Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

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HSN Morning Headlines

• Hapes head coach Leota Avoy after crushing loss to Miners: "I hate those guys."

TAG: Everyone to basically tell you that I finally gave the C-Bucs coach a name after two weeks. Though she may be a woman, I can't help but bring this up.

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Ylesia

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t, could it? Christine was frustrated, venting her anger in less-than-productive ways. She wasn’t the Christine Gamble that had made four straight All-Star teams. She wasn’t dominant. Today was not her day.

Ylesia had blitzed the Senators coming out of the gate. They had a new stadium to play in, and a new conference to play for. They certainly were trying to start out well, their offense rolling and the defense holding its ground. Christine was struggling to contain her matchup, Megan Meeks. She had dominated the corner forward last season, thoroughly embarrassing her. But this year was different; Meeks had every advantage, and Christine was on her heels the whole time.

It didn’t help that Deluxx and the other defenders were a little hesitant to guard Zoa Vra. After the Lightning’s captain had gored an opposing player the prior week, the psychological battle had already been lost prior to this game. With the Weequay playing off a little bit, even though he supposedly could have dealt with a stabbing even if Vra were to put her head down, she had stuck it to the Senators defensively. The Wildbeast option, when used, was quickly thrown out when Sarah Connor would whiff on a tackle attempt or when the coaches decided that they needed a trained defender in there. In the first half, Connor only played three minutes.

The Lightning on defense were holding their ground. They were locking down on Leia Adama and Max Qorbus, the Senators’ top two offensive options. This forced the other forwards to have to lead the charge, something they weren’t quite comfortable doing. Anya Amasova couldn’t get much space against Lisbeth Tobin, and when a midfielder dropped back to pester her, it was difficult to deal with. The Ylesian three-midfielder setup was keeping the ball on the Senator half of the field, and it was wearing down the Senator defense.

Things only got worse as the half neared. Somehow the ball had gotten past the midfield, and the Senators were on the attack. Vail Pin passed it off to Leia Adama, but the second-year player fumbled the ball instead of cleanly catching it. A scrum ensued near the ball, and when Leia dove, she couldn’t come up with it. The pile of players jumped on top of it, and someone had obviously landed right on the back of her leg. The ball was quickly recovered by Ylesia and moved the other way, but Leia was down. As she yelled out in pain, she tried to claw her way back to the sideline, like her legs were mangled and she had no means of leverage through them. That took the air out of the Senator offense; their top scoring threat was now down on the field with a gruesome injury, one they figured might be season-ending. Tama Wor, the Carosite team doctor, was taking no chances with the young forward as they got the cart and took her off the field.

Thus, the Senators felt listless going into the locker room at halftime. Peet Carelle was trying to get them back in shape, but Christine knew it would be difficult. Not having Leia, plus a weak defense, looked like a disaster. Meeks was running circles around her today, and it seemed like there was no stopping her. This was not her performance against Rime Arezzo the prior week; this was a complete letdown for the All-Star.

As if things couldn’t get worse, they did. Instead of going through Vail to initiate the offense, Sharsy Wenips found an open Qorbus on the corner. He had gotten free of Shakha and had made his way out towards open space. The bomb pass from the Zeltron midfielder sailed too far for her taste, and Qorbus laid out to get it. However, he couldn’t quite get there, and he crashed down hard on his leg. The ball skittered out of bounds, possession to Ylesia. But the Nautolan was downed, and he wasn’t getting up from the play. Once again the training staff tended to a star forward, and once again the cart was called out for the burly man. As Qorbus went off the field, he draped a towel over his head, a look of agony on his face.

As Christine watched him go, her mind raced. What in the hell could they do now if their two main options were lost for the year? Yes they had Ava, who could score, yes they had Anya, and yes they had Becki Morlan, the newcomer from Bakura. But they didn’t have the same threat the two injured forwards promised. They would have to regroup, and against a stifling Lightning defense, the end seemed near. There was no way they would win this game.

And they couldn’t. Christine watched Laura Cellen, the backup utility forward, replace Qorbus, instead of Syra Kuna. Cellen was the hot hand off the bench the prior week, and Carelle wanted to see what the former first-round pick could do. She quickly proved her mettle by blowing past Seeza Tey and punching a shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the year.

Garbage time finally came about when Camille Montes also limped off the field. She had come out further to contest a shot on goal by the Lightning. Deluxx had put in a chip on Zoa Vra, but had lost his balance. The two players tumbled to the ground, Deluxx landing right on Camille’s foot. She tried to get out, but she fell to the turf. The goal was wide-open, and the Lightning scored an easy goal on the play. Camille had to leave the field with the injury, and Sarah Connor came on in relief. It was about time she entered the game in goal, Christine thought as she left the field. She couldn’t do any worse.

When all was said and done, the Senators had been humiliated on the road. The final score hadn’t been anywhere near as lopsided as the game had been, and the injury toll was catastrophic. Christine went into the training room of the locker room after the game. Qorbus was being patched up, but he was obviously in major pain. “What’s the diagnosis, doc?” the captain asked Tama Wor.

“I’m sorry, Gamble, but he’s broken his leg. He’s out for the season,” the diminutive Carosite said.

Christine sighed. That wasn’t news she needed to hear. She went over to Max’s side. “It’s OK, Max. It wasn’t your fault.”

“If I hadn’t laid out, I could’ve prevented this,” Max said. He slammed his hand down on the table. “If she hadn’t sent that ball over my frakking head, I would’ve caught it and made that full back pay. I had her on that one!”

“None of us did well,” Christine said to the assistant captain. “We’re gonna miss you out there this year.”

Then she went to check on Leia Adama. The second-year player was in pain, but Tama had a much more encouraging diagnosis. “She’s twisted some muscles in her leg, but they aren’t major. Obviously someone rolled up there, and it hurts,” the man said. “She’ll miss next week’s game, but she could be available the next week.”

“We really needed her against Mandalore,” Christine said.

“Looks like Laura gets her chance,” Leia said as she sat on the training table, her injured leg extended. “She scored two goals today; she’s got skill.”

“Problem is that I don’t know if the Mercs will be fazed by us being down our top two scorers,” Christine said. “We’ve got a long week of practice ahead now.”

From the sounds of it, Camille’s injury was a bone bruise in the foot; Wor put her down as questionable for the next week’s game. “I do not know if she will be available. But I cannot tell the team to put her on the disabled list, because she could play next week. We will only know when we get to practice,” he said.

When Christine returned to the locker room, it was just as dull and lifeless as it had been before she went into the training room. There was nothing to say to her team after this loss; they could only try and regroup for the next week. A win there would be important, because losing two straight could easily mean a giant hole to dig out of early on in the season. And Christine hated digging out of holes. The 0-9 season still burned in the back of her mind; she would never forget that embarrassment of a season. And right now it seemed like that was where this team could be headed if the injuries kept piling up and the opposing teams once again had their way against the Senators.


For being a 1-1 team, and only a week off from a huge blowout home win to start the season, there was worry in the Senators’ clubhouse.

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels, Bardan_Jusik (for me injuring all of my star players who will not be available for next week's game)

 

​

IC: The Rancor Pitt

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on a sunny and warm, Tuesday afternoon. Welcome on into the Rancor Pit. I'm Randy the Rancor, he's Justin Pitt. Liz Baker on the boards, with Kitterich on...vacation? Well he isn't here which should make everyone happy, so we have a nameless intern on the other side of the glass, and oh baby do we have a big show for you."

"Big show, huge show. A lot to talk about."

"Lots of crazy games from around the league."

"The Packer's D returned to form."

"...and against a team the Mercs beat last week."

"Going for that silver lining after our beatdown huh?"

"Some one has to stay positive around here. We'll also cover the Storm who are still struggling."

"Going to be a problem for them all season, too bad this was against that team from Nal Hutta's moon."

"The Miner's tearing up the league."

"Seems like they do every season."

"And of course the Mercs lose to the Pirates...again."

"They are a new team, but they sure seem to have the Mercs number so far."

"Kept us out of the playoffs last season and hang our first loss on us this year."

"Not only that, they creamed us."

"Yeah, well as you all know yesterday was our commiseration Monday, where we lamented the pasting the Pirates gave to the Mercs. We'll delve more into that later today, but we also want to talk about what else is happening around the ELL."

"I'll be honest Rancor, i'm still commiserating about that loss today."

"You can commiserate a little bit more today...I'll allow it."

"Gee thanks Randy."

"Anytime."

"Well can we start with that?"

"Of course, of course. The Mercs are our home team, we should start with them!"

"I know we talked about it ad nauseam yesterday, but I was thinking about it all night and I still place the blame for this loss squarely at the feet of head coach Ryi Kor'le. The team started out well."

"Started out OK, I wouldn't say well."

"Started out OK, but as the "all in" system kept pounding away at the D, she just couldn't make any adjustments."

"OK, Yesterday I defended her from a lot of criticism, there were other problems in that game. The rookies looked lost out there, totally clueless."

"It's only their second game in the league, and while I still say Mauntak is ELL all-star material, he is going to have games like this while he adjusts"

"And Langdon?"

"You know my thoughts there. She's good, but Lieznam should start. Especially after the game Langdon had on offense."

"No points, six turnovers. She was overwhelmed."

"That's just the word for it Randy, overwhelmed, and so was Ryi Kor'le."

"Like I said, I defended her yesterday, but I can't argue that. I just can't. She did seem to have problems making adjustments on the fly to a system that seemed completely foreign to her."

"That system seemed to overwhelm her and our vaunted defense."

"Vaunted? I don't know about that. They've given up double digits in both games this season, and over 30 here. They are certainly not an elite defensive team, not at this point anyway."

"That's part of my point Randy. We were built up as this great defensive team. We went out and grabbed the best corner in the draft, brought in a highly touted defensive free agent, but hired a coach who had never coached a game in her life and had played on the offensive side of the ball! It just doesn't make sense."

"Well to be fair, it is an odd system the Pirates are using..."

"Didn't seem to give the Senators any problems."

"Losing Tullo early on didn't help."

"Oh don't remind me. He was brought in to really solidify this D, give us a rock to build upon and then he goes out in the first minutes of the game to a concussion."

"Makes you wonder about Chancellor Trieste's proposal for the Bak10 doesn't it?"

"I thought we were going to talk about that later in the show?"

"OK, OK. You're right, Fine. It does add more fuel to the fire though, especially since the Pirates lost a player there too."

"Randy."

"OK. Fine. What's Tullo's condition anyway? Is he going to play next week?"

"Umm let me check on that real quick," the voice of the nameless new intern came through. "Ummm.. He is questionable right now but is going to be going through the ELL's concussion protocol later today..or is it Thursday? If they clear him then he can play."

"So...."

"We don't know yet."

"OK, that's fine. Next time just say that. And don't say umm on the air. You sound like an idiot."

"Randy."

"It's true!"

There was silence for a moment before Justin responded. "Yeah. OK. Yeah, it really is true."

"Glad you agree with me. So ummmmm what were we talking about?"

"Concussions."

"Right, concussions, Tullo and of course Kerry Trieste's interesting take on how to prevent them in the game of limmie."

"The game of limmie!?! The game she is proposing isn't the game of limmie. It's, it's...ummmmm......"

"Yeah I don't know what the hell it is either."

"It's atrocious, that's what it is."

"Not going to argue that."

"Limmie is a beautiful game, the beautiful game, and such a drastic change to the way it is played will kill the game."

"But is it worth it to prevent injuries?"

"Injuries are a part of the game."

"They are."

"I mean look at me, my career was ended by injuries, but that doesn't mean I want to take away any of the game's physicality. If we're going to do that we might as well just go out there with flags on our belts and play "Limmie eights." all day. Hell even they can use their heads! Look at the best players around the league, they all have a physical dimension to the way they play, all of them!"

"But teams, they make serious financial investments in some of these players. You know team management hates to lose that due to injuries. Not to mention the fans who pay to see the best players in the Galaxy play. Those guys and gals can;t be on the field if they are injured. Look how we might not have Tullo. Look at what the Senators might be forced to put out on the filed next week."

"As an aside, that's a total trap game for the Mercs, Kor'le better have the team prepped properly or we're going to drop to 1-2."

"That's still going to be a dangerous team, you're right."

"But getting back to my point. If the Bak10 goes through with this, they're going to be the laughing stock of college limmie. Manda forbid it actually gain any traction, it would destroy the sport."

"But do you think it will get any support?"

"Outside the Bak10?"

"uh huh."

"Not a chance, certainly not ever in the ELL. It would require the league office and several owners to approve of that sort of drastic change, and there is no way that is going to happen. They'll go to mandating wearing helmets first."

"The Mercs did that a few years back didn't they? On a trial basis?"

"Yeah they did, and the players hated it, the quality of play suffered and they dropped the idea after only a few games."

"Well, as a fan, something has to be done to keep these star players on the field. They're who we pay to watch. From the owner's perspective, they're on the hook for player salaries, and I'm sure they don't want to pay to see some player sitting on the bench or back in the locker room. If, big if, this gains traction in the Bak10, I suspect you'll see some groundswell in support elsewhere, especially if more players like Ike Tullo start missing significant time to concussions."

"Oh Randy, I hope you're wrong."

"So do I, so do I," he paused and switched tracks. "OK, time for a break, but when we come back we'll get to the rest of the games around the league, and we'll tell you which ELL head coach called Jonathan Lieznam a "midget". I know we'll get a lot of calls on that, we'll be back in a minute, right here on the Fandalorian!"

TAG: No one.

OOC: I grabbed the midget mention from this story. No I have no idea which ELL coach would have called him that. Probably an NPC team unless one of you wants to volunteer for it.

 

IC: Rocket Richaud
Neighborhood park, Gesco City, Bakura



“Gimme the heat!” Rocket called as she got into her stance.

Though Rocket was generally thrifty with her credits (aside from drinks during Miners games and one here and there during the week after work), the one indulgence she allowed herself was dues for her recreational lightball league. She’d been playing for a few years, ever since she’d gotten settled at BRC, with some of her coworkers. Since they were a company team (in exchange for having some of their fees picked up), they were dutifully known as the BRC Bombers and used the company color scheme for their shirts. As far as Rocket was concerned, it was a good enough name because she certainly liked hitting the long ball.

They played in a less than regulation size lightball field, which made sense given their abilities and that included no mound for the pitcher, who was currently sizing up Rocket, most likely pondering her request for “the heat.” He wound up and fired.

Rocket watched as the hand-sized ball went from blue into green and yellow, its color more or less random but changing in response to minor variations in speed. The lightball hurtled towards her and with timing perfected from four years of high school lightball, Rocket rocked forward slightly on one foot and swung.

Whump.

“Strike,” the umpire called from behind her, the lightball safely impaled in the catcher’s mitt.

“Come on Rocket!” Sadie called from the fenced in dug out, “You’ve got this!”

Rocket stepped out of her batting stance and loosened up, casually testing her bat in mock half swings. She knew the knock against her in the league--that she swung at way too much and was too eager to go for the fences. That last part wasn’t true. It would be if the field had fences, but it didn’t. However, the reality was that if you got the ball over the heads of the outfielders, you were pretty much going around the bases, especially if you ran fast.

Resuming her batting stance, Rocket readied herself for the pitch. She knew the pitcher was going to really go for it now to get that last strike. Good. Rocket liked it when the opposition came at her hard. It was when she did her best work.

The lightball came out of the pitcher’s hand as an orange streak, screaming in towards the catcher’s glove. Rocket focused as the lightball transitioned to purple, tightened her grip on the bat, and stepped forward into her swing, opening up her hips as she brought her shoulders through.

Crack!

There was no sound like a lightball being hit well and Rocket watched as the ball, now a bright red, shot high and fast into the gloaming sky. It looked absolutely beautiful, but there was no time to admire it. Rocket dropped her bat and took off running to the anticipatory “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” of her teammates who were watching the lightball comet deep into the field, sending outfielders running to catch it.

