Member
FourtyTwo
Lunamaria Hawke
Eventua
Snowdrops
Ivar
Sky Blue
Triantafyllo
MrSkimobile
Kaithe DameAfter the Tokyo Grand Prix
Monday April 3, 2094
Soundtrack: I Won’t Back Down- Fearless Soul
Valkyrie didn’t do as well as they should have in Tokyo. Paul did okay but Dorian fell in standings and position. His poor performance reflected badly on the whole team. Alexander understood Dorian’s frustration but he also saw that he was getting in his own way. He was second guessing every decision and ignoring all the advice from his team. It was one thing to ignore Alexander’s advice but he wasn’t listening to the mechanics, engineers, or the trainers. It was like he was determined to have it all his way. That only his way would work for him. Alexander had gotten tired of fighting him over decisions that needed to be made. He let him have his way and he utterly botched it. He lost 5 positions in the race and only beat out the worst two teams in the antigravity league. Alexander knew Tokyo was going to be a difficult race. He could admit that he was partially at fault. He had underestimated how important the ELS Systems were in modern antigravity racing ships. Those systems had been in their infancy when he had been racing. They were a lot more complex today. Alexander knew he bore some of the blame for the results. He had allowed it. Dorian’s poor performance was his own doing though. He needed to have it out with Dorian though. He couldn’t allow this to continue or Valkyrie’s season was going to get even worse.
Alexander slept in after a late night. He was still in Tokyo after the race because he had to see to the team’s commitments for the new sponsorship contracts with Enigma Lux Fashion House and Orion Luxury Watches. The endorsement and residuals on new fashion designer fan gear would help fill the coffers at Valkyrie AGR. Enigma Lux was going to design and produce a high end line of fan gear for Valkyrie AGR Sport that would be sold exclusively through the official team online fan gear store. Valkyrie would help promote and facilitate sales and profits from the merchandise would be split evenly between the team and the fashion house. The better the team did and the happier the fans were, the more gear they bought from the store. Katherine was hoping that by having new and exciting fan gear designed by a luxury fashion designer for the masses would appeal to their fans. The new line would be launched in conjunction with the Grand Prix in Italy. Team Valkyrie first had to honor their end of the contract and that meant that Alexander, Dorian, and Paul first had to shoot photos and video endorsement ads. Then they all three had to be runway models at Tokyo Fashion week for Artie Lux. Alexander couldn’t believe he had let himself be talked into this.
Alexander knew the funds that would come from finishing this contract would be crucial to getting the first steps started on building new ships. The influx of money would allow Alexander to hire the talent he needed to begin working the kinks out of the new ship designs while he continued to work sponsorships and endorsements to help pay for it. Several sponsors were in town for the Tokyo Grand Prix. They had wanted to talk over drinks after the race, which is how Alexander ended in the hotel bar after the race. Alexander felt ridiculous like a queen holding court as he shook hands and smiled and took pictures with a host of smaller sponsors. Alexander did have one surprise visitor from Shinichi Bionics. Yuhara Shinichi herself had requested to meet Alexander. He had thanked her profusely for the opportunity she had granted his daughter. Yuhara wanted to clarify some details on their new agreement with Valkyrie AGR. Alexander had been very impressed with her knowledge and drive. After Yuhara left, Katherine kept sending a steady stream of smaller sponsors his ways who just wanted to feel seen and heard. That typically meant a short conversation and maybe a photo or autograph. Which had inevitably led to a late night for Alexander. He was not a young resilient man anymore. He couldn’t get pass-out drunk and function well the next day anymore. He had nursed that third scotch along and had switched to coke after his fourth one. He was so grateful that the photoshoot for the fashion house was scheduled for tomorrow.
Alexander downed one of the Zap Sports Drinks that he had taken from the paddock for his hotel room. He downed it with a few painkillers to help his headache. Their sponsor sent cases for them to distribute and use at races for promotion. Alexander remembered when brands like Monster Energy Drinks went organic with natural ingredients and enhancers. Zap was just the latest rising drink company out there. The executives from Zap had been in town and basically wanted to meet and greet with the pilots. They wanted their personal moments with the talented pilots and stars of Team Valkyrie. Alexander had done his best to be gracious. He had wanted to roll his eyes and remind them that Paul and Dorian were men just like them. They put their pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of them. Alexander knew the routine even if he found it boring and predictable.
