A Day at the Races

In game time: March 15 -16, 2355

Narrator: Kenoshi, Vector, Nikopol

Players: Kenoshi, Vector, Eddiey, Nikopol, Lexington

Location: A little town on Adhara

Summary: The Hammerfall needs money for repairs following its daring escape from Ceres. So the crew decides that a great way to raise some quick cash is to take part in the annual Skiff Races on Adhara, an event that draws enthusiasts from all over known space. The races also draw Prince Bright, the son of the Confed Emperor, Jeremy Bright. Turns out he's a racing enthusiast himself, and he has the best racer to be entered in the contest. Vector and Kenoshi register in the race, using modified Rapier starfighters as racers. Since Adhara is a neutral world, the Confed forces there won't act against the Hammerfall, and it will be an opportunity for the rebels to humiliate the Confed government in a very public venue.

Things are complicated on the night before the race when a group of anarchists, calling themselves "Heiro's Heroes" start a riot in the streets and cause a lot of property damage. The Hammerfall away team has to dodge both the anarchists, and the Confed force that fights them off. Apparently Heiro's Heroes has been gaining a lot of money and publicity as of late, and are quite blatantly exploiting the memory of Heirofiend as the inspiration for their movement.

On the day of the race it is a spectacle witnessed by an live audience of thousands, and is transmitted to an off-world audience of billions. Quite a few racers start, but soon it narrows down to the Prince, Vector, and Kenoshi. The antigrav racers are amazingly fast and the course is terribly dangerous, and the Prince is a terrible cheater. But with a little luck, the Prince's racer is demolished by an attempt to put Kenoshi out of the race, and Vector finishes first, Kenoshi second, and the Prince doesn't even make it to the finish line, though he survives.

After a night of wild partying on Adhara, the Hammerfall away team finds that not only is the Prince a very sore loser, but they've also managed to enrage members of the local mob who lost out on a lot of money because Vector and Kenoshi didn't accept their offer to throw the race for the Prince. What follows is a wild chase through the streets, pursued by a variety of assassins, until the away team can make it back to the Hammerfall and safety.