SithLore

**Castilon Spaceway**
**10 Laps**
**Special Effect: None**

Darth Fett takes position at the starter's gate, his YT-1300 primed for the ten lap run. The cameras positioned around the starter's gate show that the highly customizable light freighter has had all external components, such as a radar dish, removed in order to maximize free power flow directly to the starship's engines. The navigation beacon changes color, signaling standby-- Darth Fett's time trial is about to begin!

Darth Fett:

Race Live Feed wrote:Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 1 in 5 minutes, for a total of 5 minutes.

Darth Fett is off to a slow start, perhaps there's something wrong with his ship? He's coming around again, let's see if he has a feel for the course now...

Race Live Feed wrote:Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 2 in 0 minutes, for a total of 5 minutes.

The cameras can hardly keep track of Fett's ship as it clears the checkpoint! What's this? Oh no, sparks fly off of the suspended checkpoint ring as Fett's ship makes contact! You know what they say, if you ain't rubbin', you ain't racin'!

Race Live Feed wrote:Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 3 in 3 minutes, for a total of 8 minutes.
Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 4 in 3 minutes, for a total of 11 minutes.
Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 5 in 3 minutes, for a total of 14 minutes.

Fett slows down to regain control after his collision in Checkpoint 2. He's the model of consistency! He's passing through the checkpoints at a good, steady pace, but wait!

Race Live Feed wrote:Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 6 in 0 minutes, for a total of 14 minutes.

Has he lost his mind?! Fett has attempted to knock off a few seconds from his time, and in the process, he's clipped another checkpoint marker! His ship looks durable, but the damage is starting to show. Oh! Just like that, a panel breaks free from the hull of his light freighter!

Race Live Feed wrote:Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 7 in 4 minutes, for a total of 18 minutes.
Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 8 in 4 minutes, for a total of 22 minutes.
Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 9 in 4 minutes, for a total of 26 minutes.

Perhaps Fett has realized the toll his collisions have taken on his ship. He's slowed down some, perhaps a measure slower than earlier in the race, but still very consistent. He's coming around for his final checkpoint, let's see how he does...

Race Live Feed wrote:Darth Fett completes Checkpoint 10 in 7 minutes, for a total of 33 minutes.

A very safe race toward the end. Darth Fett may have left some time on the course, but at least he completed it after making a couple of collisions. Let's check the scoreboard for the final tally.

Race Live Feed wrote:Completed in 33 minutes!

Varn Badaash:

A relative newcomer now takes their position in the starter's gate. Their Firespray-class patrol craft is in a holding position now, so let's take a closer look at the pilot behind the controls. Varn Badaash is the pilot; a Dashade mercenary from uncertain origins. No other information provided! Okay, let's see what this rookie flyer brings to the scene...

Race Live Feed wrote:Varn Badaash completes Lap 1 in 1 minute, for a total of 1 minute.

What a start! Was Badaash taking notes as he watched Darth Fett race, or is this natural born talent?

Race Live Feed wrote:Varn Badaash completes Lap 2 in 0 minutes, for a total of 1 minute.

Badaash is coming around now and he seems to be more or less maintaining the same pace. Here he comes through the checkpoint now... Oh! He was faster through this checkpoint than the last, but he seems to have made the same mistake as Darth Fett and clipped the ring passing through the checkpoint!

Race Live Feed wrote:Varn Badaash completes Lap 3 in 3 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes.
Varn Badaash completes Lap 4 in 2 minutes, for a total of 6 minutes.
Varn Badaash completes Lap 5 in 1 minutes, for a total of 7 minutes.
Varn Badaash completes Lap 6 in 2 minutes, for a total of 9 minutes.
Varn Badaash completes Lap 7 in 2 minutes, for a total of 11 minutes.

Badaash shows no signs of slowing down! This is an incredible pace, his Firespray-class patrol craft is weaving through the checkpoints with crisp precision. I'm not sure how Badaash is maintaining this pace, but he's setting up an incredible time on this run!

Race Live Feed wrote:Varn Badaash completes Lap 8 in 0 minutes, for a total of 11 minutes.
Varn Badaash completes Lap 9 in 2 minutes, for a total of 13 minutes.

Oh no! Another collision passing through the checkpoint. We knew Badaash could only maintain this time for so long without something going wrong and here it is. His ship has sustained a moderate amount of damage from the collisions, which is incredible considering how fast he's been flying up until now. He's coming around on the next checkpoint now, but it seems like he's only slowed his pace a bit. What a run he's having! Onto the last checkpoint...

