FourtyTwo

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

Round 2 of the Formula Anti-Gravity Championship
Sunday March 19th, 2094
Race Day
South African AGP
Cape Town, South Africa
1400 GMT

The commentary team, Rory and Rosie back at it again, were back in your ears as a panorama of the circuit, and then a cut to them came through.

"Welcome to Cape Town! Founded by the Dutch in 1652, the South African metropolis hosts Round 2 of Formula Anti-Gravity, and the circuit today takes us over Table Mountain and the iconic harbourside!" Rosie led, the chirpy commentator probably too happy for many of those at home, but well, it meant it was race time.

"And what a circuit it is, Rosie. On the calendar since 2085, we've been coming back here for racing. Iconic races, such as Kofi Mensah's win here in 2089, and Loreen Hari's crash out of the podium here in 2088 are certainly talking points, and no doubt this is a circuit that creates tension. It's a high speed circuit loved by many, and the locals are in full force, celebrating one man and one team- Supercat."

"Well, I'm sure the other fans will be roaring at home! Will Nora Kelly repeat her feat from Auckland, will we see Valkyrie's new direction under their Team Principal? So many questions Rosie, we really will start to see that here!" Rory called out, his trademark excitement

"Shall we take a track overview, Rory?"

"Sure thing, Rosie! Let's go to our overlay now. The circuit begins at the Cape Town Stadium, and quickly blasts its way uphill after a hard left right sector, rolling up Signal Hill and hitting a series of high speed, no brake corners on Lion's Head, before coming back down and back up like a rollercoaster onto Kloof Ridge, mag-tracking creating a sinew of high speed fast left, right and broken straights that then leads to the biggest one, followed by a large 180 degree banking across Table Mountain requiring no brakes, all speed with long straights, before dropping down into the Camps Bay sector through PLattekip Gorge and a fast series of corners, over the elevated section in Camps Bay through the high rises on elevated track.

The circuit then goes back to Lion's Head via an inverse banking that requires quite a level of skill, before then navigating around the stadium again through a hard series of corners to break up the lap. Cape Town requires a lot of bravery, and the circuit is almost full throttle on Lion's Head, all Table Mountain sections and is broken up with hard techncial sections testing the pilots through sidewinders in Camps Bay and at Cape Town Stadium."

"Wow, you have been practicing! In one go as well!"

"Thank you! Well, Cape Town is a long string-like circuit that loops back on itself, it's one of the longer on the grid, but with speeds on offer, blink and you'll miss it!"

---

Lion's Charge

Soundtrack: Art of Rally OST- Wind

"And away they go! Strong start from everyone, Kelly, Stirling and Makara are fighting hard, you can barely separate them!"

"My word, and what a move Ward has made in her Carrera Condor ship, she's leaped past Al-Nadir, looks like Hart is trying to find a way through past Zenix, Al-Nadir is has lost a couple places, Hornfleur and Han are going close together after!"

"Wow, what a race start! To think they were outside of the Top 10, what is that Carrera Condor ship on?"

"Looks like everyone else is coming through clean as we come up to the Lion's Head, so far so clean, as we watch them barrel down and then back up again into Kloof Ridge, it's steep but AG craft just seem to keep climbing around the ridge, what a sight that is!"

---

"And look at the midfield fight too! Hart, Nadir, Zenix are so, so close fighting over fourth, they're coming into the Stadium section, big undulation here, Hart is making a move on the outside.....that can't work, that's three into two around the right hander down, there isn't the room left for Zenix or Ward! There's going to be.....oh no there is, contact!"

And there it was. One hell of a crash, which if the trackside repulsor field hadn't have done something, would have been a magnitude larger. Not that damage was spared, as the craft was half ripped apart, sacrificially, and the safety cell doing its job.

"Oh dear, that is a huge hit to Ward, Zenix looks like they didn't come off great and they've lost a couple of positions! That is a serious crash, are they going to red flag this?"

"Red flag is out! All racers are stopping, that is some quite serious damage to the track, and the Carrera ship is looking completely dead, serious structural damage, and slumped out. It looks like Ward is fine, she's moving and out of the craft, but that ship has taken a hell of a beating."

"Wow, it looks like it was caused by a dead air pocket as Jamie Hart makes his overtake on Kais Zenix in a messy divebomb, a bit of turbulence knocked the two craft together from just how hard Kais brakes there and it looks like the Carrera Condor craft came off the worst, and collided. The craft's safety mechanism worked perfectly, as did the trackside repulsors but even they look like they have taken a nasty hit!"

"Unbelievable scenes here, we couldn't write this, it looks like two of the fieriest new racers in the midpack have collided, all ships are gently coming back to pit and we'll await a restart."

"Understandable of course, it looks like an awful lot of the repulsor mechanism needs replacing, as does a section of the track. We'll be awaiting the drones and recovery shortly, but it does look like Beatrix is okay. We'll get some comms from her shortly. Looks like not much either could have done, but they were fighting hard the entire way, and it looked like something was bound to happen."

The race was immediately red flagged- or at the least, temporarily stopped.

Many, many questions would be asked about Hart's overtake there, Bea's and Kais's contact. An unforced error, or two racers going too hard with something to prove- one for glory in points, the other to prove Al-Saqr's need to get even more? A heartbeat flutter about Bea would turn to the replays, and well, what had gone down. Was it a lack of experience in dogfighting that Bea had underestimated her opponent, or had Kais just sent it and forgotten the overall strategy to use the craft's other advantages elsewhere?

But it wouldn't be long till the racers were back to the grid, for a full restart. The track was fixed, pilots had been back in and ships assessed and if any debris was caught, fixed using 3D scanning and other tech. A lot of pressure, and anyone that had seen that, or come near, like Han, Paul or Kais were certainly going to feel it. Kais had lost positions because of it, and at the restart, he was further back than he should be- making it a fightback now, and while his ship was fixed, not every system would be perfect. From a neural link's view, it would be like the equivalent of going for a run now with a grazed knee- thrusters and control surfaces fine, as were all the engine components and ECU elements, yet decent marks were on the surface that had been patched to keep the aerodynamic surface intact, and paper the cut.

---

And just like that, they were back, as the lights went again. The order stayed the same....apart from one difference.

"And we're away again! Great start from Villarosa, she's just carved past Mulder and Han, through the stadium section up into Lion's Head, she is on a mission to get points for Carrera!"

"Amazing, all clean so far, as the front three are also fighting hard, everyone has so much to prove, everyone has so much to give, who's going to come through?"

"Well, Makara and Stirling are in a hard ELS fight, looks like Amy Stirling wants this win!"

"No doubt, I hope we don't see a repeat, hold onto your hats folks, any one of these three front-runners could win, they are near deadlocked on pace, looks like Amy has the ELS advantage, but that Southern Cross craft is seemingly unstoppable on the straights coming through Table Mountain!"

---

Race Results for Cape Town

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn…

---

Soundtrack: Grafix, Andromedik- Comedown

Barely seconds were in it between first, second and third, and you could barely split them. Amy had come out on top, but it had been a dogfight the entire way. How another crash hadn't happened was incredible, and proved just how intense the top three wanted this.

"My word, that had everything, didn't it Rosie?"

"Yes, absolutely! A massive crash that I bet Beatrix Ward and Kais Zenix are absolutely gutted about for losing points, and it looks like no further action has been taken for Jamie Hart by the racing stewards, as it's been declared a racing incident." Rosie replied, Rory's eyebrows raised. He was a commentator, not a steward, but even his eyes were in curiosity over it.

"Wow, I think that'll create some controversy...I'm sure commentary will be talking about this for a while, but let's focus on the front three. Rosie, what happened up there?"

"Looks like Stirling got her break with ELS, and broke the deadlock with Makara, and Nora followed through, nipping away. It looked like Nora was right on the edge throughout, whatever Southern Apex are doing, they are hungry and they are making Amy sweat!" Rosie replied, the camera turning to the ships pulling in, and Amy clambering out of her cockpit, despite everything inside cooling and her various systems attached to her suit, still in sweat, from the intense focus at the silly speeds these craft could do, on such a fast circuit.

"Indeed, but as always, Stirling doesn't need her team-mates to hold back rivals- and she will be tough for Harrison, let alone Nora to crack. But what a race from them both, you can't say they didn't give it everything, and it was so close to going their way."

"Absolutely, further down the grid, we must admit, we're surprised at Hornfleur's ability to cut through traffic and master his ELS, on a circuit he admitted he wasn't expecting much on! Zenix made a great recovery drive to score 7th, but how about Ava Villarosa? She came from nowhere, got the points back for Carrera and I bet they must be in two moods. They have a craft that can score, yet perhaps luck didn't swing their way."

"Yes Rosie, yet speaking of bad luck, Al-Saqr will be disappointed on a speed heavy track they couldn't make their craft pay more dividends, as they looked very competitive at one point before the red. Al-Nadir was definitely not able to capitalise on that despite some excellent racecraft after the restart, and I imagine she'll be kicking herself for a poor start, but it looks like they had to salvage what they could. No MMR, Nordic Call, SuperCat in the points either, which some will be surprised about, but with the competitive pace of the ships ahead of them, that would be difficult to make the most from."

"Indeed, and one more that isn't talked about is Cassie Neves, who had an engine fireout on Lap Ten, looks like her ELS system attached to it completely gave out and she had to retire. Perhaps while Zygon is planning its recovery this season, things are not off to a great start!"

"Not at all, who knows what happened there, but we will have more analysis to come. For now, your winner, Amy Stirling, followed by Nora Kelly, Harrison Makara, Jamie Hart, Layla Al-Nadir, Dorian Hornfleur, Kais Zenix, Ava Villarosa, Hyeon-Ae Han and Paul Mulder in the top ten."

---

Post Race, Cape Town: Cooldown

The cooldown room had a slightly different vibe to it than usual.

It felt tense. Gritted even, it wasn't a rookie getting their first podium, it was a lion of the sport sharing it with two leopards. Southern Cross were not gaining in points on Silver Apex, but neither were they letting off the gas. After all, they were 7 points behind, and whilst they'd lost P1 in the race, P2/P3 was still a remarkable achievement because it meant they were coming after them. If Jamie had failed again, they'd be AHEAD.

"Jamie shouldn't have made that move." Harrison said, looking at the incident back, tsk'ing his tongue. It was simple, straight, but Amy grinned, in disagreement.

"He's just trying to compete. Nothing you wouldn't do, Harrison?" Amy jabbed back, a wry grin on her face, shrugging. "I mean, someone else has to join me on this podium apart from Nora here. She's proving quite the talent! Maybe focus on your own team-mate first before you go for mine?" Amy stirred more, as Harrison shrugged, sarcastic back in turn.

"Well, she's giving you a run, isn't she!" Harrison replied, a smirk in his face, knowing Nora was likely getting a lot of shit in general, but well, now stuff was getting serious, it may not have been as playful as before.

"Maybe. But there's plenty of season left. Long way to go." Amy chirped back, as she turned to meet an interviewer, Harrison turning to Nora, maybe a little more empathetic. They were fighting amongst each other, but right now, Nora and him were a team against that bulwark that was Amy. No way to beat them in the constructors than together, and for Southern Cross right now, they needed that. Only way to stay at the top facility and financially, was to live in success. Keep making it.

"Come on, Nora. Let's get out there and spray some champagne."

And champagne they did spray, on the podium again in the afternoon heat, Amy as ever, centre of attention on the top step. A step though, that seemed ever more closer that other teams were closing in on.

People were watching, and no doubt, watching the rise of a rookie that had proven that it wasn't a freak lightening strike, but a real statement here and now.

But more than that.....the media buzz wouldn't catch Nora, but the crash that happened. What could have been for Carrera. The damage was pretty sizable, and for a rookie to have a crash like that wasn't unheard of, but a pretty nasty bit of luck.

---

Post Race, Cape Town Interviews

Rory was on interviewing duties today, down in the little booth for Delta Hyper, and the various pilots were getting some time on camera.

---

@Enzayne

"Han, we loved watching your race with Paul, and it looks like you were fighting to get back to catch Villarosa! How was your fight with Paul, and how do you feel to have come out on top?"

---

@LadyAmber

"Paul, Han just left us- you two had a fight throughout the race, trading places and certainly keep each other on their toes! How do you feel about your close racing throughout, and your first point in Formula AG?

---

@Sylvan

The 2nd place finisher was certainly getting a lot more limelight, a lot more cameras now parked by the booth, and the interview with Delta Hyper, via Rory.

"What a race that was Nora! Looks like you kept Amy honest, especially right at the end with a near overtake and have proven your talent in AG- what does it feel like to go toe-to-toe with who some say is an all-time AG racing legend to be in Amy Stirling?

---

@MrSkimobile

"Kais, you must be feeling a a lot right now! An excellent recovery drive, but you must be gutted about not being able to press more positions throughout the race following your contact with Ward?"

---

@Starlance

Bea's interview was obviously a little different, phased a bit later, because of her need to get looked at. Of course, interviewing someone who'd just been in a seriously big accident was not so sensible. This interview took place a little while later that evening, separately in the Marina.

"Bea, thanks for joining us. How did you feel after that collision? It looked like a really big one, so we are all really glad to see you're okay. Is there any silver lining to your race from your positive moves in the opening laps do you think, and any lessons learned?"

---

On other aspects of the grid, the other drivers had theirs too- interspersed between the other interviews, so pilots would see them come and go.

Amy got a reception as she always did, and was certainly still feeling the heat as she stepped up to the stall.

"Thank you for that! Yeah, what a race! That was really, really hard....that time I think Southern Apex definitely had something up their sleeve! But, we came back and got them in the end. Huge props to Nora and Harrison for keeping respectable, and to the team for making the craft a dream on ELS. Love you all!"

The blonde haired, relatively young racer that was Jamie Hart was up to the stand following Amy- the question levelled at him by Rory likely to garner some attention, but he he had his reaction considering the crash that had happened before. He may have been unimpressive in Auckland, but here he'd made a bit of a mess behind him- albeit gotten the position alright, and stacked behind the two dominant Southern Cross craft.

"Well.....it was what it was with the overtake, you have to see the opportunities to make a move and if you don't take them, you don't get ahead. That's what I'm here to do, get points and if people can't play fair behind me, that's their problem, we're racing. It was a big one, but we all have to take risks to get position, and it's a shame it played out how it did."

Layla Al-Nadir wasn't so happy, even though her racecraft had persevered, she'd not punished the slower pace of Hart and her poor start had compromised her. An uncharacteristic mistake, considering her reflexes should have been a bit more superhuman to throttle the ship in that first corner better.