Rocket was a good base runner because she was smart about it. She only watched the lightball for a second. The rest of the time she was watching her base coaches. The one at the first base was sending her through to second, at which point she started checking in with the one at the third point of the diamond. She was telling her to keep going through second. Rocket wondered if she’d gotten the ball over the outfielders--she didn’t dare look. As she came in towards third the coach had her eyes in the outfield. There was slight hesitation there. Rocket was going at full speed--she was going to have to decide if she was going for broke or put on the brakes pretty soon.

“Frak it,” Rocket said, rounding third without any confirmation from her coach and heading for the home plate.

“Wait!” the coach yelled, but Rocket was too far gone to stop and get back.

Instead, the blonde barreled towards home plate. For safety reasons, there were actually two of them. The plate where she’d batted was where the catcher was standing, waiting for the lightball to come back, foot on the base. An out at home had to be a force out, not a tag, in this league. Rocket was aiming for the back home plate, which was the one which she had to step on to be safe. This prevented collisions at the base on throw to home.

The Bombers were urging her on. “Faster!” someone shouted and Rocket tried, but she couldn’t get much more speed. She just kept running and felt her foot touch the bag. Only then did she slow herself up enough so that she didn’t impale herself against the fencing of the backstop.

Just as Rocket turned to look at the umpire she heard him call, “Safe!”

Rocket couldn’t help but give a small but emphatic pump of her fist at her achievement. In the dugout, her team greeted her victoriously.

“That’s why they call you Rocket!” Sadie said as she high fived her friend.

“That’s why,” Richaud confirmed with a smile.

---

Hickory and Cherry, Gesco City, Bakura

The game had ended in enough time for the team to hurry straight to the bar to catch the Miners game on Hapes. They were about five minutes into the game when they walked into the bar, which didn’t have too much room in it. The whole team was forced around two small high tables--hardly ideal to say the least.

The Miners, however, were playing more than ideally. It was early minutes yet, but they were already working all parts of the field against the C-Bucs. First year head coach Leota Avoy was frequently shown yelling at her team. It looked like she wanted them to do pretty much anything except what they were doing at the moment. Anything else was probably a good option, because the Miners were moving around the Buccaneers like they were standing still. They were reading plays on both sides of the ball. The defense looked barely tested as they intercepted passes with ease. The offense looked like they were in practice, not a game as they barely had their jerseys wrinkled by the hands of Hapan defenders.

Morgan Alesh always liked coming home to play in front of her fans and she didn’t disappoint today. She was already putting up an impressive day--and that was saying something considering she had Niskat centering her line. The front line of the Miners was doing the gritty work creating space, but the moment they’d release from their defenders and get open they instantly became a scoring threat. In the face of such an attack, Ziva Kender was looking like she was far from a serviceable replacement for Camille Montes.

The most impressive thing about the game did nothing short of warm Rocket’s heart. Her hero, Alana Glencross, was dominating the midfield today. The Buccaneers had chosen to put Alysha Romax against Glencross and the results were not good. Romax had good legs, but Alana was no slouch and she was playing with her head. It only took one good move and Romax was torched. When Alysha got aggressive, Alana’s mental clock told her that she had a hit coming and dished the ball at exactly the right moment for a forward progress play that kept the Miners’ momentum moving. Alana’s jersey had streaks of green across it from being laid out, but she’d protected the ball. The turnover game was clearly in the Miners’ favor today and they were almost immediately pivoting to press the advantage when the ball came back in their hands.

Rocket had her lightball league shirt on in its white and light blue hues today instead of her Glencross jersey. She wished she had the latter on so she could be identified with the amazing things Alana was doing today, but it was okay that she didn’t. Today, they shared the thrill of playing their best on the field. It was more than enough of a bond to make Rocket proud.

“For a team that demolished Euceron last week, these Buccaneers aren’t very good,” Sadie said.

“Well, when Euceron gets real players instead of the first 30 beings they picked up in a parking lot outside the sporting goods store in Eusebus, then beating them is going to be an accomplishment,” one of their teammates said.

“Hey, lay off the Storm. They’ve had a tough ride,” Rocket said.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make them a good limmie team.”

“No, but none of them knew it was going to be easy when they signed up,” Rocket said, “You want to get slammed by a Whipid defender a second and a half after you pick up a bolo-ball?”

“If the Storm are going to pay me 2 million credits a year, sure.”

“Yeah, none of them are making anywhere near that,” Rocket said.

Their conversation was interrupted by Ronan getting his first ELL goal off a nifty cross from Alesh. The game was starting to get out of hand, but the bar was loving it. Any Miners win was a good win, even if it didn’t make for a good limmie game.

The vid feed switched to the Miners sideline, where the usual concentrated and stoic Valerii was clapping and a smile was creeping across her face. “It looks like the head coach is enjoying this performance by her team,” Lun said.

“I think the only thing that could make this better is if this were still a Solo Conference game,” Aerax said, “The Miners play three of their six nonconference games in the first four weeks of the season. That means that missteps later in the season against experienced teams like Coruscant, Rydonni Prime, and Mando’ade could be killer as the conference record tiebreak begins to come into play.”

“Well if the Miners keep this up, they’re going to have a point differential of plus-500 this season, which I think is absolutely a sustainable pace, don’t you Aerax?”

“Lun, that means they would have to shut out their remaining opponents every week and score 56 points a game. Nobody’s ever scored 56 points in an ELL match.”

“Well if anyone could, it’s this team, am I right?”

The play-by-play announcer was being ridiculous, but Rocket had to admit, right now the Miners did look really good. Maybe--just maybe--10, 11, or 12 weeks from now, they’d look just as good, when it really mattered.

TAG: jcgoble3 and name checks to Bardan_Jusik CPL_Macja Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Pamila Korthe
Thyferra

It was another crappy game for the Force on offense as Byblos ran all over them. It wasn’t as if Pam didn’t expect her defense to struggle; apparently Lomgat Vu’s worth was more than anyone had previously realized. Without having the muscle inside that the Thakwaash provided, opposing teams were going to town on the smaller Force defenders. Karin Cherf, the third-round pick, was having a rough go of things. As a rookie, that was to be expected. But the Zeltron head coach was worried that the rookie would take things too hard. After all, this was the Futures League, and it was nothing compared to the Elite League. Struggling here was only OK for some time before you got benched and replaced with another ELL-hopeful.

The offense decided to not provide much more than it had the prior week. The power outage was continuing, with the first goal of the season scored in this one in garbage time. It belonged to Morgan Renhorn, who was able to get around a Red Wings defender and score a nifty goal. But it didn’t cover up the fact that the team was scuffling on offense, and was clueless on defense. Losing Gayla Renhorn in the middle of the field exposed a very weak George Wulson. Obviously the Weequay wasn’t quite ready for the limelight just yet, as he was a big liability in this one. Mekmek didn’t look any better on the other side, Pam noted, so Felda, the rookie free agent from University of Bakura at Cape Suzette, might get her shot sooner rather than later to make waves. If Renhorn returned from Coruscant after Levi Corner’s broken elbow healed up, it might solve the issue. But, then again, it might not. Things at this level were touch and go.

It was frustrating to drop two home games to start the season, especially in a year where Pam could ill afford another losing effort. She had just barely slipped into a job this season after the dreadful collapse the Force had seen last season, and now she was starting off with no offense, a leaky defense, and midfielders that couldn’t get a clue. That wasn’t exactly how she wanted to start. How long would it be until Gark S’rily finally cut her from the organization? He needed strong players on a strong team, and the Force were anything but. They may have been a model organization of a developmental affiliate, but the Senators’ confidence in their D-League squad wasn’t paying off on the field. The Force never won anything of note these days, and it looked like another trip to the garbage heap was imminent if things didn’t turn around soon.


When Pam got home she had to take a long, stiff drink to get her mind off of things. She hoped that this wasn’t the end of her run as a head coach, but the hot seat was likely burning hotter than ever before. She had to win this next game; it was no longer a misplaced prerogative. This upcoming game was that crucial.

TAG: No One

 

Eddy Beagle
Brimstone and Clover Pub, Coruscant

The Brimstone and Clover was Eddy’s favorite pub, down in Lower Midtown. He and his friends frequented the place, its theme very appealing to a bunch of younger adults. The food was good, the drinks were amazing, and the waitresses were attractive. Eddy sat at the bar counter crowing to a friend over their second drinks of the night. “I’ve even been in the home locker rooms,” he said proudly.

“Whoa, what’s it like in there?” his friend asked excitedly.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind sight,” Eddy commented. “So much history, so much splendor. I’ll have to get you in there sometime. It’s worth the risk of maybe getting caught.”

“You’re worried about getting caught?” his friend asked worriedly.

“Nah, it’s not a big deal,” Eddy said. “I’ve been there three times already, and I’ve never been threatened by security features. No guards, no cameras, no nothing.”

“It’s that unguarded?” his friend asked. Obviously this was a shock to hear.

“Pretty much. They obviously don’t think anyone can get in. But I have. And it’s pretty damn easy with a key card.” Eddy finished his drink and looked to his friend. “Wanna get another round?”

“I dunno, man,” the friend said. “I kinda need to sleep tonight. Can’t be too sloshed tonight, or else my boss might fire me when I show up hung over for work tomorrow.”

“Come on, just one more,” Eddy said.

“Can’t do it . . .”

“Do you gents want another drink?” asked a strange voice from behind Eddy. He wheeled around in his bar stool to see a Devaronian male wearing a hat come up to the counter. The man had a curious look on his face.

“Um . . . yeah, I guess so,” Eddy said. “You’re offering to buy us a round?”

“Sure I am,” the man said. “As long as we have a little chat, if you don’t mind.”

“About what?” Eddy asked. A bead of sweat wanted to detach itself from his forehead. This wasn’t an undercover police officer, was it? The Brimstone wasn’t exactly a popular hangout for criminals, so why was a cop here? His eyes looked nervously over to the door, in case he had to make a quick getaway. The Devaronian watched Eddy’s facial twitches and laughed. It was a slightly unnerving laugh, one that Eddy wasn’t sure he liked.

“Worried that I’m a cop, kid?” he asked.

“Um . . . no, of course not,” Eddy said. “There’s a draft coming in from the door . . .”

“Sure there is, kid, sure,” the Devaronian said, shaking his head. Obviously the man didn’t believe him. “Now, to chat. Let’s the two of you and I go have a seat at a table in the back.” He turned to the barkeep. “Two beers for my friends, and a usual for me.”

“Coming right up,” the barkeep said.

The three men moved to a table in the back of the pub, away from most of the patrons. The Devaronian sat down like he owned the place, and Eddy and his friend sat down nervously. “Now, to business,” the strange man said. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. Sounds fascinating, being able to get into that stadium. It’s a virtual citadel, is it not?”

“Well, it doesn’t sound that hard,” Eddy’s friend said.

“Mind if you share?” the strange man asked. The drinks came, and Eddy pulled out his wallet. “No, kid, I’ll buy.” He shelled out the credits, and the server went away, leaving them alone.

“That’s awful nice of you, sir,” Eddy said, “buying us drinks like that.”

“It’s the least I could do,” the man said. “Now, back to what I was asking you before. What’s it like in the home locker room?”

“It’s pretty cool. Real nice place,” Eddy said.

“I wish I could see it. Been a fan as long as I can remember,” the Devaronian said. “Seeing the home locker room would be amazing, to be honest. It would be a bucket list item, but I’d prefer to think of it as a to-do item on the list of life.”

“Well, that’s the catch. I’m not really trying to take friends in that often . . .” Eddy said.

“Oh, so you’re not interested in taking a man who bought you a drink into the stadium? Because I could always leave you to pay for another round . . .”

“No, it’s not that,” Eddy said. Again he nervously looked over to the door before looking back at the stranger.

“Then what is it, son?” the Devaronian inquired.

“Nothing,” Eddy finally surmised.

“Look, kid, I would like to get into the stadium. I’ve always wanted to get in, but I’ve never had the opportunity to do so. Going to jail isn’t exactly an option,” the stranger said. “So here’s the deal. I’ll offer you some cash, plus these drinks, for the opportunity to get into the stadium.”

“Tell me more,” Eddy said. His conscience was telling him not to, but the thought of cash was very intriguing. He was eager to hear what the man was going to offer him. “How much we talking about?”

“You got a girl?” the stranger asked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Eddy said. He didn’t have a girlfriend, really, just some ex-girlfriends, a short-term affair with Lara, and a one-night stand with Karin Cherf. But he wasn’t in a long-term relationship.

“Let’s just say that it would buy her a nice diamond ring,” the Devaronian said with a wry grin.

“Depends on the quality . . .”

“There’s no fooling you, apparently,” the Devaronian said. “50,000 credits, all in cash. That’s what I’m offering you now.”

50,000? Eddy knew that was a lot of cash, and it could all be his if he took the offer. But one question remained.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want access,” the Devaronian said. “Unlimited access to the stadium. If you have this key card you’re boasting about, I want to see if it works. No pulling things over on me, or our deal is off.”

“It works.”

“Show me,” the Devaronian said.

“Fine,” Eddy said. His friend tried to talk him out of it, but Eddy wanted the cash. He knew that it would equal a big payday for him, akin to several promotions all at once.

Later on, Eddy took both men to the stadium. He went to the gate and unlocked it using the key card. The Devaronian man was impressed. “Very nice,” he said. “Now, about our deal . . .”

“You can get into the home locker room, the media access points, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten,” Eddy said.

“Luxury boxes?”

“You can take a tour for those,” Eddy said.

“I would like in. Can you get in there with this key?”

“I don’t think so,” Eddy said, scratching his head. “There is a much more complicated lock on those than just this card. It would take some work.”

“I can handle getting my hands dirty,” the Devaronian said. “I would like a copy of that key card, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“For 50,000 credits,” Eddy said. “I won’t give you a thing until I get paid.”

“Of course not,” the Devaronian said. “Shall we schedule a drop, since this is highly illegal, what we’re doing?”

“That’ll work,” Eddy said.

“Fine. Three nights from now, behind the Stoneburner Lounge,” the stranger said. “2130, and don’t you dare be late.”

“I’ll be there,” Eddy said, a wry grin on his face. He and the stranger shook hands before going on their separate ways.

“Eddy, I don’t know if that was a good idea,” his friend cautioned.

“Don’t worry about it,” Eddy said. “Just imagine, 50,000 credits. He must be desperate. We could really cash in on this.”

Because money talked, and 50,000 credits especially so.

TAG: No One

 

Breaking News:​

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• GCAA determines that Carnation Bowl will maintain its place in the Galactic Quarterfinals of the Division I College Limmie Playoffs
• In order to appease other power conferences, the championship game of the SEC and Rim 10 will also be a quarterfinals game, in their traditional playoff game
• Only four teams will make it to quarterfinals from prior-round games, potentially ending the play-in round of 8, and lowering the field from 24 teams.
• Chiss Athletic Association President: "This is patently unfair. Now it will be harder for non-power conference teams to have a shot at the title. This is a money grab solely to appease the (expletive) on Bakura and in the Core. They're trying to take our game away from us."
• SEC President: "This is the only way to make things fair. We are hoping ourselves and the Rim 10 benefit from this move."
• GCAA still mum regarding Bak10 Commissioner Trieste's move towards banning use of the head in league games.

TAGS: Everyone, especially Trieste, CPL_Macja (for the Rim 10), Bardan_Jusik (in case KMI gets to this point)

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IC: Tim Dodd
Dodd Apartment - Calna Muun

The match against the Monarchs had been slightly disappointing, in that the Packers had lost it! However, the margin had been a mere seven points, nothing like last year's landslip.

The Gunners had also come out on the wrong side of a twenty-six to fourteen result against Eriadu Thunder. Winning or losing wasn't really the point with the Gunners, though, Tim saw their function more as that of keeping the Packers' Reserve Players match-fit against the day when one or more Packers went down with match-related injuries. That it hadn't happened yet seemed to be a tribute to the 'Size Matters' philosophy he'd introduced.

