Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

IC: Geoff Copin
Bankers Mansion, Ralltiir

"Sylvanus, challenge her don't give her room." Geoff shouted from the sidelines as Loren Jul scored another goal, completing her natural hat trick. Sylvauns seemed distracted all game. Geoff would have subbed him after the second goal but, there were no reserves to call upon. Rhodri and Boutros were doing a good job shutting down Andres Fortune in the center and, Brian and Bestide held the left side strong but the right collapsed almost every play. Sylvauns wasn't aggressive enough to stop Loren early and Samia didn't have the speed to cut off the run on goal. Offense wasn't that much better, Ty Allin kept Logan covered and the rest of the back line restricted Rime and Vayan to bad angle shots on goal or over the bar tries. The veteran corner forwards, to their credit, had managed a point a piece so far with an additional point added by Leigh Cavanagh. That still left the Pirates two goals down. Rhodri missed a check on Andres and Boutros was caught out of position looking for a pass to Kara Sureysh. Fortune had no one between him and Qazi. The forward rushed the goal and send the bolo-ball at the net. Qazi missed the it by mere millimeters. The Pirates ended the half down three goals.

In the locker room the team looked in rough shape, the backs were worn out stopping the Starkiller's attack and the forwards were frustrated by the smothering defense.

"All right team," the coach started "We're down three goals that's not an insurmountable deficit." He paused to look at his players "We can do this, we just need to step up our game a little. Half forwards," Leigh, Seji and Else looked up, "I want you to pass the ball a bit more amongst yourselves. Try and draw their back line forward a bit to give Rimme, Logan and Vayan room to maneuver. Samia," the Zabrak turned her head, sweat running down her face, "play further back, Loren is burning you when you play up close. The rest of the defense keep doing what you're doing, you're holding their offense back."

"Well some of us are," Bestide Mol'der said staring daggers at Sylvauns.

"Leave the kid alone." Rhodri interjected, "He's doing the best he can, Loren Jul was one of their leading scorers last year."

"So was Fortune and you're not having as many problems."

"I've got a centimeter and about 10 kilos on Fortune, I can be more aggressive."

"Enough," Geoff called out "I know we're all tried but, we can't turn against each other, not now. Everyone get some water, take a breath and prepare for the next half. Sylvanus," the young Balosar stood up, "a word." Sylvanus and Geoff walked a little bit away from the rest of the team. "You doing ok?" Geoff asked. The half back extended his antennapalps and looked around.

"I know I've been screwing up this game but, it's getting to me, up here." He tapped his index finger against his temple.

"How do you mean?"

"You know the thing at the beginning, saying this game was to honor someone that died." He said referring to the ceremony before the game.

"Martin Vigo, the former owner."

"It's like the whole stadium's grieving, it's distracting, I can't shut it out." A downside to Balosar's 'physical intuition'. Their species developed to detect danger, to read surges emotions, their natural response to this stimuli is to duck or run. Most of the time the crowd doesn't effect him, at a normal game most people are excited, bored or sad. Emotions like grief and anger are powerful and trigger his danger warning. He has worked on it but, he's never been in a stadium with 2 million seats.

"You got to shut it out Sylvanus. This probably won't be the last emotionally charged game we play this season, I need you on that right side ok."

"Yeah, got it, I'll do my best."

"All right." Geoff clapped a hand over Slyvanus's shoulder. "You got this." He said in a comforting tone.

Half time had ended and the teams returned to the field the stands erupted with noise. The crowd quieted at the players took their positions. In that lull Geoff heard something, most likely everyone on the pitch heard it.

What do ya' do with a drunken spacer,
What do ya' do with a drunken spacer,
What do ya' do with a drunken spacer early in the morning,

Geoff look to were the chantey was coming from and saw a black spot amongst a sea of blue and orange, a large flag with the Pirates logo on it was swept back and forth in the air.

Leave it to the Scallywags to cause a ruckus at a memorial game, Geoff thought listening to the song, and bring a voice amplifier. The ref started the second half and the Starkiller fans drowned out the 'Black Spot with their cheers. Five minutes in Geoff called a time out.

"Why'd you call a time out so early coach." Logan asked jogging to the sidelines, "We could need it later."

"I think this is worth it. Look there," Geoff said pointing to the Pirate flag waving in the stands. "They came here to help us play, let's make it worth the trip." The team broke up ending the quick time out. A few minutes later Sylvanus managed to knock the ball out of Loren Jul's hands and make a quick pass to Marcus. Marcus juked around Zarene Klick and sent a bullet pass to Leigh, who passed it back and forth with Else. Lou Jeffers stepped forward after Leigh accepted a pass over the head of Lena Roselli, giving Rime just enough space to receive a bounce pass from the right half forward. The captain looked to Logan, who managed to be open for just a second. Rime threw the ball at head height toward the human. Logan redirected it off his forehead and into the far side of the goal over the diving wookiee goalkeeper. Logan punch his fist in the air as he jogged away. Logan scored again this time off a rebound from one a Else's long kicks. It felt like the tide was turning, they were only a goal down now. They were almost there. Then Gavin Stommer put one over the bar. After that the Pirates offensive momentum was gone. The Starkillers got three more over the bar points from Sureysh, Fortune and Jul to put the Pirates away.

Back in the locker room the team began to pack up.

"Team," Geoff said getting their attention, "I want you to know that I think we did good out there."

"But, we lost coach." Seiji sighed

"We just held one of the most powerful defenses to 16 points, us," he tapped his finger tips to his chest, "The Carratos Pirates just held the Ralltirr Starkiller offense to 5 goals plus an over the bar. We came from nowhere and stood up to a powerhouse. You should be proud of how you all played that second half. Sylvauns, that was a brilliant steal off Loren Jul, Marcus, that was an awesome move you put on Klick, Leigh, Else, you showed great teamwork drawing out the defenders, Rime, a perfect cross pass, and Logan, way to finish, on a wookiee goaltender no less." All the players nodded "You see, we got the talent we just need to hone our skills. Next week's practices will focus on right side defense and speed offense." The team applauded, not for their coach's speech but, for each other, recognizing the effort everyone gave on that field. "Let's pack up and go home, we host the Monarchs next week. Lets make sure to give them a Pirate welcome."

TAG: @ Runjedirun

 

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IC: Adenn Vizsla
Meshla Vhetin, Manda'yaim.

It was the opening game of the 278 season and Merc's General Manager Adenn Vizsla had elected to stay behind on manda'yaim while the team traveled to Hapes. It wasn't that he didn't want to see the team play, he did, and it wasn't that he had too much else to do, although he really did, he just didn't want to be "in the way" for the team's first road trip. Prior to last season Vizsla had been the Mercs head coach, and despite the way he had been initially dismissed from the team his tenure had been a successful one. He didn't want Coach Braun (whose first season had also been a relatively successful one) to think that Vizsla was micromanaging things. Again, not so much because Vizsla worried about the head coach's feelings on the matter, but because Vizsla himself was a man who believed in putting people on the path and then letting them loose to succeed or fail on their own merits. Failure would be punished, severely, and success as greatly rewarded. From what Vizsla had seen last season of Braun and the Mercs he expected only success. Sadly from what he saw on the holo, that was not the case in this game.

There was no team cohesion demonstrated on the field. Instead it seemed as though every player was playing their own game, and trying to run up their own stats. Lieznam refused to throw off on several plays that might have resulted in points had he passed to an open player. Instead he elected to keep the ball and tried to do everything himself. It resulted in a few spectacular plays but it was no where near enough. Daryc too seemed to be playing only for himself and though he knocked in point after point, the attitudes of the two forwards did nothing to help the team itself. Throwing into them became something of a black hole for the offense as neither allowed anyone else to touch the ball once they had possession of it. Eventually the other forwards just stopped passing it to them resulting in even more chaos on the offensive end. Still they played well enough and showed enough flashes of brilliance on their own to make a game of it, and perhaps even win, had it not been for a complete collapse on the defensive end.

The backs there kept leaving their assignments, going for the "big play" instead of playing within the defensive scheme that Vizsla knew Braun had laid out for them. With the defensive backs out of position, Thorn newly installed as the starting goaltender, had little chance at keeping the score down. By the mid point of the second half the game had gotten away from them, but Braun refused to pull the starters. Vizsla approved of that move, the starters had gotten them into this mess, they would suffer the ignomy of defeat as well. Even trough the holo Vizsla could see the frustration of team captain Mor'kesh. He had every right to be frustrated. Alone on the team, the midfielders had managed to hold their own against their Hapan counterparts. Watching the Mandalorian captain and his Devaronian team mate had been like watching poetry in motion. Sadly the offense and the defense had sunk the game and wasted their effort.

As the final horn sounded and the Hapan's celebrated their season opening victory Vizsla turned off the holo. It was only one game, there was no reason to panic yet, but what Vizsla saw had been disturbing. The team hadn't underestimated the Bucs, they were a well respected franchise and a capaable opponenet. No, what they had done was kill themselves through lack of team play. Whatever it was that had brought them all together late last season seemed to be gone, and Braun could only hope that Coach Braun could light a similar fire under them all...and soon.

---

Meshla Vhetin, 278 ELL home opener vs. the Ralltiir Starkillers.

Last week on Hapes had been a disaster, and things would get no easier this week. The Mercs were hosting the Starkillers, and though the Bucs were always good, the Starkillers were perennial playoff contenders. The Mercs would have to be at their best to even have a chance against them. The stadium, as always was so loud as to barely allow a being to think. The Mercs were well used to this, and would be communicating through a series of hand signals. Other teams had found their own ways of coping with the noise of 4.5 million fans crying out for their blood, some with more success than others.

This game had an extra specialness to the fans here though. This was the team's first home game in front of their new owners, the Mandalorians themselves. The team came put onto the field to the cheers of millions. Each was introduced by name, with their position and school noted as well. For each the screams seemed to get louder than the one before with no regard for the players own heritage. To the Mando'ade they were all Mercs, and so they were all one team. After last week's debacle Vizsla hoped that the feeling extened to the players themselves.

Watching them warm up though Vizsla could see that fracture lines had again formed. There was little interaction between Daryc and Lieznam as they stretched on the sidelines. Mor'kesh tried to approach Daryc but was brushed off. Vizsla knew it was taking everything Mor'kesh had to not smack the Mandalorian forward upside the head right now, but fortunately he didn't. A fight between players just before the home opener would be an even bigger disaster than what had occurred on the field last week. Still Vizsla took note, it was something that the players would have first crack at addressing, and if they couldn't solve their internal issues than it would be up to the coaches. Vizsla would only intervene as a last resort.

The defense seemed more ready at least. Unlike the offense, they were talking and laughing with one another. Perhaps last week had been a fluke for them, or perhaps they had managed to put their issues behind them after just the one game. Vizsla just hoped that they played better and brought home a win. This wasn't a must win game, not yet, but 1-1 sure looked a whole lot better than starting the season 0-2, especially when the goal was to win the Galactic Cup.

TAG: Runjedirun

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



May Trieste watched the game from Tunross’s side, her eyes scanning the field. Already this was a much different game than their friendly. You could tell that both teams were here to play today. However, May wasn’t so much watching the play as keeping tabs on the players. The thing about a pro athlete was that they wanted to play. Sometimes they would be hurting and wouldn’t want to take themselves out the game. This was their reason for being. This was what they did. They didn’t want to walk away from their team for any reason, their own pain being first among them.

Sometimes you had to save the players from themselves.

May had noticed that with about 13 minutes gone in the first that Penn seemed to be laboring a bit. She quietly tapped Tunross and pointed him out.

“Horst look off?” she asked.

“Maybe a little. Then again sometimes he gets a little turned around out there at the start of a game,” Tunross said, “Let’s give him a little bit.”

May kept her eyes on the sophomore full back. She trusted Tunross as he had spent much more time with the players in training camp. She was just game day staff. Even so, Penn looked like he was at less than 100% to her eyes. May kept up her observations while Tunross kept his eyes on the rest of the team.

It didn’t take too long before Penn was breathing deeply as he ran. He was clearly laboring.

“We need to get Penn off,” May said.

Tunross snapped his eyes over. “Damn, you’re right.” He turned. “Gaeriel! We need a med timeout at the next stop! Horst is in bad shape!”

Valerii jumped into action. “Ref, I need a med timeout ASAP. I’ve got a player who’s in bad shape. Get me a stop, will you?” she asked one of the side judges.

“Get one of your players to put the ball out of play and I’ll get it for you,” the ref replied.

Valerii whistled as loudly as she could and made a T symbol with her hands to alert her players she wanted a stop--right now. Though it hurt to give up an offensive zone possession, Alesh kicked the ball out of play along the sidelines. The moment that the ball went out, May hustled across the field to Penn, who was now doubled over, but still on his feet.

“Horst, tell me what’s going on?” Tunross asked, bending over to talk to the Agamar man.

“My tummy hurts so bad,” Horst said through clenched teeth.

“Can you walk?” the doctor asked.

“Yeah...uhhhhhhh…” Horst groaned.

“May, get him back to the locker room, figure out what’s up. I’ll get Gaeriel to put a reserve in. Keep me update on the comlink,” Tunross instructed.

“Come on big guy,” May said, putting a kind hand on Horst’s shoulder, “Let’s go…”

The pair trotted off the field to smattered, but supportive applause from the home fans. When they got back into the locker room, May started her questioning, “When did this begin?”

“Like five minutes ago during the game,” Penn groaned.

“Sit down,” May instructed, putting Penn on one of the exam tables, “Any other symptoms?” In her head she was running through all the possibilities. Gastrointestinal troubles could mean Rodian influenza in humans. If so she’d have to quarantine Penn before he infected the entire team. She put a hand on his forehead. His temperature was normal so it wasn’t Cardooine Chills or Creek Fever. No skin lesions, so likely not Jundland Pox.

“No, I just--”

And that was when Penn rolled over and puked into a conveniently placed waste bin next to the table. May jumped back so as not to get caught in the splash damage.

“That would be another symptom,” she said.

“Happy to oblige,” Penn said, giving May a thumb’s up.

That narrowed things down a bit, but unfortunately it left the flu in. “Horst, have you had any chills, running nose, sore throat, things like that?”

“No, like I said doing great!” And then he threw up again.

“Eat anything unusual lately?” Food poisoning was on the table--and a very dangerous possibility. If he’d had something here at the stadium, the entire team could be hurling on the field in short order. At least they’d be going to Agamar next week where they had some experience recovering from that sort of thing. “Like at the team breakfast?”

“I didn’t eat there. My Mom made me breakfast. She always does for the first game of the season,” Horst said, still clearly not doing well.

“What did she make you? Anything with meat in it?” May asked.

“Waffles, pancakes, toast, fizzer-sweets, sparklemint sticks, some figda--oh and a couple Bama Bars!”

“What?” May exclaimed.

“Yeah, the Bama Bars were super good.” Then Horst hurled once more.

May sighed. “Just...stay right there.” She walked over to the wall comlink and picked up the receiver. She hit the button for the direct line to Tunross on the field. “Han, May.”

“What’s the diagnosis?”

“Done for the rest of the first half, good to go in the second. Penn’s going to work through it and be fine,” May said.

“But what’s wrong?” Tunross asked.

May looked at Penn, who was now hanging over the bucket. “I’ll explain later. Nothing you need to worry about right now.” She hung up. “After the game we are going to have a serious discussion about game day dietary choices.”

“But that’s my lucky breakfast!” Penn protested.

