Ungasan Cross Country

The Ungasan Cross Country was a podracing event organized by Kaeline Ungasan with backing of the Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) as a means to obtain financial control over Desilijic-controlled Ando Prime. Ungasan also used the Cross Country as a front for his illegal mining operations of Vonium, until he was discovered.

History

At some point before 27 BBY, the Desilijic clan of Hutts held financial control over the planet Ando Prime, partly due to the podracing course they sponsored, the influential Ando Overland. The Corporate Sector Authority coveted the planet and attempted to oust the Hutts repeatedly, but to no avail. Looking for a different approach, the CSA sent a mid-level agent who had previously dealt with the Hutts, Kaeline Ungasan, to lower the Hutt dominion over the planet.^[1]

Ungasan decided to create an alternative podracing event, the Ungasan Cross Country, to take some of the Hutts's profits. He hired former podracer Ree to search the best courses. Ree accidentally stumbled upon rich traces of valuable metal Vonium and reported to Ungasan. Ungasan decided to illegally mine the Vonium without purchasing the land or the rights, and to use the podracing event as a front.^[1]

Ungasan and Ree bought scanning gear from local corrupt bureaucrat Geon Justic from the Elesa Mining Union. They then attached it to parts of pods, and sold them to the pilots at low prices, knowing that the parts would probably fall during the race. Ungasan decided that the Cross Country would change the course every time it was run, based on the most probable Vonium locations, but he publicized the Cross Country's variable path as a feature designed to provide new challenges every time.^[1]

One of the first courses crossed the Juaka Canyon. At least four pilots (one Dug, one Phuii and two Sullustans) crashed their pods and died there. The natives of Ando Prime, the Talids, believed that the debris of their pods belonged to the them.^[1]

As the Cross Country became increasingly popular, the Hutts sent a bounty hunter team after Ree, hoping that he could lead them to the more elusive Ungasan. Ungasan's bosses at the CSA began doubting his loyalties, so they also sent agents to track Ungasan. Unaware of his enemies' plans, Ungasan travelled to Ando Prime to meet with Ree while he was scavenging pods at Juaka Canyon and under the fire of the Talids. Ungasan and the agents of both the CSA and the Hutts met in the Canyon, with the results of the fight being unknown.^[1]

In 27 BBY, Ungasan's illicit mining scheme and his use of the Cross Country as a cover were publicly discovered, being the first of many podracing-related scandals.^[2]