The Starfinders focus their fire on the alien in front of them and wound it greatly. Despite these blows and the flames spreading through its feathers, the feather stalker strikes out at Joaquin.
The first tentacle pierces his arm. The second breezes harmlessly past his shoulder.
Combat! Round 3. Bold may act.
Hikaze
Kit
Joaquin (-4)
Shess (-8)
Feather Stalker (-28 hp; burning d6)
Kit's Rejuvajuice(tm) fueled shot brings down the feather stalker a moment before Joaquin incinerates its body as he manifests an impressive plume of solar fire.
Your actions being viewed by closed circuit video, the force shield goes down almost as soon as the beast. Station security hurries into the warehouse and begins to remove crates and barrels. Shortly after this, Exo-Guardians begin bringing in their own portable walls and assemble cubicles, their own crates of exercise and training equipment, and a very large desk.
Ziggy approaches you and telepathically communicates, "Well done. Thank you for your assistance. Here is your reward. I apologize for the lack of credits, but have fun with the grenades, but don't blow yourselves up--I like you. Oh, and make sure you deliver the album to Historia-7."
One of his Exo-Guardian Starfinders presents you with a crate containing basic iridishell armor, two incendiary grenades type I, and a credstick with 400 credits charged into it.
When you return to Historia-7 to present the album and explain to her the reason for doing so, she politely takes the album and immediately places it on a shelf. "Ah. Thank you? I shall compose an appropriate letter of thanks to Zigvigix when I have a moment."
You make your way to Radaszam's office.
The plain white doors of the office slide open to reveal a stark, dimly lit room. The chamber is bleak and expressionless in its emptiness—no vanities line its smooth black walls, and no signs of use mar its smooth black furniture. The only occupants of the suite are a bug-eyed tadpole wriggling in a glowing blue aquarium and a reptilian vesk seated behind an onyx desk. The vesk gestures to a number of chairs in front of him, his features sharply illuminated by the light of his desk’s green holoscreen.
“The new graduates,” he greets, in a low and pleasant voice. “Good day. I am Radaszam, though since you are here, I should hope you already knew.
“I trust you are aware of our Society’s traditions, so I will cut to the point. I have a minor situation that needs resolution. One of our members, a human named Laboni, had a rather public altercation with a junk scavenger from the Spike. You might be more familiar with the scavenger than I, actually; he is a ysoki who fancifully calls himself Ratrod. I am told he runs a popular racing competition that has, hmm, several hundreds of thousands of viewers on the station’s infosphere. For some reason, Laboni felt the need to tell him that any ‘real’ mechanic could easily beat the garbage that Ratrod and his associates slap together. Now that Ratrod has issued an infosphere-wide demand that she race him and prove it, Laboni doubts she can back that claim up.
“Embarrassing, isn’t it? Not really the sort of troublemaker that suits our Society. Perhaps she would be better suited to the bottom of a trash compactor... Well, we cannot afford to throw her out, not after so many Starfinders were lost in the Scoured Stars. Besides, we can’t let people think we are so weak that we can’t control our own members, or that we cannot stand up to a scrapyard junker. No, I would like you to assist Laboni in winning this race. Show our detractors that even the least of our Society is not someone to be trifled with.”
Having no questions, Radaszam gives you directions to the scrapyard.
Ratrod’s racing circuit is a hollowed-out section of a mountain of spare parts in Botscrap, the track specifically sanctioned by the ysoki-dominated Salvage Union that controls most of the yards.
A small robot greets you at the entrance.
"Greetings, flesh-bags! I am tasked with informing you of the rules of junk racing:
"Racers and their pit crews are to build and improve their vehicles from the available scrap around the racetrack. Vehicles built at previous junkraces can return. Racers can fire upon other competitors during the race, but firing into the audience is grounds for immediate disqualification; racer weapons must be nonlethal and may affect only opponents’ vehicles. Any questions future-bacon?"
You identify Laboni easily in the crowd. Her paisley clothes and bright white lab coat stand out. When she sees you, she visibly sighs and releases a great deal of tension from her shoulders. "I am so glad that Radaszam sent you. I didn't mean for this to happen. I was just talking like all the older racers, and I guess I got a little carried away with my trash talk. But the truth is, I don't know what I'm doing! I need your help."