"That sucked a lot for us, as you can imagine. We definitely wanted to compete with Silver Apex and Southern Cross today, and we just didn't rise up to the occasion. The overtake between Jamie and Beatrix obviously cost Kais a lot, and that was a big hit he had on his craft, so he did well today to salvage that race and he kept a lot of racers at bay, so all things considered, we'll take 3rd in points from that. Super annoying, but we'll go again in Tokyo and keep our heads high. Points are good and we just need to focus on that."

Harrison smiled, though he definitely was deflated. P1 to P3 was crap, considering Nora had also gotten him in the same move Amy did, but mistakes were punished ruthlessly at the top.

"Yeah, really gutted we couldn't make advantage of the Pole Position, but Amy was just that good today, and it was an easy ELS pass she made, but we were fighting her all the way to the line, so that's great. Just shows how fine the margins are....I nearly had her at a couple of points, Nora was close enough to overtake! Watch out I guess, we showed how quick we are, we're a win away still from flipping those two title leads over!"

Max was back in frame again, the MMR racer having little to say, considering little really did happen for his end of the race. Forward one position, but no speed could keep up with the freaks ahead of him.

"Man, it's hard to answer that.....we knew we wouldn't do well here. Just had to give it our best shot, and try and avoid the chaos really."

Dorian was surprisingly positive after earlier, knowing this was actually a pretty good team result. A good salvage, and after Auckland, an important race.

"That was good. Seriously, like, really good for what our expectations were. Great points haul and glad to see Paul finish in the points, and the team make some good inroads. We got really lucky with the red flag and I kept pace with Layla and held onto an ELS tow all the way. So yeah, couldn't ask for a lot more in Cape Town after that carnage, but we made the most out of it."

Cassie wasn't so happy. An electrical failure coupled to an engine giving up, and well, that was that. It seemed yesterday's issue wasn't entirely fixed, and it had lost her the opportunity to go for points.

"Yeah, not great, lost out a lot at the Red Flag, Ava just smoked Han on that straight and gave it a lot more risk than I think we would have expected. It was hard to keep up with all the fighting with Paul, and he fought hard so we couldn't go for Ava, but we gave it a good shot. Then the ship died. And it all goes from there.....yeah, really sucks, so uncharacteristic but we'll get it fixed. It's the early season, but yeah, it's a real blow."

Ava was in two very different moods. One part of her was over the moon with actually scoring points. The other part, knowing Bea was currently getting looked over for safety reasons by a neurosurgeon and with a medical team to check for any other brain or skeletal injuries. Impacts like that had many, many Gs, and whilst Bea was completely fine and would be back to race next round, a prize racer like that didn't get a tick in a box when it came to their welfare.

"Uhhh....yeah, really sending Bea a lot of love right now, because she was doing so, so well until that stupid overtake by Hart. Seriously, no further action? I mean, she was.....yeah. But the race uhh......yeah, made advantage of the red flag, brought home some points and we are super happy to get a points finish, nearly double, but honestly, feels like a real blow to not do better."

Henry had little to add.
"Yeah, not amazing. Back of the grid. Despite a crash, we couldn't do anything to SuperCat, home fans got them pumped hey?"

Astrid neither. Nordic Call was still WELL below expectations.
"Not our circuit, but we gained some positions, but not enough to get us ahead of MMR and ELS just wasn't going to get us through. Onto Tokyo....we'll get something there!"

Kofi smirked, even in spite of his position. He'd enjoyed that race, even despite losing out fairly heavily, though some of that was down to just how competitive Nordic Call decided to be, as well as Jen Lowry of Fitzroy.
"Well, I hope the fans had a show today! Africa never disappoints, and I wish I could have gone higher, but we'll have upgrades come through for the next races. We'll start to push on."

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Iceberg Ahoy!

Fireteam Viking

0600 Local Time

Tahlia Harris

Raph followed her instructions, letting Enri get to work, adding no words. Sometimes it was best to let the master work. And well, outside it sounded like Jamie was doing precisely that, painting fire, and blasting apart the BMPs, then making a hell of a lot more noise, the .50 cals ringing out. Far away, Tahlia was picking up targets of opportunity, but knew she had to get moving herself. Best not to stay too long for any other countersnipers to get a bead. She'd overstayed her welcome.

The BMPs detonated outside, as Enri gave the all clear. With it, Raph hit the command on the laptop he was at, and well, the tower severed the link, and with it, jammed the signal.

"Queen, do you read? Signal is out, repeat, signal is out. Do what you have to do."

The supporting forces were driving one hell of a wedge, and a friendly LAV-25 rolled past Jamie, the troops nearby looked in awe, a silent one as they had a mine to secure. Jamie was a giant among men, perhaps one they'd tell stories of one day, but it seemed like here, their work was done.

"Nicely done, team. Javi, grab the team for extract, then come by me. We'll let them take it from here. Much as we need to join the fun, let's keep our presence here to a minimum. We got what we needed." Tahlia called into the comms, the decision hard, but a pragmatic one. No point sticking around if the transmitter was doing it's thing, and NATO forces had now stopped the counter-attack, and gotten their presence here clear. Questions would be asked the longer they stayed as to what exactly Raven's presence had been.

When they would turn up to the tower, they'd likely just assume it was a disabled telecommunications transmitter, and that the rogue element had been defending the mine itself, as perhaps a dispute rather than a formal tool. That was best. Questions would sink the secrecy that Raven held dear, and well, questions could be answered better to senior officers, rather than grunts.

Time to go. Time to get out, as Raph covered the door, and moving across, the hovercraft rattled into position.

The light at the end of all things. Raph, and Tahlia just prayed that the other teams had their bits covered.

---

The Planet Saver

Fireteam Poseidon

Adam Stanislaw Kajtanowicz

Soundtrack: Free Bird (TOTEM)- Lynyard Skynard

The heavy that tangled with Chuck certainly had made a mark, but as he gurgled on the floor, a horde more troops were coming in, which Ebrima had gotten to, as well as Ebrima, who was turning shit inside out. It felt fluid, fast, and most of all, unhinged, algal tanks spilling on the floor and creating a messy green from the spotless concrete and metal, the gunfire echoing. Troops were charging around, and a heavy contingent of exos lay between them and the final tank, right at the end of the room, where the Raven team had cut through a hot knife like butter to reach.

There were a lot of hostiles to clear, and no doubt, the Raven team must have felt like they were in a spectacularly epic end of the level fight, with vertical movement, soldiers getting ragdolled and blasted from every angle, given how much munition was getting thrown around in here. If there was ever a moment for each of them to demonstrate what they could do, it was now, from Chuck tanking fire despite his hurt, to Boaro slicing through enemies, to Ban bouncing bullets and running circles.

They were so close, but there was one last one, in her heavier-set exo, field generator active, saucy response with a skull and heart-like balaclava on, Luisa seemed determined to hold them back, a custom-rigged PKP in hand, a mini-missile system equivalent to Rose's exo in Chile on her shoulder to just make sure he kept moving. Money was one motivator. Wiping out Boaro was another. And his stupid friends.

"Ah, Boaro! So nice of you to come see us! Shame you'll be leaving, in a fucking bodybag, mierda! You and your two friends!" She nonchalantly yelled, as the exo-clad soldiers started pinning down Chuck and Ban, giving them a tougher fight at the centre of the rig, whislst Luisa picked out Ebrima, one on one. She had the upper hand in tech, but no doubt, even if she didn't survive this, she was dragging him with her to hell in her mind.

---

Meanwhile, up top, Adam watched as Freya just went in and slaughtered the room, red everywhere, including over the giantess in the midst of it.

"Clear. We need to move to neutralise the pump system, fast. Don't hit any pipes, if there's any leak, we're totally fucked. Once we get confirmation the toxin is dead, then we raise hell." It felt like an afterstatement, as Adam opened the next, a few bits of gunfire rattling from below, as they moved through the catwalk, and to the next door, Adam spraying rounds into two more men that ran through, before Freya had the chance to turn them into liquid. Running through the tight door, one Freya no doubt would need to squeeze through, the rounds were heavy outside, and Adam's field generator at least held for now as he slid into cover, spraying rounds, covering Freya. She was no doubt about to turn this into a popsicle field, as they moved through the top of the rig, on top of the massive warehouse, through the pipework and various structures that dotted the topside, on the spray-filled morning of the Atlantic.

The fighting was hard, as Adam went from point to point, using his EVOLYSYS to spray down heavy fire onto the cabins, clipping a squad of men, using his exo to charge hard and keep moving. It felt relentless, and Freya had her own share of things to do, but between them, they carved like a knife through butter, Adam leaping over a catwalk and ambushing another group as Freya took fire, clipping her flanks with relative ease. The command room was up ahead, and whilst there was another way to it, this was the fastest way that didn't involve going through the majority of forces defending the toxin tank below.

As they made their way into the command room, the sound of thumping could be heard, Adam checking the bottom half of the large glass-fronted structure, a large lobby that lead to a massive control room looking over the rest of it. There were a lot of bodies, a lot of blood from the fighting, and even Adam was feeling a bit of the toll. But they were heavy as hell footsteps, and suddenly, around the corner, there she was.

Laura Zeiss.

"Oh....kurwa." It felt like an understatement. Many people laughed at such an operator, and Skye had known how many people got torched on fire by someone like that taking it very seriously. There was no reasoning with her. That armour, Trophy System, and well, her flamer kit, that was no joke. The stories were all true.

"Freya! Shit, I didn't think it would be you!" Laura cackled through her gas mask, turning her flamethrower towards the two. There's no denying, whilst the Russian below was large, Laura was....well, intimidating in her own way. Her THICC suit seemed an impenetrable wall, and well, having a modified flamethrower with a jet-engine like flame wall arrangement that she'd made in her own workshop, well, now that just made things a little unfair.

"Laura, what the fuck are you doing here?" Adam yelled, watching as Laura chuckled, heartily, a little disappointed it was going this way, but still, business was business.

"They promised me a spot after it's done, business is business so I guess I made my decision.....come on Freya, not too late to join, but your little plus one, he ain't coming!" And with it, Laura turned the flamethrower out, filling the hall with fire, cackling, knowing it would certainly affect Freya alright, and if it wasn't for Adam's quick field generator flick, he'd have been fried. Running back, Laura giggled, and with it, sprouted what looked like a pair of rollerskates at her feet, and with a gentle push and what looked like her turning her pyro another way, rattled forward.

Adam didn't have words. He imagined Freya, a friend of hers, may have had even less.

They were gonna have to stop her if they were taking this plant out. One way or another.

---

Skybound!

Fireteam Icarus

Skye Rosalind Lyons

Athena Anna Kanataario

Purna Chai Gurung

Skye plinked a few more rounds down range, the M31 in a rapid fire punching hard holes into the targets they hit, the recoil sharp but nothing the Scot couldn't take, the coiled rifle making a hell of a bang up against armoured targets, whilst Athena simply put rounds down range and threw loose items at whichever one of them came her way, improvising with one of their HK416 rifles at one point, dumping a mag into one before like an angry toddler, throwing one down the hall at one and then icing them with her REX revolver. The redhead and the blonde made a team, as the Scot, even exo-less was still picking up targets like no tomorrow, moving around a island-styled kitchen unit and picking up crew on the other side of her cover.

Out of nowhere, a roar could be heard, as an exo tore through the wall, the only thing between Skye getting crushed being Athena, who in turn, managed to bear hug. What sounded like hydraulics screaming into Athena were then Athena yelling out, as Skye clattered a round into the exo's head, knocking them back, holding the trigger and holding, then releasing. The shot basically turned their head into a pink mist, as Athena dusted herself down.

"Thanks!" She shrugged, Skye giving a middle finger back, sighing.

Moving forward, Skye looked across to the team, Athena covering the rear, including Oliver who followed close, the call of Sam finding the hidden compartment news to Skye, as she knew they had to keep pressing. Skye gave a wave to Oliver to help her out, knowing they needed to secure that room, post haste.

"Chaos, get to that terminal and take the hacker out! Don't touch a fucking thing, check the hacker to see if there's anything on him!" Skye called into comms, skidding into cover, Athena blasting rounds before switching to the MAC-10s and spraying more, destroying a little more of her future penthouse, or so she hoped. Skye peeked and with the M31, slotted rounds efficient into two of their skulls, with a sickening crunch.

The hacker sprayed rounds down range at Sam, but was clearly not as good of a marksman as the Raven team were. As well trained as he was, as good as he was setting up traps, he was outgunned, outmanned, and clearly, out of his end.

Meanwhile, Skye moved from cover, the next door for the wheelhouse, and well, the cockpit of this blimp.

"Well, you gave it a good go." Rose's voice called, as the door opened, rifles aimed, the counterpart of Skye's walking across, looking at everyone gathered here, fearless even in this end.

"Hands by your head! Your repeater is out, so no activating the rig, or going anywhere. You're at a dead end, Lynx. Rose. Whatever your fucking name is!" Skye roared, Rose looking on, shrugging, sitting up on a table, hands by her head.

"So you gonna shoot then? I mean, you're smart enough to understand how this works now. And you touch that terminal, you're dead anyway. Not that you care, you'd sacrifice them all in the end to make sure I don't come back. Wouldn't you?" Rose asked, sighing, Skye moving closer, but far enough to beat Rose's reaction time.

"You have one last lecture, before I lose my shit and put a round through your skull, and every fucking version of you. It's over, Rose!"

"Then I'll make it a good one! Well. See, I thought right before the end, I'd keep things interesting. You ever wonder why the split happened?" Rose asked, Athena's raised REX pointed directly at Rose's head.

"It had me thinking, but well, they knew. You were contingency. Look at Raven. What you are. What you uphold by doing this. Best social experiment of twins there ever was, Skye. No, I understand it now. This is how it happens. When you put a bullet through my head, I wonder....did they bring two heavies to make sure you didn't get any silly ideas? They got what they wanted. Their antidote, perhaps......they got their continuation if I ever went rogue. Or perhaps if you ever did. Maybe it's fate!" Rose retorted, as she sat up.

"Are you done being clever?" Skye asked, as Rose shrugged, looking to Athena, knowing Oliver was helping out Sam.

"Or, maybe they figure that bit out later. Look. You couldn't convince me what I'm doing is wrong. Erasing the slate, everything, all of it is at least fair considering how bad the world is about to go. Maybe a few survivors will at least realise their priorities aren't funding billionaires, or institutions that take, thieve and reduce this to where we are. Society heals up a wound we just aren't smart enough to consider now. And you took that opportunity away." Rose said, sighing, before she continued.

