"Daring Young Jedi and Flying Machines"

Log Date:
	2/12/00

Log Cast:
	Kelvis, Ted, Shenner, Karm (NPC emitted by Shenner), Aa'leet (NPC 
emitted by Shenner), Reine, Sargent, Michelle, Pallando, Tracer, Altair, Kaley, 
Kartijan, Moira, Race Announcer (NPC emitted by Piper), Cimber, Christopherus, 
Tasah, Webb, Donivan, Morganna, Harrison, Troy

Log Intro:
	Shenner likes sports as much as the next girl -- especially if the 
sport in question happens to involve high velocity or large explosions. Or 
better yet, both. Most of the time, the young singer doesn't have much of a 
chance to kick back and attend local sporting events. But her Jedi friend 
Luke has been on Caspar for a while now, and to Shen's delight, she soon 
hears a rumor that the Jedi from the New Republic has gotten himself 
involved in the next swoop race at the local arena. With a lure like that, 
wild banthas can't keep her away from the track; with two of her fellow 
Womprats in tow, she's scampered off to the Black Krayt Swoop Arena, 
determined to cheer her friend on even if she doesn't actually get a chance 
to talk to him personally -- and not yet knowing that she'll have a passing 
encounter with a young woman who's been primarily responsible for 
Skywalker's prolonged stay on Caspar...

----------
Spectator Seating -- Black Krayt Swoop Arena
     The size of the arena at first is staggering, it could easily seat up to 
  100,000 beings. Roughly elliptical in design the stands circle the raceway 
  -- the collection of plasteel tubing that makes up the course the riders 
  must face. The seating is tight but not cramped. Parts of the upper decks 
  are standing room only. Two massive screens are set into opposite sides of 
  the arena to give spectators a better view of the action. Various press and 
  VIP boxes form a crescent on one level of the arena.
There are 4 (Four) Squads of 6 (Six) StarShield Marines keeping watch over the 
  stands.
There are places here. Type '+help places commands' for instructions.
Type 'look track' to get a glance at where the racers are.
-----

Kelvis walks over, and joins Altair, settling in with a scowl, "The wookiee 
  went to the shuttle, he's feeling grumpy." He settles into seat.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope enters from the 
  Staging Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope has arrived.

Ted walks back down the escalator
Ted heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Ted has left.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo enters from the Staging 
  Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo has arrived.

There's a swoop race tonight, and Luke Skywalker is going to be in it. That by 
  itself is enough to call Shenneret Veery to the swoop arena, and the singer 
  generally seen in the company of her band at the Sandbar comes wandering 
  into the seating area with two of her bandmates at her side. Karm and 
  Aa'leet and Shenner are all chatting together, in high good spirits from the 
  look of them, and Shenner's got a big bag of popcorn. The three musicians 
  don't take too long finding themselves a seat, for Shen's sharp eye finds 
  her and her friends a decent vantage point.

Reine steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Reine has arrived.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer enters from the 
  Staging Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer has arrived.

Sargent was looking around the stands, deciding where to sit. When she spots 
  the young blond woman, she raises her eyebrows. Bringing her eyebrows back 
  to their normal position, her face assumes a look of calm focus. She takes a 
  few steps toward the young woman and says in a smooth tone, "Good evening, 
  Reine."

Michelle has arrived.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo pulls in driven by a 
  tall lanky sarian. From his unhelmeted look it is clear it is Pallando. One 
  of the team caspar swoop techs runs to him passing a helmet to him. Pallando 
  turns down the offer at first but the tech is most insistant.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver rides in slowly 
  from the entrance. Seated upon the swoop was a dark-figured clad in an 
  electric-blue outfit. There are no indications upon the racing outfit on 
  whether the person is with a team or not. Everything is covered up from head 
  to toe quite mysteriously.

Running deftly through the crowd, Reine cranes her neck at every opening in 
  the swarm around her for a glimpse at the track. Not having much luck, she 
  keeps moving toward some empty seating, her hood flopping on her back. She 
  looks like she's worried she may have missed the race, perhaps she has money 
  on it, or something else to lose. She startles at the voice in her ear, 
  "Oh.. Eva. Nice to see you." she says breathily. "Did I miss it?" her voice 
  cracks noticeably.

"Luke," Shenner announces in no uncertain terms to the lanky black woman and 
  the white-skinned Twi'lek who accompany her, "is gonna kick all their rumps. 
  This is gonna be fun."

The brightly clad Karm can be seen to smile, cat-like, black eyes gleaming 
  with amusement. In her accented tones she drawls merrily, "Would you like to 
  bet on that, little redbird?"

This sets off a round of hastily exchanged bets and counter bets between the 
  musicians, till the racers actually begin to assemble on the track. And with 
  that, Aa'leet waves her two friends' attention down in that direction.

Altair comes up the escalator, totally annoyed ot find the track totally 
  crowded, and her prime seats taken. She carries a large bag of cold popcorn 
  and her jacket's pockets bulge, full of soda cans. As she wanders about, 
  looking for any open seat, her breath hangs like fog in front of her. She 
  walks along the railing and turns around, surveying the whole of the seating 
  area, and grumbling at the meager choice of seats left.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer moves onto the 
  racetrack from the staging area even though the racers have not been called 
  out yet and moves to her assigned starting block where she patiently waits 
  for the race.

Kelvis sits by himself toward the top of the stands, scowling.

Altair would keep her standing spot by the railing if people weren't 
  constantly brushing by her or shoving her otu of the way for her spot. She 
  was beginning to feel like she was in a fishbowl full of pirannahs but 
  instead of meat, the were hungry for a glimpse of the track. And they would 
  bite and nip to get it. Well, no one had actually bitten her yet, although 
  the rodian eyeing her spot looked like he might.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope is brought out 
  to the starting point. The petite rider follows on foot. Tracer looks around 
  the stands smiling with self-assurance, not because she is smiling for her 
  fans, but very pleased at the sold out venue. The late additions to the 
  roster surprise her a little, but she puts that out of her mind for now. 
  Donning her helmet, she mounts her swoop and is lifted into the starting 
  block. This is her track and she plans to own it tonight.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand is also brought 
  to the line with her rider not far behind. There's a lot on the line for 
  Kaley as some over heard and others (she is glad) did not. Her gaze turns up 
  to the stands for her number one fan. She knows he is there although she 
  doesn't see him. Putting on her helmet, she too mounts her swoop and gets 
  ready for the race ahead.

From the Raceway -- "LADIES AND GENTLEBEINGS," the announcer bellows through 
  the microphone, the base of his deep voice causing the speaker devices to 
  rumble out his words, "Welcome to another exciting evening of racing at the 
  Black Krayt! In this heat, we have a variety of divisions represented by 
  some of the most popular racers on the circuit! For the Novice division, we 
  have Ernie Pallando, racing the Hilo for Team Caspar, as well as Kartijan 
  Lore, racing the Neutralizer for Team FLS! In the Intermediate division, we 
  have Tessa Roberts, racing Independently on the Quicksilver, and in the 
  Amateur division, Kaley Recourua is racing the Shadow's Hand for SubPro. In 
  the professional division, it looks like Elana Tracer is out to set her mark 
  on the Kipran's Hope, racing for Team FLS, and ... <some papers shuffle, and 
  the announcer can be heard asking the person next to him in the booth, 'Is 
  this a joke?' before he clears his throat and adds in an embarassed tone,> 
  Luke Skywalker, racing the Event Horizon for Team Corellia." The track is 
  abuzz with personnel as the swoops are loaded up into the starting blocks, 
  then as the buzzer sounds and the lights go up, the announcer calls out, "It 
  looks like they're just about ready and... THEY'RE OFF!"

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer pulls out of the 
  starting block as the lights signal go and the clamps let go of her vehicle. 
  She drops into the tube speeds through section one at overthrust.

The three musicians from the Sandbar surge to their feet as that last name is 
  announced, Shenner cheering the loudest of the trio. "LUKE!" she bellows 
  happily, not caring if anyone hears her or not. "LUKE, LUKE, LUKE!" Grinning 
  ear to ear, she then lets Karm shove her back into her seat, though she 
  cranes herself as far forward as possible in an attempt to get a glimpse of 
  her friend from the New Republic.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    -4                        8

As the crowd roars around her, Reine just slumps in an available seat and 
  promptly chews her nails. She fidgets nervously with a bracelet at her 
  wrist. "Blast it.. don't wreck." she mutters under her breath.

Altair cheers wildly as the swoops fall into the first tube, although she is 
  still getting shuffled around. She mourns as she realizes that her popcorn 
  is rapidly turning into corndust. This must be remedied promptly, she 
  decides, pushing her way through the crowd and settling into an empty seat. 
  What luck! It wasn't even too far from the track either. She smiles happily 
  and settles inot her seat.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer has a start that 
  while not particularly fast is not particularly slow either as the driver 
  moves through section 1 and heads to section 2 with lots of control, the 
  swoop moving along smoothly.

