[color=gold][center][h2][i][b]INTERVIEWS[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [u]Pre-Qualification[/u] [@Starlance] [b]"We'll have to see what comes up later today! What do you think of Ava Villarosa, your team-mate? You say you want to be comparable- what do you think splits the two of you?"[/b] [hr] [@MrSkimobile] [b]"Sounds like you have your approach down, Kais. We look forward to seeing you charging hard!"[/b] Aurora replied, with a chuckle in return, calm enough, the character in front coming with one hell of a story. That of course, wasn't escaping. [b]"How about the others on the grid? What have you got to say for the other racers you'll be going toe to toe with?" [/b] [hr] [@LadyAmber] [b]"Apologies, Alexander. Whilst you can't divulge changes, how would your approach impart on the team?"[/b] Aurora started, knowing he had places to be, so would wrap it up after the reply. [b]"We will be watching keenly, and I am sure we'll be excited to see an ex-driver in the paddock as a specialist at a big team. Thank you for your time. We will see you later!"[/b] [hr] [@Enzayne] Han had made leading questions easy, and more followed. But, Aurora had one thing to pick out. [b]"How has pre-season been treating you? And what did you get up to over the off-season? You have many talents, so I am sure you kept busy?"[/b] [hr] [@GingerBoi123] [b]"Passion indeed! And no doubt, many will look at Miller Motor Racing with a keen eye. Outside of Southern Cross, you have one of the youngest line-ups on the grid. Do you think you make up for experience with trying something new, like your enhancement shows?"[/b] [hr] [@Sylvan] [b]"Hey Nora, welcome to Delta Hyper! Can I call you Nelly? Your addition to Southern Cross has everyone talking- a former underground racer now at a top team, how are you feeling and how are you finding the top level so far?"[/b] Aurora asked, then following up with her next after a reply. [b]"Whilst on the wrong side of the Tasman Strait from home, this is Southern Cross's unofficial home GP. How are you feeling about it, and what do you think you can do later today?"[/b] [hr] Aurora had stayed with other ten, the tele-prompted hologram still across the room, sitting and looking over. The real person beaming in of course was exceptionally busy to keep up given her commitments, but hey, her projection here was good enough. It was still pre-qualy, and there were still questions, the last batch before they went off. The questions as before, remain unsaid, but crucially- [b]varied[/b]. Dorian listened, and gave a quiet nod, the usually amicable, polite, gentlemanly Frenchman taking a moment to think it through. The question was heavy. Loaded, but a question that needed a really thought out answer. "So, it's hard to answer that. Paul reminds me a lot of Auldrick. Very Belgian, of course. But very humble...a really good guy. Talented, capable, and I suppose this never happens in the history of Formula One, or Anti-Gravity Racing that someone has raced with a father and son on the same grid, not since.....Alonso? I suppose a lot was said, but at the end of the day, we are in a risky sport and that accident....was not something we will ever forget. There had been incredible advances in safety technology since then, no less the Field Generators in our craft, and I know Paul has been through the ranks and knows what he can do. I am sure we will make a very good team together. He has his father's talent and no matter what, he is here not because of name, but because he is the best option. I will defend him on that." Dorian's words felt tight, unusually so, but still, came out the way they had come out. A vet standing there and taking those words into heart, it felt strong, percussive even. Astrid sighed, another interview question to clear as she sipped down her energy drink. "Yes, I suppose having a scientific background helps with racing. Allows me to examine things in better detail. Algal blooms, fuel processing....yes. Also, enhanced bioalgae makes a really good component for the most incredible gin you have ever tried....which I am helping to make and is what I got up to over the off season!" Aurora sighed. Harrison relaxed further back into the chair, meanwhile. "So, what did I get up to over Season Break? Honestly mate....it was beautiful. Spent a lot of time surfing, a lot of Triathlons, gravboarding, fully got to unwind before we go on the attack this season. A lot of time in advocacy, especially for the relocation work that the Oceanic Whanau are doing for Niue and Norfolk Islanders after the floods, as well as seeing the reintroduction of the Tasmanian Tiger in Tassie. Really got to me...and a lot of good people involved in that project, and a very misunderstood animal! They're so beautiful! We did a lot of physical and physio work too, a new bone marrow means I'm getting used to having a bit more strength in my legs and arms than I'm used to, outside the muscle groups! Ah, yeah I can't tell you anymore but yeah, busy Aurora, never sitting still!" Henry looked like he knew the question was coming, but, it was certain that his response would always pitch when he got it, one way or another on updates coming from the factory. "We're going to try and improve this season. Honestly, my