Podrace Pamarthe Watercraft Classic - Open to Additional Racers/Spectators

[Light Rises]

Camera droids were flying all over, launching from the fleet of spectator boats off to the side. They were gong to be following the crews as well as they could, to ensure that the spectators had a great view. The winds were a bit higher today,, and the locals were wishing they all had their sailboats out, but it wasn't enough to call a weather cancellation on this power watercraft event. Unlike podracing, with the Galactic Watercraft Circuit wasn't as crazy on the blood-sport focus of it, or at least wanting everyone to have an equal chance to go out in glory.

The watercrafts were called to the line, some being towed up, others under reserved power. And all had to be prepped to protect the local environment should the worst happen. Weather reports given to all of the racers showed that there was a front moving in, and the water was already showing it, a little bit of increased waves surrounding this atoll in equatorial Pamarthe. The weather here always made for a fun shift, somewhere between the balmy Southern temps, and the harsh Northern winds.

The course had been laid out, starting and finishing in the center, with a total of seven legs bringing them around the course, from the center of the atoll out and around then back. There were several Low-Atmospheric Search and Rescue Transports on standby, a bit more formal than the Podraces of the Rim.

"Racers, to your mark!" Came a Pamarthean over the loudspeaker as the signal craft started to light up. Red… Red… Amber… Green. With the green, the horn went off and the race was off.



OOC: Short list of competitors, but please come and watch the race on any coastal world for betting, or join the Spectator's in the blue area on the map, watching some powerboats go by in less than ideal conditions.

Using the Hoth Rules but if you roll a 14, you're going to take an environmental challenge, and knock your next roll down a point.

Spoiler

Course is 7 legs:

The marks on this course will be physical buoys but will also be lit up to be seen a bit off

Racers:
Tris
Jorus Q. Merrill
Cotan Sar'andor
Dantum Kryszar
Brooke Waters

 

[Brooke Waters]

She really wished she was sailing today. The blonde shook her head as she was letting one of the tug-droids move her into position. The boat was really rocking now, and she didn't like it. The Mako Watercraft, set up by Starchaser Enterprises had been delivered here and she had made sure the vessel was painted to her liking, a light indigo with some green lights underneath to add a bit of flavor. The vessels engines were repulsor based, more similar to the waverunners that she should have grown up on.

Red…

As she saw the lights she was just trying to focus. The first trick any good waterman learned was that you needed to find a point on the horizon to focus on, or else you were going to get yourself lost, or even worse, sick. She shook her head once as she saw a smaller atoll a ways off. That was good. She grinned, hoping that she'd see some other Pamarthean, because she thought that Leith was here, that one guy she saw a few weeks back during the sail.

Red…

If she could beat him? Ho boy how would that northern lad ever feel?

Amber…

She tightened her hands on the wheel. Unlike her sailing vessel, a powered watercraft behaved much more akin to a landspeeder or even an airspeeder, just weight down and needing the water to move. Her right hand found the throttle level as her hands found their rudder pedals.

Green…

There it was! Brooke pushed the throttle fast and the Mako leapt forward. She was seeing the first mark, but the feel of the throttle pushing through the water, and she didn't have the high pitched whine yet, that made her feel something was going to break. The waves though, were coming at a weird angle, that was bound to break something… But not yet!

 

[Tris]

This was it. He was looking forward to this. A race on his home turf. When the green light up Leith fired his ion engines and-

The engine blew and for a moment he looked to be out in the lead until....the smoke began to surround him and he realized he was missing about a quarter of his aft engine block. The wave skimmer tumbled and sent Leith skipping across the ocean. Despite coming off of a first-place win at Ossus, it looked like Leith was out of the race.

Swimming back to the top he shouted and cursed the gods for letting some hussy Southerner beat him out over a malfunction.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

Rust-flecks spattered crystalline water as a barely-regulation engine coughed to life. Jorus eased off until the engine's parts all remembered how to work together. That happened at just the right moment: a heartbeat before the signal light said go.

He urged the shabby hull ahead, a hair slower off the gun than Brooke Waters , and closed his eyes.

Between angled wind and water, the fastest route to the atoll's shallow breach was something other than a straight line. He steered by instinct, diverging from the pack a little. But this wasn't a primitive sailboat back home, or a ship at FTL: this was powerboat racing. He had to moderate his expectations of himself or the ocean would do it for him.

