Star Wars OPEN Elite League Limmie

IC: Aleyn Bray
Red Dog Pub, O’pahz, Carratos

“The Baroness requests your prescience.” A Zabrak said putting his hand on Aleyn’s shoulder. The detective pushed the hand away and turned on the bar stool to face the stranger.

“Tell her to sith off. I’m done with her.” He replied staring at the other man. The horned humanoid had no visible tattoos that could identify him as a Star Dragon. He was also not wearing the standard uniform of a black shirt and dark pants. Instead he wore a dark blue tunic with gold accents and matching slacks looking more like a noblewoman’s servant than a gang member.

“M’lady will not be kept waiting.” The Baroness’s servant gave a slight nod to the barman. Aleyn felt a pinch in his neck. Suddenly his muscles went limp and he began sliding off his seat. The Zabrak braced him with an arm under the shoulder and began guiding him to the door. “I believe you’ve had too much to drink sir.” It took everything Aleyn had left just to stay standing much less resist his deceptively strong captor. With no choice in the matter the investigator was dropped into the rear passenger seat of a waiting vehicle and sped away to a meeting with a crime lord, or should it be crime lady. Whatever he was dosed with began to wear off as he was moved through the front doors of Cho’s. The Baroness raised her wine glass half full of red liquid upon seeing the two men.

“Thank you Acaadi,” She said in a warm tone, the Zabrak put the Human into a seat across from his lady. “That’ll be all.” Acaadi put a white gloved hand over his left heart and bowed. The two beings sat quietly for a moment while Aleyn regained his faculties. “Feeling better now Mr. Bray.”

“Well enough to…”He tried to get up; a strong hand forced him back down, slightly disturbing the wine bottle on the table. He looked up to find not the Zabrak that brought him to the club but, an imposing Kerestian well over two meters tall looking sternly down at him. The Baroness smiled,

“I have something of great importance to discuss with you.”

“Unless you’re going to confess to the kidnapping of Blitzer Harrsk, I’m not interested.”

“Now, Aleyn that’s no way to start a conversation, especially one of this,” she lifted her glass and took a sip, her eyes never moving from the detective. “Magnitude,”

“What do you mean?”

“As you can tell, I hold great influence in this city, influence you’d find useful in your investigations.”

“Let me guess, this influence comes at a price.”

“All I ask is that, if my name comes up in the course of an investigation,” her voice lowered a bit adding emphasis to the next words, “you drop that line of inquiry.”

“You’re asking me to cover up crimes for you?” he responded tone rising.

“Not cover up,” Baroness retorted, in her normal icy manner, “just not pursue.”

“In what universe do you think I’d ever…”

“The universe in which,” the blue skinned female turned a data-pad that was on the table toward Aleyn, on the screen a picture of Valea entering her apartment building, groceries in hand. “She continues drawing breath.” His blood went cold.

“You’re sick.” He said finally finding the appropriate words.

“I’m not sick, merely shewed.” She set the device back down, “police investigations tie up my resources and harm my bottom line. So whenever possible I avoid them.”

“She has nothing to do with this, leave her alone.”

“Aleyn both of us know you’d rather die than lose your integrity but, are you willing to sacrifice someone else for your personal morals?” He gritted his teeth, the thought of helping the Baroness made his stomach turn but on the other hand, Valea was by all accounts a good person, something all too rare on this planet and, her loss would be devastating to him. “Besides,” Baroness continued, “this is just a temporary measure to secure your cooperation until you realize something.”

“And what might that be?”

“That I am the lesser evil here and, that my power keeps worse demons at bay.” She paused to partake of her wine again. “In the end Aleyn, we both want the same thing, stability.” She turned her head to the empty room, “Acaadi,”

“Yes M’lady,” the Zabrak responded appearing seeming out of nowhere next to Baroness.

“Could you get the detective a glass? I wish to share this bottle.” Another bow and he walked away.

“Don’t bother,” Aleyn said, “I’d like to go now,”

“Are you sure, it’s a good vintage, imported from Naboo.”

“I’m very sure,” She nodded to the giant that had remained next to the Human since the start of the conversation, and he took a step back. The investigator left quickly not wanting to spend another minute in that place.

The whole week Aleyn replayed the conversation every time he looked at Valea. She was being held hostage and didn’t even know it. He was frozen he would smile and wave to her but feel the Baroness’s eyes watching him. Pulling up to a crime scene he still felt something over his shoulder. He and his partner stood in the door way of an apartment looking down at the body of a middle aged man with a hole in his chest. A blaster laid only one step away from the man. Aleyn looked down the hall, a young woman sat on the floor her back up against a wall, her hands in binders. She wore a Pirates jersey with accompanying shorts and cleats. Red drops of blood contrasted with the white skull on her chest. Her face was frozen eyes wide staring off into the distance. I was a look he’d seen before, the thousand click stare, they called it, the bodies way of processing traumatic events. Everything seemed very clear. The player struggled with the victim one of them pulled out the blaster, the woman got ahold of it and shot him. The questions were whose weapon it was and who started the fight?

“You know who that is right?” Phil asked tilting his head a bit. Aleyn shook his head. “Oh that’s right, you don’t like limmie.” The last sentence elicited an eye roll from the younger detective. “That’s Else Reppen, she should be at the game right now. Wonder what brought her here.” Phil looked over the scene, “There isn’t much to be learned here, we’ll probably get more from her.” He gestured to the zoned out athlete, “I’ll handle the scene you take her back to the station and get started on the interview.” Aleyn nodded and walked over to the likely murderer.

“Ms. Reppen,” she looked up, “If you’ll come with me I’ll take you to the security office.” She rose slowly and the detective guided her to the car. In the vehicle Aleyn moved to turn off the hyper-wave radio playing the Pirates game.

“Please,” a quivering voice from behind him called out, “could you leave it on,” He looked in the rearview seeing her head leaned in toward the screen separating the front and the back. They listened as both teams remained tied until the last few minutes when Logan Manx, apparently the team’s hot shot scorer, made a bar point to put the Pirates into the lead. A soft “yes,” escaped the young woman’s mouth. The game ended as they arrived at the precinct. Aleyn lead Else into the building and handed her off to a female officer to be processed. The next time he saw her she was wearing a grey hoodie and sweat pants bearing the O’pahz Security Force logo. “I’d like to call someone.” She said holding up her comlink. Generally, unless it was for legal representation, suspects were not allowed to make calls but, as with many things, it was up to the individual officers to enforce that rule. Aleyn could see that she was about ready to shut down, if calling someone helped her open up that was a good thing in his book. He nodded and she went off to a corner. The holding cells became unruly upon noticing the limmie player in their mist. For her safety and comfort he moved her to an interview room.

“Who was the call to?” he asked sitting across from her.

“My coach, Geoff Copin, he should be here any moment.” Her words came out not with the confidence one had when informing police that their lawyer was on their way, more like someone on the edge of tears asking a friend or loved one to be present for moral support. They sat in silence for a minute or two until Alyen got an alert that someone asked about Ms. Reppen. He walked to the front desk where a man in a black polo with the distinctive white mark of the Pirates on the left breast, about to explain his relation to the suspect.

“Mr. Copin,” Aleyn called out. The coach looked up. He was about the same age and height as the detective. The investigator extended his hand. “Detective Aleyn Bray,”

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

“If you’ll come with me sir, there’s a lot to go through.” The two men walked to the room where his player was being held. Inside Else rose.

“Coach,” she said almost relieved. She gave Geoff a hug that he was obviously wasn’t expecting and he awkwardly returned it. “Coach, I…” he stopped her by raising his hand.

“Else wait; you haven’t said anything to them have you?” the coach asked with almost the authority of a lawyer.

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

“Evidence of what,”

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

“Else don’t say anything, I’m gonna’ call Schnitt.” A few minutes later a well-dressed Gungan entered the room.

“Me’sa wish to be speaking with me’sa client, alone.” Aleyn obliged but, Geoff stayed behind, a request from the player. While he was waiting the results came back from the blood on her jersey, it matches the victims DNA. He also got the ID of the dead man, Tove Reppen, her father. Phil had returned and was having the prints on the blaster analyzed. They found two distinct sets on the weapon but, it would take bit for an ID to come in on them. “We’sa ready,” the lawyer said sticking his head out. The four beings sat at the table the lawyer, coach and, player on one side Aleyn on the other. “You’sa will be letting me’sa client go now. You’sa have no case for murder.”

“How do you figure, it’s the victim’s blood on your client’s jersey, she was at the scene with a recently fired blaster.”

“But, you’sa lacking a motive, a motive that destroys you’sa case,”

“And what’s her motive for killing her father.” Else visibly shivered, the Gungan looked to her then back to Aleyn.

“Mr. Reppen was a very bad man that abused his wife and daughter. Me’sa client was helping her’sa mother escape from dat place. Mr. Reppen confronted dem at the exit with a blaster in hand. Else and the man fought over the weapon it went off killing the victim. Disen a tragedy yes, not a criminal case.”

“I’d like to speak with the mother to corroborate that story.”

“You’sa do no such thing,” the lawyer said annoyance in his voice, “Ms. Reppen has been thought very much dis day and you’sa no making it worse by bringing her into dis horrible place. You’sa lucky me’sa no file a civil suit for emotional trauma caused to me’sa client. If you’sa bring dis to trial me’sa happily present Ms. Reppen as a witness, den burry you’sa and dis department in lawsuits for frivolous prosecution. Are me’sa clear.” Aleyn couldn’t argue with that story of events, it explained the evidence and a jury will believe a scared girl and a distraught battered wife. Problem was without knowing what the mother saw, Aleyn couldn’t be sure that the Gungan wasn’t bluffing, though the lanky humanoids threats seemed very real. Again the detective had no choice, he closed the case file.

“Just go, but,” he said stopping the three beings across from him mid stand, “I want a signed deposition from the mother to put in the file so that there aren’t any lingering questions about this.”

“You’sa be get'n dat in a few days, thank you.” The group left leaving the investigator alone with his thoughts. He did the right thing, the woman didn’t look like a cold blooded killer and that lawyer had a strong case for self-defense, the DA wouldn’t have perused the case anyway so in the end he was just saving time. That didn’t mean it felt good.

TAG: No one

 

IC: Ty Allin

271

I was allowed to visit Trey in the detention center. “What happened when you went back in that bar to collect my bag?” I asked him right off.

“There was a full on brawl breaking out,” Trey explained. “I knew someone was about to get seriously injured at the least, that’s why I made the call to law enforcement when I got outside. Ty this isn’t uncommon practice on Ralltiir. I made the call. They can easily trace me back to the scene. The law here likes the public to think they are in control of every situation. Once the investigation progresses I’ll be cleared. Who else are they holding? Blyss? Soro? Any of those kids from the sorority?”

How did I break it to him that he was the only suspect? I decided the best way was to come out and tell him. “You’re the only person they have in custody. Trey I’m so sorry I called you to pick me up. This is all my fault.”

“You did the right thing Ty. You could have been killed yourself if you had been in that bar much longer. Others may have lost their lives if I hadn’t been there to make that call and alert authorities. This will smooth over in a few days. I appreciate that you came in to see me, but you don’t need to concern yourself. I’m fine.”

Trey really didn’t seem too concerned about the situation. Still there had to be something I could do for him. “Trey is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.

“There is one thing,” he requested. “You can promise me you’ll stop drinking. Ty it’s no good for you, it gets beings in trouble. You can have a good time without drink.”

“That’s all?” I asked. That wouldn’t help his situation.

“I mean it Ty. No more drinking,” he repeated. “If you want to do something else for me you continue to practice hard. I want another win this week. Don’t let this effect our season.”

“You got it. No more drinking,” I promised. “From now on I’ll stick to winning Limmie games.”

As I left the detention center a guard handed me a note. It was from Trey. Thanks for coming to see me. You are welcome anytime. Never again mention being anywhere near the scene of the crime to me or anyone. Destroy this note. Now.


IC: Ty Allin

279

After parking the speeder I sat for a while. I debated going back home to try and smooth things over with Lucie. I had never seen her so angry. I decided it was best to give her a night alone to cool off. Hopefully she would be more willing to listen if I gave her some time to herself. More than anything I wanted a stiff drink. I hadn’t had a drink in 8 years. Having one now wasn’t an option. I wasn’t in much of a mood to see my mother either. I quickly called her to let her know that Lucie and I had gotten into a fight and that I was most likely going to be sleeping at her place that evening. Once I got the call over with I departed my speeder and went to a diner where I could order some fizz and ice cream.

I purposely arrived at my mother’s after I knew she would already be asleep. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about my argument with Lucie. I awoke to the smell of eggs and processed meat strips. Lucie never made processed meat. I eagerly got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. My mother fed me well and I left for the stadium hopeful for a good practice. When I arrived at the locker room entrance Justyne was waiting for me. “Where’s my sister?” She asked.

“We had an argument last night,” I explained. “She may be avoiding me.”

“You must have messed up good. She never ditches practice. Especially without calling first. She’s not picking up her calls. Was she still in bed when you left the house?”

“I didn’t sleep at our house,” I admitted. “Would you mind going to check on her for me?”

“Don’t mind at all. Can’t wait to hear what you did wrong,” she teased as she turned to leave.

For a moment I worried about Lucie. The worry diminished as soon as I hit the field. Things might not be so good at home, but at Financial Square things were looking up. Hovechar’s suspension was over, she was in form and ready to prove to the league that she was coming to play this week. Watching her sprint up and down the field gave me hope for our season. It was when we broke for lunch that my day went downhill. Justyne was back at the stadium. “I can’t find Lucie,” she said as she greeted me when I came off the field.

“She’s not at home?” I asked.

“Not at home, not at my mother’s, she still won’t pick up my calls and she’s not answering my texts. Ty I’m getting worried.”

Now I was getting worried too. I went to Trey’s office and told him the whole story. What the fight had been about, spending the night at my mother’s and not being able to find Lucie now. He allowed me to go home and take the rest of the afternoon off to find her if I needed. I raced to my house with Justyne following close behind. I used my key to open the front door and stopped cold. There wasn’t a lot but there was blood in the foyer at the bottom of the steps. “Don’t come in,” I said holding Justyne back. Immediately I dialed law enforcement. Justyne and I held each other for support outside the house while we waited for them to arrive. I agreed to go with the officers to answer questions at the station.

I was in the interview room for hours. I explained why I hadn’t been at the house that night. For a time the officers conducting the interview were supportive of my situation. Then for whatever reason they left the room and consulted with one another for a while. When they got back their demeanor had changed. Suddenly I was being asked if it was possible I had returned to the house after my argument with Lucie. I insisted over and over that I had not been back to the house last night. When they were unable to get me to change my story they told me they hadn’t found a blaster on my closet shelf. They said there were no blasters in the home at all.

“You did go back to the house, Mr. Allin.” The lead officer in charge of the interview told me forcefully. “You used the weapon to kill your wife and your son. You disposed of it and their bodies.”

I shook my head. “No, no, no, no,no,” I repeated the word over and over. I was beginning to freak out now. It was hard enough not knowing if my wife and son were alive. To be accused of harming them was too much. I stood from my chair and tried to walk around the officers so I could get out of the interview room. It wasn’t to be they restrained me immediately.

So much had happened so fast that I couldn’t really comprehend the events that unfolded next. I was placed under arrest for the kidnapping of my wife and son. I was told they would upgrade the charges to murder when they found the bodies. Distraught by the news that they were so certain Lucie and T.J. were dead I followed the directions the officers gave me without argument until I at last was alone in a small cell with nothing but a hard cot and a single blanket. Being arrested while sober was mortifying. Everything that had happened in the last 24 hours was completely incomprehensible. That night I cried myself to sleep.

IC: Bat Vigo

It took being scolded by my 20 month old daughter to make me realize that being angry was about the least productive reaction I could have to the situation. “You broke the wall,” she told me. “No presents for you tomorrow.”

While Georgia and her sister sat down to have breakfast with the girls I took my own muffin and a fresh cup of caf into the study so I could call Richard. “Richard,” I said as soon as his face came up on the other end of the line. “I just got a very disturbing call from a law enforcement officer on Ralltiir. What’s going on?” I demanded.

“Two nights ago Ty and Lucie got into an argument,” he began. His story ended with Ty’s arrest.

“You mean they already have him in custody?” I asked.

“You know how quickly law enforcement moves here. The public feels safer knowing that someone is in custody.”

“But that someone is the wrong someone.”

