Faction Skate or Die [Darkwire]

[Ruby Jaxx]

It was time to bank on the latest craze.

Repulsor Derby. Quite a simple concept—two opposing teams repulsor skate around a circuit track and try to score points by lapping the other team. And it's a death match, so the last team standing wins. Easy.

What's the point of scoring points if you're going to maybe die? Well, that's where it gets fun. Points will afford your team buffs and weapons to assist in surviving the jam (scrimmage). The more points, the better your chances.

The crowd pays good money to see the carnage.

And of course, we make a good pocket-full with concessions. Popcorn, candy, stuff to throw down onto the track. Haha. But the real money is in the gambling, can't have a death match without gambling, am I right?

The new track is complete, due to open this weekend. When the crowd shows up, we'll be ready.

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OOC:

Darkwire Team:
Jammer: Cassus Akovin
Blockers: Ruby Jaxx, Myrin Deene , Chelara "Chel" DuCote

NPC Team:

Jammer: Varina Alita
Blockers: Kellin Athan, Sharr Keithel, Wyle Lockheart

Darkwire + Friends: Feel free to join as a spectator.

Spoiler

Hello fellow Darkwire Denizens,

Team members, please don your repulsor skates and get ready to rumble. You’ll skate counter-clockwise on the track. Jammers will try to score points by lapping their opponents and Blockers will try to aid their team’s Jammer and hinder the opponent’s. If a Jammer is eliminated (dies or incapacitated or otherwise cannot skate) then a Blocker will need to take their place.

One posting round = one Jam (round).

If you’d like to add an unpredictable element to your post, roll a dice (https://rolladie.net/roll-a-d10-die) when trying to attack an NPC. Anything over 5 is a hit. Feel free to write any of the NPCs into your post as needed, but a mod (Cassus) will be rolling their damage if they are hit.

We will also call out what the specific boon is for each lap and if there are any obstacles.

---------------------------------------------------------------
​

Ruby glided out towards the track, a helmet tucked into the crook of her arm. Karking kark. The circuit was huuuuge. A pretty impressive sight. And the stands were filling up fast. Above, there was a massive scoreboard and a screen to display all the action close-up. Camera droids were already buzzing about in preparation.

Across the way, she could see the other team making their preparations.

Her brows arched. There were some cyborgs that looked like they'd been built specially for this weird new sport. They had large repulsors... wait, were those legal? And their hulking forms would make blocking rather easy. Was this... fair? Probably not. Ruby cringed and looked down at the scant armor she'd been given – a basic chest plate, arm guards, knee guards, and a beat-up helmet.

As she glanced at her teammates, she had the sinking feeling that this was a set-up. They were meant to lose. Moving back to her team's pit, she looked at the others.

“So, uh,” she started as eloquently as she could, which meant coughing and clearing her throat. “Do we have any kind of plan?”

 

[Myrin Deene]

Myrin had never really cared whether her violence was legal or not, but getting actively cheered on for it sounded hella fun.

It'd been a long time since she'd run the streets of Etti IV; she'd been fourteen the first time she'd been picked up for dealing spice, and she'd never spent a full month outside prison for the eleven years that had followed. But she remembered the feeling of racing through alleys and over rooftops, finding shortcuts, slamming a boot down on the fingers of the corpos who tried to follow her. She imagined that the derby would be a little bit like that, only with a whole lot more stomping... and automatic weapons to boot. Basically, a total improvement.

The fact that a high-speed deathmatch reminded her of her childhood probably explained a lot about her turbulent life and relationships...

But why dwell on that? She was about to jump into moving fast and throwing elbows, the very essence of the freedom she'd missed every day she'd been locked up in the Corporate Sector. The thought that she might die never even crossed her mind, because what was the point in thinking about it? She knew she was good at staying alive and she was good at violence; that was enough for her to put her faith in herself and push everything else out of her thoughts. Feth everyone who stood against her. She was Myrin Deene, and she hated to lose.

