Because I don't need a plot bunny right now, one shows up! The Fast & The Furious meets The Expanse
So, getting this out of my brain sos you can enjoy it (and run with it if you so desire) because I don't have time to go there.
Of course there are racers and tuners in space. People slingshotting the outer planets and/or people who have dedicated racing ships
Backstory
Dominic Toretto, his sister, and a small crew of friends emigrated from earth to the belt. They get into the racing scene there doing a mix of slingshotting and "teakettle" racing, though Dom owns a heavily modified classic Series 1 Proserpina Sunflare, "The Charger" which he rebuilt from salvage. Toretto's crew names all of their racing vessels after classic Earth cars popular with street racers.
Despite being an "innerlowda" Dom manages to get several belters in his crew (Leon, Jessie, Tej, Ramsey, Han, and Giselle), in part because because he and his crew are so popular with the belter equivalent of "street level" racers, and because it's clear that they are working stiffs, just like most Belters.
Overtly, Toretto and his crew run Toretto Precision Tuning. Covertly, they are suspected of being smugglers and pirates.
Brian O'Connor, an Earther working for Star Helix Security was sent to infiltrate and went native. He's Toretto's right hand man, and rumor has it he's married to both Dom & Mia (Plural marriage being legal.)
Though they are not overtly political, the Toretto "Familia" is so popular (there are persistent rumors they are Robin Hoods) they become -- without meaning to -- an OPA faction, and gain OPA protection when the UN sends Luke Hobbs after them.
Hobbs also goes native when, in going after Toretto, they blow a human trafficking case wide open and make enemies on Earth, Mars, and in some OPA factions.
After the formation of the Toretto-Hobbs Familia (which also now keeps a regular presence on Tycho Station and Ceres) in addition to racing, they get into fast transport. If you (or your small cargo) need to get from point A to B swiftly (sustained 1 G burn) and securely, HT Transport is the way to go. (They're notorious for turning their transponders off and running dark, and the drive "signatures" on their ships change often, meaning that they either swap engines or regularly do substantial modifications to the drives.)
What else?
The Hobbs and Toretto teams keep to themselves in port. While they are fairly friendly and approachable they are are a very tight knit and clique-ish crew -- which has also caused some OPA related tensions.
On the grounds of "you gotta take the G's if you're gonna race" the Hobbs-Toretto organization is very strict about training and the use of bone-density drugs. "Can't have anybody going all Solomon Epstein".)
Despite their massive sizes, Hobbs and Toretto rarely act in an "enforcer" role. Their "bagman" is a Martian with a thick Mariner Valley drawl named Sean Boswell. And they send Brian O'Conner to you as your first and final warning ... which has ended in several fools discovering that behind that pretty face and charming smile lurk quick reflexes and accurate shooting (though he's shit in a brawl).
Since the start, various members of the team have been known to "go dark" for weeks or months at a time. Where are they? "Here and there, taking some time for their own thing, y'know?" "Vacation in the back forty." "Testing something out and they'll get back when they get back."
Giselle has become legendary for her "obstacle course" racing, repeatedly threading the needle through several asteroid/rock belts.
Ramsey is regularly recruited for her expertise in computer systems and data security.
And Here We Come to the Events of Leviathan Wakes
About the time that the crew of the Roci show up on Fred Johnson's doorstep ready to blow the Protogen conspiracy open, right behind them are Hobbs and Brian.
Seems they've been taking on shuttle missions for a very secretive research station owned by Protogen, and not only have things been pinging on the "something's not right" meter and we were coming to talk to you about this anyway, but last night people we're pretty damn sure work for Protogen kidnapped Ramsey & Letty and so far, they seem to be heading for that aforementioned station, and that's much MUCH bigger than we can take on alone. (Protogen's been giving Ramsey the full court press and they don't want to hear "no" when it comes to working for them.)
Events of the Battle of Thoth Station
Several members of the Hobbs-Toretto crew are in the pods launched from the Guy Mollinari, and it's Hobbs giving both assault teams a crash course in room to room fighting along with Brian, and Miller [from the Expanse series] as they head towards the station.
"Civic" 1, 2, 3, 4, a series of "teakettles" with light guns on them ("fuck yeah, we were pirates"), and "Superbird" and "Supra" (Series 2 Sunflares) also with light guns mounted on them, and "The Hummer" an armored small transport/tug vessel with an actual medium weight PDC mounted on it (because, hey, we meant it when we said "secure transport") show up crewed by Hobbs-Toretto team members.
They fly in the shadow of the Guy Molinari or they are attached to it to look like cargo pods.
