TASBAR (Tattoine Association for Swoop Bike Auto Racing)

[Zev Stargo]

Zev sat, cigar in hand, in the scorching sunlight of the Mos Espa Race Track. Around him sat the small ring of officials that had attended to talk business and observe the dangerous event. The track was a rough circle through canyons and Tusken territory that would truly test the competitors reflexes and Swoop skills. Three laps around this trap invested, environment hazard riddled track would separate winners from losers, kids from adults and the living from the dead.

"Racers! Welcome to the 1st Annual Galactic Swoop Championship, sponsored by Stargo Enterprise! This is going to be an exciting race ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice boomed throughout the starting line, the crowd in the stands going wild as they chanted at the racers below "Come on racers, the crowd is going wild, give them something real to cheer about! Start your engines, start your engines!"

 

[Jorn Mair]

Jorn smiled as he was sitting on his bike. It was unusual for this kind of race. His had wheels instead of repulser lifts. He knew that other people would bring weapons of all kinds. He had his bike have a sheath for his angel blade. It was slightly hidden so the judges wouldnt see him have it untill he brought it out. He also carried his twin Delta Pistols on his shoulders. he wore his armor that matched his black bike. He made sure that his ride was amped up alittle more than usual. He had more fuel for the rockets to compensate for the race he was about to take part of.

Jorn smiled and thought about the prize money at the end of the race. If he could win this race he would have enough credits to buy his own ship. Or even make one. He would them travel the galaxy on his own. or possibly with someone in particular. He smiled at the thought and started his engines. With a loud roar his bike came to life. The nice easy purr of the engine and the rumble of the components. He loved that feeling of the vibration in the handle bars.

 

[Keter]

Keter had been lounging on his speeder bike, feet propped up on the handles, lying relaxed. At the announcers voice he pushed himself up, swinging his legs down to the pedals, going over last minute checks. Still as good as ever. Speeder bikes were not his strong suit in truth, but he had enough faith in his abilities to make up his deficiency in experience when compared to the other racers. He had a fairly standard swoop bike, a model actually used by the Imperial army Barnabus had found for cheap and helped Keter tune up, alongside K-36215. The blond was unarmored, but not defencless. His sabers were clipped to his belt, within easy reach, though hidden beneath the poncho he wore to protect himself from the sunlight.

A scarf was tied around the lower part of his face, to prevent any sand or dust from choking him. He was as ready as he could be. His red eyes scanned the other racers around him, focusing on their craft as well as their equipment. Most were armed, and their vehicles were converted to give them a wide variety of advantages. The blond smiled slightly. A good test of his skills then.

 

[Feena]

I sincerely hope he knows what he's doing...

The audience roared around her. There was a feeling of general excitement in the air. There wasn't a single individual in the audience that wasn't feeling it- Well, except one. Legs crossed, eyes narrowed, she looked every bit the angry wife. But her hands fidgeted nervously in her lap.
It was normally her goal to stand out as much as she could in a crowd, but now, here, she was trying her hardest to do the very opposite. Her long black hair was tied back in a braid hanging over one shoulder, a heavily embroidered scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. Her dress was as casual as she would ever go. Made of a plain cream colored cloth with intricate beading on the hem. It was something she bought specifically on this world for this race. She looked like any other woman on this miserable world.
But she knew Keter would recognize her. He could always recognize her and she was sitting very close to the track.

"Racers! Welcome to the 1st Annual Galactic Swoop Championship, sponsored by Stargo Enterprise! This is going to be an exciting race ladies and gentlemen!"
Her fingers fiddled with the ring on her hand. 'Exciting' was the last thing she wanted.
"Come on racers, the crowd is going wild, give them something real to cheer about! Start your engines, start your engines!"

Keter, be careful.
The tips of her fingers touched her lips, coming away with the red of her lipstick as she blew him a kiss from her place in the audience.
Don't die and don't lose.

 

[MAD]

"Racers! Welcome to the 1st Annual Galactic Swoop Championship, sponsored by Stargo Enterprise! This is going to be an exciting race ladies and gentlemen!"

Ladies indeed. MAD was not exactly in his element. There were hundreds if not thousands of people all watching him, and on top of that he was being captured on camera. What in the world possessed a Mercenary Stealth Agent to get on a swoop track? Did it matter honestly? For all you know he could be pulling some James Bond trick were he's saving the entire planet by stopping a bomb from going off in one of the swoop bikes.

I bet you laughed at that part. No, MAD was not here for any noble cause of any sorts, so stop fantasizing. MAD was here of his own fruition, unemployed, and risking his life for what? Women, or money. He honestly hadn't decided yet. There was also the mention of a swoop bike but he basically glazed over that part. Right now, he was down below getting ready, fully geared, and he did nothing to make the judges think otherwise.