Next week's Packers' game, away to the Bakura Miners, should be an interesting one, and which he'd better make every effort to attend; not the least because of the midweek broadside he'd fired-off against that BAK 10 'Safety' group. What a shower they appeared to be, if only judged by the contents of their report!

---

On the brighter side, the shaft, its mouth covered by a prefabricated 'materials store' for safety, security and rainwater deflection since the Engineer and his team had packed up and left for the next 'hole', had finally broken through into the 'Shrine', almost exactly (give or take a few centimetres) where intended. A few days to thoroughly ventilate the space, then another two or so for the Exploration Teams to clear the remains of the rock plug out of the way (they would be left down there and form the first element of backfill for this particular hole) and careful excavation of the 'Instant-Elsewhere Device' could begin.


TAG: CPL_Macja, Trieste.

 

OOC/OOG: Hey guys experimenting with a secondary character. Not sure how it'll go but, I hope it'll be fun.

GM Approved

Name: Roualeyn “Aleyn” Bray

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Birth year: 247

Physical Apearance: 6’0 strongly built sandy blonde hair in a military cut.



Homeworld: Courscant

Occupation: Homicide detective in the O’pahz Security Force

Bio: Roualeyn, Aleyn, to most people, was born on Courscant to a teacher and a construction worker. He grew up and enlisted in the Republic Army. He served with distinction and received an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice though the military college program. With his enlistment period done Aleyn returned to Couscant and became a patrol officer in the Courscant Security Force eventually making detective. The O’pahz Security Force came looking to hire detectives and he jumped at the chance, when asked why all he said was ‘personal reasons’
_________________________________________________________________________
IC: Aleyn Bray
O’pahz, Carratos

Aleyn knocked on the door of a suspected murderer alone, his partner staying behind to call for backup.

“O’pahz Security Force.” He shouted, inside the sound of breaking transperasteel was heard. The detective forced open the door by blasting the control panel with his service pistol. The suspect was already half out the window. Aleyn gave chase, following the Weequay down a fire escape and on to a walkway. The pursuit winded through the streets and buildings with Aleyn gaining at every turn. Just before he could grab his target shots rang out. A bolt went over his shoulder as he stopped to level his weapon and return fire into a waiting speeder. His suspect jumped into the getaway vehicle and disappeared in traffic.

“I told ya’ should have waited.” A voice said from behind him. He didn’t need to turn to know who the voice belonged to, he already knew. A heavy set human male in his early forties named Philip Radwinter.

“You could have come with me Phil.” Aleyn said looking over his shoulder at his partner who was wearing a black nerf hide jacket and fedora.



“And do what watch the guy get away from a better angle.” Phil replied. “Anyway we’re needed at another crime scene.”

“What, what are we going to do about the guy that just got away?”

“Him, he’s halfway to Tatooine by now, forget about it.”

“What about the shop owner he murdered?” Phil shrugged his shoulders.

“Not much but, take solace in the fact that his murderer will never come back to O’pahz.” Aleyn gritted his teeth. He hated that the cops here didn’t care about stopping criminals. The only thing they worried about was keeping things stable. What got to him more was that the citizens just accepted that this was the way things were. Back home there would have been riots in the streets if the police just let a murderer walk, here death was just a way of life. The two detectives arrived at the scene. Aleyn looked up at the towering stadium. He wasn’t much of a limmie fan preferring light-ball instead but, his partner kept the radio tuned to the local sports channel on game days. Another thing Aleyn couldn’t understand was this planet’s fervor for a team that was the worst in the league last year and only had one win and a terrible loss this year.

As they approached the police line he noticed another line of black shirted men and women of imposing size and demeanor staring at the two bodies covered in white sheets.

“Sith,” Phil said looking under a sheet. He lifted the other one, “Frak,”

“What,” Aleyn asked coming closer.

“These are Star Dragons,” he answered pointing at the figures on the ground, “and those guys,” he said gesturing to the dark clothed people on the other side of the line, “are also Dragons. They’re going to want to know who did this so they can kill them and, then the group that did this will kill another Dragon. Then it will just go back and forth until the streets run red with blood and I’m going to be the one filling out the paperwork for each one of them.” Phil was more ticked off about the work he’d have to do then the potential loss of life. At least he’d be motivated this time. Aleyn didn’t care if the gangs killed each other, what he worried about were the innocents caught in the crossfire. “Come on,” Phil said moving back to their vehicle, “I got someone we need to talk to.”

In the sky car the former Courscant cop stared out the window watching the buildings go by reminding himself why he was here, to fulfill a promise. He discreetly pulled a small holo projector from his jacket pocket and activated it. What came up was a side-by-side still image, on one side a young Zabrak girl and on the other the same girl aged up to how old she would be now, 22. He always kept the holo on him just in case. He knew that no Zabrak would match the photo exactly but, he could at least rule out a few of them without having to do a full investigation. The army ID tags that he wore under his shirt felt eerily cold, another reminder, who he made the promise to, a friend who didn’t make it back. The car stopped in front of an upscale nightclub in a wealthier part of the neighborhood. The sign above the entrance said “Cho’s” in blue holo.

Inside the club everything was decorated in deep blues and gold with accents of light purple.

“I want to handle this personally,” A Trandosan hissed at the Pantoran seated at a table in the middle of the space, her back to the cops.

“You’ll get your chance,” The blue skinned humanoid cooed, “but, I’m going to want my pound of flesh first.” The reptile nodded his head and turned to the detectives, intricate Star Dragon tattoos covered his bare arms the teeth and talons of the beasts’ colored red. “Philip.” The Pantoran said turning sideways in her chair, arm draped over the back, legs crossed, “What brings you to my humble establishment.” Her gaze fell on Aleyn, she was order than the detective but sill beautiful in a low cut dark violet dress that brought out her skin color, her voice was seductive but, with an edge of danger, “and this must be the war hero from Courscant I’ve heard so much about.” She extended her hand palm down.

“Aleyn Bray mam’” He said moving toward her. He took her hand and bowed his head.

“You didn’t tell me he was handsome,” The woman said as Philip lowered his head. They lightly kissed each other on either cheek.

“You’re a better judge of that than I am.” He replied taking a seat to her left. Aleyn sat to her right, her cold blue eyes boring into him. “Baroness,”

“Yes,” her gaze shifted to Aleyn’s partner.

“I came to ask a favor,” Philip said putting his hat on the table.

“Of course you did,”

“I need you to stand down while we investigate this,”

“Darling, that is a tall order, Sask is calling for blood and I’m inclined to give it to him.”

“Mam’” Aleyn said. The world seemed to stop, the room became quiet. Baroness turned her head slowly a serious expression on her face. Philip’s eyes widened. She waited several seconds letting the gravity of his mistake sink in,

“Yes,” she said in a lower tone from before. He looked to the other detective who subtlety shook his head.

“If you let us investigate we’ll find the person responsible and punish them accordingly. We save ourselves some paperwork, and you don’t lose any more men.” The Pantoran remained silent for a few more agonizing seconds. Then a smile grew across her face.

“I like this one Phil, he’s cute in a lost puppy sort of way.” She paused, gently tapping her fingers on the table. “I can maybe get you a week. If someone isn’t in jail by the time the Smugglers are finished wiping the floor with the Pirates, I will set the dogs loose and we’ll have ourselves a war.”

“I understand,” Aleyn said bowing his head again. She returned the gesture with a slight nod.

“What makes you think the Pirates will lose?” Phil said rising from his seat.

“Please it’s the Pirates, they have no business being in the ELL.” The younger detective followed his partner to the door. “Word to the wise Aleyn,” She called out, he stopped to look back at her. Her eyes met his, “don’t make promises, you can’t keep them all.”

TAG: No One

 

GM Post

HSN Morning Headlines

• Senators place Maximus Qorbus (Nautolan, Male, Corner Forward) on season-ending Injured Reserve
• Gark S'rily, on Qorbus Injury: "We're going to miss Max. He provides us a major scoring threat from the edge. We hope to find a replacement for him in the lineup soon”
• Early indicators from Senators camp suggest that second-year pro Laura Cellen will take over for Qorbus this week against Mercs
• Ralltiir Starkillers announce that 1/8 seats for Euceron game will be set aside for Storm fans, a contiguous block of 500,000 seats
• Starkillers organization says they want to provide Euceron fans with a “home game experience”
• Storm GM/coach Aebatt Zargana expresses thanks to the Starkillers organization and the Vigo family for their offer of tickets and financial assistance
• Multiple local charities and businesses on Euceron immediately step in to buy up the tickets and distribute them; 20% of the allotted seats will be reserved for active and retired military members and their families
• Royal Euceron Cruise Line will donate free round-trip luxury transportation between Euceron and Ralltiir aboard the line's largest ship, the Spacer's Paradise
• ELL Commissioner Lokensgaard says he is looking forward to seeing his first Battle for the Bloody Bucket
• Lokensgaard: “You have to love a good rivalry game and this is a good rivalry game”
• Lokensgaard also asked about Bak10’s rule changes and if they could ever be implemented by the ELL: “That’s a matter for the Board and I detect significant resistance there to such changes,” but says he appreciates Trieste’s concerns about player safety
• Bak10 Commissioner Trieste is “elated” at news of Carnation Bowl being established as a playoff quarterfinal game
• Trieste confirms that a long-term agreement for Bak10 participation in Carnation Bowl will be shortly entered into by conference
• When asked if she will meet with Tim Dodd during Packers’ trip to Bakura in the wake of his comments regarding Agamar being a harbor for Bak10 players fleeing new rules, Trieste said, “I have been unable to attend regular season Miner games since assuming the position of Commissioner so regrettably no. I am sure a spirited debate will continue on Bakura, Agamar, and throughout the galaxy”
• When asked if, in the words of a Mandalorian wave station, if she thinks this move could backfire and make Bak10 the “laughing stock” of college limmie, Trieste replied, “The Rancor Pitt, like Mr. Dodd, is entitled to their opinions. I think that Randy raised some good points. Or was it Pitt? I never keep them straight. I said before I was welcome to have this conversation with the media in a lot of forums. I’d be happy to have it with them”

TAG: Bardan_Jusik jcgoble3 Jedi Gunny Runjedirun Tim Battershell

 

GM Post

What We Learned: Week 2

We’re learning to love the new ELL schedule, basically because it’s so insane. With no clear breakdown between conference and non-conference games, it’s basically a battle royale that we’re waiting for the dust to settle on before we know who’s left standing.

Agamar Packers – Nobody really expected the Packers to go on a tear like they did in their first game for the next 10 weeks. We all expected them to regress to the mean in week 2 and then go on a tear through the entire league for the remaining nine weeks.

Bakura Miners – There are so many things that we could talk about in the Miners’ romp through the Royal Limmie Grounds because almost everything went right in that game. Do you know what we took away from it? Alana Glencross has still got it.

Carratos Pirates – Place it all on black baby! All in! (Some of the interns went to Carratos for the game and...well...let’s just say they had a really good time…)

Coruscant Senators – The swing between games could not have been bigger for the Senators and the injuries are already starting to bring their fans’ hopes down. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to a really good rivalry game with the Mercs. Wait. That’s not what we were trying for.

Denon Demons – We should just stop writing “Denon Demons” and start writing “Kuat Triforce 2.0.” But hey, there’s nine weeks to go. Maybe they’ll turn it around yet. We’ve been wrong before. (We are never wrong interns! Listen in the staff meetings! Get us more caf!)

Euceron Storm – Lokensgaard praises team before game. The Smugglers double them up. Classic #Lokensgaarding everybody!

Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – What’s the opposite of a fan club? Leota Avoy wants to be the President of the Miners anti-fan club. Join the line, sister.

Mando’ade Mercs – When we were kids we used to have debates about which was more awesome, a pirate or a bounty hunter. Well, it turns out that when we said bounty hunter, we might have been wrong because the Mercs are not doing so hot against the Pirates. Also, Cubby Quillkin insisted that everybody was wrong because ninjas were more awesome than pirates or bounty hunters, but that just goes to show he didn’t know what we were talking about. There’s no such thing as a ninja, Cubby. That’s just a made up word.

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – Forgive us for not jumping back on the Smugglers bandwagon. They haven’t beaten a real team yet, so we don’t believe in them. But maybe if all the interns clap their hands they’ll get better!

Ralltiir Starkillers – Now that’s Starkiller defense. Looks like Ty Allin is back in form again--which is good because Ralltiir needs him if they’re going to make this a season.

Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Now presenting, straight from the lights of vaudeville, the song and dance routines of the Rydonni Prime Monarchs! What will they think of next? Hopefully they won’t injure themselves getting so excited like that.

Ylesia Lightning – Zoa Vra, recent issues aside, seems to be leading a revival of the Lightning. Raise your hand if you thought Ylesia would be at the top of the league and the Solo Conference after two weeks. PUT YOUR HAND DOWN ZIGBY! NO YOU DIDN’T!

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

 

Power Rankings, Week Two​

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1. Bakura Miners – Despite the Lightning being on top of the Solo Conference, the Miners are still the toast of the League. At this rate, they’ll have a +180 point differential at the end of the season, and will most likely win their third title in five years. And if they don’t, Commissioner Trieste will probably sue the league for letting players have too many blows to the head as an excuse for why the Miners didn’t win the Cup.

2. Ylesia Lightning – Looking good thus far, as they aren’t allowing many points. Senator injuries helped things this past week, but Kasin Urdaaza, at least for the moment, is back. If they can keep this up is the big question.

3. Agamar Packers – Despite losing this week, the Packers have a top-3 scoring offense and defense thus far. Undoubtedly their fans have been waiting years for that kind of balance. Hopefully they can turn this into a winning year, and not flying by the seats of their pants (and judging by the size of many of their defenders, those are [i[large[/i] pants).

4. Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Beating Agamar is big, and the Monarchs are doing OK on offense. Where Ozzie is, and that Salbukk form, we don’t know. But there are nine weeks left to re-establish that form.

5. Ralltiir Starkillers – There you go. Beating Denon on the road is a big confidence-booster for a team needing to find its identity again.

6. Coruscant Senators – This team has the talent to make it a ways. Only problem is keeping them on the field and healthy. Laura Cellen is no Max Qorbus, and not having Adama this week could really hurt. We’re looking for the Senators to dig a hole here early in the season.

7. Mando’ade Mercs – About in the same boat as the Senators, winning big in Week One and then losing a head-scratcher on the road in Week Two. Luckily for us, rankings for next week will be easier when these two teams play each other in front of the Commissioner. Although we know the Mercs are guaranteed to win; the Senators may be the only ones who hate the Commish more than we do. Mostly because they always lose when he's watching.

Editor’s Note: Point Redacted. We love you, Commish!

8. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – We don’t know what to make of this team. All we know is that it will likely take another Vehn miracle to make this team a contender. They’re long overdue for a terrible season.

9. Carratos Pirates – Winning a game over the Mercs by doubling them up is impressive. But we need to see more if we’re to believe the Pirates are making a turnaround.

10. Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – These last three teams are looking really bad right now. Hapes is lucky that they have a win right now, and the other two teams don’t.

11. Denon Demons – Being beaten soundly at home is not a recipe for success. We want to see a lot more from this team.


12. Euceron Storm – Well, at least they got a decent scoring game under their belts. That’s all they really can do right now given their very long odds.

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

 

IC: Eddy Beagle
Behind Stoneburner Lounge, 2128

Eddy was at the drop site at the proper time. He just hoped that the other party wasn’t going to flake out on him at the last moment. That would have been a travesty. He wanted the money being offered, and had gone to the pain of getting another key card ready for the mysterious Devaronian who had offered the cash. Now it was up to him to fulfill his end of the bargain.

In the darkness behind the Lounge, Eddy found a nice shady spot to hide in. There was no reason to let any passerby, especially the cigarra smokers, to notice him back there. This was supposed to be a secret meeting regarding highly-illegal goods. No need to let someone try and ruin the drop.