“Yeah, lucky this hasn’t happened to you before,” May muttered, “You stay here. I’m going to go find you some real food.”

May left the locker room by the back entrance to see if she could find some fruit for Horst. He needed a little something in his system before he got back on the field, as well as plenty of water to replace everything that was coming out of him. Where she was going to find some was beyond May, but if she could--

“Trixie!” May exclaimed. Her cousin was coming down the tunnel towards her, looking none too pleased at being there. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m supposed to ask you if Horst is all right,” Trixie said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, “Everybody’s worried about him or something.”

“He’s fine. He had a bunch of candy with breakfast this morning and now he’s...well, let’s just say he’s hopefully learning a lesson about a balanced diet,” May said, trying to be as tactful as possible.

“Oh my Force,” Trixie muttered, “He is such an idiot.”

May suddenly realized something. “Was there any fruit in the box?”

“Yeah? Why? Do you want to distribute orange slices to the team at halftime?” Trixie asked derisively.

“Horst needs something in his system before he goes back out there,” May said, “A little fruit would be good for him. If you can get some of that sent down to the locker room, it’ll help him be ready for the second half.”

“Fine,” Trixie sighed under extreme protest, “I’ll go get you some stupid fruit.” She stalked off and May turned back. She’d have to get Horst drinking soon to make sure he could keep water down. Maybe some sports drink to help replenish some of his electrolytes, but she’d be careful about how much.

She was about to head back into the locker room when she was stopped. “May? He’s going to be okay and stuff, right?” Trixie called.

“Yeah, he’ll be as right as rain,” May promised.

“Well...good, because we kind of need him...or something,” Trixie said. She then turned and walked away, hopefully to get fruit. May was never quite sure with Trixie what she was going to do.

Back inside the locker room, Horst seemed to be doing okay. “Hey May--can I ask you a question?”

“It had better be about what is an acceptable breakfast before you’re going to play a game,” May warned him.

“I’ve been thinking that I need a nickname. You know, like Galaxy Defender,” Horst continued obliviously.

“Not exactly a great role model, Horst,” May pointed out.

“Mine will be way cooler,” Horst said, “I’m thinking...Star-lord!”

May’s only response was to face palm and shake her head. Horst, in turn, continued to throw up into a bucket.

This is my dream job... she thought with a sigh.

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels for game, CPL_Macja Runjedirun for good old Cynour stuff, and Tim Battershell for the Packers/C-Bucs game that has not been forgotten!

 

Big Board, v. 1.0​

Sarah "Terminator" Connor (Human, Female, Goaltender, Taanab A&M)
Game Line: 10 saves, 12 PA, W @GSU, 38-12
Analysis: Excellent game from the “Terminator”, as she is called. Not a bad way to start the season, especially against a conference foe.

Mark Meeks (Human, Male, Corner Back, Ord Sabaok University)
Game Line: 5 tackles, 1 interception, W vs. UK, 33-14
Analysis: Quiet game from this prospect. Showed some flashes of brilliance, but still needs some work in other facets of his game. Looks to be a second or third-round prospect right now.

Pashta (Gungan, Female, Corner Forward, Theed University)
Game Line: 4 turnovers, 1 shot on goal, L @DSU, 12-1
Analysis: Ugly first game of the season. Still, it’s early in the season, so no worries yet.

Noah Till (Human, Male, Center Half Back, Ralltiir University)
Game Line: 15 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions, 6 loose ball recoveries, W vs. TBA, 31-21
Analysis: Whoa, this kid dominated everything he looked at! He looked like his uncle out there back in his playing days.

Mikia Sandin (Human, Female, Left Half Back, Bilbringi University)
Game Line: 10 tackles, 5 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 fumble forced, 2 loose ball recoveries, W vs. TBA, 28-5
Analysis: We don’t know who she was before this game, but she’s on the map now. Excellent game to get yourself noticed. Now she has to keep it up.

Gorgalan "Gor" Irukandji (Nikto, Male, Center Half Forward, Norand University (Carratos))
Game Line: 3 bar points, 1 turnover, 2 shots on goal, W vs. TBA, 22-12
Analysis: OK game from this prospect. Not great, but not shabby, either.

Niels Karuari (Ishi Tib, Male, Left Corner Forward, University of Denon)
Game Line: 3 turnovers, L @NSU, 8-0
Analysis: Didn’t show up to the game, apparently, but neither did his team.

Yeorg Niktel (Human, Male, Half Forward, Bakura Fleet Academy)
Game Line: 2 goals, 2 bar points, 8 points scored, 2 turnovers, 6 shots on goal, W @UBCS, 30-5
Analysis: First off, we’d like to say that this is a good sign. If an Ensign is on this list, it means they might actually have a pro player for the first time in forever from their school. And Niktel looks like he might be the real deal, scoring eight points in the first game of the season.

Felda (Cathar, Female, Midfielder, UB Cape Suzette)
Game Line: 2 tackles, 5 turnovers, 1 loose ball recovery, L vs. BFA, 30-5
Analysis: Forgettable game here. Move along to next week.

Kal'cre'ltenk (Chiss, Male, Half Forward, Sarvchi Technological University)
Game Line: 2 bar points, 2 points scored, 3 turnovers, 1 shot on goal, W @SMU, 28-19
Analysis: Not a good personal game, but when you win, it’s still a good team game.

TAGS to Everyone, as in Runjedirun, CPL_Macja (who also might want to place the new teams on the Wiki list), Bardan_Jusik, Trieste, jcgoble3, Rebecca_Daniels, Tim Battershell, Vehn, Polydroxol, galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Ty Allin

Hovechar took control of the first possession so fast the Pirates barely had time to set up. She passed up the right side of the field to Jul who quickly put three points on the board for us. The stadium erupted in cheer including whoops and hollers of congratulations from those of us on the field with her. Jeffers leaped in the air in celebration. “It’s only one score,” I reminded him calmly. “Keep your head in the game.”

For several possessions our defense held strong. Meanwhile on offense Andres was struggling. Unable to score himself he was forced to pass to Jul who wasn’t being covered as tightly. She put another ball into the net. The crowd chanted her name as we lined up to begin play again. The Pirates offense wasn’t the toughest I’d faced, but they were good and they were beginning to read us better. Bo’gruth lost his man for just a second and suddenly Arezzo was able to get a bar point. “Look alive,” I told my defense. Once an offense put a point on the board things started getting serious.

A few minutes later our left side faltered. Jeffers thought he had Miadost, but Miadost was able to fake him out at the last moment and put up another bar point. It should have been a goal, we were fortunate Teaspoon got a hand on it. “Shake it off,” I told Jeffers seeing frustration beginning to build as he kicked the turf. For the next few possessions we held. Andres finally broke through his rut and got a goal. I ran up to congratulate him personally. “You showed them,” I told him after sprinting up field.

“Not doing so bad yourself back there,” he told me. I ran back into position as the crowd settled down from a high spirited celebration. Before halftime Jul put yet another ball in the net and we allowed one more bar point to get by us on defense. A 12 – 3 lead felt pretty good going into the locker room. I made sure to check up on Tomas before I headed into the tunnel.

“Enjoying the game?” I asked taking a towel and two cups of water from him.

“I’d enjoy it even more if you tightened up the defense,” he challenged. “Carratos has scored three points.”

In response I dumped one of the cups of water I had taken from him on his head. “Watch your mouth kid,” I teased. He reached down for a towel and wiped his face. I noticed his other hand going for a full cup on a table next to him. As quickly as he grabbed the cup I intercepted and dumped that one on him as well. “Gotta get up pretty early in the morning to pull a fast one on a professional,” I told him.

It took him a little longer to recover the second time. “You’re playing a good game,” he conceded.

“Got that right,” I told him before sprinting for the locker room.

“Get lost?” Trey asked when I arrived. I quickly shook my head and took a seat next to Poletin. I was lucky we were winning if he had been in a bad mood I probably would have had to do push-ups while my teammates watched. “So far so good,” Trey began as he paced in front of us. “Four goals and none have been scored against us. Don’t fall asleep out there in the second half and get taken advantage of,” he reminded us. “This is the Pirates debut in the ELL and they are going to do anything they can to prove they belong here. Expect them to make adjustments and make sure you are ready for them. Play aggressive,” he encouraged. “Let’s remember how good it feels to win.”

Several players cheered. Individually coach addressed the rookies who were playing their first games while the rest of us talked amongst ourselves. A few minutes later we headed back onto the field to warm up for the second half. The second half began with a couple of defensive wins for both teams. Then the Pirates called a time out. I’d been matching up well against Manx all afternoon, but his coach must have known something that would motivate him. He got open on me and head butted the ball past Teaspoon. I brushed it off as we lined up again. Again Manx scored on me. This time he was able to kick it in with his foot, he made getting the ball past me look easy.

Dev came back and asked if everything was okay. “Fine,” I told him. “That won’t happen again, I promise.” He told me I better keep my promise or I’d owe him dinner. I knew how much a Whipid could eat and that helped when Manx came back down field on the next possession with a smug look on his face. He thought he had my number, but I showed him. I leaped into the air and grabbed the ball before he could receive the pass meant for him. I tossed it up to Hovechar who sped up field and passed off to Sureysh who was able to get us a bar point.

After that our defense held strong. Jul and Andres were both able to add a bar point to their totals for the day and young Stommer added one of his own at the end. The win felt good. I ran to the sidelines lifted Lucie into the air and gave her a kiss before I lined up to shake hands. The Pirates had played well in their debut. I had a feeling they’d be around longer than either of last year’s expansion clubs.

Mrs. Vigo insisted we all go back to her place after the game for dinner. Tomas hung around the locker room waiting for me. I could tell he wanted to talk about something. I pulled Lucie aside in the hallway outside the locker room and advised her to take T.J. to her mother’s and that I would bring Tomas over. Luckily I was in better shape than after most of the regular season games I had played. I had a trainer tape up my left ankle that had been bothering me since I lost my footing while tackling Manx in order to keep him from scoring on me a third time. Aside from that I felt relatively good physically as I gathered my belongings and told Tomas I was ready to go.

Tomas wore a long face and he had a question for me as soon as we walked out into the mostly empty parking lot. “What’s prison like?” He asked quietly as I took his hand to lead him to where I had parked.

“Well it’s not so bad,” I didn’t know why he was asking, but the question made me feel more than a little uncomfortable. “You never have to worry about what you are going to wear in the morning,” I said hoping it was the right thing.

It wasn’t the right thing. Tomas shook his head. “I want to know the man who killed my father is suffering,” he stated coldly.

We had reached my speeder. I brought him in for a hug. I could feel him shaking. “What brought this on?” I asked.

“The presentation before the game, remembering my dad makes me feel all kinds of things. He should have been here tonight, to celebrate the win.”

He was biting his lip to keep tears from falling. “You were okay at half-time,” I reminded him. “What changed?”

“It just feels more real sometimes more than others. Going home without him tonight feels wrong, family dinners without dad are wrong.” He said beginning to sound angry again.

I took a deep breath. I thought back to a time I wanted to forget. “Being in prison sucks,” I admitted. “Get in the speeder and I’ll tell you about it,” I said opening the door for him. I threw my gear in the backseat, walked around the speeder and climbed in next to him. “What time do you like to get up in the morning?” I asked him as I buckled myself in.

He shrugged, “When I’m no longer tired, I guess.”

“In the rehabilitation center I was placed in we got up before dawn every day of the week,” I informed him. “And it wasn’t pleasant. At exactly the same minute every morning all the lights in the facility came on at full brightness all at once. If that wasn’t enough to get a body up the horns that the guards carried would be,” I continued. “What’s the first thing you do when you get up?” I asked him as we lifted out of the parking lot.

“Depends,” Tomas began. “Sometimes I’ll check the holonet, sometimes I turn on HSN, sometimes I head straight to the gym for a workout, other times I eat breakfast first.”

“You know what I did first thing every morning for 4 months? I cleaned a fresher, before breakfast. When I got to breakfast I never got a choice of what I wanted to eat. I ate what was served or I didn’t eat. Each and every day was structured. Every freedom I knew was stripped from me.” I explained. “There was no access to the holonet and there was no HSN. There was a gym, but not like the one at your house. And there was no privacy.” I added, “Always someone watching you, when you work out, when you eat, when you sleep, shower and even cameras in the fresher.”

“My sentence was 4 to 6 months based on my behavior; I got out in 4 months. Meaning I did what I was told. Can you imagine?” I asked, trying to make eye contact as I piloted the speeder.

“It must have been pretty bad if you didn’t goof off,” Tomas conceded.

He was quiet for the rest of the ride to his house and I was as well. I thought about the guards. Most of them yelled, told me I had thrown my life away. There was one though who told me I still had a chance. He had seen me play ball and he believed in me. When I got out he told me he wanted tickets to the Galactic Cup game I was going to be playing in, that’s how much he believed. I told him I’d have the tickets too. I believed. I still believed. Tonight I was one win closer to accomplishing that goal.

---

[FONT=Helvetica][COLOR=#000000][/COLOR][/FONT]

The next morning my back and legs ached. Lucie was down in the basement working on a dance routine and I had to make my way down three flights of stairs after getting out of bed to talk to her. She had the music on rather loud and T.J. gated into a corner of the room. He was sitting watching her; I couldn’t help but sit on the bottom stair and watch as well. After a few minutes her concentration broke and she spotted me. “How long have you been watching” She asked.

“Not long,” I assured her. “You look great, is that a routine for the game on Mandalore?”

“Maybe,” she conceded. “But I’m not going to Mandalore.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“For one I am not going to miss out on my son’s first birthday,” she said as she opened the gate and lifted T.J. giving him several kisses on the forehead. “And for another you may have forgotten what happened the last time we travelled to Mandalore but I certainly haven’t.” We hadn’t been to Mandalore in 3 seasons, how did she expect me to remember what happened three seasons ago. “Honestly,” she said when she saw the blank look on my face. “They beheaded a being on field. I still have nightmares.” Lucie had been on field, on the sidelines. I was fortunate enough to be back in the tunnel. I saw the incident later on the holo and I knew it was coming. She had not been prepared. Apparently she was still dramatized to some degree.

“Who’s going to lead the dance team?” I asked.

“Justyne can do it. She said she would. And don’t worry we won’t celebrate without you, we will have a party for T.J. after you get back.” She said quickly changing the subject.

Knowing Lucie’s mind was made up I asked about plans for today. I had to report to the stadium and she had theater meetings so we got T.J. ready for daycare and headed out. On the day after games Trey did his best to give us most of the day if not the whole day off. A body needed rest after playing a game of professional Limmie. We had to factor travel time into this week’s schedule so as a player I was required to report to the facility.

The first thing Trey and Zan did was sit us down as a defensive unit and remind us of how the Mercs had scored 39 points on us last year. We were forced to watch some painful tape. Then we watched some successful plays from the game against the Pirates and I was also forced to watch Manx score on me twice. Trey and Zan had also analyzed the Mercs/Buccs game played just yesterday and we watched selected footage of that as well. After watching tape we went over new plays Trey and Zan had probably been up drawing out last night or even early this morning. Thankfully I was released early enough to pick up T.J. from daycare and make it to Tomas’ Limmie practice.

When Tomas first expressed an interest in playing Limmie his father deemed himself too busy to even sign him up for a team. Martin Vigo called me into his office and assigned the task to me. It wasn’t an easy task either. Limmie season for kids Tomas’ age at the time had already begun. I had to call individual coaches and find a team that was willing to take an extra player. Luckily I found a coach with a thin bench who was willing to give Tomas a chance.

