You have been summoned to the Lorespire Complex.
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Straggly is a word that comes to mind when people see Little Lendtech for the first time. He's a nearly emaciated looking verthani, lean even for that race. At about 7 feet in height, he looms over all but the tallest humans, but masses about the same as a human a full foot shorter. Black eyes bulge from a face covered with a slowly changing pattern of colors.
He wears tight-fitting armour festooned with small tools hanging like fetishes from loops sewn into the armour. More tools protrude from pockets, and no doubt more are in his large backpack. The impression of an enthusiastic but disorganized mechanic is altered somewhat by the rifle that is also strapped to the pack.
Seeing someone else enter the room he waves with his left hand to a faint hiss of pneumatics. "Hey, Little Lendtech. You?"
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Mazirek strides into the room with crisp strides. He extends a three-clawed hand to each of the other Starfinder Agents. "Mazirek," he says by way of introduction, clacking his mandibles together three times before continuing.
"Anti-Poaching Specialist. I don't think I've ever 'stared down the evils that lurk in the Dark Tapestry,' but I do my best to defend those that can't defend themselves," he explains. Always good to have an experienced leader, very prudent. Bodes well for us that the Society wants us trained properly.
"Are you small for your kind?" he asks Little Lendtech, tossing him the Shirren equivalent of a skeptical look. His antennae give his multifaceted eyes a once-over as he appraises the "little" Verthani.
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"A pinch?" echoes an ysoki, appearing to step out of the shadows next to Little Lendtech. One of his paw-like hands hovers around the opening to the verthani's pocket as he continues. "Let us hope that we don't run into one of those."
Placing one hand on his stomach and keeping the other, next to the verthani behind his back, the ysoki gives a deep, respectful bow. "Tuek, at your service," he says with a charming grin. As he straightens up, his hand brushes against the verthani's pocket, removing something akin to a simple screwdriver, which the ysoki absentmindedly slips into a cloak pocket.
"I am specialize in... logistics," declares Tuek, after momentarily struggling to find just the right word. "If we are not expecting any more agents, then let us proceed inward to speak with Guidance. Shall we?"
He bows again and gestures towards the door, "Please, after you. I insist."
As the doors to the Lorespire Complex slide open, a green holographic image of a middle-aged human woman shimmers into view at the center of the room. “Greetings,” it says. “I am Guidance. Please use the cheek swabs in the open receptacle to provide a genetic sample for Starfinder Society identification purposes. If desired, you may place your hand on the glowing panel to receive a subdermal implant further marking you as a
member of the Society.”
The implant is optional, the cheek (or cheek-analogue) swab is not.
“It is our pleasure to officially welcome you into the Starfinder Society. Today is the commencement of your new role as a Starfinder field agent. It is our tradition, at the end of the graduation ceremony, for new graduates to present themselves to the heads of our most prominent factions and complete a task at those leaders’ behest. This allows the leaders of these groups to become familiar with all new Starfinder agents, and it provides a constant supply of agents for handling situations in our holdings on Absalom Station. While these tasks were formerly symbolic, the heavy loss of Starfinder agents in
the Scoured Stars necessitates that these missions become something more. Please treat any tasks given with the gravity you would grant any other Starfinder assignment.”
Guidance transmits a document and informs you that the faction leaders will signal it once the task is complete.
You may also learn something with skill checks before departing.
Culture
Diplomacy (Gather Information)
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Mazirek places his claw on the glowing panel after doing his best to provide a cheek swab. Hope this is good enough, but this implant with easily be worth it. Identification of allies is key.
"The Acquisitives are what brought me here. Heard through some colleagues that people like me can find steady work with the Society, so I'm giving it a go. Who is meeting this 'Radaszm' in the Nyori Palisades with me?" he asks, looking at each member of the latest Starfinder cohort.
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"Ah another stalwart adventurer ready to stare down the evils that lurk deep in the dark tapesty. I'm sure guidance knows what it's doing teaming a seasoned Starfinder with a pack of new recruits. Those who threaten the helpless know me as Darkvoid Batoidia, allies just usually call me Darkvoid, or DeeVee in a pinch."
"Whatever you say," a slightly overwhelmed Little replies cheerily.
Mazirek strides into the room with crisp strides. ...
"Are you small for your kind?" he asks Little Lendtech, tossing him the Shirren equivalent of a skeptical look. His antennae give his multifaceted eyes a once-over as he appraises the "little" Verthani.
"Yep. Most verthani are at least a head taller than me, and mass a quarter more."
"A pinch?" echoes an ysoki, appearing to step out of the shadows next to Little Lendtech. One of his paw-like hands hovers around the opening to the verthani's pocket as he continues. "Let us hope that we don't run into one of those."