“Bat, just calm down. Coach Till, myself, Spencer and even Tomas are doing our own investigation. We’ll find Lucie and T.J. I can’t help but hope they are still alive. If they are the charges against Ty will be dropped and he’ll be released.”

“What are the chances the Lucie and T.J. are alive?” I asked just to see what is reply would be.

“It’s like I told you, I think the chances are good. There wasn’t a lot of blood in the house. There’s no sign of forced entry.” Richard paused for a minute. “Lucie’s walked out on this family before. Why wouldn’t she do it again?”

I had my own opinions on the matter, but I decided not to argue the point. “Should I come home?” I asked.

“Celebrate the holiday with your family. I’m not sure another body would do much good right now. Besides you have a game to play in a few days.”

“How can you think about Limmie when our sister and nephew could be dead?”

“We can’t just shut down the family business during the middle of the season,” Richard reminded me. “A game without Lucie and Ty,” he shook his head. “It’s incomprehensible.”

I could tell my brother’s feelings were genuine. He was at a loss when it came to how to handle this situation. “Keep me posted. And Richard, take care of yourself.”

“I love you little brother.”

IC: Ty Allin

I soon discovered a lot of grown men cry in prison. I was on a wing in the detention center that consisted of males who had been locked up for less than a month. Most of the men I met at mealtime the following morning were particularly homesick because Life Day was approaching. Lucie and I didn’t have big plans for the holiday. It came midseason and I barely had a day and a half off work so there was little more we could do than have a meal with family.

After my meal I went back to my lonely cell. I missed my wife and son more than I ever imagined possible. I knew Lucie didn’t approve of blasters. How could I have been so stupid, to think she wouldn’t overreact when she found out I had purchased one. Why had I let Lucie kick me out of the house? Who could have taken her and T.J.? Why had they done it? There were so many questions and no answers.

Here I was stuck in jail. Accused of causing the two people that meant the most to me in this galaxy harm. I should be out looking for them. I should have been there to protect them. Possibly seconds before I went completely mad a guard opened my door. “You have a visitor,” he announced.

I had entered the stage of full blown feeling sorry for myself. “I don’t want to see anyone.”

“I didn’t say you had a choice,” the guard said as he approached my bed. He ordered me to stand and cuffed my hands. I was led to a small room with plain walls. There were a few tables with chairs. At one of the tables sat Trey Till. “No contact of any kind with the prisoner,” the guard told Trey as I took a seat. The guard went to stand at the doorway.

“How you holding up?” Trey asked me.

“Any word on Lucie or T.J.?” I asked ignoring his question.

Trey shook his head.

“How is her family reacting? Do they believe I had something to do with her disappearance?”

“Ty we all know how much you love Lucie and T.J. Tomas and Spencer wanted to come with me. I just thought it was best to come alone. I didn’t want to spring too much on you at once,” he assured me. “Hopefully this whole ordeal with be over real soon. In a matter of hours even. Richard has been checking with lodging establishments to find out if Lucie and T.J. checked in. We’re searching every inch of this planet for them Ty and we are going to find them. Alive. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you, but I need you to hang tight and remain strong. Make sure your eating your meals and exercise every moment you can. I’ll be needing you back out on the field as soon as your released.”

“Why is Richard checking with hotels?” I asked perplexed.

“He thinks maybe Lucie took T.J. to another city. That maybe she wanted some space. It wouldn’t be completely out of character for her.”

“Trey, I saw blood in my foyer,” I said still feeling defeated.

“Ty, you need to have some faith. Keep your hopes up. Justyne says there were only a few drops. Certainly not enough to be alarmed about. She and her brothers believe this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. Lucie has run off before Ty. Don’t rule it out.”

IC: Lucie Vigo-Allin

I awoke in a small dark room. My first instinct was to holler out, but my mouth was secured with an adhesive strip. Frantically I looked around. My eyes adjusted to the light and I noticed there were clothes hanging over my head. This wasn’t a room, it was a closet. I spotted a small form on the other side of the closet. Afraid to hope I scooted to closer. My arms and legs were bound together making motion difficult. A small human lie motionless. Also bound at the hands and feet. His mouth also covered with an adhesive strip. To my relief he was breathing. My son was alive and here with me. Wherever here was.

T.J. was upset his father had left the house without saying good-bye. I was trying to quiet his tears when there was a knock at our front door. I thought maybe it was Ty, trying to make up for his mistake. It wouldn’t be so much unlike him to show up at the front door with a bouquet or a new pair of earrings begging for forgiveness. When I opened the door I didn’t find Ty, I found two strangers. Two men I had never seen before. “You’re prettier in real life than you are on the holo,” the larger one said.

The other pulled a blaster on me. “You do as your told ‘Mam and no one gets hurt. We saw your husband leave and we know you’re alone. We need you to come with us.”

“T.J.” I hollered up the stairs towards the kitchen. “Dial emergency.”

The larger man smacked my face fiercely causing me to fall to the ground. While the smaller man ran upstairs. I heard T.J. cry out. There was a loud thump and then silence.

“T.J.” I screamed.

I saw the blaster being raised over my head. There was nothing I could do as it made contact with my forehead. Then darkness and now I was here. I had no idea how long I had been here but I was alive and T.J. was here with me. Whatever happened next I knew I could handle it. I had to be strong for my son. I snuggled up next to him as close as I could and waited. I was hungry and there was pain in my forehead where the blaster had struck me. A few times T.J. opened his eyes. He looked at me each time before going back to sleep. I’m not sure how much time passed before a woman peaked into the closet.

“You poor thing,” she said. “I brought you some food, for you and the child.” She opened the door further letting in some light. “Oh, he’s just a baby,” she exclaimed. Now that there was light in the closet I could see tear marks on T.J.’s face and a gash on his head. The woman explained she could only remove the adhesive strips and allow us to eat if we remained quiet. She removed mine first. The food she provided was a burger with cheese from one of the more popular fast food restaurants on Ralltiir. My body was not used to the greasy food and I was afraid I might throw-up after taking only a few bites. When I finished I talked T.J. through keeping quiet. He was given some milk and a burger as well. Luckily his father had introduced him to these foods and he had no trouble finishing off his food. When we finished eating the woman closed the closet door again and locked it.

For a long time I listened to the holo playing outside the door for entertainment. Then I heard children’s voices. The woman asked them about their day at school. It was the last thing I had been expecting. To be held captive in the home of a family with young kids. We were there for a few days. The woman helped us to the fresher and fed us meals twice a day. Then one evening I heard the husband come home. The wife asked why he was holding the baby, she had thought I was supposed to be the only hostage. He explained that the child was with me and he had no choice but to bring him as well.

“This isn’t going to work. Why not just let Edward play on another youth Limmie team?” The woman asked as they lay down for bed that night.

“Because Edward deserves to play division 1 youth ball. That Vigo kid took our son’s spot. That family gets everything they want. All I’m going to do is scare them a little bit. After the game against Hapes we will send out some footage of the girl and her boy. Set a price for their safe return, next year we can buy Edward's way onto any team we want.”

“Why not release the footage now. Let them go home before the holiday?”

“Because we need more time.”

“You can’t hold a baby hostage on Life Day,” the woman argued. “Besides the husband is in jail. You’ve caused the family enough harm already. Please end this now. I beg of you or I’ll law enforcement myself.”

There was a loud slap. The woman began sobbing. “I’ll do a whole lot worse if you so much as mention dialing law enforcement again.” He threatened before storming out of the room.

IC: Ty Allin

Trey had meant well, but he had been wrong. Two full days had passed and there had been no progress in the searches for Lucie. Neither by law enforcement or the Vigo family. It was Life Day and I was waking up in prison. The breakfast cakes at the morning meal were dry and they were not served with syrup. I watched the chrono tick in my cell until the guard finally came in to tell me my visitors had arrived. I was only allowed three visitors at a time. Trey had brought Spencer and Tomas. It was their second visit in two days. Yesterday we had passed the time talking about Spencer’s upcoming speeder license exam. Today I asked what their mother had prepared for dinner and what gifts they had received for Life Day. “Mom is saving the processed meat strips until you are able to come over for dinner again,” Tomas told me.

“We have presents for you too.” Spencer chimed in.

It may have been the hardest thing I ever did to keep from crying in front of my little brothers. Inside I felt so broken. Later that night Andres, Justyne and Richard came for a visit. I let my guard down and lost my composure at the end of our time together. I missed my wife and son so much. Not knowing if they were alive, worried that they could be suffering. It was all too much. “Please Ty,” Justyne begged. “My sister needs you. We are going to find her,” she promised. “Be strong,” she told me.

IC: Trey Till

In all my days of playing and coaching Limmie combined I had never been less prepared for a game. It would be unfair to my team, the Buccaneers or the league if I didn’t leave the house early and draw up at least some semblance of a game plan. I brought a recent holo of Lucie, Ty and T.J. with me. I placed it on my desk to remind me that no matter where they were while the Starkillers were on the field today they would want the Starkillers to win. There wasn’t much I could do for them, but this was something I could do and I was determined to win this game.

Once I was satisfied with my work I sent the final draft to all my players. It was still several hours before they would be arriving at the facility. I called the house and Spencer answered. “How’s your mother?” I asked.

“Busy. Marty is here,” he explained.

“Make sure you help her out,” I reminded him.

“Are you going to visit Ty? I want to come and so does Tomas,” he said ignoring my request.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I told him. Ty was likely to be in rough shape even for his circumstances today. I also knew Madelyne didn’t like her son’s visiting the detention center. “Maybe we can all go after the game,” I suggested. “I’ll stop by the house in about an hour and we can all ride to the stadium together.”

“It’s not like I have much choice in the matter,” he said crossing his arms.

“Help your mother,” I said as I disconnected the line before he could argue with me. He had been right I was going to visit Ty. “I don’t have much time,” I warned Ty as I sat down across from him at the now familiar table. “I know how much you want to be out there today. I’m not going to lie, I’ll be missing you more than the rest of the team combined. You will be there Ty. In spirit. You, Lucie and T.J. Everyone on the planet will be watching. Their faces will be on holovisions across the planet. Someone is bound to call after the game with a tip. Someone has had to have seen them by now,” I told my team captain.

“Just win for me,” Ty said as we parted. He said it with so little emotion. I was worried about how long his mental state would remain stable.

After suiting up in the locker room for the game I gathered my players around me. “I know this week has been anything but normal for all of us. We were short on practice hours due to the holiday and we are all concerned about our teammate and his family. Ty Allin has just one request,” I told them. “He asks us to win the game for him. I am a Ralltiir Starkiller and I accept this task." I said placing my hand in the middle of the room.

“I am a Ralltiir Starkiller and I accept this task,” Fortune repeated as he stepped beside me and placed his hand on mine. Each starter took a turn repeating the mantra. Once all of our hands were together as one we bounced them up and down three times before we broke in silence and headed for the tunnel.

Determined we took the field as one. I had the holo of Ty, Lucie and T.J. tucked under my arm. I placed it upright on the bench just before I took the field. Jeffers was on my left corner and young Noah on my right corner. Kaat was behind me in goal. At midfield Hovechar was starting. At her opposite was Ellie Knott. The female midfield duo was poised and ready as the ball was dropped into play.

IC: Ty Allin

There were three chronos in my cell. When you watched a chrono time passed slowly. I had come to realize there were so many around the detention center just to make me and other prisoners stay feel as long as possible. One thing was for sure. I wasn’t allowed to watch the game, or even listen to it, but I knew when it was about to begin.

TAG: No One

 

GM Post

HSN Headlines

• Commissioner arrives on Carratos for Storm/Pirate game pitting one of the top teams in Skywalker Conference against last place team
• Lokensgaard: “These arrrrr both remarrrrrkable teams even if one is a recent arrrrival to the League. I’m looking forwarrrrd to seeing them in the arrrrena of play on a beautiful aftarrrrnoon, even if from afarrrr.”

---

What We Learned: Week 4

We have presents here for every ELL team for Life Day. Let’s see what they got! (Other than the next seven weeks to save or blow their entire season.)

Agamar Packers – A lot of extra extra extra large knit sweaters from their grandmothers because these big, big forwards have been very good this year.

Bakura Miners – With seven games remaining, four conference games, two non-conference grudge matches, their first trip to Carratos, and a partridge in a pear tree. We’re assuming the Miners were on the naughty list to get that tough of a remaining schedule.

Carratos Pirates – Their sea legs, because the Pirates have clearly gotten a handle on the ELL and are now plundering their way through the League. In fact, they’re doing so well, we think they should have a musical number to celebrate. Who doesn’t love dancing, singing pirates? Nobody, that’s who doesn’t.

Coruscant Senators – A bacta tank, because it seems like everything about the Senators is banged up these days. The beautiful thing is that you can get mauled by a rancor, almost die of hypothermia, take a bacta dunk, and be totally fine. Everybody should be totally good to go this week after 20 minutes in the tank, right?

Denon Demons – A Kuat Triforce jersey.

Euceron Storm – A Lokensgaard-in-a-box. He pops up at unexpected moments to audit your books and scares you half to death every time. Seriously Yoda, you didn’t put the Storm on the naughty list, did you? If so, that’s colder than Hoth.

Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – A basket full of beauty products because these C-Bucs want to look their very best when they win the Galactic Cup. Or crash and burn at the most unexpected moment possible. Either way, this is Hapes. There are, like, standards, okay?

Mando’ade Mercs – Mauntak. Seriously, this kid is your Life Day, your birthday, and your anniversary gift all rolled into one. Who cares if Ryi Kor’le knows anything about defense--she has Mauntak and that’s all she needs. Also, his name is fun to say. Say it with us: Mauntak. Mauuuuuuuuntak. Maaaaaaauntak. Maunttttak! Mauntak.

Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – A time machine to go back to last season and stop Kaitlyn Vehn from being assassinated and John Huntington from retiring and Lilly Vehn from meeting Roy Cardan in a bar and us from ever writing this column. Also, we want to go back to the high school dance where our parents met each other and attempt to totally not screw that up.

Ralltiir Starkillers – Kaat Stun's second tour of duty going much better than her first one. It's almost like she's trying harder this time, but given how she played on Tatooine that can't be the explanation. We would have said a healthy Ty Allin, but that's a bit of a touchy subject right now...

Rydonni Prime Monarchs – A .500 record, which means that they can still go 9-2 and 4-1 in the conference and get right back to the Final next year. Also, our continuing and undying love for Arco. We’re still keeping your picture in the break room, buddy. (And we only use it as a dart board on Thursdays, which is half as much as we used it for that purpose when you were with HSN. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.)

Ylesia Lightning – Galactic Cup Final Week. It pairs so perfectly with a brand new stadium. It’s the it gift of the year for the team that just has everything. And by everything, we mean Kasin and Korlo.

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

 

IC: Lilly Vehn
Ylesia

​

I watched as my battered and bruised team walked past me in the tunnel of Ylesia’s new stadium which was packed and which had the heavy stench of slugs, I mean, Hutts, throughout. The ‘Slugfest’ as our rivalry was being called seemed appropriate. Nar Shaddaa and Ylesia had once been in union but over the last few centuries had grown apart and it seemed fitting to me that our two franchises would battle for all the illegal bets in the galaxy. There was a lot of money riding on this one. A lot of money.

Nar Shaddaa sat quietly in the basement of the Skywalker Conference in a place that had once been reserved for the likes of Agamar, a team which was firing early on all cylinders. I knew better than to throw in the towel for the season. So much limmie left to play and the struggle to reach the top of the conference could be turned around with a strong win here today against Ylesia. I had been taught by Kaitlyn to take the long approach to success. When she’d purchased the franchise in 274 and started her rapid rebranding of the Smugglers I had thought she was crazy. Her approach worked. Her methods worked. It was a struggle for me to carry that same energy going forward. I was quietly starting to question if I was GM material. I’d felt much more comfortable as a regular old scout and had helped snag McCloud and Reaver in the 276 draft that netted us a championship. Last year, Zelena Wiles proved she could play with the big boys and smacked her way to another championship for our franchise.

I suppose, I realized as I watched the Smugglers psyche one another up for the coming game against the Lightning, I wanted to go back to the future. I wanted to go back to a time when Kaitlyn was still around. She would’ve handled this year well. She would’ve weathered the storm better than I ever could. Now she was gone. Buried back at Six Boroughs, at midfield. As much as I liked Meredith, she was no John Huntington, but I could never say that to her face. She would probably quit on the spot and then we’d be without a head coach and only an old man and his feeble schemes to fend off the wolves of the league.

