Podrace PODRACE: Zugga's Challenge in Mon Gazza! (Open to Spectators and Gamblers)

[Jax Thio]

The map!:

Spoiler

The rules:

Spoiler

The Sun shone upon the rusted digging machines that were once used to work the spice mines of Mon Gazza. The planet has a reputation of being a violent mosh pit full of corruption until a corporation from the Techno Union came and took over. Now and days, Mon Gazza has become a major supplier of Spice and while they are still trailing Kessel in terms of production, the gap is rapidly closing. Crime has significantly gone down due to the abundant of jobs and order on the planet and Skakoans have been creating Spicestick companies all over the planet. Recently, after hearing lobbying from the Podracing group who rebuilt the classic course: Zugga Challenge, seeing the possibility of expanding their businesses the Skakaons decided to host the classic race track to test the waters of a possible Podracing circuit on the planet.

The crowd cheered on despite the mini dust storms on the course. A tall male Skakoan began to approach the announcer booth fiddling with the knobs to modify his voice.

"Welcome Podracing fanatics!" The voice sounded natural instead of the low, artificial tone that Sakakoans normally use. "I'm Tosco Rod and welcome to the RETURN OF ZUGGA CHALLENGE!"

The crowd roared in jubilation.

"FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 500 YEARS, MON GAZZA WILL HOST A PODRACING EVENT AND IT'S THANK TO YOU GOOD PEOPLE! A big turnout with 15,000 strong cheering on their favorite Podracers!"

The crowd cheered as Fireworks began to explode in the sky.

Tosco adjusted his knobs before continuing. "Our contestants have arrived on the starting grid! We got some Podracing veterans a mixture of rookies such as the 16 year old Mandalorian: Hilal Vizsla and Jedi like Valery Noble the Galactic Alliance hero! We even have the winner of the Ossus Podracing event: Tris ! In an interview in Podracing Quarterly, my Morayson has said that he wants to come back to the racing scene and he made a statement by winning a close one on Ossus! Can he start a win streak? Let's find out!"

Tosco looked around. "We even have the mighty Slider ! A fan favorite, he rides with his old reliable Podracer! It's always a joy when he's racing!"



The crowd continued to cheer as the racer began lining up. "Looks like we're ready to go! This event is bought to you by Colosus Racing! They will be our security for this event! Also Holonet News reporter: Holly Starstorm will at the sidelines reporting!" Tosco yelled. "Racers! Start your engines!"

RACER	SUPPORT (you can still sign up)	FIRST LEG	SECOND LEG	THIRD LEG	FOURTH LEG	TOTAL
Kal	Muk Moadda (Used Reroll)	7 (Used sabotage on Kirk Korrado)	4	18 (9 before reroll)	9	38
Valery Noble	Jax Thio (Used Reroll)	14	6	13	3 (6 before reroll)	36
Slider	N/A	16	12	16	17	61
Hilal Vizsla	Sergeant Omen (Used Reroll)	16	11 (1 before reroll)	20	20	67
Dani Stellaris	Kaul "Joker" Emos (Used Reroll)	6	6	16 (1 before reroll)	9	37
Joseph Torson	N/A	Dropped out
Tris	N/A	16	13	14	5	48
Cotan Sar'andor	Asha Hex (Used Reroll)	2	8	19 (3 before reroll)	5	34
Kirk Korrado	N/A	14 (15 before sabotage by Kal )	8	2	13	37
Ardon	N/A	10	10	8	11	39

SPONSORS

• Colossus Racing (Will provide protection for the race)
• Holly Starstorm (Holonet News Press Coverage)

PRIZE SPONSORS

• Colossus Racing (10,000 UCs)
• Jax Thio (10,000 UCs)

BETS

• Kal will donate 10,000 UCs to the first racer who crashes and another 10k to the person who made them crash (If applicable)

PRIZES

• 1st place: 10,000 UCs
• 2nd place: 8,000 UCs
• 3rd place: 2,000 UCs

 

[Slider]

MON GAZZA, ZUGGA CHALLENGE
PODRACER: THE WHEELHOUSE
ROLL: NONE YET​

"We even have the mighty Slider ! A fan favorite, he rides with his old reliable Podracer! It's always a joy when he's racing!"