Race Live Feed wrote:Varn Badaash completes Lap 10 in 6 minutes, for a total of 19 minutes.

There are a lot of similarities between Badaash's run and Darth Fett's, only Badaash seems to have done a better job of it all around. Here he comes in on the finish and... oh, he took his time getting to the finish. There's so few blemishes on this incredible run, and one of them seems to be that Badaash has gotten complacent at the end of the race. Will it make a difference? What's the total time? Let's check the results...

Race Live Feed wrote:Completed in 19 minutes! It's a new track record!

Tune in tomorrow for Adar Bolner and Annan Rainwalker!

Adar Bolner:

Another newcomer takes their position in the starter's gate, this time flying a sleek A-24 Sleuth. The cameras positioned around the starter's gate pan along the sleek build of the starship. As the cameras run along the ship's fuselage, it is clear that the pilot has intentionally chosen to leave the ship's powerful sensor suite intact, rather than scrapping it to enhance power flow to other systems, such as the engines. This sensor suite would be particularly effective in a course with obstacles such as asteroids, but it could also be useful on a course such as this, provided the pilot requires a little extra help ensuring that they don't clip the narrow checkpoint markers as they pass through. Is this perhaps a hint that the rookie behind the controls plans to sacrifice speed for precision? Let's find out as the starting beacons change color and count down the start to this run...

Live Race Feed wrote:Adar Bolner completes Lap 1 in 1 minute, for a total of 1 minute.
Adar Bolner completes Lap 2 in 0 minutes, for a total of 1 minute.

Incredible start for Bolner, perhaps necessitated by the record-setting pace that Varn Badaash set yesterday! Bolner's vessel has successfully passed through the first checkpoint in very little time, and Bolner now seems to be emboldened enough to attempt to cut more time off of their next lap! Here he comes now through the checkpoint... Oh my! Bolner has lost his concentration and battered the rear of his vessel passing through the marker!

Live Race Feed wrote:Adar Bolner completes Lap 3 in 0 minutes, for a total of 1 minute.
Adar Bolner utilizes the advanced sensor feature of his ship and instead completes Lap 3 in 6 minutes, for a total of 7 minutes.

Bolner still hasn't regained full control of his vessel, but he's showing no signs of slowing down. The damage to the rear of his vessel is leaving a trail of smoke behind him as he's coming up on the next checkpoint. I'm not sure how he passes through the next checkpoint marker without slamming into it, just as he did last time! Here he comes and...! Oh, what ingenuity. Bolner seems to have sacrificed speed at the last possible moment and utilized his onboard sensor package to guide him through the checkpoint ring without collision. He's still got life in him yet!

Live Race Feed wrote:Adar Bolner completes Lap 4 in 5 minutes, for a total of 12 minutes.
Adar Bolner completes Lap 5 in 2 minutes, for a total of 14 minutes.
Adar Bolner completes Lap 6 in 5 minutes, for a total of 19 minutes.

Bolner seems to have steadied himself and gotten a feel for the course. He's progressing through the checkpoints, but he's going to have to pick up the pace if he wants to beat out Varn Badaash's stellar time...

Live Race Feed wrote:Adar Bolner completes Lap 7 in 0 minutes, for a total of 19 minutes.

Oh no! Perhaps Bolner has realized that he needed to start shaving time off of his remaining laps to catch up. He's collided with another checkpoint marker, and I think this is it for his ship. He's entered an uncontrolled spin, and now he's headed off of the racetrack. The race officials are pulling him back in with tractor beams, but that's it for Bolner, his ship has sustained too much damage and he's our first racer to not finish the race.

Live Race Feed wrote:Disqualified (met maximum collisions for ship type).

Annan Rainwalker:

Our next racer is a trained Jedi Knight, Annan Rainwalker. Rainwalker is remarkable in that he's racing with cybernetic hand. Some of the best pilots in the galaxy have cybernetic replacements for lost hands and other limbs, but the debate has always been whether or not they have lost valuable reaction time and the quick twitch reflexes necessary to be a successful racer because of it. Regardless, Rainwalker is pulling up into the starter's gate now, his G-400 starfighter painted with the outline of some sort of flat billed avian creature on each wing. I'm being told it's what's known as a duck, a species native to some systems. What a curious choice...

Live Race Feed wrote:Annan Rainwalker completes Lap 1 in 3 minutes, for a total of 3 minutes.
Annan Rainwalker completes Lap 2 in 0 minutes, for a total of 3 minutes.