"Then how about you? You're going to keep that system going. And when it collapses, it'll collapse on the side of the people that when they decide they'll have enough of you, will do the same to you what they do to me. They know what you are now. Where you come from. And they will hunt until they have it, because no matter what they say, they want this more than anything behind closed doors. Because you can't stop that.......you can't protect any of it. All of it has to go. All of it, Skye, because people will suffer one hell of a lot more. Athena. Oliver. Purna. I know you're out there, and you can hear this." Rose replied, looking around. The air seemed quiet, almost dead, apart from crackling glass. Purna was still outside the cockpit, with his MPX raised, aimed at the back of Rose's head, cloaked but in position in case anything went down.

"Chaos, status on that terminal? Cut it when ready." Skye uttered into the comms, as Rose shook her head.

"Chaos....Sam. You adopted her like a child, didn't you? Isn't Raven just full of them? Orphans, lost souls. You mothered them and perhaps it's what makes you alive. Yet if you had to, you'd force her to hurt everyone she loves too, you'd kill her if you had to....just the way this job works. What about Athena? She's just here for the blimp. Has a fat ass like one too. Fuck it, if I'm gonna die, at least someone should tell her, that she is a power crazy, narcissistic, self-centred, fuck who epitomises the worst. Shame I wanted to wipe everyone out because of people like her." Rose cackled, a smirk on her face, as Athena had to be held back almost by Skye's glare, to not remove her head from her shoulders and kick it like a football.

"I suppose you made them into weapons. Into monsters. That's what you do. I hate what you did. And I'll die here hating it. So yeah. I suppose I don't get the last laugh. But if I'm your blood, then I suppose I told you so. Everything they did, for nothing." Rose added, and well, that was the final word.

With a sombre look to Athena, Skye sighed.

"Well, for the last time....see you in hell, Rose. You played well." With it, Skye put a round through her chest, clasping through, walking over.

"Contact down. That's it. Rose is out." Skye added, checking her over, checking any dead man's switches on the very casually dressed copy, Athena going over and putting fist through plaster.

"Bitch! I do not have a fat ass! It is plump, round!" Athena yelled, as Skye coughed, and the blonde righted herself. Realising maybe now was not the time.

"Right. Shit. Sorry." Athena replied, as Skye nodded back, looking down, kneeling, pensive.

"Secure the cockpit, Athena. Drop the altitude down and get us on the floor. Chaos, Nord, confirm all her files are dead. If she sprouts out anywhere now, it'll be here. We need to give it a sweep." Skye added, sighing as she looked down, raising her hand. Pulling inside of her fleece, she searched her down, for any dead man switches, for anything. But there was nothing.

"Cockpit clear, Skye. Thanks for this toy. I appreciate you a lot." Athena giggled with joy, throwing one of the pilots bodies out through the door like a ragdoll, that had already been taken out by Purna. The Nepali came in, the pressure back on as the windows resealed, looking around.

"Now what? Skye, she was insane, right?" Purna asked, looking at the body, rifle pushed aside for a moment.

"She was. Been too long in our game to understand people treat people like things. But not us. We don't do that to each other. We need to get down. Debrief. And I think I need a very stiff drink. The rig team should have it all contained. If not, we're going to have to fucking nuke the place." Skye sighed, the redhead taking off her oxygen mask, looking down at her dead self on the floor, taking a moment to contemplate.

There was a lot of doubt. Rose was off the deep end. But she wasn't wrong. Skye would no longer be needed, she knew that much. And there were going to be an avalanche of questions. Perhaps she'd be running the rest of her life. Perhaps she'd be back in service again and this whole thing buried, with every server. But she knew that any questions she had, about her father, Spectre, anyone else, they had to die too. Killing a part of her family, who she was, what she was. But she had gained so much more. A family of this team, and in that moment, Purna noticed it in Skye's eyes, that look of distraction, that moment of staring away.

---

With a gurgle, the machine unclasped.

Rose yelped. The last one. The local network. The one that Sam hadn't seen, because this wasn't a server host. Nope, this was her original body. The final failsafe. The last one left, the Rose that had been pushed into this very containment, at the back of everything, inside that tiny room, a saferoom if you will that was effectively like a bomb shelter aboard the blimp. This was a hurtful one, because transferring to this was particularly painful. Degradation had hit, and Rose wasn't her usual athletic self, but wheezing a little as she moved. But enough for now. Enough to do what she had to, as she coughed fluid everywhere, falling out nude. Memory had been poor for the last couple hours, given the severance, but Rose knew enough to understand if she was here, the blimp was compromised. And she had to get out.

Pushing the hidden door open, she was in the cargo bay, freezing, but her conditioning holding her for now. Right by the wingpacks covered up, in fact, where she saw the tiny intrusion marks. One of the dead techs had clothes that fitted poorly, and without oxygen she'd likely pass out, but it would be enough to get her under 15,000 feet without hypoxia. After all, with lungs like hers, she could survive that. And noticing Skye's works, she knew that was how they got in. No point taking risks. She was on her last life now. Final time to do anything. And make something matter.

Flinging on Skye's, of course, made to measure, she had to admit. This was her last run of the dice. But it bought her time. Got her enough to get away from all of this. There was one, last, final, failsafe. And she had less than twelve hours to get there, make it so, and restore what was left.

If Spectre had truly delivered the goods on the last piece of Artemis he held in his locker, then that was enough. She pulled on the hatch, and going back the way that Skye had come in, came to the last bit. Noises could be heard above. She pulled on the next hatch, and with a hard push, felt the cold strip everything, everything go numb, but she was free, as she flung herself out, and pulled the controls taught to fire the jets on the wingpack to point her down, back towards air.

One last run at things. And she knew for the first time in forever, this really was it. Every part of her wanted to fall apart, but she had to believe in what she remembered now. She wasn't going to live in that world she wanted. Not anymore. But she could at least get what she wanted for after. And she had people to see, things to do, and an ending to make.

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

FACTORY WRAP UP

Aurora looked across to camera, as the viewers had likely just had a very, VERY interesting view across all of the teams. Almost like you could make an episode out of them all really, but alas, for a quick catch-up.

"So, I suppose after Auckland a hell of a lot happened." Aurora took a glug of water, looking to camera.

"Valkyrie, let's start there. Alexander Knight decided to take some extremely drastic measures. He gutted key members of his team and replaced them as quickly, and got to work on their strong platform. It seems like he made his mark in the team, and despite the politics of the European Union outfit, they are trying something new. His approach seems to be an engineer and racer led one, and whilst there is no doubt that the legend is already ruffling feathers and playing with fire, he's making his mark on the team. It's rare to see a new Team Principal and Crew Chief to come in and make sweeping changes, fast."

"Then, the others. I suppose Southern Cross took some interesting turns with their augment programme. Looked like Nora came out with some very interesting augments, perhaps a move to take the fight to Silver Apex in Africa and take more podiums? And well, then Carrera Condor. It looks like the PR work with Amy Stirling paid off for them, and it seems like there has been some part and knowledge sharing, perhaps on a basis of their recent streaming and Beatrix's old ties to the Silverstone-based outfit. The upgrades we saw to their ship seem very reminiscent of upgrades from last year in the engine department, and no doubt they're targeting a fast reward here."

"As for the other teams, it seems many are brewing some very interesting upgrades. Rumours say that Al-Saqr have something very interesting they are preparing for a future round, whilst Zygon seem to be getting their house in order and seem to be a sleeping giant. While smaller teams like Fitzroy have brought upgrades to Round 2, they will still have their work cut out on the circuit." Aurora addded, shrugging, knowing well, this is the end of Episode One.

Viewers saw what had gone down, on circuit, off it, and then the dabbling, the bits that of course, the teams wanted to show. The wrap-up started, as Aurora knew it was coming to a clsoe.

"All eyes are on South Africa, and we'll be bringing that to you in two weeks time. Until then viewers, and remember, the race never stops!"

---

---

LION__ROAR

Soundtrack: Chase and Status & Stormzy: Backbone

The camera pans through Cape Town as sails roll in through the ocean, 16th century Dutch sea-faring ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope, wooden, then brick houses suddenly appearing into the sky, as then sprawl, skyscrapers and the turn to Table Mountain reveals the green, yet arid landscape towering over the South African megalopolis.

The city is definitely, certainly a hive and a half, shanty towns turning to concrete and green tower blocks, but there's this feeling, this vibe that the culture here feels still underground. It feels like there's a place that actually lived up to the potential it once was promised, material and mineral wealth meeting radical, proud green design. Poverty replaced by an incredibly green city, smart and clever, and a pearl at the bottom of the world that had more art, music and culture than you could shake a stick at, the green hills of Table Mountain and Lion's Head sticking out and towering over a sprawling city. If Auckland felt like a continuation of its early 21st century self, this felt like a city where the painted murals met hypermodern, glass-clean towers and streets.

It cuts again.

F1 racing at Kyalami in the 80s, and then, in almost a cut that feels jarring, protests in Soweto and Cape Town against Apartheid. And somehow, despite everything pointing towards division, the tearing apart of society, the promise of the Rainbow Nation somehow actually finding a way with the city's clean, green, almost re-drawn ground. And then the cut to Cape Town, the magnetic-enabled track going up and down off Lion's Head and then back up Table Mountain via a spine bringing out. A very, very fast circuit indeed, probably second to only Italy and Bonneville.

And then, a cut to Kofi in a darkened room with the geometric Lion behind him on the gigantic black-illuminate screen, sitting next to the orange ship, adorned with a special livery with black, yellow and blue across the wings of the South African flag, the sight of something else altogether on the wing leaping up onto it, Kofi's arms folded, looking across to the animated animal to his side.

The lion sat itself down on the wing of the ship, a holographic one, but you wouldn't be able to tell on the footage. Its mane carried a a blue and orange colour like its geometric cousin, its teeth fierce, and the roar of the lion felt visceral as it barked, like it was down your throat, Kofi looking dead at the viewer.

"Welcome to Africa. Home."

The race from last year cuts.

More cutting as swearing could be heard (censored, of course), and a nasty crash. Battling hard through the Lion's Head complex of turns, and the view on the horizon, followed by the triumph of Kofi as one of Formula AG's winners five years ago, right here. He was Ghanaian, so of course, it wasn't like he was a native Cape Towner on home turf, but it was probably one of the most symbolic moments in Formula AG for the continent. A moment where it felt like Africa had arrived, and Kofi had truly snatched an incredible, talent driven race here. Yes, Kais was another African technically by his Egyptian roots, but well, by the value of his story, Kofi seemed more like the home talent here.

It felt about right, as the scene cut back to Kofi, and the lion that lept off the wing and by his side, standing by the black Ghanaian's side, his smile white and like a Cheshire Cat.

"Lions here don't hold back. Isn't that right?" And with it, the lion roared right on call, right as the credits roll.

Kofi's a nice guy, but well, when the drama's this good, you're gonna want something that goes as hard as this.

---

DELTΔ HYPER

Episode Two: Hunting Apex

---

Round 2 of the Formula Anti-Gravity Championship
Saturday March 18th 2094
Qualifying Day
South African AGP
Cape Town, South Africa
1400 GMT

---

Qualifying Results for Cape Town

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn…

Post Qualifying

Dorian Pascal Hornfleur

The harbourside paddock was a little removed from the circuit itself, and the camera was following a certain member of Valkyrie AGR this weekend, in his full dark grey and yellow lined garb, helmet in hand, a dismal look in his face.

The paddock sat near Cape Town Stadium, in a large park, and it offered the same arrangements as Auckland- fan zones, VIP areas, and whilst not a party, it used the space of the park for ships, servicing and maintenance. The circuit itself would be introduced formally as part of the broadcast- but the mag-strips were used more for banking rather than inverted loops or insane turns, and rather to keep speed. The circuit went around the Cape Town Stadium and seaside, before going up to Signal Hill, using extensive banking on one side of Lion's Head as part of a very, very fast corner, across a massive gorge going sharply down then back up through a fast corkscrew before turning up Table Mountain itself, one side a sinewing rollercoaster on Kloof Ridge, before hitting the top, a massive bank section and straight then spitting down Plattelkip Gorge into Camps Bay, an elevated urban section with fast corners, with almost a complete straight to the other side of the Lion's Head peak facing the Atlantic Ocean, then back to the stadium. It was like you had a long list of straights, interrupted by a lot of elevation change, a few corkscrews to really muck with things on the mountain climbs that went dead-up, and the loop around the stadium offering a few more technical corners. The high speed corners tested stability, and most of all, bravery- whilst pure speed rewarded teams for investments there, as well as the energy systems just giving them the edge to overtake in corners.

The weather was once again, good, with the sun beating down at about 28C, and the African heat and the feeling of the paddock not like the Oceanian vibe of Maori and Polynesian culture, but instead, heavily rotating around the Big 5 animals, most of which were now getting heavily reintroduced after some partial extinctions, and their holographic displays scattered around. You could find your way by finding the massive Elephant in the middle of the paddock, and there was a lion near Apex, funnily enough.

Speaking of elephants in the middle of the room...

"Well, that was sh*t." Dorian looked across to his publicist and agent, the nodding Luxembourgian-Indian native, Anaïs Singh in a certain kind of agreement.

"Well, the craft was not expecting to do well here, but we need to frame this right." Anaïs replied, tablet in hand, and her role independent of that of the team. She may have worked WITH Valkyrie, but at the end of the day, she was Dorian's representative- she looked after his interests, from the announcement of his retirement at the end of this season that had gone out before Auckland and Alexander's announcement as team lead, to the marketing work he then did in, and beyond Valkyrie. The team was one thing, but pilots were a brand. An incredibly, if not beyond valuable item that the sharp, gentlemanly-looking Frenchman knew how to work.

You didn't stay with a team for the money, you made results for you, and well, the rest had come easy. Sponsorship, interviews, that sort of thing came easy from Anaïs given Dorian's career. A lot of 2nds in the Drivers Standings, probably no championship this season either, but a legacy nonetheless of winning, and proving results.

"Fine. But I'm not looking forward to explaining this. The team has enough disruption as it is." Dorian replied, sighing, turning to Anaïs.

"I know what he is trying to do. I won't stop him, but he forgets we're people too. I know what I'm doing. Just give me a craft that goes faster and I'll take position." Dorian sighed, noting the camera, wanting to swear more, but realising he probably shouldn't be an idiot now. He wasn't perhaps as savvy to social media as some. Anaïs got in the awy.

"Noted, and there's a lot more he wants to set the slate on. Let him have it, Dorian, most of it was needed given how things went last season. I'm sure he'll understand the media side and let them do what they have to. And like you say. There are better circuits to do well on. You'll show them." Anaïs commented, Dorian sighing with a change of topic.

"Hmm....Anaïs, can we schedule something in with the sponsor? The fashion house?"

"Already done. Heineken's local office also wanted their piece with you while you were in town."

