens, Ariel became one of only a few girls to race in the U.S. tournaments, indeed one of the few female racers in the whole world.

At aged 17, after winning the East-American Regional Championships, Ariel expected to be invited into the International Race School, just as all qualifiers in regional tournaments were. However, she was declined admission by the school, primarily by the Principal, Jean-Pierre LeClerq, simply because she was a girl.

Ariel took the matter to the Australian High Court, which concurred that Ariel's gender was no reason to decline her a place at the school, and forced the School to allow her entry.

Hover Car Racer[]

Immediately upon arrival for her first term at the Race School, Ariel was the focus of many reporters who had heard of her situation, so she sat alone in the Race Briefing Room as the opening announcements and student-teacher pairings were made.

During dinner that night, Ariel sat alone again, until Jason Chaser approached, asking if her could join her. After explaining the reason for the press's attention and her isolation, Ariel almost broke down in tears because of her worries regarding LeClerq not wanting her around and the other racers giving her odd looks. Luckily Jason was able to cheer her up, telling Ariel that crying would signify that everyone that they had won, and promised to be her friend.

During the first race of the school season, Ariel was able to maintain fourth place for much of the race, until the last turn when all of her right-side magneto drives lost power, forcing her to continue straight out towards the cliffs on the other side of the bay. Jason, seeing she was in trouble, gave up the race in order to pursue her, and despite his suggestion to eject, Ariel refused, citing that without her car it would be the end of her time at school. Jason instead decided to use his own car to lift the Pied Piper above the clifftop, where emergency vehicles caught her.

In the aftermath, Ariel thanked Jason for his heroics, and mentioned that her mech chief had discovered that her magneto drives had been doctored before the race and that her mainframe had been attacked by a timed virus. Ariel feared that someone was intentionally trying to force her out of Race School.

Similar problems arose during several of the next races, with more magneto drive issues, viruses and thinned coolant hampering Ariel's progress on the Championship Ladder. Despite new firewalls and complaints to Wernold Smythe at the Parts and Equipment Department, little was able to change after 15 races. Fortunately, however, Ariel was able to win Race 18, qualifying her to participate in the Sponsor's Tournament.

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Personality[]

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Skills[]

  • Expert Driver / Pilot: As seems to be standard practice for anyone wishing to learn how to drive a hover car, Ariel is capable of piloting the aviation-type hover car. She is capable of performing aerial feats and maneuvers that in the present day are only known to pilots of fighter jets.
  • Expert Tactician: During her time as the driver and leader of Team Piper, Ariel has repeatedly shown her skills as a strategist in order to try and overcome her rivals.

Equipment[]

Vehicles[]

  • Pied Piper: Ariel's personal hover car, a Boeing Evercharge-III.
  • Argonaut: The custom-built Ferrari Pro F1 belonging made by Jason, which he loaned to Ariel in order to race against Fabian.

Other Equipment[]

  • Team Piper Racing Uniform: To Be Added.
  • Pit Tarantula: To Be Added.

Trivia[]

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