McCloud going down against Mandalore was rough. She was the centerpiece of our attack. Now we were thin. Now we had to plug in reserves who would be tested early and often by Ylesia. That was the problem with putting all your eggs in one basket. If your basket fell apart the entire operation ground to a startling halt. I knew in my heart that we had to keep going forward, surge through this brutal six week road trip, and come out with a winning record on the other end.
I also had a heavy heart because I had been doing a lot of investigating into the death of Kaitlyn Vehn. The entire situation seemed far too neat and tidy. I had an interview coming up with Officer Ken Wattsone of the VCPD, the man who’d taken the shot that killed Markel Drexel in that apartment overlooking the stadium plaza. I needed answers. I needed resolution. I just had this nagging feeling that whatever I would discover wouldn’t be good. Whatever I was going to discover wasn’t going to turn out well.

So be it.

Tag: Rebecca_Daniels

 

IC: Geoff Copin
O’pahz, Carratos

The lawyer Schnitt sent made short work of the detective sitting across from Geoff. Within minutes Else was out of the room collecting her personal effects. Before leaving the police station the Gungan that had more or less come to the rescue, handed the coach his business card, Gallo Binks of Haegen, Waroen, and Praysh.

“If you’sa be needing me’sa services again give me’sa a call.” Geoff nodded his head and put the card in his pocket. He turned to Else.

“You or your mother need anything?” He asked,

“No, just need to put this behind us.” She replied voice a little stronger now.

“Alright, need help getting home?”

“I got it from here coach.” He turned to walk away. “Coach,” the half forward called out. Geoff stopped and looked to her. “I might not be at practice this week. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about the team. Take as much time as you need. You’ll still have a place with the Pirates.”

“Thanks coach,”
_________________________________________________________
Shield Towers O’pahz, Carratos

“Good game, coach,” Bara said as Geoff approached.

“Thanks Bara”

“Think you can keep the streak going?”

“We are facing the Storm so, it looks good but, we know anything can happen.” Geoff passed through the lobby and up to his floor. He entered his apartment.

“Daddy,” his daughters said running towards him. He knelt down and hugged them both.

“Hey girls, did you have fun at the game?” He asked

“Yeah,” Iris exclaimed “did you see Leigh’s bar point, it was perfect.”

“I don’t know” Ira said “I think Logan’s point was cooler.” Iris made a face at her sister

“What do you know,” She replied annoyance in her voice.

“It won the game didn’t it.”

“Time out girls,” Geoff said trying to stop the argument in its tracks, “It was an exciting game that we won, it doesn’t matter whose point was cooler.” He stood up, dinner had already been made and plates set out with food on them. “Alright, daddy’s going to eat some dinner, have you two already eaten?” The two five year olds nod their heads. Laura walked up behind her husband as he sat down to eat.

“So what happened after the game?” she asked putting her arms around his neck. He kissed the palm of her hand.

“Let’s wait until the girls are in bed, it might be a little too heavy for them.” The coach finished his meal and helped put his daughters to bed. Afterwards he explained the situation with Else.

“The poor dear, will she be ok?” Laura said concern in her voice.

“I think so, she just needs some time to heal.” They both sat up in the bed, covers and sheets over their legs.

“Will she play next week?”

“Most likely not but, she’ll come back eventually.”

“That’s two players down babe, how much more can the team take.”

“I know, thankfully it’s positions we have backups for so we don’t need to scramble for free agents like last year.”

“Hey, Jace is a solid player in the back.”

“He is but, I can see why he was left in free agency for so long. He’s already at his peak and he’s just not as good as the other backs in the league.”

“Hon, that’s harsh.”

“I know but, it’s still true. On the other hand I can’t change the hand I’ve got. Gor and Jace will play against the Storm and probably against the Monarchs as well, which reminds me the commissioner will be at the next game you sitting in the owner’s box again?”

“I’m not sure Schnitt hasn’t sent the passes yet but it’s still a week away.”

“So what’s the commissioner like anyway?”

“Well,” she put her hand on her chin, “He seems very genuine, he smiled, said hello to Iris and Ira, I made sure they stayed on their best behavior around him. During the game he kept pretty neutral, even though I was in pain seeing our team get trounced.”

“Some in the league think we’re his favorite. I mean he sees us play three times this season, two of those times back to back.”

“Well he said you guys were the team to watch, and you are. I mean you’re second in the league right now.”

“Yeah but have you looked at our points scored we’re tenth in the league. The Miners have double that.”

“Hey the Monarchs get by on low scoring, because they have a strong defense just like the Pirates.”

“I don’t know if we have a strong defense or were we just facing weak offenses.” Laura slid down to rest her head on a pillow.

“Well you shouldn’t need to worry about that, the Storm aren’t as formidable as they were last year.” Geoff could see that she was being diplomatic. The Storm had suffered a tragedy that few teams have ever faced, losing all of your players but, they did something amazing, they put together a team and were soldiering on despite everything. He could feel for those players, last year the Pirates were in a similar situation. Their players had no experience in the ELL and they still beat some tough teams. The Storm could too, but a piece of the coach didn’t want to lose to them to give this struggling team it’s fist win. Then again the Monarchs probably didn’t what to give the Pirates their first win either.

“Well I guess we’ll just have to see.” He laid down as well and closed his eyes.
____________________________________________________________________
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium

Else hadn’t shown up for practice all week, and her absence was felt. Leigh seemed despondent, Seiji look irritated and Logan was just angry. Gor had stepped up and the Half backs were performing like they should but, the shadow of the last week hung over the locker room. It felt like with each victory there was always something to take the joy away.

“All right team,” Geoff called out, “The Storm have had a rough go of it but, they’ve made it clear they don’t wants us going easy on them, so don’t. Let’s not give them their first win. We’ve got the commissioner watching let’s make this a better game than last year.”

“Aye, Aye” the players shouted in response.

TAG: jcgoble3

 

IC: Willy Bunker, Senators Groundskeeper
Senators Stadium, Six Hours Prior to Senators-Monarchs Game

Willy Bunker loved his job.

There was something about getting to work with sprinkler systems, something about opening doors, and something about being one of the first on the job on gamedays was appealing to him. He had done this job for almost seven years now, back to when the Senators had come back from the dead and had pushed their way back into the Elite League. He had survived a rough 272 season, a lost stadium, a series of rotating college arenas, and now the job was still his in one of the most modern, most sleek stadiums in the league. Sure the fans on Ylesia and Ralltiir were ballyhooing their new stadiums, but Willy, if he knew one thing for certain in that groundskeeper mind of his, was that his stadium was better. No matter how bad the team, his stadium, his home away from home, would always be the best around. And there was no way to ever tell him differently.

And so it was that he came into the stadium to start his job for the day. The Senators would tangle later with the Rydonni Prime Monarchs, a Core War showdown. The Monarchs dominated the series as of late, and he wanted to make sure that the home team would get every little advantage it could from their home facilities. He would make sure that the ice tubs would be well-stocked with ice, the locker room would be temperature-controlled as usual, and that the lights were always on until the last worker left the stadium for the night. If the team had its needs met, they would have every advantage they could get from an off-pitch source. The rest would be up to them.

Willy got out his keychain with all the various keys dangling from the central ring. He had accrued keys over the years; some of them were useless now, but he just never got around to pruning them. Finally he found the one he wanted, the key to the Senator locker room. He would check the visiting locker room afterwards; the road team wouldn’t get nearly as much attention as the Senators would. Fitting the key into the lock, Willy unlocked it and went inside. As he reached for the light switch in the dark, he wondered how the Senators would do in the game today. The Monarchs had every advantage on flimsy right now, and pundits said the Senators couldn’t win. Well, he thought, now would be the time to pop the Monarchs in the mouth and get a much-needed win for the home team. And home was just the place to do that.

When the glow panels came on that led to the Senators locker room, Willy could instantly tell that something wasn’t quite right. He looked at all the paintings on the wall; there were some smudge marks on the murals that lined the way. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but enough that it caught his attention. He had definitely not left this hallway in that shape.

Putting the key into the interior locker room door, he turned it around and entered the room. When the glow panels came on, he knew that things had gotten serious.

The locker room was trashed.

Benches, some splintered, others broken down, were laid out on the floor. The locker stalls seemed to all be in their correct positions, but pieces were missing; the nameplates that they had were missing. One stall had been smashed in the side, and it miraculously stayed up because of its base holding the weight while a gaping hole was in the side. Willy was mortified; what had happened here? He ran up to the assistant captain lockers; the three were still there, but all had their nameplates removed, the interiors were vandalized, and worst of all the items that had been left there, including some game-related items like finger tape and eye black, were missing or scattered over the floor. The giant Senator logo in the middle of the carpet had been torn up and hauled off, leaving a giant crater in the middle of the carpet. Eye black containers were left open and had saturated into the carpet, staining the spots that weren’t already black to begin with in black ooze.

And then there was the captain’s stall to deal with. Willy looked to where Christine Gamble would be sitting in six hours’ time.

But there was no stall.

Willy could tell where the stall was supposed to be because of how the carpet bowed down under its pressure. But now he could only stand in its spot, because the entire stall was missing. Also gone were Gamble’s personal effects, including the letter that she had been nominated for the Salbukk Award last season, and a Holo of her at the 275 Elite League Awards ceremony when she was up for the Ingbrand Award, which she also failed to snag. Those mementos obviously meant a lot to Gamble, and Willy knew the power of personal effects on players. Sometimes they looked to those items for comfort, other times for strength, and other times it was just something to get their mind off the conflict coming on the pitch. One of the most important items that Willy had ever kept track of was Ava Killenger’s Holo of her brother, Barney. He had been murdered one night during Ava’s senior year at the Coruscant Polytechnic Institute, and she had never quite been able to let it go. That Holo had always been sitting in her locker in her time with the team, and now it was missing, along with a bunch of other items that Willy had been in charge of keeping tabs on. But in his defense, no one outside of he and his crew should have gotten into the locker room. And if it wasn’t one of them, and he certainly hoped not, who had?

After surveying the damage in the regular locker room, Willy couldn’t believe it when he stepped into the refresher. The stalls were trashed, a commode was smashed, and water was all over the floor. In the training room, the training tables were tipped over, one had a gash in its interior material, and the ice buckets were dented and sitting by the walls. Obviously someone had gotten in here and vandalized the entire place, walking off with thousands of credits’ worth of stuff from the locker room.

Willy didn’t hesitate. He quickly phoned in to stadium security, and then contacted the organization. And then he had five hours to figure out what in the hell he was going to do. The team couldn’t be allowed to see the state of the locker room, he reasoned. If they did, they would start to question the security of the stadium. It was already a nightmarish place for them to play record-wise, it seemed. No need to frighten them anymore than they already were coming into this one against a foe that had their number.

But if he put them in the alternate locker room, which made the visitors’ facilities look exquisite, then what would they say? They would complain, they would wonder why they were here, and many would ask where their items were. Killenger would want her Holo of her brother, the Kuna sisters would want their eye black, and Gamble would simply want her locker back. And he couldn’t provide any of it for them, except for the lame excuse that he would have to concoct to try and placate them. He would be the target of their ire, and they could easily beat him up if they wanted to. Willy suddenly had a chill go down his spine; Limmie players weren’t always civil. If the things they did to each other on the pitch was no accident, then he might be in trouble.


And for the first time since the destruction of Andromeda Stadium, the home of the glory days of the Coruscant Senators, Willy Bunker cried. He had to sit out in the hallway and weep. His beautiful stadium had been a victim of vandalism and theft. And he had failed it by not protecting it. Now his job could be on the line. What had he done to deserve this?


IC: Christine Gamble
Alternative Locker Room, Senators Stadium

“Where’s my locker?” was the first question Christine asked when herded into the alternative, and much inferior, locker room.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll get it back,” a staffer said quickly, almost evasively. It certainly didn’t help Christine’s disposition any.

“Get it back? What in the hell are you talking about?” she asked angrily.

“Organization’s orders,” the staffer said bluntly. “You can’t go into the main locker room.”

“And why not?” Thulius Jomas asked. For being a quiet big man most of the time, he was certainly becoming vocal all of a sudden.

“Because you can’t. We need to get it cleaned up,” another staffer said.

“Cleaned up from what?” Jomas asked.

“That’s not for you to worry about,” the staffer replied. “Worry about the Monarchs, and we’ll worry about the locker room.”

Christine didn’t know what was going on, but what she did know was that this was going to make things even more difficult. So she dressed in silence in a no-name locker, one that had her name on it in removable tape instead of the emblazoned name placard that she had gotten used to. Hers had four stars on it for the four All-Star nominations; all the other players had similar treatment. Leia Adama had one, as did Ava, and Max Qorbus, when he was playing, had a few. In other sports they had helmet stickers for achievements like that; in Limmie, the name placard for the Senators was your bragging card. Cup titles, award wins, and nominations were also on there. Christine had two marks for her award nominations, but no Galactic Cups. She had always wanted to add a mark on her placard with that, and now she had no idea how long it would be until she saw hers again.

And then there was another problem. The temperature controls in the locker room had failed, for some reason, and it was freezing inside. Christine bundled up in a team jacket as soon as she was dressed, and she sat in the cold listening to the coaches talk before the game. It finally felt good to leave the locker room and go out onto the field, which was much warmer than it had been two weeks prior in the disastrous loss to the Mercs.

Before the game began, Christine looked over at the sideline. Sure enough, tucked in on the Senator side of the field, was the replica Commissioner’s Trophy. That was a silent reminder for the team to keep fighting, no matter the odds. It was obvious the League wouldn’t scratch their back, so they had to do that for themselves. And that began here today with a win. They had to win; there was no other way to let this end. A loss would basically knock them out of contention, if not officially it would mentally. Four straight losses was not something you could come back from easily, if at all. And there was no telling what the Storm would do the next week; with the Senators’ luck, they would probably run all over the home team. So a win here was vital to get momentum going into the Euceron game.

A change had been made to the starting lineup. Sharsy Wenips, who had done admirably in her rookie season the prior year, had turned in a turd of a season thus far, and now was benched in favor of veteran Gayla Renhorn. Ye’ves’toung wasn’t doing much better than Wenips, so Renhorn, who had a little bit of experience on winning teams, was in across from Arienne Farfell. The Monarchs used three middies to try and control the game tempo, so the Senators were going to cheat up a defensive back, likely Jamee Meels, or add a third midfielder to counter if the Monarchs got too much space in the middle. Likely they would see a lot of three-midfielder sets on the orange and black side, meaning that one side or the other would be down to five players for the formation. If the defense lost a player for a middie, Christine knew she had to be ready. They would then fall into the same alignment as the Monarchs, but for now they had an advantage with an extra defender or forward. They had to take any advantages they could get right now.

Christine smacked her hands together. They didn’t sting like they had the prior home game, when she had worn gloves. This game would be huge not just for her team, but for her. She had to prove that she was not an overpaid liability to this team. She had to lead them to a rivalry win, something that had proven to be nearly impossible since she had joined the team. A Core War win would be a good way to get back on track in the season and hopefully make a late-season surge to the playoffs. And that all started here.


TAG: CPL_Macja

 

IC: Rocket Richaud
Rocket’s apartment building, Gesco City, Bakura



Rocket quickly rapped her knuckles on the door, betraying her impatience. The hallway was naturally drafty, but Rocket was warmly bundled in a sweater so that wasn’t the reason for the rapid knocking. Instead, it was due to eager anticipation.

The door slid open. “Happy Yuletide!” Sadie cried, wrapping her friend in a warm embrace.

“Happy Yuletide!” Rocket returned as she came into her friend’s apartment. Sadie had proposed that since they were both going to be in the City without any family that they should celebrate together.

“I’ll make dinner,” Sadie had promised, “I used to help Granny make dinner. I’m super good at it. You’ll love it.” Rocket didn’t have to think twice about coming. The other option was a premade dinner from the grocery store that would likely be frozen when she purchased it.

Sadie had strung some colored lights around the inside of her apartment, which was laid out identically to Rocket’s. Accordingly, it didn’t take many decorations to fill the place up.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t wait anymore!” Sadie said, rushing to one of the cabinets in her kitchenette. She pulled out a wrapped box. “It’s been killing me to have this ready for you and have to wait for Yuletide to give it to you!” She thrust the box into Rocket’s hand.

“You shouldn’t have!” Rocket said, touched.

“Yes, I should have. It’s Yuletide. If I’m going to get a gift for someone, it’s going to be you,” Sadie said.

“Thanks Sadie,” Rocket said with a smile, “Guess it means it’s a good thing I got this for you.” She brought a box out from behind her back.