When the Roci "breaks free" and close quarters combat starts, the "Civics" and the Sunflares will be there to help distract the stealth ship they suspect Thoth Station has and relieve pressure on the Roci.
Giselle dies when she flies her Civic to intercept the shot directed at the breeching pods.
Letty & Ramsey are rescued when the station is secured. Ramsey and Jesse totally stan Naomi.
During the mop-up of the battle, the disabled stealth ship Osiris is declared "legitimate salvage" by Toretto and is last seen being towed under heavy burn by "The Hummer". (Possession is 9/10 of the law, molon labe, look at the Rocinante, and all that.)
Fred Johnson & Chrisjen Avarsarala figure out another way to expose the Protogen plot that doesn't involve discovery of the Osiris.
And then, the rest of the events of the series happen ...
Turns out back in the day Team Toretto co-opted what was left of Anderson Station, repaired a part of the docks, renamed it Thermal Station, and used it as their secret garage/base of operations. (And yes, they did right by any bodies/body parts they found.)
A deal is negotiated with Fred Johnson & the main OPA about the Stealth Ship, which has been renamed "The Giselle Yashar" in a deal similar to the deal made between Johnson and the crew of the Rocinante.
The OPA paid for the bulk of the repairs to the GY and the shuttle it carries, which earn it back by doing secure transport for the OPA when asked.
So, basically, the rest of the book series, but now with two semi-independent gunships out and about, and anytime the Roci needs to take on extra crew or temp crew, Toretto-Hobbs are the first crew asked, and while Amos is very picky about who does work on the Roci when she's in dock (and she's welcome at Thermal Station any time, btw) he trusts any work done by Toretto Precision Tuning implicitly ... partly because he and Dominic went to the same mechanic school on Luna and are classmates, and it's sheer dumb luck that Amos got a job offer from Pur-N-Kleen, because if he'd gotten to know Dom a bit better, he would've been invited in to the "family" and he he totally would've ended up following wherever Dom lead.
And, yes, Dom lives his life one High-G burn at a time. Toretto Precision Tuning becomes a force in racing in the belt, and is one of the few non-Earth/Mars companies to sponsor a team of racers. His particular fan-following becomes known as DT's Army ... which is very useful down the line when the time comes to get political.
ETA: And when the Roci participates in the evacuation of refugees from Ganymede Hobbs is right there behind him on the channel saying that the same goes for the GY and the group of crafts it is escorting out of the AO.
Of course there are racers and tuners in space. People slingshotting the outer planets and/or people who have dedicated racing ships
Backstory
Dominic Toretto, his sister, and a small crew of friends emigrated from earth to the belt. They get into the racing scene there doing a mix of slingshotting and "teakettle" racing, though Dom owns a heavily modified classic Series 1 Proserpina Sunflare, "The Charger" which he rebuilt from salvage. Toretto's crew names all of their racing vessels after classic Earth cars popular with street racers.
Despite being an "innerlowda" Dom manages to get several belters in his crew (Leon, Jessie, Tej, Ramsey, Han, and Giselle), in part because because he and his crew are so popular with the belter equivalent of "street level" racers, and because it's clear that they are working stiffs, just like most Belters.
Overtly, Toretto and his crew run Toretto Precision Tuning. Covertly, they are suspected of being smugglers and pirates.
Brian O'Connor, an Earther working for Star Helix Security was sent to infiltrate and went native. He's Toretto's right hand man, and rumor has it he's married to both Dom & Mia (Plural marriage being legal.)
Though they are not overtly political, the Toretto "Familia" is so popular (there are persistent rumors they are Robin Hoods) they become -- without meaning to -- an OPA faction, and gain OPA protection when the UN sends Luke Hobbs after them.
Hobbs also goes native when, in going after Toretto, they blow a human trafficking case wide open and make enemies on Earth, Mars, and in some OPA factions.
After the formation of the Toretto-Hobbs Familia (which also now keeps a regular presence on Tycho Station and Ceres) in addition to racing, they get into fast transport. If you (or your small cargo) need to get from point A to B swiftly (sustained 1 G burn) and securely, HT Transport is the way to go. (They're notorious for turning their transponders off and running dark, and the drive "signatures" on their ships change often, meaning that they either swap engines or regularly do substantial modifications to the drives.)
What else?
The Hobbs and Toretto teams keep to themselves in port. While they are fairly friendly and approachable they are are a very tight knit and clique-ish crew -- which has also caused some OPA related tensions.
On the grounds of "you gotta take the G's if you're gonna race" the Hobbs-Toretto organization is very strict about training and the use of bone-density drugs. "Can't have anybody going all Solomon Epstein".)
