THE BROKEN SAINTS

October 31^st 2023, the 3^rd Annual Scramble will take place. Drivers and team from around the world are expected to show up, and the whole event is to be televised live via the web with instantly updated gambling. This years race promises to be the largest ever, and will span almost the entire country.

The original race, took place in Night City in 2020. The event was organized and executed by a group known only as the Night Crew. Rumors widely speculate on the identities of the Night Crew, some say they are a group of freelance edgerunners with money to spend, others say that the Night Crew is really just 2 netrunners, an infamous hacker named Wormy44 and a 15 year old girl named Elsie. No one really knows the real identity of the crew behind the race.

Over the course of 6 months, they promoted the race, charging a 50,000 dollar entrance fee, offering the winner a 5 million dollar prize, second place 2 million, and third place 1 million. The race took place across night city, consisting of each driver having to hit RFID checkpoints. The locations of the checkpoints were kept secret, and only revealed by custom GPS units given out moments before the race began. The GPS units would record each RFID checkpoint passed, and upload the information to the gambling sites that were set up. In addition each vehicle entering the race is equipped with front and rear satellite remote operated cameras, allowing the race to be recorded and to ensure drivers stay on the ground. The rules were simple, contestants had to travel on wheels, and they had to pass every checkpoint. Everything else was fair game. Spotters were set up across the city to make sure no one was cheating by using aircraft. Cameras were also set up at random locations around the city, and at all RFID checkpoints for the best possible views of the action live and streaming to all viewers and gambling sites.

The race was completely illegal, in fact, outside the racers and their sponsors, and the lucky ones with their ear to the underground knew what was going on. The chaos that ensued caught the city completely unprepared.

There was no starting line, and no finishing line, no course in fact. Before the race the drivers were given their GPS devices, and told to position themselves as to their instinct and judgement. At exactly 1pm the locations were uploaded to the GPS devices and the race was on. As the drivers raced across town, each taking their own random routes, police and emergency responders were quick to take action, but were quickly overwhelmed by the enormity and confusion of what was going on. Vehicles tearing down the streets in seemingly random patterns at ridiculously high speeds, running vehicular gun battles erupting as racers attempted to lose police pursuit, as well as against other racers encountered on the way to a checkpoint. There were no safety precautions taken, in fact no consideration whatsoever was given to innocent bystanders. One racer lost control and crashed through an a crowd of people, his car rolling end over end into a mass of people caught completely by surprise. Other racers crashed into traffic, or into buildings. One racer got into a firefight with police, and when his own car was too badly damaged to continue, he killed two police officers and attempted to finish the race in their police cruiser before SWAT took him out.

In the end, a Japanese Yakuza affiliated motorcycle racer took the win, though he had to crash his own vehicle to do it, nearly costing him his life. Second place went to a Nomad driver, who . The racer who scored third place was the most incredible story of the event. It was a full conversion cyborg on skates. He had entered to promote Jattenhand, and came out of nowhere to prominence, he lost second place to the nomad by less than 10 seconds. In the end, all but 12 racers of the 100 who started were dead, or captured by police. 42 civilians died, with another 80 hospitalized, of those dead, 14 were police or other emergency responders.

As per agreement stipulated before the race, the winning team or their representatives would select the location for the next race. The Yakuza backing the racer who won the Night City Scramble chose Tokyo. The night crew spent another 6 months setting up the race. Due to the very strict weapon laws in Japan, it was decided that for the Tokyo Scramble, neither racers nor their vehicles could be armed. Regardless, the resulting carnage of the Tokyo race still mirrored that of Night City. A Nomad from Arizona won the Tokyo race.

Things were quiet. Everyone expected the Night Crew to promote a third race, but the year came and went. The Night Crew had simply vanished. Eventually, a group of nomads, including the family of the driver who won in Tokyo, decided to put on the third Scramble themselves. They decided to make it bigger than anyone thought imaginable. The race wouldn’t be confined to one city, or even state. It would be a coast to coast to coast race, and all gloves were coming off. The first two scrambles are still some of the highest selling underground event recordings of all time. The third Scramble looks to surpass that.

Unlike the Night City and Tokyo Scrambles, the North American Scramble will have a starting line. The race begins on the West Coast. From there racers will drive across the country to a location on the East Coast and then turn around and drive back to the west coast for the finish line back on the West Coast.

