Ask Event Now This Is Podracing!!

[The Storyteller]

“Like a shooting star blazing across the night sky!”

“Blazing isn’t the word I’d use to describe what he’s doing!”

Milk’n’Honey couldn’t catch a break, his pod pouring plumes of black smoke behind him as he crawled through the swamplands of Naboo. Curious eyes, both sentient and non, easily followed his path as his speed was comparable to that of a venerable old man during rush hour on Coruscant.

One would think that this serious decrease in speed would at least give him the benefit of being able to better maneuver through the trees and foliage but with his right thruster so severely damaged, it took everything he had to keep the craft from crashing into anything, be it trunk, boulder or river.

Even so, the Juvexian Prince would see the archway that would lead into the city finally appearing as the pod chugged along, desperate for repairs that he could well manage to reach if he held it together for just a bit longer. His face was an entirely different matter. It was going to take a lot more than a pit droid to patch both his wounds and his ego.

@Xorism

Spoiler

Milk’n’Honey is about to finally make it fully through the swamp lands, and is now approaching the canal system of Theed though there is still a short distance to go. His right thruster is still suffering from extensive damage and the -4 applies for the next round.

Perhaps it was concern over failing so close to putting himself back in the running for a serious contender, but Flyboy had played it safe as he began to approach the canal system. Certainly he had made an amazing come back but the next nearest racers still had great lengths between them and him, meaning he would need to put his pod back into high gear if he wanted to catch up.

Much of his speed was moderated, his maneuvering precise but lacking risk. The archway began to grow on the horizon, the flash of fireworks against the black storm clouds vastly pronouncing their glow. Finally he would burst free from the treeline of the swamp lands and soon after, soar through the arch and into Theed’s canals. The winding curves were easily handled as observers above cheered for the underdog and his incredible comeback.

Dead ahead, he would finally see the starting line where he had had his horrendous start to the event.

“I guess we’ll see if Flyboy’s experiences have him traumatized!”

“Let’s hope he’s washed himself of his bad luck… and vomit!”

@The Good Doctor

Spoiler

Flyboy is mere meters from the beginning of his second lap. After using the repair kit, his pod is in perfectly functioning condition and he is poised to give the viewers the show he had hoped to give them from the beginning. The starting line is approx half way through the canal leg of the race with nothing but water and winding curves ahead of him.

Rya had had a tumultuous first lap but as she sat neck and neck with infamous Dusty Trails, she could well be starting to salivate at the prospect of pulling off an incredible act to jump ahead. Or perhaps that was just her tongue trying to get the residuals from Dusty’s smoke bomb off of it.

As she went to punch the throttle and try to put some ground between her and her rival, a hiccup in the synchronization between each thruster became prevalent, pulling her to the right and causing the right thruster to scrape along the canal wall, sparks erupting from the connection and hindering the attempt at acceleration. Even so, she was able to regain control and balance her thrusters before pulling away from the wall though Dusty was now long gone.

@Pazaakly

Spoiler

With the starting line approx half way through the canal portion, Rya was able to traverse most of the remaining portion of said leg, the opening that would lead her back out into the outer city streets a short distance ahead. The damage suffered to her pod is minimal. She is still holding on to that Buzz Droid, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash it.

“Is there anything that can stop this man?!”

Dusty roared through the canals at such extreme speeds that even the rain that had begun to fall on the course was pushed aside from his pod. The cheers and chants of his name, nothing more than silence in the confines of the pilot’s seat. Each twist, each turn of the canal, he took too like a bird coasting on a breeze. The way he handled his pod was nothing short of art.

As he approached the opening that would launch him out of the city once more, another orb materialized before him that collided with his craft, his display flashing thrice before it was revealed that he had now picked up a Buzz Droid to call his own!

Of course, such a thing was near useless as he led the pack. Dusty would erupt from the canals, back into the river and up onto the outer city roadway. Maneuvering through the rising and falling shields like the master pilot he was, it seemed like victory was all but assured though Flyboy was a prime example of just how quickly one’s luck could shift.

