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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

Discussion in 'Role Playing Forum' started by Trieste, May 31, 2010.

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  1. Runjedirun

    Runjedirun Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    IC: Richard Vigo (Acting GM Ralltiir Starkillers)

    "In response to Coach Aebatt’s comments after the game between the Starkillers and the Storm the Ralltiir Starkillers would like to release the following statement to the press:

    Ralltiir is happy that Coach Aebatt felt free to speak her mind after the game her team played at Financial Square Arena here in Ralltiir this weekend. It is unfortunate that she feels her players were taken advantage of by our decision to prolong offensive possessions in the second half of the match. We would like to point out that if Euceron were fielding a team of players fit to play in the ELL none of this would be up for debate. However since Euceron has decided to compete at this level we believe it is unprofessional of anyone in their franchise to complain about how the teams they play against chose to strategize against them as long as those strategies comply with the rules in the Elite League.

    The events that occurred on Euceron after the season ended last year were both tragic and unimaginable. Euceron could have decided to take a step back for a season or two. This would have been a realistic decision and I’m sure our commissioner would have held their spot in the league until such a time when they were financially able to field a proper team. Instead the Storm chose to remain in the Elite League. They hired a team of rookies who will be outmatched on every level this entire season. We hope the commissioner is paying close attention to the developments that result as a consequence of this decision. We expect said commissioner to remember this in future seasons when allowing teams to compete in the Elite League. It is an honor and privilege to play in this league. One that should be earned.

    Furthermore we would like to point out to Coach Aebatt that if she knew how to coach Limmie her players would know how to steal a bolo ball from our offense. The game of keep away she mentioned in her comments is not one we would have been able to pull off against a team of seasoned professionals like we have come to expect at this level. It is our sincere hope that any team wishing to join the Elite League or remain a member of said league in the future remember one thing: If you can’t take the heat stay out of the kitchen.

    Thank you."

    Tags: @jcgoble3 @Trieste
     
    Vehn, Bardan_Jusik, Trieste and 2 others like this.
  2. CPL_Macja

    CPL_Macja Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2008
    IC: Dawn Solo
    Adrimar Arena, Byblos City, Byblos
    One week before The Fight with Rydonni Prime

    The annual combined Red Wings/Monarchs training camp ended with the Civil War against the Colonials. For the third time in nearly half a decade, the GCLA proven, set roster of the Colonials defeated the thrown together, influx, experiment a minute roster of the Red Wings/Monarchs. Now that the rosters were set, it was her time to put together a game plan against her former team with her new players.

    But the first thing she needed to do was settle into her new office. Even the thought was a foreign concept to her… an office of her own. She had never had an office, let alone one that was all hers. On Rydonni Prime, she shared a desk with Mara Singus inside the position coaches’ bullpen. Now she had not only a whole desk, but a door as well, complete with her name engraved in it.

    “That’s got to be weird to see just one last name?”

    Dawn didn’t have to turn around at all to know that her longtime friend and assistant head coach, Lex Silas, was standing right behind her. “It is,” she said with a slight quiver in her voice, “but it’s what Tev would have wanted. Things hadn’t been the same since his injury. When his last surgery was unsuccessful he slowly spiraled into an unrecoverable depression.”

    She felt a small tear start to form in the corner of her eye. Lex placed a strong hand on her shoulder, it was comforting. Lex was one of the few people that Dawn allowed to know her on a personal level, which was a big reason for him being here. Dawn had been living with Lex and his wife for the past few months, it had been too hard for her to stay in her apartment after Tev’s passing.

    “Mia said the organization is planning on honoring him during the Memorial Day game week four. Are you going to attend?”

    The Head Coach just shook her head, “Not likely, since that week is our home opener against the Force. Besides, you know Tev would be furious if I missed a game fussing over him.”

    “Alright Skipper, but if you need anything just let me know,” a grin spread across his lips, “I’ll be in my office.”

    Dawn couldn’t help but chuckle at the youthful giddiness that the two of them were feeling. Slowly she slid her door open and was greeted by an unexpected sight, “Really guys?” She grabbed the strange object off her desk and walked out into the team’s dressing room. “Is this the best you guys could come up with to goad the new Head Coach?”

    “That isn’t from us Boss,” chimed team Captain Greenly Zo, “The housekeeping droids found that during the offseason. Someone must of left them behind when they departed last season.”

    A small grin curled the corner of her lips, “I know exactly who would love this.”

    ----- ----- ----- -----

    IC: Setarcos Rhemes
    Monarchs Stadium, Ryell, Rydonni Prime
    The Fight, Monarchs vs. Red Wings, 21-2

    As the fireworks exploded over head the General Manager had already made his way down to the Monarchs’ sideline. For the first season since the creation of the Red Wings, Setarcos had a clear favorite for which he was cheering. Once the customary midfield handshakes and awarding of the K’ntarr-Adrimar Shield to the victor concluded, the Red Wings’ new Head Coach came up and wrapped her arms about him.

    “How goes it Boss?”

    She always called him that, even now, when he technically was no longer in charge of her career. Dawn had always been one of his favorite Monarch mainstays. As the two parted, Setarcos noticed that she was holding something in her hands. “Whatcha got there?”

    Dawn brought the velvet satchel from behind her back and handed it to him, “Just a present that was left on my desk that I thought you might find interesting.” He pulled open the drawn together opening and took a peek. Just the smallest glance caused a hearty chuckle to rise out of his lungs. He took hold of the bag and pulled the draw strings taught. “I figured it might be something you would like to share with your week seven opponent,” Solo concluded.

    Setarcos put his hands on Dawn’s shoulders, “It’s going to feel strange not having you and Lex kicking around the galaxy in Rydonni Blue & Gold. I really wished you would come back for Memorial Day.” He knew she was going to say no again, but he had to try. Dawn and the rest of the old Monarch crew were like his kids. Ironically he was closer to them than his biological daughters, even though both of them now worked for him.

    “You know Tev wouldn’t have wanted that,” she said in a solemn tone, “besides, I’m going to be busy accomplishing something you never could.”

    “Yeah, what’s that?”

    “Beating Thyferra,” Dawn gave him a huge grin that could have lit up a ballroom.

    “Woah, easy there. I seem to recall that a certain someone played in both of those matches. So technically you’ve never beat them either.”

    “That’ll be changing in a couple of weeks.”

    They both laughed and embraced once more. “If you ever need anything… and I mean anything… you let me know. You got me kiddo?”

    “Sure thing Boss…”

    ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

    IC: Romo Crowley
    Monarchs Stadium, Ryell, Rydonni Prime
    279 ELL Week 3, Monarchs vs Demons, 9-19

    “GET BACK SETER! YOU’LL OVER RUN THE PLAY!”

    Romo could hardly believe his own eyes. The two areas of their team that he was the least concerned about, and basically made no changes to, were falling apart in their opening match up. Their defense was getting out matched and Oss’irh’cgood could not keep up with the barrage of bolos being tossed at him. Meanwhile, his three-wide Midfield was dramatically under-performing.

    He walked out to the official that came near the Monarch sideline and called their only time out. Fervently he motioned for the defense to huddle up around him. “What’s going on Powe?”

    “It’s not us Coach. It’s like they have an extra attacker.”

    Her words could not have been truer. Yes the Monarchs formation called for one less defender in the backfield, but last season that did not affect them, not one little bit. So what was the difference this season? He looked around the huddle into the faces of every single one of his players. The drive and commitment of each and every one of them was not in doubt. But there still something missing…

    Leadership.

    The 278 Solo Championship Monarchs worked as a cohesive unit, a family. They could almost predict where each other were going to be on the pitch at any moment, but now they seemed disjointed and barely aware of their own place on the field, let alone their teammates. The 279 Monarchs were nothing more than individuals group together, they needed their leader.

    They needed Vesper Lynd.

    Romo knew that it would be an easier task to remove the armor off an awake Mandalorian than to convince Vesper to even make an appearance on the Monarchs sideline. She most certainly would have already birthed the next generation of ELL All-Stars, so having her nursing her babe on the bench was right out. She had yet to make even one public appearance, not even a holo call to anyone on the team.

    But her leadership wasn’t the only thing that they were missing. Her presence on the field was felt as well, and not just at full forward. Rew Ileo left ten points off the board with errant shots on goal. He had three shots that curved up and over the bar and two lackadaisical shots that got blocked over by the Demon’s keeper. Even with the poor performance, he still outscored the rest of the team since Winnie scored their only goal and Maggie had a long point from her half forward position.

    Lacking offensive power, their two midfield wingers usually crept up to provide extra attackers. Do this left Cali Royd on an island in the middle of the field and caused them to be out of place to assist the defense. The outnumbered backs were powerless to stop the endless pounding that Ozzie took and the points just racked up.

    As he sat in his office watching game footage of their next opponent he called up Setarcos, “I think we need to call up some re-enforcements or the Lightning are going to light us up.”

    TAG: Rebecca_Daniels
     
  3. Trieste

    Trieste Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2010
    GM Post

    HSN Morning Headlines
    • Euceron Storm head coach Aebatt Zargana denies that she felt "taken advantage of" by the Starkillers; suggests that Richard Vigo shouldn't "put words in my mouth that I never said": "I repeatedly made it clear that I took no issue with the manner in which the Starkillers played; I simply would have personally preferred something different. The Starkillers' actions were well within the normal bounds of sportsmanship, and I cannot fault them in the least. Whether I failed to make myself clear or Mr. Vigo misinterpreted me, or both, I do not know, but let's all get our facts straight."
    • Zargana: "If the Euceron Storm are to return to a competitive level in the next few seasons, then we must make money. A team that sits idle, as Mr. Vigo suggests we should have done, is a team that makes no money. We need to make quite a bit of money to become a championship contender again, and to do so we must continue to play at the highest level of the sport where that money is found, whether we are able to be competitive or not in the short term."
    • Zargana: "Additionally, Mr. Vigo is probably not aware—in fact, I doubt anyone is aware since I have not previously mentioned this in a public setting—that the Storm organization has substantial debt obligations, obligations that were previously comfortably within our ability to pay but which we are now in default of because the destruction of Euceron Stadium has devalued our collateral over a thousandfold. We are facing the possibility of filing for bankruptcy very soon, and to successfully emerge from that, substantial income is needed. That type of income is not found even at the Premier League level, never mind regional leagues, and certainly not by sitting idle."
    • Zargana: "As for Mr. Vigo's assertion that I am not fit to be a coach, give me a break. I doubt Marte Nalo or John Talley would be able to get these players to steal a bolo-ball from an Elite League championship-caliber team. My role as head coach is a temporary measure for this season only to save money, and because we knew this season was going to be a failure before it even began. Next year we hope to field a team capable of being competitive again, with a proper head coach. We just don't have the funds for it yet."
    • Monarchs promote Drista Konnenwirth (Defensive Back, Female, Bakuran) from the Red Wings.
    • Monarchs organization acqire rights to Raymar Dolphmen (Defensive Back, Male, Human) from Naboo Ducks of the PLL for a player to be named later. Will join the Byblos Red Wings for their week 4 match.
    • Commissioner Lokensgaard asked about recent exchange between Starkillers and Storm management upon arrival at Hapes for Packers-Buccaneers game: "The League stands by its decision to allow the Storm to play in 279. The League is not going to inject itself into this debate between two of our member teams."
    • When asked about the Storm's financial situation, Commissioner indicated that League auditors are "actively monitoring" the books, pursuant to League standards, and refused to comment further.
    TAG: CPL_Macja jcgoble3 Runjedirun
     
  4. Bardan_Jusik

    Bardan_Jusik Former Manager star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 14, 2009

    IC: The Rancor Pitt

    As the show opened listeners were greeted by the sounds of excerpts from the previous day's play by play....

    "The ball goes up from Mor'kesh to Daryc spins around a defender, passes to Arock, now Arock to Mereel, Mereel back to Daryc and SCORE!!!! That ball is in the back of the net. Credit Daryc with another one."





    "The Senators on a good drive now, past Se'o, and they reverse the ball weak side. Tullo's out of position, only one man for Pin to beat. Mauntak sizes her up and delivers a crushing blow. The ball is loose and scooped up by the Tullo for a turnover."




    "Ball deep in Senator's territory Mercs pushing fast again and not letting the Sens defense get set. Daryc with the ball, Lieznam is open ahead of him, Daryc goes to pass....It's a fake and Daryc runs over the Sen's halfback and puts it over the bar for another point. He is unstoppable today vode!"




    "Mercs have pulled away now but the Senators are threateneing, Killinger beats her man again, pass to Pin....and Mauntak goes up and brings down the ball. Interception and yet another Senator's turnover."

    "Hard to score when they keep giving up the ball."

    "And Mauntak has forced three of them already today and it's still the first half."




    "Mercs bringing the ball up slowly now, time running down in the first half. They're just marching it up at will."

    "Haven't seen anything like this in awhile, I know the Sen's are hur..."

    "Mor'kesh setting the they play up for the offense, passing up to Soker who dumps the ball of quickly to Daryc. The Senators have to be careful now,"

    "He's lit them up today..."

    "And Daryc scores again on a rocket shot to the back of the net!!!"

    "He didn't even bother trying to break free from the defender, he just fired it right away."

    "It may be cold here today on Coruscant, but the Mercs are on fire!"




    LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on a sunny but cold, it's a Victory afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome on into the Rancor Pit. I'm Randy the Rancor, he's Justin Pitt. Liz Baker on the boards, with Kitterich on the other side of the glass and oh baby do we have a show for you!

    "What a win yesterday for the Mercs, Rancor. I mean wow."

    "Yeah that was a hell of game played, but..."

    "But?"

    "Well, I mean do we have to temper our excitement? Injuries murdered the Senators yesterday, who did't even come into the game healthy."

    "They did, they did. But that's still a pro limmie team out there, an ELL team. There are no scrubs in the ELL."

    "Well unless you count the Storm."

    "That's not fair..."

    "No it's not, and I shouldn't take a shot at them with what they've gone through."

    "They've been through enough, that's for sure."

    "OK...so on a more positive note, how about those Mercs?"

    "It was a dominating performance, and a signature win for new head coach Ryi Kor'le."

    "Even though the Senators had to resort to Gamble in goal?"

    "Well, the Mercs were killing Connor before then anyway..."

    "The Sarah Connor that you wanted them to draft right?"

    "...so going to the thir... Wait what?"

    "That's the Terminator that you wanted the Mercs to draft instead of Langdon, who did have a fine game by the way."

    "It...yeah it was."

    "You still think the Mercs should have taken Connor?"

    "Well Randy hindsight is twenty/twenty. At the time I don't think anyone could have blamed me for wanting..."

    "So no, the answer is no. You can just say it."

    "OK, fine. No, if I knew then what i know now I wouldn't have drafted her. But her career is still young, she could still turn out to be the better player."

    "True, true, but not yesterday she wasn't."

    "I don't think anyone could have stopped the Mercs with the way they were playing yesterday. Daryc was a monster on offense, and the return of Ike Tullo really seemed to calm down the defense. Mauntak also played out of his mind yesterday, and before I forget to mention it, Kitan has played well so far in place of Thorn in goal, yesterday being a pretty damn good performance."

    "They all played well, no doubt, Kor'le had them running like a finely tuned machine yesterday. I know you wish she had more defensive credentials, but she really seems to understand the offensive end Justin, and puts Daryc in the best place to just take over a game and get the win."

    "And while putting up crazy numbers. I know it's early in the season Rancor, but he has to be the debate for MVP this season, he has to!"

    "Well, it is way too early for that, I mean it's too early to even be looking at the standings, so season awards aren't even on my sensor screen yet."

    "Daryc was unstoppable though, you have to give him credit for that."

    "He was, and he only played the first half really, Kor'le emptied the bench in the second half as things got way out of control."

    "I think she was worried about injuries herself there Randy. I've played in those kind of condition before, it's cold, hard to get loose. I mean, I think we have an advantage there..."

    "You do?"

    "Yeah I... Listen, when I played for the Crusaders they had a lot, and I mean a lot of Mandos on the team, and they always seemed to flourish in those cold weather games. Maybe something about the way they play limmie at the lower levels here, but the elements never seem to bother them, if anything they just get stronger."

    "Interesting, I can't say that I've noticed that. I mean it's cold here now so that sort of makes sense."

    "Maybe it's their military training, acclimates them to being outside in the cold and the rain or something. I don't know. But it's something I have definitely seen first hand."

    "I'll have to keep an eye on that, see it for myself. Not doubting you, I just haven't noticed."

    "It's true."

    "OK, OK. Well one thing I did notice was how terribly a team plays with their third string Goaltender..."

    "That was a travesty of coaching right there Randy."

    "What was?"

    "Putting Gamble (Go Bucks) in between the pipes."

    "Like someone else would have been better?"

    "Listen, I love Gamble (Go Bucks), but you don't take one of your star players and play her out of position like that. You not only open her up to injury even more playing in uncertain circumstances, but you weaken yourself in two places.."

    "The position she just vacated plus the position she is filling?"

    "Exactly! Look Gamble (Go Bucks) can do it all, she is a great athlete, but the Senators would have been better served to keep her at CB through the game, or at least until they decided to empty the bench when things got out of hand, and put in some other DB a reserve DB, or even a reserve half back to fill in at goal."

    "You were a DB in college and pros, could you have handled that?"

    "I was never asked to and I'm glad I wasn't. Gamble (Go Bucks) should be commended for willing to do anything for the team, even when it was clear that the team was headed for a loss, but the coaches never should have placed her in that position. They totally scrwed her over there."

    "Whoa, calm down there. Getting a little defensive there aren't ya?"

    "Hey we StarBucks gotta stick together."

    "OK, Okay. I'll give you that. I never went to college so don't have to worry about that."

    "You missed out, the parties on Ord Sabaok are epic..."

    "Good quality schooling you got there huh?"

    "Helped me get this gig here with you."