Eddy could hear a vehicle door slam in the darkness, and two men came towards him. “You the kid with the key card?” asked one of them. The voice wasn’t familiar.

“Yes,” Eddy said. He narrowed his eyes in the dark, but couldn’t tell what species the figures were. There was no telling if the Devaronian was here to make the drop.

“Then hand it over,” the first man said coldly.

“I want my payment,” Eddy said. He was going to stand his ground on that.

The other figure threw something, and a briefcase clattered onto the ground in front of Eddy. “Check it,” he said. That was the Devaronian, all right, Eddy thought as he opened the case. Inside were 50,000 credits, all stacked neatly in bundles. Eddy closed the case.

“All right,” he said. “Here’s the card.” He handed the envelope to the first shadowy figure.

“You better not be messing with us, kid, or we’ll take that money back from you by force. And you won’t like that,” the first figure said as he ripped open the envelope and inspected the card in the dark. How anyone could do that, Eddy didn’t know.

“It works. I made sure no detail was overlooked,” Eddy said.

“Then we have an accord. Nice doing business with you,” the first figure said before the two men melted back into the darkness. Eddy picked up his briefcase and went straight to his apartment. Once there, he hid the money underneath the sofa, just in case anyone broke in and tried to rob the place. He was now 50,000 credits richer, and it was easy money.

As the two figures drove along in the dark Coruscanti skylanes, the first figure had to ask something of his Devaronian companion. “You know, this key card could be worth a whole lot more than 50,000 depending on what we find.”

“Oh, I have a feeling it was a good bargain,” the Devaronian said with a laugh. “Stupid kid doesn’t know the value of this card,” he said, holding up the card. “To him it’s access to see trinkets. For us, it will turn a profit. A tidy profit.”


TAG: No One

 

IC: Ty Allin

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274 Bankers Mansion Starkillers vs Packers

It was another close game. Last week we had squeaked by with an overtime win in Ylesia. This week we had managed a three point victory over Agamar. The victories were sweet it was our first season to open with two consecutive wins since our promotion to the ELL in 272. There was just one crucial missing piece. My best friend wasn’t here to share it with me. He’d been locked away for nearly 3 years now. The nameplate had been long been removed from his locker. Dev Poletin was using that locker now. Dev had proved to be an excellent fullback. I should have been upset that I had been overlooked to take the position. Truth was I too preoccupied with helping keep Trey’s spirits up until he was released that I often forgot to be competitive at Limmie.

As I walked off the field I let my eyes wander the sidelines where the dance team was busy signing autographs for fans in the first several rows of seats. Lucie’s smile shone brightly as she handed a piece of flimsy to an appreciative male fan. The locker room was abuzz with excitement as my teammates celebrated our victory. Some were headed to parties to celebrate. Others would go home to rest. I was headed somewhere else entirely.

274 Ralltiir Planet Penitentiary

I sat anxiously in the waiting area. I had been coming here for nearly three years and I was always nervous when I waited to be escorted to the visiting area. I never knew how long it would be until a guard came to tell me that Trey was ready to see me. Some days I timed things perfectly and he was ready within minutes. Sometimes I would come during a meal or recreation time and I would have to wait an hour or more. On bad days I would be told I couldn’t visit Trey at all. In order for Trey to see visitors all the inmates on his cellblock had to cooperate with the guards.

Today was good day I was summoned about 10 minutes after I arrived. I made my own way to the visiting area and took my usual seat behind the thick plate of glass. Trey was already seated on the other side. His hands and ankles bound together. A grim reminder of the heinous crime he had been convicted of. Despite his disposition he smiled in greeting. “Heard you won another game,” he said rather cheerfully.

“Did you get to watch?” I asked.

“Not yet,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “But I will one of the guys will get me a copy.” Trey had several guards that believed in his innocence. They treated him well by bringing him food from the outside and serving up small favors like copies of Starkillers games to watch on a spare data pad. “And when I see it I’ll be sure to let you know what tackles you missed,” he informed me.

“I didn’t miss a single one,” I promised.

“The Packers scored 24 points and not a one of them was your fault?” He asked.

I should have known that Trey knew the score. “A few balls may have gotten by me,” I admitted. “In the end I stopped enough of them. That’s all that matters, right?”

He shook his head in amusement. “As long you stopped enough of them. So what you got going on tonight.”

“I’ll probably go pick up a girl,” I said with a shrug.

“Still bouncing around from woman to woman? Aren’t you getting tired of that yet?”

“When I find the right woman. I’ll stop. I haven’t found her yet. I haven’t come close.”

“What about Lucie? She’s still dancing for the Starkillers. I remember how you used to look at her.”

“I remember you telling me to stay away from her,” I reminded him.

“That was before she turned 18. She’s nearly 21 now. Why don’t you ask her out?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Trey was giving me permission to ask out the girl of my dreams. Truth was I was afraid of her. “Her father’s the richest man on the planet. I don’t think she’d be interested.” I explained.

“You never know until you ask,” he encouraged. “You need another constant in your life. Someone besides me to spend your time with. I could be in here a while,” he said.

“Don’t talk like that. I thought this new lawyer had found some serious holes in your case.”

“There’s more than a few holes in my case,” Trey deadpanned. “Ty I might never get out of here. No matter what happens to me I want you to promise me you’ll go live your life. And I want you to start by asking Lucie Vigo on a date.”

It was my fault Trey was on the other side of that glass. Yet for some reason he wanted me to be happy. I wished I could give him a hug, a handshake, a fist pump or even a high five. Trey was the best friend a guy could have. “Okay,” I replied. “If it will make you happy I’ll ask her out.”

274 Shuttle to Corellia

Lucie had chosen to sit in a seat directly in front of Coach Clara. Coach was in a heated argument with our star keeper a man who called himself Galaxy Defender Unanimous. I had spent the whole week preparing to ask Lucie out. Twice I had gone back to visit with Trey and both times he had called me out on being afraid. Being afraid was part of it, but this wasn’t just any girl. This was the captain of the dance team. The beautiful daughter of the closest thing to royalty on the planet of Ralltiir. I had to do this right. I had called ahead to make reservations at a restaurant I discovered while visiting my parents before training camp. It wasn’t the most expensive place, but it was more upscale than I was used to.

I gritted my teeth while I waited for Coach Clara and Galaxy Defender to finish their exchange. The keeper and I were from cities only a few hours apart. He wasn’t just giving me a bad name as a Limmie player with his narcissistic behavior he was giving me a bad name as a Corellian as well. Finally Coach Clara and Galaxy Defender parted ways. Lucie looked like she was about to close her eyes and get some rest. I decided I better make my move before she did. “Don’t worry,” I said as I took a seat next to her. “We aren’t all like that, you know.”

“All of who?” She asked.

“Limmie players, Corellians whichever group you were thinking Mr. Unanimous over there represents.” I said as I motioned my head to where the keeper had sprawled himself out over a row of empty seats. Discretely I took a deep breath while I waited for her to answer. It was taking everything I had to remain calm, cool and confident as possible.

“Oh, that’s a relief on both fronts.” Lucie replied giving me a smile in the process.

“Great,” I said smiling in return. I decided to cut right to the chase, “Then perhaps you’ll join me for dinner tonight. This is my home plane too, you know, and that means I know the perfect place to take you.”

“All right.”

Lucie had said yes. It was all I could do to contain my excitement. I allowed her to get some rest for the remainder of the flight. We met two blocks from our hotel. Neither of us were anxious to be hassled by our teammates for details on a date. Dates were awkward enough when you didn’t have to share them with teammates. I flagged down a cab before she arrived so she wouldn’t have to wait. I had picked up a box of chocolates at a local pharmacy. Because I wanted to impress her I told her they were from the best chocolatier on the planet.

She took the box with a concerned look on her face. I thought she was going to call me out on my lie. “Is something wrong?” I asked unable to hide my nervousness any longer.

“No,” Lucie answered quickly. “So where are we going?”

“A little place just outside my hometown, everything they serve is local.” This part was true the restaurant had been in the neighborhood for generations. It was family owned and operated. “I know you are going to like it,” I encouraged.

The restaurant owner had done a nice job of selecting a table to reserve for us in a secluded area. Sometimes being a household name came in handy. I let Lucie chose an appetizer. She chose vegetable roles. I wasn’t very excited about the choice, but I did my best not to let it show. When they arrived she eagerly took one “This is delicious.” She commented.

To be polite I tried one. It was all I could do not to spit it back up, “It’s alright.” I managed. “But for dinner I’ll be having some real food,” I told her. “I have a LImmie game to play tomorrow and I need more than just plants to fill me up,” I explained.

Lucie laughed, I probably hadn’t done the best job of covering up my dislike for the vegetable roles. She didn’t hide the shock on her face when I ordered two entrees for dinner either. I hoped I wasn’t blowing my chances with her but I had a game tomorrow and I needed to eat. I told Lucie about the fancy school I had gone to on athletic scholarship that was just a few kilometers from this restaurant. I told her that my own family didn’t have much in the way of credits. She didn’t seem taken back by the admission. I decided not to mention my time spent in the detention center on the other side of town or any of my arrests.

After dinner I had the cab drop us off several blocks from the hotel so Lucie and I could walk for a few minutes. I was hoping to find a private moment to finally lock lips with her. The plan worked. I grabbed her hand to help her out of the cab and kept hold as we walked down the block towards our hotel. We came to the corner. I stopped, turned to face her and took her other hand. I looked into her eyes and began to move my face towards her. To my surprise she moved towards me. Our lips met and I never wanted them to part.

OOC: For anyone intrested in nastalga here's Lucie's view of the same date from my post in '74
Elite League Limmie [A Sports-based RPG, New Players Welcome]

279 Denon Gardens

By putting himself in the game Trey had given me full motivation to win. If I was reading him right Trey had put himself in the game to prove a point that as a defensive unit we had put up a lackluster performance the week before. He was going to take the field and remind us what aggressive play looked like. It was a daring move on his part. He hadn’t played Limmie in 8 years and he had never played in the ELL. The motivation for me to win this game wasn’t to get my starting position back as the fullback. I was most content to play left corner this afternoon and if fate allowed for the rest of the season. For the first time in 8 years Trey was where he belonged on the Limmie field.

Denon was new to the league. They had lost their opening game to the Lightning in Ylesia but there was no telling what their motivation would be like to win in front of their fans at home. I for one came into the game ready for battle and hungry for a win. I found myself face to face with a muscular humanoid, covered in tattoos. The name on the back of his jersey read Twig but his legs looked more like tree trunks. On Denon’s first drive he received a pass from one of his midfielders. I dove and wrapped my arms around one of his legs to try and bring him down. He shook me off easily before taking a shot on goal. Trey came running, the ball hit him squarely in the chest he deflected the ball towards Roselli who quickly dribbled up field to Ellie Knot. Ellie passed the ball on up to Sureysh who gave us our first three points of the game.

I knew Twig was bigger and stronger than I was. I had to rely on trickery to keep him from scoring on us. The next time he was able to secure possession of the ball I hung back, made him think I might be more afraid of getting hurt than being scored on. At the last moment I pounced, my left fist aimed directly at the ball. My plan was to punch it out of his arms. I wasn’t quick enough. Twig tossed the ball to a teammate. He grabbed my wrist. I held my own for a minute or two. We stood pushing against each other until finally I fell to the turf. Meanwhile Noah was doing his best to slow down the Wookiee on the right corner. Somehow the Wookiee lost possession. The Sarkan playing full forward picked up the ball and quickly threw it towards the goal. Kaat was ready. She made a clean save and punted the ball back out to midfield.

It was a grueling first half. We held up well and only one goal was scored against us. Meanwhile the new Core Worlds offense was working out beautifully on the offensive side. We had put up 17 points. They were about evenly split between Fortune and Sureysh. We had enough of a lead that Trey was willing to take some chances in the second half. This allowed for our second string players to get some playing time and our starters got some rest. Due to the size of the front offensive line Trey kept me and Kaat in the entire game. He didn’t play any minutes himself in the second half. Zire took the left corner. He had the most experience and size to take down Twig. Jeffers subbed in a few times to give Noah some rest. Overall Noah played a great first game. Kaat also shined in goal. One more ball got by us late in the second half, by that time we were well on our way to a victory. Still I could see frustration in Kaat’s eyes as she retrieved the ball from the net.

I boarded the shuttle back to Ralltiir with ice packs strapped to both knees. I found a few empty seats so I could stretch my legs out and took a seat. Lucie boarded minutes later. “What happened?” She asked.

Once I assured Lucie that the ice really was just precautionary she went to call my mother and check on T.J. I began checking messages on my data pad. I was excited to find a message from Dr. Zing one of the most popular fizz brands on Ralltiir. They had approached me many times over to do holovision ads for them. In the past I had always turned them down. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on holovision. Doing commercials sounded like selling out.

Then I had remembered my 5 year wedding anniversary with Lucie was approaching quickly. It would be here just a few short months after the season ended. I wanted to upgrade the stone in Lucie’s ring. The trouble was I had already spent my entire salary this season on the condo for my mother. It turned out that my father had gambled away the house I had purchased for my parents to live in on Corellia. Lucie had helped pay off the remainder of the mortgage with the funds she was pulling in from the theaters she had inherited from her father. She said she didn’t mind but I wanted to be able to pull my own weight and help more with finances. If I did one endorsement ad I could possibly land more. I might not ever bring in as much as Lucie, but at least I could make an effort.

Sure enough the company had set up a shoot for a commercial. I read the message excitedly and replied that I would be at the studio first thing in the morning. A trainer came to remove the ice packs and I settled in for a nap. When I woke we were about to land. It was very late at night Lucie explained that my mother would bring T.J. to her mother’s in the morning. “Why your mother’s and not our house?” I asked.

“You didn’t hit your head in yesterday’s game I hope,” Lucie said concerned.

“No, why?”

“Your son’s birthday is tomorrow. I invited all the kids from T.J.’s class to a party at my mom’s. You said you were going to help. Coach Till didn’t forget and schedule a practice I hope.”

Shavit. I had forgotten T.J.’s birthday when I said I would be at the shoot for the commercial. “Lucie there’s somewhere I have to go for a few hours in the morning.”

“Where could you possibly have to go on your son’s birthday?”

“I’ve decided to shoot a holomercial for Dr. Zing,” I confessed.

“Since when did you start shooting holomericals?”

“Lucie I just wanted to bring in a few extra credits.” She might not understand fully now but when I surprised her with that ring in a few months she’d forgive me. “When I agreed to the shoot I did forget the party was scheduled for tomorrow. It’s too late to back out now. I promise to get there as soon as I can.”

“T.J. is going to be crushed when I show up alone in the morning,” Lucie scolded. I felt bad and I’m pretty sure Lucie could sense it. She didn’t give me the cold shoulder for the entire ride home or even bring it up again. She was even up to make me breakfast in the morning and wish me luck.

When I arrived at the Vigo homestead that afternoon all the guests had already arrived. T.J. was very happy to see me. I handed him a Dr. Zing t-shirt and hat that the producers of the holomercial had provided for him. “Happy Birthday Junior,” I said scooping him up for a hug.

“Can we have cake now?” He asked me.

“Now that daddy is here we can have cake,” I heard Lucie confirm. Lucie didn’t complain about having to manage the majority of the party on her own. Though she did chastise me for calling T.J. Junior. She’s been harping on me for that a lot recently. We agreed to call him T.J. and she’s afraid that if I continue to call him Junior he’ll get confused or that others will overhear me and not know what to call him. I didn’t think there was any confusion. T.J. was short for Ty Junior. I could call him whatever I wanted. Lucie had been great about the shoot so for now I agreed to try my best to address him as T.J. Besides I wanted Lucie’s company after we got home tonight. After T.J. went to sleep. For alone time with Lucie I would agree to anything.

