|
Idar lays more fire down at Ratrod - both as their direct adversary and as the racer directly in front of them.
He begins to say something about August's driving before cutting himself out and spouting a very loud, very obscene string of curse words in Kasatha. They appear to be directed at his comm unit, the gun turret, Ratrod, scrap-racing in general, and physics.
Telion flipped through the menus on his comm-device trying to find something to give them a boost.
|
"Ratrod limping along and the stragglers in the pack are coming up on him as the two lead drivers, the gnome, Lemgem, and the android, Velocity, separate themselves further! What a race!" the announcer yells over the PA system.
Laboni seems excited, seeing the smoking chassis of Ratrod's ship coming closer into view.
"Bank the ship 30 degrees pitch to port," Laboni suggests. "That's left," she clarifies.
Idar sprays bullets wildly at the ysoki's junkracer, failing to penetrate its armoured hull.
Jaxom fires the energy cannon at the stalled green racer.
Jaxom's dead-on laser blast spins the green car 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the orange racer targets Laboni's vehicle as Ratrod's turret fires on your car.
Both bullets and a laser blast rock Laboni's slim vehicle.
Lemgem fires on the blue vehicle, the lone racer within probable targeting. The blue junkracer returns fire with dual weapons.
Both the gnome and the blue racer trade one successful attack each.
|
|
Smoke, ozone, track-side garbage, and detritus from junkracers limn the track as the chaotic dogfight-slash-death race carries on. In a surprise move, Lemgem's vehicle - in the lead - fires its fore thrusters and turns completely over, driving straight back at the blue racer's vehicle, upside-down.
A high-pitched voice crackles over the crew's private CB channel. "Telion, this one's for you. Remember our deal!" and the voice clicks off.
As you watch, the gnome's sleek junkracer flies directly into the blue racer, despite Velocity's best attempts to evade the collision. From your pilot's box, you see the android slowly stand up in incredulity and turn its head slowly towards the gnome. Lemgem shrugs in a clueless fashion, but as soon as Velocity resumes staring at the smoking wreckage of the two junkracers, you see the gnome tactlessly give you a 'thumbs up' and a comically-large wink.
August's piloting skill (with Diamaante, Laboni, and Telion's help) accelerates Laboni's junkracer even with the listing green ship, a scant 100 yards behind Ratrod's smoking racer.
|
|
"I CANNOT BELIEVE MY EYES!!!" the PA announcer yells with some hysteria. "Lemgem has just driven her junkracer directly into Velocity's drone, taking them both out of the race!!! Is she wildly incompetent?? Did she lose control of her craft?? Was she meant to take Velocity, who, along with her craft were a full ten lengths ahead of every other driver, out of the race?? And who reaps the benefit of this wanton and highly-entertaining destruction! RATROD!!! Back in the lead!!"
A steely-voiced Laboni clicks on over the private CB channel. "Idar, aim for his right rear heat shield. I'll bet my left foot that the cheap prig never bothered to replace it."
Idar barely controls the junk gun, but strafes across the targeted right rear heat shield. As suspected, a massive bang and a dark plume of smoke indicate a significant hit. Ratrod's turret gun fires on Laboni's junkracer as it swoops in closer. The orange racer at the rear targets Laboni's vehicle as the green racer fires its kinetic weapon at Ratrod's car.
The green racer's bullets spray Ratrod's vehicle harmlessly. Ratrod's energy weapon hits Laboni's auto-stabiliser, scrambling gravitonic controls. An energy blast flies harmlessly wide from behind.
In the meantime, Jaxom fires Laboni's laser cannon on the green vehicle off the starboard side.
Jaxom gets jammed in too tight for a clean shot.
"This might burn out the engines... or it might give you the boost you need..."
"There, punch it!"
|
|
Ratrod has difficulty getting his junkracer moving again, traveling only at 1/2 speed as Laboni’s vehicle surges forward, pulling even with the ysoki. The green vehicle hits some unseen nitro switch, but due to the blowout exhaust from Laboni’s car, the junkracer plows straight into the trash on the side of the track, going nowhere. The orange car pulls even with the green racer, a full length behind the lead two cars - Laboni and Ratrod.
”Laboni and Ratrod! Ratrod and Laboni! The spurned lover and the hero of the track! How did this happen, race fans??? How will it end? I don’t know!”
|
|
Jaxom blasts the orange car directly in its air intake port, hitting a flammable line and causing a loud BANG! as the engine lights on fire. Idar focuses his bullets on the systems computer visible in Ratrod's junkracer at close quarters through the small cockpit window. His bullets penetrate the nano-glass and set off sparks inside the cockpit.
Ratrod returns fire to your vehicle. Behind you, the two trailing vehicles fire upon each other.
Somehow, Ratrod's deadeye targeting system has been scrambled by Idar's bullets. A point-blank shot flies wide from your vehicle. The two trailing cars - orange and green - trade gunfire.
"You're coming up on Dead Man's Curve. Angle our right wing into Ratrod's racer and bounce off on my mark. Three, two, one....DO IT!" Laboni's instructions reveal a devious knowledge of the racetrack conditions.