    "Much to my chagrin, but yes. OK, we're about to go on break here, but when we come back we'll talk about the Crusaders win against the Marksmen..."

    "Can't believe they almost blew a 21-0 lead."

    "Take your calls on what you saw in yesterday's win over Coruscant and give you our winners and losers from around the league. Back here in a few."




    "Eighty-Seven-Eight, sports on the eight report!" The jingle sang out as it did every ten minutes on the Fandalorian.

    "Hey, this is Kit Kitterich with your news on the eights sports report. The Mercs stomped all over the Senators yesterday 40 to 8 in an injury ridden affair for the home team, but you saw no one on the Mercs sideline feeling sorry for them." A segment of Ryi Kor'le's post game interview was played. "That's a tough tough team over there, a playoff team last season, and we showed them and the league where the Mercs stand right now on offense and defense."

    "When asked about the injury bug that seemed to crop up for the Mercs, Kor'le had this to say."

    "Hey, that's meshgeroya, despite what some elements down at the college level want to do, it's a physical game and injuries happen. There was no sympathy for us last week, and we had none for the Senators. These things happen and all you can do is go out and play the game. We were fortunate to be able to put in the reserves for the second half, but I think that's a testament to how good we an be when firing on all cylinders. But this game is behind us now and we have to look forward, have to get ready for a tough rivalry game against that team from Nal Hutta's moon."

    "Speaking of The Game of Rivals of course was former Smuggler's star Ike Tullo, now the anchor of the Mercs Defense."

    "That's a real tough team they have over there, a championship organization. All we can do is take it to them and do our best to crush them, in body and spirit."

    "When asked how the Mercs fans have treated him so far going into The Game of Rivals, Tullo had this to say."

    "The fans here are great, the most passionate fans in the game. I had to handle that from the other side before, and it was fun, but now I'm glad to be on their team. They've really been great to me."

    "He was also asked about not playing in the game's second half against the Sens after his injury against the Pirates."

    "That was just a function of the way the game went I think, not precautionary at all. I'm healthy, good to go, and looking forward to bashing in the skulls of some old frenemies."

    "Speaking of injuries, while the Senators are adding more and more to their injury report, the Mercs will be taking someone else off. Goaltender Mitth'or'norris is ready for live game action according to team medics and according to Kor'le will see action this week."

    "Thorn is ready, fully cleared now by the medical staff. He might not be in game shape just yet, but we as an organization want him to see some live meshgeroya action. He'll be sent down to Concordia to get some live reps there for a few weeks before being called back up to the parent club. In the meantime, Kitan has played very well for us while Thorn was out, and he'll continue to play between the pipes for the foreseeable future."

    "So there you have it, Mercs on the rise in the Skywalker, and have a chance to bury their biggest rival. Now back to the Rancor Pitt with Randy and Justin right here on the Fandalorian!"

    TAG: No one

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Trieste

    Trieste Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2010
    IC: Rocket Richaud
    Hickory & Cherry, Gesco City, Bakura

    The most frustrating thing was that Rocket didn’t think the Miners didn’t play badly. They just didn’t play well enough.

    Those Packer forwards...they were big and they used their size well today. The all Human/Near Human back seven for the Miners (plus the midfield duo if you counted them) got pushed around by the bulky attackers. In past years the Miners had outmaneuvered them, but the Packers played their game this time around and barrelled through a Miner defense that had stymied the Buccaneers a week ago on the very same field.

    It was a straight up, aggressive attack by the Agamar side and the Miners looked like they felt the force of it. A few players took a little longer to pop back to their feet than usual. Hervey, getting his first major taste of what a pro offense could look like, was shaking his head a few times as if dazed. Millard looked well short of being up to the task of defending the corner forwards. Even Falene Trieste, who was usually quietly effective out there, even got banged around. She came up from the turf with blood running down the side of her face from a cut on the side of her head. She seemed not to even notice it when Rocket watched the replay. The owner-player had to be told by one of her teammates about it and she left the field briefly to get it seen to--perhaps appropriately by the female doctor with all the scars on her face.

    Rocket had been through losses like this--heck she’d been through a lot worse--but this was the first time Sadie had experienced one. By the end of the game, Sadie was more deflated than a giant balloon after a parade. She was just about sliding off her barstool in an attempt to escape the weight of the defeat. The frown on her face looked like it was bad enough to etch permanent lines in her pristine forehead.

    When it was clear that the outcome was a foregone conclusion late in the second half, Rocket paid her tab and pulled a jacket over her Miners jersey. “Come on,” Rocket said, “You need to be cheered up.”

    “Tell me about it,” Sadie said, gladly abandoning the bar.





    Glenwood, Gesco City, Bakura

    It was an eight minute walk from the monorail station. Rocket knew it for a fact. She’d been here enough that she’d had plenty of opportunities to time it to perfection. It was an eight and a half minute walk if she hit both of the crosswalk lights at the wrong time.

    “Where are we going?” Sadie asked for the first time. She’d said nothing on the monorail, mainly because she was still down about the Miners game, but ever since getting off at the Glenwood station she’d been perplexed. There wasn’t much in Glenwood. They were still within the sprawling city limits of Gesco City (once upon a time the city fathers and mothers had decided that their great industrial dream required a large amount of land for the city government to control and regulate as they wished and, like any good government, they’d kept it all). Glenwood was not quite a suburb for it had its own small set of businesses and restaurants near the monorail station. However, the residents were made up of large numbers of commuters who went into the city center and industrial areas for their jobs.

    “We’re almost there,” Rocket said as they walked down the neatly paved sidewalks with mature trees shading them, lawns and gardens that were evidently maintained the residents. It made for a pleasant scene. Perhaps not an exciting one, but it exuded contentment.

    “You’re not a stalker, are you?” Sadie asked, “We’re not going to camp in front of some player’s house and throw things at it for them playing so terribly, are we?”

    Rocket actually laughed at that. “No, I doubt any of them live in Gesco anyways.” She stopped. “Okay, here we are.”

    “Where?”

    “Here.”

    Rocket pointed at the house right in front of them. It was a single story arts and crafts bungalow with long lines of rich, dark wood naturally stained complemented by a dark green color pallette. What stonework there was in the bungalow and the associated planters and low walls had river rock accents. It was charming, a neat little house in every sense of the word. Sadie looked at the house and said, “Nice house,” in the way that one says, “Nice shirt.” It wasn’t until she looked at Rocket that she understood that this was not just a sightseeing tour.

    Her eyes were shining as she looked at the house. “I’m gonna buy it, Sadie,” Rocket said. If she hadn’t used her name, Sadie would have wondered if Rocket even knew she was still here. “I’m gonna buy it.”

    “Can you afford it?” Sadie asked, “Houses are expensive.”

    “Yeah, I can. I worked it out,” Rocket said, “With my salary and the right loan, I can. Insurance, taxes, mortgage payment...I can do it.” Sadie had never heard Rocket talk like this. She sounded like she was on a different plane. It was clear her friend was talking about a dream. If she had to sum it up in one word, Rocket sounded inspired. “I’ve wanted a house for so long. A place that’s mine and nobody else’s. Not a dinky little room in a building with thin walls where you can hear the people above you clomping around like they’ve got permacrete shoes on. My own house.”

    “So, you bought it?” Sadie asked excitedly.

    “Well…” Rocket bit her lip, “Kinda. I’ve got a hold on it right now.”

    “A hold?”

    “I’m paying out of my savings every month for them not to entertain other bids until I can make a formal offer.”

    “You mean in addition to your rent right now?”

    “Yeah. If I buy the house, they’ll put the money towards the down payment. If I don’t...well...it’s not like they’re going to give it back,” Rocket admitted.

    Sadie immediately sensed a problem. “Why do I think you don’t exactly have the money for the down payment Rocket?”

    “I don’t...but I’m going to,” Rocket said with confidence. This was why she was working for Rossum. When she got her last payment at the end of the season, after the Galactic Cup Final, she’d have enough for the down payment. Assuming Rossum held up their end of the bargain, which Rocket had every expectation that they would. They had a good reputation. She just had to do her job and everything would work out fine.

    “Rocket…” Sadie asked.

    “Don’t worry about it. I’m going to have the money,” Rocket said with confidence. She was going to have that money because if she didn’t, she’d have lost so much on this house. She was this close. She wasn’t going to let it slip away from her now.





    Hickory & Cherry, Gesco City, Bakura
    One week later


    Even in a bar thousands of miles away from Bakura Gardens, this game felt different. The talk on local sports media had been about how for the first time since the renovation of the Gardens in 246 ABY the Miners were going to wear road whites in this game. They wouldn’t even inhabit their own locker room with its holos of champions from years gone by, with its rich dark blue carpets and nicely finished lockers. They would not walk through the polished silver doors etched with the Miner logo and across the blue carpet rolled across the concourse. The sideline that Gaeriel Valerii would stand on would put the sun in her eyes today.

    All these privileges had been ceded to the Euceron Storm, a team that had no home stadium anymore. Last week they had gotten considerable privileges at the new Financial Square Arena on Ralltiir. It was not an experience that they likely wanted to remember given the way it turned out. Even so, this was a game that should have taken place on Euceron and the Miners had done everything they could to make the Storm feel at home.

    That had included facilitating ticket sales from season ticket holders to Storm fans who could make the journey to Bakura (or who perhaps already resided on the planet--there were some). The Miners did not have large blocks of tickets that they could reserve for the visiting team given the size of their stadium, but they did everything they could to make sure that tickets got into the hands of Storm fans where possible. From the pregame shots of the stadium, it looked like there would be dots of bright blue Storm paraphernalia throughout the stadium but no massive contingent like had been present on Ralltiir.

    Rocket got to the bar early this week. It wasn’t out of a desire to drink, but because she felt this game was different. Here was an 0-3 team who had just been beaten about as badly as you could ever be beaten who was coming into the house of a team that had won two Galactic Cups in the last four years. The gulf between teams couldn’t be greater. And yet, the Storm were still fighting. Rocket knew it couldn’t be easy.

    She’d seen how her clients were betting this week. Massive money was moving in favor of the Miners. In fact, early in the week Rossum had abandoned traditional betting on the Storm. They had instituted the line, a hated mechanism where Rossum set an arbitrary number of points and bets in favor of the Miners had to be over or below that amount. This week’s line was 20 points. Rocket couldn’t believe it when she saw it. 20 points. Almost seven goals the Miners were predicted to beat the Storm by. She wondered how it felt to be a member of the Storm, or even just a Storm fan and be told that the galaxy expected you to lose by seven goals. And then, you’d put on your Storm jersey and get out there and watch the game.

    That, Rocket reflected, was what being a fan must be.

    There were no Storm fans in the Hickory & Cherry, which was a shame because during the pregame show, the BBC had found old footage from when Alana Glencross had appeared on Marte Nalo’s talk show. It must have been around 270 or 271 because they were talking about the introduction of non-Humans to the team, once a hot topic. Marte was asking some hard questions. It was weird to think that this member of the Limmie Hall of Fame was now dead. Rocket wondered how Alana felt about that, if she was thinking about this interview today.

    As the game drew closer, the bar filled up to its usual levels, including Sadie. The BBC usually didn’t feature the pregame ceremonies and rituals, but this one was so unusual that they knew the fans at home would want to see it.

    The bar was oddly subdued as they watched the Miners come out in their road jerseys in a setting that was so familiar to them while the Storm came out in their home jerseys. The Miners did not take the field in a great rush as usual, but rather in stately procession to the song that had been last performed when these two teams had met on this field. Then it had been an apology for the Miners’ conduct in 277 when they had fouled their way to victory. Now it was more a lament for what had happened to the Euceron franchise and team, but one not solely of sadness.

    In fact, as it began, Rocket hopped off her barstool and stood up. It was nothing that the Euceron players or fan would ever know about, but it felt right. In the depth of her heart, Rocket thought, Attention must be paid.

    “And after fights and words of violence
    We make up with each other
    The way old friends do”


    Next to Rocket, Sadie stood up. And so did another Miner fan, and another, and another, and then they were all standing.

    “Times of joy and times of sorrow
    We will always see it through
    I don’t care what comes tomorrow
    We will face it together
    The way old friends do.”


    On the field, the Miners arrayed themselves in the traditional single file line, facing the other team. The players, joined by their head coach and on field staff at one end of the line, put their arms over each other’s shoulders in interlocking fashion. Doing so showed off the black arm bands they were wearing for today’s game.

    The being next to Rocket had decided to imitate the team and had put his arm across Rocket’s shoulders. She was not as tall as him, so she quietly slipped his arm around his torso as she put her arm over Sadie’s much more reachable shoulders. As they did so, the cameras panned across fans in the Gardens, showing how Miner and Storm fans alike were interlocking themselves in unity. They cut to the Noble House of Trieste, inhabiting the visitor’s box (which, Rocket thought, let’s be honest is still a box, so not much of a hardship for them) had done so as well. For a moment they seemed like regular fans, not the masters of the universe that they were.

    When the song had ended, but before the national anthems were performed, the public address announcer, piped into the BBC Sports broadcast said, “Gentlebeings, please join the Miners in a moment of silence to remember the citizens of Euceron, including players and other members of the Storm organization, who lost their lives in the tragic events at Euceron Stadium last year. We especially remember those of the Eusebus Police Department, including Limmie Hall of Fame member Marte Nalo, who gave their lives in defense of their city and their homeworld.”

    The vidscreens mirrored the giant one that was in the Gardens, which showed a montage of Storm players in action in their heyday. Included was a shot of Glencross sitting in Marte’s holo studio for the interview that had been playing before. Someone must have said something funny because Alana had a huge grin on her face and Marte was smirking wryly. They then cut to a live shot of Glencross in the line of players. With both arms around her teammates, she had no free hand with which to brush away the single tear resting on top of her cheek.

    As the bar settled in for the game, the preliminaries concluded. Sadie said, “Tough stuff.”

    “Yeah, but the worst thing is that whenever something like this happens to another team and the Miners go out of their way to recognize it, like they almost always do, they almost always lose,” Rocket said, “We don’t play well in emotional games.”

    “Oh,” Sadie said, “So…”

    “This is could get a little bumpy,” Rocket said.

    TAG: jcgoble3 Runjedirun Tim Battershell
     
  6. galactic-vagabond422

    galactic-vagabond422 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2009
    IC: Aleyn Bray
    O’pahz, Carratos

    “What are you looking for?” Phil asked looking over Aleyn’s shoulder. The younger detective was looking over the holo-camera footage from around the crime scene. “The shooting happened in a blind spot and the speeder was lost in traffic.”

    “It’s this bag,” Aleyn answered, he pointed to a large black bag over the shoulder of the Zeltron. “She had it before but, it wasn’t found at or near the scene.”

    “Someone probably picked it up thinking it was filled with something valuable, which it most likely was.”

    “Or the person who took it is connected to the killing.”

    “That is a huge leap.”

    “We don’t have anything else to go on. The blaster used was as far as we can tell very common, and like you said the speeder got lost in traffic.” The detective had several feeds open at the same time keeping his attention split between them. He didn’t have time to look through them individually with Baroness’s deadline approaching. His eyes began to burn from staring at the screens for so long. “Frag” he said under his breath. I began to feel like this gang war was inevitable even with Phil’s help he was still unable to get any traction. He paused all the feeds and went to get another cup of caff. At the machine a voice called out from the side.

    “Did you go home last night?” Alyen turned and smiled.

    “No, Valea I didn’t.” He was addressing Valea Lozin a Cathar detective in the same precinct.

    “Aleyn you need a girl.”

    “Why you offering ,” He sighed and rubbed his eyes “If people could stop murdering each other for one day maybe I’d have time to find someone.” Valea pulls the left side of her mouth into a sort of half smile and lowers her brow.

    “You know you don’t get paid for afterhours work.”

    “I know but, how can you walk away from a case even for a few hours.”

    “Sometimes you need to let you mind work on things for a bit before the connections become clear.” Aleyn gives a wry grin. He liked Valea not in a romantic way but, as a friend. She was a transplant like him, they bonded over how screwed up this whole planet was, on Courscant or Denon, where she’s from, Seccers put criminals away not let them go. He’d asked once why she came to Carratos, she quickly changed the subject.

    Back at his desk he looked through all the frozen images straining to find anything useful. Then he saw it, a dark haired human with a black bag over his shoulder. A quick run through facial recognition and Aleyn had a name Vandal Helm. Within minutes he and his partner where knocking on the suspect’s door.

    “Who is it?” The man shouted through the door. The two detectives looked at each other. Honesty didn’t work last time Aleyn was at a door, so he tried a different tact.

    “You know who it is,” he growled, the door opened to reveal a young man, his eyes wide shoulders shaking.

    “Wait,” Vandal said relaxing a bit, “you’re not,” Phil didn’t let the suspect finish before stepping into the space and grabbing other man’s shirt collar.

    “Who were you expecting?” He asked forcing Vandal on to a sofa that sat along the back wall of the dingy apartment.

    “Someone scarier than you,” Aleyn hung back from his partner to check a few things on his data-pad. Vandal Helm, 25, priors of spice possession and trafficking. Never got to a trial due to ‘lack of evidence’, sometimes this excuse was true but, most times it was just a cover for the DA doing a favor for one of the crime lords. Question was, who was he employed to, one of the Star Dragons enemies?

    “Look,” the younger investigator said moving closer, “we just need to know a few things.”

    “I can’t be seen talking to you. You know the price for talking.” Vandal pantomimed shooting himself in the head.

    “You’ll get a whole lot more than that,” Phil stated standing over the suspected accomplice, “when I give your name to the Baroness.” Vandal’s eyes widened again.

    “You can’t,” he said, “You’re cops you can’t give my name to that psycho.”

    “We will need to put your name down as a person of interest in the case file.” Aleyn explained going along with his partner’s plan, “and Baroness has proven herself capable at getting access to those files.” The scared criminal looked to both detectives.

