Log:Defiance Guild: Now that's what I call...

POD RACING

OOC Date: December 13, 2018
Location: Jakku
Participants: Defiance: Jehni'va Cihn, Siha Archer, Kasia Ashkuri, Sajin, Tarion Tavers, Percy, Naelyn, Vasani, Rheisa Dirleel, and Hex as GM

The short story: A HIGH SPEED HIGH STAKES NO HOLDS BARRED RACE. That's wizard, Defiance!

The long story:

The stadium, like everything else on Jakku, has seen better days. The stadium seating and its associated garages and old wooden shack buildings where other race businesses were held are little more than abandoned relics of a by-gone time, and the metal seating doesn't look very trustworthy. The race track only exists in front of the stands for a short span; the rest of it winds through treacherous terrain: canyons, tunnels, the dangerous Sinking Sands. There are rocky outcroppings and abandoned buildings to dodge, the occasional pile of discarded junk that looks flammable, gaps in the course that have to be jumped.

It looks like a good way to get hurt, and it's only fun until someone loses a limb.

Hex, cybernetic-adorned force of chaos that he is, is largely of the opinion that it's still fun and possibly even more fun when someone loses a limb, has set up a couple of janky screens for proper track-watching, and gestures expansively at the course. "Beautiful. Isn't it? BEAUTIFUL," he beams, as wind whips around a couple of gorgeous flags made from what looks like stolen laundry. The racers have already gathered on the vehicles of their choice, and they had a chance to study the map of the course ahead of time. Is Hex's map trustworthy? Probably not, but they had a chance to study it anyway. The big Twi'lek lowers his goggles down over his eyes. "First place: 20,000 credits! Second place! 10,000 credits! Third place! 5,000 credits! No laws other than the laws of physics, ai'jouku. Percy's here for when you break all your bones. Who's got questions?"

The roar of a swoop bike approaching the starting line cuts the desert air; it's a Mobquet Overracer ridden by a figure clad in a skin-tight, black, leather swoop suit. A smoking roll of herb hangs from their lips, though their identity is obscured by a pair of tinted goggles and a bright orange helmet, dented and battered and likely purchased second-hand-stolen from a junk dealer somewhere on the planet. An Anooba, stylized into the 'D' of Defiance has been painted onto the side of their helmet, but this isn't what distinguishes them... Over the swoop suit, the racer wears a familiar purple, floral duster, the bottom of which flaps in their wake with persistant flair and overwhelmingly poor taste.

"Sup, nerfs." Jehni'va Cihn calls out as she putters to a stop, pinching her joint free and exhaling purple smoke.

Percy really thought that Tatooine was as far removed from civilisation as one could possibly get. The desert wilds were an unruly place to make your living, with only a sprinkling of ports to connect it to far more liveable systems. Beasties and raiders wanders the sands, and gangsters roamed the towns. What could be worse?! Well. Jakku. You can imagine his surprise when he disembarked from the ship he took to get here yesterday, his long legged stride stumbling down as he attempted to recover from motion sickness caused from the flight. "Goodness me," He had muttered, squinting into the distance and at Niima Outpost at large. "Surely no-one lives here." He had since discovered that people DID live here, though the term 'live' is perhaps surplus to what was actually happening here. People survived here. Somehow. With a whole day to spare before his guild-mates arrived, Percy had mingled with what community was here. Scavengers, mostly. He had even given a few of those community members some first aid treatment and medicine for some nasty looking infections! By and large people steer cleared of him though, something that the young Doctor didn't mind. And now? Now he's on standby should anyone run afoul of the crazy ass course that has been revived. "Please don't break too many bones." He suggests. "I've set up a temporary station down in one of the abandoned garages." The Doctor's arms neatly across his chest. His full-moon spectacles are on, with what looks to be an apron of some kind on his front. Clearly he expected to see a lot of blood today. And he didn't want to ruin his nice pants! "The station is enough to stabilise most injuries until transport can be arranged to an actual hospice. Note that I say MOST injuries. Me being here is not an excuse to push things beyond what you normally would with some sort of mental assurance that I will be able to fix you."

