Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

Preseason Power Rankings​

1. Bakura Miners

How can you go wrong with the defending champions? They went 10-1 last year, which is unheard of at this level, and are primed to do it again. Yes losing Aron Rodders is a major blow, but their reserves gained a lot of valuable experience last year and will fill in nicely. This team is dangerous and will likely be a lock for the playoffs, if not the Galactic Cup Final.

Key Player: Who else but Alana Glencross? Of course, her evil clone Lana Applesauce might have something to say about it (if you don’t remember this reference, don’t worry; some intern had to play that stupid song last holiday season, and we can’t get it out of our heads to this day).

2. Ralltiir Starkillers

This team is scary good on offense when on all cylinders, perhaps even better on offense than the Miners when they get going. Andres Fortune is a legit #1 option on offense, and they have enough options to back him up. The defense will be the major question mark this year, but if they play to their potential, this team will push the Miners for the top seed in the Solo at the end of the season.

Key Player: Ty Allin. Now the full captain of the team, and has to prove to everyone that he is a capable leader and not just a free spirit like in previous seasons. Also has to take the mantle of a team with a new owner.

3. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers

One of the best offenses in the league? Great midfield duo despite Erin Windreaver coming off a torn ligament? Gritty defense getting even better? Check, check, and check. Scary team when rolling, and could easily repeat in the Skywalker.

Key Player: Jayla Leed. Great defense begins with good defenders, but even the best Back 6 can’t stop anyone if the goalie isn’t good. Leed is outstanding, and seems to be the second coming of Meredith Chambers.

4. Mando’ade Mercs

Vastly improved team over last season, and went all the way to the Final, with a close loss to Bakura. Signed some solid veterans in free agency, and should have the gas in the tank to contend. Nar Shaddaa may be the cream of the conference, but the Mercs could challenge them for that right this season.

Key Player: Argo Mor’kesh. Still one of the best midfielders in the game, and just keeps getting better. Daryc may get more headlines, but Mor’kesh is this team. When he does well, they do well. When he struggles, they follow suit.

5. Euceron Storm

The Storm didn’t do a lot this offseason, but it’s OK. They will easily improve on last season’s record and be in the hunt for the playoffs in the Skywalker conference. Don’t expect a landmark year, though; they still don’t have that killer instinct they need to finish off opponents in big games.

Key Player: Chenkabukk. Yan’ii is a big name, but the goalie here is the key for the Storm. If they want to contend, they need another big year out of their goalie.

6. Rydonni Prime Monarchs

Were contenders last season in the Solo, and come into this year with three wins over their development teams in friendlies. Could easily make the next step and make the playoffs this year as the third seed. They are still behind the rest of the league in offense, but their defense, when healthy, can stop anyone. We’re interested in seeing how Corvo Antilles does back in the Elite League.

Key Player: We’re going to be different here and say Antilles. Ozzie may be the long-term option, but Antilles is still there if the young goalie falters. And he may be able to win the job in camp.

7. Agamar Packers

Got to their first postseason berth since their return to the League. However, still have some major holes on defense, and we’re not sure if they can score enough to fill those gaps. This looks to be a slide-back year for the Packers, since they never realty convinced us they belonged in the postseason last year.

Key Player: Miles Abrams. Their best forward has to produce a ton this season if his team wants to win. They will need it.

8. Ylesia Lightning

Kasin Urdaaza is back, and the Lightning will likely follow suit. They are the dark horse contender in the Skywalker, because they finally have their new talent in place and should be headed in the right direction.

Key Player: Urdaaza. When she is on the team, the Lightning go from OK to dangerous. She is a star goalie, and a player many teams wish they had to rely on.

9. Hapes Consortium Buccaneers

We expect a huge slide from the C-Bucs this year. Maybe that’s because we’re not sold on Meredith Chambers-Vayne as a head coach, or perhaps it’s just because the league will have them figured out this year. Just don’t expect them to build upon last year, because Hapan teams haven’t been good in consecutive years in a long time. It’s going to take more than this team has in order to do that, Hall-of-Fame coach or not.

Key Player: Camille Montes. Had a rough go of it last year in the Conference Finals with the Miners, but shut down Ralltiir the prior week. We’re not sure what to make of her yet, but the girl has talent. The C-Bucs need her to be a rock this season if they want to have any hope of contending, because they don’t have enough offense to get them very far.

10. Kuat Triforce

Welcome back to the Elite League, Kuat. Many things have changed since Jack Slydell’s all-human team graced the league for one year, and things are looking up for this squad. They may not have much to stand on now when the season opens, but they have a Premier League title to celebrate.

Key Player: Noj Elbog. The second overall pick in this year’s Draft likely will see a ton of playing time, and may have to help carry this team as it navigates the season.

11. Carratos Pirates

We still aren’t sure where this team is from or who they are, but if they’re in the Elite League, they must be pretty good. Look like a very underrated team with a lot of hard workers. However, that also means overachievers in the lot, so we’ll see if the gym rats can hang with the best players in the galaxy or whether their promotion was a bit hasty.

Key Player: Rime Arezzo. The captain of this team isn’t a household name by any means, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be soon. Guy has a lot of talent, just not the pedigree. Look for that to change if the Pirates can reel off some wins.

12. Coruscant Senators

We aren’t sure why this team is still in the League, but they are, so we’ll write about them. They have absolutely nothing going for them except that they weren’t demoted, so don’t expect a lot going for them. It’s going to be a long rebuilding year for this franchise. Good news is that they won’t go winless again. Bad news is that they’ll be lucky to win two games this season.

Key Player: Leia Adama. The first overall pick in the Draft needs to pick up a lot of slack in the pathetic Senator offense. When star corner forward Maximus Qorbus is covered, Adama has to become the go-to scorer, or else the Senators will experience a repeat of last year. That won’t be pretty.


HSN Predicted Rankings:

Skywalker:

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers
Euceron Storm
Mando'ade Mercs
Ylesia Lightning
Agamar Packers
Carratos Pirates

Solo:

Bakura Miners
Ralltiir Starkillers
Rydonni Prime Monarchs
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers
Kuat Triforce
Coruscant Senators

Mando'ade over Euceron
Ralltiir over Rydonni Prime

Nar Shaddaa over Mando'ade
Bakura over Ralltiir

Nar Shaddaa over Bakura for the Galactic Cup title


My OOC Predicted Rankings (of which I am probably wrong):

Skywalker:

Mando'ade Mercs
Ylesia Lightning
Carratos Pirates
Agamar Packers
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers
Euceron Storm

Solo:

Ralltiir Starkillers
Rydonni Prime Monarchs
Bakura Miners
Kuat Triforce
Coruscant Senators
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers

Ylesia over Carratos
Rydonni Prime over Bakura

Ylesia over Mando'ade
Ralltiir over Rydonni Prime

Ralltiir over Ylesia for the Galactic Cup title

TAGS to everyone, Polydroxol, Trieste, Vehn, Bardan_Jusik, CPL_Macja, Runjedirun, Tim Battershell, Rebecca_Daniels, jcgoble3, galactic-vagabond422

 

IC:Geoff Copin
Shield Towers, O' pahz, Carratos


Geoff woke up the next morning hoping his conversation with Schnitt was just a dream. He sat up hanging his feet off the side of the bed and turned on his holo-terminal. Sure enough posted on the front page of the local news site,

'CARRATOS PIRATES ACCEPTED TO ELITE LEAGUE'

Not a dream Geoff thought as he moved to the pre-season power rakings for his new league. Key player Rime Arezzo. That's true but, Logan isn't going to like that analysis. His wife stirred a little.

"What's goin' on?" Laura asked slurring her words and looking though squinted eyes.

"Oh, nothing hon," He answered, with a smile across his face, "just the Pirates being accepted to the Elite League."

"That's great," she said sitting up in the bed. "Wait," her eyes fully open, "our Pirates?"

"Yes, our Pirates." His wife shook her head.

"This isn't Schnitt playing a joke on us?"

"As far as I can tell he's serious."

"Aw, this is great hon, you always said you wanted to play in the Elite League." She slid over and draped her left arm over his left shoulder.

"I know I did," He said caressing her hand, "but I don't think this team can handle the pressure." Laura rested her chin on his other shoulder.

"You can't write them off now, not before the season even begins. You gotta believe in them, cause if you don't believe in them they won't believe in themselves."

"You're right," he said letting out a sigh "you're always right, I can't give up so soon." Little footsteps were heard coming from the other bedroom. Geoff looked to Laura his eyes wide. "The little monsters are awake." The door opened on the far side of the room and two four year old girls came rushing though.

"Daddy's home." Ira cried climbing on to the bed.

"Yay daddy's home" Iris said following her twin sister. The parents turned around as their children crawled towards them.

"I'm so sorry daddy wasn't home last night but, he had important grown up stuff to do." Geoff explained as he took his daughters in to his arms. He gave each a kiss on the forehead. "Now come on lets go see what we have for breakfast." Father and daughters hurried off into the kitchen. The family had a breakfast of toast and eggs, Geoff finished early to get ready for work. After getting dressed in a polo and slacks he called Ira and Iris over to him. He knelt down to be at eye level. "Now girls, daddy's going to be away a lot this year so I want you to be good for mommy ok."

"Why are you going to be away a lot?" Iris asked her blue eyes widening.

"My work needs me to be there more."

"Can we come with you?" Ira inquired putting her hand on top of his,

"You'd be bored, it's just boring grown up stuff."

"But, I want you to stay with us more."

"I know you do sweetie but, this job is important to the family so, I have to go."

"Ok," Iris said looking at the ground, "You can go but, you've got to promise to miss us a whole lot while you're gone."

"I promise I will miss you."

"Miss us a whole lot," Ira interjected.

"I'm sorry, I promise to miss you a whole lot." He leaned forward and gave both of them another kiss on the forehead. "I love you"

"We love you too, daddy." they said in unison. The Pirates head coach rose and gave his wife one last kiss before heading out the door.

______________

Gross-Pell Memorial Stadium, O'pahz, Carratos


"Is it true coach?" Sylvanus Shale asked his antennaplaps twitching, "Are we in the Elite League?"

"Yes, we are," Geoff replied, the locker room exploded into cheers and groans. "And our first match up is against the Rallltiir Starkillers."

"Wait," Marcus Teaic the dark skinned midfielder piped up, "We play Ralltiir first, they have a dance team."

"Jeez Markie," Gabriella chided her twin and midfield partner, "they score the second most points in the league and you're worried about the dance team."

"Well yeah, cute girls tight fitting outfits what more could I want?" Gabriella lightly tapped her brother on the back of the head. They were usually like this off the field Marcus saying or doing something stupid and Gabriella correcting him or apologizing for him. On the field they were a rock solid midfield team. She had the strength to knock down opponents and keep offensive pressure on and he had speed to open up passing lanes to get the play shifted from defense to offence.

"Gabby" Geoff said looking at the twins. "Keep his head in the game for me." She nodded her head in affirmation.

"Finally" Logan Manx, the teams leading scorer, cut in, "I can play against some actual defense."

"You would have half the points you do if Rime and I weren't there to set you up." Vayan remarked, gesturing with his hand and tail.

"Nah, I always find good real-estate on these weak Ds."

"You do seem to be in the right place at the right time Logan," Rime stated, stepping into the simmering fright between his forward companions, "but remember me and Vayan are not that far behind you in points."

"Yeah, but, most of those are over the bar points."

"That's sometimes our only option when you fail to find good field position." Rhodri, the large Klatooinian defender, leaned forward.

"How hard's practice going to be coach?" He asked looking up a Geoff. Geoff looked to all the faces of his players,

"I'm not going to lie, It's gonna' be rough. You have to understand, we aren't playing the Aphran Lumberjacks anymore, these are serious teams."

"Yeah with serious offences." Sylvanus scoffed "I mean 233 points scored in a season, how do you resist an offence of that magnitude?" Rhodri leaned over to put a hand on Sylvanus's shoulder.

"Don't lose your head kid."

"I'll try but, we've never faced an attack that strong before." The coach clapped his hands drawing attention back to him.

"I know it's going to take a lot of work this season but, we aren't going to do anything if we sit around and talk all day. So, let's go out there and get to it." The team stood and jogged out to the field.

They began, what would hopefully be, a great Limmie season.

 

Sub-GM Post/IC: Marius Turnell
Two months before the start of the 277 Elite League season

“Greetings, everyone, and welcome to this press conference. Five seasons of Futures League action are in the books, and we have for the first time a two-time champion. Those five seasons have seen a lot of discussion, and sometimes arguing, over some of our more unique rules. After discussion with our Competition Committee, and considering the goal of the Futures League to prepare young players for the Elite League, we have decided that the time has come to make several major changes to the league.

“But first, we have two new teams in the fold for this year. The Kuat Triforce, newly promoted to the Elite League, wasted no time in setting up a farm system. Their primary development affiliate is now the Corellia Rebels, whom we welcome into the Futures League for 278. As I announced at the beginning of last season, the Rebels had set up their own development affiliate prior to their demotion to the Premier League, and my office had been informed that that relationship was intact as of mid-season last year. What happens to that relationship is between the Rebels and Triforce to decide now. The Triforce are welcome to keep that D-team in their system as a lower-level team if they choose to, but under the agreement between us and the Premier League signed when this league was formed, second- and lower-level development teams must play at a level below the Premier League.

“For our second team, we are proud to finally welcome the Hapes Consortium Buccaneers organization to the Futures League. The C-Bucs have confirmed to us that they will field an entry in the Futures League this season, although the exact name and location, along with other details, of the team has yet to be determined. Nevertheless, the C-Bucs front office has submitted the necessary paperwork, which has been approved, and we have written the schedule accordingly. The C-Bucs have been given until two weeks from today to finalize and announce details of their Futures League team.

“Question, ma'am?”

“Is it known yet whether the C-Bucs will allow males on their D-team, or will it continue to be female-only?”

“We don't know for sure, but my office has been informed that the issue is being given serious consideration. While males would never be called up to the C-Bucs, they could be used as trade pieces to obtain females who could. It's a matter that is entirely up to the C-Bucs front office, so I would suggest your direct your questions regarding that issue to Ms. Inviere and her cohorts.

“Anyway, those are the two new teams for this season. As there are no teams leaving the league, this puts us back at our original number of ten teams. Initially, we planned to return to the conference play that was used in the inaugural season, however after discussion we have decided to not split the league into conferences. Instead, we will play a nine-game, nine-week round-robin format without bye weeks, starting concurrently with the Elite League season.”

“Commissioner, the league has traditionally played a less demanding schedule then the Elite League to account for new players not being ready for the rigors of an Elite League season. Is this no longer a concern?”

“That is a very good question, and one that was discussed at length in offseason meetings. The consensus of the committees who considered the matter is that our previous schedules were taking it too easy on prospects, leaving them unprepared for those rigors of the Elite League schedule. It was the unanimous vote of the Competition Committee, affirmed by my office, that a tougher schedule was necessary. One thing that was considered is this decision is that the college season is already the same length as, or in some cases longer than, the Elite League season, especially with the GCAA's new galactic playoff system. So players who enter the Futures League from college are usually already acclimated to a relatively long season, and the concern of the Competition Committee was that we were actually undoing that acclimation and potentially leaving many players who would otherwise be called up unsuited for that. Our goal here is to make sure that our players are ready for the Elite League, and this is one way to do that.

“If there are no further questions, I'll move on to our other big change for this year. For the past five years, we have used a consolation bracket in our playoffs to ensure that every player had the opportunity to gain valuable playoff experience. This, to put it mildly, was an abject failure. We received a flood of complaints about it from fans and players alike every season, most of whom saw no point in making these teams drag their way through two meaningless games. And they did indeed drag their way through the games, because the quality of play in those games was absolutely horrible.”

“Is it true that that was why your hand was in a cast at the Final last year?”

Marius chuckled. “Yes, it was. I fully admit that in watching the final consolation games the day before, I was so incensed by the complete lack of quality play that I punched my wall twice. The first punch left a hole the wall. The second punch hit a stud and instantly broke my hand. I learned two lessons right then and there: one, don't punch the wall, and two, the consolation bracket would never work in the long term. Even though we tried to revive it with sponsors and prize money, it just didn't work.

“As a result, I worked long and hard with the league office to develop a new playoff system. I wanted a system that would retain the ability of all teams to participate, keeping the opportunity open for all players to gain playoff experience. But at the same time I wanted every game to mean something, while still ensuring that regular-season performance was important. I believe the system I am about to present accomplishes all three of those objectives.

“The new playoff system will last four weeks, beginning the week after the end of the regular season and ending with the Futures Cup Final, on its traditional date of the same day as the Galactic Cup Final. In keeping with the previous issue that I discussed, the off week between the regular season and playoffs has been eliminated. However, teams can still earn that week off, or even the next week as well. The way that this will work is that the fifth through tenth seeds will begin playoff action in the first round. The winners of those three games will advance to the second round, where they will face the second, third, and fourth seeds, who will have received first-round byes. The winners of those three games will advance to the semifinals, where the number one seed, having received a bye through the first and second rounds, will join them. The lowest remaining seed will play number one, with the other two playing each other. Two winners will emerge from the semifinals, and those teams will face each other in the Futures Cup Final eight hours before the Galactic Cup Final at Euceron Stadium.

“Are there any questions about this format?”

“Commish, is there any concern that the Cup could be devalued or tarnished by allowing even the last-place team a chance at it?”

“That was discussed, and we felt that a tenth-place team that wins it all will have earned it. For one, they have to play more games than a top-four team to pull it off, and for another, a tenth seed that reaches the second round or semis would always be the lowest seed remaining and thus would always have to beat the second seed or top seed respectively to advance. There is of course the old “any given game day” adage, but if a last-place team can pull off four straight upsets, including of the top two teams in the league, then it is my opinion that they will have earned the right to call themselves champions, and there would be no tarnishing of the Futures Cup in that situation.”

