Mindabaal Grand Prix

[Dunames Lopez]

Map of the race course: run clockwise, and curves are numbered in the order in which they are encountered

The Maple Valley track on Mindabaal played host to a podrace. After the disaster that was the Battle of Kaeshana, conducted under nebulous conditions that contained crucifixions, orbital bombardments and a space battle whose scale was reminiscent of the grand space battles of the One Sith era (Rogue or not), what was for sure was that Star Tours had to host a charity race somewhere, bringing podracing to a corner of the galaxy that was rather poor in terms of podrace tracks. Also, Star Tours had access to dirt cheap land on Mindabaal because it was also the site of a similar disaster that caused a lot of material damage a few years ago, killing a massive number of residents; the survivors and their children, understandably, hated Sith with a passion. Therefore, the 120,000 spectators, many of whom lost loved ones either on Mindabaal or on Kaeshana, all hoped that there were no Sith among the crowd or the racers. Maple Valley was, as its name implied, a ~35-kilometer podracing track that has the racers taken through maple forests, and the grandstands being mostly among the longest three straight lines of the course. Today's weather was a little cloudy but no sign of rain just yet. With Dunames and Karine in the podcasters' box, and Dunames who is about to get out of the podcaster's box once she is finished:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first edition of the Mindabaal Grand Prix! All proceeds from this year's race will be dedicated to relief from the disasters that occurred on Mindabaal, about which no aid came because it somehow escaped the galactic radar, but also the refugees from Kaeshana"

"I see that there are several veterans from the podracing circuit today: Desmond, who also ran in Chasin City a while ago, alongside our very own Dunames who, as she always had in the podracing circuit, represents the First Order. A few newcomers, also entering this race: Lyth Meran and Bato Golden" Karine told the crowd in a podcast.

[member="Lyth Meran"] [member="Bato Golden"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"]

OOC: If you wish to contribute funds towards the victims of Kaeshana, you may be welcome to join and mingle with either other racers before the actual race starts or with other spectators, here's your chance!

 

[Lyth Meran]

Lyth was literally karking herself.
She fad been in a lot of vehicular combat situations but this.. this was a race not a fight. admittedly the Redcap was made to take a beating.
its chasis was light flekible and strong plus it's pilot was a avian being used to a 3d method of movement.

 

[Bato Golden]

Bato Golden stepped onto the track and waved to the crowd eagerly. Racing was always a fun pastime to get involved in, and podracing was something he followed intensely. Plus, it was for charity. Who didn't like charities?

Now while Bato didn't own a pod himself, he had managed to pull some strings and borrow a friend's vehicle; a bright orange pod with three large engines leashed behind it. If he was being honest, Bato had no idea how it drove, but it looked cool as all hell.

Wearing no less than his most fashionable racing suit, which was also borrowed from a friend, the actor jogged over to the other competitors with a wide smile. "Oh man, this place is packed, huh?"

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

I checked my pod. Tested the turbine cables, they were nice and taught. I took my hydrospanner to the number two turbine and tightened up the flux capacitor. I walked to the pod carriage and activated the tractor rays. The turbines lifted from the air and the pod hovered above the ground.

I lifted my goggles from my forehead and placed them over my head. My cybernetics synced with my race goggles and time seemed to slow as the HUD sprung to life. I hopped in my pod and gunned the throttle. The pod roared in response and I smiled. Christine was a beaut who could not be beat. With the curves to make most women jealous. Twin ion turbines, black paint and a chiss rally girl painted on the side.

“First race huh? You’ll do fine pal,” I said as I regarded the actor. I rather enjoyed his films and would have to get his auto graph after the race.

I dismounted and walked to the small fairy on my left.

“Heya kitten. How’s it going?” I said as I admired her pods condition.

“Sweet ride you got,” It was still nothing compared to my pod, but I thought i’d be friendly.

“How do you ride that thing anyways?” I said thinking about her rather tiny disposition.