Siha Archer is in an ugly old podracer she found in the trash in Ko Hentota, a thing of black and sickly green with pieces from other podracers patched in like quiltwork in various clashing colors. Tied behind the vehicle are cans and bottles and a few dessicated carcasses of some birds. Siha dressed lightly, wearing a pair of boyshorts and a bikini top and her usual boots she wears with her beskar'gam which is sitting on the ship pouting. Her hair has been allowed to reign free and is a riot of curls with feathers and other bits like bone knotted in, a pair of racing goggles worn that she bought from the vendor nearby that visitors wear. Beside her riding co-pilot is a black and red mottled Akk Dog, also wearing modified goggles for his cute face, toothy maw gaped and tongue lolled out as he pants with excitement, "Tal, we're gonna go for a tall ale after this and a nice raw haunch of something for you. And I'll get the wings and a whisky." Classic. "We gonna chat all day or get moving?"

Kasia is here, wearing much less flowy clothing than is normal for her, form fitting to prevent drag, but not so much that every dimple and jiggle is visible. Her hair is pulled back into a basic, low bun that works with the helmet she holds, and she's wearing goggles, though presently they rest on her forehead rather than over her eyes. The podracer she stands beside is one of those with big engines, and the zappy, crackly looking stuff that's definitely not safe to get too near. "This seemed like a much better idea in theory," she admits to basically anyone nearby who is listening, but she can't back out now. It's in the rules.

Sajin has an Overracer just like Jehni does and he's reving the engine as it sits on the line. He's also wearing a corellian swoop suit, the colors black and yellow to match the Drikish military. The suit dosn't fit quite right though, or is at least less 'formfitting' than it likely ought to be. Especially around the chest and rear/hips where is becomes baggy... as if a well figured woman had once filled out that suit instead. Either way, he looks sort of rediculious.

Vasani's got no skill in piloting, driving, or manuvering any sort of vehicle. So today she's here to watch the show! She makes her way through the metal seating, taking care to look out for any strange sharp objects sticking out of the metal. She finally finds a seat that seems somewhat acceptable. Close enough that she's got a good view- not close enough that any flying podracer could crash into her. Vasani wipes the seat down as if any amount of wiping would make it so there's less sand around here and takes a seat. She's got a bag with her probably filled with snacks and various memorabilia she's made to represent each of her friends so she can cheer for who ever's in first place.

And then there's Tarion, pushing a Mobquet Flare-S out onto the track like it's got a flat tire or something. He's pulled out a few pieces of the trash armor he wore to joust against Hex, with the colander strapped to the top of his sunburnt and peeling head. He's as drunk as drunk gets, and it shows by the wobble in his step and the precariousness of his makeshift helmet. Also, he's naked. Not really, but wasn't that horrifying for a second? He's wearing a toga, so it's almost as bad, and under the colander is his durag, with 'TRESSED SIHT FIRK' scribbled on it, the one from Tatooine that's really just a white tanktop he tied around his head. Similarly, the toga is actually a tarp, and crinkles noisily to his drunken movements. "Hooooly krif, alc-CAF, you guys," called as he hauls himself into the saddle, the same one he was astride that day he first roared into Jehn's life and ruined her picnic in Karrigaun Park. "Gives you wiiiings."

"Ka Percy can definitely fix you," Hex assures, having full confidence in the medic, and not really paying attention to all the sensible, wise caveats he gave to the racers about not destroying themselves. "Don't hold back, or it's gonna be lame. Go for the throat, ai'jouku!" He has a silver... something, on a pole. A dress? Is that a dress? It's tacky, Kasia would never wear that, Hex may have bought it for her. This flag he hoists, and then holds it poised, shouting over the engines and the wind.

"READY!"

"SET!"

"GOOOOOO!"

Flap flap flap the flag waves. you're off!

Fluffing the GRAY floral duster dramatically around her rear, Jehni'va shifts on the saddle of her swoop bike, revving it dramatically as everyone gathers at the start. She is, admittedly, high as the proverbial kite - but when isn't she? As Hex begins the countdown, she readies herself, lifting her feet and bracing them against the swoop. What is he wearing? She settles lower over the controls.... AND GO! With the roar of the engine, she takes off, fish-tailing with flair as she shoots forward at breakneck speed. Those spectating will hear: "SUCK IIIIIIT!" slowly quieting as she tears away.