    “If I give you what you want my name doesn’t appear in the case file?” Phil sat down beside Vandal.

    “We won’t need it we’ll have the guy that actually did it.” The senior detective said. The young man swallowed hard.

    “Ok, alright, you’re looking for Blitzer Harrsk. He’s an associate of Gaf Karastee.” Aleyn punched the names into his data-pad Blitzer looked to be an enforcer judging from his rap sheet that stretched back a long way. The other name didn’t have much on it, other than some racketeering charges that again never made it to trial, meaning he could be just starting his organized crime career or just be hitting his stride. Either way Karastee obviously had connections. Aleyn nodded to his partner.

    “Everything checks out.” He said.

    “Good,” Phil moved to the door, “You have a nice day.” The two investigators quickly left to find their next link. They struck out at his last known address. They started checking places connected to Gaf Karastee by the time they found Blitzer the Pirates game had already started.

    Phil threw Blitzer into a chair, in the interrogation room. The suspect was of average build but, fit with his brown hair parted to the side. He wore a black shirt with a white Pirates logo on the chest. Aleyn put a feed of the game on his data-pad, he had a little more than an hour to break this guy.

    “We’ll start simple,” Aleyn said interlaceing his fingers on the table, “where were you last Sunday at 2200.”

    “At a bar celebrating with some friends.” Blitzer responded “I made good money on that Pirates game and I stand to make a few more if they pull this one out.” He leaned forward to look at the data-pad, “How they doing by the way?”

    “Down by one point,” the interrogator paused to pull up the crime scene photos. “You may not get a chance to enjoy those winnings.”

    “What do you mean,” Aleyn turned the tablet sized computing device toward Blitzer.

    “Your name came up in connection with a murder that happened last week. These are photos from the crime scene.”

    “Yeah, seen those before, the pictures ended up on the holo-net that night. It’s a shame really it was a good game.” The suspect paused, “oh, looks like the Pirates just tied it up. Bar point by Irukandji, I knew he was a good choice even if he’s a Corsair.”

    “Yes, well,” Aleyn continued with a smile. “If you’ll look here,” he said circling the tattoos on the victims, “These distinctive marks identify them as members of the Star Dragon gang. A very dangerous group of people, who would not take too kindly to the person who did this,”

    “Well sucks to be whoever that is,”

    “True it would, and right now you look like that person.” Blitzer laughed,

    “You on spice Seccer, I told you I was never even there.”

    “Right, you were at a bar, remember the name?”

    “Finn’s on Batiiv street blocks away from the stadium.”

    “Ok if you’re supposed to be blocks away from the stadium,” the detective pulls up holo still, “what are you doing getting into a speeder just down the street from Goss-Pell a minute before shots were fired.”

    “Ok, you got me but, to be honest why would I admit to being anywhere near that scene.”

    “What were you doing there then?”

    “Visiting a friend,”

    “Then whose speeder are you getting into, your friends, yours,”

    “Nah, it was a ride share thing.”

    “Ah, ride share.” Aleyn rolled back the footage of the speeder before the shooting, “is it common for the diver to wait for ten minutes for their fare to come out? I mean it’s after a big game there has to be tons of other people in need of a ride.”

    “I got in, the guy was cool with it.”

    “Do you have any way for us to contact the driver to confirm your story?”

    “No, all I get is a name and price.”

    “Could you give us the name?”

    “You know how many times I catch a ride in a week; I’ve forgotten that guy’s name.”

    “Alright well if you could give us the name of the company you used? We can contact them, find out who was working in that area and see if we can’t find the driver that picked you up.” The suspect remained silent, obviously he was caught in a lie but, to go back and say it was a friend that picked him up would lead to asking for the friend’s name, Blitzer’s options were shut up and ask for a lawyer, or tell the truth. “If you don’t give us something to work with,” the interrogator continued “I’m going to charge you with this murder and present the case to the DA. Then even if they decline to prosecute your name is forever connected to this case. The Star Dragons will assume that you’re friendly with the DA and got the charges dropped. They’ll come after you and you’ll be dead.”

    “And if I go to prison I’ll be killed in there.”

    “That’s if you you’re incarcerated on Carratos. I can have you transferred off world; reason overcrowding, dangerous environment, or really any excuse I can come up with and you’ll be on your way to Courscant or somewhere closer to the Core. I can only do that if I’m sure to get a conviction and I’ll need a signed confession.”

    “No way then I’ll be killed for sure.”

    “Not for sure, you have chance of living, a better one than if you leave now.” Aleyn knew this was a gamble make prison sound safer than being free but, it was the only play he had. He knew he was possibly coercing this confession but, everything pointed to this guy, even if he did release him bad things would happen. He glanced at his data-pad the Pirates were up by one point coming to the end of regulation. There was no time left this man needed to be behind bars now or more people would die. The room remained silent for too long then Blitzer spoke.

    “I’ll give a confession.” Quickly Phil gave the suspect a data-pad and he typed up a confession. Looking it over the detective noticed no mention of Gaf Karastee, Blitzer was willing to take the fall alone. With no time left Aleyn put his new charge into a holding cell.

    “I’ll call the Baroness,” His partner said “tell her the good news.” Aleyn contacted some old friends in the Coruscant Security Force to expedite a transfer. They told him they couldn’t do much until morning where he was so he stayed the night watching over Blitzer making sure no one harmed him. The next day he heard back from Courscant they would have two agents waiting at the terminal in the O’pahz space port. All Aleyn had to do was get him from the station to there. He moved Blitzer into a car and set a course straight for the space port. Something felt wrong as a construction droid directed him to detour down an abandoned alley. In font of him were several cars blocking his path, behind him a large vehicle cut off his exit. He drew his weapon and slid down in his seat. Getting out of one of the cars in front of him was a well-dressed blue skinned female.

    “Aleyn we know you have the man who killed my people in there,” she called out, “we’d like to ask him a few questions ourselves.” Aleyn held his ground. He knew what would befall the poor man behind him if he ended up in the clutches of the Baroness, a fate worse than death. The passenger side rear window shattered and the former solider pointed his weapon at the disturbance. A large Nikto was pulling a struggling Blitzer out the recently made opening. Aleyn couldn’t take the shot without also hitting the person he was trying to protect. He sat frozen while his prisoner was ripped from the vehicle and dragged along the ground. “This is just business darling,” Baroness said, “You can’t ask the questions we need answers to,”

    “Baroness,” He shouted through his lowered window “we had a deal.”

    “I just promised not to send my men to find this fool. I never said I wouldn’t take custody after you found him.” The azure lady curtseyed “It’s been a pleasure working with you. I hope to do it again.” There was nothing the detective could do, he’d lost, been played by someone he should have known not to trust. After everyone cleared out he drove the barrowed car back to the precinct. He filled out an accident report stating that the window was broken by the suspect during his escape.

    ________________________________________________________________________________
    The Red Dog Pub,O’pahz, Carratos

    Aleyn downed his second shot of Corellian whiskey and slammed the glass down on the bar. The bartender went to fill it up again but the detective stopped him. He sat there for a moment taking in the scene though the mirrored liquor shelf. It was the middle of the day and few people were milling around the room. Then a Zabrak male walked up behind him.

    “The Baroness requests your prescience.” He said putting a hand on Aleyn’s shoulder.

    TAG: No One
     
  7. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    May 20, 2008
    IC: Christine Gamble
    Denon

    “Ow!” Christine said as Tama Wor moved her leg on the training table.

    “I take it that hurts?” the Carosite asked.

    “Duh,” Christine said. “You now, Doc, those crazy bucketheads were questioning the decision to have me in goal over the week, and now I’m starting to see why that’s the case.”

    “You questioning your position as the emergency goaltender, Gamble?”

    “I don’t know, Doc, I just don’t,” Christine said. The Carosite stretched out her leg a little bit, and while there was a little bit of twinging pain and soreness in there, at least it didn’t hurt as badly. Christine had to give it to the man, he certainly knew how to treat injuries. “Maybe I’m just foolish. Ya know, doing everything for the team, even get myself beaten to pieces over a worthless game.”

    “Some players feel like that’s necessary for the good of the team,” Tama commented. “And, for how bad it was, Ms. Gamble, and this is not to leave this room, but I think you had guts that the Glencrosses, Darycs, and Lynds would never have. None of them would have gone in goal in that situation, but you did. You’re always looking to be a championship player; well, you certainly put your body on the line for that ideal. I may not like it because I have to patch you up afterwards, but I have to admire your courage. In my culture, we understand what medically makes sense, but your culture, the human culture, the culture of this sport . . . it’s different. And I think you fulfilled that, even though it didn’t turn out well.”

    “Hopefully I’m not needed to do that again,” Christine said. “We’ve got two keepers now.” Jam Tarpals, the Gungan, had been called up during the week to take Sarah Connor’s place as the backup. For the upcoming Denon game, Camille Montes would return. She had a good week of practice and was going to start for the third time this season.

    “I hope not. You will be on limited minutes today, per coaches’ orders,” Tama said. “Frankly, I wouldn’t let you play. But your head coach has a way of making things happen.”

    “Time to see what Rickard’s got,” Christine said. Rickard Herman, the second-year corner out of Republican University, would get his first start, across from Kara Milovy. Vex Blooker, Christine’s backup, wasn’t all that good, and thus Rickard, who had more potential, it seemed, would start. “Now we get to see if that big mouth of his can back up his play.”

    When the Carosite was done patching Christine up, she went to the locker room and sat down at her locker stall. She pulled out a Holozine and began to read. The HSN Power Rankings had been released, and the Senators had precipitously dropped to 11th after being fourth or fifth the prior week. Disgustedly she tossed the thing aside after reading the inflammatory comments; obviously the media was trying to find any way they could to denigrate her team. Typical media dogs, she thought to herself.

    If there was something she hated more than the Miners, more than the Mercs, was the media. After what they had done to destroy any shred of confidence she had left in 277, then they had forced her off planet during the All-Star festivities. Sure she hadn’t exactly done the brightest thing by leaving, but it had gotten to the point where she thought the best thing for the media was to either be shot, or to be forced to live in exile on Csilla without a warm pair of boots or a coat. She couldn’t stand how the Coruscanti media in particular could turn on the team so quickly; after all, their win over Carratos had only been three weeks earlier, a total victory. Now they were the worst team in the league (with the media, and the Starkillers, evidently, claiming that the Storm had no reason to be fielding a team whatsoever). They ignored the injuries, questioned why she was out there. It grated on her to no end. Someday the media would get its just desserts; it was only a matter of how and when.

    She sulked in her locker until the coaches came in and gave their pregame speech. It was all about playing better on defense, scoring points, blah blah blah, Christine thought. It was obvious that they had no effort out there against the bucketheads; the fact that three straight losses going in there hadn’t been enough to light a fire under her team was the most miffing part. They had seemed lost and confused, like they couldn’t play Limmie. But no matter what the bucketheads and the media said, it wasn’t easy playing without two top scorers or both of your regular goaltenders. The Mercs would have folded without Daryc and their goalies. The victors wrote the history, they always said, but it didn’t always mean it was true. Context, and bias, was everything. And now her team had to build a context that showed they were trying and not just losers getting fed once again to the slaughter of the Lookensgaard regime. Most wouldn’t give them a chance . . . a perfect time to whip the Demons and come back with a fury.

    She knew the losing streak details. Taking out the six-game winning streak from the prior season, taking out the lucky wins, as they were called now, the Senators were 1-16 in the rest of their games since a solid win over Hapes in 276 that had set them up for a postseason-berth clash against Bakura. One win, the Carratos win, three weeks ago, was all that set them apart from 16 losses over three years. Sixteen losses, one win. Six-game winning streak, three-game losing streak to end their season, three blown opportunities. One win now, two huge blowout losses in a row. The losing had to end. It was better for everyone she knew that they start winning. Because the league didn’t care; no one cared. There weren’t any “Get Well Soon” cards given to them like Euceron was receiving, no title deed to Bakura Gardens for a game. The bucketheads questioned her toughness, HSN ridiculed her team for losing. The league, the critics, they were still caught up in the 260s glory days, still complaining that the Senators had titles. But had she played on those teams? No. The only title she had was worst record-wise captain in Senators’ history for at least two decades. They had never lost like she had, never suffered through a winless season like she had. They had never been hounded by the media like she had, never taken the absolute abuse she had. They never knew how desperate she had to be when going into goal that last week in a lost cause game.

    A win here would mean everything. A loss here would be devastating. If they failed to win, the media would be urging a firesale, would be telling the Senators to fire their coach, trade her for peanuts, start another “rebuild”, whatever that meant, and tell the owner to sell the team. She had heard it all before, and didn’t want to hear it again. The Limmie Gods had taken out their frustrations on the Senators; now it was time for them to let it go. It was time for the Senators to rise again, to blast those who pushed them down, to burn the critics, to take no prisoners.

    Even though she wasn’t completely healthy with the injuries, the competitive fire burned in Christine’s eyes. She was going to do whatever she could, on the field or off it, today to get that win. Because her team needed it. Coruscant needed it. She needed it.

    And that started right now.

    When the game began, Christine was trailing defensive coordinator Rosa Berant, trying to do whatever she could to make sure the defense was playing the right way. Even if she only got 10 minutes here, she would make sure that those were 10 minutes she could excel in. She had never played off the bench in her career, but fate had made it so. Now she had to make sure her shift counted for something.



    TAG: No One, since it's Denon
     
  8. Trieste

    Trieste Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2010
    GM Post

    What We Learned: Week 3


    Yoda obviously didn’t get our wish for this Life Day, which was for someone to have undefeated season. Either that or we’re on the naughty list, but that can’t be true, so Yoda must have just missed our letter before he took off in his X-Wing with his sack of gifts for all the good interns and staff writers.

    Agamar Packers – Those big power forwards put their heads down and plowed right through the Miners in a big way. In fact, they used their heads for just about everything in that game. Not that there’d be any reason to pay attention to their heads or anything...

    Bakura Miners – The truth is that the Packers usually have a good day offensively at the Gardens. What’s more troubling is the fact that the Miners didn’t keep pace with them in this game, especially coming off a dominating effort at Hapes. Gaeriel Valerii could use the game against the Storm to get her team back on track...but at this rate she’s probably going to have to play her bench for 55 minutes after what Aebatt Zargana said in her last press conference if she doesn’t want to look like a jerk.

    Carratos Pirates – This new Pirates offensive scheme is awesome. It’s like we’re playing ELL 279 and we’re that kid who always selects that play where you just throw the front three way up the field and you keep passing to them and running up the score on the computer. Every single play. How has nobody thought of this before?

    Coruscant Senators – Even more injuries to the Senators? It’s almost like the team is taunting us by saying, “Just imagine what we’d be doing if we were healthy.” Alas, it’s part of the game of limmie. Well, it is for them anyways because certain other teams in the League have guardian angels from Iego who protect them from getting a papercut when signing their huge contracts.

    Denon Demons – Just like the Kuat Triforce, the Denon Demons can win a game when no one expects them to. The question is whether they can win any when anyone thinks they can.

    Euceron Storm – Before you go jumping on Aebatt, she’s right. We’ve lost enough games in our house bolo-ball league at HSN to those Power Rankings and Scouting teams to know that it’s way more fun to know the other team isn’t holding back.

    Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – See Bucs score. See Bucs stop balls. See Bucs shut out. See Bucs C-Bucs by the sea shore.

    Mando’ade Mercs – When Johnny Limmie and Jeem Daryc play nice, they play real nice. Whatever Ryi Kor’le did, she should do it again. And again. And again and again and again...

    Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – If this is last season, the Smugglers take that game, no question. Here’s a scary question: is Meredith Chambers-Vayne that good of a head coach? She fell short of breaking through on Hapes and now the Smugglers are looking increasingly pedestrian. The Crew’s love is fickle. Failure to perform is their unforgivable sin...but even if the fault lies at the feet of a living legend?

    Ralltiir Starkillers – If you thought the Starkillers weren’t going to be good this season, think again. And this was without Hovechar. Force help the rest of the League when they get her back.

    Rydonni Prime Monarchs – You can’t spell “very good leadership needed” without V-E-S-P-E-R L-Y-N-D. And you can’t spell team without M-E. (We gave the interns a gold star for spelling in this one.)

    Ylesia Lightning – It seems like at least once a season, the Lightning offense forgets that they can’t just expect Kasin to do everything for them and usually we mean that hyperbolically. Given the fact that the offense didn’t do anything this week, it looks like they wanted to save us from our editors and allow us to say that literally.

    TAG: Bardan_Jusik CPL_Macja galactic-vagabond422 jcgoble3 Jedi Gunny Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Tim Battershell Vehn
     
  9. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    May 20, 2008
    IC: Eddy Beagle
    Senators Stadium

    The fact that he was here at the stadium again was not surprising; what was surprising was that he was a paying customer. Or, at least, someone had paid for the tickets, because he certainly hadn’t. He sat there in the nosebleeds with Lara, watching the Mercs dismantle the Senators. It was cause for concern, yes, but there was nothing the intern, or whatever his title was now, could do about it. He still had to write about Karin Cherf, the third-round pick; that was his job, and the beat writers for the Senators had theirs. They would have to explain why this team was suddenly tanking, and his job was to keep asking why Cherf wasn’t getting called up.

    Of course, that was easier said than done. Karin wasn’t exactly doing well with Thyferra. In fact, she was downright terrible. Of course, it was the LFL, and she hadn’t been a high draft pick, so there was a large learning curve. But it was hard to talk to a player who felt like she wasn’t doing anything of note but fail. That had to wear on her over time, Eddy thought to himself.

    “Be happy you don’t have to write this all out,” Lara said to him as she leaned in. “The beat staff are going to either take a beating this week, or will dish it out. I have a feeling that it will be a tense week at the office.”