Placing one hand on his stomach and keeping the other, next to the verthani behind his back, the ysoki gives a deep, respectful bow. ...
He bows again and gestures towards the door, "Please, after you. I insist."
"Thanks, Tuek. That's nice of you."
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Though clearly hesitant, Tuek acquiesces to the swab and implant. He seems more disappointed, however, that the clean, rather sterile room housing Guidance has no loose items or trinkets to pocket.
Not quite familiar with these particular factions, Tuek asks around.
"There seems to be a some excitement about an upcoming junkrace. Some upstart has been mouthing off to Ratrod, the reigning junkrace champion. No doubt, that has really gotten Ratrod’s fur in a bunch," he notes. "That's generating almost as much buzz as the latest prerelease from song from Strawberry Machine Cake. And, let us hope none of these faction leaders are found in the Downlow district as some horrid creature with a harpoon-like natural projectile is on the loose!"
If asked for any further details, Tuek obliges.
"Off to give our regards to Radazam, then?"
You head to the Nyori Palisades, a luxurious neighborhood located in Absalom Station’s transparent central dome.
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.”
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Never been a saboteur before, but I can wing it at the 'junkrace' level, surely. "Tuek here was just mentioning the junkrace, I'll do what I can to assist Laboni," Mazirek promises, punctuating his sentence with a mandibular clack.
"Would you like us to report back, or will you be watching the race yourself to ascertain our success?"
Radaszam doesn't have much to tell you about the rules of the race, but gives you directions to the race’s location in Botscrap and hands them badges marking them as Laboni’s official pit crew. He suggests you do not delay, as they need as much time as they can to help with the race.
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. When you arrive at the competitors’ entrance, a small robot informs you of the basic rules of the race: 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.
Laboni, a female human, is easy to find in the crowd due to her paisley clothes and bright white lab coat. She is in her late teens and sheepish about the whole debacle. She is incredibly grateful to you for showing up to support her, as she knows she cannot win the race on her own. She does not want to apologize to Ratrod until she has won and saved face, however.
Each character can take six actions to prepare for the race. There is no limit to how many time each character or the group as a whole can take each action. They are:
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.
Investigating the Enemy: PCs can scout out their opponents with a Sense Motive check, or examine their opponents’ vehicles with an Engineering check.
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. A PC who succeeds at this check can then attempt an Engineering check on one of the opposing vehicles. If a PC is caught cheating in this manner, the offending PC is tossed out of the engine pit and may take no further actions. Multiple infractions may result in the team being disqualified.
Socializing: PCs may also take this time to speak to the other pilots. There is no check for this, and the results of this action may vary.
There are five other pilots in the race: Lemgem, a blue-haired gnome covered in piercings, tattoos, and augmentations; Nyizin, a rhyphorian; Orsis, a stoic, dark-haired lashunta who looks unfairly good in black and gold; Ratrod, a ysoki with mottled gray-and-white fur; and Velocity, a beautiful android with silver hair and skin.
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Tuek is delighted that this mission has brought him to a scrapyard. In a short time, his pockets and cheeks are nearly full of trinkets and items of interest. Fancying himself a charmer and noting that she has some shiny piercings and metal parts, the ysoki approaches the gnome Lemgem.
He bows deeply as his tail scoops up a wrench from the floor. "I am Tuek. My fellow Starfinder, Laboni is running in today's race and, it would appear, you are as well."
"I must say that I admire your taste in purloinables," he says with a cheeky grin.
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After voicing his disapproval to Laboni for dragging the Society into this mess, he gets to work. She can't posisbly win with a slow heap of junk, so let's see if we can make it a fast heap of junk.
Unfortunately, assembling spare parts to overcome the need for the actual part isn't something he has practiced before. He tugs his three-fingered gloves off and throws them to the ground, then storms off.
What a ridiculous event, how do people regularly CHOOSE to do this? Wait, people choose to do this! I'll see what their doing and try and replicate that! His stormy speedwalk turns into a casual stroll as he eyeballs the other vehicles.
Returning to Laboni's racer, he does his best to spend the rest of his time trying to copy what he saw. He grumbles the whole time about how this could all just be done properly the first time with dedicated professionals.
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A young man in armor with a sword enters the Lorespire.
"Wow I did a mission for the Society but it's great to be called back! I hope you guys will have me!"
- - - - -
Dirk looks for parts around the scrapyard.
"Hey guys I think I found something over here! Anyone know what this part is? I skipped shop in school?"
Each successful roll to improve the junkracer grants one of the following benefits, each of which can only be chose once. Mazirek, Darkvoid and Dirk together have made seven improvements.
• 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.
Mazirek also takes a look at the other racers, but can't figure out what makes any of them tick.