VROOM VROOOM. There goes Jehn, and Siha gently put-put-putters forth, a hand out across the chest of the Akk Dog in the co-pilots seat to keep him safe. He is of course seat-belted in with a modded belt from the depths of Ko Hentota to keep him safe, but momma's gotta make sure baby is safe regardless, "Hang on sweetie ... super rude of her to make you eat her dust. We'll go to that oxygen bar after I saw on Coruscant later." Revving ever so slowly up she'll begin racing forwards, arm kept out, other hand working the wheel as she begins to really fly. Out the side window Tal's head goes, tongue flapping in the wind as he pants happily. A good day with mommy!

Kasia is quietly praying to whatever gods she might believe in as she settles the helmet on her head, and adjusts the goggles into place over her eyes. "Never in my life did I imagine this would happen," she hollers over the sound of the engines revving, and then that familiar (and terrible) silver dress waves and they're OFF. She doesn't have a pet with her to talk to, so she's just talking to herself like a crazy person as she starts to move, "Don't immediately crash and everything will be fine." That's what she tells herself, anyway.

Sajin almost misses Hex waving the flag and screaming go. Obviously distracted by something that perhaps hangs weight over him. He shakes his head and pushes the throttle down and Jehni literally 'leaves them in the dust.' His Overracer speeds forwards. Helmeted head looks down to see a big red button that had a sticky not taped to it. 'Don't push' it says... He considered for a moment but follows the sticky notes advice. For now. "Hey nice Dress, Kasia!" Sajin says with a thumbs up. Genuinly.

Vasani bounces up in her seat as the racers take off, clapping her hands above her head in excitement. The bouncing is a mix of also excitement but also realizing how kriffing hot a metal seat sitting out in the Jakku sun all day is. "YEAHHH!!! GO DEFIANCE!" Vasani chants a general cheer for everyone as no one in particular seems to be in the lead yet. And hey, no matter who wins it's still gonna be a win for Defiance so that counts right? "So who wants ta' put bets on whose gonna crash?" The blue twi'lek asks toward the other onlookers.

Percival mutters something about pod racing and its odds of fatality rates, before heading out from the announcement stands and down to the garage area where the medical station has been setup. "Let's hope the worst case scenario doesn't happen." He breathes, watching as the racers shoot off the start line and zoom off at outrageous speeds. Hell, just WATCHING them makes his stomach churn in discomfort. Nope. Nope nope nope. His eyes drift up to the piece-of-junk monitor hanging in the top corner of the old garage. Sparks occasionally erupt from it, and sometimes it makes a hissing sound, but by and large it works okay. "Go well."

"We're alllll Defiance!" Tarion yells back at the stands, kicking his speeder into life. WHIRRRRR whirr whirr whirrrr. "Come on, you sonovabitch," the bounty hunter berates, kicking the starter again, WHIRRRR WHIRR WHIRRRRRR "There we go, there we... there we go," muttered to himself, revving the throttle experimentally, the world fading away while he focuses on that sweet, sweet rumble, glancing around finally and realizing everyone else has gone. "Oh right, the race," the drunk chuckles to himself with a lopsided grin, and hits the proverbial gas.

In reverse.

"Oh, shit, that's the- I have too many speeders, but this is fine. It's fine. I'm- VASALINE LOOK, I'm dropping behind for a more dramatic victory!" A cheerful hand waves. "Is anyone else sweating?"

Hex cups his hands around a cigarette, lights it, and watches the screens contentedly. "You know our insurance rates went up last year? What the kriff, right?"

"THIS IS GOING SO WELL!" Jehn had decided against strapping the anooba into the side car, at Nyla's behest, so she is just screeching this into the wind as she careens ahead, leaving behind the 'track' portion of the race. Her swoop screams around several chimneys of stone jutting from the desert, but as she rounds the last one, she checks over her shoulder - she doesn't see the ramp just ahead. She is so far ahead of everyone, she takes a moment to pump a fist into the air with a triumphant: "yeeeeeeah!" That very quickly dissolves into a "NOOOOOO!" As she hits the ramp unexpectedly, hurtling through the air. Jehn isn't ready and is thrown off balance, rolling the swoop once, twice, three times and nearly colliding with poor Sajin. Dust and bits of rock are thrown up all around the area of (almost) impact, likely causing an unfortunate road hazard. "SORRY!" She shouts over her shoulder, once she corrects.