    “I can’t believe this team is doing so badly,” Eddy said, shaking his head. He shared the sentiment with those around him; this wasn’t the Senators they were hoping to see. With the injuries mounting, now this team was just a shell. Christine Gamble was not a goalie, that much was clear. Why she was out there was anyone’s guess. The game spiraled further out of control, and finally Lara suggested that they leave as well. There was no reason to see the dregs of this game, if it could even be called that. It was slaughter, by a team that had no injury issues against an opponent missing key components all over. It was no contest, no game, no fun.

    As they left the stadium, Eddy had to ask something. “You think I should ask Karin about if she thinks she’ll be called up?”

    “I don’t know, I really don’t know,” Lara said. They got into her speeder. “Look, Eddy, it’s up to you what you want to write. At this point you could certainly ask her if she’s ready to face the Elite League, but from what I’m getting from your reports, she’s nowhere near getting to this level. Even with the team in the tank.”

    “I think I have to at least consider it,” Eddy commented. “At some point, someone needs to be called up. This can’t happen again.” He had heard the horror stories of 277. Things seemed to be spiraling towards that right now.

    “That’s up to you,” Lara said.

    She drove him home, both of them in complete silence. Lara obviously felt bad that she had paid for tickets to such a dog of a game, and Eddy was unsure of what he was going to ask Karin this week for the interview. When he was dropped off at his front door, or at least at the base of the stairs to his apartment, he got out without saying a word. The feeling of dreadfulness was mutual for both of them. Right now, the Senators sucked, and it was hard to write anything positive or speculative about their future without looking like a defeatist.


    That night, Eddy struggled to type up questions for Karin. He finally had to give it up, and he sat down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What was he going to write about this week?

    TAG: No One
     
    Runjedirun, jcgoble3, Trieste and 2 others like this.
  10. Runjedirun

    Runjedirun Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    IC: Bat Vigo

    Vigo Household Tatooine

    I grabbed the counter top next to me and held on for support. “You should tell a fellow to sit down before asking a question like that.” I answered.

    “I’m serious, Bat.” I don’t want any more children.

    “Why are we having this discussion now?” I cautioned as I took a seat at the table in preparation for any further surprises.

    “I saw the look in your eyes when I left to sleep in Tyffanie’s room last night. Bat I’m scared to have another baby.”

    So the reason she didn’t want to sleep in our bed was for the fear of what may happen if she went into labor again. I had to admit I had my own fears about losing Georgia. Even with the assurances from her doctor that it was unlikely she would have the same complications if she chose to have more children. The incident was still fresh in our minds. “Let’s not make this decision now,” I begged. “Give yourself some time, you might change your mind. I wouldn’t want to make a decision we regret.” Of course my in mind a voice was screaming NO. I had two daughters more than anything I hoped for just one more chance to father a son.

    Just then Serene came running into the kitchen. Georgia’s sister right behind her with Tyffanie in her arms. We shared a nice breakfast, though I wasn’t very hungry after the discussion that preceded it. After breakfast I went to the stadium just as much to get some space and time alone as I did to get work done. One thing was for certain this week’s game would be a true testament to how well I had learned those exercises to focus my mind.

    Archer’s Point Stadium Sandskimmers VS Firedrakes

    Things at home remained tense. Georgia wasn’t so much mad at me, but she was avoiding me and I was avoiding her. I welcomed the hours I put in at practice. Being able to put aside my troubles at home was crucial to my well-being. Without the distraction I fear I would have caved and at the very least considered her wishes. I put in more hours than usual at the stadium. I practiced longer and found more ways to micro-manage than usual. Anything to avoid going home. The coaching staff was worried I wouldn’t perform today. I was set to prove them wrong. When Yolanda passed me the ball during our first possession I dribbled around two defenders and put the ball in the net. To be sure and quiet my doubters I took another shot on the second possession even though it was obvious that Niels had a wide open opportunity if I had chosen to pass to him. I managed to get the ball over the bar and score another point. My scoring streak continued until coach Zan called a time out.

    “Bartholomew your play is selfish. Limmie is a team sport,” she said calling me out in front of my teammates. “If you want to remain in this game you need to include your teammates.”

    “Yes coach,” I acknowledged. Chastised I took the field again. For the remainder of the first half I made a point to include my teammates in the game. We were pulling away by the time the whistle blew to end the period. Midway into the second half our lead was so large that we decided to back off a bit. When I was done showering after the game I learned the Starkillers had used similar tactics in their game against the Storm. Instead of heading straight home I decided to stay at the stadium and survey the damage done by the fans. Sometimes the parties after a big win were more damaging than the vandalism left in anger after a big loss.

    I soon accepted that there was minimal damage and my staff was doing their usual first-rate job in closing up. I grabbed my bags and headed out to the parking lot. It was time to see my family again.

    Vigo Household

    When I got home Georgia was watching HSN on the sofa in the living room. Tyffanie was lying in a bassinet off to the side of the room and Serene was occupying herself on the floor with a fleet of stuffed animals. “Great game today, baby.” She greeted as she stood up and gave me a kiss.

    I did my best to hide my shock that she was speaking to me again and kissed her back. “Watching the highlights?” I asked motioning towards the holovision.

    “Well, I was. Then the Storm coach made some comments about how the Starkillers chose to play out the second half of their game during a post-game interview and word is your brother is going to answer those comments any minute now,” she said with a mischievous grin.

    “I didn’t know you liked sports,” I said giving her a playful nudge as we sat down on the sofa together.

    Georgia’s sister came in and collected the girls to get them ready for bed. Moments later my brother’s face appeared on the screen in front of us. By the time he was finished we were both left speechless. “Your brother can be a real jackass,” Georgia commented after a few moments.

    “Tell me about it,” I agreed.

    “I’m glad I married the younger, better looking, and well-mannered Vigo brother.”

    Sensing the moment was right I reached into my bag and located the small box I had purchased at the pharmacy on my way home that evening. “I’ll wear two,” I said showing her the box.

    She blushed, her beautiful smile lighting up her face. “Let’s do this in the bedroom,” she said as she grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs.

    Tag: none
     
  11. galactic-vagabond422

    galactic-vagabond422 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2009
    IC: Geoff Copin
    Shield Towers, O’pahz, Carratos

    “Good morning,” Laura said as Geoff opened his eyes. He scratched his head and sat up.

    “I think this is the first time in a while you’ve woken up before me.”

    “Well things change,” a smile grew across her face.

    “Yeah like the Pirat….” Laura silenced him with an index finger to his lips.

    “Shhh, no limmie talk before breakfast,” he bowed his head a little.

    “I’m sorry,” They remained quiet for a moment just listening to the stillness of the morn. Something they missed when they the twins were born. Every morning without fail one would wake up crying and startle the other one so both parents had to drag their tired bodies out of bed to check on their children. His parents had warned him that he would get no sleep for at least the first three months. Geoff could still remember the first time Iris and Ira slept all through the night. He wanted to laugh like a maniac that morning but, stifled it so as not to break the silence.

    “So,” Laura said ending the quiet, “have you seen Iris’s report card?”

    “Yeah,” Geoff replied “she’s passing, I don’t see an issue.”

    “But, she could be doing so much better; I know she has the potential.”

    “Yes, and I know that school is difficult for some kids, especially ones that can’t sit still. She’ll get better just give it time.”

    “I really want to believe you babe,”

    “Hey I turned out ok,”

    “You didn’t go to a school like Nashira Academy.”

    “Isn’t the staff there trained in developmental psychology, they should have some idea how to handle over active kids.”

    “I know but these first few years are so important, what happens now defines the rest of their lives.”

    “Babe, you’re an awesome mom that’s never going to change.” He put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes, “I’ll talk with Iris, I’ll encourage her to do better.” Another grin bloomed across her face. “Did I say something funny?” She leaned in closer. They kissed deeply but, before they could get any further, the sound of small feet running through the apartment hit their ears. Laura pulled away first letting out a soft growl.

    “Those kids have the worst timing.” She said scratching her head vigorously.

    “Or the best, they probably don’t want another sibling.” His wife gave him a sarcastically stern look, “I know, I know,” he got out of bed and grabbed a pair of pants from his dresser, “I go keep an eye on them. You stay and rest.”

    “No,” she said hanging her legs off the edge of the bed, “I’ll come with you, I’m awake anyways.” The parents got dressed and exited their room to their children running around in their pajamas. Geoff and Laura chased after the twins scooping them up and tickling them until they squealed. Part of Geoff wanted to stay and goof off with his family but, the match against the Starkillers was today, he had to go lead some light practice and get his team ready for it. Before that he did that though he had to have a conversation with Iris. She sat on the edge of her bed and he knelt in front of her looking into her brown eyes.

    “Iris,” he started “we got your report card from school and you did well but, your mom and I think you can do better.” She crossed her arms, “don’t be like that, Iris, we just want the best for you.”

    “School isn’t fun, they have us sit in a circle and read at us.”

    “They let you run around and play, don’t they?”

    “Not enough,”

    “Well they can’t let you play all day, you gotta’ learn some things like your alphabet, some math, a little bit of proper basic.”

    “But, I know all that,”

    “Are you sure?” His daughter seemed a little unsure about her reply. Geoff smiled “I know school can be boring at times but, you need to give it your all, 100% ok. You think playing limmie is fun all the time.” Her head perked up, “Do you think Leigh is having fun every moment of practice. No but, she gives it everything even the boring parts, because all of it is important. School is like practice for life it gives you the skills you need to live well and happy. That’s all I want for you, to have the happiest life you can possibly have.” He paused to hopefully let his works sink in, “All right come here and tell daddy good bye. He gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “I love so much.”

    “I do too, daddy.” He gave his goodbyes to his wife and Ira and headed to the stadium.

    “You ready for your third straight win coach.” Bara said stopping Geoff on his way out of the building.

    “Don’t get your hopes up too high Bara, the Starkillers are no pushovers.”

    “Neither were the Mercs or Smugglers and you handled them just fine.”

    “Yeah, our offense looks to be clicking finally.”

    “Don’t forget your defense that Sandin stepped up in a big way the last few games.” The coach nodded his head, though he was a little unsure of the low ranked pick at first, but now he couldn’t imagine his half back line without her. “Think she’s Ingbrand material.”

    “I think it’s a little early in the season to be talking awards.”

    “You kidding me, some book makers give her good odds of winning this year.”

    “Because Carratosian book makers are the best in the galaxy,”

    “You’re sithing right, been doing it longer than anyone else.” Geoff got into the taxi and looked over the game stats. The Starkillers outclassed the Pirates by a good ways. Their defense had allowed the second fewest points and their offense scored the third most. The Pirates were in the middle still trying to shake off that humiliating loss to Courscant but, this was a different team from last year, and a different team from the first game. That didn’t mean things wouldn’t go off the rails, and they seemed about due for some tragedy, the game against the Smugglers had been close, it looked like the ‘All In’ attack was losing its advantage. There was no changing now, he would have to wait and see if the streak can last another game.
    TAG: Runjedirun
     
  12. Trieste

    Trieste Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2010
    GM Post

    HSN Headlines
    • Commissioner Lokensgaard announces Ylesia has been awarded the 279 Galactic Cup Week festivities, which include the Season Awards, All-Star Game, and Galactic Cup Final


    Week 4 bonus scores to Agamar, Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Euceron, Mando'ade, Ralltiir, and Rydonni Prime. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what happens and who makes it onto the HSN highlight reel this week.

    Week 4 Results
    Ralltiir Starkillers at Carratos Pirates (1-2)
    Coruscant Senators at Denon Demons (10-22)
    Agamar Packers at Hapes Consortium Buccaneers (19-16)
    Ylesia Lightning at Rydonni Prime Monarchs (7-9)
    Euceron Storm at Bakura Miners (14-30)
    Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Mando’ade Mercs (1-4)

    TAG: Bardan_Jusik CPL_Macja galactic-vagabond422 jcgoble3 Jedi Gunny Rebecca_Daniels Runjedirun Tim Battershell Vehn
     
  13. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Sub-GM Post

    Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Byblos (30), Concordia (30), Garqi (30), Tatooine (30), and Thyferra (30).

    Limmie Futures League – Week 4
    Concordia Crusaders at Eriadu Thunder (28–17)
    Tatooine Sandskimmers at Druckenwell Marksmen (21–18)
    Thyferra Force at Byblos Red Wings (29–27)
    Gallinore Firedrakes at Garqi Gunners (20–16)

    TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Vehn Rebecca_Daniels Tim Battershell Runjedirun Jedi Gunny
     
    Jedi Gunny likes this.
  14. Vehn

    Vehn Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 14, 2009
    IC: Lilly Vehn
    Mandalore

    I remember once, when I was a young girl, that I saw a holo-film chronicling the rise of Luke Skywalker and his struggle against the Galactic Empire. Course the actors looked nothing like the real Luke Skywalker but I didn’t care. I just liked the story. I liked the fact that an evil oppressive government was being fought off by a small band of unlikely heroes. It had all the great elements of science fiction that I loved. Mystical worlds, space battles, droids, and a little bit of romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia in the later films.

    I don’t know if that’s how the galaxy was like several centuries ago. I don’t know if people really felt so strongly against the Empire that they would raise a blaster to the nearest stormtrooper and pull the trigger. I don’t know. What I do know is that hatred is a very real thing. I hated the Emperor. The way he tried to seduce Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force. The way he shot him full of lightning. The way he felt so confident that a legion of his best soldiers could spring the ultimate trap on the forest moon of Endor. In the end he was defeated. In the end he fell down a shaft and I think was never heard from again. I’m no historian and I didn’t get a chance to see the later films chronicling the evolution of the galaxy after the Empire was supposedly defeated at Endor but my friends did and they said they were good, too. Different, but good.

    See, Luke Skywalker and his friends were fighting an epic battle against an evil enemy. An enemy that truly ruled through fear, oppression, and hatred. I suppose the same could be said about today’s limmie game between the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers and the Mando’ade Mercs. One franchise had been successful and dominant for a number of years. The other had trounced their bitter rivals enroute to a date with the Miners in 277.

    The game erupted in a series of hard scrimmages, fist fights, and spilled blood. Both teams gave one another all they could give. For Nar Shaddaa it was to prove that they were still a team to be feared, for Mando’ade, it was clear they no longer were intimidated by what the Smugglers could give them. Every blow was matched, every momentum shift was reversed, every ounce of turf was contested. This was the best that the Elite League could offer in one of the grittiest defensive struggles in recent memory. I was worried that someone was going to get hurt. Sadly my worst fears were confirmed partway into the second half with Mylessa McCloud driving hard down the turf only to be popped by two Mercs at the same time. I didn’t catch their names When the scrum for the ball ended I noticed that McCloud wasn’t moving. She was out cold. The players parted as the hover-cart came out onto the field and the stadium was deathly quiet. You could hear a pin drop. You could hear a sneeze from the nosebleed section. McCloud was loaded onto the cart and then the strangest sound began to reverberate throughout the stadium.

    I couldn’t believe my ears. Clap! Clap! Clap! The temp increasing with every second, with every minute, as Mylessa McCloud, still motionless, was carted off the field. If you listened carefully enough you could almost detect a hint of respect from the Mandalorians gathered today. It was odd, really, that a culture so prone to violence and war would actually begin to clap for the safe recuperation of a fallen enemy. Perhaps, in some small way, after all our struggles against one another, after all our fierce clashes, this one drove home that some thoughts, some feelings, transcended the hatred generated by a sports rivalry. There was no honor, after all, in celebrating a serious injury against a worthy opponent.

    The game ended shortly after McCloud was carted off. I didn’t have anything to say that would lift our spirits. I didn’t have anything to offer that would change what had happened out there on the pitch. Something felt different about this year’s Smuggler’s squad. Something was off. Maybe not having John Huntington around was really killing the team. Maybe not having Kaitlyn’s presence contributed to a loss of direction, a loss of leadership. I didn’t know. I wasn’t Kaitlyn Vehn. I could never fill her presence. She’d done something special during her time with the Smugglers. Me? I was still finding my way. Still finding my own path.

    The shuttle ride home was depressingly quiet. Roy Cardan and Meredith Chambers-Vayne were speaking in the back of the shuttle in hushed tones. I wanted to join them but one look from Cardan told me I should stay away. They weren’t agreeing on something. They were disagreeing. That wasn’t a good sign. I was starting to doubt of Chambers could be my Tover Micjaa, or even my John Huntington. She’d botched her time with Hapes. I know the season was still young but that little voice told me to keep an eye on things. The only maxim I knew at this point was that it was hard to stay at the top forever. Perhaps this was the start of a decline. Perhaps this was the end of a decade of dominance by Nar Shaddaa. To make matters worse was the knowledge that Mylessa McCloud, my star player, two time Galactic Cup champion, had broken her leg and was out for the season.

    Frak.

    Tag: Bardan_Jusik
     
  15. Runjedirun

    Runjedirun Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    IC: Ty Allin


    271 Departing the Shuttle After Starkiller Road Victory in Week Four

    I stepped off the shuttle in a very low place. We had barely squeaked out a win and the defense had received a stern talking to just before our departure. The bank had refused to extend the payments on my loans and Trey hadn’t spoken to me in days. I overheard some of my teammates making plans to go to a bar as we picked up our bags. I still wasn’t 21, but this was a bar that did favors for us Limmie players. I had been served drink there before. If ever there had been a night I needed a drink it was tonight. I got in my speeder and followed my teammates to unwind.

    From the beginning there were troubles at the bar that night. Limmie players were not the only underage patrons they were willing to serve. A crowd of sorority members from Ralltiir U were already at the bar when we arrived. Undeterred I ordered a few ales and found a seat at a secluded table in the back. For a time I found the solace I was looking for in the bar. The alcohol numbed my troubles and the girl who served it wore her shirt in just a way that her chest nearly popped out. Suddenly there was a commotion near the bar. Blyss and our full forward a Shistavanen who went by the name of Sorro were in a heated argument with several of the students from Ralltiir U.