From the Raceway -- with the starting signal Pallando on Hilo breaks free from 
  the blocks and over thrusts straight away. His head is tucked down as if 
  having no love of this frist free fall into the tube and wanting it over 
  fast.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    -3                        8
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo drops at median speed 
  into the first tube finding its center easily. He keeps to the center 
  passing through the initial startign section.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope is dropped with 
  the lack of ceremony granted to all who come to race the Krayt. Her 
  repulsors easily catch her fall and she becomes immediately level. Tracer 
  throws her engines into overdrive, the gear she plans to stay in the whole 
  race. Only a little fear of being bested by the Jedi Master bothers her, but 
  when has she ever seen him on the circuit. He can't be good at everything 
  can he? And besides, she's out to beat Darren Primo's score and do her best.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         43

Moira steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Moira has arrived.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope gets off to a 
  good start taking advantage of the fairly straight way, knowing more 
  difficult ways are to come. For now, she even sits straight in her seat but 
  as she approaches the next section she slowly lowers to hug tightly to the 
  large powerful machine.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver is dropped from 
  the clamps swiftly as the rider grips the body of the swoop. A swift thrust 
  from the rider places the engines into overdrive as the swoop races towards 
  the tube easily.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    0                         20
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver :takes off easily 
  into the tube, the straight section apparently not a problem with the rider 
  as she manuevurs it smoothly through the tunnel.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand jumps from the 
  line with fury. The driver has a lot to lose and she isn't about to let it 
  happen. Hunching down on the swoop, she pushes it for all it has, even here 
  at the first of the race. She plans to give even the professionals a run for 
  their credits.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         41

Kelvis sits alone, still scowling.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand speeds down the 
  raceway, doing just as her rider hoped she would. She can only hope the rest 
  of the race will be as smooth.

From the Raceway -- As the Event Horizon is dropped into the tube, the engines 
  flare violently to life at the command of the black-clad figure perched 
  tensely upon the sleek vehicle. The Phantom-Q swoop is a crimson blur as it 
  enters the first tube, the rider intent on at least keeping up with Kaley's 
  vehicle for now.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         42

Reine exhales raggedly as Luke's swoop is dropped. She raises her hood to 
  cover her face, still biting on that nail.

From the Raceway -- The Force is with him so far. The Event Horizon responds 
  to its driver and zooms through the tube, though at this early stage it's 
  hard to say what can happen next.

From the Raceway -- The microphone crackles alive and the announcer bellows, 
  "What a start! Luke Skywalker is in the lead with a whopping 74 SRU's, 
  followed by Elana Tracer on the Kipran's Hope with 68 SRU's.. and would you 
  look at that! The Shadow's Hand, from the amateur division, is only a half a 
  swoop length off the Kipran's hope! This is already shaping up into a 
  tremendous race, folks, and they're not even out of the straightaway yet! 
  The intermediate Quicksilver is trying to live up to its name with 39 SRU's, 
  while trailing behind are the novices. We've got the Hilo clocked at 22 
  SRU's and the Neutralizer behind it by half a swoop length with 20 SRU's. 
  Here they come now to the second section of the track.. will Pinball Alley 
  claim any victims this evening?" There's a roar from the crowd, hoping to 
  see bloodshed.

Altair soon finds out why the seat she took was so conveniently empty as a 
  very annoyed looking wookiee comes up to her, holding a trayful of goodies 
  from the concession stand, bellowing and shaking a ticket stub in her face. 
  She doesn't know much wookiee, but hse knows enough to get out of that seat. 
  And fast. The unpleasant encounter was unfortunately timed just as Luke's 
  swoop jetted off the starting block, and the poor pilot was forced ot push 
  past the jubilant crowd, which was on its feet. She moves up a few more 
  rows, spotting a ncie open chair. But it was behind a post. She had learned 
  her lesson the hard way the other day and continues higher up into the 
  stands. Finally finding an empty seat, she plops down, sighing heavily.

From the Raceway -- The scoreboard fills in where the announcer did not: The 
  Shadow's Hand is behind the Kipran's Hope with 66 SRU's, and Luke Skywalker 
  is racing the Event Horizon.

As if to an inner rhythm only she can hear, the lead singer of the Womprats 
  fidgets gracefully in her seat, foot tapping and fingers occasionally 
  tapping as well on the chair's arms. But as the announcer mentions Luke's 
  name again, Shenner yells out a cheer -- as if she has absolutely no doubt 
  that Skywalker will own this race.

Kelvis looks over, "Hello, Quila, funny finding you way up here." By luck, 
  Altair happened to sit by the grumpy Quarren.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer :enters the 
  curve of Pinball alley and begins navigating past the moving obstacles as 
  she travels through section 2 pulling her speed back to full thrust.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         2
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer skims her way 
  through the section, barely missed by several of the pylons as she moves 
  more cautiously through the tube and heads for section 3.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo slightly ahead of its 
  nuetralizer competition slows into full thrust for this next trickyer 
  section. He allows his decreased speed to try to take an inside path theoguh 
  the drifting pylons.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    4                         2

Altair looks over to the scowlign and very grumpy Quarren sitting nearby. "Hey 
  there," she yells over the roar of the crowd, offering him some of the 
  contents of her chilly bag of popcorn. She shivers slightly, wishing she 
  didn't have the cans of soda in her pocket, and yet afraid to take them out, 
  lest they freeze again. Instead,she pulls the sleeves of her jacket over her 
  hands. Though this effectively made her hands useless, it was better to have 
  hands tomorrow than let them chip off today. "Chilly day," she says 
  offhandedly.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo suffers greatly from 
  his loss of speed. He crawls through the pylons missing them all but who 
  couldnt at that snails pace.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope prepares not to 
  battle the pylons but to use them to her advantage. Knowing the track well, 
  Tracer keeps her engines wide open and heads into the alley. She keeps her 
  eyes on the track and Skywalker's tailpipe, her crystalline gaze narrowing 
  under her visor with fierce competitive spirit.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         42
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope flys over the 
  pylons, perfectly timed, using them to propell her even faster than her 
  thrusters. The time for promoting these races is put aside for now as the 
  track maven becomes a competitor. Willing the swoop to it's top speed, she 
  has one desire, and that's to win. But she doesn't quite achieve the speed 
  she needs here.

Kelvis looks at Altair, and shakes his head, shouting back, "Nah, I think it's 
  quiet warm, but that could just be the anger." He watches the track, "Wish I 
  could get my hands on one of them. I'd have it tooled up SOOO nice."

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver sweeps into the 
  next area as the rider prepares the manuevur through the dursteel pylons 
  shifting back and form. Her body shifts to one side as her gloved hand 
  thrusts the gear back to fulldrive as she leans heavily to one side to 
  attempt the alley.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         13

"Go, Luke, go, Luke, go, Luke, go!" Shenner chants this over and over, like a 
  mantra, or a song. There's probably a song in here somewhere, in fact. The 
  redheaded singer grins broadly, half enamored of the simple thrill of 
  watching a high-speed race and half aglow with the thought of actually 
  writing a song involving the young Jedi -- though she suspects Luke'd 
  probably keel over with embarrassment if he heard it. This, of course, is 
  why she'll just have to write it without mentioning his name! Maybe later, 
  she'll try to put the experience into notes and rhythm; for now, she'll just 
  absorb it all, eagerly. "Go, Luke, go, Luke, go Luke go!"

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver moves from side to 
  side, easily avoiding the shifting pylons as it lives up to its name and 
  zips through the alley swiftly.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand is behind only 
  the Pro riders. Not a bad start the rider believes, but certainly wishes she 
  was a little closer to the front. Pressing the swoop hard, she has no 
  concern as she swings into the pylon shifting section.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         41

Turning ever so slightly, Reine thinks she hears Luke's name being chanted up 
  in the stands behind her. She holds her cowl back to squint bluely up there.

Moira sits down calmly in the VIP seating and smirks, scowling slightly.."If 
  only Kaley would just crash.. It would make my day at least..", muttering 
  the words quietly to herself, as she tucks a blanket about her legs.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand breezes through 
  the section. The rider was right not to have concern. Growing more and more 
  confident in the track, she hunches lower down on the swoop to help gain 
  speed.

From the Raceway -- The Event Horizon's pilot braces himself as the swoop 
  enters the second section of the race, relying on his speed and 
  maneuverability to bypass the pylons that shift haphazardly in the path of 
  the racers.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         41

Altair is really getting rather sick of the large back of popcorn she had 
  bought at the store. It was cold and crumbled. Sitting so high up in the 
  stands, she was really very tempted to begin throwing it at people. With 
  every handful she brought out of the bag, she had to fight to put it in her 
  mouth instead of flinging it towards teh racetrack, letting it shower down 
  on the stands below. "I've got one," she says to the tech sitting next to 
  her. "Feel free to fiddle with it. Just dont' upgrade it. I want to keep it 
  in the novice division," she says, putting another handful of popcorn into 
  her mouth.

From the Raceway -- Forced to slow down more than he had hoped, Skywalker 
  nonetheless keeps a good speed as the Event Horizon evades the shifting 
  pylons, the engines whining loudly in protest of the demands he's putting on 
  them.

Kelvis looks at Altair, and nods, "Great..." he shakes his head, "What's the 
  fun of that?" He shoot Altair a small smile.