Siha Archer swerves to the right then to the left to go around Sajin and Jehn as Jehn rolls and nearly takes out Saj, "BE CAREFUL GUYS." Siha calls out, her arm pressing a little more tightly against Tal who just enjoys the ride. Siha keeps her pace steady and safe for the time being, still blazing out across the course but keeping mindful not to jostle Tal, "See that's what we're trying to avoid Tal. This is your maiden voyage. Not until we get you your spiked vest and a launching seat will you see any action." Tal bombs.

It's going... okay for Kasia so far, she hasn't crashed into anything, so that's definitely a plus, but her start wasn't so great, too cautious. She's gradually picking up speed though, the vehicle (if you can even call it that) going faster than she probably has in anything that wasn't an enclosed ship. It's terrifying, but exhilerating, and in the heat of the moment she mashes a button on the console dashboard. It sparks a little, because this isn't the newest pod racer and probably has been crashed and rebuilt more than once, but there's a sudden surge of SPEEEEEED as she zooms forward. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHA" it's a mingling of yelling out of fear and maniacal laughter as the scenery turns into a blur as she whizzes by, trying to follow the course that was laid out on the map.

Sajin is busy concentrating that he's at least able to sort of steer into the almost crash between Jehni and himself. Unfortunately his leg becomes hooked along one of her coolant hoses when he attempted to push her away and back onto the track. "Oh no!" He shouts, "Jehni! One second! Don't..." It's too late she's starting to speed off and might rip his entire leg of with her. Sajin has to think fast, attempting to keep up speed with one hand on the bike, he draws his knife and throws it at the line with the other. It frees him but also rips apart some innards of the bike. It may not cause a problem right away but will down the line. He gets his bearings, noticing he had fallen behind Jehni, Siha, Kasia respectively. "Drek..." He glances to that button one more time and shakes his head just as Tarion passes him. Nice guys always finish last.

Tarion is *technically* closest to the finish line... does that mean he's winning? Vasani reaches into her bag to pull out a Tarion themed item- a stuffed toy version of Slasst. "YEAHHH!! YOU GOT THIS BUDDY!" She waves the toy around and shouts, but by the time she's back up it looks like everyone's already gone. "Hrmph." She pouts, looking into her bag of goodies and realizing nobody will see the signs and stuff she made to cheer them all on. "Well 'least I can watch 'em from the screen..... Wow nobody really tells ya' how boring it is to actually ATTEND a pod race..." Vasani gets up from her seat and wanders toward Hex, hoping he's got better screens and maybe scoreboards and all that around him somewhere.

"No, I meant to do that, it's fine," Tarion assures no one in particular, and with a sudden ROAR the Flare-S lurches ahead with ridiculous acceleration, the bounty hunter clinging to the body of it like a barnacle on the side of a ship. A small ship. A racing ship. The tarp billows with loud, crinkly billowing, the makeshift toga filling the air with sound and fury, and the occasional glimpse of Tarion's pale, pasty arse. The drunk is a leaf on galeforce winds, but there's one little problem here, and it's the inebriated slalom he's charting across the course. On the one hand, there does seem to be a preternatural force keeping him from careening into the various obstacles as he sways between and around them at the highest speed his mechanical marvel can handle. On the other, it's far from a direct course, and he passes people only to loop around behind them again, seemingly on purpose. Wtf is in that alc-caf. "I FEEL GREAT, I'VE NEVER FELT MORE ALIVE," the young and foolish man yells to the skies, reaching into a paper bag held between his knees to retrieve a soggy dinner roll, which is tossed at Kasia's head with all the accuracy and throwing skill of a bully and a vandal.

There is a spectator, who has been here but has been here quietly and watching. Wearing his 'sand wear' that is, the light browns and tans, leather and elegantly/stylishly draped materials to account for the heat...Naelyn can be found, settled in the stands or wherever spectators are technically sitting. There's a metal cooler at his feet, and he is casually sipping from a sleek metal flask and fanning himself with a silver metalic fan as he watches. Veil draped over his head and drawn over is mouth as he watches his family...racing. Slowly fanning himself.