    For as long as I could I blocked out the noise. Than things began to get worse. A few bottles were thrown. Some punches were exchanged. The bartender tried to step in and tell the college students to leave. They had obviously had too many drinks because they chose to stay and continue to threaten a group of professional athletes. Things were escalating pretty quickly and I wanted to get out before it got worse. But when I looked at the number of empty bottles on my table I realized I had a problem. Law enforcement was known to set up checks in this area of town and I was in no shape to pass a sobriety test. In desperation I called Trey’s number. I hoped that even if he was still mad, even if all this incident did was make him angrier with me, that at least he would be willing to pick me up and take me home.

    I’m pretty sure I woke Trey up that evening. He didn’t complain though. He told me to hang on tight and that he’d be over as soon as possible. In fact Trey got to the bar less than 15 minutes after my call. By that time Sorro had already assaulted one of the college students to the point that his nose was bloodied and his broken body had to be supported by a chair. When I saw Trey peak in the doorway I hopped up and went to meet him. “Let’s get out of here,” I encouraged.

    “Sounds like a good idea,” he said surveying the situation.

    When we got in Trey’s speeder he asked if I had any belongings in my speeder I would need for the evening. “Damn it, I left my backpack in the bar. It has my data pad in it.” I told him. I began to fumble with the door handle. “I’ll go back and get it,” I told him.

    “Let me get it,” Trey offered.

    Before I could stop him Trey was headed back inside the bar. He came out several minutes carrying my bag and he was making a call.

    He stood out front on the call for several more minutes before rejoining me in his speeder. “Let’s get out of here,” he said as he jumped in the pilot’s seat and quickly began to prepare for take-off.

    He was silent for the ride to my place. When he dropped me off he told me I had done the right thing to call him. He told me to get some rest and that he’d see me at practice in the morning. When I got to practice the next morning Trey wasn’t there. Coach Foress made an announcement that Trey had been arrested early that morning. He didn’t go into detail. I sat stunned in front of my locker as I pulled up the news feed and saw the headline. Starkillers Fullback Taken Into Custody for Double Murder.

    279 Gross-Pell Memorial Stadium

    It was the first game Trey had suited up for this season that he played more than a few minutes. Our offense was struggling against the Carratos defense. We had to do everything we could to keep the game tied at one a piece. About midway through the first half Trey switched with me. “You take over at full,” he instructed.

    “Too hard for you?” I teased.

    “I know your better at this than I am and I know you want it just as much as I do.” He called out as we swapped places. Determined to prove he was right I made as many tackles as I could. For the first time this season I even used my head to bat the ball out of play if necessary. To my relief I didn’t suffer any consequences from the decision. In fact we were able to hold Carratos to that single point until late in the second half. The Pirates offense had come close to scoring several possessions in a row. Kaat was doing a bang-up job in goal making saves. Finally the Pirates got smart and aimed one over the bar. The ball was out of Kaat’s reach. Our offense hadn’t broken through and scored more than that single point they had scored early in the game. So now we were behind by a point.

    Sureysh was denied her attempt to tie up the game on the next possession. As a defensive unit we held strong when the Pirate offense charged down the field again. Noah made a clean tackle. The ball was knocked loose and I quickly threw it up field to Andres. Fortune failed to capitalize on the pass and the buzzer sounded. We had lost. “Great game,” Trey complimented he shook hands with me, Kaat, Noah, Roselli, Poletin, and Shyall. We ran to shake hands with the players from Carratos. Our offense looked defeated when we hit the showers. “Don’t hang your heads,” Trey instructed. “Having a bad game just gives you something to learn from. Coach Reeser is downloading footage to your data pads as we pack up. You can all watch that footage on the ride back to Ralltiir. I want constructive feedback at practice the morning we get back. And not just from the offense. We can make improvements too," he said turning towards the side of the locker room where I was congregating with the rest of the defense. Everyone tried to refrain from groaning.

    The flight back to Ralltiir was quiet. I spent a lot of time watching footage. I know I was supposed to be looking for places we could improve and I know I should have been upset we lost. Instead I found myself holding back a smile as I watched Trey Till make stops. He had played great and even though it was a shame we hadn’t pulled out a win the game was a testament to what the Starkillers could have been if we had had him when we came into the league in ’73.

    We landed early enough that my mom had brought T.J. to greet us at the spaceport. My mom joined us at our house for dinner before she headed home. It was a nice evening. Lucie and I had recovered from our argument on how to discipline T.J. for the time being and we agreed to order food from my favorite restaurant. The only downside was that I was too sore for any further physical contact from Lucie aside from letting her help me up the stairs and into an ice bath.

    Every sports station on Ralltiir the next day was questioning whether our franchise would consider bringing up Bat Vigo if Fortune struggled in the upcoming game against Hapes. Some armchair full forwards were calling and texting into stations that the Starkillers should make the move now. Trey made no mention of the controversy at our practice. He worked with the offense more than he had the previous two weeks for the first couple of days after we got back from Carratos.

    By midweek the talk had quieted. When I left the stadium that evening my mind was racing with play ideas. Trey and I had spent two hours after practice drawing up ideas after watching footage of the game between the Packers and the Buccaneers. I found that after these types of sessions it often took hours to turn my mind off. Sometimes I was up late into the night making changes to ideas and perfecting formations. When we sat down to eat Lucie realized she was out of the vinaigrette she liked for her salad. Instead of settling for something else Lucie set her mind to running to the store on the corner and getting another bottle. “Do you want me and T.J. to wait,” I called up the stairs as she ran up to change into something so she wouldn’t be recognized in the market.

    “No you go ahead,” she called down. Then suddenly I heard a bloodcurdling scream.

    “Lucie are you alright?” I called out as I stood up from my dinner and instinctively grabbed T.J. I was unsure whether to leave him down in the kitchen alone or bring him up to check on Lucie. The way she had screamed had me wondering if there was an intruder in the house.

    “No, I’m not alright.” Lucie hollered back down the stairs. “Is that what I think it is on the shelf in your closet?” She asked, her voice full of anger as she stood now at the top of the stairs.

    It took me almost a minute to figure out what she was talking about. Then I realized Lucie had gone upstairs to grab a ball cap. It would make it less likely for her to be recognized in the market. When she had been selecting a cap she must have uncovered the blaster I had been hiding up there. On several occasions I had considered putting it back in my speeder. In the end I had decided I felt safer having it in the bedroom. I had even hoped to buy another to keep in the speeder in case I had an emergency outside of the house. I just didn’t have time for a purchase that took that type of consideration and paperwork during the season.

    “Lucie, I bought that to protect you.” I tried to explain.

    “You know how I feel about blasters. And yet you chose to purchase one. Chose to store it in our bedroom.” She put her head in her hands and took a seat at the top of the steps.

    I put T.J. back down at the table so he could eat his dinner. Then I started up the stairs to comfort my wife. “After your father was shot I was concerned that someone might come after you sweetheart. I feel safer knowing that if that ever happens I have a weapon to protect you with.”

    “Get away from me Ty Allin.” She screamed as she retreated back into the bedroom. To my surprise she headed for my closet. She began throwing some of my belongings into a duffel bag. When she was finished she threw it at me. “Get out,” she ordered.

    “Lucie you can’t be serious. I made the purchase because I love you. I can’t stand the thought of losing you,” I told her calmly.

    “I mean it Ty, I want you out of this house.”

    She was being unreasonable. I hadn’t done anything wrong. If she wanted me to leave so badly, I would leave. Without saying a word I grabbed the bag and jogged down the steps. I couldn’t bear to look at T.J. It would be hard to say good-bye. If I stopped and tried to explain to him where I was going I could make myself look weak. I wasn’t weak. I had made a wise decision to purchase that blaster. Oddly enough it was still upstairs in the closet. Lucie was possibly too afraid of the weapon to even toss it in the bag she had packed for me.

    When I reached my speeder I tossed the duffel in the passenger seat. Started up the engines and headed for my mothers. I didn’t put much thought into the decision. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go for the night. As I parked my speeder on a side street near my old condo it all hit me and my body went numb.

    Tag: galactic-vagabond422
     
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  16. galactic-vagabond422

    galactic-vagabond422 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2009
    IC: Geoff Copin
    Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium, O’pahz, Carratos

    “Good hit Mikia,” Geoff called from the sidelines. The rookie half back got up after leveling her Chiss mark. It was only a few minutes into the first half but, Geoff was not seeing the same explosive Starkiller offense, although he also wasn’t seeing the same ‘All In’ attack that had served them in good stead the last two games. It seemed like Trey Till had its number maybe that was an advantage of being both a coach and a player on the field. You can visualize and take steps yourself to prevent it. Logan tried to juke around the older Till but, the veteran would have none of it taking the young man to the ground and knocking the ball loose.

    A missed pass to Roselli gave Leigh an opportunity. She pulled down the errant bolo-ball and charged forward. The Starkiller defense surrounded her but, the half forward managed to get a kick off before getting hit by the incoming defenders. The ball flew over the bar ending the scoreless tie. If the Pirates could hold fast they would go to the locker room with a slim lead. Those hopes were quickly dashed when Frokabukk broke free from Poine and put up answering bar point for Ralltiir.

    The midfield was interesting with the pairs both being twins, the Teaics for the Pirates and the Knotts for the Starkillers. Gabby took possession, shouldering Allen Knott away. A quick pass up to Else was picked off by Poletin driving the play in the other direction. It seemed like neither side could gain offensive traction on the other. It was looking a lot like a replay of the Smugglers game with the visitor’s back line turning away shots or disrupting the attack and the home team’s half back line stone walling the opposing offense. It made Geoff feel good to see his best line back together with Rhodri’s return after the Nar Shaddaa game. The large Klatooinian dropped back to pick off a pass meant for Fortune. Not that the full forward would have been able to do much with Boutros all over him.

    With Samia out the Pirates back line looked a little shaky, Brian still didn’t seem back to from and Jace was a solid defender but, not the best. The coach couldn’t do anything about that now, it would be something he’d have to work on later. Boutros took her mark to the ground stopping another attack. The ball was moved slowly up the field both teams fighting hard. Eventually it ended up in the hands of Else. She had proven herself to be a phenomenal kicker but, before she could let loose another powerful kick the Whipid defender Poletin hit her hard from the side. The coach held his breath, it had been a bad year for injuries so far and he was worried there would be another. Else got up and dusted herself off, nothing hurt. Geoff let out his breath, another close call. The teams went to their respective locker rooms under a 1-1 tie, not much different from when the game started.

    Now off the field, his players relaxed a bit. Logan looked tense; in fact most of the front six looked annoyed. The combination of the Tills and Allin had shut down the ‘All In’. The newness had rubbed off that particular strategy but, that didn’t mean to stop using it. The fast and overwhelming attack had proven useful against strong opponents like the Mercs and Smugglers. Geoff noticed that Else wasn’t sitting with the half backs; she wasn’t even in the locker room. He stepped out into the corridor and saw her finishing a call. Her eyes looked up wide,

    “Coach,” She said

    “Else, everything ok?” He asked

    “I’m sorry coach, I need to leave.”

    “Why, what’s going on,”

    “Family emergency,” Geoff couldn’t say no, as much as he wanted her to stay, he couldn’t selfishly place his team over her family.

    “Yeah sure go, you can pick up your stuff and,” He stopped mid-sentence. She was already half way down the hallway, her cleats clacking on the ferocrete floor. An overwhelming sense of dread over took Geoff. Else took no time to say thank you or even change. Was she afraid of facing her team? She was leaving them half way through a hard game against a tough opponent but, everyone would understand her reasons, or was the emergency so dire that she didn’t have time. He returned to his team and gave told them what happened, Leigh and Seiji looked shocked they asked if she was ok, all Geoff could say was that he didn’t know. Gor took Else’s place on the field, but it still felt like something was missing.

    The second half started with more hard hits and stalled offense. Mikia picked off another pass to Troy and booted it up to Marcus who was then taken down by Ellie Knott. It had been another good game for Mikia but try as she might nothing ever came of her plays. The defenses of both teams seemed immoveable letting nothing though. Rime went for a kick only to have it blocked by Trey Till the rebound was picked up by Logan who also tried for a shot but got taken down by Allin.

    As the game wound down the ‘All In’ offense came alive putting shot after shot on goal but, each time they were turned away. The Pirates didn’t want to face another overtime game. The Starkillers fought just as hard against the strong half back line but again rebuffed at every turn. Seiji put a move on Shyall leaving his marker in the dust he passed to Vayan who had come down with him. The Barabel was taken down quickly by Noah Till. The young man had put the hurt on the veteran forward more than once this game. He didn’t seem put off by Vayan’s frightening appearance. Rhodri knocked the ball loose from Lightcin and carried it through the midfield. Logan found some space further back from the goal and received a pass from Leigh.

    There wasn’t much time left. they didn’t need a goal all they needed was one point, one point could end this game. The full forward looked to the goal, Geoff shook his head. He knew what was going through the forwards mind, he wanted a goal that was flashy it made for good highlight reel material. The coach closed his eyes waiting for another shot on goal to be stopped. Then the crowd erupted into cheers. Geoff opened one cautious eye and checked the score what he saw may have surprised him more than a goal. Logan just scored a bar point, the first of his career. The black and white defense kept true to form and stopped the Starkiller counterattack. The buzzer sounded. Again the Pirates were victors by one point. The coach shook Trey Till’s hand firmly, had great respect for man. He had been through a lot for the sport of limmie and had played a fantastic game. He made a call to his wife and planned to meet her and the girls outside the stadium. On his way out he got a call from Else.

    “Else what is it.” He said remembering that she left in a hurry.

    “Coach, help,” she said her voice quivering. He could hear something going on in the background it didn’t seem like she was at home.

    “Else, where are you? I can send someone to get you.”

    “No, something’s happened I’m at a police station.” She seemed scared. What worried Geoff more was that the police had her. The last time this happened Brian spent six months in jail.

    “Alright give me the address and I’ll be there ok,”

    “Ok,” she gave him the location and he called Laura again.

    “Babe, I’m sorry, something’s come up that I need to take care of, so go on ahead without me, I’ll hopefully be home soon.”

    “What’s going on?” Laura asked,

    “I’ll explain everything when I get home.”

    “Alright, hurry home please.”

    “I will.” He hung up and moved swiftly to the exit. Catching a cab he went to the address his player gave him. The building that he was dropped off at looked more like an old library than a security force office. A receptionist at the front desk stopped him.

    “Sir what’s your business here?” she said in a professional tone.

    “Well, I’m looking to speak to Else Ripen, she was brought in earlier.”

    “Ah,” the white haired human woman looked to her terminal screen. “Are you family or legal representation?”

    “Um,” Geoff thought about it for a moment, he had a good handle on the differences between Carratos law and galactic standard law after Brian’s bar fight a while back. On the other hand he could not legally practice on Carratos so lying and claiming to be legal representation would most likely make the situation worse. However he also doubted that being a person’s limmie coach qualified you to visit said person in lockup.

    “Mr. Copin,” a voice called out from behind the desk. Geoff looked up to see a man in a suit with close cut hair approaching. The man extended his hand. “Detective Aleyn Bray,”

    “Detective,” Geoff said shaking Aleyn’s hand, “What’s this all about?”

    “If you’ll come with me sir, there’s a lot to go through.” The two men walked past an open area with desks arranged neatly in the center of the space and holding cells along the side walls towards the back of the space was an elevated platform with more desks and an office along the back wall. They took a right after the retrofitted cells and down a hallway. Bray opened a door labeled interview 2, inside Geoff saw his player wide eyed with fear rise.

    “Coach,” she said almost relieved. As he approached the coach noticed that she was wearing an O’pahz Security Force hoodie. She wrapped her arms around him in a surprising hug. Geoff returned the hug cautiously and sat down. “Coach, I…” he stopped her by raising his hand.

    “Else wait; you haven’t said anything to them have you?”

    “No,” Detective Bray said, “She has not given a statement yet, through the evidence is very clear.”

    “Evidence of what,”

    “Sir, Ms. Ripen is being held under suspicion of murder, and I’ll most likely arrest her before the evenings out.” Geoff turned to Else a stern expression on his face. She looked back terrified.

    “Else don’t say anything, I’m gonna’ call Schnitt.”

    TAG: Runjedirun
     
  17. Trieste

    Trieste Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2010
    IC: Rocket Richaud
    Bakur RepulsorCorp, Gesco City, Bakura



    Sadie looked at Rocket, stuck out her tongue, and pointed with an index finger to the back of her throat. It was the galactically-recognized sign for, “Ugh, could this be any worse?”

    For some reason, today was really dragging at BRC for everyone. Usually Rocket was in a good mood after a Miner win, but she couldn’t feel that great about beating the now-0-4 Storm. The Miner offense had found its form again, slicing and dicing the Storm backfield. Niskat continued to tear it up. She was flourishing now that she was the de facto leader of the offense. It had been an almost seamless transition from Rodders to her. Alana (who had had a good game as well) was still Rocket’s favorite player, but the way that Niskat owned the middle of the field was impressive.

    Sadie, who was most interested in scoring, really liked Niskat. Rocket found it interesting that Sadie appreciated one of the finer points of limmie in particular when it came to Deenever’s performance. One of the things that impressed Sadie most of all about Niskat was the way that she hung in there to make a good pass when she knew there was pressure from a defender. Niskat always took the time to make the right pass rather than get rid of the ball to avoid the pressure. Sure, she got crunched sometimes--including against the Storm--but she made the right play. It was a special kind of bravery to do that.

    The Storm offense, had not been terrible. They’d certainly taken the loss against the Starkillers to heart and had played much better. They outworked the Miner defense on some plays and got goals on the board for points. Their offense looked like it was getting better, but it just couldn’t keep pace with the Miners when their defense and goalkeeping was so lacking.

    She felt a little bad about it. She loved the Miners winning...but she wished they’d beaten the Senators, Smugglers, or Mercs like that, not Euceron. In fact, she wished that the Miners had played like that against the Packers.