"The beer firm?"

"The beer firm."

"Gotcha."

---

Pilots Return

Similar to Episode 1, the interviews have come back, with Aurora back in her usual spot, and the pilots in their relevant sofa, with a blank background once more.

However, this time around, the format is slightly different. The pilots have been brought in AFTER their qualifying session, and are on the couch, in the hot seat.

And one last turn in the table? They're with their team-mates!

So, nowhere to hide.

@Sylvan

"So, both of you must be on top of the world! People are saying Southern Cross are a title contender and you two are proving it early on. What do you think made this qualifying session so good?"

"Thanks! Yeah, P1 is incredible! The craft is twitchy but the new upgrades make it easy to tame, and this craft....wow, the engineers cooked up something special!"

"Well, it quite looks like it! Nora, what would you say you're picking up from Harrison this weekend, and what do you expect in your racing with Amy, Harrison, and Al-Saqr who have been looking dangerous this weekend?"

@Enzayne

"Han, Cassie, an eventful qualifying! While perhaps not the best circuit for Zygon generally, that electrical fault really looks like it cost you there Cassie!"

"The ship gave out on that final straight, no deployment at all. Real shame and the technicians already found a fix, but it really took the sting out of a lap that looked like it would put me in the top ten. Han has a really good chance of making points, I hope I can help her too, but it'll be harder without us working together."

"A shame, but these things can happen. Han, do you look forward to fighting in the mid pack and bringing home the points?"

@LadyAmber

"Dorian, Paul, a mixed bag today in qualifying. What are your thoughts?"

"Well, you may have heard me earlier! Okay, perhaps I was a little demanding, 8th is good considering the missile-like ships that Southern Cross and Al-Saqr have here. But we'll take advantage where we can, and claw it back." Dorian's leathery smooth French accent carried, a smirk on his face, trying to at least wipe the silliness from earlier.

"We look forward to seeing that. What about the changes within the team, do you feel the direction is beginning to yield results?"

@Starlance

"Bea and Ava, now where did that come from? Bea in 7th, Ava in 11th after your performances in Auckland, you must be buzzing?"

"That was incredible. I wish I was able to make the most of our upgrade, but it looks like Bea has capitalised on it the most. That #rallybrave really made the most out of our craft. Hopefully we can score some valuable points tomorrow and make up some ground after Auckland." Ava's response was dry, but even she was injecting pure PR in.

"Well, some say that the input may be similar to that of a Silver Apex engine upgrade, but FIAR have cleared it. Bea, what does it feel like lining up in the top ten?"

@MrSkimobile

"Well, that was quite something from both of you, Layla and Kais! You must be excited for the race tomorrow and look to take a solid point haul, what with the huge speed advantage you seem to have on the rest of the midfield?"

"Yes, well, our ship seems to be incredible here, but we will still have to fight hard with Southern Cross tomorrow. Nora and Harrison have a rocketship, but we have much more to give and I hope we can keep them on their toes. And Amy? She's just always got the capacity to go faster."

"Well, it sounds like last time out, you both had your sights locked on Nora and Harrison. Have you got any words for the Southern Cross pair?"

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

Delta Hyper Interview

As a change of format, from previously bespoke interviews, to then Delta Hyper's post race interviews capturing their then reactions to the race, one last question followed. A quick question, more of a question that got them thinking after a bit of reflection, perhaps upon getting home, or to the factory. A couple of days at least of time sunk, for a little reflection.

The question felt weighted, as Aurora looked over to the person on the couch or seat, a last takeaway for the pilots- specifically, the grid of new pilots that had come in.

"So, last question for Auckland. After your first race in the championship, is there anyone you would like to say thanks to?"

---

Ex Machina

Layla "Yalla" Al-Nadir

Auckland, Aotearoa //// New Zealand
2100 NZST

Soundtrack: Georgia- Never Let You Go (Skream Remix)

Sitting in the ice bath within the Zygon paddock, out of sight of cameras, Layla put her head back, the cable running into her neck once again, as she looked almost spaced out. Almost like someone had her on a diagnostic mode, rather than a human being. She was still in her race suit, given half of the mods inside were basically part of the same system, as were her artificial limbs Maybe a bit bulky in this water, but, not like she had far to sink. She was in a reflective mood, the holographic display in front of her displaying telemetry, and this moment of peace giving her time to think.

For most, an ice bath was just a way to cool off after the intensity of a race, perhaps most of all in the desert, but in autumnal New Zealand, perhaps less common. Layla's setup in particular, perhaps unlike others, mandated this. Running various neural modifications to handle a craft like Al-Saqr's for her context meant quite literally, overclocking her body like a CPU.

Layla was not someone who had exactly gone subtle on mods- she saw herself more transhuman than flesh and bone at this point, and that feeling was one she eschewed more than anyone. Even Nora, who had come in with strips on her spinal column, or Bea, with her liquid breathing, Layla just looked at that and thought how she could replace her spine wholesale or her lungs for something better. While people like Harrison were keen to fix the world, Layla wanted to find out just how far she could go, she was a futurist, after all. The budding doctors and biotechnologists of Al-Saqr basically had a canvas from her to work with, and in a way that almost would seem strange- she seemed oddly content with being that guinea pig, given it meant she could be something beyond what a normal body could achieve.

Working on the Moon had given her an appreciation for the fact flesh and bone was definitely didn't work there. Radiation, the unrelenting feeling that everything wanted to kill you outside of the husked out lava tube like the lack of oxygen, an atmosphere, gravity, that sort of thing. If Harrison believed that humanity needed to fix the mess it made, and many billionaires had their view that way, Layla was the poster child for the opposite. Untapped, unstoppable accelerationism, towards a singularity where she wanted to become like the sand she adored in Wadi Rum. But unlike a certain billionaire from over 70 years ago, Layla was actually able to back up her beliefs by wearing them. She'd seen some incredible stuff, studied more herself and then raced and tested harder. Nearly died a lot for it. And found out just what being transhuman was like. She wasn't on paper the fastest, she knew that in deep in her soul, but....when you wanted the absolute top mods, you raced, and well, it was an opportunity she could not turn down given her innate talent before she'd been adorned like this.

In a world where they'd somehow dodged all the bullets from the world before, Layla wanted singularity, more badly than anyone. To be freed of the shackles of a human body, the limitations of one, and from there, see human beings become what perhaps they should, into the furthest stars. But for now, she had to make do with a body that was melting ice in here and the pain that came with needle-like points in her limbs and torso came from just being human in a freezing cold tub of icy water.

Pilot mods are an exceptionally hard thing to balance, render and control. Layla's voluntary limb replacement was one thing given she seemed dead set on transhumanism, but under the skin of any pilot lay a network of modifications from the very blood, bone, muscular-skeletal systems to even the neural links and nerves that expanded everything that a human being could be, thinking faster, reacting quicker and going longer. Tailoring too for each one, from greater endurance, to absolute strength, to providing a lung capacity like a Papuan free diver. When the doctors ran out of diseases to treat and human lifespan extended past 100 as an average, you ask yourself- what more can a human be? And well, getting a fair balance between them was tricky. Some, like the European Union limited neural mods to the brain and nervous systems, but allowed more prosthetic and skeletal mods, whilst the Arabic Union seemed to have an almost....well, open book on them. Do what you will, but don't make clones, or mess with AI in people's brains. Not a great idea that, given a neural link was effectively a conduit into the human mind, shit, enough rules existed around social media with exceptionally good reason now, no need to be able to think stupid too.

Pilots made their selections, with pluses and minuses, and Formula AG had to make assessments frequently on what crossed the line, and what didn't. They were at the absolute cutting edge, and most people on the street couldn't even dream of some of the capacity they had. Physical training of course, was always required to stay fit and sharp as well as make the most out of it, but nobody understood entirely just how far pilots pushed their bodies, or could choose to. Sometimes it was personal preference, even some of Layla's mods seemed to be a rejection of her mortal self that served zero practical purpose, whilst others, like heart and bone density mods, were just easy picks with relatively few drawbacks.

Yet by the same token, mods like that had helped humanity an awful lot. Even for the most fervent anti-augmentation activist, nobody could deny that restoring sight, mobility, feel, even curing degenerative disease had been a world-changer since the wars of over twenty years ago. War pushed things forward in medicine in leap-years, and people realised now that what was initially a fringe bit of technology for a small group had become invaluable to an awful lot more. Most importantly? They were open-source, and printing an working, functioning arm was like printing paper given 3D printing meant you could literally dream something and have it. Medicine had gone from an elite practice to one that felt more like writing an app at home, and whilst certain safeties had to be adhered to, virtually free, cheap meds through good market regulation and research had gotten to the point where human beings were no longer restricted by disease or illness, anywhere. In the same way food production exploded once the Haber process had been discovered, human health now had basically had its fixes found.

Much like the story Layla read about Alexander Knight's daughter. An interesting process that, that was a race-grade augment she knew Kofi had been playing with a year ago. What would almost certainly be a death sentence, or close to it, was now just a surgery away if achieved in the right place.

A majority of Layla's mods predated the Formula AG set, so of course, what she could continue have done to her was almost like a cheat with its own exceptions- after all, those mods needed themselves, changes, and well, that allowed for her to be where she was, even if it meant she caught a ton more heat for it and needed a much more thorough test at the start of each season. It kept her up against the bigger teams, normally, that would have meant she'd have been lower in the grid, but it was a mutually beneficial arrangement for Al-Saqr. Of course, the more mods you ran, the more you were like a machine, not a human being. And that came with complications. Complications you couldn't exactly undo easily. Like sitting in an ice bath because your body cooked itself over from running the literal processing brain of the human body faster than it should have, and that itself could be more a curse than a gift. Or perhaps realising that one tweak to an arm you could get away with was actually not producing any results and was actually quite painful, and it felt like you were just....well, swinging a dead lump. Anyone else willing to push themselves was on the edge of that, and developments would not always be successful- like a ship, they needed time to work out the problems or the technical issues before they worked.

Layla had a lot on her mind. Perhaps Kais was out here like some super-soldier to give a comparison to that. The intensity of him clashing with her optimism, or at least, all the stuff that was barely hidden beneath his skin. Born, not sculpted under a knife. Artificial versus another artificial. Whatever it was, Al-Saqr was investing itself there and wanted to see how they'd get on and make the most. Layla knew there was a place for flesh and bone, test tubes that they'd long since banned, yet secretly kept open. But that was fine by her. Another step before finding the end of the line.

Layla appreciated the quiet, and the reflection on all of it, from the rushing race to this now. Kais's aggression, the look he had in his eyes, as if there was a bird of prey that had possessed him. Pure, unadulterated rage that felt built in. And while he was someone she could laugh at, poke fun at, stand as somewhat an equal, she knew that past came with a need to find control. And she hoped he'd find it. Friends were needed in AG, even if she couldn't really talk. Then Nora....bloody Nora. How had she won exactly? The ship was lightening fast, ridiculous almost on the straights, but Layla couldn't get her mind around that control. Nora felt like she lived even harder on the edge than Kais did, and holy shit, that was something. Han was a possible threat too, a Kais yet in perhaps a manicured outfit than a need to rip limb from limb. And so too was Wedge and Ulrich, Valkyrie when they got their shit together, and the people that were all too willing to take the top of the midfield for themselves. And maybe more.

Nadia came around the corner, with Layla broken from her trance, the intern keen as ever, albeit still freaked out by the Jordanian steaming off in the ice bath.

"Sorry, Layla. Scrutineering are here."

Layla sighed, as the two FIAR staff came over, the Al-Saqr racer clambering out, sighing, pulling the cable out. It had to end at some point, even though it was really, really cold in the evening. It would have been fun to have a blocker for that, but well, Layla reasoned that for her own health, probably recognising an ache or pain was better than numbly hurting herself later.

"Sorry to bother you, but it's the usual check. Are you okay to walk and get scrutineered?"

"Yeah, all good." Layla sighed, as one of the techs brought the cable out of their tablet, and plugged it into Layla.

"Right. Let's take a look at you. Craft passed scrutineering, by the way. So let's see if you do as well.....right, diagnostics are in. Won't take a minute." With it, one tech looked through Layla's "software", if you will via her bio-monitor integrated into her neural link from bloods to nervous system functions, the other physically checking over Layla, from head to toe, running a scanner across her, checking her limbs over for any hidden actuators, her heart and lungs, then her mostly synthetic liver, kidneys, bladder and pancreas.

Layla's body almost appeared hollow on the scanner, the caramel skin that she had probably the only indicator there was someone that wasn't fully made of composite. She'd looked into replacing that too with a ceramic blend, but realised right now, the tech wasn't quite there and being made of just mesh would be.....urgh. The technician also took a pinprick of bloods from her neck with a smart syringe, peeling it out and checking for any illicit substances or enhancers that weren't permitted. The allowed ones always came through blue, any other substance, a black.

With a scan through her legs, the golden-sheen having prosthetics masking a complex actuator and movement system that Layla adored for AG racing, versus her other legs that were better for spacewalks or running, the officials were about done.

"All fine, in adherence to your exception. We are clamping down on inhaler use too, so if we find any substances related to perception control on the blood test, we'll have some very serious words. You know why we got hot on that, nearly made one of the Juniors go blind."

"You sound like you're selling it more to me than anything." Layla barbed back, a grin on her face. The racing was fun, but the real sport, was arguing with scrutineers.

"Well, rules are rules. You keep us busy enough, Layla. There are 19 other pilots that would turn themselves into you, and we need to go look at them too." He sighed, almost as if he'd been here before.

"Yeah, but not for Amy."

"What?"

"Nothing! Have a good evening." Layla grinned, turning around, knowing she'd won that argument. They didn't bother, as Nadia led them away, with their results in hand being all they were here for, and now, their business was complete.

Amy was no better than Layla really. Just better at hiding.

---

After an incredible race at Auckland, it's time to go home. Back to base, and the pack up operation is captured on Delta Hyper's cameras, while most people have turned off their viewers. Container by container, block by block of modular design shipped off, and taken away to be shipped to South Africa, with the ships going to their home bases first.

The scene shifts, and well, we are given a view of many different factories in cut. All in different parts of the world, scattered.

Silver Apex's facility in the British countryside, right outside of Silverstone and the green rolling hills that somehow, are exactly the same as they seem to have been for hundreds of years with country pubs, villages and fields that are now being rewilded for the most part, with a few intensive vertical farms in other places. It's not actually that tall, more like a gigantic, enormous Amazon warehouse. But the design itself looks like something dropped from NASA, glass fronted with a clean-room aesthetic inside. Old F1 cars of course harken back to a past, but it's possibly the most gleaming, space-age looking place you've seen, virtually looking like it fell off the set of Star Trek rather than just a future.