(Pod is in bio)

 

[Dunames Lopez]

And who could forget about the Gyaban 787 whenever Dunames is spotted on a podracing track? Everyone and their dog that knows about her relationship to podracing would know about that pod she uses for racing. Especially in First Order-land. She has one win (the race in Chasin was a wash), the Lanteeb Grand Prix. She descended the turbolift from the press gallery to the starting line, knowing that the race is about to begin, and that the other pods are in position. Understandably, because she was the hostess of the race on Mindabaal, where the race was held for charity, she had to make the opening speech, and then get dressed in the flight suit, which was given by the First Order on Thakwaa in recognition for her contributions to bombing runs. As the Polydroxol realizes that Bato and Lyth are complete unknowns to the podracing world, she expected the favorites to be the more seasoned veterans (in relative terms; in absolute terms, the First Order have its very own Marianne Kwyjibo and both the Alliance and the Silver Jedi have other iconic professional podracers) of the circuit. She makes her approach towards her pod, knowing better than to underestimate an inexperienced racer.

"Let's see what [member="Bato Golden"] and [member="Lyth Meran"] can do against the more experienced racers that me and [member="Desmond C'artyom"] are!" she exclaimed, while boarding her blue-white podracer.

"Start your engines!" the race commissioner told on PA.

 

[Lyth Meran]

" Hi i think we met before. well Cockpit is made to scale to my size. the Redcap will make it to the finish line ." Lyth admitted tapping the racer.
to be honest she was feeling semi confident. she did after all have a few tricks up her sleve.

 

[Bato Golden]

Bato grinned to himself. "Showtime." He jogged over to his pod, hopped into the seat, and flipped the ignition switch. The three large repulsion engines hummed into life, and there was even a deep rumbling roar that cried out when he revved up the accelerator. Apparently his friend had some specially made alterations done. It sure sounded fast. In a few seconds, he'd find out if it was all for show.

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

So that's how the fairy did it. Desmond thought with a nod. He walked back over to his pod and mounted the carriage. He hit the ignition and the pod came to life with a roar. He notticed the actor showboating his pod a bit and smiled. He hit the accel and fed his pod a bit of isotope five. The thing roared tremendously and the crowd cheered even louder. He waved to the on lookers and was greeted with a few chants of his name. Des was loving every minute of it.

 

[Dunames Lopez]

"3, 2, 1, go!"

The crowd, who paid through the nose to attend the race, only saw clouds of dust coming in from the four racers in play. And, hopefully, the crowd expected that the funds thus donated could actually go towards rebuilding Mindabaal and Kaeshana. Once the starting signal is given, Dunames jams the throttle forward and even the boost but had to ease up on it when she sees the wall of the first curve so as to take it on the inside. She might have been oblivious to [member="Desmond C'artyom"], [member="Bato Golden"] or even [member="Lyth Meran"]; then again, it's still early in the race, and all four podracers thrusted forward. Yet she knew that, along with Dunames, Desmond were among the favorites, and Bato and Lyth were underdogs. Three laps were all that it lasted. It wasn't wise to boost while the massive curve took to a wheat farm on the outside, and a maple-covered hill on the inside of it. Oh, for sure, the crowd expected explosions but they didn't realize that Dunames was not in the business to crash other podracers in the process.

 

[Lyth Meran]

Lyth took off in a split second. she was used to this and being a being of her size her reaction time was far faster than those of " normal " size
she took off at a built speed with a jolt her body reacted to the sudden inpact of g forces.
she jumoed to avtion

 

[Bato Golden]

Bato launched off at the first shot of the starting gun. Which is to say, a half second delayed, because there wasn't a starting gun. Still, he didn't waste any time trying to catch up, stomping down on the throttle and barrelling forward. He had seen the map from before, and after a few test laps in a demo pod, he figured that so long as he braked slightly through the turn, he could afford to boost. He'd just drift through to the outside, and use the kept momentum to try and take the lead. The curve was large enough that he could slow down if he lost control, and certainly wasn't as sharp as the later ones. Despite his pod coming dangerously close to the outer edge, he managed to remain in control and pull off the drift, earning him a good roar of applause from the crowd.

He had no idea if he could win this thing, but he knew he could look good either way. Stuntman school had payed off.