    Maybe it was a little bit of guilt at the Miners taking advantage of an inexperienced squad like that which had her down. Or maybe it was just that it was a little too drafty inside of the factory today.

    Then again, maybe today felt like it was never going to end because Rocket’s work didn’t finish at quitting time. She’d been coasting along for a while now, but now it was time to pay the piper.



    Agora Club, Gesco City

    Rocket wore a shiny dress with a hem that tickled the line of respectability. She had only one use for a dress like this and that was to go clubbing. The light blue dress sparkled from underneath the heavy overcoat she was using to keep warm in the chilly night air enough to get the attention of the bouncer, who waved her in ahead of some hapless males who weren’t having nearly as much luck.

    “Thanks Bob,” Rocket said, hurrying inside, clacking quickly inside in her two inch heels. She slipped Bob a five credit piece as she went inside. It also helped to know the bouncer and grease his palm when needed.

    Inside in the cacophony of thumping music, Rocket scanned the crowd. She wished she’d brought earplugs, but the truth was that she needed to look alluring tonight. No one was going to be interested in her if she had bright orange foam sticking out of her ears. Then again, Rocket didn’t intend to be here long. She just had to find the right guy…

    There.

    He seemed to be keeping to himself, but was definitely keeping an eye on the crowd. He was big and broad. He probably spent about two hours every day in a gym pumping durasteel to get a physique like that. In Rocket’s eyes, he was absolutely perfect. She immediately started zigzagging her way towards him, praying that some floozy wouldn’t get to him first.

    Rocket gave an internal sigh of relief when she got there and he was still alone. “Hey!” she shouted as casually as possible. Casual shouting was not really possible, but this was a club.

    The big human turned, apparently more interested at the moment in his drink than he was in socializing, but that changed when he got a glance of Rocket. Here was a young blonde Human who was chatting him up. That got his attention, real fast.

    “Hey!” he replied.

    “How are you?” Rocket asked with a big smile.

    “Better now that you’re here,” he said.

    “Awww...aren’t you sweet?” Rocket said. She gave a quick flag for a bartender. “Whatever he’s having and I’ll take a golden orange martini.”

    “Aren’t I supposed to be buying you a drink?”

    “I’m not exactly traditional,” Rocket replied.

    “Oh really?”

    “Yup. We’re all equals, aren’t we? Shouldn’t someone buy you a drink for a change?”

    “Yeah! They should!”

    “That’s what I’m saying!”

    The drinks in question arrived and the two toasted “To buying a guy a drink,” in Rocket’s words.

    “Hey, you want to dance?” he asked.

    “Oh sure,” Rocket said, “let me just finish this fir--oh no.”

    “What?” the human said, his face betraying sudden concern.

    “This is so embarrassing,” Rocket said, turning towards the bar and away from the crowd, “I just spotted my boss here.”

    “Really? You must work for a cool boss.”

    “That’s one way of putting it. Hey, could you wait here while I go say hi to him?” Rocket asked, “Promise I won’t be long. Just need to take care of this quickly. Okay?”

    The human was a little hesitant. This sounded an awful lot like an excuse to get out from having to dance with him...but then again she’d just bought him a drink. He apparently decided to give Rocket some leeway. “Okay, sure. But make it quick. They’re playing a good set right now.”

    “Trust me, I don’t want this to take any longer than it has to,” Rocket said. She began squeezing her way back through the crowd and over to the row of private tables. She had to hold her drink high above her head to prevent it from spilling on any one. Luckily, Rocket had done this maneuver a few times before and had appropriately emptied some of it out to avoid any sloshing as she waded through the partiers.

    Naturally, there was more security at the private tables (that’s why they were private, after all), but Bob had friends and they knew Rocket. She slid right by after a quiet word with one of them and sauntered her way over to where a good looking man was reclining with a Zeltron and a good looking human female. Apparently he liked to have the exotic and the commonplace at the same time.

    “Evening ladies, sorry to interrupt,” Rocket said, sitting down at the table uninvited, “but I wanted to let you know that your new friend here is about to have some money troubles. He’s not going to be paying for much tonight, trust me.”

    The two females were canny enough to understand that there was something about Rocket that indicated she wasn’t bluffing. Without much deliberation the pair stood up and left with their drinks.

    “Wait, don’t go!” the man said. He very quickly went from disappointment to ire as he refocused on the only woman who was still at his expensive private table. “What the frak do you think you’re doing. I had a ten and a nine there and you’re barely a seven!”

    “First off, I am absolutely disgusted by the fact you refer to sentient beings as numbers, and secondly, that’s going to make this very easy for me,” Rocket said, sliding closer to the man on the bench seating, “Let’s cut right to the chase: I represent Rossum and you had a very bad week, Mr. Donjon. A very bad week. I don’t understand how someone loses 60,000 credits in a single week on limmie. And we’re talking about a week in which the Miners beat the Storm. Seriously, you took the over on a 20 point spread?” Rocket shook her head once in disbelief. “Most importantly, and the reason that I’m here, you’re a day late with your payment. Rossum is very explicit with its bettors that lateness is not an enviable quality. We are going to rectify this situation right now.”

    “Look, lady, does it look like I have 60,000 credits on me right here? You’re wasting your time,” Mr. Donjon said.

    “You’ve got a datapad, don’t you? Those things do mobile banking. I think you can make the transfer just fine,” Rocket said.

    “Look, it takes time to move that kind of creds, okay? And it’s the middle of the night.”

    “Mr. Donjon, look at the bar. See the very, very big human there? He happens to be my associate.” Rocket caught her new friend’s eye and gave him a wave and a smile, which he returned. “If I walk away from here without the 60,000 credits that you owe Rossum, my associate is going to come over here and do much more than 60,000 credits of damage to you. Do you understand, Mr. Donjon?”

    “You wouldn’t. You couldn’t. There’s security.” Mr. Donjon appeared to not be believing these things as he said them, but hoping desperately that they’d be true.

    “Bob and I are friends. They are not going to do anything for you. I really recommend you begin making those transactions right now, because my friend is not a very patient man.” Rocket sipped her drink after this, as if to indicate that Mr. Donjon should probably get started.

    He did.



    “I’m so sorry that took so long!” Rocket apologized to the big man back at the bar, “I know this is going to seem lame, but he started talking my ear off about this big project we have and wouldn’t you know it? Now he’s all pumped up and he wants to just run through it tonight and get it done. Just my luck. So sorry, got to run!”

    Before he could say anything, Rocket disappeared into the crowd and headed for the exit. It was a ploy she’d run plenty of times before: find the biggest guy in a club, get him friendly enough to acknowledge you on cue, and then pretend he was your muscle. With the right white collar sort of being who had never thrown a punch in his life, it was enough intimidation to get them to pay up.

    And all it cost was a few hours in heels and a short dress plus a couple drinks. Not bad for a night’s work… Rocket thought.

    TAG: jcgoble3
     
  18. Runjedirun

    Runjedirun Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    IC: Bat Vigo

    Game Day Drunkenwell

    The Marksmen were putting up one hell of a fight. Yolanda and I had managed to break through the defense and put points on the board. At times we had even created leads by as much as five points. Somehow they always managed to crawl their way back. There were now only two minutes left on the clock and the score was tied up at 18. Lyle Kong had just made a crucial steal and was dribbling the ball up field.

    Lyle passed up to Niels. Quickly Niels took a shot at the goal. The Drunkenwell keeper made short work of the shot and batted the closest defender. Knowing we didn’t have much time I made a tackle and knocked the ball loose. Lowatha was able to recover. He passed to Yolanda. Yolanda was being double covered. In desperation she threw the ball my way. I made the catch and aimed for the goal. My shot was good and the keeper was unable to make the stop. I threw my hands in the air as the final buzzer sounded.

    Day After Victory on Druckenwell, GM Office, Archer’s Point Stadium, Tatooine

    The holidays were approaching fast and all I wanted to do was make sure the stadium was ready to host Thyferra after their duration. Instead I was fielding a host of media calls. Calls that were supposed to be screened by my receptionist. As soon as I hung up from one call she’d be ringing again. “Sir, it’s the Ralltiir Republic,” that was one of the three major holo news networks on Ralltiir. I had already spoken to the other two so I felt obligated to take the call.

    “This is Bartholomew Vigo,” I said to the speaker device on my desk. “No I won’t be doing a face to face interview. You can record my voice if you feel so inclined.” More of the same questions. “The Starkillers have not reached out. I’m enjoying my time on field here on Tatooine and I am not interested in a back-up position. If Coach Till reaches out I will take his call same as I’m taking yours.” I repeated the same answers.

    Midweek, Vigo Homestead

    The media calls had finally stopped. I sat in the living room with Georgia and her sister. The girls were sleeping in and we were busy wrapping gifts for them. Just as Georgia was removing a fresh dozen of chocolate muffins from the oven I heard my data pad buzzing. I checked the number. The call was coming from Ralltiir. The identification read Law Enforcement. Cautiously I answered the call. “Bartholomew Vigo.”

    “Sir, I hate to interrupt you 2 days before a major holiday.”

    “The day before,” I corrected. “There’s an 18 hour time differential.”

    “Sir, this is important. Have you spoken to your sister in the last 36 hours?”

    “Which sister?” I asked even though I hadn’t spoken to either of them.

    “Lucie.”

    “No, I haven’t heard from anyone in my family on Ralltiir.” I was a little surprised none of them had so much as called to wish us a happy holiday. I had a feeling I was about to find out why that was.

    “Did your sister contact you at any time to say she would be away from her residence?”

    “What’s wrong officer?” I asked growing concerned.

    “Your sister and her little boy haven’t been seen in 36 hours. The last person to have any contact with them was your brother in law, Ty Allin. Do you have any reason to believe he would have reason to harm your sister or her son?”

    “Just hold on one kriffing minute. Ty Allin is a member of my family too and that little boy you speak of is his son. If you think my sister has been kidnapped you had better put some new people on the case. Because there is no way he has anything to do with their disappearance.”

    “Sir, we understand this news is upsetting. We promise that we are pulling all our resources on this case.”

    “Don’t call me again unless you have found my sister and my nephew,” I ordered disconnecting the call.

    Georgia came up and put her hand gently on my shoulder. Angrily I pushed her away. I slammed my fist into the closest wall making a hole. “Damn it. First my father and now my sister.”

    “She could still be alive,” Georgia tried.

    I shook my head as I tried to calculate how long it would take to get to Ralltiir and back. Even if I took the fastest hyperspace lanes on my own ship I would miss the upcoming game against Thyferra. It could be a waste of time if they found my sister before I arrived. Crying from the upstairs bedroom disrupted my thoughts.

    “I’ll take care of it,” Georgia’s sister relented as she retreated up the stairs.

    Tag: No One
     
  19. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    May 20, 2008
    IC: Christine Gamble
    Denon

    “I hate this place,” Christine muttered to herself as she had to hear yet another annoying chant from the Denon fans. Their Demons, pigeonholed in the media more than the Jedi in the Great Purge, were whipping the Senators. The corner back knew it shouldn’t be much of a surprise; it wasn’t like her team was worth anything at the moment. They were terrible, and everyone knew it. Take out Euceron, and this was by far the worst team in the League. Worst team of the decade, too, and somewhat the remainders of the worst team to ever play in the Elite League. Whatever it was, they were the worst.

    Denon had taken advantage of the key Senator injuries to take control of this one. Rickard Herman, in his first start, was being torched, and Kara Milovy wasn’t any better. The half back line looked shattered, and the full backs had no chance against the Demons forwards. It seemed like nothing the Back 6 could do would stop the Demons when they got rolling; it was only thanks to goalie Camille Montes that the game didn’t go 45-10. The Hapan goalie, in her return from missing a game and a half with a leg injury, was showing why she had been brought in. But she wasn’t anywhere near enough today.

    Christine had ventured out onto the field midway through the first half. She was taking over for Kara on Aryan Twig. The Shorak immediately burned her on a move, and she felt a twinge in her leg as she tried to change course. A few minutes later, she checked herself out of the game after Twig got a nice hit on her to break up her pursuit on a Demons forward. She hadn’t gone out on the field since, playing only four minutes in the game. That hadn’t helped things.

    On offense, Leia Adama had no chance whatsoever. The second-year player had been triple-teamed most of the time she was out there, and Umanh was beating the crap out of her. And then there was the trash talk. The large full back, who had gotten over the goring he had received in Week One against Zoa Vra of the Lightning, was obviously intent on putting the hurt down on someone else. And so Leia got battered, only playing a dozen minutes due to the punishment she received. Finally Peet Carelle pulled her when he realized that they weren’t going to get anything from her. Better to pull her and make sure she was healthy for the Rydonni Prime game rather than risk her against a crazed full back. The offense, without Max Qorbus and Leia, once again ground to a complete halt. Passes that used to be completed were thrown wide of the mark, kicks missed, and it looked like they had no offense. It was painful to watch 277 all over again, Christine thought as she sat on the sideline chewing on a towel.

    The biggest problem she noticed was Becki Morlan. It wasn’t like she was terrible, but not having her running mate from college and Bakura was definitely wearing on her. The team had been cautious on signing her without Allesh, but that had been a risk that anyone would have taken. Now, without Qorbus and Adama, she was forced to be the top scorer. And that didn’t work for her; it never had. In college, Qorbus was the number one option, having won the Helmsman for his troubles. Allesh had picked up her slack, and the Rovers won games. On Bakura, Aron Rodders had been that number one option, and she had been able to be a flexible forward who could make trouble. But now she was expected to be the top-line scoring threat with two #3 options in Anya Amasova and Ava Killenger, and she didn’t do well. At one point the lanky forward kicked up quite a bit of turf after getting stripped off the ball. It was that kind of day for everyone.

    When the game was over, no one said anything. It was to hit the showers and head back to Coruscant. Life Day was two days away, they knew, and they just wanted to get off Denon as soon as possible. On the ride to the shuttle, Christine sat at the window and stared out at the Denon skyline. This loss would sting for a while, and now Rydonni Prime was coming up. They didn’t have Vesper Lynd, but they had the Senators’ number, winning 5 of the last 7 contests in the series. And it would soon be 6 of 8, she feared. There was no way this team could win that game. It was a nightmare season all over again, and she began to wonder if she made the right decision returning here from free agency. Carratos was off to a hot start, as were the Mercs. She could have donned a uniform for either team and be winning. Now she was the captain on a sinking ship, yet another disastrous season. There was little reason for optimism now; it was 277 all over again. And she knew things could only get worse. When things went wrong for the Senators, they got historically bad.


    TAG: No One
     
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  20. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    May 20, 2008
    IC: Eddy Beagle
    Work

    Today was the office holiday party, Eddy’s first in the profession. He had been told to dress in an ugly holiday sweater, but since he didn’t have one, he instead wore a maroon sweater and slacks. He didn’t know if that was “ugly” enough, but at least it was comfortable, so it could have been worse.

    The day was pretty much taken off as the workers got to eat, drink, and be merry. At least to an extent. Lara had told them all to not bring any alcohol with them in case they get drunk and cause a problem, so that took a bit of air out of the sails of a few workers. But there was plenty of food to go around, and plenty of holiday cheer.

    Eddy got about fifteen minutes of work in on the day before he realized that everyone else was having a lot more fun out by the water cooler. Finally he went to look at what was going on, and he found that half of the food was gone. Everyone was eating a ton, and he had to grab a plate in order to grab his share. A few cookies, some cake, and other sweet treats went on the plate, and he retreated to the corner in order to eat it. A few workers were messing around with each other’s ugly sweaters, and others were drinking caf. It was a nice break from the cubicle work they usually were engaged in there.

    “So, intern, what do you think?” Dru, the Twi’lek, asked.

    “It’s OK. My first office party,” Eddy said sheepishly.

    “They’re more fun than that. Come on, live a little!” Dru exclaimed. He raised his caf mug and then drowned most of its contents in one fell swoop. He grabbed at his throat after realizing that its contents were still hot, and he ran to the cooler to get some water. Eddy chuckled at the man’s stupidity; at least he now had reason enough to smile. This just wasn’t his scene.

    And then he saw one of the games the other workers were playing. It was a card game, something he was familiar with, and when he went up to them, he knew immediately what it was. Soon enough he was playing, and finally started to win a few rounds. Most of the workers weren’t very good at it, and Eddy was beating them easily. No money was on the line, just cookies or cake pieces or office supplies. After twenty minutes, Eddy had accrued three cake pieces, five cookies, and two pens. It wasn’t much of winnings, but it was something tasty. The pens weren’t, though.

    Finally Lara came into the room, wearing a red puffy sweater that looked hideous. Obviously she had won the office award for “worst sweater”, and she grabbed the fake trophy like it was a prize. “This will return to my office,” she joked.

    “Come on, Lara, you’ve won that three years straight,” Dru commented. “At some point one of us will find an uglier sweater than you did.”

    “In your dreams, Dru,” Lara said, a sly smile on her face. She moved her trophy to her office before coming back. “All right, settle down,” she said to everyone, and the commotion quickly died down. “Now, this is the part we’re all the most fond of. Gift-giving. I have a bunch of presents here,” she said, motioning to a table that Eddy hadn’t seen before. It had lots of wrapped gifts on it. “Now, each one of you wrapped a gift, and I randomly assigned each gift to a particular office member. Come and receive your Secret Yoda gifts.”

    She listed off names one by one, each time giving a gift to each office worker in turn. Eddy waited a while before his name was called; he had gifted a gift card to a local restaurant. It wasn’t supposed to be fancy, but he felt that giving something else would be a bit odd if the receiver didn’t like it. The women likely wouldn’t want a copy of “Speeder Monthly” like some of the guys did who were into muscle speeders and the like. So he thought the gift card would work perfectly.