@Fantasy Liver

Spoiler

Seriously, give the others a chance, would ya?! Dusty has made it into the second leg of the lap, weaving through the roadways and obstacles. While his lead is substantial, he still has about another half of the Outer City leg to navigate before reaching the hard bank turn that would take him back out over the Nubian oceans. The Buzz droid he possess’, like all the others, can apply a -2 bonus to an attacked racer’s same round roll but this is a close-proximity attack bonus.

Spoiler

Bonus Numbers have been reshuffled for the next lap.

Current Standings and Positioning;

1. Dusty Trails. ½ way through the Outer City quadrant (2 of 4) At this moment, the nearest racer cannot see him.
2. Rya. Just over ¾ way through the Theed Canal quadrant (1 of 4) Dusty is no longer in sight.
3. Flyboy. ½ way through Theed Canal quadrant (1 of 4). Rya is visible but only just as she prepares to enter the Outer City quadrant.
4. Milk’n’Honey. On the cusp of entering the Theed Canal quadrant, but still remains at the very edge of the Swamp Lands quadrant (4 of 4) Flyboy can be heard but not quite seen.
5. Red Baron. Eliminated due to timeout @Pendleton

1. 
   
   
   
   

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Unbelievable. The idea that someone or some planets or, hell, a whole galaxy would ever want to ban this magnificent sport was just unbelievable. The breakneck speeds, the honed instincts required of the pilots, the fiery deaths, this was sport at its purest. Dusty had, some time ago, proposed legalizing Podracing across the galaxy in the Senate but that bill, regrettably, did not pass. However, as one of Podracing's most vocal advocates, Dusty felt as though it were his duty to race today.

He was glad he had.

No one could say that politics had dulled Dusty's edge for daring, piloting, or showing off ever again, certainly. Trying to maintain his lead, Dusty kept his acceleration steady as he sped through the remainder of the second lap, staying sharp to avoid any upcoming obstacles.

@Tulos

OOC: 15/20

 

[Aden Archer]

Slow but surely Flyboy is poised to see the finish line, that's progress. Now then, the finish line is in sight, so sure he would be able to cross it with no issue whatsoever? Right? Right? Aden would still acclerate, attempting to finish the line and progress further into the race.

Spoiler: Roll

Spoiler

Spoiler

Roll = 1/20

Spoiler

oof

 

[Rya]

Rya was doing her best to fight off the frustration, but boy was frustration giving her the business right now. She was a pathfinder for crying out loud! Military training, in starships since childhood learning to maneuver them, the Great Presence on her side. All that just to fail to catch up to some Glymphid with a name like Dusty?!

She would continue to listen to the hum of the Great Presence guiding her hands across the controls, joining her mind with her vehicle. No fancy tricks could catapult her to first place miraculously. She'd hang her hat on solid fundamental flying trying to chip away at Dusty's lead instead of trying to get it all in one shot.

Spoiler

Roll: 14/20

@Tulos

 

[Oedipus Menelaus]

Oedipus struggled with the heavy set of controls, the extensive damage made it quite difficult to do anything with the lumbering beast, but try as he might, the prince was determined to bring it home. The icky swamp was certainly not somewhere that he would want to crash land and so he did his best to avoid making that a reality, with all of his effort going towards making it to the next pitstop.

"Yes of course CH4D, we're going the right way. Why don't you drive then if you're so sure??" The buzz droid beeped in response. "How is that my fault! I didn't ask you to do that..." there were clearly some unresolved issues at play here that would take some time to resolve if the prince had the resolve to find their resolution.

@Tulos

Spoiler

Roll: 15-4=11

 

[The Storyteller]

Like an ancient fossil fuel driven locomotive, Milk’n’Honey slowly chugged along through the swamp lands. The Gungan population could be seen all around him as they pointed and laughed at his misfortune, some even going so far as to toss half-eaten fruit at the glimmering pod as he could finally make out the canal system feed directly ahead.

