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."
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
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!"
Soundtrack: Noisia and The Upbeats - Dead LimitThe 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.
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…
Soundtrack: Art of Rally OST- SprintAnd 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?"
@SylvanThe 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!"
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