Fan favorite? Little ol' Slider?

He didn't know if that were true. The career podracer didn't exactly try to keep his image. He just showed up to the races, enjoyed the track, and gambled away what winnings he scraped together after the match. It was a simple life for a simple pilot, but maybe that resonated with the regular crowds that came to these things in droves.

Slider maneuvered his monobike into position at the starting line, and snapped his goggles over his eyes. No support, no pit; just him, his machine, and the open road. There was nothing more the Bereth-Aku could ask for.

He leaned over to whatever pod sidled up to his left, and his grandfatherly voice cut over the din of engines. "Careful out there, yeah? Heard there was a bounty on podracers these days, and Colossus can only do so much."

He revved his engine, ready to tear into the race when it began.

 

[Kal]

Clad in the body of a near-human male with wild eyes and messy dirty blond hair, Kal was ready to have a good time, positioned as he was in a recently-purchased podracer of uncertain provenance. Muk Moadda had been confident that it was fast, however, and that was the important part, right? That was the essence of the sport.

The nice Mon Calamari had even offered to provide emergency repairs if needed!

"Likewise!" Kal could not help but flash a brilliant smile in the direction Slider at the turtle-man's concern. How very sporting of him, Kal could appreciate that. "Fortunately, we are both the hardy sort, I should think."

Kal did not look particularly hardy, at the moment, but no matter.

Rustbucket leaping into motion the instant the race began, Kal immediately began trying to hug the wall to cut down on distance travelled, seemingly determined to take the shortest possible path through the spice dozers...

... but in his inexperience, he ended up throwing up a cloud of sandy soil in the direction of another racer.

---

Looks like I rolled a seven as the first person to roll. Rolled for it and I'm sabotaging Kirk Korrado - sorry, not sorry.

P.S. Muk Moadda's my support/mechanic.

 

[Kirk Korrado]

Ever since leaving Task Force Xesh and the safety net of the Galactic Alliance, Kirk had been hounded by the galaxy. You see, he owed a lot of money, both from before and after he went into the service of the Alliance. Suddenly flying right into the Maw superweapon didn't seem so scary.

Kirk's logical response? Podracing. Sure it had just started as betting, but that was part of his problem in the first place. No... he needed to race. Fast, both literally in the sense, and in the sense that time was closing before the debt collectors got him.

He was a great pilot, of starships. Of podracers? Well he knew basically nothing. And he didn't have anyone on his side to help him. His racer may well have been a scrap heap. The only people who would sell to him were Jawas, and even then he had to go to three different tribes to get the parts for a full racer.

There were two logical outcomes: either he crashed and died, thus wiping out his debt, or he made some money to pay them off. Either one seemed good at this point to Kirk.

As the race countdown began, Kirk revved up the struggling engines of the Jawa racer. There were big names here today, but even the most underdog of drivers had a chance at winning. His podracer sputtered as the race began. The dust from the other pods zooming by choked him up, but a few moments later he got the Jawa racer to move forward.

[Rolled a 15, -1 from Kal 's sabotage, so 14]

 

[Cyran Vaas]

Role: Spectator
Location: Mon Gaza Speedway

​

When he was younger Cyran used to go to racing events both legal and not so legal. Never to an actual pod race though, mostly speeders and swoops were what he was familiar with. If Cyran was being honest, if he didn’t have a higher interest in music than he most likely would’ve tried to pursue sports like racing. But probably would’ve just as likely become a bounty hunter and freelancer.

Also thanks to his fellow “co-workers” he had learned about a massive bounty on all podracing. Even the seemingly legit events. It reeked of criminal influence yet he insisted on government cooperation. The whole thing seemed rather fishy to Cyran. On one hand he could rat out the event and make some easy cash. Which would be really nice to help pay off some of his loans on his ships. But on the other hand he came here for a good time, heck, Cyran didn’t even have all the equipment on him. Really just an old holdout blaster concealed within his sleeve just in case things get dicey.

But then again Cyran didn’t really expect to use it or for the weapon to even see the light of day. Even in the back of his mind he was wary of the fact that a more risky and daring bounty hunter might make a move on the event. Not to mention how much of a pickle Cyran would be in if they recognize him and request his aid as a fellow bounty hunter. Something that would be a hard thing to deny as said by the bounty hunter’s creed.