“Oh Rocket!”

“You haven’t even opened it yet,” Rocket said, “Don’t get all worked up yet.”

“I bet it’ll be great,” Sadie said, tearing the wrapping paper off. She pulled the lid off the box and pulled out a dark blue t-shirt. She held it up and found that on the front had the Miners logo printed on it. “A Miners t-shirt! My very own Miners t-shirt!”

“I figured you’ve earned it,” Rocket said, “Look at the back.”

Sadie flipped it around. In the style exactly similar to the back of a Miners jersey was a large number 9 and above that DEENEVER. “You got me a Niskat shirt,” Sadie said, clearly happy about it.

“I wanted to get you a jersey, but those things are so expensive,” Rocket said, “besides, you haven’t even gotten through half a full limmie season yet, so can’t go giving you a jersey quite yet, rookie.”

“I love it,” Sadie said, looking at her friend with affection.

“I thought you’d like it. I thought really hard about who should be on the back. I went with Deenever because you like it when she scores--”

“I do,” Sadie agreed.

“--and she’s smart and gets up when she gets knocked down and gives it her all every time...just like you,” Rocket explained.

“That has to be the best reason behind any gift anyone’s ever gotten me,” Sadie said, touched. She hugged Rocket. “Thank you.”

“You bet,” Rocket said, hugging Sadie back.

“But you haven’t even opened your present yet!” Sadie exclaimed, “Open it! Open it!”

Rocket had to admit that curiosity was tugging at her. She didn’t need more prompting than that to rip wrapping paper off and open the box beneath. Rocket pulled out a scarf alternating in blocks of dark blue and golden yellow--the colors of the Miners.

“This is a great scarf!” Rocket said, “Wow, it’s really soft.”

“That’s because I made sure to get really good yarn for it,” Sadie said.

“You didn’t…”

“I did…”

“You knit this for me?” Rocket said in disbelief.

“I did!” Sadie said, clearly pleased with herself.

“I didn’t know you could knit!”

“Well, Granny taught me a few things. Knitting was one of them,” Sadie said, “How’s the length?”

Rocket wrapped it around her neck and threw one end over her shoulder. “It’s great. I love it.”

“That’s not all.”

Rocket looked back into the box and dug around in the tissue paper. She pulled out a knit cap in similar dark blue hue. It had yellow ear flaps and a bright yellow bauble of yarn on top.

“I had some extra yarn left over...in that I had a lot of yarn left over,” Sadie admitted, “so you got a cap too. I wasn’t exactly sure about the pattern...or the size of your head...so...what do you think?”

Rocket put it on and found a mirror to look at herself. “It’s pretty cunning.”

“So you like it?”

“It’s amazing. Thank you!” Rocket took her turn giving a big hug this time.

It was then that something started beeping.

“That’s the food!” Sadie shouted, rushing to the kitchenette. She threw open the oven and was greeted with a cloud of steam. Rocket wasn’t entirely sure whether that was a good thing or not, so she watched from a distance so as to not get in the way. She had to admit that it did smell good…

---

It turned out that all was well and the pair laid the feast out on Sadie’s coffee table. There almost wasn’t enough room to fit everything on it. This said more about the smallness of Sadie’s coffee table than it did about the size and number of dishes. They were still two women on factory worker salaries. There were without question many more dinners in Gesco City that Yuletide that were larger than the one they were about to share. There were many that were better made. Everyone on Rocket’s client list almost certainly was sitting down to larger and better spreads by most culinary standards. But none was sitting down to one more appreciated.

There was the roast beast, the razzleberry dressing, and the woofle jelly cake. What more did one need for Yuletide dinner? Nothing that Rocket could think of--except for one thing, and they had it.

Sadie had a vidscreen, clearly a model that was a few years out of date, in her apartment. She turned it on and found the BBC (Sadie did not pay for extra Holo channels, but the BBC was publicly funded and they broadcast directly to any set that could pick them up), which had the coverage of today’s Miners game on Denon. Sadie had her new Deenever shirt on for the occasion (and her apron so she didn’t get anything on it while eating) and Rocket her scarf and cunning cap.

“I hope the woofle jelly cake came out all right,” Sadie said with obvious concern, “It’s always so tricky.”

“Even if it didn’t, this has got to be the most perfect Yuletide you could have,” Rocket said.

“Really?”

“Really.”

TAG: None but I hope you all had or are having equally pleasant holidays with those closest to you.

 

GM Post

All right everybody, bonus scores to Agamar, Bakura, Carratos, Coruscant, Mando'ade, Nar Shaddaa, and Ralltiir.

Week 5 Scores

Agamar Packers at Mando’ade Mercs (1-35)
Rydonni Prime Monarchs at Coruscant Senators (10-4)
Bakura Miners at Denon Demons (5-19)
Nar Shaddaa Smugglers at Ylesia Lightning (20-17)
Hapes Consortium Buccaneers at Ralltiir Starkillers (11-22)
Euceron Storm at Carratos Pirates (11-36)

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

 

Sub-GM Post

Bonus rolls this week to (points in parentheses): Byblos (25), Concordia (30), Druckenwell (28), Garqi (30), Tatooine (32), and Thyferra (30).

Limmie Futures League – Week 5
Gallinore Firedrakes at Concordia Crusaders (1–23)
Thyferra Force at Tatooine Sandskimmers (20–14)
Druckenwell Marksmen at Garqi Gunners (26–25)
Eriadu Thunder at Byblos Red Wings (24–19)

TAG: CPL_Macja Bardan_Jusik Vehn Rebecca_Daniels Tim Battershell Runjedirun Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Ty Allin

271 Ralltiir Planetary Penitentiary

The game had been at home this week and even without Trey we had won by a large margin. Loren Jul had lit up the score board. Blyss invited me to his house for another party, but instead I chose to come here and check on Trey. There were only two games left in our regular season and even with the possibility of going undefeated within grasp I didn’t feel like celebrating. I was told that Trey was eating his evening meal. I decided to wait for him, it took over an hour before I was allowed to see him.

To my surprise he was still in good spirits. “Why aren’t you angry that you’re stuck behind bars?” I asked him perplexed.

“Ty if you’re not at one of Blyss’ parties right now drowning in drink, I’ve made a positive influence in your life. I feel good about that.”

I shook my head in disbelief, “But you missed an opportunity to start today. Trey I’ve been locked up, it’s miserable. You don’t deserve to be here. I don’t understand why you’re taking this so well.”

“Ty this isn’t my first stay in a detention center either,” he said leaving me speechless. Sensing my shock he continued with his story. “Several years back I had too many drinks at an anniversary dinner with my girl. She asked if I was okay to pilot us home, and I said I was fine. I thought I would be able to make it. Whether the amount of alcohol in my system caused me to misjudge that turn or not I’ll never know. The passenger side of the speeder and the guardrail were mangled Ty. I walked away with barely a scratch. My girl was rushed to the med center and I was arrested. The following morning I learned that she had been pregnant with my child and she had lost the baby. She decided not to press charges. I was released on bail and only sentenced to perform community service.

“For a time she forgave me. We dated for almost another year. That’s when I bought the ring. She said she just couldn’t forget what I had done and moved on. I haven’t seen her since. And even while we were together, after the accident, I always felt so guilty. I still carry that guilt.”

“Trey you paid for what you did,” I reminded him. “You don’t belong here now. I’m going to ask around the locker room. Find out what Blyss and Sorro remember. I can’t understand why no one else is being questioned in this case, but I’m going to find out.”

IC: Ty Allin

279 Ralltiir Planetary Penitentiary

It was late that evening when Trey, Hovechar and Fortune made it to the visitors room. Visiting hours were over. The fact that I was getting special treatment meant that the case against me was crumbling. I had also heard the Starkillers had pulled out a win today. The news failed to improve my mood much. What I needed was to know my wife and son were alive and well. On that front there was no news.

I took a seat at the table without saying a word. “We missed you out there today,” Fortune began. “Coach played the whole 60 minutes, he kept up pretty well for someone who qualifies for a senior discount,” Fortune joked.

Trey gave Fortune a good slap on the back of his head. “You know who played well,” he said turning my way. “Hovechar, she and Ellie Knott were a dominating duo at midfield.”

Hovechar allowed a small smile to escape. “I wanted to make you proud Ty. It was your encouragement that kept me going during my suspension.”

“I am proud,” I said numbly.

“Ty, I know this situation sucks,” Trey said to me. “Ty look at me,” he ordered. I looked him in the eye, it was what he told me to do. I gave him one of the coldest stares I had ever given any being. My wife and son could be dead. If he thought I was going to be happy about his victory on field today he had another thought coming. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Trey ordered sternly. “Moping is not going to bring Lucie and Ty Junior back. Think about what they would want for you right now. They would want you to go on, move forward with your career, even if the worst did happen to them.”

I started to argue the point, but Trey held up his hand. “Remember last season when you lost consciousness on the field in Bakura. If you had not regained consciousness, if the worst had happened. You would have wanted Lucie to continue with her life. That’s what you need to do here. You need to talk to the lawyers Richard sends in. Not turn them away,” he said raising his voice a bit. “You need to get out of here. Get back on the Limmie field and win games with us. Lucie wants you to be happy, she wants you to live a full life. If she’s here to share it with you or not.”

I shook my head in disgust and stood up from the table. I looked towards the guard at the door. “I’d like to go back to my cell,” I called to him. I could see the hurt in the faces of my teammates and my closest friend. I wanted to believe what Trey had told me. I just didn’t know if I could. The last words I remembered Lucie saying were “Get out.” Maybe she had taken T.J. and retreated to another city for solace. It was possible she never wanted to see me again. When I got back to my cell I pulled the mattress off my cot and threw it at the wall in anger.

The mattress stood upright against the plain wall. I walked up to it and threw some punches at it. After boxing the mattress for a while I felt a little better. Exhausted, I put it back on the cot and drifted off to sleep.

The following day I was a little surprised to hear I had another visitor after breakfast. Even though I was surprised that Trey would come back after the way I had treated him the night before I didn’t bother to so much as glance at myself in the mirror before going out to meet with him. To my surprise Trey was not in the visitors lounge when I got there. Richard Vigo sat patiently waiting for me.

“You weren’t expecting me were you?” He said as I took a seat. The surprise that Trey wasn’t my visitor must have been more than obvious. Trey was probably busy getting ready for next week’s game already, I reminded myself.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. Richard was my boss, he was the primary GM of the Starkillers and he was Lucie’s sister. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed to be in my tousled state.

“I’ve got good news,” Richard said letting a smile escape. “Lucie and T.J. are going to be just fine.”

“You mean they’re alive? Have you seen them? Are they okay?” I asked quickly.

“They’ve been kidnapped, Ty. Law enforcement got that part right. Footage of them was released early this morning. In exchange for their safe return I’ve been asked to transfer some credits to an off-world bank account. If everything goes smoothly all three of you will be home for dinner.”

“What’s important is that Lucie and T.J. are home for dinner,” I corrected.

“Ty, I’m getting you out of here today,” Richard stated. “There are going to be lawyers in to see you. You need to cooperate. As long as Lucie and T.J. are released as scheduled there is no reason you shouldn’t be freed.”

I didn’t know if Lucie would want to see me or not. If I was freed and their release did go smoothly I could be having dinner at my mother’s this evening. I decided that was okay. I decided that I needed to be strong for my son. Lucie couldn’t keep me from seeing him forever. He was going to be proud of his father. I was suddenly determined to be a man he could look up to. I would win his mother back.

After thanking Richard I was led to an interview room. Two lawyers were already there waiting for me. I recognized one of them, he had been in the room when we had gone over Martin’s will after his death. The first thing they did was show me the holos of Lucie and T.J. that had been released early this morning. When the holos that were placed on the table in front of me, there was no way to stop the tears from coming. Relief flooded through me, but at the same time anger boiled inside. Lucie was still wearing the same t-shirt she had been wearing when she kicked me out of the house. Her face was even thinner than usual and there were bruises on her left cheek. There was a frightened look in T.J.’s eyes that chilled me.

“Have they caught the bastard who did this?” I asked angrily.

“Not yet, sir.” The lead lawyer answered.

“The funds Mr. Vigo transferred this morning will be traced. There is evidence that you are short on funds Mr. Allin. Your wife’s accounts certainly aren’t lacking credits, but you have a minimum balance in your own account. That won’t be changing anytime soon, will it?”

The questions got no less difficult, but I cooperated fully. When the lawyers finally finished speaking to me I was led back to my cell. I went to mid-day meal. I went back to my cell. I waited, it was almost time for dinner when a guard retrieved me. “All charges have been dropped,” the guard said as he opened the door.

I looked up in shock. After the questioning session I had expected to be released on bail at best. “The Vigo’s asked us to drop the charges,” the guard explained. “I’ll let your brother-in-law tell you the details.”

Richard was waiting for me in the visitors lounge. He handed me a duffel bag. “I brought some warm-ups from the stadium for you to change into,” he explained. “Your house is being searched for further evidence. Lucie and T.J. have been taken to the med center. We’ll meet them there.”

I changed into my warm-ups while Richard filled me in on the details. Lucie and T.J. had gotten off a public transport tube at a designated stop. They were alone and mostly unharmed. Lucie seemed severely malnourished in Richard’s opinion. He said she wanted to see me and that he planned to take me to the med center to do just that. I lifted my arm and sniffed. “You have some cologne in your speeder I could borrow?”

Richard laughed. “If you want we could stop by my place and you could shower,” he offered.

“I’d really appreciate that.”

“Seriously? I was being sarcastic. Aren’t you anxious to see Lucie and T.J.?” He asked.

“I am anxious, it’s just that your sister was awful mad at me when we parted last. I want to make a good impression,” I explained.

Richard hesitated. “Okay,” he relented.

I had never been to Richard’s house. It was more modest than his father’s. It was also on the other side of town. There was another speeder in the driveway when we got there. “Ty,” he said as he landed the speeder. “I don’t live here alone.”

I knew someone as famous and good looking as Richard couldn’t remain single forever. I was surprised to find out he hadn’t told his family that he was in a serious relationship. “Who is she?” I asked.

“It’s not a she,” he said getting out of his speeder.

I tried not to hide my shock. It wasn’t that I had any type of prejudice against his decision to date another guy. I was more so surprised that no one in the family knew his secret. I wondered how long he had been hiding it. “Can’t wait to meet him.” I said quickly.

Richard led me in the house and called his partner’s name. It turned out that Ryan and Richard had met at the academy that Spencer and Tomas still attended. They both went off world to University. When they got back Richard looked Ryan up and they picked up where they had left off. I quickly took a shower and it was lucky for me that Ryan was average height. He let me borrow some slacks. Richard gave me a Starkillers shirt with a collar to wear with them. Richard asked me not to share his secret as we rode to the med center.

I decided that once things between me and Lucie were repaired and our lives were back together that I would press Richard on the matter. Now was not the time. We got off the turbo lift at the designated floor. I saw a group of tall figures halfway down the hall. “Look who’s here,” I heard Mrs. Vigo say.

“Daddy,” I heard my son’s voice. I broke into a sprint and ran down the hall. T.J. was running towards me with open arms. When we met I picked him up, kissed his forehead and pulled him in for a hug.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I pulled back and looked him over.

He nodded. “Where have you been, daddy?” He asked me.

“Prison,” I told him, drawing some awkward stares from the crowd around us. “Daddy will tell you about it later. Where’s your mother?”

“Mommy is sick. She’s in bed. Can we see her Grandma?” T.J. asked turning towards Mrs. Vigo.

I quickly gave my own mother a kiss on the cheek and a brief hug. “Glad you’re here,” I told her.

Mrs. Vigo surprised me by hugging me next. “My daughter has been asking for you,” she said. “About time you got here. Why don’t you go in,” she instructed as she pointed towards the door directly in front of us.

TBC

Tag: no one

 

IC: Geoff Copin
Goss-Pell Memorial Stadium

The goal horn sounded for the first goal of the game. Mikia got sloppy with Rka'sey and the Bothan caught a leading pass from down field. She may be a good player but, no one’s perfect.