Hex regards Vasani with amusement. "You could have raced too, ai'jou, doesn't it look fun?" Sure, fun... "Next time, ok ka! Have you met Percy? Naelyn, you too, I don't remember if you met him. He's a good doctor. Percy, this is Naelyn and Vasani, and both of them can help you with Ryl too, if you've got a mind to learn it." He exhales smoke contentedly and watches the monitors. "We are gonna need so much bacta."

"This is not going as well!" Jehn shouts as she is passed by Siha and Kasia. On top of this, she has nearly ripped Sajin's leg off, and the side of her swoop is sparking and leaking menacingly. "Kriff in a handbasket." She swears, stealing glances down at her wounded steed as she races through obstacles, slowing down so that one hand can work at the mangled wiring of her bike. "Frag!" She yelps, repeatedly, as she narrowly avoids wrecking (multiple times) and shocks herself on the bike's innards (multiple times) - but Defiance does pay the pilot/mechanic for /something/, because she is, at least, able to fix the damage caused by Sajin's knife. Somehow - she's not quite sure herself. "OKAY, BABY!" She yells, flooring it again. "Was that a fucking sandwich?"

Percy winces when Jehn rolls, though somehow manages to come out okay. "Far out. I'm getting so nervy just watching. It's like waiting for an execution or something." Despite the concerns, there is something oddly... gripping about all of this. Even through the monitor that looks like it might explode at any minute, he can still feel the excitement and adrenaline that courses through the racers. "Hm?" He turns a bit to Vasani and Nad, daring to take an eye off the action. "Good morning," He calls. "Good to meet you both."

"Technically the reason I'm doing this is to improve their driving and situational awareness skills for when we need them on missions," Hex asides to Percy, Vasani, and Nae. Then he grins big, pointy canine teeth exposed in the expression. "...And cause it's fun. Look how good they're doin though, Percy, nobody even got mangled yet. That's a little better than I figured."

"Me? Race?" Vasani laughs at Hex's suggestion. "Maybe if I could teach Slasst ta' let me ride 'im." She teases her own inability to functionally pilot anything. "Heya Percy! Nice ta' meetcha!" Vasani gives a wave to the new person before her. Doctors. That sounds super helpful for this group. "I betch'er gonna come in handy." She smirks. "Hey Naelyn! How ya' been?" She asks, but doesn't wait for a response before she's practically pressing her face against the screen trying to take in every detail. "SAJIN GET UP THERE WHILE THEY'RE DISTRACTED!!" Vasani shouts at the screen like they could hear anything she was saying. She also reaches into the bag and switches the toy Varactyl for a crown. Gotta cheer on the king now.

Siha Archer tries to relax while driving, arm still held out though she's glancing down to a big red switch on her dash, a glance given to Tal, "What do you think, Tal???" She asks loudly, grey eyes turning back to the track as she bites the inside of her cheek. Tal will turn his head to look back over to Siha as she's spoken to, and Siha will grin, nodding her head, "Let's do Big Red buddy." Taking her arm off the akk she will reach out and flip that switch, and BIG ARSED FLAMES WILL SHOOT OUT FROM BEHIND HER PODRACER AS SHE FLIES, "Oh shiteshiteshiteshite, we're on fire bro, we're. On. Fire. Crap. Hopefully this is supposed to do that---" Said as she grips the wheel tightly, grimacing hard as she keeps the racer on the track best she can.

"Have a little faith, Hex." Percy remarks with a wry smile as the twi'lek comments that they are doing better than expected. "I know for one that Siha is at the least a good pilot. I haven't seen the piloting skills of the others, but if they are in the same realm then we may not have many crashes at all. Fingers crossed for zero. I enjoy being bored at work, y'know?" The lanky figure cracks a wider smile at Visani's observation of his usefulness. "That was part of the sell that Hex got me with. I don't understand how you guys managed to survive without me, but I'm happy you found me eventually. It's been fun." Percy swivels his baby blues back to the monitor. "Tense. But fun." Brows raise just a bit as Siha hits the afterburners.

