Rock Belt Race

The Rock Belt Race is a competition put on by both the Society and Earthfleet, that brings together all of the best pilots of both groups, both civilian, and military, into a competition like no other. It is held several times a year in various parts of the Asteroid Belt of Sol Space, and is designed to challenge and test the skills of every pilot who participates. Two of the best pilots to ever enter this competition are Joel Pendleton, and Robert "Dutch" Collins, the latter of whom begins competing shortly after completing his inductee classes and becoming a full blown member of Earthfleet.

The race itself is extremely challenging, and unpredictable, so much so that there have been times that Pendleton has been the winner of the race, and other times he's actually lost to lesser pilots simply due to the constantly changing conditions and nature of the course, and even on a few occasions due to mechanical failure of the spacecraft he was using. And that's no indictment on his piloting skills. In cases like that, it's more a case of "Wrong place, wrong time," rather than anything he did wrong, and the other pilot did right. But, that's also part of why the competition was started, not just to find the best among all space pilots in Sol Space, but also to help train them how to deal with, and adapt to such unpredictable circumstances, and come out the better for it.

So even in losing, pilots who participate in this race come away with lessons, and experiences they can take with them back to their jobs, making them better in the end. So winning isn't everything with this race, even if it is one of the main motivations behind those who participate in it. The race is also broken up into three general skill levels of "basic" for beginners, "intermediate" for seasoned pilots, and "expert" for those who are top tear. There is also an unofficial "death match" level that, while not officially sanctioned, is observed by some of the best in the system to push themselves even harder to become better than they already are.

And, as the participants in this competition like to joking say, "The only trophy of this race is to come back alive," being how insanely dangerous it is to undertake, and the unfortunately high number of injuries and fatalities that have occurred over the years that this has gone on. This, however, is also one that almost zero military pilots participate in, as they're not THAT crazy. Not like the civilian pilots who participate in it are, anyways. ;)