dad....I mean the CEO is saying we are getting more investment. We just need to be patient. We're going to develop something a lot faster, and with our technical support coming in from Zygon, I'm sure we'll have something to give. We just need to develop, then we'll be right as rain." Max chuckled, his hand against his face, shaking his head and seeing this one coming. "Look, I know what you're trying to bait me into. That Ulrich is here, not Valkyrie, because he wants mods, or he has money, or something else. This ain't that kinda place. We're a family here, you know? And he likes the project. He's the real deal. Trust me on that. Next one." Max eloquently replied, a smile on his very marketable face and shiny teeth. Layla shrugged, brushing her obsidian hair aside, revealing her tanned, gentle features, a tattoo up her neck in Henna-style, that covered her neural link and what looked like a surface-level print that attached to her augments. "Well....he'll not mind me saying this, but as a test tube ex-soldier, he's hard as nails and a man of focus. He may attack hard, but he's not out of control. He's fast. From my time researching at the joint Asterion-Cresent facility on Luna, I know harsh environments make racers even more determined. He will push hard, for sure. Just takes time to bed in and find when the limits fight back." Cassie uncrossed her legs, sipping water. "Zygon's culture? Uhhh....it is different, I don't speak Korean but that's nothing a neural piece and earworm (live earpiece translator) doesn't help with. But nothing much really compared to the European Union. Sure, there's digital sign-offs everywhere, but find a top team without it. It's work we have to do, but, it keeps us racing and at the best teams. So you have to do it sometimes, when you can't find the small army of support they send your way. It's a hard life, see, we do this too and don't just have AI companions working on everything!" She chuckled, cackling with laughter, water back to mouth. Kofi sipped down some more coffee, a funny namesake, as he chuckled. "The other rookies? They're a good bunch, yes? I like them. Young, full of vigour. Ignore Amy being elitist, I know she would say something like...."oh they don't have a Champion mentality" in her response. No disrespect, she is CRAZY good, but.....you have to give people a chance!" Amy sat up, hearing the question, 3-D printed, hollowed carbon composite hand on chin for a second as she thought about it. "So....what does it take to take a title, the Championship? Well, like my answer a while ago. A lot of grit. You can't just be printed out as a human being or win. Or have the best AI in the world. It's a fusion of person, and machine, and more than the sum of both of your composite. You need to take risks. Take the best opportunities you can. Not care what others think. And that means having it all. A really good craft. A really good team-mate. And more than anything, willing to do anything it takes and know when you're one on one with your championship rival, knowing you'll hold your line. It's forgetting what the backmarkers on the grid look like. It's knowing what clean air feels like and taking it in. That's addictive. I know that feeling so well now, it's....well, makes me want it badly." She sat up, no hint of worrying how some.....others on the grid may feel about it. She wasn't done though. "You know who would be a really good answer for that question? My boss!" And as if on command, there he was, in the next cut. The bald, 50-something, Peter Thatcher, Team Principal of Silverstone Apex, all presented in a white shirt and grey trousers, in full team garb. Just like Aurora....Irish accented. "Amy has a good habit of this, doesn't she Aurora? Drags me into these things! The f*ckin' craic on her!" Peter chuckled, sighing, knowing where that question had led into. "Jesus, here we go again....where were we?" Peter cleared his throat, Aurora looking on silently. "Right then. Crucially, Amy's right, Aurora. It's not just about your pilot. Not about good your craft is. Only way to win, is with your team because the people at the factory, sponsors and everyone else, makes it. And we have to make cutting decisions sometimes. Not everyone will be happy, or understand. Marginal gains, you see." "From my time being at teams for years that win, that's what it takes. Simon Hall, our lead Technical Designer, could go on for hours about the Art of AG Design, like his new e-book talks about. Then Amy, much of a wildcard as she is, is just no doubt, fast. Focussed. Doesn't even consider the idea of a flaw. She just gets on with it and delivers, every time. So yeah, it all works out. You just need to give people like that the freedom to do what they need to. Not like some teams....we don't win by committee, meetings, or just some chaotic free-for-all pinning everything into speed over stability and creating rockets rather than ships that can be managed. We have the freedom to just focus on what matters. Winning. The rest, like our R&D, our cutting edge tech that's propelled other organisations further? We pay people for that and they're champions too." [hr] [center] [h1][b] Saturday March 4th, 2094 Auckland, New Zealand 2030 NZST [/b] [/h1] [/center] [center][img]https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/auckland-sky-tower-iconic-landmark-600nw-700518094.jpg[/img][/center] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Pre-Race Party[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKXJt5BIZVA]Soundtrack: DNMO, Wolfy Lights: Bombalaya (Blooom Remix)[/url][/b] [u]Post Qualification[/u] Almost all of the pilots were out at a fan meet, the brief period of time each pilot would, out of most likely, generosity and the need to at least keep marketability up and keep the sponsors happy. Despite all the corporate bullshit, people needed to go represent. And the soundtrack did not let up- just utterly insane. The camera's following anyone of any interest- but it picks up one strand for a moment before anyone who is going to be followed, that hasn't been already in the post qualy party, is. [b]Pilots could narrate their way, or go quiet if they wanted to enjoy it. Up to them- after all, exposure is a nice thing to have, but man, would be intrusive....[/b] Amy meandered through the paddock, an entourage following. There's a certain look to her, team merino wool and hyper-smooth, hyper-futuristic tech fleece and baseball cap on, and the photos and camera were on her, though not saying much at all yet. She looked on at Cassie and Han getting pictures in their bit of Zygon's Fan Zone, and then, Layla and Kais in theirs, Layla waving to crowds and signing, "Yalla" herself with her gold catching eyes. Then Max and Ulrich, the young guns, happy as ever to be in this frame of things. Harrison and Nora, the shock third place sitter who nobody saw coming, let alone could even believe was here, then over in the far corner, Bea, with a growing crowd. She really was a star for such a small team driver, her marketability was just remarkable, Amy noticed. Another Brit, too. Then Han and Cassie, an unconventional pair, but bonding. She wasn't particularly interested in talking to any right now, just observing, as she signed bits on her way, as were Paul and Dorian, fielding questions with Valkyrie. She would have her own little bit of fan-zone, no Silver Apex really needed. And the questions came thick and thin. Celebrities were here, from music to films and those that did both, and it's a hell of a scene. [b]The party is going, and for anyone there- they can make of it what they will. Chill with their team, go to the fan zones, or hell, even join in the party itself. Options here are good. Probably limited chance to interact with other pilots, but that would come tomorrow. So, indulge![/b] [hr] [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Under the Hood[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][h2][i][b]Ava Villarosa[/b][/i][/h2][/center] The party would die soon enough though, not that the Chilean of Carrera Condor was particularly engaging now. No film cameras were present there. She sat inside of the secluded trailer, on the bed lay Ava, with her wings a little clipped. "How's it looking, doctor?" She asked, her husk carrying, Doctor Ivan Garroa holding up one the carbon-fibre, titanium reinforced legs in hand. "You have two legs built for hypersonics because you're an ex-pilot, not anti-gravity. This isn't easy a fix." He sighed, the holographic display haptically responding, as Ava was quite literally, plugged in, like a diagnostic cable was running into an ODP port in the base of her neck. And most of all, missing two legs that he was tweaking at the base. Ivan was a Doctor, yes, but basically was an engineer too for this particular problem. On site, he was good for biotechnical fixes for highly augmented pilots like Ava alongside a couple of neural engineers, but back home, a fully-fledged biosciences and biotechnology team filled in the void. Quite literally, you could rip a person almost entirely apart and replace nearly every organ. Not that there was any practical reason to do that- shit, while you could have almost an artificial replacement for anything, unless it saved weight and was more efficient, no point. It was a point of risk, and any engineer would tell you fucking too much with a good thing was a bad idea. So it was contained to just critical, the bits that were the winning edge. Doctors like Ivan knew how to balance that. "Luckily, I keep spare components that don't get fried under load. I know you like these legs, Ava. But attachment isn't good, even if they're good on corners. You need to think about replacing them with a more modern composite. Before the boss just does it anyway." Ivan said, Ava sighing, knowing it was the crunch time. *CLIP* With it, he gently pushed them into place once secured to a bracket at the bottom of her stump. "There's nothing out there I like the same. These have done a lot for me." Ava replied, knowing there was some sentimentality to it. After all, she could give up the brute strength in them for inputs in replacement of something finer, but more fragile. All a game, and not one she always was on the right side of, given engineers usually had an override if they had to. As fucked up as it was- about the only thing that a Pilot had, was their brain. And everything else was up for grabs. There were limits of course, but pilots like Layla, and little known to few, Amy, were pushing that idea. "I know. Common symptom