    When he got his gift, he noticed that it wasn’t very large, and felt like a box. He rattled it around a little bit, but nothing made a clunk sound. Obviously it was very light and not hard. Then he noticed the note on top of it. “Happy Lifeday. Don’t open until you’re in your office.” That was peculiar, he thought. Everyone else was opening up their presents.

    He ate his cookie winnings while walking back to the office. When he got there, he set his cookies aside and then sized up the box again. What was the big hassle here? He ripped open the paper to find a small box inside. He opened the lid and saw why he had been told to open it up in his office. It was a risqué piece of women’s clothing. A note fell out with it, and Eddy caught it before it hit the desk. “From the jolly giver herself. Come to the house tonight for a treat.”

    Eddy looked out of his office to see Lara. She winked at him seductively before moving on, and Eddy knew exactly what he was in store for this holiday.

    The rest of the office party seemed to fly by, and Eddy hardly realized that the day was already over when he found himself at Lara’s home. After a round of hot beverages, Eddy had to ask. “What’s with the ugly holiday sweaters?” he asked.

    “Oh, it’s office tradition,” Lara said. “We always have a competition for who can find the worst one. I’ve won three years straight. Apparently no one can find one as hideous as mine.” She motioned to the one she had worn, which was sitting over her chair.

    “It is indeed terrible,” Eddy said.

    “Eh, I’m more comfortable without it.”

    “I can see why.”

    “You like your gift today?”

    “Well, yeah . . . can I assume that only half of it was gift-wrapped?” Eddy inquired.

    “Oh yes,” Lara said. She came closer to him. “The rest was intended to come later. And now it’s later, so let’s get down to business.” She slipped a shoulder out of her robe.

    “Mm hm,” was all Eddy could say.

    The holiday present he received for the office party was quite the gift. He stayed all night with Lara, neither of them getting much sleep in the process as their affair raged the whole time. Not a bad way to spend their time, they thought.

    TAG: No One
     
  21. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    IC: Tim Dodd
    'ASF Island' - Bil Da'Gari, Agamar

    End of 'Agamar Sports Report', ELL / LFL Week Four Match Day.

    Well, that was (as far as he could recall) the very first win for the Packers over the C-Bucs. Only by nineteen points to sixteen, mind you, but the C-Bucs had always been a bad-luck team from the very first match under his ownership; and it felt good to have broken the pattern at last. The 'Big is Beautiful' system seemed to be finally getting some traction this year. Long may it continue; he thought.

    The Gunners hadn't been so successful in their home encounter with the Gallinore Firedrakes, but a four point margin wasn't a disgraceful performance by any means.

    Next up for the Packers was the final 'road' match of this sequence, against the Mando'ade Mercs, before the team came home for three weeks of playing in their own Stadium in front of their own loyal (and vocal) public. Just as well, since those upcoming fixtures were against two tough teams and another that, although hit by injuries, was still experienced enough to be capable of springing a surprise.


    /
    'The Project' was progressing steadily, if somewhat slowly, guided by the requirement of not risking damage to the 'Instant-Elsewhere Device' in, what had been renamed, the 'Fresher Pit'. The rough work had mostly been done now and the diggers had switched to much finer tools, treating their task as that of extracting a fragile piece of archaeology.


    TAG: Jedi Gunny, Bardan_Jusik
     
  22. Trieste

    Trieste Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2010
    GM Post

    HSN Headlines
    • Lucie Allin-Vigo and Ty Allin Jr. have officially been reported missing
    • Ty Allin will not play this week against Hapes as is in custody under suspicion of their kidnapping
    • Game will take place as planned
    TAG: Runjedirun
     
  23. Bardan_Jusik

    Bardan_Jusik Former Manager star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 14, 2009
    IC: The Rancor Pitt

    "LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on a sunny and warm it another Victory afternoooooooooooooooon! Welcome on into the Rancor Pit. I'm Randy the Rancor, he's Justin Pitt. Liz Baker on the boards, with Kitterich on the other side of the glass and oh baby do we have a show for you!"

    "Best game I've ever seen."

    "Wow, just going to jump right in huh? Not even going to let me tell the listeners that we have Rookie of the Year candidate Mauntak coming on in the next hour? What was that he said after the game? Yippee ki yay? What does that even mean?"

    "I think it's Trandoshan."

    "Oh, well then we can ask him..."

    "I don't think he can say it on the air..."

    "Oh...well then. We'll also have Coach Ur'ban Me'yer of the KMI Warriors coming on later on in the show."

    "Should be fun talking to him after the disastrous season they had last year. A lot of expectations taken blown away by injuries for them."

    "No doubt no doubt. Should be interesting to see how they rebound this season. We also have Concordia Crusaders star forward Le'Bron Jaing coming up to talk about how the Crusaders are finally coming together as a team."

    "The kid is a beast, if it weren't for Daryc he would be starting for the Mercs right now."

    "We can get into that later, whether it's better to get Jaing reps down at Concordia or having ride the bench with the Mercs when we bring him on, but first. First we had a helluvagame yesterday. So much happened and so few points were scored against that team from Nal hutta's moon. It was...well it was an amazing game."

    "I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and to have ti end the way it did."

    "Well we'll get to that in a moment. First I want to talk about this defense."

    "They're coming around, just like I knew they would."

    "Mauntak, Tullo and K'Karlson are looking to be a three headed monster of a defense. Nothing gets by them."

    "The few forwards that do pay the price."

    "That hit that Mauntak delivered on what's her name....I can't believe that came from a rookie."

    "Rookie of the year, I'm telling ya!"

    "Maybe, maybe. I wouldn't argue against it. But really, props to the Smugglers too. They came to play."

    "Ya know Randy, someone might look at this score, a 4-1 win, and think this was two offensively challenged teams or the result of injuries..."

    "Well we did have one that we'll talk about."

    "...or just sloppy and poor offensive play But that's just not the case."

    "Nope, not at all. Remember this was an offense that put up 40 the week before against the Sens."

    "It's a good offensive unit, our points were scored by four different players weren't they?"

    "Yeah, Lieznam got our first point on that broken play midway through the first..."

    "That was right before he got hurt wasn't it?"

    "Yeah, he got hurt on our next possession I think."

    "We have an update on him?"

    "Hamstring, he's questionable for the Packer's game."

    "Thanks K-Man."

    "Yeah thanks Kitterich. So Lieznam scored the first point and ummmm...."

    "Morkesh, Mor'kesh scored from midfield on that long shot just before halftime."

    "That was an amazing shot, a real prayer that broke the tie."

    "And the Daryc and Arock scored in the second half, just a point apiece as we somehow managed a win against that defense."

    "And that's a big part of the story today, the defensive effort on both sides."

    "Really it was two defenses playing about as well as I have ever seen, and two goaltenders that were just not letting anything past them."

    "Both team's keepers played a shutdown yesterday, is that a first for Katan's career?"

    "It might be, we'll have to have an intern check on that for us."

    "Still the looks for either offense were few and far between. What looks they did get were just stopped cold by tremendous goalkeeping on both sides."

    "This was the defense we were promised back in the off season. As a former DB, I gotta tell you, I loved it."

    "Well all of your tweeter followers know that already, you were going nuts there during the game. I have to say, I'm a follower of yours now too."

    "Welcome to the party pal!"

    "Of course it wasn't all fun and games, no match against the Smugglers ever is, and in addition to the Lieznam injury..."

    "Which really didn't seem to affect the game that much. I'll admit."

    "We also had a terrible injury to McCloud. That was horrific."

    "Mauntak and Tullo creamed her."

    "They did, and...what's her status now?"

    "Out for the season."

    "Ouch."

    "Yeah that will hurt them going forward, and as bad as that injury was. It's not even what I was going to talk about."

    "The reaction afterwards?"

    "I couldn't believe it."

    "It was amazing."

    "For those that didn't see the game, and if you're listening to us I have to think you were either at the game or wathcing it on holo, Mauntak and Tullo crushed McCloud between them, forcing the turnover.

    "Legal hit, there was no penalty called."

    "They were calling a real loose game, letting them play."

    "Refs always do for the Game of Rivals."

    "True enough. Anyway, McCloud goes down in a heap, just right to the turf, and time is called for the injury."

    "She was out cold, you could see it."

    "Yeah she was. Anyway, the stadium goes completely quiet, the Meshla Vhetin just stops as they bring out the injury cart for her. I mean she was out, but everyone could see the way her leg was bent."

    "They showed it enough on the replays too."

    "Ugh, I didn't see that. Don't think I want to."

    "It was bad."

    "I bet. So...They are loading her onto the cart now, and she is conscious and Mor'kesh, the Mercs team captain, goes up to her and holds her hand and everyone can see he is talking to her, giving her words of encouragement as she is about to be carted off the field after a horrific injury."

    "Everyone there saw that. That was amazing."

    "And then it got even more amazing as everyone in the stands starts clapping and pounding their chest plates for her, a Smuggler. It was..."

    "It was awe inspiring. Never thought I would see that kind of respect between these two teams. I mean there is still hate between these two squads, but also honor and respect, and I think that just exemplifies the Mando'ade."

    "It was a great moment, for the sport, for the fans and for the players."

    "This game was an instant classic."

    "It certainly adds to what has already been an exciting season..."

    "And an exciting show, but we've got to take a break. When we come back we'll take your calls. And at the bottom of the hour we'll welcome in Mercs Cornerback and rookie of the year candidate Mauntak. So stay right here, on the Fandalorian!"

    TAG: No one.

    OOC: A shout out to the best Christmas move of all time, Die Hard, which obviously gave me some inspiration here. ;) Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all the limmie players out there.

    [​IMG]
     
    Runjedirun, Vehn, Jedi Gunny and 5 others like this.
  24. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    May 20, 2008
    IC: Gark S’rily
    Team HQ




    Gark knew he had forgotten to take the tags out of his new hoodie as soon as he started to walk. They kept poking him in the side, and he wished he had remembered to take them out before putting the clothing item on. That’s why he hated the large tags; smaller ones were much more preferable. They wouldn’t get in your way when you moved around in the hoodie, they wouldn’t try to scrape you in the face as you wriggled into it, and they certainly didn’t stab you in the side. If it wasn’t for price tags, then they wouldn’t be necessary, would they? He still wondered if they were necessary despite that.

    The team had returned late the prior night from Denon after another wrenching loss. That made it three straight, and would bring about rumors of him preparing to demolish the team and start the rebuilding process again. The ‘Hot Stove’ would light up after the holiday, and columnists from here to Mon Calamari would call for him to trade his most useable pieces, those being Christine Gamble and Leia Adama. Go to hell was his response, but he didn’t dare say that publicly. No need to get the media worked up even more about yet another Senators predicament. The resulting firestorm would make things even worse. So he said nothing about it, but those he was closest to could tell that the losses, none of them anywhere close, were wearing on him.

    As it was Life Day, Gark had hoped that maybe the annual team get-together for the holiday would get their minds off of the hole they had dug for themselves. Since Coruscant was as galactic-conscious as could be, Life Day was an every-year occurrence on the planet despite its place in the calendar changing due to Kashyyyk’s rotation compared to the capital planet. This time it was right in the middle of the season, just like it had been in 275. Oddly enough, that coincided with a time before the major collapse of his franchise into wannabe status. He could only hope that the next four years would be kinder to his squad than the last four had. Then again, nothing could be any worse than those four years; catastrophic injuries, mounting blowout losses, and tensions running high in the media and between players. Hopefully a holiday could settle things down, or at least get everyone’s mind off of the crapfest that was unfolding.

    Gark had made a point of it to Peet Carelle that no one was to speak of the season, or they would be benched, or if a reserve, demoted. Peet wasn’t extremely receptive to the idea at first, but when Gark explained that he wanted to get the players’ minds of off the bad season they were having, the head coach was quickly swayed. Undoubtedly he was also sick of the rumors that would now sit over his head and that of his team, and wanted to just push all that aside for one day.

    Usually the annual meet-up was at the S’rily home, but since the flight from Denon had come in late, there was no time to prepare anything for the volume of beings that would be coming over. Secondly, having a young daughter in the house that was having her first Life Day experience would have complicated things even more. So it was determined that they would hold the event here at Team HQ; it was a known location, and allowed them to use team catering staff to provide some of the food. Players were invited to bring their own dishes and cuisine from their different cultures, but if everyone thought those foods were edible or not was up to them. They simply had options. This was usually the time when Jerek Deter had brought his family-recipe chili, but since Gark had stolen a peek at the recipe before Deter got traded to Cloud City, he had attempted to replicate it. Although it seemed to be missing one or two pieces to make it exactly the same, Gark figured that he had most of it down. At least it wasn’t terrible; it just didn’t have that extra little knack that Jerek’s had. Of course, with his messy departure from the club, calling him up wasn’t exactly an option. So Gark had done his best and had brought the chili along, adding a few spices to try and give it that last little kick it needed.

    Three huge pots of chili were unloaded from the S’rily family speeder and wheeled in on a dolly by Mykal Oha. The high school senior was currently in the midst of his senior Limmie season at nearby Wylsonridge High School, and had received his first scholarship offer not too long prior. So it was likely that by next Life Day he would be a college student, and finding time to come home to celebrate might be difficult depending on where he was going to school. His adoptive parents hoped he would stay local, but they understood if he decided to go far away. It was his choice to make, not theirs.

    The S’rilys made their way to the gathering location, the practice facility. It was nice and warm inside although it was a little brisk outside, and a large tarp had been laid out on the field to prevent much damage from being done to the turf. Gark hoped they had put a solid backing underneath the tarp, and was pleased to know that such an arrangement had been made. Now they wouldn’t have to replace the turf. Mykal pulled the three pots of chili up to a waiting table, and with hot pads set them on the table in order. Me’lin, wheeling baby Cecilia around in a stroller, opened the lids and checked the temperature before closing them again. She laid a ladle next to one of them and walked away. Galin S’rily, the couple’s older natural child, had wide eyes when he heard that there would be a lot of food here today. Almost six years of age, he was finally going to school, and was participating in youth Limmie in the local Little League organization.

    When they got there, no one else who was expected to attend had shown up. But it didn’t take long for a very familiar sound to echo around the practice facility. “Hey-o!” came the deep baritone sound of Dirxx Horstse. The Hall-of-Fame Senator captain, the linchpin of the Senator glory days, came in with his family. His wife Re’lia, Me’lin’s sister, was carrying their young daughter with her, and their adopted eight-year old daughter walked in as well.

    “Right on cue,” Gark commented to the Besalisk as soon as he heard the voice. “I was beginning to think you had lost your touch.”

    “Me, miss a cue? Come on,” Dirxx said, waving off any thoughts of such a failure. “You know me well enough.”

    “I know you probably better than I should,” Gark said with a wry grin. It was true; he had known Dirxx ever since 262, and the two had formed a very tight bond since then. For a while they had been team captain and general manager, two beings on the same page. That translated over to winning the Galactic Cup in 268 as team captain and head coach. They had trusted each other to do the things they needed to in order to win, and the Senators had been a rollicking success. It made these past few years look even more depressing, but Gark wasn’t going to dwell on those right now.

    “So, what do we have to chow down on today?” Dirxx said with that same youthful energy he had in 262 when Gark had first met him. Obviously having a screaming child in the house didn’t dampen his spirits, although Gark certainly knew that Cecilia had ruined his sleep patterns the past few months. She was always thumping around in her crib, like she was trying to make noise with her hands. It was an odd percussive sound, something that her parents didn’t understand.

    “Whatever you brought with you, ya glutton,” Gark said.

    “Guilty as charged. You know, I’ve tried to change, but . .. . hey, we’re getting the band back together!”

    Gark turned to see Polis Vayne come in, his two children in tow. Polis and his wife, Meredith Chambers-Vayne, lived next door to his own family, and their children were close. Galin was a year older than Buck and Anya Chambers-Vayne, but that didn’t stop them from having wild adventures around the neighborhood. Meredith was off with Nar Shaddaa, so she wasn’t available to be here today. How Polis ever stood that separation from his wife every season, Gark never understood. Being away from Me’lin was torture; having to deal with it for three months straight was likely taxing. But Polis didn’t let it show.

    “I take it you cooked that?” Dirxx asked as Polis put a basket on the table.

    “Hell no,” Polis said. “I just bought these at the store on the way.”

    “Geez, you had me worked up there,” Dirxx commented to his old teammate, and fellow Hall-of-Famer. “I thought Meredith had whipped enough cooking ability into you that you were willing to try.”

    “Meredith teach me how to cook? Nah,” Polis said. “She’s just as bad as I am. We eat a lot of packaged foods because neither of us can cook worth a crap.”

    “Then how do you stay so slender?” Dirxx asked. “They say packaged and processed foods are bad for ya. It’s a fact.”

    “We don’t eat only those things. They just make for a good dinner-starter,” Polis said. “Besides, Meredith and I are in good shape.” He leaned in a little bit. “You know, some nights in the bedroom with her could be considered heavy workouts.”

    “Point taken,” Dirxx said, a devilish grin on his face.

    “But we eat a lot of healthy things,” Polis said. “Isn’t that right, kids?”

    “Do we know you?” Buck asked.

    “What he said,” Anya spoke up, pointing to her twin brother.

    “Oh come on, you two, don’t act like that,” Polis said. “You eat pretty well. The right kinds of food to get you big and strong like your mom and I so that you can go out and someday be Limmie stars like we were.”

    “Yeah,” Buck said, a smile coming to his face.

    “Mom’s cooking isn’t that good,” Anya said.

    “Neither is mine,” Polis commented. “Be glad I went to the store earlier. I don’t know if Meredith would have walked me through any recipes; I probably would have destroyed whatever it was she was getting me to try and make.”

    “You could use some lessons,” Gark said. “You know, Lin does pretty well at that stuff. She should teach you sometime. We eat a lot of interesting stuff, but it’s always pretty good.”

    “I’ll have to ask her at some point,” Polis said. “But for right now, I’m not too worried.”