Southern Cross's on the other hand, was a bit more functional. Sitting on an industrial estate outside of Christchurch, outside a gigantic, sprawling network of vertical farms occupying the dead-flat Canterbury Plains- the breadbasket of the Pacific, but the towering Southern Alps are in the far background. It's being renovated bit by bit, so still is undergoing work but it seems to be coming on, but the punk aesthetic of Southern Cross bleeds through, custom paint on the walls of pilots past, trophies won, and depictions of iconic moments, in a way that yelled out to a history. While a precise lab, it also feels deeply....underground. Art litters the walls quite literally everywhere, and reminds the team of where they came from, what they are. Less factory and design facility, more like a chronicle to all things speed, power and the Whanau, or Family, of Southern Cross. There's old F1 cars from McLaren, perhaps a long ancestor of Southern Cross, and then other AG prototypes around.

Valkyrie's facility sits on the edge of Aachen, itself a beautiful, city, with trams and almost an untouched aesthetic since the time of Charlemagne and at the border of the Netherlands and Belgium whilst sitting within Germany itself. Aside from a few touches, like the e-hover scooters, it's an impeccably clean city, greened out and with zero traffic inside of it bar the occasional delivery drone or automated truck. Much like Valkyrie's HQ, situated on a patch of land on a hill outside, a modern concrete construct that looks equal part space-lab as it does campus, with sprawling buildings.

Zygon, meanwhile sits outside of Seoul in Songdo District, and the incredible, almost borderline insane density of Seoul is given away to the bustling planned tech and green city there. Zygon's facilities are shared with Ji Motors sprawling plant, harbour and orbital facility, and every bit of the inside may feel clean room like, yet outside, feels more like watching the heart and soul of high tech manufacturing churn, even with the forced "green" that came from Songdo's copy of Central Park. Despite how oppressively corporate it was, there was a certain peace to it- an ornate juniper and Korean-styled garden, and a feeling that whilst still of course, oppressively corpo, there was some appreciation of the history at least and it made for a lovely lunch stop.

Al-Saqr, meanwhile, avoided Abu Dhabi's sprawl and was built on a synthetic island, protected by a wide range of mangroves and sea walls against sea level rise. The facility was effectively brand new, and despite Al-Saqr's feeling being much more driven towards acceleration, the greenery and palms throughout the exterior made it feel more tasteful, but only hid the precise laboratories and clean rooms, as well as engineering arrangements inside, even if the palm trees and mangroves outside contrasted.

Nordic Call had Lulea, Sweden to call home- and the vast pine forest gave way to a pair of concrete block, one an automated factory, the other Nordic Call's premises that whilst close to nature, had a similar vibe of its own. A Swedish minimalism, perhaps, because where there wasn't wood, there was stark brutal concrete. But nothing else. It was the same as it always was, a nordic wilderness that invited in greenery.

Miller Motor Racing had facilities sat in Montreal, a highly-urbanised, high tech city that had begun to compete with some big tech hubs in the rest of the USA since climate change and conflict had driven people north into Canada. Combined with immense mineral wealth and technical capability, the contrast of Montreal's almost ancient French Quarters compared to its modern tech made for a contrast, and the facility itself was a clean, modern site that had just undergone a lot of renovation with an overlook of the city's grown skyline, old and new mixed together.

SuperCat was based out of Mara City, a brand-new eco-development in Kenya on the Indian Ocean coastline, towards the Somalian border. As a free port and trade zone, it was now competing with much of the world with a highly intelligent shipping port and maglev cargo that could sucker material and people out from Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia to the coast. Using environmentally friendly clay and render design, it almost looked like a classic facility, albeit the inside was cutting edge, as per any other team, the clean and modern function actually bringing an eco-topia paradise to some sort of life, even beyond the industry.

Then Carrera Condor, on an old ranch outside of Buenos Aires, not even too far from the main circuit of the city, sat as a modern, clean looking facility built about five years ago. The endless Pampas and green fields still seemed to litter the landscape, even in spite of the surge in development Buenos Aires had gotten- becoming a veritable sprawl that felt more like Kowloon than it did its old South American self. It was arguably the most "cyberpunk" of all the cities- dirty, unclean and full of people wanting to make their fortune in mining and the hills to the west.

Lastly, Fitzroy Orbital sat outside of Sheffield, United Kingdom, in a quiet little industrial estate, and by comparison, was a much smaller facility. A warehouse with a very unassuming angle to it, compared to the rest of Fitzroy's operations, it felt almost like it was hidden. That was because it basically was- an old AG team bought out by Fitzroy, and since, not much had been put into the facility. The Yorkshire feeling was there from the staff though, and you could tell there was a certain....Northern charm to the place.

Where was your pilot, or Team Principal? Before going back to work, debriefs, factory support, design team assistance, neural simulator time, and all that- and no doubt in very quick succession, given there was about a week of turning it around, they had home, friends, and a short R&R to have. Of course, a line of work at the factory could be done virtually through a haptic and holographic pairing, but, it always paid dividends to see the team on the frontline in the shop, plus the drones, robots and all. After all, they were fixing everything up.

Up until now, we've seen the pilots, the professionals, the hardcore competitors that gave it all on track, and will do so in two week's time.

Most of all? Every single pilot had their dilemma. And they now needed an answer. How they answer, how they address their situation and go forward, may well pay dividends in Cape Town. What that meant for their teams, of course, would be displayed when we arrive there....

---

A Mutual Thing

@Starlance

Somewhere very, very far above the Atlantic Ocean

Amy Stirling

Amy looked across to Bea, as the private shuttle, basically a VTOL-equipped hypersonic private jet clambered to altitude. Very, very high up to a point where it felt like they were closer to the edge of space than anything else, with the tablet and the idea her marketing team had come up with displayed out from it, on the table across from her, in the super-comfy, plush chair she sat in. She'd just finished up a tasteful looking leg of lamb, the fact it wasn't printed or food processed pointing to the fact it must have cost a pretty penny, the elegant looking British-Korean dressed in black sweats and a white arm-cut top, a rather casual look for someone as rich as her.

Even if the deal fell through it would’ve been worth it for the lunch alone, Bea thought as she lounged in the seat in a more ‘public appearance appropriate’ jeans and t-shirt combo. She couldn’t help but smirk at the memory of the Pridwen Solutions logo she saw on the shuttle’s engines when they boarded - small victory over Fitzroy Orbital, despite receiving a bit of a thrashing from them on track. The pleasure part done, she leaned forward, listening to the offered deal.

"So, that's the crux of my proposal. We sell some art at a charity live auction in London, get some marketing clout, then draw a little, together. I have a stream engineer that can chat to yours. Gets us some attention. You have been on an awful lot, and well, what better way for our brands to boost our respective aims….I know, it seems like you're asking what the catch is. Believe me. I just want to return the favour for some favours. It’s a mutual thing considering your dad's previous involvement at Apex." Amy smiled, sipping back a little more Dom Perignon. Champagne never got old.

”I’d be lying if I said talking to someone with your reputation without a lawyer behind my back doesn’t feel like juggling live grenades.” Bea grinned. Although at worst it would be a learning experience and it’s best to learn early. ”Send me details on the charity, I thought I’d make custom pieces specifically for it and tailor it to their focus. Landscapes if it’s nature restoration, maybe avoided disasters if it’s a safety thing etcetera.”

"Noted. It’s one close to me actually. It’s a restoration scheme in the Scottish Highlands. A small charity. But, I don’t always flow where the rivers go these days. And I can’t deny I like it there. Cass will wet herself if she found out. So, between us for now, yeah? The solicitors get involved after we say we’re good. And usually, when we print them a bit of exposure, they don’t really mind!” Amy smirked, the grin on the late 20-somethings face nodding, knowing the apprehension between them.

”She’ll never get me alive.” Bea nodded at the secrecy, ”Scotland’s impossible to dislike and the Highlands are always picturesque, although most of my memories of it smell of gasoline.”

Amy giggled, knowing full well the rally history Bea had there.

“No doubt. But there’s plenty more to it than pine forest and gravel tracks. Scots Pine restoration was a hell of an effort, and there is a lot more to do. So yeah, not a bad cause to be involved in. And well, sounds like you have that sown!” Amy chirped, a smile coming easy from her, as she sighed, sipping a little more champagne down, knowing Bea had some looks on why Amy cared, given all most people knew was an android-like figure that was win at all costs. In the privacy of the shuttle, she could at least talk somewhat more naturally. The fact she wasn’t sharing this with her team-mate, Jamie was more telling, but perhaps to some extent, she seemed to want to pick and choose. Jamie was a rival. Bea was what Amy remembered being ten years ago. She almost saw some of it in her.

”Pine forests…” Bea set down the wine and got out her phone to take quick notes, ”Maybe some split canvas, like a before and after comparison. How much money is getting thrown around there? Wondering if I should make some bigger and some smaller so even people who have to reach deeper into their pockets can bid?” If she could do less work to be able to raise more money, well, absolute win. ”Speaking of painting together, do you paint? I’m thinking the less you know, the more fun that will be.”

Amy shrugged, knowing the answer to the former was not so easy.
“Auctions are hard to read…..but there’ll be a few people wanting the flex, something for their walls. You know this already, but the one thing you can’t fake is authenticity. The real. So people will pay for that. Enough to cover the charity’s expenses. And probably then some. You can sell merch, Bea, hoodies, t-shirts. But nobody pays like someone who wants exclusive...” Amy smiled, knowing very well that this was going to be a surprise, and well, she’d gotten a rise.
“That’s actually why I asked, funnily enough. So, you have the honor ... .no, privilege, of showing me. I promise I won’t do some sorcery beforehand, like dumping all your content into my brain before we start.” She came back down, sitting on the chair again, pouring out a bit more from the bottle, and some more for Bea, before sipping more down, a visible smirk still glowing.

”I’ve got five years of tutorials if you don’t feel up to the challenge unprepared.” Bea decided to be a bit cheeky as she noted ‘buy bigger canvases’. ”Probably best done at my place if you don’t mind, dedicated studio with streaming setup and all.”

Amy smirked in response, nodding.
“Old school. I like that, none of this remote stuff, keeping it in house on a canvas there and then. Makes it more real.” She giggled, as she sipped down a bit more, sighing.

“It's difficult having so many lights on you, Bea, but you hold yourself well. Everyone wants to know what you eat, drink, and they probably already do now. Having time for something outside is good….and drawing like you do, it’s a good one to have. Most of the grid have theirs, they won’t admit it so well.” With it, Amy stood up again, the sight of the curvature of the Earth outside the shuttle's window, as she sipped down some more champagne, the private shuttle not going exactly into space but high enough to get a glance of the infinite blue below.

"And, while I'm at it, I'll put in a good word back at home. No promises. I might be able to get you some tech. Your dad was pretty nice to us during his sponsorship run. Now his daughter's at Carrera Condor, I get the feeling that he needs to put some focus elsewhere. But you know. Girls run the world and all that stuff." Amy giggled, interrupted by a bleep.

A notification bleeped up on the display. Landing in 30 minutes in London.

“Lucky we share a home city, don’t we? Not far to go.”

To Bea, this would seem rather strange. Why was Amy committing resources to Bea, even a promise like this? A rival? It seems almost bemusing, because what she was asking for in return seemed so limited really. But then again, never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Yet Amy always had her reasons. They weren't negative, not for Bea, at least. No, they just helped stir the pot more. And well, Bea’s rising stardom was always a light to catch to keep her in the conversation. After all, being the face of the sport meant making sure you stayed in it. Machievellian, yes, but ultimately, it’s what anyone else would do, right?

With the glass-outlined phone, she tapped a few things in.

“Sent you the proposal. Show it to your solicitors or lawyers, get it checked, and we’ll go from there. We won’t have long to turn it around.”

Bea did wonder about all of that. Well, most of that. She definitely didn’t think they were considered rivals to Silver Apex. That would come a year or two down the line, she thought with an inward mischievous smile and maybe a dose of hopium. ”We’ll try to push it along. Either I’ll send you or your technical department the contact or our technical director will reach out himself.” A memory from a related sport’s distant history came up, the words ‘Pink Mercedes” coming to mind, but as long as it was the guts so to speak it all should work out fine.

Amy smirked, seeing her pick it up.
“Let’s just see. No promises.” The Silver Apex racer reminded, knowing this scheme wasn’t a done deal. But, maybe it would be. Depending on of course, how that conversation went. Secrecy was incredibly important, but she had her own reasons, and well, this was something that if it went well, would pay dividends for Amy’s own needs. And that was enough to get her in the mood. She felt genuine towards Bea, knowing well that whilst a friend today could become a rival tomorrow, having some friends on the grid might be handy. What with the fact she’d become bitterly entrenched with Layla, Harrison not just on the surface but below, having a friend was certainly not something to turn her nose up at....

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Iceberg Ahoy

Fireteam Viking

0600 Local Time

Tahlia Harris

"Fuck me!" Tahlia yelled out, watching another explosion, Jamie deciding to bring all of the firepower to Southern Greenland this morning. If that didn't wake her up, she wasn't sure what coffee would. Picking off another flanker, she sniped the exo-wearing operative with a headshot, smacking him out of the picture, covering Jamie's rear.
"You are gonna love me someday, Scion. They're seeing you alright." Tahlia added, pulling the bolt ready, adjusting and finding another target.

Raph stayed close with Enri, staying in front, clipping another stray operative that had somehow avoided getting his head kicked in, as the distinctly-non superpowered feeling Israeli could see Jamie pulling troops away, and had decimated the building they were heading towards. Every launch of his shoulder-launched munitions a comma, every yell a very bold full stop, and bodies everywhere in the small compound, as Jamie had decided to make a ruckus away from where Raph and Enri needed to work. Looking to Enri, he hoped she had what she needed radio wise, and after going from H-barrier sandbag to sandbag, now they could at least enter the structure. It was quiet enough, and with a few servers posted up, had a high-tech interface that she immediately could get on. Checking the mag, the Israeli knew combat wasn't his usual wheelhouse, certainly personal protection wasn't either, but given the fringe of the base and the fact so much fire was going on down there, a light team was a better way to go than not.

With a check around, Raph stepped over the bodies from the bullets Jamie had littered through the metal frame of the building, .50 cal holes punching their way through two walls at a time and leaving equally big holes in the people they hit inside, mostly techs but well, all Artemis affiliated. Which was not confidence inspiring, but hey, so long as nothing more than that came, all gravy. Plus their sniper was keeping an eye out too.