The Zeltron just hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. Currently he was hanging around the Mon Gaza Speedway, in line at a humble confectionary stand looking to get himself to snack on for himself. Not to mention that he wasn’t alone too. Having come to the event with his still new apprentice Takumi Tikotzki i. Probably wasn’t what he was hoping for being their first outing together. However, afterwards Cyran did have something in the works for them later. A rather big job if he could get the plans in motion. Eventually he got what he wanted from the confectionery stand and returned to Takumi offering some of his snake to the young man. “Want any? Wasn’t my first choice to satiate my sweet tooth but it’s not bad I think.” He said, offering some of the contents of what was inside his small bag of snacks. They were Blue Maracrons.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Mon Gazza​

Valery: Appearance​

Support: Jax Thio ​

Roll: (14 | GA discord)​

​

If it wasn't for her extreme focus on the race that was about to start, Valery would have raised an eyebrow at the announcer mentioning her participation. She was new to podracing and her work for the Jedi and Galactic Alliance hardly helped her perform better here. But none of that phased the woman right now, as she waited for the start signal to be given.​

​

"Calm," she muttered to herself.​

​

But as the signal was getting closer, the nerves washed away and a smirk found its way to her lips. She revved up the engine of the racer that Jax Thio had built for her and then... green light. ​

​

In the blink of an eye, Valery accelerated away and quickly reached the first bend of the opening leg, which she didn't exactly get through perfectly but fast enough to remain a serious competitor in the race. This was going to be interesting, and she looked forward to aiming for a place on the podium again.​

​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Alright, let's hope this goes better than last time."

Cotan flipped a switch, activating the engines on his podracer as soon as the race announcer called out. On the bright side, if he did run into any trouble like he had on Pamarthe, he had both Asha Hex and his droid handy to keep him up and running...or at least scrape him off the track afterwards. Hopefully, though, he wouldn't.

He'd built his podracer himself, after all. He was attached to it.

The light hit green, and he hit the throttle, blasting down the initial part of the track along with the rest of the racers...a little slowly, perhaps, but he'd be able to catch up. It would help keep him out of the way of anybody veering off to crash early on, as well.

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

When Cotan set off at little more than a cruise, Asha turned her sights down to Kiss and gave the droid an odd look.

"Uh... Isn't the whole point of this thing speed?"

Not that she was going to complain. If he wanted to turtle the race she'd be more than happy, after all it meant he was more likely to come home tonight.

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Slider]

MON GAZZA, ZUGGA CHALLENGE
PODRACER: THE WHEELHOUSE
ROLL 1: SEE BELOW​

Slider gave Kal an appreciative nod, accepting the other's concern in stride.

He could only hope the race would be safe, for all involved. He wasn't the competitive type; at least, not to the same degree as some. Slider was here for the race, for the feeling of gravity twisting his guts, the weightlessness of going over a jump, the exhilaration of the cheering crowds.

He didn't do this to win. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

The light flicked green, and the Bereth-Aku sped forward. The race was on.

 

[Ardon]

ROLL: Made with built in dice.

Spoiler: ooc

I'm gonna likely do this some other way next time. Maybe put it in the OOC thread, since I can't see it from here.

Post: 1

Ardon looked at the thing he was about to put himself in. Podracing, was that really the right choice? Well, he was a good pilot, his skills hadn't failed him yet. His familiarity with electronics hadn't either. That helped, most of the time. Unfortunately, he couldn't operate both the speeder and be a pitstop, and he doubted his droid would be of any real use.

"Ardon = very concerned." He admitted to himself as he started up the machine, he didn't look to the other racers, instead, the moment they were given the go, he pushed on the throtle. It was time to find out just how big of a mistake he'd really made.

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Hilal's Podracer

(OOC: Rolled a 16)

Hilal loved Podracing, when she was a kid, Hilal stumbled upon her fellow Mandalorians betting on a Podrace in the Boonta Eve Classic. The young woman was mesmerized by not only the unique design of the Podracers but the breakneck speeds that they're racing at. That feeling of freedom combined with an adrenaline rush got Hilal hooded on Podracing. Of course, she couldn't forget the sounds as well they were music to Hilal's ears with the engines sounding as if multiple Starfighters cranked up at max speed. Building technology is Hilal's first love but Podracing had to come second or third fighting Bounty Hunting as her passion.