From the Raceway -- Through the speaker system, the announcement is heard, 
  "The Novices are really jockeying for rank down there! The Neutralizer at 39 
  SRU's has gained a lead of two swoop lengths over the Hilo, at 34 SRU's! The 
  Intermediate racer on the Quicksilver has clocked in with 75 SRU's, and the 
  Amateur racer on the Shadow's Hand is out ahead of her with 132 SRU's.. not 
  even a NOSE behind the Kipran's Hope, who has 133 SRU's! About ten swoop 
  lengths in the lead is the Event Horizon, blazing a trail through these 
  obstacles with 143 SRU's.. will he beat Darren Primos and Troy McTavish, or 
  will these racers end up strewn across the track like so many have during 
  this weekend's competition? Let's find out, as they head into section 
  three.. the dangerous 'Void'!

"Yes, yes, Shenneret, we know, you're cheering for the Skywalker," Karm razzes 
  her enthusiastic lead singer, though the tease is far more affectionate than 
  sarcastic. One dark eye closes in a wry wink. "Or is it simply that you are 
  cheering for the desire to get out of losing our bet, eh?"

On Shen's other side, Aa'leet giggles behind her white hand, the other moving 
  one of her lektu into a more comfortable position upon her dainty shoulder. 
  And Shenner herself pronounces loudly, "HAH! Just you see, Karm, I'm tellin' 
  ya, he's gonna _own_ it!" And just in case she hadn't gotten her point 
  across yet, she concludes at the top of her lungs, "GO LUKE!"

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer slips into the 
  tube of section 3, maintaining her speed at full thrust as she passes 
  through the darkness, and through the wind of this hither-to unknown tunnel.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         2

Cimber steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Cimber has arrived.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer slips back out 
  of the tube as she heads for section 4. The swoop seems to be taking this 
  track fairly well if not with the speed of some of the other racers as the 
  driver continues through the race.

From the Raceway -- Enrie Pallando shakes his head sa if perhaps thinking he 
  is not cut out for the required daring. He slows his glacial pace even more 
  as Hilo enters the darkened zone.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         -6

Reine isn't shouting or rooting at all, but someone very close to her might 
  hear her murmuring softly to herself at every change in track or speed. Her 
  entire attention focused on Luke's swoop. She does however narrow down the 
  location of the Luke fans, a group of three very loud and exuberant 
  individuals. Reine can't help but wonder how they can be so confident about 
  it, and exactly who they might be. She stands and gracefully moves up the 
  steps toward them, pulling her robe up a few inches to make it easier.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo falls further behind as 
  much in the dark as its rider. It seems he waits for his eyes to adjust 
  before allowing any forward momentum.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope heads into the 
  pitch blackness of the void. Still trailing Skywalker, Tracer grumbles to 
  herself. 'He didn't even do a practice run!' But she knows well that 
  thinking about the Jedi or the Sarian woman behind _her_ will help her 
  concentrate on what _she_ is doing. Fearless and focusing, she revvs her 
  throttle while keeping her engines in overdrive and hugs her swoop tightly 
  against the strong adverse winds, while trying to maneuver the darkened 
  twists and turns within.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         41
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope could do this 
  with her eyes closed, she knows it so well. Emerging swiftly into the 
  splashy lighting she had installed in the dome, she breathes at last, having 
  hit nary a wall. She even gained meters on this one! Ellie doesn't look 
  around to see who made it out with her. Tracer just herself fo r the climb 
  ahead.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver avoids the last 
  sweeping pylons as it heads into the black darkness. The rider's form being 
  totally obscured from view as perhaps only the lights from the engines can 
  be seen as it roars into within the darkness.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         11

Altair smirks slightly. "Well, I did kind of hit some rought patches on my run 
  through the track. You could fix it up. I think it took some damage." She 
  shrugs, deciding that if the tech wanted to be grumpy, she would let him be 
  grumpy. She surveys the crowd below, trying to decide who she would want to 
  throw popcorn crumbs at, should the urge overtake her. A very jubilant and 
  loud group who seemed to be rooting for Skywalker catch her attention. Not 
  that she had anything against Luke. He actually struck her as quite nice. 
  And he could certainly race. But, for now, she just eats the popcorn.

Moira smiles faintly to herself, as she sees Luke doing so well. Folding her 
  arms across her, she watches intently. Her gaze following his swoop as best 
  she can.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Quicksilver appears to fly 
  swiftly through the darkness, avoiding whatever obstacles that must have 
  been present within as the rider rides out of the darkness looking 
  relatively unscathed.

With swoop racing having grown so popular as of late on Caspar, its infusion 
  into local popular music was pretty much inevitable. Off the top of her head 
  Shen knows five different songs that have to do with this particular sport 
  that artists in Plaxton City have composed -- and there's a dozen more she 
  knows from time spent on other worlds where swoop racing takes place. So 
  she's got a repetoire of songs on which to build on already -- but how to do 
  one that's different and exciting, with a Jedi involved? The tempo would 
  have to be fast, of course, and an instrument to represent Luke in the 
  melody line would have to be bright and clear. Some kind of horn? Caught up 
  in her watching and the planning going on the back of her head, Shenner 
  doesn't see Reine coming -- but Aa'leet does. The Twi'lek swivels her 
  be-tailed head in the other woman's direction, big liquid eyes blinking 
  curiously as she looks closer to see if the stranger is, indeed, approaching 
  them.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand is immersed in 
  darkness, but doesn't waver. She keeps her speed at a roaring constant with 
  only her senses to guide her.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         41
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand slows with the 
  lack of light. It must have gotten to her more than she thought it would. 
  But she makes it through without harm.

Like black rain on the parade, a new figure emerges from the mazzanine level 
  into the massive arena bowl. The roaring crowd of spectators on all sides 
  pay little attention to him at first, but the man's all-black attire can't 
  help but draw a few glances. The somber man walks along, his heavy overcoat 
  swinging open to reveal a uniform with the signature red and blue insignias. 
  The Imperial officer draws more glances as he takes a few steps down the 
  stairs to a lower seat. A few similarly dressed officers a sparsed widely 
  apart throughout the arena, most being accosted mercilessly, no doubt. 
  Cimber, however, pays absolutely no mind to the jeers tossed his way as he 
  moves along, looking over the crowd more than the race below.

Indeed Reine is approaching. She glides up to the trio and takes a nearby seat 
  in front of them, swivelling around. Her cowl partially blocking her 
  understated yet pretty face. "I'm sorry to bother you." she starts, "But I 
  heard you down there and you sound like you might know him." she motions 
  lightly in the direction of the track. "Do you?"

From the Raceway -- A lot is riding on the outcome of this race for the Jedi 
  Master, too, and he relies not only on his expert piloting, but other senses 
  as well to maneuver the Event Horizon through the Void. His gloved hands 
  grip the handlebars as the engines rattle with the power demanded of them.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         43

Upon seeing the Imperial officer clad nearly all in black, Altair can no 
  longer contain herself. Perhaps she were asking for trouble. She was 
  definitely being stupid. But before she can decide that this is a very bad 
  idea, the pilot has flung a handful of popcorn towards Cimber.

In addition to Aa'leet's curious alien regard, Karm and Shenner now swing 
  their attention to the cloaked young woman. The bigger of the two human 
  women, Karm seems rather more gracious of manner than Shen, and she inclines 
  her dark head politely. Her answer, however, is to defer to Shenner. "We are 
  all acquainted," she says, "but it is Shenneret with whom Skywalker is 
  friends, if it is he of which you speak?"

Shenner crooks up her dark red brows, apparently unbothered by a total 
  stranger asking her such a question. Her mouth crooks too, into a 
  comfortable lopsided grin. "What Karm said," she answers amiably. "Luke and 
  I are friends, yeah. Who're you?"

Reine
A short blonde firecracker. She's petite and symmetrically proportioned 
  without being overdone, and exuding an energetic charm. Her straight blonde 
  hair is pulled into a ponytail and draped over the front of her shoulder. 
  Angular thin brows are cocked over her light blue, whimsical eyes. She's 
  dressed rather scoundrelous for a woman, with a dark brown leather jacket 
  cropped short to her miniscule waist and deep blue leggings sporting a thin 
  red bloodstripe. Strapped to her thigh is a mean looking blaster. When she 
  moves, there is a bounce in her booted step. Over everything she wears a 
  borrowed brown cloak with a cowl.

From the Raceway -- The Event Horizon has no trouble at all speeding through 
  the blind area of the Void, its engines blaring red as the swoop disappears 
  into the darkened stretch of the race.

From the Raceway -- "What a shame, the Void fails to draw blood, folks, but 
  never fear.. here comes Sky Pitch!" Once the announcer's words cease, the 
  scoreboard illuminates brightly: The Event Horizon is still leading with 218 
  SRU's, followed by the Kipran's Hope at 206 SRU's. The Shadow's Hand is 
  listed with 189 SRU's, and the Quicksilver at 110 SRU's. The two Novices 
  show up at the bottom; the Neutralizer at 62 SRU's is ahead of the Hilo, 
  which only has 40 SRU's. The track, meanwhile, is taking a drastic plunge 
  upwards, going completely vertical, and having potential side effects of 
  disorientation on the uninitiated and those prone to motion sickness.