Alexander was coming to lean more and more on Katherine’s expertise in marketing and public relations. She was becoming a key team player in handling and developing new sponsors and endorsement deals for the team. Katherine’s understanding of how to sell sponsors on how their endorsement or sponsorship deal will benefit them was what he believed the selling point was. It had been Katherine’s brainchild after Valkyrie was approached by Artie Lux from Enigma Lux on how to weave the two corporate identities together in a way that made sense for them both. Enigma Lux was seeking ways to enter new markets and areas. They were seeking to broaden their consumer base. Artie was getting what he wanted out of Alexander for his artistic muse and Valkyrie was getting endorsement money. Alexander felt like he was being pimped out with the Enigma Lux deal which made him somewhat uncomfortable but he would suck it up and do what he needed to do. Artie was going to get exposure to the Formula AG fan base which included a broad audience and a new revenue stream in more casual designs produced for the Valkyrie Team to be distributed through their official fan gear stores. Artie Lux was currently the only officially licensed designer for Formula AG fan gear for Team Valkyrie. The rarity of the official license stamp from the Valkyrie Team would appeal to collectors and fans alike. This again would be a benefit for Enigma Lux. Alexander just wished he didn’t have to smile and shake his ass for the camera to get it. This was part of being a professional racer that he had not missed.
Alexander ordered a greasy American breakfast from room service and then hopped in the shower. He was dressed in sweatpants and a green t-shirt when his breakfast was delivered. He was starting to feel better by the time he had finished breakfast. Alexander ate and then pulled his tablet out to check in with Mabel. He had to turn some things over to her since he was stuck in Tokyo all week. Alexander emailed her since it was the wee hours of the morning in Germany and Mabel should be in bed asleep. He asked her to put out some feelers about finding up and coming energy system engineers. He then got to work replying to the emails that he had put aside while he was busy in Tokyo overseeing the race. He sent a message to Dorian that he would like to see him at 11:30am. That gave him plenty of time to wake up and sleep in this morning. Alexander put on his sneakers and went to the hotel gym. He wanted to get in a good workout while he had the opportunity. The hotel gym was nicely appointed and mostly empty on a Monday morning. Alexander put his earbuds in and turned on some music. He then put the equipment to work in a strength training round before he ended with a nice long run on the treadmill. Alexander made it back to his room in time to shower and change again. He switched to jeans, a dark green t-shirt and his favorite boots.
There was a knock at the door and Alexander answered it quickly. He had been expecting Dorian. He opened the door and motioned him in. He indicated the small seating area in the living room area of the suite. He took the chair while Dorian took the couch.
Alexander: “Hello Dorian. How are you feeling today?”
Dorian sighed, his voice full of frustration as he answered.
Dorian: “How do you think I feel?”
Alexander: “If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked. Let me cut to the chase. We both know you did poorly in yesterday’s race. I feel I have been fair with you Dorian. I gave you exactly what you wanted for the race yesterday and you fell flat on your face. So I was expecting that you were feeling frustrated and maybe angry. I would like to hear from you what could have happened differently? What happened yesterday?”
Dorian frowned and he knew he sounded angry because he was. Dorian scoffed as he answered Alexander’s question.
Dorian: “What I needed was a ship that could take on the grid and be competitive. What I got was a slow fucking brick that was useless in ELS defense. I keep telling you to give me a ship that can compete. You are failing to deliver Alexander.”
Alexander: “Well let’s talk about that. We have had this conversation so many times that I don’t know how many other ways to say it. The engineers are doing the best they can. We are here to seal the endorsement deal with Enigma Lux and Orion so we can get that influx of funds. That will allow me to start head hunting for new engineers. In the meantime, we have to race the ships we have.”
Alexander met Dorian’s eyes head on. He didn’t flinch from his responsibilities or his shortcomings as he gave Dorian the broad and brutal truth.
Alexander: “I understand why you didn’t want me in your ear during the race. The only reason I stepped in was because of the last minute change in Paul’s engineer. He was uncomfortable with the new engineer at a race so soon. I was fine with that request.I will admit that you are right about me not understanding everything about racing today. There are things I didn’t understand. I will admit that I didn’t understand how important ELS was to the current racing circuit. That doesn’t mean I don't listen to the people who do know. That didn’t mean I let the engineers rest on their laurels. Everyone of them busted their ass to get your ship set up to the specs you requested from your runs in the simulator. The same was done for Paul. Now you lost 5 positions falling to 16th place only beating out MMR and Fitzroy in the standings. Paul managed to overtake Zygon and hold off Carrera Condor to take 8th. He is the rookie Dorian. You are the experienced pilot. You should have done better than Paul on this circuit. I let you have your way. I supported everything you requested. What is your excuse for not performing as well as your teammate?”