While already mounted on his "new" Flare-S swoop bike, at the cost of 2,500 credits off of one of the locals "who had dreams of using it one day", MAD was fully clad in his gleaming Shadow trooper armor. On his back, hidden by a black cape was his repulsor pack. He wasn't sure how much it'd really help him in the long run, but it's always good to be prepared for anything. Along with this, his bike had been installed with two blasters. In addition to this, he held on him a pistol, and his archaic Shadowtrooper lightsaber; a weapon only useful for him in the extreme close range (he also expected disqualification for its use, being mistaken for a force user or some other nonsense, so he hoped he didn't need to use it). He waved to the crowd under the alias of the Desert Shadow, ready to be the star of the show.

He prepared to make a deal with death.

 

[A 'den]

A 'den was sitting on his bike that he had "borrowed" from the Mandalorian Military. He was here just for fun, not for the prizes. He was wearing his armor like always, also he had two Mandalorian Assault Rifles in a holster, one on each side of the bike, and some hidden surprises.

"Racers! Welcome to the 1st Annual Galactic Swoop Championship, sponsored by Stargo Enterprise! This is going to be an exciting race ladies and gentlemen!"

A 'den cracked his fingers and smiled under his buy'ce.

"Come on racers, the crowd is going wild, give them something real to cheer about! Start your engines, start your engines!"

This was his first time in a Swoop race. A 'den looked around at the competition. Then he spotted Jorn and nodded at the fellow Mando'ade.

 

[Jorn Mair]

Jorn saw A'den nod at him. This was a sign for them to work together. And he would happily oblige. Jorn turned his eyes back onto the track. It was dusty and sandy. He felt his back to make sure that he still had his pistols. he had a few extra with him and thought about giving A'den one. He would after the race. Jorn smiled and revved his engines with a loud Vroom Vroom. coming from all around him the other cotenstants stared at him. he just looked at the track ready to begin this race and get his prize.

 

[Zev Stargo]

The sand began to blow wildly as the wind began to pick up and the announcer made sure to emphasis on it "Looks like a sand storm is starting up here folks, this will give our racers a good obstacle to overcome. Now Racers, get ready! Be steady! aaaannnnd....GO!!!"

 

[Jorn Mair]

Jorn pulled back on the throttle with was placed in the handle. all you had to do was twist your wrists and the bike would almost fly out from under you. He felt a sudden jolt as the bike lept forwards. He zoomed past a few guys right off the start. They had slower engines. he could feel the wind pull at his helmet. the rags that he used to cover his armor flapped in the wind.

Jorn was head and head wirt a guy on some generic speeder. The Twi'lik that rode the speeder rammed his bike into Jorn. He just shook his head. Jorn was not going to let this guy try and tip him over. Jorn moved his bike next to another rider who didnt do anything to him. jorn would possibly feel sorry in a few seconds. As if on cue the Twi'lik tried to ram into Jorn again. Smiling Jorn pressed on the brakes and then went to the left around the speeder. and hit the gas hard.

The twi'liks bike went flying past him and rammed into the other rider and made the twi'lik damage his vehicle. Jorn would finish him off b slamming his own bike into the side of the already broken twi'liks bike. he would be surprised if the speeder would last the hit. Without another look Jorn speed off to get past the others when he had fallen behind by the little disagreement between the Twi'lik and himself.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Beggar's Canyon

Sith Intelligence put his target in this race and Daxton came to make sure he spoiled the fun. Dressed in a disguise to look like a Sand Person, he crawled into position, he chambered his Harpy and calibrated it down range, relaxing as he peered through the sniper's scope on the curve that the racers would be passing through. There simply was no way one could safely make the turn without slowing down and that was precisely where the Sith Knight planned to strike.

Gathering the Force to guide his shot, he waited for his prey to arrive. But he wasn't aiming for the rider. No that would be too kind a mercy for his enemy. No, Daxton was aiming to take out his bike. Leaving him stranded in the middle of race course with no way to get back. Time for a little pay back......

 

[Keter]

He saw Feena. He grinned at her as he caught the kiss before gripping the handlebars of the swoop bike as the countdown started. As soon as the word "GO!" left the announcers lips, he was off, his reflexes giving him enough of an edge over most of the other races. Of course, his bike did not have the best acceleration, and a small group of racers overtook him. That was alright. He was lightweight and had greater top speed, not being burdened by heavy armor and gear like some of the others. He leant low over his bike, making his profile streamlined as he chased after a man his eyes identified as Jorn.

He was skilled, easily controlling his bike even as another racer tried to ram him. Foolishness. The blond nearly shook his head as the inevitable happened and he swooped past the wreckage, zeroing in on Jorn. If he could get into his slipstream, he would be alright.

 

[Sentepeth Veyaiko]

A large Neimoidian paced his private box, betting slip in hand. He was relying on the Mandalorian on the black speeder to win. He had 2 war droids by his sides, willing to open fire on the Mandalorian, should he fail to win. That was, of course if he made it to the finish in one piece. Next time, Sentepeth said to himself, he would hire a racer for himself. The Mandalorian was already having scuffles with Twi'leks, however, so his victory was... unlikely.

