Coruscant speedway

[Gherron Dragovalor]

(OOC note: If you still want to join, you are welcome to do so. You may not join once the race has officially begun IC. The winner has already been chosen at random.)

A dark, rainy night on Coruscant was the best weather for a show of skill and wits. News had been running in the underworld of the upcoming swoop race tournament, dangerous as ever. Only two stipulations remained; no killing and no maiming. Racers of all species, alliances, and languages had gathered to participate in this deadly sport, the prize drawing them in like bugs to a lamp. The prize: Ten thousand credits to whoever crossed the finish line first. To those that didn't come for any prize, however, simply the prospect of sabotage, trickery, and mayhem attracted more easily than a pile of credits. As the crowds began to gather, the racers prepared their bikes for the event.

Gherron walked over to his vehicle, giving it a few tuning adjustments before the race. As usual in most of his races, he had "borrowed" this one, not having enough money to buy or build one himself. This particular bike was a rather fast one, sleek and black with orange stripes riding back against the side. It's two exhaust pipes lay in the back, waiting to be turned into two pillars of smoke. After a few minutes of tinkering, he put his tools away and brought out his helmet, a simple durasteel one with goggles to keep debris from flying in his eyes. Setting it on the seat of the bike, he took a deep breath and patiently waited for the race to begin.

@[member="Regor Laxvan"], @[member="Daxton Bane"], @[member="Kiskla Grayson"], @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"], @[member="Alachei Mnemenos"], @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Regor Laxvan]

Regor was in the pit, talking to his pit crew Thad exited of 4 twi'lek's, a male twi'lek was making some final adjustments on the bike, after he was done regor looked at the bike and smiled to the twi'lek.* Nice work as always gearbox" * he said and discuted some things whit his crew, waiting for the race to begin* @Regor Laxvan, @[member="Daxton Bane"], @[member="Kiskla Grayson"], @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"], @[member="Alachei Mnemenos"], @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Vix Wul'Tof]

@[member="Gherron Vael"]

Swoop racing, dangerous, illegal, and one of the funnest things she snuck away to do. If she got caught; well. They'd most likely kick her from the order. Still that threat didn't keep her from her pleasures. Vix had a hell of a need for speed. Her swoop gave her all the speed she craved. Well by hers its more the hangers, but since she's on the crew she can use it. She just needs to not kill herself, or crash it. Those are the rules, hard rules to keep of course.

"Competition looks pretty good tonight" she spoke to none but herself, or any who could hear over the rain. Vix tapped a beat on her helmet as she awaited for the officials to get the racers in order to start. Gherron was, wait Gherron?! She didn't know he raced, well not that she knew much passed his name to be honest. She'd been in some classes with him, seen him enough about the temple. Yet they never talked passed a hello or if need be for whatever reason pertaining to a class. Curious indeed. Well, best to thrash his butt in the race.

 

[Daxton Bane]

The prospect of rain did little to dampen the Sith Lord's mood, in fact he almost felt at home. Dismal rain clouds dropped moisture from the heavens like angels crying for his soul. It almost made him want to laugh in amusement.

When word came about a race, he had considered using his custom swoop bike with all the illegal modifications, then at the last minute decided to go on a lark instead. Floodlights cut through the looming gloom like fingers of fire to reflect off the hot pink paint job he had given the Sith swoop bike he had commandered for his personal use. The cobalt blue racing lines and metallic silver polka dots scarred the eyes of anyone foolish enough to look at it for more than a second or two. On the sides, proudly written in neon green ink was the name of the craft Mermaid's Folly. And on the back, the vanity plate read in blatant defiance Sith Rules Suckas all across the rear bumper, as if daring someone to call his attention to it.

His racing leathers and helm were a matched electronic green and royal purple, his face hidden beneath a mirrored face plate. All anyone knew of the mysterious rider was the name Matheus 'Iggy' Kai, a somewhat eccentric and color challenged racer from the Rim.

Revving up his engines he savored the rumble and roar as he waited for the signal to begin the race.

@Regor Laxvan, @Daxton Bane, @Kiskla Grayson, @Vix Wul'Tof, @Alachei Mnemenos, @Joshua DragonsFlame, @Gherron Vael

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

A robed and hooded figure rode a dark blue swoop bike, with dark red trimmings to the starting gate. His face couldn't be seen, nor who he was or where he came from. The only thing that anything might be able to see was long black hair that peeked out of the hood.