Dorian’s jaw clenched and his fists clenched. Dorian was angry and frustrated. He wanted to hate Alexander for calling him out. He knew he was right. He should have at least done as well as the rookie. They had the same ships. Alexander had let him run it his way this time and he had failed to perform. He didn’t like that Alexander was forcing him to admit it out loud though.
Dorian: “I was overthinking everything and I played it too cautiously. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to make up for the lost ground.”
Alexander: “Look I know racers will have bad days. I am not your fucking enemy Dorian. I am here to help you. You have had a damn chip on your shoulder and you are not listening to a damn word I say. You are not paying attention to the advice the team is giving you. I don’t mean just me. You are ignoring the advice of our experts and engineers. None of us can do this alone. I will do my best to help you get the best out of this season but we have to work together! If it is going to be your last season, enjoy it! If you don’t like something say something. If the engineers and experts advise differently then detail why it feels wrong or give them an alternative. They can’t make it better or fix it on descriptions like ‘it feels wrong. Fix it.” Try to give more feedback than that. Tell them why it feels wrong. Like that adjustment is making the rear of the ship feel like it's sliding around. It is messing with the handling or the stability. What I can’t have you doing is undermining my authority in front of the rest of the team. You can disagree with me in a respectful manner and argue your point of view Dorian. This doesn’t need to dissolve into a pissing contest at every race. Tell me what you need but listen to the team’s advice. We have got to find a way to work together.”
Dorian’s eyes narrowed as he watched Alexander’s face as he thought about what he said. He really wanted to be angry with him but he knew that the anger he was feeling was from the situation he found himself in. The situation was partially of his own making.
Dorian: “I will work on giving them better feedback and listening better. I hope that means you too. I want to finish on a strong season. I can’t do that with the ships like they are. I know you are working on it but is there anything else we can do in the meantime?”
Alexander tilted his head to the side as he watched the emotions play over Dorian’s face.
Alexander: “The engineers are making changes and upgrades as fast as they can develop them, test them, and modify the ships. With the money from the Enigma Lux contract I will be able to headhunt some new engineering talent. I want another ELS engineer. I am working on raising the capital needed to get new ships designed. That takes money. You can help me by helping with sponsors. In the meantime, we are stuck with the ships we have. If you have ideas on how to improve anything, don’t be afraid to bring it to the team. We will brainstorm the shit out of it and if it can be done, we will do it. I don’t want to spend all season feeling like I have to fight you to do my job. Can we please call a truce and just be civil to one another? I promise I am on your side Dorian. I am doing the best I can.”
Dorian sighed. “You are right. I have been a frustrated mess and all I can see is my last season going up in smoke. It’s making me crazy!”
Alexander laughed a little as he shook his head sadly.
Alexander: “You know if I had known that that was going to be my last season as a racer. If I had known that would be the last time I saw Audrick, I would have paid more attention to the details. I would have stopped to enjoy it more. I regret that I was so focused on winning, I don’t remember what it felt like to run some of those circuits. I don’t remember what it felt like to race Audrick and challenge him on a curve. All of that has been overshadowed by how I left racing. I don’t want that for you. Please slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy your last season. Trust me there are some circuits coming up where Valkyrie should shine because of our handling and stability, Portugal, Monaco, Canada, Belgium, Germany, and Singapore for example. We have time to work on the speed and ELS systems before them. If we can edge them up even a little, you should have a good chance at a podium in those races. You won’t be in the championships though if you keep losing out on all points though. Some points are better than none. Yes?”
Dorian was a little surprised by Alexander. He had expected to get lectured and yelled at and the whole I am disappointed in you speech. He was frankly shocked that Alexander shared some of his regrets from how he left racing. He was even more surprised that he was encouraging Dorian to make memories and enjoy his last season. Maybe he had misread Alexander’s intentions. He had to be honest with himself. He had not really given Alexander a fair chance. He had to admit that Paul had certainly done better than him here in Tokyo. Dorian had been upset about having the weird experience of a former competitor come onto the team as a principal. He had colored everything Alexander told him with a mocking tone as if Alexander was telling him his way was better. Looking back he could see that Alexander had not meant his way was better but more an alternative and another option. He had to admit that Alexander had requested and asked. He had not demanded like Rossi had. He had been unfairly painting him with the same brush. Dorian sighed and let his head fall back against the couch. He closed his eyes and just thought for a few minutes.