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan wasn't really good with watercraft—he'd be more comfortable on a podracer, even if Asha would hate the idea—but credits were credits, and sometimes he just needed a good way to go out and relax. Why not go ride a crazy boat?

Well, and hope that bounty hunters or the like didn't show up like they had been doing with the podraces.

Really, though, even if he didn't win...there was one specific goal he had in mind.

He had to beat Jorus Merrill.

With that thought right in the forefront of his mind, and seeing smooth waters ahead, Cotan sped off, just barely behind the old man. He'd take advantage of his wake for the time being, cut down his own drag before he could pass the man.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

Eyes still closed, Jorus hollered back at Cotan Sar'andor over his shoulder:

"Hurry up, kid!"

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"You're lucky I understand the concept of sportsmanship and fair play, you old bastard, or your engine never would've started at all!"

Jorus Q. Merrill

 

[Jakk Likonis]

<Aye, be a little sad if there was no actual Pamarthen in a Pamarthe race, no?> Said Jakk into his crash helmet's mike; in response, more than a few native Pamarthe gave whoops of approval. Though, equally, there was some booing for those in favor of Leith Morayson, a planetary favorite. Underneath him, the waveskimmer's engine rumbled low and strong, ready to be opened up. The sea was calm today, and one could see the shallows and atolls through the crystal clear sapphire water. <Just kidding Leith! You're alright, bwahahah!>

Red...

As a Pamarthen, he had grown up on the water - had learned how to sail with wood and cloth afore he ever touched the control yoke of a starfighter. That's how they did things here on Pamarthe; and it gave rise to galaxy-caliber pilots renown for their bravery, daring, and swashbuckling. Coarse as salt, sure as the wind, or so the old Pamarthen proverb went.

Yellow...

<Hey...you know what they say about us Pamarthens right? Everybody knows that if you're from Pamarthe, you're good at flying, fighting, or—>

Green!

The roar of repulsors drowned out the last of what Jakk had to say, but more than a few mothers in the stands clapped their appendages over younglings ears. Jakk would never see this, though, too consumed in the exhiliration of finally opening up the throttle. The race was on.

EDIT:
Then again, perhaps if Jakk spent more time racing instead of boasting about the proud and glorious heritage that was Pamarthe, maybe he wouldn't be in last place. As it was, he was slow on the throttle, and was already cursing in a colorful and impressive stream of nautical-themed profanity.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Pamarthe​

Valery: Appearance​

Supporting: Tris ​

Roll: (Turning 1 into a 13) | Ga discord!​

​

After the podrace on Ossus, Valery's interest in competitive racing had increased quite a bit. Not enough for her to always be participating herself, especially because of the risks involved, but enough to watch it at times as well. Today, she had traveled to Pamarthe with her baby daughter so she could enjoy one such race and take a day off from continuous fighting at the war fronts.​

​

So with little Vera in her lap, she watched the race and focused on one participant in particular. Tris had been the winner of the podrace on Ossus and now he had joined an entirely different kind, albeit one he was likely very comfortable with.​

​

"When you're older, we'll race together like this," Valery smirked while Vera just happily squealed and moved around. "Just don't tell your dad." ​

​

The race then finally started and drew Valery to the edge of her seat... only for it to go wrong very quickly. His engine blew and while he'd likely be up in his replacement vehicle, he might as well just step out of the race with the delay. But that's when she got an idea and tapped into the Force to reach out to him.​

​

All of a sudden, it'd feel like he had a massive surge of speed from behind, joined by a heightened ability to react and coordinate his patterns through the water. The boost was far beyond anything natural and hopefully brought him back into the race.​

​

"Our little secret, hm?" she looked down at Vera and gently wiggled her fingers in front of her stomach.​

​

​

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Roll: 1 (One)

Dan couldn't wait for the race to begin. He had wanted to take a break from his job for a while, and being a skilled pilot, this was the perfect recreational activity for him. He was enjoying himself immensely right now, except for one thing: He was currently working as an enforcer for Crimson Dawn, and rival syndicates were here betting on the race. If a gang member recognized him as being part of Crimson Dawn, they would most certainly hunt him down. Or, they might already know he was here...