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Kit makes sure to get a good side by side shot. "Whoa, guys looks like our friend Laboni could use some help, in order to win the BIG JUNK RACE! We need to help her finish her racer. But she'll have to defeat the champion Ratrod! Why don't you tell us where your racer is at and what you need still so we can figure out how to help!"
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Joaquín looks over the situation almost lazily. Really, he's focused on solving the problem, but doubts this one is as receptive to punching as the last. Thusly, his usefulness is a bit curbed.
"Don't you worry, we'll do what we can," he tries to console Laboni. "My friends are likely better at this mechanical stuff than I am, though. Maybe I'll try to scare other racers or something."
"Oh, no! Don't do that!" Laboni responds to Hikaze's questions, paling. "Only junk racer fire is allowed."
Improve Laboni’s Junkracer: PCs can spend an action to attempt a Computers, Engineering, Perception, or Physical Science check to find parts in the scrapyard and install them in Laboni’s racer. The GM should remind players struggling with the checks that PCs can use the aid another action to assist each other’s rolls. Weapons installed on the vehicle do not cause damage, but instead impose penalties to the target’s Piloting rolls for 1 round on a successful hit. Every successful check allows the PCs to pick one improvement from the list below to apply to the vehicle’s statistics; these bonuses are cumulative.
The vehicle’s base speed increases by 5 feet.
• The vehicle gains a +1 Piloting modifier.
• The vehicle gains a +1 attack modifier.
• The vehicle gains a +2 bonus to its EAC.
• The vehicle gains a +2 bonus to its KAC.
• The PCs install a basic energy weapon on the vehicle (imposes a
–4 base Piloting penalty on a hit).
• The PCs install a basic kinetic weapon on the vehicle (imposes a
–4 base Piloting penalty on a hit).
• The PCs upgrade a weapon to impose an additional –2 penalty to
enemy Piloting checks on a successful hit.
Investigating the Enemy: PCs can scout out their opponents with a Sense Motive check, or examine their opponents’ vehicles with an Engineering check. A PC can do this as part of making a prerace improvement skill check—the PC can take breaks during the improvement attempt and casually investigate one of the other racers. Otherwise, it costs a PC one of his prerace actions to converse with or examine all members of the competition. This check does not grant exact knowledge of an opponent’s statistics, but the GM can provide the PCs an idea of a driver’s skill or the associated vehicle’s strengths and weaknesses. On a successful check, the PC can ask one pertinent question about the pilot’s skill or about the vehicle the pilot is driving (or receives similar relevant information, if a player is unsure what he or she should be asking about).
Sabotage: PCs can attempt to sabotage the other vehicles, but they must dodge the eyes of everyone in the ramshackle stadium by spending a prerace action and attempting at a Stealth check. Failing this check raises the DC of future Stealth checks to sabotage vehicles. A PC who succeeds at this check can then attempt an Engineering check on one of the opposing vehicles to either reduce the vehicle’s speed by 10 feet or to impose a –4 penalty on one of the vehicle’s modifiers. If the PC is caught cheating in this manner, the offending PC is tossed out of the engine pit (no more turns). If the PCs are caught cheating again, it is grounds for the immediate disqualification of the entire team.
Socializing: PCs may also take this time to speak to the other pilots. During their prerace actions, they can forgo making an Engineering or Sense Motive check to examine and socialize with their opponents.The junkers are busy with their own preparations and do not have much time to talk. The GM should try to limit conversation to keep the game moving at a reasonable pace. Below is a listing of all the racers and their statistics, descriptions, and pertinent information for PCs attempting social skill checks with this action type.
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Laboni, to her credit, is a skilled mechanic and has worked hard to pull together a decent racer from the piles of junk in Botscrap. Unfortunately, despite her heroic efforts, Laboni’s machine is not a match for vehicles that have been tested and improved over the course of multiple junkraces. She is not a pilot and has no experience with weaponry. If Laboni is going to have a chance, the PCs must help improve her vehicle.
