Cantonica - Top Guns

[Lucian Volante]

Danger Zone!
PVP, death, capture and shenanigans disabled - purely for the racing!​

Lucian wasn't entirely sure why he was here if he was honest... he had been in the area, arranging transport from this planet for himself and his starfighter, when his host for the night had informed him of a starfighter race. Apparently the prize for such a race would be enough that he would be able to buy himself a transport ship.

That was nice.

He likely wouldn't be able to crew such a ship but it would be nice to be able to bring his ship home with him without needing to rely on getting 3rd party transports. As his fighter was taxi'd over to the starting line, Lucian accepted the number he was going to be given for the race before moving to wait at the pilot's waiting area off to one side.

The race was due to start soon but hopefully he would be able to get the measure of his competition before then.

Spoiler: Ship Being Used

Liberator Class Starfighter

@Ecclessey @Wit @Laskt

 

[Kyp Durant]

Kyp wasn't here in any official capacity, his supervisors had made that abundantly clear to him when they had pulled him into a room and given him his next assignment, this assignment. While he was here on the orders of some higher-up, he was supposed to operate as a civilian. A civilian who was here to inspect some fighters, as civilians normally did on their days off. Catch a shitty passenger liner to the Outer Rim and spend their off days window shopping things they could never afford.

It was safe to say the journey to Cantonica had put him in a grumpy mood, but all that changed when he saw the ships. His eyes had been glued to the Triline, till his contact pulled him away and he saw her. All kids in the fighter academy had numerous posters of the latest and greatest fighters on their walls, they were crazy Corellian pilots, that was how their brains worked. But every wall would have one spot set aside for something that wouldn't fit in with the new toys, something classic, something nostalgic, something special. It was different for everyone, for Kyp it had been the RX. And after all this time, he was finally seeing one in the flesh.

The fighter was nothing special, an almost average ship in all regards, but it had been Kyps first love. And that made it special. So special that when Kyp had been informed that the ship was due to participate in a race and the pilot had pulled out, Kyp had forced his contact to get him put in the seat instead. He was not going to let a chance to fly an RX slip out of his hands, no matter what the risks.

As the fighter was being taxi'd over, Kyp could just stare with the unabashed look of a teenager about to get his first speeder. So lost was he that he didn't notice the blonde haired man and walked right into him.

"Sor..sorry mate." He mumbled almost instinctively as he pulled his eyes away from the RX and turned to face the man he had bumped into. Noticing his gear he realized this was another one of the pilots, and held out a hand in greeting. "Sorry bout that, just can't seem to keep my eye off of her." He gestured with a thumb towards the fighter and gave another wistful glance towards it. "Beaut, ain't she? Wanted to fly one since I was a kid." As usual, so eager was he to fly that he forgot the simple matter of actually introducing himself. Hopefully, the man he spoke to was more socially functional around ships than Kyp was.

Ship: RX Starfighter
@Nefieslab @Ecclessey @Laskt

 

[Kal Titch]

After the Ord Cantrell row Kal’s relationship with the crew of the Omani Gamble had been worsening. He was assaulted on a daily basis by complaints of his bad behavior of gambling and budding up to smugglers by engaging terrorists. Kal, in his turn, was becoming angrier as he believed he was the only one wanting to make sure they all had food on the table. In fact, if he hadn’t engaged those terrorists on Ord Cantrell they wouldn’t have been allowed to leave the planet on schedule, which would’ve meant their shipment of starfighter engine parts would be late. Which now it hadn’t been.

As he was fuming over the treatment he was getting, Kal had gone to visit the exposition and the races and had even signed up for an open exhibition race with an extremely fast Dismay-class interceptor. Sitting down with a cold Corellian beer, he was about to enjoy watching the next race when he saw his own face and name show up as one of the pilots. ”ehh, kriff.”

He hastened towards the pilot waiting room and had it confirmed he was indeed up to try and test his skill and luck in a ship many could only dream of ever flying. ”Kriff me,” he smiled as he couldn’t believe he got this lucky, ”this is a reward all on itself.” For the first time in years he wasn’t gonna let credits and ship’s finances determine his course of action. He was simply going to have fun.