The bounty hunter was currently sitting in his bright red watercraft, eagerly awaiting the green light that would signal the start of the race. Suddenly, the announcer's voice came over the loudspeaker: The race was about to begin! He watched as the lights in front of him flashed red- red- amber- and then green! Dan pushed forward on the handle, but nothing happened. He heard a slight beeping coming from the hood.

He would have to fix this, and fast- or he would have absolutely no chance of winning. He popped the hood, and looked in the engine... a small droid sat in the engine, plugging into the central power system. Before Dan had time to react, the droid had hacked into the system and was driving toward the rocky shore. A rival syndicate must have learned of his presence here, and had sabotaged him. Too late, the bounty hunter realized that he was going to crash- the watercraft smashed headlong into a rocky outcropping, and the resulting explosion roared and threw Dan several yards away.

"Fething bantha dun-"

But his curse was cut short by the impact.

Luckily, sand cushioned his fall. After laying there for a few minutes, Dan arose, groaning, to his feet. Looks like this race was over for him.

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

Jorus' ramshackle powerboat skidded over the shallows into a snug turn. The hull lost some paint on the nav beacon. Jorus straightened out, almost straight north along the coast, and opened up the throttle.

He steered by instinct, by the feel of the sun baking his scalp. Not his finest hour as a navigator, but damn if this wasn't the most relaxing day.

(SABOTAGE ROLL!)
Just on general principle, he wiggled his stern around, throwing a little sloshy turbulence back at Cotan Sar'andor .

 

[Tris]

Jorus Q. Merrill | Cotan Sar'andor | Jakk Parthas | Brooke Waters
Support: Valery Noble
​

[Thank the Light for the Re-roll of my wonderful support - every racer should have one]

This wasn't podracing, and as Leith swam up from the depths in time for his support crew to roll out his spare he greatly appreciated that fact. The Quarren gave him a thumbs up and the burly man on the skiff next to them nodded.

"Hop in boss!" Leith didn't have to be asked twice.

"Screw the checks," he said, "Burn me If I don't-" He hadn't even bypassed the ion turbine regulator before he felt himself launched forward. "BURN ME. SALT AND BURN ME!" Coming off the boost from whatever blessing the Storm Father had bestowed upon him, the finely tuned ion engines of his skimmer blasted him forward.

 

[Jakk Likonis]

<Son-of-a-blue-finned-rot-gilled-bug-eyed-squid-hugging-gut-slugging-bantha!> The profanities came, Jakk finally getting the damn throttle under control; more than a few racers were ahead of him, except for one poor sod, whose craft had scuppered out on him - it careened to the side and detonated violently. As he passed the wreck, Jakk gave a salute to the racer. <Damn shame!>

And then he was throttling forward, opening up the engine and and crashing across the waves. The wind was picking up, however, and the waves were getting choppier. His expectation that the water was going to be calm for the race might not hold up entirely - a front was moving in, and that didn't bode well for the second half of the race. Jakk put that out of mind. He'd deal with it when it hit. For now...he had to catch up.

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Jorus' ramshackle powerboat skidded over the shallows into a snug turn. The hull lost some paint on the nav beacon. Jorus straightened out, almost straight north along the coast, and opened up the throttle.

He steered by instinct, by the feel of the sun baking his scalp. Not his finest hour as a navigator, but damn if this wasn't the most relaxing day.

(SABOTAGE ROLL!)
Just on general principle, he wiggled his stern around, throwing a little sloshy turbulence back at Cotan Sar'andor .

(Leg 2: Going to make my roll now and edit in the proper full post when I get a chance later; aha, a 12 after the sabotage! 20 total, I'm not last!)

Jorus's attempt to shake Cotan off or send him tumbling over into the water was doomed to fail, however; Cotan's own skill in vehicle handling, developed as a result of handling some of the death trap vehicles that Jorus's own people had put out into the Outer Rim through the years, would shine through despite the older man's tricks. He steered wide of the turbulence, veering far out from the beacon he and Jorus were about to pass.

His craft caught a wave, the prow tipping up into the air—

And Cotan floored the engine, sailing up out of the water and right over Jorus Q. Merrill 's head, drenching him in a spray of saltwater, before taking a hard landing (harder than Cotan would've liked, but he'd take it all the same) ahead, keeping pace to try and catch up with Tris next. "Beat that, old man," he muttered to himself, happy that he'd taken the lead in his personal competition.