Dorian: “Yes I know you are right. Some points are better than none. I will think about what you said. I am still going to push you for ship improvements. I will at least try your strategy next week in the simulator. We will discuss it and I will try to be a professional about it instead of sounding like a whiny child. I know that I have been difficult.”
Alexander smiled at Dorian and jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the door. “Go enjoy your day of freedom today. Tomorrow we both have to mug it for the camera. Enjoy Tokyo a little while we are here.”
Dorian chuckled a little and rose to his feet with a slight smile. “Alright boss. I am on my way out your door.” Dorian smirked a little, unable to resist teasing Alexander a little. “I can’t wait to see how you handle hair and makeup and a predawn site call.”
Alexander just laughed and hung his head. He had felt like the butt end of a lot of jokes about this upcoming photoshoot. The guys in the paddock had a field day with it. They had left books and articles giving modeling tips and more for him in his office. Makeup and makeup application tips had been left on his desk. Makeup tutorial videos had been “helpfully” shared by many of the female staff who had joined in on the fun. “The things I do for my team.” He sighed and smiled as Dorian laughed on his way out the door.
After Dorian left, Alexander sat down at the desk in the suite with his tablet. Alexander sifted through the dossiers that Mabel had sent him on the engineers that Felix had requested he look into hiring. The first dossier he looked at was for an American engineer named Dakota Ellis. She was currently working for Pratt & Whitney, a well known jet engine manufacturer. Dakota had spearheaded the work and development on Pratt & Whitney’s latest jet engine line boasting improved efficiency and speed. He sent her an email asking for a meeting. The next engineer he looked at was Bastijin Velnaar. Bastijin was a Dutch engineer that worked for one of the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers. He had been instrumental in developing a new type of wind turbine that was being used in smaller urban spaces. Alexander sent them an email requesting a meeting. Alexander looked over Felix’s recommendation for the ELS engineer they needed to hire but his instincts were telling him that this was not his guy. The guy was knowledgeable and his work was solid but there was nothing new or revolutionary about it. Alexander felt strongly that their ELS needed to go in a new direction. He wanted someone with inspiration and new ideas for this role. Alexander pulled up the list of recommendations sent by his father. He started researching the name his father had sent him, Stephanie Mitsuyo. Stephanie was a third generation Japanese American college graduate student. She had submitted her PhD doctoral thesis on how to reduce what she called electric waste, electricity that was lost due to poor design and electrical conduction. Her work had been a study in superconductors and manufacturing techniques. Alexander was intrigued enough after reading her thesis to send her a meeting request as well. Alexander continued to dig through resumes and dossiers before taking a break for some food.
After lunch Alexander checked the time differences before he began to make calls. He had done some video calls soliciting the interest of potential engineering candidates. He had spent some time on a video call with Felix. They talked about how the race in Tokyo had gone. He gave Felix the feedback he had from the race. He told him to focus on the ELS systems to see what could be done to increase their defense against ELS and better accuracy and lock on when deploying ELS against other ships. He also once again asked the engineers to see if they could come up with anything to help with speed. Was there anything that could be done to provide even a temporary boost to their speed? Alexander reminded Felix he would be completely unavailable tomorrow and Friday. If he needed him to reach out via email and call him in any emergencies. He told him if anything drastic came up to call Katherine as she would be with him at the photoshoot and the fashion show.
Alexander called Leopold to check in. Leopold was not available so he left him a message. Alexander had probably botched the time difference again.
Alexander: "Leopold I know Tokyo was a mixed bag. I take full responsibility for the results. I made the mistake of underestimating how important the ELS was for our ships. Paul did alright and had a decent showing. The strategy worked for him but not Dorian. I am working on fixing things with Dorian. I shook hands and made the sponsors happy last night. I have put out some feelers for some of the new talent we need to bring in. I have already spoken with Felix about what needs to happen before the next race. They are working on it. I will be in Tokyo for the week taking care of the responsibilities we owe on the Enigma Lux and Orion contracts. I will be completely unavailable on Tuesday and Friday. If anything dire comes up on those days, contact Katherine she will be available and on site with me. Sorry if I called at the wrong time. Damn time zones. Bye."
Victory Laps Racing News
Alexander Knight was seen out getting drinks with sponsors after the race in Tokyo. It looked like it was business as usual for Team Valkyrie AGR.