 

[Cra'dosk]

A large Trandoshan male watched the racers as they sat idle with a predator's gaze, and bellowing a guttural roar as the countdown ended and the racers blasted off into the first lap, his own roar adding to the dozens of others as the spectators cheered on their racers. Cra'dosk had not bet, and was merely content to watch. He wasn't a fan of games of chance or skill, but he liked to watch such events just for the violence of the crashes and for the mob mentality the crowd put out just for the sheer sport of it. It was a fun past-time. Cra'dosk held up a small datapad that had a live video footage of the racers as they navigated the track via hovering-cams that would track their progress. So, Cra'dosk merely leaned against the nearest wall and watched.

 

[Feena]

@[member="Cra'dosk"]

Keter caught her kiss. He saw her. He knew she was watching him. He knew she expected him to win. He had to know. She wouldn't be here if she didn't think he could win. Well, no, not entirely true. She would be there to watch and make sure he didn't get himself killed.
The announcement about the sandstorm made her bite at her lip as she watched her fiance. She pulled her scarf up over her head to protect herself from the coming storm, but it wasn't herself she was really worried for. She knew it would be much worse out there on the track.

The moment the announcer said the word 'Go', they were off. All of them. Keter was soon just a spot in the distance. She reached into the bag she brought with her for her datapad so she could keep watching. Why would she want to actually watch this? Because she had already placed her bet.
Her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she dug through her bag. Did she seriously forget to pack her datapad? She was so worried about everything else that she let something actually slip! How foolish of her.

"I beg your pardon," she asked the Trandoshan male in front of her, "But do you mind if I watch the race over your shoulder?"

 

[Cra'dosk]

@Feena

Cra'dosk glared up at the woman who came over to him to watch, baring his teeth and snarling slightly. However, he decided against doing anything harmful to this woman because she was an apparent threat and Cra'dosk wanted to enjoy himself without being thrown out of another public event. That was never fun. So he shrugged and said with a raspy voice, "Ssssso be it, I don't mind." And turned the datapad towards her view so she could see.

 

[Feena]

@[member="Cra'dosk"]

"How very kind. Thank you."
She chose to ignore the look he gave her, deciding that his species was simply like that. Truth be told, she had never actually encountered a Trandoshan before, but she had read about them once. Young trandoshans were actually able to regrow lost limbs, which was, in her opinion, an outstandingly useful biological trait.
Feena watched the other racers, but her focus was mainly on her fiance. Of course it would be. She winced and even hissed a little in worry as a racer came too close trying to ram him. Keter was good, but...
"These races are terribly dangerous, aren't they?" she asked nervously, "Are the racers injured frequently?"

 

[Daxton Bane]

Beggars Canyon

Soft hum on his left bicep indicated that his spotter at the starting line saw the target and confirmed his presence in the race. Closing one eye Daxton knew it was only a matter of time before the Mandalorian and his bike would show up and get in his cross hairs. Not that he really cared who won this race one way or the other. This wasn't business. This was personal.

Time to remind that armor clad tin man that there were far bigger badder things in the universe than he imagined. Humming an old Sith song softly to himself he waited with the patience of a hunter.

"Sharia don't like it........Rockin' the Casbah................Rock the Casbah."

Death comes for everyone.

 

[Cra'dosk]

@[member="Feena"]

Cra'dosk gave an indifferent shrug, "There'sss ssso many crassshesss during thessse eventsss. It'sss common for racersss to die." He said as he took note of her reaction to a particular racer nearly being rammed by another. That racer was either a friend, family member, mate, or all of the above. Cra'dosk didn't care, it really wasn't his place to question her ties to any of them, but he could ask this one question. "Who did you bet on to win?"

 

[Feena]

@[member="Cra'dosk"]

Crashes. Die. Her silver eyes went wide, shining as if she were actually about to cry. Her long thin fingers played hopelessly with the beaded fringes of her scarf. For once, she was alright with showing her concern. There was nobody here to take advantage of her emotion, and nobody here who knew who she was.
"Oh, I bet on that one there. In all the armor. I think he entered in under the name Mad, or something. From my observations, he seemed most likely to win. But between you and I, I'm hoping that he wins," she pointed to Keter on the screen, "Or at the very least doesn't get himself killed. Winning, of course, would be optimal."
She didn't explain why she didn't bet on her favorite. If he wanted to know, she figured he would ask.

 

[Viqi Gal]

@[member="Cra'dosk"]

Viqi The Durosian popped up again, it seemed like he was everywhere in Tatooine and Coruscant. This time he was burping as usual, he was wearing a space suit after evacuating his straight-line ship in the middle of Tatooine atmosphere. Viqi The Durosian noticed the conversation between the Trandoshan and Feena, he stood beside the Trandoshan and leaned down like he did. Viqi would look into the Trandoshan with his large eyes, the Trandoshan's reflection is easily visible in his eyes. Viqi looked to the Trandoshan. "Hey, buddy. I'm a trader, I was wondering if you'd like to buy space ship debris?", he paused. "They're useful for constructing other ships, this fine debris here was wrecked by the finest Jawas we have, we don't know what the ship is yet, but it looks cool!." "Only 100,000 credits.". He opened up his space suit vest, revealing other orbital debris if he would like some, Viqi smiled.