Ship: Dismay-class Starfighter

 

[Vixur Kantale]

The Clawdite Jedi hauled his body out of the cockpit of the fighter, following his fellow Jedi to the waiting area to the side of the track. Vixur had honestly no idea why he had accompanied Lucian off Tython, probably due to a combination of the chance to test out the starfighter he had borrowed and a simple bemused interest in the actions of the strange Jedi. Regardless, the Shadow was here, and he was not altogether pleased with himself. The Jedi had no time for such ridiculous sports, he had work to do, important work! But nevertheless, he had chosen to follow Lucian to this planet, and he was now paying the price.


This was not to say that Vixur was so caught up in this grumbling that he had not thought to take precautions! The Clawdite had shifted his form into that of a Rodian, a species so like his own that he could hold the shift quite easily. Adding on some rough clothes he had stored on his ship, and Vixur was almost completely indistinguishable from his normal self.


The disguised Jedi twitched slightly as the clueless Ardennian walked straight into his comrade, his fingers twitching towards a lightsaber that wasn’t there. Forcing himself to relax, the Jedi walked over to one of the benches, sitting down roughly and idly watching the encounter.

Spoiler: Ship

Liberator Class Starfighter

@Ecclessey @Wit @Faded Truth

 

[CUTTER]

.

Things were mostly serious when you were a young lieutenant attempting to rise in status within a faction. However, there was always time for some fun. The chiss navigated his way into the hangar, his body was covered in what appeared as unusually ebony clad pilot's suit. Helmet with respirator and aerial tech was already hoisted over his head, concealing his true visage and heritage from his competition. Attention briefly cast to the others as he slowly made way into the cockpit of his personalized starfighter. The Liberator was the obvious choice in this, though it had a customized color scheme and his own insignia on the tail end.

Fingers moved through several console buttons, checking and flipping switches as dim current activated through the vessel and delivered enriched fuel to the engines. Smoke billowed from the numerous exhausts as the thrusters slowly powered on. The glass pane covering cockpit slid closed as he readied himself for the race. Now it was a matter of waiting and taxing the ship towards the starting line.

@Ecclessey @Nefieslab @Wit @Laskt

 

[Lucian Volante]

Lucian knew that his fellow Jedi wasn't as excited about this race as he was but he also knew that his fellow Jedi was going to be here anyway and he appreciated that. He made sure to catch the Clawdite's eye and nod to show his appreciation even as their fighters were being taxi'd to the racing line.

The Ardennian was a nice enough fellow it would seem.

"No harm done." he assured the smaller man before nodding in agreement, "Something very... beautiful, striking even, in it's simplicity, wouldn't you say?"

Hearing another pilot mention that this was reward enough, he laughed a little bit,

"Yes I would agree my friend." he agreed with a wide smile, "There's nothing quite like flying, is there?"

But the time for talking was over and their ships were ready at the line. Lucian nodded to the other pilots as a show of wishing them good luck before climbing into his ship. He did his pre-flight checks as the count down approached.

He was ready.

-- RACE START --​

As part of the race was the take off, the first thing everyone would do would be to gun their engines and try and clear the takeoff area - which would be heavily congested. Instead, Lucian let others take off faster than him before following, picking up as much speed as possible as he did.

As the lap went out, he advanced through the ranks of the other pilots, pushing his ship and just, genuinely enjoying himself as he soared through the air.

This?

This was what it meant to be alive.

"I am a leaf on the wind - watch how I soar..."

Spoiler: Ship Being Used

Liberator Class Starfighter

@Ecclessey @Wit @Laskt @Faded Truth

 

[Kyp Durant]

Kyp liked the golden-haired human, he had good taste. As he looked around at the other ships on the lineup he had to concede that seemed to be the case for most of the other pilots. He got the feeling that the organizers might have only wanted the best here, the lineup sure suggested that.