279 Financial Square Arena Starkillers vs Storm Game Day

It had taken a lot of convincing on my part but Trey was in uniform again. He had tried to argue that his playing had been a onetime thing. That in order to be successful as a coach he needed to be on the sidelines calling plays. I had argued that I was the team captain and I wanted him on the field. I reminded him of how he had been robbed of this opportunity. He had it back now. He needed to take advantage. Besides we had won big against the Demons. The smile Trey had worn on the field last week as he tackled that serpent playing full forward to the ground was brighter and more genuine than any smile I had seen him wear on the sideline.

Trey conceded that it had been a lot of fun to lace up his cleats again. He held private meetings with the coaching staff and the rest of the players. When they were over he told me I got my wish. We made our way from the locker room into the tunnel as we waited for the starting line up to be announced. “At right corner from Ralltiir University Noah Till,” we heard Spencer announce. Noah disappeared out the opening, “At left corner from Ralltiir University Ty Allin.” I took my cue and ran onto the field. A fan threw down a Dr. Zing hat in appreciation for my work on the holomerical that had already hit airwaves. I caught it and placed it on my head. I took my spot next to Noah just in time to hear Spencer’s voice over the loudspeaker one final time. “And now you’re starting fullback and head coach from The University of Ralltiir Trey Till.”

Tag jcgoble3

 

IC: Bat Vigo

Archer’s Field Sandskimmers Practice After Loss To Byblos

I was practicing shots on an empty goal while waiting for my teammates to gather for practice when coach Zan called me to the sideline. “Mr. Vigo, you held back yesterday. Why was that?”

At first I was at a loss for words. I hadn’t see the accusation coming. Zan waited patiently for me an answer. My first instinct was to argue that I had played aggressively. After taking some time to think about it I realized she was right. “My mind was on other things,” I admitted.

“This week we are going to learn how to block out what's going on off field while you’re on the field,” Zan explained. “I worked with your mother and siblings last season. I know the drive in your family to succeed. With your skill set and athletic ability nothing should be able to stop you. You came out here to earn a paycheck for playing Limmie. I’m going to make you earn that paycheck Mr. Vigo.”

Assistant coach Keli Sen led me and the rest of the offense through exercises that helped clear our minds each morning that week of practice. At first they were challenging. I came in most mornings with the echoes of a screaming baby still in my head. Zan had been right though, I wanted more than just to play Limmie. I wanted to be good at it. I put in the effort to learn the techniques I was taught.

When on field during practice if I did let my mind wander Zan called me out on it every time. If it happened too much she would have me run sprints for each time she called me out. By the end of the week I had made a lot of progress. I practiced the techniques in all aspects of my life. When I was at home I concentrated on showing my wife and daughters the love and affection they deserved. In the hours leading up to our departure I did my own safety inspections on the team shuttle and prepped her for take-off. Once everyone and all equipment were safely on board I took my place in the cockpit. It was not only a time for me to be alone at last for the first time in over a month. It was a final opportunity to practice those mind exercises before we took the field on Concordia.

Concordia Sandskimmers Vs Crusaders

I took the field full of confidence in my abilities. My concentration was where it should be in the here and now. On the Limmie field, my teammates, the players I was matched up against and most of all making big plays. I found myself with sole possession of the ball early. There was no one between me and the keeper so I took my time to calculate my shot. Needless to say we took an early three point lead. Open shots seemed to come my way often that afternoon. When I wasn’t open my go to was Yolanda. If she wasn’t open Lowatha was an easy target to fall back on.

The defense didn’t hold up as well as they had against the Red Wings, but we didn’t need them to. The entire offense seemed to have benefited from the mind exercises we had learned from coaches Sen and Zan. We headed off the field with a winning score of 29 to 14. 14 of those points had been mine. Four goals and two bar points. Not bad for my second ever start. As I left the field I looked up into the sky. Sometimes it felt like my father was looking down on me. At that moment I knew he was proud.

Vigo Household Tatooine

Celebrating with Georgia when I got home meant going out for a quiet dinner while her sister stayed home with the kids. She was more her old self than she had been in a long time. The treatments she had been receiving since having Tyffanie seemed to be helping with her recovery. When we got home she took the baby from her sister’s arms. “I’m not ready to share our bed yet,” she explained. I nodded. The doctor had warned me it could be a full two months before Georgia would be completely healed. It was hard to understand why she didn’t lie next to me at night though. I worried she still hadn't forgiven me for accusing her of getting pregnant on purpose. Georgia took Tyffanie and slept on a pull out sofa next to the crib in the nursery.

The next morning I got up and made breakfast for everyone. I would go to the stadium later to take care of some team business, but there was not practice and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my family. Georgia came to greet me in the kitchen alone. “Morning baby,” she said. “My sister is dressing the girls. They will be down in a minute. Before they get here there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Sure,” I said as I handed her a cup of caf.

She took a long slow sip. It looked like she was preparing herself for something. It made me nervous. “Bartholomew would you consider getting a vasectomy?” She asked.

TBC

(no tags)

 

IC: Lilly Vehn
Carratos

​

Carratos was a planet that Lilly had never been to before. In fact, to be honest, she’d never done a lot of traveling in her life. She’d found a niche on Nar Shaddaa and embraced that miserable, wretched hovel as home sweet home. She had to admit that Carratos was nice, certainly a world worth coming back to when the Limmie season wasn’t raging like a hurricane.

The season.

Nar Shaddaa was about to embark on a six week road trip throughout the galaxy. That trip would start here on Carratos and end on Bakura. Now that the season was longer, now that every team played each other, there was so much more at stake. Gone were the glory days of sweeping non-conference teams. Gone was the extreme focus that was required of the franchise as conference play loomed every season, no, in its place was chaos and disorder and downright debauchery of the greatest sporting kind.

Nar Shaddaa had a tough road to climb to return to the promised land and Lilly would be the first persont to admit that the Smugglers had pulled off one of the most improbable runs to the Final in recent memory. The hard struggle was coming and that all started right here, right now, on Carratos. This was a team that was in the Skywalker Conference and wanted nothing better than to knock off last year’s kings of the hill. Who didn’t? Who didn’t want to swipe Nar Shaddaa’s eleven Galactic Cup victories away from them? Who didn’t want to bury the burgundy and black and send them to the perennial basement where the wild things died?

Lilly didn’t. She wanted to carry on Kaitlyn Vehn’s proud legacy but she would do that on her own terms and in her own way. After all, despite bearing the name of a family that had seemed so promising, so respected, only to have their own personal government ripped out from under them, being a Vehn wasn’t such a bad thing. It had its perks despite the waning influence of that family whose world of Roon was in utter chaos. Fortunately, for now, that chaos didn’t extend to the Nar Shaddaa Smugglers who’d lost in wretched fashion in week one only to rebound in that fine Smuggler tradition in week two.

As far as week three, Lilly thought as she watched her team take to the pitch against Carratos, who knew?

All Lilly Vehn knew was that this season had her absolutely shaking in her boots and it all started with a six week road trip that would come to define the entire season for the 279 Nar Shaddaa Smugglers.

Tag: galactic-vagabond422

(Here we go, hold on to your butts, as Samuel L. Jackson famously said in Jurassic Park)

 

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

Geoff’s woke the next morning his arms still around his wife. He stayed as still as he could trying not to wake her. Thoughts of todays practice were far from his mind, he missed just taking his time in the morning, missed lying in bed with Laura. His wife stirred a little in his arms. He pulled himself away and watched as she rolled to face him. Her hair, in serious bedhead mode, covered her right eye as the remaining blue eye stared a dagger at him.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my bed?” She said still a little sleepy.

“I’m your husband and this is my bed too.” Geoff answered.

“A husband,” She paused stroking her chin as if deep in thought, “I had one of those once, and I think he got murdered by Pirates or, did he join them I’m not sure.”

“I’m sorry babe. I just got caught up in my own drive to win that I completely ignored you and the girls.” He moved in to kiss her forehead. Laura put her hand on his chest lightly pushing him away.

“Is this Normal Geoff or Happy Winner Geoff?”

“Can’t I be both?” she shook her head,

“I want you to be you, not riding some endorphin high from winning. I want you to be like this all the time, not just when you win.” She had a point, he had let his emotions be dictated by weather or not his team did well. He wanted to promise her that he was done being ruled by the team but, their next game was against the defending champs. The Smugglers may have dropped their first game but, came back strong in their next game and the last time the Pirates faced the Smugglers his team was smashed to pieces. Though their loss had more to do with Rhodri’s issues with Nar Shardaa than anything he did. The coach planned on playing Bestide in center half back and keeping Ponnie and Mikia in their current positions. He couldn’t trust his usual starter to keep his head.

“I can’t promise that I will always be like this but, I will try not to let the huge losses get to me.”

“Do or Do not Geoff,”

“All I can do is my best and I will not lie and say it is enough, because I don’t know.” Laura’s face looked confused, it pained him to say he wasn’t sure that he could control his emotions. It made him seem immature, like he was some teenager that didn’t know what to do with his feelings. He caressed her with is right hand, “I’m sorry, I’m being honest, but I know I need to be better, for you, for the girls, for us. Just give me a little time alright.”

“I want my husband back soon ok; I get lonely and stressed out dealing with these girls by myself.”

“Ok,” He remained in bed for a little bit longer then got ready for work.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium, O’pahz, Carratos

At practice Geoff made sure that Bestide got some training as a center half back, she showed some ability but, not as good as Rhodri when he was at his best. That was the rub. The last game against the Smugglers had been a disaster partly due to a weak offense, but also Rhodri losing his cool on the field. Geoff had a better understanding of why but, no idea how to approach the subject with him. It was easy to get him to work with Ponnie she was just one person but, now this was a team from a planet that was proud of its criminal past and present. Although they down played it those crimes included slave trafficking. The coach did not fault his player for his feelings but, those feelings made him a liability on the field. With the new offensive strategy the Pirates needed strong half backs to contain break outs. He could at least trust Bestide to keep her cool but, he knew she would be a weakness on the field. The only question was would she do better than the starter would against this team.

The rest of the team looked in good spirits after a huge win but, there was a twinge of sadness, Seiji was still questionable for the next game. The medical staff wanted to make sure he was ok. Concussions were serious injuries especially if they were not allowed to heal properly. Gor had proven himself against the Mercs when Seiji had to leave and he may be called upon again. The rookie would be happy to get more playing time though I’m not sure under these circumstances. The injuries were coming early this season between the Mercs, Senators, and the Pirates there were five injured players in just one week, which did not bode well for the rest of the season. Maybe new safety rules would be better for the sport but, how do you keep the players safe without changing the game too much. He would just have to wait and see what happens.

The weeks practices where the same leading up to the game, but Geoff couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. This was the third time he had this feeling, the practices leading up to the Mercs game last season and the home opener, also against the Mercs. He disregarded this feeling as just nerves. He wanted his team to win, but that would be an uphill battle. It was early in the season and there were still some tough opponents ahead. The Starkillers were on deck then the Monarchs two weeks after them, both tough teams. He shook his head, he told Laura he wouldn’t let his drive to win eclipse his family.

“Alright,” The coach called out, “Hit the showers and go home, good practice everyone.” The players walked past him, each sweating but, smiling.

“Coach,” A deep voice said from behind him, “Can I talk to you.” Geoff turned to see Rhodri arms at his side fists, clenched.

“Sure,” The two beings entered the coach’s office Geoff taking the chair behind the flimsi covered desk Rhodri standing on the other side. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You’re not going to play me against the Smugglers are you?” The human sighed

“Honestly Rhodri, no, the last game you got too aggressive and they used that to their advantage.”

“I want to tell you you’re wrong and punch you in the face,” the defender said “but that would just prove your point.”

“I’m sorry but, until something changes I’m not going to risk you on the field against Nar Shaddaa or Yelsia.”The Klatooinian nodded,

“I understand.” Rhodri turned and walked out of the room. Geoff was left to wonder if he had made the right decision.

TAG: Vehn

 

GM Post

Bonus rolls to Agamar, Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Mando'ade, Nar Shaddaa, and Ralltiir. Let's go.

Week 3 Results
Denon Demons at Rydonni Prime Monarchs (19-9)
Euceron Storm at Ralltiir Starkillers (0-40)
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers at Ylesia Lightning (14-0)
Mando’ade Mercs at Coruscant Senators (40-8)
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Carratos Pirates (11-11, OT 13-15)
Agamar Packers at Bakura Miners (31-14)

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

 

Sub-GM Post

I got busy yesterday, and by the time I remembered this, it was 2am and I was too tired to do it. Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Concordia (28), Druckenwell (28), Garqi (30), Tatooine (32), and Thyferra (32).

Limmie Futures League – Week 3
Concordia Crusaders at Druckenwell Marksmen (26–18)
Thyferra Force at Eriadu Thunder (2–23)
Gallinore Firedrakes at Tatooine Sandskimmers (6–24)
Byblos Red Wings at Garqi Gunners (1–3)

TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Vehn Rebecca_Daniels Tim Battershell Runjedirun Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Tim Dodd
ASF 'Special Flight' - Returning from Bakura.

The team were headed for Hapes for the Week 4 match but Tim wasn't going with them, hence the ASF 'Space Chauffeur' Service; one convenient perk of his new position.

He'd rather enjoyed watching the game at the fondly remembered "Gardens", which the Packers had won thirty-one points to fourteen; something the Miners probably hadn't enjoyed nearly as much! The Barabel 'line' had done its work again, despite the Miners' best efforts.

Although there had been few stoppage-injuries, he suspected that certain Miners' Defenders would be nursing some heavy bruises for a few days to come, a legacy of being 'bounced off' fast-moving incoming Barabel!

Jiva, Morto, Mezgraf and, to a lesser extent, Miles (who ordinarily didn't get much chance to use the 'header' due to his Half Forward slot, had made a point of using the technique as much as possible during the Match, just to annoy the 'Cotton-wool' Commission! All had got their reward of Over-the-Bar points with their heads, all had made Media comments, post-match, that they didn't have as much as the slightest sign of a headache. Miles had also commented that if one got injured performing a 'header' that most likely meant the player was doing it wrong, adding that there was always discretion with the very high-flying balls to let them bounce first!

The 'Space Chauffeur' Service also permitted him to delay his departure from Bakura long enough to do a little 'show and tell' on a BBC Sports Channel. Predominately about TenGate, he nevertheless went into increasing Player Safety through Player Training, letting the camera have a long, hard look at what a TenGate ball had done to his old helmet and ascribing getting hit as caused by a lack of concentration due to his own eagerness to finish the Match off with just the one high-scoring stroke.

He'd then sprung a surprise on the presenters, calling a pair of Agamarian High School TenGate learners (they'd flown in commercial, with their families) to shy balls at the presenters for them to try to catch. Several hits on presenters later (the balls used were the very soft version for in knock-around games and the very early years), he relented and personally coached the presenters in the proper way to catch a TenGate ball. To their credit, they 'caught' on fast!

To finish the segment, Tim had the lads send proper TenGate balls at him at full-bore, rather than the casual throws they'd been using, and caught each one safely with (as done in TenGate) his bare hands. It was nothing exceptional, a standard Team Catching Practice lasted longer and the balls were usually thrown harder.

Although never voiced, the underlying message was 'Leave Sports to those who play them'.

At about midway through the flight, the co-pilot came back to tell him that the Gunners had also won their match. Only a three points to one margin, though, which indicated that both sides had played defensively throughout. He'd watch the recording tonight, but a win was a win.