“Are there any kind of consolation games in this format? Even a third-place game?”

“None whatsoever. Recall that one of the goals of this format was to eliminate meaningless games. A consolation game is exactly that. The subject of a third-place game received more consideration, but ultimately it was decided that it did not make sense on its own. The feeling was that a third-place game only matters in competitions where third place actually carries significance, such as the Galactic Games. In limmie, it generally does not.”

“Do you believe that the top seed will be adversely affected by being off for two consecutive weeks?”

“It's possible, but we believe that a truly great team will perform as such regardless of the circumstances. If the top seed loses because of having two weeks off, then it could be argued that they were not worthy of the top seed. And that's an argument that I personally would tend to agree with.

“If there are no further questions, then I will bring this press conference to an end by transmitting the schedule to your datapads. As a reminder, the name of the Hapes affiliate remains undetermined, and so the schedule contains placeholders for them. The proper name of that team will be substituted once it is known. Good night, and I look forward to seeing our Week 1 action in just two months.”

---

278 Limmie Futures League Schedule

Week 1
Eriadu Thunder at Concordia Crusaders
Byblos Red Wings at Druckenwell Marksmen
Garqi Gunners at Commenor Gundarks
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Corellia Rebels
Hapes affiliate (TBD) at Thyferra Force

Week 2
Commenor Gundarks at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Hapes affiliate (TBD) at Byblos Red Wings
Eriadu Thunder at Corellia Rebels
Thyferra Force at Garqi Gunners
Druckenwell Marksmen at Concordia Crusaders

Week 3
Corellia Rebels at Concordia Crusaders
Commenor Gundarks at Hapes affiliate (TBD)
Garqi Gunners at Byblos Red Wings
Druckenwell Marksmen at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Eriadu Thunder at Thyferra Force

Week 4
Hapes affiliate (TBD) at Garqi Gunners
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Eriadu Thunder
Thyferra Force at Druckenwell Marksmen
Corellia Rebels at Commenor Gundarks
Concordia Crusaders at Byblos Red Wings

Week 5
Druckenwell Marksmen at Eriadu Thunder
Concordia Crusaders at Commenor Gundarks
Garqi Gunners at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Thyferra Force at Byblos Red Wings
Corellia Rebels at Hapes affiliate (TBD)

Week 6
Corellia Rebels at Druckenwell Marksmen
Commenor Gundarks at Byblos Red Wings
Concordia Crusaders at Hapes affiliate (TBD)
Eriadu Thunder at Garqi Gunners
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Thyferra Force

Week 7
Hapes affiliate (TBD) at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Thyferra Force at Corellia Rebels
Commenor Gundarks at Druckenwell Marksmen
Concordia Crusaders at Garqi Gunners
Byblos Red Wings at Eriadu Thunder

Week 8
Commenor Gundarks at Eriadu Thunder
Garqi Gunners at Corellia Rebels
Byblos Red Wings at Tatooine Sandskimmers
Concordia Crusaders at Thyferra Force
Druckenwell Marksmen at Hapes affiliate (TBD)

Week 9
Thyferra Force at Commenor Gundarks
Byblos Red Wings at Corellia Rebels
Garqi Gunners at Druckenwell Marksmen
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Concordia Crusaders
Hapes affiliate (TBD) at Eriadu Thunder

TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Vehn Rebecca_Daniels Tim Battershell Runjedirun Jedi Gunny Polydroxol

 

IC: Romo Crowley
Monarchs’ War Room, Agamar
278 Elite League Entry Draft



The draft had not gone exactly as Romo had planned it out. Of course, going into it, he thought they would only have two selections with which to fill his two holey line ups. Setarcos fixed that by cementing a deal with the Storm, giving them three more picks to help patch things up.

Things started out just fine, picking up their top offensive prospect in Rhonda Gabor, but then it was all downhill from there. Their top three defensive choices were swept up before they got to their second pick. Lena Roselli was snatched up by the Starkillers one pick ahead of Rhonda, the Smugglers took Zelena Wiles three picks later, and just before the Monarchs’ second pick the Storm stole their top defensive prospect, Quinlyn Zha’rel.

Meanwhile, their offensive plan did not go to script either. Their number two, Laura Cellen, came off the board as the Senators second first round selection. Landra was number three on their list, but number four, Victoria Duchamp, was once again snagged by the Smugglers just before the Monarchs had a chance.

Their third round consisted of two players recommended by current Monarchs. Ozzie, always a devout follower of his alma mater, suggested the CSU defensive back Ryan Barlen. The flashy back was practically a blackhole for the Ice Cats, intercepting the bolo anytime it came on his side of the pitch. One of last season’s midfield acquisitions, Vexa Jocle, pointed out that Elsa Sarnac was not only a good bolo player but also an accomplished acrobat.

As the last selection was announced Romo looked down at his roster. Based on the scheme he was planning on running this season, he was missing a keeper, a back, and a forward. Now he needed to rely on his partner in crime, Setarcos, to pull off some GM magic.

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

IC: Setarcos Rhemes
GM’s Office, Monarchs Stadium
One week after The Civil War with Loronar

“Absolutely… I completely understand… The opportunity is truly a unique one… Right… Alright, I’ll get the paperwork over to your agent ASAP… Can’t wait to see you next week before The Fight with Byblos.”

Setarcos disconnected from his call and turned his attention back to Romo and Uda, who were sitting across his desk from him. “We’ve got our final piece. Maggie Adams is coming back from the Mercs.”

“How did you accomplish that?” Romo asked, “I thought she wanted more time and the players’ association has a hard contract set for veteran players.”

“They do,” Uda confirmed, “Unless there was a meeting that I missed.”

The GM just shook his head, “No, you’re both correct. She wanted six years, but when I mentioned the players’ association and the prospect of having partial ownership of the team that drafted her out of college practically begged me for the four year contract.” Setarcos looked over the datapad that lay before him. Romo had made his final decisions on who would be going to the Red Wings. His eyes grew as large as corellian stock freighters when they fell upon one name, “Are you frakking kidding me?”

Before Romo could answer the doors to Setarcos’s office flew open, “BYBLOS?!? YOU’RE SENDING ME TO THE FUTURES LEAGUE?!?” Abe Cynour’s stormy entrance confirmed the accuracy of roster lying on his desk. “HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO THIS? I’M PARTIAL OWNER OF THIS TEAM!”

“That maybe the case Abe,” Romo responded calmly, “But the owners don’t set the roster, I do.”

“THE REST OF THE PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION WON’T STAND FOR THIS!” Abe continued to fume.

“Actually Abe,” Uda was the one to speak up now, “The Association voted to remove you from the rolls. They feel that your behavior is not becoming of a Limmie Professional and will not revisit the issue until your next contract negotiation.”

“NOT BECOMING OF A LIMMIE PROFESSIONAL?!?”

Setarcos had heard enough, “This is,” he said motioning towards the goalkeeper, “This is the exact behavior that we’re talking about. Storming into my office, screaming your head off, looking like you’re about to start smacking us around. This is what is going to cost you your career. If you don’t straighten your attitude out you’re going to spend the rest of your time playing limmie for some unknown team on the very edge of the galaxy.” Setarcos paused for only a breath and re-started again before anyone in the room could get a word in edgewise, “Now get your butt out my office before I have security remove you.”

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

IC: Romo Crowley
Adrimar Areana, Byblos
The Fight with Byblos, 29-18

With the addition of Maggie Adams, Romo had been able to play with the lineup card a little bit more then he had during The Civil War with Loronar. By half time he pulled his three midfielders and put in Jocle and Dare, along with swapping Drista Konnenwirth in for Lana Ping, and adding Adams to the offensive complement. Seven forwards on the Red Wings side of the field.

On the right side of the field were Jaymes Nolan in the traditional half forward slot and Eli Rooth in the corner. Opposite of them were Ivaan Artor and Winnifred Aptos respectively. Smack in the middle of the offensive zone stood Rew Ileo, with Maggie Adams half way between him and midfield, and Vesper Lynd practically in the goalkeepers crease. The sheer amount of blue and gold jerseys on that half of the field completely dominated anything that Edu Ovando could conjure up.

When it was all said and done, Romo had a solid offensive plan to throw at the Blasters. For the first time since coming to the Monarchs, he had a set roster, no guessing or wondering, going into The Match. As he crossed the field to shake Julla Ehennifer’s hand he pulled her in so that he could speak to her in a whisper without any media picking them up. Quietly he whispered, “If your team doesn’t make a playoff run this season, it will be the last thing you do for this organization.”

As he pulled back from her he said, “Good luck Coach.” He smacked her back as they parted, flashing the holocams a big bright smile. A few weeks later the Monarchs, with a decisive 19-1 stomping of the Blasters, would complete their sweep of their sister organizations, a feat they had yet to accomplish.

This season was already starting to look good.

TAG: No one

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• After being courted by multiple teams, top goalkeeper prospect Mort signs with Ralltiir Starkillers
• Ralltiir also lands the Knott twins (MF) out of Agamar and homegirl Kat Stun (GK)
• Laqis Turnud (FB) and Ric Anderson (MF) sign contracts with Mercs
• Welnlesh (CB) signs with Senators
• Kerry Trieste: "If asked, I'd play in the All-Star Game as a Bakuran representative"
• Says she'd "absolutely" play if Kaitlyn Vehn and Tim Dodd were named to the Challenge Team, but decision is up to Miners organization in the end

TAG: Bardan_Jusik Jedi Gunny Runjedirun Tim Battershell Vehn

 

Daily College Updates:

• Bak10 announces the formation of a player's council to speak for limmie athletes and bring issues important to them to the League
• Move is widely viewed as a way to forestall the unionization movement
• First topic to be discussed is continuing medical care after end of collegiate career
• Commissioner Trieste said she believes that dialogue will help create a better system
• Rumblings of a move by power conferences (Bak10, S16, SEC, KAAC, Big 20) to gain autonomy from GCAA.
• CAA President: "This move would be a disaster for smaller schools. It is a perfect example of richer schools getting richer."

TAG: Trieste

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Senators Practice

Damn it felt good to hit someone, Christine thought as she unloaded upon Anya Amasova during the full-team scrimmage. Last season she hadn’t done enough of that to really satisfy her craving, and now she was hungrier than ever to make a few opponents feel the pain. The ball didn’t pop loose, as Amasova held onto it well, but Christine would have been all over here had this not been a somewhat-loose scrimmage. The hit hadn’t even been that hard; it was more of a rough shove than a hard hit. The coaches didn’t want injuries if possible at this point. That was the last thing they needed.

The whistle blew, and Coach Carelle came onto the field. “Good!” he yelled at them. “We’re going to take a ten minute break and then get back to it! Cooler is over here,” he said, pointing to it.

Christine extended a hand down to Amasova. “You’re lucky I didn’t really unload on you,” she said to the Hapan forward.

“I could have taken it,” Amasova said in her accented voice. “You don’t scare me.”

“Well, you’re not going to have half backs easing up on you come season,” Christine pointed out.

“Don’t worry, I will be ready,” Anya said before walking away. Christine joined her teammates over at the cooler, and took a long cool sip of water. It felt good to cleanse her palette after working this hard in practice. She felt very conditioned, something she hadn’t had last season when the team broke down. This team was going to be different . . . and it was her team. She hadn’t forgotten the importance of the ‘C’ that was going to be stitched on her uniform, or what Gark S’rily had told her about it. It was a major honor, but also a huge responsibility. And she had to deliver this year.

She had worked to foster relations with all of her teammates this training camp. Although it had been hard to keep track of both her individual effort and those of the other 29 players on the roster, she had somehow done it. Being captain meant she had to know everyone by name, had to understand their tendencies, had to know who they were and why they were here. It had taken a long time, to be honest; many of the newer players had been harder to crack, since they were rookies and some liked to keep to themselves. Deluxx was a quiet giant; the Weequay preferred to play rather than speak, and when he did speak it was short bursts with very little information. But the man could play, and Christine was secretly glad that she didn’t have to face off against him.

In practice, she had often faced off against Maximus Qorbus. It had been the talk of camp, especially for the newer players. Qorbus had a Helmsman award and a Numifolis on his mantle at home; Christine was the three-time All-Star. Sometimes when they squared off against each other, other activity stopped as players turned their heads to watch the matchup. Both players had gotten in their licks; Qorbus had scored some nifty goals around Christine’s air tight defense, but sometimes she was able to chop the ball out of his hands or completely shut him down in a 1-on-1 scenario. And out of it they had gained a major respect for the other, realizing that these battles meant nothing in terms of how camp progressed, but would keep both of them sharp and on their toes. If one came up with something new, the other would have to work to counter it. It was the ultimate arms race, and no doubt the coaches were watching it closely to see if they could help teach the younger players how to fight, how to scrap for the ball. For rookies like Vex Blooker and Rickard Herman at corner back, and even for veterans like Syra Kuna and Gemma Sal-Solo at the corner forward spots, this was invaluable experience. Christine worked closely with her positional group to drill items into their head; having Kara Milovy as a second veteran corner helped when dealing with the young rookies in Blooker, Herman, and Deluxx. Ugdulo Borr had some things to say every now and then, but it was obvious to Kero Imboll, the positional coach, that Christine had done her work as captain. She had taken over the conversation and was driving it forwards. She had worked with the half backs too, teaming up with former Salbukk winner Jenna Leed to mentor the younger half backs like Patricia Meter and Jamee Meels. That had been a problem position the prior season, and it was in Christine’s best interest to get them back up to snuff. She knew whoever was in goal, whether it was Zeke Barbosa, Jam Tarpals, or Ziva Kender, would appreciate the extra effort on defense.

And then there were her relations with Ava Killenger. Her roommate had of course been frosty at first due to Christine’s actions at the All-Star Game, but gradually those barriers had been torn down. Now they were back on good terms again, and that took a heavy burden off of Christine’s shoulders. She had played against Ava several times, usually dominating her, but that had been the case against almost everyone. Qorbus sometimes had her number, and every now and then Sal-Solo and Kuna would get her, but on the overall Christine knew that she hadn’t felt this good in a long time. She was ready to do her part in breaking the losing skid she was on in regular season games. 13 times in a row she had played and had lost. That was unacceptable. Now she had to make sure this team wouldn’t allow that slide to go any farther. The win over Alsakan was nice, yes, but a lot had been needed afterwards to fix mistakes. She had seen the forwards struggle with the playbook, and had sometimes made it harder with her defense. But they had gotten better with time; she was especially impressed with how Ava was improving. The second-year forward was making great strides in playing off the ball. Now Qorbus wasn’t going to be the only forward on offense. If he got covered, the ball would go out to someone else. The ball was going to keep moving, and players wouldn’t stay in one spot for too long. This was an offense of motion, a spread offense that had once helped the Senators to glory. And now they would look to it again in order to lift a stagnant scoring attack that hadn’t scared anyone for a long time. It had been time for a change, and change had certainly occurred.

Discipline had been another major factor for this team. How they could work under stress was of particular interest for the coaches, and how they responded to tough spots was going to be crucial during the season. Chemistry was hard to come by on a team with as much turnover as the Senators had experienced; with Christine’s personal struggles during the past year, that had made it even harder to connect with her teammates. But they had all made progress. Perhaps they weren’t quite as close-knit as other teams in the league that had been playing together for many years, but they had gone quite a ways in that direction in about a month. What they needed now was confidence in their abilities.

“Looking sharp out there,” Ava commented to her roommate. “You seem as if your hair’s on fire.”

“Losing a lot of games does that. The sense of urgency is there,” Christine replied. “And I’m sick of losing.”

“I know,” Ava said. “All too well. You think we’re ready for Euceron?”

“We’ll find out when we get there,” Christine said. “If you’re asking me for a guarantee, Ava, I’m the wrong person to ask. All we can do is all we can do. This is still a young team. We have a lot to work on, and not a hell of a lot of time to improve before the season. No one will expect us to do well.”

“Do you finally believe in this team?” Ava asked.

“I don’t know,” the captain said. “I’ll wait and see how we do against Euceron before I pass any judgments. This is my team, but I’m still not quite sure what I’m going to see out there. Lots of moving pieces this offseason, and frankly I don’t know what to make of it all. Can we win? Yes. But it’s not going to be easy. We have a lot to get done if we want to show up this season and at least be competitive.”
“Can’t be any worse than last year.”

“But I’m not going to take that as improvement. I need to see this team compete. Because it’s time we finally contend for something other than last place and a first overall draft pick. I was brought in here to be the next Jerek Deter, and it’s obvious that I’m not like him. I have to carve out my own legacy here, and that starts now. What it means is that we’re going to have to fight for every loose ball, contend every shot, score every goal. Can’t settle for second place again.”

“You know, I think you’ve changed. Grown up,” Ava said.

Christine nodded. She certainly had. Even though she was fairly mature to begin with, the events of the prior offseason had hung over her all year like a pall, and she had worked so hard to get past those demons. And now was her chance to prove that those transgressions were behind her. This was a brand new Christine Gamble.

The last drill for the day was another blocking sled workout. Christine hit the sled hard, and her team moved the thing like it didn’t weigh anything. They had power, they had guts, and most of all they believed they could move the sled. That had been lacking a month earlier. This chemistry was working. It needed improvements in some areas, but confidence was bred with time and success. And this was as much as Christine knew she could have hoped for coming out of camp.

When the final whistle blew its shrill tone, she stopped what she was doing and looked to the sidelines. Gark S’rily had come out with the coaches onto the field, and he had a mic in his hands so that those in the back could hear him. “Good work,” the Bothan said. “That’s a wrap for today. I’ve been talking with the coaches, and we’re asking you all to pack up as soon as you’re done showering. Report to the shuttle in an hour.”

The shuttle? Christine was confused. Why would they need to go to the team shuttle? That meant that they were going somewhere . . . but where?