The Juvexian prince bickered with the battery-drained buzz droid in his lap, and they would have plenty of time to do so. Still, progress was progress no matter how slow it was. It seemed wildly superfluous as the fireworks blasted into the sky whilst the smoking pod hobbled through the canal gate, sputtering and dipping into the water as it slowly, sloooooowly approached the finish line, flaming feathers and smoke shrouding Milk from the observers and making it difficult for the pit droids to commence their work on the severely damaged pod.

“Wow… He made it! Hey! Wake up, Joro!”

“Zzz-grmph, Huh? What?”

@Xorism

Spoiler

Congrats! You crossed the line! Your next roll will have a -2 modifier instead of the -4, then going forward, you’re rolls are free from negative mods!

Flyboy could see the starting line. He could taste the winds of luck shifting in his favor. Or maybe that was still another vividly coloured feather that had remained lodged in the corner of his lip? Whatever it was, it certainly tasted like victory!

…Just kidding!!

As he pushed the throttle ahead to accelerate, he would hear a deafening boom come from not one but both engines. Flyboy had an extensive past as a pilot and mechanic, there was no doubting the talents this young man possessed. His repair kit had done everything it could to repair the damage that had been sustained during the first lap but the downfall of nanotechnology was that while it could repair and sustain mechanical systems, it failed to detect the clog of feathers in both intakes that had gradually shifted until neither thruster could breath and forcing them to overheat simultaneously.

The viewers would see the man approach the bridge. They would see him vanish underneath. They would hear the explosion. Yet they would not see him re-emerge on the other side. Instead, they would witness a large cloud of black smoke and a puff of rainbow-hued feathers enveloped in flames. Flyboy was relatively safe but as his pod began to descend to the bottom of the canal, his Pit droids would rush to his aid and jump into the water.

“I didn’t know droids could swim?”

“They can’t!”

This would soon become evident as the camera drones hovered above, observing as the droids quickly dropped to the bottom of the canal in an arm-flailing panic.

“Oh! Well nevermind then! It seems Flyboy is out of the race!”

@The Good Doctor

Even with the Great Presence as a guiding hand, Rya was coming up just short of victory. Instead of relying on mystical powers, she had instead turned her fate over to her sleight of hand. Dusty remained beyond her line of view as she erupted from the canal system and back into the outer city streets. Once more she traversed the rising and falling ray shield barriers that had slipped her up in the previous lap but she had come into this wiser, more attuned to what she could expect.

The streets were a blur, even the flock of Odupiendo were near impossible to make out though the alpha male’s vibrancy was hard to miss. It seemed security had done nothing to actually clear the avian beasts from the course. And who could blame them? A sexually frustrated rainbow was not something to be trifled with and Rya had absolutely zero intention on becoming it’s next targe- Love partner, rather.

She paid them little mind, dodging and weaving through the barricades until finally the hard bank turn that would take her back out and over the Nubian ocean was directly ahead. Grit and determination had gotten her this far; but Dusty? He had gotten farther.

@Pazaakly

Spoiler

Hang in there! Rya can still win this!

Pod Racing was a dangerous sport. It was no surprise the Galactic Senate had instead opted to shoot down the motion put forward to bring the adrenaline-pumping event to the wider galaxy. It wasn’t meant for the meek or soft hearted.

Dusty Daytonus, aka Dusty Trails, was neither of these things.

The Glymphid was as agile as a lothcat on a fence. He maneuvered like a raptor in the skies of Skako Minor. He was speed incarnate. If his luck held, his glory would live on through the ages.

The obstacles of the outer city quadrant were child’s play. Having maneuvered through them once with zero difficulty, it seemed as though he had memorized their placement from that single brief encounter. Perhaps in the future he would boast he completed this leg of the race with his eyes closed. Perhaps it wouldn’t even be a lie. It was a magnificent sight to behold.