Rainwalker is coming around on his first checkpoint now. His pace seems to be steady as he gets a feel for the course. He's had no trouble passing through the checkpoint ring on his first pass, and you can credit that to his compact starship. He's showing some confidence now, weaving along the course as he approaches the next checkpoint. Steady now, steady... oh my! He's clipped the side of the second checkpoint ring, which seems to have given a number of racers some trouble so far. Quick reactions are being shown now by Rainwalker to get himself steadied and to adjust the power output on that engine housing that collided with the checkpoint marker.

Live Race Feed wrote:Annan Rainwalker completes Lap 3 in 1 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes.
Annan Rainwalker completes Lap 4 in 1 minutes, for a total of 5 minutes.
Special Effect Triggered: Odd Power to Engines.

Rainwalker is wasting no time now after the brief error while completing Lap 2. If he ever lost any of his confidence, it's not showing as he now passes through the next checkpoint marker. He's showing some grit as he moves along through the course, taking some real gambles to cut down on his time, but he's showing some steady hands as he passes through the next marker at what looks to be the same pace...

Live Race Feed wrote:Annan Rainwalker completes Lap 5 in 0 minutes, for a total of 5 minutes.

Wow, the engines on Rainwalker's G-400 starfighter are really blasting as he seemingly has routed all power to them. At this speed, can Rainwalker maneuver in time to clear the next checkpoint? He's pushing the limits of what his fighter can do as we're coming up on the next checkpoint. Rainwalker seems to have cut off even more time on this lap. Here he comes; nice and easy now! He's getting awfully close to that marker! Oh! He's collided! The starboard engine is in flames as Rainwalker's G-400 enters an uncontrolled spin. The emergency crews are already pulling him in, and thank goodness he seems to be okay. His racer will need some extensive repairs after this run, as it has fallen victim to the problem that every racer seems to be faced with now-- beating that impeccable time set by newcomer Varn Badaash.

Live Race Feed wrote:Disqualified (met maximum collisions for ship type).

Tune in tomorrow for Darth Tormentous and Ben Kenobi, two masters of the Force competing in a head-to-head run for dominance.

Darth Tormentous and Ben Kenobi (Head to Head):

All sentients watching the race will notice not one, but two ships pulling up into the starter's gate-- a R-22 Spearhead and a Z-95 Headhunter. These ships belong to none other than Darth Tormentous, the Terror of the Gordian Reach, and famed shockballer and Jedi Master Ben Kenobi. This will be the first head-to-head race of this competition, as both pilots will seek to outpace one another as they fly through the course. Obviously, it all means very little if neither of them can come in at the finish faster than our current leader, Varn Badaash. There's not much to say about the ship that either of the pilots are flying, as they're built for speed and trimmed down enough that there aren't many systems onboard either ship that can be sacrificed for better power output. Ultimately, these pilots will have to exercise extreme levels of precision as they pass through the checkpoint rings, as the durability of their ships isn't enough to sustain much damage. It looks as if the pilots are ready, so let's see how they come out of their gates...

Live Race Feed wrote:Darth Tormentous completes Lap 1 in 4 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes.
Ben Kenobi completes Lap 1 in 2 minutes, for a total of 2 minutes.

Ben Kenobi has pulled into an impressive two minute lead over his competition. Tormentous is off to a slow start here, as he's well behind Kenobi now. There's still a lot of race left to run, though, and a slow pace by Kenobi or Tormentous running an efficient lap could even things out fairly quickly.

Live Race Feed wrote:Darth Tormentous completes Lap 2 in 2 minutes, for a total of 6 minutes.
Ben Kenobi completes Lap 2 in 0 minutes, for a total of 2 minutes.

Tormentous still trails by a couple of minutes here, but you can tell that both pilots have now settled into the course and they're running a far more efficient lap than their first. Here comes Kenobi, still leading in his Z-95 Headhunter and-- wow! Look at those sparks! Kenobi has come in low through the checkpoint ring and bounced the bottom of his ship off of it. He hasn't lost control after the impact, but you have to wonder what that collision did to his ship. Tormentous is coming up on the marker now, and he's through safely. The Sith Lord can ill afford to have a collision like Kenobi's.

Live Race Feed wrote:Darth Tormentous completes Lap 3 in 4 minutes, for a total of 10 minutes.
Ben Kenobi completes Lap 3 in 1 minutes, for a total of 3 minutes.

I think we're seeing the difference in racing experience here between Darth Tormentous and Ben Kenobi. Let's not forget that Ben Kenobi is one of the track record holders on the Colossus Circuit. Kenobi's keeping a stellar pace as be comes through the next marker accident free. Tormentous has now fallen well behind and will need to run a near-perfect race to keep up. Let's see if he can shave some time off of his next lap...