“What for?” Max asked. He was close enough to the coaches to be able to ask them without yelling from across the field.

“I’ve beaten you all to the point where you probably all hate my guts,” Gark said. A few players nodded. “But I want you all to know that you’ve worked really hard this camp; I am impressed. You’ve done everything asked of you, and as a young team with not much direction coming in, that’s all I could have ever hoped for. So it’s time that I reward the team. Get out your suntan lotion, because we’re headed to Wroona.”

The players cheered. It was so loud that it was almost like the blaring music that had sometimes been used to toughen up their senses. Christine joined in; she liked going to Wroona.

When the cheering died down, the Bothan continued his speech. “Now, we’re not going to stop working, even if we are technically on vacation. You’ll still be expected to hit the workouts as hard as you do here, if not harder. If we see too many slackers, then we’ll come right back and turn up the heat in here and make it miserable. That’s my offer here. Take it or leave it.”

It was obvious that the players were going to take it. They showered quickly and were all to the shuttle within fifty minutes. Gark was surprised to see them all there so quickly, but the players began to board when the ramp descended. Christine was one of the first on, and she claimed her usual bunk.

“I can’t believe we’re actually headed to Wroona. Didn’t think we were going to get there this year,” Ava commented as she put her bag on a nearby bunk.

“Hey, I’ll take it,” Christine replied back.

“What do you do there?” Laura Cellen asked her bunkmate, Ynisse Zalt.

“Enjoy the scenery,” the Twi’lek forward said.

“You know what would be really cool?” Rainy Frantsen asked. “We should totally hit the beach as soon as we get there. Take pictures, I don’t care, just enjoy the fun for a night.”

“You gals should definitely make a swimsuit calendar,” Rickard Herman wisecracked. The Korun rookie was known for speaking his mind when he felt like it.



“I’m sure that would sell well.” Likely he was joking, but it got someone thinking, and by the middle of the voyage, it was determined that such a calendar would be made just for fun. Even if it was a strange idea, they just wanted to have a little fun. Besides, it was a beach, and they wanted to flaunt their finer features. Gark thought it was a little unorthodox, but decided not to interfere if his players wanted to make one. A shoot day was set up, and the featured players rounded up. Christine found herself on the list along with Anya, Patricia, Ava, Leia Adama, Laura Cellen, and some of the other players, and just had to laugh at it. That was going to make this trip even more interesting.

They got to Wroona late in the day there, and checked into the usual resort by the sea. Christine flopped down on the bed like she had missed it for a long time, and spent twenty minutes staring at the ceiling. Ava told her that she was weird for being happy doing absolutely nothing like that, but Christine didn’t care. They had earned the Wroona trip back, at least for now.

The next day was the shoot. Hiring a photographer in town for the day, the calendar was assembled. Christine thought the whole experience, while a little silly, was definitely a different alternative to working out in training camp. She noted the male players hanging around the shoot, as well as a few resort guests who were transfixed by all the beautiful women. She had a lot of fun posing for the camera; undoubtedly she had a lot of male fans around the galaxy, and this calendar would probably sell well.

When the calendar was partially shot, Christine went up to Herman and needled him to start the male equivalent to the calendar. Herman just shook his head and chuckled. “Ya know, I’m not one for that sort of thing,” he said.

“Oh come on, if you’re going to have one of these calendars up on the wall, us women might as well have one of all you hot guys.”

“You want Korpus to pose for one? I don’t think so,” Herman asked. Haybius Korpus was a Quarren half back on the team.

“I’m sure you could get enough to do one,” Christine said with a sly grin. “Come on, you know you want to.”

“I could do a whole calendar of just me being myself,” Herman said confidently. “The ladies would love to see my killer abs.”

“You’ve got an ego issue, rookie.”

“Hey, if I can get under the skin of a few opposing forwards, then I’ve done my job. And that’s what my job is; to shut ‘em down and shut ‘em up.” He reached out with his fist and they fist bumped. “Isn’t that right, Cap?”

“Damn right, rookie,” Christine said. “Damn well right.”

When camp ended at the end of the week, the Coruscant Senators were about as ready as any team in their position going into the season. And Christine knew that she was at the helm of it, at least on the field. This was her team, and she had to lead them to glory this season. This was their chance to break out of their two-season-long funk and get back to prominence. And that all started against Euceron.

TAG: No One

 

IC: Kaitlyn Vehn
New Vertica, Nar Shaddaa

​

She didn’t want to talk to anyone about the ridiculous showing by the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers in their friendly tilt against the Bakura Miners. She knew that the Smugglers were the second best team in the league, right now, on paper. That bothered her. That made her want to burn the Vertical City to the very ground. Well, maybe not the entire city, but the portions of it that were causing her troubles right now as mayor.

Kaitlyn rubbed her temples. She was absolutely exhausted. Running a professional limmie squad and running the entire Smuggler’s Moon was causing her consider that maybe she bit off more than she could chew. The work load was unfathomable. The personalities, whether the coaches that had a guiding hand in the Smugglers operations or the aides and lobbyists who worked hard to get her to take a position that favored their side, were crushing her like nothing else. She couldn’t go on like this.
Something had to give. Decisions had to be made.

“Miss Vehn, the Corellian Sector is rioting, what do you want me to do?” the Chief of the VCPD asked.

So they didn’t like the heavy police presence in their neighborhood. She knew a heavier police presence in the poorer neighborhoods wasn’t going to win her any support. Too many pushers, too many hookers, and just too many problems. Too bad. That kind of rabble stopped causing trouble today.

Kaitlyn could see the fires of inequality roiling through that portion of the city from her towering building that overlooked Six Boroughs and the nicer end of the Smuggler’s Moon. The flames reflected in her eyes, danced on the windows, burned her very soul. This was it. This was her moment to either destroy her legacy or lay the foundation for something great. No, she needed to end this right away. She needed to put these people in their place. They had to learn. And learn they would.

“Muster your men, commander. Arrest the trouble makers if you have to. Non-lethal weaponry should be sufficient. I’m trusting you to handle this problem. Use your discretion,” Kaitlyn said as she folded her arms behind her back.

“What if the riots turn violent?” the commander asked.

Kaitlyn closed her eyes. That question she’d hoped to avoid had just been asked. No there could be no avoiding it now. There could be no avoiding what consequences would arise from such a path. She didn’t want to put them down violently. She didn’t want to be the woman who had tamed Nar Shaddaa with blood on her hands. She didn’t—

“Madam mayor, please, what if the riots turn violent!” the commander urged.

She opened her eyes. A single tear fell down her cheek.

“Respond in kind, commander,” Kaitlyn said and could hardly believe she had uttered those words. “Show no mercy, give no quarter.”

“Madam mayor isn’t that a bit extreme?” the commander asked taken aback.

“Not anymore extreme than me finding someone else who can follow my orders,” Kaitlyn sternly said.

The message had gotten across.

“As you wish, madam mayor,” the commander of the VCPD said before slipping into the dark night.

Kaitlyn wiped the lone tear from the end of her chin where it had dribbled down her face and nearly fell to the carpeted floor far below. Below she could see the long columns of police officers making their way toward the rebellious sectors of the Smuggler’s Moon. Behind her, on her desk, her datapad chirped and vibrated as complaints came in to her personal line from all around the city, from the Hutt clans on Nal Hutta, from the RTO, from the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers. How did it come to this? How did it come to this point in her life?

Maker, what have I done? Kaitlyn thought.


How she loved this city.

How she loved the people.

How she regretted what she had to do in order to bring about peace and security for those who needed it the most.

For people she didn’t even know.

For a middle class salaryman like Victor Trubaan.

For a young girl who lost her way to prostitution like Shelly Oneida.

For a corrupt cop who once had a heart of gold like Ken Wattsone.

TBC.....

OOC: Yes there will actually be ties to the Smugglers in this story.

 

IC: May Trieste
Bakura Gardens, Salis D’aar, Bakura



May had spent a lot of her life watching Smuggler games. It had been her father’s way of keeping the peace at Tesserone. After all, for a good part of their marriage May’s mother had owned the Smugglers from the early 260s through 274. Those had been good years for the franchise, glory years with Tover Micjaa in his first tour of duty and Luc Everoux--a being who was underappreciated in the annals of the Elite League with his two championships. These were names that May didn’t just know by reputation--she knew them as beings. They had sat in her parents’ living room before the season, talking about what they wanted to do, what kind of system they wanted to run, what players they wanted to sign or let go.

It was hard not to be a Smugglers fan when you were that close to the game. What she’d told Tunross was true: the she knew the old Six Boroughs, now just a memory, better than Bakura Gardens. It had not been a grand stadium--it had been a workhorse. It had its dents, rust, grime, permacrete worn down by millions of feet, and its pride. It had been everything that Nar Shaddaa stood for: hard-nosed, gritty, a place that any being from another world feared. It had been a den of more smugglers than those on the field. It had stood precariously close to the humid homeworld of the Hutts, so close you could almost smell the stench from the stands. It had stood on a moon, not a planet, the black Ewok of the Elite League.

And yet, even though May could still walk the corridors of the old Six Boroughs in her mind as surely as if the Old Lady were still there, the Smugglers had never truly been her team. She had been happy every time they won--more than happy, in fact--but after the Smugglers game her father and her would sit down together, in a hotel room or in hyperspace on the way home, and watched the Miners game from earlier in the day, recorded.

“Now we’re going to see some real limmie,” Oisin told his daughter.

Together, far from the hundreds of thousands of fans that literally rocked the foundations of Six Boroughs (May knew this was no exaggeration--she’d felt the stands sway with the Crew’s fervor when they got going during their favorite song), father and daughter would sit side by side and watch a team that was lightyears away play their game. Through this, May felt a bond to a world she visited at best once a year.

The 260s were not the greatest years for the Miners either. Those had been years of disappointment, sometimes outright heartbreak as an incredible season got vaporized in the course of one playoff game. Those games were hard. A young May would slouch on the sofa, dejected.

“The Miners don’t stay down for too long,” Oisin would say, patting his daughter affectionately on the head, “They’ll come back.”

And they had come back. Not quickly, but they did. The 270s weren’t done yet, but they had already been good to the Miners. Oh so good. They had been good to the Smugglers too. The last two champions going at each other in their annual rivalry throwdown at the Gardens.

This was the family game for May. There was the other “family game,” the Noble House game that was arranged for every Trieste who could make it, and that was fun...but this was the real family game. The Black & Blue Battle were the two sides of her heritage duking it out on the sports field. To stand on the sidelines, not sit in a box, and be part of one of those teams, to be part of the Miners no less, to wear a field pass with her name on it...this was the feeling that May had yet to find since coming to Bakura. She felt like she belonged her. Even in this moment her scars didn’t matter.

As it was a preseason game, the teams were playing hard, but not with their usual intensity. May had watched enough of The Games of Rivals to know what intense was. This was not that. This was two teams who had a long heritage of mutual respect mingled with mutual hate who were going at it against each other. This was the game of her childhood, where it had seemed that her life was being decided. Was Trieste ascendant or Vehn triumphant?

At the end of the game, May looked up into the box level of the Gardens, at the middle of the field. She saw her father, standing there. Even at the distance she could see her was smiling. He gave her a thumbs up. May gave him one back.

For two old Miner fans who lived constantly in the shadow of the Smugglers, it was all they needed to do.

---

“Here you go, you earned this,” Falene said, handing May a shot glass with whiskey in it as the team decompressed after the game and before the press came in for locker room interviews.

“I thought the whiskey got drunk on the field in salute to the other team?” May asked as she took the glass.

“We keep a bottle in here just in case,” Falene said, “Win or lose, we still booze.”

“Only on Bakura,” May laughed, “But seriously, there were barely any injuries in this game. I didn’t do that much.”

“You’re a Miner through and through now. When you’re a Miner, you always deserve a drink,” Falene said, patting her cousin on the back before she moved off.

Falene looked around the home locker room with players like Glencross, Deenever, Wizmark, Trieste, Comstock, Alesh, Pic, and Penn. Legends in their own right and legends in the making. She knocked back the Bakuran whiskey and sighed.

She was home.

---

Field, Bakura Gardens, Salis D’aar, Bakura
One week later

The anticipation was almost more than May could bear.

This was not her day. It belonged to those around her, but she still clung to the fringe of it, like so many millions of Bakurans. The wait had not been as long as the last time, but the road had been no less tough. In fact, it had been harder. They had lived and died with each play and dared to hope. Now their hope had been rewarded.

May watched as the 277 Galactic Cup Champions banner, gold lettering on dark blue field, slowly started to rise from the grass up into the rafters. The players from last year’s team had their rings--Aron Rodders had come back specifically to get his--and they stood at midfield watching the banner ascend to take its place next to 275.

Had anyone said anything to May, she would have been unable to speak. Her heart was in her throat as she watched this commemoration of last season take its place in the most hallowed real estate of Bakura Gardens.

That banner had only been two plays away, two more astounding moves by Johnny Limmie, from being lifted all the way across the galaxy. That was what made this championship more special than the one against the Rebels, where the Miners had trounced their way through the Corellian defense. That was what made May so emotional as she stood there on the sidelines, her neck tilting up and up as the banner floated higher and higher. She lightly brushed off the start of a tear from the corner of one eye.

Next to her, Han Tunross had his third Galactic Cup championship ring for patching up players and getting them back on the field and ready to play. This season, that would be her job too. No Galactic Cup was ever won cleanly. It was won with blood and pain. If the Miners were going to do it again, do the impossible, they were going to need May’s help to keep them in fighting form.

That banner might proclaim the greatness of the 277 Miners, but it formed a target on the back of the 278 Miners. May was going to have to patch up the blaster burns if she was going to stand and watch this scene again in a year.

TAG: Bardan_Jusik Rebecca_Daniels Vehn

 

IC: Ty Allin

There was no time to rest up after our trip to Ylesia. We had a game against the most unknown team in the league the Carratos Pirates. Trey and his new assistant Sunlua Zan had done their homework finding game tape from their most recent match ups and even some footage of the three players with PLL experience playing with their respective PLL teams. We spent several hours the morning after returning from Ylesia as a defensive unit watching offensive plays Trey and Zan deemed worthy of our viewing.

Just as we were finally about to hit the field for practice that afternoon Trey pulled me aside. “I’ve got some news,” he said.

It was hard to read Trey during the season. Especially at times like this when he was so focused on Limmie and how to win an upcoming game. I didn’t let his worried tone bother me. “What’s that?” I asked lightheartedly.

“I just got word the Vigo’s signed Mort,” he said plainly.

“The hold out keeper,” great I thought inwardly. He had been the top rated keeper in the draft and our squad could definitely use better, but you couldn’t start a rookie who signed after camp started, a rookie who signed after the only pre-season match up. Besides with a snub like that Teaspoon would walk. She would have every right to do so. She may not be the best keeper in the league; still she had earned a start this season.

“That’s the one,” Trey confirmed. “He’ll be here tomorrow morning. I need you to help me break the news to the rest of the defense. There are going to be a lot of mixed emotions about this sign.”

“Teaspoon is a Wookiee, you tell her,” I began.

“Better she hears it from us than from HSN when she gets home tonight,” Trey reminded me. “Go gather the defense, I’ll make an announcement.”

I rounded up my teammates and we assembled on the sideline. The offense and midfielders continued with mid-day drills. “I have an important announcement,” Trey told us all. “Mort has signed with the Starkillers and will report to practice tomorrow.” He looked towards Kent and Teaspoon. “Nothing changes this week. Teaspoon will start against the Pirates. As you know though anything can change throughout the season, if you want to keep your spot on this roster you play to win.”

Teaspoon roared that she had nothing to worry about. Kent chimed in saying he didn’t expect to be dumping sand out of his shoes anytime soon either. This new guy was going to have to break the egos of our current keepers if he didn’t want to have to go sweat it out under two suns. When we could vets like Dev, Harc and I discussed it quietly during water breaks. We all agreed that while we really liked Teaspoon. She had an excellent personality and a real competitive spirit we had to give the new guy chance tomorrow. Too many balls got past her to bring our defense to the level we needed to win play-off games. Yes, it was our job to keep as many balls as possible from getting to the goalie in the first place. We did our jobs. What we needed was a keeper back there who protected the net better. If Mort was our guy or not we didn’t know, we would have to wait and see.

Mort showed up the next morning as expected. He came to prove himself. In practice at least he showed real promise as a keeper. It was no wonder other squads had been fighting so hard to sign him. It was unfortunate he took so long to make a decision. By the end of the week we all found out he had secured a back-up position. For now, at least, Kent and Mort would hold spots on our bench. Until such a time that Teaspoon proved she was a solid starter or Mort saw some actual playing time to decide his fate.

---

Bankers Mansion Opening Day

An image of Martin Vigo on the field during the All Star game he hosted in 276 appeared on the jumbo screen on the bottom the years he lived 223 – 277 were printed. When the image appeared the crowd silenced with respect. In a line we walked onto the field. Lucie with a mic in hand took the lead, followed by her mother, Richard, Spencer, Tomas, Bat who carried Serene, Justyne who held hands with Zoey, Andres who carried Marty, and myself carrying T.J. “I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming out to celebrate opening day at Bankers Mansion Stadium,” Lucie began.

There was a roar of approval from the crowd. Once they settled Lucie continued. “As you all know we lost a great man at the end of last season. He was also my father,” Lucie passed the microphone to her mother.

“He was my husband,” Mrs. Vigo said taking the mic and passing it to Richard.

“He was my father,” Richard stated.

Justyne stepped forward and took the mic from her brother, “He was my father.”

She passed it on to Bat, “He was my father.”

Spencer took the mic from his brother. “He was my father,” he said before handing it on to Tomas.

"He was my father,” Tomas stated with unwavering voice.