They offered her a helmet to go with her skates, then shoved her out onto the track. Mai rolled her eyes and tossed the helmet aside; were you really going fast enough if you couldn't feel the wind whipping through your hair? She glanced around at the rest of the team, sizing them up. They were other runners she'd met through that Darkwire jobs board; for the moment, they were the people she would need to rely on in order to win. She knew she was good at stuff like this, but it wasn't a solo sport. It was good that they looked reasonably competent.

One of them, a fine-looking woman with dark eyeshadow, asked if they had a plan. Myrin laughed. "Where's the fun in that?"

Then she looked at the hulking cyborgs they were up against and revised her opinion. She brushed a strand of dyed hair behind one pointed ear, running through a quick succession of thoughts. "They look top-heavy," she said after a moment, pointing out their roided-up mecha shoulders. "Get 'em going fast, give 'em a push, and watch 'em crash." Simple in theory, but their huge repulsorlifts would work hard to keep them upright. It would take teamwork to tip them, and to keep them from smashing Myrin's team's jammer to a pulp.

 

[Chelara "Chel" DuCote]

Chel was momentarily starstruck, rather crowd-struck. It had been a while since she had competed in a fighting tournament, much less anything else, and now she was being handed a helmet and had a pair of repulsor skates strapped to her feet. She strapped on the helmet as she was ushered out onto the track with the rest of her teammates. The helmet felt ridiculous and the shape seemed to obscure her vision. Watching the girl with dyed hair toss her helmet to the side, Chel followed suit. Shrugging in an attempt to be nonchalant she mumbled, "It looked ridiculous anyway."

How had she even ended up here, she had work in the morning for goodness' sake! That work was something she, of course, had to keep under wraps in this crowd. She had had a fairly sheltered and privileged upbringing but even she knew the disparity between CorpSec and the rest of Denon but why should that deny her from some well-deserved violence. As long as no one found out or could tell... Really that nothing above the average performance she put on at the office. Pretending she was a part of that society and that she never indulged curiosities of Darkwire.

Did she know what she had gotten herself into? No, not really, but it was a great chance to get out some internal rage. Pushing her hair out of her face and adjusting her gloves Chel felt ready to take down some cyborgs.

She observed her teammates and nodded in approval, she could do fast. "Momentum is key, we could probably take out their legs," Chel mused, "I doubt they withstand a strong shot to skates." She bit her lip examining their opponents. "Hey, where the head goes the body follows."

"By the by, the name's Chel. In case, we need to yell at each other later." she attempted to joke forcing out a small laugh. Sheesh, why was she so kriffing awkward?

Myrin Deene Ruby Jaxx

 

[Cassus Akovin]

This wasn't really Cassus's sport. He was much more suited to a swoop bike, or at least, he thought so. Regardless, he couldn't help but to admit that he wasn't really a normal kid, and despite the reasons for him doing so, he did enjoy the thrill of speed and combat. So Repulsor Derby wounded like just the thing to keep his mind occupied away from his life at the present moment.

He recognized Ruby Jaxx through Darkwire, and though he had never met her could pretty safely peg Myrin Deene in the same boat. The only one he wasn't so sure about was Chelara "Chel" DuCote , she was a mystery to him, but one he wasn't really interested in solving. She seemed a bit awkward, blurting her name, and copying Myrin in discarding her helmet. Personally, Cassus was more interested in keeping armor on his head, in case of getting thwacked. Considering his position, too, he was the most likely to get knocked.

"Yeah, we read your name at sign ups." Cassus remarked to Chel, "As for a plan, protect me. I score the points. Knock the other guys out, and if I go down, figure out which one of you is going to replace me."

Cassus began to glide towards the track, similarly as Ruby had done.

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby quirked a brow at Myrin, watching as the pointed-eared girl tossed her helmet away and laughed in the face of having a plan. Dang. And Ruby thought she was a rebel. Bur she agreed, the enemy cyborgs did look a bit clunky on top. Though she'd never met this girl with green hair before, she had a feeling she could count on her. She seemed scrappy, just like Ruby was.

Then, her eyes turned towards Chel, who followed suit and ditched her helmet. Now, this pretty doe-eyed girl looked completely out of place. She was delicate-looking, like she'd get squashed right off the bat. But she seemed enthusiastic, if a bit awkward. And she had some really good points there, go for the legs.