Moira sits quietly in the VIP seating. A thick warm blanket wrapped about her, 
  burried into it. Keeping her gaze intent on the track.. she pays little mind 
  to that going on about her.. Taking the time to glance at the viewing screan 
  every so often.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer heads into 
  section 4, the driver punching at her control panel then re-gripping the 
  handlebars as she hits the verticle and plunges skyward at full thrust.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         3

Reine's face is hidden from their view for a few seconds as she stares out 
  onto the track and ponders this. Turning back around and offering a weak 
  smile she answers, "I'm Reine. It's nice to meet you." and extending a hand. 
  "I'm also a friend of his."

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer manages to get 
  up the severe slope and moves on to section 5 of the track, the driver once 
  again punching at the controls before re-gripping her swoop's handlebars.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo kicks up its speed as 
  it climbs the vertical. Its driver puts his head down and grips his swoop 
  controls as if hanging on for dear life. It certainly isn't the dust of his 
  compettion for he is so far behind even it has all ready settled by the time 
  he gets there.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    -2                        9

Shenner, granted, has spent a lot less time than she'd like getting to know 
  Luke -- but then again, he _does_ rank as one of her closest friends in the 
  galaxy, and she knows enough about him to know that people who claim to be 
  friends with Luke Skywalker are either attention-seekers... or the genuine 
  article, very rare indeed. Which one Reine is she doesn't know yet, but 
  she's in good enough humor that she's willing to kick back and wait for an 
  answer one way or the other. For now she grins a bit more broadly, thrusting 
  forth a slender but muscled hand to take and shake the one offered. "Shen 
  Veery," she replies readily, then tosses a nod at her two companions. "Karm 
  a-Veris, and Aa'leet, we're three fifths of the Womprats, we sing at the 
  Sandbar. Glad to meetcha! Luke's gonna _own_ this race." Her grip is firm, 
  with calluses on her palm, and her smile's a confident one.

Cimber, though ignoring all manner of verbal insults being thrown at him, does 
  not refrain from turning his attention to the person who literally /throws/ 
  something at him. As Altair's popcorn bounces harmlessly off his heavy coat, 
  the Imperial turns round to level his steely gaze on the offender. His harsh 
  eyes sweep over her briefly with that robotic coldness customary to the 
  older Imperial officers. Young, innocent, and impetuous she looks, but that 
  isn't reason enough not to file away her features into memory. He seems to 
  have little interest in dealing with her little emotional outburst right 
  now, however, as he turns away from her and continues on his way, apparently 
  heading for another black-clad figure down the bleachers a bit.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo succeds in achieving 
  the high ground but that climb really took away from his velocity even under 
  overthrust. His initial speed was just too slow. He falls further behind .

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope doesn't fear 
  disorientation in the pitch. Sure, gravity is annoying but she's spent 
  enough time doing atmospheric patrols in her A-Wing, back in the day. The 
  pilot simply hangs on, hunkers down and goes straight up the Sky Pitch with 
  her engines in overdrive. The rush of racing fills her with a certain 
  happiness. Afterall, she has begun to gain on Skywalker a bit...
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         41
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope doesn't slip a 
  bit as it climbs. After all, she does this track every day, sometimes twice, 
  when she's on the planet and not out promoting the crate. She's hoping her 
  race can be as successful as her marketing has been and being that she's 
  more experienced with racing, why shouldn't she be? Her speed is not what 
  she had hoped for as her engines whined in protest.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand starts the 
  steep climb without hesitation. The pieces of hair that didn't make it into 
  the riders helmet can be seen twisting behind her as she tries to catch up 
  lost time.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         40

Moira shifts slightly in her seat, a small sigh escaping.." At this rate I 
  shall have to borrow the money for the bounty..", scowling to herself, and 
  she frowns a bit more, leaning forward on the railing...Third place.. 
  unless..And focuses on kaley's swoop, speeding along 
  effortlessly.."Unless..", the thought muttered allowed as she leans both 
  elbows onto the bar.

Christopherus steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Christopherus has arrived.

Reine nods silently as she is introduced to the other two. "I had hoped some 
  of your confidence would rub off on me." she says to Shenner, "I don't even 
  know what I'm worried about. It's just a stupid swoop race, right?" she asks 
  begging for some reassurance, then chuckles at the way she must sound. "I'm 
  sorry to bother you." she adds, offering a hesitant smile. Embarrassed now, 
  she turns around and pulls the cowl tighter around her face,

Christopherus discreetly makes his way into the area, followed by an armed 
  goon. He makes his way over to a seat near the entrance, sitting and 
  observing quietly.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand pushes through 
  this upward climb and even manages to gain speed. Will it be enough? She 
  certainly hopes so. Even as she tries to push it out of her mind, the 
  underlying reason for this race returns to her making her more determined 
  than ever to do well.

Altair tries to avoid eyecontact as the man's steely eyed gaze sweeps over 
  her. She has a very bad inkling that his stare lingered on her for a few 
  seconds longer than she would have liked. He probably knew it was her. She 
  did, after all, have an immense bag of popcorn on her lap. It wouldn't take 
  a genius to figure it out. Hopefully he would jsut think that she was a 
  disgruntled Caspian, and not a spunky New Republic fighter pilot. "Yay!" she 
  cheers, acting innocent, as if she had no idea why he might find her 
  interesting at all.

Karm and Aa'leet both offer smiles of greeting, while Shenner tosses a hand in 
  a gesture of dismissal and says cheerfully, "Hey, if you know Luke it's 
  hardly a bother. Wanna join us? Hey, Karm, can we shove down a seat here, 
  move your duffel, will ya...?" She pokes the bigger woman, then points at 
  the bag her friend had dropped into the seat on her far side.

From the Raceway -- Skywalker shifts on the swoop at his command, every nerve 
  concentrating on keeping the Event Horizon's momentum as he reaches the 
  steep climb of the Sky Pitch. Smoke pours from the engines which rev loudly 
  in anticipation of soaring over the almost-vertical surface.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         41

Tasah catches Christopherus's entrance, from her standing position near the 
  back. Eyeing the armed goon some wondering if now would be a good time or 
  not.

From the Raceway -- Some of the Event Horizon's momentum is lost, but Luke has 
  no problem making it over the climb, clinging to the swoop in order to make 
  up for a shift in his center of gravity.

Cimber has apparently arrived not to long ago himself. He is making his way 
  down the steps, standing out in the crowd due to his all-black Imperial 
  uniform. He is escorted by crude remarks from all around, mostly from 
  disgruntled Caspians, though a few pieces of popcorn lie on the ground where 
  he is walking away from. The officer continues down the steps to the row 
  with the only other Imperial officer in sight. Cimber steps into the row, 
  making his way toward the solitary with some difficulty. Unfortunately, the 
  other officer is surrounded on all sides by jeering Caspians, including the 
  seats directly adjacent to him. A relieved look crosses the Imperial's face 
  as Cimber walks up and looks down at the harassing spectators. He asks for a 
  seat... They decline rudely.

Webb steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Webb has arrived.

From the Raceway -- "Up, up, up they go!" the announcer calls out into the 
  microphone as the swoops rocket up Sky's Pitch vertically. "The Event 
  Horizon is still holding onto that lead strongly with 283 SRU's, but 
  Kipran's Hope isn't giving up and is holding strong with a solid 270 SRU's. 
  The Amateur Shadow's Hand has fallen back off the professional riders with 
  255 SRU's, while the two Novices are still trailing behind; the Neutralizer 
  has 79 SRU's, ahead of the Hilo which only has 61 SRU's." Some excitement is 
  added into the male announcer's voice, "Here comes 9.8m/s^2, and for those 
  of you who aren't math whizzes, that means gravity fields! We've seen dozens 
  of swoops chewed up on this section of the track, and I'd bet we'll see more 
  tonight!" There's a roar from the bloodthirsty crowd, and at least in one 
  section, an organized group begins to chant, "CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!" while 
  stomping their feet in rhythm.

Altair notes people far below her who had a duffle bag on an empty seat. If 
  everyone kept a duffle bag on the seat next to them, there wouldn't be much 
  room for the rest of the crowd, now would there? Waiting until the Imperial 
  is far away, and no longer paying attention to her, the pilot showers the 
  people saving seats with duffle bags with popcorn crumbs as well. She then 
  drops the bag onto the ground and looks back to the races. "Yay, 
  um..Navigator!" she yells, grabbing (badly) for a name of the swoop that 
  happens to be zipping along the track at the moment.

"Thanks." Reine replies, standing to maneuver around and sit next to Shenner. 
  "You must think I'm silly." she grins under the cloth. She tucks one hand 
  between her knees tightly, while the other grips at the fabric at her 
  collarbone. Whispering she adds, "Yesterday it didn't seem so bad." then 
  shaking her head, "Emotional little girl.. blast it, it's just ridiculous.." 
  she shrugs, getting herself together. "You know we saw a wreck here last 
  time. I think someone was injured."