He hardly even needed to decelerate for the bank turn. His pod slid through it like a hot knife through butter before erupting over the open ocean where he could really lay the throttle down. Snaps of lightning and booming thunder above as rain began to pelt the water made for a beautiful shot; one of which was taken as he passed by another camera drone, waves of water erupting behind him like tail feathers. Even the carnivorous beasts of below that fed on the felled Goober Fish, courtesy of CH-4D, hardly noticed as Dusty blasted by and descended back into the submerged tunnel. As he did, he would pick up another blue orb that caused his display to flash only for it to be another Buzz Droid. Hardly useful this far ahead, but Rya could still catch up…

@Fantasy Liver

Spoiler

Current Standings and Positioning;

1. Dusty Trails - ¾ of the way through the Ocean Quadrant (3 of 4) Not a single racer is near, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t eyes watching from below…
2. Rya - ⅞ of the way through the Outer City Quadrant (2 of 4) I was tempted to say at the very beginning of Quadrant 3, but this is how we’re going. Just as Dusty, she has zero competition in her vicinity.
3. Milk’n’Honey - ½ of the way through Theed Quadrant (1 of 4), directly at the starting line.
4. Flyboy - Eliminated. Sorry bud. I fully intended to give Aden another shot here but since the request to wrap up has come down, I need to start working towards a natural conclusion.

Spoiler

As mentioned in the message I’ve sent to everyone still involved in the race, I’ve been asking to start wrapping this up so the notice I provided in the last DM post regarding multiple bad rolls is nullified. I want to say thanks to everyone for their participation as well as their patience while I dealt with my real life issues over the weekend and also to apologize that running this event to its proper conclusion is no longer viable.

 

[Oedipus Menelaus]

The amazing burst of activity that coalesced with Oedipus breaching the finish line, at last, brought a year to his eye. The symphony of support was unlike anything he had ever seen before, such was their enthusiasm and love that the plebians would hurl very little food they had in his direction. The princeling waved at his adoring fans as he pulled into the pit stop.

It would be hard-pressed to imagine that the others received a similar welcome, perhaps in their haste they had forgotten the showmanship that came with working the crowd. Being fast and zooming by was one thing, but a ludicrous display followed by an amazing comeback revitalization? now there was a story worth telling.

Now all it took was zooming to catch up and with a little luck, overtake those ahead of him for a sneaky win.

@Tulos

Spoiler

Roll: 16-2=14

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Dusty hummed to himself as he made sure the readouts and sensors on his dashboard were all working properly. He didn't want any surprises as he entered the tunnel. Keeping the buzz droid close at hand, he planned on using it the moment another racer came up - wanting to maintain his lead however possible. But no other racer was currently around so he resolved instead to blaze through the tunnel as quick as possible .

@Tulos

OOC: 7/20

 

[Rya]

Rya came across the ocean with a sense of calm. She’d navigated this section once before with ease, and after going through the previous section that had nearly knocked her out of the race handily she felt a strong confidence in her ability to complete the track more efficiently this time around. None of it would matter however if she couldn’t close the distance between herself and Dusty.

Spoiler

Roll: 11/20

@Tulos

 

[The Storyteller]

Oblivious as he was resplendent, Milk’n’Honey would wave at those who found pleasure in his shortcomings, a half eaten jogan fruit narrowly missing the singed and soot-covered face of the Juvexian prince. The crowds would be able to see the pit droids running circles around his pod as they tore away the chromium panels and replaced the fried mechanisms within. One droid even tried to snatch away the beleaguered CH-4D but despite its near depleted powercore, the droid fought off the mechanical grasp of its would-be savior. No, it refused to leave its new friend’s side in his greatest moment!

The damage he had sustained was extensive but the pit crew were programmed professionals and within moments (moments being a valuable commodity in such high velocity races as these) he would be able to lean into the throttle and barrel through the canal system with renewed thirst for victory. The twists and turns were simple enough to maneuver, given there was nothing around him to obstruct his way. Rain pelted the young prince, washing away some of the soot and the grime from the pod and restoring it to its shining excellence. It truly seemed as though he was getting a fresh start, but the crowd had seen how such a ‘fresh start’ had played out for Flyboy.

“Milk’n’Honey is back in the action as he prepares to attempt and close the gap between him and the last remaining racers!”

“It's a long way to go! I can’t see him pulling it off but wilder things have happened!”

As he careened through the canals and blew into the Outer City quadrant, M’n’H would see the harem of birds patiently waiting for their next member, even trying to run alongside him as he swerved through the rising and falling rayshield barricades.