And of course, their designated Jammer, Cassus. She'd seen him before on Parcellus Minor. Then, he'd been passed out and in the care of a kindly woman. But now that she saw him up and about, he looked tough enough to score them some serious points—at least she hoped that was the case.

The lights dimmed...

An announcer's voice boomed over the speakers: “Get ready, folks! We've got a major match for you tonight. I do hope our teams are ready to... skate or DIE.”

Of course, it might have been an awesome marketing slogan but Ruby had to wonder... were people going to get killed? That seemed harsh for a sport. But here there were. Ruby stuck the helmet on and bucked it under her chin. Yeah, she knew she looked dumb, but she didn't want her head to get cracked open like a ripe melon, okay?

The pit crew came and ushered (pushed) the team out onto the track and told them where to line up.

Then a buzzer blared—and the game started.

An enemy blocker—Wyle Lockheart—dealt Ruby an elbow to the ribs before they were even in motion. “Hey!” she yelled, and set her sights on him as they took off.

ROUND ONE: GO!
Boon: None
Obstacles: None
Cassus Akovin | Myrin Deene | Chelara "Chel" DuCote​

 

[Myrin Deene]

Myrin idly tapped her fingers on her crossed arms, only half paying attention to what the rest of the team was discussing. She was ready to go, to get stuck in and smash some cocky cyborg's techno-nose into the track - teach him some tech no no's, she thought with a snort. She was mildly concerned about little Chel, not because she cared about the slip of a girl as a person but because she didn't want to be down a teammate right out of the gate. But then, Myrin herself was living proof that it was a mistake to underestimate skinny gals.

She looked Cassus up and down, then sighed. Part-Zeltrons were always handsome, but he was WAY too young for her.

The lights dimmed, and Myrin felt her pulse quicken. She burst into a savage grin, rubbing her hands together in gleeful excitement, and glided forward on her repulsor skates when prompted. "So, so ready," she replied to the announcer under her breath as she took her mark. She glanced over at the other team, who were close enough to see her face and gestures now, and shot them a too-wide smile. Then, her toothy smirk never faltering, she slowly, exaggeratedly drew one finger across her throat. So long, Sleemos. It's already over for you.

She turned back to the track, checked where the rest of her team were lining up, and took a deep breath. The first few seconds would be key; they would determine who had the lead in building up momentum, and that would make all the difference. Myrin didn't have a whole lot of mass, so in the equation of mass times velocity, she needed to rely on speed to get hers going. She ticked down the seconds in her head, pulse pounding, blood rushing in her ears, the hushed excitement of the crowd thrumming through her like a bumpy reentry.

Then the buzzer sounded, and the glorious madness began. You sons of banthas don't know what you've gotten into.

Already the violence had begun, with one of the roid-hunks throwing an elbow into Ruby. Well, that couldn't be allowed to stand, now could it? Myrin had learned early on that letting anyone get away with hurting you was a sign of weakness; let anyone start taking from you, and they'd never stop. She didn't have the momentum to push anyone over yet, but she knew a million ways to make people hurt. Kicking her skates into action, she crouched and put her weight behind one shoulder, jetting forward like a little Sephi homing missile.

Myrin slammed her padded shoulder into Lockheart's hip, aiming to spin him around as she jetted past.

Spoiler: Attack Roll

Off to a great start!

Ruby Jaxx | Cassus Akovin | Chelara "Chel" DuCote​

 

[Darkwire Cultist]

Spoiler: Attack Roll

Off to a great start!

Wyle Lockheart the Blocker just got blocked. The hulking cyborg was trying to build speed, which required a lot more work to get him going when compared to the speeding rocket that Myrin became in short order, and even in spite of his much larger Repulsor Skates and physical mass, the transfer of velocity between Myrin and his hip sent his top heavy self spinning off and hitting Kelan Athan.

"Ey watchit Wily!" The other skater complained to the disturbance.