This is going pretty well! It's actually fun! It's kind of gooey. Wait. A soggy dinner roll slaps Kasia right in the face, splat, clinging to her goggles for a few moments before sliding down her face, but leaving a film behind on the lenses. Some of it got into her mouth, everything about this is horrifying to her. She spits out the roll and then spits a couple more times, using one hand to wipe the film off of her goggles while trying not to crash and die in a fireball. She does not keep her hands on 10 and 2, also she can't see well through all of this, which means she's swerving unpredictably, riiiiiight into Jehn's path. SORRY JEHN. The flask that she has strapped to her thigh is retrieved once the bread slime is mostly wiped away, pressing a button so the top of it slides open easily, dumping liquor into her mouth. Swish, swish, SPIT. Then she takes another swallow of whatever potent concoction is inside the flask, and this one she swallows, and then a second.

Sajin gets back into gear, still looking at the red button as he starts to close back in on the others. There's a scream from the crowd. He looks, it's Vasani. She was there, when did she get there? It had been a while. Somehow it gives the king some resolves so he rips off the sticky note and presses the red button. The Engine FLARE to life hard and he takes off at breakneck speed, kicking up rocks and dirt everywhere. Pushed back into his seat by gforces.

"That can't be what that's supposed to do," Tarion mutters to himself as he sees Siha's podracer burst into flames in the distance ahead. The distance ahead because damn she is way ahead of the rest of them. "This is a little embarrassing, here, ok ka," he continues to complain, setting his sights on the competing racer and gunning his swoop, a twist of the throttle and a roar of the engine, charting a madman's course up and over a natural outcropping of rock to shave off time.

This is, in fact, a terrible plan, and sure to end in disaster were it not for the ungodly belch that rips from the man's mouth, jolting his grip on the handlebars and tugging him skyward just in time to /not/ slam into the rim of the outcropping and instead sort of... leapfrog it, bringing him close enough to reach into that paper bag and fling a mynock drumstick through the air at his quarry, the snack pinwheeling red sauce as glimmering rubies that plat to the dusty sand. Poetic.

Naelyn lifts his head and glances over towards Percy, the androgynous creature just raises and eyebro and kohl rimmed eyes study the man intently before he bows his head politely. "Well..." His Basic is pretty heavily accented, adding an extra purr to his rrr and sss sounds. "Aren't you a pretty person. A pleasure to meet you Master Percy." Then he looks back to the race and takes a sip from his flask.

Hex folds his arms and watches the monitor, arranging his lekku comfortably around his shoulders. "Here we go, ladies and gentlebeings, it's the final round. Anything can still happen, and they're gonna be out for blood!"

Yeah, where was Percy when Tarion shot her in the leg? Or that time Tarion shot her in the buttcheek? Or that time... Jehni'va throws her weight to the side as she swerves to avoid Kasia, and then the other way as she swerves to avoid a rock; she spins out of control, and in the snatches of scenery that she can make out in the chaos, she sees just... Flames - fire - everywhere. "WHEN DID EVERYONE GET KRIFFIN' FLAME BOOSTERS?!" She demands of everyone and no one in particular as she finally regains control of her swoop and leans forward to try and regain some speed and status, floral duster whipping behind her in the crazed wind. She also vomits, casually, over the side of her vehicle, thanks to all the spinning.

She just doesn't realize how close she is to Tarion as she does.

The final round! Vasani looks excitedly around from the screen, to Hex, to Naelyn, Percy, and back to the moniter. "You can do it!!!" Bouncing excitedly like a puppy, the crowned Twi'lek claps her hand and gives a cheer to the racers. But then there's vomit and it's enough to make Vasani finally look away from the screen for any extended period of time. "Oh!" She realizes the seating will actually be useful again and perks up. "Don't worry guys! I'll go watch to see who comes in first!" And before she can hear any response, Vasani dashes back toward the metal seating, staring closely for the impending arrival of the racers.

FLYING MYNOCK WING. Right through her window into her lap. Siha feels something hit her lap and she'll glance down, "Oh man, I knew praying to those stupid Jawa Gods would come through." Only Tal has spotted the wing as well and as Siha's zooming off around on the track she and Tal have a slight staredown, "Don't." Slurp. "Do. It." Tongue slurps into the Akks' mouth and he'll eye Siha's lap with a curled upper lip, fangs bared in a near smile as whirrling eyes look out from behind those goggles she so lovingly secured for him. At breakneck speeds there is a war of wills going on and Tal wins, launching a clawed paw forwards, strapped in as he is, raking the wing out of Siha's lap and shanking her thigh in the process, "SON OF A FORK." Siha calls out, her racer careening off a ramp and into a wall, though she's quickly righting it and pushing her foot down on the gas to re-assert herself, letting out a call of pain, "DAMN YOU TURDION." And ..with that foot down to the pedal she zoooooooms forwards, moving to align with Tarion and using herself as the bomb to hit his rear bumper-doo to try and repay him back for the wing. All whilst flipping him the byrd with her left hand, Tal licking his lips and finishing up the meal.