Live Race Feed wrote:Darth Tormentous completes Lap 4 in 0 minutes, for a total of 10 minutes.

What a disaster! Tormentous has collided with the checkpoint marker and his ship has lost all power, now drifting along on a straight line. That's all for the head to head challenge, everyone! Tormentous is going to have to call it a day after making a collision just as he was starting to close some distance with Kenobi.

Live Race Feed wrote:Disqualified (met maximum collisions for ship type).

Live Race Feed wrote:Ben Kenobi completes Lap 4 in 3 minutes, for a total of 6 minutes.
Ben Kenobi completes Lap 5 in 1 minutes, for a total of 7 minutes.
Ben Kenobi completes Lap 6 in 1 minutes, for a total of 8 minutes.

For his part, Kenobi seems to not have eased off the throttle a bit since Tormentous was towed off of the course. You can really tell that he's got his sights set on beating that record breaking time set by Varn Badaash. Kenobi is in good shape to do just that, with only four more checkpoints to go.

Live Race Feed wrote:Ben Kenobi completes Lap 7 in 0 minutes, for a total of 8 minutes.

Kenobi is on a similar pace to Lap 2 now, but he needs to slow it down heading into the next checkpoint, otherwise he puts himself in danger of another collision. Ah, here he comes now on his approach to the checkpoint marker... Oh my! It was so clear to everyone but Kenobi that he needed to take that next checkpoint slower and now he's paying for it. Kenobi has sheared a wing right off of his Z-95 Headhunter and is spinning away from the course. The emergency crews have already slowed him down with tractor beams, but the Jedi Master can't be feeling good about letting that opportunity slip away.

Live Race Feed wrote:Disqualified (met maximum collisions for ship type).

Lord Blood:

Now for our final competitor, we've got Lord Blood, flying a Y-Wing. A relic of the Clone War era, this Y-Wing seems to have undergone a number of modifications to make it a racer. Lord Blood's ship features hull plating along the engines, which is a rarity compared to the more skeletal appearances the Y-Wing tends to make in the modern day. I'm told that the specialized plating improves thrust and maneuverability for this racing ship, and it will need any advantage that it can get, as the Y-Wing is known more for its durability than its acceleration and speed. I have a feeling that we won't be seeing a collision out of Lord Blood here, so let's see how he manages coming out of the gate...

Live Race Feed wrote:Lord Blood completes Lap 1 in 4 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 2 in 3 minutes, for a total of 7 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 3 in 5 minutes, for a total of 12 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 4 in 6 minutes, for a total of 18 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 5 in 5 minutes, for a total of 23 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 6 in 5 minutes, for a total of 28 minutes.

No surprise here, it appears that Lord Blood has made do with the Y-Wing's capabilities and turned in a steady time so far. As Lord Blood passed through Lap 5, they'd already exceeded the record breaking time set by Varn Badaash and his team. Indeed, we can hear the cheers coming all the way from the hangar bay that he's docked in; the Dashade Varn Badaash is our winner and new track record holder. Plenty of action still to go with Lord Blood, though, so let's stay tracking their progress.

Live Race Feed wrote:Lord Blood completes Lap 7 in 0 minutes, for a total of 28 minutes.

Oh my, and just when the cameras come back to Lord Blood, their Y-Wing starfighter has clipped a checkpoint marker, putting a significant scrape into the specialized hull plating along the starboard engine strut. Not to be deterred, it seems that Lord Blood has essentially shrugged off the damage and has remained on course.

Live Race Feed wrote:Lord Blood completes Lap 8 in 8 minutes, for a total of 36 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 9 in 4 minutes, for a total of 40 minutes.
Lord Blood completes Lap 10 in 7 minutes, for a total of 47 minutes.
Completed in 47 minutes!

...And here we are, finishing with a respectable time considering the choice of ship, Lord Blood has completed the course and, by virtue of finishing, has come in third in this competition. What a battle by these racers out here on the Castilon Spaceway. Who would have though that merely finishing would be enough to make the podium, but here we are.

That concludes the action here at Castilon Spaceway.

Standings:

1.) Varn Badaash - 19 minutes
2.) Darth Fett - 33 minutes
3.) Lord Blood - 47 minutes
4.) Ben Kenobi - DNF
5.) Adar Bolner - DNF
6.) Annan Rainwalker - DNF
7.) Darth Tormentous - DNF