The other racers...
There are five other pilots in the competition: Lemgem, Nyizin, Orsis, Ratrod, and Velocity.
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Still looking over his options, Joaquín almost misses Hikaze's disappearing act. It takes him a second to put the pieces together. "Did you just...?" He laughs, clapping his hands together instead of on the lashunta's back. "Those are some appreciable skills, right there." After consulting a dice-roller on his datapad, he walks over to...
...Velocity. Sizing up their racer, he looks for a conversation-starter. "Not half bad. Tops anything I could make. Your work?"
Hikaze moves like a shadow as he approaches Ratrod's racer. He fiddles with various bolts and fasteners, makes micro-punctures in tubing, and stuffs a potato in the exhaust. Nobody notices his work, but Ratrod is sure to notice the effects when the race starts.
Velocity is a beautiful android with silver hair and skin. They have self-modified to have both masculine and feminine attributes, and have decorated their clothing, eyelids, and lips with bright, colorful patterns.
"My work? Yes," Velocity says. "I fear that it is not as fast as the other racers. I am very new to this." After a little more small talk, they confess that they would be willing to throw their performance in favor of Laboni if you would help them improve their racer .
Status
Kit:
Hikaze: Sabotage
Joaquin: Socialize
Shess: Improve Speed
Laboni: +5 speed
Ratrod: -4 piloting, -10 speed
Hikaze fails to find anything useful.
Status
Kit:
Hikaze: Sabotage, Fail
Joaquin: Socialize
Shess: Improve Speed
Laboni: +5 speed
Ratrod: -4 piloting, -10 speed
Shess fails to notice anything enlightening about Lemgem's racer.
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Action 1: Kit picks through the junkheap looking for anything that might improve Laboni's steering ()
Action 2: Kit picks through the junkheap looking for anything that might improve Laboni's armor ()
Action 3: Kit wanders over to Nyizin's pit and approaches the racer "Hey, can I get an interview for the Kashari Show!? My viewers would love to learn more about the junkracers!" ()
Action 4: Kit wanders over to Orsis' pit and approaches the racer "Hey, can I get an interview for the Kashari Show!? My viewers would love to learn more about the junkracers!" ()
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"Hey, Velocity over there is willing to throw if we make them race a bit faster," Joaquín says to the team. "I'll try to help 'em. If they're slow, though, not sure how much we need to worry..."
Action 2: The half-orc starts trawling through the scrap heaps in search of an obvious engine upgrade.
Action 3: After coming up with a toaster of misleading decoration instead, he tries to laugh it off and goes back to searching.
"You kept your word," Velocity says. "I am impressed and grateful. Inform Laboni that she will have nothing to worry about from me."
Hikaze finds some useful reflective plating and a relatively functional fuel injection system.
Kit tries to interview two of the other racers. Nyizin, a scarred rhyphorian, is very stoic and grim as she informs you that she will not ally with any racer as this competition is a way to win honor for her murdered partner (a dragon).
Orsis is an incredibly handsome lashunta dressed in black and gold. He's more than happy to talk about himself on camera, but he politely refuses any suggestion of allying with Laboni.
Status
Kit: Fail, Fail, Socialize, Socialize
Hikaze: Sabotage, Fail, Increase EAC, Increase Speed
Joaquin: Socialize, Fail, Help Velocity, 4
Shess: Improve Speed, 2, 3, 4
Laboni: +10 speed, +2 EAC
Ratrod: -4 piloting, -10 speed
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"Oh, come on. Are you afraid she'll lose, hurt your reputation?" Joaquín asks Orsis, after trying his best to sneak up on the lashunta. He makes a grand gesture with an arm as if to capture a big opportunity missed. "Because she's going to win. Ratrod took things too serious and his junkracer gives the word a whole new meaning. Laboni works with the best mechanics and experts, the Starfinders. And that doesn't mean we aren't willing to get our hands dirty and beat him at his own game. Take us up on this one, we'll show you what we mean."
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Shess looks over their own racer some more, trying to get as much speed out of it as possible.