"All yours. I'll cover, you hack." Raph added, knowing she was on her ball, as he checked any other corners, for any hidden surprises. He was dry as ever relative to the Japanese hacker's jovial tone, but well, working with the enemy was always strange. Even if it was at what felt like Ragnarok come to life. "For the record, you may not be my favourite person, but right now, I'm fucking glad you're with us." Raph joked, knowing a stare like a thousand daggers was going to come from Enri, but well, at the height of it all, the tension needed some breaking. And even the usually dry Israeli couldn't help observe it.

Meanwhile, outside, Tahlia continued to impersonate a tuft of moss, sniping another target on a ridgeline, cycling the bolt and trying to refocus on another target. Not before she saw the rumbling in her distant scope, that of a pair of armoured vehicles.

"Scion, break. Eyes on a pair of BMP-3s, rolling in over the hill, and about a platoon's worth of troops, well equipped, and likely are going to charge you. Nothing I can do to it, and they'll give you a bad day. Looks like you may be able to ambush it, he won't be able to get his gun on you from there. Scion, it's your call, tell me when and I'll start picking off people. Or, get the fuck out of the way, and Enri can light that thing up for some fire support. I'll cover your six either way." Tahlia called into the comms, adjusting her position, seeing another enemy on Jamie's flank, picking him up and exhaling, putting a bullet through the helmet, in a comic moment of quiet in the gunfire from Jamie's end.

"You are welcome! Keep fragging them, big man!" Tahlia replied, chuckling as she continued to pick up targets, knowing full well the rest of the attack was going about as well as planned. A lot more troops were moving in, and whilst not in the immediate vicinity of Jamie, one Scion was about the same as a platoon's worth of firepower up here, and they were all trying to pick lines. Attack helicopters dodging MANPADS, more armour getting bombed by F35s and dodging ZSU batteries, the overall scene unfolding like WW3, in a very condensed mine. The wider hollow had pretty intense fights taking place, with Royal Marine and US Marine amphibious vehicles laying down grenade launcher fire, soldiers going from plant machine to gravel pits, and all manner of hell raising.

There was a distinct feeling that a hard, sharp kick to the balls was taking place to Artemis here, but it would be for nothing if they didn't sort that transmitter tower out, and the other two teams didn't do their bit, as from Tahlia's vantage point, she could tell what was coming. Enri had some more hacking to do, and Jamie some ambushing.

---

The Planet Saver

Fireteam Poseidon

Adam Stanislaw Kajtanowicz

The sound above was that of people getting hacked apart, and a distinctly Wilhelm-like scream coming from the likely quarter of a ton of cloaked heavy literally shuffling their way up an oil rig leg, and then clearing the position above. Well, that indicated the rest was good, if Freya had personally seen to it that close. With it, Adam started clambering up, the ladder strong, but my god, it was going to have to hold for Chuck. That lovebird was going to need to hold on well, or else they were all going down. Clambering over, the gentle patter of rain and sea-spray now fading, Adam sighed as he looked at them. They were distinctly squished, he could tell from the bruises and marks.

"Death by snu-snu, Frigga? That's new." Adam dryly joked, as he gave a hand to the next operator up the ladder, pulling them up, with the entire team now up onto here.

From being up in the platform now, the team moved slow. Adam peeked the corner, silence still kept up, just about, but how long they had would be questionable. First corner was clear, but before moving, a plastic sheeting was in front, and he knelt.
"Divider here. Algal labs are that way. Command is this way. If that merc is around, be really, really fucking careful. Boaro knows the horror stories, if she comes out, expect a hell of a fight. If it's in our way, clear it out. No friendlies on deck. I trust you guys to get it done. Once you've secured it, dump the counteragent and stop anything that moves. Me and Freya will get air support to lend us a hand, because it's going to be intense." Adam called out, and with it, the team split into two. Freya with Adam, whilst Chuck, Ban and Ebrima had the algae lab.



The algal plantation and lab itself, when they got there would be highly manned, not set up for defence. It looked like a gigantic vertical farm, at least three storeys high, and a massive warehouse-like structure full of enemies, nooks and corners everywhere, corridors between them and gantries, and tight, confined corridors that were basically so tight only hand to hand would really work. An exo's paradise in the centre, and in the centre of the lab past all the pipework, the large store for the Sol Hestia that needed killing. There was going to be serious resistance all the way, and likely as the team moved into position, sneaking on the first few guards past the plastic sheeting that were on patrol, flashlights on with only the glowing green tanks illuminating the place outside of the gigantic floodlights that would be activated on movement, making the scene.

This was a prelude to a serious, if not insane fight. And the team had the chance to spring their trap, when they want.

Moving through, Adam led the way in front of Freya, the scene a little funny, like a lion following a cat really, given their relative heights.
"Clear." Adam called back, peeking the corner. More of them on patrol, and whilst Adam felt Freya push against him, almost like a lion wanting to just clothesline them with ease, Adam let them go. With a gentle patter, Adam pinked a round into the far man's head, then the one behind, both falling down the stairwell with ease, as they headed up, the tight corners near impossible for Freya, but more navigable for Adam. The next door revealed a lot more contacts through, in an overlook and large control room looking down into the algal lab below, as well as then spiralling onto the roof, and ultimately, the command point for the rig.

"Well, we went as far as we could quiet. I'll throw a flash in, you might have a few seconds of cloaking to smash into a few of them. I'll lay down fire. You ready?" Adam craned his neck up to the Kantaario, even though he was further up the stairwell than she was. On her ready call, he prepped a flashbang, and opening the door, flung it in with the pin popped, and then got the fuck out of the way, and it smacked bright light, and then, the party was on.

Meanwhile, Luisa was eyes on the PDA. Structure breach. Well, that only meant one thing. As she stepped through the shadow, the floodlights lit up, sequential through the lab.
"Intruders! You came to the wrong facility, surrender now or face the wrath of Seniorita Vasquez and her merry men! All guards, find them and make them suffer!" The tannoy announcement was nothing but cheesy, but as Adam reflected on it, man, it made her want to kill her even more. Jesus, she had a voice like a cheese grater....

---

Skybound!

Fireteam Icarus

Skye Rosalind Lyons

Athena Anna Kanataario

Purna Chai Gurung

Skye cursed, as she turned and saw Sam's attempt at first fail, but well, buy enough time. With it, Skye turned up the bolt, and unleashed it at the drone in a brief moment of its disability.
"Have that! Appreciate it Chaos, no pressure but that's one problem down!" She called, as the M31 barked out and spat a tungsten round that carved the top half of it away, the Scot giving a wry chuckle before darting into more cover, more operatives coming.
"Fuck me! Where they hell were they hiding?! Viper, hold off that, we may need that as a contingency, make your way to our flanks as we're headed up!" Skye yelled out, as she moved out, peeking from the server at another side and lacing a round into another merc's legs then head, back in as Athena moved to another set, MP412 REXes in both hands like some sort of fucking Wild West shooter, putting rounds into Artemis mercs filling the voids between the racks, filling the air with custom-made .357. The REX really was a revolver after Athena's heart, a bespoke, weird, non standard thing. But well, when you didn't really have much to deal with in recoil, it made sense, as even she made note to keep in cover.

The fight was intense, as Skye kept on her toes, Athena spraying rounds past a server, a charging exo-equipped operative no match for her, as she at first had to resist getting a hand on her face, before flipping the woman in the exo over and suplexing her into the floor, crushing her out between her legs. Skye DEFINITELY gave her a look for that, before more gunfire interrupted, Skye using her flank to lay some more charged fire down from the gauss-gun like weapon, the penetration a bit too high for what she liked, but given the internals of this thing, unlikely to go too far.

"Contacts down! Keep moving!" With it, Skye moved forwards, laying down fire, Athena grabbing a rack and throwing it in front of Skye, slatting a guy out as Skye double tapped, Athena roaring as she lept over a rack and sprayed three more mercs, hosing them out with fire, cackling.
"Eat that, fuckers!" Her voice seemed to carry, and stealth was now very much out of the window, as Athena seemed to not be approaching unarmoured combat with a feeling of a lack of weight, but like anything could be, and would be thrown. Sam was probably loving this, the part-armoured heavy showing what she was capable of in this sector of the server farm. Skye looked around, trying to find an access point, but there was nothing here.
"Chaos, we need to keep on. I can't see any access into Rose's digital brain here. She must have it configured to her own place up there."

Coming around the corner and up the next steps, the two kept moving, the end of the server room coming up to another corridor that was immediately filled with bullets, from an over-reactive killzone forming drone.
"Well, no way through there. Viper, a hand here?" Skye called into the comms, the Scot taking a breather, checking herself over, as Athena did the same, another drone blaring intermittent fire above them to create a killzone in the stairwell.

"Gotcha. On my mark. Keep your oxygen on, there'll be a breach." Purna replied cooly, as that felt like the understatement. What felt like a suddenly pulling could be felt as the entire ship lurched as the glass smashed and the turret blew up, Skye chuckling as the automatic shutter on the frame shut the opened up frame, as if knowing the thing was going down.

"That's us! Let's move!" Skye called, as she kept a move on, heading out of the industrial-feeling servers and up into what felt like...well, living quarters. A gigantic penthouse, this was Rose's home from home, clearly. Athena whistled.
"I will redo the decor, but this'll do. Where's the steering wheel?" Athena chuckled, the blonde reloading her MAC-10s as Skye could hear more around the corner. The light beamed in through the windows, made of heavily reinforced glass, creating a feeling that were in a skyscraper, albeit one ridiculously high up.
"Another storey up. We need to move through this. Fuck me, what a place. Careful with your rounds here, more breaches are gonna hit. Purna, think you can get to the wheelhouse?"

"Affirmative. I'll move to secure." The reply was cool from Purna, as Skye leaned in against the hyper-modern black wooden framing, peeking it, before looking back.
"More bad guys. Ready?" Skye asked, as the taller blonde chuckled behind her, nearly knocking over Skye.
"Let's fucking go!" Athena roared, running around and spraying rounds, her scream almost eliciting a chuckle before Skye herself had to make a move. This was all action, no thinking, and right now, they had to keep on. In the next room, what looked like more tubes similar to the kind Skye had seen were visible- not that Skye had the bandwidth to entirely explain to the rest what that meant- and the penthouse's open-floored layout was quickly becoming a killzone.
"Nord, Valkyrie, keep point, Chaos, see if you can find this hacker!" Skye called, as more gunfire barked out as Skye skidded behind a couch, spraying fire above it in a burst, catching a couple of guards off kilter with that move. With a turn, she peeked a corner and laid down some fire, as Athena just ran over the couch and kicked another guard in the chest, fumbling over after taking a couple of rounds herself, sighing a little in pain as she rolled back into cover. If not anything, really fucking cool, but her body armour was only gonna want to take so much.

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

Google Docs:

Race Results and Team Ranking (including Performance Rankings):

---

People of the Grid:

---

Rounds

Round One: Auckland, New Zealand

Round Two: Cape Town, South Africa

Round Three: Tokyo, Japan

Round Four: Marmolada, Italy

Round Five: Portimao, Portugal

Round Six: Mare Austral, Luna

Round Seven: Monte-Carlo, Monaco

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

Round One: Oceania AGP

Delta Hyper Interviews

The interviews were all coming to a close, as Aurora was now wrapping up the majority, and had done so with Alexander.

@Starlance

"Ava has smiled just once!" Aurora chuckled, smiling, as Bea continued to respond, the literal Aurora in hologram chuckling.

"Well, I'll hold you to that, Bea. #RallyBrave! Any last words for the crew before you get started?"

---

@MrSkimobile

"Sounds like you have a good measure of the competition, Kais, certainly they'll have to keep their wits about them around you. We'll look forward to seeing you on the grid tomorrow!"

---

@Enzayne

"Well, we will need to cut you off there I'm afraid Hyeon-Ae, but it sounds like you have kept extremely busy over the off-season. A woman of many talents, and no doubt AG racing will be one we'll be keeping our eye keenly on!

---

@GingerBoi123

"The quantity of the unknown, yes, and certainly it will be interesting to see where the team goes from here with your new modification, and approach which will benefit the team. Thank you for your time, Ulrich- oh, and Hugo is welcome here anytime!"

---

---

The camera pulled back, capturing Aurora now on the sofa, instead of interviewing, well, calling back from a producer's card she'd been given to respond to. Not often the questioner was being questioned, but well, this time around, it felt like the viewer's insight into a lot of what they'd just seen.

Bea's singing, Hyeon-Ae's presence, Paul's magnetism, Kais's intensity, Ulrich's mingling, all of it, all in tape, cut up.

That's the thing about social media, sponsors, and people. They tend to see those things, even if an AI editor can't really paint in the things in the shadows, but well, at the surface level, you can tell it's a range of personalities. Bea would probably be a little embarrassed, but nothing a PR team couldn't glaze over comfortably, and shit, it probably worked even more in favour of her Irish fans who would adore it far more than any English fans might care.

It was exposure, and exposure in any case, well, it was good. A fine line to tread, but the personal trials of each pilot was always going to weigh in. There's no perfect answer for how to improve media or sponsor handling, but when all eyes were on you, deciding to be a renegade or a cool operator, a team-player or an outlaw, a punk or a corpo, an accelerationist or a ecological protector, well, that meant very different things to very different people. It just had to mean something though, because building not just the team, but a personal brand came with that, and it meant it in the right place, at the right time. Just meant you had to be you, and try not to pretend too much to be something fake.

"The antics of the grid? Well, they happen. Introduce some alcohol, and other....aspects, and well, our pilots are human. Some react differently, but most of all, they're characters for a reason. That's why we show it all. We don't want to show a bunch of androids, we want to show you the real men and women that make up Formula AG. Imperfections and no matter how much their PR teams do try to cover it off. We're bringing it all. Even if there are things they'd regret later...."

"Surely there's a line they need to be careful of?" The producer asked, from behind, as Aurora crossed her legs, leaning forward.

"Honestly? There probably is. But, you know what they say. Publicity sells. When Layla came to the grid wearing gold, well, a lot more hype came for designer prosthetics. Then Astrid came out with a new line of gin. And we know what happened next. Harrison got himself into hot water over comments related to mining in Papua New Guinea. Henry over activists blocking work at the Charlestown Orbital Launch site development in St Kitts, even Amy over commentary on her team-mate two years ago. Point is, it's easy for things to get out of hand. It's just how they manage it all after the fact."

Grid Photo

The photos wrapped up, everyone looking coolly in front of their craft. And the chat had died down, given they'd gotten all their pictures, looking cool as ever.

It was time to go. Time to head off into their various teams.

But, before they went, Amy had her eye on one racer in particular.

"Hey, Bea!" Amy called out, hoping to catch her without Ava looking over her shoulder, and now the drone had gone away, they weren't on air.