Ever since that first season I went to as many practices and games of Tomas’ that I could attend. At first neither of his own parents showed up for games. They often relied on parents of other players to give him a ride to and from all team activities. When I was available I started stepping up. I remembered how important it was to have support on the sidelines when I was growing up. My father had always been a little too much to handle, but when my mother came to games it meant the world to me. She was supportive it didn’t matter if I had a good day or a bad day, if I lost or if I won. She always had kind words. I took it upon myself to be that person for Tomas.

Eventually Martin began taking an interest in Tomas’ Limmie playing. Since I had already gotten absorbed in his play and his possible future in the sport I continued to attend as many practices and games as I could. Now Tomas needed me more than ever. I laid a blanket out on the grass, I attempted to watch Tomas, but until Lucie arrived I mostly chased after T.J. Tomas had been moved up to a competitive age group. The other children were older than him; for now at least they were doing a good job of helping him fit in. This was only his first practice though, when it came to proving who deserved starting roster spots and especially during games he was going to have to work hard this season.

Luckily for Tomas hard work ran through his veins. He was out on the field this very afternoon surprising his new coach and teammates as he beat them in sprints and dove after seemingly uncatchable balls. When I gave him a ride home he talked about normal kid stuff like how much homework he had that night and how ugly his new school uniform was.

That evening I got a call from Trey. It was a call about Limmie but not about the Starkillers. "My nehpew's name is on the big board," he stated sounding almost angry.

"Yea, I saw that,” I said in reply. “They gave you a nod.”

“This must be why my brother was trying to call me during the off-season. I should have answered those calls. Noah should concentrate on school, not try and opt out early to play professionally.”

“You don’t want your nephew to play pro-ball?” I asked confused. Trey and I were both employed by a professional ball club. I thought we were happy. I had no idea what the problem was.

“It’s a rough life and there’s a high injury risk. I just want him to finish school, have a back-up.”

"So call your brother,” I suggested. “It’s not too late. I’m sure he’d like to hear from you.”

“I can’t.” Trey answered. “He turned his back on me. It’s more painful than you know.”

“What do you mean you can’t?” I challenged. “You need to do this Trey. You need to make peace with him. If you don’t do it for yourself do it for Noah.”

“I’ll think about it,” he replied with a sigh. “See you at practice in the morning. We got a lot of ground to cover so get some sleep,” he ordered changing his tone from friend to coach mid-sentence.

All in all it was a good week that ended all too soon. It was hard to board the shuttle for Mandalore. I gave Lucie a long kiss in the spaceport while my male teammates joshed me a few feet away. Whenever they gave me too much trouble for having a wife and kid I just reminded them that I was getting some and T.J. was proof of that. None of them had proof, it always shut them up.

Jeffers, Bo’gruth and I spent most of the flight studying the play book. We didn’t want to take any chances of being humiliated the way I had been last year. We had won that game, but it was our offense who had won the game. This time I planned to support them better. When we took the field the crowd was even louder than usual. I knew how to tune out a loud arena, but it was obvious Jeffers and Roselli had never experienced anything like this. We huddled up as a defensive unit. I went over basic hand signals. These were things we had gone over in practice, but we hadn’t needed them at home last week. They would be a new game day experience for the rookies. This game was on my shoulders I could feel it as we broke up and took our positions. I stood up straight and looked down field. I was ready for anything.

TAGS: galactic-vagabond422 Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Adanna Inviere
Hapes

Adanna was gaining a perverse sense of pleasure from watching this game. It was a major test, her C-Bucs going up against the Skywalker champion Mercs of Mandalore in the first game of the season. A win here would be a testament to the offseason workouts the team had been subjected to. A win here would prove once again that her system worked.

The C-Bucs were battering the Mercs on offense. Team captain Wai Lin was an absolute menace in the Mercs Back 6, torching the defenders time and again. When she was covered, she would dump it off to Dupont or one of the Masterson twins. They in turn fed it down low to Jinx Johnson, the full forward. She kept Lenny Jowa on his toes the whole game, the human unable to keep up. It was a real team effort from the Front 6, that was for sure. Lin ended the game with three goals of her own, and dished out three assists on a Dupont goal and two by Johnson.

On defense, things weren’t as peachy, or at least not from an experienced eye like Adanna’s. Daryc and Lieznam were getting in their points on the C-Buc defense, as was to be expected. Both were All-Star caliber, and were hard to shut down. But what intrigued the Hapan most about the Mercs attack was how the two forwards were not in any form of synchronization. They were playing isolation instead of spreading the ball around when they weren’t open, and their teammates started to realize this and not pass them the ball. This helped the Hapes defense, especially full back Pam Bouvier, whose assignment on Lieznam was now made easier because he was out of most plays.

The midfielders had done their job. Although Mor’kesh had gotten in his licks, Alysha Romax had put in hers as well. The score seemed to validate who had won the midfield; getting the ball over the line in your possession was a big deal.


At the end of the game, the C-Bucs walked off with a 35-23 win. Not exactly dominating, but Adanna hadn’t expected it to be. Her team had played hard and fast in front of their home fans, and had shown that they still had talent. But it was just one game, the GM told herself. They still had eight more to go before the season was over, and that included games against powerhouses Ralltiir and Bakura. So while they could celebrate now, the victorious ladies of the Hapes C-Bucs had to prepare for next week. 2-0 sounded awful nice, but they would have to earn it. If they played like they had today, their chances of victory would be high.

TAG: Bardan_Jusik, Vehn

 

GM Post

HSN Headlines

• Senators sign Walter Paitone (HB) to entry-level contract
• On eve of 278 ELL season, Mando'ade Mercs shareholders ratify team officers as appointed by the Mand'alor

TAG: Bardan_Jusik Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Ylesia

No one had to tell Christine that this was going to be a big game not just for her, but for her team. She knew the stakes in this matchup of the Coruscant Senators and the home Ylesia Lightning. Her team had narrowly lost the prior week to Euceron 29-26, while the Lightning had gone into Bakura Gardens and had taken down the giants that were the Miners on their day of celebration. The Lightning had a new sense of grit that hadn’t been evident last season, and were now going to play at home. Peace City Gardens was the smallest venue in the Elite League, but it was still enough of a challenge for the Senators.

Dubious history was staring Christine’s squad in the face. It was well-versed in the media that the Senators couldn’t win on the road. They hadn’t won a road game since the 275 season, having gone 0-9 over the past two seasons. That had likely been part of the need for change of the uniforms, and although it had been an unconfirmed rumor, Christine had hoped that the burning of the old road unis had actually happened. They had brought her nothing but pain; she had lost all those games in that kit, and had even been injured at Ralltiir in them that had cost her the rest of the 276 season. She wanted to forget those hard times and look to the future, but no matter what she did, that road record still haunted her.

The coaches had discussed making some changes to the starting lineup during the last week. Ugdulo Borr and Zeke Barbosa had been two names to possibly bench, although Gark S’rily had stepped in and commented that benching two starters just one week into the season likely would invite chaos onto the roster. He wanted to see if those two could turn it around; Barbosa had a short leash to begin with after last season’s disaster, and Borr was simply new to the team after being brought over via trade with Chandrila over the offseason. No changes were ultimately made, but Rosa Berant, the defensive coordinator, had worked with her positional coaches to try and come up with a system that would hopefully improve the Senator defense. That would involve some stunts, a few extra blitzes and pressure situations, and hopefully increase the rate of stops the defense made.

The offense had hummed along nicely last week, something Christine hadn’t seen in a long time. Rookie Leia Adama had scored eight in her debut game, but the Lightning now had film on her, and the rookie would have to be extra-careful not to play the same game as she had last week. That was just inviting the home team to shut her down. Max Qorbus was the lead scorer for the Senators, and had to play like that again today. As for the rest of the offense, Ava KIllenger included, they had to run effectively. The Lightning defense had shut down the Miners’ vaunted attack enough to win the prior week, and against a team of unproven offensive standing like the Senators, getting on the board early and often was critical. Former Lightning players and sisters Syra and Litan Kuna, both reserve forwards, were looked to in order to provide leadership against their former team. The price to get them had been high, as Calmerung D'jukk, a highly-regarded prospect in the Senator system who had never gotten consistent playing time, and Ganlin Costa, whose injury the prior season had taken him out of things, had both been considered early on as Senator roster players. Both were going to start today against their former team.

The Senators had one roster change from the prior week. Midfielder Gayla Renhorn had been called up from Thyferra to fill in for reserve middie Xander Darkrider. Darkrider’s wife Reena, who had been a teammate of Renhorn’s at the Coruscant Polytechnic Institute and with the Senators from 274 to 277 before retiring in the offseason, was set to give birth to their first child at any moment. Thus, Darkrider was back on Coruscant to be with her, and Renhorn had been called up to take his spot in the rotation across from fellow reserve Levi Corner. If Ylesia ate the rookie tandem of Arienne Farfell and Sharsy Wenips alive, then Renhorn would see extensive minutes, something she was likely capable of handling, but not something the Senator coaches wanted to see right now. That would indicate further changes were necessary to the midfield corps, and at the moment changing the roster was out of the question.

Christine’s assignment today was Megan Meeks. The rookie second-round pick was the only other human on the Lightning’s roster besides Korlo Penin, who had easily shut down the Senators last year. Meeks was an unknown commodity right now, and Christine was tasked with making sure she stayed quiet in this game. Zoa Vra would get enough defensive attention today, so every defender needed to do their job. The Senator defense had been terrible ever since their prior Euceron game in 277; the had given up over 25 points per game since then, and that had included many 30+ points allowed games. This defense had to find a way to grind it out and slow other teams down. That was imperative today, because the offense might still be inconsistent. Defense was the key for the Senators to win and break their extremely-long losing streak of 11 straight games. Today had to be a win.


When she got onto the field with her team, Christine reached her defensive position and dug her cleats into the turf a little bit to try and gain traction. She would need every advantage she could get today. Meeks eventually got to her position, and the two stared each other down before the ball was kicked off to start the game. The battle was on now, the battle for respectability in the League, the battle that would hopefully be capped off with a win today for the team in gray.

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels

 

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

"Sorry, Barra." Geoff said as he approached the two guards out side his building.

"Nothing to be sorry about." The klatooinan started "Rhodri did his job. Now, that Sylvauns, he's the problem. You gotta' do something about him."

"I'll look into it ok." The coach nodded his head as he crossed the threshold. He opened his door and found his wife again, on the sofa, reading.

"Hey babe." Geoff said dropping his bag on the ground. "I'm sorry, we got delayed coming out of Ralltiir." He rubbed the right side of his face. "Girls asleep?"

"Yeah, they were getting fussy waiting for you." Laura replied. Geoff sighed

"I'll make it up to them tomorrow." He sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'll give the team the day off and spend the time with them." Laura leaned forward and kissed him. "or we can send the kids to day care and send a morning together." She nodded her head slowly.

"You want to go to bed now?" She asked her eyes glowing. A smile bloomed on Geoff's face.

"Yes" He answered. They walked, holding hands, to their bedroom

_________________
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium, O'pahz, Carratos
Game Day

It was several hours before the game and Geoff could already see speeders parked in the lot, Pirate's flags blowing in the wind. The Pirates, to the best of Geoff's knowledge, had only existed for two years and already had a loyal fanbase that could rival the Patriot Nation. He noticed increased security around the stadium, both official O'pahz Security Force, and unofficial Star Dragon enforcers. The OSF could be identified by their uniforms and the Dragons by their imposing size and visible dragon tattoos. Carratos was a planet in transition, for years it was a lawless place ruled by actual pirates and crime lords. Then some of the kingpins deiced to open up casinos and shipping companies with their ill-gotten gains. Over time they realized that a stable planet was better for business and began to funnel money into legitimate police forces and infrastructure. Even though much had changed on the surface underneath it all, there was an edge of criminality. It was an unspoken rule on Carratos, never ask how people got their money. Thankfully the enforcers weren't blatant about their presence, milling in crowds, leaning against walls near entrances, and standing close to choke points. Geoff has gotten use to the way things work in this city and on this planet. Most of the fans he met seemed like honest beings that loved limmie. He always got a sense of optimism from the crowd at home games, even when the Pirates were losing.

Geoff walked down into the locker room to find his team getting ready. Markie and Gabby bounced a rubber ball between themselves and Qazi bobbed his head to the music being played though his earphones. Everybody had their rituals before the game, something to focus them and clear their minds. Geoff stood silently in a corner, he needed them at 100% especially the offense. The Monarchs defense was a wall last week and the Pirates only managed nine points against the Starkillers' slightly weaker D. He had done all he could at practice to quicken up the offense and try and find weaknesses in the Monarchs tight defense but, he was unsure if it had been enough. The remainder of the time before the game was spent reviewing plays and checking on the players. Music started, signaling the visiting team intro. The team lined up in the tunnel ready to take to the field.

"And here they are" the announcer boomed over the loud speaker "your Carratos Pirates." The players rushed to their positions. The crowd did not cheer with the usual hoots and hollers but, with a resounding "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR". Geoff smiled That was a Pirate welcome.

TAG @CPL_Macja

 

GM Post

What We Learned: Week 1

New advertising slogan for the ELL Draft: everybody who doesn’t make a pick isn’t going to win their first game. It’s sure to increase participation.

Agamar Packers – On the bright side, the Packers did play some good defense this week.

Bakura Miners – They might have missed Rodders out there, but at least the Miner defense seems relatively unchanged.

Carratos Pirates – So it turns out that these Carratos Pirates are a limmie team and they can play some defense. We shall watch their career with great interest, young...I mean, we’re very intrigued...

Coruscant Senators – Yes, the Senators lost, but they showed fire. This team is fundamentally different from last season’s and that’s a good thing.

Euceron Storm – Getting offense back into the Storm is just what they needed to move on from last season. More of that and Euceron’s going to be back on track.

Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – Year two of the reconstituted Bucs is looking like it’s going to be even better than the first. With few personnel changes, it’s going to be the front office that puts them over the top.

Kuat Triforce – Going toe-to-toe offensively with the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers is nothing to be ashamed of, even if you wind up on the short end of the stick. The Triforce aren’t getting attention, but if they play like they did last week against any other team, they will.

Mando’ade Mercs – The Mercs front office was handicapped in a transition year, which explains a few things about the opener. Good thing the Manda’lor is a happy-go-lucky guy who is totally okay with not winning.

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – A Kaitlyn Vehn-assembled Smugglers team racking up huge points? We never saw that one coming….Quiet Zigby! You don’t get to say you did! You’re ruining our sarcasm!

Ralltiir Starkillers – Trey Till’s defense-first system paid off. If it comes up big again on Mandalore, then the Starkillers are going to have a good season ahead of them.

Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Remember how we said the Monarchs were the best team that didn’t make the playoffs last year? Looks like now they want to be the best team. Period.

Ylesia Lightning – We are intrigued by this goalkeeper tandem strategy. This has the potential to work spectacularly or fail abjectly. That alone makes them an exciting team to watch. However, we’re glad to see that the votive candles are still doing the trick for Kasin.

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

 

IC: Pamila Korthe
Thyferra Stadium at Byree Clearing, Thyferra

It was a surreal feeling for Pam as she walked onto the field from the team tunnel. She had thought that after her disastrous 0-6 season with the Senators the prior year, she would never get to experience this again, the feeling of taking the mantle as a coach to lead players to victory. That would have been it for a once-hot commodity whose welcome in the Elite League had finally worn out. When a coach fell out of the League, they typically fell hard, and she had feared such a decline. She had thought of retiring, even though she loved coaching. Her career had been over.