@Xorism

Dusty switched his focus between the readouts on his dash panel and the path ahead of him as he careened through the submerged tunnel, but indeed curious eyes had been drawn to the event on the surface. The blood from the executed Opee creature had lured in one of the legendary creatures that dwelled beneath the waters of Naboo and as Dusty Trails’ pod screamed its way through the submerged tunnel, its attention shifted.

Beady eyes followed the pod as it raced through the tunnel but before long, a massive claw coiled itself around the tunnel, squeezing and crushing the end in which Dusty would need to make his exit if he wished to progress to the next quadrant of the race.

“What the hell is that?!”

“HOLY SHIT!”

“Language, Joro!”

“That right there is a Sando beast! Dusty and Rya are screeeeewed!”

It took everything in Dusty’s arsenal to maneuver the pod, angling it’s trajectory and pushing the thrusters to maximum output as it scraped through the tunnel whilst it was being crushed. He would find his way out, but not without damage. Transparisteel gouged his left thruster, causing a loss in power that could well cause him issues going forward though quick thinking could pull it together.

@Fantasy Liver

Spoiler

A 7 is a partial success so while Dusty managed to escape the tunnel, there is some damage to his pod and he hasn’t gained much ground. A one time -1 on your next roll to account for recovery from the encounter, and the Sando is looking to make Dusty it’s next snack!

Rya would break free across the ocean as she pushed her pod to its limits, attempting to catch up to the front runner and the one person who’s given her the most grief throughout this entire event. The benefit of being on the open ocean was that there were little more than waves to obstruct her view, of which had begun to grow as the storm passed overhead, howling winds whipping the water to life. Yet as each wave dipped down and allowed her a glimpse of what lay ahead, she would see something truly terrifying.

The Sando beast broke through the surface as it tore the tunnel upwards, enraged that its prey had quite literally slipped through its fingers. The beast reared back and flailed in frustration, the other hand coming crashing down as the breakneck speeds of Rya brought her within range of the devastating descending fist.

“Could this be it?! Is this the end for the Chiss?!”

@Pazaakly

Spoiler

Current Standings and Positioning:

1. Dusty Trails - ⅞ of the way through the Ocean Quadrant (3 of 4) The arrival of the Sando threw a hydrospanner in his progress but he managed to escape mostly unscathed. The ‘safety’ of the swamplands is in view!
2. Rya - ¾ of the way through the Ocean Quadrant (3 of 4) She is in danger of the Sando’s flailing arms but may still escape! Dusty is now in her line of sight, but still out of range of her buzz droid!
3. Milk’n’Honey - 1/4 of the way through the Outer City Quadrant (2 of 4) The flock of Odupiendo are keeping an intrigued eye on the Juvexian Prince!

 

[Oedipus Menelaus]

Oedipus felt good about this next lap, the wind flew through his blond locks as they raced off and onward toward destiny. CH4D was wedged between his knees, held up to watch with whatever little battery power that the most loyalist lil droid could muster. It was a certainty that the buzz droid would be written up as the newest member of his household, although he'd for sure have to convince his mother. @LadyRen

"Those damn birds better keep their distance, I just got this thing cleaned up!!" he groaned. The last thing he needed was a dirty pod for the photo finish. With the way things were going, his chances for a podium standing were increasing but he'd be damned if he wasn't planning to be first in beauty.

Smashing the throttle, the next time he hit the water would hopefully be the last, and with fewer bite marks left in the machine. With a childish grin, he couldn't help himself. "Now this is pod racing!!"

@Tulos

Spoiler

Roll: NAAAAAAAAAAAATURAL 20

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Dusty quickly remembered the rulebook he'd skimmed the night before. As far as he remembered, there was no rule limiting item use to Podracers. Hoisting his buzz droid, he threw it at the great sea beast, hoping it would cause it some form of distraction before jetting away to safety.