Now here Hilal was, a certified Podracer racing the Zugga Challenge. It was great to be one of the first pilots to race on this track, it was considered to be legendary for how difficult it was. But Hilal saw it as just another obstacle to overcome, she definitely wasn't shy away from a track like this. She needed to continue to make a name for herself as a Bounty Hunter and considering that Podracing while fun is also the home to other Bounty Hunters and high paying individuals in the stands. It'll be nice to have Hilal's name out there so people can do business with her.

Besides it was a good side job to make some money on the side and Hilal is always looking for money. Her hands wrapped around thrusters; Hilal stared at her quad engines with pride. She was working on this Pod since she was 8 and didn't want to use until she was absolutely certain that the Pod was perfect. Hilal settled for nothing but the best and this bad girl was fast and furious. As soon as the race began, Hilal accelerated out of the start line like a Colo Claw Fish swimming after its prey. The injecterine she installed in all four of her Pods were working well so far as she weaved her way into first place.

"TIME TO WIN!" Hilal laughed maniacally.

 

[Tris]

Spoiler: Leg 1 - Roll 16

Another race, another dollar as they say. Through the Mon Gaza Speedway and the Spice Dozers things seemed neck and neck. He didn't have the start he would have liked but that's what this sport was all about right? He could feel the blood pumping in his ears as his webbed hands gripped the steering of his podracer.

 

[Dani Stellaris]

Stellaris was at it again. The pod that was donated by Matsu Ike 's company was repaired and ready to go. Now all that mattered was getting it to the line. Lucky for her she had Kaul "Joker" Emos with her again. The pod was quick and spritely but it was just needing some time to get used to. What she was glad for was the Collosus out there to help protect the racers.

The other big issue was… how was she doing this? Most humans couldn't. And that meant that maybe somewhere in her past something was different. She'd considered it a few times, and hadn't really mentioned it to anyone. But here she was, lined up at the line.

She gave a salute and wave over to Kaul as she revved up the engine. As the light turned green, she hit the accelerator.

 

[Jax Thio]

"We have a tight race ladies and gentlemen!" Tosco Rod announced to the excited crowd the leaderboard appearing in front of all screens. "A three-way tie for first place between Slider, Hilal, and Morayson! With Noble and Kirk Korrado following closely! With the first leg done we head into the real action at Miner's Town! Abandoned Spice machines litter the track making it a tough area to navigate! Not to mentioned it's considered to be longest part of Zugga's Challenge complete with the infamous cliff! Hold on to your seats ladies and gentlemen! The fun is only just beginning!"

 

[Kal]

Despite the graceless start - he would have to apologise to Kirk Korrado after the race - Kal felt like he was getting the hang of things. Sure, he was some distance from those in the lead, but he was ahead of Cotan Sar'andor and Cotan seemed like the kind of person who would be good at this sort of thing.

Not bad for a first try at podracing, in his humble opinion.

Continuing his safety-averse driving style, the Shadow successfully (sort of) used one of the abandoned spice harvesting machines as a ramp slash shortcut, only to frown slightly at the announcer's statements.

Cliff? There was a cliff? Huh. Better hope he could follow someone's lead on that...

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Meanwhile, Cotan had no clue that one of Asha's apprentices was currently involved in the race. If anything, he was more concerned with the message he'd just received from his droid, showing up on one of the readout screens inside the 'cockpit' of his podracer. Wrong gear, stupid.

"Damned bucket of bolts," he muttered about his droid. He'd managed to avoid getting targeted with any sort of sabotage or crashing racers in the first leg, now it was time to really push it for the second. But...maybe not too much, just to keep up close to the next racer ahead of him. See what happened.

Try not to make Asha mad at him for podracing, even if she was there to put him back together if something bad happened.

Asha Hex Kal

 

[Kirk Korrado]

Though the scrap racer has stuttered at the start, it compensated with the insane burst of speed that launched Kirk into the front 5 racers. The wind whipped around him at super speeds, his head protected only by the combination of cheap helmet and cheap goggles that threatened to be pulled off by the jetstreams.