But thankfully it wasn’t over, at least not yet. Gark S’rily had seen enough left in her tank to extend her the coaching position with the Force. For the Zeltron, it was like starting over. She had been the first head coach of the Force after S’rily had acquired the team and cleaned house in 269. Somehow, despite being a development squad, she had led them to the playoffs in 269, followed by the Chancellor’s Cup victory in 270 over what had been seen as an unbeatable Vandelhelm Jets squad, and a 271 season in the Elite League with a playoff berth included. She had done everything asked of her, and once 273 came around, it had been time for her meteoric rise to the head coaching gig of a Big Four team. Now, in 278, she had fallen back to where she had begun the journey.

It had been a long year since she had been fired. She had bounced around the Senators organization until the end of the season, trying to prove that she still had worth in some capacity. Somehow she had done enough to make it back here. There had been her marriage to Jed Ortmeyer, who had been her offensive coordinator on those excellent Force teams from 269 until 272, and then had been the interim head coach after her departure in 277. Jed was now the GM for the Force, so he was close at all times. Lastly was her ill-fated pregnancy, the one that should have led to her and Jed having a small child to care for. She had gone through all the pains of a pregnant woman, but when the child had been stillborn upon birth, she had been devastated. The child was supposed to be something to cherish and hold close, but instead all she had were dark memories of her loss. They clawed at her being, taunting her cruelly. It had taken Jed a long time to finally get her to come to peace with herself, but the thought still saddened her. She doubted she would ever truly forget.

Today the Force were up against the newbies in the Futures League, the Gallinore Firedrakes. Across the field was Aileen Wynn, the Hall-of-Famer head coach. Wynn had been the coach of the troubled 270 Senators team that had eventually gone “bankrupt” and had led to the promotion of the Force for 271 with Pam at the helm. She hadn’t coached since Calo Mornd had fired her for “trying too hard”, but now she was back here, like Pam was, trying to show that she still had it. The Firedrakes were an unknown commodity, this being their first-ever game. And it was Pam’s plan to shut them down.

The tone was set early when Lomgat Vu, the right corner back, popped the Firedrake corner forward and caused a fumble. The Force had needed a strong defense last year when they had fallen from first place into the consolation bracket at the end of the season. Pam wasn’t sure if this was a strong team, because several reserves from prior years had been placed into the starting lineup. They had offense, but not a lot of defense, so getting stops would be critical for the well-being of her team.

It was a defensive struggle throughout, the Firedrakes unable to find any cohesion against the Force defense. Luka Mellott, the full back making her first start with Thyferra, was making nice plays, Vu had some brilliant plays, and goalie Ziva Kender had a nice game, making save after save to keep the Firedrakes off the board. On offense, Wynn’s experience showed because the Force were unable to make much happen for most of the game. It took most of the first half before Alex Renhorn finally scored a goal on the Hapan netminder. In the second half, she struck again with a goal, and not too long after made a nice pass into the box to hit her younger sister Morgan, who scored a goal in her first career pro start.

In garbage time, Pam put in her reserves, who hadn’t seen much playing time in the game. Callie Polarez, the third-round pick in the 278 draft, scored her first pro point on a nice dropkick, and in her eight minutes did a decent job of playing her positions. George Wulson, the Weequay project midfielder, made some blunders in his playing time, likely preventing him from earning more the next week. Pam made some mental notes on what her intriguing reserves were doing and would address this next week in practice. Polarez was on a draft contract, so the Senators wanted to see what she could bring to the table for them in two or three years. It was Pam’s job to get the young forward ready for the Elite League.


When all was said and done, the Force walked out with a 11-2 win. Pam felt relieved to finally earn a win again, even if it was just the Futures League. Having gone through a long stretch of time figuring that she had no future in the game anymore, it was nice to be victorious once again. The team would have to play better on offense, she knew, because scoring only 11 with a questionable defense likely would cost them some games. But that was for next week. Right now, she was a winner, and that was all that Pamila Korthe cared about feeling.

TAG: No One

 

HSN Daily College Updates:

• Reigning GCAA champions UCBV lose tight game to Chandrila A&M 24-22. Rovers rallied from five points down in second half to beat Renegades.
• Republican U buried under offensive flurry from University of Coruscant at home 27-6. Scholars limp into home game next week against Citadel University of Anaxes.
• Bak10 Commissioner Trieste advocates for Carnation Bowl acting as quarterfinal game in GCAA playoff system, threatens to pull conference out of game with anything less than such a settlement
• No word yet on what Super 16 Commissioner plans to do, GCAA quiet on subject
• Vote of players at Palentine University on forming a players' union has completed, results to be announced next week by team representative
• Questions arise if narcotics that relieve pain are useful for players in contact sports and should be made legal for pain relief instead of painkillers; college use mulled as potentially dangerous if student-athletes mix such narcotics with any other recreational substances.

TAGS to Everyone, especially Trieste

 

GM Post

Bonus rolls (scores? numbers?) for Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Mando'ade, Nar Shadda, and Ralltiir.

Week 2 Results

Hapes Consortium Buccaneers at Nar Shaddaa Smugglers (19-28)
Bakura Miners at Agamar Packers (36-32)
Coruscant Senators at Ylesia Lightning (24-21)
Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Carratos Pirates (13-15)
Kuat Triforce at Euceron Storm (4-23)
Ralltiir Starkillers at Mando’ade Mercs (21-25)

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

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Peace City Gardens, Ylesia

The opening kickoff of the game was for the Lightning, and they came down the field for the first offensive set of the game. Christine started to follow Megan Meeks, the rookie right corner, as she went on her route, making sure that she was close enough to potentially make a play on the ball should it come her way, but not too close as to potentially draw an interference call. She waited as the Lightning swung the ball around, trying to find a soft spot in the Senator defense. Patti Meter had the tough assignment today of Lightning captain Zoa Vra, who had toasted her the prior year in this meeting, but was sticking to Vra closely to keep the Zabrak from making a play. Finally the ball came to Meeks, and Christine was all over her, keeping her hands up to block off the advance, and ready to shift should Meeks try to break contain. It caused a pass back out, and Christine had won the first round of what she figured probably wouldn’t be a great battle today. Opposing teams likely wouldn’t challenge her much, instead going after veteran Kara Milovy on the left side. “Gamble Island” would be in full effect today, Christine had told herself, and Meeks wasn’t going to make a fool of her. There could be no more letdowns; the Senator defense had to hold together.

The ball was eventually funneled down into the deep Senator defensive zone to former Senator Ganlin Costa, but Ugdulo Borr, the Chevin full back, was there to break up the reception. The ball skittered onto the turf and was kicked clear by Jenna Leed, who had cycled over to cover the play. It flew to the midfield, where Sharsy Wenips came to grab the ball on a nice leap over Prya Tiin. Wenips landed backwards, but was able to spin around Tiin and then chuck it up the field to a waiting Thulius Jomas. The big man, who hadn’t been much of a presence last week, then passed it off to Vail Pin, the Shistavanen who set the offense. After some motion, the ball was passed off to Max Qorbus, the Nautolan #1 offensive threat for the Senators. He had beaten his matchup Akhirria, and had some space between the goalpost and the full back Shakha to make a play. He threw a rocket at the goal, but Kasin Urdaaza, whom the Senators had not seen last season in the Ylesia game, made the save. Qorbus punched his hand and then went back to the play as Urdaaza cleared. Christine knew that while the play had been made, Qorbus had the right idea. He had found a way to fool his defender and get in a shot on goal. Next time he would capitalize. She had fought against him enough in camp to know how the Nautolan operated. He wouldn’t fail next time, she figured.

The teams traded empty possessions for the next few minutes as the defenses stepped up. Christine forced a fumble when switched onto Zenro Ta with a nice hit that separated the Twi’lek from the ball. The ball was supposed to be cleared, but Patti Meter failed to get to the ball in time, and the Lightning saved the possession. It wasn’t long before Vra burned Meter on a nice pump fake and then drilled a shot into the goal past Zeke Barbosa. The Lightning fans went crazy as their team took the first lead of the game at 3-0. “Hey, make sure you don’t get turned around!” Christine yelled at the second-year half back.

Two possessions later, the Senators answered. Qorbus picked up a pass from Jomas, then got it off to Pin as he crossed the goal area. Pin then found rookie Leia Adama in the middle, with Shakha picked off by Jomas as he came around. Adama dodged Calmerung D’jukk and buried her third goal of the season into the net past the fingers of Urdaaza. The Senators had tied it up.

It wasn’t much later when Adama had another shot. She bullied her way up the middle through the Lightning defense, and got a pass from Pin. She leaped over a downed Lisbeth Tobin, who had been pushed aside by reserve Gemma Sal-Solo, and was now alone with Urdaaza. Now was the time where great players were made. Goalies always dreaded this situation, because they had no help from their defense, and it made forwards lick their chops in anticipation. It was a situation like this where Polis Vayne had famously punched Meredith Chambers, a duel where two walked in but only one could come out victorious. There were no ties in this situation, only the question of whether a score was put up on the board or not. And it was no question this time, as Adama zipped a pass that Urdaaza deflected by still had enough spin and momentum to go into the goal for three points. Adama was mugged by her teammates for scoring another goal, this time that put them ahead by 2.

On the other end, Christine was having herself one hell of a game. Meeks wasn’t getting any traction; when she got the ball, Christine was in her face, knocking her around and forcing her to pass. The other defenders weren’t perfect, but they were holding. The rotation of Kara Milovy and rookie Rickard Herman on the left corner were shutting down Emini Leth, Herman punishing the Arkanian when she caught a pass. The rookie looked wild, and he played with reckless abandon. Yet, despite all that, he was a fundamental player; Coach Berant had taught him well, Christine thought to herself after seeing that play. Over on the sidelines Berant smiled; Herman had been a solid player in college, underappreciated but a damn good Limmie player. Only two minutes of the first half did Christine sit out, letting Vex Blooker get into the game to spell her. But the break didn’t last long when the Zabrak let Leth get around him, and Christine was back out on the field.

At the half, the game was tight, 12-11 Senators. Somehow, against all odds, they were still in this one, Christine knew. She listened intently to Coach Peet Carelle’s halftime speech, the former college coach outlining what his team needed to do in order to win this game. She went out of the locker room with fire in her belly, something that had been sorely lacking last season. Her teammates also sensed that this one was within their grasp. Now it was time to see if they could finish.

Both teams traded shots as the game wound down. Jomas scored a bar point, but a few minutes later the Lightning tied it up with a nice goal. It was now 18 all. Christine forced another fumble on Meeks, her fourth of the game, and kicked the ball up to rookie midfielder Arienne Farfell. Sharsy Wenips had been undercut earlier in the game and had been taken out for precautionary measures; word was that it was a strain of her calf, and that she would likely play next week. Veteran Gayla Renhorn was out there now in her return to the Elite League after one game at Thyferra the prior week. Farfell passed it to Renhorn, who then got trapped by Tiin. The two fought for the ball, but Renhorn came out victorious when she scooped up the loose ball and got it away to Laura Cellen. The rookie passed it to Gemma Sal-Solo. The former Corellia Rebel was hit and forced away from the goal, but stayed on her feet and threw a perfect strike to Anya Amasova in the middle of the pitch. Amasova, who had already scored a goal earlier, caught the ball past a diving defender (as the ball was placed perfectly into a tight space), and set her feet. Another Lightning defender flew past her, and the Hapan got into open space. She pump faked the ball to Ava Killenger, who had come around to help out, thereby freezing Tobin, and finally kicked the ball. It screamed into the back of the net for another goal, this time putting the Senators up by three.

With the Lightning down, Christine knew that her defense would have to buckle down now. They couldn’t let the home crowd get their team back into this thing, because they were so close to winning. She followed Meeks once again, hounding the rookie. The Senator defense stiffened, but on a broken play the Lightning scored a late goal when Ugdulo Borr got caught flat-footed when he was supposed to be shifting over. The Chevin had lost his balance, and that had been enough time for the Lightning to make him pay with a goal to tie it all up at 21.

The final four minutes would decide the game. The Senators called a timeout, now having one remaining, and everyone went over the sidelines. “Offense, eat some of this clock,” Coach Carelle said to the huddled players. “There’s still too much time left. We need to score, but also burn some of that time. If we get a bar point, then they have a chance to win this thing and bleed our hopes dry. We can’t let them do that. Defense, now is the time to step up. Stick on your matchups like you were born with them attached to your hip. Gamble, I need you to switch over to any Lightning player who causes havoc in the zone. That could be Vra, or even Costa, since he’s had space.” Christine nodded; as the Senators’ best defensive player, she had to draw the toughest assignment when the going got tough. If she could eliminate the threat of Zoa Vra, then their chances for victory would increase dramatically. Vra was the key here.

When the timeout was done, Christine set her defense. “Patti, make sure that if Vra gives you trouble, push her out my way, and we’ll switch over,” Christine said to the half back.

“What if she won’t go?” Patti asked.

“Then push her along,” Christine replied. “Do whatever you can to disrupt her. You’ve done a good job on her today; we just need one or two more stops on her.”

Borr had been taken out of the game, and Deluxx had come in. Borr hadn’t been terrible, but Deluxx had shown better skills thus far in the game, and Coach Carelle had made the decision to put the rookie in a tough spot. But momentum was huge in Limmie, and if the Weequay had the hot hand and the Chevin didn’t, Carelle was going to take the risk and ride his best players.

The Senator offensive possession didn’t last long because Syra Kuna, the former assistant captain for the Lightning who had come over in an offseason trade, got buried under the pile and lost the ball. The Lightning cleared it through the midfield and were now on the attack. Christine pushed Meeks out of the way, and then Vra came cutting across the field like had been expected. Patti was giving chase, but was a step or two away from the Zabrak. Christine ran over and switched with the half back, now shielding the Lightning’s captain from the ballcarrier. Vra tried to spin away, but Christine beat her to the spot and continued her defense. She was starting to feel fatigued, but now was not the time to give up. Now was the time where the winners stood tall in the face of adversity.

Vra finally got the ball down low, but Christine reached around and poked the ball out. It hit the turf, and Vra went down to the field to get it. Christine dove as well, but punched the ball away from the Zabrak as the two of them crashed to the turf. It had come very close to a facial punch, but luckily Christine hadn’t made contact with Vra’s face. The ball went straight to Jenna Leed, who dropkicked the ball out of danger. Gayla Renhorn made the nice grab in midfield, and the Senators set up their offense.

Carelle put out a seventh forward for the set, taking out Patti in exchange for Gemma. Syra had checked out of the game, and all the starting forwards were in there. Gemma caught the pass from Renhorn and then made a curl route to try and get free. But the Lightning defense stepped up, and for two minutes the Senators anxiously passed the ball around the perimeter, trying to find any gap they could. Eventually, with 46 seconds left, Carelle called another timeout.

“We have to attack their zone!” he exclaimed. “We’re killing the clock, but we’re also not pushing them around. The longer we give them, the more time they have to counter our plays. This has to be the final possession of the game for us; we have to score and then let the defense take over. If this goes to overtime, we might not be able to pull this out. So win it in the next forty seconds, and the defense will clean up the rest.”

He then looked to Leia Adama. “Adama, you’re getting this next shot on goal, hear me?”

“But Coach, I failed last week . . .”