The rules have changed somewhat. Weapons are allowed again. Aircraft are still not allowed, however hovers and tracked vehicles are permitted. To enforce this, the GPS devices given out will track altitude, and automatically compare it against land elevation at their present location. Other than the Start, Middle, and Ending checkpoints, there is only the vaguest resemblance to a set route. Because there are only 3 RFID checkpoints in this race, and because it spans such an immense area, there is no way for the race promoters to have cameras set up to catch the action. Instead, in addition to the cameras set up in the drivers vehicles (expanded from 2 cameras to 5, covering all 4 directions and a view from inside the car), the Nomads putting on the race are asking any nomads or viewers with aircraft to provide aerial footage wherever possible in exchange for a percent of after race video sales for any footage that makes the video.

The entrance fee has also been lessened for this race, only 20,000 per vehicle. The promoters of this race want as many participants as possible. The number of drivers who have already bought in is over 250, and that number is expected to at least double by the time the race starts. Entrance fees can be paid online, or at any major Nomad Market in the country.

40 percent of the stake will go towards the race promoters and their crews. The remaining 60 percent will be divided up among the top 20 to finish the race. With 20% going to the winner, 10 percent to second, 5% third, 3% to fourth, and 2% to the fifth place. Sixth through twentieth place winners will each get 1%. The remaining 5% of the stake will be divided against any surviving racers who are able to cross the finish line within 48 hours of the 20^th place driver.

In addition, not only will gambling and live coverage be available online, but numerous betting houses will be set up across the country, including at every major Nomad Market.

While the vehicles that enter this race are allowed, and even encouraged, to be armed, it is not the other drivers that most racers should be worrying about. The Raffen Shiv are aware of the race, some tribes even entering their own drivers. Nevertheless the Raffen tribes across the country are not taking kindly to the thought of racers traveling through territories they claim as their own, and have sworn to wreak unholy hell on any racers that try to pass through their hunting grounds. Regardless of where the checkpoints are, it would be next to impossible to drive across the country at speed without entering areas of high Raffen Shiv infestation at some point.

The Raffen aren’t the only problems. The anonymous promoters of the original race are wanted by every law enforcement agency in Northern California, as well as the ATF, HI-Way, and the FBI. Every law enforcement agency in Japan as well as Interpol was added to that list after the Tokyo Scramble. While there have been 2 years for the heat to die down, you can be sure Law enforcement is aware of this new Scramble being promoted and are going to take steps to shut it down and arrest anyone involved. This is why the exact locations of the three checkpoints are being kept secret until the information becomes necessary. In fact, one of the reasons the race is being held across country is to make it difficult for Law enforcement to do much about it.

Interstate co-operation is at an all time low, but that doesn’t mean they won’t make an effort, especially in large cities. The police generally won’t care what happens on the small rural roads spanning the wastes, but large metropolitan areas will have such a high police presence that they will be able virtually lock down roads and highways to and from the cities. Even smaller towns will be aware and their police loaded for bear. HI-Way’s reaction will be unpredictable, and will vary wildly depending on events. Because of the heavy police presence, if you do have to enter a city, we strongly suggest you remove any illegal weapons or modifications to your vehicle.

While the exact checkpoints of the race won’t be known to the drivers until the last minute, they are aware that it will be coast to coast to coast. Many drivers and teams have used the time before the race starts to set up hidden caches of weapons, fuel and other supplies across the country.

48 hours before the race begins drivers will be sent an e-mail or text informing them of which State the race will start in (Southern California). 12 hours before the race starts they will be sent the exact location of the starting line (Baja). Once the race begins, the racers will be to make for the east coast. When their GPS devices cross Longitude 90 river the will be told state the next checkpoint is in (North Carolina). Upon crossing the border into that state they will be given the exact location of the midway checkpoint (Wilmington). From there they turn around and head back across the country. Again, once they pass 110 degrees longitude they will be told the last state (Oregon) and upon entering the states borders they will be told the location of the finish line (Newport).

Nomads are entering the race by the score. Some entrants are just a single driver or small team being sponsored by a large family. Other nomads are entering by themselves. Strangest of all is that entire families of nomads are entering, a few even paying for multiple vehicles including their main trucks, and will be running the race like any other run. Due to law enforcement attention, there aren’t as many pro-drivers entering this year, and most drivers, pro, nomad, and even occasional civilian, are entering under false names, some going as far as wearing disguises. Organized criminal organizations are not about to be left out of the show, either sponsoring their own drivers, or in the case of the Russian Mafia in Night city, sponsoring a nomad driving team.

A Driving team can be between one and three people registered as GPS carriers. While the vehicle can have as many people as the drivers wants, only those three can claim ownership of the GPS and claim the prize. If the driving team has to, it can change vehicles, but they must transfer the cameras and the GPS to the new vehicle. If the vehicle they get in belongs to another racer, the cameras will automatically tune to the new GPS. To claim the prize the registered entrant must cross the final finish line with the GPS assigned to them.

This is gearing up to be the race of a lifetime folks, don’t miss it.