Casey

Casey sees Zulfikar as a man worth following. Not because Zero is a ruthless & aggressive leader, far from that, he is a man of his words and always delivers. He is decisive and consistent in what he believes in, which aligns perfectly with what Casey respects and looks for in a boss. There's no blind loyalty to it, Casey stays because Zulfikar has proven himself reliable.

That said, Casey's respect is measured, not unconditional. He watches and evaluates where Zulfikar draws his lines. As long as those lines remain clear and controlled, Casey has no reason to question him. But the moment decisions start leaning toward unnecessary risk or into harmful territory, that respect would begin to be questioned.

Shu Yi is everything Casey personally strives to avoid. He is impulsive, loud and dangerously reckless. He thrives on chaos and adrenaline, often pushing limits for the sake of the feeling rather than the outcome. It's the kind of driving Casey has little respect for.

That said, Casey doesn't dismiss him entirely.

Shu Yi is quite skilled, more than most, and that alone earns him a baseline level of acknowledgement. Casey recognises that beneath his obnoxious arrogance is someone who can handle a powerful car and show results. That alone keeps Casey from writing him off completely.

Their interactions are typically dry and the tension between them is palpable. Shu Yi provokes and tests boundaries, but Casey doesn't rise to it easily, responding with blunt remarks or ignoring him instead of engaging. He doesn't try to correct Shu Yi or get close to him, he simply observes and steps in only if Shu Yi's behaviour crosses a line Casey would not tolerate.

There is no real trust between them, and it's unlikely that they would ever work well in a team together. Casey keeps Shu Yi at a distance, not out of fear, rather, out of certainty. People like Shu Yi burn fast and can damage their surroundings, and Casey has no interest in getting caught in that chaos.

Casey doesn't dislike Alexei. That would require a stronger reaction than she's ever managed to pull out of him. What he feels is closer to slight annoyance. They are careless with words, careless with space, careless in ways that don't align with Casey's. He watches him the same way he watches the road: anticipating a mistake before it happens, already thinking about how to avoid it.

Alexei doesn't make it easy to ignore them, either. He has a habit of inserting himself into Casey's space like it belongs to her. She would lean over his shoulder, ramble on and on, throwing comments that are borderline offensive and all. Casey rarely reacts, but there is subtle uncomfortableness in his mind. His lack of response seems to encourage Alexei to be more free around him. Where most people would back off, Alexei lingers, pokes and tests. Casey gets the sense that they're trying to get a rise out of him, though for what purpose, he cannot tell. They never cross into anything he'd consider an actual threat, so he doesn't give him much attention.

However, his perspective changed the first time he's seen her work.

There is a clear difference between how Alexei talks to people, and how she talks to machines. The restlessness narrows into something precise and detailed. He moves like he knows exactly what she's doing, even if they couldn't put it into words. Casey pays attention to that. Skill matters, and so does consistency. And Alexei, for all her casual barking, is consistent where it counts.

Alexei switches between himself and herself and themself without warning, sometimes mid-sentence, sometimes mid-thought. Casey caught onto the pattern and has asked Alexei bluntly what it's about a few times.

"Do you want me to change pronouns when you do, or pick one and stick to it?"

Alexei just gives him a non-answer in their thick accent, with a shrug:
"Do whatever you want man. If I care, I'll tell ya."

That tracks. So, Casey adjusts the same way he does to everything else. He mirrors whatever they use, even if it shifts mid-conversation. Alexei likes to "overwhelm" him on purpose, and will stack her pronouns multiple times in a row, then laugh about it as they watch Casey's gears turning visibly on his face.