Yes, Jonathan "Jose" Siegner, was taking this race. Or, that's what it would look like if someone flipped the hood off. In reality, Jedi Master Joshua DragonsFlame was undercover to make sure this race went cleanly. Swoop races on Coruscant were illegal and dangerous, and the Jedi Master had been sent to make sure that not only was it clean, but to make sure none of the Jedi were trying to make a quick few credits, damaging the Order's reputation by partaking in illegal swoop races.

His eyes scanned his competitors, and he furrowed an eyebrow and cursed silently as he saw a familiar face. @[member="Gherron Vael"], his own bloody Padawan.

"Idiot..." he muttered, disgusted with his Padawan. "Where the kark is Grayson?" he spat silently. He reached out through the Force to try and sense her... And in the process rooted out another Jedi entirely by accident. @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"]. Getting a better look at her, he recognized her from a few Padawan classes he had bore witness to.

He sighed. His main priorities now were simple. Make sure the race went clean, and pluck the two Padawans from the race and have them report to the Council for explanation. Winning wasn't going to likely be an option for him.

Luckily for Josh, he had experience in swoop racing and pod racing from his time on Tatooine when he had amnesia. His experience allowed him to build a brand new swoop bike, something he was rather proud of, with some good parts. Despite the good qualities of the bike though, he doubted the race would be his, and even if he did win, he would have donated the credits either to the Order's caches, or to a local charity regardless.

His mission here was simple. But where, in the name of the Force was Grayson? The race was about to start.

Not showing any intimidation from his local competitors, the Jedi Master revved the engines of his swoop... The adrenaline rush coming back to him. A grin crossed his face...

@Regor Laxvan, @Daxton Bane, @Kiskla Grayson, @Vix Wul'Tof, @Alachei Mnemenos, @[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

She didn't smoke. She didn't drink. She wasn't promiscuous.
Kiskla had no vices other than speed.

The cold was displeasing, and the chill that was imminently coupled with the rain caused her great agitation. The tinkering of raindrops against the frail lower Coruscant structures was nearly drowned out by the incessant chatter of spectators. She was in a foul mood, a lot had happened quite quickly in the past few days and she needed to shrug off her shroud of grouchiness by letting the wind race through her hair. And, she wanted a side of danger served with her actions. No threat, no purpose right?
Besides, she was here on business.
Although the race was illegal, there were rumours floating about in ears that were keen enough to listen. This Master in particular, was a curious sort and managed to pick up on all the verbal and social cues that indicated suspicious behaviour of certain members of the Jedi Order. She was also here to assess the dangers of the race, and maintain an oversight of the participants.
Many rumours indeed.

Few entered the race without concealing their identity, including Master Grayson. There was nothing about her that would reveal she was a Master of the Order, or even a non-miscreant of the Republic. Her slender frame was clad in black, with a heavy leather jacket concealing any distracting curves. Additionally, her visage was concealed beneath a balaclava with only the eyes cut out and her knuckles coated with a sleek metal to break the wind. This wasn't her first rodeo -- when she had been a Padawan she'd entered quite a few races; but she'd been smart enough to learn to conceal her physical presence even if she couldn't hide her metaphysical one. Unfortunately for the Padawans in question, they hadn't taken a visual precaution. Nor had they attempted to conceal their Force presences.

Speaking of hidden presences, she could feel the extension of anthers with a seeking intent. It was like a wind, twisted through bare branches until Kiskla released her hold for a brief moment, allowing her humour to seep through into her telepathic transmission to the other Jedi Master @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]; Don't worry, I'm not missing the party.

After that, she suffocated her signature and gave a brief nod in his direction if he was looking to confirm her transmission.

Her wrist curled forward on her handles to release a satisfying roar from the engine beneath her seat. Geonosian modelled swoop bikes were the most aerodynamic and agile in her experience, which was just what she'd need for the purge styled driving she'd be doing tonight.

@[member="Daxton Bane"] | @[member="Regor Laxvan"] | @Vix Wul'Tof | @Alachei Mnemenos | @Gherron Vael

 

[Daxton Bane]

Disgusting. He could sense the presence of light siders somewhere among the riders, none that he was familiar with though, but still. What was the galaxy coming to. Lightsiders, probably Jedi, in an illegal street race? What next Sith running a friendly homeless soup kitchen? Some things simply shouldn't be. The Sith Lord was so tempted to declare his presence with an unmistakeable aura of horror, but he wasn't going to let these white hats spoil his fun.