Tasah takes a deep breathe and decides there is no time like the present. SHe 
  makes her way through the people standing along the back and heads for where 
  Chrisopherus took a seat. Clearing her throat some before calling out just 
  load enough to be heard over the enthusiastic spectors, hopefully, " Mr. 
  Kizziarius." Also hoping to get his attention before his goons as well.

Christopherus hearing his name said every so slightly turns, his attention 
  quickly shifts to the woman addressing him, an eyebrow raises and his mouth 
  opens....yet he does not speak, merely closes his mouth again and looks 
  thoughtfull for a moment.

Donivan steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Donivan has arrived.

Karm's attention swivels up to try to find out where the popcorn came from, 
  and her dark eyes narrow in mild irritation. She calls out a curse in her 
  native tongue, but then, most of her attention _is_ still on the race, and 
  on this apparently nervous young woman who's joined her and her friends.

Shenner's native language is Basic, and as she's pelted with popcorn, _she_ is 
  a lot more intelligible than Karm. "Hey, kark off!" she bellows up over her 
  shoulder, though she doesn't really bother to see where the popcorn tidbits 
  came from, exactly. She's still paying most of her attention to Reine, 
  scooting over into Karm's now vacated seat to let Reine have hers. "Yeah? 
  Well, the way I hear it the people that run this place do at least have 
  decent medical care on hand, so well hey. And nah, ain't nothin' silly about 
  it, swoopin' isn't everybody's thing."

Tasah manages something of a smile as she steps closer as she does get 
  Christopherus's attention. Adding a," Hello," to her previous greeting.

Reine mm's softly, "Well it isn't exactly the swooping that's bothering me, 
  but who's doing it." She peers at the girl, admiring her momentarily, "but 
  you know him better than I do, I guess." She absently brushes popcorn from 
  her lap.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer starts into 
  section 5 at overthrust then pulls back to full when she hits a bit of the 
  tube where the swoop seems to lose control as she encounters the first 
  unexpected patch of variable gravity.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         3

Moira sits quietly in the VIP section, burried in a thick, warm blanket, as 
  she leans both elbows on the railing, watching the track intently.

Webb very rarely shows any sort of emotion resembling distress. Looking over 
  the audience, particularly many of the more umm... enthusiastic protestors 
  actually gives him reason to. "Bloody unfocussed," he mutters as he shakes 
  his head (with the tone to imply that this would be considered a sad state 
  in whatever hole he crawled out of). He starts to make his way down the 
  steps to the row where Shenner and company are seated.

Donivan returns after an absence of several hours. This time he seems much 
  calmer, and a soft, lopsided smile is on his face. Depending on the 
  lighting, the smile can look either warm and friendly or cold and sinister. 
  Once more he does not bother to look for a seat, but simply heads all the 
  way down and takes a stance at the railing. As he walks, the reflective 
  material of his suit catches the light from various direction and creates an 
  effect similar to the skin of a snake in the sunlight.

Christopherus scoots over a little making room next to him and motioning for 
  Tasah to sit, he looks most surprised and curious..."When did.....and 
  how...?"

The roar of the crowd and their ominous chanting drown out any carrying sound 
  that results from the conversation between Cimber and the apparently 
  enebriated gentleman sitting next to his compatriot. The senior officer's 
  face never changes durign the whole exchange, remaining a cold, hard mask 
  that hides countless menacing threats behind its steely facade. 
  Unfortunately, his scowl does not have the same effect on a drunken goon as 
  it does on a popcorn throwing pilot. The man in the seat stands, shouting in 
  Cimber's face, spraying little flecks of saliva on the officer's face. The 
  Imperial stares back at him emotionlessly, speaking in an apparently 
  controlled manner. However, judging from the drunk's body language, he 
  doesn't seem any closer to giving up his seat. Similarly, judging by 
  Cimber's piercing stare, he still wants it.

Aa'leet doesn't have hair, and so popcorn bits attach themselves to the 
  ribbons she's tied about her headtails instead. Still, though, the Twi'lek 
  woman crinkles her nose in distaste, glaring briefly up the rows of audience 
  but letting her more voluble companions take care of cursing whoever was 
  crude enough to thusly pepper them. While the keyboard player fastidiously 
  picks crumbs off her lektu, Shenner smiles to Reine and makes a 'ffftt' 
  noise of rueful dismissal. "Enh, well, I prob'ly qualify as 'very good 
  acquaintance', it ain't like I fought the Rebellion with him or anything. 
  But I do know he's a crack pilot. Little thing like this is probably kid's 
  play for him." And she winks assuringly. After all, for a guy who blew up a 
  Death Star, how hard can racing a swoop be?

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer doesn't make it 
  through this section as cleanly as she had the rest thus far. The rider gets 
  shaken up and the swoop smacks into the wall, screeching metal protesting as 
  the sparks fly at the point of contact. It is at this point that she pulls 
  back from overthrust and back into full to complete section 5 and then move 
  on to section 6.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo keeps his speed high in 
  ingnorance of the track. It looks very staright forward and he guns it 
  having no realization of what the track has in store for him.

Altair slinks down in her seat, as her victims do not seem to find her antics 
  as amusing as she herself finds them. She was getting tired of swoop racing. 
  She had seen enough holoclips of Luke hopping into X-wings and flying that 
  she was reasonable sure he wouldn't wipe out. She was actually a lot more 
  worried about one of the novices overturning her time, which was, for the 
  moment holding onto first. Forcing herself to focus on the crowd, rather 
  than get into more trouble with her bag of popcorn, the pilot immerses 
  herself in the races. After a few moments, seh absently reaches into a 
  pocket and pulls out a can of soda, which she opens, and begins to drink. 
  She does not scan the crowd for people to throw the empty can at, although 
  the bad tempered woman telling her to Kark herself was a good candidate.

Tasah slides into the space next to Christopherus after he scoots over 
  motioning her to sit.....taking not of his surprised and curious 
  expression," I just got back to Caspar most recently. A few days perhaps. 
  How is something a bit more complex."

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    -3                        8

Christopherus nods slowly saying, "No doubt.....welcome back.", looking her 
  once over he adds to that, "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

From the Raceway -- Well the law of gravity seems to still function on Caspar 
  even if it seems to be a bit random at this particualr section. As the frist 
  cahnge is encountered the hilo slams down against the track sending it 
  spiraling out of control bouncing further through the multiple gavity zone 
  much like a pinball game. Pallando's only saving grace is that his speed was 
  never very high.

Tasah smiles some," Thanks...it's nice..but feels odd as well.." Shaking her 
  head some," I'm fine, though I still seem to be under some sort of doctor's 
  orders not to return to work just yet."

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope head into the 
  gravity field. Though some think it shifts randomly, there is a pattern if 
  you pay attention to it. Tracer keeps her engines open and heads full speed 
  into this section, her swoop jinking like a starfighter with a TIE on it's 
  tail, something she's been used to in her past.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         41
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope propels across 
  the gravity field but not with the perfection she'd hoped for. 'Don't get 
  cocky, girl' she tells herself as she grits her teeth. Determined to keep 
  chewing up the distance between her and Skywalker as well as gain on the 
  previous Pro competitor, she heads into the next section, the easy one, 
  hoping to gain some more SRUs there.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand is continueing 
  to be pushed to extremes. Not knowing what to expect here, the rider just 
  hopes for the best, and for a moment closes her eyes. But suddenly opens 
  them again realizing how stupid it would be to close your eyes on a track 
  going as fast as she is.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         40

Morganna steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Morganna has arrived.

Christopherus hrms and coninues looking Tasah over before nodding, "Very 
  well...you are the doctor, if you say you're alright...." and then quickly 
  turns his attention to another topic, "Have you seen Mr. Pokgram at all?"

Kelvis sits at the top of the stands, watching, and not looking too happy, 
  even for a Quarren.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo heads back toward the 
  Staging Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- #29 Hilo has left.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand didn't loose 
  much speed, but enough the rider noticed and isn't happy about it. She leans 
  forward, hunched down, and puts all she can into the rest of the race.

Altair sits way up at the top of the stands, near Kelvis, a massive, half 
  empty bag of popcorn at her feet and a defrosted can of soda in her hand. 
  The pilot sits, slunk down in her seat, watching the races, occasionally 
  cheering and stuff..

Donivan watches the race with little interest. It is only because he dislikes 
  confined spaces that he came back. Besides, it would be almost socially 
  unnaceptable to not know who won what at the party afterwords. He is indeed 
  more relaxed after his chat with Primos, almost like a completely new 
  person. He relaxes against the railing and watches the action carelessly.

Moira wtaches the finish quietly, despite the cheering about her, both elbows 
  on the railing.. away from most of the other spectators in the VIP seating.

Reine is in the stands, sitting next to Shenner and her fellow bandmates. She 
  has her hood pulled up and is biting her nails innocently. "I'll have to 
  take your word for it. Although he does seem to have some amazing 
  abilities.. so I guess you're right." she muses softly to the young girl 
  next to her.