TAG: Trieste, Jedi Gunny, Vehn

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium

The Pirates took to the field under the Pirate cheer with one million beings packing the stadium, Laura and the twins among them. Both teams had even records coming into the game but, only one had won the Galactic Cup ten times. The Pirates were in high spirits still buoyed by the big win over the Mercs they were ready to give a good showing. Duchamp and Logan lined up for the start, the crowd quieted. The ref blew the whistle and tossed the ball to start the match. The Pirate forward fought hard and came down with possession. A quick dump pass to Else and the home team charged down the field. The red haired half back ran into trouble and passed up to Leigh. She drove to toward the net her Togruta defender chasing her all the way down. Eventually the pressure proved too great forcing Leigh to punch the ball to Rime running a cross pattern in front of the net. The captain stopped and faked a shot causing Keisel to jump giving him room to pass to Logan. Logan’s quick shot was stopped by Leed. The Smuggler’s counter came just as fast whit Leed making a long pass to Nexrus. The human juked around Gor, who was starting due to Seiji taking more time to recover, and got the ball to Shaw. The Smugglers moved the ball though the midfield and into the half back line. Ponie’s mark cut to the inside drawing both her and Bestide toward the net leaving McCloud open for an attack down the center. The attack was stopped short by Mikia peeling off her Brousard to make the tackle and forcing a fumble. The game was turning into a brawl with both sides fighting for control. Geoff noticed a few penalties from both teams, which went unnoticed. The Smugglers got on the board first with a bar point from Lerouex. Gor tied the score after a few hard fought minutes. Possession changed back and forth it was the quick fast paced limmie that got the crowd on their feet.

The Scallywags chanted her name as Mikia put a hard hit on Brousard. It seemed the fans had taken a liking to the home town girl, and except for the first game against the Senators, her play had been exceptional for a lower ranked pick. Bestide picked up the fumble and moved the ball up the midfield. It found its way to Logan who was again rebuffed by Leed but, he wasn’t giving up. He fell back waiting for the pass. When it came the forward flew across the field to pick it off, and charged the net. The speed of his attack caught some defenders off guard. He faked a shot high then kicked to the low corner, scoring the first goal of the game. The second goal came soon after, Lerouex taking a pass from McCloud and getting a pick from Duchamp beating Qazi high. The clock was winding down and both teams wanted the lead at the end of the first half. McCloud made another high shot Geoff could see that Qazi wouldn’t be able to get enough of the ball to stop it. The goalie did the only thing he could, he knocked the shot above the bar robbing the Smugglers of a three point lead.

Geoff looked at his team in the locker room. Else was dealing with a bruise she probably got from Wiles. The Pirates were only down by one and the teams seemed evenly matched despite one team having far more experience than the other. Their styles of play were similar as well, both playing a more physical brand of limmie that could be in danger depending on any new safety rules proposed. Those thoughts didn’t matter right now all that mattered was getting ready for the second half. They could win this one, it was within their grasp. This was not like the last time these two teams faced each other, when the game was out of reach for the Pirates by the half. The home team was still in this, everyone could feel it they could beat the defending champs. Gor and Logan looked like they wanted to start right then and there. The coach had to commend them on their energy but, there was much left to do and the Pirates would need every bit of strength they had. Geoff kept silent; everyone knew what they had to do, be fast on offense, strong on defense.

The teams returned from the break and wasted no time. Leigh scored a goal off a mishandled rebound but the Smugglers fired back quickly. Bellweather broke from Brian and punched a beautiful cross pass from Duchamp past Qazi. After those quick strikes the defenses took center stage. The Pirates half back line stopping the charge before it could even start, and the Smugglers back line ending every drive with a hard hit or a good save. Vayan tied the score with a quick bar point from a bad angle bending it perfectly around the post. Gaby laid a hard hit on Windreaver knocking the ball loose. Leigh picked it up and started the attack. The area in front of Leed turned in to a mess of jerseys Pirate and Smuggler no one ever truly sure who had the ball until Rime sent a scorcher under the bar. The ‘All In’ at its finest. The coach looked at the clock, all the Pirates had to do was keep the Smugglers out of the net for a few more minutes and they would have the game.

Just when it seemed possible Boutros made a bad pass to Mikia that was picked off by Brousard. The half back made a leading pass to Lerouex that the forward knocked it in pass the goalie. The score was tied again and time was running out. Lerouex tried for another quick point charging toward the net Samia chased her mark to the goal but, got tripped up and tumbled to the ground her leg smacking hard against the goal post. Qazi managed to block the shot but, Samia didn’t get up. The ref blew the whistle to end regulation time and the Zabrak defender was still not on her feet. The medical staff rushed out to assist as her team mates stood around her. The stadium was quiet as Samia was carried off the field on a stretcher. The crowd applauded as she waved to them showing that she was ok.

Geoff went straight to the trainer’s office to check on his player. The news was not good,

“The leg’s broken.” The Selkath doctor said, “Her season is done. We’re transferring her to O’pahz General in a few minutes.” The coach stood next to the exam table. His player looked in pain but, a little sad as well.

“I’m sorry coach,” She said “I shouldn’t have gotten that close.”

“Hey this isn’t your fault, it was an accident ok.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “When you get out I’m sure the team will want to visit you.” Samia smiled a bit.

“I’d like that.” Back in the locker room everyone was tense. Boutros paced back and forth chewing on her nails. Jace looked a little nervous he was back on the line in a high pressure situation. This was the first time the team had ever gone into extra time. Everyone was a little on edge.

“Ok, Guys,” Geoff said getting their attention, “I’m not going to sugar coat it, Samia’s out for the season.” Everyone hung their heads. “But, we can still win this. We’re almost there just a few minutes more.” Logan nodded his head.

“Aye, Aye,” he said. The teams returned to the field once again, both hungry for the win. Else scored first with a bar point putting the Pirates into an early lead. The score remained unchanged until Brousard got some distance from Mikia and sent the ball over the bar. It became a mad dash to get the go ahead point before time ran out but, both defenses wouldn’t allow it. Boutros blocked a shot by Duchamp but the rebound was picked up by Bellweather. Brian had his mark covered for a goal but not a bar point. Geoff’s heart sank as the ball sailed through the uprights. There wasn’t much time left and the Pirates needed a goal.

Qazi passed to Boutros who moved it up the field then forwarded it to Mikia. The rookie shook off her marker and drove though the midfield before running into both Shaw and Windreaver. She made a pass over the heads of the two middies to Else. Else broke from Wlies and rushed the net with Leigh and Gor on either side. Ninety seconds were left on the clock as she passed to Rime. The Devaronian crossed lines with Logan leaving the full forward open in the corner. Rime twisted and sent the ball at head height to the Human. Time slowed to a crawl for those moments as the ball cut through the air, Leed followed it waiting for the shot, Logan brought his head back ready to oblige her. He redirected the ball to the far side of the net the goalie dove to the nearside. The stadium erupted into cheers and songs as the loudspeakers blared the sound of turbolasers firing, the Pirates version of the goal horn. The team staved off the Smuggler attack for a minute longer and the final whistle blew. That was it the Pirates had done it, they beat the defending champs in a game few expected them to win. Geoff looked to Rhodri who had been on the bench the whole game. The Klatooinian was on his feet cheering, congratulating Bestide who held strong in his position. In the handshake line Geoff remarked that this was more than a good game but a great game. With the handshakes done He called his family thankfully the noise had died down a bit so he could hear his wife on the other end.

“Hey babe,” he said “Feel like heading home or doing something?”

“I’d love to go somewhere with you” she answered “but, the girls should be going to bed soon.”

“Ok I’ll meet you out front.”

“You’re not going to party with the team?” Geoff chuckled a bit,

“No, I’ve made that mistake once already. I don’t plan on doing it again.”

“Thanks,”

“I don’t need for thanks. I’ve been a jerk the last few weeks.”

“Yes you have,” she added with a laugh “see you outside.”

“Alright, Love ya’ Babe.”

“Love you too.” He turned off his comm and moved toward the locker room then felt a large hand grip his shoulder.

“Coach,” Rhodri said, “you made the right choice keeping me out of the game. I could barely contain myself on the bench much less on the field.” He paused to release Geoff’s shoulder, “Just wanted you to know.” The coach smiled for once he felt like the team was going in the right direction but, he couldn’t let himself get too happy, it was just one game, of a long season.

TAG: Vehn

 

Consulted with Bardan_Jusik on this one.

IC: Christine Gamble
Senators Stadium

It was a cold morning on Coruscant when Christine made her way to the stadium for the afternoon tilt with the Mercs. The recent cold spell with biting winds and lack of moisture was going to make this a freezer bowl, the captain reasoned. She hated the cold; on Ord Sabaok, where she had grown up and gone to college, those had been the worst days. She had been on the losing side of a huge blowout one game where it felt frigid, and she had never forgotten it. And now she had to play in it again. This was a good reason why Hoth would never play Limmie outdoors. She doubted there were enough sentient souls on that rock to make a Limmie team, let alone build an entire indoor stadium. Who would they play in front of, anyways? Snowflakes? Yeah, she hated the cold.

During pre-game warmups, or at least stretching and trying not to freeze, Christine knew that this was going to be a hard day. Her joints felt tight, and it took much longer than normal to get them up to speed. Every time she stole a glance at goal, she could see Camille Montes cringe every time she tried to make a play. Obviously she wasn’t feeling it today, the cold likely hampering her cause.

In the locker room, which at least was temperature-controlled, it felt nice and toasty warm. Christine overheard the coaches discussing personnel moves to be made for the game. “Montes isn’t going,” Tama Wor, the Carosite trainer, said simply. “The cold has tightened up her joints.”

“But she looked fine in practice!” Peet Carelle said, obviously frustrated. Montes had participated in two days of practice, one on limited reps and the other on split reps. But she obviously hadn’t gotten up on the right side of the bed today.

“She says that it tightened up on her when she woke up this morning. We will have to keep her out to prevent any further energy,” the diminutive trainer explained.

“Frak,” was all Carelle said. Christine knew that this was going to change the complexion of the game; Montes being out meant that Sarah Connor would make her first career start in goal. She hadn’t done well in her prior stints there, and now to start against the Mercs, who could be explosive on offense, in the cold looked like a grim proposition.

That made four injuries on the season thus far. Max Qorbus, the Nautolan corner forward, was out for the season with his injury, having just had surgery a day earlier to clean up the issue. Now it was on to rehab for him. Leia Adama, the second-year full forward, was going to miss this game with an injury. Levi Corner was still recovering from his broken elbow suffered in the Week One win over Carratos, so he wouldn’t be available either. Now Montes was on the list, likely with “stiffness” as her reason for not suiting up. Sometimes the most ambiguous reasons given were the worst ones to try and understand.

When the coaches came into the main locker room, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Coach Carelle. “Montes isn’t going today,” he said. This brought some groans from the players; that was yet another injury they had to deal with. When the injury bug struck the Senators, it was relentless. This happened all the time with the team, and yet no other team ever had those kinds of issues. Christine didn’t believe in any sorts of higher powers, but it certainly felt like her team had a curse on it every few years like this where half the team got injured and the locker room looked like a M.A. S.H. unit.

“So we need you to go today, Connor,” the head coach said, staring directly at the rookie goaltender and FLEX Back. She could only nod, because now she was under tremendous pressure to produce. It wasn’t a good position to be in by any means. “That means we’re down three starters today. But the Mercs aren’t going to take it easy on us because we’re missing a few players. They will play to win anyways, and likely will feel overconfident that they can whip us because we’re missing our top two scorers. So we need to make them pay. We have to find production in that offense of ours. Amasova, Killenger and Morlan will have to carry us today from the 3, 4, and 5, and Pin, you need to get in on the offense as well. Use your size to barrel in on the smaller Mercs defenders. I know Karl’son has size, so work on that rookie if you can. Cellen,” he said, now looking at the second-year pro and utility forward who would start for Qorbus today, “we need you to not look like a bench player. This is your start today. Run with it.”

When the team hit the field, Christine knew exactly why she hated the cold. The wind whistled down the team tunnel and made her cold before her cleats even hit the turf. Now they would have two opponents, the Mercs and the wind. Lovely.

Christine lined up at her usual corner position. She and Kara Milovy would have their hands full today as usual, and Patti Meter once more had Jeem Daryc. They knew they couldn’t let the man dominate them once again; he was a one-man wrecking crew every game these two teams played, and for some reason they couldn’t stop him. So if Meter struggled again, Christine understood that it was her role to come over and stop the man with a double team. Deluxx could probably handle Vera Langdon and Johnny Clipboard, as she had heard him called in the local media, so she could likely cover Daryc and not leave the flank exposed too badly.

The game started, and it instantly went wrong. Connor got faked out by Daryc, who burned Patti on a double move and scored a quick goal. It wasn’t a good start by the rookie goaltender, who smacked her gloves together in frustration. There would be no FLEX Back use today with Connor in goal, so gimmick defenses were out of play now. It was time to go old-school and smash the Mercs in the mouth with physical defense.

The score continued to go in the Mercs’ favor. Langdon was having her way with Deluxx, and her backup, Zovort, wasn’t doing any better at containing the rookie. Christine was doing OK in her matchup, but it was far from her usual shutdown status. Meter was being absolutely torched by Daryc; it was almost as if he had threatened to kill her before the game if she decided to play him on defense, it was so bad. There was absolutely no ball control there from the half back, because she was never in the right position. Finally, Rosa Berant got Coach Carelle to pull the frazzled former first overall pick from the game, and in came Jamee Meels, to try and beat Daryc up a little bit if he tried to make a move. They sacrificed speed, yes, but physicality would have to wear the star forward down.

Finally the Senators got on the board with a Becki Morlan goal. On a nice crossing route from the natural pick play, the Hapan newcomer caught a good feed from Vail Pin on the blocks and punched it home for three points. It was a good play, yes, but it seemed like only one decent play in a sea of messiness. The Senator offense was failing to find traction.

Meanwhile, the defense was still playing horribly. Now down 15-3, Christine bumped Fu Arock. The ball dropped out of his hands, and a scrum for the ball ensued. Christine couldn’t quite get it before Arock did, and he tossed it back to Daryc. The forward threw the ball at the bar, since Sarah Connor was out of position in goal. The ball ended up getting tipped by Jenna Leed, who dove for it, and it popped up slowly into the air. Both Connor and Langdon jumped up in the air to grab the loose ball, Connor likely thinking more like a defender rather than the last line of defense for the goal. Langdon was able to tip the ball away from Connor’s hands, denying the rookie the opportunity for another spectacular grab. The ball went back to Daryc, who was right there to catch it. But Connor landed on her elbow and stayed down, long enough for Daryc to chuck the ball into the net for three more points.

Connor screamed out in pain as she lay there on the field, clutching her arm with her good hand. Writhing on the ground in the cold was no fun; even in warmer climes being injured was a hellacious experience. The officials stopped the game because the goaltender couldn’t kick the ball out to restart things, and the training staff came out to check on Connor. She was on the ground for a while before they were able to get her up, and when they did, Connor was favoring her elbow, holding it out in front of her. The wincing she made when they tried to move her arm even the slightest hinted at a bone bruise, at the very least, in that elbow. Given the severity of the injury, though, it could easily be a broken elbow, Christine knew. Levi Corner was still recovering from one of those, and now another player potentially had the same issue from landing on the ground wrong.

As Connor left the field, the crowd was deathly silent. They knew that Montes wasn’t available in this game, and now Connor was leaving the field. Who would play goaltender now? Christine looked over to the sideline; Coach Carelle was waving her over. She went to talk to him.

“It’s up to you, Gamble,” he said.

“We aren’t going to win this game, Coach. I can’t stop these guys,” Christine said.

“Let’s just try and get out of this game without any more injuries,” Carelle replied. “Do what you can; no one can blame you for doing badly if you don’t play well. You’re not a goaltender, Gamble. We all know that. But play for broke, because you have nothing to lose at this point.”

“Roger that,” Christine said. Kero Imboll, her positional coach, tossed her the pair of goalie gloves that was kept in a storage trunk for games, and Christine put them on. Then she ran back out onto the field, but instead of standing near Arock, now she was going towards the goal. This brought a jolt into the fans; they couldn’t believe that their captain was going to fill in for Connor in goal. They had to admire her guts, mostly because none of them knew she had been taking reps in goal in practices ever since training camp. She had some experience against her teammates and ball machines, but never in a real game against a real opponent. This would likely be the most challenging thing in her career, she thought as she settled in.