"Just wanted to say....I really like your sketch drawings, by the way. Don't get flustered or anything, but between us, I love your platform. I might have some charity work coming up. I might hit you up after...there's space on the private shuttle I've got if you're keen. Holler at you, yeah?" Amy said, fellow Brit to fellow Brit, the platinum-blonde pilot's wrapped up hair like a tiara almost on her head, with strands poking back past her almost pitch-perfect features as she put a hand on Bea's shoulder, beaming a smile.

Yet from that contact alone, Bea would probably tell that Amy had a little more than some others would like to admit she had- her forearms and hands quite literally hollowed from an autoclaved, 3D printed, mesh like form and definitely felt like they ran something else under the skin. A little style over substance, not that it mattered considering how good her prosthetics engineers were.

"Anyway. Enjoy this little thing of ours, yeah? Stay about, I don't want to lose someone fun." Amy chuckled, smiling back, a beam as she left Bea almost before she could reply.

There's a strange feeling no doubt when a three-time champion, who had all eyes on her would just casually swing that into conversation. With Amy, it was hard to tell considering she was ruthlessly competitive, but perhaps there was something to it- after all, they weren't competing, and Amy had her cracks. Cracks like that she allowed. Almost like a structural gap to allow a little bit of media through, but more to reinforce, she was Queen here in this paddock.

---

In another corner, Dorian caught Ulrich. The tone felt different, as Dorian looked to Kofi and Max, both walking away, chatting, then back to Ulrich.

"Listen. No hard feelings, about all the junior stuff, you made your call and I get it. But out there, I'm not going be your mentor anymore, oui? Whatever you have in the background you never told me, just sort it as soon as you can. I still think there is something more. And I know you understand that. But best of luck to you from here. For what it's worth....Valkyrie isn't the rookie hotbed anymore. I think you made a good call." Dorian commented, a passing comment out of earshot, knowing full well how things could be misinterpreted. But then again, in the relative isolation, cameras now off, it was the last time to talk without anything being brought up again.

That felt a bit colder. But maybe a bit like admin, but well, Dorian meant well. Perhaps unlike Amy, you could probably infer where he went with it, from years of wisdom. Perhaps he meant it in a way about a certain Team Principal, that had changed things. It felt like it in the air. Not of course, he'd find out.

---

And then somewhere else, Harrison glared over at Kais. The man was a fucking soldier. Not exactly like he could say much himself, but well....something felt uncomfortable about him. A pacifist at heart, Harrison was as easy, cool as you would have liked, but perhaps felt a little bit of....antagonism for the man. By design. Not before Cassie came over though and broke that.

"You were right. Shit, she's completely on the corpo-juice. Zygon's basically printed her out." Cassie referred, as She, being obvious in reference, was out of earshot.

"Told you so...everyone saw it coming and it was part of their corporate's deal to get you in. You owe me a seaweed taco, because when am I wrong? Oh, and she showed you up in qualy?" Harrison chuckled, as Cassie looked over, a grimace towards Harrison.

"Well, when you're taking on an unproven street racer and she drives your ship like she stole it....you feeling that heat too?" Cassie quipped back, Harrison chuckling, shrugging his shoulders.

"She is good, Cass. The problem about being a big punk though? There's always one bigger than you. Makes for some healthy competition." Harrison replied, a smirk on his face, as Cassie chuckled in return. She had reason to be confident considering everything though.

"Noted. We'll be coming for you soon. World needs more of it."

---

And then, Kofi came across Paul, in a moment of everyone mingling a little bit on the way off the pontoon. The tall Ghanian seemed like a gentle giant, his beard left grown in a goatee, his older augments clashing against his generally warm demeanour. There's something to him, a chuckle that you can't not associate with the guy.

"You really are your father's son. Good to have you in the grid, Paul! Me and Dorian were watching your junior racing, not often a son of a legend comes in...I am glad you found home." Kofi smiled, a hearty laugh as he put an arm around his shoulder.
"There will be a lot of talk. But you stay true to you, yes? Don't ever let them grind you down. Media, yes? And I'll tell you now. You're now an AG pilot, so there is action But, just be you and it's easy. Do not overthink....the rest you'll put to the fiyah." Kofi added, patting him on the chest, around his heart, chuckling, leaving him to it.

---

And yet last, Ava looked across to Kais, the former super-soldier now just super-humanly racing, though humorously, four inches shorter than Ava's tall height. A relic of a world gone by, yet repurposed into one better. Unlike Harrison, perhaps she had some empathy, though perhaps a strange way of showing it, the black/white and Wipala coloured suit she wore contrasting his green and gold.

"Kais Zenix, freedom fighter, terrorist, AG racer? Well, what a world that was, hey. I couldn't help but recognise your story. And before you tell me to fuck off, indulge me for a moment, please." Ava smirked, walking alongside, out of shot of Bea, her Chilean accent dripping off her husk voice.

"I remember when my family was getting evacuated from Bio Bio, when the forest fires started in 2070, and didn't stop for three years. I was so little, and I was told I'd never see home again. It all burnt, and what was left was ash like a volcano had spewed everywhere. Caused by a forestry contract in debate by two multinationals and a heatwave that never ended. Perhaps that was enough to want a better world than that and to stop whoever it was that did it. Rage, anger. It's a nice feeling, isn't it? And isn't that a story you felt too?" Ava seemed almost like a black mirror to him, and perhaps it seemed odd she opened up at all.

"The younger ones forget what that world was like. I suppose we lived it for a while. In a world full of drones, I guess I was the last of a dying breed. You too, and your stories that come with it. Sometimes we forget if we won or lost, considering it all ended in this. Yet here we are." Ava commented, folding her arms, staring across into the horizon, then back at Kais.

She may have been a former test pilot, even in a world full of cloaking-enabled hypersonic fighters and bombers, a human was still sometimes needed for decisions. And that also included fighting when it came to it. Perhaps not as personal as Kais perhaps had made it.

Ava looked him up and down, checking his implants over, then his general physique. Sculpted, and she understood why the rumours were all true. But, her own implants and prosthetics told her story too, as did her undercut brunette hair. Ava had been a racer for a few years since being that test pilot, at least five years and into her early 30s, now reminiscing the past before all of that racing, well, it wasn't just for show.

"For what it's worth? Perhaps, I understand you, and respect you enough to tell you to be careful. The old world isn't all dead. And they will figure out if they can make a better weapon than the one they made out of you. The grid isn't all clean, and I can tell you that now. This is the high life. But it comes with a price." Ava remarked, no doubt to the grimace of Kais, walking up to his side, out of ear or visual shot.

Perhaps it was bullshit, a ploy to throw him off. Perhaps something else. It didn't really matter to Ava, considering the aspect prior.

"You're not stupid. But you're not here just because of some talent, you had your ways. Yet....someone knows they need you at a peak level. Just be careful who those people are. Stay in the light and you'll avoid getting dragged into shadow...hard as that may be for you. It'll keep you in the game." Ava uttered, as she turned and like that, was gone as fast as she'd arrived.

It seemed cryptic. Very oddly so, given the world, the state of things, Kais's reforms, Ava's long past, and well, the fact it was not uncommon for AG pilots to come from pilots, ex-forces or other technical backgrounds. But for a moment, it felt like Ava was making a much broader comment, perhaps not on just those that would be expected to Kais.

---

Sunday March 5th, 2094
Auckland, New Zealand_-_Aotearoa
Race Day
1700 NZST

Auckland and Format

On the grid, Aurora, actual Aurora, not hologram Aurora, was out and interviewing celebrities, team principals, but unlikely to get through to drivers. She found Alexander Knight, Dorian, Amy, Harrison, Cassie, Ava and Astrid, before getting to the end. The camera followed her throughout, and you can probably colour the scene in of what that was like. A lot of banter, funny chat, but well, it's the same old, and almost a blur to most, until she passes back over to the presenting team.

"That completes our grid walk, Rory! Back to you!" Aurora beamed, as the currently faceless British commentator took back over with voice, one that was not too dissimilar a voice to David Croft, a modern F1 commentator.

"Thank you for that Aurora! So, onto our circuit, just for the viewers at the home, here we are in cloudy Auckland, New Zealand. Let's fly through the circuit." He added, as the camera peels back, revealing the port. The start-finish is right after a massive loop at the end of a pier, looping back into the Wynyard Quarter, turn one going turning through the Auckland Marina before chicaning through the city centre, then up to the Skytower through the city via a 70 degree climb and around it via a half-pipe styled banking that was literally like a rollercoaster ride, then down through to Aotea Square via a 70 degree decline to more roads, a short diversion onto Highway 1 via a small drop that the anti-gravity generator would smooth out, up off the main motorway into the Auckland Domain park and museum with mid-speed corners, and the super twisty section through the kauri and various forests there.

The track then headed down to Albert Park, weaving between skyscrapers in Auckland centre, off a pier and on a dead-straight MAG-strip over the sea towards the Auckland Harbour Bridge for over a kilometre and a half, which backed back straight that led to a vicious chicane complex and hairpin that then went onto Highway 1 over Auckland Harbour Bridge and the next largest straight, all the way back down to the Wynyard Quarter again via an incredibly fast corner that had a small banking and was taken flat out, and one of the highest G-inducing corners on any street circuit, in the world. The map revealed overtaking spots, and the serious variety of corners on offer.

The sky was slightly cloudy, and the late afternoon sun was rolling in, the hives of people watching mixed with anticipation for the first event. This was where it all began, and the feeling was electric.

"So, a brief reminder of what's on the cards. On your haptics, you'll see the positions the pilots have qualified in, and the points they get for finishing in position. 25 Points for 1st, 18 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, 12 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 8 for 6th, 6 for 7th, 4 for 8th, 2 for 9th, and 1 for 10th. It's a 45 minute race today here at Auckland, and should take us into the twilight hours. ELS systems are all live, and are prominent in Sector 1 and Sector 3, where pilots can take on energy. Our qualifying results from yesterday decide where each pilot starts on the grid, and they'll be forming up shortly."

"The circuit is balanced, and the best craft with all-around has the best chance of winning here. But of course, it's on our pilots to really step up to the mark as the difference makers, and we'll be seeing what they can do soon! Aurora, looks like it's time for the grid to assemble. Viewers, stay peeled, as we are moments away from the start of the Formula Anti-Gravity season here in Auckland!"

---

The Racing Line

Max "Wedge" Wedgewood

Soundtrack: Noisia and The Upbeats - Dead Limit

The floating camera picked up Max, and well, followed behind, the American acutely aware he was the drone's given target now, and it would switch up rather neatly for him. He noted it, almost with a meta-like commentary as if he was looking past the camera into the viewer.
"Guess it's me, huh. Alright. Guess that's one extra thing....hi folks!" Max chirped, helmet on, giving a peace sign, as he got to work.

Engineers milled around the ship, checking diagnostics, even though almost everything could be done remotely and a small fleet of drones, each one roughly the size of dragonfly, were helping out with last minute integrity checks. He looked back over the grid, and took it all in. There's no feeling quite like here. The ecstasy, the feeling. Aurora picking up an interview with Alexander and Dorian was of note, though he was in his own little pod. It was time to get moving.

The feeling of clambering into an anti-gravity racing craft never got old to Max, and after the grid walk had been completed, he was in his zone. Oxygen running, HUD active. The ladder pulled away, he pulled the canopy in, exhaling hard. There's a feeling of pre-race jitters, the camera on him, focussed. The prodigy, now turned 2nd season wonderkid, was thinking things through, not just for thoughts, but for the fact he was quite literally wired in. The neural link gently attached, as was the composite bracing, and various diagnostics doing its jobs, it felt like he was all systems go. Water even sucking in through his little capsule in his throat-applied oxygen supply.

"Alright, Wedge. Like we practiced. You can make some heroics into Turn One, but none over the SkyTower. That's where crashes happen." The radio from Carl Matthews, American engineer called through the comms, as Max nodded to an invisible response.

"Yeah, like we practiced. I got this." His voice was confident back, bordering on arrogant, but then again, belief was like that. It had to be.

"Ulrich is right behind you. ELS activates on Lap 2, so between you both, hold things up and make the most of the stability we have. Zygon and Valkyrie know where to fight you. Remember. Long term, Wedge. Let's be easy and let this play out." The fact team comms were available to broadcast meant well, maybe it paid to be careful what was said. Most of the time, without pressure that was....

"Copy. Let's start well. But we can take the fight to them too." Max replied, checking his shoulders, his heart, blood and everything else now feeling all aligned. In one place.

"Hah....let's finish first." The reply came from the engineer, as Max clicked his neck, taking a moment. All ships ready. A gentle warm up of the ship systems, and instead of a warm-up lap, considering these things could be run cold, meant just a shift about 200m forward into grid slots, on an auto-pilot. All systems checked, all air brakes, all control surfaces, thrust points green, mods all synced, all systems, all good to go. A masterpiece of high end engineering insanity, for this one, very moment. The work of dozens of engineers, team-members, everyone, down to this, one, very moment.

A heartbeat fluttered, and no matter how good any pilot would be, or how many mods they had, there was always that feeling of looking across at another pilot, or at the lights, and knowing, this was do or die. Everything led to this point, now. His heart could pin itself shut or flutter harder, but nothing changed the psychological element. It almost felt like it was dialled up if anything, given the neurons in his brain were just going even faster.

Lights came on in sequence, holographic on an AR display of course. And it's almost as if the human body itself stops being in its own shell, but instead, feels disassociated. Max can feel himself almost as if he was a part of it, thinking, in a way that can't really be described to anyone else, it feels like....every brake, thruster, all of it, flowing through his head faster than anything, in subtle control with the two hands on a joystick in front. The trickle of a neuron enhancer speeds things, not to lightening, but close enough. The red lights fade, one, by one, until only one is left on the board. When that goes, it's green. And....

Go.

And it's an assault. Noise filters, instead it's more like a zone and it all blurs. All the noise of fans, crowd, ships, anything. It's instant adrenaline, and nothing but tunnel vision.

Force yanks back into the seat, and he quickly yanks past Cassie on the start, dogfighting out of Turn One with a hard cut on the inside with a hard bank and pivot, the Miller's stability rewarding his aggression and putting him right behind Dorian. It's a blur, the ship accelerating faster, and faster, and faster, and the air is a gentle hum on the cockpit, but that even seems to fade, because Turn 2 is coming fast and another dozen ships are behind him, and Hart has had an absolutely terrible start.

All ships are away.