 

[Chelara "Chel" DuCote]

Adrenaline buzzed through her body. Her awkward attempts at conversation were fading in her mind. She was sure those would come back to visit her at some horribly impromptu time, like right before falling asleep. That's always when intrusive thoughts wanted to strike, but now she was in the moment. Letting out a low exhale she focused on the track tuning out the lights, the roar of the crowd, and any other distractions. All that mattered was her teammates and her opponents and the track beneath them. She was fast and she was pretty tough but it was all of their jobs to keep each other from getting killed.

She was small and skinny to boot, but Chel was tougher than she looked and quicker. All angles were what her mom had said about her growing up. Now it was time to use those angles to her advantage. Her heart was pounding as she took another breath sizing up the competition. She decided to play it safe for the first couple of seconds and shadow Cassus guarding against any untoward attacks.

The buzzer rang and time seemed to pause for a second while she pushed off with laser focus. Feeling each individual muscle tense and release and for a second she felt alive again. Just like when she used to be in the ring throwing punches. And with that time started moving again and two things happened in quick succession. The dark-haired girl, Ruby, was elbowed by one of the cyborgs. Then the green-haired girl, Myrin, checked him causing him to slam into his teammate.

Blinking but barely halting, Chel, continued to speed forward hyper-aware of the other blocker she was catching up to, Sharr Keithel. She began to shadow them figuring her teammates were preoccupied with Wyle and Kelan. She felt a dwarfed in comparison to these specialized cyborgs but knew she had to take a chance to give a Cassus a clear start. Using the momentum she had gathered so far she threw her body against Sharr using the point of her elbow to dig into their side aiming to at least shove Sharr off course.

Cassus Akovin Myrin Deene Ruby Jaxx

Spoiler: Attack Roll

 

[Darkwire Cultist]

Spoiler: Attack Roll

Chelara "Chel" DuCote collided her pointed elbow into the side of Sharr Keithal and found purchase in an intersection between metallic plates seemingly implanted into their body. They let out a short grunt as they stumbled a bit out of her way. Annoyed by this transgression, the mute brute responded with a backfist towards her. There was a flash that seemed to exit out of exhausts attached to the forearm, seeming to accelerate the velocity of the attack...

Meanwhile, the opposing Jammer Varina Alita seemed to zip by with lithe grace...

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Cassus blasted forward as the race began, and very quickly his team seemed to take the lead. Despite the bigger and more cybernetic team carrying heavier mass, his own team was full of light individuals who could accelerate much faster than the opposition. Off to a good start, his fellow team members bashed against the enemy blockers, sending them off course into each other, or attracting their attention away from him while he deftly weaved between them all. All the blockers were covered, and barely paid him any mind as he rounded past Wyle and Kelan, or crossed the opposite side of Sharr while they were busy with Chel.

However, there was one person who was also unencumbered, and unlike the rest of the team Alita was very much not encumbered by her cybernetics. Light weight and agile, it took her no time at all to dodge past the handful of skirmishes along the route, and was soon shadowing him side by side. This was going to be a difficult person to shake without help. Focusing on speed along, Cassus pumped his legs as quickly as he could to narrowly cut in front of Alita and...

Spoiler: Attack Roll

... she totally duped him, effortlessly backing away and grabbing him by the back to propel herself forward in front of him while dragging him behind her. The other team was definitely in the lead now, and would require extra effort to catch up.

LAP 1 Complete

Ruby Jaxx Myrin Deene Chelara "Chel" DuCote

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby watched with a satisfied smirk as Myrin took off after Lockheart, connecting and slamming into him, shoulder to hip. Okay, that was awesome. And she couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped when she watched Wyle Lockheart then knock into his fellow Blocker.

The flurry of activity was distracting, at least for Ruby. When you had the attention span of a squirrel, it was hard to stay focused. At least she got the hang of her repulsor skates without too much trouble or embarrassment.

And the slight form of Chelara was fast. Really fast. The dark-haired woman was tougher than she looked, pointing her elbow into the side of Sharr Keithal. But the blocker was ready to retaliate. And the Jammer, Varina Alit flew by.

Jammer. That's right – Cassus. Ruby spotted him just as he went for Alita, ended up getting used as a boost. “OH, kark.”