He passed the microphone to Zoey, “He was my grandfather,” she said. She was supposed to step forward and give the microphone back to Lucie, but she was only 3 and 1/2. Discretely Justyne pushed her forward and Zoey took a step forward to Lucie who was on her way to retrieve the mic.

“My father would be excited today. Excited for the chance to see the Starkillers embark on the 278 season.” The crowd cheered. “Today and all season we ask that help us to celebrate his life by supporting this team he invested so much in.” Again the crowd answered with applause. “We also ask you to help support a campaign we have dedicated in his memory. The orange ribbons distributed at the gates on your way into the stadium today represent our pledge to help stop unnecessary violence. The Cambreille Security Force has committed to helping stop violence, but we can do more. Education of our youth on how to solve confrontations without violence is crucial. My family has already dedicated a generous sum. Whatever contributions you can give monetary or otherwise will be greatly appreciated. The program is planned to spread planet wide beyond the borders of Cabreille and benefit the entire planet of Ralltiir.”

“Now please join me in our crusade to move forward as a team and a planet.” A banner unraveled on cue from the mid-level rafters. It read Starkiller Strong. The crowd rose to its feet in support of their former owner and their team. Quickly I handed T.J to Spencer, Andres handed Marty to Mrs. Vigo, she took Zoey with her free hand and they headed towards the tunnel with Bat and Richard so they could make their way to the owner’s box. Lucie and Justyne headed towards their places on the sidelines. Tomas went to join the sideline workers and Andres and I ran just out of sight to where the rest of the team stood waiting to be introduced.

We had a few minutes while the lights dimmed, the dance team performed and moments of Starkiller history were shown on the jumbo screen. It was a show meant to get the fans energized. Something this home crowd always was, I loved playing on Ralltiir. I began to relax and soak up the atmosphere. I looked towards my supporting line-up, my fellow defenders. Jeffers and Roselli looked nervous. I remembered that I was the captain and swallowed my pride. So what if pre-game speeches were lame. There had to be something I could say to help motivate them. I gathered the entire defense within earshot.

“This is it,” I began. “The start of the ’78 season, let’s put our mark on it. Show the galaxy the Starkillers can be known for more than just a dynamic offense. We can play Limmie just as well as them,” I said giving a nod to our offense. “And a whole lot better than any other team in this Galaxy. Let’s prove that. Starting today, if you don’t prove it,” I said looking directly at Roselli and then towards Jeffers. “You’ll find yourself on the bench. We have good strong experienced back-ups hungry for all of our positions. Don’t let them get a taste.” Never hurt to throw out a little motivation. “Let’s do this.”

I finished just in time for coach to push us out the tunnel as they announced for the crowd to welcome their starting line-up to the field. I ran out of the tunnel in the lead of our defensive squad. Right behind Hovechar and Klick who didn’t even slow down for such formalities. I grabbed a full cup of water from Tomas and downed it before heading out to my position. I looked back towards Teaspoon. “Time to show ‘em what were made of,” I told her just before the ball was dropped into play.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

GM Post

What We Learned: Draft Edition

Somebody’s not telling us something. The Packers, Mercs, and Miners didn’t want to touch this draft? We’re blaming Zigby. That’s right--you may be on the staff now, but we’re watching you Zigby. Oh we’re watching you.

And if the Mercs and Monarchs new ownership models are indicative of things to come, at this rate by 280 the Elite League is going to be one big commune with everybody owning everything with new age crystal medical treatments and flowers in their hair. Once again, also Zigby’s fault.

And before we go any further, a reminder to any new readers out there: we are as snarky as a snarkagon (we’re not surprised you haven’t heard of it; it’s like the coolest animal ever--come over some time and we’ll show you the pictures we drew of it) in the column. You will likely want to write us letters.

By the way, please don’t write us letters. Write Zigby letters. Zigby deserves letters, because everything you want to complain about regarding this column is Zigby’s fault. Actually, anything you want to complain about, even if it’s not about this column, is also Zigby’s fault.

Agamar Packers – Trading your entire draft for two 275 ELL All-Star Game reserve players is a gutsy move. If this works out, the Packers’ scouting staff and Asyr Kre’fey are going to get some major bonuses this year.

Bakura Miners – Ooooooooooooh look at us. We’re so fancy here on Bakura. We drink tea with our pinkies sticking out. We’re not going to participate in the Draft even though we have lots of credits. Come, Jeeves--let us board our diamond-encrusted yacht pulled by legions of manservants!

Carratos Pirates - What are these words to the left of these other words we’re writing now? This is not a real thing. There is no limmie team on Carratos. Carratos is what our mothers make us eat at dinner before we have dessert. It’s not a planet in the Inner Rim and certainly not a planet with a limmie team.

Coruscant Senators – The Senators always keep their eyes on those Helmsman nominees and grab them out from under everyone else. With the top midfielder, 2nd and 4th ranked forwards, two Helmsman nominees, and two defenders including the fifth overall, we’d say the Senators did pretty darn fine.

Euceron Storm – The Storm joined the “279 or bust” movement by getting Rydonni Prime’s entire draft class for next year, but they still picked up the 4th and 7th ranked defenders. That ain’t bad for a team that needed an extra push at the end of last season.

Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – The rest of the Elite League should be grateful that the C-Bucs choose not to draft. Adanna Inviere and Meredith Chambers-Vayne would take the draft hall by storm. Could you imagine this team with a couple young, highly ranked players on their roster? That would definitely put them over the top--but not having them is just going to be a testament to their GM/head coach tandem when they do win it all.

Kuat Triforce - Leave it to the newbies to go and do something silly like take a Helmsman winner and a Helmsman nominee. Psst...Kuat: you’re supposed to emulate the other teams in the League and forget that the Helmsman is given to the best player in college.

Mando’ade Mercs – Aay’han Vhett takes the helm and proceeds to get out of the 278 draft with an eye for 279. You gotta love Mandalorians: bold is their middle name!...Actually, wait, no...we’re being told it’s flamethrower. That makes much more sense.

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – Not a flashy draft from the Smugglers, but then again the Smugglers love workhorses, not flash. Given that they’re offense is humming, taking the 4th ranked defender as part of their 1 forward, 2 defender draft makes sense.

Ralltiir Starkillers – The word on the street is that Ralltiir is doubling down on their defense. Taking the top ranked defender is a great way to do it. They also took some deep forwards in the draft, but then again this was a deep forward draft.

Rydonni Prime Monarchs – At this point we’re pretty sure that Setarcos Rhemes is just trying to employ all the limmie beat reporters in the galaxy by giving them work to do by having them figure out exactly who it is he takes with his third round picks every year. (And can we just mention 3-0 in their friendlies this year? Watch out.)

Ylesia Lightning – It’s obviously a huge deal the Lightning took Meeks. That they got her in the second round is really smart drafting by Mirik Chal. Also, seeing as they got the 3rd, 6th, and 9th ranked forwards, call us crazy, but we think that this may be a sign that she really likes threes...

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

 

Done in accordance with my partner in crime, Vehn

IC: Adanna Inviere
Office, Hapes Prime

There was only two options in the Elite League; to win, or to go home as a loser. Perfection was something that was always striven for, but very few teams ever got anywhere near the pinnacle of the sport, a perfect season. As she looked over the current roster, Adanna Inviere knew that her team wasn’t going to be perfect. They were not going to be the 10-1 Miners that had bulldozed the rest of the league on their way to a third dominant season in the past decade. She probably didn’t even have the helm of the second best team, the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers. Her longtime nemesis team had arguably the greatest regular season any team could possibly have, lighting up the scoreboard and shutting opponents down on defense. If it hadn’t been for an overachieving Mercs squad winning that Semifinal game, and what a nasty game that had been, the Smugglers would have taken their road show to Kashyyyk to face off against the Miners. The two best teams of the past five years, if not further back than that, slugging it out. And that wasn’t taking anything from the team from Mandalore; they had played their best game of the season there. But the Smugglers had been the better team on paper.

So that led to what Adanna was thinking of now. Third the prior season was the Ralltiir Starkillers. Everyone forgot what they had accomplished during the regular season due to the complete dominance of Camille Montes during the Conference Semifinal game, a game the Hapan GM remembered very fondly. But what the Starkillers had done had been impressive despite the early playoff exit; they had built an offensive machine that, if things had gone a little better over the second half of the season, likely could have gone perfect. Their defense had some holes in it, sure, but they had done some things to rectify that in the Draft. Lena Roselli, a top prospect from the Royal College of Hapes, had been the fourth overall pick in the Draft, something that had irked Adanna, but something she had no power to do anything about. Roselli had decided to put her name in for the Draft instead of signing with the C-Bucs directly out of college. Adanna had tried to convince her to stay home, but obviously more money, the chance to get away from the Cluster, or something else convinced Roselli to enter the Draft. That had been a hard pill to swallow, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for the Hapan team. They would just have to reload with other pieces.

But the third spot in the league was something that was on Adanna’s mind. Was her team good enough to dethrone the Starkillers and take the title of third-best in the League? With a shot at Bakura this next season at the Royal Limmie Grounds, the C-Bucs had a chance to knock the defending champs down a peg in front of a rabid Hapan crowd. The trip to Six Boroughs would be a little more difficult, but that bridge would be passed when they got there. Ralltiir? It could easily be a Week 9 battle for supremacy after the Miners at the Starkillers’ new stadium. It was a game many analysts likely would peg as a battle for playoff position, with the winner likely hosting a rematch the next week for the right to play the Miners. So the third spot was vital in Adanna’s mind. A chance to be considered the third-best was the goal, and then from there they could strike and knock the top two teams down a notch.

She had set up a meeting with Meredith Chambers-Vayne for today, a chance for her to speak with her head coach and go over important team matters. Training camp had begun the prior day, and Meredith was going to be busy with that for a long time if she didn’t come in now. So today the meeting had been scheduled, and Adanna knew it would be a very important meeting. A message had come in the prior day from the Queen Mother herself regarding her team, and Adanna was going to relay that on to her head coach. It regarded the long-term health of the franchise, and could easily break new ground for the C-Bucs.

Adanna took a deep breath and put the roster down. She had to relax, had to put the racing thoughts in her mind on the back burner and act calmly and with composure. Any excitement she had about her pregnancy had to be put aside for this very serious matter; although Meredith had been through the same experience some years earlier, she likely wouldn’t take too kindly to her boss if Adanna let it distract her. There was still a season to go through before the baby was due, and thus it came first and foremost. Adanna didn’t look forward to the long slogs through the end of the season when the baby really took off in size in her stomach, but it had to happen. She had to be a consummate professional the entire time and ignore the second personality that tried to steer her off course. It would be difficult, yes, but not impossible.

She looked down at the small bump in her stomach. What gender would the baby be? What would it look like? Would it have her eyes, her fiendishly good looks? What about Maff, the man whom had made this possible? They were starting a family together out of love, and for all her concerns, Adanna understood that anxiety was all a part of the process. But things would straighten out in the end, the experts said. She hoped they were right.

“Coach Chambers here to see you, Mrs. Inviere,” a voice buzzed over her comlink. That shocked Adanna out of her stupor.

“Send her in,” Adanna commed in. The connection was cut, and a minute later, Meredith Chambers-Vayne walked in the door. Here was a Hall-of-Famer standing in front of her, and yet Adanna didn’t feel intimidated in the slightest. There had been doubts as to whether the two could work together at the beginning of last season to produce a winner. Well, they had done well for themselves, getting all the way to the Solo Conference Finals before running into the Bakuran buzzsaw. The turnaround had turned some heads, and Adanna wanted to make that happen more often this season. “Take a seat, Meredith,” she said to the head coach. “We have a lot to discuss today. First of all, how is camp thus far? I havent' been able to attend, but I hope all is well?”

Meredith looked across Inviere's desk at her boss and friend. Before she responded she reflected on the C-Bucs improbable run to the Solo Conference Final last year. She'd squeezed every last drop out of the ladies and then the match against Bakura happened. Blow after relentless blow had landed upon her young squad and the game was neatly sown up by half-time. She refused to pull her starters. She wanted them to toughen up and to take this beating on the jaw. She'd literally done that once before and the results had worked well in her favor: she'd gotten married. So now, in her second year as head coach of the squad she had ideas, she had dreams, but most importantly, she had a squad that had gone up against the best and fought hard, fought well.

"Training camp is going well, Adanna," Meredith replied as she looked at the beautiful Hapan across the way from her, "pushing the ladies hard, introducing a more flexible offensive attack and honing some technique on defense. We have a good core group of players but I'm going to push them hard. The final roster still isn't set. There's a lot of movement here. A lot of movement."

"That's all we can do with this team," Adanna said with a nod. "There is going to be a lot of movement on the roster. I brought in a lot of players who I know will not make it. Not only does that push our existing players a little harder, but it also allows us to find suitable replacements if our incumbents . . . don't do their jobs," she finished after a slight pause. "Limmie is a cutthroat business, and sometimes one good season isn't enough to keep a player in place. Pushing them toughens them up, makes them more sharp." Now she was starting to sound like a Limmie coach; that wouldn't be all bad, she figured, but then again, it probably was for the best that Meredith was coaching and she was just the GM in charge of the roster.

"I hope we're in better shape on offense than we were against the Miners, since I assume you've already shown them the game tape," the Hapan said, although she didn't really expect an answer from Meredith.

Then a thought popped into her mind. She had to know the coach's opinion on this, and now was as good a time as any to ask. "Meredith, I was recently contacted by the Queen Mother regarding our pipeline. I don't know if Roselli choosing the Draft over us had anything to do with this, but I feel like it will impact how we go about this season. She was interested in potentially starting a Futures League team. Now, we both came from franchises that had such a team in the League, and they were useful for grooming new talent. It would be a good way to refill the pipeline," she said. "Also, if we find some diamonds on the non-roster invitees this camp, we could stash them there for a while and see if they can grow into the next generation of stars. We have the Juniors League to draw from, and I expect that we can keep more players home rather than going off somewhere else. We potentially have a major opportunity here to grow our program. What are your thoughts?"

Meredith thought this over for a few seconds. The strength of the Hapes C-Bucs had always been in finding players who had enough gas in the tank to play sixty minutes, the marathoners who could keep up with their opponents through the grind of a game and hopefully come out on top. That tenacity had been manifest back on Nar Shaddaa when she had played there, and the C-Bucs had also prided themselves on such an arrangement. For the most part in 277, that strategy had worked. But this was 278; anything could happen.

The Hall-of-Famer finally opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Quickly she realized her mistake and closed her mouth, hoping that her boss wouldn’t notice. But Adanna was giving her a very quizzical stare, almost a challenge. It was like the GM had tossed down a gauntlet that the coach was now expected to answer in only a satisfactory way. Limmie was a business, and this decision was huge.

“I think it would help our franchise,” she said. “As you said, it would keep more talent in our organization than we can previously. That would be an improvement for all involved. However, I have my doubts as well. If we start a development team, then we are proving to our starters that we are already looking to the future instead of the present. You know my style well, Adanna. You and I have gotten here because we are looking at the present, not the past or future. Having a Futures League team would give us room to stash new players, but it would also send the message to the League that we are not a solitary team anymore, that we need help.”

“I understand your concerns,” Adanna said. “But this would make a lot of business sense. We have an opportunity this season to finally break the championship drought and bring a title home for the entire Consortium. The pressure is on, that is for sure. But if we cannot bring home a title, what recourse do we have? What if this season turns out dreadfully, which I hope it doesn’t. We may find ourselves looking for new blood to add to the roster, and having a development affiliate would make that job a lot easier than having to scour the entire Consortium to find new talent. With our high standards already in place, we are hard-pressed to find players who would fit the bill. If we can train them in those high standards and then promote them as necessary, not only do we add more potential stars to the fold, but also we have a chance to shift our society.”

“How so?” Meredith asked, leaning forward. She was interested in hearing what this would entail.

“The Futures League team could include men. As strange as that sounds, we may be able to pacify their desires by letting them play on this new team. They would never be called up, of course, since they know their place in our society. But if a few men were to prove their worth on an affiliate squad, they might just be worth something on the trade block. They have no future prospects with our team, but someone else may be willing to trade us some useable pieces for those castoff prospects. It’s always worth a gamble in case we need good talent later to have some tradeable assets. Besides, perhaps having good male players down there will not only push the female players to perform harder, but also will give the Hapan men a feel-good story. Not enough to make them feel superior to us women, but enough to perhaps prevent any sort of lingering dissent they may have. If they see opportunity for social advancement here, we may find ourselves with a glut of useable players who can lead the affiliate to victory, help us save face with the parts of the galaxy who do not agree with our culture and values, and could bolster our roster later on with trade assets.”

Meredith sat there in thought for a few minutes. Adanna brought up excellent points; although Hapan men were rather low-class to begin with, having a few extra prospects wouldn’t hurt. Trades were becoming more common these days in the League, and they could always look to the Premier League and beyond for willing trade partners. That opened up a new realm of possibilities. Besides, having players trained in their system and in the Hapan culture would make it easier to integrate them into the fold. Free agents came in with little knowledge of how things were done in the Consortium, and therefore it was harder to drill those values into them. Adding native Hapans to the team with an instilled sense of C-Bucs Limmie in a developmental league would definitely be a help for any issues the Elite League team might encounter.

“Well?” Adanna prodded.

“I still have a few doubts, but on the overall it seems to be the best course of action,” Meredith said. She seemed a little defeated here, but Adanna had forced her hand skillfully. Even in the front office, strategy was the main part of operations. If you could persuade your views into place, thereby shutting down any potential opposition, you typically won. That was what made Hapans strong, and Meredith had found herself pushed into the corner. Adanna had won the day. “We build a strong relationship with a source of new talent for the future, while not expending the views of the present. Well played. But who will run such a team, and where will it play home games?”

“Leave that to me,” Adanna said with a sly smile.