Did Kasia even notice that she ran Jehn off the road, sort of? Probably not, there was a lot of bread related chaos happening in that moment, and some hardcore day drinking after it, so she zooms right on by happily, unaffected by the close call that sent poor Jehni'va reeling. The last of the spirits are drained from the flask right into her mouth while she steers with the other hand, then because other people are throwing things, she lobs the flask at the closest speeder, which happens to be Siha. SORRY SIHA. FLING! It goes flying through the air at juuuust the right angle to cause some sort of chaos in its wake. "Come onnnn, come oonnnn," she urges, unwisely trying to pick up even more speed again.

Sajin was flying. FLYING with this boost pack he got whoever, some weird guy on the street of Nar Shadda, to install on his Overracer. He passes Siha, and catches up to Kasia. He looks to her as he keeps pace with her, "Hey... hey..." He tries to get her attention. "Remember... remember your lunch today? Remember how I said it was Nurf Stew..." there is a long pause, "It was Rat Stew.... BYEEEEEEEE." He takes off again, hoping that little factoid was enough to make her stutter a bit. He raors in laughter as he speeds further down the track towards the finish line. Maybe he wasn't such a nice guy after all.

"Er," Percy is caught off guard by the heavily accented Basic that Naelyn uses to compliment him. "Thanks. Good to meet you." He'll assume that was a comment lost in translation; something that sounded more accurate in the native language. The lanky Doctor gets a bit fidgety, fingers tapping his arms as they are still crossed firmly.

Tarion continues to struggle ahead, while his speeder is rammed by Siha's podracer and there's a heavy rain in the middle of the desert. Oh wait, that's just Jehn. Luckily, he's wearing a tarp-toga, and the vom splashes off, but not before he lets out a disturbed "What is WRONG with you people?!" Then he's hammering the throttle again, doing his damndest to pull away, he's not even in first here, but everyone hates him, for reasons he does not understand. "I'm not even in first here!" he yells to Siha and Jehn. "I don't understand!" Flipping a switch on the side of the bike, the bounty hunter accesses the Emergency Last Second Reserves of Extra Special Fuel That Was On Sale Two Years Ago, and the Flare surges forward.

Naelyn moves a hand to remove his face veil that was crossing over the lower half of his face to smile softly at Percy and he exhales softly as the race continues to escalate.

"Here they come..."

As the racers roar in from the desert with their usual degree of professionalism and competence.... the silver flag (dress) comes down! Woosh woosh woosh woosh! Hex waves the victory flagdress over the arrival of the KING! Not Grom, the other king. "Out like a dark horse into the lead, hahaha, well done, ni muchi," Hex observes with a laugh, as WOOSH VROOM WOOSH the other speeders start to crash in hot on his heels.

"SECOND! Sihaaaaa!" "Third! KASIAAAaaaayeah I'm not paying her." "Fourth, TARION, not left for dead in the desert, amazing. And fifth, you know, Jehn... gave this a really good try. She did."

Wiping her mouth on the back of her arm, Jehn makes a mental note to have the duster washed before returning it to Hex. She's fallen far enough behind to feel little remorse in slowing enough to keep her tummy settled so she doesn't ralf on anyone else - though, the only one left in the loser's circle with her is Tarion, and she's already ralfed on him. She is still tinged two, maybe three, shades of green as she finally putters across the finish line, dead, dead last - just on Tarion's heels. "That was fun!" She decides, moving her goggles up to her forehead once she's slowed to a shaky stop. She should probably buy Sajin and Tarion drinks tonight.

Vasani reaches her seat but chooses to stand to watch the end of the race rather than sit on the super hot metal. She reaches into her bag again and pulls out a bunch of little flags to wave around in the air as the race comes to an end. "YOU DID IT!!!" She yells to Defiance as a whole as the racers come in one by one.