Alright, it was her turn. Casting her fellow blockers a little look, as if to say 'cover me,' she put her head down and skated straight for Alita. If arms swinging at her side, striding so hard she knew her legs were going to kill her tomorrow, Ruby gave a grunt of effort as she picked up speed. Alita wasn't as big as the other cyborgs, but she was really freaking fast.

Kicking her leg out, she tried her best to trip up the enemy Jammer – in hopes their Jammer could get a... leg up.

Cassus Akovin , Myrin Deene , Chelara "Chel" DuCote

Spoiler

[/URL]

 

[Myrin Deene]

Glancing around, Myrin let out a savage whoop as the enemy team's blockers found themselves squashed like the bugs they were. It'd felt good to deal her team's first blow, taking revenge for the little trick Wyle had pulled right at the start. She was looking forward to keeping up that momentum, both literally and figuratively. A quick look ahead on the track, though, cooled her celebratory mood somewhat. Alita had pulled well ahead of Cassus, and that was bad news. They'd made the mistake of focusing on the drones while the queen, the one that mattered, got ahead.

"Ah, feth," Myrin spat, kicking her skates into action as she raced off after the enemy Jammer.

Smaller than the meatheads that Myrin and her team had so effectively slapped around on the first lap, Alita could match many of the Sephi's advantages - speed, maneuverability, and focus. She taken poor Cassus for a ride when he'd tried to pull past her, and now all of them were playing catch-up. Little bird won't be so quick with a broken wing, Myrin thought, putting all her energy into speed as she strained to keep up. With Alita, she didn't have to worry about coming in low or concentrating her bodily force; a good right hook to the jaw would serve just fine.

Ahead of her, Ruby was already moving in to tangle with the opposing Jammer, sliding in for what looked like a highly-effective trip maneuver. Myrin grinned, speeding forward in an effort to attack high while her teammate came in low, maybe smashing Alita out of the race altogether. In all the pulse-pounding excitement, however, Myrin had made the same fatal mistake she always tended to make in situations like these: she'd let her enthusiasm for the glorious violence get ahead of planning and situational awareness. Sometimes flying by the seat of your pants backfired.

Sure enough, the Sephi telegraphed her approach too much to surprise the nimble Alita. As Myrin sailed past, her thrown elbow connecting only with empty air, she hoped that she had at least helped distract the enemy Jammer long enough for Ruby's better-planned strike to land. "Aww, kark me," she shouted, trying to get her feet back under her as she briefly spun out of control. But the young woman turned her grimace back into a grin within a few heartbeats. This was the name of the game, after all. If it was too easy, with no challenge at all, where was the fun?

Spoiler: Not So Good Roll

Ruby Jaxx | Chelara "Chel" DuCote | Cassus Akovin​

 

[Darkwire Cultist]

Alita was pulling away from Cassus fast, crossing the lap first, pumping skinny legs seemingly tirelessly. Preventing her from lapping the Darkwire team was going to be tough, but both Ruby Jaxx and Myrin Deene put in the work to get to her, pulling just ahead of Cassus while he recovered from being yanked backwards.

Although Alita nimbly avoided Myrin, Ruby managed to interrupt her building speed by causing her to nearly stumble over her own leg, a dangerous move that could have injured either of them. Arresting her speed to be on par, Alita was only able to get just under halfway through the next lap.

Spoiler: Alita Distance From Back of the Pack

At disadvantage due to Ruby's successful attack

4/10 where 10 is lapping the other team.​

Meanwhile, Kellin Athan and Wyle Lockheart had recovered from the early aggression of the other team, while Sharr was busy with Chelara "Chel" DuCote . Spending their time recovering and building new speed, the pair of cybernetic hulks were now looking more like freight trains on the track, catching up fast and with a lot of mass behind them!

The pair of them were gunning for the enemy Jammer, Cassus!

 

[Chelara "Chel" DuCote]

"Take that! You kriffing hunk of -- oh no," Chel yelled in surprise as she saw a very powerful fist heading straight towards her face. She couldn't have imagined that Sharr would have been happy with Chel shoving them but the backhand was an added bonus. She leaned suddenly to avoid the fist ...