Things seemed different back there. She could see the whole defense arrayed out in front of her, all of her defensive teammates, all of the Mercs forwards. Now she was the last line of defense, with no additional help from behind. It was all on her shoulders now. So this is what it felt like to be a goaltender. She wondered what legendary goalies would have to say to her at this very moment. What would Meredith Chambers-Vayne say? What was there to say other than to not completely screw it up or get hurt? Frankly, Coach was right; she had nothing to lose at this point. The game was going in the tank once again, something Christine saw all too often, and she was the last line of defense. It was against the rival Mercs. And it was cold. Everything seemed to be working against her now.

She felt shocked to feel the tug of her jersey and the referee hand her the ball. Christine gave the man a “What do you want me to do with this?” look, and he silently motioned to the ball with his head. The corner back picked it up and examined the ball a little bit.

“Just kick it in bounds, Gamble, or we’ll hit you with a delay of game penalty,” the man finally growled.

“Hey, it’s my first time. Lay off,” Christine said. She dropped the ball and prepared to kick it, but she obviously swung at the wrong time and completely shanked the kick. The ball skittered on the ground and was quickly picked up by a Mercs forward. It didn’t take long before Arock beat Vex Blooker, Christine’s replacement at right corner, and found Johnny Clipboard himself too close for comfort for Christine. The controversial forward, a teammate of now-injured Sarah Connor at Taanab A&M, beat Deluxx at the corner and put in an easy goal as Christine tried to find her angle. The crowd groaned, but Christine couldn’t really do anything about that play. They said she was the emergency goalie; she wasn’t meant to be any good at this, at least not without any prior game experience.

“You OK?” Kara yelled from her left corner spot as Christine went to retrieve the ball.

“Hell no,” Christine said as she sent off a much better kick. “I’m just trying to make sure we still have a body in goal at the end of this frakking game.”

At halftime, the game was already over. There was no fight in the Senator offense (it was so bad that things were downright offensive), the midfielders looked more comfortable indoors than out in the cold, and the defense that was supposedly in front of Christine had decided to make a poorly-timed disappearing act. Everything was a mess, especially since Christine was stuck in goal now. Coach Carelle told his team to play like they had nothing to lose, but if it would make much difference on the scoreboard, Christine knew it wouldn’t. It was one thing to say to play hard until the whistle, but it was another thing to actually do so.

And when things got bad, they quickly got even worse. And when you were the Coruscant Senators, apparently ‘worse’ was never bad enough. They always sank to new depths of pathetic play. Deluxx finally got Lieznam to cough up the ball, and it came out onto the turf. Christine’s defender instincts shot into her mind, and she dove for the ball. Deluxx and Lieznam both jumped for it as well, and the three of them landed in a heap, one of them punching the ball out of bounds. It was miraculous that a Mercs forward didn’t find the ball and punch in another three points against an empty net.

The problem was that Deluxx had rolled up on Christine’s leg. The training camp injury that had dogged her for half of the entire camp suddenly burst back on her, and pain seared up her leg. When the Weequay got up, as well as Lieznam, Christine slowly got to her feet. She tried not to let on that she was on one good leg, because her team needed her. But it was easy to tell that she wasn’t feeling right.

She hobbled around the goal box a little bit, trying to shake off the pain. When the trainers wanted to come look at her, she waved them off before they could get anywhere near her. The game was going to hell, it was another loss to the Mercs, and it was freaking cold, but she would stay vigilant, like a good sentry would. Her team needed her, one good leg and all.

On the next Mercs possession, Christine tried to prowl the goal box. She had to make a stop, something, anything, to at least let the fans know that she was trying. Her chance came when Lieznam chucked up a long shot after being stopped by Zovort. The corner back jumped and was able to tip the ball, but it went over the bar for another point. And the landing from the jump felt awkward. More hobbling came, and Christine had to kick with her bad leg. It wasn’t a long kick, and it hurt like hell. Sharsy Wenips was buried under a pile of three Mercs players and lost the ball, and quickly the visitors were back on the attack. Daryc got the ball and the position on Jenna Leed, and cut past Vex Blooker for a shot. It was he and Christine now, two All-Stars, two All-Pros, facing off in a way that no one would have thought could ever occur before this game. Daryc let off a shot, and Christine traced it. It was going high and left. She couldn’t get as much jump as she wanted to, because the pain didn’t let her, but she made enough of a leap to catch the ball in midair. She came down with the ball in her hands, and what was left of the pro-Senator crowd cheered for their emergency goaltender. She may have been out of position, she may have been hurting, but she stopped Jeem Daryc cold. Not many keepers could say that.

But it was her only real highlight. She had two saves later on in the half, and was now seeing both teams empty their benches as the game kept getting more lopsided. For some reason Langdon was still in there, obviously the full forward platoon still clicking for the Mercs despite the easy victory here. A pass for Langdon was overthrown, and the ball bounced on the hard ground but didn’t go out of bounds. Both the rookie and out-of-position goalkeeper lunged for the ball. Christine got a finger on the ball, but Langdon landed on the back of her leg. Immediately Christine knew that it was over. Langdon scurried to grab the ball, and Christine tried to get up on her feet. But the muscles screamed out that she couldn’t, and she only got one leg up before the other caved in. She sank to a knee and grit her teeth in pain. Vex Blooker saved her hide and wrapped Langdon up with a form tackle, stopping her from taking another shot on goal. The two fought it out for possession before Blooker ripped it away from the rookie’s grasp.

But by then the referees stopped play, and awarded possession to the Mercs since they had it last when the play should have been blown dead. The training staff was out in full force now, all hands on deck to tend to the team captain. The stadium once again fell deathly silent; the fans who remained had seen this before. The scene of Christine laying on the field at Bankers Mansion on Ralltiir came to mind, the dying hopes of that season extinguished with her injury. Now she was on the turf again.

And she couldn’t contain herself. “I can do it!” she exclaimed to Tama Wor and to Coach Carelle. “I can play!”

“No you can’t,” Tama said. “We can’t let you be out for the whole season.”

“Dammit, Gamble, come to your senses!” Carelle yelled at his star corner. “Don’t you understand that this game is lost? There’s no use in getting hurt anymore. Pull her.”

And Christine Gamble cried.

All of the fans who were watching the jumbo screens could now see the captain, the All-Star, the All-Pro, the Salbukk nominee, cry as she was helped off the field. They couldn’t believe their terrible luck; now the emergency goalie was out of this one. Who would step up now? But they clapped and cheered for Christine as she left the field; her hustle and gumption to step in for Connor, even though she didn’t do well, was enough for earn the ovation.

She collapsed onto the bench and the trainers worked on her leg for the rest of the game. Lomgat Vu replaced her in goal, yet another defender who didn't have any game experience in goal. It was impossible to go through the handshake line since it was hard enough to get her off the field, so it was straight back to the locker room. As she went, a few fans lowered their hands over the rails, waiting for a high-five. “You’ll whip those Mercs next time, right?” asked a young kid who had his hand extended to her.

“Yeah,” Christine said as she slapped the kid’s hand with her palm.


At least they didn’t hate me she thought. After the thorough whipping they had just received, one small glimmer of hope was all she could cling to. Because things were tanking fast on the Galactic Capital, and Christine could only wonder how this team would look at the end of the season. Right now, things couldn’t get any worse.

TAG: Already given

 

Ty Allin’s Condo 271

​

Playing Limmie for the Starkillers in the GSLA was the best gig a guy could have. We had won three straight games and there was always a beautiful woman willing to come back to my place and share my bed. When I woke up that morning I began to wish I had taken some of Trey’s advice. He had suggested more than once that I take it easy with the drinking and my habits with women. This morning’s headache was not going away easily and the woman I had brought home was still sound asleep in my bed. Meanwhile I had to be at practice is less than an hour.

I gave up on easing the pain in my head with caf and took some painkillers. I needed to wake the girl I had invited over last night and get her out of my condo before I was late for practice. There was just one problem. I couldn’t remember her name. I seemed to recall it began with an A. Amanda, Angela, Anna, Amy, would it be so wrong to dig through her purse to find her identification? I was desperate so I did just that. Alexia her name was Alexia.

Carefully I returned her belongings to her purse, placed it back on the nightstand where I had found it and began to gently shake her shoulder. “Alexia,” I said quietly. “You need to get up now. I have to leave for practice.”

“You go,” she said still half asleep. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Uh, oh. Had I somehow forgotten the code before bringing this woman home? I didn’t want any part of a serious relationship at this point in my life. Before I brought a woman home I always made it a point to make sure she understood that. It was possible if I had too much to drink before I decided to bring this woman up here that maybe I had forgotten. “This is my place,” I explained. “You should get home so no one gets too worried about you.” I added hoping that there was someone to worry.

“I can send a text to my mother. She won’t miss me for several hours anyway. Did you want me to fix you breakfast before you go?” Alexia asked sitting up in bed.

No. I didn’t want her to make me breakfast. I wanted her to get out. I wanted her out so I could leave and get to practice. “I already ate,” I said. “Alexia, sweetheart, I’m sorry if I led you to believe this was any more than a one night thing.” I was using the gentlest tone I could. My father had always treated my mother like poodoo. I had vowed to be the opposite of my father.

“I know that’s what you said last night,” she paused and looked at me with pleading eyes. “I was hoping maybe you had changed your mind.”

I was at least relieved to hear I had been up front with her before I brought her up here. “I’m afraid not. I have to get going, do you need me help you with anything before you go?”

“Aren’t you going to at least let me use your fresher first? I can’t possibly go out looking like this.”

It was the least I could do. I departed from the bedroom and took a seat in the living room. I browsed the news feed on my data pad until she finally came out. “Now let me make you breakfast,” she said when she finally finished getting dressed and made her next appearance.

“I already told you I ate breakfast. Alexia I need to get to practice. Let me walk you downstairs.”

“You’re serious. We share a nice evening together and now you’re just going to leave me on the curb. No possibility I will ever see you again?” She began to tear up.

The pounding in my head had subsided but now it was getting worse again. “Alexia, I’m sorry,” I began even though I really had no idea what I was apologizing for. “This isn’t going to work out. I have a commitment to the team right now as a Limmie player and I travel off-world often. I’d be a terrible boyfriend.”

“Oh so you can commit yourself to a stupid sport, but you can’t commit to a second date? You are a scumbag, Ty Allin.” She yelled out as she stomped towards the door. Dramatically she slammed it behind her on her way out. I didn’t care. I was just happy that she had finally left. There was still a little hope I could manage to be on time for practice.

I gave her just enough time to get on the turbo lift before I left my condo. Once I was out of the parking garage I began to weave my way through traffic. I was enjoying the challenge of the sharp turns at high speeds when I noticed a flashing light in my rear view mirror. I was going to be late for practice if I stopped, but outrunning law enforcement wasn’t much of an option. The law on Ralltiir was no joke. They probably had photos of my speeder and the plates already circulating in case I did try to flee. Reluctantly I pulled off to the side and landed in the safest spot I could find.

“Oh, it’s you.” The officer said when he looked into my speeder. “Goddamn Limmie player. Think your hot stuff. Think you don’t have to obey the law. Well you thought wrong,” he typed something into his data pad and a ticket printed. He handed it to me.

I didn’t bother to look him in the eye. Nor did I pay much mind to the ticket as I placed it in the passenger seat next to me. Anger was boiling inside me. What gave him the right to speak to me in such a manner? I didn’t want trouble with the law. I had had that once in my life and once had been enough for me. “Can I go now?” I asked.

“You can go,” the officer replied. Relieved I lifted my speeder back into traffic and cautiously made the rest of my way to the stadium.

Coach Foress didn’t have many words for me when I finally arrived at practice. He had me join the defense for drills and called me into his office while the other players were dismissed for lunch several hours later. I told him I overslept and then got a ticket on my way to the stadium. He seemed amused by the story. Overall he was sympathetic and only assigned a few extra drills as punishment.

Trey Till on the other hand had a lot to say about the incident. “I’m not helping you buy groceries when you run short on funds again,” he warned me.

“Run short on funds?” I asked.

“If you couldn’t afford to get your speeder out of an impound lot I highly doubt you’re going to be able to afford a traffic ticket. Was it just for speeding or reckless flying?”

I shrugged. I hadn’t even bothered to look at the ticket. “How can my first offense be more than $100.00?” I asked.

“Because it sounds like you got a hard ass cop who doesn’t like Limmie players. That’s how.” Trey informed me. “I wanted to help you Ty. I wanted to see you succeed in this league and possibly even the ELL. You have more talent than anyone else on this defense, yet you chose to screw around off field. That could cost you one day,” he warned.

“You have helped me,” I told him. “You’ve been a good friend. I’m sorry if I let you down. Don’t worry about the credits. I’ll find enough to get by. When I was growing up we sometimes went to soup kitchens for meals.”

Trey laughed. “No soup kitchen is going to serve you. Your salary is 10 times the maximum amount of a citizen they’d be qualified to serve. I hope you figure something out, I really do. Just make sure you’re ready to play this weekend. The team needs you.”

Trey turned and left. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to ask if he needed me, I wanted to tell him that I needed him. It was too late for that. I feared I had just lost the only friend I had.

Financial Square Arena Starkillers Vs Storm

At halftime we had a 32-0 lead. With 5 goals and a bar point Andres had been the lead scorer for our squad. Sureysh had 2 goals and 4 bar points, Lightcin had a goal, Frokabukk contributed with 2 bar points and McTodd a single bar point. Ellie and Allen Knott had been dominant at midfield from the start. Playing defense had been a pleasure. It may have looked easy to the average viewer at home, but the Storm players were determined to score on us. I had to run just as fast and tackle just as hard as every other ELL game I had played in since my career began.

When we got to the locker room Trey said something surprising. He asked us to back down. “The team we are facing today does not consist of handpicked first class athletes that are on the other teams we will be facing this season. I’m not asking you to let them score on us. We can play for the shutout. I know that’s important to you,” he said turning to Kaat. “I would appreciate it if you practiced your passing and extended our possession times offensively. There’s no need to build the lead more than we already have.”

Trey allowed Kaat to stay in for the entire game so she could earn her first shutout in the ELL. I played a handful of minutes at fullback before turning over the position to Noah Till. Noah owned the position. Jeffers and Zire played the corners for most of the second half. Meanwhile on offense rookies Nikkola and Alec took advantage of their first opportunities to get playing time this season.

When the game ended Spencer Vigo’s voice projected over the announcer system as we shook hands with the Storm players. “Ralltiir would like to thank the Euceron fans who joined us today and wish them safe travels on their return trip to Euceron. We wish the Storm the best as the season unfolds.” Starkiller fans were mostly on their feet heading towards the exits when the announcement began. By the time it ended they had all paused. They cheered as blue and white letters lit up the jumbo screens “ELL Fans Unite: Ralltiir Wishes Peace On Euceron.”

The week began as any week during the season. We started preparing for our match up against the Pirates. It was going to be a true test for our team. The Pirates had won two consecutive games to strong teams. This week I didn’t have to ask or beg Trey to play in the game. He wanted to play. He worked with the offense a few hours each morning while I managed the defensive unit. In the afternoons Trey put on his practice uniform and joined us.

A day before we were to leave for Carratos I received a call early in the morning from Trey. “Did you see the newsfeed?” He asked me, his voice laced with irritation.

“I just got up,” I answered. “Haven’t checked it yet.”

“Jeffers was arrested last night. He was attempting to shoplift cologne and underwear from a discount warehouse store.”

“Trey do you really expect me to believe that one of my teammates would do something so stupid. I knew you would try to pull a prank on me one day, but you’re going to have to find a better story than this,” I said.

“I wish this was a prank call Ty. Pull up your newsfeed,” he instructed.

Still convinced this was prank I called across the room to Lucie. “Any Starkillers in the news this morning?” I asked her.

“Unfortunately yes, Lou Jeffers was arrested for shoplifting.” Lucie replied.

I wondered briefly if Lucie was in on the prank against me. Then I switched over to my own newsfeed. The story was on virtually every major news and sports site. “What are you going to do?” I asked after I turned my attention back to Trey.