One that was, perhaps, a bit one-sided, but such was life.

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

(OOC: Rolled a 12 for Dantum Kryszar )

Current outfit

Hilal loved Podracing not this waterboarding chit.

But she took an offer by some soldier saying that he needed a last-minute replacement on a Watercraft race at Pamarthe. The racer was paying well and Hilal needed more money since she owed Braekine Florithe that extra 800 credits. The pay will cover that debt and provide more income for the store and her armor. Besides, Pamarthe sounded like a lovely planet to relax she needed a vacation from travelling around the galaxy and collecting parts. The young woman was sitting on her tank observing the race while chewing on some bubble gum. She had to admit, it was exciting but it was not the same as Podracing.

Just then, her partner: Dantum managed to crash. Hilal sighed in response hopefully the man was all right, but she was in a middle of a tan. "Dantum!" Hilal shouted through the commlink. "Are you okay?!" Quickly getting inside of her tank, Hilal accelerator to where the crash site was finding Dantum cursing up a storm as well as a severely damaged racer.

"Damn!" Hilal said exiting her tank. "That's a lot of damage! But nothing I can't handle!" The young woman quickly got to work making sure that the engine was in working order before helping Dantum up. "Hurry up!" Hilal said. "I've managed to fill your engine with Tradium to give you that extra boost. Now get up, get on your feet and win this chit!"

The young woman slapped Dantum's back hard pushing him towards his racer. If he wins, then maybe Hilal can try her hand on being an engineer for some Podracer. Of course, it'll be more of a part time gig, Hilal's dream job was to become a Bounty Hunter.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Roll: 1

Dan had previously thought that the race was over for good, but he had forgotten about his support, Hilal. The talented engineer had fixed up his podracer in no time, and now he might even have a chance of catching up with the rest of the racers!

An added bonus was the Tradium fuel that Hilal had filled his engine with. Now he would have an extra boost! Dan's craft soared over the waves, cutting through the water like a knife. He was back in the race!

Or so he thought. His engine began to splutter again, and his craft slowed down! He had just caught up to the other racers, but now his racer was failing! He would have to do something drastic to salvage this!

(OOC: The dice must have been rigged or something. There's no fething way. Seriously?)

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Now that he'd put Jorus Q. Merrill behind him, it was time to try and widen that lead, and hopefully catch up to Tris . Unfortunately for him, Leith was a native to watercraft racing, whereas the most similar thing Cotan had done prior to that day was paddling a canoe on Naboo as a kid. Not that he had any opportunity to ponder that fact, if he wanted to catch up. He hit the throttle hard again, sending his boat speeding forwards, and hoping to blast Jorus with some of the spray behind him.

Gotta catch up at least.

(Leg 3 Total: 30; just caught up, didn't pass.)

 

[Jorus Q. Merrill]

LEG 3
9+7+15=31

Soaked to the skin from Cotan taking the lead, Jorus roared with laughter and steered his junk pile powerboat to port, heading west.

He laughed again as the junk pile powerboat in question edged past Cotan's boat once more.

"Nice try!" he yelled above the spray, eyes still clamped shut.

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

But of course, the old man managed to catch up to him. He couldn't shake his true competition that easily...it seemed likely that him and Jorus would be neck and neck for the race.

"You looked like you needed a shower, Jor!" He yelled out over the sound of their engines, with a cheeky wave.

Jorus Q. Merrill

 

[Jakk Likonis]

(Leg Three: 4+6+12= 22)

Jakk really had no idea who was in the lead, just that there were two racers immediately in front of him. To the side, he saw the beleaguered Dantum Kryszar climbing out of another waveskimmer, and Jakk resolved to send a few UC the man's way if he, by some miracle, got third. After all, the odds of his engine conking out were exactly one in four hundred - this was its own kind of luck, though not the kind you wanted.

Jakk shook the thought out of his head. He had to catch up. Skirting around a buoy - the durasteel scraping the paint on his port side, Jakk tried to read the swells in the waves. Maybe he could use the wind and choppiness to his advantage.

It seemed to work some; the distance between him and Cotan Sar'andor and Jorus Q. Merrill was closing. But if it was enough to make up the difference by the end of the race, that would remain to be seen...