Now his racer was going too fast, it seemed. Kirk frantically hit buttons on the dashboard to try and slow down. At this rate he would very likely make first, and even more likely so crisping up in a ball of flame. After mashing numerous buttons that probably weren't connected to anything, knowing the Jawas, Kirk hit one that activated the pod's retrothrusters. It was enough to slow him to a good pace, even if it was sure to cost him a few places.

 

[Takumi Tikotzki]

Spectators: Pod racing

Tags: Cyran Vaas
Planet: //
Location: Mon Gaza Speedway
Role: Spectator
Clothes: red poncho and some clothes under it(no helmet)
Gear: IB-94 blaster pistole | a few thermal detonators | force pike

Today was a good day. At leat for Takumi it was. Some time passed since he participated or watched a pod race, and today he finally was able to watch it again. The whole time they needed to arrive at the planet, as well as for the time so far they have spent here, Takumi had a bright smile on his face. He was excited about the race and couldn't wait to spectate it. It was a nice turn of events, after a lot of time being spent on training, to be able to relax, so Takumi enjoyed every second of it. Other than his mentor, Takumi was equipped with his force pike and a blaster pistole. The pike was a gift from Cyran his mentor, and a weapon he learned to love since it was a weapon that came in pretty handy in many situations. His red poncho, that he wore, covered his weapons as well as his gear, making him appear as one of many other beings, that were walking around here just to watch the race.

As Cyran made his way back to him, Takumi quickly looked at him. "Who ya bettin' on ?" he asked casually, he was curious as to who he had chosen to be the potential winner. When Cyran offered him some sweets, he couldn't take down this offer, and instantly went into the bag with his hand taking out 2 pieces of those odd-looking sweets. "Looks....colorful, hopefully, they taste good" he said before he snipped his finger, making the piece fly into the air and into his mouth. With a satisfied grunt, he commented on the taste, while still chewing on it. "Well....tastes good"

Takumi already started walking towards the race track, where they both could watch the race. Takumi wished he could participate, but right now, his training to become a better bounty hunter had priority. The times when he participated in illegal pod races in his hometown were over, and now he had new goals. Better goals, maybe with a better and brighter future. Especially, with a mentor like Cyran training him, his future as a bounty hunter had good pillars to start with.


​

​

 

[Slider]

MON GAZZA, ZUGGA CHALLENGE
PODRACER: THE WHEELHOUSE
ROLL 2: SEE BELOW​

Slider was a master at the controls.

The turtle's monobike was performing well today, obviously still enjoying whatever magic was in it's system from Ossus. That race had been one of Slider's better ones. Usually, the Wheelhouse was slower than the other pods, but nothing beat it's handling.

That handling served him well in the first leg of the race, as he ducked between rusting mining equipment, keeping pace at the front. Slider looked to his left, and to his right, noticing Tris and Hilal Vizsla keeping pace. The first, he knew, he'd gotten second place to the guy on Ossus. But the other was new to him, and seemed to be enjoying the race as much as he was.

Good. These things were supposed to be fun. He gave them both a friendly wave, before they all dove into the mining town.

The Wheelhouse could barely keep up with all of the twists and turns Slider had to make to dodge the littered vehicles. It kept up nonetheless, hovering through most of the leg, save for when Slider had to touch down to make hairpin turns. But he didn't seem concerned with the speed he was going, or the placements of the obstacles.

He'd memorized them all beforehand anyways.

 

[Kyra Findlay]

Spectating - Watching the Sensors

Kyra watched a feed of the race closely from the bridge of the Colossus. The old spice mining colony had been second to Kessel for centuries but with this resurgence of podracing, and racing in general, might see the world close that gap. Where Kessel had nothing but misery, spice, and giant man-eating spiders Mon Gazza would soon have spice, miser, giant man-eating spiders, AND an ace racing circuit. She wondered who would win that race for galactic importance then.

"D2, how do the scans look?" Kyra asked the Bridge Command droid. The blinking lights on its 'face' flashed in a rapid pattern before it turned to Kyra and spoke.

"Ma'am, all things look to be in order. The race is underway. No sign of bounty hunters or pirates yet."

"Good, let's hope it stays that way, eh?"