“I don’t care what happened last week,” Carelle said. “This is a whole new game. It’s a new chance, and we trust in you. You can do this. Get free, and then the ball will come your way. Max,” he said to the Nautolan, “you’re the safety valve. Make sure that if she can’t get free, that you make some space and get in your own shot. This is our last chance, so make sure you connect on a score.”

When the game resumed, the ball came in to the seven-forward set the Senators had. It was a 2-3-2 arrangement, with Jomas and Amasova down low, Adama, Qorbus and Killenger in the middle, and Pin and Sal-Solo on the outside. Arienne Farfell was playing safety on this formation at midfield, while Gayla was back closer to the Senator zone to keep tabs on any Lightning attack should the Senators fail to score here. Pin passed to Sal-Solo, who passed back when harassed by a Lightning defender. Pin used her height to get above her defender and threw a screen pass to Killenger. Ava tore up the field to draw the defense in, then passed to Max in the middle of the formation. He spun around and got Pin on a crossing pattern, finally scattering to one side of the field. Pin spent several seconds staring down her matchup before faking a step to the left. The defender didn’t bite, and then Pin pump faked. This drew the defender, and the Shistavenen was in the clear. Twenty seconds left. She passed it to Adama, who made a nice post move and sent a skip shot that grazed past the goal line and trickled into the goal. She had completed her hat trick, and the Senators were up by three with 16 seconds left.

Christine took a deep breath as she knew what was about to happen. The Lightning were going to come out fast, and her defenders would have to be ready. Carelle quickly called out his forwards, but three of them had been on the opposite end of the field and couldn’t get off the playing surface in time to sub for defenders. Levi Corner rocketed to the midfield, and Vex Blooker and Rainy Frantsen ran as hard as they could to reinforce the defense. But the Lightning were going fast, and the replacements had to sprint to get to their positions, of which they got to late. The Senator defense, facing large odds here, had to hold. Christine bumped Meeks off her route and then shoved her down to the ground, keeping her out of the play. Patti had her hands full with Vra, but was holding for now. Deluxx was in a battle with Costa down low, and Zeke Barbosa in goal steeled himself for what he knew would be a major save.

All Christine could do was look at the clock. Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .

The ball went to Tadhara Tunni, the rookie. Jenna Leed was now in her face.

Seven . . . six . . .

Tunni passed to Vra past Patti’s fingers. The Zabrak was now in the clear.

Five . . . four . . .

Vra got clipped in the foot by a late-arriving Kara Milovy.

Three . . . two . . .

The captain stumbled and fell onto the turf, the ball skittering away.

One . . .



The horn blared, and Christine could barely move as she heard it. That sound meant the game was over. She looked to the scoreboard . . . the Senators had won. She couldn’t believe it; her team had won. She had won. Paralyzed by the thought, she dropped to her knees, still stunned. Then a tidal wave of relief washed over her, and she raised her hands towards the heavens and let out as loud a cry as she could in jubilation.

Over on the sidelines, Carelle had been doused in Gundarkade by some of the reserve players, and now a mini-dogpile was forming itself in the middle of the field. Leia Adama was buried by a flurry of teammates, cups of Gundarkade poured over her head as she got caught up in all that mess.

Christine could now feel herself being mauled from behind; it was Rickard Herman and Kara Milovy, who were celebrating and letting the captain get a taste of the victory.

“We did it!” Rickard screamed into Christine’s ear.

“Yes we did!” Christine yelled back, not even opening her eyes as she listened to the sounds of her team celebrating amongst the utter silence of the Ylesian crowd. It felt good to finally win a game.

Christine finally got up off the turf and joined her teammates for the handshake line. No doubt many beings in the galaxy, especially Ylesian fans, would hate the Senators for making such a big deal over a regular-season win. But none of them had been through the pain the Senators had, losing so many games in a row, being made into a complete mockery by the rest of the league, left for dead in the eyes of many. Only after a group had gone through such trials and tribulations could a regular-season win feel like victory in the Galactic Cup Final. And they had finally done it.

News crews started to pick out players from the mob of gray jerseys to interview. Leia was surrounded by all sorts of reporters, likely asking her about the game-winning goal. But Christine wasn’t going to get off scot-free, because three reporters and their crews caught up to her.

“Christine, nice game out there,” one said. “We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Christine wasn’t sure what to say. The last time the media had tried to ask her questions she had walked out on them, completely angered by their lack of class. Now she had to face the cameras once more; hopefully this would turn out better.

“What was going through your head in the final few seconds?”

“All I could think about was the clock. It was ticking off, and I was on the wrong side of the field, so all I could do was watch and hope everyone did their job,” she answered.

“Take us through your matchup with Megan Meeks. How did you approach this game?”

“I just did what I’m always asked to do, to shut down whomever I’m matched up against. Meeks has some nice plays in her head, and she’ll definitely learn from this game and become a good player someday. So what I had to do was bring my best game and hope that she didn’t figure me out.”

“What does it feel like to have the losing streak off your chest, especially with this being your first win as captain?”

“I can’t describe how awesome this feels,” Christine said. “I’ve been waiting so long for this moment to arrive. It’s been two full years since I last won, so I forgot what winning felt like. When the horn went off at the end, I could barely move my body because I was in shock. This has been a long time coming, and I wasn’t sure how to react. Then it came to me, and I finally let it all out.”

“You host the Packers next week at home. Take us through that.”

“They have a nice offensive attack,” Christine said. “We’re going to be challenged next week on all sides of the ball.”

“Thank you for your time,” the reporter said.

The interview had gone well, and Christine took a sigh of relief. This one had gone a lot better than the last time, and she felt so much better about it.

When she walked back to the locker room, Christine intercepted Leia. “Good game, rook,” she commented to the first overall pick.

“Hey, you didn’t do so badly yourself,” Leia said.

“I did what I had to. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You don’t have to be completely humble about it, Cap,” Leia said. “If you want to let it all hang out, we understand. It’s time you got this win.”

“Exactly,” was all Christine said. As she went into the visitor’s locker room, she jumped and slapped the door frame in her excitement.

Gone was the 11-game losing streak. Gone was Christine’s personal losing streak of 15 games. Gone was the bleak possibility of another winless campaign.

For Christine and the Coruscant Senators, the winners of this game, it definitely felt like the first time.

---

IC: Ava Killenger

Ava jumped into the air in celebration on the sidelines as the horn blared and the Senators won the game. She had been waiting a long time for this, having gone through the 0-9 277 season with this team. And now the nightmare, at least for a week, was over. She joined the celebration at midfield, but soon broke off when she saw Levi Corner. The midfielder had a smile on his face.

“We did it,” Ava said, coming over to him.

“Yeah, we did it,” Levi said.

But the midfielder barely had time to react before Ava kissed him on the lips. Levi was now completely in shock, and Ava herself felt a little odd for doing that. But the impulse had been there, because she didn’t care about how strange that kiss looked. All she cared about was that she and her team had won.

“When we get back to Coruscant, let’s celebrate, just the two of us,” she said with a sly grin.

“As friends?” Levi asked.

“As friends.”

Three mornings later, Ava woke up in Levi’s bed at his apartment, having enjoyed his company the night before. It was not intended to be a serious relationship, but the two didn’t mind the companionship for a night. Winning a Limmie game was certainly a blissful experience.

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels, Tim Battershell (for Packers comments)

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium, O'pahz, Carratos

The two teams lined up and the 1 million fans in Goss-Pell Memorial stadium went silent. The ref looked to both teams, Lynd and Rime nodded. The ref blew his whistle and the match started. Lynd took control of the bolo-ball and side stepped a steal attempt by Logan. Rhodri charged in from her left side forcing her to make a quick pass to Ileo. Boutros challenged, blocking Ileo run on the goal. He tried to dump it to Aptos but, it was intercepted by Samia. The Zabrak kicked the ball to Rhodri, who hurled it to Marky. Marcus put a spin move on Seter and got a pass off to Seiji. Seiji sped past Starr and made a leading pass to Vayan. The veteran, already cutting towards the goal, received the ball and faked the bar point. Oss’irh’cgood hesitated for just a moment as the Barabel directed the ball right to Logan. Manx headed the ball into the back of the net. The stands exploded in to shouts of joy. On the field Logan punched his fist in the air and Rime mussed the hair of his forward companion. With the Pirates now fired up, they got ready for another Monarch attack. Lynd started the possession again. As Rhodri moved toward her she made a back pass to Nolan and moved toward the right corner. Nolan sent the ball down field to Rooth who’d diched his defender on Lynd’s perfectly placed pick. Boutros blocked the lane to the goal but, left Ileo open for the drop pass. Ileo drove toward the net and put the ball into the top right corner. Qazi slammed the ground with his fist, another near miss for the Quarren goalkeeper. Two goals within seconds of each other Geoff worried the game would turn into a war of attrition.

“Don’t get distracted,” The coached called from the sidelines. He took a quick glance to the holo-screen to check the time. Under the time and the score, where the feeds from the cams were displayed, Geoff saw his wife and daughters. They were wearing black shirts with the Pirates’ logo in white on the front. Laura blew a kiss to the camera.

“Now who’s distracted?” Bestide called from the field. He shook his and returned his focus to the game. The defenses of both teams stood strong, preventing either side from scoring for most of the match. Then Seiji made a bar point, the crowd cheered and the Iktochi jumped, the Pirates had the lead again. The good feelings lasted until; Sylvauns missed the steal on Artor. The rookie blazed ahead of Rhodri. He chipped it to Lynd, who was open due to Boutros covering Ileo. The Bakuran captain snuck the ball right under the goalkeeper. The home team was down by two with eight minutes left in the first half. Rhodri signed to Geoff for a wall formation. The coach nodded. The Klatooinan signaled to Samia and Brian to fill the gaps in between Bestide and Rhodri and, Rhodri and Sylvauns. That left Boutros all alone in the fullback position, if the Monarch’s offense got though it would all be over. The ref blew the whistle. Lynd had possession and effortlessly dodged tackles by Logan and Else. As the wall drew closer Lynd tried a give and go with Artor but, the back pass was intercepted by Gabby. The dark skinned midfielder passed it up to Else. Else didn’t have much time as Starr and Heilos closed in cutting off all her passing options. She made a powerful drop-kick and watched as the ball sailed through the uprights. The fans stomped their feet as Geoff signaled to break the wall. The Pirates’ defense returned to their three and three formation.
No sense in trying the same thing twice, Geoff thought. The tension was palpable, the Monarchs wanted to extend their lead and the Pirates were desperate for a tie going into the half. The Pirates’ defense zone became a hive of activity. Qazi stopped shot after shot until he could finally hold onto the ball. He put everything he had into long kick pass to the midfield. Gabriella pulled it down after winning position over Severine. She cut to the outside and passed up to Leigh. Cavanagh tossed the ball to Rime with seconds remaining in the first half. With no time to rush the goal, the captain kicks the ball over the bar. The half ended, tied, six all. In the locker room everyone, looked worn out. Gabby had her head leaned back, panting. Logan dried the sweat from his brow with a towel.

“We can do this team,” the coach said getting his player’s attention, “What we’re doing is working. We just need to keep that intensity up. This could be our first win in the Elite League and against the strongest defense at that. Just rehydrate, get some air in your lungs and get ready to win in front of a home crowd.”

“Don’t you mean get ready to win, in front of your wife?” Rhodri growled from the corner.

“Well,” Geoff replied, his cheeks red, “it’ll make going home that much sweeter.” The team responded with cat calls and laughter. They needed this; they needed to loosen up a bit. Half time ended and the teams returned to the field. Logan took possession and made a quick pass to Vayan who avoided two tackles by Lynd and Nolan before returning the ball to Logan. The star forward kicked it to Rime. Rime had no time to move before Ping tackled him to the ground, knocking the ball loose. Leigh came up and popped the ball into her hand. Seeing an open lane she ran towards the net. Just before the crease Leigh pushed off her left foot, diving parallel to the goal mouth. She threw the ball low to the far side before burying her shoulder into the turf. Oss’irh’cgood barely missed it. Rime and Logan rushed forward to help their teammate to her feet. Leigh rubbed her right shoulder as she returned to starting position. The Monarchs answered quickly when Aptos broke away from Samia and beat Qazi on the near side. Rime, Logan and, Vayan continued undaunted peppering the goal with shots. One of Rime’s kicks deflected hard off the cross bar. The ensuing bounce from the ground came right to Logan. Without hesitation he headed it back into the goal. Geoff checked the clock, fifteen minutes remaining. Could the Pirates hold on to this lead? He hopes were dashed when Lynd scored a tying goal. The defense wasn’t too shaken up but, couldn’t stop Artor from scoring the go ahead bar point. The Pirates’ coach called a time out.

“Don’t give up now.” He said as the player gathered around. “They’re only up a point we can win this, defense” he gestured to his back six “Come up a little bit, keep the pressure on them. Offense, don’t be timid put it all on the line.” Geoff took a deep breath, why not, he thought before growling out his best pirate ‘ARRRRRRRRRR’ The rest of the team joined in, they all laughed again. They took their positions with smiles on their faces. The smiles faded as the Monarchs pressed their attack. The defense was harried by shots. Eventually Rhodri managed to clear it out but, it was picked up by Royd. The Hapan passed to Nolan. He looked for a pass but, ran out of time. Bestide forced a fumble that was picked up by Marcus. Marky blitzed down the field and found Seiji open. Seiji made a quick move on Starr and moved the ball up to Logan. With the clock winding down, Logan ran toward the outside then cut in, buying him just enough space to send the ball to the top corner. The crowd was deafening. After the defense held for a few more seconds the final whistle blew. The players mobbed Logan, Vayan rubbed his forehead and Rhodri gave him a big hug. Geoff watched as everyone celebrated, they did it; the Carratos Pirates won a game in the Elite League. He felt two small bodies run into his legs. Looking down he saw his daughters wrapped around each calf. He knelt and picked both of them up. He spun around and around listening to their squeals, barely audible over the noise of the stadium. He stopped just in time to see Laura coming towards him. She took Iris from him and kissed him deeply. More cat calls emanated from the field and the stands, the Copins didn’t care. “Hey Babe” Geoff said close to Laura’s ear, “I’ve got a couple more things to do here but, if you could wait on the field we could all go home together.”

“I’d like that.” She replied. Geoff shook the hands of the opposing team, as the Scallywags lead the crowd in singing Drunken Spacer. After the handshakes he made sure to give some comments to Rin Bahar.

“All right,” Geoff said after the team had calmed down in the locker room. “We play Bakura next week. So, go have fun but, remember I want you right here tomorrow afternoon for light practice.” There were some groans and sighs. Geoff packed up his things and met his family on the Field.

“Ready to go?” His wife asked

“Yes.”
_______________
Shield Towers, O'pahz, Carratos

“Good game Coach.”

“Thanks Bara.” Geoff replied as he walked with his family though the entrance. Once in their apartment Geoff and Laura put their children to bed.

"So," Laura said sitting up in the bed. "on a scale of one to ten, one being ridiculously happy and ten being the birth of our daughters happy, how happy are you?" Geoff thought about it while taking off his shirt.

"I'd say about a fifteen," he replied crawling into bed, "but, only because I got to share it with you."

"Lair"

"You're right it's more like twenty." he leaned forward and kissed her.

"So, what you're saying," she twirled a lock of his brown hair around her finger, "is that you're very happy."

"Yes, incalculably, unfathomably, happy."

TAG: CPL_Macja

 

Sub-GM Post

Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Tatooine (28), Thyferra (32), Concordia (28).