---

“After much discussion, the Hapes Consortium Buccaneers organization has decided to start a developmental affiliate team that will participate in the Limmie Futures League,” Adanna said at the press conference. “It is our hope that this team will provide us with quality talent for the future while not compromising our cultural identity as a people.”

She waved to an assistant, who let down the curtain overhanging the new team’s logo. “We are introducing the Gallinore Firedrakes,” she said. Some applause came from the audience at the new logo, which showed an angry-looking Firedrake on it, like it was ready to strike at its prey. “Gallinore has offered us use of a stadium that is currently under construction and will be ready in time for Limmie season. It will seat 100,000 comfortably, and be an excellent model in the Futures League. Their team colors will be red and light green.”

“Ms. Inviere, who will coach this team?” asked a reporter.

“Since this team is intended to help the Buccaneers into the future, only one nominee had the history we wanted to help us coach these new players. I have full confidence that she will be successful. Introducing a woman who once recruited me, the one and only Aileen Wynn.”

There were some gasps from the audience as Wynn approached the podium. She had aged some since they had last seen her coach, but she still looked good at 60 standard years. “Thank you, Adanna, for having faith in me to return to a coaching job here in the Consortium,” she said.

“Ms. Wynn, we thought you were retired.”

“Not anymore,” she said.

“What brought you back to coaching?”

“They say that when you never truly can leave the game. I have enjoyed my retirement, but when the C-Bucs came knocking asking me if I wanted to coach once more, especially here in the Cluster, I couldn’t refuse. I look forward to coaching the Firedrakes in their inaugural season, and to mentor the next generation of players who will hopefully bring many titles to the Hapan people in the future.”


The C-Bucs had begun a new era, one which their management staff hoped would prove to be fruitful.

TAG: jcgoble3 (for LFL stuff), Trieste (for the mention of Wynn)

 

​

IC: Adenn Vizsla
Meshal Vhetin, Manda'yaim. Just prior to the beginning of the 278 ELL season.

The season was finally upon them. After a long and busy off season, the ELL was once again about to get under way. The Mercs were ready, their fans were ready, and at long last Vizsla was ready. It had been an off season of change for the Mando'ade Mercs. Change to a new ownership group for the second time in two season. An ownership now in which every Mandalorian took part. The Mand'alor, Taab, still owned the stadium in which they played, as well as their developmental team, the Crusaders, outright but for the Mercs themselves this was a new era in accountability to their primary shareholders, the fans themselves.

There had been other changes as well. The Mercs had done their best in trading out of this season's first year player draft. They were normally quite active on draft day, their surrendering of picks must have come as some surprise to many, though other teams had also either opted out of or traded out of this draft. It had been a calculated risk on Vizsla's part, but with the lack of any firm information on a majority of the potential draftees he thought it better to trade out (and acquire future assets) rather than get stuck in four year long contracts with unknown quantities. Of course that had left the team with a number of holes to be filled out via free agency, and it was there that the Mercs took the plunge.

Players like Devine and Grap were picked up off the scrap heap. Grap was a depth move and had been immediately assigned to the Crusaders. Devine though was signed for a role on the bench, it was hoped that the change of scenery would do her well. If neither worked out the risk was minimal, they were both on one year contracts and coudl be let go after the season. Vizsla had planned on grabbing some youth as well, un-drafted rookie free agents who had a chip on their shoulders at being overlooked and would be looking to make a splash. His attempts to bring in the young goaltender from The Ord Sabaok University (to push for the reserve spot) had failed though when the Rodian had instead signed with the Starkillers.

He could hardly blame Mort for the move, the Starkillers had been a contender for the past few season, while the Mercs run last season had come mostly unheralded. There were some who thought they had no chance at capturing last season's magic. It was Vizsla's job to provide the Mercs with a team that would prove those critics wrong. At least he had managed to land a couple of his other rookie targets.

The retirement of Vau had left a big hole on the Mercs roster at the backup midfielder position. There were options at Concordia, but frankly the developmental people wanted them to play every day and improve their skills after a tortuous year last season. Vizsla agreed with that assessment. Ric Anderson out of Taanab A&M would fit the bill of a decent backup. He had gone through the draft without anyone else picking him up and as soon as the draft had ended Vizsla had given his agent a call. So too had he called on the agent for the Devaronian, Turned, though she was assigned to the Crusaders for depth purposes as well. By the time Vizsla was done the rosters for both clubs was set and the Mercs were ready.

Ready for opening day on Hapes, ready for the Hapan C-Bucs, ready for the 278 season, ready to defend their Skywalker conference crown and most of all ready to complete their unfinished business from last season. They were ready to bring the Galactic Cup home to manda'yaim.

TAG: No one.

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Shield Towers, O'pahz, Carratos

"Got everything?" Laura asked her husband as he prepared to leave for the shuttle. "Clothes?"

"Check," Geoff replied.

"Toothpaste?"

"Check,"

"Comb?" Before Geoff could answer, the door to his daughters' room opened and four little feet pounded across the floor toward him.

"Daddy wait!" they called carrying flimsis in their hands.

"Whatcha' got there little ones?" Geoff inquired, kneeling down to see his daughters.

"We made these for you." Ira answered handing him one of the flimsis.

"To take with you on your trip." Iris chimed in holding out the plast in her hand. He accepted both sheets. The words 'WE LUV U' and WIN BIG' were scrawled across them in brightly colored marker. Iris' and Ira's hands were coved in marker and color dotted their faces.

"Aw, thank you girls." He took both of his daughters into his arms and gave each of them a peck on the cheek. "You're too good to me, you know that." He rose and moved to the door. As he opened it he felt his wife's hand grab the collar of his shirt.

"Nuh uh, you're not getting away that easy" Laura said turning him toward her.

"I knew I forgot something." Geoff remarked as his wife pulled him closer. Their lips met and he wrapped an arm around her waist. Their bodies pressed together, locked in their kiss, he could feel her heat though his clothes. They stayed like this for another moment, then pulled away.

"Knock 'em dead tiger." She said resting her forehead against his.

"Yes ma'am." He answered.

"Eeewww" two high pitched voices from behind Laura called out. Mother and father both give their children a sideways glace.

"Kids," Geoff replied as he turned towards the door. He gave one last look at his family, then exited completely.

Leaving his building a guff voice called to him.

"Coach," Bara started, "tell Rhodri to play hard today. I've got money riding on this game."

"Will do Bara." Geoff said getting into the taxi to the spaceport "will do."

_________________
Bankers Mansion

"Mr. Copin, Mr. Copin" the gaggle of reporters cried. Geoff pointed to one and the rabble grew quiet.

"Mr. Copin, you're playing this game without reserves, do you think your players can last the full 60?" Geoff thought for a moment, doing everything he could to stop his hands from shaking.

"The last week of training focused a lot on endurance and, my players know to keep a little energy in reserve for the final minutes." Hands shot up and voices called out for attention. "Uh, you." Geoff said selecting another reporter from the crowd.

"Your Balosar," the reporter trailed off trying to remember his name.

"Sylvanus," The coach said completing the thought.

"Yes Sylvauns, how is his species' 'physical intuition' not an unfair advantage by the rules of Limmie?" Geoff had expected this question, Balosars are not well known and the examples most people bring up are criminals.

"As it has been explained to me by Dr. Atash Sfafaa professor of xenobiology at Denon University, Balosars' 'physical intuition' works by detecting surges of emotions, not reading thoughts. A surge of emotion on the limmie field could be caused by anything, being down a goal with seconds on the clock, playing a game to honor a fallen hero, or the water on the sidelines being bad. Sylvanus has no better chance of foretelling what a player will do then you or I do. Unless you're force-sensitive then, what are you doing being a reporter."

"What if a player is injured and is injured and is playing thought it? Wouldn't Sylvauns be able to pick up on that?"

"Pain is not an emotion, it is a physical response, and any good limmie player should be able to tell when another is hurt." the answer being satisfactory the reporters began vying for Geoff's attention. He selected one towards the back.

"What do you have to say about the rumor that your owner bribed your teams way into the league?" Geoff had not expected this question. He knew Schnitt was involved in some shady deals in the past but, on Carratos that's the norm. Everybody at one point or another has been a party to some not strictly legal acts but, for most, those acts are in the past not part of their futures. Plus Geoff knew that Schnitt would never do anything to jeopardize the Pirates reputation.

"Any questions relating to Mr. Polenta's rumored improprieties," Geoff started, his voice dipping into a tone he hadn't used since law school, "should be directed to is lawyer, not the coach of his limmie team." The room was silent Geoff began to worry that all the remaining questions were related to Schnitt's actions not the team. A hand in the corner shot up. Geoff pointed to the female Weequay.

"How do you plan on handling the Starkiller offence? It has proven itself to be very powerful in the past." Geoff breathed a sigh of relief, an actual question about the game. He took note of her identification, Rin Bahar, Carratos Journal.

"Well, we have a strong midfield and good half backs which can shut down the offence before it gains momentum. Last question please."

"Do you think your team deserves to be here?" a voice from the middle of the group asked. This was the question Geoff dreaded. Did his team deserve to be here? He wasn't sure but, he couldn't let his team see his reservations.

"I'm not going to tell you we deserve to be here," he said with all the indignation he could muster, "I'm going to go out their and show it. Thank you." He rose and walked away. In the corridor leading to the visiting locker room he found a refresher station and threw up. After cleaning up he made his way to the locker room just in time to hear Lucie Vigo begin. His team stood respectfully in the locker room listening.

'He was my grandfather' Geoff heard a little voice say over the loudspeaker. HIs heart sank, the young girl sounded a little younger than his daughters but, his mind thought What if this was my dad we were honoring, how would they feel, how would Iris and Ira react, what if it was me. He shook his head, just before a limmie match was not time to contemplate your own mortality. After the family left the field Geoff had just a minute before his team took to the pitch.

"Alright team," he called out to the players assembled on the room. "let's play like pirates, take anything not nailed down and show no mercy."

"Aye aye" Was their response.

TAG: Runjedirun

 

IC: Kaitlyn Vehn
Game Day, 278 Season Opener at Kuat

Kaitlyn hadn’t been to Kuat since she was a little girl and had forgotten how impressive the planet and the orbital shipyards were from the hyperspace buoy that the Smugglers team shuttle entered realspace near for the season opener of the 278 Elite League Limmie season. As the shuttle entered the atmosphere, she caught a glimpse of the impressive stadium of the Kuat Triforce and her mouth dropped at the beautiful waters that surrounded the stadium, its radical architecture, its clear signal to her own mind of the money and wealth of the Kuat of Kuat.

A smile creased her face as she relished the thought of securing a victory against the Triforce in their beautiful stadium. She had the team to do just that. The defense was solid, the offense was returning from a very strong year, and besides the annoying thorn in her side that were the Mando’ade Mercs, few teams stood to stop the Smugglers from continuing their dominance in the Skywalker Conference. That was fine with her. She’d deal with the Mercs later who were undoubtedly still hiding under their buy’ces from last season’s Galactic Cup collapse.

“I’ve talked to you all pre-season about staying strong, focused, and mindful. Kuat is eager to make their mark on the Elite League. I don’t want them getting a notch in their belt about us,” John Huntington said as he patrolled the sideline later in the day. “We’re the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers. We were one game away last season from repeating in the Final. We watched the hated Mercs go down in flames and watched our old friends the Miners lift the Cup above their head for a third time this decade. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to see either team back there this year. The only thing I want to see us another Smuggler inscription on that trophy and a continuation of our offensive performance from last year. Reaver, you’re going to push hard down the middle today, test their back six. McCloud, go for the kill early and often. Zetter and Leed will anchor the defense. Play it soft at first and then ratchet up the pressure once momentum is in our favor. Everyone clear?”

“Clear!” A chorus of voices responded.

Kaitlyn lifted her head with pride as the Smugglers took to the field for the 278 opener. She loved this team. She’d built this team in her own image. They had already reached the promised land once. Now, as it was every season, she wanted to see them go again, to rival the Miners, to dangle another ring in the face of the galaxy, to add another notch on the long list of victories that she had personally championed and directed.

Tag:Polydroxol

 

IC: Ava KIllenger
Senators Stadium

Ava walked through the bowels of the stadium two hours before the season opener was set to begin. She had come alone to be here with her thoughts for a few moments before she was to be wrapped up in game prep. This was the beginning to her second year of Elite League ball; her first season had been all of two games, and she had been dumped unceremoniously after those. She hadn’t felt so hot about it at the time, but now she knew it had been for the best. She had gone to Thyferra, had the crap beaten out of her, and had learned to sober up. Jed Ortmeyer had been a lifesaver for her, and she wanted to thank him when she saw him next.

Her Thyferra stint seemed so long ago. She had played at this level all last season, and had gotten comfortable with the competition. Or, at least, with expectations; she hadn’t done well last season. No one on the Senators had. Now was their chance to do a lot better, and she was more prepared for this than she was last season. Last year, Ganlin Costa’s unfortunate slip in the shower had allowed her to reach this level, and she hadn’t known if she would stick. Now she was slated to start at Half Forward on her own merit, not because of injuries. She had gone into training camp with a sense of purpose, finally free of the shackles of her drug issues. She didn’t believe in higher powers, but almost felt as if Barney was looking down on her from some alternate realm and had been helping her along. The memory of her brother fueled her drive, and she had turned that into an intense performance that had built off of last year. The Comeback Player of the Year award had helped matters, but with the roster in a state of complete flux, she had needed to work her tail off to get here. And now she was here.

She went to the locker room through the big doors crested with the Senator logo. The man in the crested helmet bore a stare at her as she approached, an expressionless look on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was supposed to be smiling or just looking tough, but it reminded her of the grit she needed in this game, in this season. She had to be tough this year, had to make opposing defenders respect her. They weren’t going to give her freebies now. She was a known commodity, and would draw more thought from defenses. Her role was to deal with those shifts and make them pay.

When she entered the locker room, she was once again inside its cozy confines. The black carpet stretched throughout the room, its plush feeling a nice alternative to the unforgiving grass turf that would await the players on the field. Each locker stall had been polished and cleaned up, with the game materials now hanging out for each player. As she walked, she read the names on the backs of the black jerseys with orange trim; Borr, Cellen, Tarpals, Milovy. She went to her locker, which was near the front of the room since she was a Senator veteran. Of course Christine had the front-most locker, which was reserved for the full captain of the squad. If this was still Andromeda Steel Corp. Field, Christine would likely have been using the same locker stall that had once been utilized by Dirxx Horstse. The tradition steeped in one locker stall would have meant a lot to whoever got to use it later. The Besalisk Hall-of-Famer had been ‘Mr. Senator’ for so long and had done so much for the franchise that it could easily make lesser beings cower and not feel worthy of the honor. But those stalls had likely been lost during the flood that ultimately cost the team their old stadium. Senators Stadium had been built after that disaster, but with the team’s poor performance here the past two years, many fans likely wished for a return to their old stomping grounds, the days of the glorious Senator teams from the ‘60s.

But when she got to her locker, Ava could see that something was missing. Her name was not on the locker she had been given out last week. Instead, the jersey hanging on the rack said “Amasova” on it. The second-year player looked around, but couldn’t find her uniform. Had the grounds staff made a mistake? Did they just forget about her altogether?


Start at 2:20

And then she located it. It was up in the right-most one of the three stalls up in the front, the closest to the team captain’s locker stall. What was it doing there, she wondered. Slowly, she walked across the carpet, dodging the Senator logo on the floor (because stepping on it was considered bad luck) as she went. Finally she got to her uniform, and she reached out to. It felt soft to the touch, like it was inviting her to put it on. Moving the hanger around a bit, she exposed the front side of the jersey. “Senators” it said on the front in the orange trim . . . but she was in for another shock. There was a bright orange ‘A’ on the left side of the uniform, the side closest to her. What was that doing there?

“Wondering why that’s there?” came a voice, a very familiar one. Ava spun around to see Christine standing next to a locker on the other side of the room, the one that belonged to Thulius Jomas.

“What’s the letter doing on my uniform?” Ava asked. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

“We needed a third assistant captain. Gark S’rily gave me the option to pick out my three captains. Jenna and Max were easy picks because they’ve been here a long time. I respect their decisions. But I needed one more.”

“Why would you pick me, though?” Ava inquired quizzically. She was only in her second year in the League; there was no reason anyone like her would get such an honor. “I don’t know anything.”

“It’s because I owed you one,” Christine said. “I’ve felt bad ever since the All-Star Game, ever since I abandoned you on Naboo to deal with the media.”

“We’ve already smoothed that over,” Ava commented.

“But I just want you to know that you’re the best friend I could ever have hoped to get from this team,” Christine said. “And I figured that you were the best option to give the third captaincy to. You’ve earned it.”

“But I haven’t done that much,” Ava said. “Only one year in the league, and not that great of stats . . .”

“Sometimes being a leader doesn’t mean having the best statistics,” Christine said. She stopped leaning on the locker. “As I’ve found out, sometimes being a leader means . . . to be the best you can be under the circumstances. Get the best out of everyone else first and foremost. If there’s anything I’ve learned from the past year, it’s that this team doesn’t have the greatest players in the galaxy. But even those great players need leadership; the best teams always have the best leaders. And you’ve worked hard to get here after all you’ve gone through. I thought that you earned the position; I stuck up for you in the decision.”

Ava looked back to the jersey. The ‘A’ was almost looking back at her in silent anticipation. It was like it wanted her to touch it, to feel the prestigious honor that was within her grasp.

“Thank you,” she said after a long pause. “I really appreciate it.”

“Promise me one thing,” Christine said.

“What’s that?”

“Don’t change who you are because of it,” Christine said. “I’ve learned that you need to be true to yourself if you are to be a leader. Don’t let the pressure get to you, and don’t forget what got you here. Understand, assistant captain?”