@Tulos

OOC: 5/20

 

[The Storyteller]

Much like her skin tone, Rya blue screened. Her pod never veered in either direction but continued in a straight line, directly in the path of the flailing arm of the agitated Sando beast! Every opportunity existed to her, the surroundings clear except for the massive beast ahead of her, which she sped directly towards.

“Is she having a stroke?!”

The arm came down hard, decimating her left thruster and pushing it down to the Nubian depths. The sudden disconnection from it’s sister thruster sent a series of system failures through the computer system before her craft was quite literally dead in the water, drifting further away from the marked out course (and conveniently, the danger of the enraged Sando beast)

“Someone send a team out to rescue her! It seems Rya is ooooout!”

Dusty, despite having the run of his life up until this point, floundered to gain any momentum to escape his current predicament. Sure, he unleashed his Buzz Droid and it took to combat like it was programmed too, but this Sando was much larger and more powerful than anything the seas of Naboo could throw at them. It stabbed, sawed and sliced but it did little more than only further agitate the monstrosity from below.

With the decimated tunnel in its hand as a club, the Sando swung the tube down hard, slamming into the water ahead of Dusty’s pod. Waves crashed around him, flooding out not one but both engines, leaving the Glymphid up poodoo creek without a paddle…

The Sando reared back for another attack, this time analyzing its prey and taking aim as it drew the tunnel back, when the sudden CRACK of thunder and flash of lightning overhead caused it to falter. It was an underwater creature, such natural phenomenon being wildly alien to it. Snarling at the skies, the Sando released the tube and slowly slid back into the safety of the oceans.

“Hundred credits says he filled his shorts…”

“I’ll take that action! And we’ll find out soon enough! A rescue team has also been dispatched for Dusty Trails as he is unable to continue! So that means….!”

The Juvexian Prince and his buzz droid copilot bobbed and weaved through the barriers with careful precision, balancing speed with maneuverability whilst the Odupiendo’s rushed along side him in hopes of him making a critical error.

He would not.

Instead, the ‘most loyalist little droid’ mustered whatever strength it could and crawled from it’s place in Milk’n’Honey’s lap, taunting the flightless birds with what one could only assume were crude and inappropriate gestures. The alpha of the flock grew agitated at their inability to strike fear into the heart of their target and moved in to directly disrupt the pilot with it’s hardened beak but quickly felt the serrated saws of CH-4D grind the bottom of it’s mouth. It didn’t cause any permanent, life threatening to the bird but the message was clear; “Back the fuck off,” and back off it did.

M’n’H masterfully cruised through the enbanked turn and out into the ocean just in time to watch as the Sando beast bellowed in frustration before descending back into the depths. There was nothing to prevent him from his run, even the submerged tunnel had been removed. It was just him, CH-4D and the open sea. It was then that his pit crew contacted him.

“Everyone else has been eliminated! Just make it to the finish line and the race is yours, my Prince!”

Milk’n’Honey’s run was shaky from the start. Jumping into a racing machine that he had zero experience with to winning! On a technicality, sure, but a win is a win! The Juvexian would see Rya drifting out into the abyss and soon would pass by the undoubtedly frustrated and enraged Dusty. The Glymphid had done everything in his power, had put his lifetime of developed skills on display and had earned the hearts of the crowd. He was certainly the People’s Champion, but today was a perfect indication that sometimes luck was all it took to win!

So long as Milk’n’Honey actually made it to the finish line, scours of reporters from across the galaxy would await him to interview the Racing Champion, as did a certain bikini-clad Wermal with a three foot tall golden statue, as well as a cheque that could be cashed in for 50,000 crowns. Not that the Prince needed the money. Perhaps he’d donate it to a charity? Or perhaps he would use it to dry the tears of his defeated opponents. Who really knew?

@Xorism @Fantasy Liver @Pazaakly @The Good Doctor @Pendleton​

Spoiler

This is the final DM post. Thanks to everyone who participated and I wish it could have ran longer to a more appropriate conclusion! Hopefully, if there is ever a next time, I’ll have a more solidly plotted out ground work for how this should work >.<

Participants can use this time to make a reaction post or to speak with reporters about how the felt the race went but I shall be stepping back from here on out.