Limmie Futures League
Week 2
Commenor Gundarks at Tatooine Sandskimmers (4–6)
Gallinore Firedrakes at Byblos Red Wings (6–11)
Eriadu Thunder at Corellia Rebels (1–1, OT 1–1, shootout 2–1)
Thyferra Force at Garqi Gunners (18–13)
Druckenwell Marksmen at Concordia Crusaders (18–9)

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

 

IC: May Trieste
Memorial Oval, Calna Muun, Agamar



“Next whistle--Morlan,” Tunross said.

“Got it,” May replied.

It was not too much longer before the whistle came and when it did, May trotted at a good clip across the field to the tall Hapan, who had been laboring during the most recent play. Seeing the med staff coming, she’d taken a seat and eased back onto the grass.

“What’s up Becki?” May said as she knelt next to the half forward.

“Last...hit...from Lott,” Becki breathed, “Frak.”

“Where’s it hurt?” May asked.

“Just...need...my wind...back.”

“Give it a second,” May said, putting a calming hand on Morlan’s forehead, but also to gently keep her prostrate on the field while she recovered, “You’re gonna be fine. Keep it up.”

“Becks, you okay?” Morgan Alesh asked her fellow Hapan and the only right side linemate she’d ever played with since Chandrila A&M.

“Just needs a few deep breaths, don’t you Becki?” May said to save Morlan from having to answer, “You’re gonna be fine. Trust me, you’re gonna be just fine.”

---

“Uh oh,” May said.

“Oh for the love of…” Han said, putting a hand over his eyes and shaking his head.

At the next whistle, May and Han ran out to a dazed Penn. The Agamar boy was thrilled to be playing on his homeworld for the first time since leaving U of Agamar. He’d been talking about the fact that he’d gotten tickets for his family and friends all the way to the planet on the team shuttle. However, it seemed he’d gotten a bit carried away.

When May arrived, Penn was still standing, but a bit wobbly. “Whoa there big guy,” May said, putting a hand on the taller human’s back and chest to steady him, “Let’s just sit you down for a second.”

“Did you see that play? They’re all taking holos!” Penn said groggily.

“No, that’d be you seeing stars,” Han corrected him as he helped May get the big man down.

“Pew pew pew!” Penn said, apparently giving voice to whatever it was that he was seeing.

“Horst, follow my finger,” May instructed him, moving the finger side to side. His eyes weren’t following. “Horst.” She snapped her fingers to try to get his attention.

“Hey guys, I didn’t know they let horses play limmie,” Penn said.

“It was a Thakwaash that you ran head first into and let’s just say that she had the better of it,” Han said. The truth was that Taskelor barely seemed to have felt the impact of Penn.

“Let’s get you up and to the sideline,” May said. She had to make sure that he didn’t have a concussion, which right now was seeming like a real possibility. “You tell me all about those mythical horses while we’re going, okay?”

She and Tunross got Penn to his feet and supported him back to the sidelines. “Oh well horses are really cool. They’re like as tall as me and they like on Dathomir and Endor, except the ones on Endor are reaaaaaally tiny because then the Ewoks couldn’t ride them because they’d be too tall and those ones are called ponies, except if it’s a male horse I think they call it a brony, and then the horses on Dathomir are bigger because the rancors ride them…”

---

Trrrrrreeeeeeeeeeee! trilled another whistle and off went May across the field. She’d seen to Penn and once she’d gotten his attention she’d determined that he might be a bit loopy (which appeared to be his resting state), but he was good to play. Hulu had snapped him back to himself and he’d passed the concussion tests with no problem. It was a good thing too, because she was needed again.

Her cousin was rolling around on the field, gritting her teeth.

“What hurts, Fae?” May asked kneeling next to her.

“Is everything a valid answer?” May groaned, “I think I just got steamrolled.”

“That’s what happens when you run into a tank,” Wizmark said, standing over them, referring to Miles Abrams.

“Head, neck, shoulders, chest--stop me when I get to whatever hurts the most,” May said.

Falene rolled from side to side in a whole lot of hurt. “Back.”

May gently put Falene over onto her stomach and started testing. “This hurt?”

“Yes.”

“This?”

“Yes.”

“This?”

“YES.”

“Okay, we’ll get you back in soon,” May said, “Just got to stretch you out on the sidelines, okay? Think you can walk?”

“It’s gonna hurt if I do,” Falene said.

“Yeah well you signed up for the wrongs port if you weren’t interested in hurting,” May told Falene unapologetically, “Come on, you know you just want everyone to clap when you get to your feet and stagger to the sidelines.”

“They clap more if you use the stretcher,” Falene said as she allowed May to help her up slowly.

“That’s just what you need,” May said sarcastically, “More adulation. Don’t you get enough of that as Taoiseach?”

“Oh come on, you know you all hate me,” Falene said as she started walking off the field gingerly with May.

“With a passion,” May agreed, not meaning a word of it.

---

“Dorvin, what’s hurting?” May asked as she came over to the Xexto, who was doubled over in pain.

“Two left arms are cramping bad, doc,” he replied.

“Okay, we’re gonna get you off and I’m going to stretch them, get you back in,” May told him, “Sound good?”

“Sure doc.”

May was desperately trying to remember if with a Xexto you had to stretch both arms together to make sure that the muscles didn’t get further damaged or if that would overload his muscle system and she had to stretch them independently. She hoped she’d brought her datapad with her so she could check on the sidelines.

---

At the end of the game, as the players and coaches were doing their handshakes, a bedraggled, tousled May left the field by way of the tunnel. It had been a long, long day--and there would still be all of the minor injuries to be taped and tended to in the locker room. There might need to be a few bacta patches applied to relieve some of the pain, but that was going to be the worst of it today.

“We earned our keep today, May,” Han said, “No too serious injuries, but we’ll have a little work to do on the shuttle back.”

“Thanks Doc,” May said.

“Call me Han.”

“Okay...Doc Han,” May said, a small smile crossing her face.

“You Triestes…” Han muttered with a smile.

“Yeah, us Triestes,” May replied.

TAG: Tim Battershell

 

Big Board, Week 2​

Sarah "Terminator" Connor (Human, Female, Goaltender, Taanab A&M)
Game Line: 15 saves, 0 PA, W @PU, 9-0
Analysis: Completed a rare road shutout. That’s pretty impressive.

Mark Meeks (Human, Male, Corner Back, Ord Sabaok University)
Game Line: 1 loose ball recovery, L @CF, 36-5
Analysis: Ugly game, definitely not one that helps your stock or your team.

Pashta (Gungan, Female, Corner Forward, Theed University)
Game Line: 2 bar points scored, 2 turnovers, 2 points scored, 2 shots on goal, W vs. MEU, 37-10
Analysis: Didn’t do much in the game, although the team rolled to an easy home win. Until we see her do more, she likely won’t be a high draft pick.

Noah Till (Human, Male, Center Half Back, Ralltiir University)
Game Line: 1 tackle, 1 loose ball recovery, W @TBA, 12-8
Analysis: Had a quiet game, but his team won, and that’s what matters in the end. Still eats up space and can be an impact player, even if the stats don’t agree.

Mikia Sandin (Human, Female, Left Half Back, Bilbringi University)
Game Line: 5 turnovers, L @CTC, 15-6
Analysis: Some days you just don’t have it. This was one of those days.

Gorgalan "Gor" Irukandji (Nikto, Male, Center Half Forward, Norand University (Carratos))
Game Line: 2 goals, 1 bar point, 7 points scored, 4 shots on goal, 1 turnover, W @TBA, 23-6
Analysis: Very solid game. Still has a lot of ground to make up in the draft rankings, but this is a nice start.

Niels Karuari (Ishi Tib, Male, Left Corner Forward, University of Denon)
Game Line: 1 bar point, 3 turnovers, 1 shot on goal, L vs. UDE, 31-17
Analysis: Didn’t really get off the ground in the home loss, and has one point through two games. This is not a good trend.

Yeorg Niktel (Human, Male, Half Forward, Bakura Fleet Academy)
Game Line: 1 goal, 2 shots on goal, 3 points scored, 2 turnovers, L vs. UBGC, 36-23
Analysis: Netted a nice goal early on, but then got shut down during the rest of the match. Has a tendency to fade at the wrong times.

Felda (Cathar, Female, Midfielder, UB Cape Suzette)
Game Line: 2 loose ball recoveries, 1 tackle, 4 turnovers, L @TU, 29-3
Analysis: Not a good week for the Big Board players, to be honest. Felda had a horrible game.

Kal'cre'ltenk (Chiss, Male, Half Forward, Sarvchi Technological University)
Game Line: 3 goals scored, 5 shots on goal, 9 points scored, W @TBA, 9-5
Analysis: Scored all of his team’s points, and helped catapult his stock with the bad games of many other Big Board prospects.

Penkal (Aqualish, Male, Full Back, College of Fondordelphia)
Game Line: 4 tackles, 1 loose ball recovery, W vs. OSU, 36-5
Analysis: Had to add a full back to the Big Board, and we think we got a good one here. Just didn’t have a spectacular game in what otherwise was a huge home win.



TAG: Everyone, so CPL_Macja, Vehn, galactic-vagabond422, Runjedirun, Bardan_Jusik, Trieste, jcgoble3, Tim Battershell, Rebecca_Daniels, Polydroxol

 

IC: Pamila Korthe
Garqi

It was Week Two of the Pam Korthe Revival Tour, and now up were the Garqi Gunners. Jed had mentioned during the week that the Gunners were responsible for knocking the Force out of the Championship Bracket of the LFL the prior season in the final week, and many of the players on the current roster had been there. They wanted to get their revenge on the home team, which gave them added motivation to do their jobs well today. Pam liked their fire and willingness to attack; they would need that killer instinct in order to be successful today.

It was a tight game early. The Gunners put up a pair of bar points on Ziva Kender, matching the total number of points the Nautolan goalie had surrendered in the prior week’s game against Gallinore. Orrin Calcutt, whom had come over from Alsakan in a 277 trade, put up a bar point to cut the deficit. The defenses were taking over, making plays and causing havoc on both sides.

Eventually a turning point came when H’ten Stutt, the Filvian full forward for the Force, got cut from underneath and nailed the turf hard. The training staff went out to check on him, and it was determined that he was going to miss the rest of the game, if not longer. Frowning, Pam went to her bench, deciding that third-round pick Callie Polarez was her best option instead of veteran players Caleeny Worgo or Marett Wingo. Polarez hadn’t played extremely well against the Firedrakes the prior week, but she would get the opportunity here. Pam wasn’t sure how much the rookie would do here, especially since the Renhorn sisters were the undisputed stars of the offense.

She quickly took control of the situation. Calcutt slashed through the Gunners defense and passed off to Polarez, who sidestepped a defender. She then made the goalie pay for being out of position with a nice throw that snapped into the back of the net for three points. That was her first professional goal, a momentous achievement.

At the half, the game was still tight, at 9-8 Force. Pam liked what she was seeing from her defense, and her offense, while still scuffling at times, showed flashes of excellence. Polarez had been good on offense, making plays and passing effectively. So Pam kept with the rookie, hoping that she was the hot hand for the game. Again the rookie didn’t disappoint. Two minutes into the half, she took a nice feed from Voontoo and kicked a rocket into the back of the goal for another score. Five minutes after her second goal, she scored a third to complete the hat trick. The Gunners couldn’t stop her, and the Force players kept feeding her the ball. With this menace running rampant, the Force were able to grind out the clock and pull out the stops they needed to en route to a 18-13 road win.

Pam congratulated her rookie forward, who was given the game ball as a reward for her efforts. It was a nice win, to be sure, but the veteran coach understood how the game worked. You could be up one week, then down the next. The Force had to continue their hot streak next week, or else this good start could be wasted during the longer season.

After the team had disbanded and headed back to the shuttle, Pam ran into her husband. Jed seemed excited, as he should be. But it wasn’t just about the game; he had other thoughts in his mind. “I just got a call back from the adoption agency,” he said. “They would like us to come in and see if we can find a child to adopt.”


This brought a smile to Pam’s face. Although she couldn’t have children of her own, she could at least be a mother if they adopted a child. “Let’s do that,” she said. She had two reasons to celebrate that day.

TAG: No One

 

Power Rankings, Week 2:​

1. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – After a horrible preseason loss to Bakura, the Smugglers have come out of the gate swinging, beating a good Hapes team at home this week. No, we haven’t heard this story before . . . OK, fine, they did the same thing last year. Apparently losing to the Miners is good for them. Who would’ve thought that? 2

2. Euceron Storm - Being the only other undefeated team in the entire League after two weeks counts for something, right? Nice home win this week. 3

3. Bakura Miners – Their offense looked like times of old, running the Packer defense ragged. However, giving up 32 points to Agamar a week after they were shut out tells you that either the Packers are that inconsistent on offense, or the Miners need to work on their defense more. We’ll likely say some of both. 2

4. Mando’ade Mercs – It wasn’t easy, but they got the job done against a good Ralltiir squad. Now that has to transfer over into staying in the playoff hunt with the frontrunners in the Skywalker. N/C

5. Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Hm, troubling loss to a new team on the road doesn’t look good. But the good news is that the Monarchs know how to play defense. If they ever figure out the offense, they are in for a breakout year. 1

6. Ralltiir Starkillers – You readers have no idea how hard it is to place this team here. So many good teams, and someone has to lose out. But a close shave against Carratos, plus a defense that is showing cracks in the armor, and we’re going to see if Ralltiir can pull it together in the next few weeks or if their offense will have to carry them the rest of the way, which is not a recipe for continued success. 4

7. Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – Rough loss to Nar Shaddaa this week, and Meredith Chambers-Vayne still can’t beat her old employers. That makes her and Inviere still owning an 0-fer against the Smugglers and Miners, something that needs to be rectified if this team wants to go anywhere. 2

8. Ylesia Lightning – How could you lose to the Senators? No one loses to them. Luckily for the Lightning, beating the Miners still overshadows the loss this week, but only slightly. N/C

9. Carratos Pirates – Congratulations to the Pirates on winning their first Elite League game. So far, they seem to have their defense figured out. But you know what they say about new teams; when the Holo library gets larger, things get harder. 2

10. Coruscant Senators – THIS IS NOT A TYPO, THE SENATORS ACTUALLY WON A GAME! But we still don’t think they’re that good. Two games is one thing, but they need to put together a solid season before they get back in anyone’s good graces. Last season’s abomination hangs over them like a bad rain cloud. 2

11. Agamar Packers – Going from 0 points scored one week to 32 the next is impressive, but they still need to figure out their defense if they want to win. And that seems to be a recurring problem with this squad, defense. 4


12. Kuat Triforce – Ugly game this past week, and not the start they wanted in their return to the League. They desperately need a win this week to get momentum. 2

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

 

IC: Ty Allin

The Mercs offense was good. They could have been even better. Daryc and Lieznam were excellent players. They knew how to move the ball and they knew how to shoot on goal. If they learned to play together they would be completely unstoppable. So it was fortunate that neither seemed to want to pass to the other. It allowed our defensive unit to make some of the plays we needed. Not enough of the plays we needed though, we had lost.

It was a frustrating loss, only four points. If we had let one less goal and two less bar point get by us we could have had a win. Or two less goals and we would have had a win. I knew we had battled hard, I had the bruises to prove it. You always second guessed yourself when you lost. When it was a close game you beat yourself up over one or two mistakes that cost you the game. I was lucky I had the flight home to get over it. Before I had to be a husband and a father again. Lucie taught me long ago that she wasn't going to listen to my moaning after a loss.