Ava nodded, and then she got a big bear hug from her roommate. "We'll give 'em hell, just like old times," she said.
Ava wasn’t sure how she was going to do in this new capacity, but this was certainly going to make her think.

---

IC: Christine Gamble

Christine looked around at the 29 other players who were sitting at their locker stalls. About half of them were new to the team from last year, a huge number in this league. It had been a tumultuous offseason, and now it was time to see if all the moves made had been worth it. Each one was wearing their new black home uniform kit, the orange trim accenting the dark intensity of the black. More teams than ever were using black as a team color nowadays, but the Senators had for a long time relied heavily on the color for their uniforms. Black was not the accent or highlight color; it was their main color, the identity of this team. She had seen in the HSN the prior year the moniker of “Dark Knights”. The trademark of these Senators was their black uniforms, like shadows in the night. If they could just win a few games, opposing teams would learn to fear the all-black uniforms once again. And that started here.

“I don’t need to tell you how big this game is today,” she began. “It’s been a long time since we won a game that counted. I’ve been waiting two years, two frakking years, for a win. That Alsakan victory? Means nothing. That was a friendly game. We should have blown them out, kicked them to the curb. But the Storm are a real Elite League team. They were in the Final a few years back. They know how to win.

No one thinks we can win this game. Last time I checked the Storm were expected to win by at least ten points on the betting line. I don’t gamble, but what it means is that no one believes we can win this game. We almost beat them last year, but we fell short when we finally got some defense. That can’t happen again. This team has lost to the Storm four times in a row. That is beyond unacceptable. We cannot keep losing games to these losers. For us, they are our Evil Empire. And today we’re going to cut them down to size. We’re going to blow the storm back into their faces and leave them wrecked, decimated beyond belief. Today we have the better team out there, not because our players have more All-Star appearances or money, but because we are better conditioned. We have the better team because we believe in what each other brings to the table.

I learned that sometimes the best teams don’t have the best players. Am I good? Yes. Damn good. But does that mean anything when the rest of the team doesn’t do well? No. I did OK last season, and we lost all nine games we played. I shouldn’t need to bring this up, but if you don’t trust the players next to you, across the room from you, or even on the other side of the room, then this all falls apart. We will lose games badly because you try to do too much, and often fail. If we don’t fill up the stat sheet and gain the awards, so be it. But if we win as a team, then we get the best honor of all; the chance to be crowned champions at the end of the season.

It’s going to be a very difficult season. This is a rebuilding year, and most experts say we’ll be lucky to win even two games. That’s insulting, but it’s true. We don’t have the entrenched talent coming back from last year. We’re a mess right now, with a lot of moving parts. Or are we? We may not be the best team, but if we can play as a team, then no one can stop us. We have skills, we have talent; the experts don’t see it, but I can. Today begins the revival of this franchise, from the depths of nothing into something respectable. Are we going to make the Final? No. The playoffs? Doubtful. We might not even win four games this year. But it’s going to be an improvement. Every time we win, we can flip the League and the media off for writing us off this year. If we win, we can bring those fans back into the stands. They have given up on us, but win a few games, and they’ll come back. I’ve never seen this place truly rocking, and I want to experience that. But that starts today. That has to start with a win. We have to win today.

The galaxy may have given up on us, the fans may have given up on us. But let’s show them that when you put us in the rearview mirror, that you’re forgetting something. Let’s show the fools for who they are . . . let’s honor the tradition of this team, what it stands for. For all the players who ever wore this uniform. For the longest time, I didn’t realize what I had here. All around us are reminders of the greats,” she said, pointing to a few of the plaques on the wall and small holo images of Senator greats. Jipoly Numifolis was there, the ‘Father of Coruscant Limmie’, as he was known. Anki Rysowt, Petra Givens, Deba Dytz, Pok Stenwart . . . even Dirxx Horstse, Shayt Contar, Shev Fil’yer, Polis . . . the recent Senator greats. “That is what we are carrying with this uniform,” Christine said. “That history. But again, it’s in the past. This is our chance to make history of our own. And that starts right now.”

And that was all she said. It was a long speech, but it came from a veteran player who wanted to get her teammates into the game. She had certainly done that. Peet Carelle came and discussed what the gameplan was. “We don’t know if they will be running a standard attack or their odd formation,” he said. “But that shouldn’t make a difference for us. We should still look to attack their weak points and stay in our offense and defensive sets. Midfield is going to be important as usual, especially with two rookies out there for us. We have to establish control early, score some points, and force them into a one-dimensional game. Our game.”

When it was time for the Senators to take the field, Christine was at the head of the line. She looked down at the ‘C’ on her chest; she was going to try and make the best of this opportunity this year. She couldn’t let the team down again. When the team poured onto the field, she was the first out. The stadium was half-full for the season opener, but if they got blown out here, their next home game likely would appear as it did during the Rydonni Prime game last year, only a few thousand in a stadium that sat a million. Win here, and they might win some fans back with it.

When she got to her starting position, Christine bent down and touched the grass. She could feel its texture, and readied herself to become very acquainted with it. Her matchup would also become friends with the turf, because she was going to be in their face the whole game. She had lost thirteen straight games. She was beyond sick of losing. Today that streak ended. Today they would earn their first win since 276. Today the Coruscant Senators would be the better team. And she would lead them there.


TAG: jcgoble3

 

Daily College Updates:

• Galactic title winner UC Bella Vistal faces University of Kuat at home to kick off 278 season. The Renegades are looking to make a strong showing this year with a new coach.
• Republican University hires Shavid Haw as their new head coach to replace Rosa Berant, who has since joined the Coruscant Senators. Scholars play on road against University of Coruscant to begin their season.
• New season begins for Bakura 10 Conference with new tackling rules in force.
• "Hopefully this will deal with some of the concussion issues," says a prominent HSN analyst.
• Case going to judge to determine if athletes deserve to be paid stipend while in school and earn health insurance during school and for after their time in school.
• Unrest on campus of UB, Telaan Valley. "We don't get to use the athlete's facilities, and now they're going to be paid?" asks an anonymous student. "What about those of us going into debt in order to get an education? Do we get fancy facilities and monthly pay plus insurance? Nope. Us regular students are being victimized by a system geared towards the athletes, not the entire student population."
• S16 Commissioner: "We are doing all we can to make sure just compensation is given to the players who represent our institutions on gameday."

TAG: Everyone

 

IC: Jed Ortmeyer
Thyferra

Jed sat in the luxury box for the first time in his life for a game. It felt so different up here, almost like a different planet. He had been on the sidelines in professional Limmie ever since 259, almost 20 years, and now he was changing his venue from the field to the box, and from the casual dress of a coach or the uniform of a player into more “suitable” attire for fancy occasions. He had to look the part of the General Manager of his team, even though he didn’t necessarily feel like it was his style.

He rubbed a hand through his mop of blonde hair. It had been an odd offseason, that was for sure. He had been promoted from the head coach of the Thyferra Force to the same position with the Senators after Pamila Korthe had been fired, and had promptly lost all three games he had coached by landslide margins. They had been a complete embarrassment, and had likely torpedoed Jed’s chances of sticking it out as a coach. Despite all his success on Thyferra, Coruscant had proven to be too much of a challenge for the former Ingbrand winner.

So he had returned to Thyferra, this time as GM after Lorrin Malestra, whom had been in charge of the team in the capacity since 269 when Jed joined the staff, had decided to retire. Although she wasn’t old, Lorrin had made it clear that she wanted a break for a while, and thus the job had been dangled to Jed. He had taken it, but mostly because he knew a coaching gig was likely impossible to secure at this point. But he also had another reason; he and Korthe had gotten married during the offseason, and they had expected that they would soon be joined by their first child, whom had been developing in Pam’s stomach during the wedding as the byproduct of an attraction between the two. It was supposed to complete their lives, this child, and so it had especially devastated Pam when she found that the child had been stillborn and was dead. In addition, her fertility had disappeared, meaning that the new couple could never have any biological children. The Zeltron had been hard to console for weeks after the loss, and Jed had done his best to keep a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity. But it was hard to forget what they had lost, because it would have changed their lives forever. And that was the toughest pill to swallow.

Pam was once again the head coach for the Force, and had a completely different roster now than she did when she started with the team in 269 with Jed as her offensive coordinator. Gone were all her old stalwart players: Riff Persnor, Wylega Zola, Mychele Lysar . . . all retired and moved on with their lives. Even Rainy Frantsen, the longtime Thyferra player, had finally been moved up to the Senator roster in the last year of her contract, likely to be her last pro season unless someone signed her to a longer-term deal. So the Zeltron now had a completely new team, one that had some holes in it and would need a spark from the newcomers in order to succeed.

Jed had sat through training camp with the Senator staff, and had seen some flashes of excellence with his players. The Renhorn sisters, midfielder Gayla, and half forward Alex and Morgan, were about to become the first trio of siblings to ever play on the same team in a game in Futures League history. Each had some talent, and the veteran duo of Gayla and Ye’ves’toung gave the Force a strong midfield duo. Add in intriguing prospect George Wulson, and veteran Mekmek, and the Force had a great midfield corps. Alex Renhorn had some experience in the big leagues, but her sister did not, and the rest of the forwards on the roster had sporadic Elite League experience, if any. Voontoo, the Rodian utility forward, was slated to start at the other half forward slot, and Pella Lovenforth, who had seen minimal action with the Mercs and Senators, would start at the left corner. H’ten Stutt would be the starter at full forward, although Jed wasn’t sure if the Filvian would ever make it to the Elite League. He just didn’t have the talent necessary to get there.

The prospects Jed was really interested in seeing were reserve keeper Oola Ban, in her second year with the Force, and recent third-round pick Callie Polarez. Polarez, a Helmsman nominee in 277 while at Brentaal College of Commerce, was going to start the season on the bench, but had a lot of upside. Now it was to see if she could handle it. As for Ban, Jed was uncertain how the Twi’lek would do. Zeke Barbosa with the Senators likely was in his last year of pro ball, so next year it would be a battle between Jam Tarpals, Ziva Kender, and Ban for the two Senator goalkeeper spots. He would have to see how the young goalie would do this year if Kender slipped. The Nautolan had been disappointing in her only Elite League season, but had come back strong last year in the Futures League with the Force and looked to try and regain a foothold in the big leagues. Ban was just along for the ride now as she tried to get enough playing time to impress.

The first game of the season for the Force was against the expansion team, the Gallinore Firedrakes. Coming from the Hapes Consortium Buccaneers system, the Firedrakes were playing their first-ever game here today at Thyferra Stadium. The GM wanted to make sure the newbies were bashed around in their debut game as a “welcome” message from the League. He had played with Adanna Inviere, the C-Bucs GM whose idea this team had apparently been; she was tough as nails, and was smart in Jed’s opinion to develop an LFL team. Besides, he thought, males would finally get to play for a Hapan team, just not the C-Bucs.


As the teams readied themselves to play the game, Jed settled into his seat. He hoped Pam was ready for her return to coaching at this level, and would make the Force faithful proud.

TAG: Vehn (for Gallinore), me , jcgoble3 (for Pam news)

 

OOC: My new characters for this season. Enjoy!

GM Approved

Character Sheet A
Team: Euceron Storm
Name: Jado Nalo
Species: Human (half-Hapan)
Gender: Male
Birth year: 264
Physical appearance: 5'4" and 150 pounds (as of start of 278 season, at age 14), light tanned skin, thick well-defined muscles. When on a Jedi mission, typically wears light brown Jedi robes, or (if undercover) whatever is needed.
Homeworld: Euceron
Relation to Team: Fan and son of former head coach Marte Nalo

Biography: Being the son of an Elite League limmie coach, it was only natural that Jado would play youth limmie, and he did, being placed at goalkeeper for his first season. There was a problem, though: a parent who was mildly Force-sensitive detected the Force in Jado. His famous dad, Marte, contacted his Jedi friends, Palla Quelkin and her Padawan, Zay Antilles. They confirmed it, and Jado, seven years old at the time, made the choice that changed his life: to leave home and train as a Jedi. Jado spent five years at the Temple on Ossus learning the ways of the Jedi until he got word that a newly minted Knight was seeking a Padawan of his own. Jado performed well and earned the honor of becoming the apprentice of that Knight—Zay Antilles.

Thrust straight into the hunt for the Bassell brothers, Jado learned on the fly as he, Zay, and Palla tracked down and captured Rosty Bassell on Kashyyyk. Palla, however was severely injured in the brief fight to capture Rosty, delaying further attempts to track down his brother Rondy. Now Palla has made a full recovery, and the Jedi are ready to begin hunting for Rondy once Rosty's trial is over.

In the meantime, Jado has been learning more from his Master, not only about Jedi ways, but about the intricacies of limmie. Like his Master, Jado is a fan of the Storm, the team his dad coached for 19 years, but he only considers himself a casual fan. He cheers when the Storm score and when they win, and is sad when they lose, but doesn't let it spill into his normal life, even doing other things while watching the game sometimes. Zay is far more devoted, to the point that the Jedi Council saw it as an unhealthy attachment. Zay managed to convince the Council that the attachment was gone, but Jado sees it coming back.

As the tail end of the Storm's 277 season began to interfere with Zay's normal life and Jedi duties, Jado frequently reminded him to “be a fan, not a fanatic”, but that message often fell on deaf ears. As Rosty Bassell's trial nears, Jado is becoming concerned that Zay is becoming too attached to the Storm once again....

Character Sheet B
Team: Euceron Storm
Name: Marte Nalo
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Birth year: 223
Physical appearance: 5'11", moderately muscled, brown hair with a few spots of gray, light skin, gray mustache
Homeworld: Frego
Relation to Team: Lieutenant with the Eusebus Police Department, responsible for overseeing stadium security on game days (formerly Storm head coach and later broadcaster)

Biography: A top ten prospect in high school, Marte attended the University of Coruscant on a full-ride athletic scholarship, where he majored in criminal justice. Having flopped on the limmie field, he was ready to enroll in the police academy when he was surprised with a contract offer from the Chandrila Patriots. Putting his police academy plans on hold, Marte signed with the Patriots. With them, he essentially failed as a player, but he was recognized by Tan Strensky for his skills at coaching and was moved from midfielder to offensive coordinator. A few years later, he signed a deal with the Premier League's Euceron Storm to take the position of head coach.

Marte coached the Storm brilliantly, leading them back to relevance in the Premier League, to multiple Premiership titles, and eventually gaining promotion to the Elite League in 265. After nineteen years as the Euceron Storm head coach, Marte retired after the 268 season. He later became a broadcaster for HSN Euceron, analyzing Storm games on-air, but that didn't last long, and he was soon back to retirement. During these years, he met and married a Hapan, Jaria, with whom he fathered three children: Marte Jr., killed in a speeder accident in 265 at age 9; Tendra, born in 259 and now playing limmie for the Shedu Maad Knights of the Hapes Consortium Juniors League; and Jado, born in 264 and now the Jedi apprentice of Marte's friend Zay Antilles.

In 274, however, an old bug bit him. Maybe he had watched CSI Coruscant one too many times. Maybe it came from following the local police blotter a little too closely. Or maybe he just wanted to recapture his youth. Whatever the case, Marte signed up for the Euceron Police Academy spring class. At 51 standard years old, Marte was the oldest cadet in the class, but he graduated with distinction and became a Eusebus city police officer.

To the dismay of several officers with longer tenure who complained about “special treatment”, Marte quickly advanced up the rank ladder, reaching lieutenant by the middle of 277. He frequently was assigned to work with the Euceron Storm on game days, helping assist with security in the stadium, and by the end of the 277 season was in charge of organizing game day security.

As the 278 season approaches, Marte's primary concern is to keep the stadium safe from the Bassell brothers—a task greatly helped by last year's arrest and the upcoming trial of the pair's mastermind. He has not seen either of his living children in months, Tendra choosing to stay in the Hapes Cluster during the offseason and Jado being constantly busy with Jedi stuff, but with Jado scheduled to be on Euceron for Rosty Bassell's trial, he hopes to spend a little bit of time with his youngest child.

 

IC: Romo Crowley
Monarchs Stadium, Ryell, Rydonni Prime
278 ELL week 1, Monarchs vs. Packers



Week one. A fresh start to a brand new season. With the shakeup of the Solo Conference due to the exit of the Rangers and the addition of the Triforce, there was a breath of new life into the league.

Romo walked out into the Monarchs’ dressing room and let a slow, steady breath. “Welcome to the new age everyone. The time has come for the Monarchs to take the pitch at the start of another Elite League season. Once more, we play our strategic game, a game of dejarik against our old adversary – The Skywalker Conference. For eleven years, your coaches before you and their former teammates played this game and played it well. But today the game is different. We have the advantage.

“We are opening the season at home, against the one team in this league we are yet to score a win against… The Packers. The game plan is as follows. We are going to start off with the 4-2 offense, the 2-1-2 defense, three across the middle, and Ozzie in goal. Depending on the course of the match, we will sub in accordingly. I refuse to go down to Agamar’s ridiculous dink-and-punt scheme, that is why the three middies need to fall back into the defensive zone and punish anyone who hangs back.

“Now… let’s take it to them.”

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



The Monarchs stood in the entryway to their tunnel as the Public Address Announcer’s voice echoed throughout the stadium. Images of matches and moments from the Monarchs past flashed on the vidscreens around the field.

“For the past ten seasons of the Monarchs involvement in Elite League Limmie has been marked by the achievements of some of the greatest players in the past decade. All Star defender Lex Silas, All Star midfielder and Salbukk nominee Dawn Solo, and the all time leader in shutdowns Ingbrand nominee and Salbukk winner Mara Singus.

“Now they pass their knowledge on to the next generation of stars. Two time All Star and All Pro defensive back Aley Helios, All Star goalkeeper and Ingbrand winner Oss’irh’cgood, and four time offensive forward All Star and back-to-back Duchess Eldin Winner Vesper Lynd.