“Shake it off Mikia,” Geoff called from the sideline. She nodded her head and took her position. Qazi punted the ball down field to Boutros. She shouldered her way past Cornag then passed up to Rhodri. Nay'ryn was all over the defender but, didn’t have the strength to take the large being down. Dweno came down from the midfield to help out. Together the two Storm players brought down Rhodri and forced a fumble. The Devaronian got up first and flipped the ball to Rka'sey. Mikia wasn’t going to let her mark get past her again and took the forward to the ground. The Storm were on the attack and they had no intention of giving up. Geoff wondered if his team was taking the game seriously, as Kearren intercepted a weak pass to Seiji. Sure their opponents were last in the league right now but, that’s no reason to let your guard down. They were bottom of the pile last year and they still took the Mercs down. No reason the Storm couldn’t pull the same here. Boga scored a bar point to bring the visiting team up by four. The coach gritted his teeth and glowered at his team. They could play better. They had made a promise not to hold back, it was unfair to the other team to go easy on them. Mikia broke out of the back field and charged though the middle passing up to Gabby when she ran into trouble. Gabby led the charge into the offensive zone setting up the ‘All In’ attack. That was the kind of play they needed to be doing. Somehow Kohdi'orr got a hand on it preventing a Pirates goal. The young unknowns were fighting with intensity in the first few minutes of the game, constantly pressing the attack. Geoff was part annoyed and part glad. One piece of him wanted this to be a curb stomp game, easy from start to finish. The other part wanted an interesting game, a close game. Marcus blocked a clearing attempt and passed to Seiji. The ball was passed quickly from player to player eventually ending up in Logan’s hands. The full forward let loose a fast shot that the goalie just missed. Finally the Pirates were on the board. After that the fast paced offense kicked into gear putting shot after shot on goal but, it wasn’t turning into a slaughter. The Storm defense was holding allowing a point here or there but never allowing a flood of goals. Leigh had made the goal to put the Pirates into the lead followed by a bar point from Vayan. On the other end the half back line was putting the hurt on the opposing offense making hit after hit. Every time the forwards would get back up and continue playing, none of them lingered on the ground. The first half ended with the Storm still within reach of the Pirates.

During the break spirits were high, higher than they had ever been. Same time last year the Pirates were taking a major beating from the Storm, ending that game forty to two. This was a different year, with a different team, on both sides. Geoff was ashamed to admit it but, his team needed this, they needed an easier game. The last two games against the Smugglers and Starkillers had been close hard hitting bouts. It felt good to be the one in control for once. Seiji gave Gor a hard pat on the back. The rookie was having a good day with a goal and many shots last half. Poine and Rhodri looked each other in the eyes and nodded. It appeared that the two players had come to some understanding, and were probably one of the major reasons the Pirates were doing so well right now. The other reason was the new offensive strategy that had given them the scoring needed to win. Geoff kept quiet for most of the time. The team was already pumped up. They wanted to win keep the winning streak alive. After the horrible loss on Courscant the coach never expected his team would be second in the league right now.

The two teams took to the field and the team in black and white instantly took control with a quick goal from Logan. The Storm counter attack moved quickly out of their own zone and through the midfield but, was stopped cold by the half-back line that stood like a stone wall. This game felt different than the others. It was the first time the Pirates didn’t feel like underdogs, for the first time they were the favorites. This was an interesting position for the out of nowhere team that was the whipping boy last season, a post taken up by the Storm this season. Mikia picked off a pass and moved almost unopposed into the offensive zone before passing to Leigh. Leigh made a quick move on Duine and charged the net. Again the ball disappears into a mess of jerseys in front of the net. One of the Storm defenders managed to get a hand on the ball and started a breakout. The attack came fast and actually got through the half-back line. The backs were a little slow to react and the Storm got a shot past Qazi. Geoff smirked, the new players still had bite, and they weren’t giving up. A lesson he learned last season. The offensive spark for the young team was short lived as the defense tightened up and the offense started lighting up the scoreboard. Logan completed his hat trick, Gor made a bar point, Rime and Vayan both had goals, and by the end of the game every member of the front six had a point. The coach felt a little guilty in the hand shake line. He was now on the other side of a beat down and it felt different. Geoff congratulated each opposing player for their hard work telling them they played well. A team like this needed encouragement they had been through a lot, some may say too much but they still showed up. Everyone could respect that.

“Mr. Copin, Mr. Copin,” a gaggle of reporters called out, it had been a while since he had been to a press conference. With everything that’s happened he never really had time.

“Yes, Ms. Bahar,” He said calling on the Weequay reporter.

“How does it feel to be top of the league right now?”

“Um,” Geoff was unsure of how to answer, “Are you sure about that?” Rin nodded her head. “Well I don’t think anyone expected this, least of all me. The ELL is full of great teams I’m just happy that our little team is participating even after our lackluster season. I guess I’m glad that we’ve finally turned this around.” He picked another reporter from the crowd.

“Do you have any comment on Else Reppen’s absence from the team this game?”

“No” It wasn’t his place to say anything about what happened to Else if she wanted to say something she’d make that decision herself.

“Do you think you can keep the streak going against the Monarchs?” another reporter called out.

“I don’t know, what do the bookmakers say.” He replied with a chuckle

“They have the Pirates favored to win.”

“Is that from a Carratosian establishment?” The reporter nodded, “Well they do say that the bookmakers on Carratos are the best in the galaxy.” A few reporters laughed and the coach smiled. This was a different season indeed.

TAG: jcgoble3

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Senators Stadium

It just wasn’t fair.

Christine had finished up one of her best games of the year, and yet it still wasn’t nearly enough for the Senators to win. They had held the Monarchs to just 10 points on the day, but the offense, the vaunted 278 offense, had decided to lay another egg and not show up. Where was that offensive attack that rightfully shelled teams the prior year? Where was it, she wanted to know. Because it had cost the team a game it desperately needed to stay in contention. A win here would have pushed them to 2-3, and 1-2 in conference, but now their hopes were pretty much extinguished with a 0-3 conference record and 1-4 overall. The good vibes from the season-opening win over Carratos were all gone, replaced by the usual criticisms of the team and of her play in general. Hopefully the latter issues would go away after she had come out with a vengeance today, but the team failures were still evident.

Granted, these were not the same Monarchs on offense. They didn’t have Vesper Lynd, which was about 2/3 of their offense. But the Monarchs had still gutted it out, and Christine had to hand it to them. They didn’t give up. Yet it was still no excuse for the Senator offense not to show up. The prior game in the series had been exactly like this, a 12-5 Monarchs win also at Senator Stadium the prior year in the playoffs. Rydonni Prime walked away with the Sector Cup yet again, marking it the fourth or fifth time in the past five or six years, Christine didn’t quite remember. But all she knew was that it was a trophy that had now left the trophy case at Team HQ, one more reminder that they were beyond pathetic in rivalry games. They never won them; the losing streaks were ridiculous. 4 straight against the Mercs. 4 straight against the Miners. 2 straight against the Smugglers. 6 of 8 against the Monarchs, including two playoff losses. The team was in pathetic shape to begin with, but their rivalry record made the captain wonder why they were even playing for trophies when it was obvious that they never came to Coruscant. The Revolutionary Axe, somehow won against Chandrila in the offseason, seemed like a miracle win in the sea of guaranteed losses to rivals.

As the team trudged back to the ice box that was the locker room, Christine wondered what in the hell she could do to get this team back on track. They were spiraling out of control, like the Limmie Gods were intentionally beating the crap out of them to prove a point. Well, she thought, that seemed rather unfair, because they had endured a 0-9 season before, and repeated beatings even after that just added insult to injury. Was the team just that bad? Was she the most overhyped player in the League? Was she any good?

She didn’t even notice the cold when she got into the locker room and changed out of her uniform. She just didn’t care right now. All she wanted to do was yell at the offense for not doing their job, but that wouldn’t help things any. Obviously missing Max Qorbus out there was killing the offense, and Laura Cellen wasn’t doing anything to help. Becki Morlan looked like a fish out of water without Morgan Allesh, Ava wasn’t doing much when asked to shoulder a larger load (and had even been injured in the game), and Anya Amasova just wasn’t a premier scorer even though the effort was there. Leia Adama had no shot at doing well because she was routinely double or triple-teamed, and until someone else showed up to take the burden off, she likely would stay stuck in the mud. Ozzie on the Monarchs had also shown why he won the Salbukk; he had kept the Senators from scoring a single goal. But Christine wondered if that was because he was just that good, or the Senator offense just that bad. It was probably some of both.

At least the midfielders played well. Gayla Renhorn had brought a sense of stability to the midfield corps, keeping her matchup in sight at all times and providing a very useful pivot point. The long-time veteran had the experience to go toe-to-toe with the younger Monarchs midfielders, and had shown them a thing or two. So at least it wasn’t a total loss.

On defense, the return of Camille Montes had certainly helped. She held the Monarchs to ten points, making quite a few nice saves to prevent the game from reaching blowout status. Deluxx had finally gotten back into the game, pushing his matchups around with his bulk. Kara Milovy have a bounce-back game, and did her job on the corner. Even beleaguered Patti Meter had a good game off the bench, so there was hope that the defense could right the ship despite being second-worst in the league in scoring defense yet again.

But there was a long slog ahead. After Euceron, which appeared to be an easy win but probably wouldn’t be so easy when they got there, rivalry games with the Miners and Smugglers loomed, likely two easy wins for their opponents. The Starkillers had gotten back into things, the C-Bucs could be dangerous, and the Packers, despite being shut down by the Mercs, were extremely tough. There were no easy games, and Christine noted that none of them were easy because the Senators were just that bad. That never helped.

Finally she had enough. “I call for a players-only meeting this week,” she said to her fellow players. “No coaches, no staff, no anyone else allowed except us. We’re going to fix this wreck and turn the season around.” She had never done such a thing as captain before, but things were just getting that dire. They needed direction, they needed guidance. And most of all, she needed a win. And Euceron was coming to town with a winless record. It was time to try and get things going again with a win.


They had to.

TAG: CPL_Macja, jcgoble3

 

IC: Gark S’rily
Senators Stadium, Day After Senators-Monarchs Game

“So let me get this straight,” Gark said to his maintenance staff. “There aren’t any cameras on this premises?”

“That is correct, unfortunately,” Dyklar, the head of maintenance, said. He had been head maintenance man almost as long as the Bothan had run the team; it had been Dyklar who had informed Gark of the freeze in the pipes back at Andromeda that had threatened the structural integrity of the stadium. It was the Rodian who had borne the bad news about the stadium Senators fans now looked back on nostalgically as the place where their team had once dominated. And now it was his turn once again to give the Bothan the bad news.

“Why doesn’t this surprise me?” Gark asked, rubbing his face with his hand. This was not the kind of news he needed right now. His team was in the tank, he was tired all the time because of constantly being woken up during the night, and now his stadium, the one he had pushed to be built, had been vandalized and things had been stolen. If he wasn’t in a good position with the rest of his life, now would have been a time to curse about how bad things were going for him. They were just that bad right now.

“Would it make you feel better if we installed a camera system?” Dyklar asked. “ID card readers that feed to a central computer system? Cameras all over the place? Extra security features?”

“You might as well add trip wires that fire poison darts, while you’re at it,” an aide said spitefully.

“That’s not helping,” Gark said. “Can we do those enhancements?”

“You’ll have to ask Willy,” Dyklar said. He turned to the dark-skinned human. “Can we add extra security features? They’ll mean a lot more work for your crews.”

“I know,” Willy Bunker, the heads groundskeeper, said. “But, that being said, you have no idea how hard it was to take seeing that locker room trashed. So I’m up for whatever. Anything to keep that from happening again. Because I didn’t do it.”

“Then get to work installing at once,” Gark said.

“What’s our timeframe?” Dyklar asked.

“Get it done before this week’s game against the Storm,” Gark said. “Can’t have any more slip-ups, understood?”

“Understood,” Dyklar replied. As soon as he got back to his office, he called in the requisite work crews. When the boss wanted something done, it was going to get done on his timeframe. Besides, deep down, Dyklar wanted to know who was behind all this. If no one else got to the perpetrators before he did, he would strangle them. Defacing this stadium was a major crime in more ways than one, and he wanted those who were behind it to pay dearly.

---

Day Before Euceron Game

IC: Willy Bunker

The new alarm buzzer went off, and Willy looked over to check on it. Dyklar had said something about running a few tests with the system to make sure it worked, so the groundskeeper was sure that it was his crews testing the system. They had to get it done tonight, or else they wouldn’t have it completed by the game the next day.

He called up Dyklar to tell the Rodian that everything was going fine with the system. “The test is working,” he said cheerily. “Now if anyone breaks in, we’ll know.”

“What test?” was Dyklar’s reply. “I didn’t authorize any sort of test right now.”

Some awkward moments passed as Willy comprehended what the Rodian had just said. If this wasn’t a test . . . then what was it? He quickly switched on the video camera feeds, and they came to life. But since the system was still new and barely out of the box, he had to remember what to do to change the angles. It was a complicated system if you didn’t know what you were doing.

He finally found the switcher he needed, and the cameras came to life. He looked over many of the cameras, with no results to show for it. But then he came out to the hallway near the Senators locker room, and he found several dark-clothed beings wandering around. At closer look, he could tell that they were on a mission, whoever they were.

“What do you want?” he whispered to no one in particular.

Then another buzzer went off, and the ID card reader identification system spat to life. He had set this up to go crazy during off-hours; during the game tomorrow, it wouldn’t set off these alarms because of the crews needing to access the different parts of the stadium to make it ready for the game. He swung around in his chair and then looked at the monitor.

“Lara Spinks” was what the identification system said after a second of deliberation. Spinks’ face came onto the screen; she had clearance, all right. So what did the team media director want with sneaking around late at night where she clearly didn’t belong?

“Gotcha,” was all Willy said. He had a perpetrator. Now it was time to phone the boss and fill him in on whose card was being used to break in.

TAG: No One

 

IC: The Rancor Pitt​

​

​

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! from downtown Keldabe, on a cold and rainy, and I don't even care because the Mercs are playing so well, it's a Victory afteroooooon! Welcome on into the Rancor Pit. I'm Randy the Rancor, he's Justin Pitt. Liz Baker on the boards, with Kitterich on the other side of the glass and oh baby do we have a show for you."

"It can't be any bigger than that game the Mercs just turned in for us yesterday."

"That was... It was.... Well shab, I'm speechless, it was Just another dominating performance, nothing else you can really say about it."

"Well it was the second shutdown performance in a row for Katan who is playing out of his mind right now."

"He was always a risk taker and it's really paying off now."

"Well the play of the three headed monster in front of him, K'Karlsson, Tullo and Mauntak is allowing him to play to his full potential. To take those risks, and with them out in front more often than not they pay off."

"The Crusaders had a shutdown on the pitch as well didn't they?"

"Yeah, that was fun to watch. I had the call again for the station and Thorn put on a clinic for them. He is so methodical, so precise with his movements and positioning himself within the box. It's amazing to see him work, and glad he seems to be fully mended now."

"So he'll be back with the Mercs..."

"This coming game, I heard he will be called up a little later today and is cleared to play."

"The question then, is will he start?"

"Well, he was the starter before he went down with injury, and normally a player won;t lose his starting role due to injury but..."

"With the way Katan has been playing I can't see Kor'le yanking him from the starter's role."

"Still, Thorn has shown on his rehab stint that he is ready to go. Should be interesting to see what Kor'le does."

"I can't see her starting Thorn over Katan, not now."

"She..."

"Can't. She just can't. Not with the way this defense is producing. Three weeks in a row they have given up only single digits in points against, the last two weeks their oppoenents have scored a total of two points combined!"

"Yeah, hard to argue with those numbers. I do wonder if Katan will be looking over his shoulder now though, with Thorn coming back up."

"He shouldn't. That guy should have all the confidence in the Galaxy that he is the starter."

"Ya know, having two legit starting options at Goalkeeper, maybe Vizsla can work a trade. The Senators are hurting, if he could get a good piece or even draft picks..."

"Oh wow. Hadn't thought about that to be honest. I wonder what kind of haul he could get for either of them..."

"When is the trade deadline? K-Man, you have that for us?"

"I'll uhhh With the new schedule, I'm not sure. I'll check for you and have it by the next segment."

"Sounds good, go do some work Kitterich. We'll just wait on you and talk about it as we take fan's calls."

"Hey be nice to the K-man!"

"I am, listen we have a lot to get to today. All is not well in Merc's nation today, despite the win."

"Lieznam" Justin replied glumly.

"Our very own Johnnie Limmie can't just let us enjoy a dominating effort on both sides of the ball."

"It's like he can't get out of his own way right now. I mean, I really wanted him be the starter going into the season, but he can't treat team mates like this and expect to them or us in the media..."

"Or the fans."

"Or the fans, to keep having his back."