---

Auckland AGP

From the perspective of the cameras, there are highs, and lows. Cheers from crews as they see overtakes. A nasty shunt of one of the craft in Sector 2, right in the tight turns of the Auckland Domain, to an epic ELS battle on the straight over the Auckland Harbour Bridge, ships weaving before the incredible corner that was the Auckland marina approach, the camera cutting between them, from pilot to pilot, ship to ship. There's a lot of iconic scenes, of ships roaring upside down at the loop before the start/finish straight, and plenty of overtakes, as well as dogfights throughout with ELS charge up and down the SkyTower, ships getting thrown for barely a moment from the induction and any good drone photographer worth their shot would get the spire, ship and clouds in the background perfectly.

The literal sea sometimes spitting over the MAG tracking in the harbour, the tight hairpin at the Auckland Harbour Bridge, the ridiculously fast corner coming off it that nearly needed no brakes, the corkscrew over the tower and the chicanes at Aotea Square, as were the tight corners in the public park of Auckland Domain, all of it, in absolutely glorious definition, a relatively high average speed for a street circuit making this enthralling for both pilot and spectator, ships roaring and rushing through.

For a first race of the season, this isn't just a simple affair of no overtaking- positions are traded, and it's a mucky affair, playing on almost every part of each team's skills, from team strategy, to ship quality in corners, stability and speed, as well as ELS. This one is pretty incredible even by Formula AG standards, even if the weather wasn't up to it, Auckland was filled with action, everywhere- and results came from not just the overall form of the craft, but the pilots that had either played a blinder, or weren't firing on all cylinders.

In the end, the result is inevitable, as Amy was always going to take that top spot today given the Silver Apex's balance and potency everywhere else, even despite the speed loss on the back straights. But there's some absolute roaring in the crowd when they see who came second, the inevitable first, and the unusual third. This came as a shock to almost everyone, even the people who saw qualifying and the result, and well, the discussions are going to be up. Nordic Call are underperforming drastically with technical faults, Valkyrie have work to do, Carrera Condor and SuperCat nearly shocked many people with points, and Zygon, MMR and Al-Saqr seem to be fighting in the mix of things. Some bad luck, but then again, opportunity for everyone else.

The pilots each had their own experience of the race, their own highlights, their own special moments that happened, from one position to the next. That's best left to them, though....

The final results are below:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qF6cn…

---

The Chequered Flag

Soundtrack: Art of Rally OST- Sprint

And with it, there it was. All ships over the line past the chequered flag, and Rory yelled out, in his characteristic excitement.

"What a race we just saw! Stirling takes the win, but all eyes on Kelly, second place in her first race at Southern Cross's home AGP, you couldn't write this!"

"Absolutely, Rory, we saw some incredible talent on display, and some incredible handling of the ship there by Kelly, what a way to introduce yourself to the grid! A nasty knock for Falkner, though it looks like the pilot is unharmed and the craft is relatively intact. There will certainly be some talking points over Nordic Call's mechanical struggles, and Valkyrie's underperformance, but Han Hyeon-Ae really held off some big teams and kept her nerve. The rookies this season have certainly shown what they have been capable of."

"Thank you Rosie, and yes, as we watch the ships cool down on their in-lap, we'll have plenty of analysis to follow. Your winner, Amy Stirling for Silver Apex, followed by Nora Kelly of Southern Cross in second, and Layla Al-Nadir of Al-Saqr Racing in third."

"Unbelievable...Makara follows close behind Nadir, looks like that was a tight fight! And Han is not far back, looks like she held off a late attack by Jamie Hart, who looks to have had an awful race since his poor start! And...that is Wedgewood, Hornfleur and Zenix, right to the end, such close racing! Neves complex the top ten, and wow, Auckland does not disappoint."

"Absolutely Rosie, who do you think were the stars today?"

"Well, all eyes on Nora Kelly, what a performance to grab a 2nd place on debut, the rookie getting a well earned Biocore Pilot of the Day as voted for by the public! But Han for Zygon has proven herself immensely, and I think she'll be proud of a debut fifth place too to hold position."

---

Analysis with Rory Andrews

The camera pulls back to the Delta Hyper sofa, and on it, there he was. Rory Andrews, commentator, and pundit. There's a difference between him and Aurora, given his position in the sport to call it, play by play, alongside a punditry team. But Rory's opinion is a good one. A lot of talk on the pilots, teams, engineers, Aurora captured that, but Rory, Rory was the beating heart of the actual track-day. And well, he was someone you listened to, as he put down his glass, the drone picking him up with a certain contemplation.

"Auckland.....well, it was a pretty good way to start things. I think nobody saw Nelly coming. The pundit team had her down to lose positions, but well, sometimes you roll the dice and these things happen. The fight in the midfield was intense, and we saw Zygon's new prodigy, Hyeon-Ae Han, prove why she was called into the team. Jamie Hart let down Silver Apex badly, but nobody can deny what Max Wedgewood was doing with that MMR ship today, and let's not forget the heroics from Paul Mulder at the back." Rory started, the 30-something, dark haired, bearded commentator imparting his wisdom, Aurora looking over from the other side of the drone.

"So, who would you say is one to watch?"

"The season's only just started, so it's hard to tell. Things can turn around fast for some teams, and it's far too early to talk. But some pilots have just made their mark. All eyes are on Nora and Hyeon-Ae, and I wonder what they'll be like under that pressure. Alexander Knight has a lot of work to do with Valkyrie, but, he has a rookie that certainly seems to be living up to the mark of his father if his pace at the back is anything to prove. And we didn't say it at the time, but Nordic Call definitely didn't show up at all. They may shock people if they get their technicals together."

---

Post Race, Auckland: Cooldown

The cooldown room was quite a place, the quiet still containing cameras and beanbags, with a big holographic display for the three podium finishers to watch back the best overtakes, and action of the race.

Amy and Layla had been here before, but Nelly never had ever had seen anything like it, most likely.

"Not bad, Layla. Where'd you pull that move on Harrison from?" Amy queried, watching it back on the prompter in front of them, the holographic display providing an inch-perfect display of the move.

"Shh, secrets." Layla giggled, a rare crack in her demeanour, as she looked across to Nora Kelly, the Southern Cross racer here instead of Harrison, a smile on the Jordanian's face.

"You did well today, Nelly. Not many rookies come in and make a splash like that. And they will go wild out there for you. The lights will be very bright compared to the underground." Layla spoke, her eyes glowing up, as Amy gently strummed through her telemetry, not trying to be rude but taking it in now while it came through, breaking it there.

"Give her a moment, Layla. This is a lot to take in. Like you." Amy seemed almost nice to Nora, but beneath the surface, there was almost a look in Amy's eyes, countering Layla's sarcasm yet reminding that she was a veteran, and Nora was a rookie and Layla wasn't on that top step. One of the fact that this was all fun now, but it was because Amy had left them both behind, far behind at race start, and Nora's weave from third to second was not something she knew much about till now. An official gave a nod for them to come through, and with it, the three walked on out towards the Podium.

And there it was. The podium stood right in front of the gathered spectators in the Wynyard Quarter, Auckland's prominence as a race not meaning it was a holo-crowd, no, this was real, actual and it was deafening, as Amy waved out. It was loud as hell in the night, and even a gentle drizzle couldn't dampen spirits.

Champagne, trophies, and well, all that came with the glory of top level racing, Amy on the top step, trophy in hand high and spraying it over the other two, and a return customer many watched on at, bringing domination back onto the menu. Layla and Nelly, not so much, but they were here today.

You've seen this bit before, but the glory, the feeling of this, that's unbeatable. And what every single pilot wants to have. That feeling of victory, the camera capturing it and following Nelly through that moment, the realisation of what would likely be an entire life's dream, right here, right now. People would talk about Southern Cross's genius decision to take an astronomical risk. Some would say this was a fluke on a circuit she no doubt knew well from being an Oceanian native. But, nobody was keeping the lights off her now.

But Nora Kelly never had been on that platform before, and well, no doubt had a million memories in that moment forming.

Hype, speculation, and talk started from there, and just like any quiet move got you places, the loud, big ones got expectations, hype and rumours going faster. Fame is great, but there's plenty that follows the comedown. Like coming back to that step again.

That was what being a pilot in AG was all about.

---

Post Race, Auckland: Interviews

The interview format was changed this time around. The footage didn't roll from a sofa, but instead, a line up of racers, assorted at random in front of the Delta Hyper pop-up, to the side of the other media interview pen. Of course, the new pilots were up first, before the main pilots of each team were getting interviewed, due to a quirk in scheduling, Aurora back on interviewing duties again.

---

@Enzayne

"Amazing result Han, 5th Place in your first race! How did it feel to hold off the veteran ships behind you?"

---

@LadyAmber

"Paul, amazing work today finishing 13th in your first race, pulling the ship from last on the grid with a series of brave overtakes and showing off the Valkyrie's sublime cornering skills. Tell us, how did it feel weaving through the back of the pack?"

---

@MrSkimobile

"Kais, with the competition in the mid-pack, a respectable first race putting it into 9th and into the points. How did you find the balance of aggression to make the most of the speed from you Al-Saqr ship?"

---

@GingerBoi123

"Ulrich, awful luck for you out there on your first race crashing out! It's great to see you're all okay! Up until then, you seemed to be doing pretty well- do you feel there's anything to learn?"

---

@Starlance

"Hey Bea, a nice and steady race for you there and tangling with the back of the mid-pack, with lots of cut and thrust. Looks like lots of lessons learned in your first round on strategy and ELS, but you showed some promising pace and I imagine with more underneath you, you'd do better! What do you think you've learned the most from that race?"

---

@Sylvan

The crowd screamed for the next one. It was as loud as crowds got in Formula AG, and for Nora, this was a near-earthquaking feeling, as Aurora had to put a hand over one ear for her projected mic to still work, even in spite of how advanced it was.

"Nora Kelly, podium finisher! I can barely hear myself over that crowd- Nora, tell us how it feels to be 2nd and on the podium at an event many people consider to be Southern Cross's home event, and your first Formula AG race!?"

---

On other aspects of the grid, the other drivers had a chance to chime in during their interviews, coming in and out.

The roar for Amy was clear enough, as she stepped up to the stall, her polymer-like neckbrace in her left hand, her helmet in her right.

"Yeah, amazing race. Huge credit to the team, but once we were out of the gate, the ship was on rails and it was easy to break away from the pack and put on the pace. Awesome stuff."

Layla shrugged, itching her eye with her polymer-like hand.

"Yeah, well, Nora was just too fast. I thought I could handle an unstable ship well, she was amazing! But honestly, a few more laps and we'd have to see. Happy with 3rd, let's keep pushing from here. Yalla!"

Harrison smiled, the cool Aussie knowing the question would come up with an obvious tone.

"Amazing job by the team, super, super happy with the craft but gutted I couldn't get past Layla, but she had the ELS advantage. And massive congrats to Nelly, holy crap, we're going to be partying tonight! Woo!" Harrison yelled, fist raised, the crowd roaring.

Max brushed up to the camera, a smile on his face, the American beaming with a schoolboy like charm.

"Yeah, great race for us, considering everything. Super sad for Ulrich this weekend, but he did amazing too while he was in it. Lots of positives and we can definitely take those away for the next round, we can run with this."

Dorian shrugged, knowing this wasn't as amazing as he would have liked, but well, these races happened.

"Ah, these things happen but we are getting used to a bit of change, no? We had good strategy, and the craft is capable of more, Paul really came back from the back and showed we have a craft that can sit at the top of the mid-pack. Sadly I could not get more out of it and we were caught on the straights, but we'll perform better in Tokyo and Algarve, and we have a great platform of upgrades coming."

Cassie followed up, brushing her red hair and glowing bioluminescent ends out of the way, a new thing she'd just been working on since last night.

"Uhhh yeah, good race for us, but we still could do more. Han was on fire today, but Wedge and Zenix fought hard, and made it difficult. We move on, we'll know what to target next."

Ava was actually grinning. Well, considering the second-worst team on the grid had made Auckland work, nearly scoring points felt like a good place to start.

"Well....great for me, maybe not for Bea. The craft was amazing on straights, but we still have a lot of work to do to get into points."

Henry too, seemed to be grinning.
"Honestly? Buzzing! Made the most of a really bad start, and even with our teething problems punched above what we expected. And Jenny was insane, I've never seen her so fired up for a race."

Astrid sighed, knowing there was no easy way to cover it. Nordic Call was WELL below expectations.
"Not great. Not great. Ship should be far better than it is, lots of bad luck, technical faults. It's sh*t but we have time to improve."

The same seemed to even be on Kofi's face.
"Well, a technical fault stopped me from having a good race. But Vlad did incredible. Really impressive. Shame I couldn't make more out of it, we go again in Africa!"

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

INTERVIEWS

Pre-Qualification

@Starlance

"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?"

---

@MrSkimobile

"Sounds like you have your approach down, Kais. We look forward to seeing you charging hard!" 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.

"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?"

---

@LadyAmber

"Apologies, Alexander. Whilst you can't divulge changes, how would your approach impart on the team?" Aurora started, knowing he had places to be, so would wrap it up after the reply.

"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!"

---

@Enzayne

Han had made leading questions easy, and more followed. But, Aurora had one thing to pick out.

"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?"

---

@GingerBoi123

"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?"

---

@Sylvan

"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?" Aurora asked, then following up with her next after a reply.

"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?"

---

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- varied.

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."

---

Saturday March 4th, 2094
Auckland, New Zealand
2030 NZST

Pre-Race Party

Soundtrack: DNMO, Wolfy Lights: Bombalaya (Blooom Remix)

Post Qualification

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. 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....

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. 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!

---

Under the Hood

Ava Villarosa

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?"

---

Sunday March 5th, 2094
Auckland, New Zealand
Race Day
1300 NZST

Soundtrack: Bonobo- Migration

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?

Grid Photo

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.

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

@MrSkimobile

Splendid, accepted, post in Characters and you can post in IC when ready (with the PM'd question being your first Part 1 response :)

DELTΔ HYPER (An F1 Drive to Survive inspired Anti-Gravity, Slice of Life, Cyberpunkish/Solarpunkish RP)

Google Docs:

Race Results and Team Ranking (including Performance Rankings):

---

People of the Grid:

---

Rounds

Round One: Auckland, New Zealand

Round Two: Cape Town, South Africa

Round Three: Tokyo, Japan

Round Four: Marmolada, Italy

Round Five: Portimao, Portugal

Round Six: Mare Austral, Luna

Round Seven: Monte-Carlo, Monaco

Characters:

Beatrix Ward- Carrera Condor - Starlance

Ulrich Falkner- Miller Motor Racing - Gingerboi123

Han Hyeon-Ae- Zygon - Enzayne

Kaïs Zenix- Al-Saqr - MrSkimobile

Alexander Knight and Paul Mulder- Valkyrie AGR - LadyAmber

Nora Kelly- Southern Cross - Sylvan