SWOOOSH, over the finish line Siha will go, a few feet behind Sajin, the woman calling out, "Good job, Sajin!" She calls out her window, coming to a nice controlled stop. Unbuckling she'll shut down her racer and hop out, limping heavily, right leg slashed, left leg, well, it's mangled for lyfe and wasn't injured at all on this race. Limping to the other side of the racer she'll open Tal's door and unbuckle him, "You little shavit ...that was /my/ wing." Mutter.

This race has been so strange, and honestly, Kasia believed that short of some horrible injury, the most disgusting thing that was going to happen to her in it was being assaulted by soggy baked goods, but no. NO. Sajin manages to one up that when he pulls up close to her. Close enough to make her nervous, so she's paying attention, so she sees the attempts to get her attention. Then he drops the bomb. KASIA IS SHOOK. "WHAT?" Lunch was a while ago, but there's a sudden retching that remains, thankfully, only a threat of vom without actual follow through. It's enough to make her swerve, almost driving herself right into some sizable lizard thing that's camping out on the edge of the raceway, watching the speeders. "AAAH!" she yelps as she struggles to right herself, losing a lot of speed in the process. She is shaken to her very core, but tries to catch up, zooming over the finish line right behind Siha. Her stop is a little less controlled, she does stop, but she miiiiight gently bump into the maintenance building as she does. Ooops. The engines are shut down, but she doesn't immediately jump out, simply sitting there looking paler than normal, and still kinda goopy.

Where has Rheisa been for the past while? Scrounging up dinner, of course. On the way IN to the stadium, she'd seen a flock of bloggin jammering away on a rubble pile and felt it was worthwhile paying them a second visit while her friends were busy almost-murdering eachother on the track. Here she comes, climbing up the stadium steps now, encumbered with six of the idiot birds. They've been strung up together by their feet and draped around her shoulders like a floppy, feathery yolk. Unsurprisingly. they aren't jabbering anymore.

"Heads go to victor of race!" she announces to the small group of spectators when she nears and cranes her head around to watch the giant vid/assembly of racers careening over the finish line. "I guess is...." she squints. "Sajin?"

Sajin is so busy laughing that he almost dosn't stop when he passes the finish line. Instead he has to pull the break hard and turn the overracer into a slide. "WOAH!" He shouts almost smashing right into the old building the spectators are watching from. He takes a moment before shutting the swoop off and dismounting. He looks over to Kasia as she comes to a stop and lets her stew a bit, taking off his helmet. He's got a big smile for her, his face sweaty and a bit dirty from the race. "Kasia... I was kidding. I wouldn't do that to you." He shakes his head and moves away from his bike. Sajin gives a thumbs up to Siha, "You too, Sihanan."

"Nononono," Tarion chants to himself as the race draws to a close and it's becoming increasingly clear that A) he isn't going to win and B) he's really drunk. Like REALLY drunk. Like, he just passed out into the handlebars drunk, going careening across the finish line and sailing right into the ruined stands, which are about to get even more ruined. With a horrible *CRUNK*, the swoop bashes its nose into one of the low benches, but it skids through at least three more before settling to a halt, where the naked, tarp-wrapped man collapses to the side of it, the paper bag of snacks still held tightly to himself, evidently still passed out or dead. Not left for dead /in the desert/ though.

"Well done everyone!" The pale-skinned human calls to the racers as they wind down their engines after crossing the finish line. "Please remember to re-hydrate! I have water and gels ready for you to make sure you keep fluids and energy is up. Make sure to take at LEAST one, or you'll surely get a nasty headache or migraine later on today." Racing out there amid the barely-held-together pods was hot work, after all. Even for the people that didn't vomit, it drained a lot of energy.

The racers crash in, in some cases literally, and Hex unflappably just holds on to the nearest post, bracing for impact until it's over. "Sajin, Siha, winnings will transfer to your accounts, ok ka!" he promises, then finger guns at his wife. "Kasiaaaa you can get your prize later." Nooooooooooo poor Kasia.

Dusk is falling over the desert and lights start to come on, a hodgepodge of electrical elements that have definitely seen better days. Nothing matches, and in some cases, the elements spark or buzz worryingly. All of the lights seem to belong together simply by virtue of the fact that they would belong nowhere else... much like Defiance? Hex laughs, and looks up at them, and the stars starting to come out. "You all did good. You did good. Who's hungry?"