“Well he won’t be playing this week. That means more minutes for you, Noah and Zire.” Trey paused. “Ty, I need you to do me a favor. Go to the main law enforcement station downtown and give Jeffers a ride home. I’m afraid walking in that station will bring back too many memories,” he explained.

“Sure,” I agreed. After making myself a protein shake and grabbing a warm breakfast roll from the oven I made my way to the station. I found Jeffers in a holding cell. “Did you really steal underwear from a discount warehouse?” I asked when they let me back to see him. “Or is this just some elaborate prank? You can tell me if it’s a prank,” I encouraged.

“I wish it was a prank,” Jeffers explained. “I went out to pick up the items after practice last night. When I was approaching the cashier I realized I had left my data pad and cred cards in my speeder. I didn’t want to be bothered with placing the items aside and possibly having to go back and pick them out again,” Lou paused. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. The items are barely worth 20 credits combined. One minute I was walking out to my speeder then next minute my face hit the pavement and my hands were being cuffed behind my back. You have to get me out of here Ty. I haven’t slept and there’s a guard who watches me when I pee.”

“Will you pay me back the $5,000.00 if I bail you out?” I asked.

“Anything.”

I bailed Jeffers out and brought him to the stadium. I left him in Trey’s office while the rest of us gathered for practice. We did our best to block out our concerns for Jeffers and work on strategies to beat the Pirates. I saw Trey run out and call plays from the sidelines to the offense. That afternoon he worked with us on defense as usual. His brief announcement that Jeffers would not be playing or traveling with the team this week was his only mention of the incident.

I got home to find T.J. proudly holding a bottle of Dr. Zing. The fizz had been my favorite before I did the commercial so I kept at least a case in the pantry at all times. “Give that back,” I heard Lucie say sternly.

“No fizz before dinner,” I reminded T.J. “Give that back to your mother.”

“No!” T.J. hugged the bottle tightly to his chest, “Mine.”

“It’s not yours,” I explained. “That’s daddy’s fizz. I will share with you after dinner if you give it back to your mother like she asked.”

A grin appeared on T.J.’s face. It was the smile that he displayed when he thought he was getting away with something. He turned and ran away from me still clutching the bottle of fizz to his chest. Unfortunately for him his father was a professional athlete. T.J. was headed up the stairs. I quickly took a few steps forward, reached out and grabbed him. I snatched the fizz out of his hands and placed the bottle on the counter. Then without really putting much thought into it I pulled his pants down and gave him a solid smack on the bare bottom. He screamed and tears instantly began to stream down his face. I deposited him in the chair Lucie kept in a corner of the living room. We sent him there when he stepped out of line. “That’s what happens when you disobey daddy,” I told him forcefully.

I turned to see Lucie standing with her hand over her mouth. T.J.’s screams continued to pick up in volume. Sensing that Lucie didn’t approve of what I had done, I quickly went to comfort her. “He has to learn,” I explained.

“You hit him,” she said accusingly. I tried to put my arm around her, but she backed away. She stormed up the stairs and into our bedroom. Leaving me alone to listen to T.J.’s screams. I stood my ground and let him pout.

Once 10 minutes had passed I approached. “Are you going to listen to daddy now?” I asked him. He nodded. “Let’s eat dinner,” I offered.

“Where’s mommy?” He asked as we sat down to eat.

“Mommy is tired, she went to bed.” I explained. After we ate I took T.J. upstairs. I helped him with his bath and tucked him into his own bed. “You behaved badly today,” I reminded him. “Daddy had to punish you. I don’t like punishing you, but if you don’t obey the rules that’s what happens. Do you understand?”

“Mean daddy,” T.J. responded.

“No,” I responded a little defensively. “You were acting like a brat. Learn to listen,” I ordered sternly. “And don’t back talk me.”

“Mean daddy,” T.J. repeated.

I didn’t want to argue. “You want me to read you a story before bed,” I asked changing the subject. He relented. After I tucked him in I peeked into my own bedroom. Lucie sat on the bed cross legged with her data pad in front of her. “Can I come in?” I asked from the doorway.

“It’s your room too,” she said without looking up.

“Luce, I’m sorry if spanking T.J. upset you. His behavior since we introduced sitting out hasn’t gotten any better. I had to do something,” I offered. “He runs all over us. Did you see the grin on his face when he disobeyed me?”

“You need to discuss these decisions with me.”

“It wasn’t a planned decision,” I explained.

“Well in the future it needs to be. I don’t want to use physical punishment,” she said forcefully.

I apologized again. That night we slept on opposite sides of the bed. In the morning we went over to visit with Lucie’s mother and her brother’s before we left for Carratos. Trey was standing in the front lawn with his arms crossed over his chest when we got there. “Morning,” I greeted. “What are you doing out here?”

Trey motioned his head to the far side of the property. “Supervising,” he answered. Spencer was turning the corner of perimeter at a full speed sprint. Tomas was right on his heels. They continued running across the front lawn and turned towards the back. I waved as they passed. Spencer concentrated on staying a step ahead of his brother and Tomas tried relentlessly to pass him. Neither waved back. Meanwhile Lucie walked by us, giving me an obvious cold shoulder. “Trouble in paradise?” Trey asked.

“Lucie is mad because I gave T.J. a swat yesterday. He’s been willfully disobeying a lot recently and it seemed like a good way to get my point across. He sat in his chair as he was told for the entire 10 minute duration after I did it too,” I explained.

Just then Spencer rounded the corner again. Tomas was several paces behind him now. “Remember,” Trey called out. “Loser does the dishes, by hand. You want to play professional Limmie you’re going to have to run faster than that anyway Tomas.” Trey turned my way. “They were sassing their mother. I learned last week that if I sent them out here to run laps and I didn’t supervise they walked them. So I made a little competition out of it,” Trey grinned mischievously.

“Too bad T.J. isn’t old enough to run laps and too bad I don’t have a yard he can run them in.” I commented.

“Making him sit is probably a decent idea at his age. You probably just aren’t enforcing it properly,” he told me. “When he gets out of the chair what do you usually do?”

“Tell him to go back,” I answered. “He spends most of the time he should be sitting in the chair being told to get back in it.”

“See that’s your problem right there. You need to set a timer and add minutes every time he gets up.”

It was good advice, “Since when did you know anything about parenting?” I asked him.

“Since I became a Limmie coach. Became the parent of 15 and 30 back-up children all at once. I had to learn quick.”

Just then Spencer ran up beside us. “That’s 5 laps, I win.”

“Go apologize to your mother,” Trey ordered. “And help your brother with the dishes anyway, no droids.”

Spencer’s face fell but he didn’t argue, “Yes, coach.”

Tomas followed his brother inside still panting. “Madelyne was making a real nice breakfast when I came out here. What do you say we go eat?” Trey offered.

If it was time to eat he didn’t need to ask me twice. I followed my best friend, mentor, teammate and coach into the house.


Tags: jcgoble3 galactic-vagabond422 Trieste (in case the league has any comments about Jeffers arrest)

 

IC: Aebatt Zargana
Location: Financial Square Arena, Cambrielle, Ralltiir
Time: Week 3 game at Ralltiir Starkillers, second half

Aebatt watched as Nikkola lofted a shot over the bar to make the score 38 to nothing, ending a Starkiller possession that had lasted nearly four minutes. She knew that these long possessions were the Starkillers' way of not running up the score, but privately Aebatt wished that they would just play normally, score be damned. Her players weren't getting any useful experience, which they desperately needed, from this type of play, and a couple of players had quietly expressed to her that the prolonged games of keep-away were more embarrassing than a 60–0 score would be, which Aebatt agreed with. She'd have to think about the best and most tactful way to express these thoughts.

For now, though, she had to resign herself to running out the clock. She made occasional substitutions as time ticked away, and eventually, the horn finally sounded, the final score being forty to nothing. As she went through the handshake line, the repeated words of “good game” from the Ralltiir players felt hollow to her after just being on the losing end of a massive shutout, possibly even a record shutout. She had no interest in looking up whether it was indeed a record, but she knew that sportswriters and sportscasters everywhere were looking it up now and would know by the time she got back to the locker room. Nevertheless, she forced a smile and gave a genuine “good game” back to every player. At the end of the line, she shook hands with Starkiller head coach Trey Till, but kept her thoughts on the second half to herself; now was not the time or place for that discussion.

As she walked away from Trey, she listened to an announcement thanking the Storm fans who had traveled to the game courtesy of the Vigo family. Despite the fact that those fans had just watched the team that invited them crush their team on the field of play, the five hundred thousand Storm fans present rose in unison and gave a standing ovation. Aebatt realized that to them, an opportunity to watch their team play during an all-road season was just that: an opportunity to watch their team play, and they were simply happy to see the game in person no matter the result. They did not have Aebatt's problem of trying to take this band of misfits and mold them into a squad capable of scoring points regularly, never mind win a game or two here and there. These thoughts circled through Aebatt's head as she made her way to the locker room, and she realized that perhaps she could learn a lesson from those fans.

The team went through the motions in the locker room and the post-game press conference, until a reporter asked Aebatt about the play in the second half. Specifically, the question was, “Throughout the second half, the Starkillers played more for possession rather than points. What's your opinion of this? Were you happy that they were avoiding running up the score, or would you have preferred them to play normally at the expense of a bigger blowout?”

Aebatt mentally cursed. She had hoped to avoid this issue until she could send a private communication to Starkiller management later in the week. Instead, it would have to be addressed here. She took a deep breath before replying. “Well, first and foremost, I appreciate the fact that they did not want to run up the score as well as the sportsmanship that that shows. That's the most important thing here. But in terms of what I would have preferred? I would have preferred that they play normally, even if that means a higher score. What they were doing out there was essentially a glorified game of keep-away. My players need game experience, and they can't get much useful limmie experience from a game of keep-away. I also had it expressed to me by one of my players—I won't say who—that the keep-away game was more embarrassing than a sixty to zero score would have been. And having seen the whole thing from the sideline, I would tend to agree with that. Now—”

“So are you saying that you're upset with the way they played?”

“No, no, not at all. Don't get me wrong here, I think they showed excellent sportsmanship in not running up the score, and they did what the book, so to speak, dictates for a blowout like that. I can't fault them at all for doing what they did. I just think that that book wasn't written for two teams with an experience and skill level gap of the magnitude that we are facing every week. That's certainly not the Starkillers' fault, though.”

“So this this scenario repeats itself later in the season, what would your preference be?”

“That whoever we're playing continues to play normally. I absolutely don't mind things like putting in backups and scrubs who rarely get a chance to play. Just keep playing limmie. Even if that means the score ends up higher than it otherwise would be. My players get valuable experience, and so do your backups and benchwarmers. Win-win.”

Thankfully, the reporters moved on to other questions, and Aebatt relaxed a little as she answered them. One reporter asked if she was concerned about the possibility of another attack by Rosty Bassell; she replied that the information provided by the Jedi indicated that Bassell had achieved his goal with the destruction of Euceron Stadium, and thus she did not feel another attack was likely. She added that the Jedi were hunting him down, and as she spoke those words, she wondered how that hunt was going...

* * *

IC: Jado Nalo
Location: ?????, Unknown Regions
Time: Concurrent with Aebatt's post-game press conference

Jado watched as the Masters studied the sensor readings and images. They were back at the same unnamed planet where, according to one of the Masters, Palla and Zay had been attacked and left stranded in 276, then returned to the planet with additional Jedi, but failed to find any sign of Bassell. Following investigation into Rosty's latest escape back on Euceron, all of the evidence pointed back to this planet, and so the Jedi had returned, this time with nearly sixty Jedi.

“Jado, does this look familiar to you?”

The young Padawan snapped back to the here and now as his Master spoke his name. Following the death of Zay Antilles—Jado pushed away the memory of Zay's decapitated head staring back at him—the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Kash Skywalker, himself had volunteered to take over Jado's apprenticeship. Kash had a different style of teaching, as befitted his position; he was far more reserved than Zay had been, and less tolerant of flaws. It had taken Jado some time to adjust, but after a few months, he had begun to feel that Kash was a better fit for him than Zay had been.

Jado walked over to his Master's side and studied the image Kash was pointing at. The aerial shot depicted a large fortress, armed to the teeth, solid black and unadorned save a single drawing in white on the north side of the main tower. It was this drawing that Kash was pointing at, and Jado recognized it instantly. “That is the logo of Rosty Bassell,” he declared with confidence.

“That's what we had thought,” Kash said. “We need to figure out how to attack it. I don't think we have enough manpower here to assault that thing, nor do I think that a small, quiet infiltration will work. I fear we're going to have to come back with hundreds of Jedi and make a full frontal assault.”

Jado shivered at this thought as he stared at the image of the fortress. A full frontal assault would incur high casualties, but was there another option? It did not appear to Jado that there was, but it was not his job to make the plans. Kash and the Masters would make the plan, and Jado knew that they would look for the best option, going for the frontal assault as a last resort.

Kash ordered two ships to stay in the area to keep an eye on the planet, and then gave the order for all other ships to jump out. As they entered hyperspace, Jado wondered how Palla and Zay had missed this fortress three years ago, but it didn't matter; the Bassells were here, and the Jedi would be back.

TAG: Runjedirun (for last Sunday's game)

 

Power Rankings:​

1. Agamar Packers – Somehow they defeated the Miners at the Gardens. Obviously the Packers are a good team, because that task is almost impossible these days. They seem to be rolling along right now.

2. Carratos Pirates – What a difference two weeks makes. Obviously it’s too early to determine anything about how good this team really is, but being almost the top dog in these Rankings two weeks after being at the bottom is certainly an achievement. Now they have to fight to stay here; not always an easy task.

3. Mando’ade Mercs – Nothing like smashing a rival on the road to take yet another victory in the series. We’d say that the Senators have a good excuse for losing so badly, but then again, they’re the Senators. We should expect terrible play from them every time they take the field. As for the Mercs, it’s the kind of game they need for validation of their game. Now they have to avoid a major letdown when the Smugglers come to play this next week.

4. Bakura Miners – A head-scratching loss at home to Agamar isn’t an easy thing to swallow. Fortunately for the Miners, they’ll win this next week. In fact, we guarantee it. They don’t own the league for nothing!

5. Ylesia Lightning – Were shut out by a weak Hapes team this week, but still have a fighting chance to make waves this year. After all, they’re still on top in the Solo.

6. Ralltiir Starkillers – In the exact same boat as the Mercs, but the biggest difference here is that the Senators actually have a pulse. Not much, but more than the Storm and their street free agents team do. Other than that, the Starkillers look good on offense; this was the team we were expecting to see this year.

7. Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – Finally notched a win this week, shutting out Ylesia in the process. That’s what we expect to see from this team, especially since they were coming off a whipping by Bakura.

8. Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Hm, not exactly what the Monarchs were expecting. But when you invest too heavily in one player, and they’re gone, then you typically suck afterwards. Ozzie looks less like a Salbukk winner and more like an average ELL goalie. Not good.


9. Denon Demons – What, they finally won a game? And they beat Ozzie to do it? Somehow both of those facts are miracles in themselves. Oh wait, a win in this league is almost to be expected at some point? Guess the 277 Senators forgot the memo!

10. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – Carratos is hot right now, but the Smugglers aren’t doing well either. Given that they’re coming off a title, they should be doing better. Then again, they are long overdue for a bad season. We, and most of the league, are hoping that the latter is true.

11. Coruscant Senators – This team is terrible in more ways than one. Say what you want about injuries; if you can’t overcome them, you don’t belong in this league. And they’re finding it out the hard way. Welcome to the cellar!

12. Euceron Storm – The only positives out of this week’s game was for Storm fans to be able to attend a game. And a post-game announcement. But otherwise Ralltiir racked up 32 points in the first half. Yeah . . . the players aren’t feeling so hot right now.

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

And before anyone argues that their team is ranked too low, my team dropped the most. So it can get worse. Much worse.