Tuek starts up a conversation with Lemgem. A short conversation reveals she is obsessed with continual alterations to herself and her racer, to the point where her vehicle modifications skirt the bounds of common sense. You may be able to talk her into dangerously overclocking her vehicle with Bluff, or suggest an alliance with Diplomacy.
Tuek (5 actions left)
Dirk (3 actions left)
Darkvoid (3 actions left)
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"This sounds interesting." is Little Lendtech's only comment upon leaving Radaszam's office.
The verthani straightens his posture and begins to look all around with great interest. "This is tremendous! Look at the 191 gravity repulsor! And there's a electron field neutralizer! It might look look a junk heap, but this place is a gold mine!"
He just nods at Laboni and waits the minimum amount of time that seems polite before dashing into the junk yard to looks for parts.
Lendtech sorts through the pieces of junk and finds some useful things, though the carburetor he grabs doesn't seem to fit.
Tuek (3 actions left)
Dirk (1 action left)
Darkvoid (1 action left)
Lendtech (1 action left)
(9 mods available)
Nyizin tells Darkvoid that her bonded partner has passed. She is a racer with an obvious death wish. Unstable black-market mods made of dragon bone and elemental energies fill Nyizin’s vehicle. If someone can demonstrate sympathy with a Culture check, she may be willing to help you.
Tuek (3 actions left)
Dirk (1 action left)
Lendtech (1 action left)
(9 mods available)
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Tuek starts up a conversation with Lemgem. A short conversation reveals she is obsessed with continual alterations to herself and her racer, to the point where her vehicle modifications skirt the bounds of common sense.
"Well, I suppose I will let you keep your baubles and adornments," Tuek says with a grin having caught a hint of the future to come. "Although, if you hope to win enough credits to obtain anymore, you'll have to overclock your racer if you have any hope of beating Laboni."
Bidding farewell to the gnome, Tuek gets a sense from Darkvoid of how to win over Nyizin to the Starfinder's side. Indeed, it was simply a matter of time.
Dirk locates a key part in far too good a condition to belong in a scrapyard.
Lemgem rushes off to make some last-second adjustments after talking to Tuek.
Nyizin explains to Tuek how to overload a junkracer’s engine. This modification allows you to press your engine during the race and double your speed for one round, but there is a 50% chance the engine could have an internal malfunction on the next round that permanently reduces the vehicle’s base speed by half.
Tuek (1 action left)
Lendtech (1 action left)
(10 mods available)
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Lendtech looks up when Dirk comes back with a mint condition electrostatic fuel nebulizer. "This is too good for a junk heap. Someone must have planted it out there, and you poached it before they could get to it. Nice job."
After the nebulizer is in place, the verthani stretches. It seems like his arms are long enough wrap all the way around his body. Then he wanders down pit row to check out the competition.
Each successful roll to improve the junkracer grants one of the following benefits,
each of which can only be chose once. Mazirek, Darkvoid and Dirk together have made seven improvements.• 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....
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With no time to talk to others and follow-up on it, Tuek sighs and makes his way back to the racing pit, strolling casually through the scrapyard on his way, then stopping at a nearby sandwich place before meeting up with the party.
When the ysoki arrives at the pit, he finds Little Lendtech making modifications to the junk racer to enhance its speed. However, the mechanic looks frustrated as the completion of the modifications requires a polynodal hyperon injection regulator and there does not seem to be any to be found and the local merchandizers say they can't get one in stock any sooner than Wealday.
Tuek listens half-heartedly to the discussions as to how to proceed, he notices a piece of onion stuck in his teeth. Without giving it much thought, he retrieves a small, metallic object that he had absent-mindedly picked up during an earlier stroll and begins to use it to dislodge the onion from between his teeth.
When he is done, he gives the verthani a glance and notes, "It looks like you got something caught between your teeth, too."
"Here," says Tuek, offering Little Lendtech the object that he had just finished using on his own teeth. "Try this."
Upon taking the object from the ysoki's hands, Little Lendtech can easily see that the object is a polynodal hyperon injection regulator.
Lendtech spends some time watching Ratrod. He seems to be capable at both driving and shooting. He also has a switch labeled "energy conversion/enhancement" on his dashboard, which sounds like it could let him benefit from being hit rather than penalized once per race.
Tuek finds some more useful parts among the junk.
Here are the basic stats for your vehicle. You can make 11 modifications to it:
BASIC JUNKRACER
Speed 40 ft., full 400 ft.
EAC 10; KAC 12
Attack energy weapon (–4 to Piloting)
Modifiers +2 Piloting, –3 attack
Passengers 1
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Remote Control Laboni’s junkracer and weaponry can be remotely controlled by the PCs, allowing them to make attack rolls and attempt Piloting checks in her place.