You're able to put her devious knowledge to good use.
|
|
Laboni's car surges ahead of Ratrod at Dead Man's Curve as the black car is forced to decelerate to avoid the nominal junk hazard hidden around the final turn on the track. The two struggling cars in the back continue to struggle neck and neck, neither giving up nor giving significant chase effort.
"And it's LABONI! LABONI in the lead coming down the home stretch! Ratrod, forced to brake hard to avoid Dead Man's Curve - why did he not know that was coming?! The two cars in the back continue to fall back, but this is a Golarion tale, folks, that I could not make up - the jilted lover spurning her beau and spitting in his face as she races towards the finish line!!!" The race announcer's voice sounds hoarse from all the screaming.
With desperation, Ratrod fires one final time on Laboni's car, trying to prevent her win.
The laser cannon targeting computer seems permanently damaged.
"I know, I'll use the pump drive oscillator to give that extra boost!"
A button presses later, and a loud clank from the track and Telion added, "Did it just... fall off? Don't worry about it, we're lighter now!"
|
|
”Drop the pump drive oscillators! Both of them!!” Laboni’s advice makes Telion stand up in the pilot’s booth and stare at the mechanic.
It makes sense, though. Jaxom’s laser blasts are thrown off by the dual clanks on the race track, his (possible) last attack of the race sailing far too high. The pilots in the rear continue peppering each other with their guns.
Both pilots clip their wing edges with blasts.
|
|
Idar successfully targets the smashed cockpit, doing further damage to the glitching junkracer computer.
"I DON'T BELIEVE MY WHISKERS!!!! IT'S LABONI!!! LABONI CROSSING THE FINISH LINE IN FIRST PLACE!!!" The announcer completely loses their voice at this point. The crowd roars with a mixture of applause and outrage, but none can deny the victory. Ratrod's junkracer crosses the finish line a half-length behind Laboni's, followed by the orange racer, and then the green.
Almost immediately, the ysoki stalks over to your pilot's booth. Ignoring the lot of you, Ratrod marches up to Laboni.
"You've got nerve, you've got skill..." the disgruntled ysoki pilot as he stares down his former lover (who returns his glare), "...and I was a fool, baby. I was a sorry stripling and a jucking idiot. You've got me, baby. I'm sorry. You're right. You were right, and - if you give me this one chance to make it up to you - I'll make sure that I listen to you. I'm sorry." Ratrod's whiskers quiver with truly-felt emotion.
Laboni looks the ysoki up and down with the glare still plain on her face. "Excuse me, fly-boy, but I've got a trophy to go claim. Team, you wanna come with me?" The human mechanic sashays out of the tent without a look back.
As you catch up to her, you note a grin on her face.
The other junkracer pilots come out of their tent and give their hearty congratulations to Laboni as she walks towards the trophy podium. Velocity seems strangely happy, given that their junkracer was destroyed on-track and they didn't even finish. The group gets another not-subtle wink from Lemgem as the gnome congratulates them.
|
|
"Yeah, we sure did." Laboni gives out a low whistle as she opens the envelope and reads the letter inside. "Well, that's going to help rebuild my junker." She blinks and then turns her focus to Idar. "Hey, you guys really helped out. I would've been a skittermander-skuck on that race track if it weren't for you. Here -" and she hands Idar a certificate from within the envelope. "You guys earned it."
Telion followed in Laboni's wake with a big smile on his face.
|
August greatly enjoys being hugged by Diamaante - who wouldn't - but reflects on the fact that he probably isn't projecting the tough guy image he needs to in order to engender appropriate fear in the general public.
Probably need to shoot something soon. Like a skittermander; or a puppy.
This doesn't stop him from returning the hug.
|
|
Idar nods his head in what passes for a smile for a race that keeps their mouths covered. He pockets the certificate - their group can discuss it in private, not here among crowds.
"Is appreciated. Nice to take braggart...how goes...down a few pegs? Makes much more bearable in long run, to realize not perfect, yes?"
|
|
The race promoters accompany Laboni back to her tent with the rest of her crew in order to present her the other sponsored gifts from the Salvage Union. Chiefly among those gifts is the unopened copy of the new Strawberry Machine Cake album. Laboni seems mildly interested in this as it's presented to her, but seems much more keen on the haul of refurbished engine parts and technological devices from the Salvage Union.
The Salvage Union representative has one further reward for Laboni. The elder ysoki representing the group approaches Laboni directly. "You race well. We would like to sponsor you. We would like you to race for the Salvage Union." He presents her with a racing decal with the number '39' emblazoned with a Salvage Union label.
"39...How did you know my lucky number?" Laboni says, notably stunned.
"Because I told them," Ratrod says, stepping out from behind the gathered Salvage Union representatives.
Laboni seems moved to tears. She turns to you, attempting to compose herself. "You don't need to be here for this, but your help has been nothing short of inspiring. Please help yourself to any two things from this prize haul - the small monetary reward is not all I want to offer."