From the Raceway -- Any giddiness at the lead he was enjoying disappears as 
  the Event Horizon zooms onto the deceptively level field, the goggles and 
  helmet hiding the fact that Skywalker's eyes are half-closed as he 
  concentrates on other senses to guide him through the unpredictable gravity 
  wells.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         43

Sargent has been standing at the top of the escalator for a long time. Every 
  few minutes, she looked down the escalator, as if she was waiting for 
  something. She has been checking the status of the racers as well. Satisfied 
  with the progress of the race, she sontinues to stand by the escalator, her 
  hands in her jacket pockets and her demeanor relaxed.

Tasah nods slightly," Aye, I'm fine....and tend to think I'm fine enough to 
  work, but my recuers seem to have other ideas. But then again they can't 
  watch me all the time." She grins sime at that. She nods," Aye, I saw him 
  shortly after I got back here. "

The cat eyed woman steps off of the escalators and stares at her ticket. This 
  time, rather than going near Altair on purpose, morganna heads up to where 
  her seats are, but by sheer coincidence her seat is right behind Altair's. 
  Morganna raises an eyebrow and smiles slightly, although from the look on 
  her face, she doesn't appear to be entirely happy, after all.. she missed 
  most of the races today. Moprganna yawns and moves to her set, sticking her 
  feet up and 'accidentally' gently pushing Altair's head with her boots.

As things are heating up on the track, so are they in the stands. Cimber and 
  the irate spectator stand very close, close enough that it takes quite an 
  effort for the former not to sneer at the latter's alcoholic breath. The 
  Imperial remains silent for a while as the man who is becoming identified as 
  a Caspian continue to insult and argue. Growing tired of the man's barrage, 
  Cimber turns towards the other Imperial officer and nods once. The other man 
  stands and looks to be ready to leave while Cimber turns to make off. 
  However, before he can do so, the Caspian has a hand on the chest of the 
  junior officer, preventing his departure. The elder Imperial whips round on 
  him and, quite suddenly, the man is lowering himself into his seat. Cimber 
  stands over him for a minute, very close, his lips barely moving to form 
  unpleasant words, threats no doubt. He seems to be holding something, but 
  the crowd makes it impossible to see. A moment later, the two Imperials are 
  exiting the row, and no sooner than they do so is the Caspian on his feet 
  shouting angrily. They ignore him and begin making their way back up towards 
  teh mezzanine level.

Webb finds the appropriate aisle and begins to slide his way down towards 
  Shenner and company. His gaze falls upon the track, in time for him to catch 
  sight of Pallando going out of control. His earlier distressed expression 
  turns neutral. Maybe he even gets in touch with a bit of the delight that 
  this crowd feels at the sight of a spill. He shrugs a shoulder, then 
  continues down the aisle to Shenner, and casually reaches out to touch her 
  cheek to coax her to look up at him.

From the Raceway -- Reliance on the Force pays off as Luke Skywalker guides 
  the Event Horizon through perhaps the most difficult part of the race, 
  mastering the tug and pull of the gravity wells that threaten to disturb the 
  swoop's equilibrium. Barely rattled, the engines flare louder as he pilots 
  onto the next section.

Reine is friends with Luke, and she doesn't know much about some of his 
  'amazing abilities'? Shenner crooks up her brows again, and then chokes back 
  a it of a giggle. "That's one way of putting it," she drawls in deliberate 
  understatement. Now's probably not the time to go into the details of some 
  of the things she's seen Luke do. But her tone turns more earnest as she 
  agrees readily, leaning forward again to try to figure out where Skywalker 
  is from her current viewpoint, "But yeah, he's pretty incredi--JON!" With 
  Webb reaching past Karm to touch her, much to the horn player's amusement, 
  it's pretty much impossible to miss the soldier. Shen surges to her feet, 
  throwing her arms around Webb and informing him happily, "Luke's doin' real 
  great! And we just met another friend of his, say hi to Reine here--" And 
  she nods at the cloaked girl sitting next to her.

Altair feels nudged in the head by someone's feet. Unfortunately for her, she 
  did not notice to whom the feet belonged. Reaching down absentmindedly, the 
  pilot graps a handful of popcorn and flings it over her shoulder at whoever 
  was rude enough to kick her in the head.

From the Raceway -- The ravenous crowd roars estatically as the Neutralizer 
  sends up sparks and screeches with metallic protest at being slammed into 
  the wall, and the sound only becomes even more deafening from the spectators 
  as the Hilo is spun out of control and completely wipes out, swoop and rider 
  careening off and leaving the active pack as the other swoops continue on. 
  The scoreboard electrifies and displays the following:

	KIPRAN'S HOPE (PRO - ELANA TRACER) - 331 SRU
	EVENT HORIZON (PRO - LUKE SKYWALKER) - 365 SRU
	SHADOW'S HAND (AMA - KALEY RECOURUA) - 319 SRU
	NEUTRALIZER (NOV - KARTIJAN LORE) - 101 SRU

"Oh, that's gotta hurt!" The announcer's voice is less than sympathetic for 
  the Hilo's plight as the swoop officially goes up as 'CRASH' on the board 
  and falls out of the running. "Now's the time these racers get to catch 
  their breath, folks, but just you wait- this simple straightaway is leading 
  towards the most dangerous sections of the track, we're just moments away 
  from more carnage!"

Christopherus nods slightly and asks curiously, "Is he alright? He's 
  been.....missing, since shortly after you disappeared."

"See, what'd I tell ya?" Shenner crows as the updated scores come up on the 
  screen. "Luke's _ownin'_ this race! Sit, Jon, sit--" This is to several 
  bellows of "DOWN IN FRONT!" a few rows up the way, and the young singer gets 
  around this little problem by trying to shove Webb down into her seat. She's 
  smaller than he is, she can sit in his lap!

Moira smiles a bit smugly as she sees Kaley's score.."Hmm.. well, some things 
  can go right today..", a small chuckle escaping and she folds up her 
  blanket, tucking it under her arm and rising from her seat.

The popcorn magically stops in mid air and flies back towards Altair as the 
  cloaked woman raises a hand. No doubt a familiar shiver would hit Altair at 
  this reaction and a few people around give the pair an odd look. Thankfully 
  the crowd is thick enough, and the crash is brutal enough, that Morganna's 
  amazing returning popcorn trick is ignored. Morganna taps her boot against 
  altair's head again, a litle bit of dirt falling into her fizzyglug, "I'm 
  sorry, Altair.. Am I bugging you?"

Reine stands abruptly as a swoop careens into the wall, exploding into a 
  shower of debris. She inhales sharply because she wasn't paying attention. 
  She is relieved only slightly when she notices the scoreboard. Looking a bit 
  pale, she turns to the man who has just walked up, and nods, "Hello." she 
  says sheepishly.

Tasah ohs softly beforing nodding some," He seemed fine enough. Was releaved 
  to see me, alive at that. Though he wants revenge I think for what 
  happened.....he spoke of going to kill him."

Christopherus just slightly throws his hands up in a careless fashion before 
  being gonked on the head from behind to keep low in the stands, shooting a 
  mean look backwards he returns his attention to Tasah and says, "What can I 
  say.....that guy managed to drag Mr. Pokgrams mental status down to his own."

Altair is suddenly showered by popcorn. At first she assumes that the smart 
  alec behind had stopped at the concession stand, but as the foot nudges 
  again and she hears the only too familiar voice, the pilot sits straight up 
  and turns her head around slowly. She knows that it was her popcorn. And 
  that it was her dear friend who had sent it back at her. "Oh, hello again," 
  she says, twisting her face into a forced smile and, at the same time, 
  trying to ignore the chill running up her back. "No, no, you never bother 
  me."

A few moments after the crash, Sargent realizes who it was that crashed. Her 
  body goes into an alert posture and she swiftly pivots to go down the 
  escalator. One last glance at the scoreboard, and she is gone.
Sargent heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Sargent has left.

Webb grins lopsidedly, what with Shenner's enthusiastic greeting, and wraps 
  his arms about the young woman's waist to hug her tightly. Releasing Shen 
  from the rather abrupt embrace, he looks over to Reine, and manages to seem 
  quite composed as he greets her, "Uh. Hello." Then he's sliding into the 
  seat which Shen is coaxing him into.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer moves into 
  section 6 of the track, still at full since she doesn't know what this next 
  stretch has to offer either.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    4                         3

Tasah quirks an eyebrow watching the brief echange backwards. Only nodding 
  faintly to the statement. "Perhaps so..But I should think I would have more 
  cause to do so to Cinii, than Mr. Pokgrams after what I have been through. 
  But there are things I found out that make it more complicated than that. 
  Some of which I explained, or at least tried to Po'vak. He seemed to calm 
  down, but then it might just have been because he found out I was still 
  alive."

Cimber continues up the steps with his companion, the crash on the swoop 
  course sparing them from more jeers as nearly everyone in teh stands shouts 
  with glee at the picture on the big screen. The Imperials continue to ignore 
  everyone as the move quickly towards the exit, however, there is one person 
  that catches Cimber's eye. finding her exactly where he left her, the man's 
  harsh glare again lights on her, though he finds her to be focused on 
  another. He stares a moment longer before movingo n.

Kelvis blinks as he thinks he saw popcorn change direction in midair, but 
  shakes his head. "Damn eyes must be playing tricks on me." he continues 
  watching the races.