of anyone. Exhale please." Another firm clip and push in place. "That should do the trick, yes?" Ava replied, checking her movement, feeling it easily reconnect, the AI-driven, haptic feel at the base of her thigh stump syncing perfectly. It looked more industrial as a prosthetic than some who either kept it skin-natural or even painted it, but, it worked and was hers. Attachment was easy, after all. It was literally a piece of you. "Yeah, should do it. All other diagnostics are good. Your heart augmenter is nice, and your bloods are looking perfect. You look after yourself well, Ava, you're in one of the best shapes I've seen a Pilot in, given your regime, maeks sense. But you need to help yourself too on stuff like that." The Doctor replied, Ava sighing, the telemetry like a car available for Ava to look at, and without even the use of an X-Ray scanner, literally allowing her to look INSIDE herself at the various augments and implants. "Good. Don't tell Bea I'm just stubborn?" "Whatever gave you the impression she doesn't already know?" [hr] [center] [h1][b] Sunday March 5th, 2094 Auckland, New Zealand Race Day 1300 NZST [/b] [/h1] [/center] [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dquO_by8GI8]Soundtrack: Bonobo- Migration[/url][/b] Race day. Prep, final checks, everything else. It was a hive, and the party was dead, the soundtrack of drum and bass pounding replaced by a more sombre, eclectic yet thrumming quiet. Most importantly? [color=gold][center][h2][i][b]Grid Photo[/b][/i][/h2][/center][/color] And there it was. A little away from where the paddock was, the track met the ocean and behind it, the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the pontoon moored to the land. All ten ships of each team were sprawled across it in isolation and floated, from the majestic white of Silver Apex, the Koru-swirling navy and yellow of Southern Cross, the dark grey, yellow, pink and neon blue of Valkyrie, the dark green of Al-Saqr, the purple-like pearl and red of Zygon, the aurora-like pink of Nordic Call, the teal blue of Miller Motor Racing, the orange of SuperCat, the spotted-rainbow overlay on black and white composite of Carrera Condor, then the black and red of Fitzroy. Everyone was there, full pilot attire, minus helmets, standing there in front of each craft, side by side, and the drone was coming in. You'd think you would fake this now, you absolutely could. But tradition was tradition. This was when the grid came together, and looked at each other's craft, each other, and more fundamentally? All twenty were in each other's company. And nobody else, bar a camera drone and well, an invisible defence system. You know, just in case about a few billion dollars worth of pilots were to be caught out. Insurers were adamant about that. The drone swooned in, catching the bridge, and the view of all the pilots, their craft, and their gazes in full. Amy adjusted her presence, next to Jamie Hart, the new blood in the Apex seat alongside her for the year. Ex-Nordic Call driver, a rare find for the Scandinavian team, and the young, pale Canadian shared the honours for this year of trying to survive Amy...or at least, not get trounced. Amy checked her lid, a fully translucent helmet that made something like a modern-day F35 helmet look low-tech. Almost near 360 vision, and whilst it was a common setup, minor tweaks for each pilot's personal preferences existed. She looked across, and got a good look at all of them. Kais's fire, Bea's creative flair and control, to Nora's punk that excluded even beyond her Southern Cross colours, to Ulrich's efficiency, then Han, the bioengineered poster child for Zygon. New blood. But blood nonetheless to take on. Someone had to break the awkward silence, now the publicists were gone. "No bad blood from last year, yeah Amy?" Harrison commented, chuckling, Amy sighing, shrugging her shoulders. "Nah, not really. You gave me a good run. Try harder though." Amy replied with a sarcastic chuckle, to the laugh of a few other pilots, the casting director adjusting them to get another photo in. "This is like being at bloody school again." Henry commented with his cool Caribbean voice, as Cassie tsk'd. "The one you went to privately? Some of us were born without a silver spoon in our mouth. What, your trillionaire daddy also insuring you for truths?" The Scots-Portuguese got some looks, as she almost looked to say "what?" to others, as they shuffled. A bit of a groan, before Kofi, the man of reason, stpeped in. "Well, are we all in agreement we shouldn't kill each other this season? We have a safety committee too we all agreed we'd send three people in for." Kofi retorted, the Ghanian the last person you'd insult. You'd have to be a real dick to do that....right? "That would make sh*t content. Look at that drone." Astrid simply retorted, the aurora-wearing pilot suit glimmering with the sheen it had, as she looked across to some of the others, seeing it come into view. And well, Astrid just being blunt was never not funny, as it even got Harrison. "You want content! We will make you content! Welcome to the circus!" Astrid yelled out, to the casting director's actual, physical sigh and possibly the entire audience's laugh. This was going to be a short half an hour made long.