    As the minutes passed, more showed up. Rosa Berant was here, furnished in a nice holiday sweater. It wasn’t an ugly holiday sweater, instead a very nice one. Artie Gurvey, the Nemoidian midfielder coach, had even changed his headgear to try and switch things up. He was always a jolly soul, and would usually try to calm you down if you got anxious about something. But it was obvious that he was trying to change things up, so there was something going on there that likely needed explanation.

    Some of the players arrived, most of them by themselves. The Kuna sisters, Litan and Syra, were here together, and they had some dish Gark had never seen before. When prodded, they replied that it was something from their homeworld of Ryloth. Gark wasn’t sure if he wanted to touch it, because it looked a little weird, but he had seen worse. He remembered how his cooking used to look, and now this dish didn’t look so bad. Gayla Renhorn brought a cake with her, and some of the other players had their own food to share. Rickard Herman brought two roasted birds, one of which had had already relieved of a drumstick that he was now eating. “There’s one good bird!” he said as he plunked down the trays of meat. “You know, these drumsticks are excellent! Remind me of my momma’s cooking!” Zovort, the rookie Fondorian, brought several six-packs of beer. It would be an odd meal, yes, but hopefully it wouldn’t suck too badly.

    As the room filled up with individuals, Gark went around to see who was here. Over 2/3 of the team was present, some of the others likely sleeping in, not celebrating, or with relatives. Max Qorbus, for instance, was home with his injury, but he had his wife and children to keep him company as he recovered from the season-ending malady. Deluxx didn’t celebrate, and had mentioned that he wouldn’t be here today.

    Gark got to Jenna Leed and Zeke Barbosa. Both of them were here with their children. The assistant captain had been struggling this season like everyone had, but she still seemed somewhat cheery despite the hard sledding thus far. After that it was on to Peet Carelle, whom Gark shared a few words with before moving on. He saw some of his old Senators players, old-timers Shayt Contar, Shev Fil’yer, Lokesh Fil’ish, and Brosh We’kyr, here with Ravil We’kyr, the Senators’ former midfield coach, and their adopted son. Moen Heatly wasn’t here today, because he had returned to Bakura after being fired in the 277 season. But he had earned himself a spot here if he had wanted to come; relations weren’t frosty because of the termination of his contract. He knew it was coming; the 277 season had strained a lot of relations.

    Some of the other players were in this line as well. Becki Morlan was here with her fiancé, Mody Biller. They were set to get married in the offseason. Ava Killenger was there, as was Anya Amasova, Camille Montes, and Gemma Sal-Solo. They seemed to be having a good time yukking things up when Gark passed by on his tour around the facility. Levi Corner, his elbow in a cast, was here, although having only one good arm would make it difficult to eat.

    And then there was Christine Gamble. The captain looked a little tired, having had a short night’s sleep due to the losing streak and the length of the flight. It was something that Gark couldn’t fix. Only winning could make up for that funk. That being said, Gark hoped the corner back would find some new drive here today and get back on track next week against the Monarchs. She would be a vital piece of a defense in need of a keel.

    When the facility was full of bodies here for the food, Gark had a mic given to him so that he could speak to everyone. “I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice,” he said. “Since most of us just got back here last night, it was a short night, I admit. But I hope that this meal will improve our spirits. Since I’d rather we try to be positive today, let’s not talk about the season, or you’ll be benched or demoted to Thyferra. No holiday grinches today, please.” A few laughs came from the crowd. “I’m serious. Let’s try to be positive today even though the season isn’t going the way we’ve hoped it would. If you’d rather practice, and not eat, I’d be fine with that. My family and friends will eat while you practice.” No one said anything, so he took that they all wanted to eat and not work out. “OK. Food’s ready to go, so what are we waiting for?”

    It took a while to get through the line. Gark looked at all of the different dishes on the table before him. Lots of exotic foods from the different cultures, some old classics, others a little more obscure. And then there was dessert. Gayla’s cake looked very inviting, as did some of the dessert that Arienne Farfell had brought. “Family recip,” the Hapan midfielder boasted. “It’s been passed down five generations of my family. My grandmother made the best product you could hope for, that was for sure.”

    Gark sat down at one of the tables with his family. Polis also sat down with his kids, and the table was now full. As Gark munched through some of his food, he watched Galin pick through his plate. It was obvious that he was having a little too much fun with a noodle strand from one of the pasta dishes; he was letting it wiggle and jiggle feely on its own as he laughed at his own creativity. Me’lin wanted to scold her son for playing with his food, but realized that he was just being a kid. He would soon grow out of that, she hoped. It wasn’t polite to do that in public.

    As some of the players finished up their meals, a few of them wanted to play a quick pick-up Limmie game. They went over to one of the goalposts and set up their game, while others watched as they ate. Someone was watching the Lightball games that were being broadcast on the holiday, and a small crowd gathered around the screen as time went on to see the games. Limmie never was played on the holiday, but other sports decided that they could garner a major audience if they played a tripleheader on that day.

    Gark watched the pick-up game, with no tackles being the major rule. No one wanted to get injured, so it was best to make it no-contact. Besides, most of the players had eaten already, so they weren’t exactly hitting full speed. Defenders played forwards, forwards played defensive backs, and Lomgat Vu, the Thaakwaash, was recruited to play in goal. He had appeared in the Mercs game to spell Christine after she went down with the injury, and had given up two points in his first career appearance between the pipes. No one really cared what the score was; they were just trying not to puke after having just eaten.

    Finally Polis went to join them in their game. Anya and Buck watched, obviously amused, as their dad walked up to the players, some of whom he had once coached. “It’s time you all feel what it’s like to play with a Hall-of-Famer,” he said proudly. “Besides, I have my kids watching. They want to see their Dad beat up you wannabes.”

    “Bring it, old man,” corner back Vex Blooker said.

    “Oh, I will,” Polis said. “Give me the ball.” Someone handed him the ball, and he pressed it in between his hands firmly. Once he had inspected the ball, he pitched it to Blooker. “Alright, hotshot, let’s do this.” Blooker threw him the ball back, and Polis made his move. He torched the Zabrak on a juke move, and then lazily flicked the ball into the net for three. Blooker had fallen down on the play, and Polis extended his hand. “Sometimes us old guys can keep up with you young bucks,” Polis said, a wide grin on his face.

    “Best two of three,” Blooker commented.

    “Fine. I’ll take that challenge,” Polis said.

    “Come on, Dad, bring the heat!” Buck yelled.

    Polis passed off to a teammate before getting the ball back. It was almost poked loose, but he was able to make it to the goal. With a slight flick, he pump faked Vu out of position, and then he threw the ball over the bar for a point.

    “What’s with the weak finish?” Dirxx asked from across the field.

    “Can’t show up the kids too badly,” Polis said, his grin widening. “You know Meredith would never let me do this.”

    “Then she doesn’t have to know,” Dirxx said. “But you could’ve gone for the goal there.”

    “Eh, it’s a holiday game,” Polis said. “We’re not here to really play.”

    “But I am,” Dirxx said. He got up from the table and went to the pick-up game.

    Soon enough, the old Senator stalwarts were playing a game. Dirxx and Polis had their teams lined up; Dirxx got Shayt, Polis got Shev. Brosh went to Polis’ team, and Lokesh went to Dirxx’ squad. The current players were added as they came up, and even Gark got in on the fray. With Limmie Sevens now possible, they zipped up and down the field, old-timers and current players alike. It was fun to watch for the onlookers, as they saw Hall-of-Famers mixing it up with young pros in their first or second seasons. Gark caught a glimpse of Galin as he made a defensive stop on a play; the young boy was watching intently. He remembered his father playing in the 278 All-Star Challenge game, and now he was here again playing with professionals.

    Gark got a foot on the ball, and it skittered towards one of the tables. Luckily it was stopped before it got there, and Rosa Berant got irate. “Hey, keep this thing away from the food!” she yelled as she kicked the ball back to the players.

    “Sorry!” Polis yelled back.

    After a while, the game was called off. Some of the players took what was left of the food, and Polis returned to his table triumphantly. “That was awesome!” Buck said, fawning over his father’s performance.

    “Maybe you could do that someday.”

    “Or have Mom shut you down,” Anya said. It was no secret that she was closer to her mother than she was to Polis.

    “I know I wouldn’t prefer it, but if one of you becomes a goalie, all the power to you,” Polis commented.

    But Gark had an announcement to make. “Quiet down, settle down,” he said into the mic, and everyone turned to look at him. Next to him was a large box, gift-wrapped with plan blue wrapping flimsy. “I know it’s a little late for this gift, because it ended being put on the back burner due to other commitments by the manufacturer, but I think it’ll be important to hand out.”

    “Who gets it?” came a question.

    “It’s for the whole team, really,” Gark said. “So I’d like to invite Christine up to the front to open it up.”




    IC: Christine Gamble

    Christine was dumbfounded; the Bothan wanted her to open the gift for everyone? That was a new wrinkle. She came forward and then looked at the package before looking at the Bothan. He gestured towards it, and the corner back sighed. She dug her nails into the paper and tore it off. Inside was a large box, and with the help of a pair of cutters she was able to pry it open. Once she saw the contents of the box, she was dumbfounded.




    It was the Commissioner’s Trophy.

    Or at least looked like it.


    “What’s this?” she asked, perplexed.

    Now the other players were gathering around the box, and were all wondering what this had to do with anything. They hadn’t won the Commissioner’s Trophy in 278; the Miners had won it. No way had they sent it to Coruscant to be gifted to their rivals. The Senators certainly wouldn’t do that, especially not after the repeated beatings they received from the Miners, although the same could be said about the majority of the League nowadays.

    “This is the Commissioner’s Trophy,” Gark said. “Or, I should say, a well-crafted replica of the real thing. It took a while to get it made, so I decided to save it until now.”

    “But why?” Christine asked. This move made no sense.

    “I know how much losing out on the Trophy meant to all of you last year,” Gark said. “I was just as miffed as you were about not getting it. So I figured it would make things a little better if we had this one to stand in for the real thing. I know it’s not official, but it’s the gesture that counts, right?”

    “I’m still confused,” Christine said.

    “Pick it up,” Gark said, motioning to the captain to do just that. Christine bent down and picked up the trophy; it was heavy, but the moment her fingers touched it she could feel a sense of exhilaration course through her veins. This trophy, even though it was a replica, was something she had always wanted to hold. The Commissioner’s Trophy was a big deal, the second-best award in the League next to the Galactic Cup. She had raised neither, but as she held the replica, it was the next-best thing. They hadn’t won the actual award, but they had certainly earned it.

    “Pass it around,” Gark said. “Don’t want the captain hogging the trophy.” So Christine passed the replica on. Each player from the prior year’s team got to hold it for a while. In the meantime, Gark continued to speak.

    “It’s not the real thing, but the League decided through a ‘technicality’ that we weren’t to receive it. Well, that’s a pile of eopie crap. All of you deserved it; that was your trophy to have, and yet the Commissioner and his lackies took it away from you because they thought the Miners deserved it more. You want to know what I think? I say ‘Screw Them’. You certainly worked harder than the Miners, and deserved that trophy more than they did. They have a cabinet full of them. What do we have? None. And we still don’t because of some technical mumbo-jumbo. But holding this replica, there’s a sense of honor to it. All of you proved your worth last year, and you beyond a doubt earned the award . . . if not from the League, from me, from the organization. You put a hard season behind you and returned the favor to quite a few teams who had tormented you the prior year. You put them in their place. And that’s commendable even though the League didn’t think you were good enough to earn their silly Trophy.”

    “Hey now, we earned that Trophy fair and square!” Becki Morlan said, miffed by the Bothan’s comments. She had won the Trophy with the Miners the prior year. “You should have won that last game if you wanted the Trophy.”

    “Shut up, Morlan,” Christine said as she put the trophy down. “Your pretty-boy Miners never had to go through a winless season. They wouldn’t know how to deal with adversity because they always win, everyone knows that. The League obviously favors them. So we take what we can get when we’re not one of the Chosen few who wins all the time.”

    Morlan shut up, because Christine’s words were all too true. The Miners were the lucky ones in the League, the Senators not so much. The Miners would have been howling if they had been robbed of the Trophy in a similar fashion, and probably would have taken it to court. Well, Christine didn’t think highly of the Miners; Cundertol had made her a crappy free agent offer, and she hated their snooty attitude and lofty perch. She wanted nothing more than to hold the Commissioner’s Trophy, the real one, in their faces sometime. Just stand there, not saying anything as she held the Trophy that her team had won, in the face of their rivals. That would be poetic justice, she figured. It would serve them right.

    “I know that I said not to discuss this season, but for a moment I would like to continue on that,” Gark said, to try and break the awkward tension between two veteran players. “We’re going to have that replica on the sidelines at every practice. And I mean every practice. Maybe even games, home and away. And I want you to look at it, and know what you’re playing for. We’re not out of it this season; there’s still time to go after the real Commissioner’s Trophy. This team has the talent to get that far, but it’s up to each and every one of you to use it. I’ve seen a lot of apathy from the injuries. The best teams don’t let that stop them . . . OK, not every team gets injuries . . . but the point is that we can’t roll over and die. You can still win games. Let me worry about the League, and you just need to worry about the next game. Seriously, screw the League; I hate the Commissioner as much as you do. So you want to know what you can do about it? Stick it to him. Show the rest of this galaxy what you’re made of. And this,” he said, touching the trophy replica, “should be your motivation. Now you just need to go out there and take it.”

    Christine understood what the Bothan meant. Having the Trophy in her hands showed her the awesome feeling of what it would be like to win it someday. No Senators team had ever won the award, although Dirxx Horstse’s squads came up short two or three times during their glory days. If she won it, she would be the first Senator captain in history to do so.

    “So, are all of you going to sit around and just let the Monarchs, and every team after that, roll over you? I’m sick of losing,” Gark commented. “Time to put the rest of the League in their place. Time to get the Commissioner’s Trophy quest started. Clock’s ticking.”

    After the celebration was over, Christine took one last look at the Trophy replica. The boss was right; it would certainly be cool to win the real thing someday. She couldn’t speak for her teammates, especially not for Becki Morlan, but she could speak for herself. And she wanted to win it even more badly now than she had before. That trophy would signal an end to the beatings, would likely signal a few rivalry wins, would cement her as a decent Senator captain and not a complete bust like she was being characterized as. It was go time now; there were no more mulligans to take. This had to be the beginning of a long run to the postseason. There was still room in the Solo, and the Miners were on top. Well, it was time to give them their just desserts and take the Trophy from them. And that all started now.

    She flexed her leg as she went out to her speeder. It responded favorably. If all went well, she would play 60 minutes against Rydonni Prime this next week. Whatever she had to do to win. Because when winning a game was a rare occurrence, you had to savor the moment. She intended to make winning a habit; the Miners had had their turn. Now it was time for the Senators to rise again and crush their rivals. And it all started with the replica on the sideline, the motivation to strive for the real thing. They had earned the respect of their GM; now they just had to do the same for the entire galaxy.

    TAG: No One, although Trieste probably will have some things to say regarding how I characterize the Minors . . . er, Miners ;)
     
  25. Jedi Gunny

    Jedi Gunny Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    May 20, 2008
    2014 Limmie Holiday Wish List:
    Each team would definitely like for great things in 2015. Here is a rundown on what things each team could possibly want, in both an IC and OOC/OOG manner.



    Agamar Packers – That the Commissioner finds a big lump of coal in his stocking this year. Better yet, an explosive lump of coal that will make him very put out!

    Bakura Miners – That the engraver of the Galactic Cup doesn’t accidentally write “Bakula’s Minors” on the chalice after they win the Cup at the end of this season once again. Because we don't know if Scott Bakula is a Miner's fan, but he probably is.

    Carratos Pirates – That more bodies aren’t found that could lead to a major gang war on Carratos. Oh, and that Mikia Sandin proves that she’s all she’s cracked up to be.

    Coruscant Senators – That the number generator stops beating the crap out of them repeatedly. Won all of 10 games all calendar year, and only 5 against player teams. Yeah . . . they can only hope 2015 goes better, because it can’t get any worse. Also that Christine Gamble was a real person, because she'd be awesome to hang out at a bar with.

    Denon Demons – That people realize that purple is actually an awesome team color. Seriously, more teams should use purple.

    Euceron Storm – That they can move on after this season and field a more competitive squad next year. NOTE: They’ll probably go on a seven-game winning streak now and take the Galactic Cup. We just have a hunch.

    Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – That the new Bond girls from Spectre make good Limmie players, because they need all the help they can get.

    Mando’ade Mercs – That Johnny Clipboard . . . er . . . Lieznam does better than the real-life counterpart this season, and actually continues to do a better job doing Snackers commercials as well. Why settle for one when you can have BOTH?

    Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – That the Vehn name is enough to stop the struggles of this team, despite the fact that they’ve skirted disaster when it’s been due for years now. Also that a return to bar-raising stories will somehow bring Kaitlyn back from the dead and let the Smugglers dominate for another five years and three more Cup titles.

    Ralltiir Starkillers – That the holiday will quiet the squabbling between siblings, something that seems rather impossible at the moment. Also that Trey Till isn’t washed-up as a Limmie player.

    Rydonni Prime Monarchs – That the Monarchs won’t take the University of Michigan’s recent struggles to heart and start to bomb epically. Because that would mean the Honey Badger ain’t happy, and that ain’t good.

    Ylesia Lightning – That a Korlo Penin and Kasin Urdaaza pairing would likely get the interns at HSN to push for the Lightning to win a Cup title by default because of the awesome ramifications. Or they could just ask for Buffalo Wild Wings to do this to defeat their enemies. Also want to dominate in their first year in the Solo Conference.


    TAGS to: Tim Battershell, Trieste, galactic-vagabond422, jcgoble3, Bardan_Jusik, Vehn, Runjedirun, CPL_Macja, Rebecca_Daniels
     
    Trieste, CPL_Macja, Vehn and 3 others like this.
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