"OK. For those that don't know. Johnnie Limmie was late for his bacta treatment midweek for his strained hamstring. He was fined by the team and kept out of the first half of the game in what the front office is calling an "internal mercs team decision". He did come on in the second half, and played well, but by then the game wasn't in doubt. It was gargabe time."

"And now we know why he was late."

"Yup, that broke during the game, though I think everyone in the area already knew..."

"He was hosting a big party at his place in Keldabe."

"Were you invited?"

Me?" Justin burst into laughter. "Nope. But I could hear the music from my back yard."

"Guess there are no noise ordinances on Mandalore."

"That would interfere with them blowing stuff up."

"Anyway, he was had this big old party going on and apparently he stayed up too late, or was too hung over the next morning to be up and able to get to his treatment on time."

"Shows a total lack of respect to his team mates and the fans. The guy gets paid big money to play a game, and here he can't even get to treatment on time. It's a disgrace."

"Wonder what we could get for him in a trade."

"Well...I'm not willing to go that far yet. He is still a good player. But it does show where some of the animosity from players like Daryc and Mor'kesh stem from."

"Speaking of Daryc, the offense was firing on all hyperdrive motivators yesterday."

"You don't want to talk about Johnnie Limme anymore?"

"No! Enough about him. He's a bum, cut him or trade him or do whatever you need to do to keep him out of a Mercs uniform!"

"OK, OK."

"Now, the Mercs offense was hitting shot after shot yesterday. There was no stopping them."

"Shot after shot? So it was like Lieznam at his party?"

There was laughter now before Randy came back, still chuckling. "I'm going to ignore that. I really am."

"You will try."

"I...OK. The Mercs put on a dominating performance in front of the home fans. Daryc led the way of course but there were major contributions from Mor'kesh..."

"Ten assists and several turnovers."

"...along with Arock and Mereel. Langdon did great in the first half too, she is really coming along nicely."

"They are a well oiled machine right now Randy, and they just seem to be getting better and better."

"The schedule is helping out there too, lets face it. They're in the midst now of a four game home stand."

"Next up is a tough non conference game against the Demons though."

"They're in first place aren't they?"

"Second I think."

"It's first."

"Get to work on the trade deadline Kitterich."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, they take on the Demons next and then another non conference game at home as they take on their old friends the Lightning."

"It really has been a favorable schedule for them so far, but they can't control that. They can only play the games they have and do their best to win each one of them."

"Well they've been doing well so far. Just that hiccup against the Pirates."

"Who are in first place."

"They are, but it's still early in the season."

"Weird to say that five games in is early in the season, we're more at the mid point."

"Yeah. I guess my point was that there is still plenty of limmie left to play. A lot can happen over the next six games."

"Six games left. Wow. That does seem like a lot."

"It will be interesting to see how the team plays out over that stretch. The rookies have played well, but they might hit a wall soon. Even the veterans will be in uncharted waters by the end of the season. How will the rookies handle the workload, and how will the vets adapt their own game and game prep to handle this longer campaign."

"It's certainly something to watch, and it raises the question, have the Mercs peaked too soon?"

"Oh I hope not, but we might have today. We have to take a break. We'll have your opinion and ours on that when we come back, right here on the Fandalorian."


TAG: No one.

 

EDIT: Looks like I done posted in the wrong thread again.

 

GM Post

HSN Headlines

• Ty Allin released from prison after being cleared in kidnapping of his wife and child, who are reportedly home safe and sound
• ELL confirms that trade deadline in 11 week season will be up until Week 8 games are played

TAG: Bardan_Jusik (because he asked and Kitterich is good!) Runjedirun

 

GM Post

HSN Evening Headlines

• Source for Coruscant Senators reports that team will have a player-only meeting in week prior to Euceron game.
• HSN Analyst: "This is a good move. They need to get their act together, and what better a time than to have it before a must-win game?"
• Gark S'rily, on potential trade rumors swirling around his team: "We have received some offers, but are not actively shopping players right now. We are still trying to win games, but we will look to make moves before the deadline if we feel that we can boost the quality of our team by doing so."
• Senators add Ugdulo Borr (Chevin, Male, Full Back) back to team on a contract that runs through the end of the 279 season
• Commissioner Lokensgaard arrives on Rydonni Prime for Pirates/Monarchs game
• Lokensgaard: "Just being here makes me feel like a pirate king."

TAG: CPL_Macja galactic-vagabond422 Jedi Gunny

 

IC: Aleyn Bray
O’pahz, Carratos

Detective Bray and his partner entered the chilled domain of the city corner, a male Quarren named Nossor Call. His tentacles twitched upon the two humans’ entry. The squid like alien had called the investigators down to receive a report on the two bodies found early yesterday morning. The medical examiner stood between the two tables where the beings were laid out, one Trandoshan and one Human. The crime scenes linked to each victim told two vastly different stories, time to get another account. Call coughed into his hand.

“I’ll begin with our reptilian friend.” He said moving behind the table with the larger figure on it, “name is Narkuss, 2 meters tall, 135 kilos, cause of death, sharp force trauma to the chest piercing the heart. Of interest are his other injuries. Broken elbow, shattered leg, several fractured ribs and many lacerations, none of which were fatal. My guess is that whoever attacked your vic was very, very strong and that there was a great struggle before his untimely death.” That fit with the crime scene where the body was found, a rundown apartment building with furniture smashed and even a dented durasteel wall. A fight that loud would have be heard throughout the building but, this being Carratos no one heard a thing. “X-rays and other scans show higher than average bone and muscle density especially in the hands. That paired with the dragon tattoos, his occupation is apparent, enforcer for the Star Dragon criminal organization.” Another dead dragon in as many weeks, Baroness was probably furious. “The weapon is also interesting analysis of the wound shows that the blade was shaped somewhat like a claw with the serrated edge on the inside of the curve, only weapon that comes to mind is a darkstick.”

“A darkstick?” Phil said quizzically.

“Yes a traditional weapon carried by Kerestian warriors and hunters, now we have not found any residue of black paint or light absorbing particles typical of a standard darkstick so it still could be different weapon.” Aleyn furrowed his brow, if the murder weapon was a darkstick then one being came to mind, Baroness’s giant. If that was true she had one of her own people killed, why? “Now our other victim” Call continued “Jai Llalkik 1.9 meters tall, 100 kilos, cause of death, asphyxiation due to crushed windpipe. There is some bruising on his abdomen and back around is liver and kidneys most likely delivered before the killing blow and designed to weaken the victim making the final strike easier. From what I can tell the assailant has some training if not a lot of training in an unarmed martial art. The strikes are too precise for dumb luck. Any trace evidence was sent to the lab and results should be sent to you soon, along with my full report.” The two detectives turned to walk away when their data-pads went off. It was an alert from O’pahz general apparently Blitzer Harrsk had been checked in the night before and they were just getting around to telling the police.

Phil and Aleyn arrived and were directed to their suspects ICU room. The doctor said he presented with malnutrition, acute dehydration and confusion. The timing was suspicious, two bodies show up in the morning and then a missing criminal shows up in the hospital that same night. Aleyn knew that the murder of the human had to connect to this. He tried talking to Blitzer but the poor man was too afraid, still too affected by his ordeal to talk. The investigator felt remorse at having to put him back in prison after he was released but, the man signed a confession of his own free will before being taken away and interrogated cruelly. Aleyn discretely messaged Baroness requesting an audience. He might as well follow decorum if he was about to accuse her of murder by proxy.

While he waited for a reply he ran background and financial checks on the two dead men. Narkuss’ bank accounts were nearly drained with only a few hundred credits left, and recent activity had him withdrawing large amounts at a single ATM outside of the Dragon’s known territory. Jai Llalkik on the other hand was a bit more perplexing, only a few possession charges all of which were dropped in his rap sheet. His known associates didn’t correlate to any known criminal organizations, until Gaf Karastee’s name came up. He was the man Blitzer worked for before Alyen arrested him. Although he didn’t give anything up to the police, it is possible that under illegal enhanced interrogation Blitzer gave up some information on Gaf. If that was the case why wasn’t Gaf’s body lying in autopsy? Had he gone to ground trying to hide, or was his execution more private than his associate’s?

A reply came in from the Baroness granting his audience. On the drive over Aleyn knew he would not get a straight answer but, he needed to know, he needed to know what was going on. He couldn’t just drop this line of questioning. He wasn’t going to put this meeting in his official report; this would go into his journal, something he started keeping soon after he arrived. He may not be able to officially charge some of these people but, he was going to have enough evidence to do so if they ever fell from grace. He could also eventually use it as a bargaining chip when he really needed. He entered the all too familiar lair of the Baroness and sat across from her.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” She asked those eyes staring into his. He thought about it for a moment and decided why not, wasn’t going to harm anything.

“Sure,” a few seconds later Acaadi appeared setting a fine crystal wine glass down in front of the detective. Baroness reached over and poured the same wine she had out the last time Alyen paid her a visit. He took a cautious sip. Being a whiskey man himself he was sure he was missing some of the subtleties of the blood red inebriant but, he could still tell that this was a fine drink.

“I told you it was good.” She said in a voice that both haunted and graced his dreams. “Now what did you want to discuss with me.”

“There were two murders yesterday morning, one of your Star Dragons and another person connected to Gaf Karastee. I know you are involved I just need to know exactly how.”

“Darling are you wearing a wire,” before Alyen could retort the blade of a darkstick brushed against his throat. The large Kerestian loomed over him his weapon gripped between the second and third knuckles of his right hand. In the being’s right hand was a frequency scanner. A few sweeps of the investigators person and a nod to the Baroness the tense situation was resolved.

“That’s an interesting knife you got there,” Aleyn remarked as the deadly bade was returned to its place. The huge figure growled. “Baroness, do you think I’m stupid, that I would walk into your place of power with a wire on me?”

“And do you think me a fool, discussing the specifics of my business openly with a cop I do not trust.” The room was silent for a moment. The Seccer noticed the giant reaching for his blade again. Baroness smiled, as she took another sip of her wine,

“Now that that’s out of the way, did you and Philip receive my little belated Life Day present?” Aleyn took a large gulp out of the glass in front of him.

“If you are referring to Blitzer Harrsk showing up in the hospital, then yes, we received him.” He took another sip beginning to feel the alcohol warm his body. “What in sithspit did you do to him?” She made a clicking sound with her mouth like one would scold a child.

“Now, now, Alyen I told you before that was just business. It had to be done.”

“That man will never be the same again what you’ve done to him is,” she stopped him with a raised index finger.

“We all know what I am, there is no need to point it out again Aleyn.” The detective knew that the conversation was over but, he lingered there for longer than he should have. “Do you have any family?” she asked, the question caught him off guard, was she trying to gain some kind of leverage over him by threatening his family. If that was the case she wouldn’t need to ask him, she had sources where she could easily get that information. “Don’t worry,” she said with a sight laugh, “I’m not going to hurt them, I just want to get to know you.” He didn’t know if it was the wine or his own want to stay that made him answer but he did,

“Yeah, my mom and dad still live on Courscant, you?” again she laughed

“Any family I did have is probably on Pantora,” He found her phrasing a little strange could she not know her own family. They spent more time than was prudent talking about anything that caught their fancy, for that moment they had forgotten their adversarial positions. Aleyn returned home and woke up the next morning with ticket to the Pirates/Miners game being held in a little over two weeks.

TAG: No One

 

IC: TY Allin

271 Bankers Mansion Starkillers Locker Room

The following morning at practice I asked Blyss what happened that night at the bar. At first he gave me a cold shoulder. Told me there was nothing to talk about. I persisted the matter until he turned to face me. “You want to know what happened, rookie?” He asked quietly. “Your friend came back in the bar after you left. He was in a rage. He threw a table down on two students and they died of their injuries.”

“That’s not true,” I argued.

Just then Coach Foress walked by and grabbed me by the arm. He led me out of the locker room and down the hall to his office. “Allin,” he said once I took a seat. “It’s real nice of you to support your teammate. But I am going to have to insist that there is to be no talk of the incident in this locker room. Do you understand me?”

“But Coach,” I argued. “Trey didn’t even know what that fight was about. If he had harmed anybody he certainly wouldn’t have been stupid enough to call authorities. Why aren’t other players being taken in for questioning?”

“Allin, law enforcement has closed the case,” he said to my surprise. “Till was one of my best players and I’m hurting too. You can continue to visit him. I won’t prohibit your rights to see him. I will and I am asking you not to bring up the subject again on stadium grounds. You won’t play and you may even be cut from the team if I hear you mention the subject again. Do you understand?”

In shock I gave him a nod before I got up and walked out.

IC: Ty Allin

279 Cambrielle Med Center

I opened the door to Lucie’s room just wide enough to fit through the opening and closed it quickly behind me. Lucie and I made eye contact before I even let go of the door handle. “I was told you wanted to see me,” I ventured.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she lifted herself into a seated position.

“Fine,” I answered still standing with my back leaned up against the door. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, “Dehydrated.”

“T.J. looks good, you did a great job taking care of him.”

“You would have been proud. He was so brave.”

“I am proud. Proud of both of you.” I let go of the door handle and took a few steps forward, slowly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. This could have been prevent..”

“Ty stop, everything worked out in the end. Let’s not contemplate what ifs. Take T.J. home. I should be able to join you there in the morning.”

I stood midway between the bed and the door, where I had been when she said stop. “Lucie our home is the scene of a crime right now. We aren’t allowed back in. T.J. can go stay with your mom or mine, whichever he chooses. I’d like to stay here with you,” I took a few more steps forward and reached for her hand.

To my relief she reached out with her hand and took mine. I stood by her bedside now as she spoke, “You need to take care of yourself. You have a Limmie game on Agamar this weekend to prepare for. A good night’s sleep is what you need. You won’t get that here. I’m sorry I was so forceful with you the other night. I should have given you a chance to get rid of the weapon.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. Law enforcement says the weapon is no longer in the house anyway. Legally I can’t get another one. I have a prison stay on my record now,” I said with a shrug.

“I’m so sorry Ty.”

“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong. Lucie you get your rest. I’m gonna go get something to eat, and I’ll be back to see you before the night is out. Okay?”

“I love you, Ty.” They were the most beautiful words in the Galaxy.

“I love you, too.” I said as I bent down to kiss her lips. “I’ll be back shortly,” I promised her as I left the room.

When I returned to the hallway Mrs. Vigo was trying to convince my mom to come eat dinner at her house. “Jennifer I am sure Ty wants you to join us,” she was saying.

“Yea Jennifer, come have dinner with us.” I said putting my arm around my mother.

My mom never missed a beat. She smacked my butt, “Don’t you call me Jennifer. I’m your mother,” she scolded. “I’ll call law enforcement and they’ll drag your butt back to jail.”

I heard Tomas let a laugh escape. “Did you order the food Spencer?” Mrs. Vigo asked.

Spencer hit a few keys on his data pad, “Should be at the house when we get there.” He confirmed.

The only person missing at dinner besides Lucie was Trey. He was at the stadium holding practice. I felt like I should be there, I felt like I needed to hurry through dinner to go check on Lucie and I felt like I should eat slower so that I could spend more time with T.J. and my mom. I did my best to act as if nothing had happened. There was a stack of presents in the Vigo living room that had gone unopened on Life Day. When I opened the ice box to get T.J. more milk I saw the processed meat strips that had been saved for me.

We were deciding who should take me back to the med center to visit Lucie when Trey walked through the front door. “I’ll take you,” he said. “You and I have a lot to talk about.”

I had a quick heart to heart with T.J. I told him I needed him to listen to his grandmother and go to bed on time tonight. I explained that his mother would be coming home tomorrow and he wanted her to get a good report when she got here. After giving him a hug and a kiss I followed Trey out to his speeder. I expected Trey to yell at me. I hadn’t exactly treated him very well at his final visit to the detention center. “How’s it feel to be a free man again?” He asked as I put my safety strap over my shoulder.

“Huh? Oh, I don’t know. I know this is selfish, but I just really hope we can go back to our house again tomorrow. I want to sleep in my bed, next to my wife.”

“That’s not selfish. That’s exactly what you need and deserve. I’ve been wanting the same thing. Madelyne and I have decided to move up our wedding date. I wanted to make sure I told you tonight because there’s going to be a public announcement before the week is out.”

“What? If you make an announcement like that reporters are going to follow you around even more than normal. I thought you wanted a private wedding.”

“No matter how secretive we were about the plans something would have leaked. So we’ve decided to do the ceremony at Financial Square. In a week and a half before the game against Rydonni Prime in front of 4 million of our closest friends.”