“Ladies and Gentlebeings, offspring of all ages, the Monarchs are ready to rumble!”

The team charged out of the tunnel on to the field as fight song played. They assembled on their sideline and waited for the PA Announcer to finish naming off the starters for the Agamar Packers. All the lights went out in the stadium and spotlights flew around the stands.

“And now, tonight’s starting lineup for your 278 Monarchs…

“In goal, from the University of Ool Reekcats, number 2, Oooooss’irrrrrrhhhhhh’cgooooooooooood!”

Shouts of “OZZIE! OZZIE! OZZIE!” poured out from the stands as the spotlight landed on him running out on to the pitch.

“At Left Cornerback, from the UCBV Renegades, number 26, Llllllllllllana Piiiiiiiiiiiiiing!”

Lana jogged out to join Ozzie, acknowledging the fans, waving to all four sides of the stands.

“Anchoring Right Cornerback, from the D & M Colonials, number 18, CCCCCora Xuuuxxxxxx!”

The crowd let out a loud ‘Xuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!’ as she jogged out onto midfield.

“In the middle, at Full Back, from the Fighting Tinnish of Northern Dependencies, number 20, Liddy Pooooooooooooooooooowe!”

“Left Half Back, from the Nessem Dire-Cats, number 24, Aley ‘Cat’ Heeeeliiiiiioooossss!”

Aley playfully pawed at the crowd, imitating her nickname.

“At Right Half Back, from the UA Diggers, number 31, Bella Staaaaarrrrr!”

Bella flashed her award winning smile, getting love from all in attendance.

“Standing Guard, from the ABD Nomads, number 7, Caliiiii Rooooooyyyyyyd!”

Cali practically sprinted to midfield where the Lightning’s Center Half Back waited for her.

“On the Right Wing, from the GVSU Pilots, number 63, Kelllllseeeeeeei Seeeeeeeeetttteeeeerrrr!

“On the other Wing, from the Royal College Pirates, number 36, Severiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!”

A deafening roar that went up from the crowd as the second year midfielder took her position.

“At Right Half Forward, the rookie out of Byblos, number 41, Jaymes Nooooooooolan!”

“At Left Half Forward, the rookie from the UA Diggers, Ivaaaaaan Aaaarrrrrttttoooorrrrr!”

Ivaan got a huge amount of support from all the fans as he rushed out on to the field

“In the Right Corner Forward slot, from the CIC Hyperdrives, number 10, Eeeeliii Roooooooooooth!”

“At Left Center Forward, from the Myrkyr Vornskrs, number 3, Reeeewwww Illlllleeeeeoooooo!”

“In the Left Corner, from the UBSD Golden Bears, number 49, Winniiiii Apppppttttoooooooos!”

“And last but definitely not least, at Right Center Forward, from the UBCS Blue Birds, number 21, The Captain, Vevevevesper Llllllllyyyyyyyyynnnnnnnnddddd!”

It was time for Elite League Limmie, Monarchs style!

TAG: Tim Battershell

 

(OOC: All music this season comes from music currently on my iPod. My tastes are... eclectic. You have been warned.)



IC: Korlo Penin
Post-game vs Ralltiir

It didn't make any more sense in the shower than it had on the field, and it frustrated him to no end. The water usually provided clarity after a bad game or practice but this time the answers just eluded him. Maybe there weren't answers, maybe he was as bad as the score reflected.

The goal adding the twenty-first point had left him laying on the field, almost unwilling to pick himself up and face the continuing onslaught. Twenty one points in the first quarter, slipping past his outstretched fingers in every direction, no matter how he threw himself in their way. Coach had signalled their time-out, and Korlo thought he'd be done; let Kasin show who the star was and who the pretender was. But that wasn't what Lopaki had in mind.

"Come on, kid, dust yourself off and get back out there," he'd ordered, clasping Korlo's shoulders. "I'm not going to sub you out in a friendly, just ride out the rest of the game and we'll deal with everything else after. Go!"

Though the score continued to rise, the rest of the game wasn't as bad as it had started. The rest of the team seemed to be struggling as much as he was, no matter how Lopaki subbed them all in and out, though the team still celebrated Megan Meeks' goal late in the game.

Which left him still pondering the question of what had happened. Last season they'd barely won anything and yet he'd never felt this down about their performance; he'd never let in that many goals last season, which was part of it, but that wasn't the whole picture. No, he'd just lost his chance at competing for that starting position, which was now clear for Kasin Urdaaza to step right back into. Not that he should have been surprised, she had been every bit as amazing during camp as she had been before.

"Hey," Kasin herself appeared in the showers' doorway and Korlo blushed. He was about to say something about this being the men's showers but she continued, "Stop moping and get your ass out here, hotshot," and promptly left.

So he did. It wasn't like the hot water was helping any as it was, other than as an excuse not to go back to the locker room, and now he had to or he really would look like he was moping.

Most of the team was still there, unusually subdued but not exactly unhappy. Off to the side, their Captain was illustrating plays to some of her fellow forwards on the board while Prya Tiin held a small holo of game tape to compare it to. What remained of the defense was sitting with their coach, deep in discussion about something Korlo couldn't hear.

And then there was Kasin, staking out his stall with her arms crossed.

"I wasn't moping," he tried to protest belatedly, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Do you know how many bad games I've had since we got promoted?" Kasin asked, and didn't wait for an answer while he changed. "Probably as many as I've had good games. The difference is that a lot of the games where I've been bad, really bad, the rest of the team has bailed me out through good offense and good defense. Right now it looks like we have neither, and that means it's going to be a hell of a lot worse on both of us."

Korlo shook his head. "But twenty one points in a quarter-"

"Happens sometimes." She shrugged. "Look, the game didn't matter, and I know you're better than you looked out there. So do the coaches. So does the rest of the team. Maybe it's a sign of the mystical 'sophomore slump' or maybe you should just forget about it and come back to practice tomorrow like it never happened." She paused for a beat. "Do the second one, by the way. Sophomore slump doesn't exist."

"There's a third option," he hesitated. He'd been thinking about this a lot during the off-season, especially after their former GM had told him he was done with the team. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for the Elite League."

Kasin smacked him on the arm, hard, and he edged away from her. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and go look at your stats from last season. I watched a lot of your game tape, you made it look easy."

Korlo frowned and considered saying something else, but Kasin put a finger to his lips. "Shush, no more complaining that you're no good or I'll hit you again. Repeatedly. On the head. Until you get it." Her smile belied the promise in her eyes that she'd follow through on that threat, so he just nodded silently and she stood up.

"Good boy. Now I have to go prepare a present for the rookies and you're not invited. See you tomorrow." She rushed off, grabbing Zenro and Zoa by the arms as she departed. Korlo briefly considered warning the rookies but simply shook his head and let things be; whatever she was planning would be fun anyway.

Feeling better, Korlo packed up and left as well, contemplating much of what Kasin had said.

--------

IC: Mirik Chal
The next day

"Why don't we start at the back?" Mirik suggested, scrolling down her datapad to the goalkeepers.

Kyril shook his head. "You really want to start with that mess? Defense first."

The coaches were assembled to discuss the final roster. It wouldn't be easy, and every spot was up for grabs; most of the team was underperforming and they weren't happy.

"Shahka's a lock," said Sama Chahrki, their defensive coordinator. "I want Akhirria on her left and I'm leaning towards D'jukk for the right." So her trade with Coruscant had accomplished something; Mirik hadn't been convinced she made the right decision after their performance against Ralltiir.

Kyril nodded. "I agree. That would put… Kul, Battacca, and Chokazza as reserves, right?"

"One of them needs to go back to Eriadu, and Battacca was a veteran presence there last season, I would prefer her." The Kel Dor coach was calmer than his ferocious appearance would imply, content to take the Lightning's leftovers back with him to their affiliate.

"That works. We're all in agreement, then?" Kyril checked that there were no complaints and continued down the list. "Next, half backs. I wasn't happy with Mulhollan or Keela during camp, they're both out of shape and not working hard enough to earn their spots back. I did like Tobin, she was tough even when the game was out of reach with the Starkillers."

Chahrki spoke up again. "She was much easier to work with than the others. If we put her with Tey and Ollai to start, I think that line will work out in the long run. Sekmarrin I think has also improved, he could be good as a reserve with Fuunke."

"We're pretty deep at half back so if things don't work out, there are a lot of possible combinations," Mirik suggested.

"And if Mulhollan and Keela step it up, they can earn their way back up here." Kyril looked down at his notes again. "So, midfield."

There was a noticeable pause. They had four midfielders that were all very good, but only three positions. And one player still in a sticky situation.

"Any updates on the Cosh situation?" Kyril asked, and Mirik let out a sigh, searching through her datapad for the relevant information.

"There are still delays on To's trial, which means Cosh, Beiron, and I could be called to testify at any time, which means he could be unavailable for certain games. I wouldn't count on him being there for any of them." Of course, she was fairly certain that the delays were being manufactured by the Togruta herself, likely to inconvenience the team as much as she could. Even though her fingers were out of the Lightning's business, she was still finding ways to interfere.

"That means he's no use to me with the Thunder," Shor Dol complained.

"Let's put him as a reserve for now, with, let's see, Tiin and Mu'tish as starters?" Kyril suggested, and the others gave their assent. "Leaving you," he pointed at Shor Dol, who nodded, "with Mersac."

Leesan Vydoom, their new offensive coordinator, spoke up eagerly before anyone could say they were moving onto the half forwards. "I would very much like to keep Tunni," he announced.

"The new draft pick? You're sure?" Kyril frowned. "I had Nor down instead."

"Tunni, Vra, and Ta make a solid line, you didn't see?" The Rodian was more animated than Mirik had ever seen him, almost bouncing in his seat.

"I think Tunni could use a season with the Thunder but I suppose we can give her a chance." Kyril leaned back, considering. "And you want her as a starter, too? That's quite a vote of confidence."

"I would prefer Eitos but she's too busy having a baby." Leesan clearly disapproved of her choices but continued on anyway. "So Tunni works instead. And then Zostin and Gale as backup."

"Over Tirturat?" The Rodian nodded and Kyril sighed. "I'll give your lineup a chance but if things don't work out I'm calling them back up."

"And Meeks." Kyril looked slightly like he wanted to throw his datapad at his fellow coach at this point.

"Meeks had a good showing against the Starkillers, I'll admit, but I'm not so sure about her playing right away."

"We need offense, right? Meeks scored, no one else did, so she wins a spot. Simple," Leesan explained, looking smug about his logic.

"Fine. I want Costa and Leth with her too, then." Kyril stared down Leesan, who looked like he wanted to protest. "And Osso and Menda in the reserve spots." No one else had any complaints so they returned to their initial spots.

"And the goalkeepers." Kyril sighed and shifted in his seat. "Thoughts?"

"Penin's a good kid but he's not Urdaaza. Simple as that," Sama Chahrki said.

"That friendly didn't exactly help things either, did it?" Kyril sighed and turned to the two quiet general managers. "Do you two have any input?"

"I can get you players if you need them and get rid of trouble spots but the lineup is up to you," Mirik smiled. "But I think Kasin needs to play. The fans need to see that she's back, that she can play like she used to. And I think Kasin needs it too."

"She'll start against the Miners," Kyril agreed. "But after that…"

"It's not so bad to have two good goalkeepers, though," Ina Viyai, Mirik's assistant, pointed out.

Kyril rubbed his jaw. "What if we run it so they're both essentially starters? They have a good game, they keep starting, a bad one and the other one gets a go."

Mirik shook her head. "Kasin will not be happy if Korlo gets more starts than she does, no matter how friendly she might seem."

"We'll play it by ear, but I think that's our best route this year." Kyril paused and looked down at his datapad again. "There is one more outstanding issue. Captaincy."

Mirik sat forward. "You think someone else should wear the C?"

"Nothing like that, Vra's a good, solid presence on and off the field. No, you traded away the only A," Kyril gave her a pointed look, "so we have to decide on a new one."

There was a long pause as everyone thought about it. Mirik thought that Zoa should have a say in the decision, as Captain, but said nothing; this was a coach's decision, after all.

"Thoughts?" Kyril prompted after a minute or so had passed.

"Shahka," suggested Sama Chahrki, always sticking up for her defense.

"Isn't she a little… strange to be assistant captain?" Kyril tried to be diplomatic about it but Chahrki frowned at him.

"She's a Barabel, that's all. She's been with the team for ages, and I know the players like her. And she hits like a landspeeder."

Kyril nodded. "Anyone else?"

"Prya Tiin." Mirik was slightly surprised to find herself speaking aloud, but everyone's eyes turned to her and she had to continue. "She's young, but I've noticed a lot of the other young players looking up to her. Plus, she's been an all-star twice."

"She was on my shortlist," Kyril agreed. "I'll admit I hadn't considered Shahka, but you're right, she's a good choice. While the Lightning hasn't had two assistant captains in a while, I think they've both earned the A." With nods all around, he stood up.

"Well, we have our team. Time to let them know."

--------

Later

Lonah Eelin was a beautiful Nautolan, thin but athletic, reflecting her past as a dancer. And, perhaps, her future.

"I'll be blunt, Lonah, you're really the only remaining candidate to take charge of forming our dance team. Justyne Vigo-Fortune is currently on-planet but not for much longer; you have until she leaves to iron out how to start and organise the whole thing. I'm just surprised you're not interested in dancing yourself."

Lonah offered a wide smile. "I love to dance, but I would prefer to run tryouts and train the dancers rather than perform myself."

Mirik nodded. "Well, she'll be back for our game against the C-Buccs, and I want the team ready to perform against the Storm, or the Pirates at the latest. And I want them to be good by the time the new stadium is complete, because the fanfare around that will be… significant."

"Oh, they'll be ready. Maybe not as good as the Starkillers' dance crew but they'll be ready. I guarantee it." Mirik wasn't sure she wanted to know how Lonah Eelin could guarantee it, but she had a feeling that ice ran in the woman's veins.

"I look forward to seeing your work." Mirik stood and shook Lonah's hand, who then quite gracefully left, leaving Mirik to wonder if she could learn to be that poised.

--------

(OOC: a one-time character, just for this post)



IC: Kasin Urdaaza
Game day vs Bakura

It was time.

It was a moment she'd thought about a lot, much more than she'd like to admit. After everything that had happened (don't think about it, don't talk about it, nothing happened) she'd considered retiring from the game. But something just kept nagging at her, telling her that her time wasn't up yet, that she still had more to give to the Lightning, more wins in her hands and in her heart.

The wins would remain to be seen, in the hands of more players than just hers, and random chance always interfering when least expected, interference from the hands of the Limmie gods. Anything could happen, and that was what terrified her.

Stepping out on the field meant there was no going back. It was a proclamation shouted to the galaxy that yes, Kasin Urdaaza was here, she was back. And if not quite all of her had returned, they would be able to see it, live in high definition on their holos or in person. The parts that were missing, the strength and the energy that made her the Limmie player she was.

Her skills weren't in question; even she could see that from training camp and practices and an off-season of tossing balls around with her brothers. But there was more to it than skill, there was determination and confidence and a whole slew of other things that she didn't know if she had anymore. And if she didn't have them, she'd fail; fail the team, fail herself, fail those that had worked so hard to help her get herself together before this season began.

But she would be letting everyone down even more if she didn't step out there, if she didn't try.

It was a monumental task to take that first step out onto the field, leading the Lightning out. But that first step turned into a second, and a third as she picked up speed, jogging out with the rest streaming behind her.

Above and around her, she could hear the Miners fans, their celebration of the team's achievements a wave of noise that she breathed in. Maybe it wasn't their stadium, but being out here felt better than anything she'd felt in nearly a year.

Maybe she wouldn't win. Maybe she would. Maybe she would let goal after goal slip past her. Maybe she would stop them all.

Whatever happened, Kasin Urdaaza was ready.

TAG: Runjedirun Trieste

 

GM Post

Ladies, gentlemen, it is Opening Day of the 278 season of Elite League Limmie.

Bonus rolls to Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Euceron, Mando'ade, Nar Shaddaa, Ralltiir, Rydonni Prime, and Ylesia. Let's get this show on the road.

Week 1 Results

Agamar Packers at Rydonni Prime Monarchs (0-17)
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Kuat Triforce (35-31)
Euceron Storm at Coruscant Senators (29-26)
Carratos Pirates at Ralltiir Starkillers (9-16)
Ylesia Lightning at Bakura Miners (15-13)
Mando’ade Mercs at Hapes Consortium Buccaneers (23-35)

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

 

IC: Kaitlyn Vehn
Kuat Marina Stadium, Kuat

She normally didn’t patrol the sidelines for games but today she couldn’t resist. The Triforce were absolutely laying into the Smugglers as both squads ratcheted up the points, momentum see-sawing back and forth, the home crowd in the game and out of it with each rapid offensive or defensive series.

“Tighten the wings down, tighten the wings down!” Huntington yelled to Jayla Leed who relayed the commands to veterans Zetter, Tullo, and Keisel.

The Smuggler defense once again morphed as the tidal wave brought about by the fierce Triforce attack surged again. They’d blown through ‘Reaver’ in the middle and were hammering the two rookies, Zelena Wiles and Alynn Tran, who were learning just how fierce a professional Limmie game could be. So far, they’d made a few mental errors that had turned into points. They would learn, Kaitlyn knew, as so many Smugglers who had come before had learned as well. One had to choose how to strike, when to strike, before going in for the killing blow.

Late in the second half the score was tied at 31 and the home crowd was absolutely deafening. The Smuggler offense had choked a few times in the Triforce defensive zone as they adjusted to the ever changing defense that Kuat was bringing today. Both teams had very little tape on one another and that was most likely contributing to the high scoring affair in what was turning out to be a thriller. Huntington had one remaining timeout and he called it with about a minute left on the clock.
McCloud, Bellweather, Gunn, Lerouex, and Brousard gathered around as Huntington wanted to speak with his surefire shooters. The ones that routinely went in for the kill. The ones that made the Smugglers a name to be respected throughout the galaxy.