Let them race, and if they got in the way, well that was what the cleverly disguised plasma cannons were there for. Once the race began he would pick his moment before he jettisoned the shells and started mowing down the competition. Yes, that was something he was looking forward to.

@Regor Laxvan, @Daxton Bane, @Kiskla Grayson, @Vix Wul'Tof, @Alachei Mnemenos, @Joshua DragonsFlame, @Gherron Vael

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

"Racers, prepare yourselves! The race is about to begin!"

Upon hearing the announcement, Gherron slipped on his helmet and mounted his vehicle. Making sure everything was in order, he looked around and waited. He didn't like what he saw. Other than him, there were three Jedi here, one of them being Josh. 'Kark...', he thought. 'Im gonna be in some serious trouble as soon as this is over.' Fortunately, he wasn't the only Padawan there. There was another.... What was her name? Vux? Vix? He was sure he's seen her before in a few classes. He smirked a little as he realized he wouldn't be the only one getting in trouble. The grin stayed on his face as he continued to scan the area. There were some interesting participants tonight, of that he was sure.

"Start your engines!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Revving the bike to life, he let out a soft hum, not unlike that of his own lightsaber. Looking ahead, he focused himself on the track ahead. Not much of a track, but that was the point. Above him, a street light began flashing. The dead second it turned green, he gunned the engine and sped off.

@[member="Regor Laxvan"], @[member="Daxton Bane"], @[member="Kiskla Grayson"], @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"], @[member="Alachei Mnemenos"], @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Nyxie]

It had been a long time coming that the noblewoman knew of the event. Though it wouldn't have seemed like it to anyone else, Alachei had been planning and meditating on it for quite some time; in some instances, literally. Whilst she had important diplomatic matters to tend to as a royal emissary, the race was still fairly high on her list. The hour of the event was finally at hand, however the girl was secretly very proud of her most recent work of art. A grand piece of craftsmanship like it could only be satisfied with a grand entrance to match.
As the lights above the starting line began cycling through yellow blips, Alachei crated off with the bike, surrounded by nothing but darkness and the bustling sounds of the city lanes.

"Racers, prepare yourselves! The race is about to begin!" ​

She could hear it echo in the back of her subconscious. The visor to her suit closed as each small rectangular diode poured out from the each one before it and circled around her face to form a solid wall of small, dim lights.

"Start your engines!" ​

She could hear the echoes in the distance from within the crate. She felt her gut twist as the world around her felt as though it was rapidly descending. One by one, several lights under the huge oval bubble of glass that was a canopy flicked on and the bright light of a display filled the shadowy seating. Her body bent forward, breasts pressed flat against the large fuselage, to reach for the swept back digital control bars.

Go!​

At ample altitude over the starting lineup, the shutter doors of the shipped crate flung open and the single monstrous Haylaxian sublight engine roared to life before settling to a chilling whine. With a tug of the control sticks back, it burst out in a huge gust of hot air and sent the bike blasting forward with all the force the company would allow its limiters to accelerate without simply ripping out from underneath the bike's own frame. Six small iridescent cones of burning gas trailed out from its twin three-port thrust vectors as the yellow-to-red bike jumped across the line and landed somewhere in the front of the pack. She didn't stop or slow down to look back. As far as she was concerned, the race officially began and she earned her place at the fore. Hmph, I aught to mass produce these things at this rate, she thought and inwardly laughed, knowing full well a bike with a flight screen sitting on one of the galaxy's most powerful starfighter engines would never be legalized on any planet.

@[member="Gherron Vael"] @[member="Daxton Bane"] @[member="Kiskla Grayson"] @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"] @[member="Regor Laxvan"]​

 

[Regor Laxvan]

Regor started the bike and it came roaring to live, making Shure his helmet was secured he rediet fore the start* @[member="Gherron Vael"] @[member="Daxton Bane"] @[member="Kiskla Grayson"] @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"] @[member="Alachei Mnemenos"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Of course, Gherron wouldn't be able to recognize him. The Jedi Master had hid his presence well enough, or at least enough to mask his identity. For any force users around, they might sense him as an untrained, relatively harmless Force User. And nobody would recognize Joshua DragonsFlame with long black hair hidden under a hood, which for someone like Gherron, he might be able to recognize, but he'd need a good, long, hard look at him to even begin to consider it.