Donivan might be looking toward the race, but he is looking straight through 
  it. He completely ignores the crash and would not know who it was even if he 
  did see it. John's mind is set on his own problems. He is out here only for 
  the atmosphoere, and perhaps for the background noise. John was always able 
  to focus better when distracted. The problems of one job and another are on 
  the Corellian's mind, as well as problems of a more personal nature.

Morganna chuckles and pulls her feet from the seat and then elans foreward, 
  putting her head uncomfortably close to Altair's. She reaches over and takes 
  a handful of popcorn before leaning back and popping it into her mouth. 
  Morganna shakes her head and shrugs the hood from her face, revealing the 
  orange cat eyes that are now associated with Morgie, "Oooh.. now that was a 
  good crash.." morganna looks up at the leaderboard and snorts, "Kaley and 
  Luke, huh? I bet Luke's chjeating by using the force." Morganna grins and 
  leans back, yep. If she raced, that's what she would do.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer flies through 
  this section with ease as she comes up to section 7, oblivious to what has 
  happened to her fellow novice competitor.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope careens down the 
  mild slope as fast as her thrusters will carry her, keeping them in 
  overdrive. Her back is arched over the sleek machine and under her tight 
  neo-cel suit her breath rises and falls with steady calm.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    5                         41
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope uses this time 
  to mentally prepare for the dragon's jaws, gaining abit on her own speed, 
  but likely not closing with Skywalker.

Shenner settles down happily into Webb's lap, given a few more inches' worth 
  of visual range now, though she wriggles about a bit before finding a 
  position that's both comfortable for her and not a hindrance to _his_ line 
  of sight. "I'm so glad you caught up with us, Jon, I wasn't sure you were 
  gonna make it," she tells him over the surrounding noise of the crowd. 
  Aa'leet, in the meantime, offers Reine a few of the candied fruit segments 
  she's been periodically munching on as a snack, and Karm steeples her long 
  dark fingers before her chin, studying each distant vehicle with a critical 
  interest.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand whines into the 
  best section on the track. Kale is ever so happy for the break, but knows 
  she can't take it. She must push harder and faster if she is going to claim 
  the goal, her prize, and a more personal wager.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         41

Sargent steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Sargent has arrived.

Altair tries to move out of the way as she finds her space suddenly invaded by 
  Morganna's head. But it seems that no matter where she goes, the head is 
  still unpleasantly close. She flinches as she catches the gazillionth replay 
  of Pallando's crash on the viewscreens peppered about the stadium. "Very 
  destructive," she comments, feeling her grip on the lead of the novice 
  competition sinking in just a little more. She tries to squash the feeling 
  of glee, as it was rather sick to enjoy the crash, like -some- people she 
  could think of.

Reine shakes her head politely at the offer of snacks. She couldn't eat right 
  now if she wanted to. She finally sits back down, placing both hands now 
  between her robed knees and leaning forward in her seat.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand begins to slow 
  on the easiest part of the track and catches herself. She was worrying and 
  that certainly didn't help her consintration. Pushing all thoughts from her 
  head, she focuses only on the race and what little is left of it.

Christopherus again nods to Tasah and then motions back to the arena saying, 
  "Very well I shall leave this discussion for sometime other than a leisure 
  event." as he focuses his attention back on the track

Kelvis winces at the crash, "Damn...that'll be hard to fix." The quarren 
  mutters.

Cimber and the other Imperial officer take their leave of the arena and its 
  noisy din, calming striding out an exit without much ado.

Morganna looks at the view screen again, "Oh hey.. Great! that was Pallando. 
  Damn, I hope he isnt dead... he deserves a little more in the way of pain." 
  Morganna munches on the popcorn and occasional,ly tosses a piece at Altair 
  with unerring precison, hitting her in the middle of the head. "So.." she 
  says quietly, "Who told you about my new job?"

Webb quietly quips as he catches sight of the Imperial officers making their 
  way up the steps, "Colours like that will land one in a plastic bag in these 
  parts. But at least they'll leave pretty corpses despite all of the 
  inbreeding." It's a simple comment on the lack of true peace that exists 
  between the Empire and... most of the civilised universe, despite all of the 
  careful rhetoric between the governments of the Union and the Empire. One 
  reaps what one sows, and what was sown upon this soil not long ago isn't 
  exactly pleasant.

From the Raceway -- The slim black-clad man on the Event Horizon leans forward 
  on his swoop, taking advantage of the easy downgrade, keeping the engines 
  open, as the vehicle whirrs by this easy stretch of the track.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         41

Cimber heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Cimber has left.

Sargent reenters from the mezzanine. She is calmer now than when she rushed 
  down the escalator. Her attention returns to the track but is diverted by 
  the display on the monitors. It is the replay of the Hilo's crash. She 
  winces and then resumes her patient position near the escalator.

Tasah nods slightly, turning her attention back to the track with 
  Christopherus's motions and words," Aye, of course. Though I ask that it be 
  continued again when business and leisure allow, as there is something of 
  importance I need to speak to you about on this, at least to me."

Finally returning to the real world, John sees the replays of the crash, and 
  the debris of a swoop on the track. He frowns a bit and elbows a fellow 
  observer, a bit rudely. "Hey pal, any idea of who that was?" The disturbed 
  observer turns around and grumbles a name to Donivan followed by a soft 
  snort then goes back to watching the race. John nods calmly, but a second 
  later it sinks in and his face looses all expression. Pal must be hurt, but 
  he has no idea of what to do or where to go he simply stares at the crash in 
  amazement for the moment.

From the Raceway -- His lead is a substantial one, so it's worth it to take a 
  moment to breathe, and the Event Horizon's engines slowly just slightly as 
  Skywalker prepares mentally for the most challenging section of the race.

If Shen hadn't already eaten all her popcorn, she'd be joining Altair and 
  Morganna in popcorn-throwing games, for those Imperial uniforms _are_ 
  tempting targets. But the lead Womprat has reached a popcorn-free state, and 
  thus has to content herself with making a face in the direction of the 
  representatives of the Empire. "Well," she proclaims happily, poking Webb 
  for bringing up such a dour topic, "maybe it'll stick in their craws when 
  Luke wins this thing. Look at him go!"

Altair blinks without fail every time the piece of popcorn hits her in the 
  middle of the forehead, looking a little disoriented every time. She shifts 
  uncomfortably at the question, not sure that she wants to be the cause of 
  the death of the Imperial captain she had met the night before. "Oh, I 
  overheard someone talking about it," she says. That was perfectly true.

From the Raceway -- "I hope those racer enjoyed their breather," the announcer 
  commentates boastfully, "Because iiiiiiiiiiiiit's time for Droidsville! 
  Don't you know those droids are angry, and looking to pick a few of our 
  remaining competitors off before they even get the chance to take on the 
  Krayt!" The scoreboard electrifies and displays the following:

	KIPRAN'S HOPE (PRO - ELANA TRACER) - 402 SRU
	EVENT HORIZON (PRO - LUKE SKYWALKER) - 431 SRU
	SHADOW'S HAND (AMA - KALEY RECOURUA) - 378 SRU
	NEUTRALIZER (NOV - KARTIJAN LORE) - 126 SRU

The cat eyed woman wouldn't kill any of her peers unless they seriously 
  corssed her, nor would she kill Altair as the girl is so much fun to tease. 
  Morganna dusts her gloved hands and folds her legs over one another, 
  searching for something that isn't deadly to throw at Altair.

Harrison steps off the escalators from the Mezzanine.
Harrison has arrived.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer heads into 
  section 7 still maintaining full speed as she tries to avoid the angry 
  droids while trying not to re-land on the walls.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         2

Moira heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Moira has left.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer succeeds in the 
  endeavour and moves on towards section 8 as she manages to brush past the 
  droids with no apparent detriment.

Morganna heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Morganna has left.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope powers into 
  Droidville. Tracer had nearly forgotten about this section in her thoughts 
  towards the finish. She instinctively remembers to lower her body close to 
  her swoop, and as always, is glad of her armored suit.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         43
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope skims the lasers 
  but has a few close calls. Fear propels her though and she picks up speed.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand enters 
  DroidVille at full thrust. If anything will keep her out of the blaster 
  fire, speed will.

Christopherus grins

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    3                         41
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand rushes through 
  the droid filled section to the best of her ability, and manages through it 
  without a scrape. She knows the last section is coming up and prepares for 
  it as best as she can.

From the Raceway -- Section 7 is tricky, and Luke knew this going into it. His 
  teeth grit together as he leans over the handlebars, ready to take any 
  evasive action necessary to avoid being hit by the angry blasting droids, 
  urging his swoop on towards the narrow passage.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         42

Were the word given by the appropriate individuals, Webb would probably be 
  throwing more than popcorn at the retreating Imperials. Then he'd count 
  their bodies, and jaunt off to visit their homeworlds with a horde of his 
  bretheren. But, Webb's attention drifts from such subjects as the stuffed 
  suits make their exits, and his attention drifts back to Shenner, who is 
  neatly seated upon his lap. "One can only hope," he murmurs in response to 
  Shen's quip, as he slides his arms about her waist.