“Seriously?” I asked in disbelief.

“Ty, I’m completely serious. The press is going to show up wanted or not. It’s easier if we just invite them. There’s one more thing I want to talk to you about before you go in to see Lucie,” he said as he started searching for a place to park the speeder in the med center lot. “I think you should stay here on Ralltiir this coming week. Reunite with your family and put some of the weight you lost back on before you take the field again.”

“I’m team captain. I already missed one game. You can’t ask me to miss another. It’s not fair.”

“Ty I think it would be best for you and the team if you wait and make your comeback here at home.” Again I started to protest, but Trey reached over and put his hand over my mouth. “You’ve been through a lot in a very short amount of time. Likely it hasn’t even hit you yet. This isn’t a short jump, going to Agamar takes a day and a half. Its four full days away from home. You just got released from a week in prison. Your wife and son were kidnapped. None of us even know the details of what they went through yet. Some things are more important than Limmie,” he reminded me.

I nodded and sat quietly. Even though he had parked the speeder and I was free to exit at any time. “The second half of our season is going to be much tougher than the first half,” Trey pointed out. “We have three conference games. A three game road trip to close the season. I need you at your best. Physically and emotionally I need you strong. Who knows which Packers squad will show up this coming weekend the one who destroyed Nar Shadda or the one who was crushed by the Mercs. Whichever one that does we will deal with them. You take care of yourself and be ready to take on the Monarchs.”

I scratched my head, “On your wedding day?” I asked still confused.

“Yea, I’m getting married that day, but that’s not important to you. You concentrate on getting your life back together and what the trainers tell you at the stadium tomorrow. But first there’s a woman waiting for you. It’s not like you to keep a woman waiting. What are you still sitting here for?”

My visit with Lucie was brief. She filled me in a little about her captivity and told me about how her brothers had sat in with her while law enforcement questioned her immediately after her release. Apparently Tomas had told them that his fall back career if Limmie didn’t work out for him was to be a detective. I was hoping she would tell me why she had been kidnapped or who had done it. She insisted she didn’t know who or why. My gut told me she was hiding something. Maybe Trey was right, maybe it was best if I did stay home from Agamar this week. I wanted law enforcement to catch the person or people who had taken my wife and son hostage. I wanted them to spend some time in the penitentiary. If Lucie held back that might not happen. Worse she could be taken again or others could suffer a similar fate.

I left her that evening feeling uneasy. I slept in a spare bedroom at the Vigo house, but I got a lot less sleep than I had hoped. Lucie was released from the med center in the morning and we were allowed to go back to our house. We spent most of the day in our pajamas watching the holo. The three of us snuggled on the couch as much as we could. T.J. was restless he got up and danced for us more than a few times. That night after he went to bed Lucie and I made our way to the bedroom. “What really happened?” I asked Lucie as we got under the covers.

“I told you, I don’t know. Two men took us, we were hidden in a closet for a week and then they just let us go. They must have needed the funds.”

“Lucie you’re hiding something,” I said gently. “You can’t hold back on this. What those men did is horrible and they need to pay for it.”

“Ty what if I told you that we were held captive by a couple with children? I can’t turn children into orphans. Can’t we just be thankful this ordeal is over?”

“It’s not over until the criminals who did this are in jail where they belong,” I insisted. “Why would a couple with children hold you and T.J. hostage?”

She didn’t want to tell me, but she knew I wasn’t going to lay off until she did. It wasn’t just the children who would lose their parents that she was worried about. She was worried her mother would pull Tomas off his Limmie team. I reminded her that Trey wouldn’t allow it and we agreed to go to law enforcement in the morning so she could tell them her full story.

That week Spencer Vigo began to install an alarm system in our home. It would connect to the stadium and his own house when completed. He promised me no one could get into our home undetected again. Three people were arrested for kidnapping my wife and son. A man, his brother and his wife. The children were put in the custody of their grandparents.

Lucie was difficult to deal with. She was ridden with guilt over turning in their parents. She was malnourished and needed to eat, but refused because she was afraid of gaining weight in the wrong places and not looking good in her Starkillers dance uniform. Most of all she just wanted to go on with our lives as if nothing had happened. When I had to go to the stadium and meet with trainers to get my own body ready to play Limmie again I worried about her.

Just before the team left for Agamar I made a point to go thank Trey for not letting me make the trip with the team. For several season’s now he had been my coach. I had never fully respected him as a coach. He was still just my friend and teammate. Until now, finally in my mind the transition had been made. Coach Till was more than just a coach. He didn't just fine tune our Limmie skills. He cared about me and my teammates as individuals. Ultimately our team was better on field because of it, but that wasn't why he did it. He did it because he cared.

---

It was game day. I wasn’t with my team on Agamar. I was on my sofa in my living room with my arm around my beautiful wife and my son in my lap. Suddenly the images of my teammates appeared on my data pad. I recognized the locker room in Agamar. “Take your hands off the cheerleader,” Coach Till said coming into view. “You’re assignment was to take notes so that we could learn how to play better when you join us on field next week.”

“I will,” I promised. Regrettably, I removed my hand from my wife’s shoulder. I also took T.J. off my lap and placed him next to me so I could give full attention to my coach and teammates.

“Ty Junior,” Coach Till said addressing my son. “Make sure your father watches the game. Make sure there’s no hanky panky going on between him and your mother, understand?”

“Yes, coach.” T.J. said smiling.

“Words of wisdom before we take the field?” Coach asked me.

“Don’t take this opportunity for granted,” I told my teammates. “Playing Limmie is a privilege that may be taken from you at any time for any reason. Don’t play to win for me, coach, or Ralltiir. Play to win for yourselves. Each of you is an individual who matters. Each of you deserves to win this game. Go make yourselves proud.”

“Well said,” Coach told me. “We’ll check in with you at half time,” he cut the line and I put my arm back around Lucie as they were introduced on my holo.

Tags: Tim Battershell (for this week's game) CPL_Macja (for upcoming event at next week's game which will also be in the next set of headlines )

 

GM Post

HSN Headlines

• Ty Allin will not play this week, will return week 7 against the Monarchs
• Before the game against the Monarchs owner and coach will be married on field in front of the home crowd

TAG: CPL_Macja Runjedirun Tim Battershell

 

IC: Rocket Richaud
Hickory & Cherry, Gesco City, Bakura



“I’ve been reading up on the Cubs,” Sadie said as they walked along the sidewalk towards their neighborhood bar, “This Perdita Mowler is pretty good. She’s probably going in the next ELL draft. Maybe the Miners will take her.”

“What position does she play?” Rocket asked. The truth was that she didn’t follow college limmie. The emphasis in her household had always been on the Miners where players were at the peak of their ability, not student athletes who were somewhere between adults and children.

“Corner forward,” Sadie said confidently, “She’s lighting up the Bak10 right now. The Cubs are going places, trust me.”

“Yeah yeah, you can stop showing off now Miss Smarty Pants,” Rocket kidded her friend. Even though she was giving Sadie grief, Rocket was impressed that Sadie was becoming such a limmie fan to the point of getting into college limmie. She suspected that Sadie was enjoying knowing something more about limmie than Rocket did for a change. The blonde was more than willing to let Sadie show off.

“Yeah, that’s what you’re saying now, but wait until the draft comes around. Then you’re going to be asking me who’s getting drafted from the Bak10 and I’m going to know everyone,” Sadie said with supreme confidence.

She pushed open the door to Hickory & Cherry and as the pair stepped inside they found that the bar was absolutely packed, even more than on a Miners game day. “Wow, guess there are a lot of Cubs fans today,” Rocket said, “Who knew UBGC was that good this year.” Maybe they all wanted to forget the Miners’ Yuletide performance against the Demons in which their offense had ground to a halt.

Rocket had to admit she could use a bit of a pickup and today’s Evenvale-UBGC game had a good chance of giving her just that--even if Cubs fans had the stupidest cheer ever. It was called the eight clap and had way more than eight claps in it, which had a lot to do with its stupidity. It also wasn’t very original.

As Rocket and Sadie elbowed their way to the bar, something was off. Rocket didn’t know quite what.

“Hey ladies, I see you decided to brave the vets today,” the bartender said when they arrived at the bar.

“The vets?” Sadie asked. That was when Rocket realized what was off. There weren’t a lot of UBGC shirts in the bar today. There was something else.

“Gentlebeings!” one of the patrons roared, “I propose a toast!”

“Another toast you mean!”

“A toast!” the human said over the din of the bar, “To one of the greatest sustained military campaigns this planet--nay, this galaxy--has ever seen!” This was met with great enthusiasm and cheers. “It was on this day--on this very day 20 years ago!--that we, the Army of the Middle North, set out from Harper’s Ferry under the command of the great General Pollux N. Castor--” loud cheers for the general, “--and we headed for the heart of the Maple Flag Republic, the Dixie counties, and we taught those Maples a lesson they’ll never forget, all the way from Harper’s Ferry to River Terrace and ultimately to the queen city of the rebel wetlands, Nouvelle Orleans herself!” A great roar for this.

“Three cheers for the Federal Union!”

“Three cheers for Kerry Trieste!”

“Three cheers for General Dualla!”

“Three cheers for the Army of the Middle North!”

“Three cheers for General Castor!”

From the noise and the enthusiasm, it seemed like Rocket and Sadie were the only two beings in the bar who hadn’t been a Marine in the Civil War.

“They’ve been going at it for hours,” the bartender explained wearily, “Good for business, but bad for trying to watch limmie as usual. Don’t worry, we’re gonna have the Cubs on here for you. Know you were looking forward to it today.”

“Acually, I think I’ll take a pass,” Rocket said, “Not really my scene.”

“Oh come on, we were going to watch together!” Sadie said with clear disappointment, “I don’t get the channel with the Cubs in my apartment. We’ve got to watch here.”

“Don’t let me stop you, please,” Rocket said, “I’m going to skip this one. Next week though, okay?”

“Come on Rocket,” Sadie urged her, “I think I see a couple barstools over there.”

“No, really, I’m not up for all this,” Rocket said, “I’ll catch you later, okay?”

“Fine, but it’s going to be a great game, I know it. You’ll be sorry you missed it.”

“Tell me all about it later,” Rocket said with a smile. It was a smile that was a little less than the one she usually mustered, but only by a little.

“I’ll talk your ear off,” Sadie said, not taking note of that detail.

Without further apologies, Rocket quietly withdrew from the bar.

---

Sadie watched the game alone, but something felt off about Rocket skipping this one. This season she and Rocket had been crammed into Hickory & Cherry for Miner games with not much more room than was available today. Rocket was always up for limmie. She’d even been relatively excited about the Cubs game. The longer the game went on (and it was a good one for the prospect Mowler), the more this nagged at Sadie.

Just before halftime, Sadie finished her beer and decided to abandon the game. She paid her tab and went back to the apartment building where she and Rocket had their rooms. Instead of going up to hers, she went to Rocket’s floor instead and knocked on the door.

“Hey Rocket?” she called after hitting the door chime. No response. “Rocket?” she tried again.

This time Sadie pressed the button to open the door and it slid open, apparently unlocked. “Hey Rocket?” Sadie called--not that she had to be that loud with the apartment only being one room.

Rocket was sitting on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms around her shins. She didn’t say anything, which was unlike her on several levels. Sadie shut the door before going over to sit next to Rocket on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“Where were you born?” Rocket asked.

“Here, in Gesco.”

Rocket didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “In 259, the Miners won their first Galactic Cup during my lifetime,” Rocket said quietly, “I was five years old. It was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. They beat the Smugglers, of all teams. I was so happy. It was perfect. Almost perfect.

“There was only one thing, and that’s that my Dad who had taught me how to watch limmie, had joined up with the Maple Flag Army. Army of the Telaan Valley. Everybody in the Valley was doing it. He’d held off in the early years of the war because my brothers and sisters and me, we were so young. He didn’t want to leave us alone in times like those.

“But then General Dualla and her Army of the Northwest began marching on the Valley. It was winter. She’d already taken the southern counties of the Maple Flag Republic and made a name for herself. When she arrived to take command, one of her officers, Colonel Standish said, ‘Every time you get transferred it seems we go somewhere that it’s winter.’ She replied, ‘That’s probably because hell must have frozen over when this Civil War started.’

“As Dualla’s Army began marching towards our farm, my Dad joined up. He said he couldn’t sit by while Kerry Trieste came to steal our crops. He told me and my brothers and sisters to be good for Mom and that he’d be home soon.

“The year before we’d watched the Miners together. My first season. He taught me a lot about the game,. Everything I know. Watching without him, in 259, when the Miners won it all, it made me feel like Dad was there with me. That everything was going to be okay even though there was the War.

“After he’d joined up, the forces were pulled back from the Valley--it was determined to be a lost cause--and into the Dixie counties. His regiment was supposed to defend Harper’s Ferry and the surrounding area, the supply base of Nouvelle Orleans, the last fighting chance of the Maple Flag Republic, then besieged by Federal Marines.

“When the war was over he came home, alive.” Sadie exhaled with relief. She had been afraid of where this was going. “I was so excited to see him, we all were. He was home.

“But over the next few years, we realized that our father hadn’t come back. The same body had, but not the same man. It slipped out of him slowly, probably against his will, but he talked about it in bits and pieces. General Castor’s sole purpose in those years of the war was to carry out Operation Salamander, a scorched earth policy against the Maple Flag Republic to break the heart of the Republic. Sanctioned by Kerry Trieste herself from no less a place than the West Office. It was brutal. Their stated and acknowledged purpose was to hasten the end of the war by making it so terrible that it wouldn’t matter if we had nothing left to fight with--we wouldn’t have the will to fight anymore. They wanted to crush our spirit. And they took everything they could find, destroyed everything they couldn’t. They wreaked destruction and havoc to the point that the Federal Union had to finance a large scale reconstruction of the infrastructure of the former Maple Flag Republic after the War. Kerry Trieste was celebrated for rebuilding what in reality she’d destroyed in the first place.

“My father saw buildings burned, businesses built over generations destroyed, public works erected with pride pulled down, beings turned out of house and home and left with nothing. He saw all but unrestricted warfare that touched civilian and soldier alike.

“There was nothing he or his fellow soldiers could do to stop it,” Rocket whispered, “It broke him. Castor, his army, the Federal Union, they broke him. And literally as it happened, I was watching the Miners win a Galactic Cup.”

Finally Rocket couldn’t take it anymore and she put her head against her knees and started crying. Sadie put an arm around Rocket and said nothing for trying to encapsulate the sorrow she felt over such a terrible thing was something words could not do.

TAG: Just the Bakuran history junkies among you

 

Week 6 Power Rankings​

​

1. Mando’ade Mercs – Simply dominant. You can’t expect more from a team than to only give up 10 points combined in three games. And then to score that many points besides is absolutely ludicrous. They are clicking.

2. Carratos Pirates – Only five games into the season, they’ve already set their franchise record for wins in a ELL campaign. Now they look to knock off the hungry Monarchs and keep pace with the Mercs.

3. Denon Demons – Have won three straight to take pole position in the Solo Conference. That’s saying something for a team not expected to do much this year.

4. Rydonni Prime Monarchs – Won a tough game this week, and that shows guts. Punch them a ticket to the playoffs this year if they keep that defensive momentum going.

5. Bakura Miners – Got stood up this week against Denon, but still one of the best, if not the best, teams in the league. Don’t sleep on them since they aren’t in first place; they likely will be soon enough.

6. Agamar Packers – It hurts to be blown out that badly. But they are still a good team. One bad game builds character, and they have the size to dominate.

7. Ralltiir Starkillers – Aside from dominating the headlines off the field, the Starkillers are avoiding them on the field while staying in the thick of the Solo Conference race. We find that doing that helps, but will pressure from off-the-pitch events derail them?

8. Hapes Consortium Buccaneers – They’re not good, but they’re not bad, either. Still have a ways to go if they want to go to the playoffs.

9. Ylesia Lightning – Fallen off fast in the past few weeks, and are in danger of losing their early momentum. This is a team that desperately needs a shot in the arm.

10. Nar Shaddaa Smugglers – Not having any offense doesn’t help you win games when you don’t have the best defense in the League. We have our doubts about this team, and not having Kaitlyn doing everything for them is definitely a reason why they’re struggling.

11. Coruscant Senators – Their defense came to play for once, but the offense decided not to once again. It’s 277 all over again for them. We don’t buy the GM’s denial of trade talk, because they’re headed to the bottom at this pace. Expect a snoozer this week against Euceron.