Despite their massive sizes, Hobbs and Toretto rarely act in an "enforcer" role. Their "bagman" is a Martian with a thick Mariner Valley drawl named Sean Boswell. And they send Brian O'Conner to you as your first and final warning ... which has ended in several fools discovering that behind that pretty face and charming smile lurk quick reflexes and accurate shooting (though he's shit in a brawl).
Since the start, various members of the team have been known to "go dark" for weeks or months at a time. Where are they? "Here and there, taking some time for their own thing, y'know?" "Vacation in the back forty." "Testing something out and they'll get back when they get back."
Giselle has become legendary for her "obstacle course" racing, repeatedly threading the needle through several asteroid/rock belts.
Ramsey is regularly recruited for her expertise in computer systems and data security.
And Here We Come to the Events of Leviathan Wakes
About the time that the crew of the Roci show up on Fred Johnson's doorstep ready to blow the Protogen conspiracy open, right behind them are Hobbs and Brian.
Seems they've been taking on shuttle missions for a very secretive research station owned by Protogen, and not only have things been pinging on the "something's not right" meter and we were coming to talk to you about this anyway, but last night people we're pretty damn sure work for Protogen kidnapped Ramsey & Letty and so far, they seem to be heading for that aforementioned station, and that's much MUCH bigger than we can take on alone. (Protogen's been giving Ramsey the full court press and they don't want to hear "no" when it comes to working for them.)
Events of the Battle of Thoth Station
Several members of the Hobbs-Toretto crew are in the pods launched from the Guy Mollinari, and it's Hobbs giving both assault teams a crash course in room to room fighting along with Brian, and Miller [from the Expanse series] as they head towards the station.
"Civic" 1, 2, 3, 4, a series of "teakettles" with light guns on them ("fuck yeah, we were pirates"), and "Superbird" and "Supra" (Series 2 Sunflares) also with light guns mounted on them, and "The Hummer" an armored small transport/tug vessel with an actual medium weight PDC mounted on it (because, hey, we meant it when we said "secure transport") show up crewed by Hobbs-Toretto team members.
They fly in the shadow of the Guy Molinari or they are attached to it to look like cargo pods.
When the Roci "breaks free" and close quarters combat starts, the "Civics" and the Sunflares will be there to help distract the stealth ship they suspect Thoth Station has and relieve pressure on the Roci.
Giselle dies when she flies her Civic to intercept the shot directed at the breeching pods.
Letty & Ramsey are rescued when the station is secured. Ramsey and Jesse totally stan Naomi.
During the mop-up of the battle, the disabled stealth ship Osiris is declared "legitimate salvage" by Toretto and is last seen being towed under heavy burn by "The Hummer". (Possession is 9/10 of the law, molon labe, look at the Rocinante, and all that.)
Fred Johnson & Chrisjen Avarsarala figure out another way to expose the Protogen plot that doesn't involve discovery of the Osiris.
And then, the rest of the events of the series happen ...
Turns out back in the day Team Toretto co-opted what was left of Anderson Station, repaired a part of the docks, renamed it Thermal Station, and used it as their secret garage/base of operations. (And yes, they did right by any bodies/body parts they found.)
A deal is negotiated with Fred Johnson & the main OPA about the Stealth Ship, which has been renamed "The Giselle Yashar" in a deal similar to the deal made between Johnson and the crew of the Rocinante.
The OPA paid for the bulk of the repairs to the GY and the shuttle it carries, which earn it back by doing secure transport for the OPA when asked.
So, basically, the rest of the book series, but now with two semi-independent gunships out and about, and anytime the Roci needs to take on extra crew or temp crew, Toretto-Hobbs are the first crew asked, and while Amos is very picky about who does work on the Roci when she's in dock (and she's welcome at Thermal Station any time, btw) he trusts any work done by Toretto Precision Tuning implicitly ... partly because he and Dominic went to the same mechanic school on Luna and are classmates, and it's sheer dumb luck that Amos got a job offer from Pur-N-Kleen, because if he'd gotten to know Dom a bit better, he would've been invited in to the "family" and he he totally would've ended up following wherever Dom lead.
And, yes, Dom lives his life one High-G burn at a time. Toretto Precision Tuning becomes a force in racing in the belt, and is one of the few non-Earth/Mars companies to sponsor a team of racers. His particular fan-following becomes known as DT's Army ... which is very useful down the line when the time comes to get political.
ETA: And when the Roci participates in the evacuation of refugees from Ganymede Hobbs is right there behind him on the channel saying that the same goes for the GY and the group of crafts it is escorting out of the AO.