I had learned to kick my locker or work through my frustrations in some way, as best I could, before I got home. Today I wanted to shower and jump on the shuttle as fast as possible. Find a secluded seat so I could replay my errors in peace and maybe even catch some sleep. I shut out two trainers who wanted to look me over. I could put patches on my own bruises when I got home. Or if anything hurt when I got to the facility for our next practice I'd have it tended then.

If only I could have been so lucky. Jeffers was sitting on the bench in the locker room when I got finished showering. He hadn't removed his uniform yet, wasn't packing up. "We gotta shuttle to catch," I reminded him. "Better get a move on."

"What's the point?" He asked. "Obviously I won't be playing next week."

"Only if you are going to quit," I pointed out. "We lost out there as a team. You missed some blocks, I missed some blocks, Dev made a few bad plays. They add up. We faired better than we did last season against the Mercs and last season we played at home. That has to count for something." I added.

"In fact," I continued. "We are going to need you more than ever next week. In case you forgot we play Nar Shadda. They have the most dynamic offensive team on the pitch. Go shower," I told him. "Get some rest, be ready for some tough practices this week. Imagine how impressed the Galaxy will be when we shut down a team like that."

My words seemed to cheer him at least a little. "You think we have a chance next week?" He asked getting up off the bench.

"We are going to win next week," I told him forcefully. "Nar Shadda is closing in on our regular season win record. I'm not letting anyone beat our record." I said as I picked up my travel bag and slung it over my shoulder. "See you on the shuttle," I said as I turned and left the visitors locker room behind me.

I rushed towards the shuttle hoping that secluded seat I had my heart set on would still be vacant. Before I could board I ran into Trey. "I've been waiting for you," he said. "We need to talk."

"What did I do now?" I asked out of habit.

"Nothing," he said calmly. "I wanted to let you in on a plan I'm hatching," he said letting excitement seep out of his voice.

"A plan?" I asked.

Without saying another word he grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the shuttle. We headed for his private cabin and he immediately had a seat and began to bring something up on his data pad. He motioned for me to have a seat next to him so I did. He was watching footage of the Sandskimmers game.

"Kaat Stun," he said pointing out the keeper he had sent there without second thought before training camp even began. "She only allowed one point to be scored in her first game and this week only four points were scored against her. I'm calling her up. Sending Mort to take her place so he can get some experience."

"You're bringing in a rookie to face Nar Shadda?" I asked in disbelief.

"Teaspoon has been a disappointment," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "When something doesn't work, you fix it."

I wasn't sure if I agreed with the move or not. It was true Teaspoon had been letting bolo balls fly into our net for a little over 2 seasons now. It was time for a change. Was Kaat ready for the ELL though, could anybody be ready for the Nar Shadda Smugglers offense? Trey was excited about the possibilities with Stun and I decided that was good enough for me as well. I found the secluded seat I had my mind set on. Quickly I texted Lucie that I was shutting off my data pad for the duration of the trip, pulled out a travel pillow and closed my eyes.

I spent a few minutes thinking about the mistakes I had made on the field and how to not make them again next week. I spent the rest of the flight sleeping. Lucie greeted me at the spaceport alone. "Where's T.J.?" I asked after giving her a hug.

"He's at mom's," she answered. "I knew you would be tired and I thought we could spend the night alone." She turned me around and rubbed my shoulders. "I know how to make you feel better after a loss," she whispered in my ear.

A night at home with my wife was the perfect way to recover from a loss. By the time I had to report to the facility the next morning I had forgotten my hard feelings and was ready to prepare for the Smugglers.

After practice I went to the Vigo mansion so I could finally reunite with my son. I was told we were going to have dinner and celebrate his first birthday. Sometimes dinner at the Vigo household was awkward, “So which one of you is going to play in the upcoming all-star game?” Mrs. Vigo asked looking at the four children she had in attendance.

“I already explained why it can’t be me,” Tomas said speaking up first. “My first game on an ELL field should be in a real ELL uniform, playing for a real ELL team, not some exhibition game.”

“Too busy with school,” Spencer said quickly.

“Risky enough being on the sidelines,” Justyne added.

All eyes fell on Lucie, “Oh, no you are not making me go out there and make a fool of myself. Why is it necessary one of us play, anyway?”

“Sportsmanship,” Mrs. Vigo said. “The commissioner clearly wants one of us out there to represent our team and the fan base will love it. I’m sure your brother would play, but he’s spending most of his time on Coruscant right now finishing up his last bit of school. And I won’t allow anything to pull him away.”

“Why don’t you play, mom?” Justyne asked.

“Well someone’s got to watch all these babies you kids keep creating,” Mrs. Vigo said indicating Zoey, Marty and T.J.

“We did learn from the best,” Justyne reminded her.

“This one’s had a smart mouth since the day she was born,” Mrs. Vigo said turning to Andres. “I don’t know how you put up with her.”

Poor Andres had no idea how to react to that comment. He pretended to be really interested in his plate of food and kept eating.

“Why not make Bat play?” Spencer asked suddenly. “He could fly in there piloting that yacht he bought with his inheritance money. Show up everybody before the game even starts.”

“Are you calling that second hand spaceship Bat bought a yacht?” I asked. “Last I heard it wasn’t even fit to fly, your brother has a lot of work to make that space worthy.”

“Bat could have that thing ready to fly next week,” Spencer commented dryly. “Who do you think taught me to re-program computers? Besides the public loves his story, the spoiled rich kid turned bad boy, turned victim, turned respected businessmen and GM.”

If Bat had been here to defend himself he’d probably have his kid brother pinned to the floor right now. “The clear choice here is you, Tomas,” Mrs. Vigo said interrupting my thought. “You’re more than welcome to call your brother and try to convince him to come out, but we all know how that conversation would end. You already know how to play, and this would be a great opportunity for you to not only show off your skills, but also to represent this family.”

“This could jinx my entire playing career,” Tomas argued loudly. “You can’t make me play.”

“Don’t you raise your voice at me,” Mrs. Vigo shot back in a warning tone. “Either you convince another Vigo to play or you play.”

Tomas sat angrily pushing the food around his plate for the rest of dinner. I was really surprised he didn’t want to play. To be safe I decided to bring it up with him at another time in private. To avoid another shouting match with his mother that may get him in trouble.

After dinner we had cake. Lucie and I took T.J. home. When I tucked him in that night I apologized to him for having a family that turns birthday parties into business meetings. He laughed when I said it as if he understood.

tags: Bardan_Jusik Vehn

 

IC: Kaitlyn Vehn
Six Boroughs, Nar Shaddaa

The Nar Shaddaa Smugglers under John Huntington’s coaching tenure, whether as offensive coordinator or head coach, had established themselves as an offensive power house. Nobody could put them away. Well, one team had, Kaitlyn thought, as she watched the conclusion of the game against Hapes. She briefly slipped back into that Skywalker Conference Final loss to the Mercs last year. Still, even if they had gone on to face the Miners in what would’ve been the dream match up of the ‘Silver Age’ she wasn’t entirely convinced that they would’ve won. They might’ve kept pace with the Mercs but facing the Miners in the biggest game of them all, well, so much was left to speculation by fanboys.

She nodded in approval as John Huntington went to embrace Meredith Chambers-Vayne after the game. Last year she’d noticed there’d been a little freeze in their relations. She wondered if Meredith had felt snubbed when Kaitlyn had passed her over to promote John for the head coaching vacancy a few years back. Then again, well, Meredith had chosen to go to Hapes. She’d felt called. So far, the team was keeping their head above water and the season was young yet. So much could change. So much would change in the next few weeks.

Nar Shaddaa was playing Ralltiir in a few days. They’d be looking for bragging rights. They would be looking to lick their chops and snag a victory from the jaws of Mylessa McCloud and Erin Windreaver. Kaitlyn knew the team was still smarting, no, that wasn’t the right word, still struggling, with the loss of Martin Vigo. Personally, she was still torn up about his departure as well.

After all, if any rogue could walk up to an ELL owner and blow them away, what did that say about the very security that so many in the upper levels of the Commissioner’s office championed?

Vigo’s death told her one thing: nobody was safe.

Nobody.

---

Corellian Sector, VCPD Meeting

“Drexel knew we were coming,” Commissioner Saul Tyrago stated in his weekly meeting with the VCPD. “We had surprise on our side before the shooting started. Someone in this department, on this force, told him exactly where we would be and how we were coming. I swear when I find that traitor I’m going to hang him up from the nearest skyscraper and while he’s still alive cut him down and watch him fall into the black abyss down below.”

The officers in the meeting room roared in approval. Lots of clapping, fist pumping, slaps on the back. Everyone was feeling like they’d put down a lot of nasty people during the hard fight to secure the drug-infested underworld of the Corellian Sector. A lot of officers had gone into the underbelly of that beast and hadn’t come back alive Deadly reminders of the price of the job. Deadly reminders of the cost of betrayal.

Ken gulped and tried to play along. He wanted to cheer with the rest of them. He wanted to exchange hand shakes, slaps on the back, feel like Drexel was just around the corner waiting to be nailed. But he couldn’t. He shoved his hands in his pockets, made some ridiculous excuse to the men next to him, and slipped out of the meeting. He could hardly breathe as more cheers came from the meeting hall. He wanted to run away. He wanted to rip out this feeling of guilt, this feeling of cowardness that had leaked into his very soul. He couldn’t tell the truth. He couldn’t trust anyone. He was alone on this. On his way out the door he once more walked past the images of the officers who had given the ultimate sacrifice. Their holo-photos seemed to come alive from the wall they were mounted on. He knew their names. He knew their wives, their husbands, their children.

He raced down the stairs, found a secluded, dark, corner next to the building and vomited. He hated himself for what he’d done. He hated himself for all the misery he’d brought to the Vertical City, to his friends, even to those gang bangers down the street. He wasn’t the same man he’d been when he first joined the force. Something had changed. Something was wrong. He wiped the last bits of bile from his mouth and noticed his hands were shaking. He hadn’t had a fix in a couple of days now. The withdrawals were getting more noticeable. He couldn’t cover up his problem much longer. He couldn’t get in touch with Drexel. Not now. Not after the man had gone underground, deeper, more deep than even the police knew. Drexel was lost to him.

He was in trouble. He went home and prepared to take his life. That cold blaster rested gently against his temple. He was done. He was a coward. There was no point in living now. There was no point in going forward. The great darkness seemed to call to him. This seemed like the only way out. This had to be the only way to save his--

His datapad vibrated. He looked at the message. His face frowned as he lowered his service pistol. The message sent chills down his spine. Gave him just enough hesitation to reconsider and gave him just enough hesitation to consider living another day.

The message said one thing: I need your help.

---

Valor Foundation,Main Lobby

Shellie Oneida tugged her denim jacket tighter around her. She had the chills tonight. Maybe it was her detox from the pills that she took while she had been a prostitute. Maybe it was the cool air in the main lobby of the Valor Foundation. Maybe it was that her entire life was turned upside down since the burning of the Corellian Sector. Somehow, after her rescue by Lieutenant Wattsone, she’d been shuttled to the adult wing of the Valor Foundation.

She didn’t know what to make of her life right now. Last week she’d been earning her credits lying on her back and now she was out of a job and out of a lifestyle that she had wanted to get out from the very first minute. She hadn’t wanted to be a prostitute. She hadn’t wanted to earn her keep doing unspeakable acts. All she had done was take a wrong turn one night and, well, here she was sitting in the main lobby with nothing better to do than read some pamphlet about skills training and getting a good job. As she continued reading the pamphlet she couldn’t help but feel that there was some good information in here. She could get a real job. She could get out of the ghetto. She could really make something of herself.

“Challenge yourself, serve others, become a teacher, make a difference in the lives of children everywhere,” Shellie repeated as she read aloud.

She had loved school as a kid. She remembered one teacher that had really made a positive impact on her life. Fourth grade and she was going through a rough transition. Her parents had split up and her mother had found a new man. The guy was nice but he wasn’t her father. He knew it and Shellie knew it and the friction in the household over this new arrangement followed her to school. Her fourth grade teacher put an end, however, to any sort of emotional problems that cropped up as a result of a rocky home life. She couldn’t remember all the words but the teacher had really made an effort to understand her, to cut through her sithspit, to really reach out and make a difference. Fourth grade was one of the best years of her life. It was the year that she’d really thought she’d go on to make something of her life and all the dreams that went with that.

She’d been wrong then. Life had jumped up and torpedoed her plans. But it didn’t have to be that way, did it?

Shellie smiled and folded the pamphlet back together. Yeah, teaching, she could do that. She’d have to go to school and earn her certificate. Fine. Whatever it took. Anything than going back to that hellish life she had been living. It was time to move forward. Time after time she’d allowed people to tell her what to do with her life. Not anymore.

She’d been lost and now she’d found what she was looking for. There was no going back.

Shellie Oneida knew that from this day forward she was going to be a better person.

She could look in the mirror and see a young professional rather than a young whore. Maybe, just maybe, she could learn to love herself. Maybe she could find a piece of that young Shellie that had given her so much hope.

Maybe.

---

Corner of 8th and Greer, Corellian Sector, Nar Shaddaa

“Damn it, where are you?” Victor wondered aloud as he looked at his watch.

He was waiting for a friend. The only friend he could trust right now. The only friend that really could help him get through this rough patch in his life. Well, that was what he hoped. Everything was different now and he was thinking that more than the skyline
had changed. He hadn’t been able to get a hold of his wife or his kids. He wanted to be there for them but he knew that his wife wanted him to stay away. He was dead to her. He knew he had done wrong. He knew that he was never going to be forgiven. He knew that he was deserving of all that had befallen him in the last few days. So he’d called a friend.

“Home troubles?” a voice asked behind him.

Victor spun around and stared into the eyes of his good friend Ken Wattsone.

“Been a long time, buddy,” Victor said giving Ken an embrace. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Ken said as he completely lied.

“Mind if I stay with you for a little while?” Victor asked.

“Stay as long as you’d like,” Ken replied.

“Sure about that?”

“Always,” Ken replied as he got into his speeder. Deep down, although he couldn’t bring himself to say it, he was glad that Victor had texted him.

His good friend had saved his life today in more ways than one.

Tag:Runjedirun (Ralltiir reference)

 

IC: Adanna Inviere
Six Boroughs Stadium, Nar Shaddaa

Adanna paced the visitor’s box during the game. Whenever the Smugglers came out on a fastbreak attack, she would wander a little bit farther away from the Hapes goal. She wasn’t sure if it was an aversion to seeing her defense struggle, if it was her aversion to Nar Shaddaa, to Six Boroughs, or to something else she didn’t understand. There was uncertainty in the air in multiple ways on this trip. Could the C-Bucs slow down the Smuggler offensive machine? Had she ever really gotten over her loathing for the franchise that played its games here, having been a Miner, Senator, and Miner again, and now a C-Buc? Would the violence on the Smuggler’s Moon disrupt the game? Something just rubbed her the wrong way, and she paced as a result of nervousness, of a sense of tension that she could not explain.

There were reasons she didn’t like coming here. The Smugglers had left her and her teams smarting over the years. There was a reason they had three titles since Niakara Kayl’hen had taken over for Commissioner Crendan in 262, and many other playoff appearances. They had the guts to succeed, the offense, the gritty defense, and the right mix of veterans and young players. No matter where in their lineup you looked, you would find someone who would easily star somewhere else. It didn’t take an expert to realize that if given the chance, the Storm, Mercs or Senators would love to pounce on any of those players as free agents and sign them to lucrative deals. They were that good, a complete machine. And it all began with the woman that had put them together.

