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Walter follows Conrad's cue and turns the crowds attention to the causes their vehicle is supporting and promoting with the decoration done before the race. They utilize as much of the information they gathered early to relate to the locals in the crowd, as well as the more cosmic worthy causes.
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Zark keeps the racer steady while Lapodie works to prevent further collapse, supporting Conrad as he keeps a wary eye on the competition. Dov and Walter, meanwhile, keep the crowd's attention firmly on your team.
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As the commotion in the pit dies down, attention returns to the race track, where Zark is approaching a series of twisting turns through a narrow canyon of junk, barely wide enough for two racers across.
Primary Check: The pilot must safely and quickly maneuver through the narrows with a Piloting check.
Secondary Check: The pit crew can assist with a Perception or Piloting check o plot an efficient course, a ranged attack roll to remotely use the racer's weapons to create a distraction for other racers, or an easier ranged attack roll to deploy the grappler you installed to clamp on and tether your way to tighter turns (one person only).
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Seeing no one else manning the weapons, Kastien grabbed the controls for the grappler he had help install. "Here goes nothing," he murmured as he waited for the next turn. Seeing an opening, he fired off the grappler, only to watch it sail right past the target junkpile and bounce off the ground. Quickly, he hit the release button so it didn't snag on something and slow them down.
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With all the excitement, unfortunately, Kastien never did get a chance to practice with the grappler gun. This becomes painfully obvious as his first shot sails wide, but thankfully the quick-retract mechanism works fine to pull the line back in. Perhaps there will be another opportunity later...
Meanwhile, Walter keeps a firm grip on the audience's attention, keeping the bonus booster fully charged. With Conrad's encouragement and timely advice from Lapodie and Dov, Zark is easily able to navigate the twisting canyon and emerge at the far end still in the lead!
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The first few laps around the course proceed from there, with Zark able to maintain your lead but not able to pull away from the competition. The racers all put in for a pit stop priorto the fourth lap, so pit crews can refill drained fuel cells and hastily make any necessary repairs.
Primary Check: One member of the pit crew can lead the pit stop with an Athletics check.
Secondary Check: Other PCs can assist with an Acrobatics check to smoothly maneuver supplies into position, an Engineering check to assess the condition of the racer and make repairs, or a Piloting check (pilot only) to enter and exit the pit as quickly as possible.
Seeing Conrad juggling supplies into place, Walter directs the crowds attention to this entertainment, adding a few positive comments about any other entertaining feats, even from other teams.
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Walter keeps the crowd's attention, while Zark expertly pilots expertly into the pit. Kastien leads the pit crew, with everyone else performing their roles efficiently to get Zark out of the pit and back on the track as soon as possible.
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The racers once again jockey for position coming out of pit row, bumping and jostling each other as they try to get ahead of their rivals.
Primary Check: The pilot can muscle into a strong position for the final lap with a Piloting check.
Secondary Check: Everyone else can assist with an Intimidate check to make opposing racers hesitate, an Engineering or Computers check to temporarily boost your junkracer's performance, or a ranged attack to distract other racers with onboard weapons.
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Dov quickly sends commands to the junkracer's onboard computer to help Zark deftly maneuver and muscle for rank, so that the engine doesn't burn fuel too fast on an empty tank. He wants the engine pumping and thumping in time, so that Zark is first across the finish line.
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Kastien took a deep settling breath before taking the weapons controller. His connection with the universe expanded so that the fiery bursts of stars was all he could see and feel. Letting that energy guide him, he opened his eyes and pressed the firing studs once, then again as he aimed to distract and deter, but not to injure.
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Lapodie isn't able to get anymore juice out of the racer, but that's only because Dov got to it first. Similarly, your competitors, cowed by Walter, move back just as Kastien fires, his shot going wide. Boosted by Conrad's attention-grabbing, Zark zooms ahead! The crowd roars as you approach the final turn!
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You're ahead, but your nearest competitors--Ratrod and Laboni--are still in striking distance as you enter the final turn.
Primary Check: The pilot can take a fast line through the corner with a Piloting check.
Secondary Check: Everyone else can help with a Computers or Physical Science check to calculate the fastest line, or a Perception or Sense Motive check to predict your opponents' moves.
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Conrad effortlessly holds the crowd's attention. Kastien and Lapodie are both fooled by your opponents, but Walter isn't fooled. Dov, meanwhile, doesn't pay them any attention as he calculates an efficient line, and Zark executes the plan to perfection, accelerating hard out of the turn!
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Finally, you lead the pack as you come thundering down the final straightaway toward the finish line.
Primary Check: The pilot can get the most of your racer with a Piloting check.
Secondary Check: Other PCs can assist with a Computers or Engineering check to coax as much power as possible from the engine, or a Diplomacy or Intimidate check to encourage Zark to give it his all. Alternative, one of you could use the grappler to prevent a rival from pulling ahead with a ranged attack.
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Conrad is really humming along now, playing the crowd like a fiddle and keeping the voting boost firmly behind you. Dov keeps your racer at peak performance, while Kastien and Walter do the same for your pilot. Taken together, it all adds up to victory as Zark calmly pilots your racer as it hurtles across the finish line, several car lengths ahead of your nearest competitors!
Holographic confetti rains down around you as Zark coasts to a stop and runs down to meet the rest of you! After allowing you a few minutes to celebrate, Ratrod, who finished in 2nd place, walks over to graciously congratulate you on your victory. He seems truly at peace, despite his loss, and excuses himself to go and speak with Laboni, who finished right behind him in a close 3rd.
After her conversation with Ratrod, Laboni makes her own way over to congratulate you. She thanks you for putting a stop to Glimma's scheme; it seems word has spread. She tells you how proud she is to have raced alongside you, and invites you back to race again any time you'd like.
Meanwhile, Kyvex, who seems particularly shaken when they learn of Glimma's plot, sits down for a bombshell post-race interview with "Awesome" Ace Avarin in which they admit for the first time their own culpability in the accidental death of the best friend Orsis three years ago, admitting that it was their own shoddy installation of the debilitating weapons on their racer that day that lead to his death. At the conclusion of the interview, they announce an indefinite hiatus to their racing career.
Finally, As a way to honor you for saving the day and thank all of his competitors for helping him achieve closure, Ratrod hosts all of the teams for dinner at the hippest restaurant in the Spike, one of the trendiest in all of Absalom Station at the moment. Whatever lingering resentment he might have had against Laboni and the Starfinder Society in general seems to be gone, as he flawlessly plays the part of gracious host. At the end of the meal, just before you depart, he asks you to give his regards to Radaszam.
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Upon returning to the Lorespire Complex, Radaszam calls you in for a report. He congratulates you on a job well done. He is intrigued by Ratrod's message, musing that he could be a valuable source of information about goings-on in the Spike, and pledges to consider how best to build a working relationship.