From the Raceway -- The Event Horizon has no trouble evading the blaster shots 
  from the droids, nor making it through the narrow stretch of track. Luke 
  applies the engines to their fullest and zooms through, his swoop veering 
  out of the way of blaster shots whenever necessary, never losing its 
  momentum.

From the Raceway -- The crowd, and announcer alike, wait with baited breath 
  for the droids to score a hit, but alas.. though their effort is valiant, 
  they all fail to even singe a rider. "It's not over yet," the announcer 
  reminds the crowd, disappointment in his voice masked by the excitement of 
  words to come, "The final obstacle of the race is upon us! Who among this 
  pack of survivors will tackle the Black Krayt, and who will chicken out and 
  take the Clucker??" The scoreboard flitters and updates its readings:

	KIPRAN'S HOPE (PRO - ELANA TRACER) - 477 SRU
	EVENT HORIZON (PRO - LUKE SKYWALKER) - 497 SRU
	SHADOW'S HAND (AMA - KALEY RECOURUA) - 449 SRU
	NEUTRALIZER (NOV - KARTIJAN LORE) - 142 SRU

Sargent raises her eyebrows for a brief moment as the monitors show a replay 
  of the Event Horizon's passage through the droid stage. She takes a deep 
  breath, lets it out smoothly, and once again resumes her poised and patient 
  stance by the escalator.

Shen tries very hard not to bounce -- after all, she can't very well bruise 
  Webb's thighs now that she's parked upon them, can she? Still, though, the 
  singer fidgets a great deal, and lets out yet another ringing cheer as 
  Skywalker's score has almost topped 500. "You're gonna hafta fork over big 
  time, Karm!" she cries jubilantly. "Half! Your! Pay!"

Donivan sighs. He is still not quite sure where to go or what to do, but he 
  figures that the staging area would be a good place to start asking 
  questions about Pallando's wellbeing. He quickly pushes his way through the 
  fans moving about in this area and heads onto the escalater.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer pulls out of 
  section 7 and into 8, the final stretch. She takes one look at the hologram 
  at the end of tube 1 and noses the swoop towards tube 2 <the Clucker> 
  opening the throttle back up to overthrust.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    -4                        9

Troy strides up from the escalator, having come back from his long extended 
  bathroom break. He flicks out a Cigar, "Well at least nobody can complain 
  about my smoking here."

Tasah moves from her seat after Chris and his goon leave, moving back to the 
  place she had been standing as she gives the seat up. Seeming to be more 
  content to stand then sit as she watches the rest of the race.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Neutralizer roars across the 
  finish line, the driver slowing the thrust back, but continuing on to bring 
  the swoop into the FLS pit before debarking and leaving the swoop in the 
  care of the pit crew. Kartijan removes her helmet then heads into the 
  staging area.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope heads for the 
  Black Krayt, of course. At her level there is no choice. Her thrusters 
  thrown audaciously into overdrive, she leans in, looks straight ahead and 
  goes for it, pulling out all the stops as if there were actually stops to 
  pull out.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope shifts gears and 
  provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    7                         43

Donivan accidentally pushes Troy aside as he does to many other spectators as 
  he walks out.

Troy spies Tasah "Well, its good to see you have made it planet side Doctor." 
  he walks up behind her "Sorry I have been rather unavailable but its been a 
  long time since I have been on Caspar and I had alot of buisness to attend 
  to. He Then just ignores Donivans pose.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope sails through 
  the holographically enhanced repulsor jaws at the exact point when they are 
  wide open. Tracer glides to the finish line unsure of her standing but 
  hoping for the best. As the swoop slows, so does the run of adreneline in 
  her veins. She removes her helmet as her pit crew takes the hot-burning 
  swoop from underneath her and looks towards the scoreboard in hope. She'll 
  likely stand third tonight, with only one racer left on the roster to 
  threaten her position.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand heads down the 
  route of the Black Krayt. She's on a make it or break it path but so is this 
  race as far as she's concerned. With her head held low to the swoop, and her 
  body as tight as possible, she pushes the piece of metal between her legs as 
  hard as she can.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    4                         41

Tasah jumps slightly as Troy walks up behind her, spinning about..only smiling 
  some as she see's who it is..."Troy...hello." Shaking her head some," No 
  need for apologies, I have had some catching up to myself, having not been 
  back here for awhile myself....Worries to ease and all."

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand :flies through 
  the hologram at the perfect moment avoiding the nasty 'jaws'. Happy it is 
  all over with, she jumps off her swoop and leaves it and the helmet with the 
  techs. And for the first time the whole race breathes.

Shen's unbridled enthusiasm for the event seems to be the perfect remedy for 
  whatever dark thoughts the presence of the Imperials was conjuring within 
  Webb's mind. Or, at least it's been sufficient to keep him from launching 
  into a diatribe about the realities of the universe. Peering around Shenner, 
  he inquires calmly, "Is he winning?"

From the Raceway -- Without any hesitation Luke Skywalker pilots the bright 
  crimson Corellian swoop into the Black Krayt, his muscles tense as he holds 
  onto the vehicle for dear life, angling toward the open jaws of the repulsor 
  field.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon shifts gears 
  and provides:
                Manuvering              Velocity
                    6                         43
From the Raceway -- Ducking tight against the sleekly built craft, Luke 
  maneuvers deftly through the jaws and soars over the finishing line. Elated 
  and exhuasted he hops off the swoop once it comes to rest and squints up 
  into the crowd, hauling off the helmet and raking his fingers through his 
  hair.

From the Raceway -- "What a finish!" The announcer seems excited, as does the 
  crowd, when at least three of the leading swoops head for the gaping jaws of 
  death, though there's tangible disappointment when none fall prey to the 
  Krayt's gnashing bite. "The Event Horizon finishes well in the lead with 589 
  SRU's! Second is Kipran's Hope, 563 SRU's her score! The Shadow's Hand for 
  the Amateurs has 527 SRU's, and for the Novices, our lone finisher on the 
  Neutralizer has 181 SRU's!"

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon heads back 
  toward the Staging Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Ubrikkian Phantom-Q -- Event Horizon has left.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand heads back 
  toward the Staging Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: CASE S-6c Akula -- The Shadows Hand has left.

Sargent, satisfied with the conclusion of the race, takes a deep breath and 
  turns to go down the escalator. She moves not too quickly and not too slowly.
Sargent heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Sargent has left.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the score, Reine mumbles a quick, "It was nice 
  to meet all of you." before standing to stumble off through the crowds. It's 
  obvious her mind is elsewhere. She glides through the crowds, holding onto 
  her cowl and making her way toward the exit.

From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope heads back 
  toward the Staging Area.
From the Raceway -- SWOOP: Oblivion Skyrazor -- Kipran's Hope has left.

Reine heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Reine has left.

Shenner surges to her feet, not needing to answer Webb's question -- for the 
  final score displayed as well as the bellowing of the crowd is more than 
  enough answer. She tries to tell Reine farewell -- but misses her, and after 
  blinking away a bit of disappointment settles for whirling on Webb and 
  hugging him elatedly. "I KNEW IT!" she carols. "YEEHA!"

Webb blinks a few times as he observes the crowd. It is, after all, rare for 
  him to sit and watch professional sports, particularly swoop racing. So, 90 
  percent of everything here seems to be strike him as rather bizarre social 
  phenomenon. "I'll uh... take that as a yes. Oof." A lopsided grin crosses 
  his expression as he once again becomes the target of Shen's affection.

Kelvis stands, and heads for the exit.

Karm rises, too, grinning ruefully. "You have won your bet, indeed, 
  Shenneret," she concedes. Glancing about as the crowds start surging out of 
  the stands, she suggests to her companions, "Let us wait until the flood 
  ebbs somewhat, shall we not?" Aa'leet, for her part, giggles again, sweeping 
  her liquid gaze appreciatively up and down Webb's form while Shenner hugs 
  him.

And Shenner beams with as much satisfaction as if she'd won the race herself. 
  "That friend of Luke's was all nervous, but I told her," she says brightly, 
  "Luke was gonna own it! Hells, how tough could a swoop race be for a pilot 
  like _him_?" And never mind the little detail of Luke's being, well, a Jedi.

Harrison heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Harrison has left.

Kelvis heads back toward the Mezzanine.
Kelvis has left.

Webb is at least initially quite oblivious to Aa'leet's attention, what with 
  his own attention being at least somewhat focussed upon Shenner. "Good 
  idea," he comments, in reply to Karm's suggestion, having had some 
  opportunity to survey the departing crowds. Besides, he's probably not going 
  anywhere with Shen latched onto him in such a manner, and he doesn't exactly 
  seem to be in any rush to change that situation.

"Enh, let's not wait too long," Shenner argues, tugging Webb off to follow the 
  hordes of spectators making their way out of the arena. "I wanna get back to 
  our place. The drinks they serve here are okay... but I'm good for some 
  shakla. C'mon, you guys -- 'sides, Karm and I are going to have to work out 
  her installment plan for giving me my winnings." And she winks mischievously 
  at the horn player, even as the two human women and one Twi'lek woman gather 
  their belongings and move off to make their own departure, the redheaded 
  singer tugging the Lieutenant along with her.

[End log.]