Spoiler: dodge roll

... and barely dodged it. Sharr's knuckles just grazed her cheek, not enough to throw her off course but there was a connection. Chel gave a small grunt of pain as her cheek was scratched by Sharr's glove. She would have to invest in some extra spray-bandages to cover this up before going into the office tomorrow. Last thing she needed was to attract more attention.

Continuing to skate forward and keeping her eye on Sharr she tried to gather a quick survey of the current status only to scowl when she saw that Alita had taken the lead. But she let out a yell seeing Ruby trip her up. It was then she looked behind her and saw the other two cyborgs skating up to join the skirmish ahead.

"Y'all got company!" she yelled hoping the rest of her team could hear her above the noise of the stadium. Scowling at her current tail, Sharr, she wound her hand back to sock them in the jaw, hoping to disarm them enough to pull ahead and cover her teammates.

Spoiler: Attack roll

Cassus Akovin Ruby Jaxx Myrin Deene

 

[Darkwire Cultist]

Chelara "Chel" DuCote struck Sharr in the jaw, sending his head reeling to one side, hitting a guard rail. Losing his balance slightly, the larger cyborg fell behind her a bit, but it didn't seem that the strike against him seemed to phase him as much as she expected it to, almost as if he wasn't registering the pain from her strike. If Chel looked back at him, she would see that Shar was no wearing a crooked smile.

Plumes of fire spouted out the hulks shoulders, as tiny jets seemed to rise from hidden pockets in his bulging trapezius muscles, he was now accelerating to catch up lost ground. She would also see that right behind him, both Wyle Lockheart and Kellin Athan had now locked each others hands, making a two man clothesline.

Having been gaining speed for longer than Sharr, the pair quickly overtook him and come roaring towards the woman, or at least they were until they maneuvered to go around. They were gunning for Cassus.

Myrin Deene Ruby Jaxx

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Let's review:

Cassus was in the lead, his teammates checking all the blockers from getting to him. Then, Alita came reeling in from behind, and in an attempt to cut her off she yanked her way around and ahead of him. His allies came zipping by and attempted to trip her up, which succeeded in so far as she didn't manage to lap them.

He was now pushing his legs to the point of burning, and was really picking up speed fast. He wasn't sure what was going on behind him, but as he pulled ahead of Myrin Deene and Ruby Jaxx he could feel himself getting closer to Alita, if he could just manage to get past her...

Spoiler: Can he get past her?

Cassus' Roll:

Spoiler: Yes he can

Alita's Roll:

To everyone's amazement, most of all Cassus himself, he managed to pass the cyborg woman rather deftly, avoiding her reach, and while he was ahead, it was a far cry to call it by very much. Nonetheless, his team was leading, and if he could just reach their slowest member they could lap the enemy team and receive some nebulous "bonus". Continue to carry his momentum, and he tried to burn through more muscle...

Spoiler: Cassus Distance from Back of the Pack

Being ahead of Alita, 5+4 = 9!

He was so close! He could see Sharr and Chelara "Chel" DuCote , almost smell Sharr, but he just wasn't quite there!

LAP 2 complete.

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby's eyes darted all over.

There was just SO much action. She heard Myrin curse, and she heard a grunt of pain coming from Chel's general area. But Ruby was currently focused on skating her pants off (not really), and she could barely focus on keeping her own arse off the track.

Cassus sailed by Alita, she did see that. Okay, good – so she'd managed to trip up the other jammer momentarily at least. But then, she heard Chel call out. And she aimed a quick glance over her shoulder, just in time to duck the two linked arms of Wyle Lockheart and Kellin Athan. The two cyborgs kept on pressing forward, and Ruby yelled as she tried to catch up – and launch herself forward.

With any luck, she'd land on top of their arms – and make them stumble at least. And if she didn't make it... well, she'd eat a good chunk of track on her way down.

Spoiler

Nooooooooooooo

It didn't work.

Ruby bellyflopped, landing hard on the track with an "oof."

Myrin Deene , Chelara "Chel" DuCote , Cassus Akovin