​

12. Euceron Storm – The Storm have a chance to win this week against a bad opponent, and we’re predicting them to keep it close. Winning isn’t out of the question. If they’re going to get a victory this season, it’s likely this week. Otherwise, they have a top pick in their future; their playoff hopes are basically gone.

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

 

IC: Christine Gamble
Senator Team HQ, Day Prior to Game against Euceron

“I want to thank you all for coming,” Christine said to her teammates. They sat in a conference room at team headquarters for the players-only meeting. “I know that it’s not something any of us want, but it was time.”

“We going to have minutes and everything?” Haybius Korpus joked through a translator device.

“No. This isn’t a formal meeting. This is to get our heads on straight,” Christine said. “Because the last four weeks have been an embarrassment. We’re better than this. We’ve gone from looking strong coming off last year to last place, and facing yet another top pick in next year’s Draft. The organization and the critics, they think we’ve won, but losing that many games means we’re just that bad. We don’t want that pick. We want to go to the postseason. We want to win the Galactic Cup.

But we’re not going to get there like this. We need to win this week. Euceron will come in and try to beat us; we’re their easiest prey. They’ll want to win. We can’t let them. So why are we dead in the water? Anyone want to hazard a guess?”

She looked around the room; no one responded. Finally she had to break the awkward silence she had started with her question. “Look, it’s because we aren’t playing hard enough. We have the talent to win the Cup, I know we do. But we’re not using that talent. We’re complacent, stuck in last season. Well, it’s not last year anymore. This is a new year, and yet we’re acting like the opposing team will roll over and die for us. This game isn’t about who has the most talent, it’s about skill, teamwork, and a lot of luck.

Right now, luck is failing us. It’s pretty normal with this team to fail, apparently, so luck is never on our side. So why aren’t we winning games with our skill? Do we try hard enough? Is it the other team? Or are we just that bad? Come on, we’re not losing because we’re bad players. We’re losing because we’re a bad team right now. We have no chemistry, we have little faith in our abilities, and we certainly don’t have a prayer against Euceron if we don’t get out of this funk we find ourselves in.”

“Then what do you propose we do?” Zovort, the rookie Fondorian half back, asked. “It’s not like we can just magically change our focus because you said so.”

“True, we can’t get luck to go onto our side just because we want it,” Christine admitted. “But we need to learn that when luck fails us, that our game can’t fail us afterwards. We need to continue to fight for wins, not roll over. We have to finish, not be finished. That Mercs game was a perfect example of how not to play. We got steamrolled, and that can’t happen again. The Monarchs game last week? We had that. But only if we each did our jobs as intended, and not tried to piggyback on one player. We had no chance last week because we didn’t play as a team.”

“Easier said than done,” Leia Adama muttered. Her absence in Weks 2 and 3 had cost the Senators dearly, and then being double and triple-teamed in the past two weeks had caused the offense to collapse entirely.

“It sounds strange, it sounds cliché, but we need to go back to the basics,” Christine said, ignoring Adama’s comment. “We need to get back to the point where we have nothing to shoulder and everything to prove. We’re 1-4 right now; we’re basically dead in the water as it stands now. But we’re not dead. We still have six games left, including two in conference. We need a win this week, and then one the next week. There’s still hope for the playoffs. But we can’t afford another loss. We have to go out there tomorrow and play like a team with nothing to lose. If we can’t run the playbook like we thought we could, let’s throw it out. Let’s start over again and play fundamental Limmie.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Becki Morlan asked. “You’re asking us to start over from scratch.”

“But what are we out at this point?” Jenna Leed replied. “I know that the coaches have a gameplan, but in the end, it’s not working, what they’re doing. And even if it did, we’re not holding up our end of the bargain. The coaches don’t win games; we do.”

“So?” Morlan pressed. “You want to start over?”

“Coach isn’t going to like that we’re rebelling from the playbook,” Ava Killenger chipped in.
“We don’t need to throw it out entirely,” Christine offered. “We just need to get rid of the complexities that are tripping us up. Instead of making an unnecessary pass, if the defense gives us a look that we can do something with, we take it. We need to improvise, make things up, be unconventional. If the play says to throw a pass, but we can run it up the gut, do so. We’ve got nothing to lose at this point. Besides, what we’re doing now isn’t working. We’re losing. So why can’t we just loosen up and go for broke? We’re already pretty much pegged in for a high draft pick as it stands now, so we’re out nothing by trying. And losing to Euceron would mean an utter collapse at this point. We don’t want that. We have to win. But the only way we can do that is to get back to where we were in camp. We need to return to the basics and try to find that niche that works.”

The rest of the meeting seemed to fly by as Christine worked to convince her teammates to get on the same page as her. She knew what she wanted, but she didn’t exactly have the cooperation of the locker room like she wanted. Losing had a habit of doing that. She wondered how Dirxx Horstse kept his locker room together after a few bad games. He was a legend on the field, but obviously he had also been one off the pitch and with his teammates. There was something there that she needed to find, an inner moxie that she didn’t have yet that could cement her as an icon if she could just develop. But for the moment she didn’t have it, so this would have to do.

By the end, everyone had agreed to try and get back to the basics, but how that would work, Christine didn’t know. All she did know was that Euceron was going to come to play the next day, and they couldn’t be allowed to win.

---

Senators Stadium, Game Day

The home locker room was accessible this week, but as soon as Christine went inside, she knew that something felt wrong about it. Things were out of place, and as soon as she found her locker, it was obvious that it wasn’t hers. She knew every little nook and cranny in hers, and this one wasn’t it. It looked fresh off the assembly line. This was the one a rookie would get, sparkling and new. Hers had some wear on it; some would call it character, others road wear. But it had been hers, and now she didn’t have it.

She wondered what could have happened to hers. Was it broken? Missing? Being washed? Sold at a charity auction? She had no idea. All the staffers would care to say to her was that it wasn’t available, but she didn’t believe them. Something was up behind the scenes, and she had no idea what those motives might be.

She finished dressing and then listened to what the coaches had to say. Coach Carelle had asked her what the agenda for the players-only meeting had been, but Christine refused to give any details. The coaches didn’t need to know, because they couldn’t control what the players did. They could only call the plays and make the lineup changes. The impetus was on the players to do everything else.

When the team hit the field, Christine could tell that there were quite a few empty seats here today at the stadium. Ticket holders had likely decided that being here today wasn’t worth the effort, because it was likely the worst game on the league schedule all year. Fans were fickle like that. Those who were here likely wondered if she knew what she was doing. Because she took all the heat when they lost. Dirxx Horstse had won the loyalty of the fanbase by winning a lot of games, and by being a winner off the field as well as on it. So far, Christine was a major loser both on and off the field. The All-Star debacle and the 277 season had pinned her in the “loser” category, so the major challenge was to get back to respectability.

And that would start with the basics. Even as captain, she knew she wasn’t immune to her own words about starting fresh. She would have to take her lumps. Then again, things couldn’t get any worse, so hopefully the lumps would be past, and only green grass would be ahead. That would be determined by this game, and how she did.

Of roster note for the team was that Laura Cellen had been benched, and Syra Kuna, the former Ylesia assistant captain, would start at left corner forward. The spot had left big shoes to fill when Max Qorbus had gone down in Week 2, so hopefully the veteran would bring a spark to the lethargic offense. Cellen was a decent player, but she had primarily come off the bench to do her damage, and obviously wasn’t a hot hand right now. She would get her chances in the “Seventh Forward” role as the first forward off the bench. But for right now, the Senators needed any hot, or even lukewarm, hand that they could get on the field.

Christine looked at the Storm players. They still looked fresh, even though they had every reason to feel defeated. There was something about having an easier game here that likely would make them feel stronger. It was Christine’s job as captain to rally her troops and fend off the visitors. They had to win today. There was no room for error anymore.

“We’ll start with 1-on-1, and then shift into zone if they start to kill us,” Christine told her defenders as they huddled up. “We’re going to clog the lanes and use our size to beat them up. Speed on the corners, meat up front, meat in the back. Deluxx, knock some heads around today,” she said to the Weequay full back. “And remember, back to fundamentals. Make smart tackles, don’t always go for the ball. If we can make tackles, we can force turnovers. No need to task any risks. Play safe and smart, and hopefully the offense can get their asses in gear.”

The “Refresher Bowl” game would likely determine who had the #1 draft pick going into 280. Christine had heard about that all week. There was still daylight in the playoff push, but hope was fading fast. This was the biggest game of the season now. Everything depended on it.


TAG: jcgoble3

 

IC: Aebatt Zargana
Location: Storm offices, fifth floor of Kearzon Tower, Eusebus, Euceron
Time: Two days before Week 6 game at Coruscant Senators

Aebatt listened to the man in the suit on the other side of her desk explain things in plain Basic. She sighed in frustration and put her head in her hands. Lawyers annoyed her to death, and she had never employed one for everyday things like player contracts. Her graduate school classes had taught her enough to handle that kind of thing herself. But the situation facing the Storm here was not one she knew enough to handle, and she was finding that even though she now required the services of an actual attorney, the one sitting across from her still annoyed her with his droning monotone.

“So the bank won't budge?” she asked.

“Essentially, that's correct.”

Aebatt looked at the paperwork the lawyer had placed in front of her. Force, she did not want to do this. But did she have a choice? “How long can we stall them?” she asked after a moment.

“I can't guarantee that we can stall them at all. We have to file before they do, and for all we know they could be on their way to the courthouse to file right now. Every minute you delay puts the team in greater jeopardy.”

Aebatt simply screamed in frustration. The lawyer was not helping her mood.

“Excuse me?” the lawyer said. “I'm not sure what you don't understand—”

Aebatt just wanted to scream “SHUT UP!” in the guy's face. Instead, she was a bit more polite. “No, no. It's not you,” she half-lied. “It's the bastards that put us in this situation.”

Finally, she came to a decision.

“The Bassell brothers ought to suffer in the fires of a thousand fiery Hells,” she declared with a hint of anger as she affixed her signature to the paperwork.

* * *

IC: Tendra Nalo
Location: Tendra's apartment, Shedu Maad, Hapes Cluster
Time: 45 minutes later; 0530 in the morning at Tendra's location

“This... is... SportsCenter!” blared the holoscreen as it came on. Tendra groaned as she rolled over in bed; she used the holoscreen as her alarm clock, but having the day off from practice today, she had meant to shut the alarm off and sleep in a little. Clearly she had forgotten to do that.

The HSN node, local to the Hapes Cluster, began playing clips from the previous night's various sports contests as Tendra groped around looking for the remote control. She finally opened her eyes wide enough to spot it on the other side of the room, on the shelf under the screen. Of course she would have to get out of bed to shut the infernal thing off.

Tendra dragged herself out of bed and tried to pick up the remote, but she fumbled it, dropping it behind the shelf, and cursed. Now it would be a two-person task to move the shelves to retrieve it. Instead, she climbed up onto the shelf and reached for the power button on the holoscreen itself. She had her finger on the button when she lost her balance and fell onto the floor, right on her tailbone. She shook the cobwebs away, got up, and started to try again, but the words “breaking news out of Euceron” stopped her and made her listen.

The female anchor was speaking. “We have just learned that the Euceron Storm have filed for bankruptcy. For more on this developing story, we go now to Rovent Laik in the newsroom. Rovent?”

“Bankruptcy?” Tendra said out loud without meaning to. She knew that the Storm had financial problems; anyone with a brain could have seen that when they had auctioned off all of their draft picks. But she hadn't realized the problems were this bad.

“This just happened less than an hour ago, according to our colleagues at HSN Euceron,” Rovent Laik was saying. “We're still learning more about the situation, but what we do know is that the bankruptcy was filed under section 426(d)(11) of Euceron law, which allows for the reorganization of debts under the supervision of a judge. Under this provision, they will work with a bankruptcy judge to create a plan to reorganize their debts and pay them off, and the plan must be approved by both the judge and all creditors. As of this moment, that's all we know, but we will hopefully have more information later in the show.”

Tendra sat down on the foot of her bed, unable to listen any longer. She was too busy thinking about what she had just heard. This was going to be her final season with the Shedu Maad Knights in the Hapes Consortium Juniors League; she was ready to go fully pro. But she had hoped to play for the Euceron Storm. With the financial problems now leading to a bankruptcy filing, that might not be possible.

Tendra got up and turned on the lights. She was wide awake now; there was no way she'd get back to sleep. Her agent was a morning person and was probably already at her office. That was fine with her as she picked up her comlink; she had some things to discuss.

TAG: Trieste for headlines tomorrow that will explain it in a little more detail

 

IC: Gark S’rily
Senators Team HQ, Week leading up to Euceron game

“Send in this report to the league,” Gark said, handing the secretary a press release that he needed to have verified by the league. “The media would probably like to know.”

“Will do,” the Pantoran woman said. She took the release from the Bothan’s fingers and started to type it into her Holo terminal.

Gark returned to his office. He knew he was making the right move. It was finally time that he got this done. It had been simmering for the last two weeks, but now he had a good reason for making the move. Because there would be multiple benefits to what he was doing.

Thirty minutes later, the following headline popped up onto the Senator holosite, and on media outlets all over the galaxy. But if many paid it any heed, that was a different matter. No major ripple currents would come about because of it. It was just a simple organizational transaction.

Coruscant Senators demote Lomgat Vu (FB) to Thyferra Force. Senators call up Steen Roggers (CB) from Thyferra.

---

Next Day

“A Mr. Roggers here to see you, sir,” the voice of the secretary came in through the comlink.

“Send him in,” Gark said calmly. The feed on the other end cut out, and soon enough he heard a rap on the door. “Come in,” he said. He left the door open for this reason.

In came a blonde-haired human, dressed in a faded jacket and slacks. Gark hadn’t seen much of his game tapes, but that was only part of the story.

“Ah, Mr. Roggers, just who I wanted to see,” the Bothan commented. “Take a seat.” Roggers did so, and they stared each other down. “I want to welcome you back to Coruscant.”

“Thank you,” Roggers said.

“We’re in desperate need of another defensive back, and you’ve been a solid contributor down on Thyferra for a number of years. It was time you got the call-up,” Gark said.

“Again, thank you, sir,” Roggers said with a slight nod of his head.

“But we both know that’s not the primary reason you’re here,” Gark said. He paused for a few seconds. “Do you know why I really called you up?”

“I do, sir,” Steen said, a wry grin forming itself on his face.

Gark paused for a few seconds, and then shut off something on his desk. “Can’t let our conversation be tapped into,” he commented. “Security systems get in the way sometimes.”

“You have a mission, sir?” Roggers asked.

“A big one, Cap. A big one,” Gark said.

“What do you need me to do?” Roggers asked.

“I need you to help me figure out who it is who keeps breaking in to our stadium,” Gark said. “We have our suspicions that it could easily be a bunch of teenagers, but I’m not one to speculate based on a small sample size. I have a feeling that we’re in for a whole lot more than we bargained for.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to help me find out who is behind all this, and to make sure we stop them before they do any more damage to the team’s property,” Gark said. “Because, let’s face it, you’re not the best Limmie player. Your professional life really doesn’t include playing ball games. We both know that.”

“Eh, that’s what you get when you were pint-sized in high school, and were the last one to be picked at recess,” Roggers commented.

“Can you do this task for me?”

“I’ll do my best,” Roggers commented.

“Good. You start this week,” Gark said. “As soon as possible would be nice, too, but I know you just got here, and I don’t want to rush you . . .”

“It’s fine. I’m used to being pretty transient in my daily life,” Roggers admitted.

“Then it’s settled. Welcome back, Cap,” Gark said. He stood up and extended his hand for Roggers to shake. The human shook hands with the Bothan GM.

“Do I get a team?” Roggers wondered.

“You think I’d leave you without backup?” Gark inquired. “I’m going to have to make a few calls, but I can get you a team. Don’t worry about it. Some of them will be familiar to you.”

“You know that I sometimes have a terrible memory,” Roggers said.

“Oh, I think you’ll remember them rather quickly,” Gark finished. “If we’re done here, then good luck to you in your search. I hope we can find these guys quickly and get the job done.”

“Understood,” Roggers, also known as “Captain Alsakan”, said. He moved to leave, but Gark held up his hand to stop the human.

“And one more thing,” he said. “Try not to make a fool of yourself at corner back this week. I think Gamble needs all the help she can get from her fellow defenders this week. Poor girl just needs some confidence in her to be great.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Roggers said, a smile coming to his face. “You can count on me, sir.”

“I know I can.”


TAG: No One for the moment