Adanna had never met Kaitlyn Vehn in person, but she was sure of one thing; the woman likely had more guts than she herself did. To put her faith into a team from this disgusting cesspool of trash and vice, to put everything she had into a moon that no one else wanted, to risk her neck in case things went wrong (or even if they went right, someone out there would hate her) . . . that took a lot more. And Adanna could only acknowledge such superiority. The Smugglers had her team’s number in not just playing ability, but also leadership. No matter what Meredith tried to do down with her team on the field, it just wasn’t enough against the Smugglers.

The defense today for the C-Bucs was dreadful. Too many open passing lanes for the Smuggler forwards to take, too many opportunities that they could cash in. Camille Montes seemed shocked out in goal, because her defenders weren’t keeping up their end of the deal. She had to make athletic save after save, but oftentimes these weren’t enough, and the Smuggler score would increase. It seemed like there was no way to stop Nar Shaddaa when they were rolling like this, at home, in the midst of their own identity crisis. And Adanna had the sinking feeling that this win right here would be the perfect exclamation for Vehn to say “Told you so” to the rest of the galaxy. If something could ever be done to bring her and her team to their knees, the Hapan didn’t know. Right now, that was impossible.

By the end of the game, the score was 28-19 Smugglers. That was consecutive losses by the C-Bucs against the Smugglers, consecutive losses for Meredith against her former employers. But the final score didn’t echo a close game; it was anything but close. The Smugglers had come out with a purpose, and the C-Bucs had been lucky that it didn’t come out akin to 40-10. Without Montes in goal, this one would have been blown wide open.

So Adanna left the box as soon as she could. She was determined to get off this rock, to get back to the cozy confines of the Consortium. But the memory of this game would be in the back of her mind; it told her that if her team wanted to be in third place this season, they had to fight harder. Because the Smugglers had swatted them away like gnats buzzing around the meal of a giant, pushed them aside like trash in a compactor. They had been shredded out there today, and that wouldn’t bode well for the upcoming games. If the Hapes C-Bucs ever wanted to take that next step, they would have to play these dominant teams better, come out with more fire and execute their gameplan to perfection. That was the only way to win. They had bested the Mercs, but the Smugglers had brought them back down to the ground hard. Now they had to see if they were better than the other top team in the League, the Miners. That matchup was waiting further down the road, and surely it would be under better circumstances than the game was here today. But the point still remained, and it burned in Adanna’s eyes as she left Six Boroughs and its filthy moon behind. If her team couldn’t win these sorts of games, could they ever be expected to contend for a title? Was the tandem of her and Meredith enough to get the job done, or were they just not quite the saviors the Hapan people needed?


That was the biggest question of all.

TAG: Vehn

 

IC: Ty Allin

It was midweek by the time Kaat Stun arrived for her first practice at the faciltiy. She was a spitfire. "I've been warned about you," she told me during introductions.

"What have you been warned about?" I asked as I shook her hand in greeting.

"You know full well what I've been warned about," she said crossing her arms. "You better not try one of your pranks on me, pretty boy. I've got my eyes on you, both of them. Just like a bolo ball approaching my net, you won't get by me," she said full of confidence.

I liked her, I liked her a lot. I liked her even more when I got to see her in action a few minutes later. Hovechar stood midfield and fed balls to Andres and Loren who took shots on her. Sometimes almost simultaneously. She was new and understood she had to prove herself. Jul and Fortune were some of the best scorers in the league, so no one expected her to stop everything and she didn't, but she blocked an awful lot more than Teaspoon ever had during the same drill.

She was only about half the size of Teaspoon. It was her speed that made up for her lack of size. As she continued her workout and listened to pointers from coach Zan, Roselli and I began a drill of our own. I knew I was going to be tangling with the likes of McCloud and other female forwards this coming week and had asked her to skirmish with me for practice.

Females were always problematic opponents for me. My mother had taught me to treat women with respect. On the Limmie field they were my opponents. If I went easy on them in the slightest they took full advantage. I had learned that the hard way. This week I was going up against the toughest women forwards in the league and I didn't want to hesitate when I needed to take them down. So I had told Roselli to give me everything she had and not to let me take her down for any reason.

Jul had been good for the same type of drill a few years back. Her age was slowing her down now though. She could still score just not with the same speed she once had. Hovechar used her speed to get away from her opponents. If she needed to make a tackle she dove and went for the ankle. Tripping any competitors before they could get the ball up field. Roselli was a defender, she was tough and she wasn't making this exercise easy for me. As I dusted myself off and got back up to try again Stun came over and pushed me back to the ground.

"You better be able to take players down better than that in an actual game," she commented. "I'm your back-up, your absolute last resort. I'll stop as many balls as you need, but if you make me stop too many I expect something in return."

"Something in return?" I asked.

"That's right, if you make me bruise my beautiful body or scrape my flawless face, you will buy me a spa treatment. I went to school on this planet and I know the best places. I'll sip cocktails and have my nails done on my days off if you pay or not. However if I have to save your ass you will pay. And there's a lot of sand under my nails right now. Life on Tatooine wasn't kind to my skin either. The first treatment next week will probably be extra. So it's up to you," she said with a wink as she tossed her hair and jogged over to the water cooler.

The incentive was probably supposed to be financial. Lucie was my main concern though, she kept track of every penny I spent. If I had to explain to her that I needed to buy a spa treatment for another woman she would be sure to give me an earful. I decided to take the challenge, maybe it was just what I needed.

After practice I went directly to a youth limmie game. I observed as Tomas got his second start in a game of children who were all at least a year older than he was. In size he was sometimes bigger than even the boys he was playing with. However he was beginning to run into more skilled players now. He was rushing too much when I arrived. His footwork was his strong point, it was what made him good at midfield. He could pass behind his back, to either side or forward with his eyes closed.

After turning over the ball twice I watched him reset himself. He looked at me fierce determination in his eyes. The other team's offense missed a shot on goal and one of the defensive backs on his team passed out to him. He made a clean stop with his feet before dribbling forward. This time when an opposing player approached he remained calm. Tomas dribbled around her easily before passing upfield. The forward that received his pass was able to score a goal.

His game wasn't flawless after that. He definitely contributed to their win though. I waited while he spoke to his teammates and coach after the game. Once he was released he ran my way with his bag of gear slung over one shoulder and his cleats on the other. "Sweet moves out there," I told him as we exchanged a high five.

"I played okay, I guess." He said quietly.

"You played great," I corrected. "So how come you don't want to play in the All Star game this year?"

"Not you too. You of all people should understand. I'm going to play Limmie professionally. I don't need some exhibition game," he said kicking the dirt. "Besides what if it's like touching the Galactic Cup before you win it. If I play on a professional field before I technically should it could jinx my playing career."

He had said that back at the house. I took a seat back on the blanket I had spread out to watch his game. "Falene Trieste touched the Galactic Cup as a child and the Miners have won two cups since she started playing for them. Maybe playing will bring you good luck."

"Do you know that for sure?" He asked as he put his bag down, placed his cleats on the grass and took a seat as well.

"The whole league knows that," I confirmed. "I don't know if I'll be voted to play this year or not, but I have some reservations of my own," I conceded.

"Like what?" He asked as he swatted at a bug that had landed on his leg.

"Well how's it going to look if a team of professionals does anything less than blow out a bunch of fans, owners and stadium workers?"

Tomas laughed, "You would look like a bunch of fools."

"Exactly," I told him. "And if we win we don't look any better than if we lose. If we win it looks like we are taking advantage of the fans and stadium workers who are lucky enough to receive the honor of playing against us."

"What about the owners?"

"Huh?"

"You only mentioned the fans and stadium workers."

"Oh yea, well the owners who put themselves out there know what they are getting into. I want to beat them. I wouldn't think twice about winning 200 to 0 against a bunch of luxury box dwellers. It's the beings that flip burgers or work construction for a living who would be out there fulfilling a life long dream. I wouldn't want to crush their spirits."

"So if I play, would you play to beat me?" Tomas asked curiously.

"You're a skilled player, you probably don't even belong on that side of the field. Your mom has good reasoning for wanting to put you out there though. She knows it will be good for you as an individual and publicity wise for your family."

"How will it be good for me?"

"People in the business will not only get to see you play, they will actually be rubbing noses with you. Imagine receiving a pass from Kerry Trieste or assisting Tim Dodd in a scoring drive."

"I don't need to impress them, I'm going to play for the Starkillers," Tomas informed me.

"Then at the very least you get your first taste at a press conference before the game and you face some real professionals. Even if it's just two hand touch," I said.

"It's not like I have much choice," Tomas surrendered.

"It will be fun," I said giving him a pat on the back and motioning for him to get up. "I need to get you home though, before your mother starts to worry."

---

Game Day, Bankers Mansion

Reporters were waiting for me as I made my way into the facility. "Ty, how do you feel about Coach Till's decision to bring up Kaat Stun from Tatooine?" the first reporter asked. "Do you think she's experienced enough to play?" Another shouted before I had a chance to answer the first question.

"Kaat has looked good in practice," I told them as I reminded myself not to fiddle with my bag strap. Looking confident in front of reporters had always been a weakness of mine. "I'm sure she will prove the decision to call her up was a good one." I took a step forward indicating I didn't want to take any more questions and continued quickly into the locker room.

After warm ups we were listening to another one of Sunlua Zan's animated pre-game speaches. There was a rather large bug crawling up the support post next to where I was sitting, pretending to be interested. I remembered how afraid Hovechar had been of bugs when we were at the All Star game last year and cupped this one between my hands. Just then Zan told us to "Protect our House," several of my teammates pumped their fists in the air and we all let out a holler in agreement.

Zan stuck her hand out and we all followed suit. "On three," I heard Loren command. Quickly I placed the bug I had been holding on Alyada's arm.

As a team we all yelled out the name of our franchise at the top of our lungs, then there was a high pitched scream. The next thing I knew I had been pinned to the ground by a 5 foot midfielder. "If we didn't need you out there today I would give you a black eye," she said balling up her fist over my face.

"It was just a bug," I said lifting her off me. Her reaction was priceless it was all I could do to keep a straight face. "Save your energy for Windreaver," I reminded her.

Quickly we assembled ourselves and lined up to run out on field. "Hit first, think later," Roselli reminded me.

Tag: Vehn

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Senator Stadium, Coruscant

The streak was over, and it was like a heavy burden had been lifted off of Christine’s shoulders. She finally got to taste victory, something that had been so fleeting the past two seasons. But victory during the season was always a short celebration, because if you got too focused on one win, you would forget to play the next week. The Elite League was a relentless beast, something that kept the pretenders down to allow only the contenders to fight amongst themselves for superiority. There was a lot on the line every week, and right now in the nonconference slate that was doubly important. A strong start here could jumpstart a season; a bad start here could doom one. As seen the prior season, going 0-4 in nonconference had been no help. It had set the wrong tone. It had also proven the dominance of the Solo Conference teams. Or maybe the Senators had been that bad. Whichever one it was, it hadn’t been pretty, and that all started in nonconference play.

Up today were the Agamar Packers. Surprise playoff team last year, the Packers were now looking to build off that momentum. However, no one quite knew what to take from their first two games of the season. Rydonni Prime had shut them down completely, allowing no points. Yet they only scored 17, a win for the usually-shoddy Packer Back 6. Yet the next week they came out swinging and took Bakura to the edge before relenting, 36-32. The defense hadn’t shown up, but their offense had come out with a bang. Inconsistency seemed to be the key here, and it would be that which Peet Carelle would remind his troops before the game.

“We don’t know what to make of the Packers,” he said to his team in the pre-game speech. “They can score 0 or 30 points in any game, apparently. So we need to be ready for anything. That puts extra pressure on the defense, because they will use last week as a springboard to try and keep up out of it early on. We cannot allow them to set the tone for this game; if we can grind them to some stops on defense, and can score on them, we can slow the game down and use the tempo to win. We don’t want to get in a shootout like their game last week; that’s when they tend to make games too close for comfort. So we need to control the pace of the game from the get-go and make sure we’re not playing to their speed. They have the size advantage, but we have speed to spare against them. Use that agility and get around their defenders. We’re going to use the reserves a little more in this game as a result of how hard they can hit, so reserves, be ready to get out there at a moments’ notice. You might be asked to make a critical play down the stretch. I saw a lot of bumps and bruises for the Miners last week, so make sure they don’t hit you. Make ‘em miss.”

The coach paused for a few seconds to let those words sink in for his players. Then he began once again. “I know this stadium hasn’t been kind to this team recently. Losses in the last, what, six, games? That is a trend that needs to be reversed. If we can get out of nonconference play with a 2-2 record, that’s a win all around. Then we’re in the thick of things in the Solo, which is what we need. As long as we do our job, hopefully the Skywalker will do enough damage to the other teams that we will be in a tight race. Use these two remaining games to iron out all inconsistencies for the real season, when things get rockier. The pundits say that our games are ‘easier’ since we don’t play the Mercs or Smugglers, but they won’t be easy by any means. The Packers have something to prove, so we need to take this one and go on the road next week with two wins under our belts.”

Winning consecutive games, Christine knew full well, seemed almost more impossible than the win last week. The team hadn’t strung together wins in consecutive weeks since the 275 season, her rookie year. Now they had a chance to do just that.

When the Senators hit the field, they did it to the roar of the crowd that had for a long time been lacking. Christine could see empty seats all over the stadium, which meant that there was not enough incentive for everyone to come down to see the games. The fans were obviously being cautiously optimistic here, and not packing the place like had been expected. But at least some fans were here, and they would have the teams’ back. It was all a process, one that hopefully would result in a packed venue in a few weeks for the next home tilt.

Christine finally settled into her position at right corner, across from Georg Sturm. She had tangled with him before, both of them winning a game. He wasn’t their best offensive option, but he was still capable of putting up points, or his reserves would if their gameplan changed. So the plan here was to stonewall Sturm and keep him from getting any ideas of making plays. That would channel the defense into the middle of the zone where they could try stunts and double-teams on the interior Packer forwards. Patricia Meter, the young half back, had drawn another tough assignment at Center Half Forward, Miles Abrams. It seemed like most teams had a star at that position, and Meter had been burned repeatedly as a result. So Carelle made the decision to shift Jenna Leed, the veteran, over to Center Half, and Meter went to Right Half. Haybius Korpus had the Left Half against the other Ven’nari brother, Kara Milovy had the left wing, and Ugdulo Borr, on a short leash, had full back. Christine was sure that if the Chevin struggled, Deluxx, the rookie Weequay, would get the extra playing time today. Physicality was going to be key here against the Packers, who used their overwhelming muscle to make any game an all-out brawl. So the Senators had to rely on speed, using their physical defenders like Borr, Deluxx and Jamee Meels less and relying more upon excellent coverage skills and ball control. The captain didn’t envy the rookie midfielders Arienne Farfell and Sharsy Wenips one bit, going up against a pair of Noghris. Hopefully they could run fast enough to make that a fair fight, because they had absolutely no match for the power their opponents possessed.
When it came time to start the game, the battle of offenses would commence. The key for the Senators was to make stops, because they had a terrible defense going back to last season. Now was the time to gut it out on D and slow an opponent. Now was the time to make the Packers pay for being inconsistent on offense. Now was the time to earn another win.


TAG: Tim Battershell