“What are you seeing?” Huntington asked his tired players.

“They’re playing zone and then they’ll press hard up the center to get us to take shots from the wings,” Mylessa McCloud, a Galactic Cup champion, said.

“Anything else?” John asked. He trusted his players. Kaitlyn liked his approach. That showed he knew they could win games for him. That showed that he wasn’t a micro-manager. He trusted their decisions. It was, after all, ultimately on the players for the Smugglers to succeed.

“Their goalie, Haydnat Swan, he likes to step up in the box once the pressure is on in the center. He’s confident we can’t make the shot with our corners,” Gunn, who so rarely spoke up, piped in.

“Give it to me, guys, pass it my way. I can get the curve on the ball to help us win this thing!” Lerouex said.

All eyes turned to Shady Lerouex. She wasn’t Mylessa McCloud but she was a darn fine player. Normally used for support rules, normally used as a distraction to free up pressure around the box, Lerouex was asking for the responsibility to change the game, to win the game. Kaitlyn respected that. She admired that Lerouex was taking on more of a leadership role. That was a big start. That was huge.

Huntington knelt down in front of Leroeux and gently grasped her hands. Her warm, sweaty, tired, hands.

“You sure?”

“I wouldn’t be telling you I could do it if I wasn’t,” Lereoux replied.

Huntington scanned his offensive roster and then looked up at Kaitlyn who gave him a barely perceptible nod of approval.

“Go win this thing!” Huntington yelled as the team trotted back onto the field.

What happened next was something special. Lerouex did score three making the Smugglers go up 34-31. A deflection off the Smugglers goal, a valiant block by Jayla Leed, in a last ditch attempt by the Triforce to put the game into overtime sent the bolo-ball into Reaver’s hands who booted it over the crossbar for a single, lasting, burning reminder of how hungry Nar Shaddaa was to win here on Kuat.

Kaitlyn celebrated with the team on the shuttle ride home. They had a a game next week against the Hapes C-Bucs and a reunion with Meredith Chambers-Vayne who Kaitlyn noticed had notched a win against the Mercs earlier in the day. That was impressive. Good for her.

Her datapad vibrated and Kaitlyn’s face collapsed through the emotions of euphoria straight into the emotions of despair.

The Corellian Sector was burning. The gangs were fighting back against the police.

All was not well on Nar Shaddaa.

---

IC: Officer Ken Wattsone

​

The Burning of the Corellian Sector


The smoke was thick and heavy. The flames were burning hot and bright. The barricades in the lower sections of the Corellian Sector had only slowed them down, had only made them more determined, had only forced the police to use heavier, harder hitting tactics.

“Push forward! Tear down the barricades!” Ken’s commander screamed through the choking smoke.

Ken coughed hard, pushed his way through the smoke, lunged forward and started to plow a hole up and over the barricades. A few stray shots of blaster fire came back over his head forcing him to hit the rubble. Children and young women raced past the thickening lines of heavily armed police officers who realized that the gangs were not going to go quietly from the streets of the Vertical City. He scrambled back up over the barricade, more blaster fire now, some heavier weaponry that he wasn’t used to, wasn’t familiar with.

Several officers were cut down as they crested the barricade but still Ken pushed forward. He wouldn’t be stopped. He wasn’t going to be called a coward. He may have been addicted to spice, he may have turned an eye to the problems of the citizenry around him, but he wasn’t about to forsake his duty, his oath, to the police force, to Kaitlyn Vehn, to the Nar Shaddaa he believed he would one day see with his own eyes.

He took cover behind an overturned speeder. Blaster bolts pinging away at the exterior, cries from the wounded, both civilian and police officer alike, and still he focused on his objective. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by what was going on all around him. He couldn’t allow himself to falter. Not now, not when they were so close. The ground beneath him shook as armored personal carriers crawled and smashed their way through the barricade as columns of officers filed in behind. A rocket screamed past and slammed into the hull just below the turret of the APC blowing the turret high into the air where it crashed into a nearby building.

He closed his eyes as the screams of those inside being cooked alive by the rocket hit him hard in the chest, in the soul, another dent in his life energy, another reason to block it all out, another reason to stop caring about life itself. He slipped back into the morning briefing, some sense of self-protection, and remembered every word that his commander had said as they looked at the holographic map of the Corellian Sector, most of which, mercifully, was under VCPD control.

“Capture Markus Drexel and bring him to justice! Go block by block, street by street, I want these gangs outta here!” His commander had said in the pre-mission briefing.

“Lieutenant!” a voice near him said.

Ken looked up and away from his memories at the source of the voice.

“Lieutenant, we’re closing on on Drexel’s location, come on!”

That was a good friend of his. They’d known one another since primary school. They’d shared laughs, drinks, and some good memories together. Now, here they were, destroying a part of Nar Shaddaa, becoming the men they never wanted to be, doing things they never wanted to do.

Ken nodded, pushed the image of that APC burning out of his mind, and launched himself to his feet, followed his friend, followed the other officers, to a dilapidated, pock-marked building at the end of the alley. Gang bodies littered the streets remnants of those idiots who had chosen to fight rather than surrender. He switched on his flashlight and entered the building. Calls of “Clear!” and “Suspect down!” rang into his headset as he performed a sweep.

“Drexel’s gone,” came the call over the radio.

Ken knew Drexel wasn’t an idiot. The man hadn’t assembled his own private militia and his own drug empire by being stupid. He thought about the last conversation he’d had with the guy. How everything would change on Nar Shaddaa. How the product would be more expensive. Ken felt the sick punch of irony in his gut at that statement. Yeah, expensive alright, especially in lives lost. Sometimes he wondered what he was doing on the force. How long he could keep his cover and connections with Drexel a secret. Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe he should just turn himself in now. Maybe he should just call it good and hang up his boots.

He sighed and looked down at the floor. He noticed right away that the floorboards didn’t match one another. He knelt down and ripped the floorboards away, shown his light in the hideaway room below and was shocked to discover a green Twi’lek female looking back up at him with wild eyes of fear. She was beautiful. She was captivating.

She was Shelly Oneida.

IC: Shelly Oneida

Shelly raised her arms to block the bright flashlight that burned down from the heavens and smoky haze of Drexel’s compound. She’d hid in here when the shooting first started. She’d fled from Drexel and to her relief he hadn’t gone looking for her. She was replaceable, she knew, and had done the only smart thing she could think of and that was to stow away in the smuggler’s holds of the house. Now she was staring up into the eyes of a human male who had the face of someone who’d seen too much for his age.

“I’m here to help!” The man said as he reached a gloved hand down to her.

Shelly hesitated. She wasn’t stupid. What if this was a trap? What if somehow it was Drexel testing her loyalty? One wrong move and she’d be dead. She’d end up like the others. The other women she’d once called friends.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said. “Trust me.”

She saw the uniform. VCPD. That meant very little to her. She’d grown up on a Nar Shaddaa that laughed at the police. A Nar Shaddaa that saw the police as a joke. There was no joking now though as she looked up into the officer’s eyes. He was serious. He was willing to help her. There was compassion there. No judgement, no hatred, just one being caring for another. Could she trust him? The only question she could ask herself as she allowed him to pull her up out of the smuggler’s hideaway was would he be able to keep her safe from Drexel?

She felt a warm blanket wrapped around her as she was escorted out of the building. A cold cup of water was thrust into her hands. She drank, felt better, got a look at her surroundings, and at that moment realized how the Corellian Sector had changed in the span of a day. Gone were the familiar landmarks replaced with death and destruction. Nothing would be the same here anymore. Nothing at all.

“Don’t be frightened,” the officer said who’d helped her out of her hiding place.

“If you lived the life I have you would be,” Shelly replied.

“There’s nothing to fear,” the officer said as he wrapped the blanket around her a little tighter.

“Tell me that when Drexel is dead,” Shelly said.

The officer looked down and nodded quietly. When he looked back up at her Shelly realized that he too had some scars that he was carrying. He too had a heavy burden upon his shoulders. Somehow, someway, Shelly sensed that he wanted to talk to her about something, something that had been weighing on his mind for a long time.

“You need to tell me something, don’t you?” Shelly asked.

“I know all about Drexel. I was the one who tipped him off,” the officer said.

Shelly put a green hand on his shoulder. “Never make that mistake again, you hear me? You should let your buddies kill him next time. Drexel’s still alive and a lot of people are going to continue to die before this is done.”

The officer nodded and looked away. She could tell he felt guilty enough about it.

“If it makes you feel any better you saved my life,” she said and then a moment later extended her hand and said, “I’m Shelly.”

The officer looked up and took her hand. “Lieutenant Ken Wattsone, 5th Precinct, VCPD.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Shelly replied as the sounds of heavy blaster fighting continued in the distance.

IC: Victor Trubaan

His home was destroyed. His wife and kids had left him hours earlier. His job, well, that was gone now too, wasn’t it? He had nothing. He was nothing. He was a coward who couldn’t keep it in his pants. Now he was fleeing like so many out of the Corellian Sector and into the police cordon. He’d been picked up by a patrol and shuttled off to a big warehouse with a bunch of other confused people. How had everything come to this? One minute he’d been the boss getting the best lay of his life and the next he’d lost it all.

An aide worker handed him some bottled water. He drank and looked out the window of the collection center he was in and saw the towering form of Six Boroughs looming over him.

A small glow erupted in his belly.

At least he still had the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers to watch. At least he still had that.


Tag: Polydroxol (For Kuat stuff)

 

Sub-GM Post

Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Eriadu (30), Concordia (30), Byblos (30), Druckenwell (28), Commenor (28), Tatooine (30), Corellia (28), Thyferra (32).

Limmie Futures League
Week 1
Eriadu Thunder at Concordia Crusaders (24–26)
Byblos Red Wings at Druckenwell Marksmen (15–21)
Garqi Gunners at Commenor Gundarks (5–12)
Tatooine Sandskimmers at Corellia Rebels (7–1)
Gallinore Firedrakes at Thyferra Force (2–11)

TAG: Bardan_Jusik Polydroxol CPL_Macja Tim Battershell Rebecca_Daniels Jedi Gunny Runjedirun Vehn

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Coruscant

It was obvious to Christine from the opening kickoff that this game was going to be a fierce one. The Storm had missed the playoffs the prior season on the last day, and were hungry to get back there. They had a four-game winning streak against the home team coming into this one, and wanted to make that five in a row. They still would have the Antilles Formation to roll out at some point. Their offense, with Asyel Yan’ii and company, would try to break the newly-remodeled Senator defense. Their defense, with Chenkabukk and friends from the Back 6, looked to lock the Senator offense down. They had made the playoffs recently, and had a good team.

But the Senators were intent on pushing back. This makeshift team, full of new players and rookies, perhaps was too stupid to realize that they had an uphill battle today. But that was what made them the perfect candidate to succeed today, to finally break the ten-game losing streak they found themselves on. Christine was sick of losing, and was ready to make sure her team got through for the first time in a counting game in a long time. They were long overdue for a win, and perhaps this was the right time to correct that wrong.

The first obstacle was a quick Storm goal. Ugdulo Borr found himself out of position on Yan’ii, and the Bothan burned the Chevin. Zeke Barbosa then was unable to stop the ball from going into the goal for an instant 3-0 Euceron lead. Barbosa smacked the ground with his hand, and the Coruscant crowd, already somewhat subdued, silenced. They had seen this Holo before. The game was over.

And Christine couldn’t blame them. This was the same franchise that had gone 190 minutes of regular season action without scoring a single goal, dating back to last season. No doubt fans forgot what a goal felt like from their team, to hear the blaring of the sound system as the P.A. announcer yelled out the scorer’s name, the assist, and everything else they typically said. But the announcements were usually rather grim, being disproportionately in favor of the other team. And it looked no different this time.

But that was last year’s Senator “team”’s problem. This year they had something to go off of, a friendly win over Alsakan in the preseason to work with. The ball went down to Vail Pin in the post, where she kept her matchup locked up. The Shistavanen then passed off to Ava Killenger, who had come around on the curl route. She got a slight pick from Pin as she came around, and then found Leia Adama open in the flat. Taking the pass, Adama recklessly charged into the teeth of the Storm defense. A few fans in attendance probably figured she was going to be smacked hard here and then become lethargic against ever doing this again. But the rookie first overall pick wasn’t going to be deterred. She dodged a swinging arm from a falling defender and then buried a shot into the back of the net past Chenkabukk. The P.A. announcer went wild, and the crowd, which had been so goal-starved, erupted in cheers for the rookie. Adama was mobbed by her teammates, and Christine cracked a smile. The rookie had guts, that was for sure, and if there was anyone who could revive this offense, it was her.

As the game progressed, the Storm stayed out in front, beating Zeke Barbosa in goal time and again as their scored kept rising. But the Senators were right on their heels, keeping it close. The Storm late in the first half opened up a five-point lead, but the home team came back quickly. Sharsy Wenips made a mockery of her defender in the Antilles Formation and then passed long to Ava. The Comeback Player of the Year for 277 caught it while falling onto her back between two defenders. She then eked out a pass to Adama, who zipped it into the crease where Max Qorbus was waiting. The Storm’s Wookiee goaltender was out of position and the Nautolan scored his first goal of the year.

On defense, Christine knew that things had to be buckled down. Her fellow defenders were struggling mightily, especially when the Antilles came into play. The Storm were dominating the Back 6 of the Senators, especially Kara Milovy, the Hapan corner back. Barbosa finally got yanked from goal at the half after surrendering a grisly 24 points, and a few changes made to the lineup. Milovy was now out, and Rickard Herman would take over. The Korun rookie was ready to slam some people into the turf. Christine talked it over with Rosa Berant, the defensive coordinator, at the half, and Jamee Meels came in to replace Patti Meter at the Center Half. Meter, the 277 first overall pick, was getting destroyed once more, and no doubt her selection in the Draft was looking even dicier all the time. Borr got replaced by Deluxx, the Weequay defender. It was wholesale changes, yes, but the Senators were still in this one.

And, for once, the crowd was too. Every time the Senators scored, the fans cheered. They could sense that this was a different team than had embarrassed themselves last year. There was something here that had been sorely missing in 277, a moxie not present but sorely wanted. Even though the stadium was only half-full, it reminded Christine of her rookie season, when fans came out in droves to see the Senators play. Her team now had a chance to send those fans home a winner for the first time since 276. She had the chance to win for the first time in two years. She had to finish.

The second half ground to a halt on scoring as the Senators finally shut down the Storm on offense. Jam Tarpals, the Gungan goalie, made some excellent saves, and the defense buckled down. Christine caused yet another fumble on her matchup, another dominating play from a good game by the team captain. Herman on the other corner was now getting under the skin of his matchup, using his physicality to make plays and keep coverage tight. Deluxx at the full back spot was now chasing Storm forwards out of the middle of the field, and things were going good. The Senators were able to use this to their advantage as bar points went up and tied the game up late at 26.

With a few minutes left, the Storm scored a goal when the rookie Weequay was finally bested by Yan’ii and the Storm went up by three. The Senators tried to rally in the waning minutes. “Come on, push it in!” Peet Carelle yelled to him team as they worked on offense.

Christine could only watch as the Senators went to work. The ball was in motion every few seconds, every forward trying to find a gap to exploit. Vail Pin tried to drive it in, but was rebuffed and had to retreat. She passed it off to Laura Cellen, the rookie, but she had no more luck. Qorbus got the ball and tried to post up, but a double-team formed on him, and he had to dump it off to Ynisse Zalt. The Twi’lek second-year player tossed the ball at the goal, but Chenkabukk stopped it easily. The ball deflected off his hands and went to a Storm defender, who kicked the ball clear of the zone.

Christine looked at the clock. Time was running out. The defense made a play when Meels took down Nian’lie and got the ball back, but the midfielders were being muscled around, and by the time the ball got into the offensive zone, there were only fifteen seconds left. Zalt had the ball, and passed it off to Adama. The rookie charged in once more and finally let off a shot. But the ball was deflected and went wide right, barely two feet from finding the next. The horn blared, and the game was over.

Christine felt completely deflated as she knew she had lost once again. Eleven straight losses for her team, fourteen straight for her personally. She didn’t remember what it felt like to win, and it was difficult to have to get into the handshake line. But she did anyways, trying to put on a straight face as she congratulated the Storm players on a win well-deserved.

As the line broke up, Christine went over to Adama, who had poured in two goals and two bar points in her first Elite League game but had come up just short of putting in the equalizer. “Sometimes the game doesn’t go your way, rook,” she said. “Look at me. I thought we had it.”

“Sorry, cap,” Adama said with a sigh. “I did everything I could on that one.”

“We battled hard. Can’t ask for anything more than that,” Christine said. She stared to walk to the locker room with her team.

But what happened next she had not seen coming. The fans in the stands were still there, and they were standing and clapping as their team exited the field. “Way to go!” one fan yelled in close proximity.

“They’re . . . cheering . . . for us,” Jenna Leed said, shocked.

“And it feels damn good, even though we lost,” Christine commented. The ovation lasted until all the black-and-orange uniforms left the field and went to their locker room. When everyone had settled in, Christine had something to say.

“I know we lost out there,” she said. “But we had them on the ropes. Our fans were cheering for us; they were in the game for the first time in forever. We gave them hope out there today because we played good Limmie. Yes there are things we need to work on, but if we keep this up, we can get that first win. Someday they will be cheering for us when we win. So keep that in mind next week. We can win that game.”


As she got out of her uniform and into her street clothes, Christine knew that today had been a rough loss, yes, but a momentum-builder. Hopefully next week they would break through the barrier and win a game. If today was any indication, it was that the Coruscant Senators weren’t going to go quietly this year.

TAG: jcgoble3