As the time came to begin preparing for the race, Kyp raised a hand to salute at the golden hair man and the other pilots as he followed him towards the ships. A wide grin on his face, he approached the RX and carefully placed a hand on its hull. Tracing his fingers on the freshly polished surface, he walked around the ship once, speaking to the ship as he did so. Most of the words would be too soft for anyone else to catch, but it almost sounded as if he was courting the ship, promising to treat her well and so on. Pilots could be a weird bunch, and often had such quirks and superstitions to them. Kyp's happened to be speaking to his ships before he flew them.

Finally, done making friends with the fighter, he settled into the pilot's seat and went through the pre-flight checklists. "Alright girl, just you and me now. Let's dance, you and I."

— Race Start —​

Kyp was quick off the line, maybe not the quickest, but definitely towards the front of the pack. He was cautious in the opening section, not willing to risk throw away the entire race by being reckless when the race was most dangerous. He let some of the more aggressive pilots pass him by as he ducked and weaved to avoid crashing into another ship.

But he got a little too excited and as the lap went on and the ships began spreading out he fell back towards the back of the grid, ultimately switching gears and regaining a few spots towards the end of the lap.

He patted the console with one of his hands as he passed by another ship and began speaking to the ship once more, cajoling her into working with him. "Com'on luv, you know what I need." He flicked a few switches and swung around a smoke trail from a ship up ahead. "I have a need...a need for speed!"

Ship: RX Starfighter
@Nefieslab @Ecclessey @Laskt @Faded Truth

 

[Kal Titch]

Kal could feel his shirt sticking to the leather seat of the Dismay-class' pilot chair. Damnit, he was so nervous for this race and there were so many buttons he really wanted to press but knew he really shouldn't. He wasn't a great pilot and as First Mate of the Omani Gamble his tasks had been more concerned with cargo manifests and voyage plans. Really, the only times he sat alone in the cockpit was when they were in hyperspeed and could technically sit back and relax for days if it wasn't for intergalactic spacer regulations that obligated them to have the cockpit be manned at all times. Aside from those uneventful moments he had always been second chair going through asteroid fields or approaching docking stations. Kal dry-swallowed. How was he going to pilot an extremely fast starfighter for multiple rounds, competitively, without crashing and killing not only himself, but the other race participants as well?


Could he still step out and let another take his place?

-Race Start-

Nope. The lights turned green and without really being conscious to it, Kal pressed the throttle and the Dismay-class starfighter sped forward. His arms shook a little from the nerves and he was too anxious to fully press the gas, resulting in him slacking behind. "Come on, Kal-" he muttered, "-this isn't scarier than Ord Cantrell." he didn't really want to fight terrorists and hold rifles either.. Kriff Kal slowly increased the speed and passed the others by in the end, getting a feel of the ship and letting the adrenaline win its fight with his anxieties. "Come on, Becky!"

He tied with Vixur Kantale and Kip Durant, but where their engines seemed to stutter, Kal's bird was only getting warmed up. He passed Cutter next and was hot on Lucian Volante's trail when he passed the stadium again. "Alright, second round-" he began grinning, "-let's see what dismay I can get out of you!"


Ship: Dismay-class Starfighter
@Wit @Nefieslab @Laskt @Faded Truth

 

[Lucian Volante]

Lucian was doing well during the first lap, he managed to get himself into the lead and stay there, which was, naturally, the name of the game when it came to races like these. Despite that however, he would also admit that he rather enjoyed the views that they were racing past.

Something about a good view just always made him smile and loosen up a bit more.

-- Second Lap Start --​

As was common amongst racing however, Lucian wasn't in the clear lead anymore as the second lap unfolded. Instead he appeared to be neck and neck with the smuggler man (Kal Titch)... he supposed it made sense that a man who spent his entire life on ships was going to be a decent pilot.

He would respect the man as a pilot, even if he couldn't quite bring himself to respect the man himself due to his profession.

Naturally, Lucian could be wrong but... somehow he didn't think he was.

The others? Well the Chiss and the other Jedi seemed to be so far behind that they weren't an issue.

Spoiler: OOC

Sorry Laskt and Faded Truth but you guys haven't actually posted for your first lap so not counting you alright?

@Ecclessey @Wit @Laskt @Faded Truth