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"I've piloted personal craft before, but not something as... janky as this," Mazirek admits. "Unless someone else would rather take the helm, I suppose it falls to me."
"Fortunately," he begins, resting a claw on Laboni's shoulder, "I don't have to actually sit on this bucket of rust. Just manipulate the controls from safety."
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Lendtech returns to Laboni's pit after his stroll through Ratrod's.
"Looks like Ratrod is likely to attack often. And he might have a defense that takes advantage of hits by energy weapons to boost his racer. Some defense and a projectile weapon are good ideas. "
After tightening the bolts on the gun he'd already mounted on Laboni's racer, Lendtech takes the fuel nebulizer and polynodal hyperon injection regulator. He rigs a bleed line from the fuel and improvises a timing circuit to hot-boost shots from the gun.
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• 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....
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• 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....
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• 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....
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Okay, here are your new stats. I will start the race tomorrow if no one objects to either moving on or the upgrades.
UPGRADED JUNKRACER
Speed 55 ft., full 550 ft.
EAC 12; KAC 14
Attack energy weapon (–4 to Piloting)
Attack kinetic weapon (–6 to Piloting)
Attack kinetic weapon (–4 to Piloting)
Attack kinetic weapon (–4 to Piloting)
Modifiers +4 Piloting, –3 attack
Passengers 1
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Remote Control Laboni’s junkracer and weaponry can be remotely controlled by the PCs, allowing them to make attack rolls and attempt Piloting checks in her place.
The race uses modified vehicle chase rules and operates in two phases per round. In the first phase, racers fire weapons at their chosen target. Success applies a penalty to piloting checks for phase 2. The attack roll is modified by the vehicle's attack modifier.
In the second phase, each pilot makes a DC 16 Piloting check, modified by the vehicle's piloting modifier and the effects of any weapons. Success moves the vehicle by its full speed, failure moves it by half, and failure by 10 or more stops it completely.
The course is 3000 feet long, and whoever crosses first wins. If two or more racers cross in the same round, the one that ends up furthest past the finish line wins. If that is still equal, the race is a tie.
Round 1 Phase 1 - gunners may go!
Starfinders 0/3000
Ratrod 0/3000
Lemgem 0/3000
Nyizin 0/3000
Orsis 0/3000
Velocity 0/3000
Ratrod and Velocity both tag the Starfinder's junkracer with energy weapons. Orsis makes a direct hit on Nyizin's vehicle. Lemgem's shot sails past Nyizin's vehicle harmlessly.
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cmlobue, an I use combat tracking on these attack rolls? It would add +1 to my attacks.
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 79
Your exocortex provides you with enhanced combat ability, granting you proficiency with heavy armor and longarms. At 3rd level, you gain weapon specialization in longarms just as if your class granted proficiency. As a move action during combat, you can designate a foe for your exocortex to track. As long as that target is in sight, the exocortex feeds you telemetry, vulnerabilities, and combat tactics, allowing you to make attacks against that target as if your base attack bonus from your mechanic levels were equal to your mechanic level. Designating another target causes you to immediately lose this bonus against the previous target.
The verthani folds himself over the control panel, and leans into the little screen, his elbows spread wide. As the countdown progresses he focuses his weapon at Ratrod's front wheel and waits for the start signal. His finger tightens on the trigger....
(?)
... the signal comes and he's too late. His shot only kicks up dirt where the ysoki's wheel had been mere seconds before.
The Starfinders are still getting used to their weapons, but Darkvoid does score a hit on Ratrod.
Round 1 Phase 2 - pilot may go!
Starfinders 0/3000 (-8 Piloting)
Ratrod 0/3000 (-4 Piloting)
Lemgem 0/3000
Nyizin 0/3000 (-4 Piloting)
Orsis 0/3000
Velocity 0/3000
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Just in case I can't post right away, I'll roll for next round, assuming Tuek and I change weapons.
"Yow that Ratrod's quick. Mazirek, swing out a little wider to the right and I might be able to get a shot!"
Little works the controls to slew his weapon as far forward as he can and takes another shot at Ratrod.
or +3 depending.
The prerace taunting seems to have worked, as Lemgem's vehicle blows up at the starting line.
The Starfinders skid a bit at the beginning, but do get their junkracer going. Orsis also has trouble, but manages a slow start.
The other three racers cruise to the front of the pack.
Round 2 Phase 1 - gunners may go!
(-1-) Ratrod 550/3000
(-2-) Orsis 500/3000
(-2-) Velocity 500/3000
(-4-) Starfinders 275/3000
(-4-) Nyizin 275/3000
(DNF) Lemgem
Orsis and Velocity both go after the leader, but miss. Ratrod tags the Starfinder vehicle again.