He saw @[member="Kiskla Grayson"] from the corner of his eye from under the hood, and telepathicly he could hear her humor... In response, he grinned and stuck his tongue out at his fellow Jedi Master playfully.

Josh started the bike up, it's roaring not unlike the hum of his lightsaber... The familiar hums and movements from his old racing days coming back just like that. The lights were turning... Josh felt at home again... But he knew the mission.

He gave Grayson a nod. They had planned ahead what they were going to do. He just hoped this worked out right...

Then the light hit green and Josh was off after his competitors. His focus was unshakeable. He went right after Gherron Vael, hoping to try and go by him...

@Gherron Vael @Daxton Bane@Kiskla Grayson @[member="Regor Laxvan"] @Vix Wul'Tof @Alachei Mnemenos

 

[Vix Wul'Tof]

"Racers, prepare yourselves! The race is about to begin!" ​

Vix was pumpin' adrenalin through her veins like the her swoop was fuel. She was primed, set, ready to go. She had enough energy she was ready to explode. Vix swung her swoop out into the starting position. She pulled back the throttle and revved her engine several times. Her heart beat faster with each hum. She was here to race.

"Start your engines!"​

She was here to feel the wind and speed fully take her.

Go!​

Vix was already so ready. She didn't care that she may get in troluble. The speed demon in her took over. She cranked that throttle to full and kicked in the clutch. She flew off the line like lightning in a bottle. "Ohh yeh"!

 

[Daxton Bane]

Daxton could feel the excitement slowly building up as the countdown for the race slid downwards, giving his engine a good rev, making them purr like the sound of bored jungle cat about to go on the prowl. The starting line was thick with would be racers, he idly thought to himself, were they even aware of the danger in their midst?

Bright lights in his internal hud, showed that his passive target acquisition software was up and running. Assigning each of the would be racers a designation and threat analysis using a real time feed directly before the eyes of the Sith.

As soon as the signal to start was given, Daxton surged forward with the rest of the pack although intentionally keeping pace with the middle lower pack to gauge all the targets before him. Once he got an assessment of their relative speeds, he would slowly creep up the pack, either using guile, natural agility or a well placed slam from the side to run his opponents into the incoming madness that was Corcuscant rush hour civilian traffic.
@Regor Laxvan, @Daxton Bane, @Kiskla Grayson, @Vix Wul'Tof, @Alachei Mnemenos, @Joshua DragonsFlame, @Gherron Vael

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

As the racers had all sped off into the night, Gherron looked around to see what he was up against. Currently the only two in his immediate sight were his Padawan classmate, and another swoop with a hot rod looking color scheme. He figured his first move should be to get as ahead as possible, perhaps even take out a few of his competituon along the way. He was generally an easy guy to get along with, but in a competitive race, he was as cold as ice. Racing over to Vix's bike, he prepared himself to cut her off, hopefully get her to run off in the wrong direction.

@[member="Regor Laxvan"], @[member="Daxton Bane"], @[member="Kiskla Grayson"], @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"], @[member="Alachei Mnemenos"], @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Go!

The announcement had barely belched from the speakers before it was drowned out by the roar of hungry engines against the steady rain.

The hesitation of the concealed rider might have been curious to spectators. And it killed her to do it, but she purposely let the throttle-hungry padawans leap forward. Her stomach was filled with slimy snakes, and she quickly flicked her wrist and kicked down her heel to aggressively lurch forward. The best way to keep an eye on anyone, no matter the metaphysical extension, was from behind.

Like a flock, the racers peeled around their first corner and into the swallowing throat of a tunnel. The course inside was dimly lit, and littered with debris from spare parts of other travellers. Obviously the race's organizers weren't concerned about track maintenance. The submersion was brief, and they all soon exploded from the mouth back into the throngs of underworld watchers.