Afterwards, she looks over the racer in hopes of improved by the pilot control for whoever the pilot will be.
After tinkering with their own racer, she goes to look in the other pits, and stops at Nyizin’s spot.
She listens to her story, and nods at the end.
I understand, your desire is a noble one indeed. Is there no way we can assist each other?
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"Hey Orsis, the RejuvaViewers are loving the interview! Look at all the thumbs ups it's getting! It's pretty clear you could be the most popular racer going, if only someone could beat Ratrod. As long as Ratrod is undefeated he'll always be King of the Junkpile. But if we were to work together, we could topple the King, make some room at the top for racers like you. Huh? What do you say? I could even pull some strings, maybe get you a corporate sponsorship from RejuvaJuice. They're always looking for handsome, bold infosphere personalities who can relate to the 18-24 male lashunta demographic. A sponsorship could really help you out, if Laboni wins tonight's race, I'd be happy to see what I can do..."
"Why would I handicap myself? I intend to win, fair and square," Orsis says. "But I like you guys. Here. I'll give you a few piloting tips to pass on to Laboni."
Nyizin nods solemnly. She appreciates Shess' sympathetic ear and, while still refusing to ally with Laboni against any of the other racers or throw her own performance, she does offer you an overdrive injector. "Be wise when you use it, though. It drains the power to the engines significantly after use."
Status
Kit: Fail, Fail, Orsis Boon, Nyizin Boon
Hikaze: Sabotage, Fail, Increase EAC, Increase Speed
Joaquin: Socialize, Fail, Help Velocity, Orsis Boon
Shess: Improve Speed, Speed, Pilot, Pilot
Laboni: +15 speed, +2 EAC, +4 Pilot, Overdrive
Ratrod: -4 piloting, -10 speed
Laboni's Racer Final Stats
Speed: 55 ft (550 ft maximum)
EAC: 12 KAC: 12
Attack: 1 Energy Weapon (applies -4 penalty to piloting to target)
Modifiers: +6 Pilot, -3 Gunnery
Passengers: 1
"Great! Thank you so much for your help!" Laboni says as she tugs on a racing jumpsuit. "What should we name her?"
After naming the racer, the young pilot pulls out two small control boxes with two thumb sticks linked together by a USB cable. "I'm not a great pilot. I have to be out there on the junkracer, you know, since I'm the one who insulted Ratrod, but you guys can control the junkracer and its weapon from here."
The announcer calls out the racers to their vehicles. Shortly thereafter, the horn blares, starting the race.
Not expecting anything out of her and recognizing the threat that the champion junk racer--Ratrod--is, most everyone turns their artillery to bear on Ratrod and ignores Laboni.
Laboni's racer speeds forward under the expert piloting of Shess.
Ratrod's racer coughs, sputters, and pops out a potato from its exhaust. He fails to go anywhere. If you could hear inside the cockpit, the cursing would burn your ears.
Velocity rides right alongside Laboni and then edges her out thanks to the enhanced speed provided by the Starfinders.
Lemgem's spherical racer sputters with pink sparks and then careens into a pile of junk. He backs it out and tries to catch up.
The rest of the pilots trail just behind Laboni's tail. With Ratrod in the dust, they certainly have a new target.
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Shess looks as the Android edges past her. She smiles, it reminds her of the dogfight scenes she did in set. Hmm, I wonder if this will turn out like the movies?
She loses her grip on the accelerator, but regains control at the last possible second. You can hear the ‘jerk’ of the engine as she tries to keep pace with the Android.
Nyizin scores a hit on Laboni, causing the junkracer to stutter, but the overall effect is negligible. She scores a hit on Velocity as well to little noticeable effect. Ratrod shoots... at something, nearly hitting the stands, as his weapon turret goes haywire.
Lemgem fires on Orsis; Orsis fires on Velocity. Laboni scores a hit on Ratrod.
Despite the flying flak and pulse bolts, everyone seems to maintain control of their racers.
Velocity stretches their lead. Laboni in second. Nyizin and Orsis are tied for third. Lemgem makes some gains. Ratrod remains embarrassingly in the rear.