Already, a precognitive tingle coursed down her spine. The spectators were a medley of beings; most with the objective to be entertained, some were to raise a little havoc. Under the cover of darkness and flickering neon lights, any criminal could easily slip into the sea of the oblivious.
As the young master whipped through the cleared speedway, she could see glints of metal amongst the throngs. Highlights of violet glinted at someone's hips before a bolt of energy fired from their waist into the entourage of metallic vehicles. The bolt clipped a swoopbike's nose behind her and it spiralled from its course. No doubt out of pure shock. The blonde tips beneath her balaclava whipped wildly as she jerked her head to look behind her, relatively concerned about the well-being of her former competitor.

They were fine, cushioned by the pedestrians. And the shooter too, had an angry bunch of civilians on him. Apparently outside rigging of any sort of bets was frowned on with a fist. Or, in the marksman's case; several.

Looking back ahead, it seemed @[member="Gherron Vael"] had a vindictive side; his first pick to overcome was a fellow Padawan. Beneath the black fabric, Kiskla scowled deeply. That was cowardly of him; was he not an adequate enough racer to win without foul play?

Her reactor light blinked angrily and Kiskla quickly dropped her speed, dropping behind a speeder who had intended to ram her. They looked bewildered by the move when they glanced back at her before nipping the butt of another racer ahead of them.

Hey. Kiskla thought, projecting her voice to @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] as she advanced her position in the stretch. Keep an eye on your Padawan. He plays dirty.

@Regor Laxvan | @Daxton Bane l @Vix Wul'Tof l @Alachei Mnemenos

 

[Daxton Bane]

Beneath his helm Daxton grinned as he saw the dirty driving taking place in front of him, excellent he thought to himself. Now no one would suspect what he was about to do. As soon as @[member="Gherron Vael"] made his move to cut or slam another rider, he would extend a very subtle but powerful Force push at the rider's bike, increasing the speed and velocity of the strike and hopefully taking out both riders.

The benefit of this move was that not only would his victim be blamed, it was perfectly invisible and even undetectable by anyone with the power to sense to the Force. All they would feel was someone used the Force but it could never be traced to him.
@Regor Laxvan, @Daxton Bane, @Kiskla Grayson, @Vix Wul'Tof, @Alachei Mnemenos, @Joshua DragonsFlame, @Gherron Vael

 

[Nyxie]

__Alachei race on past the flock and into a long chute-like tunnel absolutely littered with debris and salvage. With each passing piece her bike swerved and snaked more and more. Anyone who's ever played digital games knew that the front of the pack was often the most dangerous place to be. Granted there were no 'power-ups' or 'trap activators' but there were sure to be at least a few unsavory characters who rigged their bikes with nasty things. Somewhere in the middle of the tunnel when she was far ahead and out of sight, she pulled the flight control sticks back, gunning the throttle to drive her down a separate path and up a curved wall. The bike jumped from roof to roof, platform to platform, scaring the denizens of lower Coruscant out of the way. Attentively she watched, as the other racers began resorting to their illegitimate methods. Her bike finally lunged off of a platform down a long, parallel alleyway. With each passing structure, she looked down its alleys and crossroads, waiting for the ideal moment to drop back in when they had all but wiped each other out. With the push of a button below the flight HUD, its computer synced onto multiple racers and tracked their status with the data it gathered in between passes.

@[member="Daxton Bane"] @[member="Kiskla Grayson"] @[member="Gherron Vael"] @[member="Vix Wul'Tof"] @[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] @[member="Regor Laxvan"]​

 

[Vix Wul'Tof]

@[member="Gherron Vael"] @[member="Daxton Bane"]

Vix pulled up hard to evade Gherron's bike from smashing into her. And likely sending them both flying off. Her maneuvers took her a good two hundred meters above the rest of the racers in her pack. Gherron's little stunt wouldn't pay off for him though. She was up way farther, not nearly as many obstacles to deal with. Vix pulled back hard on the throttle, making for a short gap between two buildings. Wind currents changed as she flew between them, the sound of rushing air deafening to her ears. Only inches separated the control fins from being torn off by the edges. Her swoop flew like a bat out of hell, screaming like a lich. Vix angled down a bit, she could see the other racers down from her vantage. Like a classic fighter attack maneuver, she dove in on them, gravity adding to her speed. 727 kph, 756 kph, 811 kph. She pulled back on the controls to level out as she came in behind Gherron and Daxton. Her white helmet and whipping silver hair there only a brief second beside them before launching ahead.